Historical Research Division

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The Historical Research Division of Abstergo Industries is responsible for researching and documenting historical events. Working alongside Lineage Discovery and Acquisition, the Historical Research Division sourced the majority of its findings from Abstergo's archive of genetic memory data. The current head of the division is Simon Hathaway, who replaced Isabelle Ardant following her death in 2015.

History

Search for the Shroud of Eden

By 2011, Isabelle Ardant had become the Operations Executive for the Historical Research Division, and was given the responsibility of archiving the genetic memories of Project Legacy, an assignment she was displeased with, as she believed it to be beneath her rank. However, her work with Project Legacy led her to discover the existence of a Shroud of Eden acquired by Abstergo during World War II, which she subsequently gave to Dr. Álvaro Gramática, the head of Future Technology, to repair, believing this was an opportunity to ingratiate herself with Alan Rikkin.

Ardant would subsequently visit Gramática at his laboratory in Paris to occasionally check on his progress, discovering that whenever the scientist shot himself while wearing the Shroud, the artifact healed him and allowed the Isu Consus to speak through him. Concerned for Gramática's well-being, Ardant later assigned Violet da Costa of Sigma Team to serve as his assistant and test subject.

Following an Assassin attack on the Paris facility that resulted in the Shroud's destruction, the Templars began searching for a new Shroud. In September 2015, through a DNA sample of the Indian Assassin Arbaaz Mir, Ardant discovered that his son Jayadeep Mir had been involved in the search for a Shroud in London during the 19th century, and worked with Gramática to track it down. Ardant was also informed of the existence of Desmond Miles' illegitimate son Elijah and his nature as a Sage when his mother brought him to one of Abstergo's clinics in New York City, and decided to keep an eye on the boy until the time was right to abduct him and research his lineage.

In October 2015, the Templars discovered the Shroud of Eden's location underneath Buckingham Palace, and Ardant led Sigma Team, including Violet and Juhani Otso Berg, to the vault to recover the artifact. However, the Assassins Galina Voronina, Rebecca Crane, and Shaun Hastings, who had also tracked down the Shroud, ambushed the Templars, and during the resulting confusion, Ardant was assassinated by Shaun.

Search for the Koh-i-Noor

In 2016, Juhani Otso Berg, recently appointed as Director of Abstergo Medical, became the overseer of the Abstergo Philadelphia Facility, which housed the offices of multiple of the company's divisions, including Historical Research. Through the department's archives, Berg and his fellow Templars were able to identify the 72-year-old Vietnam War veteran André Bolden as a descendant of the Black Crosses Albert Bolden and Jan van der Graff, and subsequently brought him to the facility to explore his ancestors' memories in search of the Koh-i-Noor diamond. However, their investigation ultimately hit a dead end.

Simon Hathaway's research

In October 2016, following his induction into the Inner Sanctum of the Templar Order, Simon Hathaway was appointed as the new head of the Historical Research Division to replace the late Isabelle Ardant. Convinced that the Animus was not being used to its full potential, he held a presentation for the Inner Sanctum, arguing that it could be more effectively utilized in the search for Pieces of Eden and Assassin history to understand their enemy better. He criticized Abstergo Entertainment's methods of relying on individuals unaware of the historical significance of what they witnessed, seeing it as mere data collection rather than meaningful analysis. Instead, he proposed that a Templar like himself was able to understand the broader context and thus should explore the past to uncover hidden clues others would overlook.

To support his argument, Hathaway theorized that the Sword of Eden which had passed through the hands of Jacques de Molay, François-Thomas Germain, Arno Dorian, and eventually Alan Rikkin was the same weapon wielded by Jeanne d'Arc during the Hundred Years' War. By reliving the memories of his ancestor Gabriel Laxart, who had fought alongside Jeanne, he hoped to witness the Sword's abilities firsthand and potentially reactivate them. Intrigued, Rikkin approved the research but imposed a strict one-week deadline, which frustrated Hathaway but forced him to adapt quickly.

To assist with the assignment, Rikkin brought in Dr. Victoria Bibeau from Abstergo's North American facility. Over time, while reliving his ancestor's memories in the Animus, Hathaway sensed he was being watched. His suspicions were confirmed when he discovered that Rikkin had become disillusioned with his research, as it could reveal de Molay's lasting influence over the Templar Order. To prevent any interference with his own ambitions, Rikkin accused Hathaway of betrayal and sent a Templar strike force to eliminate him.

Using his newfound abilities and the restored Sword of Eden, Hathaway escaped through London’s underground tunnels. He later returned to present his findings to the Inner Sanctum, proving his loyalty to the Order. To Rikkin's disappointment, the council sided with Hathaway. Frustrated with this new development, Rikkin planned to deploy Omega Team—a secretive task force loyal only to him—against the Inner Sanctum, implying he intended to remove those who opposed him once his assignments in Madrid were complete. However, this never came to pass, as Rikkin was assassinated by Callum Lynch later that year.

Other operations

In early November 2016, Simon met with Layla Hassan, a promising young Abstergo employee, praising her and giving her advice. A week later, she sent an email thanking him for his kind words and asked to be assigned to more Person of Interest assignments, believing it better motivated her. The following month, while on an assignment, Layla fell behind on logging operation reports. Simon threatened her tardiness with a formal complaint to Operations and more mediation training.

In March 2017, the Inner Sanctum held a summit in Quebec to invite the new Black Cross for a meeting, during which Simon was present. Displeased that he auto-proclaimed himself their inquisitor, they threatened him and demanded to know his identity. The masked man responded that he came only as a courtesy, to inform them that he was investigating a hostile fifth column within the Order. After affirming his independence, the Black Cross dropped a smoke bomb and disappeared.

In October of that same year, Simon sent a team consisting of Deanna Geary and Layla Hassan to locate a Piece of Eden in the Qattara Depression, Egypt. However, Layla deviated from the mission after discovering the mummies of Bayek and Amunet, the founders of the Hidden Ones. Believing the team had gone rogue, the Templars ordered their elimination and deployed Sigma Team to carry it out. Deanna was killed in her hotel room but managed to warn her colleague before her death. Using her newfound abilities from the Animus, Layla defeated the Sigma Team operatives sent to kill her and accepted William Miles' offer to join the Assassins, officially resigning from Abstergo.

Facilities

• Philadelphia Facility

Employees

Current employees

• Simon Hathaway – Head

Former employees

• Isabelle Ardant † – Head
• Layla Hassan † – Technician
• Deanna Geary † – Medical Officer

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Abstergo Files (first mentioned)
• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Templars (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Heresy
• Assassin's Creed: Origins