Animus

"You're inside the Animus. It's a projector which renders genetic memories in three dimensions."

―Warren Vidic to Desmond Miles.

The Animus 1.28.

The Animus (plural: Animi) was a virtual-reality machine, rediscovered and developed by Abstergo Industries. It was able to read a subject's genetic memory, and project it onto an external screen in three dimensions.

The machine was notably used in the company's Animus Project, and Animi Training Program. The former analyzed the genetic memories of several select subjects, usually to gain information on the Assassin Order or on Pieces of Eden, while the latter was used for the training of Abstergo recruits.

History

Initially developed by the First Civilization, the original Animus technology was rediscovered by the Templars in an unknown year, and subsequently proved a basis for their own use.

Guided by theories devised by Dr. Warren Vidic, the machine underwent several stages of development and prototypes before a satisfactorily working model was created. However, by 2012, the technology had still not been perfected.

The machine was used in Abstergo as early as 1985; however, even after sixteen test subjects, they had yet to achieve their goals.

Animus 1.0

Desmond Miles using the Animus in an Abstergo laboratory.

The Animus 1.0 (or more precisely, 1.28) was the first model of Animus to be created by Abstergo and enter actual use. Abstergo possessed an unknown number of Animi; with some kept individually in laboratories, and with at least one large room full of the devices.

Colored chrome, with blue lighting lining the machine, the Animus 1.0 resembled a bed, and was designed to comfortably fit the user. When in use, the Animus extended a glass panel over and around the head of the user, on which the genetic memories being accessed were projected.

The Animus 1.0 was not very energy-efficient, however, and was prone to overheating after extended use. Upon overheating, the blue lighting flashed orange instead.

Animus 2.0

"This baby is twice as awesome as anything you'll find at Abstergo!"

―Rebecca Crane, speaking of her Animus.

Rebecca introducing Desmond to her Animus.

The Animus 2.0 was an upgraded model of the Animus that had been developed by the Assassins in 2012. According to the Animus developer and maintainer, Rebecca Crane, her "Baby" was much better than the ones at Abstergo. She had started developing it with partial schematics sent by Lucy Stillman, the Assassins' spy at Abstergo, and had improvised on the rest.

The Animus 2.0 was different in many ways to the Animus 1.0, both physically and within the three-dimension reality it projected. For example, the background color of the loading sequence changed from an icy blue to white, with the entire region of a memory slowly loading up each time one was accessed.

The external properties of the Animus also changed greatly, with the 2.0 being an actual chair, and offering increased comfort to the user. However, due to this, a catheter in the user's arm was required, in order to access genetic memories and link the user into the Animus itself. Despite these improvements, the Animus still suffered from lagged translation software, and was unable to prevent the Bleeding effect over prolonged use.

File:Ac desmond.jpg

Desmond in the Animus 2.0.

The new Animus model allowed for remote interaction from an outside source, which included uploading database-like information packets for the user to view. During Desmond's time with the Assassins in 2012, Shaun Hastings, a historian and tactician for the Assassins, made great use of this utility, providing countless files on historical figures and locations.

The Animus 2.03 was also used as a life support system for Desmond after he had fallen into a coma; his consciousness threatened by the Bleeding effect. At this time, Clay Kaczmarek's virtual intelligence took over the role of writing the Animus database articles.

Animus 3.0

Upon waking from his comatose state, Desmond entered the Animus 3.0 (or, more precisely, 3.01) to relive the memories of yet another of his ancestors. As he did with the Animus 2.0, Shaun continued to write database entries for the Animus 3.0 system.

By then, the Animus' software had been upgraded to utilize a new visual style.

Usability

"When we switched the Animus control scheme to use standard videogame controls, I guessed that the subject's learning curve would improve; but the increased acclimatization rate we're seeing with these slacker types is astounding."

―Warren Vidic.

At first, Abstergo found their test subjects having difficulty adapting to the Animus control scheme, so they changed the controls to match that of gaming consoles, projecting the controls into the users' mind and significantly improving their response rate, allowing for quicker adoption.

Despite the core of the technology merely allowing the user to view genetic memories encoded into their DNA, the Animus also allowed the user a degree of interaction with the environment they were viewing. Although this was limited in the Abstergo model, the level of interaction increased greatly in the Animus 2.0, allowing the user to choose the pace at which they progressed through the memories.

Synchronization

Main article: Synchronization

The Animus 2.0's meter depicting its user's synchronization with an ancestor.

As the user of the Animus was able to interact with the environment in which they were viewing, the concept of synchronization was brought into play. Failure to follow the memories of an ancestor exactly often resulted in a temporary decrease in synchronization with said ancestor, and continuing such actions would lead to complete desynchronization. This in turn forced the user to reload the memory from an earlier point.

The Animus was designed to put up barriers when the user attempted to interact with an environment the ancestor had not entered at that particular moment in their life, and was also capable of ejecting the user in extreme cases of desynchronization.

Side effects

Main article: Bleeding effect

Use of any variation of the Animus technology was prone to cause mental instability within its users. Prolonged use caused a condition known as the "Bleeding effect", which blended the real-time and genetic memories of the user, transferring thoughts, skills and experiences from the ancestor to the descendant.

Continued and uninterrupted use of the Animus often resulted in mental degradation of the subject, and in extreme cases, total psychological instability.

Behind the scenes

Animus 2.0 and 1.0 concept art.

In Assassin's Creed, the Animus acted only as a machine and plot element, allowing Desmond to play through Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's memories the same way the player controls Desmond himself.

In Assassin's Creed II, its use was expanded. The Animus became an interface to a new world, including information about the historical locations, people, and time periods. It was developed as a modular tool, allowing the game's developers to explore any aspect, be it additional memories, multiplayer or other content. In an interview for IncGamers, producer Sebastien Puel said:

"This franchise has a lot of potential. The Animus allows us to do anything we want, whether it's talking about multi-player, whether it's talking about additional missions, whether it's talking about additional content - whatever it is, the Animus is a perfect tool for that."

Trivia

The Animus in 2000.

• "Animus" is a Latin term referring to "the mind" in a variety of senses; ranging from the intellect, the will, or the soul.
• An older design of the Abstergo Animus was used by Daniel Cross, in Assassin's Creed: The Fall in around 1985. The main design was reminiscent to a lounge chair, with a metal visor installed at the top, along with several metal panels attached to the back.
• In the Animus 1.28, sprinting long enough during the interactive loading sequence would rid the Animus of the random pieces of data flickering around, showing only a blue, foggy expanse. Additionally, Altaïr could hit an invisible barrier.
• While replaying memory blocks in Assassin's Creed, an unusual red-beige tinted abnormality showed itself for one frame as the memory was initiated. This was the inside of Desmond's face, as the camera for the initiation sequence was shown in 3 ways: starting back and moving forward, starting front and moving backwards, and upside-down. When the camera moved slightly backwards, it glitched into Desmond's face. His eyebrows, nose, and lips were easily seen if the screen was frozen.
• Once Ezio's story was completed in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, the option to leave the Animus was removed from its main menu due to Desmond's comatose state.
• The Animus 1.28 made an appearance in every main game so far; used by Desmond in Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed II, and by Abstergo recruits in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and Assassin's Creed: Revelations.

Gallery

• 
  Alternate Animi concepts as seen in the Assassin's Creed: Encyclopedia.
• 
  Alternate Animus designs as seen in the Assassin's Creed: Encyclopedia.
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  Animus 1.28 as seen in the Assassin's Creed: Encyclopedia.
• The Animus 1.28 the Abstergo Laboratory.
  The Animus 1.28 the Abstergo Laboratory.
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  Desmond using the Animus 1.28.
• Animus 1.28 interface displaying the user's designation and genetic profile.
  Animus 1.28 interface displaying the user's designation and genetic profile.
• An Animus used in the Animi Training Program.
  An Animus used in the Animi Training Program.
• The new model Animus 2.0 inside the Italian hideout.
  The new model Animus 2.0 inside the Italian hideout.
• The Animus room inside the hideout.
  The Animus room inside the hideout.
• Rebecca talking about her Animus 2.0.
  Rebecca talking about her Animus 2.0.

Video

• Warren Vidic explaining how the Animus works.
  Warren Vidic explaining how the Animus works.