21st century conversations

Over the course of his training to become an Assassin, Desmond Miles had various conversations with his fellow Assassins - Shaun Hastings, Rebecca Crane and Lucy Stillman. Here follow a list of those conversations:

Assassin's Creed

While being held captive at Abstergo, Desmond secretly had conversations with Lucy Stillman, Dr. Vidic's assistant.

Assassin's Creed II

After escaping Abstergo, Desmond was introduced to Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane by Lucy. These two would assist Lucy in training Desmond to be an Assassin.

After arriving in the Hideout

Lucy

• Desmond: Hey, I just wanted to say thank you, and that I'm sorry.
• Lucy: Sorry?
• Desmond: Yeah, you know, everything back at Abstergo. It's just... I wasn't ready.
• Lucy: It's okay.
• Desmond: No, going through all that, knowing that the Templars still exist, what they're planning...
• Lucy: What's done is done. You're here now and that's what matters.

• Desmond: Lucy, I've been seeing things. Symbols in my bedroom, the code on the keypad... Just like Altaïr.
• Lucy: It's from the bleeding effect. You're taking on more than your ancestor's memories, you're taking on their skills too.
• Desmond: Skills?
• Lucy: You're more receptive now, so if everything goes well, everything Ezio learns in the Animus, you'll learn too.
• Desmond: You really think that this will work? That I'll become an Assassin?
• Lucy: You already are an Assassin. You'll just be better at it.
• Shaun: Yeah, hopefully much better at it. I've seen the tapes from Abstergo, you didn't even try to escape.
• Desmond: What a dick.

Rebecca

• Rebecca: Hey Desmond, what's up?
• Desmond: Just wondering what your role is in all this.
• Rebecca: Me? I take care of the Baby. It's my job to keep her up and running.
• Desmond: Baby? You mean the Animus.
• Rebecca: Actually, I prefer Animus two-point-oh since Baby's twice as awesome than anything you'll find at Abstergo. The Templars may have deeper pockets than us, but they have no ambition, no passion, no competetive edge! That's why, even with all their resources, anything they can do, I can do better. Faster too. Anyway, take a seat when you're ready and we can get started. I just need to make few more adjustments..

Shaun

• Desmond: What's all this stuff for?
• Shaun: This stuff Desmond, oh this stuff is nothing special, really, this stuff is just the stuff that keeps our entire operation from falling apart, really. It requires a great deal of concentration to keep it all moving, so you'll forgive me if I don't have time to play meet and greet.
• Rebecca: Shaun's in charge of maintaining our knowlege archives - it's like a digital library. He'll be riding shotgun with me while you're in the Animus. So if you come across anything of note - people, places, events etcetera - he'll create database entries you can consult for additional informations.
• Shaun: Y-yeah, it's not just databases though. I also provide tactical support for the other Assassins. You know, Desmond, the ones who are out there - actually doing stuff. Risking their lifes, little things like that.

After completing Memory Sequence 6

Rebecca

• Rebecca: Hey! Nice work today. You're a natural.
• Desmond: Thanks. it's definitely getting easier. I gotta say - after all the crap I went through at Abstergo -- It's nice to be with the good guys.
• Shaun: 'Good guys? Let's not get carried away.
• Rebecca: What's that supossed to mean?
• Shaun: In case you've forgotten, Rebecca, we're Assassins. I could look it up for you, if you like. Basically, it means we assassinate people.
• Desmond: Only when we have to.
• Shaun: It's a choice. You're choosing to kill.
• Desmond: I haven't killed anyone.
• Shaun: No. Not yet. But what do you think all this is for, eh? You think Lucy is giving you Ezio's abilities so you can build schools in South America and deliver rice to starving Indonesians. What are Desmond, a vegan? You'd be the first vegan assassin in history.
• Rebecca: Look, it's not ideal. And taking a life is never easy. But sometimes there's no other way. Sometimes, Desmond, people have to die for things to change.
• Shaun: She's got a point. But don't fool yourself thinking you have no say. I mean, isn't it that what we're all about here? Safe-guarding free will?

• Rebecca: Sorry.. I didn't mean to make it into a whole big thing.
• Desmond: Nah, it's cool. So, how's she treating you?
• Rebecca: The translation software is still a bit laggy.. You're propably catching the odd bit of Italian. Sorry about that.
• Desmond: No worries. Abstergo's machine wasn't perfect either. And the subtitles.. definitely a big plus.

Shaun

• Desmond: What could 16 have found that needs so much secrecy and security?
• Shaun: Oh, I don't know, do I? Lucy thinks it's something about the Codex, but I'm not so sure. I'm all ears, if it's as life changing as 16 says. Blimey, if I was allowed to use the Animus, I'd be the one in there finding out. Instead, as usual I'm forced to sit here on the sidelines.

• Desmond: What are you up to?
• Shaun: What am I - who are you, my mom? I've been running traces on the Codex pages. Looking to see if any of them are still around.
• Desmond: And?
• Shaun: Nothing concrete. Reports on one in the archives of the National Central Library in Florence. Maybe a few in the hands of collectors.. propably Templars. I'd send someone to check it out, but we're very short on manpower.
• Desmond: How do you think the Codex wound up in Italy? I mean.. it seems so random.
• Shaun: Dante Alighieri by the way of Marco Polo.
• Desmond: Seriously?
• Shaun: Something happened in 1321, yeah. Now, I'm still working on making the connections.. But from what I can tell Polo encountered the Assassins while visiting Kublai Khan. That's right, this must be when he obtained the Codex. Now, when he returned to Italy, he passed it on to Dante. Dante was close to 'em - if not an Assassin himself. Now, I have no idea what brought the two of them together.. But I tell you what, I reckon we can find out.
• Desmond: I don't think Lucy wants us messing with the Animus.
• Shaun: Yeah, you're right. We got enough to deal with. I guess satisfying my curiosity will have to wait.

• Desmond: How did you get involved in this?
• Shaun: Most Assassins, Desmond, are like you, yeah? They're 'born' into the brotherhood. Not me, though.
• Rebecca: Ugh, here we go.
• Shaun: What?! He asked. Anyway, I've always been fascinated by the unexplained. There's something exciting there, you know, a sense that life is more interesting, more mysterious than we've been lead to believe.
• Desmond: So, what, you just stumbled across the Assassins?
• Shaun: No, I found the Templars first, actually. Abstergo's a big company. It's too big, which means there were slip-ups, you know, like that mess they're having right now with the fluoride. Only I was tracking this stuff years ago. I must have been, what, 14? 15?
• Desmond: You knew Abstergo was a Templar company?
• Shaun: No, not at first. I just knew they were up to no good and I figured maybe I could do something about it. So I starting digging up everything I could on the company, posting stuff to news groups, trying to spread word, looking for people with stories to tell.
• Desmond: You must have gotten Abstergo's attention.
• Shaun: Well, fortunately, I got Rebecca's first. Otherwise I'd be at the bottom of a river.
• Rebecca: You're welcome.
• Shaun: Yep, she tried to warn me. Told me I was messing with the wrong people.
• Rebecca: And what did you do?
• Shaun: I thought you were mental.
• Rebecca: But now you know better.
• Shaun: Yep, now I know you're just a bit mental.
• Rebecca (to Desmond): Long story short, I saved his ass! Multiple times! Should've just dropped him and let Abstergo have their way.
• Shaun: Listen to you, trying to be all 'bad-ass'.
• Desmond: So what happened?
• Shaun: I have a gift, Desmond. I have a gift for seeing things. Making connections, like your Eagle Vision, you know, only useful.
• Rebecca: We offered him a place with us.
• Shaun: Yes, you did, yeah. The alternative? A life on the run from the most powerful organization on the planet. I decided to prolong my life. I'm eccentric like that. So I signed up. I've been doing research and analysis for them ever since. Best part is, I love it.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

After setting up a base in the Sanctuary

Shaun

• Desmond: Do you have any clue about those numbers under the drawing?
• Shaun: 1419, 1420, 1421. Maybe something to do with the Hundred Years' War. Or-or wait! In 1419, Pope Martin V arrived in Florence, right? He left for Rome in 1420, and that was the same year Brunelleschi began building the Duomo. And in 1421...in 1421...yeah, I'll have to do some more research, I think.

Desmond: So, what do you think of Monteriggioni?

Shaun: This is not Monteriggioni. Monteriggioni existed during the Renaissance. Ask me how the town was in 1554 when it was seized by Florence and I'll tell you.

Desmond: Huh, figured you'd like it nowadays. Seems not to have changed much.

Shaun: Exactly. History is the study of change. Change is life. If things are static, it means they're dead.

Lucy

Desmond: What are we gonna do about Abstergo?

Lucy: Wait it out. As soon as we find the Apple, I get into contact with our other teams in Europe. But as far as Italy goes, we're on our own.

Shaun: It'd be nice to have some help from above.

Lucy: Our top Assassins are busy gathering info about the Templar satellite launch. We've pinpointed several possible facilities in the U.S., China, and Russia, but there are no clear leads yet.

Desmond: What are the other teams doing?

Lucy: Combating Abstergo's search for Pieces of Eden. As far as I know, Abstergo has no clue about the Temples and Ezio's Apple. We might actually be ahead for once.

Rebecca

Desmond: You seem focused.

Rebecca: I've been busy patching new systems into Baby here. She's only gonna get better.

Shaun: Is Desmond gonna be able to relive memories this time?

Rebecca: Matter of fact, he will.

Desmond: Always a tech geek?

Rebecca: Nah, I was into sports. Then I broke my leg and started playing with computers. Who knew that coding could be just as exhilarating as strapping on a board and dropping out of a helicopter?

Shaun: Just FYI, you might want to get your adrenal glands checked, you know? Because that...that is not normal.

After completing Memory Sequence 2

Shaun

Desmond: You still managing the teams out in the field?

Shaun: No phone line. Rebecca's working on patching us into the network.

Desmond: So how does it feel, letting the lady do all the work?

Shaun (scoffs): She's no lady!

Rebecca: HEY!!!

Desmond: You think we're safe here?

Shaun: I'm more concerned about the other Assassins out there. If Abstergo stumbles onto information about the Temples, we could have a disaster on our hands.

Desmond: The only people alive who've heard of the Temples are in this room.

Shaun: For now, but who knows? Maybe they're listening to this conversation and you just gave everything away!

Desmond: You brought them up first.

Shaun: You are paranoid, Desmond.

Desmond: Ah, well played.

Lucy

Desmond:

After completing Memory Sequence 4

Shaun

• Desmond: What happened to Caterina Sforza?
• Shaun: She went back to Florence and petitioned unsuccsesfully for the return of her lands. Then, she died of pneumonia.
• Desmond: That's sad.
• Shaun: That's life. Well, that's death technically, but you take my point.

• Desmond: We ever going to visit the head Assassins? I heard about this meeting place when I was younger.
• Shaun: Apparently, it exists. Though I'm not sure because I've never been.
• Lucy: You'll get to see it once we have the Apple.
• Shaun: Well, I expect amazing things. A private espresso bar for example.
• Lucy: What a waste of money.
• Shaun: You obviously aren't an espresso drinker

Rebecca

• Desmond: How's the power situation?
• Rebecca: It's okay for now, but the power lines are frome the stone age.
• Shaun: Bloody third world country!
• Rebecca: You're talking about Italy?
• Shaun: No, Europe in general.
• Rebecca: I didn't know England is a third world country.
• Shaun: England is not in Europe actually, Rebecca. We tolerate Europe.. You know, like a person tolerates herpes.

• Desmond: How did you manage to create a copy of the Animus?
• Rebecca: Oh, you know. Lucy sent me schematics.
• Desmond: I thought she couldn't get anything out of Abstergo?
• Rebecca: She had her ways. I improvised on the rest.
• Desmond: Huh.

Lucy

• Desmond: We going to get any food in here?
• Lucy: People tho don't work, don't eat... I'm kidding! You knew I was kidding, right?
• Shaun: Riiight. Smile and nod.
• Lucy: Someone just volunteered to get the food.
• Shaun: It was worth it.

• Lucy: Sometimes I feel so disconnected from everything out there. Nearly a decade of my life gone, searching for those Pieces of Eden.
• Desmond: Think how great you'll feel when we finally stop the Templars.
• Lucy: I'm not sure it will ever end, Desmond. I can't do this forever.
• Desmond: I can't buy it. The Lucy I know brought me here and taught me how to see. She would never give up.
• Lucy: I guess I trained you well, huh?
• Desmond: You did alright.

Other

When Desmond eats the hamburger:

• Rebecca: Carnivore!
• Shaun: Hypocrite! Did you know plants give off chemicals which attract predatory insects when they're attacked? Sounds pretty animal-like to me.
• Rebecca: You know too much for your own good.
• Shaun: That's what my priest used to say.

After completing Memory Sequence 7

Shaun

• Desmond: Any good stories about Cesare?
• Shaun: Are you kidding? He was notorious. Get this: in 1502, his top captains rebelled against him. He made concessions to all of them and they rejoined his army. Then, on New Year's Eve in 1503, he got them together inside a room in Sinigaglia. Everyone was arrested. Two were put back to back and strangled by Micheletto that very night. The rest were thrown into chains and.. and killed a few weeks later.
• Desmond: Wow.
• Shaun: The amazing thing is that Cesare was so friendly during the months before, they never saw the trap coming. Machiavelli called him the master deceiver.

• Desmond: So Cesare was pretty secretive.
• Shaun: Yeah, he was yeah. Except weirdly when it came to sex. After his wedding, he sent a letter to the Pope explicitly describing the intercourse on his wedding night. According to the letter, Cesare and his French bride did the deed eight times.
• Rebecca: Isn't that a Catholic thing?
• Desmond: What?
• Rebecca: You're supposed to send the Pope a letter about your wedding night. It lets the old guy live a little, you know?
• Shaun: You know.. that sounds quite plausible actually.

Rebecca

• Desmond: That disrupted memory seems to be getting clearer.

• Rebecca: It's amazing. The sequence is repairing itself, as if we're helping you work through psychological trauma.

• Desmond: So I'm going to be more balanced person by the end of this?

• Rebecca: Oh, I have no clue. But the idea's cool.

• Shaun: Are you saying that because you feel guilty about frying his brain?

• Rebecca: Shaun's on latrine duty!

• Lucy: Deal.

• Shaun: Ah, of course, you side with her. Communists.

Lucy

• Desmond: How long do we have before the Templar satellite launch?

• Lucy: It's October 8th, so that leaves us with.. 74 days.

• Desmond: Not much time.

• Lucy: Think about all that you've been through in the last month. 74 days is a long time.

• Desmond: We're getting closer to the Apple. I can feel it.

• Lucy: If it were up to me, you'd take more breaks.

• Desmond: Good thing the fate of the world doesn't rest on your shoulders.

• Lucy: Hey. Joke all you want but your mental health is a serious concern. It only takes a couple of months for most Animus users to exhibit extreme side effects and you've been in for prolonged stretches of time.

• Desmond: I'll rest once we have the Apple.

• Lucy: I was afraid you'd say that.