Assassin's Creed: Initiates

"On September 1st, 2012, a man is kidnapped in New York. Brought to a secret Abstergo facility in Italy, he is placed in the Animus and forced to relive the memories of his Assassin ancestor. This man is Desmond Miles. This is his story."

―The Desmond Files.

Flash screen for Assassin's Creed: Initiates

Assassin's Creed: Initiates was a community-oriented project founded by Ubisoft on 1 September 2012 that was envisioned as "the place for all things Assassin's Creed."

The website included a news section, forums for discussion, and a link to Ubiworkshop's store. Most notably, it featured an explorable map that tracked places, events, people, objects and messages from the series' storyline. On 5 October 2012, a timeline section that charted historic events in the series' chronology was introduced.

On 21 December 2012, the solar flare disrupted communications throughout the globe, which caused the website to crash. In January 2013, the website allowed users to answer a question once a day to help restore communications.

The site subsequently moved to a closed alpha stage, requiring an activation key to participate. Participants who were able to get an activation key were under a strict Terms & Agreement policy to not share what was being done during the closed alpha stage. The site entered an open alpha stage in October 2013, and the NDA agreement was lifted. On 26 June 2014, the site was closed for an indefinite period of time due to maintenance, until it was redesigned and reopened on 11 November 2014. The platform was definitively retired on 30th September 2016.

The Desmond Files

Main article: The Desmond Files

The Desmond Files refers to a collection of images, video clips, transcripts and documents that tracked the events following Desmond Miles' capture by Abstergo Industries. Each file was keyed to a location on an explorable world map and tagged with a timestamp expressed in the UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) standard.

Data Recovery Progress

Main article: Data Recovery Progress

On 3 January 2013, Initiates started working with members of the worldwide community to reestablish their synchronization to the Database Network Archives, also known as D.N.A. Each day since the website required a passcode to aid in its restoration.

Surveillance

Main article: Surveillance

Surveillance refers to a collection of images, video clips, transcripts and documents that tracked the events following the assassins after December 21st 2012, beggining with a communication from Shaun Hastings in May 2013.

Initiates Database

Besides the various files on Desmond Miles and other modern assassins, the initiates also compiled information on historical events, which they divided into three main sections: Dossiers, Lineages and the eponymous Database. The dossiers compiled information on historical figures, as well as modern assassins and certain objects. The Lineages collected several memories from certain individuals, like Eseosa and Ezio Auditore. The database was divided into five main time periods, containing information beginning in 33 CE.

Dossier

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Altaïr Ibn-La’ahad

Altaïr Ibn-La'ahad (1165-1257), a distant ancestor of Desmond Miles, brought crucial reforms to the Assassin Brotherhood and expanded its influence beyond its Middle Eastern origins.

Altaïr was skilled but arrogant, the youngest man ever to gain the rank of Master. On a mission to retrieve an artifact called the Apple of Eden, he broke the three tenets of the Assassin's Creed, costing him his status. His task for redemption was to stop the Templars, who were playing the Crusaders and Saracens against one another for control of the Holy Land. Altaïr eventually earned the respect of King Richard, hastening the end of the Third Crusade.

The wisdom Altaïr gained let him uncover that his mentor, Al Mualim, was a traitor using the Apple's unfathomable powers for his own selfish desires. After restoring order, he became the Mentor, started a family, and reformed Assassin practices.

Altaïr dedicated the rest of his life to creating a Codex containing his memories, together with the information extracted from the Apple, in the hopes that future generations would use it to establish Assassin guilds throughout the world.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze Ezio Auditore da Firenze (1459-1524) had a passion that drove him from being a carefree youth to an accomplished Assassin leader. Ezio's privileged life vanished when Templar conspirators hanged his father and brothers. Taking up arms left to him by his father, he became an outlaw and traveled to Monteriggioni, where his Uncle Mario revealed his Assassin lineage. Ezio took up their cause, at first to protect his surviving family, but eventually to free Italy from Templar corruption in the form of the Borgias and their allies. Defeating the Borgias took many years, during which he befriended such luminaries as Leonardo da Vinci and Niccolò Machiavelli. They saw his potential and encouraged him to find his own path, and when he became the Brotherhood's Mentor he taught others the same. Later, Ezio traveled to the Middle East in search of Altaïr's lost library and the origins of the Assassins. He learned that his purpose was to be a conduit between an ancient civilization and a man in the future named Desmond. His duty done, Ezio retired from the Brotherhood, married his love, and raised a family before dying content.

Blackbeard Blackbeard (c.1680-1718) was the most famous pirate of the Golden Age and is credited for creating the fearsome image of the pirate that remains in the public consciousness to this very day. Edward Thatch was born in or around Bristol in 1680 and took to the sea in his early teens. Thatch was known by many names throughout history, among them Teach, Theach, Tache, Titche, Teatch, and Tack, to name but a few. He was likely a privateer between the years of 1700 and 1713, but once the Treaty of Utrecht restored peace between England and several European powers, Thatch found himself as one of hundreds of unemployed sailors. Soon thereafter, Thatch befriended Benjamin Hornigold and sailed with him for a few years before they settled in Nassau. There, they began to hatch schemes for nothing less than their own sovereign nation built around their new piratical values. In 1717, after growing a long black beard, Thatch began to refer to himself as Blackbeard, and so a legend was born.

Black Bart Charismatic and handsome, Black Bart (1682-1722) was the most successful pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy, taking more than 470 vessels in his career. Although he is known to history as Black Bart, he never used that name while he was alive. He was born John Roberts in Wales, though little else is known about his early life. It's assumed he began a life at sea in his teens, and in 1719 he was pressed into piracy by a man named Howell Davis, who recognized Robert's abilities as a navigator. When Davis was killed, Roberts was elected captain of the Princess. It's around this time he adopted the name Bartholomew, likely inspired by the renowned buccaneer Bartholomew Sharp.

Benjamin Hornigold Benjamin Hornigold (c.1685-1719) had a relatively short career as a pirate before turning his back on his former comrades to become a pirate hunter on behalf of the Governor of the Bahamas. Much of Hornigold's life is unrecorded, although it is believed he was born in Norfolk, England. He was an early pirate, with his first activity recorded in 1713-14, which makes it likely that he was a privateer. His second-in-command was Edward Thatch, who would later be better known as Blackbeard. For a short time, Hornigold was based in Nassau, where he became involved in plans to create a free republic of pirates. Although he was a skilled sailor and strategist, many felt that he wasn't ruthless enough to succeed as a true pirate.

Adéwalé Born to enslaved parents in Trinidad, Adéwalé was sold to the owner of a prosperous plantation before his teens. He escaped by joining a group of buccaneers who raided the plantation. Adé sailed with this group of men for many years, honing his skills as a sailor. In 1715, he was captured by Spanish authorities, who decided to send Adéwalé to Spain, and loaded him into one of the galleons that made up their perennial treasure fleet. Thanks to a hurricane, and a young Welsh pirate named Edward Kenway, Adé escaped. Freeing more prisoners as they went, Adé and Edward commandeered a brigantine and set sail just in time to beat the worst of the storm. When the hurricane passed, Adé was free once more. Adé became the quartermaster aboard Captain Edward's ship, the Jackdaw. Operating out of Nassau for a time, they grew wealthy off their spoils and lived the lives they had always dreamed of. But Adé was a man who valued the democratic ideals of this pirate community far above the spoils they acquired while living it. And as he saw Edward Kenway fall deeper into a spiral of selfish greed and pointless glory, he wondered if there wasn't a more noble cause he might adopt to suit his ideals. Adé met with Ah Tabai at the Assassin's village in Tulum. There he spoke with the old Mentor and asked him many questions about the Brotherhood. After hearing answers that pleased him greatly, Adé joined them. For over fifteen years, Adéwalé faithfully served the Assassins. But in time, he became increasingly troubled by memories of his past. In 1735, while on a mission to eliminate a Templar Admiral off the coast of Saint-Domingue, he was thrown overboard and washed ashore near Port-au-Prince.

Edward Kenway Edward James Kenway (1693-1735) was a pirate trained by Assassins whose dream of making something of himself came true in a way he never could have imagined. Edward was born in Swansea, Wales and at the age of ten his family relocated to a farm in Bristol. This pastoral life did not agree with the young Edward who became a well-known troublemaker by the time he was in his teens. At 17, this reckless young man met Caroline Scott and a year later they were married, much to her well-bred family's dismay. Edward was committed to providing for his new wife, but quickly fell back into his old habits. In a desperate attempt to get rich, he clung to a dream of privateering. Caroline left him soon after, knowing that she could not persuade him to stay. Across the Atlantic, Edward met Edward Thatch, who would later take the name of Blackbeard, at Nassau. Although he loved the carefree life of a pirate, Caroline was never far from his thoughts, and he still sought out a way to earn big and win her back. And then one day, Edward Kenway met an Assassin named Duncan Walpole…

Haytham Kenway Haytham Kenway (1725-1781), a principled man and formidable Templar, found himself on the wrong side of both history and his son. Haytham's father was Edward Kenway, who trained him with a secret purpose. But one day, young Haytham's home was burned, his half-sister taken, and his father killed. Reginald Birch, a family friend, revealed he was a Templar and offered to help. Years passed and Haytham became a ruthless and efficient killer for the Templars. He was sent to the colonies to establish order and find a crucial First Civilization site. He secured the assistance of Kanien'kehá:ka natives by freeing several captives, including Ziio, with whom he had an ill-fated but passionate affair. When Haytham found his sister, she revealed that the Templars were behind the attack on his home. Edward had been an Assassin, and Birch had him killed for his secrets. Once Birch was dead, Haytham returned to his role, disillusioned by Templar corruption. Haytham wanted to control the growing American Revolution, but the half-native Assassin Connor sabotaged his efforts. Haytham realized Connor was his son with Ziio, and while he tried to find common ground, he knew reconciliation was impossible. Haytham fell to his son's Hidden Blade.

Aveline de Grandpré Aveline de Grandpré, a charming and determined Assassin, operated in the complex world of colonial Louisiana. Aveline was the illegitimate child of a French merchant and an African slave. Shortly after her father married Madeleine de L'Isle to further his business, her mother vanished mysteriously. Her unique upbringing let her grow into a social chameleon who could take on any guise from slave to lady. At first, Aveline was an obedient disciple of her Mentor Agaté. When she discovered a Templar plot to send Louisiana slaves to Mexico to dig for ancient artifacts, she investigated against her Mentor's will and found her mother there. She also learned about a high-ranking Templar called “The Company Man”. She sought “him” for years, even enlisting the aid of the American Assassin Connor, only to learn that “he” was Madeleine. When she tried to warn Agaté, he doubted Aveline's loyalties and his despair led him to suicide. Aveline then joined the Templars, a final ruse to destroy them from the inside. She assassinated her stepmother and kept a crucial artifact from Templar hands.

Connor Kenway Ratonhnhaké:ton (1756-unknown), also called Connor, was an Assassin who struggled with the ideals of liberty and justice, fighting for a cause that ultimately did not embrace him. Connor was the son of a Kanien'kehá:ka mother, Kaniehtí:io, and an English Templar father, Haytham Kenway. Their village burned during the Seven Years' War, killing his mother when he was still a child. Connor's deep-rooted anger was channelled when a Piece of Eden granted him a vision. He was told to seek out the sign of the Assassins, which he found on the home of Achilles, a former Mentor. Achilles reluctantly trained the young man before sending him out to face the Templars, who planned to control North America and exploit ancient technology there. As an Assassin, Connor aided the Patriots and specifically George Washington, the figurehead of the growing American Revolution. He admired their desire for liberty and their opposition to Templar aims, but learned they were destroying his people. Despite his misgivings, he lent his support to such acts as the Boston Tea Party and the Battle of the Chesapeake. He assassinated Templar leaders, including his father. In the end, Connor knew he had made the Revolution a success, but that his people would not enjoy its benefits.

Nikolai Orelov Nikolai Orelov was a working-class Assassin caught up in causes beyond his control that ultimately cost him his family and life. Trained by his father, Nikolai reluctantly undertook a mission to kill Tsar Alexander III, who was in possession of a powerful artifact called the Staff of Eden. Later, the Assassins learned that Templars were experimenting on the Staff and sent Nikolai and a team to destroy it. Their ally Nikola Tesla switched on an electrical weapon early, triggering the Tunguska Event and killing everyone present but Nikolai. During the Russian Revolution, Nikolai became obsessed with the Staff, finally finding a fragment in Rasputin's grave. Considering his duty done, he fled with his wife and daughter to America. But they were deported during the Red Scare, leaving Nikolai to raise their newborn son Innokenti. Nikolai and his son lived alone in the woods until the Brotherhood tracked them down, demanding that he return. He refused and killed the Assassins with his son's help, eventually sacrificing himself to let Innokenti escape. Daniel Cross, Templar sleeper agent, was Nikolai's descendant.

William Miles Cold and calculating, William Miles took over what was left of the modern day Brotherhood and sacrificed everything to save the world. William was born in 1948, and spent much of his early life working with Assassin cells around the world. By the 1980s, he settled in a compound known as “The Farm,” where he trained recruits, including Clay Kaczmarek, Lucy Stillman, and his own son, Desmond. In 2000, the Templars eradicated a vast majority of the Brotherhood in an event known as “The Great Purge.” William became the de facto leader of the few Assassin cells that remained. In 2003, Desmond rebelled and ran away. He resurfaced in 2012, when he was abducted by Abstergo and forced into the Animus Project, attempting to locate an Apple of Eden. William led the rescue effort and brought Desmond to New York. Father and son, along with Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane, found a First Civilization temple, and worked together to prevent a prophesied global catastrophe. Saving the world came at a high cost: Desmond died, and the Precursor entity known as Juno was released. Grieving, William retreated from the Assassins, handing off leadership to his friend Gavin Banks, along with a coded journal that contained many of his secrets. One year later, William has returned to the fight, but his motivations remain as elusive as ever.

Desmond Miles An Assassin who initially rejected his origins, Desmond Miles embraced his destiny and saved the world. Desmond was raised on a remote compound, but rebelled against his father's stifling control and ran away. The Templars found and kidnapped him, putting him into the Animus to relive the genetic memories of his ancestor Altaïr and find them a powerful artifact called the Apple of Eden. He was eventually rescued by Assassins, but by then, he had absorbed Altaïr's wisdom through the Bleeding Effect. Despite the dangers, he continued his research so he could defeat the Templars. Through another ancestor, Ezio, Desmond learned the physical skills of the Assassins. Using these new abilities, he led his team to an Apple, but was possessed by an ancient being who drove him to stab one of his allies. Falling into a coma, Desmond was placed in the Animus to restore his mind. After recovering, Desmond relived the memories of two more ancestors: Haytham, a Templar, and Connor, an Assassin. Through them he accessed the Grand Temple, a site of great power where he sacrificed himself to save humanity from a global catastrophe.

Gavin Banks Gavin Banks is a long-time member of the Assassin Brotherhood who has worked with cells all over the world. Gavin was mentored in Japan by Kenichi Mochizuki, and has engaged in Assassin missions in Australia, Brazil, and America. Gavin is an old friend of the Assassin leader William Miles. When William went underground to mourn the loss of his son Desmond, he gave Gavin his journal, which contained everything he knew about the modern-day Brotherhood, albeit in coded puzzles. As the new leader, Gavin's mission was to rebuild the Assassins, who had struggled since the “Great Purge” of 2000. Gavin travels the world with his team, aboard a ship called the Altair II, which serves as a mobile headquarters for the Brotherhood. Gavin's crew includes:

• Susan Drayton, captain of the ship
• Eric Cooper, navigator
• Emmanuel Barraza, armorer
• Emmett Leary, computer expert
• Dr. Stephanie Chiu, ship's medic
• Nodar Ninidze, Chief Steward
• Akaki Ninidze, Chief engineer
• Galina Voronina, Assassin enforcer

The Animus The Animus was created by Abstergo Industries using the research of Dr. Warren Vidic, the world's leading authority on genetic memory. Although the Animus is an Abstergo invention, a version of the device has also been developed by the Assassin Brotherhood. Since the creation of Animus technology in 1980, Abstergo has used it on at least 17 test subjects, and the machine itself has gone through several iterations. By 2002, they began to produce Animi in greater numbers, and large facilities were set up in their Philadelphia and Rome locations. Abstergo Industries created the Animi Training Program to train its Templar soldiers in combat. At first, the Animus could only display an individual's personal genetic history. However, as the technology progressed, Abstergo developed the Data Dump Scanner, which allowed an individual to relive the memories of other people's genetic history. It was first used in Project Legacy, an initiative designed to obtain new information on Assassins and Pieces of Eden. In 2012, Dr. Vidic used the Animus in an attempt to find an Apple of Eden to complete the Eye-Abstergo satellite project. When Subject 16 committed suicide, driven insane by the Bleeding Effect (a result of overexposure to the device), the Lineage Research and Acquisition Division delivered Subject 17, a man named Desmond Miles. Although Desmond was able to locate an Apple of Eden, he escaped with help from the Assassins and later returned to kill Vidic. In 2012, Abstergo Entertainment used the technology to create interactive historical simulations, beginning with Liberation. Although Abstergo markets its virtual features as entertainment products, it monitors the resulting user data in a never-ending search for Pieces of Eden.

The Vial Vials were artifacts designed by the First Civilization. When used in conjunction with a Crystal Skull, they created a powerful spying tool. Each Vial was a crystal cube designed to contain a few drops of blood from an individual. When one was inserted into a Crystal Skull, it would project a hologram displaying what that person was currently seeing. The Skull was the centerpiece of a First Civilization sanctuary near Tulum. A Mayan temple was built over the site, and Mayan Assassins lived in a nearby village to protect it. A legendary figure called the Sage was rumored to be the only person who could open the sanctuary and control its security system. One known incarnation of this Sage was the pirate Bartholomew Roberts, and another was an Abstergo employee known only as “John from IT”. The artifacts changed hands several times during the early eighteenth century. For a time, Bartholomew Roberts held the skull itself, making him the most effective pirate in history. Edward Kenway recaptured the skull and returned it to the sanctuary. However, by this time the collection of Vials stored within had gone missing. The present location of the sanctuary, Crystal Skull, and Vials are unknown but are the focus of intensive searches from both the Assassins and Templars.

The Hidden Blade The Hidden Blade is a compact device that has become the signature weapon of the Assassin Brotherhood. Its small blade is designed to quickly extend or retract and remain hidden on the underside of the bearer's forearm. The first recorded use of the Hidden Blade was the assassination of Xerses I of Persia by an Assassin known as Darius. From that moment, it became an important part of the Assassin's arsenal, and by the Middle Ages, its use became very ritualistic, and using a hidden blade required one to sever the ring finger on their left hand. The legendary Mentor of the Levantine Brotherhood, Altair ibn-La'Ahad, made several improvements to the design of the weapon, removing the need for the severed finger, and adding the means to deliver poison and a projectile system. The Ottoman Brotherhood refined the concept into the Hook Blade, which allowed the Assassins to scale walls at a much faster rate. Despite considerable advancements in weapon technology, modern-day Assassins still use the Hidden Blade. Its compact, versatile design still makes it an invaluable tool for the Brotherhood.

The Apple of Eden The First Civilization, a race of advanced beings that predated humans, left traces of their technology scattered throughout the world. Among the Assassin Brotherhood and Templar Order, these relics are referred to as "Pieced of Eden." The most coveted of these are the Apples of Eden, versatile tools that functioned as stores of First Civilization knowledge, but were primarily used as devices of control. Those Who Came Before originally created the Apples as a means of ensuring humanity's subservience by controlling the thoughts, emotions, and behavior of their human servants. The genetic structure of the human race was specifically designed to respond to the Apple's power. Ironically, it also led to a slave revolt, as two humans known as Adam and Eve retrieved an Apple and used it to spark a human rebellion against their masters. Centuries later, the power of the Apples to control the minds of men was recognized by the Templar Order, who began a hunt for the Apples and other Pieces of Eden that continues to this day. An Apple of Eden was to be the centerpiece of the Eye-Abstergo satellite, a Templar plan to use an array of satellites to control theEarth. At least five Apples of Eden are known to exist, and there may be more still hidden in the world.

Lineages

Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad // 1165 - 1257 // The Reformer

Ezio Auditore da Firenze // 1459 - 1524 // The Prophet

Edward Kenway // 1693 - 1735 // The Scoundrel

Haytham Kenway // 1725 - 1781 // The Lost Son

Aveline de Grandpré // 1747 - Unknown // The Liberator

Connor Kenway // 1756 - Unknown // The Revolutionary

Nikolai Orelov // Unknown - 1828 // The Disillusioned

Eseosa // 1757 - Unknown // Letters To The Dead

Database

The Middle AgesRenaissanceThe Golden Age of PiracyThe American RevolutionModern Times

Messiah	Pirates of the Mediterranean	Fall of the Great	Battle of the Hydaspes
Gunpowder	Forward Thinker	Daring Viking Explorer	The Templar Tomboy
Maud	Altaïr's Demotion	Heart of a Lion	The Horns of Hattin
Genghis Can't	Dante's Pupil	Dante's Murder	Scattered Pages
A New Noble House	A Villa for the Auditore

Retrieving the Codex	Sword and Smoke	Nascita del Guerriero
The Printing Press	Quick at Six	Eye, Eye
Before the Prince	Expedition Along the African Coast	Unjustly Executed
On the Attack	Not Alone	Nurse
Child of Rome	Touched by the Shroud	Funding Friedrich
The Man Behind the Name	A Woman's Touch	A Future Brother
Helping Henry	Resisting Manuel	Fooling Ivan
Ending Isabella	Journey to the West	Misinformed
Battle of Agnadello	The First Masyaf Key	Bone Collector
Unthinkable	Not Crystal, But Gold	Nicolaus Copernicus
Eclipse	Saving the Magnificent	Battle of Gogunda
Giordano Bruno	Man of Controversy	John Dee
Bookworm	The King's War	Stepped Ashore as King
Executed After Death	Monarchy Restored	The Battle of Lowestoft
Suspicious Fire in London

Grand Master Torres	The Story of Rum	Buried Treasures
The Gruff Commodore	The Mayan Mentor	The Maroon Assassin
The Captain Was Here	Devoted to Discipline	The Traitor Duncan Walpole
The Pirate Hunter	A Vicious Captain	Blackbeard's Mentor
Birth of a Legend	Captain of the Fortune	Calico Jack
A Collector of Hidden Blades	Mr. Wrong	The Orchid
The Aristocratic Pirate	The Steadfast Smuggler	The Runaway Bride
Benjamin's Lackey #1	Benjamin's Lackey #2	The Lady Black
The Bastard Son of Captain Kidd	A Fool in Love	Caroline Scott of Hawkins Lane
Kingston, Jamaica	The Taino Assassin	The Pirate Barmaid
Ungoverned Island	Chasing the Pirates	The Beaches of Nassau
Unemployed Seamen	Before the Golden Age	The Wreck of the Spanish Treasure Fleet
The Flying Gang	The Fortified City	The Republic of Pirates Under Scrutiny
Buccaneer Hideout	From Slavers to Pirates	Rogers Attacks Nassau
Medicinal Hostages	Pirates Hanged	Explorer of the North
Overshadowed by Slavery	A Resilient Colony

An Enlightened Merchant	Fire in her Eyes	Lee's Early Life	Birth of a Revolutionary
The Fiend Nadir Shah	Marquis de Lafayette	Death of the Dog	Conspiring with the British
Smoke Leads To...	One Step Forward...	Uncle Sam	Commander-in-Chief
Washington's Savior	...Two Steps Back	Murder in Martinique	Traitor of the Revolution
Kenway Showdown	The Writing's On the Wall	Washington's Resignation	Number One

The Widow Ching, Lady Pirate	Amritsar	Rani Laxumibai of Jhansi
On	Confederate Spy	Discovering DNA
The Spark	A Dancer and a Spy	The Short
The Shock	Molecular Machine	Assassin Science Cities
Jumping Genes	Fading Hope	Tattletale
Nazi-Soviet Pact	Operation Silver Fox	Second Battle of El Alamein
Off	Yalta Conference	Manhattan Project
Second Atomic Bomb	Nazi Collaborator	Great Soul Lost
Photo 51	Post-War Science	Sour Grapes
A Brash American	The Trauma Is Everything	Post Soviet Science
You're One of Us, Right?	It's a Very Good Thing You're on Our Side	Missing Link We've Been Waiting For
Finding the Apple of Eden	American Gladiators Faceoff	We Employ Advanced Technology
We Observe to Gather Knowledge	We Discover Chronology	Unexpected Dissolution
We Prepare For the Future	We Are the Initiates

Abstergo Files

Certain Abstergo files and emails were also acquired by initiates, including a series of correspondences from Abstergo employee Clinton B. Rosenburg.

Animus EmailsAbstergo Employee PassportAnimus Memo

James Morse's email	Lucy Stillman's email
Warren Vidic's email	Project Lead #9

Abstergo Employee Passport

Animus Memo: Vatican City, Italy, 2008-01

January 2008

First Quarter Briefing on Abstergo Lab Facility Progress Animus Project Vatican City

In brief:

Request to allocate 25% of $960.000.000 annual Abstergo R&D budget to the project approved. Note that this marks a 50% increase.

New subterranean lab space staffed after preliminary trials of latest device iteration were successful.

Device functional with low power requirements.

Device mainframe is 30% smaller than previous iteration. At this rate, a portable Animus may be possible in the future.

Intended ancestral memories accessed with 86.7% success rate during trials.

Preparations to continue transfer of Assassin skills.

Search for key cartographer ancestral DNA ongoing.

I will run through the specifics in person with you next week.

Warren Vidic

The Rosenburg Letters

Clinton B. Rosenburg's correspondence details Abstergo's hand in the cracking of the Human Genome, and his quest for the triple-helix.

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Pasadena // USA // 1952-08-14

Mr. Director, August 14 1952

Mr. Director,

As requested, I am keeping you abreast of Dr. Pauling's latest findings. Please find an article slated for PNAS (enclosed) which proposes a structural model for deoxyribonucleic acid.

I will spare you the details but you will find his triple-helix model, made of three intertwined strands of DNA, to be highly elegant. It rivals his earlier work on protein structure.

I believe Abstergo Chemicals should pay special attention to the evolution of DNA science as it will likely unlock the very secrets of life. Please note I would be more than willing to play a more direct role to encourage Dr. Pauling's research efforts if you wish me to.

In the meantime, I wanted to thank you for trusting me with the business of the Foundation. I am honoured to facilitate the work of such brilliant scientists.

Kind regards,

Clinton B. Rosenburg, Ph.D

Cambridge // United Kingdom // 1952-12-30 Mr. Director, December 30 1952 Mr. Director, Thank you so much for your kind praises. Rest assured, I did not miss your veiled reference to a potential research position within your company when last we met at the fundraiser. I just find my current work at the Foundation more significant than my personal scientific ambitions. Please know that I appreciate your interest in my career. As per your instructions, I provided Dr. Watson and Cricks' team with the X-Ray crystallography data from Dr. Franklin. Of course, I made sure nothing could be traced back to the Foundation. This new data and their own findings have yielded a bold proposal: they posit that the structure of DNA is a double-helix one. They plan to use it to invalidate Pauling's triple-helix model in an upcoming article in Nature. I am thoroughly unconvinced their model is the correct one. I know one shouldn't depend too much on intuition when it comes to science, but I believe we should encourage our sponsored scientists to push research in the triple-helix model further. Please find enclosed a budget proposal that would allow us to support both types of research while meeting our objectives. I remain your most devoted servant, Clinton B. Rosenburg, Ph.D.

Chicago // USA // 1962-04-09 Mr. Director, April 9 1962 Mr. Director, It is with great regret, but probably no great surprise to you, that I write this letter of resignation. Heading the Foundation these last few years was an exhilarating challenge. I feel our support and guidance played a crucial role ushering in a new age in biochemistry. I must however come to terms with the new direction you wish to give to the Foundation. It does not fit with my own vision of keeping the broadest possible agenda, especially in light of Abstergo Pharmaceuticals' decision to focus exclusively on double-helix DNA. As per our recent conversation, I am aware that I might not see “the whole picture” and this might indeed be the time for new leadership. This is why I chose to follow your suggestion and accept the position of senior scientist with your company's Molecular biology R&D department. I trust your “open door” policy will remain in effect. I look forward to showing you some of my plans to demonstrate the existence of other stable forms of DNA. Kind regards, Clinton B. Rosenburg, Ph.D.

Boise // USA // 1969-06-23 Mr. Director, June 23 1969 Mr. Director, I know you and I have had our disagreements in the past, especially with what you consider my “undue obsession” with triple-helix DNA, but my loyalty to you has been nothing if not exemplary. I feel you have unfairly dismissed all my research proposals these last years. I ask you to reconsider your latest decision to have my research funds drastically cut and force me to move my lab to Boise. I can't believe Abstergo Pharmaceuticals wants to force me to focus on this completely ridiculous idea that the key to unraveling the secrets of genes lies in studying enzymes found in bacteria isolated from Yellowstone's hot springs. This is madness and a horrendous waste of resources! I really appreciate everything you've done for me. I know I would not have remained here as long without your constant support. It hasn't escaped my notice that my influence within the R&D department has been on the decline for the last few years. I can't shake the feeling that you might have had a part in this. I know that I have been unable to obtain solid evidence that DNA exists in a triple helix structure but I am still convinced the scientific community is ignoring something of fundamental importance. Like I have told you many times, absence of evidence does not necessarily translate to evidence of absence. In the meantime, I will look into the papers you have sent me about this polymerase enzyme that people at the University of Cincinnati are getting so excited about. I thank you in advance, Clinton B. Rosenburg, Ph.D.

Rochester // USA // 1976-01-12 Mr. Director, January 12 1976 Mr. Director, What the hell is happening here? You've stopped answering my messages and I was made to understand, very clearly, that I was not to “bother” you anymore. Furthermore, my security clearance no longer grants me the freedoms and accesses it used to. This is truly sad. I wanted to share with you the most amazing discovery we've had in our DNA sequencing laboratories to date. It turns out Taq polymerase, that enzyme purified from hot springs bacteria, has allowed us to push forward DNA sequencing into a new era of performance. We're already far ahead of all other public and private laboratories in terms of throughput and data fidelity. In fact, we're already years ahead of Dr. Watson's dream of mapping the human genome. Results are very promising, although we are likely many years away from completion. I know this is the kind of information that is of interest to you. That being said, I wanted to tell you first hand that we've finally found solid evidence of triple-helix DNA. I can picture you rolling your eyes at this, but please have a look at the preliminary data. I will reproduce the trial and will show you all that I was right! Clinton B. Rosenburg, Ph.D.

Rochester // USA // 1978-04-24 Mr. Director, April 24 1978 Mr. Director, I'm sick and tired of all these condescending notes I'm getting from your office. I've never shown anything but loyalty to you and I've always done what was asked on me regardless of my personal agenda. I don't deserve this. And if that wasn't enough, my career keeps nose diving. I'm being punished for being a free thinker, maybe the last one around here. I know I wasn't able to ever reproduce my triple-helix results, but I don't think that was worth serial demotions. But who cares if I'm right or wrong anymore? The Abstergo monster has chewed me up and spat me out. I'm now stuck in a corner of the company's sequencing lab. I can't do research anymore. All I've got left is babysitting a bunch of uppity technicians and rooms filled with “bleeding edge” machinery. You keep sending me new “toys” every other week or so, as if I could be pacified with technology. No one will ever accuse our great and benevolent corporation of lacking focus and resources. I once thought it would take years to sequence a whole human genome, we can routinely do one a month now… When I don't get interrupted with insulting busywork from that lab in Italy. I must keep our “masters” happy, I suppose. I thought you were my friend, I never imagined that you would be the one to take the first bite. Clinton B. Rosenburg, Ph.D.

Rochester // USA // 1984-12-18 Mr. Director, December 18 1984 Mr. Director, I don't know if you're still a part of Abstergo. Sometimes, when I get lost in “senior moments”, I wonder if you ever existed at all. I'm just so tired. I think my time here is coming to an end. We're sequencing whole genomes in a matter of weeks now. We're under phenomenal pressure to reduce delays further and ship everything to this man Vidic. We truly are nothing more than an assembly line at this point. What a waste. I'm not stupid you know, even this old man has realized our masters are after something of utmost importance hidden in the Human genome. They spare no expense to provide my kids with the most advanced technology to increase productivity. Like everyone here, I've heard the most preposterous rumours about Vidic's Animus project, that memories of someone's ancestors are encoded in one's genes. That Abstergo believes that claptrap explains why so many millions of dollars keep pouring in here. It just makes no sense! And to top it off, I never found another sample with triple-helix DNA. My life's obsession was all for naught. So long my friend. Clinton B. Rosenburg, Ph.D.

Timeline

• 75010 BC: Adam and Eve turned their backs on Eden.
• 75000 BC: The First Civilization was annihilated in the Toba catastrophe.
• 500 BC: Pythagoras established the religious movement of Pythagoreanism.
• 465 BC: The Achaemenid king Xerxes I was murdered by the Persian Assassin Darius.
• 323 BC: Alexander the Great was poisoned by Iltani, a Babylonian Assassin.
• 210 BC: Qin Shi Huang was assassinated by the Chinese Assassin Wei Yu.
• 44 BC: Julius Caesar was murdered by the Assassin Marcus Junius Brutus.
• 30 BC: Cleopatra VII Philopator was killed by the Egyptian Assassin Amunet through a snake bite.
• 41: Caligula was murdered by Leonius, a member of the Roman Brotherhood.
• 1000: Pope Sylvester II, a Templar scientist, was branded a heretic.
• 1099: The First Crusade led to the Siege of Jerusalem.
• 1128: Bernard de Clairvaux, a French abbot, reformed the Templar Order.
• 1191:
  • The Siege of Masyaf, a Templar assault, was stopped by skilled Assassin tactics.
  • Robert de Sable, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was assassinated by Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad.
  • Altaïr Ibn-la'Ahad became the new leader of the Levantine Assassins after defeating the treacherous Al Mualim.
• 1227: The Mongol warlord Genghis Khan was slain by the Mongolian Assassin Qulan Gal.
• 1314: Jacques de Molay, the last publicly recognized Grand Master of the Templars, was burned at the stake.
• 1476:
  • In Florence, Ezio Auditore's father and brothers were executed in a conspiracy against the Auditore family. Ezio became an Assassin beginning his crusade against the Templars.
  • Ezio Auditore and Leonardo da Vinci began their long friendship and collaboration.
• 1488: Ezio was inducted into the Italian Brotherhood by Niccolò Machiavelli.
• 1500:
  • Monteriggioni, a stronghold of the Brotherhood, was besieged by the Borgias.
  • The Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, whose heliocentric theory later transformed the cosmological worldview, was targeted by Templars in Rome.
• 1503:
  • Ezio Auditore's accomplishments in Rome led him to be named Mentor of the Assassins.
  • Rodrigo Borgia, Grand Master of the Templars and Pope, was eliminated by his own son, Cesare Borgia.
• 1507:
  • Cesare Borgia attempted to recover his power and influence at the Siege of Viana.
  • Cesare Borgia was assassinated by Ezio Auditore, bringing the Borgias' influence to an end.
• 1511: Ezio Auditore encountered the Byzantine Templars in Constantinople.
• 1512: The Masyaf Keys were discovered by Ezio.
• 1524: Shao Jun encountered Ezio, whose help the Chinese Assassin had sought.
• 1687: Isaac Newton published his Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
• 1688: King James II of England was overthrown in the Glorious Revolution
• 1775: George Washington encountered Ratonhnhaké:ton during the American Revolutionary War.
• 1776: The United States of America's Declaration of Independence was signed by representatives of the 13 colonies.
• 1789: The French Revolution put an end to the Ancien Régime.
• 1881: Czar Alexander II of Russia was killed by the Assassins of Narodnaya Volya.
• 1901: The Victorian era, which witnessed the expansion of the British Empire, ended with the death of Queen Victoria.
• 1908: The Tunguska explosion occurred in Siberia.
• 1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated, sparking the First World War.
• 1917: The Russian Revolution ended the Tsarist regime.
• 1937: Abstergo Industries, the new public face of the Templar Order, was founded.
• 1980: The Animus Project was initiated.
• 2000:
  • Daniel Cross, known as Subject 4, killed the Mentor of the Assassins.
  • Assassin forces were decimated in the Great Purge.
• 2012:
  • Clay Kaczmarek, known as Subject 16, committed suicide after leaving important clues for his cell's next occupant.
  • Desmond Miles, known as Subject 17, was kidnapped by Abstergo Industries and experienced the Animus for the first time.
  • Animus exposure and the death of his friend plunged Desmond into a coma.
  • The Eye-Abstergo was scheduled to be launched on December 21, 2012.

Trivia

• Regarding the name "William M." that appeared as the sender in e-mails separately addressed to Lucy (Concerns, September 26) and Shaun (Status, September 27), Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood lead writer Jeffrey Yohalem mentioned in a podcast posted on April 29, 2012 that "the William M.'s are not necessarily the same".
  • This was confirmed when Initiates was updated with the events of October 9, revealing that the "William M." who was in contact with Lucy was actually Dr. Warren Vidic.
• The image depicting Desmond's transfer to Rome (Unmarked Hangar, September 1) has been updated 3 times. The first version showed the face of Desmond as uncovered and the hour on the timecodes as 18 (6pm). The second version incorporated several changes, specifically the addition of a blindfold on Desmond and Abstergo logos on the uniforms of Desmond's captors, changes to lighting/shadowing, slight changes to the figures' positions, and revising the hour on the timecodes to 16 (4pm). Finally, the current version is identical to the second, though the hour has been restored to the original 18.
  • Though not necessarily an error, the image showed Desmond with a courier bag and his outfit from Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, despite the event taking place around the time of Assassin's Creed. These were very visible in the original version of the image, but have since been obscured in the updated versions.
• In the Animus Explained clip (September 1), Desmond did not argue with Vidic after regaining consciousness, unlike what was shown in Assassin's Creed.
• On 7 September, for unknown reasons, the map showed 6 events somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. Zooming in on the area resulted in the message: "Map data not yet available."

References

• Assassin's Creed: Initiates - The Desmond Files
• Assassin's Creed: Initiates - Timeline
• Assassin's Creed: Initiates on Twitter
• Assassin's Creed: Initiates on YouTube

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