Abstergo Industries

"Abstergo's got some fucked-up interior decorators..."

―Desmond Miles to Lucy Stillman

Abstergo Industries are the employers of Doctors Warren Vidic and Lucy Stillman, captors of Desmond, as well as the company which funds the Animus. Even though on the outside Abstergo is labeled as a company working in the field of Medicine & Science Dr. Vidic boasts of their accomplishments in more than just medical and scientific fields, but any huge progressive movement within the world.

Vidic claims that Abstergo is responsible for every scientific accomplishment for the last 1000 years, saying Abstergo chooses who gets credit for the accomplishments very carefully. Later, while being held at the laboratory, Desmond figures out that Abstergo is the modern-day embodiment of the Knights Templar. Also, in the e-mail in the conference room Alan Rikkin writes to Vidic: "May The Father of Understanding guide you to success". When Desmond asked who created the technology, Dr. Vidic mysteriously replies with "Those Who Came Before".

Abstergo has also been hunting the last of the Assassins left in the world, hoping to end their enemy's way of life, thus eliminating any chance of failure. If the player manages to access Warren Vidic's emails, they can read about the Tunguska meteor incident was in reality, a modern-day Assassin raid on an Abstergo Industries base in Russia. The email also discusses the Philadelphia Incident, in which the USS Eldridge (which was stationed in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard) was allegedly rendered invisible for several seconds, and sent forward in time. Experiments with the artifact related to this incident were halted, with Abstergo citing concern about Paradoxes. Mitchell-Hedge's communicators are also mentioned, an abstract reference to the 13 Incan Crystal Skulls, supposedly discovered by the gentleman adventurer of the same name in the 1920's. New Age theorists state that the Crystal Skulls enable telepathy between their wielders, and therefore, the term communicators implies that Abstergo either:

• has these skulls.
• is able to communicate using them.
• This communication is undetectable by any Modern-day Assassins.

Through the e-mails we learn that Abstergo is being investigated for something called "New Fluoride", which they tested on an isolated community, were caught, and are currently being investigated for. This is the reason behind the Dec 21/2012 launch of their orbital platform, as afterword they risk being immobilized by having their assets frozen. The 21/12/2012 launch is also significant as it marks the end of the Mayan Long Count, 12th baktun cycle, (and the date set by many to be the end of the world) which is referenced with the 13.0.0.0 in eagle vision, as well as the Arabic word for 'Earthquake' or 'The Earthquake', as well as the Hebrew words for 'Next World' when Desmond investigates the rooms he is in, with his eagle vision.

Lucy also mentions the DIA Satellite Accident to Desmond after Desmond hears her telling Vidic on the phone: "We're Denver"". She explains that an accident happend in Abstergo's underground facility under the Denver International Airport (DIA) and a Piece of Eden was possibly destroyed and that at least twenty people died. In the e-mails in which Lucy talked to the Assassins she said that this is the possible site of launch for Abstergo's satellite.

Products

It is stated by Lucy that they produce anti-depressants. Vidic also mentioned that Abstergo invents everything to enhance everyday life. Aside from that Henry Ford is a Templar as stated by the glyphs left by Subject 16 meaning that they can be credited to the invention of the assembly line, Thomas Edison was also a Templar, which means that it was Abstergo who are to be credited as well for the presence of lightbulbs. Further still, Adolf Hitler was a Templar, and was given a Piece of Eden to ensure World War II occured, perhaps implying the invention of modern rocketry and the medical advances gained by experimentation on captives during World War II could have come from the Templars themselves. On the allied side, the Atomic Bomb was directly linked to Abstergo, with "O"[ppenheimer] being given the go ahead by an unnamed member of Abstergo. Other inventions and advances where probably Templar products, including radar, the jet engine, and electronic programmable computers.

Known employees

File:Abstergoppl.png

Some employees at Abstergo

Current employees

• Alan Rikkin - C.E.O. at Abstergo.
• Warren Vidic - Head of Research for Genetic memory and the Animus project.
• Nancy Nilop - Unknown position, possibly Leila's (former) boss.
• Jane Birkam - Unknown position, friend of Warren Vidic.
• Audrey Jacobs - Alan Rikkin's assistant.
• Richard - One of the three men that threatened Lucy Stillman to kill her, but Vidic stopped them.

Former employees

• Thomas Edison (deceased)
• Henry Ford (deceased)
• Lucy Stillman
• Leila Marino (deceased)

Trivia

• Abstergo is also a Latin verb, meaning "to cleanse".
• At the beginning of Assassin's Creed II, as you're leaving the animus room with Lucy Stillman, if you look through the windows there you can see a few benches similar to the ones Ezio and Altaïr use to hide from guards along with a grass floor, and no roof which is odd for such a futuristic looking building having a room like that.
• In the truth file: Apollo when searching for the Piece of Eden, the America flag when scanned shows the Abstergo logo suggesting that Abstergo Industries was behind the moon landings. It is also likely since in the Assassin's Creed Universe NASA is said to be a Templar organization.
• In The Vault, at the end of Assassin's Creed II, as Minerva speaks of those who will "stand in [Desmond's] way" the Abstergo logo can be seen on the screen to Minerva's left.
• In the concept art for The Vault, what looks like the Abstergo logo can be seen on the floor of the circular room Ezio fights Rodrigo in.
• Abstergo logo is similar to the Avery logo usually found on binders and bider papers.