Database: Whiteroom
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He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. This article contains spoilers, meaning it has information and facts concerning Animus Hub. If you do not want to know about these events, it is recommended to read on with caution, or not at all. |
+++DARKANIMUS_DATAINTERCEPT:
"timestamp": "2096-12-12T08:45"
"intercept_type": "Abstergo Internal Report"
+++DECRYPTING
Because the bodycam is worn just above the left breast, Ospanov first shows up in the footage as a crumpled heap obscured in the lower third of the vid capture.
Now the cam lowers. The Watcher has bent down, squatting to the restroom floor to be at Ospanov's eye level. Ospanov, curled up against the stalls, is whimpering.
A2: And here I thought you'd have more to say. 'You'll never win', was what I imagined. Or, 'Abstergo will kill you all'.
Ospanov: Who… who are you? What's going on out there?
A pause in the transcription, as if the Watcher is surprised. Disappointed, perhaps. This close to the optic feed, the age lines on Ospanov's face are clear, curling his cheeks into a sallow divot. His shirt, too big for his shoulders, has come untucked at the belly, revealing the pinprick scars of a long-term diabetic. He doesn't look the part of a Director. He looks frail. Frightened.
A2: You were a founding member of Project Mnemosyne.
Ospanov's eyes widen.
Ospanov: Is that what this is about?
A3 steps into frame, beckoned over by A2. She applies pressure with her boot onto Ospanov's shattered ankle. He shrieks.
A2: We ask the questions, Director. You answer them.
Ospanov: I—I don't have anything to do with Mnemosyne anymore. I'm not with Abstergo. I haven't been for fifteen years!
Hesitation. Mucus is dribbling down Ospanov's left nostril as he gasps for air.
A2: Explain.
Ospanov: Project Mnemosyne no longer exists. After you attacked the servers, Abstergo saw it as a risk. A vulnerability. They shut down the whole department and laid me off. I haven't found work since.
Biodata attached to the footage shows the Watcher's heart rate rising.
A2: Give me names, then. Who took your place? Who strategized the rollout of Animus EGO across six whole continents? Who gave Ego the command to kill the Guide?
Ospanov: I don't… I don't know who those are. Listen, Abstergo killed the entire project long ago. Whatever's happening with the Animus, it's not me. I don't even think it's them. Please.
A4 rests a hand on A2's shoulder, gesturing towards Ospanov. His sobs are wracking his small body, his chest cavity heaving and hollowing with each breath. A4 cocks his chin, as if to say look at him. What does he have to gain from lying? Or, perhaps, hurry up and do what we came all this way to do.
A2: Aed, did you get all of that?
Aed: Yes. There's much to discuss. Complete the assignment and return, quickly.
A2 and A4 take up positions to either side of Ospanov, holding him down. The feed shows Ospanov's eyes glazing over, his lower lip quivering. There is a possibility that, at this point, he has already prepared for what he knows is coming. More likely, however, he's simply paralysed by fear. A rabbit in the headlights. A deer before hounds. The bodycam pans. A2 places his palm over Ospanov's chest.
A3: This is taking too long.
A4: Ok, now say the damn thing and be done with it.
An audible click is heard from off-camera. A2 removes his palm, wicking the blood from his wrist. A3 takes a small blood sample. A4 stands by the door, mapping an exit route.
Arlan Ospanov, ex-Abstergo, whose one-time brilliance on Project Mnemosyne is still logged within the employee database, bleeds out on the bathroom floor.
A2: Requiescat in Pace.
The footage cuts off abruptly here. This, presumably, is when Sigma Team detonated breaching charges, and neutralized hostiles. A2 was shot twelve times. Two rounds glanced off the bodycam aperture, necessitating transcription of recovered footage which you are now receiving.
Footage transcription confirms two things: first, that the Watchers were able to plan and execute a complex operation capable of reaching one of our own. Granted, Ospanov was on ice and had no access to even Level 1 files, but he was still on the pension scheme.
Second, the Watchers now know that the AI is still outside of our control. What they will do with this information remains to be seen, but I would recommend escalating this immediately to Zone Chief of Staff Lothian.