User:Soranin/Sandbox4

Animus Training Program - Quickstart

Intro

The year is 2016.

The Assassin Brotherhood has been waging a secret war against their sworn enemy, the Templar Order, for thousands of years. The Templars aim to create a perfect society ruled by order and discipline, a goal that is in direct opposition to the ideals of the Brotherhood, which strive to defend the free will of humankind.

Central in the conflict between the Assassins and the Templars are the Pieces of Eden — extremely rare and powerful technological artifacts created by an advanced precursor civilization. It is believed that such artifacts could contain extensive knowledge or be used as weapons. Although the fight for their possession continues to this day, the Templars have been successful in collecting many of them.

A chance for the Brotherhood to regain lost ground in the war is the Animus device, a technology stolen from the Templars allowing for the exploration of memories encoded in human DNA. Using the Animus, the Assassin Brotherhood has a chance to locate other Pieces of Eden and deny the Templars from acquiring them first.

This is why the last to join this conflict are the modern day descendants of Brotherhood members who fought this covert war over the centuries. By entering the Animus, they can explore the memories of their ancestors, acquire information concerning the Pieces of Eden, and gain unique skills that would normally take years to master. It is only by doing so that the Assassin Brotherhood may gain an edge and turn the tide against their enemies.

Live thousands of lives, find the Pieces of Eden, choose your destiny.

FILE_01: <Pawns in a Secret War>

The alarm neutralized and the lock picked, Inez opened the door to the warehouse. She'd taken off her leather jacket, covered in pins and chains and other things that might jangle the lone security guard awake. Maybe this score would get her off her friend's couch. The crates were piled high to the ceiling, lost in bright fluorescence, stacked like a very neat child's building blocks. She took the small flashlight out of her pocket and recited the aisle and tier where the box she was supposed to take sat. This was a rental facility, or so she was told, and light on security. Turned out to be anything but. She'd scaled the shelf to the fifth tier, about twenty feet up, her shoes gripping the shelf below. She found the box. It looked like a pen case but small, which was good because Inez wasn't big. In her head, she hummed a punk tune from the night before and for a moment, reconsidered how much she'd drank as her stomach turned while looking back down. Also, there were two men walking down the aisle between the shelves. They hadn't seen her yet, but she could tell they weren't rent-a-cops. It was the submachine guns that gave it away.

This is what she got for taking a job proffered at a party in Wicker Park. Way too artsy a crowd for her. She held her breath, tried very hard not to swear, and waited for the men to pass. When they did, she cat-climbed down to the concrete floor, crept around the end of the aisle, and saw them in front of the door she'd opened. The door she hadn't closed all the way because... hangover. About 400 pounds of muscles nullified that exit. She'd have to find another way out.

The skylight it was. The panels were open and she'd considered going in through the roof anyway. So, hell, why not? Worst that could happen is she falls, gets caught, and spends more time in jail, right?

She made it to the skylight and was levering open one of the panels when the first bullet starred the glass in front of her. No more being careful, she hauled her ass through the window, sneakers finding traction on the roof and bolted for the fire escape… which, of course, had another slab of guard meat coming up it just then. This was some serious security. The man fired at her, spent brass moving in seeming slow-mo as the muzzle flashed. But Inez had run to the edge by then, said screw it, and jumped to the next roof, which she was not at all sure she'd make it to until she landed. From there, she ran off the edge of that roof and caught a light pole down to the street. Before she had time to pat herself on the back, there was another of the guards with a gun right in her face.

“You Descendants think you're untouchable. The Templars think otherwise.” He was about to pull the trigger. Then, she was covered in blood. Someone had stepped around the edge of an alley with a silenced pistol. He wore black, nondescript clothes and was maybe a few years older than Inez. Automatic fire raked the alley behind him as he fired at the guard coming down the fire escape. Inez turned, some instinct telling her that the other guards were outside by now and, sure enough, two positioned themselves behind the loading dock and took a bead on her would-be rescuer. He saw one in time to pop him, but the other, well, Inez hadn't fired a gun since one of her mom's interchangeable boyfriends taught her, but she had a knack and put two rounds into the other guard's chest. Then, she dropped the gun, screamed, and started shaking. She didn't make it far out of the alley, or the street, beyond before her rescuer pulled her down. Everything moved as if through a world of transparent syrup.

She watched her hand open a car door, getting in the passenger side. The guy gunned the already humming engine. He turned to her, face awash in the street's wet neon refracted through beaded rain on the windshield and said, “You ever consider more steady work?” That's when she finally breathed again then said, “What the hell is a Templar?”

CONFIDENTIAL: RESTRICTED ACCESS To be continued, in the full release “Assassin's Creed - Animus Handbook

Page 24

Abstergo Ent [Brahman version 2.00.3145]
<F> Copyright 1985-2016 Abstergo Corp.
F:\CLOUD
cloud> open cloud.br-london.co.uk
Connected to br-london.co.uk
220 psiweb1 Abstergo CLOUD Service «Version 1.2>
User < br-london.co.uk; «none>>; anonymous 214 Anonymous access allowed, send identity <e-mail name> as
Password:
370-Welcome to Abstergo Cloud site. 370-Please change to the correct directory for your country
cloud> ed oh 250 CWD command successful.
cloud> put c: temp \test.txt
200 PORT command successful. 150 Opening ASCII mode data connection Testixt. cloud: 23 bytes sent in 0.01 Seconds 2.30 Kbytes/sec.
cloud> transferring...
Abstergo link confirmed.
Cloud sync confirmed.
Upload in progress.
Do not disconnect...

Setting Overview

<opening cloud.ai-corp.ca> <uploading data from the Abstergo Corp database>
<please wait...>
<Reading the loaded SD card> </Installing AsBr16_patch.>
<With the database you are about to open, you will learn all you need to know about the modern-day world and its ancient roots:>
</the Assassin Brotherhood>
</the Templar Order and the Abstergo Industries>
</the Precursor Civilization and the Animus technology>
</Warning: this database presents only a portion of the Assassin's Creed RPG setting. The complete game world lore and setting are included in the product's full release: Assassin's Creed - Animus Handbook.>
<synchronizing...>

THE ASSASSIN BROTHERHOOD

"To say that everything is permitted is to understand that we are the architects of our actions and that we must live with their consequences, whether glorious or tragic."

―Ezio Auditore

The Assassins are an ancient worldwide secret organization dedicated to preserving mankind's freedom of choice. They believe that only free will can ensure the betterment of humanity, as it allows for the birth of new ideas and innovations through trial and error.

To reach their lofty goal, they stand up for the oppressed, eliminating in secrecy any tyrant and dictator threatening the freedom of the people. This ideology and modus operandi set them in direct opposition with a powerful mirror organization throughout their long history — the Templars, who believe that the only way to ensure the survival of humanity is to save it from itself, removing free will.

The Brotherhood's ideals were born in ancient times, supposedly in Greece. Their first incarnation — the Hidden Ones — was established in Egypt at the end of the Ptolemaic Kingdom.

MODERN DAY BROTHERHOOD

"The Templars might have deeper pockets than us, but they've got no ambition, no passion, no competitive edge! That's why, even with all their resources, anything they can do, I can do better. Faster, too."

―Rebecca Crane

The modern day Brotherhood is organized into small cells of Assassins, usually located in major cities or strategic sites, but also in isolated compounds outside urban centers with more substantial Templar presence. In general, modern cells function differently than the guilds of the past and can be described as solitary units of freedom fighters training and living off the grid.

ASSASSIN TRAINING

Becoming an Assassin requires rigorous training. A vital part of an apprentice coaching is learning to observe a situation in great detail, as being well informed means being able to make the best possible decision. This is more than just watching — it means taking note of the context of a situation, absorbing as many details as possible, and collecting information via espionage.

Once the action starts, stealth and concealment are among an Assassin’s greatest assets. Being able to reach a target furtively, deal with it quickly and efficiently, then slip away without anyone noticing is fundamental. Trainees practice the art of “hiding in plain sight” extensively, learning how to blend in a crowd, to move away or disappear completely.

Trainees are also taught to take advantage of shadows and find alternate ways to reach their destination. ‘Freerunning’ is their main asset here — an acrobatic form of movement that involves navigating fluidly across an urban or natural landscape, it involves climbing vertical surfaces such as walls, leaping horizontally or vertically, diving, vaulting, swinging from handholds, dropping, and rolling. While equipment is not required, various gear has been developed over the years to enhance an Assassin’s ability. Tools such as hooked blades, whips, and the grappling hook/rope launcher extension to the Assassin’s gauntlet have all been used by various Assassins to aid in their freerunning.

Finally, all apprentices undergo extensive weapons and combat training, specifically with blades. Other than the Hidden Blade, the Assassins make use of what they excel at. Unfortunately, the clandestine nature of the Brotherhood makes it difficult to instruct all trainees in the same way. Many initiates must learn what they can from fellow Assassin crew members and cell mentors, and often must do it in do-or-die circumstances.

Not all Assassins are trained to be fighters, although they all share a basic level of competence in self-defense. Initiates are often encouraged to develop their interests into strong points for the Brotherhood, for the more diverse and complementary the knowledge and specialization of the trainees, the more a group of Assassins will be helpful to the cause. Engineering, medicine, history, sleight of hand, computer hacking, or combat, everything might serve the cause at the right moment.

The Doctrine

"You cannot know anything. Only suspect. You must expect to be wrong, to have overlooked something."

―Malik Al-Sayf

To help the Assassins put their philosophy into practice the Brotherhood developed a protocol, maintained by three simple rules — the Three Tenets.

I. Stay your blade from the flesh of the innocent

Your goal is to ensure peace in all things. The Brotherhood believes that by assassinating evildoers and corrupted ones they will ultimately bring peace, freedom, and security to the people. Killing innocents could stir anger and dissent among those who they are supposed to save and protect.

"There is freedom, and there is the life of innocents. Both must be balanced on the scale."

―Bayek of Siwa

II. Hide in plain sight

You must be unseen. Assassins must get close to their targets stealthily and be gone as quickly as possible in order to perform awe-inspiring killings when in public.

"Let the people mask you such that you become one with the crowd."

―Al Mualim

III. Never compromise the Brotherhood

Your actions must never bring harm to all. Should an Assassin fail in their duty and be captured or tracked down, they must avoid giving away anything that could tie them back to the Brotherhood or bring harm to any of its members.

"Its meaning should be obvious. Your actions must never bring harm upon us — direct or indirect!"

―Al Mualim chastising Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad, 1191 CE

The Three Tenets appear simple, but in fact they present all Assassins with a complex and challenging set of ethical puzzles when they are applied to the usual methods employed by the Brotherhood.

The Templar Order

"The people never have the power. Only the illusion of it. And here’s the real secret: they don’t want it. The responsibility is too great to bear. It’s why they’re so quick to fall in line as soon as someone takes charge. They want to be told what to do. They yearn for it. Little wonder, that, since all mankind was built to serve."

―Haytham Kenway

The Templar Order seeks the creation of a perfect society by imposing a rigid structure upon the world. Discipline and authority form the cornerstone of their strategy, positioning them in direct contrast with the approach of the Assassin Brotherhood. They consider free will and unbridled evolution to be detrimental and firmly believe that the world can achieve stability and peace only through their enlightened guidance.

In practical terms, the Templars support the centralized leadership of the authoritarian governments of the world, taking action to shape and control society as needed and exploiting revolts and revolutions to their advantage, like puppeteers behind a curtain.

Their ideology centers around the idea that only structure and order will allow humankind to transcend its more primitive tendencies, and that free will and autonomy leads to a chaotic, unharmonious society. Essentially, the unwashed masses cannot be trusted to govern themselves. Paradoxically, the Templars are ultimately in pursuit of peace, just like the Assassins. It is their means of achieving that goal which differ.

The Templar Order has existed under one form or another for millennia. Little is known about its history before the 5th century BCE, but archeological data seem to indicate that it rose to power in Persia, Egypt, and beyond as a secret society. Initially known to initiates as the Order of the Ancients, they started to operate openly in the Middle Ages, when the Order of the Knights Templar was recognized officially during the Council of Troyes in 1129 CE. By the end of the 13th century, the Order had been greatly weakened by the Assassin Brotherhood and their allies, until they were forced to return to anonymity after a public denunciation as heretics.

Diminished but not destroyed, the Templars continued to influence mankind from the shadows, manipulating history’s most influential figures. With their help, they would carry on their age-old quest, helping humanity to reach its full potential through technical and scientific development.

Modern Day Templars

At the dawn of the 20th century, the Templars felt that a new era was about to begin — a time where scientific progress would not only flourish, but also quite literally change the very fabric of society. In 1910, the Order’s leaders designed te Plan. Twenty-seven years later, a group of influential Templar industrialists founded Abstergo Industries, a multinational corporation that would become the public face of the Order.

For the second time in its millennia-old history, the Order was at least in some small way made public. The Templars, however, would not repeat the mistakes of the past. They determined that Abstergo would be used as a front, and take full advantage of the vast resources the company would provide, while the Templars would continue to operate behind the scene, never revealing their identity or real agenda.

Today, Abstergo Industries is one of the largest and most powerful corporations in the world.

Abstergo Industries

"We are committed to researching, developing, and providing high-quality products

that enrich, entertain, and shape the lives of our customers. We build programs that re-examine the past, improve the present, and define the future."

―Abstergo Industries Mission Statement

In the modern day, Abstergo Industries operates within several business sectors, including pharmaceuticals and communications. The company has been responsible for the majority of corporate research and development achievements of the Western world, greatly contributing to the technological and economic advancement of humankind.

Behind the scenes, Abstergo has developed a three-part, Templar-directed initiative that non-initiate Abstergo employees are not privy to: to destroy the Assassin Brotherhood, to acquire Precursor technology, and to establish a New World Order.

To accomplish this initiative, Abstergo has spent enormous capital, investing in foreign governments and funding important corporations, quietly strengthening its influence over the dissemination of knowledge and collecting resources and data.

The First Civilization

"They’re gifts, Mr. Miles. From those who came before."

―Dr. Warren Vidic on the Pieces of Eden, 2012

Little is known about the Isu, the Precursors, or Those Who Came Before, but their civilization spanned the entire planet before mankind even appeared. This ancient race, now extinct, was so advanced that modern day scientists — at least the few fortunate enough to have come across their technology — have not yet even begun to fathom the full extent of their function.

It is exactly the products of such technology that the Templar Order is bent on finding. In particular, they seek the artifacts known as the Pieces of Eden — incredibly complex devices that the Isu created to enforce obedience on humankind. In fact, while archeological evidence is scanty, all data gathered so far (mainly by the Templars) seem to indicate that the Precursors employed humans as slaves.

While the full and direct enslavement of humankind is not something the Templars desire, the fact that the function of most of the Pieces of Eden seems to be achieving the mental and physical control of human thoughts, emotions, and behavior, makes them an invaluable instrument towards achieving their goal of creating a society based on the choices of an enlightened few.

To find the Pieces of Eden, the Templar Order employs the Animus device developed by Abstergo Industries. By probing the past, the Templars are sure they will discover the whereabouts of these lost treasures one after the other.

Animus Technology

"Animus technology functions in much the same way a simulator/

projector does. Your consciousness will tap into the genetic coding in such a way that everything will appear to all your senses as three-di- mensional, putting you in the heart of the action. It’s adaptive, so as the memories unfold, the “program” you experience begins to change subtly. They will appear to you as glitches and let you explore a mem- ory much more closely"

―The Abstergo Entertainment Employee Handbook, 2014

The first Animus device was developed by Abstergo Industries between the seventies and eighties of the 20th century under the direction of Doctor Warren Vidic, one of the modern world’s greatest authorities on genetic memory. The revolutionary work of Doctor Vidic was inspired partially by Precursors’ technological findings, and aimed at creating an empirical way to analyze and investigate genetic memories employing virtual reality simulations.

In time, the Animus technology was refined into an accurate tool allowing its user to truly interface with history itself. As users improve their synchronization level within a simulation, the Animus allows them to delve deeper and deeper into genetic memories, unlocking secrets that would otherwise remain buried in the sands of time.

But the Order found other uses for Doctor Vidic’ breakthrough technology. The Templars first developed the Animi Training Program, an initiative employing the virtual experience simulator to train selected Abstergo employees to better confront members of the Assassin Brotherhood. Then, Abstergo started secretly collecting genetic memories from the unknowing public through the worldwide release of an Animus entertainment console capable of stealing data from the genetic memory of users and storing it for potential use.