Modern times
Modern Times refer to the time between the beginning of the 20th century and 2012, the year in which Desmond Miles begins to access the memories of his Assassin ancestors, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and Ezio Auditore da Firenze.
Description
The war between the Assassins and Templars still continues in secrecy. The Assassins have become largely diminished and have gone into hiding, while the Templars' influence has greatly expanded, controlling many puppet corporations such as Abstergo. Many historical events have been orchestrated by the Templars and Assassins, including the Tunguska explosion, the Manhattan Project, the Philadelphia Project and even World War II.
By 2012, Earth has already begun to decay. Reading Warren Vidic's e-mail reveals that a 'Second Plague' has struck Africa, leaving 96% of the population dead in a three month period, and the continent nearly uninhabited. Another e-mail states how illegal immigration into Mexico from the United States has become widespread. The motion-picture industry has collapsed, as the last film studio closed due to piracy, and the rising prominence of video games. The U.S. and E.U. are constructing jointly owned oil platforms in the Weddell Sea. 'Hurricane Season' has become a yearly occurrence, as hurricane duration, frequency, strength, and location have increased to the point where most coastal cities must live in constant fear of the fierce storms.
In September of 2012, Abstergo Industries was being investigated for manipulating a small town's water supply, in order to test a synthetic drug referred to as New Fluoride. This has pressured Abstergo to launch their Eye-Abstergo satellite – secretly a Piece of Eden-powered mind-control device – on December 21st, sooner than planned.
At the end of Assassin's Creed II, Minerva revealed that the Earth is going to experience a geomagnetic reversal in the near future, leading to a period where solar radiation could easily penetrate to the surface of the planet and cause severe catastrophe. It is possible that the Pieces of Eden will be used to thwart this disaster.
The present-day segments of Assassin's Creed are confirmed to take place in Italy, since writing in the Abstergo parking lot and hideout is in Italian, and Florentine-style buildings can be seen through the hideout's windows. Interestingly, although it is assumed that the Hideout and Abstergo Industries are in present-day Italy, most of the characters speak with an American accent.
To reinforce the idea of an Italian setting, after the events of Assassin's Creed II, Desmond, Lucy, Shaun and Rebecca take base in the Sanctuary under the Villa Auditore in the remnants of Monteriggioni.
Using the Animus 2.0 to relive Ezio's time in Rome, Desmond and his team of modern Assassins finally discovered the location of the Sixth Apple. To retrieve it and use it to find the Temples of Those Who Came Before, they traveled to the Colosseum Vault in Rome.
There they had unlocked the door to the secret room using the password they figured out at the villa Auditore. Desmond has reached for the apple, and the time stopped, as he couldn't move. Afterwards, Desmond was forced to stab Lucy, after that, the time got back to normal, and they both fell on the ground, with Desmond still holding the Piece of Eden, and Lucy bleeding...
Characters
Assassins
- Paul Bellamy
- Rebecca Crane
- Daniel Cross
- Shaun Hastings
- William M.
- Bill Miles
- Desmond Miles
- Hannah Mueller
- Nikolai Orelov
- Subject 15
- Subject 16
- Lucy Stillman
- Aleksandr Ulyanov
Templars
- Jane Birkam
- Thomas Edison
- Harvey Firestone
- Henry Ford
- William Greer
- Adolf Hitler
- Aubrey Jacobs
- Lyndon B. Johnson
- John Pierpont Morgan
- Nancy Nilop
- J. Robert Oppenheimer*
- Lee Harvey Oswald
- Grigori Rasputin
- Richard
- Alan Rikkin
- Joseph Stalin
- Warren Vidic
- Abraham Zapruder
Unknown
* = Debatable
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