Piece of Eden

The Piece of Eden is one of several ancient objects left by Those Who Have Come Before, possessing different effects, able to bend people to the will of the user. One of the greatest weapons known to man, it is capable of ending wars and (provided it is used correctly) ushering in a forced peace.

It is believed by Abstergo and the Templars that the Piece of Eden, along with other artifacts like it, was the effector behind such miracles as the Parting of the Red Sea, the success of the Trojan Horse, the miracles surrounding 'the Christ-figure' and the plagues of Egypt, among other things.

Apart from its power to force almost anyone into serving the possessor, its greatest power is that it essentially disproves God. The Templar Order and the Assassins already committed themselves to exposing religion as false, and the Piece of Eden is perfectly suited to this purpose.

Incidentally, each one also contains a holographic map of the earth that shows the location of all the other Artifacts. The Piece of Eden, the Masyaf Piece, was destroyed during its experimental use by Abstergo at Denver International Airport. Using Altair's memory of events, however, the map showed the locations of the others.

After Altaïr took control of the Assassins their new goal became to hunt down and destroy the last of the templars and the pieces of Eden.

Free Will & Temptation

In the cut-out scene at Masyaf, after Altaïr assassinates his sixth target, Al Mualim makes some statements about the Piece of Eden other than those mentioned above. Altaïr asks Al Mualim, "What is it?" The answer is, "It is Temptation! It is what drove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden." It other words, it was what was called "the apple" from the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil - the one The Serpent offered to Eve. What he was offering her was the free will to make her decisions based upon knowledge rather than blind obedience. Free Will, which Altaïr champions repeatedly - to the end, is this Temptation.

Its hypnotic effect has no affect on Altaïr. Why?

The "success of the Trojan Horse" - while implied - is not what is said. Al Mualim names the goddess Eris specifically as being responsible for the Trojan War. Eris is the goddess of Dis-Order and Chaos. Order is a highly valued principle throughout the game, as well as within our societies. We are shown throughout the game to what lengths men of power will go to maintain and hold onto that power through Order - an order that is imposed by them at any means or cost. The people are merely pawns in their games.

They are games of control and manipulation, through promises of a better life...one that does not come until death. One cannot achieve this unless one is obedient to the laws and lives them to the letter. To take on the temptation of Free Will and accept responsibility for ones self and whatever one does or says is to step outside these carefully laid boundaries of behavior. If too many people do this, then order ceases to exist. It is why books have repeatedly been burned throughout history; why scholars and intellectuals have been persecuted. They may know too much and "their words infect others" - as Madj Addin says. Several times through the game things are said that indicate the belief that mankind is incapable of doing this without crime and violence erupting in its wake. The "lies" told in the books that Jubair would burn speak of things like free will and other knowledge that would reveal the lies they are telling to be untrue. Altaïr is described as being "arrogant" and "a traitor" - like a certain angel who rebelled against the laws of Heaven...for Altaïr believes that people should have the free will to decide their own destinies. He exhibits free will at the beginning, claiming his way is the "right way" and he knows better than Malik or Kadar. During the final cut-out scene with Al Mualim, Free Will and Illusion are mentioned extensively.

Being a 'sandbox game' gives you the illusion of free will. Some reviewers have bemoaned the fact that it is not an open-ended game, but an open-ended game would not have been appropriate to the story.

A map of many "Pieces of Eden"

Resistance

In an e-mail at Abstergo it is revealed that the organization are worried that the pieces of Eden are not all that is needed to achieve their goal. It is mentioned that some people may be resistant to the mind control effect and that other "Artifacts" must be found to ensure no one is left to cause trouble in the Templar's planned "New world". The only person so far to show a resistance against the pieces of Eden is Altaïr. This is shown when Al Mualim shows him the treasure but Altaïr simply says that to him it is just a piece of silver and does not understand how Al Mualim can believe it to be pure temptation as he describes. This response suprises Al Mualim who later reveals that he had shown the piece of Eden to Altaïr in an attempt to hypnotize him, but had for some reason he could not. However, even though Altaïr is resistant against the hypnotisim the piece of Eden can still do some things to him such as: immobilizing him, causing him to hallucinate and clouding his mind, this can be observed during the final battle. There is a high potential that Altaïr passed on this gift to Desmond Miles and his other descendants.