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Samuel Adams (1722 – 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a member of the Patriot group the Sons of Liberty before the American Revolution. He was also an ally of the Colonial Assassins, particularly Connor during the early years of his life with the Order.
Biography
Early life
Adams was the son of the merchant Samuel Adams, Sr., and was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Adams, Jr. graduated from Harvard University in 1740, but was unable to go into business for himself and took a job in the family malthouse.[1]
Following the French and Indian War, Adams was elected to the Massachusetts Legislature in 1765, arguing for the rights of the colonists over issues of taxation by the British Parliament. He disliked some of the more violent tactics of the Patriots, though he expressed approval of a mob that forced Boston's stamp collector to resign during protests against the stamp tax.[1]
Adams married twice. During his second wedding to Elizabeth Wells, he was given a slave, Surry, as a present, which horrified him. He accepted her on condition that she be freed, and Surry stayed as a servant at the Adams household for nearly fifty years.[1]
Boston Massacre
- "Over here! You're Achilles' boy. Connor, was it? I saw what happened at the Town House. A fine mess, that."
- ―Samuel Adams to Connor after the massacre.[src]
In 1770, the Assassin Mentor Achilles Davenport asked Adams to help his apprentice Connor after he had been framed for causing the Boston Massacre. Samuel taught Connor how to reduce his notoriety, waving away the boy's worries by explaining propaganda, and also introduced him to the Freemasons' tunnels underneath Boston, before chartering Connor a ship back to the Davenport Homestead.[2] After the massacre, Adams succeeded in campaigning for the removal of the Regulars as the city's guards.[1]
Boston Tea Party
- "First, we make our way to Nathaniel Bradlee's house to fetch the rest of our little group. Then it's on to Griffin's Wharf, where we board the ships and dump the tea. Simple as that."
- ―Samuel Adams explaining his plan to Connor.[src]
Three years later, Connor returned to Boston to request Adams' aid in stopping William Johnson, a Templar, from purchasing the land his people lived on. However, he became sidetracked by a number of incidents relating to British oppression, while Adams went to debate at the Old South Meeting House.[2]
Upon meeting with the exasperated Assassin, Adams explained their plan; by destroying the newly arrived tea shipment, he'd be depriving Johnson of the means to purchase his people's land while the Sons of Liberty would be sending a message to England. Together, Adams, along with Connor, Stephane Chapheau, Paul Revere and William Molineux staged the Boston Tea Party, in which they dumped the cargo of tea crates into the water.[2]
Igniting the Revolution
- "Connor, allow me to introduce you to our newly appointed Commander-in-Chief, George Washington."
- ―Samuel Adams introducing Connor to George Washington.[src]
Adams was infamous enough that he had to leave Boston for the town of Lexington in 1775 - to avoid arrest by the British who considered him a troublemaker.[1] The British major Jonathan Pitcairn was ordered to arrest them and to seize Patriot weapons supplies near Boston: Connor became involved as Pitcairn was a Templar. He and Revere rode to warn citizens of Pitcairn's advance and eventually met Adams and John Hancock in Lexington. Connor informed them of his belief that Pitcairn intended to kill them, and they left before the assault on the town.[2] When the Siege of Boston commenced, the Massachusetts Governor offered to pardon any rebels who would lay down their arms - except Adams and Hancock.[1]
Two months later, both Adams and Connor attended the induction of George Washington as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army in Philadelphia. While there, Connor nearly caused a scene with Charles Lee, who was passed up for the Commander-in-Chief position, before Adams restrained him and distracted the Assassin by formally introducing him to Washington. As Washington excused himself to attend to Lee, Connor asked Adams if he had news of Jonathan Pitcairn, who was planning on destroying Patriot weapons and supplies so that they would have no means to continue their revolution.[2]
Adams replied that Pitcairn had barricaded himself in Boston with his army, but that the Continental Army was planning a siege to draw him out. Samuel then passed Connor a letter to give to Israel Putnam to secure his aid. Though Connor also wanted to assassinate Lee, Adams said they'd have to wait for another opportunity. After finding and assassinating Pitcairn, Connor learned he had only wanted to arrest and negotiate with Adams and Hancock.[2]
Adams signed the Declaration of Independence the following year with Connor, Hancock and Benjamin Franklin. Adams also thanked Connor for preventing Thomas Hickey's assassination attempt on Washington.[2]
Alternate timeline
In an alternate timeline where George Washington crowned himself king of the United States with the Apple of Eden, Adams led the rebellion in Boston.[3]
Legacy
Despite his role in the Revolution, the Samuel Adams brand of beer, named in honor of his job as a maltser, may be the only reason most Americans have even heard of him.[1]
Personality and characteristics
Like Achilles, Adams was a mentor to Connor who taught him to compromise politically, having been an idealistic youth as well.[2]
While Adams was against slavery, he did not force the issue as he did not want to cause division in the colonies.[1] He opined that once the colonists were free of British tyranny, he could turn his attention to the slaves. Connor questioned freeing people in turns, but Adams warned against trying to solve all the problem's at once.[2]
References
- Economic system revamp (contrast 15th banking with 18th century trading)
- Ships (to complement guards)
- Swimming (to complement freerunning)
- Bribery (merge Heralds and Town criers?)
- Smuggling?
Calculations
The First Civilization's mathematical studies made them proficient in the studies of alternate timelines.
- The Apple of Eden showed Ratonhnhaké:ton that if his mother Kaniehtí:io had never died, then he would not have been around to confiscate it from George Washington and prevent him from being corrupted by its power.
- Juno showed Desmond Miles what would happen if Lucy Stillman had lived: Abstergo would have arrived to claim Ezio's Apple of Eden, and then failed to prevent the cataclysm after placing it in the Eye-Abstergo satellite.
- She later showed Desmond that if he did not release her from the Grand Temple, then the cataclysm would have destroyed humanity, and he would have led the survivors in a restart of civilization. Long after his death, history would have repeated itself, as Desmond would have been worshipped as a god, and his teachings used to justify mass murder.
Moral ambiguity
- "What follows are the three great ironies of the Assassin Order: (1) Here we seek to promote peace, but murder is our means. (2) Here we seek to open the minds of men, but require obedience to a master and set of rules. (3) Here we seek to reveal the danger of blind faith, yet we are practitioners ourselves."
- ―Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's Codex[src]
Despite their relative benevolence to the majority of Templar activities, many Assassins expressed discomfort with their Order. When Desmond Miles was rescued by the Assassins, he assumed they were the "good guys", but Shaun Hastings advised him to "not get carried away", reminding him their function was to kill people. Rebecca Crane acknowledged "it's not ideal. And taking a life is never easy. But sometimes there's no other way. Sometimes, Desmond, people have to die for things to change."[1] Desmond's ancestor Connor tried to avoid killing William Johnson, and when he had to, he told his Mentor Achilles that "I thought it might bring clarity. Or instill a sense of accomplishment. But all I feel is regret." Achilles comforted him, explaining to "hold fast to that. Such sacrifices must never come lightly."[2]
Both Desmond and Lucy Stillman fell out with their leader William Miles: his cold demeanour and the harsh training he put them through since childhood led Desmond to regard his father as a "[prison] warden" rather than a father.[3] Lucy defected to the Templars after being sent to infiltrate them, telling Clay Kaczmarek that William was "using" them and claimed "he doesn't think about the lives he's hurting. We aren't people to him."[4]
Nikolai Orelov served the Order to please his father, with whom he had a negative relationship. When he left, he felt "I began as a crusader for change and now I am no better than a common grave-robber."[5] When the Assassins in the FBI began holding his family hostage to make him give up his secrets, he opined to his son Innokenti "These are not honourable men, Kenya. They are killers. They live by old laws which apply only to them and then call themselves heroes." However, Orelov was also brutal towards his son when training him to fight the Assassins. Viewing these events via his genetic memory, Orelov's great-grandson Daniel Cross deemed the Assassins "a family of wolves, opportunistic, savage. They'll turn on each other at a moment's notice: they're anarchists. And anarchy can never lead to a unified world."[6]
Connor expressed disdain for the Assassins' secrecy, an opinion shared centuries earlier by some Assassins under Altaïr's leadership, who disagreed with him taking the Order back underground. Altaïr wrote "They grow angry, insisting it is a mistake to shroud ourselves. They say it slows our work. But they do not understand the risks. To expose ourselves now would be too dangerous. I fear we would be branded madmen and attacked."[1]
The Assassins also allied with dubious figures such as members of the House of Medici or Vladimir Lenin, or would spare the likes of Tomas de Torquemada, simply because they were not Templars. Vali cel Tradat left the Assassins before the Templars because they did not try to stop the Ottoman Empire's conquest of his native Wallachia.[7]