Animus EGO user

I wanted to ask you something. Which is... what's your name? This article title is conjecture. Although the article subject is canon, no official name for it has been given.

A user of the Animus EGO purchased the system from Abstergo Entertainment and began a session reliving the memories of the samurai Yasuke and the kunoichi Fujibayashi Naoe during the Sengoku period in Japan. Their session would be occasionally remotely accessed by a digital constructed Guide, who told them the truth hidden within the memories. The Guide would later refer to the user as Traveler.

Biography

Booting up their Animus EGO for the first time, the user was privy to an introductory video clip. However, midway through it, a hacker hijacked the signal and told the user that they were being lied to. After the program resumed for a while, the hacker's voice returned, stating that they would be in touch; all the user had to do was follow the trail. Then, the Guide appeared and selected some of Naoe and Yasuke's early memories to relive before the user's main session began.

After some time in the Animus EGO, the Guide made contact with the user again. They were surprised that the user still was not impacted by the Bleeding Effect, cryptically stating an unknown entity would claim the user's mind for their own once the user began exhibiting symptoms. Bidding the user farewell, the Guide urged them to keep searching the memories and to continue resisting.

When the user relived Naoe's discovery of the Tomb of the Ancients and claiming of her mother's set of Assassin apprentice armor, the Guide appeared to them once again. Noting something different about the user, the Guide shared backstory within the Memory Corridor about the former Spanish Assassin Alvaro Catarribera and Naoe's mother Tsuyu founding the original Kakushiba ikki. The Guide also later revealed the Portuguese Templars Nuno Caro and Duarte de Melo's motivations for their being in Japan. However, this extra information came with a cost, as the Guide revealed that the user's continued mental incapability with Ego and resistance to the Bleeding Effect meant that the artificial intelligence would double efforts to pursue them.

After fully synchronizing with Naoe's memories by reliving events surrounding the Shinbakufu's disestablishment as well as supplementary memories, the Guide contacted the user again. After collecting data fragments, the user was pulled out of the simulation and into the Memory Corridor, where they were met with apparitions of both Ego and the Guide. The two artificial intelligences argued over morality and free will, with Ego antagonizing the Guide. The Guide then stated that neither of them would control the user's fate, and the user was returned to their Animus session.

Some time later, the Guide contacted the user to free one of their fellow AI from Ego's imprisonment. Entering a seperate simulation through a rift, the user was able to use to forms of both Yasuke and Naoe to progress. Making their way to the Guide's friend, they were confronted with a Sentinel of Ego's creation which had to be defeated in order to free the captive AI. The Guide then told the user that they themself was still held captive by Ego, but bestowed the epithet "Traveler" to the user before ending the simulation.

Personality and traits

As noted by the Guide, the user had a strong will as they were able to heavily resist the pull of the Bleeding Effect common in most other instances of over-exposure to the Animus. The Guide also noticed a strong desire to see things through to the end from the user, something they felt was admirable.

Behind the scenes

The unnamed Animus user, like previous unseen protagonists in the series such as "Noob", "Numbskull", and the Helix Initiate, is meant to be a representation of the player themselves using the Animus Hub to access Assassin's Creed: Shadows and all future titles in the server.

Appearances

• Animus Hub