THE FIRST CIVILIZATION
Those Who Came Before, also known as the First Civilization, were an ancient & advanced species on Earth who created the Pieces of Eden, as well as the human race itself. They were
a technologically advanced & powerful race, who seemed to possess precognitive abilities; either natural or technological. Unlike the human creations, who were created with only five
senses, members of the First Civilization possessed six; the sixth being "knowledge". With early humans unable to comprehend the First Civilization for what they truly were, they were
looked upon as gods.
The origins of the First Civilization are unclear; Minerva simply stated that they "came before". They were responsible for the creation of humanity, creating them in their own image to
be a docile workforce. While Minerva notes that they built humanity to survive, Juno asserts that they were not intended to be wise; thereby ensuring obedient & resilient cattle to suit
their needs.
Control of humanity was assured through use of the Pieces of Eden, which tapped into a neuro-transmitter located deep within the human brain. However, there were some humans born
without the neuro-transmitter, hypothesized by Subject 16 to be hybrids of the First Civilization & humans, & could subsequently live without being controlled through such means.
Eventually, despite humanity & the First Civilization living in peace for some time, war broke out between the two species. The war involved the theft of a Piece of Eden by Adam & Eve,
though how this related to the conflict is unclear. While Those Who Came Before were more technologically advanced & powerful, humanity had the advantage of numbers; most likely
outnumbering their creators by the millions, far too much for the Pieces of Eden to effectively handle.
The war did eventually end, although with casualties greater than the First Civilization could have ever anticipated. The distraction of war had blinded them to all else, & their preoccupation
prevented them from seeing the signs of an impending danger from the "heavens". By the time they had noticed it, it was too late. Shaun Hastings & Lucy Stillman later hypothesized
that this danger could have been a massive solar flare that flipped the Earth's weakening magnetic field, reversing the polarity & makingthe planet geologically unstable.
While both races survived the catastrophe, few of either species remained. Working together, they rebuilt their world, though humanity continued to view Minerva's kind as gods. Despite
their survival, Those Who Came Before were unable to fully recover & began heading toward extinction. They knew however, that the catastrophe that had burned their world before would
eventually reoccur & so they took steps to prevent it, recording a holographic, yet interactive, message to serve as a warning to those who entered the Vault. In it, Minerva warned of the
impending doom, & spoke of the Temples that could save Earth from destruction, built by those who "knew to turn away from war."
Despite the mark they left behind on Earth, the First Civilization faded into obscurity rapidly after their decline; the inability of humans to comprehend their creators as anything but Gods did
however allow their names at least, to live on. The lack of evidence for their existence did not prevent all humans from learning about them however, & by the 21st Century, the Knights
Templar had a limited understanding of the nature of those who had lived before. Indeed, the technology used to view the genetic memories of one's ancestor the Animus was based off
technology utilized by the First Civilization.
PIECES OF EDEN
The Pieces of Eden were technologically advanced pieces of equipment created by the First Civilization; each possessed unique properties, & all were known to be capable of bending
the thoughts of one or more individuals to the will of the user. The creators of the Human race, the First Civilization had used the Pieces of Eden to control their slaves through hypnotic
trances. Whether humanity was created to be susceptible to the effects of the Pieces of Eden, or if the Pieces were created after humanity remains unknown; Minerva attributed the
peace between humanity & their "gods" to the effects of the Pieces of Eden.
Eventually however, two humans, Adam & Eve became immune to the hypnotic effects of the Pieces of Eden, & stole one of the Pieces the Apple of Eden from their masters. Soon
after a war broke out, pitting humanity against their gods. Despite their strength in technology, the Pieces of Eden failed to protect the creators from the slaves, who heavily
outnumbered the masters. The war ended catastrophically for both sides, & both humanity & their gods were forced to work together to rebuild their world. Eventually though, the gods
became extinct, & their Pieces of Eden were lost to the annals of history.
Amongst the greatest tools known to man; by interacting with a neuro-transmitter located deep in the brain of the human body, the Apples of Eden could control the human mind. Other
Pieces of Eden were capable of warping reality, creating illusions & ensuring total obedience. Some were known to interact with & change the passage of time, possibly creating
paradoxes whilst others were able to "speak" to those who wielded them. Both the Templars & the Order of Assassins believed that the Pieces of Eden were the sources of many
historical tales & miracles, such as the Parting of the Red Sea, the Trojan Horse, & the miracles enacted by "the Christ-figure" who foreshadowed the Christian faith, & the Biblical plagues
that ravaged Egypt, among other supernatural happenings.
The Pieces of Eden, or at the very least the Apples, were capable of extending a pulse of energy when activated, that would drive those targeted to insanity & death, or force other to fight
each other to near death. Doing so however, had a detrimental effect on the physical health of the wielder. Using the Pieces' powers in short bursts, however, could minimize the negative
effects dealt out by the artifacts; though to what extent, is unknown.
Whilst hacking into the Animus, the mysterious Subject 16, discovered that throughout history, the Pieces of Eden had an extensive history of changing hands, with historically notable
figures, many Templars or Assassins, laying claim to them; Napoleon Bonaparte, George Washington, Mahatma Gandhi, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Tsar Nicholas II, Winston Churchill,
Henry Ford, Adolf Hitler , & Qin Shi Huang to name but a few.
By 2012 however, many had fallen into the hands of the Templars; seeking to obtain the rest, the Animus project was set up with the intention of locating & securing the remaining Pieces
of Eden. By using the Pieces of Eden, the Templars sought to manipulate the neuro-transmitters in the entire human race to achieve their goal. Eye-Abstergo, a branch of Abstergo
Industries, planned to launch an "all-in-one telecommunication" satellite into orbit around the Earth; unbeknownst to humanity & indeed, many employees of Abstergo Industries, the satellite
would contain at least one Piece of Eden, & spread its power out on a global scale.
CAPITOLINE TRIAD
The Capitoline Triad were a sub-pantheon of supreme deities in Roman culture consisting of Jupiter, Juno & Minerva, who were in fact part of the First Civilization. Their elevated
status & reverence possibly corresponding with some hierarchy of leadership among Those Who Came Before. The only member of the Triad not yet encountered is Jupiter, the
king of the gods. Regarded as the chief of the Triad, it seems unthinkable that he would not have had his own Temple from which to rule over others. And yet the prospect of Jupiter
making an appearance in a future AC title is all the more omnious when we consider that he is also the god of sky & thunder. The Catastrophe approaches.
In the image above the triad is seen with their accompanying birds, Minerva's Owl, Juno's Peacock & Jupiter's Eagle. In Assassin's Creed the eagle is associated with the Assassin
Order, & the Eagle Vision ability of some Assassins. In Greek Mythology, Zeus was known to have had affairs with many women. Jupiter was the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek
pantheon, so it is likely that Jupiter was the one who inter-bred with the humans thus creating the Hybrids.
HYBRIDS
Although the First Civilization created humanity with a neuro-transmitter that forced them to accept the will of the Pieces of Eden, eventual cross-breeding between the gods & their
slaves bore a hybrid species. These new humans possessed some of the natural abilities of their gods, but most notably, were free of the neuro-transmitter that bound them to the will
of the Pieces of Eden. The first two known individuals to be born immune to the effects of the Pieces were Adam & Eve, who later stole the Apple of Eden & precipitated the war
that followed. Members of the lineage also inherited these natural abilities & immunity to the mind-control of the Pieces, although the Pieces' ability to physically control them remained.
Individuals such as Altaïr & his descendants Ezio Auditore, Subject 16 & Desmond Miles all possessed these enhanced abilities, & presumably, an immunity to the Pieces of Eden.
Eagle Vision was a sixth sense that certain lineages of Assassins possessed, & was known to be only accessible to the descendants of humans who interbred with Those Who Came
Before. Those who possessed this gift were able to instinctively sense how people & objects related to them, which manifested as a colored glow, much like an aura in a person's mind's
eye. When one learned to fully use Eagle vision, the ability evolved to the more advanced Eagle Sense. This heightened all of the senses of its user, allowing them to eavesdrop on
conversations, detect the heartbeat of a target in the area, or even foresee a target's path; which assisted in planning ambushes or setting traps.
SUBJECT 16
Subject 16 was an individual who was kidnapped by Abstergo Industries & forced into the Animus before Desmond Miles. A descendant of both Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad & Ezio Auditore, he
was born into the Assassin bloodline. Sixteen was also related to Desmond, though their exact relation is unknown.
Sixteen was kept connected to the Animus for dangerously long periods, sometimes even days at a time. This led to him suffering from a severe condition known as the "bleeding
effect." Through this bleeding effect, Sixteen began to explore the memories of his ancestors without the use of the Animus; but his inability to control these visions forced him into
a downward spiral of insanity, eventually culminating in his evident suicide.
Before this event, Sixteen was forced to explore the memories of his ancestor Ezio Auditore, who the Templars knew had located the Vault during his lifetime. However, he was never
able to relive the desired memory. By draining his body of blood to paint several cryptic messages upon the floor & walls of the rooms he was being kept in, Sixteen allegedly killed
himself to prevent the Templars reaching their goals. Following Sixteen's supposed death, the Templars were left without the location of the Vault; though they had gained the
knowledge that an ancestor of Ezio's Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad had once held a certain Piece of Eden. Thus, Abstergo kidnapped yet another descendant of Ezio & Altaïr, Desmond Miles;
who they labelled Subject 17.
Following Desmond's escape from Abstergo & the beginning of his journey through the memories of Ezio, the Assassins learned that Sixteen had managed to hack the Abstergo Animus
before his death, & had placed twenty Glyphs throughout the Animus' rendering of the memories. These encrypted files, which had been saved onto the Abstergo Animus' memory core
that Lucy had stolen, were later unknowingly transferred onto Rebecca Crane's Animus 2.0.
After decrypting all twenty files, the Assassins were rewarded with a genetic memory dated "date classified BCE." The video showed two free-runners (who referred to each other as Adam
& Eve) climbing a large glass structure, with an Apple of Eden in hand. Within each Glyph, Sixteen also left a set of coordinates, which corresponded with locations in Renaissance Rome.
Upon visiting these indicated landmarks, Desmond discovered several Rifts in the Animus programming. Within each, Desmond solved one of ten Cluster puzzles, & unlocked a piece of a
file. Upon compiling them, they revealed a distorted video with the message "The miracle is in the execution," suggesting that (unlike the video hidden in the Glyphs) the Rifts instead
concealed an executable file.
Upon accessing it, Desmond found himself in an unknown area within the Animus, & was able to run through a somewhat long virtual maze, similar to those within the Animus Virtual
Training Program. At the end of the maze, he found a hologram (partially broken & made of computing code) of Subject 16, who told Desmond that all hope was lost, & that he needed to
go to Eden to find a woman named Eve & "her DNA", he also tells Desmond "the sun...your son...too weak" before leaving to "replenish his energy," 16 told Desmond to find him in the
darkness.
DECEMBER 21, 2012
The 2012 phenomenon is regarded as the end-date of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. Various astronomical alignments & numerological formulae
related to this date have been proposed. A New Age interpretation of this transition postulates that this date marks the start of time in which Earth & its inhabitants may undergo a
positive physical or spiritual transformation, & that 2012 may mark the beginning of a new era. Others suggest that the 2012 date marks the end of the world or a smaller catastrophe.
Scenarios suggested for the end of the world include the arrival of the next solar maximum, or Earth's collision with a black hole or a passing planet called "Nibiru".
By using the Pieces of Eden, the Templars sought to manipulate the neuro-transmitters in the entire human race to achieve their goal. Eye-Abstergo, a branch of Abstergo Industries,
planned to launch an "all-in-one telecommunication" satellite into orbit around the Earth; unbeknownst to humanity & indeed, many employees of Abstergo Industries, the satellite
would contain at least one Piece of Eden, & spread its power out on a global scale. The date the satellite is planned to launch is December 21, 2012
The images above show Subject 16's warnings Desmond finds at the Abstergo Laboratory in Assassin's Creed. The Eye of Providence (or the all-seeing eye of God) is sometimes
interpreted as representing the eye of God watching over humankind. The Square of Letters, when read from bottom to top & right to left, reads "Artefacts sent to the skies to
control all nations, to make us obey a hidden crusade. Do not help them." The numbers 12212012 make the date 21 December 2012 in the middle-endian format. The barcode,
however, encodes the number 666, which is the number of the beast (devil).
THE CATASTROPHE
Though Lucy & the team discuss different possibilities, Desmonds understanding of the Catastrophe is of a solar flare or Coronal Mass Ejection that scorched the Earth with life-
threatening radiation. Fitting the cyclical nature of the event as described by Minerva, solar flares multiply in power & range as sun spot activity increases. Proton storms created
by solar flares can exert chaotic effects on biochemistry & living organisms, while the electromagnetic energy of even a moderate flare could disable power grids,
telecommunications & computer networks. NASA already monitors solar flare activity, not just to warn astronauts working outside the protective mantle of the atmosphere, but
in anticipation of such a disaster on Earth.
At the end of Assassin's Creed II, Minerva warns of an imminent Catastrophe that could destroy all life on Earth, & explains that this cataclysm occurred once before, annihilating
her race many thousands of years ago. She also claims that her kind had been developing a way to prevent it, their labors hidden in other secret locations around the world.
Desmond is instructed to seek out the remaining Vaults & Temples around the world, as inside these sealed chambers lies the salvation for the inhabitants of Earth.
The Vaults & Temples can be unlocked with specific codes, or the appropriate First Civilization technology in the form of Pieces of Eden, but there may be further genetic or
individual determinants involved in the security protocols. The Vault beneath the Vatican refused to open for Rodrigo Borgia, even though he held the same Staff & Apple
that granted access to Ezio. When the elder Ezio chooses to relinquish the Apple by placing it in the Vault beneath the Colosseum, he uses Eagle Vision to set the code & hide a
password so that only a descendant such as Desmond can retrieve it in the future. Of what is known, it seems the First Civilization had only ever intended for Assassins to use the
Vaults & Temples. Or more correctly, both the pure & the hybrid bearers of their DNA.
CRYPTIC MESSAGES, GLYPHS & RIFTS
The Cryptic Messages refer to a number of images & texts scrawled onto Desmond Miles's cell at Abstergo by the previous occupant. They form the 'cliffhanger' ending for Assassin's
Creed. When Abstergo finally recovered the information they needed from Desmond Miles, they left him in the Abstergo laboratory. Alone, Desmond discovered he had gained Eagle
Vision (via the Bleeding Effect): this enabled him to perceive a number of markings around the laboratory & within his bedroom. Desmond quickly realized they were made in blood by
his predecessor in the Animus (known only as Subject 16). Although the Templars cleaned the blood off the walls, the messages were still able to be seen using Eagle Vision.
The Glyphs were created by Subject 16 after he had discovered 'The Truth' in his Animus sessions, but he could not share this information during his captivity. Instead 16 hacked the
Animus & hid the file in a number of encrypted fragments which the Animus user experiences as Glyphs. In an effort to inform the next Animus subject of the hack, Subject 16 left a
number of Cryptic Messages in his own blood. During the Escape from Abstergo Industries, Lucy Stillman stole the memory core from the Animus that Subject 16 had tampered with.
When this core was transferred to the Animus 2.0, 16's Glyphs were transferred as well.
Rifts appear to be breaks in the programming of memories within the Animus, which can be seen using Eagle Vision. Each of the ten rifts are found on key landmarks throughout Rome,
& conceal Subject 16's cluster puzzles. Unlike Glyphs, Rifts cannot be seen or accessed without Eagle Vision active. Ezio Auditore must actually grab the edge of the Rift while Eagle
Vision is active, then climb in. Upon accessing the executable file, Desmond was uploaded to an unknown area within the Animus, where he was free to run through a somewhat long
virtual maze similar to those within the Animus Virtual Training Program. At the end of the maze, Desmond found a hologram (partially broken & made of computing code) of Subject 16,
who told Desmond that all hope was lost, & that he must go to Eden to find a woman named Eve. Before leaving, Sixteen instructed Desmond to find him in the darkness. The program
ended with the ground collapsing from under Desmond's feet, & a loading screen showing Desmond in free fall.
THE TRUTH & THE MIRACLE
The Truth was a video hidden in the Animus by Subject 16, with the intent to enlighten and possibly warn his successor in the Animus project. Its twenty pieces could be unlocked by
solving the puzzles hidden behind the twenty Glyphs scattered throughout the Animus' projection of Renaissance Italy. At the end of the video a binary code pops up, "01000101
01000100 01000101 01001110," translates to "EDEN." Another point of interest is that there are 20 zeros and 12 ones, a reference to the supposed doomsday year of 2012.
Immediately after solving the final cluster of the rifts, a short video was unlocked that stated "The miracle is in the execution" while the ultrasound of an unborn child was shown.
Rebecca Crane noted that (unlike the Truth video) the Cluster puzzles actually concealed an executable file. Upon accessing the file, Desmond was uploaded to an unknown area within
the Animus, where he was free to run through a somewhat long virtual maze.
Whilst decrypting the glyphs found throughout Assassin's Creed II, there are an abundance of letters and other tidbits that can be discovered which reference historical events & people.
The Truth Decrypted can be read here
