Assassin’s Creed: Enter the Animus

In the verge of the 6^th console installment of the Assassin’s Creed series, I’d like to seize the opportunity to talk about the science fiction behind this great franchise. For those who don’t really know what the games are about, I’ll try to slip in just a bit of context; however, there’s a slight chance of spoilers down the road, so, I’ll make the pertinent alert when the time is right.

What do you get when you combine a mysterious and ancient society of assassins with a handful of actual –and precise- historic data and just a spice of science fiction? Well, the result is one of the most beloved videogame series of the past years. For some, Assassin’s Creed and of its lore may feel like a Dan Brown novel, in which the line between reality and fiction blurs progressively, but, in my opinion, AC is way better than the overrated novels of the aforementioned author.

So, what’s AC about?

It may seem like an historical game, but AC is all about Sci-Fi. The novum –the scientific breakthrough that makes the story possible- is the Animus. A machine capable of reading and interpreting the –not so fictional- Genetic Memory of a person and make it possible to interact with it, like a videogame.

We meet Desmond Miles, a guy with a lot of baggage that has been kidnapped by a mean faceless corporation by the name Abstergo that, along with controlling virtually every product we use, wants to rule the world. We know Desmond is important because of his genetic heritage, which has several strong links in the continuing fight for power between two opposite forces.

All starts with a romanticized version of the Hashshashin, an infamous ancient order whose name was given pejoratively relating them with the use of hashish, during the crusades. In this scenario, the “bad guys” –the Assassins- are actually the “good guys” and the so called “good guys” –The Knights Templar- are actually the “bad guys”.

The genetic line of young Desmond takes us from the Middle Ages and great metropolis like Constantinople, to the renaissance and even bigger Rome or Florence, and to the American Independence War, with a brief stop in the Caribbean and the Golden Age of Piracy.

Behind the Genetic Memory

There are several conceptions of Genetic Memory that should be explored in order to reconcile with the one present in AC. First of all, Genetic Memory may refer either to a biological or a psychological condition. Both of them take into account the heritage one’s ancestors leave to the next generation.

In biology, -Genetic Memory can be enclosed –vaguely, as I’m not a biologist- as the automated response an organism acquires towards certain conditions or stimuli derived from evolution and adaptation through generations. It also refers, in ethology, to the concept of instincts in animals, which is present at birth as a way of a priori knowledge. It is understood that cells, animals, plants and immunologic systems –each with their own kind of Genetic Memory- depend on the accumulative knowledge and adaptation of the species.

In psychology, Genetic Memory is directly related to the Jungian concept of the racial memory and the collective unconscious, in which all individuals of any given socio-cultural group are born with a batch of concepts and a priori knowledge inherited by the history of the group they are born in. In this case, Genetic Memory is thought to be incorporated into the genome over generations.

Lastly, Genetic Memory is also present in parapsychology, in which it is believed actual memories and experiences from ancestors are storage in the genes of the individual. This can be related with the past-life regressions –with a huge base of detractors and critics-.

This last concept, along with the one of instinct in animals as a proof of Genetic Memory, is the one present in AC. Then, as we have a collection of precious memory and data in our DNA, it is only a matter of how to extract it; hence the Animus.

This bed-like machine is the one responsible from collecting and interpreting, in an interactive and user friendly way, the data storage in an individual’s DNA so he or she is able to replay these memories as if they were their own. Hard science fiction, baby!

All or Nothing

There is, however, a risk –as sci-fi always teaches us- when using a machine this advanced. In this case, we call it the Bleeding Effect. This condition is suffered by individuals exposed for a prolonged period of time to the Animus. The subject may not only learn the abilities and gain the memories of his ancestor, but he will also suffer from hallucinations and visions, even –let’s call them- episodes in which they believe they are, in fact, the very ancestor whose memory they were experiencing. They become stuck in a continuous flashback, permanent PTS or dementia. It is not something pretty.

So, if your ancestor was a sword master and you replay his memories, you may become and expert fencer, but, stay in too long, and you may stab someone in the chest with a butcher’s knife, because he was about to dishonor your family. When dealing with technology of the magnitude of the Animus, you may want to take it slowly.

Even More Sci-Fi

Even when history is the main course and the main hook in every AC game, it is the Sci-Fi story which supports all of this. It is not only about Assassin’s vs. Templars; it is not even about Good vs. Evil. It is something a bit more complicated. *Spoiler Alert* the next paragraphs contain a bunch of information regarding Assassin’s Creed Main story line, as well as information obtained through secondary missions. Proceed at your own risk.

AC uses a common sci-fi element: the elder race. A modern referent to this is better explained by one Giorgio A. Tsoukalos: aliens. This idea of the elder race proposes that humans and most of their ancient world creations were, indeed, forged by alien overlords which we used to worship as gods. AC takes this to the next level and, actually, presents these aliens with the name ancient humans gave them, mainly taken from Greek mythology.

Not only this elder race manipulated human DNA to create the Homo Sapiens Sapiens, but they also enslaved the human race with the aid of artifacts known as the Pieces of Eden, capable of controlling the minds of the ones before the wielder. But, as it is common in these dystopic worlds, there are people immune to this mind control. In this case, two individuals by the name of Adam and Eve, whose descendants inherited the immunity and fought the ones pursuing to gain the power of the ancients: the Knights Templar.

But, for a while, and after a revolution broke against the enslaving overlords –triggered by the theft of the Apple of Eden-, both races –human and the First Race or Those Who Came Before- lived in peace and harmony. The interbred and prevailed, but, eventually, Those Who Came Before were losing the battle against extinction, because of their lack of numbers in Earth. Their legacy prevailed through the bloodlines of very few humans who possess blood of this ancient them running through them and have access to special abilities, such as the Eagle Vision, a kind of Third Eye.

On top of that, and the real threat against the world, is the imminent catastrophe that was in every TV show two years ago: a massive solar flare heading towards Earth. The same catastrophe occurred in times of the coexistence of The First Race and humans, but, in spite of their technology, Those Who Came Before were unable to stop it and cataclysm struck the planet, killing most of its inhabitants. The survivors, however, enclosed a way to stop it in a series of messages, but it needed to be communicated to future generations; enter the Genetic Memory and the bloodline of Desmond Miles. *Spoilers Over*

Leap of Faith

So, there you have it, science fiction history in the making. Assassin’s Creed strong suit is its impeccable narrative and wonderful storytelling and here we can see why. It is a story full of intrigue, mystery, conspiracy and action. A must play in modern videogame history. The fact that a science fiction franchise can disguise itself as a historic one is outstanding. We now know what happened to the world and young Desmond, so Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag should present an interesting outtake to the story so far.

If you haven’t played any of these titles, do not hesitate to do so. The first Assassin’s Creed’s gameplay may seem a bit repetitive and monotone, but, believe me, it gets a lot better and it’s totally worth it. You just need to take a leap of faith.

Nulla É Reale. Tutto É Lecito | Nothing Is True. Everything Is Permitted.

Jonathan Coutiño, NoobFeed
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