Isu

"We simply came&hellip; before."

- Minerva

Those Who Came Before, also known as the First Civilization, were an ancient and advanced species on Earth who created the Pieces of Eden, as well as the human race itself. Exactly who they were, where they came from and when they disappeared is largely unknown.

With early humans unable to comprehend the First Civilization for what they truly were, they were looked upon as gods.

Knowledge
Though various religious beliefs seem to have been based on aspects and misinterpretations of Those Who Came Before, their existence was largely unknown to humanity. As early as the 12th century, both the Assassins and the Knights Templar knew that the focus of human religions, the gods, did not truly exist, and that miracles and other supernatural occurrences were simply manifestations of the powers of the Pieces of Eden, devices created by Those Who Came Before to control the Human race. However, it is unclear if the Assassins and Templars understood the origin of the Pieces at that time. By the 15th century, at least one Templar, Rodrigo Borgia, was aware of the existence, if not the nature, of Those Who Came Before; he mistakenly believed that the Vatican Vault hidden beneath the Capella Sistina housed a living God.

The first known instance of a human becoming aware of their existence following their disappearance was that of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, who made mention of them in his Codex. However, it would not be until the year 1499 that humanity would encounter Those Who Came Before again, when the Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze encountered a hologram of a being calling herself Minerva in The Vault. Even though Ezio told his fellow Assassins of Minerva, they still did not understand her true nature; Ezio himself showed great difficulty in understanding Minerva's explanation of her existence.

By 2012, the Templars in Abstergo Industries had a greater understanding of the true nature of Those Who Came Before. The Assassins seen in this time period had suspicions about them as well, and confirmed them when Desmond relived Ezio's memories. Through the memories relived by Desmond, the Assassins were aware of three separate beings: Minerva, Juno and Jupiter.

Creation of humanity
"We built you in our own image, we built you to survive."

- Minerva

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 and resilient cattle to suit their needs. Research by Subject 16 seemed to suggest that Those Who Came Before radically altered the genetic make-up of a preexisting species on the planet to create humanity, fashioning them to be similar to their "gods", and therefore leaving a large gap in terms of transitional species between archaic hominids and modern humans. By 1997, the Templars had taken note of this and arranged for fake skeletons to be planted in Ethiopia, so as to limit human exposure to the possibility of the existence of Those Who Came Before.

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 and humans, and could subsequently live without being controlled through such means.

War and catastrophe
"When we were still flesh, and our homes still whole, your kind betrayed us. We who made you, we who gave you life."

- Minerva

Eventually, despite humanity and 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 and Eve, though how this related to the conflict is unclear. While Those Who Came Before were more technologically advanced and 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, and 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 and 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 and making the planet geologically unstable. This hypothesis was supported by evidence found by Subject 16:
 * "Near the day of purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky. - Hopi"
 * "A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the oceans. - Hopi"
 * "They died in the fire from the heavens."
 * "75ka was not a volcano."

Aftermath
"You may not comprehend us, but you will comprehend our warning. [&hellip;] And as life returned to the world, we endeavored to ensure that this tragedy would not be repeated."

- Minerva to Desmond Miles, through the memories of Ezio Auditore da Firenze 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 and began heading toward extinction. They knew however, that the catastrophe that had burned their world before would eventually reoccur and 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, and spoke of the Temples that could save Earth from destruction, built by those who "knew to turn away from war."

Delivering their message to the Assassin Desmond Miles, who was viewing the memories of his ancestor Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Minerva warned that time was short, and that "the Cross" would stand in their way. With the deliverance of that message, one of the last remaining vestiges of the First Civilization died away.

Legacy
"They're gifts, Mr. Miles. From those who came before."

- Dr. Warren Vidic

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, and 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.

The Templars also knew of the existence of the Pieces of Eden, and regarded them as gifts left behind by the First Civilization for them to utilize. This situation was in significant contrast to the situation in the 15th Century, where it had been the Assassins who knew explicitly of the existence of Those Who Came Before, whilst the Templar Grand Master Rodrigo Borgia merely believed the Vault to be the location of God himself. This changed however, and five hundred years later, the Order of Assassins knew next to nothing of the First Civilization's existence.

Characteristics
"The rest is up to you, Desmond."

- Minerva to Desmond Miles, through the memories of Ezio Auditore da Firenze

The First Civilization were a technologically advanced and powerful race, who seemed to possess precognitive abilities; either natural or technological. This was proven during Minerva's conversation with Ezio Auditore, within the Vatican Vault in Rome. Minerva revealed that Ezio was simply a conduit which allowed Minerva to speak to Desmond Miles, who was viewing his ancestor's memories. Furthermore, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad mentioned in the Codex that his Piece of Eden not only possessed a catalogue of past events, but also future events, implying that the Pieces contain predictions made by Those Who Came Before.

Those Who Came Before also have connections with many of Earth's religions, and likely influenced their developments directly. During her warning to Desmond, Minerva made mention of her former names, as well of those of her fellow "gods"; Merva, Uni and Tinia, who later became known as Minerva, Juno and Jupiter, respectively. The former names correspond to the Etruscan Triad of Deities, while the latter are the names of their Roman counterparts, who make up the Capitoline Triad. This shift in names may be indicative why various religions have numerous similarities, as they are all based on the story of Those Who Came Before.

Unlike the human creations, who were created with only five senses, members of the First Civilization possessed six; the sixth being "knowledge". Following the catastrophe that set the First Civilization on the path to extinction, a concerted effort was made to pass on this sixth sense to humanity, their "final, faultered hope." Ultimately however, they failed; though humanity could "[&hellip;]see the blue shimmer [and] hear the words," they did not fully possess the "knowledge" of their creators, convincing some, like Juno, that humanity should have simply been left as they were.

Bloodline
"Why do we have these gifts, these abilities? Because it's in our blood! [&hellip;] The seeds were planted as two world became one. Behold the Assassins, the children of two worlds!"

- Subject 16

The individual known only as Subject 16 at one point theorized that the true reason behind the abilities of some Assassins was genetic, suggesting a lineage including both human and creator blood. 16's own genetic memories indicated him to be a direct descendant of both Adam and Eve, suggesting that his bloodline, if not many more, would all have access to these abilities. Indeed, Subject 16, Altaïr, Ezio and Desmond Miles all possessed Eagle Vision, while Ezio and Altaïr both showed themselves resistant to the effects of the Apple as well as Leonardo da Vinci. In addition, Ezio was able to use the Staff and the Apple to open the Vatican Vault, while Rodrigo Borgia could not, and Altaïr had previously used the Apple to enlighten the people of Cyprus to Armand Bouchart's lies. When Desmond touched the Apple, Juno informed him that his DNA had "commune[d]" with, and activated it.

Trivia

 * Though they play an important part in the plot of Assassin's Creed II, Those Who Came Before are first mentioned briefly, by Warren Vidic in Assassin's Creed. When talking to Desmond, Vidic claims that the Knights Templar are responsible for all major human technological advances in history, though he denies that they invented them, calling them "gifts&hellip; from those who came before."
 * The story of Those Who Came Before (creating humanity as a docile workforce and subsequently being viewed as gods by humanity) bears striking similarity to the Ancient Astronaut Theory, the idea that extraterrestrials visited the earth in ancient times and genetically altered an existing hominid species to create humanity in their own image. As a result, extraterrestrials were responsible for influencing early human civilizations, cultures, and religions; and perceived as gods by their human creations.

Notes and references
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