Piece of Eden

"They're gifts, Mr. Miles. From Those Who Came Before."

- Dr. Warren Vidic on a Piece of Eden

The Pieces of Eden (also known as PE or P.O.E. ) were technologically advanced pieces of equipment created by the First Civilization; each possessed unique properties, and all were known to be capable of bending the thoughts of one or more individuals to the will of the user.

Early history
"Current examination of Subject Seventeen indicates that aside from the Piece of Eden, all other artifacts related to Christ-figure are literary devices derived from the Piece of Eden, and not actual objects."

- Alan Rikkin e-mail on the Pieces of Eden adoption as biblical and historical artifacts

The Pieces of Eden, the only known technological devolopment, besides humanity, to be developed by the First Civilization have a long storied history that punctuate the tales of humanity. 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 initial period of peace between humanity and their "gods" to the effects of the Pieces of Eden.

Eventually interbreeding between humanity and the First Civilization led to the creation of a hybrid race, immune to the hypnotic effects of the Pieces of Eden. At some point, two individuals, Adam and Eve, stole one of the Pieces – the Apple of Eden – from their masters; soon afterward, war broke out, pitting humanity against their gods. Despite their technological superiority, the Pieces of Eden failed to protect the First Civilization from their other creation, who heavily outnumbered their former masters. What influence on the course of the war the Pieces of Eden held is unknown. The war ended catastrophically for both sides, and both humanity and their gods were forced to work together to rebuild their world. Eventually though, the gods became extinct, and their Pieces of Eden were lost to the annals of history.

Beginnings of human use
Over the centuries, the Pieces of Eden resurfaced; seen as religious artifacts or holy relics. However, as time continued, groups of individuals began to see the Pieces of Eden for what they truly were and sought to exploit them. As early as the 12th Century, the Templars were actively seeking and obtaining numerous Pieces of Eden, in the hopes of forcibly uniting the world in peace much like Those Who Came Before had done.

During the late 12th Century, the Knights Templar, led by Robert de Sable, their Grand Master, had focused their efforts on obtaining one Piece of Eden in particular, the Apple. Using the cover of the Third Crusade to infiltrate the catacombs of Solomon's Temple, in the city of Jerusalem, where they knew the Apple was located, the Templars sought to obtain the Apple to aid them in their mission to bring peace to the region, and ensure their rule. Unfortunately for the Templars, one of their own had betrayed them; Al Mualim, secretly a member of the Knights Templar, but public leader of the Assassin Order, had sent his best agents to capture the device. Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and the brothers Al-Sayf intercepted the Templars,the two parties engaged one another and despite the death of Kadar and Altaïr being thrown from the battle early on, the Assassins prevailed and spirited the Apple to their fortress in Masyaf. For a year the Assassins and Templars fought one another for control of the artifact, until finally the deaths of both Robert de Sable and Al Mualim at the hands of Altaïr ended the conflict. Originally intending to destroy the Apple, Altaïr found himself unable to do so, and instead decided to seal the Apple in the Limassol Archives after he had liberated it from the Templars; circumstances worked against this however, and he decided to keep the Apple himself, lest it fall into the wrong hands.

Uses through the centuries
Ultimately, the Apple did find its way to Cyprus, where it was buried away until its discovery and exhumation by the Templars in 1488. The Apple was shipped to Venice, but Ezio Auditore managed to procure it before it could be passed into the care of the Templar's then-Grand Master, Rodrigo Borgia. However, during the events of Battle of Forlì, the Apple was taken from Ezio by Girolamo Savonarola, and Savonarola used it to cause the Bonfire of the Vanities in Florence. In 1499, Ezio used the Apple, combined with the power of the Papal Staff, another Piece of Eden, to open up the Vault beneath the Vatican in Rome.

Throughout human 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, and 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 and securing the remaining Pieces of Eden. This Animus project was also an important component in the Templars goal of ensuring world peace, through use of the Pieces of Eden. By using the Pieces of Eden, the Templars sought to manipulate the neurotransmitters that made humanity susceptible the the devices hypnotic effects.. Eye-Abstergo, a branch of Abstergo Industries, planned to launch an "all-in-one telecommunication" satellite into orbit around the Earth; unbeknownst to humanity and indeed, many employees of Abstergo Industries, the satellite would contain at least one Piece of Eden, and spread its power out on a global scale.

Modern history
In 2012, the modern-day Assassins, Desmond Miles, Lucy Stillman, Shaun Hastings, and Rebecca Crane used the Animus to locate the Apple of Eden hidden by Ezio Auditore beneath the Santa Maria Aracoeli in 1507.

Characteristics and attributes
"This&hellip; piece of silver cast out Adam and Eve. It turned staves into snakes. Parted and closed the Red Sea. Eris used it to start the Trojan War; and with it, a poor carpenter turned water into wine."

- Al Mualim, speaking to Altaïr about the Apple

Amongst the greatest tools known to man; by interacting with a neurotransmitter located deep in the human brain, the Apples of Eden could control the human mind. Other Pieces of Eden were capable of warping reality, creating illusions and ensuring total obedience; both the Templars and the Order of Assassins believed that the Pieces of Eden were respnsible for many historical tales and miracles, such as the Parting of the Red Sea, the Trojan Horse, and the miracles enacted by "the Christ-figure" who foreshadowed the Christian faith and the Biblical plagues that ravaged Egypt, among other supernatural happenings.

Abilities of the Pieces
Some Pieces of Eden were known to interact with and change the passage of time, possibly creating paradoxes. Others were able to "speak" to those who wielded them, as was the case with Ezio Auditore da Firenze and Perotto Calderon who spoke with the sixth Apple and the Shroud respectively.

The Pieces of Eden, or at the very least the Apples, were capable of extending a pulse of energy when activated, that could drive those targeted to insanity and 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.

Destruction of a Piece
Following the destruction of the second Piece of Eden during experimental use at Denver International Airport, the Templars found themselves in need of another artifact with similar properties. Needing access to a map that indicated the location of all Pieces of Eden, the Templar front company Abstergo Industries kidnapped the descendant of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad – Desmond Miles – in order to view the memories of his ancestor. This would allow them to view the very same map Altaïr had viewed in 1191.

Each of the Pieces of Eden contained a great deal of potential energy stored within and the destruction of one would cause an explosion on the scale of a nuclear blast. One such blast occurred in 1908, in the region of Tunguska, Russia, when the Piece of Eden known as "the Staff" was seemingly destroyed by Nikola Tesla with the firing of his wireless electric weapon, as a strike against the Templars. Even then however, the blast failed to totally destroy the Staff, and at least one shard remained.

Despite the obliteration of every other remnant of the artifact, the Shard still possessed impressive powers of mind control, as demonstrated by Grigori Rasputin, who in the possession of the shard, managed to force the attraction of Alexandra Feodorovna, the consort of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and the devotion of several disciples like Khioniya Guseva.

Resistance
"I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING. I KNOW WHAT YOU DID. I SAW HIM. HE HAD A METAL BALL. IT OPENED. THEY WENT CRAZY. SHOOTING. STABBING. TORE EACH OTHER TO PIECES. I KNOW IT WAS YOU PEOPLE. SAW THE LOGO. HEARD THE NAME. I'M GOING TO TELL. ANYONE WHO WILL LISTEN. YOU'LL BE EXPOSED. THEY'LL KNOW THE TRUTH. AND THEN YOU WILL PAY. YOU CRAZY BASTARDS. YOU'LL PAY."

- An unidentified individual's e-mail to Dr. Warren Vidic

Although the First Civilization created humanity with a neurotransmitter that forced them to accept the will of the Pieces of Eden, eventual cross-breeding between the gods and 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 neurotransmitter 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 and Eve, who later stole one of the Apple of Eden and precipitated the war that followed. Members of the lineage also inherited these natural abilities and immunity to the mind-control of the Pieces, although the Pieces' ability to physically manipulate them remained. Individuals such as Altaïr, Ezio Auditore, Subject 16 and Desmond Miles all possessed these enhanced abilities, and presumably, an immunity to the Pieces of Eden.

By the early 21st Century, the Templars were aware of the fact that some humans were immune to the mind control of the Apples of Eden, and as such actively sought other devices to compensate for this. On at least one occasion Dr. Warren Vidic, an employee of Abstergo Industries, received an email from an unknown individual who had not been affected by the powers of the Apple, and threatened to expose what he had seen.

Confirmed Pieces of Eden
Besides the Apples of Eden, the First Civilization created many more Pieces of Eden. Some of these affected humanity in similar ways, whilst others affected nature and even time itself. The first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth Apples were all capable of controlling the minds of men, creating illusions and, to a degree, permitted physical control over said minds; the Apples could all be used in conjunction with the Staff of Eden, which increased the abilities of both Pieces.

Other Pieces included the Shroud, which would become famous to modern day humans as the "Shroud of Turin" – that which covered the body of Jesus Christ, its properties including the ability to heal the wounds of those it touched, and the Sword, a Piece that would pass through the hands of many great rulers through the centuries, including King Arthur and Alexander the Great.

The Crystal Skulls, Pieces that were scattered throughout Central and Southern America, allowed for truely wireless, unassisted telepathic communication between each Skull. Eventually, one of the Crystal Skulls came into the possession of Giovanni Borgia.

According to e-mails read by Desmond Miles in 2012, at least one Piece of Eden existed that granted the ability to manipulate time. Concerns over possible paradoxes however, lead to Abstergo Industries locking it away.

Known locations of Pieces of Eden
Following the death of Al Mualim and the Apples projection of a map indicating the location of all Pieces of Eden, Altaïr copied the map and included it in his Codex, hidden away so that only one of his bloodline might see it. Based off of the locations given on the Codex map, the following locations can be identified as containing a Piece of Eden:
 * 1) Giza, Egypt
 * 2) Lake Victoria, Africa, more on the Kenyan side
 * 3) The Gambia River, Gambia
 * 4) Timbuktu, Mali
 * 5) Taza, Morocco
 * 6) Canary Islands, Spain
 * 7) The Southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, curiously near the volcano of Opala
 * 8) Odessa, Ukraine
 * 9) Kharkiv, Ukraine
 * 10) Rennes-le-Château, France
 * 11) Salisbury Plain, England (presumably at Stone Henge)
 * 12) Loch Ness, Scotland
 * 13) Maroantsetra, Madagascar
 * 14) Nara, Japan
 * 15) Somewhere close to Goodhouse, South Africa, near the border between South Africa and Namibia
 * 16) Inside or nearby Boston, Massachusetts
 * 17) Delhi, India or the Taj Mahal in India, just a short distance south of Delhi
 * 18) Persepolis, modern day Shiraz, Iran
 * 19) Jerusalem, Israel
 * 20) Colombia, South America, around the area of the Igara Parana River
 * 21) Nazca, Perú
 * 22) South-western Sri Lanka
 * 23) Hellissandur, Iceland
 * 24) The area of Sabiene Island, Nunavut, Canada
 * 25) Phoenix, Arizona, or somewhere outside the city
 * 26) Washington, D.C.
 * 27) Juneau, Alaska
 * 28) In Padang West Sumatera and about Mid until East Java island, Indonesia
 * 29) The middle of the South Pacific Ocean
 * 30) The Pacific Ocean, close to the coast of Mexico
 * 31) The South Pacific Ocean apparently near the coast of the Easter Island and Chile
 * 32) The Atlantic Ocean, in an area where Atlantis was believed to have existed
 * 33) The Atlantic Ocean, a few hundred miles off the coast of Brazil
 * 34) The Antarctic Ocean, on the side of Antarctica facing up towards the Atlantic
 * 35) The Indian Ocean, almost cross sectioned with the tips of Inda, Africa and the southwestern tip of Australia - a small island called Ile Amsterdam
 * 36) The Antarctic Ocean, the side of the Antarctic ocean that faces up towards the Indian Ocean
 * 37) Arkangelsk, Russia
 * 38) Andorra le Vella, Andorra
 * 39) São Paulo, Brazil
 * 40) Barrow, Alaska
 * 41) La Rioja, Argentina
 * 42) An area close to Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia
 * 43) An area around Southern Cross, in Western Australia
 * 44) Somewhere in Padang, Sumatra, Indonesia
 * 45) Beijing, China
 * 46) Somewhere in the Altay Mountains in southwestern Mongolia
 * 47) Somewhere along the northern Coast of Chukotka province, Russia
 * 48) An area close to Tiksi, Russia

The other two that made up the last of the 50 pieces, one of the Apples and the Staff, were destroyed in the DIA satellite accident and the Tunguska explosion, respectively.

Trivia

 * According to the glyphs and Truth files, many legends and myths throughout human history are actually historically accurate. The supernatural or paranormal parts of each legend can be explained by the protagonist in each having acquired his or her own Piece of Eden (i.e.: the Greek myth of Perseus, King Arthur, etc).
 * In Assassin's Creed II, during the battle against Borgia in the Sistine Chapel, Ezio created copies of himself, much like Al Mualim did against Altaïr. If Ezio robes are customized, or if Altaïr's Armor is enabled, his copies will appear with different sets of armor and colors whereas when if he is not customized, each copy will be perfectly identical to the real Ezio, besides his weapon.
 * Both the Codex map, and the Map projection at the end of Assassin's Creed show that there are only fifty Pieces of Eden at a time, but Subject 16 says the Shroud is Piece of Eden 'number 66'. This discrepancy has yet to be rectified.
 * In the French and German version of Assassin's Creed II, the Shroud is referred to as number 36, not 66. Whether this is a mistake in the translation or not, remains to be clarified.
 * The Chalice was initially thought to be a Piece of Eden; however, besides the Shroud, all other artifacts linked to the Christ-figure were confirmed to be only literary tools, as stated in Assassin's Creed I.