Piece of Eden

The Piece of Eden
The Piece of Eden is one of several ancient objects left by Those Who Have Come Before, possessing different effects, able to bend people to the will of the user. One of the greatest weapons known to man, it is capable of ending wars and (provided it is used correctly) ushering in a forced peace.

It is believed by Abstergo and the Templars that the Piece of Eden, along with other artifacts like it, was the effector behind such miracles as the Parting of the Red Sea, the success of the Trojan Horse, the miracles surrounding 'the Christ-figure' and the plagues of Egypt, among other things.

Apart from its power to force almost anyone into serving the possessor, its greatest power is that it essentially disproves God. The Templar Order and the Assassins already committed themselves to exposing religion as false, and the Piece of Eden is perfectly suited to this purpose.

Incidentally, each one also contains a holographic map of the earth that shows the location of all the other Artifacts. The Piece of Eden, the Masyaf Piece, was destroyed during its experimental use by Abstergo at Denver International Airport. Using Altair's memory of events, however, the map showed the locations of the others.

After Altaïr took control of the Assassins their new goal became to hunt down and destroy the last of the templars and the pieces of Eden. During the events of Assassin's Creed Bloodlines, Altaïr starts to study the artifact, writing about it's powers and his own theories. When the Cypriots blame Altaïr for the disasters that struck the island, and try to attack him, he uses the Piece of Eden to control their minds, forcing them to hear the truth, that the real culprit was the Templar Grand Master, Armand Bouchart. After reaching the Archives in Limassol, and killing Bouchart, Altaïr however keeps the Masyaf Piece, not leaving it in the Archives, where he had intended to leave it. It's unknown as to what happened to the Piece after Altaïr and Maria traveled "East". On an interesting note, the object it's referred to as the "Apple of Eden" on this game.

In Assassin's Creed 2, it is revealed that the Apple itself has a rather extensive history of changing hands while decrypting the "Truth" files left by Subject 16. Notable figures in history have used it for furthering the Templar's "New World"; including, but not limited to: Napoleon Bonaparte, George Washington, Gandhi, Houdini, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and possibly even Winston Churchill and Adolph Hitler. It is also revealed that their are at least 3 Apples (Representing the three Golden Apples of Greek mythology.)

Free Will & Temptation
In the cut-out scene at Masyaf, after Altaïr assassinates his sixth target, Al Mualim makes some statements about the Piece of Eden other than those mentioned above. Altaïr asks Al Mualim, "What is it?" The answer is, "It is Temptation! It is what drove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden." It other words, it was what was called "the apple" from the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil - the one The Serpent offered to Eve. What he was offering her was the free will to make her decisions based upon knowledge rather than blind obedience. Free Will, which Altaïr champions repeatedly - to the end, is this Temptation.

It's hypnotic effect has no affect on Altaïr. Why?

The "success of the Trojan Horse" - while implied - is not what is said. Al Mualim names the goddess Eris specifically as being responsible for the Trojan War. Eris is the goddess of Dis-Order and Chaos. Order is a highly valued principle throughout the game, as well as within our societies. We are shown throughout the game to what lengths men of power will go to maintain and hold onto that power through Order - an order that is imposed by them at any means or cost. The people are merely pawns in their games.

They are games of control and manipulation, through promises of a better life...one that does not come until death. One cannot achieve this unless one is obedient to the laws and lives them to the letter. To take on the temptation of Free Will and accept responsibility for ones self and whatever one does or says is to step outside these carefully laid boundaries of behavior. If too many people do this, then order ceases to exist. It is why books have repeatedly been burned throughout history; why scholars and intellectuals have been persecuted. They may know too much and "their words infect others" - as Madj Addin says. Several times through the game things are said that indicate the belief that mankind is incapable of doing this without crime and violence erupting in its wake. The "lies" told in the books that Jubair would burn speak of things like free will and other knowledge that would reveal the lies they are telling to be untrue. Altaïr is described as being "arrogant" and "a traitor" - like a certain angel who rebelled against the laws of Heaven...for Altaïr believes that people should have the free will to decide their own destinies. He exhibits free will at the beginning, claiming his way is the "right way" and he knows better than Malik or Kadar. During the final cut-out scene with Al Mualim, Free Will and Illusion are mentioned extensively.

Being a 'sandbox game' gives you the illusion of free will. Some reviewers have bemoaned the fact that it is not an open-ended game, but an open-ended game would not have been appropriate to the story.



Resistance
In an e-mail at Abstergo it is revealed that the organization are worried that the pieces of Eden are not all that is needed to achieve their goal. It is mentioned that some people may be resistant to the mind control effect and that other "Artifacts" must be found to ensure no one is left to cause trouble in the Templar's planned "New World". The only two people so far to show a resistance against the pieces of Eden are an unnamed person present at the DIA incident and Altaïr. The former sends an e-mail to Dr Vidic declaring "I know what you did" and gives a firsthand account of the artifacts's failed experiment there. Of note is that this person seems to be acting alone and is therefore unlikely to know of the Templars or the Assassins and may not be one themselves. The latter's resistance is shown when Al Mualim shows him the treasure but Altaïr simply says that to him it is just a piece of silver and does not understand how Al Mualim can believe it to be pure temptation as he describes. This response surprises Al Mualim who later reveals that he had shown the piece of Eden to Altaïr in an attempt to hypnotize him, but for some reason he could not. However, even though Altaïr is resistant against the hypnotisim the piece of Eden can still do some things to him such as: immobilizing him, causing him to hallucinate and clouding his mind, this can be observed during the final battle.

There is a high potential that Altaïr passed on this gift to Desmond Miles and his other descendants. Although a small number of theories can be made upon decrypting Truth File #18 where while decrypting it, Subject 16 makes comments on scientists finding a specific neurological receptor that responds solely to the Apple's hypnotism power. (At least that's what is implied.)

Locations of the Artifacts

 * 1) Giza, Egypt
 * 2) Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
 * 3) The Gambia
 * 4) Timbuktu, Mali
 * 5) Atlas Mountains, Morocco
 * 6) Canary Islands
 * 7) Vologda Oblast, Russia
 * 8) Chernobyl, Ukraine
 * 9) Sighişoara, Transylvania - (The Piece of Eden / Apple #2)
 * 10) Rennes-le-Château, France
 * 11) Salisbury, England
 * 12) Loch Ness, Scotland
 * 13) Uluru, Australia
 * 14) Nara, Japan
 * 15) Xi'an, China
 * 16) Lake Baikal, Siberia
 * 17) Bareilly, India
 * 18) Persepolis, Iran
 * 19) Jerusalem, Israel - (The Piece of Eden / Apple #1)
 * 20) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
 * 21) Machu Picchu, Peru
 * 22) Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
 * 23) Aasiaat, Greenland
 * 24) Chichen Itza, Mexico
 * 25) San Antonio, Texas
 * 26) Montréal, Quebec
 * 27) New York City, New York
 * 28) Washington D.C.
 * 29) Lake Okanagan, British Columbia
 * 30) Coloma, California

Theories About the Piece of Eden and the Other Artifacts

 * 1) We are told by Dr. Vidic that they were left by Those Who Have Come Before. "They" could possibly be Aliens, and the artifacts are made of their advanced technology.
 * 2) The Artifacts also seems to have other abilities like time travel (it is mentioned in the e-mails on Lucy Stillman's computer). It is possible that they were made in the future and, for some reason, sent back in time. Perhaps when the Piece of Eden was damaged in Assassin's Creed, the map was not showing where to find the other artifacts but it was picking a location for it to travel to safety.
 * 3) There was a race of beings on Earth, whilst dinosaurs lived, that created the Artifacts. And it was no meteorite that hit the earth, but some huge explosion caused by the Artifacts that ended much of the life on the Earth at the time.
 * 4) Desmond and his ancestors all have some sort of link with the Artifacts, which would explain why they can resist its power.
 * 5) (Please edit later as the proof can be found on Youtube) Adam and Eve (who had blue, glowing lines) managed to steal "The Apple" by using free-running (Supporting theory 4) from the Garden of Eden (which looked more like a facility with seemingly enslaved workers working to build possibly more pieces). All of this can be found by finding all the glyphs left by Subject 16 and unlocking the video, "The Truth".

Posssible Artifacts and Funtions
These artifacts are based on the locations given in Assassin's Creed, and the clues and hints found in all the games.


 * The Staff of Moses: Capable to unleashing the "Wrath of God."
 * The Philosopher's Stone: Converts any material into pure gold.
 * The "Tunguska Artifact": Destroyed. Possible Function: Generation of destructive explosions, which backfired due to Assassin's and Templar's tampering. Possibly the "Fire from Heaven" that destroyed Sodom and Gommorah
 * The Holy Grail: Although the Templar's doubt it's existence, it could prove to be real. Possible Functions: Grants eternal life, among other things.
 * The Crystal Skulls: Telepathic Communication. Currently possessed by the Templars.
 * The "Philadelphia Artifact": Time Travel
 * The Shroud of Christ: Possibly destroyed or lost. Possible Function: Ressurection (If Christ was not a divine man, this is how he came back to life.)
 * The Golden Fleece: A seemingly indestructible piece of armor or cloak. Referenced to in Altair's Codex as a possible Eden artifact.