Assassin's Creed: Initiates

"On September 1st, 2012, a man is kidnapped in New York. Brought to a secret Abstergo facility in Italy, he is placed in the Animus and forced to relive the memories of his Assassin ancestor. This man is Desmond Miles. This is his story."

- The Desmond Files.

Assassin's Creed: Initiates is a community-oriented project founded by Ubisoft on 1 September 2012 that is envisioned as "the place for all things Assassin's Creed." It is currently in an open beta stage.

The website includes a news section, forums for discussion, and a link to Ubiworkshop's store. Most notably, it features an explorable map that tracked places, events, people, objects and messages from the series' storyline.

The Desmond Files
The Desmond Files refers to a collection of images, video clips, transcripts and documents that tracked the events following Desmond Miles' capture by Abstergo Industries. Each file was keyed to a location on an explorable world map and tagged with a timestamp.

Kidnapped
The following data was recorded from a cell phone tower in New York City at 4:02am (UTC).

DATA TRANSCRIPT LEVEL 3 ........................................... Cell Tower Grid 40SP73ZN ........................................... UTC 20120901T040224Z ........................................... [outgoing transmission] [caller id = private] [-] [interference] [+] ...Yes, sir. [pause] [+] We have him. [-] [reply scrambled] [+] Yes. Shoving him in the van as we speak, sir. [+] Target will be delivered on schedule. [transmission ends]

Transfer
Security camera footage from, Brooklyn at 4:37am (UTC) showed that Abstergo agents had captured an unidentified Caucasian male, in his mid-twenties; approximately 6' tall, and weighing 190lbs. Their destination was unknown.

Unmarked Hangar
The Abstergo agents landed in, Italy, at 6:44pm (UTC). They were seen moving the captive, who was identified as Desmond Miles, into a car.

Abstergo Campus
Desmond was brought to the Abstergo campus in Rome, Italy, at 7:37pm (UTC). Scramblers from the Akashic Satellite Plexus prevented satellite imagery from pinpointing the campus' various facilities, and the extraction of geographical co-ordinates.

Animus Explained
At about 10:17am (UTC), Dr. Warren Vidic explained the various functions of the Animus to Desmond, leaving out the mention of any potential side effects that may occur as a result of its use.

The Farm
At 5:53pm (UTC), Desmond confided to Lucy Stillman that his parents raised him in an isolated community of Assassins simply called "the Farm." He likened the Farm to a prison where he had felt trapped and cut off from the rest of the world - a life that he resented and eventually ran away from when he was 16.

Preliminary Analysis
At 11:24am (UTC), the results of Desmond's medical examination came up, with the medical examiner stating that there were no problems found, subsequently permitting Warren Vidic to continue his work on Desmond.

Access Codes
Desmond found access codes which allowed him to leave his cell. This led him to discover Lucy's pen, which he later used to access her e-mail.

Case File #1394
On the 4th and 5th of September 2012, Lucy Stillman sent a number of e-mails to various Abstergo employees, regarding the alleged suicide of Leila Marino in 2007.

The Mole
The following data was recorded from a cell phone tower in Florence, Italy at 10:15 pm (UTC). DATA TRANSCRIPT LEVEL 3 ........................................... Cell Tower Grid 43TP11FP ........................................... UTC 20120905T221514Z ........................................... [outgoing transmission] [caller id = maestranzi, adriano] [-] William speaking. [+] Desmond is in Rome. [-] Yes, I know. My mole confirmed it. [+] What should we do? [-] Everything is under control. My agent will ensure his protection. [+] I have a team ready, I'll– [-] Negative. Do not intervene. I repeat: Do not intervene. [transmission ends]

Coded Message
Lucy managed to find a way to bypass Abstergo's security system and message the Assassins, asking for help. Moments later, at 8:25am (UTC), she received a coded reply from an unknown Assassin contact which read "We will be there soon" when deciphered.

Rescue Attempt
At about 6:49pm (UTC), a team of Assassins attempted to rescue Desmond, but were neutralized after a firefight with Abstergo security personnel. Vidic questioned Desmond about their presence, to which Desmond denied any involvement. After the team had been neutralized, Desmond mocked Vidic's temporary anxiety, stating that the facility may not have been as secure as they anticipated. However, Vidic revealed that over the course of the past year, the Templars had been busy hunting down the remnants of the Assassin Order, revealing that most of them had been wiped out, and that Desmond was on his own.

Eagle Vision
After Desmond was done reliving the memories of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad at about 5:18pm (UTC), he exited the Animus, and soon afterwards, discovered he had unlocked a unique trait his ancestor had once possessed.

Escape from Abstergo
At 6:21pm (UTC), Desmond, with the aid of Lucy, escaped the Abstergo research facility. As they made their way out, Desmond noticed Lucy taking out several guards with ease – a consequence of her training as an Assassin. Along the way, they reached a door which required a code to allow them to proceed. Using his newfound gift, Desmond found the code, and the two were successful in their escape.

Assassin's Hideout
At 12:38pm (UTC), Lucy and Desmond arrived at an Assassin safe house in Rome, located within the industrial area.

Failure to Report
The following data was recorded from a cell phone tower in, , at 10:14pm (UTC).

DATA TRANSCRIPT LEVEL 3 ........................................... Cell Tower Grid 27LN153AP ........................................... UTC 20120910T221401Z ........................................... [outgoing transmission] [caller id = public phone] [-] What the hell do you mean? [+] You heard me, Gavin. The team failed to report. Again. This is– [-] When did you last heard from them? [+] Didn't you get my last em– [-] When? [+] Three days. [pause] Over three days ago. Gavin I– [-] Listen, and listen carefully. We have to move fast. First, keep only the most vital data. Destroy the rest. Leave no trace. You know the drill. Second, secure transport. Third, get to the– [signal interrupted]

Bleeding Effect
Desmond discovered that prolonged exposure to the Animus could cause serious side effects, known colloquially as the bleeding effect. While this could be detrimental to an Animus subject's health, in theory, it could also be beneficial by allowing them to acquire the knowledge and the skills of their ancestors.

Gunfight
The following data was recorded from a cell phone tower in, , at 9:21am (UTC).

DATA TRANSCRIPT LEVEL 3 ........................................... Cell Tower Grid 50DP122ZN ........................................... UTC 20120912T092116Z ........................................... [outgoing transmission] [caller id = private] [-] [interference] [+] Yes, my source confirmed it. As I said, I'll need more men. [-] I understand, but we can't send anyone. Our forces are already spread too thin. [+] But– [-] There's no one near your position. [+] Damn it! Listen, Gavin! That's not even close to acceptable. I've only two operatives here with me. We can't– [-] Alright. [pause] Alright. I'll do what I can. But it will take a while for anyone to reach you. [+] Hold on! Someone's outside– [sound of breaking and entering] [-] What's going on? [+] [a scream in the distance] [-] Janice? [+] [distant] Who– No! Oh god no! [sound of gunshot] [-] Janice? Janice! [+] [a new voice, far away] Secure the area. Make sure there's no survivors. [white noise]

Lost Teams
At around 7:34pm (UTC), Lucy told Desmond that two more Assassin teams had been lost the preceding night, referring to a team in Whistler, British Columbia and an unidentified one. Altogether, 8 Assassins were killed, though the circumstances surrounding the latter team were unknown.

Missing Person Poster
Friends of Desmond distributed missing person posters all over New York City, requesting any information that would aid them in finding him.

Survivor
At 11:17am (UTC) in Florence, Italy, Adriano Maestranzi sent an e-mail to William Miles, cryptically referring to at least one survivor from the attack on the Assassin team in Whistler, British Columbia.

Under Attack
At 9:09pm (UTC), an Abstergo assault team led by Dr. Warren Vidic stormed the Assassin hideout in Rome. Though Desmond and Lucy repelled the attackers, the Assassins were forced to abandon their compromised base.

Cabin in the North
Within minutes, Lucy's team headed north to the Italian border, bound for a cabin in the Swiss. The isolated location had been used by the Brotherhood as a base for two centuries, including during World War II, when Assassins aided local cells in their resistance against the Germans.

Roadblock
At 1:01am (UTC), a roadblock set up by the in Grosseto, Italy forced Lucy's team to change destinations. Lucy: Shit! There's a roadblock up ahead. They must have known we'd go north. Desmond: Where exactly are we? Rebecca: Check the map. Is there anywhere safe we can set up the equipment? Someplace with good cover? A cave, anything. Shaun: No, there's nothing around here for– Hello. Take E78. Lucy: What– Shaun: This exit. Turn! Lucy: I hope you actually have a plan. Shaun: Wait until you see where I'm taking you.

The Sanctuary
Two hours later, Lucy's team arrived in Monteriggioni, north of Grosseto. They set up a new headquarters in the underground Sanctuary beneath the Villa Auditore, where the old Assassin stronghold's thick walls blocked all electronic signals and shielded them from detection.

Witness
At 12:08pm (UTC) in Florence, Italy, Adriano Maestranzi sent another e-mail to William Miles, stating that his "associate" had returned safely, and cryptically referring to the attack in Whistler being led by Daniel Cross.

Animus Recordings
Recordings of Desmond's sessions in the Animus are found in the abandoned Assassin hideout by Abstergo security personnel.

Trivia

 * In the security camera footage, Desmond was shown with a courier bag and his outfit from Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, despite the events taking place around the time of Assassin's Creed.
 * In the security footage from the hangar in Italy, the timestamp displayed (16:44) was two hours earlier than the timestamp from the Desmond File selection column, along with the event description (18:44). This was due to an updated image, which showed Desmond with an added blindfold, in comparison to the previous one.
 * According to the reports, Desmond did not argue with Warren Vidic after regaining consciousness, as he did in Assassin's Creed.
 * On 7 September, for unknown reasons, the map showed 6 events somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. Zooming in on the area resulted in the message "Map data not yet available."

Source

 * Assassin's Creed: Initiates - The Desmond Files