Animus Subjects

Subjects are people who have been selected by Abstergo Industries for use in their experiments with genetic memory and the Animus. There are (or have been) at least seventeen Subjects, of which only 2 are ever mentioned in Assassin's Creed.

Known Subjects
Only subjects Sixteen and Seventeen are ever mentioned in the game. Subjects One through Fifteen, as well as any that may exist after Seventeen, are never shown, and never seen.

Desmond Miles (Subject Seventeen)
Desmond Miles is the true protagonist of Assassin's Creed.

Brought to Abstergo against his will, he was threatened with a coma and death if he did not participate in the Animus project. Giving in to the threat, he entered the Animus. He was made to recreate the actions of his ancestor Altaïr, in order to find the location of the Piece of Eden. Like Subject Sixteen before him, Desmond experiences the Bleeding effect. However, he only experiences a relatively minor change- the ability to use Eagle Vision like his ancestor. This is probably due to Lucy urging him to take breaks from the Animus.

Subject Sixteen
Subject Sixteen was the predecessor to Desmond Miles in Abstergo's experiments. His name is unknown, but he is at one point referred to as "Neumann". He is never seen in any game.

It is known that, due to the "Bleeding effect", Subject Sixteen went mad and wrote the cryptic messages throughout Abstergo Industries, and that he did it with his own blood (almost certainly dying afterward). He may also have, in his madness, murdered Leila.