Apples of Eden

"This Apple of Eden will be understood. It must be... Is it a weapon? Is it a catalogue? Is it somehow both?"

- Altaïr's Codex, page 1.

The Apples of Eden were Pieces of Eden, a type of technology made by Isu.

Having outlived their creators, the Apples featured prominently, although abstrusely, throughout recorded history as the cause of several 'divine' and 'superhuman' events; these included the, the parting of the , or Adam and Eve being cast out of Eden.

History
"This... 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."

- Rashid ad-Din Sinan about an Apple.

Long before mankind existed, the First Civilization of technologically advanced beings inhabited Earth. They created humanity, and enslaved them by modifying their brains to be manipulable by Pieces of Eden. For some time there was a forced peace, until Adam and Eve stole one of the Pieces, an Apple, and started the Human-Isu War.

As all were too occupied by the war to see the threat, a major solar flare impacted the Earth, and significantly damaged both mankind and their makers. The people of First Civilization slowly became extinct, while mankind grew and populated the Earth, seeing their predecessors as myths and gods.

The Pieces of Eden were not destroyed by the blast, and throughout time, humans started recovering them, also causing a split of sides based on different mindsets, Templars and Assassins. The Templars were out to restore peace in the way the First Civilization had once done, forced by the Pieces, unlike the Assassins, that fought for freedom and a flawed humanity, putting free will above order.

Many decades went by as the fight continued between Templars and Assassins, both knowing the importance of the Pieces, especially the Apple, to reach their goal.

The Apples featured as the most well known Piece of Eden, being favored by Abstergo Industries in their plan of a New World Order, being likely the most predictable Piece, as some other Pieces were known to be able to create time paradoxes.

Powers and capabilities
"Those subjected to [the Apple]'s glow are promised all that they desire. It asks only one thing in return: complete and total obedience. And who can truly refuse? It is temptation incarnate."

- Altaïr's Codex, page 1.

Apples were designed to create illusions and to control human minds and even turn thought into reality, as stated by Juno, hence, they were used by many great rulers throughout history, proving the efficiency of the Apples' powers.

The First Civilization added a small part to the human brain that made them susceptible to these powers, only those with mixed genes were mentally immune to the manipulation, but not physically, however, those with mixed genes showed immense resistance to physical control after getting into contact with its power a few times or only even once, and at times, complete immunity, as seen in the case of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, when after being restrained by Al Mualim using the Apple, was completely unmoved and unharmed by its effects when it ended up in the hands of Abbas Sofian. In modern times, humans themselves had already started research on the brain, comparing them to those of other animals, seeing that they were not like the other animals, but not knowing the reason for this.

The Apple, as seen by King Washington's use, was also capable of emitting energy blasts similar to the Sword of Eden, albeit on a weaker scale. Washington's illusions created by the Apple could actually cause physical harm on his opponent, stunning them with a blast of energy upon contact. The Apple was also capable of influencing people even when no one was using it, an example being an illusion cast by the Apple in an attempt to influence Washington.

All the Apples could presumably be used in conjunction with a Staff of Eden, though there is only one solid example: Ezio's Apple. Ezio Auditore da Firenze used the two Pieces of Eden to open the Vatican Vault, before taking the Apple, and losing the Staff that was pulled into the ground.

Apples also contained knowledge of many technologies used by the First Civilization. Like many other Pieces, they were able to communicate with people, showing them the products necessary to make the technology and transferring wisdom about the manufacturing of the shown devices.

A good example of this was Leonardo da Vinci, who studied one of the Apples and invented four war machines, and several other weapons with technology far beyond his own time. There were only six known Apples, one of which had been destroyed in the DIA satellite accident.

Apple 1
The first known human possessor of this Apple was Napoleon Bonaparte, who used the technology to power up his force in the French Revolution. This Apple was taken by Arno Dorian in Franciade in 1794, who delivered it to the Assassin Brotherhood in Cairo. Napoleon later travelled to Egypt to claim the Apple for himself. With the power of this item, he became the leader of France with the name of Napoleon I, ruling in military and political sense. How he lost the Apple remained unknown.

The second known human owner was Harry Houdini, a magician who used the First Apple to create his "impossible" stunts. He was assassinated by Templars, though his death was commonly known to have been caused by a ruptured appendix.

Later, the Apple was used in the assassination of John F. Kennedy, as a means of producing a "Phantom on the Hill" effect, making the prosecution of Oswald more difficult, and disguising the intentions of the assassination. The current location of this Apple is unknown.

Apple 2
The first known human possessor of the Second Apple was Malik Al-Sayf, who only owned it temporarily after retrieving it from Solomon's Temple. For some time after, it was kept by Rashid ad-Din Sinan, also known as Al Mualim, later using it to control the people of Masyaf. However, the Mentor was overthrown himself by Altaïr, who took the Apple from him. Altaïr then kept the Piece until his death in 1257, using it several times for either his own safety or for its knowledge.

The next known possessor of this Piece was Elizabeth I of England, an English monarch in the 16th century, who favored a Protestant England over the Catholic religion of her forebears, who used the Piece to help reverse the Catholic influences of her predecessor, Mary I.

It eventually passed into the hands of Mahatma Gandhi, who most likely used it to acquire a large religious mass of followers in India. However, the Templars became aware of Gandhi's possession of the Apple and murdered him, themselves taking the Piece of Eden.

By 1960, the Templars had both the First and Second Apple in possession, and used them during the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The Apple was eventually destroyed during the DIA satellite accident, forcing the Templars to track down another Apple.

Apple 3
The earliest known human possessors of this Piece were the Freemasons, who brought it over from Europe to the New World. General George Washington, a Freemason, recovered the Apple during the American Revolutionary War. It began to give him nightmares of a parallel universe where he used its power to rule America as a king, so he gave it to the Assassin Ratonhnhaké:ton, who dropped it into the sea.

By the 20th century, the Apple had been recovered, and Franklin D. Roosevelt had it in his possession. He teamed up with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin in the fabrication of World War II.

It was then owned by John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated after his driver – under control of the Second Apple – had driven him into a trap, so the Templars could take the Piece from him.

The Third Apple was given to Kennedy's Presidential successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, who was secretly a Templar. Johnson used the Apple to push for the Apollo 11 project, which retrieved the Fifth Apple from the moon without opposition.

Apple 4
The Fourth Apple was first known to be seen in 10th century Chinese art, as a gold ball held by a small demon, first presumed to be an early grenade.

The first known human to possess the Fourth Apple was Nikola Tesla, who found it in his home country,. He most likely used it to develop his technology on the availability of electricity worldwide, which the Templars started campaigning against, using Thomas Edison to publicly slander Tesla and to videotape the electrocution of, to prove the danger of electricity. Some time after this, the Templars broke into Tesla's lab, stealing his Apple and using it to drive him insane.

The Fourth Apple then presumably came into the hands of, which indicates that the Piece came into Edison's possession after the Templars took it from Tesla. Edison later lent it to Henry Ford, who manipulated assembly line workers for profit. Henry, "as per instructions", shipped the Apple to Adolf Hitler, just before the took power in Germany and began World War II. Hitler was eventually eliminated by the Assassins, but what happened to the Apple afterwards is unknown.

Apple 5
The Fifth Apple was recovered from the moon by NASA, after the Templars had taken the Third Apple from John F. Kennedy - who planned on creating a joint space program with the Soviets - and used it for the progression of the Apollo Project.

Ezio's Apple
This Apple was possessed by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II during the conquest of Constantinople. His son Cem subsequently hid it in the Templar Archive on Cyprus, where it came into Templar and then Assassin possession, before falling into the hands of Girolamo Savonarola. The Apple was retaken by Ezio, who used it with the Staff of Eden to open the Vatican Vault, where he spoke to a hologram of Minerva, a member of the First Civilization.

During the Siege of Monteriggioni, Ezio lent the Apple to Mario Auditore, who kept it safe as Ezio protected the village. However, Mario was caught and killed by Cesare Borgia, who would take the Apple and give it to Leonardo da Vinci for study so the inventor could supply him with war machines.

However, the Apple was eventually stolen once more by Rodrigo Borgia, who hid it at St. Peter's Basilica, where Ezio found it and used it to exterminate Cesare's followers before defeating Cesare himself. Later in his life, Ezio stored the artifact in a vault beneath Santa Maria in Aracoeli; the Apple would remain hidden until 2012, when Desmond Miles and his fellow Assassins uncovered its location.

However, upon retrieving the Apple, Desmond was forced by Juno to fatally stab Lucy Stillman in the abdomen. He subsequently fell into a coma, with the artifact being kept safe until his eventual awakening. Desmond and the other Assassins later used the Apple to open the door to the Grand Temple, and then to assault Abstergo's facility in Rome.

Aguilar's Apple
The first known human to possess the Apple was Muhammad XII of Granada, who was forced to hand it over to Grand Inquisitor and Templar Tomás de Torquemada in 1492 when the latter captured Muhammad's son, Prince Ahmed. The artifact did not stay in his possession for very long, however, as Assassins Aguilar de Nerha and Maria immediately launched an attack to take back the Apple.

While Maria died in the ensuing battle, Aguilar was able to escape with the artifact and later gave it to Assassin ally Christopher Columbus, who took it with him as he set sail for the New World. The Apple would stay with Columbus until his death, at which point the Piece of Eden accompanied his remains back to the Seville Cathedral in Spain, where they were buried.

In 2016, the Apple was recovered by the Templars after they used Callum Lynch to relive Aguilar's memories. However, when Alan Rikkin unveiled the artifact in front of the Council of Elders in London, he was assassinated by Callum, who took the Apple and made his escape along with fellow Assassin inmates Moussa and Lin.

Unidentified Apples

 * The ancient Greek athlete Kyros of Zarax discovered an Apple in the temple of Aphrodite. He used this to win a race as an older man so as to gain the princess Atalanta's hand in marriage.
 * In 1257, the Assassin Darim Ibn-La'Ahad, son of Altaïr, found an Apple in Egypt and offered it to the new Sultan of the Bahri dynasty.
 * The 15th century Assassin Li Tong possessed an Apple, which she protected from falling into the hands of the Yongle Emperor during his purge of the Chinese branch of the Order.
 * During the coronation of Charles II of England, he noticed his general George Monck speaking to a man holding a sphere wrapped in a cloth, but had to bow his head to receive his crown before he could look any further.
 * In 1839, the Assassin Arbaaz Mir and his servant Raza Soora explored the First Civilization ruins in the caverns beneath Ranjit Singh's summer palace. Amongst these ruins was a statue of Durga holding several Pieces of Eden, including an Apple.
 * In 1868, one Apple was in the possession of the British Templars, being studied by Sir David Brewster. However the Apple was overloaded and detonated, collapsing the underground laboratory that housed it.