Subject 16 (Voiced by Cam Clarke) is the Assassin abducted by Abstergo directly before Desmond Miles. Warren Vidic pushes Subject 16 to the point of insanity. In the games Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, indirect references are made to the events immediately following Subject 16's insanity. The events are only revealed after beating the first game.
After completing the storyline of Assassin's Creed, Desmond gains Eagle Vision via the "Bleeding Effect" from the Animus, which allows him to see more than is usually visible. At this point, he can use his new-found ability to see blood covering the walls and floor of the room with the Animus; the blood was used to create symbols and writings, indicating the end of the world in a variety of ways and making references to several different cultures. All of the clues point to December 21, 2012. When Desmond enters his own room and uses Eagle Vision to view the wall behind his bed, he sees that it is almost entirely covered in blood and contains several more clues to what happened to Subject 16. Eventually it is revealed that Subject 16 felt his soul was being stolen and his mind shattered with so many memories of his ancestors, so he used his own blood to paint the clues before ending his life.[17]
Before killing himself, Subject 16 makes one last contribution to the game: he places encoded messages throughout history in the form of glyphs. Each message requires decryption by solving a set of puzzles, and the messages are hard to understand unless viewed as a whole, to reveal what Subject 16 refers to as The Truth. During Assassin's Creed II, Desmond (now acting through Ezio Auditore) can find and decode these glyphs. In Assassin's Creed II the Truth reveals a short video showing Adam and Eve stealing the piece of Eden and jumping over a wall. The video isn't explained further. The following game, Brotherhood carries yet another encoded message left by Subject 16 that the player has to resolve. When all clusters are solved, Subject 16 (appearing as a digital figure) appears to talk to Desmond, instructing a confused Desmond to find Eve as her DNA is the 'key'.The achievement in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood entitled ".. .- -- .- .-.. .. ...- ." translates to "I AM ALIVE." This achievement is earned by solving all of Subject 16's Cluster puzzles.
His real name is never revealed; however in the graphic novel Vol.1 Desmond, his given name is Michael and his current status is said to be alive. The comic is considered non-canon to the franchise.