Aita was an Isu scientist and the husband of Juno. A member of the Illuminat[4] caste and one of his civilization's brightest minds, Aita created the Observatory[5] on the island that would later be known as Jamaica,[6] and functioned as an overseer of the Pieces of Eden.[5] However, his pride made him disregard ethical scientific protocols,[4] and when it was discovered that he had acted on a theory of his[7] and conducted illegal genetic experimentation on humans and their DNA,[8][9] he was stripped of his caste position[9] and banished from Atlantis.[8]
During the waning years of the Human-Isu War, Aita volunteered to participate in his wife's controversial attempt to save their species by transferring his consciousness into another body.[5] The experiment failed and Aita's mind became brittle, trapped in his own body. Unable to heal him,[3] Juno embarked on a quest alongside Odin to acquire a mysterious Isu innovation called "the Mead"[10] in order to create Sages of Aita,[11] before consensually euthanizing him herself.[3] This act ended up immortalizing him through continuous reincarnations over the millennia.
Biography[]
Aita began his work as a scientist by helping develop the Wings of Hermes, making the teleportation device safer for use. Under the school of Consus, he helped develop new and advanced medical technology still used in Atlantis quite some time later.[4] However, Aita also did a number of experiments with human subjects, such as one that involved eight subjects who were kept their entire lives in captivity underground so they would not know anything of the outside world.[12] That particular experiment ended with one subject killing the others and escaping.[13] Due to Aita's refusal to stop human experimentation, Poseidon banned him from Atlantis, forcing him and Juno to return to Feyan.[4]
At some point, Aita oversaw construction of the Observatory, a surveillance facility situated in modern-day Jamaica which allowed the Isu to observe the movements of an individual anywhere on the globe using a Crystal Skull and blood vials. The Observatory was designed to be inoperable without Aita, whose DNA served as the key that would open the complex's entrance.[14]
After the outbreak of the human rebellion in 2296 Isu Era, Aita helped Juno, Minerva, and Jupiter sort through the solutions given to them at the Grand Temple in order to prevent the Great Catastrophe, which he was able to do until the fifth solution was tested.[3] After their first four attempts at preventing the Great Catastrophe failed, Juno and the others sought to save their race by means of smaller proportions. The fifth solution was to change their physical bodies by transferring their minds to other vessels, using mechanical and human bodies as test subjects. Pleading with her husband to help her, Juno managed to persuade him to volunteer for the experiment.[3][15]
A hologram of Aita, in a human body, and Juno
After his consciousness was transferred into a machine and through to a human body, Aita's mind swiftly deteriorated; while his body would survive, his mind became brittle and catatonic. With enough will, he asked his wife to end his suffering, though she would spend the next months searching for ways to help him.[3] She eventually resolved to steal a secret seventh method of salvation that the Capitoline Triad was developing, which would allow the Isu to upload their DNA and memories into a human vessel and be "reborn" as humans millennia in the future.[16]
With the help of Odin, who also sought the solution to save his own kind, Juno stole the serum and took a sample,[10] which she further modified to ensure that Aita's reincarnations would occur sporadically rather than only once. She then used the solution to somehow manipulate the human genetic code, implanting a hidden trigger that would randomly activate and alter the genetic makeup of the individual, changing their appearance and imbuing them with Aita's memories.[15] Having found a way to immortalize her husband, Juno later informed Aita of what she had done and granted him his wish, stabbing him in the heart.[3]
Legacy[]
Sages[]
- Main article: Sage
Different incarnations of Aita Sages
Throughout the next millennia, Aita was reincarnated in the bodies of various humans known as Sages, all of whom had his memories while a select number shared identical facial features with their progenitor.[15][17] By the early 21st century, no less than twelve Sages were confirmed to have existed at various points in history, while Abstergo Industries research posited an additional six potential Sages.[18][19]
As a Sage gradually unlocked Aita's memories and became aware of their past life, they often suffered confusion and, in some instances, went insane as a result. The 17th-century carpenter Thomas Kavanagh, Jr. was unable to make sense of his dual memories until he arrived at the Observatory years after he began experiencing them.[20] The 18th-century pirate Bartholomew Roberts[14][21] and the Parisian silversmith and Templar François-Thomas Germain also experienced similar visions.[22]
As reincarnations of Aita, a Sage's ultimate goal was typically to be reunited with Juno, whose consciousness became trapped for millennia in the Grand Temple[3] and, later, the Grey.[15] To this end, Sages would sometimes take leading positions in organizations and cults venerating Juno, such as the Instruments of the First Will, who sought to bring Juno back to the physical world and restore the Isu as humanity's natural arbiters.[15][23] In some instances, however, a Sage would be able to resist Aita's influence enough to retain their own personality. The best example of this was Elijah, Desmond Miles' illegitimate son, who used Aita's knowledge to continually sabotage Juno's efforts at resurrection, and eventually assisted in her final death.[24]
Aletheia's simulations[]
During the Peloponnesian War, the Spartan misthios Kassandra interacted with simulations created from the memories of Aletheia.[8] In the simulation of Atlantis, she uncovered the kidnapping of humans that were traced back to an experiment called the "Olympos Project."[25] In the experiment chamber, she discovered test tubes containing replicas of the Minotaur, the Cyclops Brontes, the Writhing Dread, and the Sphinx, among other deformed creatures.[26]
Aita and Juno in the Atlantis simulation
At that moment, Aita, the scientist leading the Project, entered the room, and Kassandra reminded him of Poseidon's law forbidding experimentation on humans. She then threw her spear at the Isu in anger, but discovered it was just a hologram. Before the hologram of Aita vanished, he gave Kassandra the choice of freeing the prisoners or seeing his greatest achievement at the cost of the humans' lives.[26]
After making her choice, Kassandra returned to Poseidon to inform him of her discovery. However, their conversation was interrupted by Aita and Juno, who explained that they had created the hybrid beasts to help in a future war against humanity, as Poseidon was more preoccupied with the Great Catastrophe. The couple then stated that they had considered using Kassandra as a template for their hybrids, but seeing her as too human, they created the Hekatonchires and released it to suppress any future rebellion. While Poseidon restrained Juno and Aita, Kassandra went to face the Hekatonchires and killed it.[8]
Personality and traits[]
Similarly to his wife Juno, Aita held prejudiced views towards humans, regarding them as "sheep" that would be lost without the Isu's guidance. This belief was passed down to some of his reincarnations, such as Bartholomew Roberts, who became highly cynical, nihilistic, and misanthropic,[14] and John Standish, who believed that humanity should return to worshipping and serving the Isu.[15]
Some of Aita's Sages, like François-Thomas Germain and Jacques de Molay, found similarities between their beliefs and the Templar ideology, leading them to join the Order,[27] while others, like the Master Spy and John, elected to join the Instruments of the First Will, a religious cult that worshipped Juno and sought to return humanity to her stewardship.[15][23] Most of Aita's reincarnations seemed to possess a strong desire to be reunited with Juno, Aita's "beloved", and would use anyone and anything at their disposal to achieve their goal of restoring Juno's physical form.[15][23]
Aita bore two notable facial features, anisocoria and heterochromia,[28] which were inherited by his Sages.[15][27][24]
Skills and equipment[]
During his lifetime, Aita was a brilliant scientist, described by Juno as one of the brightest minds of his time.[29] Within the simulation of Atlantis, he displayed the ability to fire energy balls from his hands, though it is unknown if the real Aita possessed this power.[8]
Gallery[]
Behind the scenes[]
In Etruscan mythology, Aita was the name for the underworld, as well as the corresponding anthropomorphized deity, borrowing elements from both Hades in Greek mythology and Pluto from Roman mythology. In this regard, Etruscans depicted Aita as a bearded male wearing a wolfskin cap.
In some of his incarnations, Aita was seen wearing a portrait necklace depicting an unknown woman, presumably Juno.
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed III (first appearance) (appears as a hologram)
- Assassin's Creed: Initiates (indirect mention only)
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Unity (mentioned in Database entry only)
- Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Uprising (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – The Fate of Atlantis: Judgment of Atlantis (simulation only)
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (mentioned only)
- Dawn of Ragnarök (indirect mention only)
- Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple
- Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game (mentioned only)
References[]
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