Clay Kaczmarek's digital avatar within the Animus
A Digital Cognizance Imprint is a form of sapient and sentient consciousness existing in a digital space copied from a physical individual. The only officially recognized instance of this is the Assassin Clay Kaczmarek, but there have been several similar cases.
History[]
Clay Kaczmarek[]
In 2011, Clay became a participant of the Animus Project as Subject 16. Prolonged use of the Animus, the Bleeding Effect, and the revelation of Lucy Stillman's betrayal adversely impacted Clay's mental state and he resolved to kill himself.[1] Before following through with that course of action, he copied his consciousness using the Animus's simulation capabilities. He then broke that construct and scattered it within the Animus databanks where they became the "Glyphs" and "Rifts" within the simulation of Ezio Auditore da Firenze's genetic memories that were relived by the next subject of the Animus Project, Desmond Miles.[2][3]
Clay's avatar being deleted by the Animus
Once reassembled, the digital construct of Clay was able to help Desmond navigate the Animus's Black Room in order to reach a Synch Nexus and save Desmond from the consequences of the Bleeding Effect. When the Animus responded by deleting the Black Room to rectify Desmond's intrustions in Ezio's memories, Clay's avatar sacrificed itself to help Desmond escape, though not before transferring all of Clay's memories to Desmond.[4]
Clay's case was later studied by the Templar and Abstergo Industries agent Violet da Costa at some point prior to 2014. In a text conversation with Melanie Lemay discussing a recent breach of Abstergo's servers, Violet mentioned her research into individuals able to "live" in a digital network, dubbed "Digital Cognizance Imprints", though she dismissed that it could be the case here.[5]
Similar cases[]
Other non-corporeal consciousnesses, from both Isu and human sources, have existed at various points in time. During the Isu Era, Consus uploaded himself into his prototype Shroud of Eden,[6] Aletheia was uploaded to the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus,[7] and Juno was trapped within the global aurora borealis device creating the Grey.[8] In the 9th century, Svala, Sigurd Styrbjornsson, Eivor Varinsdottir, and Basim Ibn Ishaq plugged themselves into Yggdrasil, allowing them to navigate and manipulate a digital space; this, however, was only temporary and their physical bodies remained alive.[9]
Layla and the Reader inside the Grey
In recent times, Desmond Miles entered the Grey after his physical body was killed while activating the global aurora borealis device in 2012.[8][10] In 2020, Layla Hassan also accessed the Grey after plugging herself into Yggdrasil and was tricked by Basim, who had spent centuries trapped there, into releasing him. Layla's physical body later died from the lethal radiation emitted by Yggdrasil, and she chose to remain inside the Grey alongside "the Reader", Desmond's digitalized consciousness.[11]
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed II (indirect mention only)
- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations
- Assassin's Creed: Unity (mentioned only) (first identified as Digital Cognizance Imprint)
References[]
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Lost Archive – The End of the Line
- ↑ Assassin's Creed II – Modern day
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood – Modern day
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Modern day
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Unity – Database: 16. Chat Log
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Syndicate – Database: Reconstructed Data 003
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Animus Anomalies: Basilica Ruins
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Assassin's Creed III – Modern day
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – A Brother's Keeper
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Unity – Database: 14. Security Breach Memo
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Modern day
