- "Basically, I think the Assassins and Templars are both wrong."
- ―Sebastian Monroe, 2016.[src]
Sebastian Monroe (born c. 1970s) is a former high-level researcher of Abstergo Industries and member of the Templar Order, who deserted for personal reasons and stole various technologies in the process, including an Animus.
Monroe's field of expertise at Abstergo was the "Ascendance Events"; various bloodlines crossing through centuries, being in contact with Piece of Eden, until they all met at some point as if the generations were guided toward that moment by an unidentified force. Following his desertion, Monroe used his knowledge of the Ascendance Events and Animus technology to search for the prongs of the Trident of Eden, seeking to keep them out of both the Templars' and Assassins' reach.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Monroe had a very traumatic childhood, which later made him unfit to use the Animus, his abused psyche being too unstable to safely use the device.[2]
While working for Abstergo Industries, Monroe discovered a sub-code in the DNA behind the primary code. Once he knew what to look for, he found fragments of the sub-code and, desiring to understand its mechanics, ran proto-simulations to see what would happen. Mere curiosity turned into obsession, Monroe making it his mission to recreate the entire collective unconscious sub-DNA. He also discovered the existence of the Ascendance Event, which he came to believe was a source of wisdom. However, he made the mistake of mentioning it to Isaiah, who became obsessed with it as well, believing it would grant him power.[3]
The IT guy[]
After being forbidden by Dr. Victoria Bibeau to look into the memories of his abusive father to exorcise his demons, Monroe became erratic and stole an Animus. Hiding from Abstergo, he then posed as the IT guy in various schools, discreetly offering Animus sessions to teenagers looking for thrills or seeking answers that went against their expectations.[2] In fact, Monroe was looking into their DNA for Assassin or Templar ancestors as well as fragments of the sub-DNA, and by 2016, had found several subjects: Natalya Aliyev, Sean Molloy, Grace and her brother David Collins.[4]
That same year, Monroe found two new subjects, Owen Meyers and his friend Javier Mondragón. Owen believed he could use the Animus to prove his late father's innocence in a robbery from 2011, but Monroe told him he only possessed his father's genetic memories until before his conception and that he would need his father's DNA from after the robbery. Despite being unable to help Owen, Monroe offered him and Javier use of the Animus, finding Genetic Memory Concordance.[5] Through the boys, Monroe discovered clues about the Trident of Eden, once they inadvertently confirmed that Hernán Cortés had possessed a Dagger of Eden. After pulling Owen and Javier from the Animus and parting ways,[6] Monroe resigned from his current IT job and disappeared.[7]
Monroe later came to Owen's rescue when he was accosted by a Templar agent seeking to recruit him in exchange for helping to exonerate his father, only for the Templar to be taken out by the Assassin Griffin. Using advanced tech in his Abstergo bike, Monroe was able to outpace Griffin when he attempted to pursue them.[4]
Search for the Trident[]
The Faith Prong[]
Monroe brought Owen to a warehouse, where he had gathered Javier and the other teenagers. Telling them about the age-old shadow war between the Assassins and Templars, Monroe convinced the group of teenagers to work with him, to find the artifact and hide it from both the Assassins and Templars, promising that both groups would leave them alone.[4] Reliving the memories of their ancestors from the New York draft riots of 1863 under the guidance of Monroe, the teenagers discovered that a piece of the Trident had last been seen in the possession of General Ulysses S. Grant.[8]
However, the use of the Animus did not go unnoticed, and a Templar strike team captured the teenagers, with only Owen and Javier escaping thanks to the Bleeding Effect while Monroe disappeared with the Animus core.[8][9] While Grace and Sean decided to trust the Templars,[2] Owen and Javier worked with the Assassins,[9] but as both factions converged at Grant's house in Mount McGregor, they discovered that someone else had already taken the first prong of the Trident and left.[10]
Once Monroe made it as far as he could and recuperated, he berated himself for being so careless and vowed to rescue the teenagers from the Templars. To that end, he used a burner phone he purchased[11] to call Cole, a Templar who owed him a favour.[3]
Attempted rescue and capture[]
With Cole's aid, Monroe infiltrated the Aerie, where everyone excluding Owen and Javier was being kept, disguised as an Abstergo agent. He then started a fire that caused a blackout to unlock the teens' rooms. He eventually found Grace, David, and Natalya and was told that Sean wanted to stay. Accepting his choice, Monroe was then told by Grace that he should not have come for them, and guessed that Isaiah had told them a half-truth about him. After warning the teenagers that Isaiah was a master manipulator, David and Natalya decided to leave with Monroe while Grace, unsure of her choice, was separated from the group when the power came back on.[12]
With little time to lose, Monroe led Natalya and David to the garage, where Templar agents started firing on them. They were soon joined by Owen and Javier, who had joined the Assassins in an independent rescue attempt. Owen then stayed behind to provide covering fire while Javier took Natalya and David to safety, stealing Isaiah's high-tech stealth car in the process. Monroe stayed behind for unknown reasons and, when Isaiah entered the garage and announced that he had reinforcements on the way, Monroe surrendered himself and urged Owen to do the same.[13]
The Fear Prong[]
However, Monroe was not held captive long. With Isaiah preoccupied leading an expedition to Mongolia, where the second prong was buried, Cole made arrangements for Monroe to be shipped to Mongolia in a cargo container, and caught Owen and Grace attempting to spring him. Once the trio were safely inside the container, Cole told Monroe that her debt with him was squared. After she sealed them in, Owen asked Monroe if Cole was Rothenburg, an Assassin informant inside Abstergo, to which he told him not to ask questions that might put Cole in danger.[3]
During the journey, Monroe caught up with the two teenagers on what had been happening with them and was surprised to hear that they assumed he had taken the first prong. He then asked if Isaiah mentioned the Ascendance Event and, at Owen's request, explained what he knew of the Ascendance Event and the sub-DNA, revealing that all six teenagers made up the whole of the sub-DNA.[3]
Upon their arrival in Mongolia, Monroe, Owen, and Grace were quickly discovered by Isaiah and captured. Subsequently, the Templars spotted survivors from a crashed Assassin plane and prepared to take it out when Grace, fearing her brother was there, told Isaiah to set off a series of lights to lure David in so he could give Isaiah the location of the tomb. Once David was captured and interrogated by Isaiah, he claimed that the tomb of Möngke Khan was south of the Templar camp.[14]
After Isaiah left, Monroe asked David why he would betray the tomb's location, to which Owen retorted that it was a better alternative than the Assassins getting their hands on it. Monroe then learned that Owen had gotten a sample of his father's DNA and that Isaiah had allowed him to use Helix, which showed him the Assassins using his father in the bank robbery that had sent him to prison. Monroe insisted that Isaiah had falsified the memory to show Owen what he wanted to see, but the teenager stubbornly refused to believe it.[14]
Soon after, David got a guard to let him use a portable toilet, before Owen and Grace swiftly disabled the second guard, to Monroe's surprise. They explained that they felt strong Bleeding Effects in each other's presence, and proceeded to take down the remaining guards, clearing the path ahead. They then found David, who led them to the tomb's real location, having misled Isaiah.[14]
At the tomb, Monroe and the teenagers were reunited with Javier and Natalya, the latter having sedated the Assassins Griffin and Yanmei. Together, they dug up the Khan's tomb, only for Isaiah to turn up, revealing that he had pretended to be tricked in order to follow them to the tomb. Monroe pleaded with Isaiah not to hurt the teens, only to be told that he still needed all six of them.[15] Although the Assassins recovered and attacked Isaiah's men, the Templar managed to get his hands on the second prong and unleashed its fear-inducing powers on everyone. After fatally wounding Yanmei, Isaiah announced his defection from the Templar Order and departed, leaving Monroe and the others behind.[16]
With Griffin carrying Yanmei's body, the group made their way back to the Templar camp. When Natalya started blaming herself for not showing the tomb to the Assassins beforehand, Monroe assured her that she was not at fault for Yanmei's death. Subsequently, Victoria Bibeau arrived at the camp, having just learned of Isaiah's betrayal and informing everyone that he had also acquired the first prong. When Victoria's bodyguards raised their weapons in alarm upon hearing that the Assassins were present, the teenagers reasoned that Isaiah was the bigger threat. Thus, Victoria and Griffin agreed to a ceasefire until they found the third prong and stopped Isaiah.[16]
The Devotion Prong and the Collective Unconscious[]
Along with Victoria and Griffin, Monroe assisted Javier and the Collins in their Animus sessions, exploring the memories of their ancestors in 10th-century Scandinavia to locate the third prong.[17] While Victoria handled their memories, Monroe had Owen and Natalya jump into the collective unconscious to discover more about the Ascendance Event.[18] While putting them into this unconscious memory, Monroe told them to keep him updated regularly.[19]
Monroe was soon met by Grace, who had given her spot in the Animus to her brother. Giving him a note she had found in Isaiah's old office, Grace explained that Isaiah was part of the Instruments of the First Will. Keeping this to themselves, Monroe explained what was going on with Owen and Natalya, to which Grace asked if she could join. After talking about the risks, Monroe allowed her to join their collective memory.[20]
After they succeeded in their trials, the three teenagers were met with a message from Minerva, who explained what had happened to her race and the danger of the Trident. She then provided them with a "shield" against the Trident as the memory came to an end. Monroe helped Owen, Natalya, and Grace out of the Animus,[21] before discussing their findings with Victoria and expressing his distrust of Abstergo when the doctor suggested using the company's jets to fly to Sweden and retrieve the Devotion Prong. Ultimately, they agreed that Griffin would go with Owen, Natalya, and Grace to Västerås,[22] due to Grace and David's ancestor Östen Jorundsson being the last person to have held the prong.[23]
While waiting for Griffin and the others to return, Monroe had Javier and David go through the same collective unconscious memory.[22] However, during their mission, Griffin was killed by Isaiah and his forces, who took the prong,[24] while Owen, Natalya, and Grace were rescued by Sean, with help from Victoria.[25]
Defeating Isaiah[]
Preparing the Aerie for Isaiah's incoming assault, Monroe armed himself, the teenagers, and Victoria and placed defenses around the building's perimeter. When Isaiah attacked, his forces were overwhelming. Although Monroe and Natalya held their end, they all retreated further into the garage.[26]
When Isaiah personally confronted them, Monroe, Victoria, and Isaiah's forces stopped once Sean challenged Isaiah. They all watched as the Trident of Eden held no power over the teenagers, who engaged Isaiah in a fight. After a tense struggle, Isaiah lost hold of the Trident and was killed by Javier using Griffin's Hidden Blade. Afterwards, as Victoria reached for the Trident, Natalya grabbed it first and, with the help of the other teenagers, seemingly depowered it, just as Minerva had intended.[26]
With the Trident secured and Isaiah eliminated, all the teenagers returned home and resumed their old lives after Victoria gave her word that the Templars would leave them alone. Meanwhile, Monroe escaped once again and took his Animus core and the Trident with him, believing that the artifact had not been completely depowered and held more secrets to be discovered.[27]
Personality and traits[]
Monroe was a strong advocate of free will and personal choice, believing that each individual should be free to choose their own path. For this reason, he was distrustful of not just the Templars, but also the Assassins, disagreeing with the latter's interpretation of free will as their members swore loyalty and obedience to the Brotherhood. Additionally, he believed that even those who are of either Assassin or Templar descent are under no obligation to join either side.[22]
Monroe was a scruffy-looking man, constantly wearing plain clothes and Converse shoes. He also wore a shirt of the American band Boston.[1]
Skills and equipment[]
Monroe possessed an eidetic memory. He was also a competent programmer who was able to modify his stolen Animus to allow multiple users to share their session while reliving their ancestors' memories (on the condition that the ancestors were located within the same geographic area at the same time). Monroe's Animus also gave the user more freedom in the simulation with fewer risks of desynchronization on the condition that they had more than one ancestor – such as a parent and their child – in the same location during the relived event.[28]
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Tomb of the Khan
- Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Fate of the Gods
References[]