Chapter 1
Subject 13
Nothing is true, everything is permitted.
-Hassan-i Sabbah
Dizzy. A spinning sensation? Everything is fuzzy and unclear. Dammit, what's-are those voices I hear? They're so faint and distant. No, they're right there in front of me! What are they wearing? Tunics? Where the hell am I?! Someone bumped into my shoulder! Watch where I'm going? Is that what he said? Wait, I'm running, I think. This body feels so alien but so domestic. These people just kept getting in the way. Why are there so many of them? Where was I even going? Pain. A stinging sensation in my ankle, faint but there. The ground was getting closer, distant air rushed past my face. I was falling? Things were moving to slowly. Lagging and leaving behind several faint afterimages, like a bad video game. Contact. Cool concrete against my skin. Why is it I can barley feel this sensation, though?
"She can't handle the psychological stress. She's refusing the treatment!" A women's voice said, louder and clear then those around me.
I spun around to find the source and was knocked down by a blurred figure. Wait, how did I get back on my feet in the first place? I didn't remember standing up. Damn, the ground seemed closer this time. My head! I felt that one.
"Sistine, I want you to relax."
A male voice? It sounded older. Weight on my shoulders? Hands. Someone had grabbed me. The rush of being pulled me to my feet, a twisting feeling in my head. Then a face, thin and dark, inches from my own. Was it my face? Or someone else's?
Get a hold of yourself, Lisha!
Why did he sound so far away? Who's Lisha? I'm Lisha! Lisha Bint La-Ahad! No, my name is Sistine, a clerk at a Starbucks café. Haydar! Wait, how did I know his name? My partner, my brother, my friend! Shahin! A child? Whose child? No, these weren't my memories! Altaïr? Who's Sistine? I'm Sistine!!! No, I'm-
"I can't stabilize her!"
The women?
"Can you hear me, Sistine? What you're seeing isn't real, it can't hurt you."
"Dammit, we have to pull her out!"
Haydar began shaking me, a slow and painful movement. Was that his name?
"Alright, Sistine, we're going to bring you back now."
Lisha, what is the matter?
Bright light. Too bright. Engulfing me, swallowing me down whole. Then it was gone, fading, fading. Darker, darker. Forms. A face? Blonde hair framing a pretty face.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
Air! I felt my body lurch upward, gasping for the sweet, formless, nectar to fill my lungs. My lungs!! The hell? The spinning sensation again! No, I had just sat up too fast. Two hands suddenly there in front of my face, trembling like leaves in the breeze. My hands! My body!! Oh, thank god.
"Ms. Rivers, do you remember who you are?" The elderly voice said. I looked over to see an older man dressed in neat clothes under a lab coat, like the blonde women. His face, I had seen many in my life, but his I could not read. Could not decide whether he was trustworthy or not.
"Where the hell am I?!?!" I demanded, never feeling so pissed off in my life.
I didn't have the slightest idea about where I was, or what I was even doing here! A large, nearly empty, room where everything was painted or colored different shades of white. A lonely desk, a single computer on its surface, placed in front of a few large windows to my left. What a boring and clean place. The one thing I found fascinating was the strange table-machine I was sitting on.
"Now, Ms. Rivers, if we are to get along you need to calm down."
"Get along?!" I spat back. "I don't even know you. You kidnapped me, you bastards!!"
"You could possibly hold information we need." Mr. Scientist said, calm as a cat.
"Information?! Like what?! How to make a Mocha Latte?!" Sarcasm began to form in my voice. "Guess I forgot that only normal people ask!"
My hands balled into fists and I swear I could feel fumes erupting form my ears. You know, like in those old school cartoons.
"Well, according to my informants, you have been working incognito as a terrorist bomber for hire as long as it did not endanger the lives of the innocent." He raised an eyebrow.
I looked from Mr. Lab-Coat to Assistant Blondie. My tight fists relaxed and I dropped my gaze.
"Who are you people?" I asked quietly.
"Now, Ms. Rivers, I'd like you to give the date, year and your personal information."
"Why?"
"To make sure your memory is still stable."
I sighed. "August 3rd, 2012. My name is Sistine Rivers, nineteen years old, 5, 7'' and 136lbs."
"Very good." He said and Blondie made a note on her clip board. "Can you recall what happened the night you were kidnapped?"
It took a smidge of effort but I recalled the memory.
It had been a perfect day. Pure white clouds in a clear sky and green all around. I moved locations once every year, unless something came up that changed my migration planner. You'd be surprised at how popular Starbucks is in Sicily. Business had been good that day and I was able to leave early, taking the long way through the park to my small and cozy apartment. One cool thing about working at Starbucks was the discounts. I took advantage of my after work Carmel Frappuccino. First thing I did when I got home was feed my dog, Enzo (yeah, he's named after the dog from that one book), then made myself some dinner and settled down. Being an adult geek, I enjoy playing video games after good meal. Well, as fate would have it, my sugar tooth struck out, demanding something from the corner sweet shop down below. I surrendered and pulled a sweat shirt over my tank top and PJ bottoms. It would've driven my aunt nuts to know I had walked across the street barefoot (which is a thought I sadistically enjoy). Come to think of it, I couldn't remember going down the stairs of my apartment and out the door. Everything just skipped to the memory of me walking down the road to the sweet shop. Strange. Well, once in the sweet shop I grabbed some good ol' fashioned dark chocolate to satisfy the sugar crave. I peeled open the wrapper almost immediately after leaving the shop, taking a bite into the bitter-sweet treat. Then there was the sound of rushing footsteps behind me. Fourteen years of martial arts kicked in and I spun around to see a rather shady looking man standing behind me, his arm in mid-reach. I jumped back and bumped into someone else. Not enough time to react before there was a sharp pain in my neck and everything went black.
I explained all this to Grandpa Bill Nye, hesitated, then told him about the absence of the memory segment. His assistant noted this with a stiff expression.
"We're going to put you back in the Animus, but-"
"This thing?!" I cut in. "Uh-uh, no thanks, no way!"
Dr. What's-his-puts gave me the look you might give a disobedient child.
"We need to search your memories in order to gather the information my employer desires." His face hardened. "These are his orders: if the subject refuses to cooperate, dispose of them."
I stared at him.
"We will kill you."
I looked from one to the other. My heart pounded. Were they insane?
"This can't be legal!" I protested.
"Who will look for you? Will someone file you as missing?"
I found no immediate answer.
"Lie down, Ms. Rivers." He commanded.
I obeyed with a sigh. The two faces came into view above me and a strange screen slid over my face.
"As I was saying earlier, before you interrupted me," Mr. Science began. "We're going to have to go back farther in your ancestor's memory then were we need to be."
"What are you talking about?"
"What you just saw while you strapped into the Animus, were the memories of your ancestor from the year 1191."
The confused look on my face must have alerted him.
"Do you know what a memory is, Ms. Rivers?"
"Er, the recollection of a past event, specific to the individual who is remembering it."
"Precisely. Now did you know that the human body does not only house its own personal memories, but that of its ancestors as well? What I call genetic memory. Things like migration and reproduction, how does an animal know when and where it needs to go or what to do? How do newly hatched turtles know they need to get out to sea before the predators reach them? How do just born sharks know they need to get away form their mother?"
I showed I was listening.
"I've spent the last thirty years trying to figure out why this is. That is when I discovered that our memory is similar to that of an archive. It carries both genetic instructions and memories from previous generations. And the Animus allows us to project these genetic memories in three dimensions."
"But like many subjects," The assistant cut in. " the memory we need to get to is a major landmark in your ancestors memories, which usually means they are under a lot stress. Because of this, your body and mind feels unprepared and rejects the treatment. You also lack the confidence to step into your ancestor's body."
"Why?"
"It's your subconscious. It's trying to resist. It's similar to undergoing hypnosis and reliving a traumatic event. Jumping into the memory can cause mental damage and so they are eased in. But that doesn't necessarily put you in the safe zone. If we're not careful, we could lose you. So were going to put you into a more stable memory, allow your body to adjust and move on from there. The memory we are placing you in now takes place a year before our destination, but we are doing this as a sort of test run to test your capability."
"I'm still kind of confused but I think I got the basic concept."
Actually, I was very confused. What they were talking about seemed impossible but I liked life just a bit and wanted to keep it, so I decided to play along. The screen above me grew bright and I was once again engulfed by the white light.
"Now remember, Ms. Rivers," Said the fading voice of the scientist. "This is a stimulation and can't literally harm you, so try to relax."
Author Notes: Yep, an Assassins Creed fic. I played the game, fell in love with it and felt I had to do something with it. Plus, there are a lot of open options in here (and a lot of closed ones)
Anyway the first chapter was pretty similar to Desmond's whole ordeal but then again I would guess most subjects have the same reaction to waking up strapped to a weird machine and then get the story of Abstergo's life work, or if you want to call him Warren. So, a lot of this chapter was internal, with some long explanations. I'm still researching about the time period and such, so if anything is off, I'd appreciate if you could let me know.
It's kind of funny I'm rating this mature when it contains basically the same elements as Inazuma Ho, maybe I should have made that mature too. ^^;