Somewhere in Italy…
Vidic
The Subject had woken. That was good. Warren Vidic was leaning against his desk, observing indifferently as the Subject looked around in confusion. The Animus interface retracted into its original position, allowing the young man to sit up.
"Where am I?" He asked as Vidic came into his line of sight. His voice was hoarse and he gave a cough.
"That is of no importance." Vidic replied, looking at the Subject with a frown. Normally they asked who he was, what was going on, or something along the lines of that, but this one seemed more interested in where he was. Perhaps he was more astute than his predecessors. Perhaps. For now, he would have to relive the memories of his ancestors before he outlived his usefulness. Vidic watched as the Subject gave him a wary look.
"Who are you then?" The young man asked, propping himself up on one elbow. Vidic couldn't help but smile as the question was asked.
"Now that is something of importance." He said, his arrogant side playing up. "I am Warren Vidic, and I am the head of research for the pharmaceutical developer, Abstergo Industries." Vidic stood up straight, and walked briskly over to the Subject to see if the Animus had done any damage to the lad's mind.
"Abstergo?" The man repeated, shying away slightly as Vidic approached him.
"Yes, Abstergo." Vidic said as he stopped once the Animus was within an arm's reach. Perhaps the Subject had suffered some brain damage. "Can you remember your name?" He asked simply, noting the Subject's subtle facial expressions. He guessed that right now, he was feeling exasperated.
"Yeah, I can remember my name. My name is –" The man cut of in mid-sentence, and frowned at Vidic. "Hang on. If I'm here, you must already know my name, so why are you asking?" Vidic couldn't help but chuckle at the Subject's remark. He had a feeling he was going to get along with the man.
"Very astute, Mr Cooper." Vidic gave a clap. "Very astute." He was going to explain what was going to happen to the Subject, but that would happen in its due time. For now, he needed the Subject to rest. He didn't want what happened to Subject 16 to happen to Subject 18. No matter how many memories he needed to sift through, Vidic had to make sure that he didn't overwork the Subject this time, lest the consequences be direr than last time. Last thing I need is another 16. Vidic thought to himself as he walked away. The new assistant would deal with the Subject for now. Vidic had more pressing matters to attend to than a new Subject.
Vidic walked out of the room in which the Animus was housed and entered the conference room where Alan Rikkin was waiting.
"How is he taking the adjustment?" The CEO of Abstergo asked as he raised a cup of coffee to his mouth. He was obviously referring to the new Subject.
"Surprisingly well." Vidic replied, putting his hands in his pockets. "He hasn't asked any questions about what is going on, yet."
"He may start asking questions at a later date." Rikkin pointed out after he took a sip from his beverage.
"I'd appreciate it if you had some faith in the Subjects for once." Vidic said, his moustache bristling in annoyance. "This one seems promising."
"So were the last five Subjects." Rikkin mused with a smile. He enjoyed seeing Vidic's failures with the Subjects. He had gone through three Subjects in the last three years alone. They were meant to last at least a good year or two but recent events had obviously stopped that from happening, what with Subject 16 committing suicide and Subject 17 escaping from the facility. In truth, he had gotten frustrated with Vidic's consistent failures, but Vidic was a good scientist and was indispensable to the Animus project. He would have to succeed with this Subject or he would risk more than simply getting fired.
"They were simply prototypes. Failed attempts at producing the perfect result." Vidic frowned. Rikkin must've been hassled by the members of the inner sanctum again. They were constantly pestering him as well, saying he needed to succeed or he'd pay dearly for another failure. That simple placed more pressure on him. He had snapped a few times at Subject 17, but he had no intention of showing his emotions to the current Subject.
Vidic walked back into the Animus room and saw that the Subject was roaming around the room, exploring his surroundings.
"Looking around are we, Mr Cooper?" Vidic called out, attracting the attention of the Subject.
"You didn't give me an answer last time." The Subject murmured, walking towards Vidic. "So, I'll ask again. Where am I?"
"You, Mr Cooper, are in a laboratory for a project funded by Abstergo." Vidic gave some information, hoping it'd be satisfactory for the Subject. "I shall explain this more as time goes on. For now, you will have to trust us on our word." What little is it worth anyways? Vidic thought to himself. The new assistant walked into the room and started to login to the Animus computer.
"Lie down Mr Cooper." She said. The Subject did so. The Animus interface started up, and went into its active position. The assistant began to explain the interface to the Subject, but Vidic wasn't paying any attention. He was more focused on the Subject himself. Will he prove to be like Subject 4, or will he just turn out to be another failure? Vidic asked himself, before walking to his desk in the room. He faced the windows, and observed the skyline of Italy.
"It's going to be a long process again." The Abstergo scientist thought, as the sun reached its highest point during the day. The only thing he could do now was observe the Subject's progress and hope he proved to be like Subject 4.