Chapter 1: History is our playground

-Tori-

I am in a daze at my desk when I hear the intercom call for me. "Miss Ito, could you please report to Ms Lemay's office?" Melanie Lemay? The CCO? What could she possibly want with me? Did I mess up a sales report? It's possible, considering that I've only been here two months. But Ms Lemay? This must be a mistake.

I rise timidly from my chair and walk down the hallway to the elevator. Inside the elevator is a young, red haired woman who immediately beams upon seeing me. "Hey there Victoria! You on your way to see Melanie? Maybe you're getting a promotion!" I force a laugh. "Hey Mary, I highly doubt it, but maybe!" I like Mary. She's one of the few people that has actually shown me something resembling friendship here. "I'm heading down to the lobby first, if you don't mind." "Not at all." We stand in the elevator for a few seconds when Mary's phone starts buzzing like crazy, as if a large series of text messages has just arrived. She looks at my concerned expression. "Oh you know, boyfriend troubles." She laughs and pats me on the back before exiting the elevator into the lobby. I close the doors and begin my ride up to Melanie's office.

I've actually never been to Melanie's office before. It's on the top floor, and overlooks the entire city of Montreal through a large glass window that opens up onto a balcony. Inside the office is Melanie at her desk, with two nicely dressed men, and one cold looking woman, next to a large LCD screen mounted into the wall. She smiles at me, the most attention she's ever shown me, and stands up to shake my hand across her desk. "Hi there! Victoria Ito, right? I don't believe we've properly met. I'm Melanie Lemay, CCO of Abstergo Entertainment." "It's Tori- I go by Tori" I awkwardly interject. I scold myself internally. Did I just correct the CCO? Thankfully she is unfazed and her smile never wavers.

"Here, have a seat. How are you doing? Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Wine? I have wine…." I am taken aback by her abrasive positivity. "No thank you, I'm fine." "Okay then, well, how are you? How are you liking it here so far?" I blatantly lie to her face. "Oh it's great! I'm really enjoying it! I think Abstergo is a wonderful company and I'm excited for the opportunities it can afford me!" This seems to satisfy her. "Well that's wonderful to hear, because I have quite the opportunity for you today!" Oh? "As you know, Abstergo Entertainment focuses primarily on products based on historical settings. Mysteries of the past, if you will. Liberation, Pirates of Nightmares, etcetera." "I am aware, yes." "Well, do you know how we gather information for our projects?" "I imagine you use a mixture of historical research with a touch of dramatic flair. All the visuals are entirely computer generated, that much is obvious." The woman to her left speaks up. "Does the term, 'genetic memory' mean anything to you?" "No, I can't say it does." "Imagine, if you will, a chain. Your DNA, as a chain. Your DNA, as passed on from one ancestor to the next, from the moment of birth, to the conception of their child. Passed all the way down to you. You are simply part of that chain, and, until you have children of your own, you are the end of the chain." What a bizarre thing to say. "Uh yeah, I guess so…" "-What if I told you that memories are also passed down, that you possessed the memories of your ancestors locked away in your DNA?" "I'd say that sounds ridiculous." She laughs. "Abstergo has spent the last forty years researching and perfecting this idea. We've even developed a way to experience these memories. This is how such historically detailed settings in our products are possible." This is a joke. "You.. mean to tell me you can...read minds? To access the memories of an ancestor?" "Not exactly. Do you know what an animus is?" "I've heard the term once or twice working here, but I don't really know, no." The large screen turns on. A 3D image of a futuristic looking chair appears on the screen and begins slowly rotating. A computerized voice comes on. "Pioneered by the late Warren Vidic, Animus technology allows us to decode and extract the genetic memories locked into one's DNA, and experience them in a real-time virtual reality program. Abstergo Entertainment, history is our playground." History is our playground. Right.

"So, it essentially turns memories into...video games?" "No, not quite. Virtual sequences. A bit more...immersive than a video game." I think I see where this is going, but I ask anyway. "So, what does this have to do with me, exactly?" Melanie speaks up. "Abstergo Entertainment does very...thorough background checks on our employees. Occasionally, we turn up information dating back decades, or even centuries. Information that proves to be very useful to our research. And, in researching you, we found out that you have quite a rich ancestry. You're not originally from Montreal, right?" "Uh, well yes, actually. My parents moved here from Tokyo before I was born." She chuckles. "Oh, semantics. The point is, your lineage dates back hundreds of years in japanese history, and we've located a prime candidate for our entertainment products in your family tree." Wait, what the fuck?

"Excuse me?" Now I'm a little unnerved. Melanie pulls something up on her tablet and reads aloud to me. "Asami Itsumi. A woman living in 17th century feudal Japan. Unfortunately, that's all we currently know about her. But, we have reason to believe that she would be a great research subject." Okay, I'll bite. "And you want me to...use an animus to...access her memories...which are apparently stored inside me." "Exactly! See? You're a natural!" This seems rather invasive, but I keep it to myself. "So I basically just need to lie down and go to sleep while you hook me up to this machine and access my...genetic memories?" "Well, you won't be asleep, you'll be right along for the ride, observing with us." Melanie smiles again. "I...guess so?" I shyly reply. "Fantastic! Meet us at this address on Saturday, and we'll get you all situated!" She hands me a card, and I'm bustled out the door.

What just happened? Did I just agree to...have my memories taken? What? This is a joke, pseudo science. I get back to my desk and am attempting to process all of this when Mary approaches me, cheery as ever. "Hey, so what was that meeting about? Anything interesting?" I lie to her face. "Oh nothing, just some clarifications about my background." "Oh, really?" "Yeah, really." She leans in to me and smiles again. "Was it the animus program? Did they ask you to volunteer.?" I'm taken aback. "How did you know?" "I'm on the team, I know they were considering you. Top secret stuff- couldn't let you know beforehand." "Really? So what am I doing exactly? Does it...hurt?" She laughs at the notion. "Oh no, they just sort of put you into a trance and you just sort of sit back and watch the show. It's quite an honor, you should be excited." I shrug. "I guess it's interesting, we'll see when Saturday rolls around." "I'll be there to help supervise you, I'm on the support team!" Support team? What is this, exactly? I act dismissive until she gets the hint and leaves me be. I let my mind wander elsewhere and continue on my work.

Saturday comes before I know it and I'm on my way to the address given to me by Melanie. I've tried to trace my family tree to find information about this woman, this "Asami Itsumi", but everything about my family that I know about only goes back to World War II. I suppose the chaos lost any sort of records that would exist.

When I arrive at the location, I notice at first the "property of Abstergo" signs scattered around the grounds. It's a white, ominous building that reminds me of a hospital. Upon entering, I am greeted by two men in lab coats who escort me down a long, sterile hallway. I'm led into a large room containing several people, including Mary, and the woman from Melanie's office. Mary smiles at me upon seeing me but doesn't approach me immediately, instead the woman walks up to me and extends her hand. "I don't think we were properly introduced the other day. Sofia Rikkin, head of the Animus project." "Tori, I've heard a lot about you, and your father. I'm sorry about his passing." She seems a bit cold. Maybe I shouldn't have said that. "Thank you, your kindness is appreciated. If you're ready, Mary will get you situated with the animus. We're all here to help you, should you run into any problems."

Mary approaches me beaming. "Aren't you excited? You get to be an animus subject. I'd kill to be you right now." I fake a laugh. "Mary, I don't think you could hurt a fly." She hands me some unmarked pills. "These will help you relax, and get in sync with the animus." I down them without a second thought. Who cares? Mary leads me into the center of the room, where a large, bed-shaped device is situated, connected to an array of wires, monitors, and various other electronic devices. Everyone in the room is staring at me with intense eagerness. "Just lay down on the bed, and we'll get started." I do as I'm told, and a glass screen slides out in front of me. The bottom of the platform lights up, and gets very warm very quickly. I hear the people around me talking, saying things like "synchronize." Synchronize? "Building environments, Target memory located. Beginning synchronization." Mary leans over to get one last look at me, lying in this machine. Her face is the last thing I see before I black out.

Then I awake. No, I don't. I'm still asleep. I'm in the facility. No, I'm not. I'm running, jumping, flying? Bounding across...a rooftop? My head is pounding. Searing. The loudest whining noise I've ever heard is dominating every nerve in my ear drums. My senses are on fire. I can smell sulfur, taste blood. Everything is a blur. I see, buildings, people. The sky. A fire. Blood, on my hands. A knife. A man in a hood. A young girl- is that me? No, she's dying...in my arms. I see everything at once. I feel like I'm living an entire lifetime, in reverse. Water….I'm drowning. My lungs are filling up. I'm suffocating. I can't breathe ..I can't…

I awake screaming from the animus. For real this time. The glass recedes and Mary comes to my aid. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?! OH MY GOD" "Tori please calm down, you're alright. You're safe." What the hell was that, Mary?!" She turns to Sofia. "I thought this might happen. You were kicked out of the target memory. We're going to have to start you from an earlier one." Mary turns back to me. "It's alright, we're gonna ease you in this time. That shouldn't happen again. Are you alright?" I've calmed down now and my pain has gone away, I still feel a little dizzy. "Yeah, I think I'm alright. Okay, I'll try it again, if you say so."

Here we go again. Lying down, the glass slides into place again. The panels warm up, I feel myself drifting off again. "Synchronization achieved, beginning reconstruction in three...two…"