October 23rd, 1508
Ce-ceDelCieloasks:
"Dear Ezio,
If you could go anywhere during any time ever to do anything you wanted with no consequence whatsoever, where would you go, what would you do, and why would you do it.
Also, would you rather walk around Florence with absolutely nothing on, or eat something that came out of the rear end of a horse?"
Ce-ce,
If I could travel to any point in time and see anyone, I would visit the wise grand Assassin, Altair ibn La'Ahad, in his fortress at Masyaf. If I could truly speak with him, without any consequence to the future, I would ask him about his writings, about the Codex. Altair seems to be the only being I have ever heard of who lived with direct access to the Apple. I have experienced that briefly; in my own time, and to share it with one who has felt the same would be incredible.
Now that I am managing my own Order, I would also inquire as to his leadership habits. My close advisor, Niccolo Machiavelli, claims I am too soft a teacher. But I believe that educating someone through force is no way to earn their trust. If anyone knows the answer to such a dispute, it must be Altair.
When I first heard your question, it occurred to me to answer with the spring of 1476. If I had known then what I know now, my family would never have suffered such a painful demise.
But when I consider it, I realize I have already accepted their passing. If the events had not transpired the way they had, I would never have become who I am today: an icon to the lost and betrayed, and a hero to the downtrodden. Without my family's execution, the Assassin Order would never have been dusted off and brought into the light. The Borgia would have ruled until God only knows how long, consuming innocent lives as fuel. In the end, I am glad that I am the one to oppose them.
In response to your other question; I would select the former. I am nothing Firenze has not seen before. And I prefer to lose my dignity over my tongue, which, had I chosen the latter, I would have been forced to slice out with my own blades.
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Yours,
Ezio Auditore