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Reader Bytes: Assassin's Creed II Theories

by Andrew Reiner on Jan 04, 2010 at 09:46 AM

The end of Assassin's Creed II turned my brain into a conspiracy theory generator. A month has passed since I finished this amazing game, and I still find myself daydreaming about the next installment. What is the apple? Who are Adam and Eve? Was there really a silhouetted figure in the window? Where will the next game take place?

These are just a few of the questions I obsess over. On that note, Ubisoft doesn't get enough credit for the seed it planted. These questions are going to stay in my mind until the next game ships. More games need this allure. The ending of Assassin's Creed II has already generated more conversations with my friends than any game I have played before.

One of the most insightful conversations I've had is with you, the Game Informer readers. My blog post, The Truth, generated an amazing comments thread, where readers presented their own theories and riffed off of other readers' takes. The article I am posting today dissects these comments and organizes all of the theories presented into categories. Feel free to add your two cents to this comments section, and I'll do my best to channel your take into the categories. Once Assassin's Creed III emerges from development, I'll revisit this story to see if any of us nailed the truth.

Pieces Of Eden
I think the shadowy figure is the same individual shown holding another piece of Eden. I think that because it shows all these humans doing manual labor and this individual just chilling. The first AC showed us the piece of Eden does have the power to hold sway over humans minds.– Master Asazi

Eve took the apple from Eden (just a small Piece of Eden, at least). – Eric Frederiksen

If you remember from the pieces of The Truth, there are several different kinds of Pieces of Eden. One form is the Apple, and it does appear that there are at least two of this particular form which get regular passed off from time to time. But, there is also at least one Staff, one Sword, and one Shroud. The game hints that a sword wielded by several different people was a Piece of Eden, and also that the Shroud of Jesus was a Piece of Eden. Indeed, it also suggests that the Golden Fleece was a Piece of Eden, potentially the same as Jesus' Shroud. And this Shroud was the inspiration for the final armor set that Altair created. – Joseph Breen

Maybe the apple is the source of [Minerva's] power, and that is why Eve stole it? So, in essence, the "Fall" was a good thing, and was actually freeing humanity from someone who created them into slavery. – Jason Spencer

The "Ones who came before" mentioned a first destruction. What if that really happened in 2012, but since they were powerless to stop it, sent a piece of Eden (their civilization) back into the past to start again, creating a short of Mobius loop. – Raging Celtik

We so far know of two Assassins who have been immune to the power of the Pieces of Eden: Altair and Ezio. But, we also know that the Pieces of Eden are specifically engineered to be able to affect human minds. They are made so that they will work on humans. Why would they not work on some people? Well, if those people weren't fully human, the Pieces of Eden wouldn't work as well, would they? Indeed, not only would they not work adversely, but such a person might even have the ability to wield them to an extent, so long as some part of them was related to the creators of the Pieces of Eden. Makes sense, doesn't it? However, because not all Assassins are Assassins by blood, this immunity wouldn't extend to all Assassins. – Joseph Breen

The pieces of Eden act as a beacon for rescue of one predetermined "Adam" & "Eve" to be rescued from Earth, and brought back to repopulate it. – Adam Smith

Did anyone else notice that Eve didn't seem to have the apple until they got to the roof? Then all of a sudden it appears in her hand and she says "I have it" like it switches from person to person and she is now in possession of it. Almost like it's not a good thing to have it. – cfolsom

She has the apple on her in a pouch. It doesn't teleport into people's hands. However the last sentence of ctfolosom's comment is reinforced by a few people in the AC games - Altair is rather explicit about this in certain Codex entries. So I can support that part. – Corey May, Assassin's Creed writer

Maybe [Adam and Eve] used the apple to go back in time to start the human race...a Terminator-esque twist of time travel? – Jason Spencer

Adam & Eve
Adam and Eve were the first "Assassins." – Trevor Munson

What if Adam and Eve WERE running from the end of the world, but not in the way we all think. My idea is this, Cain and Able were the original assassin and Templar trying for control. Altair and Ezio are direct descendants of Able. The Templars come from Cain. The end of Adam and Eve's world was due to warring god factions, and I say this because the Roman/Greek gods were constantly at some sort of war. The Templars fight for the vault is for control and redemption from god. The assassins fight is for justice and balance. All of this would explain the Minerva calling Ezio and Desmond "Prophets". Desmond's bloodline is truly the line of prophets. – Killjoy

Maybe Adam and Eve are from the future, not the past, and they used the apple to go back in time to start the human race...a Terminator-esque twist of time travel? So they started the human race, even though they were from the future. – Jason Spencer

I think that the Truth is clearly depicting Adam and Eve's banishment from Eden. In this case an escape. – RabbitFly

think Adam and Eve were looking at something behind or above them that was chasing them, that we didn't get to see, and that we were experiencing the memory from one of their viewpoints (making one or both of them the original Assassins). – Joseph Breen

It appears Adam and Eve managed to steal one of the Pieces of Eden and discovered (in biblical fashion) "the truth", and they liberated their minds from the subservant nature they were previously in. – IPat89

Adam and Eve are escaping the Garden with their newly acquired 'Apple' and the knowledge they gained from it. Clearly, they must have been aware of the fact that this was forbidden for they are fleeing, not casually strolling about (it may also be that the knowledge they gained scared them into 'sprint / free run' mode). – Sam Desatoff

That silhouette looks like an Assassin. There's little pieces of cloth connected to his outfit floating, which occurs when Ezio or Altair run. So I'm guessing Assassins made Apple. Templars tricked Adam and Eve to steal it. They did. – hanzumaki

Minerva, as Reiner mentioned, was a Roman goddess. I think that this could have some connection between the real-world rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire and the in-game fiction of the "Ones That Came Before" and Adam and Eve. – Lawlwaitwhat

Minerva says she was called by other names, including Merva and Mera, which are Etruscan references, who predate the Romans. – Corey May, Assassin's Creed writer

Firstly we need to recognize that Adam and Eve without a doubt have a link to the Assassins because we can view their memories, so therefore i doubt the shadowy figure is an assassin, also when i first saw the shadowy figure my first thought was that it resembled Minerva or at least her people. – Spartenjak

Adam and Eve were escaping to free the human race from the slavery of the "ones that came before." – Trevor Munson

The video Subject 16 shows us is clearly of Adam and Eve in the act of stealing The Apple, from who exactly is unknown but i firmly believe that in the end Adam and Eve were faithful to the First Civilization. – Spartenjak

I submit that the next installment will abandon the ancient history of its predecessors and completely follow Desmond Miles as he becomes an assassin in modern society. Plus, how cool would it be to execute a leap of faith off the top of the empire state building!? – DJ Kessinger

it is entirely possible that a third person is up there with them, but that doesn't mean that video is playing from that person's perspective. They do look back in shock, I'm not disagreeing with that; I just don't think they're looking back at an assassin. If anything, I think they are probably the first Assassins, and so they'd be being chased by any number of potential threats sent at them by Those Who Came Before, their masters. – Joseph Breen

Setting
If you played Assassin's Creed 1, in the end of the game, if you exploire subject 16's bedroom where he wrote down all the things in blood, you can view a lot of things in eagle vision, including something that says 12212012 (aka December 21 2012). Then when you search around more you see 13:00 which means the end of the mayan calender (aka 2012). Then there's a word written in Hebrew saying the end of the world to come. These all lead me to beleive that it is going to be based on the ancient Mayan time, and finding out a secret that can prevent the world from destruction. Desmond will thenl come out of the animus, and use the secret he found to save the world. – Jmarram

I think that likely societies would be an Asian culture, possibly something Central American if they can assemble enough art to make a convincing environment. What's left over is interesting, but it's not exactly ripe for free-running the way, say, a Chinese metropolis would, or even Kyoto. I think the Brazilian areas we've been seeing in stuff like Modern Warfare 2 and Max Payne 3 would also be well-suited. – Eric Frederiksen

[Assassin's Creed III] might take place in japan on that island that they say sank. – Palace Hotel

Maybe there's something that's underwater in ACIII. Atlantis? Hey wait, that could be the setting... Atlantis could be the futuristic city that's in the truth. If it was flooded, the buildings would be destroyed, leaving no easily track-able evidence of the "ones before us." – Wess105

I think that AC 3 has to have a much larger part of its story in Desmond's time because Minerva told Desmond (through Ezio - which was trippy) that he has to find vaults like the one in the Vatican in other parts of the world to stop the world from burning again. It would make it very interesting if all the time traveling would be various time periods for each vault. Definitely would give variety to the game. – Master Asazi

I would love to see AC3 take the Eternal Darkness route and put players in the shoes of several different assassins over the course of history to piece the remainder of the story together. Think of visiting a Mayan civilization, Victorian England (foggy streets, Jack the Ripper as a Templar who kills prostitutes who cooperate with the assassins), and perhaps even feudal Japan. – Matt Bertz

Personally, I would love to spend a little time in a more modern Japan in AC III, all of those tall, crowded buildings, *drool*... – zombiesinc

I'd like to see multiple locales visited to activate the temples. Then the final one has to be activated in present day and you play as Desmond. The problem with playing as Desmond is in modern day people would just shoot you end of story. So, Desmond would need to use guns to truly be able to fight. – Forsberg

Outside of Abstergo is a glassy white city, a lot like the city portrayed in 16's video. – Nelson

Many of the Emperor's, rulers and places he has discussed were also referenced in the Truth puzzles (Emperor of China, Aztec Sun and many others). – iceap12

Assassin's Creed 3 will probably take place in the modern day because Minerva spoke of temples that needed to be "activated" to save the earth from 2012, and he couldn't go to them in memory or else they would have already been activated. – Trevor Munson

In the first game, Subject 16 wrote Yonaguni in blood. It was an island of Japan that was considered a holy utopian island at one point in the past. The mountain in the back of the video is completely identical to the one on Yonaguni. – Ben Deckert

As to the family tree making it to Central America in about 100 years is a little far fetched, but not entirely impossible. People of that time knew how to make sea-worthy ships, when Henry the Navigator started a European age of exploration he based his new ships off of old Phonecian manuscripts. We can infer that these ships could have made to Central America from the Olmec statues, which look a lot like Africans. – Wess105

I'd like to see the revolutionary war in the next game, Subject 16 had a lot of puzzles that referenced people from that time. Only problem is crappy architecture that would take away from the game. – Nelson

Minerva talked about other temples that needed to be found. At the end of the first game, subject 16 wrote in blood (referenced when he says "They drained my soul and made it theirs. I drained my body to show you where I saw it.") all sorts of symbols. They in fact hint at a variety of advanced temples that were planted all throughout the planet. – Sean Hudson

Reiner could be correct with the December 21, 2012 release date because it's also written in blood as the numbers 12212012. This could hint at a Mayan temple needing to be activated. The blood writing also speaks of Yonaguni, the Japanese equivalent of Atlantis. This could be another temple spoken about from Minerva. We also can't forget "Within Emperor Jiajing'[s] sin and Quetzcoaltz's hunger lies the Answers." Emporer Jiajing was the Emperor of China from 1521 to 1567, and the 11th emperor of the Ming dynasty. He built the Temple of the Sun and collected rare materials. Could this be another possible temple? Quetzcoaltz is probably referring to Quetzalcoatl who is another Aztec symbol for the Sun (seeing a pattern?) I would also like to point out that there is definitely the possibility of a Greek temple being activated due to all the golden apple references which existed in Greek mythology (there are three golden apples in Greek mythology) and fit with Minerva's name and reference. – Sean Hudson

I could see all sorts of interesting eras that we could go to, turn of the century, England around the time of King Arthur (maybe Merlin had the apple), who knows? – DuncanR2N

As for a time period for AC III, I definitely see it taking place in Desmond's time. Minerva instructed him, through Ezio, to find those temples, so I'm guessing that's what we'll be doing. We'll probably be traveling to many different places around the world and not stay in one particular country. – Sam Desatoff

I have a feeling AC3 will have Desmond in our modern world or in the advanced "Alien" World shown in The Truth. – JRivaz

What's next? The futuristic Garden of Eden? The Revolutionary War (I think it would be kinda neat)? The present or a few years in the future? – Dravix

Also did anyone notice when assemblling the codex maps of the world you could see about 7 or 8 marks which were like the same symbols on the assassins tombs. Minerva did mention something about temples of some sort. –Jmarram

Given that the first AC already (kinda) was a medieval setting, I doubt that they're going to take that road again, but either Japan or WWII would be awesome for the next game. – lawlwaitwhat

I've thought about the December 12,2012 possible plot ever since the ending of the first game. The symbols present at the end of AC1 point strongly to this theory. And Remember, AC2 is occurring in September 2012, months away from the catastrophic event. Which leaves little time for Desmond to save the world.– Kev

Maybe that silhouette is someone guiding [Adam and Eve] to the top? Or, hopefully, a hint that we may have a game set in that very city? – Jason Spencer

The Silhouette
The shadow figure has a distinctly 'Assassinish' feel to it, and it would tie in neatly with the ending of the second one if instead of averting global catastrophe you're actually being duped into setting free the masters that enslaved humanity so long ago (which could be a case of waking them from cryosleep or some other convenient plot device when you bring the Apple to their location). I think it would bring an awesome level of 'OMG plot twist!' that could then end with you using your skills in the modern world to try to take these things down after you unwittingly set them free. – Loate

I don't think anyone is digging deep enough. The mystery character, has anyone thought of Ophion, the snake? Someone said something about the pieces of the apple could sway the minds of humans. The snake under the forbidden tree that spoke to Eve, ringing any bells? There are also references that imply that the "ones that came before" created us, and Ophion incubated the egg from which all things were born from. Adam and Eve are made out to be very significant, so maybe this threat is the mystery character, the "snake." Chaos is also often depicted as a snake, so "it" may not even be silhouetted,it may just be what you see, chaos in human form. "It" also looks evil, possibly being Pluto, god of the underworld. This mystery character may not even be bad, it may be giving the piece of the apple to Eve, and Minerva did say something about the Earth burning. This has already been suggested, but this only reinforces the possibility of it being Prometheus, who brought fire to humans, and is credited for advancing humankind. Possibly to the point of which they could overthrow gods. Another clue may be that most of the symbols were near vantage points, that were occupied by an eagle. After giving fire to humans, Prometheus was bound to a rock where everyday an eagle would eat his liver, which grew back in time for the eagle's next feeding.The burning of the earth could also point to Vulcan, the Roman god of volcanoes. And maybe Adam and Eve ARE naked, the electric-like clothes could be their "skin", meaning they were created beings, and the snake is the symbol of vertility, so Eve could have used apple to make humans able to reproduce, to create the "many" that Minerva said overthrew the gods. And Minerva showed the solar system several times, and the planets(and their moons) are named after gods, so maybe these "temples" could be on other planets. Kind of out of place, but it would explain the S16 clues that involved the lunar landings and probes. Maybe you wont travel to these planets, but the temples on Earth other people suggested could be a way to activate the otherworldly temples, using the proposed Mayan skulls. – Jay

The silhouette does appear to be one of the "gods" overlooking human slaves, using a Piece of Eden to assert its dominance.– iPat89

I sort of thought that was Subject 16... we know he's left his mark, what is we catch a glimpse of him doing it? – Shawn Gordon

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that the "silhouetted character" is not on Desmond's side. – Enigmatic Ally

I think the shadowy figure is the same individual shown holding another piece of Eden. I think that because it shows all these humans doing manual labor and this individual just chilling. The first AC showed us the piece of Eden does have the power to hold sway over humans minds. – Master Asazi

The shadowy figure was controlling people with the Piece of Eden something that only templars have shown the desire to do.– Trevor Munson

Maybe that silhouette is someone guiding [Adam and Eve] to the top? – Jason Spencer

The silhouette is brandishing a piece of Eden (which tells us that multiple pieces exist) at the workers, making it appear as if the figure is controlling them. It's been stated in the comments that the figues looks similar to Minerva at the end of the game. – Sam Desatoff

Subject 16
Subject 16 and Desmond are clearly both from the same lineage, as Abstergo were using them both for trying to locate the map. Also Subject 16 had the ability to access all of the Ezio memories to leave his hacked notes there. – RabbitFly

Desmond and Subject 16 have the same voice, they are both acted by Nolan North.– RabbitFly

Subject 16 is voiced by Cam Clarke, not Nolan North.– Corey May, Assassin's Creed writer

I sort of thought that was Subject 16... we know he's left his mark, what is we catch a glimpse of him doing it? – Shawn Gordon

The Assassins are hybrids. They are not strictly human. One of the glyps which reveals a piece of The Truth includes a short audio segment from Subject 16. In his recording, he questions where the Assassins came from. The next thing you know, you're matching up pictures involving humans copulating with animals who, in our Greek mythology, were actually gods. The implication here is that the Assassins are the progeny of God/Human relations. That is, Those Who Came Before mated with humans, producing the bloodline which would eventually become the Assassins. – Joseph Breen

Desmond is definitely a clone. I don't know which of these made more obvious: Desmond not sure what to call the plural version of the animus as he was walking through a sea of them, or the fact that Subject 16 sounds exactly like Desmond speaking through a filter. What if there's a point in the next game where Desmond has to fight other, lesser copies of his source material (meaning other dudes that look exactly like him but didn't make it as far in the animus as he did)? That's probably a little out there, and we've already done something similar in the final battles of the first two with the Apple dopplegangers. But it would make for interesting gameplay if you had to duel somebody with similar training and emotions/decaying state of mind. – Mandrogynous

Subject 16 could be Desmond's father. It makes sense. His voice sounds close but not exact, and he's related! – Nelson

In the first game, Subject 16 wrote Yonaguni in blood. – Ben Deckert

Altair didn't sound that much Desmond, either; but, Altair is an ancestor of Desmond. I don't think their choice of voice actor has anything to do with...well, anything, really. – Joseph Breen

The only other explanation I have come to is that Subject 16 and Desmond is the same person. – RabbitFly

Religion
Find it interesting that the futuristic exterior is actually a facade over ordinary building materials built by humans as slaves, perhaps meaning religion itself is a facade built over the mundane with the blood and sweat of those controlled by the powerful. Therefore, religion would be an illusion to keep the ignorant in line while trying to capture those that persue knowledge. I think that there is also an undercurrent that money is the new God, in that during the finding of the truth, there are references to Nicola Tesla wanting to give away electricity for free (literally power to the people), for which he was singled out to be murdered by those that stood to lose profits. This can also tie into the story of Prometheus. – Shawn Higgs

I think this is clearly pointing to the idea of modern religion actually being based on, rather than fantastic myth, a misunderstood reality. Eve took the apple from Eden (just a small Piece of Eden, at least), i would assume after they learned that things weren't exactly paradise. – Eric Frederiksen

I first got hooked on this stuff by reading Erich Von Daniken's Chariots of the Gods. I then realized that a lot of ancient religious stories are compatible with what we now suspect about aliens. To ancient people, if something flies, it logically follows that it has wings. So a spaceship visits, accounts get distorted, and presto! You have angels. Also, what could light a bush on fire? Maybe advanced laser technology that some ancient would see as the wrath of God? – Ryan M. Eft

Templars
What if the Templars, for all their asshattery and general lack of regard for humanity in general, are the good guys? – Loate

Even if the Assassins are misguided and are, in fact, the bad guys, that doesn't mean that the Templars are by any means the good guys. Remember, according to the fiction of the game, Hitler was a Templar. I don't care how great your plan is -- if you have to kill millions of innocent people to achieve it, I'm not sure it's worth it. If you look at most of the evil people in this world, they don't think they're doing evil when they're doing evil. I think it's a bad idea to accept as truth anything the villains in these games say. When they tell they're doing good, you have to look at what they're actually doing and decide if it's good, not just take it on faith. If anything, the game espouses that message. – Joseph Breen

I completely agree with the assassins being the bad guys. If you listen to the dialogue between Altair/Ezio and the leaders that they have assassinated, each person says that you dont understand the full picture and that you shouldn't have done this. It is always hinted that the Templars have a great plan, but do we really know if that is a good or bad plan. – Cowkillah25

My thought is that the Templars are definitely unaware at the massive scope of the situation that they have stumbled into and the real conflict is between the assassin's and the force that killed everyone that Minerva mentioned, i don't think that Minerva was necessarily evil, but even if she was her kind won't be a threat to Desmond because she said she was the last one. – Felix

I'm not saying the Templars are descendants of the alien things either, cause they are not. They are all dead. Only humans remain and the Assassins are the only ones that hold to the same values as Adam and Eve; freedom. – Trevor Munson

Everything we've come to know of the templars through Altair, Ezio, and the various files Subject 16 provides, is that Templars seek dominion, control, power, order, influence, and they do all this no matter the price. Al Mualim wanted to rob people of free will, and Rodrigo wanted to become God himself to rule over mankind. None of that is good. – Felix

So I'm guessing Assassins made Apple. Templars tricked Adam and Eve to steal it. They did. – hanzumaki

Minerva
How the heck did Minerva know about Desmond when he wasn't even born yet? – Ropeman_01

As the famous author once said, 'sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic'. If Minerva and her kind had quantam processors or something and were able to run a model of the world's timeline, they could predict everything that was going to happen, including Desmond's birth. If you do end up opposing them, it would be a great example of the fate vs. free will argument. – Loate

Maybe the sillhouette was in fact Minerva - i mean look very closely, maybe anyway - so imagine it is Minerva, is she constructing the pieces of Eden? and possibly she was the one who said "Eve" at the end - was MINERVA the one stopping them from stealing a piece of Eden that she was creating? – Quinny

It would seem that the vaults are intended for not just anyone, but for the assassins, and maybe for Ezio/Desmond specifically, but Minerva also instructs Desmond to "guard against the cross", which makes me wonder why her vault would be in the Vatican of all places. – Spartenjak

It is not uncommon for religious structures to be built atop "sacred places" from previous cultures/religions. The Vault is not in the Vatican.The Vatican is built on top of the vault - the Vault came first. And "guard against the cross" is a reference to the Templars, not the Church. – Corey May, Assassin's Creed writer

It's possible that Minerva is a villain of sorts. She explains that Those Who Came Before created humankind. I'm willing to buy that. But Subject 16 would take issue with that. He wondered why the Pieces of Eden work so well on humans (see number 4). If the reason they work so well is because they were created for the soul purpose of manipulating humans, that makes her seem like a pretty nasty character. It makes sense, then, to assume that anything she asks us to do to help her could very easily backfire on us in the end. – Joseph Breen

Minerva and her race are actually the Forerunners from Halo!!!! – Tom Dix

Minerva says she was called by other names, including Merva and Mera, which are Etruscan references, who predate the Romans. – Corey May, Assassin's Creed writer

Wasn't Minerva warning Ezio/Desmond of an impending solar flare or something that would destroy civilization? If so, maybe that is what happened to Adam and Eve, and the Mayans somehow found a piece of their civilization. – Andrew Wolfe

Minerva tells us that a great cataclysm did take place, and that her people chose to build the vaults to protect the people of earth when and if it happens again. It is important to note here that Rodrigo Borgia, a Templar, could not gain access to the vault, and Ezio, an assassin, could. – Spartenjak

When Desmond seems like he will help her, Minerva starts talking about the earth burning again. Maybe she did this once, and now, will his help, she will do it again? – Jason Spencer

Desmond
I think it's coming down to Desmond on his own side, I mean he hasn't really gotten anything of an honest answer from anyone. Didn't Lucy let subject 16 get all messed up and die? Why trust her? Or maybe Lucy also does not know. I'm not sure about her. But maybe that's why subject 16 shows him Adam and Eve escaping with the apple. That might be what he has to do, If the assassins where good why wouldn't subject 16 give him some sort of clue to point him in there direction? – Palace Hotel

Subject 16 and Desmond are clearly both from the same lineage, as Abstergo were using them both for trying to locate the map. Also Subject 16 had the ability to access all of the Ezio memories to leave his hacked notes there. – RabbitFly

I find the hardest thing to grasp is that Minerva mentions Desmond by name. It's one thing for her to have known that one day ancestral memories would be able to be accessed - it's entirely another to be omniscient. One's name is a matter of choice and free will by their parents - so how she could have known that his name is Desmond means she's either omniscient across time and space or that fate preordained he'd be named "Desmond" but then you get into the sticky realm of fate and free will and all that. – Felix

Desmond has the same mark on his face, the scar on the lips, that Ezio receives in game. If I recall correctly at the beginning of the game I don't remember Ezio having that mark so its not a birthmark. To support the Desmond clone theory is he a direct clone of Ezio? – Forsberg

Desmond and Subject 16 have the same voice.– RabbitFly

The only other explanation I have come to is that Subject 16 and Desmond is the same person. – RabbitFly

maybe, maybe the Gods aren't dead after all. This whole series revolved around genetics. What it the Gods themselves spread their DNA across ours, and these temples are really "Animus" allowing Desmond to tap into the source DNA of the gods, and within that lies the answers to saving whatever needs to be saved. – Raging Celtik

That Desmond is a clone makes sense. If that's true, what also makes sense is that the original Desmond is also alive. They needed him to be in order to continue to make clones. You don't make a copy of a copy of a copy. You make a copy of the original. – Raging Celtik

The Ones That Came Before
the idea that aliens brought humanity here falls in line with one of the clues discovered while uncovering the truth. It was the one about Abstergo planting a skeleton near a scientist's dig site so they would think they found the missing link between humans and prime apes. – Master Asazi

The Assassins possess special abilities not common to most humans (Eagle Vision for example), i think that through one form or another the Assassins and their descendants acquired these abilities from the First Civilization, the most likely sources to me would be either through a mixture of the two species, or as a gift for being faithful to them. – Spartenjak

I like the idea that all the good and all the evil that has ever been wrought on mankind was done by ordinary mortals like you and I, that study of the human condition, that it can range from the highs of MLK, RFK, Kahlil Gibran, Gandhi, etc. and sink to Hitler, Stalin, Genghis Khan, etc. The idea that we are capable of those highs and lows, as opposed to some "gods" or some "force" (i.e. the apple) that is somehow influencing us or whatever. – BlackMesaMustDie

Whether they are aliens or just a pre-human race of advanced humanoids doesn't really matter to me, because both answers pretty much even out to the same result on how it will affect the story further. – RabbitFly

So that city was "Eden" and Adam and Eve were escaping to free the human race from the slavery of the "ones that came before." If you paid any attention to the truth puzzles themselves on one of them you change a monkey into a human by going over the bones with a cursor, and you activate nerves in what looks like a brain or something, that shows that the "ones that came before" genetically engineered us to be slaves for them. They are our creators, and instead of being "cast out of Eden" we escaped. – Trevor Munson

I love the idea that the origin our mankind stems from some ultra-advanced scociety. Anything that isn't afraid to throw a kink into traditional beliefs is a winner in my book. I'm not too keen on the 'aliens made us' theory, but it seems to be the one that fits best at this point. – Sam Desatoff

I think there was a group of humans who believed they deserved to rule the planet and were jealous of their seemingly divine powers, so they turned against the First Civilization. We also know that a lot or all of the First Civilization died off whether by the war, the cataclysm, or both. My theory is that the Templars were the ones who turned against the First Civilization and Adam and Eve were amongst those who stayed faithful to the First Civilization. The video Subject 16 shows us is clearly of Adam and Eve in the act of stealing The Apple, from who exactly is unknown but i firmly believe that in the end Adam and Eve were faithful to the First Civilization. – Spartenjak

The Disaster
I wonder what kind of geological disaster destroyed those that came before. It sounds like they assume a polar reversal could have caused it, but I wonder if something like that could really cause that much damage. – Sam Desatoff

My question is, how did the "Gods" die? Minerva inferred we coexisted (post-Eden) for a time, but that their race simply ran out of time. Why? Why couldn't they save themselves again? Could their health have somehow been tied to Eden itself? Maybe a lone "God" (Prometheus, anyone?) saw that their end was inevitable and hatched a crazy last ditch scenario placing the future of the planet in the hand of the humans on purpose. Maybe, even though they created us, we hold some sort of talent or ability that the gods lacked which would enable us to stop the impending doom. Or maybe, maybe the Gods aren't dead after all. This whole series revolved around genetics. What it the Gods themselves spread their DNA across ours, and these temples are really "Animus" allowing Desmond to tap into the source DNA of the gods, and within that lies the answers to saving whatever needs to be saved. – Raging Celtik

Desmond interpreted what minerva described as a solar flare burning the earth, Lucy thought of geomagnetic reversal, and some believe that it is a mix between the two suggesting that a geomagnetic reversal takes place and this would temporarily weaken the earths magnetic field and due to the fact that the magnetic field is constantly diverting radiation from the earth this weakness could cause an increased amount of radiation to reach the earth. – Spartenjak

If you played Assassin's Creed 1, in the end of the game, if you exploire subject 16's bedroom where he wrote down all the things in blood, you can view a lot of things in eagle vision, including something that says 12212012 (aka December 21 2012). Then when you search around more you see 13:00 which means the end of the mayan calender (aka 2012). Then there's a word written in Hebrew saying the end of the world to come. These all lead me to beleive that it is going to be based on the ancient Mayan time, and finding out a secret that can prevent the world from destruction. Desmond will thenl come out of the animus, and use the secret he found to save the world. – Jmarram

Other Points Of Interest
Did anyone make a guess on where Desmond and the others were, exactly? I'm talking country and city here. If you look out the windows of the room the quartet is using as a hideout, you'll see rooftops that look remarkably similar to the ones Ezio spends so much time running across in his day. Maybe they're in Italy somewhere? And where are they headed to when they make their escape. It's said that their heading to a cabin North of where they were. – Sam Desatoff

I did notice that the roofs look very familiar to the locations that Ezio visited. I figured that it meant something but what, I don't know. – DuncanR2N

A number of things lead me to believe that the assassin's are by no means the bad guys, the tablets in the Auditore crypt for example made me pretty mad at the Templars. – Spartenjak