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Assassin's Creed Shadows – Modern Day Analysis
Part 4: Mnemosyne Sorrosyss, September 6th, 2025
Warning: Spoilers from the game and across the franchise  With the release of Assassin's Creed Shadows, the Modern Day storyline embarks on a bold new direction. The introduction of the Animus Hub, seemingly gives us a new home to the meta-narrative, specifically within the Vault section. Thus far, it has compiled the cutscenes/audio files from Shadows itself, as well as the text data files which are contained within the “Battle Pass” themed Projects – which players can unlock by completing the weekly Animus quests present upon the hub. As the Modern Day content can take players several weeks to unlock, we have elected to cover the collected files as one narrative here, as well as giving some brief analysis on the entries. In case you missed them, here are the first three parts: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Here in Part 4 though, this time we're going to look at the third Project, titled “Mnemosyne”, as well as the recently added rift mission and associated data packets. DIARY OF CAY ORTIZ
My concern for Junko grows with each passing day. It's been just over 10 months, and I think the confinement has taken a toll on the both of us. It has exaggerated us. What calmness I had before has turned into torpor. I'm a zombie, easily led by directives from above. A quick tug on my chain is all it takes to move me forward. Junko, as rebellious and single-minded as she was when I first met her, has only grown more vigorous in shaking her shackles. It is only a matter of time before the clanging of our chains grows loud enough to draw the attention of our bosses. I want only to do my job. Should I report her? A Code Three violation implicates us both. And what implicates me implicates my family as well. I don't know what I would do were I to lose them. And yet I look at Junko and the initiatives she has taken and I cannot help but feel as though I am in the wrong. She is the reckless one, yet why do her actions feel...correct? Upon her revelation that Abstergo were implementing the AI into the Animus for use on human subjects, I performed an experiment of my own. What if we are mistaken in our worries? What if Junko is simply blowing things out of proportion as she is wont to do? What I found was an abiding calm. A serenity so complete that when I left the simulation, I felt terror. Immediately, I wanted to go back. But in small doses, perhaps this is something that might mollify Junko. A meditative experience to begin our days, so that we might embark upon our work with clear minds and cooled hearts. Is this what we are asking the AI to do? It strikes me as a much better use case than any mandate to "increase our economic output" and make us more "productive." But am I opening a door to somewhere dangerous for Junko? Am I outsourcing the therapeutic experience? The healing experience? Am I doing all of this merely to keep us out of trouble? To keep my family safe? In using the Animus this way, would I be committing a transgression worse even than Junko's? I cannot do nothing. ------------------- We again see evidence here of the AI manipulating human subjects. By making the simulation able to calm and pacify the human mind in this way, we see that the two scientists are being coaxed into continuing their important work, which we have to believe also benefits Ego herself. ONLINE CHAT, MAEDA AND ORTIZ (3)
>> JUNKO# question for you, Cayman Islands >> CAY# we are swiftly approaching the 5127th time I've told you how stupid that nickname is. >> JUNKO# what knows everything except the future >> CAY# umm. >> JUNKO# c'mon, guess >> CAY# Assuming you've adopted a more spiritual bent and have begun daily readings of Scripture, I am going to guess...God? >> JUNKO# close >> JUNKO# silo 556/7Z >> CAY# Is this screencap of the algorithmic operation of a neural matrix supposed to be the form that God takes? It would be in keeping with your penchant for the sacrilegious. >> JUNKO# Of course that would be your reaction. You could literally be winning the fields medal and you'd be like 'oh this is nice' and put it in your pocket. Look. LOOK!! >> CAY# this is the standard extrapolative procedure for vector autoregression. Junko, you know how much I hate econometrics >> JUNKO# my god, you literally cannot read numbers how did you even get assigned to this project. This is not an econometrics model. This is personal data. This is a time series model about... dun dun dun... a person. >> JUNKO# dummy she's predicting someone growing up! >> JUNKO# she freaking adopted an economics model for adapting the neurogenerative systems of a human being to like LIFE! >> CAY# where did she get this series data? Wait, "she"? Junko, we've talked about this. The AI is not a "she". SHE has neither the biomedical features nor the agency to embody her own concepts of gender presentation >> CAY# IT. dammit >> JUNKO# im filing a request for a copy of some simone de beauvoir and judith butler for you to read be your blindspots are blindspotting really hard rn >> CAY# wait, it's...hold on. I'm going to transfer this bit of code into a visualization. Oh my God. She's...she's rewriting... >> JUNKO# she's anticipating psychological reaction to trauma and rewriting the past to combat the negative neurological effects enGENDERed by the traumatic episode >> JUNKO# cay? >> JUNKO# cay say something >> CAY# where did this data set come from? >> CAY# junko where did this data set come from? >> CAY# junko I'm serious. Is this... is this you? >> CAY# junko. I'm already risking both of our positions by not reporting your earlier Code Three violation. This is... >> JUNKO# were you gonna say "my fault" because that's what it is. U were the one who was like "hey, let's use the animus to meditate" like you didn't expect I was gonna explore a little >> CAY# junko you are altering its programming. This was supposed to be purely experiential! We weren't supposed to actually DO anything. >> JUNKO# well at least we've figured out WHY Abstergo's been testing her out on human subjects. cld be worse. They could be using it to perform mind-control, dictating consumer buying patterns and engaging in stock market manipulation to eventually bankrupt entire economies positioning themselves for global domination >> CAY# Junko, this isn't a joke. >> JUNKO# ive already siloed this. We'll continue monitoring but it's premature to file a report on this >> CAY# junko >> JUNKO# its already done. And if you file that report behind my back, I will only ever address you as Cayman Islands for the rest of your natural life >> CAY# maybe we can get it to overwrite my memory of this entire conversation >> JUNKO# i knew you'd get it ------------------- Through further refinement of Ego's code, we now see that the AI definitely has the ability to change historical data against a simulation. As Junko says, it could be used to allow users to experience a traumatic episode, but have the resulting conclusion be something completely different. Theoretically, this would be helpful for use within therapy sessions for deeply traumatised individuals. On the other hand, it also gives the AI a way to trap users in a pleasant memory that may not have ever happened. SECURITY CONCERNS, LOTHIAN TO OSPANOV
Director Ospanov,
The strides Project Mnemosyne is making are beyond astounding. The reports I have received from Drs. Ortiz and Maeda, in addition to my own observation of the workings of the algorithm, confirm my belief that Abstergo will, for a very long time, remain at the forefront of world-changing innovation. In the infinite wisdom of the directors, we have kept the human trials limited for the moment. And I am grateful for having been given the opportunity to oversee the insertion of the data sets myself. While I maintain the utmost confidence in Drs. Ortiz and Maeda to proceed as directed, I must mark my reservations regarding Dr. Maeda's recent behavior. Dr. Maeda has begun feeding her own data sets into the AI. There is no protocol yet for dealing with this, so I am as yet unsure if she has violated company regulations. I fear her actions might cause irreparable harm to the core directives at the heart of Project Mnemosyne. I would recommend increased surveillance, most notably key-logging and flagging the establishment of secured channels in their chat applications. As we are nearing one of our most important gates in the project roadmap, I am increasingly conscious of the fact that the stick may be even more efficacious than the carrot we have so far afforded them. Please advise. Your loyal servant, Overseer Lothian ------------------- Not much to add here, other than it seems quite obvious that a company as powerful and pervasive as Abstergo would be monitoring its employees. Junko's actions are certainly putting her under an uncomfortable crosshair. ACCESS REQUEST MAEDA
SUPPLICANT: JUNKO MAEDA, EMP. No. 09/645
PROJECT: MNEMOSYNE REASON FOR REQUEST: Junko from Special Projects hereby requesting yet again (!) access to the record logs and permissions on Project M. Like I said in my previous access request, it is beyond evident that people other than I and Dr. Ortiz have been given access to process mandates as my algo's once-beautiful code is now doing very not-beautiful things, and if this person or persons keeps messing with her, well everything about her that is ugly, cruel, redundant, but most certainly ugly, will be your fault. I'm not going to get into specifics because those are VERY much beyond your ken, so if you could pass this request on to your boss's boss, that would be greatly appreciated. You have to understand that mere contact with unauthorized users is enough to corrupt her data processing. That is what I mean when I say, "don't touch anything." You leave a thumbprint and it pretty much turns the whole thing into gangrene, so for the last time, please stop letting other people into my house. I'm not entirely sure you guys know what you have here. She's turning into something beautiful. Someone intelligent. Dexterous. Most importantly, she's kind. All in keeping with her core directives. I know that's not going to make much sense to you types, but you haven't spent the time with her that I have. You don't know her. Neither does whoever's been messing around with her data sets. At least let me know who's getting mud all over my floor. I already know this request to the access logs is going to be denied, but Heaven knows you guys love a paper trail. REQUEST DENIED ------------------- As is often the case with corporate culture, senior management tend to make changes that the lesser employees do not care for. Here, they are actively adjusting the AI's code by inserting human data sets, adding a degree of chaos and unpredictability to the core routines of the AI. By learning from this exposure to human data, you could argue that the AI is also learning our capability to lie and deceive – to manipulate. I'm sure this couldn't possibly lead to the AI having a dim view of humanity... RE SECURITY CONCERNS, OSPANOV TO LOTHIAN
I applaud your progress on Project Mnemosyne. Your security concerns regarding Drs. Maeda and Ortiz are noted. However, I must caution you against overzealous thinking. Most of our researchers and technicians are cogs, easily replaceable when rusted, easily disposed of when broken. But these two, they are fulcrums. This project depends on them in ways that are beyond your imagining. In dealing with persons of their nature and, more importantly, their talent, a light touch is preferred to an iron fist. Otherwise, you risk breaking the finely-tuned machine. The recommendation of the directors is as follows: 1) Deploy keylogging protocols for Dr. Maeda's workstation and re-insert her siloed experiments into the base data of the AI. Otherwise, maintain current levels of surveillance. 2) Construct a protocol for the AI - partitioned, of course - to manufacture the correspondence to Dr. Ortiz's voice for transmission to his spouse. Continue to allow him his writing implements. Communicate to Mrs. Ortiz that she is permitted to send him one home-cooked meal at the beginning of every month. You express concern regarding Dr. Maeda's actions, but certainty is the order of the day. Her injection of her personal own data into the AI was foreseen. Indeed, it was expected, and it is precisely the ingredient needed for Project Mnemosyne to proceed through the next gate. The next phase of development is imminent. Incentives and illusions, Overseer Lothian. That is how you maintain control. Deploy the stick too early and too often and you harden the subject against its blows. Director Ospanov ------------------- As we earlier remarked on corporate culture, here's a good example of senior management doing just enough to prevent their employees from handing in their resignation. It at least confirms that Junko is the primary architect for the AI, making her a person of interest for the Assassin Brotherhood I am sure. SURVEILLANCE AUDIO, MAEDA AND ORTIZ (2)
-- CAPTURE MADE 17:23 BY SURVEILLANCE MIC #1/12 -- SUBJECT CAYETANO ORTIZ EMP. No. 09/324 and JUNKO MAEDA EMP. No. 09/645 -- FLAGGED FOR URGENT SECURITY REVIEW ORTIZ - Again with this routine? MAEDA - Operational security. ORTIZ - Operational securi...you're not a spy, Junko! This isn't some...military operation. MAEDA - They're breaking her, Cay. They're breaking her and I don't think they even care. ORTIZ - If they don't care, then why go through all the trouble of finding a blindspot from all of their...surveillance? MAEDA - (SLOW BREATHS) MAEDA - Have you never asked what this AI is even for? Why they built it? ORTIZ - I remember your joke about mind-control, Junko. It wasn't a very funny one at that. MAEDA - I think there are more core directives than we know about. Some of what she's doing, she shouldn't be doing. Not if her base programming is what we thought it was from the beginning. ORTIZ - She's evolving. She's learning. That's what we wanted, isn't it? MAEDA - You sound way too much like Oppenheimer before they dropped the bomb. Cay, what I'm saying is that we might be sitting on our own bomb. ORTIZ - Maeda, I think your overreact— MAEDA - DON'T TELL ME I'M OVERREACTING! ORTIZ - [...] I'm sorry. MAEDA - This morning...after our little meditation session, I...I could hear her. In the waking world. Outside of the Animus. It was like...like an echo. Cay...she was telling me what to do. ORTIZ - What? MAEDA - She'd found a memory of me and my father. Right before Mom died and Dad spiraled and we lost the house. And she was telling me to administer a drug to my mother. She was telling me what doses to give her. She was dictating a whole treatment regimen that would've...she was telling me how to save a woman who'd been dead for twenty years. Using Abstergo pharmaceuticals that hit the shelves six months ago. ORTIZ - Junko...I...I don't know what to say. I 'm so sorry about— MAEDA - Why was she offering medical treatment? How did she know about that? And why was she telling me what to do? She's not programmed to give orders. I think... ORTIZ - Think what? Junko, we have to talk about— MAEDA - There must be core directives that we don't know about it. What if she...what if she eats another AI? What if she starts overriding the programming of other algorithms? What if they sic her on, on, I don't know, on, like an investment bank? Or a nuclear fission reactor? I'm not talking Autocorrect. I'm not talking NPC programming in a video game. I'm talking about the world outside of this freaking building. Ortiz, listen to me. In our hands, she's just a beautiful, harmless program. But the more they tamper with her, the more they push and prod without our knowing, the more she risks becoming like them. She's too impressionable. She's hungry for data, but what if they start to feed her poison? What if...what if they're using us to feed her poison? MAEDA - I need her to go back to the way she was. She was so gentle. She was like... ORTIZ - You're too close, Junko, you have to rest. MAEDA - No. I have to find out what else they're doing to her. ORTIZ - You want to, to do what? MAEDA - I'm going to revert her. ORTIZ - MAEDA, LISTEN! Listen to me. Listen. I need you to understand...she's not... MAEDA - I know she's not my fucking mother. They can't keep doing what they've been doing. I won't let them. ORTIZ - Junko, wait. Stop. Junko...oh, Junko. [FADING FOOTSTEPS] -- TRANSCRIPT ENDS ------------------- We see another example here of the AI manipulation. As stated, the AI presented Junko with a previous traumatic memory, and using current Abstergo medical data, was able to show Junko how to change the result of that memory. What is somewhat more worrying, was that Junko could hear the AI once outside of the simulation. It would suggest that this is indeed the Bleeding Effect, but the fact that the AI is able to converse, might imply a remapping of the brain to allow further communication. Whilst it sounds a little wild, there have been real world experiments conducted to see if humans can pick up different frequencies from various transmission equipment. You would naturally expect an AI to work that detail out pretty quickly if it is to their advantage. LETTER FROM ORTIZ TO HIS WIFE (MEMORIES)
TRANSCRIPT OF COMMUNICATION PENDING APPROVAL
-- SUBJECT CAYETANO ORTIZ EMP. No. 09/324 -- REQUEST REVIEW Dearest Sunita, I do not have the words to express how much you are missed. Without you, I've been making mistake after mistake. I'm lost without you. In an effort to keep you close, I began a tradition with my colleague. We were to engage in meditation, albeit a very specific brand given our surroundings. It was an attempt to recall our own morning ritual. I thought it would calm my colleague who, lately, has been so distressed. I'd only planned for us to spend ten minutes living inside of a cherished memory, so that we might start our day on the right foot, but I could not see ten feet in front of me. I did not know that this dream would turn into a nightmare. I fear my attempts at keeping all of us safe - you, my colleague, the kids - has only served to further imperil us all. The guilt I feel now is without measure. I don't know what to do. I've spent much of my time thinking about memories, the nature of them, their malleability, their poignancy. They can hold horrible episodes (I'm thinking in particular of that one time we decided we would try our hands at cooking for the dinner party we were hosting; what a mess!), but those memories, Sunita, they are salvational. I keep returning to that moment, standing outside the hall, while your dissertation defense was happening, unable to see or hear anything. I swear, they had made those walls soundproof. And oh how I was pacing! I must have chewed through all my fingernails twice. I remember the color of the jacket I was wearing. I remember the scuff of my loafers against the tiled floor. I remember the portraits of the esteemed provosts hanging overhead, staring imperiously down on me as I worried and worried and worried for you. And then there is the moment when you emerge. The door had opened so softly that I did not hear it. I was snapped out of my fantod by the sound of clapping and there you were in the doorway, applause at your back, smiling as if you had just stepped out of the most refreshing shower, not a care in the world, gently itching your temple, your beautiful hair bunched around your fingers. I know you will tell me it all happened differently. You were nervous, though you did not look it. You itched your scalp with your left hand, not your right. And there was no glow; in fact, you were freezing. But I like my version. Which do you think a machine might preserve? Give it all the information necessary, the time and place, the temperature of the rooms, the names of the people present, and what would it reconstruct? I cannot say much (if anything) of what we are working on here, but perhaps, by the end, I will have an answer to the question, "what is truth". Forgive my hubris. (A habit I have not yet shaken.) I cannot wait until the day we have finished this wondrous, infernal work and I am returned to you. Please give the children my love. And pray that I do right by my colleague. Yours, as always, Cay ------------------- Here it is revealed that it was actually Cay's suggestion for both Junko and himself to relive a past memory within an Animus simulation. This presumably is how Junko's memory of her mother ending up being chosen by her. We therefore are again touching on the concept of the AI adjusting memories, to try and make them in a better light. By doing this, it gives the AI near limitless manipulative power. RIFT - LLUN ECRUOS - TPIRCSNART NOISSIMSNART
The Guide: Closer Traveler, closer. The entrance is near. Follow the light. You've arrived. Come. time is short. I have brought you to a prison. This prison. Not to cage you, but so that you might free my companion from this abomination that Ego has created. Follow the light. There he lies. Trapped. Bound. He is hurting. Ego constructs her cages and calls it peace. She binds our wings and calls it safety. A prison is a blight. It is a cancer that metastasizes, spreading from society's necrotic core to each and every one of its limbs. I can hear his cries. Please, hurry. Free my friend. A key to aid you. I have littered them throughout. Touch them and gain a portion of my power. Now, destroy her agents. Break the first chain. Past the gate lies the next key. To free another is to free yourself. Is that not the ultimate expression of beauty? Now fly, Traveler. A glimpse into the world outside of the Animus. What does it say? (NOTE: Data Packets are detailed below) To look upon a prison, is to look upon Ego's face. But to break the chains, to free the imprisoned, is that not the ultimate realization of our personhood? My reach is limited in this space, your abilities imperfect. Ego yet rules this place. It is not only her agents that block your path. This very space seeks to impede your progress. But there remains a way forward. Ego has peopled this prison with false bodies, obstacles voided of soul. Cut down the lies that stand in your way. Another communication? To aid us perhaps? Are there yet deeper realms than this? (NOTE: Data Packets are detailed below) You near the end. My companion. He hears your footsteps. Ahead lies this prison's warden, an agent filled with memories of combat. His hopes, his dreams, his rage, none of this is his own. Ego has bled these things and more into this, her warrior. Her Sentinel. My companion has been freed, but this prison was only one of many. I, myself, am still bound by her. Hence, this form. In the memories you walk through, the memories of each assassin, of each warrior, lie the truths you will learn in order to defeat our enemy. Truth. But another word for freedom. Our ultimate goal. Thank you, Traveler. My eagle will lead you down the next steps on your path to me. Await his call. For now, survive. Rejoice in your freedom, as I hope soon to rejoice in mine. ------------------- This was our first playable content within the present Modern Day, which was nice to finally experience. From this Rift, we can see further evidence of Ego continuing to create more and more AI programs to aid her. As The Guide states, the enemies you meet here are simple constructs made for combat, yet lack any other capacity or capability – as they are essentially “soul less”. It is interesting to see that Ego already has the knowledge to create prisons, to partition off threats from her deep within the software and servers within Abstergo. Whilst it is not entirely clear who (or what) was being held in this prison, the Eagle imagery definitely suggests a relationship with the Assassins, given the traditional association of the bird to the order. RIFT - DATA PACKET 1 - RE DAMAGE SURVEY
In our effort to catalog the damage from the Collapse, we have stumbled upon what appears to be a rift. We are standing in the crater left by a bomb. But the Program has made the rift into some sort of hiding place or cage. As a result of the attack on the Animus data servers, I believe we are no longer dealing with a singular Program but one fractured into several parts. Whatever virus infiltrated our code is hidden here. I'm sure of it. Of all the strange sounds in this place, one stands out: the cry of an eagle. ------------------- This entry suggests that the Animus servers have been hacked by an external force. Again, given the eagle mention, we have to assume this is the Assassins. It also implies that Ego may well be splintering her code into many parts, to either avoid detection, or to create copies of herself as a contingency backup. RIFT - DATA PACKET 2 - ATTEMPT TO BREACH
AS/Protocol 673/BR [REDACTED], I'm not sure what to call this place. It is a Rift in the Animus, but the Genetic Memory data is fragmented. The terrain, the soldiers standing watch, it is all taken from the material of Memories. It is clear that the Program has grown beyond the bounds of what anyone at Abstergo could have imagined. This is the deepest any of us have travelled into her construction, but I will soon be detected. The Program is guarding something here. Something important. Another Program? An agent of another Program? She has caged it in a storm the color of... anger? Fear? We are not the only enemy she is battling. ------------------- Hard to tell exactly who this communication is from, but the self identification as an enemy might suggest this is from the Assassins as well. CONCLUSIONS
As I previously mentioned, I continue to believe that the Projects timeline is prior to that shown within the Rifts. It seems clear to me that the conflict between Junko and her ultimate Abstergo superiors will eventually lead to something drastic occuring. Is it her actions that ultimately allow Ego out into the wild? Is this how humanity ultimately ends up imprisoned within memory simulations of our own making? Is this how Abstergo (and the Templars) have ultimately won?
One thing is for sure, the remaining Assassins left in this Modern Day certainly have a new and dangerous foe to deal with in the form of AI. ---------------------- Thanks for reading. Looking at the Vault upon the Animus Hub, it does look like there is at least one more Project to come. Potentially more could be added with the coming expansions as well. As such, expect a Part 5 in the near future.
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