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Assassin's Creed Shadows – Modern Day Analysis
Part 5: Sanctuary Sorrosyss, October 18th, 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 new Rift missions available during Post-Launch and especially the “Battle Pass” themed Projects – which players can unlock by completing the bi-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 four parts: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Here in Part 5 though, this time we're going to look at the fourth Project, titled “Sanctuary”. DIARY OF JOEL EASTMAN (3)
Went out to the firebreak this morning. The government can't be bothered with a village this isolated, so it's down to the locals to protect themselves from wildfire. The trees are beautiful when you tune out the constant, ambient buzz of the water-bots in the air. Felt good to help out. Clearing out deadwood and undergrowth to keep the next blaze at bay. Was a good reminder that there's more going on outside than the fight against Abstergo. They're letting that scientist we snatched up stew. I wanted to tell Tatyana that we didn't have time to waste, and it turned into a row with Bas and the others, them saying I was speaking out of turn. Before I could knock someone's teeth out, I left. It's the heat making us this way. Makes everything we're doing feel so small and pointless. Water-bot landed on my knuckle when we were working. Iridescent wings, bug eyes. But I could see the mechanical joints and ligatures. Put it to your ear and you can hear the whirr of the gears inside. If you gave me a microscope, I'd probably be able to see the Abstergo logo somewhere in there. They're everywhere. It's not just the phones and money tokens. It's not just the maglev ships ferrying troops to and from their bases to put down the rebellions, help one warlord out by crushing another. It's not just the armored dogbots carrying medical supplies in their back compartments. It's the water-bots too. All Abstergo. They break the world, then they sell you the glue. But you look out at this village, and you think you're looking into the past, before Abstergo tech invaded every part of our lives. But really, you're looking into the future. A time when Abstergo's completely invisible. You don't even know they're there, and they've still got their hooks in you. How long before the Animus shows up here too? Can't get distracted. There's a reason Dad sent us after Dr. Muller, Dad. He knows something that'll help us hit the heart of Abstergo. That's how you kill a giant, right? The Doctor's waking up. It's time. ------------------- We can see that Joel is slowly finding himself aligning with his father's dim view of the world, and that which Abstergo has had a large hand in making. We once again have a reference to oppressive heat here, but also that of high level technology such as water-bots and maglev ships. Clearly, this shows yet again that the modern day setting is most certainly several decades into the future, as we have previously postulated. TRANSCRIPT OF DR. MULLER INTERROGATION
-- DECRYPTED AUDIO EXTRACT FOLLOWS -- PARTICIPANTS IDENTIFIED BY VOICE MODULATION MATCH WILHELM MULLER - You should know that agents of my employer are currently on their way to retrieve me. They've had my precise location since— TATYANA DANE - Oh, yeah, I wouldn't worry about that. A tracking chip's a very analog way of keeping tabs on people. WILHELM MULLER - What? JOEL EASTMAN - Twenty Abstergo gunmen, your rescuers, are in a goatfield right now trying to figure out which one of those poor fellas chewing grass goes by the name of Dr. Wilhelm Muller. Look for the one with the gray beard, right? WILHELM MULLER - Whatever you're after, I don't have it. They silo every department. No one talks to anyone else, no one knows about anyone else. I— POUL AGARD - Look at that, cycling through all the stages of grief. TATYANA DANE - In record timing. Dr. Muller, you see that man leaning against the wall over there? You can guess what he does. He can do it to you and get you to talk. Or you can just talk and we don't have to clean up after him when he's done. WILHELM MULLER - I'm just a psychologist. JOEL EASTMAN - Whose? WILHELM MULLER - I'm a counselor. I perform psychological assessments and offer counseling as...part of the healthcare services available to all Abstergo employees. JOEL EASTMAN - He's stalling. You're telling us you alone did counseling for tens of thousands of people at Abstergo? TATYANA DANE - Might be time to let Poul have a go at him. WILHELM MULLER - Wait! Wait! I...I did have some sensitive clients. Most of my reports went through the usual channels, but occasionally, I provided services to certain employees whose reports were sent through highly restricted channels. Their...treatment...was, you could say, unorthodox. JOEL EASTMAN - Unorthodox how? WILHELM MULLER - Are you familiar with the therapeutic aspects of the Animus? Well, I can hardly take credit for this experiment, but in conjunction with two of my clients, we experimented with using the Animus to address past trauma a person might have undergone. Think of it as personalized automated therapy. TATYANA DANE - The Animus is more than a meditation app. WILHELM MULLER - Oh, considerably more. JOEL EASTMAN - Why were these sections restricted? WILHELM MULLER - Because of how the Animus was treating traumatic memories. TATYANA DANE - What was it doing? (long pause) WILHELM MULLER - It was overwriting them. Ingenious, really. I must credit my clients as truly brilliant people, for I, myself, would not have thought of such a use for the device and— JOEL EASTMAN - Who are they? These clients? TATYANA DANE - And don't claim patient confidentiality. That ship sailed a long time ago. WILHELM MULLER - You'll never get to them. And even if you did, what you fail to understand is that some of us actually enjoy the work we do. We find purpose in it. Solace! We are not some evil megacorporation out to control the world where everyone is miserable and enslaved to us. There is so much good we are doing out in the world. So much good. JOEL EASTMAN - Who are they? WILHELM MULLER - If you shoot me now, you will never get their names. JOEL EASTMAN - We kidnapped one Abstergo doctor. We can kidnap another. WILHELM MULLER - They'll never join you, whatever it is you think you're doing. To begin with, they are Abstergo's most prized researchers. Do you really think they wouldn't be hidden behind a hundred layers of fortress? No one is more protected than them. (long pause) WILHELM MULLER - Well, if you think you can convince Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Maeda to leave their incredibly remunerative, benefits-ridden positions doing meaningful, world-changing work that is bringing benefits to untold billions of people around the world, then be my guest. There is, of course, the fact that they are better guarded than the Vatican Secret Archives. But I'm sure you'll be just fine. ------------------- As we found in the previous project data files, the Animus is being used to treat trauma, by simply overwriting memories. Muller claims he was the psychiatrist for Ortiz and Maeda, but we've no real way of confirming that. Given the proximity and location in which the Assassins captured Muller, it seems a safe bet that the secret Abstergo facility is either somewhere also within Morocco, or at the very least within northern Africa. DIARY OF JOEL EASTMAN (4)
Rewriting memories. I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around it. Dr. Muller made it sound so benevolent. Like the Animus was medicine. But that's how they always were. How they are. Break you, then sell you the glue. For a second, while he was talking, I thought about Dad. My memories of him. I thought of my last memory of him, how it seemed as though all of them were leading up to that last moment. This whole history we had together, our shared history and—wait. Shared history. Dr. Muller was talking about individual memories, but what if it's bigger than that? All those dig sites Dad brought me to, all those markets—in Athens, in Baghdad, in Cairo—those places thick with history, what if that's what Abstergo is trying to control? What if they're trying to change history? Dad always said it. There are as many histories as there are people on the planet. History isn't just a thing of the mind. It lives in the body. In the bones. In the... in the genes. Abstergo is trying to alter Genetic Memories. ------------------- Not much to add here, beyond another confirmation that Abstergo is indeed using the Animus to rewrite memories. SURVEILLANCE AUDIO, DANE, EASTMAN
LOCATION: Western Rif Mountains, 15 miles northeast of Chefchaouen
Participants: Tatyana Dane, Joel Eastman TATYANA DANE – How long has he been dead? JOEL EASTMAN – Ten minutes. Poul and Bas are doing a perimeter sweep now, but I told them they didn't have to. TATYANA DANE – Why? JOEL EASTMAN – He killed himself. Look here. Cyanide capsule. TATYANA DANE – We searched him... JOEL EASTMAN – Tatyana, I figured it out. TATYANA DANE – Figured what out? JOEL EASTMAN – Abstergo. What they're after. TATYANA DANE – Well. Enlighten me, Mr. Eastman. JOEL EASTMAN – They're after the Assassins. They're after us. TATYANA DANE – They've been after you since before Marrakech. What are you talking about? JOEL EASTMAN – Genetic memories. Abstergo is trying to alter Genetic memories. They're looking for Assassins. And they're trying to erase them from history. TATYANA DANE – The Animus... JOEL EASTMAN – Isn't that how the Assassins used to connect with their ancestors? How they used to carry out the battle? They'd plug in, learn about the past, and take those lessons into the present to fight Abstergo. Abstergo's trying to quell a resistance. Kill it in the cradle. They're hunting us through the minds of every Animus user. TATYANA DANE – So that mean... why are you smiling? JOEL EASTMAN – You don't go this hard after someone unless you think they can really stop you. We're a problem. A big enough problem that Abstergo's going to such lengths to eliminate. We exist. We're not just fighting to save the present from Abstergo. We're trying to save history. TATYANA DANE – That doesn't answer my question. JOEL EASTMAN – I've got regrets. Strong ones. One of those is not having joined you guys when Dad tried to get me to all those years ago. I used to think it was too little, too late. What he was talking about, it felt like an impossible thing. I mean, Abstergo is everywhere. It's in everything. I knew it was wrong that they controlled so much, but I... I'd given up before I ever gave the fight a chance. Then Dad died, and at first, I joined to see what he was after. Try to keep him close to me. But I see it now. The fight. It's important. It's the most important thing. And as long as even one of us exists, we're a problem. We're a reminder that Abstergo isn't all–powerful. That there are shadows even they can't reach. (long pause) TATYANA DANE – You should've waited till the others got back before giving that speech. Bas might've even clapped for you. JOEL EASTMAN – We have to find those scientists. If Abstergo plans on going wide with this new... thing the Animus can do... we don't have a lot of time. ------------------- If you look back over the Assassin's Creed franchise, there is definitely a case confirming that the Modern Day protagonists often obtain their skills from the bleeding effect of the Animus. Not just the physical attributes though, but also the belief and passion that surrounds the Brotherhood in their pursuit in defending freedom throughout history. As such, if Abstergo really is trying to eliminate their oldest enemy in this way, then removing them from genetic memories, and indeed history itself, is a smart move to prevent further recruitment to the Assassin cause. Indeed, they've already been trying to do this for quite some time, as those of you who played Assassin's Creed Liberation will remember, with the ending literally censored by Abstergo to provide a more Templar friendly narrative. There is no greater defeat than to be forgotten by history entirely. In that regard, Joel is absolutely right that the battle is not only for the present, it is also for both the past and the future of the Brotherhood – and indeed freedom itself. ENCRYPTED MESSAGE
------------------- Cay and Junko have finally realised the danger that they are now placed in, with an AI seemingly growing in power exponentially. Left with no other choice, this is clearly a message reaching out to the Assassins for an emergency evacuation. CONCLUSIONS
With Cay and Junko now seeking to escape the Abstergo facility, their loyalties will be tested to the limit. Will they stay true to their work with the creative vision of Abstergo and by extension the Templar Order? Or will they throw in their lot with the Assassins, and instead aim to bring down the entire facility?
One thing is sure, the remnants of the Assassins will have a tough time getting inside a high tech fortress of this kind. However, if the Ego AI instead takes control of the facility itself, Abstergo employee or Assassin alike would finally be on the same side – by extension becoming human enemies to the continued survival of the AI's existence. The stakes could not be higher. ---------------------- Thanks for reading. Looking at the Vault upon the Animus Hub, it does look like there is at least one more Project to come. As such, expect a Part 6 in the near future.
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