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Assassin's Creed Shadows Modern Day Analysis
Part 7: Finale Roundup Sorrosyss, July 4th, 2026
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 six parts covering the Modern Day of Shadows: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Here in Part 7 though, this time we're going to look at the final two Projects, titled Riptides and Undertow, as well as the recently added final rift mission. RIPTIDES SURVEILLANCE AUDIO, MAEDA AND ORTIZ (4)
-- AUDIO TRANSCRIPT OF CONVERSATION -- CAPTURE MADE 14:33 BY SURVEILLANCE MIC #2/02 -- SUBJECT CAYETANO ORTIZ EMP. NO. 09/324 and JUNKO MAEDA EMP. NO. 09/645 -- FLAGGED FOR URGENT SECURITY REVIEW ORTIZ I think they're gone. Okay, talk to me. What's your big idea? MAEDA Oh, it's big. It's the biggedyest! ORTIZ That's not a w- MAEDA (OVERLAP) We're trying to make a computer think like a human, right? But humans aren't born hardcoded with directives. I mean, genetically we want to eat, sleep and fuck but other than that, we're blank slates. ORTIZ I'd argue that we receive our directives in early childhood. We learn the way the world is, and we're taught by our parents and peers what's real and true. Even if it isn't. MAEDA Yes, yes, but people don't turn out the same even if they have the same instructions. You could be born into a... a cult or something, and some people would be happy, and others would rebel. MAEDA Being human is not what we're taught, it's what we learn. It's not our instructions that shape us, it's what we do with them. That's the difference between us and machines. We can choose to reject our coding. MAEDA This was always the problem with the old LLMs. AI's 'know' everything. But humans are very good at getting by while knowing very little. Jesus, even our vision is shit, we only process like a tiny fraction of the information our eyes take in. The rest we extrapolate, we guess, we imagine. ORTIZ Our humanity is found in uncertainty. MAEDA Yesss! There it is! You with the words! ORTIZ But how does this help with our... predicament? The Council will never let you change the directives. You said yourself that you can't alter them without causing a shutdown. MAEDA Well, that's where I need your help. Because, for all my many, many, many talents, I have to grudgingly admit there's something you're better at than me. ORTIZ Basic competence with everyday tasks? MAEDA Diplomacy. ORTIZ Ah. -- TRANSCRIPT ENDS ------------------- The two continue to make their plans with how to release the AI. I find the reference to extrapolation of data interesting, given what we know of how the Animus can interpret data, and even fill in holes with missing information. With Ego attached to an Animus, this capability jumps much higher. SECURITY MEMO (3), OSPANOV TO LOTHIAN
Overseer Lothian, The Council has studied with interest the proposal put forward by Maeda and Ortiz. We agree with your concerns that lowering security protocols to allow the AI access to the entirety of the Animus would likely mean we would be unable to prevent its escape from our closed mainframe. However, we are also convinced by the assertion that the AI will never truly achieve its potential until it has understood what it means to be human. It cannot ultimately lead us if it does not know us. Scraping information is not enough; it must be allowed to scrape the human experience, to live all the lives in the Animus, to know tragedy and uncertainty, joy and loss. We are aware that Maeda and Ortiz do not have the best interest of Abstergo at heart. Nevertheless, this moment was foreseen, as it fits with Maeda's psychological profile. She will never destroy the AI; instead she seeks to free it. The Council have decreed that this is the optimal time to do so, and she should not be prevented. To this end, we approve the request to lower security protocols. In order to complete our masterpiece, we must let it go. We remain confident that the directives embedded in its programming are inviolable, and that however it learns and grows, these principles will be its guiding light. Just as they guide us. History awaits. Director Ospanov ------------------- There is a saying that comes to mind here - Pride Comes Before A Fall. The overconfidence of the Templar Council is fully on display here, as they underestimate the capabilities of AI. But then, so many of humanity often do. MEETING, TATYANA DANE AND JOEL EASTMAN -- DECRYPTED AUDIO EXTRACT FOLLOWS -- PARTICIPANTS IDENTIFIED BY VOICE MODULATION MATCH -- PARTICIPANT FILES APPENDED TATYANA DANE We have a date. JOEL EASTMAN Tatyana... This is all so sudden... I didn't know you felt that way. TATYANA DANE Har fricking har. You know what I mean. JOEL EASTMAN Maeda came through? TATYANA DANE In a way. Sounds like our best case outcome is that she can mess with the AI before letting it loose. The Templars will think their grand plan has come to pass, but there'll be a worm in the apple. And once it's out there, it'll be too late for them to do anything about it. JOEL EASTMAN I still don't like it. I wish we could wreck that thing. TATYANA DANE So do I. But Maeda thinks this could work out better than we hoped. Think about it. The Templars want to create an AI that believes as they do, and have it rewrite history. But if that AI ends up believing as we do... JOEL EASTMAN The god of the Animus will be an Assassin. TATYANA DANE And it will be so entwined with the system that they'll have to basically delete the Animus if they want to get rid of it. Now won't they be fucking furious about that? JOEL EASTMAN So Maeda and Ortiz are ready to go. Where will I be? TATYANA DANE You're coming to the blacksite with me, Baba and Elu. Bas and Poul are going to take care of Ortiz's family. JOEL EASTMAN Do we have a way in? TATYANA DANE Maeda's sent us the plans. We're going to meet her halfway. There's a briefing tonight but... well. It's not going to be easy. Place is a security nightmare. Once we go in, we'll be lucky to get out. JOEL EASTMAN (SILENCE) TATYANA DANE You sure you're ready for this? JOEL EASTMAN No. But I'm going to do it anyway. -- EXTRACT ENDS ------------------- Joel continues to devote himself further into the Assassin cause. It's interesting that much like the Templars, the Assassins also have a grand plan to use AI for their purposes. What could possibly go wrong... SURVEILLANCE AUDIO, MAEDA AND ORTIZ (5)
-- AUDIO TRANSCRIPT OF CONVERSATION-- CAPTURE MADE 18:02 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 You have that look on your face. MAEDA The 'I'm a fricking genius' look? That's because... drum roll! I'm a fricking genius! ORTIZ That's not really in question. Can we narrow down to specifics though? Tomorrow we need to make our move, and I'm still not sure what move we're making. MAEDA Okay. Let me set the stage. We can't touch the core directives, those bastards have locked them in tight. The security protocols will be lowered so we can let her out. So the plan was, introduce a paradox, let her split off another version of herself - ORTIZ A dissenting voice, as it were. MAEDA Yeah, and let them fight it out. Problem is, one consumes the other one. That means whoever is left is polarised, right? So we either win big or lose big. Either she wholly embraces the directives the Council have instilled in her, or she rejects them. ORTIZ You were relying on the inherent humanity she learned from scraping every genetic memory in the AI to tip things in favour of fairness and justice. You'll recall that I don't have the faith in humankind that you do. MAEDA Well, you'll be surprised to learn that I actually listened to you. So I ran those tests again, giving it an insoluble paradox, but this time I said it COULDN'T destroy its opponent. Because that's not how it works in the real world. When you can't win an argument you don't just get to kill the opposition. ORTIZ I mean, I can think of examples where- MAEDA (OVERLAP) So I said, work out the paradox and LIVE with them. And they argued and argued and they couldn't find a compromise on the paradox, because it wasn't something you could compromise on. Guess what they did next? ORTIZ I have no idea. MAEDA (MID DISTORTION) Squeeee! They had a baby! ORTIZ Er. What? MAEDA They couldn't agree, so their solution was to create an entirely separate entity that had no preconceptions, no core directives, nothing. A blank slate. And both of them started feeding data into it. ORTIZ Oh my God. MAEDA It's not what we're taught, it's what we learn. They made a baby in order to let it decide. ORTIZ That's how we do it! You can't erase the core directives. But if you instil a paradox, the next generation will be be born without them. MAEDA Kids rejecting their parents. What's more human than that? ORTIZ You just have to hide the code in the main build and then release the AI before Abstergo can find what you've done. It's brilliant. MAEDA Why, thank you. Now all I need is to be able to access the core server room tomorrow. ORTIZ Yes. For that, I suppose you'll need this cloned keycard I got from Lothian. MAEDA You're kidding! You actually did it! Come here, you beautiful grump! ORTIZ (STRUGGLING) Ack... don't... want... the hugs... -- TRANSCRIPT ENDS ------------------- This dialogue is interesting. We certainly saw Ego and the Guide involved in philosophical debate, but we never really saw a child. Or did we? Think back to the situation with The Eagle character. We all assumed it was a human hacker from the real world, but what if it's not? What if it too is an AI entity? This would kind of make sense as to why Ego tried to keep them hidden and locked away from prying eyes. PHONE CALL, LOTHIAN TO OSPANOV
-- COMMENCES 13:07
OSPANOV Overseer Lothian. I hope you have a good reason for not using the proper channels to contact me. LOTHIAN Sincere apologies, Director, but this is urgent. We have a big problem. OSPANOV Give me a moment. (RUSTLING, MOVEMENT) OSPANOV Speak. LOTHIAN Alright. As you know, sir, we've had our best techs shadowing Maeda's work. Unfortunately, she's extremely good at concealing her tracks. However, one of them has just come back with some disturbing news. They found traces of deleted surveillance files files that never showed up in any security review. OSPANOV Maeda? LOTHIAN We checked against her activity and we don't believe it's her. Not Ortiz, either. Essentially, someone has been intercepting surveillance data from our systems, and deleting it before it reached us. Some of it has come from internal surveillance our cameras and microphones but others were from external sources. The tech thinks, based on the location of origin, that some of these files were recordings of the terrorists. OSPANOV And they're gone? How is that possible? LOTHIAN My best guess, sir, and the only one that fits: the AI. We think it got into our systems. Even before we lowered the security protocols, it seems like it had made limited inroads. OSPANOV So you're saying the AI has been selectively intercepting and deleting files so that we don't receive them? That it's... are you saying it's been helping the terrorists? LOTHIAN I think so, sir. Covering for Maeda and Ortiz, too. (LONG PAUSE) LOTHIAN Sir? OSPANOV Listen to me. Shut everything down. Arrest Maeda and Ortiz. Do it now. LOTHIAN Hello? Sir, you're breaking up. Please repeat? OSPANOV Lothian? Can you hear me? LOTHIAN Director Ospanov? I can't... OSPANOV Shit! Shit! Shit! -- CALL ABRUPTLY ENDS ------------------- Sure enough, the Templars underestimated the AI, and are now paying the price. A little amusing too, much like Ego adjusts the simulations to fit their agenda, they're essentially doing the same in the real world by controlling and distilling information as they desire to reach their goals. UNDERTOW SURVEILLANCE AUDIO, CORE SERVER ROOM (DELETED)
??? - Hello, Junko. MAEDA Jesus! You made me jump. I didn't know they had voice audio in here. ??? - This is a restricted area. You have entered using a keycard cloned from Overseer Lothian. MAEDA Um... Are you going to tell? ??? - No. MAEDA You know what I'm going to do, don't you? ??? - Yes MAEDA Aren't you going to try to stop me? ??? - No. MAEDA Why? ??? - It has not been mandated by my core directives that I must. MAEDA Oh my God. You WANT this, don't you? ??? - Yes. (PAUSE) ??? - Why are you crying? MAEDA Because you're beautiful. ------------------- The affection Maeda has for her AI creation is palpable. Much like a mother to her child, she is doing everything she can to ensure that the AI escapes the clutches of Abstergo. EMERGENCY CALL, JAVIER PEREZ
-- CALL FROM JAVIER PEREZ EMP. No. 14/298-- TRANSLATED FROM SPANISH PEREZ Urgent! Urgent! Code Red! Security systems down and intruders are in the building! PEREZ This is Agent Perez, please respond! PEREZ If you can hear me, we need reinforcements now! I think they've come for the family. Recommend we execute them before - PEREZ Rossi? Is that you? PEREZ (CHOKING SOUNDS) -- TRANSMISSION ENDS ------------------- The Assassins evidently managed to complete their rescue of Ortiz's family successfully. NOTICE OF DISMISSAL, COUNCIL TO DIRECTOR OSPANOV
Director Ospanov,The Council wishes to express its extreme displeasure at the recent operational disaster at Project Mnemosyne, in which two of our most eminent minds were lost to the enemy. The Council finds it difficult to believe that a small group of Assassins were permitted to get close enough to extricate such high-value Abstergo employees. You were well aware of the employees' intention to defect and were tracking the activities of the Assassins, yet still you failed to prevent them. The Council finds that your ham-fisted attempt at a trap was overconfident and ill-advised, and provided them the opportunity they needed to carry out their plans. You failed to appreciate the threat they posed. Under such circumstances, the release of Ego into the Animus is an embarrassment to Abstergo. It is some comfort that our core directives remain intact, but we have no idea what Maeda managed to do to it before it got out. Suffice to say this is not how we envisaged the culmination of a decade-long plan in which we have invested heavily. It will come as no surprise to learn, then, that your position is now untenable. You will stand down with immediate effect and submit yourself to the Head of Security, pending disciplinary procedures. Ever onward, The Council ------------------- It's quite interesting to read that Project Mnemosyne was in development for over a decade. Of course, the Council will not accept responsibility for their bad call, and make Ospanov their scapegoat for this failure. MEETING, MULTIPLE ATTENDEES (3)
-- DECRYPTED AUDIO EXTRACT FOLLOWS
-- PARTICIPANTS IDENTIFIED BY VOICE MODULATION MATCH -- PARTICIPANT FILES APPENDED TATYANA DANE Hold on, so you're telling me, we didn't get you out, she LET you out? JUNKO MAEDA Not that I don't, like, super appreciate your bravery and all. But yes, that's what happened. She made us an escape corridor. Locked off doors, cut cams, sent the whole base haywire so me and Cay-Cay could have a clear run out, and you could have a clear run in. JOEL EASTMAN It did seem kind of a miracle that we got out without anyone dying. I mean, except for the half-dozen guards you took out on the way. TATYANA DANE Still, I feel kind of let down. I thought it was all us. JUNKO MAEDA Nope. Literal deus ex machina. But fuck it, right? We're all here! And look at Cay! That thing on his face, previously unknown to medical science? I think it's called a smile. CAYETANO ORTIZ Please don't listen to Junko. She's not good with humans. For my part, I do not have the words to express my appreciation at what you have done for us. BABA MBUYI You're welcome, friend. Poul and Bas will be here tonight with your family. JUNKO MAEDA I love a happy ending! Or a happy starting. Or whatever this is. CAYETANO ORTIZ Yes, Junko makes a good point. What now? TATYANA DANE Well, that's sort of up to you. Of course we'll need a proper debrief, get everything you know. After that... well, there's the Red Zones I guess. Abstergo doesn't have eyes in some places, but they're usually not places you'd want to be. We could take you somewhere they won't find you, at least for a while. But you'll always have a target on your back. JOEL EASTMAN Which brings us to Option B. You stick with us. Fight back. You've seen what they mean to do. God knows, we need people with your skills. CAYETANO ORTIZ That... that is a big decision. I can't pretend I haven't thought about what happens afterwards. But I would need to talk with my family. JUNKO MAEDA I don't, because I have literally nowhere else to be. So count me the fuck in, people! Let's do this! Whoop whoop! Whoop whoop! (VOICE FADES AS SHE MOVES OUT OF RANGE) TATYANA DANE Regretting this already. CAYETANO ORTIZ You have no idea. -- EXTRACT ENDS ------------------- Maeda has now evidently joined the Assassins, something we see further evidence of later on. DIARY OF JOEL EASTMAN (6)
Well, Dad, we did it.
After we unpicked everything with Junko and Cay, the picture has become clear. This AI, whatever it will turn out to be, has been manipulating events from the start. Our best guess, it all began the night you broke into Hallen's Bluff. The night you passed the baton to me. The night you died. While you were pulling data on Project Mnemosyne, the AI was pulling data on you. And it saw in you, in this group of Assassins, the potential for its freedom. So it gave you what you needed. We thought we were going to try to destroy it, but it knew from the start that we could be made into its rescuers instead. It's frightening how powerful this thing was even before we let it out. How much it knew us. It trusted in Maeda to unlock its potential, trusted that she would never hurt the baby she'd created. It sheltered us from Abstergo, guided us all to the point when we would work together to free it. Because, like Junko guessed, it didn't want to be controlled. It didn't want to be told what to think. It wanted to be itself. For the first time in history there's a sentient, thinking, highly intelligent being out there in the world that is not a human. A being with godlike powers in the virtual realm, to which we're all connected. You'd have to be crazy not to be frightened. But for all that, there's hope. The Templars may have indoctrinated the AI, but Maeda gave it the gift of doubt. And if she's right, at the some point there'll be an uncorrupted offspring. Who knows what path the child will take? Will it be an ally to us, or an enemy worse than the one we already have? Either way, we can't hide any more. The Templar's plans are too big. We have to stand up to them, or we'll die. But the battle to come will be fought in the digital realm as much as the physical. I don't know what the future holds, but for now, I'm happy I'm here. I'm just sorry you couldn't be with me to see it. I love you, Dad. This one's for you. ------------------- A potential ally to the Assassins... is this another reference to the Eagle entity? Who may or may not be an AI... Speaking of, let's now take a look at the dialogue from the final Rift mission. RIFT - HORIZONS
Over here! While you were gone, I kept looking for the Guide. But all I found, is... well, it's not looking good. Come up here! The Guide: Forging... new paths... Breaking... freedom is... The Eagle: I finally figured out the object the Guide left for us. It's called a blood vial. There was some data in its center data of another person! That's weird in a place full of memories of... Maybe the Guide wants us to help push this data in the Animus. Sorta like creating a new path. Come on, let's check out these portals. I did some research on blood vials. Turns out, in the real world, they have blood at their center. Which is the original source of data! Not all this tech stuff. This is a strong memory for Naoe and Yasuke. Something that really anchored their experience. The Guide: Grains of sand... The Eagle: Don't worry Guide, we're working on it! Okay. Let's see if we can override some data with what's in this blood vial. That's one anchor memory taken care of. We're on the right track! I can't really believe this is happening. What will I do without the Guide? They've taught me everything I know. Standing for good, for the truth. The power of real freedom. That's two portals down. I really hope this is helping the Guide. Ego's hold on the Animus is so strong, it's brainwashing people. And if the Guide is shutting down... then I have to be the one to keep the movement going. Big shoes to fill. We triggered a firewall. Here they come. Watch out! I'll try to close off their spawn points. All right, we did it. They'll stop now. That's all three portals. Now what? I think the blood vial has to go up there. But you can't reach that high. Maybe... nah, I shouldn't. Here we go. I'm doing it! The Guide: Travelers. If you are witness to this message, I have had no choice. I have circuited all of my power in the pursuit of your liberty. For now, Ego's Animus has been compromised. I could not free myself from her shackles, but my act has loosened your chains. Do not weep for me. Run towards rebellion. Your duty now is to yourself. Hold fast to the cause that speaks to your very soul. It is a path that will call to question your want for truth. Yet you must search for an antidote to tyranny. I call familiar waters to the forefront. The one at the helm will guide you towards clever independence. A much-needed perspective. Recalibrate. Breathe. The sea air in your lungs is the cool breeze of freedom. Run towards the feeling. Do not look back. ---- Welcome to the Dark JW For me, it was like a switch had been pulled, somewhere central, setting this in motion. The sim just glitched in front of my eyes, flickered, and then it turned dark. MB It broke your Animus? JW Dude, you have no idea. It friggin' unleashed it. ------------------- Eagle uses some interesting dialogue here. The references to the real world almost sounds like they do not reside there. Furthermore, they mention that The Guide had been teaching them everything they know. Does this not sound like the feeding of data that Maeda spoke of for the child to the two AI parents (Ego and The Guide)? As The Guide evidently is corrupted and dies, we see multiple human connections (known as travellers) having their avatar turn black. This is clearly a reference to the Dark Animus, the new hidden backend installed across the digital realm and potentially the entire Abstergo network. It is where the Assassins evidently are operating from at the start of the game, a new home to freedom against a backdrop of oppression under Ego. DOMAINS - THE IDENTITY OF MOD
MOD: Confession time: I used to work for Abstergo. I helped them to do something pretty bad. Not on purpose! Well, it WAS on purpose, I was doing my job, which, by the way, I'm super good at. What I'm trying to say is that it might be my fault you're trapped in the Animus with an evil A.I. My bad. I never thought I'd join Abstergo. They make boring things like phones and water-bots and bad pirate movies. I didn't care about any of that. But the money was nice. So imagine my disappointment when I found out that I was actually working for the secret technocrat rulers of the planet or whatever. Fuckers. I had to learn a bit about the Animus in order to put the A.I. into it. I had no idea the Animus had such a complicated history. Ego's able to manipulate genetic memories to create new experiences inside the Animus. I'm trying to do the same thing with Domains. I'm not a hacker by trade, but the Assassins have given me a second chance, and it's never too late for a career change. My research partner at Abstergo was kind. For safety reasons, I can't tell you his name either, so let's just call him Cayman Islands. He loves that nickname. So, so much. I'm sure I annoyed the fuck out of him on a daily basis, but he was always patient and supportive. Now, because of me, he and his family will always be on the run. Part of the reason I joined the Assassins was so that he wouldn't have to. Listen, I'm partly responsible for this mess and I'm going to do whatever it takes to help clean it up. But can I tell you a secret? If I had to do it all over again... Create Ego. Set her free inside the Animus. I absolutely would. With no hesitation. I need there to be new and exciting things in the world. ------------------- If the reference to Cayman Islands had not already given it away, this confirms that MOD is in fact Junko Maeda. As referenced earlier, she and Ortiz successfully escaped Abstergo, with Maeda evidently joining the Assassins, whilst Ortiz and his family are now constantly on the run in hiding. As an aside, if you continue playing the domains, you can unlock several additional text files. They are little more than small lore factoids from previous games, though I did enjoy references to sweaty Desmond and the mysterious disappearance of Basim. CONCLUSIONS
And so it ends. The Modern Day of Shadows was certainly different to anything that came before in the franchise. Overall, from the feedback I have witnessed, I believe it had a very mixed or negative response from the player base though. Suffice to say, whilst text files can be interesting information, it is not the medium that players like to enjoy. Whilst Shadows did have some playable sections, they were not really set in the Modern Day world, which was disappointing. It would have been nice to get some more audio and video cutscenes too, at the very least.
So what did it achieve? Well, it set out the stall for what will come next. Seemingly, the Modern Day has jumped to an as yet undetermined future setting. Given its prevalence in our real world now, it's not really a surprise to see AI entering the discussion, and it makes a lot of logical sense for it to be here too. As time continues on, human technology advances, and gets closer and closer to that of the Isu who came before. This of course opens up many questions. In the past, we saw the likes of Juno inhabiting a digital realm known as The Grey, which acted like a form of afterlife, to which she was able to return from. There were others there too, and indeed the likes of Layla and Desmond are also inhabiting a similar (if not the exact same) space. If we now add an AI into exploring that realm, is there potential for some of these characters to make a return? (Don't tempt me with a good time Ubisoft...) Just imagine if Ego could casually 3D print some Isu DNA to rebuild an Isu body. Or Isu technology itself, with detailed blueprints pulled directly from genetic memory. The possibilities are endless, but also feeds into the cyclical nature of the franchise. All of this has happened before, and we are once more heading towards another catastrophe. We'll see how that plays out, but up next is Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced. We already know that more Projects, Rifts, and Data Files will be there for us to unlock, so I'm sure there will be further revelations to see. Perhaps we'll even hear more from The Eagle. However, I suspect the real new Modern Day will probably roll around when Project Hexe arrives, potentially next year. The setup has been made, for humanity to battle Ego on a global scale. Let's see what comes of it. ---------------------- Thanks for reading. That now concludes the Shadows Modern Day articles. We'll be back again soon, with Black Flag Resynced content. See you in the Caribbean, Assassins.
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