THE_HUB | ABSTERGO

Week 1

Email Thread

From:

To:

Date/Time:

Subject:

Melanie Lemay

Jean-François Brunet

Wed, 2013-11-13 09:58

What happened here?

Attachment: ScreenShot1.jpg

JF, the Joey video is a MESS. What is going on here? How did this get out? You know this is not the quality we ship.
-M

- AC 4 Black Flag -

Attachment: ScreenShot2.jpg

Mel, Mel, Mel...
It's a good thing we're friends or I might be offended. Let me refresh your memory. The attached screen is what my guys produced. It's clean. It's perfection.
Also, haha: you signed off on it. Remember? :) And I think the testers would have noticed a glitch like that. Lol. Someone needs a vacation...
Whatever this is, it happened after we went gold, so if you're looking for a scapegoat to hang, check with your buddies in publishing.
:(
- Your pal, JF
PS- Drinks later? Terasse weather is over but that doesn't mean we can't *try*. We're tough! Rawr! Arrrr! :o)

From:

To:

Date/Time:

Subject:

Jean-François Brunet

Melanie Lemay

Wed, 2013-11-13 10:12

Re: What happened here?

From:

To:

Date/Time:

Subject:

Melanie Lemay

Kristina Uhrich

Wed, 2013-11-13 11:21

Glitchy weirdness.

Attachment: ScreenShot1.jpg

Hi Kristina,
How are you? How was Costa Rica? Amazing? You have to tell me about it!!!
So, there's just one I need help with. See the screenshot attached? What do you think is going on there with all the distortion? We've checked our files and they're all clean. (Actually, I blamed JF and I think he hates me now. :-( )
Please, please, please tell me we can still fix this.
- Mel

From:

To:

Date/Time:

Subject:

CC:

Kristina Uhrich

Melanie Lemay

Thurs, 2013-11-14 07:30

RE: Glitchy weirdness.

Jean-François Brunet

Attachment: CreepyFaceWTF.jpg

Hi Mely (and JF!)
Whaaaat am I even looking at?
I don't want to alarm you, but I looked at the whole vid and egads, WHAT IS THAT SCREEN AT THE END? Is that a FACE? It is, isn't it? It's a face. But what is it doing there?
Costa Rica was great. And relaxing. But I'm already too stressed out to remember that! Look at that face! I can't decide if it's beautiful or terrifying. We definitely didn't put it there.
Who can we get to exorcise this piece of insanity? Know any priests?
- Kris

From:

To:

Date/Time:

Subject:

Jean-François Brunet

Kristina Uhrich , Melanie Lemay

Thurs, 2013-11-14 10:04

RE: RE: Glitchy weirdness.

I vote terrifying. No, hot. No, definitely scary. I can't decide. Is this why I'm still single?

May I make a suggestion? Send it to Phil in security. She loves this kind of thing.
P.S: I could never hate you Mel. (Seriously, both of you: drinks soon?)
- Your pal, JF

From:

To:

Date/Time:

Subject:

Philipa Tran

Jean-François Brunet , Kristina Uhrich , Melanie Lemay

Thurs, 2013-11-14 14:00

RE: FWD: RE: RE: Glitchy weirdness.

I fear JF has oversold my sleuthing abilities. As far as I know, we don't have any phenomenon capable of causing this distortion pattern. (Or a face. You're sure this isn't a prank? Right JF???) It looks like electromagnetic radiation interference, like from a giant magnet... that can draw.

The video is already public, yes? Mind if I show it to some friends on the outside? They might have ideas.
- Phil
PS: I'll go for drinks with you, JF. Just bought new snowpants. Winter terasse ftw.

IM Conversation

anonymish_82 [15:24]: Yeah, I've seen the face.
defact0r [15:24]: And?
anonymish_82 [15:24]: And what?
defact0r [15:24]: Is it ours?
anonymish_82 [15:25]: I highly doubt it. I mean, I hope not. Why would we do that? What do they take us for? Banksy?
defact0r [15:25]: ...
anonymish_82 [15:27]: Oh, right. Yes. The credits are going haywire, and our whole funding mechanism is about to go down the drain, but we're going to take time away from fixing it to edit a video with some face of- what is it anyway? Where have I seen this before?
defact0r [15:28]: Where have you seen this??? Desmond... the vault... ring any bells?
anonymish_82 [15:28]: Is it one of those THINGS?
defact0r [15:28]: ?
anonymish_82 [15:29]: Gods. Aliens. Ancient Beings. Whatever they are.
defact0r [15:29]: Yeah, it looks like the vengeful one.
anonymish_82 [15:29]: Greeaaaat. The conspiracy guys are going to have a field day with this one. Who put it there? What's anyone supposed to get out of this? Why bother?
defact0r [15:30]: Maybe it's just Art.
anonymish_82 [15:30]: Yes. That must be it. It's Art. Abstergo isn't so much sending us a message as they're sending us a "Message."
defact0r [15:30]: I'll put the word out it's not us.
anonymish_82 [15:31]: No wait. Don't. Let them think it's us. Nurture the mystery; it keeps things interesting.
defact0r [15:31]: OK. Done. Mystery maintained.
anonymish_82 [15:31]: Maybe just tell Phil. I don't want cops breaking down my door.
defact0r [15:32]: Done again. Mystery downgraded. Are you sure about this? Working with THEM?
anonymish_82 [15:32]: No, I'm not sure.
defact0r [15:32]: OK... so... what exactly is going on with the credits? Abstergo figured it out?
anonymish_82 [15:32]: No that's the problem. I don't think it's them.
defact0r [15:33]: Then it's a hack?
anonymish_82 [15:33]: Not that I can tell. It's like it's coming from inside the system. Like the virus is writing itself.
defact0r [15:34]: the call is coming from inside the house! Riiiiight.
anonymish_82 [15:34]: Look smartass, can you just get over here and help? No money, no "art projects." Need it fixed, pronto. Sarcasm? Not helping.
defact0r [15:35]: omw

- AC 4 Black Flag -

Phone Call Transcript

Laeticia England: Sir. You read my report?
Unknown: I did. And you believe the threat is serious?
Laeticia England: Absolutely serious. I know it's a lot to swallow but–
Unknown: How can you be sure your source is credible?
Laeticia England: Naturally, I'm not at liberty to reveal.
Unknown: Of course not. That's not what I'm asking.
Laeticia England: They're absolutely reliable. I know it is unusual. Provocative. But they'd have no reason to lie. In fact, I believe they'd take credit if they could.
Unknown: If someone from that group– Erudito. The same one that defaced your campaigns, less than a year ago.
Laeticia England: Admittedly, if that was the case, and I'm not saying it is, it would be that Erudito, yes. But I blame myself for that debacle. It's why I fired–
Unknown: I am aware of your restructuring efforts. You're right to establish contact. If that's what you've done. To... forge a relationship. Keep them close.
Laeticia England: That might be wording it too strongly. But the threat is potentially serious. And if they did have information, we would be wise to listen, whether we decide to believe it or not.
Unknown: That is the question. "Electromagnetic interference" could mean anything. What leads you to believe it poses a security risk.
Laeticia England: Only that we can't find the source. The reality is, no one know who put this.. face... there, or why.
Unknown: There are ways to keep this under control. Have you considered... recruiting this source? I'm sure I don't need to remind you we have facilities to help them cooperate, at least until we understand the nature of this threat.
Laeticia England: I'll keep the possibility in mind. For now, I'd prefer not to grant them any exposure to our facilities. We can't risk any leaks.
Unknown: I trust your judgment. You have my authorization to proceed.
Laeticia England: Thank you, sir.

- AC 4 Black Flag -

1_Week1

2_Week2

3_Week3

4_Week4

5_Week5

1/8

Email Thread

From:

To:

Date/Time:

Subject:

Olivier Garneau

Melanie Lemay; Kama Neron; Kloé Lesney; Christopher Darby; Evan Dean

6 Nov 2013 09:46

Possible Locations... ?

Salut!

As most of you know, I'll be attending the Chicago shareholders meeting from the 15th to the 17th, and they'll want to see our progress with the Kenway line. The small amount of data we have already gathered is incredible, and we anticipate even more amazing finds in the near future. The events and people we have seen so far make us confident that the complete experience will be one of the most eye-opening explorations of piracy ever seen. It will take quite a bit of work to scrub the data of objectionable and classified material, but we already have some incredibly promising footage.

At the same time, Abstergo Entertainment will soon be announcing a closed beta for our new "consumer cloud-interface app" (sexy name forthcoming). Edward Kenway's "virtual pirate experience" will be the first complete product on offer, and the first of its kind anywhere: an immersive, interactive pirate experience drawn from historical data. Internal tests of our consumer cloud app have been encouraging, and we anticipate it will be ready in time for the next holiday season if everything goes according to plan.

So this leads us to a broader question: what other experiences would we like to offer? What other historical periods and locations can we explore? Judging by our current rate of data retrieval, our capacity to produce, and our understanding of consumption trends... executives at Abstergo Industries have given me the goal of producing one complete virtual experience per annum, in addition to smaller offerings... as our research allows (this includes books, recordings, films, and any other trans-media offerings).

A second, related question is this: does Sample 17 contain enough compelling data to sustain our current commitment to it, or should we make a request to Abstergo Industries for additional archived data... remember that data from Sample 1 proved fruitful enough to create our "Liberation" product. It is very likely that research into Samples 2 through 16 would bear surprising fruits as well.

Thoughts?

--------------

Olivier Garneau
Chief Creative Officer
Abstergo Entertainment

- AC 4 Black Flag -

Hello all!

Thanks for opening this discussion, Olivier. Just a brief heads-up with where we stand now:

I've been the Sample 17 project director for just over a year now, and my team and I have been able to cobble together a rough list of the most interesting time periods available to us through this single genetic sample. Remember this is data that has already been FULLY or PARTIALLY sequenced by Abstergo Industries. I'll try to be brief...

Patrilineal Line:
Fifteenth Century - Italian Renaissance
Sixteenth Century - Ottoman Empire
Eighteenth Century - American Colonies / War for Independence
Nineteenth Century - New England and American Midwest

Matrilineal Line:
Twelfth Century - Holy Land / Crusades
Thirteenth Century - Egypt and Northern Africa
Fourteenth Century - Ashikaga Shogunate in Japan
Eighteenth Century - French Revolution
Nineteenth Century - Napoleonic wars; Taiwan
Twentieth Century - "Summer of Love" American Pacific Coast

Obviously this is just a small sample of the potential options. The number of ancestors any one person has is well above thirty-thousand after just fifteen generations... so there could be many more surprises waiting for us within Sample 17.

However, despite Sample 17s rich heritage, we should not limit ourselves to this alone if we have concrete leads elsewhere. For instance, quite a few men from all sides of my family fought in both World Wars, and I even have a great-great-grandfather who fought in the American Civil War. Managed to meet President Lincoln a few times too. Going this route is a little more costly and time consuming, since the data has not already been sequenced. But it could be rewarding in the long-run.

In short, if anyone has any confirmed connections to interesting historical events, periods, or cities - or knows of people who do - please share! I will also be reviewing the past 3 decades of samples collected and sequenced by Abstergo Industries. I recently learned that one of their Samples - number 2, I believe - participated in the trial of Jeanne D'Arc, So there's a nice lead right here.

MEL

*Melany Lemay * Project Coordinator * Sample 17

From:

To:

Date/Time:

Subject:

Melanie Lemay

Olivier Garneau; Kama Neron; Kloé Lesney; Christopher Darby; Evan Dean

6 Nov 2013 10:01

Re: Possible Locations... ?

From:

To:

Date/Time:

Subject:

Olivier Garneau

Melanie Lemay; Kama Neron; Kloé Lesney; Christopher Darby; Evan Dean

6 Nov 2013 10:41

RE: Possible Locations... ?

All good points, Mel.

A word of caution, though: Sample 2 comes from the late Dr. Warren Vidic himself, collected at some point in the early 80s when he was a young engineer working at Abstergo Industries. So, as tempting as a "Jeanne D'Arc experience" sounds, I'm not sure Abstergo Industries would be too keen on letting us rummage around in Dr. Vidic's DNA. It's just a sensitive topic.

For my own part: I'm related to François-Xavier Garneau, noted Quebecois historian and Poet. Exciting right? A possible lead? ;)

One additional caveat: Let's avoid digging into any modern periods (i.e. 20th century) unless we find something incredibly compelling. Because, as fun as a World War Two setting might sound, we'd do well to avoid any settings with vehicles: cars, motorcycles, helicopters, tanks, etc.

Why? you may ask. Because our research has shown that "memory imprinting" in individuals is actually hampered by the semi-catatonic state most people enter when driving for medium and long periods of time... and this makes data retrieval somewhat more difficult. In short, we don't want to go through the effort of coding extra Animus features just for the sake of digging up memories of people driving around in cars. There are other and more efficient ways to experience that...

From:

To:

Date/Time:

Subject:

Kloé Lesney

Olivier Garneau; Melanie Lemay; Kama Neron; Christopher Darby; Evan Dean

6 Nov 2013 11:24

RE: Possible Locations... ?

Olivier - Haha. Quebec City IS beautiful. But without Pirates, Ninjas, or Zombies, I'm not sure how well a story about a historian would sell. :)

Also keep in mind: Samples 4 and 16 might be off limits too. While doing my own research last month, I caught wind of some exciting characters buried in these gene samples. But as soon as I started digging, I was told by people far, far above me to stop. Very odd, but not surprising I suppose. AE has a lot of active military contracts, and I assume these had something to do with that. I didn't push back.

As far as my own if anyone is interested, my great-grandfather was friends with Hemmingway and Stein and Satie and Picassowhen he lived in Paris in the 1920s. No action-packed adventures there, but historically interesting. Just throwing it out there.

PS: Chris, is our lunch meeting on-site or off?

From:

To:

Date/Time:

Subject:

Olivier Garneau

Melanie Lemay; Kama Neron; Kloé Lesney; Christopher Darby; Evan Dean

6 Nov 2013 11:38

RE: Possible Locations... ?

Yes, as much as I love the "Lost Generation"... I think our first few virtual experiences will need to be a little more action-oriented. So wars and major combat operations are always a good starting point. Or, any periods of intense conflict, really...

As for Pirates Ninjas and Zombies... we could easily accommodate the first two, but Zombies are a bit... how do you say?... ahistorical? Too bad, really...

From:

To:

Date/Time:

Subject:

Christopher Darby

Olivier Garneau; Melanie Lemay; Kama Neron; Kloé Lesney; Evan Dean

6 Nov 2013 11:54

RE: Possible Locations... ?

My great grandmother, for instance, worked alongside Eamon De Valera and Michael Collins for many years during the Irish war for independence, so it wouldn't be difficult to sequence that small segment of my own genetic memories for our purposes.

Olivier - Actually, there IS a factual basis for Zombies. Or Zombification anyway. Read Hurston's book on Haiti, and the strange voodoo practiced there. It may not be Hollywood style Zombie magic, but it's creepy nonetheless. In Liberation, Aveline came into contact with Voodoo Houngans. If we dug further into that, I wonder what we could find? Her mentor, Agaté, was into some weird stuff.

KL: Offsite... there's a new vegetarian place I want to try. I'll bring the spec sheets; they're already printed.

From:

To:

Date/Time:

Subject:

Kama Neron

Olivier Garneau; Melanie Lemay; Kloé Lesney; Christopher Darby; Evan Dean

6 Nov 2013 15:46

RE: Possible Locations... ?

Sorry to be a dissenter, but couldn't we be using this technology to educate, not placate? I mean... theoretically we have all of human history to explore - all of our achievements and brightest moments. So it's a little disheartening to hear we need to focus on wars, and conflicts, and violence...

It's not that I am against violence, per se. It's just that violence isn't terribly INTERESTING in bulk. That's all. There's so much more nuance to life and I think we could explore that.

So what if we found the memories of someone who worked with Albert Einstein in his patent office? Or Charles Darwin on the Beagle? Or Marie Curie in France? Moments where humans showed their very best potential?

From:

To:

Date/Time:

Subject:

Evan Dean

Olivier Garneau; Melanie Lemay; Kama Neron; Kloé Lesney; Christopher Darby

6 Nov 2013 21:33

RE: Possible Locations... ?

Okay, come on. Until oily, humorless university professors start paying us eight-figure fees to research the "reification of normative gender signifies in pre-colonial India" why don't we STICK TO SHIT THAT SELLS?

I'm talking Jack the Ripper in Victorian London. I'm talking about guillotines, Robespierre and Napoleon Bonaparte in the French Revolution? I'm talking about Billy the Kidd and Wyatt Earp in the Wild American West. I'm talking about Ghengis Kahn and the Mongols killing a city of millions in the span of a long, summer weekend. Action. Blood. Adventure. CONFLICT.

Because we're not going to earn back 1/10th of the money we have poured into this reliving the memories of the guy who sat next to Einstein as he bit his nails while working out the finer details of General Relativity in his head.

For F**k's sake man. This is a business, not a group therapy session.

From:

To:

Date/Time:

Subject:

Olivier Garneau

Melanie Lemay; Kama Neron; Kloé Lesney; Christopher Darby; Evan Dean

6 Nov 2013 21:54

RE: Possible Locations... ?

Evan, let's take this offline.

"I can't wait to settle in and get to work..."

- Abstergo Research Analyst -

"I delivered this video file (a strange autopsy video)..."

- Abstergo Research Analyst -

"John ranted about Templars, claiming they 'own Abstergo'..."

- Abstergo Research Analyst -

"An apparition appeared before me.... She kept talking about it being too early..."

- Abstergo Research Analyst -

Abstergo_Analyst

source\THE_HUB.database. 41 73 73 61 73 73 69 6e 73

Abstergo Research Analyst

The Abstergo research analyst was assigned to the Sample 17 Project, tasked with reliving the memories of pirate Edward Kenway. He was manipulated by John Standish into stealing information for the Assassins. It wasn't known that Standish was a Sage, by either party, until he tried to kill the analyst.

source\THE_HUB.database. 41 6e 61 6c 79 73 74

Work Diary - Week 1

- AC 4 Black Flag -

My first day at work, and I have been assigned to the most prestigious project in the company - the Sample 17 project. My job is to research the life of the pirate Edward Kenway, and find promising footage for use in future Abstergo products.

Sample 17 executive producer, Melanie Lemay, is a passionate and energetic leader. And the company's CCO, Olivier Garneau, seems like a fun guy. I can't wait to settle in and get to work...

Edward Kenway

source\THE_HUB.database. 41 6e 61 6c 79 73 74

Abstergo Welcome Video

- AC 4 Black Flag -

The Abstergo Multiplayer welcome video has a familiar face if you look closely enough...

source\THE_HUB.database. 41 6e 61 6c 79 73 74

Work Diary - Week 2

- AC 4 Black Flag -

Talked to Melanie Lemay about rewards and bonuses.

Visited Olivier Garneau in his office. He asked me to prioritize Edward's search for something called The Observatory.

Was contacted by "John from I.T." He asked me to access a colleague's computer and recover a video file for him.

I delivered this video file (a strange autopsy video) to a courier named Rebecca in the lobby.

I also noticed the barista here is a bit of a dandy...a bit annoying.

So far, so good. A really productive week!

Melanie Lemay

source\THE_HUB.database. 41 6e 61 6c 79 73 74

Work Diary - Week 3

- AC 4 Black Flag -

An unsettling week, to say the least! I logged out and received a message to meet Melanie near the elevator. Together we rode the elevator to Olivier's office, but he barred me from the meeting at the last minute.

While waiting, John contacted me again. He asked me to help him recalibrate some security cameras. This resulted in me spying on Olivier's phone meeting with Melanie by accident. They were on the phone with a woman named Laetitia - an Abstergo Entertainment executive by the sound of it.

Laetitia demanded that they intensify their search for the Observatory. Melanie tried to reassure her that this was happening. Olivier tried to contain his anger. But John, listening in, was ecstatic. The call concluded with a mention of a shareholders meeting in Chicago.

This is where things got weird. John erupted in a fit of rage and demanded that I break into Olivier's office to steal the shareholder's meeting schedule, threatening to expose me for hacking computers and camera systems if I did not. Having no other options, I sneaked into Olivier's office via the terrace, hacked his computer, and recovered the meeting schedule.

John ranted about Templars, claiming they "own Abstergo" and another group. He appears to be mentally ill.

Once again, I delivered the schedule to the woman, Rebecca, who appears to be more than a simple courier.

John seemed to calm down after this. He said I was free to return to work. I'm scared.

Olivier Garneau

source\THE_HUB.database. 41 6e 61 6c 79 73 74

Olivier Garneau Easter Egg

Olivier Garneau was the Chief Creative Officer at Abstergo Entertainment, and knew of Abstergo's Templar origins. He left for Chicago to attend to a shareholder's meeting, but never arrived. His current whereabouts are unknown.

- AC Initiates -

- Watch_Dogs -

source\THE_HUB.database. 41 6e 61 6c 79 73 74

Market Analyses

A market feasibility analysis commissioned for the purpose of determining the strengths and weaknesses of acquired "historical properties."

- AC 4 Black Flag -

source\THE_HUB.database. 41 6e 61 6c 79 73 74

Work Diary - Week 4

- AC 4 Black Flag -

When I logged out of my ANIMUS session, I discovered that I was no longer in my cubicle. Someone had transported me, while I was in the ANIMUS and vulnerable to a different location.

Melanie's face appeared on a nearby screen, and she told me I was in some sort of containment facility with some of my other colleagues. They were conducting an internal investigation and had moved us to here to keep an eye on. And for our own safety, supposedly. She seemed sympathetic, and advised me to keep up hope and try to get some work done.

Almost immediately after she logged off, John called. He was unperturbed by my predicament, but at least promised to help me clear my name. He unlocked the doors to my cell and sent me to sneak into the server room for the entire building. Melanie was in there for some reason, but John managed to get her out of the way.

The moment I hacked the server, an apparition appeared in front of me. She kept talking about it being too early, while at the same time, John kept losing his cool over the communicator. When she left, John left little doubt about what he had expected to happen here - he wanted this apparition to possess my body and was audibly enraged when that didn't happen.

In the end, I tried to seek refuge in my work. Perhaps Edward's memories and the secrets within could bring clarity to my present predicament.

Juno

source\THE_HUB.database. 41 6e 61 6c 79 73 74

Work Diary - Week 5

- AC 4 Black Flag -

John tried to kill me. I awoke with him looming over me like an old snake. He looked oddly familiar at first, and when he spoke, I knew why right away: he was the spitting image of Bartholomew Roberts. He ranted for a time about his Beloved - the specter from the server room I assume - and about how he was a reborn figure of some sort. Before he could elaborate further however, Abstergo security guards were upon him. John resisted and they shot him dead.

Melanie apologized profusely for my detainment, and thanked me for my work. I think I believe her. She has always struck me as sincere...

Shaken by the whole experience, I wanted only to go home...but I was soon contacted by the courier and the barista from a few weeks earlier. My instincts about them proved correct. They seem to belong to this "Assassin" collective, and they encouraged me to continue hacking Abstergo's servers. With the security level I have now, it is doubtful I will ever be caught again. Not any time soon anyway. I'm not sure what to do next...quit my job? Or press forward. There is still so much work to do...