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The Eve Enigma
Sorrosyss, September 11th, 2017
Warning: Spoilers from across the franchise.
“You cannot kill a creed. Even if you kill all of its adherents, destroy all of its writings – these are a reprieve at best. Some one, some day, will rediscover it. Reinvent it. I believe that even we, the Assassins, have simply re-discovered an Order that predates the Old Man himself...” - The Codex of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad Adam and Eve were the first Assassins. This much is known. Over 75,000 years ago, back in the time of the First Civilization - the Isu, these two Human-Isu hybrids took the fight to their creators with Eve leading humanity in a bitter uprising and war for freedom. But was that the end of her story? Along with several other recurring characters, Eve has been namedropped and mentioned for several years now with little in substantial detail. Let us take a look at what we know so far, with a timeline through the franchise.
Within Assassin's Creed 2, the hybrids are depicted for the first time in the franchise. Revealed in the Truth video by Subject 16, Adam and Eve are seen running and parkouring within Eden from an unseen threat whilst in possession of a stolen Apple of Eden. We also see other enslaved humans, which in the Assassin's Creed universe means that Adam and Eve are not in fact the progenitors of the human race.
Upon encountering Subject 16 within Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, what remains of Clay comes out with some very interesting remarks. Subject 16: No time. It is far later than you know. Too late to save them. Desmond: Who? Subject 16: She is not who you think she is. Everything you hope to become, everything you hold dear, it’s already gone. Desmond: Explain. Please. Subject 16: Eden. She... in Eden. Find Eve. The key. Her DNA... Desmond: Tell me! Subject 16: I cannot... The sun... Your son... Too weak... Must replenish energy... Desmond: Don't go! Subject 16: I am with you 'til the end. Find me, in the darkness. People have interpreted these words in many different ways. But if you look at the events in the past few games, there is some telling things here. The Phoenix Project's stated aim of mapping the Isu genome is to be able to travel back to the time of the First Civilization. If we are to assume that we will eventually travel to such a time within a game, then we already know where an Assassin needs to look. Evidently someone's DNA, a female (maybe Eve's) is a faster way of accessing Eden itself. Perhaps this is a backdoor that the Brotherhood can access outside of the Abstergo project. The son reference. This was always put down to 16 being confused, but now we know Desmond has a son. Clearly he has some part to play still, if this foreshadowing is to be believed. As for the darkness - well we know they both ended up in The Grey together, so perhaps that’s a reference to what was to come to pass for poor Desmond. Juno: It is done. The way lies all before you. Only she remains to be found. Awaken the sixth. Go. ALONE! With Lucy lying dead on the floor, just who exactly is Juno referring to here? Clearly someone whom she considers a threat. To this day we do not yet know who.
Eve's voice can be heard in The Lost Archive DLC, within the fifth memory titled “Bleeding Effect”. Juno: Clay Kaczmarek. I, who was once called Juno, have come to show you the way. Remember. In Eden. Adam: Eve, what is this device? Eve: Touch, Adam, and you will know. The data files of Revelations reveal that both Desmond and Clay are direct descendants of the hybrid Adam. But evidently not Eve. Why was this the case? We know that they gave birth to Cain and Abel. Is this an acknowledgment of a Lilith in the AC universe? Did the two hybrids split up? Many unknowns here. Within the Mediterranean Defense mini game, we found a very interesting mission for Alexandria. The Memory Seals, Part II Templar soldiers have launched an offensive to recover the Memory Seals. Defend our headquarters and keep our blessed initiate safe as she works to unlock the mysteries of the seals. Who was this blessed initiate? How and why would she know about unlocking Memory Seals? Was this Eve? In the game’s ending cinematic we discover that the Human-Isu war was effectively ended by the Toba Catastrophe. There was also a theory awhile back that Eve was in fact the woman seen carrying the child in the cinematic.
The events of Assassin's Creed 3 show that Juno was able to utilise the research of Consus, in order to extend the legacy and life of her husband Aita. Through editing the human genome, his conscious was able to reawaken in random humans by a process that what we now term as a Sage. Was Aita the only one subjected to this process though? The true ending of Liberation directly mentions Eve again. Aveline discovers a message contained upon a Prophecy Disk, evidently that occurred prior to the catastrophe. Eve will lead us through the war of generations. There will be great sacrifice, great sorrow, to end the enslavement of the human race. Now is the time to claim our freedom. Are you with us? I am. Eve will lead us. Eve will lead us. - Three unknown individuals
Sages take on a literal new narrative level within Black Flag. Here we are also introduced to the concept of Blood Vials, which the Isu were using to store their DNA. During the game Edward Kenway visits the Observatory twice, but on his second visit he remarks about how a load of Blood Vials have evidently been stolen. We are to assume this was done by either Aita/Bart or the Templars. Was Eve's blood amongst them?
The Dead Kings DLC for Unity had another Eve namedrop, but this was somewhat subtle. Once you assassinate Capitaine Rose, you are treated to a memory where he was evidently tasked to retrieve the underground artifact for a third party. Guard: Steal the artifact, and your reward shall be far greater than anything Commandant Bonaparte has offered. Rose: Where do I deliver it? Guard: To the lady Eve. I find it somewhat difficult to believe that some random noblewoman would know that an artifact is even down in the crypts, let alone have the knowledge of what it contained. It is also interesting to note that the subtitles for the scene that the word lady is not even capitalised, suggesting that this Eve did not in fact even have such a title. Very interesting. Assassin's Creed Rogue features the story of the Sky Woman within its data files, which was an Iroquois legend supposedly centred around the Isu. Within it the Sky Woman eventually gives birth to two sons, one good and one evil. The mirror to Cain and Abel, Eve's children, cannot be discounted. The Sky Woman died shortly after giving birth. Meanwhile in the Modern Day, the Initiates database entries reveal that Galina Voronina's mother believed she was communicating with Eve herself within an Animus. We later discover that Juno had entered her body, leading Galina to have to kill her deranged mother.
In an interview prior to E3, Jeffrey Yohalem - writer of Brotherhood, Dead Kings, and Syndicate - dodges questions in relation to Eve. The implication taken from it is that there are some kind of plans still incoming. Meanwhile, the events of both the Brahman Comic and the Chronicles Trilogy lead us two new revelations. A Piece of Eden known as the Koh-i-Noor evidently has the power to control all other pieces, but the diamond can only be wielded by a female. The precursor boxes introduce us to a new concept whereby the genetic memories of individuals who have touched the box can be imprinted onto others. Did Eve once touch such a box?
In an interview by Collider in May 2016, Eve is namedropped again by the actor Michael Fassbender: "I just thought if you’re doing a fantasy film, the first thing about it was to have something that was seeded in some sort of scientific world. What I mean is basically the idea of DNA memory. I just thought that it was a really interesting catch, and I thought that it was a really plausible theory. And I think if you can bring something like that to a fantastical world, it hooks the audience in even more, and makes the journey even more immersive. So I thought that was the first thing, and then I just loved the idea of Templars versus Assassins, this idea of an elite group of people struggling with the idea of free will and these sort of rebels to that elite force trying to struggle for humanity, essentially. And the idea that the original Assassins were Adam and Eve and they picked the Apple in the Garden was really interesting." By implication, this means that at some point in the early scripts Eve may have been referenced in the movie, or that there have been discussions for future sequels.
In a Reddit AMA conducted with Aymar Azaïzia in March 2017, Eve's name came about again. Again no answers could be given, other than she is something that has been seeded - with the implication that something is therefore coming.
In July 2017, it was revealed that the third book in the Last Descendants novel series (Fate of The Gods) would include a substantial amount of story set within the First Civilization era. The series has been dealing with sub-DNA, a hidden level of code beneath standard human DNA. Certain individuals contain traces of this sub-DNA, with the belief that it contains the collective unconscious of the human race. The six main protagonists of the series collectively contain the entirety of the sub-DNA code, and given the title to the series one really must wonder if this code is directly related to Eve herself. It’s likely that it will form the basis to finally spin an Animus all the way back to the Isu era, or perhaps it contains the DNA code to potentially bring Eve back via the Phoenix Project? So, what happened to Eve? I feel it is time for some theories. Let us take into account the above, and try to run down some of them.  (1) Eve is Dead The most obvious and likely scenario. It was after all, over 75,000 years ago that she first appeared. She may well have not survived the Toba Catastrophe, and we simply do not know how her hybrid body aged or reacted to such events. While she lived, it may be possible that the Assassin movement lead to a solidarity in displaying red sashs. After all, Eve herself wore a red band on her arm. Ignoring the obvious Prince of Persia origins of the franchise, this would explain why nearly every Assassin proudly wears their red sash.
(2) Eve is Immortal This is a hard sell, but there is some evidence. Beyond the Blessed Initiate and the Dead Kings namedrop, she apparently tried to contact Galina's mother in an Animus. Even if this was Juno pretending to be Eve, surely she would have only done this if somehow Eve was still around to be impersonated? Was Eve "she who remains to be found"? As she lead the original war against the Isu, it would make sense for her to be viewed as a threat by Juno. Presumably then, her hybrid body may somehow have attained immortality, and she is still out there to this day. (3) Eve is in The Grey We could combine the two scenarios above to another, what if she is 'alive' within The Grey? It would still explain how she was able to contact Galina's mother. If you argue that The Grey also represents a space for the collective human unconscious, this could easily explain where the sub-DNA has hidden Eve for all these millennia too.
(4) Eve's Blood Vial is the Key If the Assassins somehow tracked down a Blood Vial for Eve, then Eden would in theory be unlocked for them in an Animus. If Eve remains very much dead, the Phoenix Project could also hold the key to bringing her back. We know from the Initiates database entries that the Assassins did indeed obtain such a vial in 2013. (5) Eve survived like a Sage If we assume Minerva was privy to the same data and information as Juno via the work of Consus, it is not impossible that the Nexus and The Eye might have showed that Desmond would ultimately release Juno from the Temple. It would make sense for Minerva to have a backup plan with all of her calculations, and if Eve had been convinced to follow the same procedure as Aita, she may well be reincarnating amongst humanity and throughout time. Perhaps Galina's mother literally did see Eve within her own blood? It would explain the Blessed Initiate and Lady Eve too. (6) Eve has a Descendant bloodline We know of Cain and Abel, but we should assume that as with Adam she somewhere has a Modern Day descendant. Just about every female in the Modern Day timeline has been suggested at this point. Was it Lucy Stillman? In an interview with Patrice Désilets, it was revealed that she was considered a new Eve to Desmond's Adam very early in the design process of the franchise. However, designs changed and I now feel this is unlikely to still be the case, especially as Juno seemed more concerned about someone else immediately after Lucy's death. Galina Voronina – well her mother supposedly spoke to Eve so is she part of the bloodline? Bishop – the highly secretive individual who has suddenly wound up leading the Assassins and Initiates, who is she really? And finally Charlotte de la Cruz – new Assassin cell leader and broker of a partnership with Erudito, she hunts for the Koh-i-Noor whilst Juno does the same. Is this the obvious rivalry coming full circle from 75,000 years ago? If such an individual exists, then the path to Eden becomes clear again. Such a descendant would likely be the one to wield the Koh-i-Noor as well. Perhaps this is 'she' who remains to be found.
That concludes today's theories on Eve, and her impact on the Assassin's Creed universe. But what do you think her impact ultimately is? Has her legacy been and gone? Could she return? Is she still out there? Feel free to vote in the poll and thanks for reading! What do you think is Eve's legacy?
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