In Assassin’s Creed Origins, we encountered six transmissions from the First Civilization by activating ancient mechanisms hidden inside the massive Isu structures buried beneath Egyptian tombs or encased within the desert and mountains of Egypt. The transmissions are recorded between the 91st to the 110th days after the Great Catastrophe, also known as Toba Catastrophe, which destroyed the First Civilization and circa 75,000 BCE and eventually leading to their extinction and oblivion in the following centuries, while humanity thrives due to their higher population. The recorders of these transmissions are apparently the ones referred to as Gods in Egyptian mythology, and that is based on the nature of the names of the ancient tombs and their extreme likeness to Ancient Egyptian language. It must also be noted that the term “Isu” which is the official name of the First Civilization, according to Juno means “The Ancient Ones” in Ancient Egyptian language, which further confirms that the Egyptian gods are in fact, members of the First Civilization.

The messages within each transmission are directed at Layla, our new present day protagonist who’s reliving the memories of Bayek of Siwa and Aya through the Animus. The First Civilization members directing the messages talk about events in during their timeline as well as their calculations of events that took place throughout all of recorded human history, including famous discoveries, plagues, wars and technological advancements as well as the events of Desmond Miles life, his sacrifice to save the world and the imminent danger which he helped prevent in December 21st, 2012, in addition to revealing more about their divination for the future, and some jaw-dropping speculations that could change the way we observe reality and the world.

Transmission 1 speaks of reality as a simulation. It challenges the lister regarding their comprehension of what’s real and what is simulated, comparing how real we feel in the real world vs. the sense of realism that the Animus gives its user as well as the bleeding effect, and adds how they (the First Civilization) went through numerous simulations of the future through their calculations until they found the Desmond we see in the games, then goes on in a philosophical manner regarding the possibility of reality and life itself being a simulation.

The recording adds that the Turing test wouldn’t really prove whether one’s consciousness is real or simulated, as Eliza, the natural language processing computer program passed the Turing test, yet she was very much a machine.

“In any case, simulations are not meaningless. They have purpose.The question isn’t whether or not you are in a simulation. What matters is how much of your free will is actually yours. No matter how true you are.”

The first transmission, quoted above, states that simulations have a purpose and aren’t meaningless and what matters most is your own free will within it.

In the Transmission 2, human language and its creation, purpose and numerous uses is discussed along with its limitations due to the very fact that humanity was engineered by the First Civilization to have boundaries in their thinking. The recording also mentions The Code, a set of equations that define life. 

“They are nestled deep within every star. and every mote of dust. Every second that passes is a word. a symbol. All part of an intricate yet simple language existing within the framework of time itself. It is the one rule which applies to us all. Immutable. inescapable.”

The speaker in the recording adds that The Code is a bridge, a single point of cohesion between human civilization and the First Civilization. The Code is defined as a language that can be read, that tells of what was, what is and what will be. A language those who came before can read, but not humanity.

The transmission also touches on the nature of time itself being more than the the hours of the day, atomic clock or a quantifiable element to lose or run out of, but actually a set of rules, similar to computer languages. The transmissions states that time defines things that are yet to happen, and that time is in fact, The Code, which is the language which existence is made of. 

“Just as you are blind. You may read your watch. You may read hourglasses and calendars. But you cannot grasp, beyond that simplistic surface. For now. the true reading of time still escapes you.”

Transmission 3 speaks more of the First Civilization’s future predictions and simulations through their calculations, seeing writings on the walls of events yet to come (from their own time) and discusses the inability of humans to see beyond the surface of things, and being unable to read into the universal language.

“On the night of December 21st 2012. as the sun set on their days, humankind went to bed. Then, on the morning of December 22nd 2012. humankind was graced with yet another morning. They never knew that on the previous day. the world almost ended. We thought that would have been enough. And it was until it wasn’t.”

In Transmission 4, a pivotal plot point from the franchise’s past is brought up, the end of the world. The recording speaks of December 21st, 2012 and how Desmond Miles saved the world from the imminent danger of the Solar Flare, all while the world went on with their lives, unaware of the prevented danger. However, the transmission states that what Desmond Miles did merely postponed the inevitable, and the danger is still imminent as the world is closing in on us.

The transmission speaks of the flow of events, of reality and existence and the algorithm that define our destiny, comparing them to lines, being fluid and continues, and nodes which are changeless. The lines that extend in different directions, meaning different possibilities, but the nodes represent absolute truths. These nodes cannot be changed. They can be delayed maybe, depending on which paths we take, but eventually, our path will get to that point. It also mentions a series of possibilities and methods that are capable of ending the world, devices constructed by mankind and can trigger a catastrophic event, if triggered. The node is near, the transmission adds, and that node wants the world to end, meaning that a catastrophic event, comparable to Toba Catastrophe which led to the extinction of the Isu, and the Solar Flare which Desmond Miles prevented, is happening soon.

“There are parts of Time we preferred you to remained blind to. It was a necessity.

We have six senses, you have five. Can you guess the one missing?”

The sixth and final Transmission insists that reality and life itself is in fact a simulation, governed by The Code, and encourages the listener to wake up, change their ways of perception and create something new, to transgress and break away from order. It speaks of the Animus as being mankind’s way of looking into the past through genetic memory, which has a fatal flaw of allowing humans to see the past but not to change it. However, the speaker adds that our Animus is different and that it could somehow escape the code, to change it and alter reality itself, and reassures that gods are but people like Isu and humans, once they manage to become the chaos against the rules of our simulated reality.

Below is the full transcript of each and every one of the six transmissions, including the reversed excerpts from the recordings. For the full database from Origins, click here.

“Divination through numbers. There is a pattern to existence. To comprehend the calculations is to tame time.” — Minerva

After Desmond Miles used Connor’s key to open the gate within the Grand Temple and before he could activate the pedestal, Minerva appeared to inform Desmond of Juno’s ulterior motives and her plan to take over the world, as she dwells within the walls of the Grand Temple, awaiting release. She adds that in her time, they tried to prevent the Great Catastrophe and her focus was to study the pattern to existence, the calculations that can show them future possibilities and even to control/tame time. This, along with the six transmissions which Bayek/Layla encountered in ancient Egypt show that the First Civilization/Isu had a full understanding of the nature of time and the algorithms to existence, and their awareness of how existence as a whole is simulated. While this alone is a shocking revelation, yet the important part is how much free will we have within this simulation. The Code, which is the language of the calculations/time has a set of rules, if we comprehend/break The Code, we’ll be able to completely alter the flow of the simulation.

The First Civilization were too late to realize this, and therefore, they reached out to future humans in hopes that they could some day alter find a solution to The Code and prevent the impending disaster and perhaps even rewrite history altogether, as the final transmission does compare humans and Isu who comprehend The Code and rebel against its limitations and order, to gods.

The transmissions have numerous parts that are reversed. Upon reversing those clips, the resulting words and sentences are:

TIME – Segment 2
TIME – Segment 2
BREAK THE CODE – Segment 3
STORIES – Segment 3
STORIES – Segment 3
STORIES – Segment 3
COLLAPSE THE WAVE – Segment 4
OVERLOAD YOUR MIND’S CAPACITY – Segment 5
REALITY IS A SIMULATION. BREAK THE CODE – Segment 6

Therefore, it is clear that the First Civilization is urging humanity to understand that reality is simulated, to focus on breaking its code, to examine the different stories in the different parallel universes (a.k.a. possible future outcomes and alternate present and history) and to alter our way of thinking, overloading our minds thinking capacity, which they stated that it’s limited, and to try and be more open and free to be able to get closer to achieving their own sixth sense, knowledge. 

There are numerous humans such as Desmond Miles, Ezio Auditore, Altair Ibn La-Ahad, to name a few, who have/had a high concentration of First Civilization DNA, allowing them to unlock a portion of the sense of knowledge, inherited from the First Civilization due to interbreeding between early humans and Isu members. So the First Civilization is likely referring to such members as the capable members of our species that might be able to comprehend the calculations and to finally tame time and alter The Code of the simulation.

1. It must be added that the realization of the Isu that reality is simulated and that the pivotal nodes in the flow of time are fixed and unchangeable might have been the reason why they didn’t even try to leave Earth. A civilization with such technological advancement, wealth and prowess, which is centuries ahead of us and in possession of sixth sense would only logically think about sending some of its members out of Earth to settle on another planet away from the dangers of the Solar Flare. Of course, we have no information whether that did indeed happen or not, but perhaps they didn’t consider it a solution for a larger number of the members of their species because they might have realized that the simulation itself (reality) somehow destined their extinction, which could mean that wherever they go, the catastrophe (or any similar disastrous fate) could follow them.

2. It is mentioned in the sixth and final transmission that the Animus we use which was created by those who follow Order (The Templars) and it can only allow us to see genetic memories but not to alter them. However, another type of Animus is mentioned “your Animus” referring to humanity and specifically the Assassins. Now this is interesting because the translation of the word “Animus” means “Soul, spirit, mind; (plural) high spirits”. If this is the intended meaning, then the Isu who made the transmissions is referring to humans who have portions of the sixth sense (like Desmond Miles and others who have the Eagle Vision/Sense, which manifests itself in different ways in different people) can help us see through the calculations and therefore break the code, by means yet unknown, which might even mean that we’ll be able to construct another form of device that allows us not only to see through the past but to alter it, and thereby, breaking the code of the simulation and taming time and reality itself.

3. Given that the First Civilization has already perished, one might think that they’re beyond saving at this point, and seeing how some Isu members were sympathetic with humanity, and even more so after the Great Catastrophe, one can assume the they care for humanity’s future and survival, since we are their own creation. However, we cannot help but notice that Isu members did have ulterior motives behind their messages, for example, Juno herself urged Desmond to find the Grand Temple and save the world, not out of the kindness of her own heart nor her love for humanity, but because doing so will also free her from the Grand Temple and due to her superior knowledge as well as the multiple purposes of The Pedestal, she could have the upper hand in altering reality herself. Minerva, however, did not want Desmond to touch The Pedestal because she didn’t want Juno to be let loose upon the world, but according to Juno, Minerva too has her own goals and grudges which is that she’d be ready to let the world burn only to deny the fact that Juno is right about using this solution (which they abandoned in their own time) to save the world.

If humanity is able to alter the fabric and pattern of existence, they could be able to alter history too, and not just the future, according to the transmissions. Therefore the Isu members recording the transmissions could be giving us this knowledge so that we could alter history and prevent their own disaster as well, thereby saving their species as well, and not just humanity from the impending disaster that is approaching in the near future.