The aliens refuse to call themselves Gods because they don't fit the definition for what a God is (i.e. supernatural). That they know what you mean when you say "God" is meaningless, since they're obviously speaking the same language Ezio is (Italian) and would thus know all of the worlds he could use and their meaning.  The Pope-templar dude was clearly desperate to get into the vault, because he thought that there was a God in there. Turns out he was completely wrong about that, since they do not act like, have the powers of, or claim to be Gods. 

I think what I think because of the fact that if the aliens refuse to call them gods, then the term god must have originated from somewhere. Hinting his existence. That and the last person you kill says that God is hiding below the Vatican. He was a descendant of the original Templars while Ezio was the descendant of the original assassin's, so if they both had no clue or knowledge passed down onto them that God doesn't exist then I conclude that he can. The story doesn't need him, but it could very logically be in the game, and I find it more interesting if the pieces of Eden were created by him. "

" @LiquidPrince said:

I think what I think because of the fact that if the aliens refuse to call them gods, then the term god must have originated from somewhere. Hinting his existence. That and the last person you kill says that God is hiding below the Vatican. He was a descendant of the original Templars while Ezio was the descendant of the original assassin's, so if they both had no clue or knowledge passed down onto them that God doesn't exist then I conclude that he can. The story doesn't need him, but it could very logically be in the game, and I find it more interesting if the pieces of Eden were created by him. "

I'm <3<3<3ing this shoehorning of personal beliefs in order to bring the game in line with a particular set of religious ideologies. "

" @s0mah said:
You have no clue what my personal beliefs are so keep your asinine comments to your self. I just think that stories that explore the nature of God, Angels and Demons, and conspiracies related to those topics are very interesting. This game and the show Supernatural both take interesting twists on the idea of God and the ideas of Angels and Demons, and I find that fascinating. "

" @LiquidPrince said:

" @s0mah said:
You have no clue what my personal beliefs are so keep your asinine comments to your self. I just think that stories that explore the nature of God, Angels and Demons, and conspiracies related to those topics are very interesting. This game and the show Supernatural both take interesting twists on the idea of God and the ideas of Angels and Demons, and I find that fascinating. "

Doesn't change the fact that your theory is just wishful thinking.  As a matter of fact, all of the religiosity in either game has been based on either superstition and conspiracy.  Here is a super concise version of the story.  Feel free to enlighten me as to any mistakes.  HISTORY OF THE PLANET EARTH IN A NUTSHELL (AC version):   1)  There is a planet called Earth. 2)  The planet was just being awesome. 3)  Some dudes from somewhere else showed up. 4)  These dudes had technologies that turned monkeys into people. 5)  The monkeys got changed into humans because cheap sweatshop labor was in demand. 6)  There was some fighting and some Sun calamity. 7)  Some other crap happened that I'm too lazy to type out. 8)  This is a just a filler statement to make the list look longer. 9)  None of it involved actual GOD or any actual demons.   The end. "

" @s0mah said:

" @LiquidPrince said:

" @s0mah said:
You have no clue what my personal beliefs are so keep your asinine comments to your self. I just think that stories that explore the nature of God, Angels and Demons, and conspiracies related to those topics are very interesting. This game and the show Supernatural both take interesting twists on the idea of God and the ideas of Angels and Demons, and I find that fascinating. "

Doesn't change the fact that your theory is just wishful thinking.  As a matter of fact, all of the religiosity in either game has been based on either superstition and conspiracy.  Here is a super concise version of the story.  Feel free to enlighten me as to any mistakes.  HISTORY OF THE PLANET EARTH IN A NUTSHELL (AC version):   1)  There is a planet called Earth. 2)  The planet was just being awesome. 3)  Some dudes from somewhere else showed up. 4)  These dudes had technologies that turned monkeys into people. 5)  The monkeys got changed into humans because cheap sweatshop labor was in demand. 6)  There was some fighting and some Sun calamity. 7)  Some other crap happened that I'm too lazy to type out. 8)  This is a just a filler statement to make the list look longer. 9)  None of it involved actual GOD or any actual demons.   The end. "

Four onward was never mentioned or even implied anywhere in the game. You're personal beliefs maybe? "

Sun Aliens? I didn't really read it that way. Basically, super advanced humans (or at the very least, humanoids) are the root of mankinds beliefs in God and the supernatural in general. The mythological gods, Adam and Eve (as seen in "The Truth" video) and the two ancient orders all stem from this origin. Humans worshiping the sun came across as just a part of that belief, though I may be wrong. There is discussion over the end credits of somehow causing a solar flare that could destroy the world (like in the film "Knowing" from the sounds of it), but beyond that, not sure how the sun is involved.
 
I loved the ending and the story in general. It is committed to a completely off-the-wall scenario. Basically the biggest conspiracy theory ever, which is awesome. Really looking forward to part 3.

" @LiquidPrince said:

" @s0mah said:

" @LiquidPrince said:

" @s0mah said:
You have no clue what my personal beliefs are so keep your asinine comments to your self. I just think that stories that explore the nature of God, Angels and Demons, and conspiracies related to those topics are very interesting. This game and the show Supernatural both take interesting twists on the idea of God and the ideas of Angels and Demons, and I find that fascinating. "

Doesn't change the fact that your theory is just wishful thinking.  As a matter of fact, all of the religiosity in either game has been based on either superstition and conspiracy.  Here is a super concise version of the story.  Feel free to enlighten me as to any mistakes.  HISTORY OF THE PLANET EARTH IN A NUTSHELL (AC version):   1)  There is a planet called Earth. 2)  The planet was just being awesome. 3)  Some dudes from somewhere else showed up. 4)  These dudes had technologies that turned monkeys into people. 5)  The monkeys got changed into humans because cheap sweatshop labor was in demand. 6)  There was some fighting and some Sun calamity. 7)  Some other crap happened that I'm too lazy to type out. 8)  This is a just a filler statement to make the list look longer. 9)  None of it involved actual GOD or any actual demons.   The end. "

Four onward was never mentioned or even implied anywhere in the game. You're personal beliefs maybe? "

You finished the game right?    I mean, and had the volume up for what Minerva was saying? "

It was implied, actually. The 20th Puzzle has you waving the staff/some symbol over the humanoid "Lucy" fossil, and when you do it transforms into a modern human skeleton. There are also files in that same puzzle that mention a gap in the fossil record, and filling it with a fake because otherwise "people will discover the truth". I seem to recall subject 16 saything something like "THEY MADE US!" but I can't remember the specific instance. Also, the previous puzzle had the neurons lighting up, and 16 says "they work so well [referring to the apple/staff]... its almost like our brains were made for them, not the other way around..."
 
That they were using up as cheap labor was loosely implied, during THE TRUTH video it has Adam and Eve zooming past people inside somekind of workshop hammering glowing iron. That they were doing work for the aliens is not stated though, so this part of it is definately up in the air. 
 
6 is directly stated, some kind of conflict broke out, people stole the artifacts, then the sun flipped its shit and wiped out most of the aliens.

Oh hey YouTube:
 
 

Throughout the game, I thought of Ezio as a side character and in the end, it all made too much sense. The moment Minerva looked at me, through the TV and said - your minds were not ready - it hit me. She was talking to Desmond and that moment totally blew my mind. I'm so onboard with this concept of another species preceding humans. The Truth puzzles certainly lay out most of the stuff Minerva said before you get to the ending but the Sun being the big bad boss weirded me out even more.
 
And Desmond. Duder! The ENTIRE HUMAN HISTORY led to him sitting in that Animus at that time. That in itself makes this the grandest and craziest conspiracy theory in video games.

"Remeber in part of his recordings he talks about the voices. Maybe it's like a complete syncronization where you not only exist in one world but in the mind of the ancestor as well hearing and experiancing both at once. I'm sure some of you figured this out or something on the lines of this but htis is just to open a new trail of ideas for ACIII. Maybe the same thing that happened to Subject 16 happens to Desmond you know to make it look like he woun't prevail. Just a thought  Also what kind of weaponary would Desmond get if you do play as him. Obv the hidden blade it's an Assassin creed trade mark. I don't like the idea of advanced weapons like machine guns and the sought. It would ruin the game I think "

BTW, when Ezio met his uncle (at the beginning), did anyone else find "it's a me, Mario" amusing?

Well you have the Apple obviously, that provides control unless the person in question has a certain receiver in their brain switched off, Altair and his ancestors have this. There are 3 known in the world still existing. It could produce illusions and hold someone in place (Al Mualim to Altair). One was destroyed by the Templars. We do know Roosevelt, Churchill and Hitler held one at the same time.
 
Then there is the Staff used by Alexander VI, they seemed to kill everyone in the room he was in and had the ability to hold someone in place. The Apple could be combined with this to add mind control, its possible the ability to hold someone in place was granted by the Apple.
 
The Sword, held by people such as Joan of Arc it can be assumed it grants great military ability. In history she was stated to have had godly visions, whether she was being deceptive or receiving visions from the Sword similar to way Altair said he talked to the Apple is unknown. 
 
The Shroud, this was held by people such as Jesus. What ability this grants is unknown, but we could take Jesus's history as hints. He effectively kicked started Chrisianity, therefore potential mind influence. Walking on water, turning water to wine and raising from the dead. 
 
 
I believe the shroud was given as item 66 meaning there is at least 66 of these items in existance, there are 4 different apples. I therefore believe the same number could apply to the other items. There are will be other items as well, Altair thought of the Golden Fleece being one. That could have every well been the shroud however.

"
@Drakzen said:

"Remeber in part of his recordings he talks about the voices. Maybe it's like a complete syncronization where you not only exist in one world but in the mind of the ancestor as well hearing and experiancing both at once. I'm sure some of you figured this out or something on the lines of this but htis is just to open a new trail of ideas for ACIII. Maybe the same thing that happened to Subject 16 happens to Desmond you know to make it look like he woun't prevail. Just a thought  Also what kind of weaponary would Desmond get if you do play as him. Obv the hidden blade it's an Assassin creed trade mark. I don't like the idea of advanced weapons like machine guns and the sought. It would ruin the game I think "

I think the idea behind that is desmond will eventually be able to play those moments in time without the animus, lucy and that mention something about it when they are talking about subject 16 and mention something about control over it.  Also i think it was you that mentioned earlier something about a cross being a threat. I think minerva was just reffering to the threat of the templars dude, because their mark is a cross, its also reffered to as the mark of cain when you do that puzzle that shows cain killing abel for the piece of eden.  Theres a shit load of hiddenish references in subjects 16 puzzles, in binary and code etc, does anyone know if many of these have been worked out? I took the effort to decode one of the binary ones and it was "sumerians me.23" or something, which i did a quick google search on, but its seems like quite and investment of research just to work out what sumerians is. "

" @tcrown7 said:

They make electricity with it, send Lance Armstrong to the moon with it, and lets H.

 BIKE RACING IN OUTER SPACE! "

" Ok then here is an idea for you. people say that god made humans in his own image. Minervas race created humans that took there own image. She said her race was not god. but in creating humans they can be seen as gods but don't see themselfs as gods. Thats one idea about the human race. Then maybe humans where used as experiments like we do with animals and the two they are experimenting on (Adam and Eve) escape and take a piece of eden and intend to use it to free the humans. This is all just an idea so feel free to comment on anything you think to be false. It does make sence because we create things like medicine which sometimes are called miracles but we don't call ourselfs gods so maybe it's the same for Minervas race. BTW we should think of a name to call Minervas people for now so we don't have to call the aliens or god.  Now i'm not sure about this part but I have heard either from another forum or from the game itself that the pieces of eden could in fact be something that proves that jesus never existed or that it is hiding some kind of truth about jesus.  Also for those who have completed the game think about this.  Remeber the scene where you play as Altiair again? it only happened once in the game but it must hold some importance because they wouldn't just put it in for no reason. My theory on this is that this is what happened to Subject 16. The bleeding effect maybe syncs both the person and their acestor in the modern world. Remeber in part of his recordings he talks about the voices. Maybe it's like a complete syncronization where you not only exist in one world but in the mind of the ancestor as well hearing and experiancing both at once. I'm sure some of you figured this out or something on the lines of this but htis is just to open a new trail of ideas for ACIII. Maybe the same thing that happened to Subject 16 happens to Desmond you know to make it look like he woun't prevail. Just a thought  Also what kind of weaponary would Desmond get if you do play as him. Obv the hidden blade it's an Assassin creed trade mark. I don't like the idea of advanced weapons like machine guns and the sought. It would ruin the game I think "

" BTW, when Ezio met his uncle (at the beginning), did anyone else find "it's a me, Mario" amusing? "

" @Rowr said:

"
@Drakzen said:

"Remeber in part of his recordings he talks about the voices. Maybe it's like a complete syncronization where you not only exist in one world but in the mind of the ancestor as well hearing and experiancing both at once. I'm sure some of you figured this out or something on the lines of this but htis is just to open a new trail of ideas for ACIII. Maybe the same thing that happened to Subject 16 happens to Desmond you know to make it look like he woun't prevail. Just a thought  Also what kind of weaponary would Desmond get if you do play as him. Obv the hidden blade it's an Assassin creed trade mark. I don't like the idea of advanced weapons like machine guns and the sought. It would ruin the game I think "

I think the idea behind that is desmond will eventually be able to play those moments in time without the animus, lucy and that mention something about it when they are talking about subject 16 and mention something about control over it.  Also i think it was you that mentioned earlier something about a cross being a threat. I think minerva was just reffering to the threat of the templars dude, because their mark is a cross, its also reffered to as the mark of cain when you do that puzzle that shows cain killing abel for the piece of eden.  Theres a shit load of hiddenish references in subjects 16 puzzles, in binary and code etc, does anyone know if many of these have been worked out? I took the effort to decode one of the binary ones and it was "sumerians me.23" or something, which i did a quick google search on, but its seems like quite and investment of research just to work out what sumerians is. "

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_%28mythology%29  Me 23 is "Weapons", take that for what you will.  A theory I came up with:  Desmond means "The world", perhaps the "gods" were speaking not directly to Desmond in their recording, but to the world itself? "

 You're spot on with your theories, tcrown7.
 
Also, notice how they call Ezio "prophet". He funtions solely as a messenger between the "gods" and Desmond ("the world"). It all makes sense. 
 
As for AC3, I think we'll see one new time period (creating the assets for several time periods with the same amount of detail is probably too costly) and we'll see Altair and Ezio again in some small sections . There will be more Desmond but I doubt, that he'll make up the bulk of the game. I think he'll get some linear levels in between the historical stuff. Anyway, it's gonne be epic. I'm really amazed by how they expanded the story with AC2.
 
I have a feeling, that they'll pull a T3 with AC3. If there's really gonna be a sun flare that will scorch the earth, there's not much mankind can do, even with the Pieces of Eden. Instead, the actual purpose of the vaults might just be to help important parts of humanity to survive the catastrophe. And maybe they lure these people into them with promises of how there's a way to stop this while outside the sun is errupting.

" BTW, when Ezio met his uncle (at the beginning), did anyone else find "it's a me, Mario" amusing? "
I lol'd.@ginroth said:

" @Rowr said:

"
@Drakzen said:

"Remeber in part of his recordings he talks about the voices. Maybe it's like a complete syncronization where you not only exist in one world but in the mind of the ancestor as well hearing and experiancing both at once. I'm sure some of you figured this out or something on the lines of this but htis is just to open a new trail of ideas for ACIII. Maybe the same thing that happened to Subject 16 happens to Desmond you know to make it look like he woun't prevail. Just a thought  Also what kind of weaponary would Desmond get if you do play as him. Obv the hidden blade it's an Assassin creed trade mark. I don't like the idea of advanced weapons like machine guns and the sought. It would ruin the game I think "

I think the idea behind that is desmond will eventually be able to play those moments in time without the animus, lucy and that mention something about it when they are talking about subject 16 and mention something about control over it.  Also i think it was you that mentioned earlier something about a cross being a threat. I think minerva was just reffering to the threat of the templars dude, because their mark is a cross, its also reffered to as the mark of cain when you do that puzzle that shows cain killing abel for the piece of eden.  Theres a shit load of hiddenish references in subjects 16 puzzles, in binary and code etc, does anyone know if many of these have been worked out? I took the effort to decode one of the binary ones and it was "sumerians me.23" or something, which i did a quick google search on, but its seems like quite and investment of research just to work out what sumerians is. "

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_%28mythology%29  Me 23 is "Weapons", take that for what you will.  A theory I came up with:  Desmond means "The world", perhaps the "gods" were speaking not directly to Desmond in their recording, but to the world itself? "

Sorry to complete destroy your theory (ain't no love lost :D) but they were definitely speaking directly to Desmond. They look RIGHT at him when they say it. Also, the ending just wouldn't mean as much if they weren't. However, the fact that the name Desmond means "the world" is no coincidence. The future of world, and so it's inhabitants, is in his hands. That might be why. Altair has something to do with flight and eagles or something, and I think I read somewhere that Ezio has a similar meaning. "

The writers of the AC story are friggen amazing... i'm too tired to explain how amazed i am lol, it's 5 in the mornin... but holy hell... my mind has been raped and pillaged via AC2 and the crazy alien chick that looked at me... i almost talked back to her... (just kidding ;P)

Anyone get a neverending story vibe when Etzio was talking to that nameless alien woman and she was talking directly to Desmond? Just give her a name!!!...[cough]..weird ending huh?

" Anyone get a neverending story vibe when Etzio was talking to that nameless alien woman and she was talking directly to Desmond? Just give her a name!!!...[cough]..weird ending huh? "

" Okay so, what I got from it is that there were people before humans, and that these people then made humans using the Piece of Eden. However, they manufactured the humans so they would obey them as long as the Piece of Eden was in their possession. Adam and Eve find out and steal the Piece of Eden, releasing the humans from their figurative chains, and leading a rebellion against them. So, in a sense, without realizing it, the "Gods" for lack of a better term, were the first Templars and Adam and Eve, along with all who followed, were the first Assassins. And so they waged war. The "Gods" were stronger but the humans were way more numerous, so the "Gods" were fighting a losing battle. Then, out of nowhere, something that no one expected happened. Some kind of catastrophe involving the sun caused some kind of mass genocide, but there were survivors. Then, realizing that they should stop fighting and rebuild, the "Gods" and humans united. The "Gods" died out and after a looooooooooong time that really happened transformed from truth into myth and speculation since there was no written language. The "Gods" become actual Gods and the sun becomes some sort of be all end all for civilization. The Eastern Hemisphere "evolves" but the Western Hemisphere, or at least the middle of it, still know what's up. But then the conquerers come and destroy nearly everything, leaving only the calender that has the fateful day when it might all happen again--12/21/2012. So anyway, now nobody remembers and the world is doomed once more, except this time there are no "Gods" to protect the humans. However, the "Gods" foresaw this and put temples, or "Vaults" all over the planet to retell the actual tale. HOWEVER, Ezio finds it much too soon, before he can actually do anything about it. The "Gods" foresaw THIS too, and knew that Desmond would revisit the memories of his ancestors so they made sure that in the temple they let him know that they were talking to HIM and not Ezio. It can be assumed that Ezio passed this information down through his ancestors as well, which is probably why Desmonds parents knew it was so vital to keep him safe. So now the threat has shifted from the Templars ruling the world with the Piece of Eden to the sun destroying the world altogether. There's a catch though. Just like the first Vault that Ezio found, you need Pieces of Eden to gain entry to all the other ones. So now that Desmond has all his ancestors' abilities, along with the hidden blade, the search is on, both for another Piece of Eden and the Vaults themselves. Oh, and the Templars may or may not be oblivious to the fact that their doom is imminent. Whether they seek to just rule the world with the Pieces of Eden or save the world with the Pieces of Eden and THEN rule it remains to be seen. I think they know though. The satillite mentioned on one of the computers needed the Piece of Eden to function. I'm just not sure if it's to broadcast the mind-control effects or display the locations of the temples. Maybe the former, because they definitely want dominion like their ancestors. Maybe the latter, because Ezio did the exact same thing with the Piece of Eden when he found the location of the first Vault on the codex pages. Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is that Assassin's Creed III should involve an Eternal Darkness-esque search for the Pieces of Eden, locating and entering the remaining Vaults, and reconciling with the Templars. Or destroying them once and for all. Should be fun. :D "

This was in intense ending. I loved it. Can't wait to see how it all comes together in AC3

I beat this game a few days ago, and I was still a little fuzzy about the details. I read all the posts on this thread, and I just wanted to share a few things that I feel were left untouched.
 
1. In "The Truth" video, when Adam and Eve are climbing up the outside of that building and quickly glance inside the forge room, a shady, cloaked figure is standing there with a Piece of Eden. My first thought is that the humans were creating more pieces of Eden, but now I don't know if that is actually what is happening there.
 
2. If you remember the email exchanged between Abstergo employees talking about Yona Guni, it stated that a Japanese island was swept out to sea by seismic activity. When Adam and Eve reach the roof of that building, they look out in the distance and see a huge mountain. I take it that that is Mount Fiji. This island could be Yona Guni, which could explain why this supposed "Advanced Civilization" could exist so long ago, even tho we have no record or proof of it actually existing, which is very similar to the myth of Atlantis.
 
3. Who says that Subject 16's truth file was a memory that belonged to Adam or Eve? Technically, all humans (and this is strictly depending on your views on creation) would be related to Adam and Eve. Like I said, thats not meant to cause controversy or what not, I'm only saying that if someone believes in Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden, all humans would be related to them, and therefore any one of the subjects that Abstergo used the Animus on would have a memory of them. Getting back on topic, I feel that this video clip was actually a memory that belonged to one of the loosely coined "gods." That would make this memory clip even more controversial, because that would mean that there was a child between a "god" and a human, which could also be associated with the child between Altair and the Templar woman.

" @The_Dude_Abides said:

" What a let down. No hook there for me to play the third game. "

Uhh. there is a very large hook....pay attention more. "

  
Did no one else think it was crazy that the so called god was talking to not Ezio, but Desmond through an already predetermined memory?  I thought this was a completely awesome mindfuck.

"

  
Did no one else think it was crazy that the so called god was talking to not Ezio, but Desmond through an already predetermined memory?  I thought this was a completely awesome mindfuck.

"

" BTW we should think of a name to call Minervas people for now so we don't have to call the aliens or god. "
 

I felt pretty bad for Ezio when he said, "I have so many questions." Minerva couldn't throw him a bone, even after all he's been through.

"1. In "The Truth" video ~ My first thought is that the humans were creating more pieces of Eden -
 
Technically, all humans (and this is strictly depending on your views on creation) would be related to Adam and Eve ~ therefore any one of the subjects that Abstergo used the Animus on would have a memory of them.

" Did anyone work out the Hebrew and how it relates (blood in room above bed in AC1) ? i saw the meaning of it somewhere but i don't remember.......also, what's with the Alpha and Omega quote? Does it relate? I can only think the guys who made the Pieces of Eden made humans, and also end them. Is there any other meaning? "

" Pretty much everything is explained, how hard is it to understand, read all the codex pages, listen to minerva.  Humans pass the story down through generation, it gets altered in the telling, trith becomes myth, becomes legend etc... religions are born around these stories. "

" This much is pretty much fact from the Conversation from Minerva, but here's my take on some of the more ambiguos parts.  The apple has some protective abilites, the pope could not use the staff against Ezio when he had it.  "

" Some of the Ancients did survive, though not enough to sustain their race, using their technology (the pieces of eden), the human thought of them as gods because of the powers they possesed, these are the egyptian gods, the greek gods, the aztec gods.  Minerva says this, they where known by other names, Venus, Mars Jupitor etc... "

" @Drakzen said:

" BTW we should think of a name to call Minervas people for now so we don't have to call the aliens or god. "
 

I agree. I suggest Provectus, Latin for Advanced or The Advanced. Some of you may be wondering now, "why not just call them 'the advanced?" My answer: because Provectus sounds a lot cooler haha. Although I think the the game they are referred to as he Ones Who Came Before (OWCB)

1. there are no gods, just advanced aliens....possibly a GOD. BUT GOD has no relevance in the game as of yet 
2. Th gods did not control human events and the future...they just had some predictive powers. Or possibly a program that is based on some sort of super logarithm that given a certain set of events or outcomes could predict others. if they could control or had perfect prediction. humans wouldnt have won and they wouldnt have lost the war 
3. from an evolutionary standpoint we are more evolved...being that we survived 
4. there story is the same as the matrix..except instead of people and macines....gods r people and people r machines..rebelling against the creator. 
5.AC3 could happen anywhere..and possibly multiple time periods 
6. i think jesus had the original PE found by the templars in AC1

" Okay so, what I got from it is that there were people before humans, and that these people then made humans using the Piece of Eden. However, they manufactured the humans so they would obey them as long as the Piece of Eden was in their possession. Adam and Eve find out and steal the Piece of Eden, releasing the humans from their figurative chains, and leading a rebellion against them. So, in a sense, without realizing it, the "Gods" for lack of a better term, were the first Templars and Adam and Eve, along with all who followed, were the first Assassins. And so they waged war. The "Gods" were stronger but the humans were way more numerous, so the "Gods" were fighting a losing battle. Then, out of nowhere, something that no one expected happened. Some kind of catastrophe involving the sun caused some kind of mass genocide, but there were survivors. Then, realizing that they should stop fighting and rebuild, the "Gods" and humans united. The "Gods" died out and after a looooooooooong time that really happened transformed from truth into myth and speculation since there was no written language. The "Gods" become actual Gods and the sun becomes some sort of be all end all for civilization. The Eastern Hemisphere "evolves" but the Western Hemisphere, or at least the middle of it, still know what's up. But then the conquerers come and destroy nearly everything, leaving only the calender that has the fateful day when it might all happen again--12/21/2012. So anyway, now nobody remembers and the world is doomed once more, except this time there are no "Gods" to protect the humans. However, the "Gods" foresaw this and put temples, or "Vaults" all over the planet to retell the actual tale. HOWEVER, Ezio finds it much too soon, before he can actually do anything about it. The "Gods" foresaw THIS too, and knew that Desmond would revisit the memories of his ancestors so they made sure that in the temple they let him know that they were talking to HIM and not Ezio. It can be assumed that Ezio passed this information down through his ancestors as well, which is probably why Desmonds parents knew it was so vital to keep him safe. So now the threat has shifted from the Templars ruling the world with the Piece of Eden to the sun destroying the world altogether. There's a catch though. Just like the first Vault that Ezio found, you need Pieces of Eden to gain entry to all the other ones. So now that Desmond has all his ancestors' abilities, along with the hidden blade, the search is on, both for another Piece of Eden and the Vaults themselves. Oh, and the Templars may or may not be oblivious to the fact that their doom is imminent. Whether they seek to just rule the world with the Pieces of Eden or save the world with the Pieces of Eden and THEN rule it remains to be seen. I think they know though. The satillite mentioned on one of the computers needed the Piece of Eden to function. I'm just not sure if it's to broadcast the mind-control effects or display the locations of the temples. Maybe the former, because they definitely want dominion like their ancestors. Maybe the latter, because Ezio did the exact same thing with the Piece of Eden when he found the location of the first Vault on the codex pages. Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is that Assassin's Creed III should involve an Eternal Darkness-esque search for the Pieces of Eden, locating and entering the remaining Vaults, and reconciling with the Templars. Or destroying them once and for all. Should be fun. :D "

 Ok so firstly, I found a lot of your comments very helpful and insightful, so thanks! But I still have some questions so if anyone has the answers to my questions please fill me in! Also sorry for the length and bad spelling :P

Question 1: why did the "gods" or as I like to call them pre-humans, die out and humans did not? What was different from the humans then the pre-humans that let them survive while their creators and apparently more advanced makers died?

Question 2: someone one here suggested that perhaps subject 16 was a direct decedent from a pre-human as the ancestors memory we see in the Truth video seems to be chasing Adam and Eve and when Eve turns toward our direction, at the end, she yells out, "watch out!" so it implies that subject 16s ancestor was an enemy rather then a friend, therefore a pre-human.

Anyway with that in mind .... One of the truth puzzles says "Behold, the Assassin, the children of two worlds!" Is this to mean under the assumption that subject 16 is a direct decedent from a pre-human and a human, and there fore two worlds combined, that subject 16 is a direct decedent of the first assassin? and if so, was who ever chasing Adam and Eve an assassin, maybe for the pre-humans to kill Adam and Eve who knew to much or stop them from escaping?

Question 3: Is the piece of Eden that Adam and Eve stole the same piece that Altaïr finds and Ezio finds and later travels through time intercepted by the Templar's to start WW2 and send people to the moon and then later to make the Animus. Only to be destroyed by the present-day assassins in horrible bomb like explosion? And if not then where do the two different pieces fit in?

Question 4:  In the Truth puzzles often the little golden ball is seen and sometimes it is referred to as the apple and other times just as a piece of Eden with a number attached. I originally thought the only difference from the apple was that it was the piece that Adam and Eve stole but after going through the puzzles again there are at least 2 apples...so what is the difference between the apple and other piece that look just the same but without the name?

Question 5: I assumed that Altaïr  toward the end of his life must have found his way the the Villa in Italy that later become Ezio's. My logic was that Altaïr did not seem to trust anyone with piece of Eden and so I doubt he would have given it to anyone else to hide in the villa. Also I would guess that Altaïr would have locked the armour in the secret vault beneath the villa himself.

But the game explains that the Codex pages that Altaïr wrote got to Italy through way of Attila The Hun and later Dante. I guess I am juts confused who hid the piece of Eden in villa in Italy and who put his armour there as well if it was not him?

Question 6: When Desmond sees Altaïr with the Templar Mary, is that the same woman form the first game that dressed up as a Templar at the funeral at the end of the game?

Question 7: It seems obvious from Lucy and her teams reaction to the message they receive in the Vault they had no clue of the earths end, yet from letters that the Templars exchange plus seeing the memory of subject 16 in Eden they must know the world is going to end. So my question is this, how do Templars know and the assassin not know when it was an Assassin that the message was delivered to?Surly Ezio would have passed the information down through the centuries...

Question 8: They say at the start of the game that Altaïr  makes an appearance is that when you become him or is he some where else as well?

I think those are all my questions..sorry that this is so long, just trying to get a firm grasp on the story line! Thanks in advance for any help!

tcrown7 ....  Dude eventually someone who actually got the game down to the last point , ive been trying to write down the games ending to my friends but i coudnt have explained it better than u . 
But people have to understand that there are no freakin aliens , u could say that they were the first humans ( or human like creatures ) and they had advanced technology , hence they made humans to work for them and be controlled , maybe the first ' humans ' were also weak in physical strength and needed some manpower so they made humans with weaker brains and stronger muscles . 
so when the new humans would look upon their creators they would see " gods " because of their advance technology and the lack the brain power to understand it . 
Ive got a lot of respect for the writers of this game , u could tell their love from the research they did for this game . 
Dude wouldnt it be awsome if this was real .... or am i getting ahead of myself .

" @Andrewkin said:

" @Drakzen said:

" BTW we should think of a name to call Minervas people for now so we don't have to call the aliens or god. "
 

I agree. I suggest Provectus, Latin for Advanced or The Advanced. Some of you may be wondering now, "why not just call them 'the advanced?" My answer: because Provectus sounds a lot cooler haha. Although I think the the game they are referred to as he Ones Who Came Before (OWCB)

When this Entity died, her name was Minerva. This alone should provide enough information.  But I will give you a few hints;   1) Time line  2)  http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/roman.html  3) She mentioned Betrayal. 

I just finished this game and wow, it was amazing. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread, some pretty good info and discussion about some things I never considered. Just wanted to add a few thoughts, however trivial they may be. 

I agree with one of the previous posters who concluded that Minerva and her kind were "human like" but were more powerful/smarter/more advanced then the species they created. I would say in the modern conception of God (at least in a western sense) that these human like people would seem to be gods, they did create humans afterall and had what appear to be quite extraordinary powers. I would think they lost their power (or perhaps just left earth for elsewhere) because there were fewer of them. In greek and roman mythology (the small bit I am aware of) I know there was always struggles with the fact that humans outnumbered gods and that they eventually left the world so that they could live in some sort of peace. I am no expert in Greek/Roman mythology so I apologize if that is a terrible synopsis.

This thread seems lacking on information regarding Minerva so I figured I'd share a bit. Minerva is the Roman god of war/wisdom. She is equated with the Greek god Athena. Her father was Jupiter (Zeus in Greek) and mother was Juno (Hera in Greek). Interestingly it was Juno and Jupiter that Minerva mentioned during her final speech during the game. The three roman gods made up the "Capitoline Triad" which was basically a quasi political cult started in the 6th century. There is way too much info on both Minerva and the triad to go into detail here and I am not sure how/if the history of these gods fits into the plot of the game, but just wanted to point out these very basic facts for people who are unaware.

As for ACIII, Minerva stated that Desmond must search out the other Assassins temples to stop the end of the world. I was a bit surprised I hadn't read much on this in the thread, given all the good info within it, but it seems to me like a huge hint about the next game.  When you look at the codex page map with your eagle vision the Assassins symbol shows up in a few places...seems likely these are the locations of said temples. The locations look like they could provide some pretty epic/varied gaming (assuming you hop around the world trying to go to them all). I am not sure if Desmond will be running around to these locations or an ancestor/ancestors of his will be, either way it would be pretty cool. If the latter is the case there couldbe some pretty amazing historical settings. Locations on the map (and possible historical contexts) include:

-New York or somewhere in the vicinity (Could be modern times, civil war, american revolution)

-Galapagos Islands (no idea, maybe Darwins time)

-Easter Island (Rapa Nui civilization circa 1300-1500)

-Northern Scandanavia (Viking)

-Mongolia (mongol empire circa 1200-1300)

-Indonesia (??)

-Nigeria/Cameroon (Colonial Era post 1500)

Anyways, this is all speculation but assuming the next game is a hunt for the Assassin temples these could be in the game based on the map shown from the codex pages. 

Thanks to everyone for all the great insight!!

" @Sire said:

" @Andrewkin said:

" @Drakzen said:

" BTW we should think of a name to call Minervas people for now so we don't have to call the aliens or god. "
 

I agree. I suggest Provectus, Latin for Advanced or The Advanced. Some of you may be wondering now, "why not just call them 'the advanced?" My answer: because Provectus sounds a lot cooler haha. Although I think the the game they are referred to as he Ones Who Came Before (OWCB)

When this Entity died, her name was Minerva. This alone should provide enough information.  But I will give you a few hints;   1) Time line  2)  http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/roman.html  3) She mentioned Betrayal. 

Um, how does that answer anything? We are trying to come up with a name for Minerva's people or species, since they are neither gods nor aliens. I wasn't trying to come up with a name for Minerva because we already know her name is Minerva. :P "

"

I agree with one of the previous posters who concluded that Minerva and her kind were "human like" but were more powerful/smarter/more advanced then the species they created. I would say in the modern conception of God (at least in a western sense) that these human like people would seem to be gods, they did create humans afterall and had what appear to be quite extraordinary powers. I would think they lost their power (or perhaps just left earth for elsewhere) because there were fewer of them. In greek and roman mythology (the small bit I am aware of) I know there was always struggles with the fact that humans outnumbered gods and that they eventually left the world so that they could live in some sort of peace. I am no expert in Greek/Roman mythology so I apologize if that is a terrible synopsis.

This thread seems lacking on information regarding Minerva so I figured I'd share a bit. Minerva is the Roman god of war/wisdom. She is equated with the Greek god Athena. Her father was Jupiter (Zeus in Greek) and mother was Juno (Hera in Greek). Interestingly it was Juno and Jupiter that Minerva mentioned during her final speech during the game. The three roman gods made up the "Capitoline Triad" which was basically a quasi political cult started in the 6th century. There is way too much info on both Minerva and the triad to go into detail here and I am not sure how/if the history of these gods fits into the plot of the game, but just wanted to point out these very basic facts for people who are unaware.

"

 I see a lot of comparisons with the visions of Erich von Däniken. Try wiki. I think ubisoft did the same :-).  
I think it's important for this discussion.    

" 1. there are no gods, just advanced aliens....possibly a GOD. BUT GOD has no relevance in the game as of yet 2. Th gods did not control human events and the future...they just had some predictive powers. Or possibly a program that is based on some sort of super logarithm that given a certain set of events or outcomes could predict others. if they could control or had perfect prediction. humans wouldnt have won and they wouldnt have lost the war 3. from an evolutionary standpoint we are more evolved...being that we survived 4. there story is the same as the matrix..except instead of people and macines....gods r people and people r machines..rebelling against the creator. 5.AC3 could happen anywhere..and possibly multiple time periods 6. i think jesus had the original PE found by the templars in AC1 "

"  Ok so firstly, I found a lot of your comments very helpful and insightful, so thanks! But I still have some questions so if anyone has the answers to my questions please fill me in! Also sorry for the length and bad spelling :P 
 
Thanks! I do what I can.:D
 
Question 1: why did the "gods" or as I like to call them pre-humans, die out and humans did not? What was different from the humans then the pre-humans that let them survive while their creators and apparently more advanced makers died?
 
The humans were much more populated. If you've ever played Mass Effect, it's kind of like the Quarians and the Geth. They made SOOOO many Geth because they thought they'd never think to rebel. But they did, and when they did, the Quarians didn't stand a chance. Quarians = "Gods" and Geth = Humans
 
Question 2: someone one here suggested that perhaps subject 16 was a direct decedent from a pre-human as the ancestors memory we see in the Truth video seems to be chasing Adam and Eve and when Eve turns toward our direction, at the end, she yells out, "watch out!" so it implies that subject 16s ancestor was an enemy rather then a friend, therefore a pre-human. Anyway with that in mind .... One of the truth puzzles says "Behold, the Assassin, the children of two worlds!" Is this to mean under the assumption that subject 16 is a direct decedent from a pre-human and a human, and there fore two worlds combined, that subject 16 is a direct decedent of the first assassin? and if so, was who ever chasing Adam and Eve an assassin, maybe for the pre-humans to kill Adam and Eve who knew to much or stop them from escaping?  
 
Subject 16 is a descendent of Adam and Eve. Nobody was chasing Adam and Eve. I actually thought that myself, but it's actually just EXTREMELY effective camera work. If you notice, towards the end, the camera zooms out and shows Adam and Eve on the roof of the big building--with nobody behind them. Now, Adam and Eve probably were "Demi-Gods" for lack of a better term. The "Gods" had sex with humans and produced some "Gods" with human-like traits as well as humans with "God"-like traits. 
 
Either way you look at it, they got some advanced thinking like the "Gods", but not too much, so there was still room for human morality, and knew, like the Assassins, that peace should be understood, not forced. Adam and Eve were probably just two of the first Assassins, sent on a mission to steal the Piece of Eden to free the humans. What I'm trying to get at is, the Humans were the first Assassins, and the "Gods" were the first Templars. Both seeking positive ends, but with different means, logical (Templars) and moral (Assassins). Al Mualim mentions this in Assassin's Creed 1.
 
Question 3: Is the piece of Eden that Adam and Eve stole the same piece that Altaïr finds and Ezio finds and later travels through time intercepted by the Templar's to start WW2 and send people to the moon and then later to make the Animus. Only to be destroyed by the present-day assassins in horrible bomb like explosion? And if not then where do the two different pieces fit in? 
 
Maybe. Looking on the map on the Codex pages and the map in Altair's Piece of Eden for that matter reveals that there are a ton of Pieces of Eden. Each little dot represents one. So they very well COULD have the same one, but it would be a long shot. We know Altair and Ezio have the same Piece of Eden though, because Altair hides his piece on Cyprus, Assassins territory that used to be Templar territory, where the Templars find it, and it gets stolen by Ezio. And the Piece of Eden doesn't allow time travel, it allows one to simply observe the future.
 
Question 4:  In the Truth puzzles often the little golden ball is seen and sometimes it is referred to as the apple and other times just as a piece of Eden with a number attached. I originally thought the only difference from the apple was that it was the piece that Adam and Eve stole but after going through the puzzles again there are at least 2 apples...so what is the difference between the apple and other piece that look just the same but without the name?
 
The "Gods" made more than one Piece of Eden, for obvious reasons. You see, they could see the future, so they knew Adam and Eve would steal one, so they made plenty. But somehow, maybe during the catastrophe of the solar flare, they were lost. Not destroyed, but lost. OR, they didn't want the humans to make the same mistakes they did, and hid them all around the world. 
 
Anyway, point is, they scatter all around the globe.  There are tons of Pieces of Eden. I think Adam and Eve made like Altair and after all was said and done, they went ahead and hid it in a place where Cain found it later on. If you didn't read Altair's codex pages, he hides it in Cyprus, where the Templars find it in Assassin's Creed II.
 
Question 5: I assumed that Altaïr  toward the end of his life must have found his way the the Villa in Italy that later become Ezio's. My logic was that Altaïr did not seem to trust anyone with piece of Eden and so I doubt he would have given it to anyone else to hide in the villa. Also I would guess that Altaïr would have locked the armour in the secret vault beneath the villa himself. But the game explains that the Codex pages that Altaïr wrote got to Italy through way of Attila The Hun and later Dante. I guess I am juts confused who hid the piece of Eden in villa in Italy and who put his armour there as well if it was not him? 
 
Alright, the only way to know this information is to get the secret location provided by U-Play. It takes you through the entire bloodline, from 129something to 13something. I can't remember, but basically, Altair's son, or grandson, has his Codex pages, and gives them to HIS son, which is either Altair's grandson or great-grandson, respectively, to sail to Spain with. They are all Assassins by the way. However, they are intercepted by Templars and he is forced to hide them in cargo. The Templars, being the smart sons-of-guns they are, steal the cargo. 
 
They rape his wife and toss her overboard, and then toss him and HIS son (if you're keeping track, this is Altair's great-grandson or great-great-grandson) overboard, but they survive and wash-up on Venice (I think, I'm not completely sure on the location. It's somewhere in Italy though.). They then get some money from Dante or Marco Polo's bank account (I can't remember who XD) and they buy some land in Montegerrioni. They adopt the surname Auditore from some noble, but they're not really Auditores.
 
So, the father of the moment (Altair's grandson or great-grandson) teaches his son (Altair's great-grandson or great-great-grandson) the ways of the Assassins and says they HAVE to reclaim the Codex Pages from the Templars. The son of the moment, is Ezio's grandfather. He teaches the ways to his sons, Mario and Giovanni, and they also hunt for the Codex Pages. Giovanni and his eldest son are killed, so the task then falls to Ezio, who finds them and unlocks there secrets and yada-yada-yada.
 
I know, I know, that was all very cluttered. If you want a less vague summary, get enough U-Points (I think that's what they're called...) and go get the Secret Location: Auditore Family Crypt. It will explain things better. However, the above paragraph is as detailed as it gets. I'm just a little iffy on the first two.
 
Question 6: When Desmond sees Altaïr with the Templar Mary, is that the same woman form the first game that dressed up as a Templar at the funeral at the end of the game?
 
Yes, that is the same woman. That's why Desmond recognizes her.
 
Question 7: It seems obvious from Lucy and her teams reaction to the message they receive in the Vault they had no clue of the earths end, yet from letters that the Templars exchange plus seeing the memory of subject 16 in Eden they must know the world is going to end. So my question is this, how do Templars know and the assassin not know when it was an Assassin that the message was delivered to?Surly Ezio would have passed the information down through the centuries... 
 
The Templars might not know. They might just want the Piece of Eden for world dominion, not even realizing the fact that they could use the Piece of Eden to save the world. I'm thinking they do though, maybe not through seeing the future with the Piece of Eden, but through their advancements in science using the Piece of Eden. As for the Assassins not knowing, Ezio probably didn't understand. She said it so fast, and she wasn't even looking at him. She said the knowledge wasn't even meant for him. As flipped out as that was, he disregarded it I guess, only taking from that encounter a name of GREAT importance--Desmond.
 
Question 8: They say at the start of the game that Altaïr  makes an appearance is that when you become him or is he some where else as well?I think those are all my questions..sorry that this is so long, just trying to get a firm grasp on the story line! Thanks in advance for any help! "
 
I think it's just talking about when you become him because of the Bleeding Effect. I've beaten the game to a pulp. I've done nearly everything there is to do in that game. 98.4% Synchronization. The 1.6% I'm missing is from exclusive Collector's Edition DLC and European DLC, so I'm assuming I've seen all there is to see in this game, and I only saw Altair once during that brief intermission, not counting if you unlock the Altair skin for Ezio using U-Play. I saw him a lot after that. :D 
 
And it's no problem. That's why I'm here too. :D