The part close to the end, it might have been the end... when Desmond is pissed and doesn't see a way out, Lucy says "have Faith." and she puts her hand to her chest. I don't know if I saw it wrong or not, but she either made a sign with her hand, or her ring finger was missing. Then Desmond sort of does a verbal double take "huh?" So I'm wondering if there's some sort of connection I'm supposed to make, or if I just saw it wrong.

what do the assassins have to lose to become assassins? 

I'm not sure which AC we're talking about. I'll assume AC1 and say the missing finger is due to the fact that, in the first AC, Altaire must have a finger removed for the blade on his gauntlet. This would thus be an implication she is an assassin.

yeeeeah....dude this should be really obvious....

It should be obvious, except in AC2 they backtracked on that by having da vinci rework the design so that you don't have to lose a finger, and suddenly, Lucy has all her fingers again! :D 

" It should be obvious, except in AC2 they backtracked on that by having da vinci rework the design so that you don't have to lose a finger, and suddenly, Lucy has all her fingers again! :D  "

@DoctorTran: ah okay thanks dude. I don't remember that part, but it sounds familiar.

Fucking iPhone. Anyway.

How would an assassin be able to effectively infiltrate Abstergo if they're missing a finger? Wouldn't that be a dead ringer? I suppose you could claim to be a double agent.

" @Soap said:

" It should be obvious, except in AC2 they backtracked on that by having da vinci rework the design so that you don't have to lose a finger, and suddenly, Lucy has all her fingers again! :D  "

In fact, Lucy never loses her finger. It's just a gesture she makes with her hand, like the metal horns or a Buddhist mudra, but the actual finger is there. "

" It should be obvious, except in AC2 they backtracked on that by having da vinci rework the design so that you don't have to lose a finger, and suddenly, Lucy has all her fingers again! :D  "

" @Soap said:

" It should be obvious, except in AC2 they backtracked on that by having da vinci rework the design so that you don't have to lose a finger, and suddenly, Lucy has all her fingers again! :D  "

And they STILL chop off their fingers in Brotherhood. I was really confused about that. "

" @Azteck said:

" @Soap said:

" It should be obvious, except in AC2 they backtracked on that by having da vinci rework the design so that you don't have to lose a finger, and suddenly, Lucy has all her fingers again! :D  "

And they STILL chop off their fingers in Brotherhood. I was really confused about that. "

yeah, what was with all that finger-burning-off stuff if they apparently had a workaround? "

It's to simulate the pain of having your finger removed without actually doing it. The Hidden Blade from the first game required the missing finger, but as technology progressed it wasn't necessary. Not to mention it's a dead giveaway for an Assassin to be missing a particular finger. Ezio manages to skip the induction ceremony in AC2 (but does he take it? I'm drawing a blank,) since he's on his own through most of the game. But the ceremony shows up constantly in Brotherhood, and I imagine they replaced the finger-chopping with finger-branding and left the rest of the ceremony in tact.

I dunno, I gobble stuff like this up. :) Your Assassins in Brotherhood still have their fingers. The burning clamps are just part of the induction, but not as permanent as Altair's lost finger.

Edit: I completely forgot about Leonardo's involvement with Ezio's Hidden Blade. It would still make sense for Ezio to continue the traditions of the Assassins as closely as possible, but substitute the sacrificing of a finger for a minor branding. 

" @Azteck said:

" @Soap said:

" It should be obvious, except in AC2 they backtracked on that by having da vinci rework the design so that you don't have to lose a finger, and suddenly, Lucy has all her fingers again! :D  "

And they STILL chop off their fingers in Brotherhood. I was really confused about that. "

yeah, what was with all that finger-burning-off stuff if they apparently had a workaround? "