Desmond Miles

Desmond Miles
'Assassin's Creed' character
First game	Assassin's Creed

Desmond Miles is a fictional character. He is the primary protagonist of the Assassin's Creed series.

Fictional biography

Early life

Desmond was born on a assassin hideout much like Masyaf, a modern day Assassin enclave called 'The Farm', isolated and 'off the grid' as it was. Desmond was apparently supposed to be born and raised as an assassin. He was unable to leave this small community of thirty or so people, but wanted to as he believed that they were "just a bunch of hippies who wanted to fight the man." He later escapes by himself, claiming that he wanted to see the rest of the world. Desmond states that he has no regrets leaving his father or mother and at one point when Vidic accuses him of being an assassin he responds "I'm not an assassin...not anymore". At some time in his life, Desmond became a bartender. Desmond never used his real name before being taken. He used cash only, he was found from his fingerprint needed for a motorcycle license.

Assassin's Creed

Main article: Assassin's Creed

Assassin's Creed's story starts off with flashes of Altaïr in a cloudy area which turns out to be the garden at the back of the home base in Masyaf. After about five minutes, Desmond wakes up to find himself on top of a machine and two figures with lab coats near him. He has no recollection of getting to where he is now and is told that he is being held captive. When he questions why, the answer he receives is somewhat unbelievable.

The people in the lab coats are Dr. Lucy Stillman and Dr. Warren Vidic. They run the Animus project for Abstergo Industries. The Animus is a device used to extract genetic memory from an individual about their ancestors. According to Vidic, the memories of past relatives are stored in human DNA. Desmond is told that he has information that someone needs. While Desmond claims to be nothing more than a bartender, it is alluded to that he is an Assassin, or at least was one at some point in the past. He seems to have the same age, weight, and height as Altaïr at the time that the Animus decodes. He also wears a white hooded-sweatshirt, similar to Altaïr's clothing. Desmond also has a scar on the right side of his face, going downwards across the lips, identical to Altaïr's. Moreover, his ancestors were Assassins. There is a specific memory in the life of his ancestor Altaïr that the two scientists are trying to access, but Desmond's subconscious mind is blocking access to the memory and they need his help to access it. If he refuses to assist them, they threaten to induce a coma, continue their work, and, when done with Desmond, leave him to die. Without much choice, Desmond agrees to help them.

Over the next few days, Desmond is removed from the Animus several times; either to give him time to rest or as occurred at one point, because the Animus was overheating. During these periods he finds that someone has left the code for his sleeping quarter's door in his closet, allowing him to go out into the Animus chamber alone, where he accesses Abstergo's computer system, trying to learn why he was brought there. He does this both with Stillman's access pen, that she apparently forgot, and Vidic's which he stole. He however remains unable to escape and learns nothing that makes his captives goals clear. At one point his memory viewing is interrupted by a group of Assassins who have apparently launched a rescue attempt, caught in a gun battle with Abstergo's guards. Desmond however cannot see this only hear the gunfire. Vidic later states that these Assassins were not only killed, but were the last of the Assassins, possibly as a means of demoralising Desmond; Lucy Stillman's actions, however, suggest otherwise. After accessing the target memory Abstergo's executives order Desmond killed, but some quick thinking on Lucy's part spares him this fate and he is ordered to be kept at Abstergo until he has no possible use to them. By this point Desmond begins to develop 'the bleeding effect', mentioned in Lucy's emails as affecting previous test subjects, as he manifests Altaïr's eagle vision allowing him to see cryptic messages written on the walls of the chamber, left there by Subject Sixteen, the subject before Desmond, who is alluded to in the emails, and see that Lucy Stillman is indeed his ally.

Assassin's Creed II

Main article: Assassin's Creed II

In Assassin's Creed II, Desmond starts off still held within Abstergo, right where he was left off at the end of the first game. Lucy arrives and demands him to get into the Animus before Abstergo discovers what she's done. Desmond agrees and, inside the Animus, he experiences the birth of one of his ancestors , Ezio due to the comparison of DNA memory between him and Subject 16 (which speculates they might be related). Lucy soon after pulls him out and the two attempt to escape from the Abstergo building. Along the way, Abstergo security soon finds out they're trying to leave, meaning at times they have to take action in order to avoid being captured as they escape. Also, when they start to sneak around a large office-like room, they come across a number of Animus machines along the way, and when Desmond asks Lucy about them she tells him to be silent. At the final door, a password is needed that Lucy does not have, however Desmond uses his Eagle Vision, an ability he has just acquired from the 'bleeding effect', to see fingerprints on the keypad, putting in the code soon after. The final point of the escape pits Desmond and Lucy against a group of guards at the parking lot exit. Lucy hides Desmond in the trunk of a car and she drives off to an Assassin hideout, whilst he endures the bumps on the journey.

When they arrive, the two of them meet Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane, both of whom are Assassins, just like Lucy. She tells Desmond they want him to become an Assassin member, and can train him in a matter of days using the memories of Ezio. With the bleeding effect, Ezio's skills will be passed to Desmond, making him faster, stronger, more agile and therefore become a better fighter, highly maneuverable and a key member of the Modern-day Assassin order. He accepts stating he wants revenge on what Abstergo did to him, leaving Lucy happy he wants to join as he is plugged into the Animus 2.0 where his journey as Ezio, begins.

Midway through the game, Desmond is retracted from the Animus. Lucy didn't want him staying in Ezio's memories for too long, otherwise he may face the mental degradation Subject 16 had suffered. She also wants to see how much Desmond has picked up from his time as his ancestor, tasking him with initiating security protocols around the Assassin hideout. Just as he begins, however, vivid hallucinations develop as he begins seeing people from Altair's time period, around different parts of the hideout. Lucy says that if they only occur for a little while, he should be fine. Unfortunately for Desmond, at one point after finishing his task, the visions start to become more real and he is taken back to one of Altaïr's memories, even though he isn't linked to the Animus. Here, Desmond learns of Altaïr having a secret lover, Maria, a Templar used as decoy by Robert de Sable in the first Assassin's Creed. As Altaïr leaves, Desmond wonders why he isn't following him. instead, he moves towards Maria where he enters her womb, showing that Altaïr's child and another of Desmond's ancestors has been conceived.

During his time inside the Animus, at the end of the game a "god", Minerva, warns Desmond through Ezio of the destruction of the world. Immediately after getting out of the Animus, Lucy informs Desmond that their stronghold is under attack and she hands him a hidden blade. An old friend is introduced, as Vidic appears and says that he has come back to claim Desmond. Lucy and Desmond, now synchronized with both Altaïr and Ezio, fight off the Vidic's henchmen. His hand-to-hand combat skills are much improved from the escape from Abstergo, and he begins to show a mastery of disarming, countering, free running and climbing techniques. When Desmond finally confronts Vidic he begins to flee, but promises that their victory is only temporary. Lucy decides they must leave the safehouse and says that they have another safehouse somewhere up north. She also informs Desmond that they have the Animus onboard and he should delve back in, looking for anymore memories that may reveal more information, whilst she and the others try to analyze Minerva's warning and Subject 16's video.

Character development

Miles is modeled after model Francisco Randez and voiced by Nolan North.