Nerd Movie Reviews

Nothing Is True, Everything Is Permitted

The Assassins’ Creed games popularized a certain saying. “Nothing is true, everything is permitted.” Meaning that the reality that one inhabits is an illusion, to some degree. That one can meekly accept the way things are, or transcend the order of things. This phrase may be an invention. Or, it may have come from the real-life order of hashashins (Assassins). The Assasins Creed games are based on that order. It appears in all of the games, and on a variety of merchandise, including coffee mugs and video game t shirts.

Where did it come from?

The origins of the phrase are a little murky. The Assassin’s Creed cites a 1938 novel by Vladimir Bartol as the origin. But this can’t be true. Books exist from earlier than 1938 that contain the phrase. The book “The Genealogy of Morals” from 1887 is one example. The author discusses the order of assassins. According to him, they say, “Nothing is true, everything is allowed.” Some authors think this really was an old Arabic saying. Others think that someone invented it later. Either way, the phrase is about transcending an illusion. Even in the games, this does not necessarily mean physical reality, so much as the common morality foisted upon one by other people.

Templar Control

The Templars want to use the illusory reality to rule. In the first game, Altaïr realizes that the reality (or morality) that the Templars want to foist on everyone is an illusion that they use to dominate. In later games, Templars control huge companies, especially technology companies. They also seem to have a grip on media, possibly even scientific research and academia.

The Templar behind these technology companies sell it as harmless entertainment that anyone can equally have access to. So all of the institutions under Templar control want to rule using the illusion. Those institutions include media, academia, and tech companies. “Nothing is true, everything is permitted” means the consensus is wrong. A lot of people tell Altaïr what’s right and wrong. They tell him to be more compassionate and empathetic.

In later games, the Templars create the Abstergo corporation. Abstergo tries to create a “New World Order” to unify the whole world under their control. If you haven’t played the later games yet, you may recognize the Abstergo logo from where it appears on video game t shirts. The Templar aim for a one-world order. That way they can enforce their absolute rule on everyone equally. They do this with the Pieces of Eden. The Templars have mobilized tech companies to acquire the Pieces of Eden. They also control a lot of professors who study the Pieces of Eden. In the later games, they also control a lot of the media.

The Assassins motto is about transcending all that propaganda. Altaïr realizes this during the first game. The phrase is quietly profound. That’s why it fits so handily on posters and gaming t shirts. It carries through to the later games as well.