The Animus is the fictional memory-viewing machine that appears in Assassin’s Creed.
In the series’ modern-day storyline, the Animus lets a user experience genetic memories inherited from ancestors. The technology is used to explore historical periods without physically traveling through time. Desmond Miles is the first major modern character shown using it, while later games introduce other users and versions of the device.
The machine provides the narrative link between the contemporary world and historical settings such as the Third Crusade, Renaissance Italy, the Caribbean, and Viking-era England. It also explains why players can control different historical protagonists within one connected fictional universe.
The Animus is often confused with related series terms. Eagle Vision is a perception ability, the Apple of Eden is an Isu artifact, and Helix is a later entertainment or research platform associated with Abstergo. Those are not the name of the main memory-viewing machine.