The machine that lets characters relive genetic memories in Assassin's Creed is called the Animus. It is a fictional device that reads inherited memories encoded in a person's DNA and presents them as interactive experiences.
The Animus provides the series with its modern-day framework. In the first game, Desmond Miles is placed in an Animus by Abstergo Industries and made to experience the memories of his ancestor Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad.
The device does not literally send a person through time. Instead, the user explores recorded ancestral experiences, while the game's historical sections dramatize those memories. The concept supports the franchise's shifts between modern characters and historical protagonists.
The term is sometimes confused with Eagle Vision, which is an ability used by Assassins to identify people and objects. The Apple of Eden is a separate Isu artifact, while the Bleeding Effect describes side effects caused by repeated Animus exposure.