The Animus is the virtual-reality machine used in Assassin's Creed's modern-day storyline.
Within the series, the Animus allows a person to access genetic memories inherited from ancestors. The machine presents those memories as interactive simulations, letting the user experience historical events through an ancestor's perspective. This framework connects the historical adventures to the modern-day plot.
Different organizations develop or control versions of the technology. Abstergo Industries uses the Animus for research and strategic purposes, while the modern Assassin movement uses related technology to investigate the Templar conflict. Later games introduce portable and commercial variants, including the Helix platform.
The Animus is not the same as Eagle Vision, which is an in-game perception ability, or the Bleeding Effect, which describes memories and skills influencing a user after repeated Animus exposure. Those terms are closely related to the series' mythology but name different concepts.