On the Origin of Syrup
On the Origin of Syrup is a carriage interrogation: Darwin points Jacob at his old rival Richard Owen, and you hijack Owen's coach and drive it recklessly until he names the man who created Soothing Syrup.
- Type
- Story
- Given by
- Charles Darwin
Storylines
Part 4 of 7 in Sequence 4: A Quick and Reliable Remedy
Good to know
- Sequence 4, memory 4 of 7; global story order 11; played as Jacob Frye.
- Giver: Charles Darwin.
- Target: Richard Owen, a scientist working at the asylum, interrogated rather than killed.
- Owen insists he had no hand in an anonymous article attacking Darwin.
- The title echoes Darwin's 1859 book On the Origin of Species.
- Picks up from Unnatural Selection and leads into Cable News.
Objectives
Arrive as Darwin and Owen are shouting at each other; Darwin tears off the carriage door handle as Owen drives away. Chase the carriage, take the reins, and then batter it against obstacles to frighten Owen. Keep up the pressure until he cracks, then stop the carriage.
Tips
Owen only gives in after the carriage has taken a real beating, so steer into obstacles rather than keeping to open road. Near the end Jacob threatens to drive them both into the Thames.
Outcome
Owen names Dr John Elliotson, a physician at the asylum, as the man who formulated the syrup. That sets up the assassination in Overdose.
The argument
Darwin accuses Owen of writing an anonymous article that damaged his name; Owen denies it and accuses Darwin of abusing science. Darwin even quotes Dickens to insult him. Jacob, watching, jokes that the two must be close friends.
Where it leads
Elliotson's name sends Jacob back to Darwin, who meets him outside Lambeth Asylum at the start of Overdose and remembers the doctor as brilliant once.
Things to notice
Owen claims to be a gentleman who would never discuss the matter, swears he has nothing to do with the syrup, and asks why a scientist would care about panaceas. He only gives way when Jacob heads for the river.
- Charles DarwinCharles Darwin helps Jacob destroy the Soothing Syrup distillery in Sequence 4 and then gives the Charles Darwin London Stories, in which the twins protect his work and reputation from Templar-backed attacks.
- Crawford StarrickCrawford Starrick is the main antagonist of Assassin's Creed Syndicate: Grand Master of the British Templars and the industrialist who controls London in 1868 through his factories, railways, banks, the Blighters gang and a ring of Templar lieutenants. Every major target the Frye twins kill is one of his people, and the main story builds toward a final confrontation with him at Buckingham Palace.
- John ElliotsonDr John Elliotson is the Templar physician behind Starrick's Soothing Syrup, the addictive tonic dulling London's poor. Jacob Frye tracks him down through Sequence 4 with Charles Darwin's help, and he is the target of the memory Overdose at Lambeth Asylum.
- Richard OwenRichard Owen is the naturalist and Darwin rival Jacob chases down in On the Origin of Syrup. Rammed through traffic in his own carriage, he gives up the name of the Syrup's creator: Dr John Elliotson of Lambeth Asylum.
Related missions
Image: UbisoftStoryOverdose
Overdose is the assassination of Dr John Elliotson inside Lambeth Asylum. As Jacob you explore the asylum, help a trapped nurse and stop a brutal electroshock session, then reach Elliotson's lecture theatre by hiding under the sheet of a cadaver.
- Story
Unnatural Selection
Unnatural Selection takes Jacob into the Starrick Brewing Company's distillery, where he meets Charles Darwin snooping at the window. Together they get inside, and Jacob blows up the tanks that brew Soothing Syrup.
- Storyline
Charles Darwin's London Stories
Charles Darwin's London Stories are side memories in which the naturalist, a friend of the twins since the Starrick's Soothing Syrup affair, asks for help as his enemies turn from argument to threats. You protect a fossil, destroy toxic flowers, tear down smear posters and finally rescue Darwin himself.
- Story
The Lady with the Lamp
The Lady with the Lamp brings Evie back to Lambeth after the asylum's closure. When Clara O'Dea collapses at the asylum doors, Florence Nightingale takes her in and gives Evie a list of medicines to fetch from a peddler and a besieged pharmacist.