The Synchronisation

Apprentices Crauz and h_avocc’s Speech

Apprentice h_avocc:

Thank you for attending our Synchronisation. Today, we will share what we have learned during the Scholars’ curriculum regarding the Maxim.

Apprentice Crauz:

A maxim is a concise expression of a fundamental moral rule or principle.

Apprentice h_avocc:

The Maxim of our Creed is:

“Nothing is True; Everything is Permitted.”

Apprentice Crauz:

We will break these words down and demonstrate how the Maxim teaches an Assassin to search continually for deeper truths and hidden knowledge.

Apprentice h_avocc:

To accomplish this, we must first consider the thought process experienced by many who encounter the Maxim for the first time.

Apprentice Crauz:

If nothing is true, then is everything false? Is everything I am told, and everything I see and experience, truly false?

Apprentice h_avocc:

Yet everything is permitted. Would that not mean that everything is also permitted to be true?

Apprentice Crauz:

Would everything being permitted mean that I may do whatever I please?

Apprentice h_avocc:

But if nothing is true, then the statement that everything is permitted must also be false.

Apprentice Crauz:

The Maxim itself cannot be literally true if nothing is true. It must therefore not be intended as a literal statement.

Apprentice h_avocc:

When we consider the definition of a maxim, we may deduce that these words are intended to express a fundamental principle rather than an absolute description of reality.

“Nothing is True” concerns reality and truth, while “Everything is Permitted” concerns possibility.

Apprentice Crauz:

Is the Maxim directing us to consider the possibility of truths—or perhaps the truth contained within possibilities?

Apprentice h_avocc:

It may be understood as either, or as both.

To consider the possibility of truths is to examine what we have accepted as true or false. It requires us to consider that we may be mistaken, or that there may be more to discover within a truth we have already accepted.

To consider the truth of possibilities is to recognise that possibilities may be without end.

This raises another question: is it possible that the truth I have accepted is not the ultimate truth?

Apprentice Crauz:

Although the two halves of the Maxim appear deeply paradoxical when interpreted literally, their true nature reveals them as two points upon the same line, each suggesting a shared meaning.

What, then, is the principle expressed by the Maxim?

At first, it may still appear to tell me that I can act and believe however I wish without further thought.

Yet when I examine the Maxim more closely and apply its own lesson to its meaning, I see that it does not instruct me to act without consequence.

Instead, it tells me to re-examine the constructs and rules of society and then determine, through my own judgement, which principles I will follow.

Apprentice h_avocc:

That is a freeing thought.

Its purpose is to make us consider our perspectives and the truths we have come to accept. From there, we must determine our actions for ourselves and live with the consequences that follow.

Apprentice Crauz:

From this understanding, the Maxim appears to direct us towards wisdom: possessing sound judgement, thinking before acting and accepting what our decisions cause.

The principle conveyed by the Maxim is therefore to think critically, to act wisely and to search continually for further truths that may have been overlooked.

Wisdom aptly describes what the Maxim communicates.

As Assassins, we must remain mindful of its meaning and apply it continually to our thoughts and decisions.

Apprentice h_avocc:

Precisely.

We must always remember:

Nothing is True; Everything is Permitted.

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This scroll serves as the preserved record of the joint Synchronisation delivered by Apprentices Crauz and h_avocc on 18 July 2021.