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| “ | Brothers and sisters. The age of man is at an end. We have became too many, too little to go around. Corporations that we once trusted with our money have squandered it. The governments that we once trusted with our future have sabotaged it. To their eternal credit we are dying… Fear not, there is a future. As promised by the prophet Michael Altman The Black Marker has a plan, for all of you… It will lift us up from our miserable existence and we will become one; united in body and united in spirit. Our unity will be our salvation. We'll live on, not as man, as God. The Church of Unitology is waiting for you my friends. Throw off the chains of this life and join us as the new one begins. I'm Jacob Arthur Danik, and I am this message. | „ |
| ~ Danik spreading the word of Unitology. |
| “ | I've done it. I've finally done it! The darkness is at an end! Let the evolution begin! | „ |
| ~ Danik's last words before his death. |
Jacob Danik is the main antagonist of the 2013 survival horror video game Dead Space 3, and the graphic novel Dead Space: Liberation.
He is the leader of a Unitologist terrorist cell calling themselves "The Circle" that aims to bring about the "final evolution" of humanity by making them one with the Necromorphs. He aims to achieve his goals by overthrowing Earth's government and eliminating Isaac Clarke before he can destroy anymore of the Markers.
He is voiced by Simon Templeman, who also played Gabriel Roman in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.
Biography[]
Background[]
Not much is known about Jacob Arthur Danik's past, but he was a devout believer of the Church of Unitology, a group of fanatics who believed that they were created by aliens and should awake the Markers. Due to his devotion, Danik would create a militant group known as The Circle, and inspired many to his cause. When EarthGov started to contain the Markers across colonies, Danik decided to focus on overthrowing the government to allow the Markers to be free.
Dead Space: Liberation[]
Locating a Marker shroud on the planet Uxor, Danik decided to destroy the facility containing it and find the researcher Damara Carver. During his trip on the planet, Danik encountered Sergeant John Carver, whom he had interrogated and later learned that he was related to Damara. Though intent on killing John, Danik decided to find Damara and her son Dylan, whom he proceeded to kill as John discovered their reanimated corpses. When trying to find the location of Tau Volantis, Danik's plans were stopped by Robert Norton, who destroyed the shock ring to stop the unitologist.
Despite his failure, Danik remained determined to reach Tau Volantis and start the Convergence Event, and traveled to the New Horizons Lunar Colony to unleash its Marker from its test lab. At some point before or at the beginning of Dead Space 3, Danik was contacted by Norton, who made a deal for him to get Issac Clarke in exchange for his and Ellie Langford's safety to leave Tau Volantis when they arrived.
Dead Space 3[]
During the genocidal attack on the sector where Isaac Clarke has been hiding from EarthGov, Danik first meets Clarke and Sgt. John Carver as they are attempting to reach Captain Robert Norton's escape ship. He forces them to watch him begin his campaign of releasing the Markers from their government controlled test labs, beginning with the one on the Lunar Colony. Ignoring Isaac's warnings about the Markers' dark intent, Danik reassures him with the Unitologist belief that death is just the beginning and the destruction of the human race is a natural occurrence that Isaac must not be allowed to interfere with. Before Danik can kill them, they escape down a garbage shaft and eventually get off the moon to continue their mission.
Later on, Norton contacts Danik in order to escape Tau Volantis and stop Isaac from leading his team and Norton's girlfriend Ellie to what he presumes is certain death. He reveals to Danik that they are on the "Marker Homeworld" and gives him the coordinates to the planet as long as Danik will kill Clarke and take the rest of them to safety. Danik, however, betrays this promise, and when he reveals his intent to kill all of them, they fight back and are able to escape.
After this, Danik is unable to find Isaac and his team for sometime. Instead of actively searching for them, he finds a radio communications station where he broadcasts Unitologist propaganda aimed at wearing down Isaac and his teams morale, in hopes of making them give up. Danik appears once again after Isaac, Carver, and Ellie have assembled the alien remains at the Rosetta Facility in order to purge its mind of the data necessary for building the Codex key. Clarke unknowingly reveals the true intention of the alien machine to him, stating that the moon above the planet was a massive Necromorph and that the machine was keeping the creature from being able to finish its original Convergence event that it had started millions of years ago. Danik, now convinced that the moon itself is the divine embodiment of the Markers' will, decides that the machine must be activated in order to free it and become whole; however, before his men can kill Isaac and the others, Isaac floods the chamber with lethal gas to, and amidst the confusion, Danik escapes with the Codex and a few of his men, sealing the chamber and presuming Isaac and company have died in the fumes.
As Danik casually makes his way to the machine, his men informs him that Isaac and Carver have survived and are hot on his tail. He quickly begins gathering his remaining troops to slow them down as he descends into the remains of the underground city where the machine resided. By the time he reaches the bottom of the ventilation system, most if not all of his ground forces were dead, and in a aggravated rage demands more drop ships be called in at once, hoping to use the ventilation shafts as entry points to the subterranean city.
Danik's blinded and misguided quest comes to an end with him being removed from the gene pool.
As Isaac pursues Danik through the caverns of the underground city, he tries to convince the cult leader of the moon's true nature, which he dismisses as fear of the unknown. Isaac and Carver eventually catch up to him and engage in a brief struggle for the Codex, during which Isaac and Carver fall down a crevice with the key - leaving Danik enraged and sending his remaining men on a manhunt for it. During this time, Isaac and Carver begin to reroute the capabilities of the machine, much to Danik's annoyance.
As Isaac and Carver prepare to reroute the machine, Danik reveals his ace in the hole: Ellie is still alive and in his custody, and if they want her back alive, they must let him turn on the machine. Carver, believing that there are other ways to do the right thing, gives Danik the Codex in order to save Ellie's life, and upon activating the machine, the moon bursts free of its frozen prison, continuing its Convergence Event. As Danik looks upon the monstrosity above them in awe, a massive rock shard violently impales him through the chest, killing him instantly. In the end, Jacob's quest only guaranteed his own self-destruction and not the glorious vision he wanted, just as Isaac warned.
Dead Space: Awakened[]
After Isaac and Carver stopped the moon, members of Danik's cause would create the Unitologist Cult and wanted to reactivate the Markers. Though Danik doesn't appear in game, his propaganda videos are heard on the CMS Terra Nova.
Personality[]
Danik is portrayed from the beginning of the game as a zealous fanatic who has been completely absorbed by the belief and following of Unitology. He often boasts about its perfection and ideals, and will usually use those beliefs as the staple of inspiration when uniting his men against Issac and his allies.
Though an intellectual and a self-proclaimed "man of science," his faith in Unitology blinds him to the obvious truth of what the Markers are capable of and their real purpose (as is the case with most Unitologists). While usually calm and boastful, disruptions of his plans often bring on explosive rants and desperate pleas for Isaac and his company to accept their fates, much like Challus Mercer during the events of Dead Space. Despite rants such as these, he maintains a healthy admiration for Isaac's endurance throughout the game.
Quotes[]
| “ | Isaac Clarke. Just the man I was looking for. Oh don't waste your energy, you're about to be dead in a matter of minutes. Pick him up. There's something I'd like you to see. | „ |
| ~ Jacob Danik's introduction in chapter one. |
| “ | Jacob Danik: There, you see that? That's marker test lab. They're everywhere at all the major colonies and outputs. Isaac Clarke: What do your want from me? Jacob Danik: As part of the Marker test program, Isaac, you helped make them. And today, you of all people, get to watch me set them free. Isaac Clarke: No. No! You'll kill everyone! Jacob Danik: Death is only the beginning, Isaac. Nature must take its course - and I can't allow you - or anyone else - to stop that. Eyes forward Isaac, pay attention. |
„ |
| ~ Danik and Clarke, moments before the former unleashes the Marker on the Nexus colony. |
| “ | And now it's time for you to join the cycle of rebirth. | „ |
| ~ Jacob Danik to Clarke after starting another necromorph outbreak. |
| “ | You wouldn't believe the trouble you've saved me. Nice work. | „ |
| ~ Danik to Clarke and Carver upon Norton's betrayal. |
| “ | Well, here he is: the Marker Killer, Isaac Clarke. And here we are: The "Marker home world". You know I must admit, I almost didn't believe such a place existed. But thanks your friend Norton, I finally found it. | „ |
| ~ Danik upon Norton's betrayal. |
| “ | It's a very difficult thing, undoing the damage man has done. Everything we touch, we contaminate, corrupt, The Markers had a plan for us, but we took what should have a magnificent gift... and perverted it. {...} I've spent an entire lifetime trying to undo the damage man has done: fighting EarthGov's ongoing research, liberating the Markers from those profane testing facilities, and now... I just have one problem left to purge: All of you! | „ |
| ~ Danik explaining his beliefs to Clarke, Carver and Norton. |
| “ | Yes I'm sorry about that. But I can't afford to leave even one of you left alive. Apologies for misleading you, Captain. | „ |
| ~ Danik to Norton, going back on their deal. |
| “ | Oh, I misunderstood initially, that's true - but its all quite clear to me, now. It's not only mankind's tampering which has hindered our glorious rebirth... But this alien machine as well! | „ |
| ~ Danik to Ellie Langford after obtaining the key. |
| “ | Well, stop it! You're tampering with things you know nothing about! | „ |
| ~ Danik to Clarke, showing his hypocrisy on messing with things they shouldn't. |
| “ | Let the evolution begin! | „ |
| ~ Jacob's last words before he is removed from the gene pool. |
Trivia[]
- It is possible that Danik and many of his followers had military training at some point in their lives, given the tactics they use in battle as well as Danik's proficiency with firearms and explosives. His men are also shown to be operating state-of-the-art weaponry against Clarke and Carver throughout the story.
- He is similar to Kaecilius in that he believed in and tries to facilitate the takeover of the human race by an eldrich abomination.
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 Villains
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Necromorphs Earth Government / Titan Station Security Force Unitologists Others | ||