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| “ | And now it's time for you to join the cycle of rebirth. | „ |
| ~ Jacob Danik to Clarke after starting another necromorph outbreak. |
| “ | 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. |
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.
Jacob Danik 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. As such, Danik serves as the primary antagonist of Dead Space 3.
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 his brutal demise.
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 Issac warned.
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.
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.
 Villains
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Necromorphs Earth Government / Titan Station Security Force Unitologists Others | ||