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The events that transpired on the USG Ishimura inDead Spacewere far from humanity’s first interactions with the alien Markers. The first encounter was in fact over 300 years ago on Earth by Michael Altman. The story of which is told in great detail in the book Dead Space: Martyr by Brian Evenson.
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It’s a tale of the discovery of the Marker, the rise of the Church of Unitology, and how Michael Altman played an unintentional part in radically changing humanity’s beliefs. Plus, since the Church has been behind a lot of horrible events, especially in the games, you could argue poor old Michael is to blame for all of it. However, there’s more to him than meets the eye. So to explain why this particular individual is so important here’s the history of Michael Altman.
The History Of Michael Altman, Explained
Ask any glassy-eyed, pamphlet-holding Unitologist who Michael Altman was and they’ll bore your ears off with praises of theirholy martyr and founder. Altman is referred to as one of thecentral figures of the Church of Unitologyand he was the first human to come into contact with a Marker. The obelisk in question is thought to havearrived on Earth on the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs.
Found beneath the ocean, the object was unearthed and studied. There the Unitologists will say is where Altman learned the truth of the universe, speaking his wisdom to the masses and founding the Church of Unitology. And as they give you a dead-eyed smile, they’ll whisper whimsically about how he wasassassinated by the EarthGovto suppress knowledge about the Marker, and access to the paradise through Convergence.
But here’s who he really was.
Who Is Michael Altman?
Far from the saintly figure that the church would have you believe.Michael Altman was a humble geophysicist. Not much else is really known about him before his career and move to the Chicxulub Crater, but we do know he had a girlfriend named Ada, his father was German, and his mother was Native American.
Come Work For Us, Or Else
After this mysterious person from DredgerCorp suddenly died from mysterious means, Altman would discover that the company had alsodiscovered the signal and was trying to retrieve the Markeron their own. Their attempts would go disastrously wrong as dive teams sent near the obelisk would often go insane and begin killing one another. After a failed attempt to blow the whistle and stop their actions, Altman would be approached by Dredger Corp.
Seems the higher-ups were Impressed with Altman’s ability to find their operation, and so they offered him a choice.Join them and help retrieve the Marker, or be killed. Either way, they wanted to ensure they kept their operation and the alien discovery silent. It’s easy to guess which one he chose.
Researching The Marker
DredgerCorp would later bring samples from the Marker forstudy at a secret underwater facilityin a joint effort with the EarthGov Military. A decision that would be viewed as a huge scandal after the nightmare that followed the obelisks unearthing. Though they still seem to be operating some 300 years later as their offices are seen in Dead Space 3.
Altman, along with his partner Ada, would begin their new research on this alien device. Over time it seemed that other members of the secret research team began to suffer from the same debilitating mental effects that had impacted the previous dive teams. Altman, however, seemed to be fine, albeit occasionally having visions of Ada’s mother, who would tell him secrets of the Marker. But in reality, this was just thefirst phase of the Marker life cycle, the manipulation of a host species.
The Rise Of A Prophet
Because of Altmans supposed immunity, those crew members that were heavily addled by the Marker’s effects began toworship him as a prophet of their new alien faith. Despite Altman’s protestations, the crew quickly began to split into two groups, the faithful and the unbelievers.
Tensions rose, violence erupted, and murders became commonplace. Seeing the horrible effects the Marker had on humans and assuming the EarthGov Military was going to use it as a weapon,Altman tried to blow the whistle on the operation once againby escaping the labs in secret and making an announcement in Washington DC. He would be recaptured again shortly afterward and returned to the research station.
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The Martyrdom Of Michael
By the time Altman returned to the facility, the place was in complete anarchy. Religious fervor had spread through the station culminating in a Necromorph outbreak after one fanatical scientistinjected himself with a Necromorphic tissue samplethat had been recovered from the sea bed with the Marker.
The sudden flood of an undead army within a confined space resulted in the complete destruction of the research facility and themassacre of all the staff members onboard. Altman would make a valiant escape, before returning to the original Chicxulub dig site where he managed to subdue the Marker.
His efforts were in vain though, as he would be captured, again, and then killed by Craig Markoff and Stevens, two high-ranking military men behind the research project. They watched asAltman was locked in a room with a Necromorphand subsequently torn to shreds. His captors sharing a glass of Champagne as they toasted their victory.
The Legacy Of Michael Altman
In the end, the death of Michael Altman was a plan enacted by the EarthGov military tocover up their attempts to weaponize the Markerseffects. As well as solidify the Unitologists under a Martyr figurehead.
This allowed them to be formed into a malleable, dogmatic structure over the next 300 years as the true events were warped and misled until they turned into something completely different. Now Unitologists believe their savior wasassassinated after his big proclamation at Washington DCand that the EarthGov should never be trusted.
Ironically, this also allowed the Church to be able to open its arms to anyone with a passing grudge against the government, allowing them to commithorrible terror attacks with ease and at short notice. Plus, over time the government’s own creation would be its downfall as theUnitologists would continually try to trigger Convergence. Eventually succeeding in Dead Space 3 as the Bretheren Moons are seemingly about to devour the Earth.
All of that carnage over the years, just because one man 300 years agotried to warn everyone.
