Stevens
Co-founder of the Church of Unitology
Stevens was a psychologist on the floating facility that held Michael Altman and the other Black Marker scientists in 2214. After the outbreak there, he and the military officer Craig Markoff murdered Altman and founded the Church of Unitology in his name.
Stevens was a psychologist attached to the floating compound where Michael Altman and a number of other scientists were held during the original recovery and study of the Black Marker in 2214. After the Necromorph outbreak that destroyed the facility, Stevens worked with the military officer Craig Markoff to murder Altman and use his death to found the Church of Unitology.
The Black Marker discovery#
Stevens supported Markoff at every step as DredgerCorp and the military excavated the Black Marker from the Chicxulub crater in the Yucatan Peninsula. He was stationed on the floating compound that held the scientists assigned to the artifact, among them the geophysicist Michael Altman. After the disastrous Necromorph outbreak that cost the facility, Stevens joined Markoff in capturing Altman, who had escaped and exposed the Marker's existence to the public. Presenting themselves as full believers in the Marker's supposedly benevolent intentions for humanity, the two reasoned that, since faith in the artifact's plan was a matter of the salvation of the whole human race, they needed a means of bringing the public to share that belief. They settled on killing Altman after his leak and turning him into a martyr.
Founding the Church of Unitology#
Despite the rest of the government's efforts to cover up the entire Black Marker affair, Stevens and Markoff carried out their plan. Having murdered Altman, they publicly posed as his acolytes and released only the information about the Marker that would win followers and spread their faith, which they named Unitology. After announcing Altman's death, Stevens was at one point interviewed about the new Church's philosophy and his feelings toward the man whose name it carried. A note transcribing that interview survived to be recovered long afterward.
Frequently asked questions
- Who was Stevens?
- Stevens was a psychologist stationed on the floating compound where Michael Altman and the other scientists were kept during the recovery and study of the Black Marker in 2214. He was one of the two founders of the Church of Unitology.
- What did Stevens do with the Black Marker project?
- Stevens supported the military officer Craig Markoff at every stage of the Black Marker's excavation from the Chicxulub crater. After the Necromorph outbreak that destroyed the facility, he and Markoff captured Michael Altman, who had leaked the artifact's existence, and conspired to kill him and turn him into a martyr.
- How did Stevens help found Unitology?
- Stevens and Markoff murdered Altman, then publicly posed as his acolytes and released only the information about the Marker that would attract believers. They called the resulting faith Unitology, and Stevens was later interviewed about the new Church's philosophy and his feelings about Altman.
Sources
- WikiStevens — Dead Space Wiki entry
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Related entries
Craig Markoff
Craig Markoff was a Sovereign Colonies military officer who led the extraction of the Black Marker in 2214. After the outbreak that sank the artifact, he and the psychologist Stevens murdered Michael Altman and used his name to found the Church of Unitology.
Michael Altman
Michael Altman was the geophysicist who in 2214 revealed the Black Marker to humanity as the first proof of alien life, and whose murder was twisted into the founding martyrdom of the Church of Unitology.
Church of Unitology
The Church of Unitology was the most influential religion in human space, born from the death of Michael Altman and built on the belief that the Markers promised rebirth and unity in death. Its faith in Convergence ultimately served the very forces that meant to consume humanity.
Black Marker
The Black Marker was the alien artifact discovered in the Chicxulub crater on Earth in 2214, believed to have guided human evolution and to have served as the template for every Red Marker copy that followed. Its public exposure by Michael Altman gave rise to the Church of Unitology.
Marker
Markers were enigmatic double-helix obelisks that broadcast a signal capable of reanimating the dead, driving the living to madness, and seeding their own replication. Their purpose was to spread the Necromorph infection across intelligent civilizations until a Convergence Event could form a Brethren Moon.
Necromorph
Necromorphs were aggressive creatures formed when the Markers' electromagnetic signal reshaped dead tissue into monstrous new forms. Driven to kill the living and gather corpses for Convergence, they were the recurring plague that destroyed the Aegis VII colony, the USG Ishimura, and Titan Station.
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Black Marker
The Black Marker was the alien artifact discovered in the Chicxulub crater on Earth in 2214, believed to have guided human evolution and to have served as the template for every Red Marker copy that followed. Its public exposure by Michael Altman gave rise to the Church of Unitology.
Church of Unitology
The Church of Unitology was the most influential religion in human space, born from the death of Michael Altman and built on the belief that the Markers promised rebirth and unity in death. Its faith in Convergence ultimately served the very forces that meant to consume humanity.
Craig Markoff
Craig Markoff was a Sovereign Colonies military officer who led the extraction of the Black Marker in 2214. After the outbreak that sank the artifact, he and the psychologist Stevens murdered Michael Altman and used his name to found the Church of Unitology.
Emmeline Ayuba
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Michael Altman was the geophysicist who in 2214 revealed the Black Marker to humanity as the first proof of alien life, and whose murder was twisted into the founding martyrdom of the Church of Unitology.
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