The Dead Space Universe
Delve into the history of Dead Space™'s sci-fi universe, meet the characters, and learn more about the USG Ishimura.
Before The Game Begins
From the Resource Wars to a Reborn Earth
In the 23rd century, humanity turned to the stars to escape environmental collapse, political unrest, and the deprivations of a resource-starved Earth. Bold pioneers and wealthy corporations began to rapidly expand into space, founding colonies on new worlds.
But space exploration did not provide a reprieve. By the early 2440s, Earth and its colonies were consuming resources faster than they could be mined. Bloody interstellar conflicts known as the Resource Wars had erupted over the remaining scraps, bringing the threat of extinction even closer.
Earth’s largest energy corporation, the Concordance Extraction Corporation (CEC), developed a new kind of starship: a “planet cracker” capable of ripping apart entire worlds, equipped with a shockpoint drive that made faster-than-light travel almost trivial. This ship, the USG Ishimura, was able to mine whole planets so effectively that the Resource Wars soon came to an end.
In time an entire fleet of CEC planet crackers, run by hardened interstellar mining crews, was providing a steady supply of resources back to Earth. Humanity began to thrive amongst the stars, along with new and influential factions like the Church of Unitology.
It is now 2508. After operating for over sixty years, the USG Ishimura is undergoing its final mission, mining a remote but mineral-rich planet called Aegis VII that has been strangely untouched for over a century.
CONCORDANCE EXTRACTION CORPORATION (CEC)
“Powering Humanity Into the Future.”
Headquartered on Earth, the Concordance Extraction Corporation (CEC) is a market leader in deep space mining and one of the largest corporations in known space. CEC has pioneered many mining and extraction techniques, but the company’s most notable achievement is the development of “planet cracker” starships, capable of ripping apart entire worlds and harvesting their raw materials.
Though planet cracking is controversial – a deadly accident known as the Wanat Disaster cost CEC at least one of their prized ships – it also saved humanity. Earth and its colonies have been mined so dry that a series of bloody, desperate conflicts erupted over the remaining resources, known as the Resource Wars. However, the USG Ishimura and the rest of CEC’s fleet provided enough raw materials to pull humanity back from the brink, and the Resource Wars have now subsided.
CEC’s mining operations continue to fuel humanity’s expansion today. There are persistent rumors that CEC engages in illegal mining of restricted worlds, but the company’s influence and deep pockets have kept most of its critics quiet.
“EarthGov: Good Things Are Happening!”
The Earth Government Colonial Alliance (EarthGov) is the governing body of Earth and its colonies. Early in humanity’s off-world expansion, colonial administration was handled by a body known as the Sovereign Colonies, but the pressures of the Resource Wars and a powerful secessionist faction eventually saw the collapse of the Sovereign Colonies and the founding of an Earth-centric government in its place in 2314.
In addition to its administrative, policing, and trade oversight, EarthGov’s military arm, the Earth Defense Force (EDF), is responsible for defense and traffic control operations. EDF Navy destroyers defend key EarthGov locations and patrol outlying systems; its marines are known to be ruthless in their handling of pirates and other rogue elements.
EarthGov is often accused of conducting espionage or secret experiments. True, EarthGov controls many uncharted or restricted worlds, some with research facilities that have been off-limits since the time of the Sovereign Colonies, but the full truth might never be known.
“Altman Be Praised.”
Founded in 2215 by the prophet Michael Altman, the Church of Unitology is a religious organization with believers across known space. The Church has amassed incredible wealth and political power, and Unitology is the mainstream religion on many colonies.
According to the Church, Unitology was inspired by the discovery of the ‘Black Marker’, a mysterious alien object found in the Chicxulub crater on Earth. Though this Black Marker’s existence was allegedly covered up by EarthGov, Unitologists claim the Black Marker contains the secrets of human evolution and eternal life. Fragments of knowledge recovered from studying the Marker now form the basis of Unitology’s teachings: death is only a beginning, and that, with the Black Marker’s knowledge, the dead and the living can be reunited, allowing humanity to ascend to divinity.
Though many find comfort in Unitology, critics say that the Church is closer to a ruthless cult, unafraid to use force to protect its secrets. Believers are expected to donate not only their wealth and possessions, but even their bodies after death; acolytes who step out of line or who question Unitology’s teachings are forced to undergo psychologically-damaging “soul cleansing”. Some even claim that the Church has amassed a gigantic deep-space fleet, where the corpses of the faithful are kept in stasis for some unknown future purpose.
Characters
Learn more about some of the crew aboard both the USG Kellion and ill-fated USG Ishimura.
ISAAC CLARKE
Ship Systems Engineer, CEC
NICOLE BRENNAN
Senior Medical Officer, USG Ishimura
ZACH HAMMOND
Chief Security Officer, CEC
AIDEN CHEN
Security Personnel / Pilot, CEC
HAILEY JOHNSTON
Security Personnel / 2IC, CEC
KENDRA DANIELS
Computer Analyst, CEC (Contractor)
TERRENCE KYNE
Chief Science Officer, USG Ishimura
CAPTAIN MATHIUS
Captain, USG Ishimura
CHALLUS MERCER
2nd Science Officer, USG Ishimura
ISAAC CLARKE
Isaac is an experienced engineer who specializes in repairing starships and industrial systems. Liked and trusted by his colleagues, Isaac has a reputation for unconventional but clever engineering solutions. A repair mission to the USG Ishimura offers Isaac a chance to reunite with his girlfriend Nicole, who is serving on board.
NICOLE BRENNAN
Dr. Nicole Brennan is an accomplished doctor with a degree in neuropsychiatry. After encouragement from Isaac, Nicole joined the USG Ishimura’s medical team six months ago. Though she is compassionate and fiercely protective of her patients, Nicole has clashed with the Unitologists on board the Ishimura, knowing from grim experience how dangerous the Church’s beliefs can be.
ZACH HAMMOND
Professional and by-the-book, Hammond leads the repair team bound for the USG Ishimura. Some dismiss him as a company man and a stickler for protocol, but anyone who’s served with Hammond knows that his first concern is always the people under his command.
AIDEN CHEN
A trusted member of Hammond’s security team, Chen is also an experienced pilot responsible for transporting the repair crew to the USG Ishimura. Chen’s calm and cheerful demeanor belies his skill and professionalism as a security officer.
HAILEY JOHNSTON
Johnston has served with Hammond for years, specializing in heavy weapons and riot control. Given the remote location of the USG Ishimura, Johnston’s main responsibility is defending the team in case of pirate activity en route.
KENDRA DANIELS
Kendra is an expert in diagnosing and hacking computer systems, assigned to assist in repairing the USG Ishimura. Though Kendra has done contract work for CEC in the past, this is her first mission with Isaac and Hammond’s team. She’s never got over her disdain for CEC’s corporate culture, and prefers to operate on her own terms.
TERRENCE KYNE
Respected as a man of conscience, Dr. Kyne balances his role as a pragmatic scientist with his devout belief in Unitology. He found comfort in the religion after the death of his wife Amelia, and has used his scientific knowledge to unravel some of Unitology’s deeper mysteries.
CAPTAIN MATHIUS
Captain Benjamin Mathius is overseeing the USG Ishimura’s final planet crack at Aegis VII. A practical man with no patience for fools, Mathius is also a fervent Unitologist, who holds his duty to the Church equal to his responsibilities as the Ishimura’s captain.
CHALLUS MERCER
A charming Unitologist with many talents, Dr. Mercer assists in both the Ishimura’s science and medical labs. Dr. Mercer’s unconventional “treatments” and his handling of patients have led to clashes with Nicole Brennan. However, Mercer knows that greatness can never be achieved by conventional means.
THE USG ISHIMURA
Length: 1.6 km
Launched: March 07, 2446
Commissioned: June 09, 2446
Flagship of the CEC fleet, the USG Ishimura is the first planet cracker-class vessel, designed to tear entire worlds apart with powerful gravity tethers, mine the resulting asteroids, and process the ore onboard. It is named after astrophysicist Hideki Ishimura, inventor of the shockpoint drive that allows faster-than-light travel, and one of the first capital starships to be outfitted with the drive. The ship is considered one of humanity’s greatest achievements: without the resources gathered by the Ishimura, Earth and its colonies would still be embroiled in the Resource Wars.
The Ishimura has been in continuous service since it was commissioned, completing 34 planet cracks and mining 14 trillion kilotons of product over 62 years of operation. Equipped for long-term, deep space operations, in addition to its mining decks the Ishimura has a full hydroponics suite, medical labs, and health and leisure facilities to accommodate a crew of over one thousand people.
Despite its faithful service, the Ishimura is growing obsolete; CEC is planning to decommission the planet cracker in 2509. Meanwhile, the Ishimura has been sent on a final mission to mine the remote world Aegis VII.
Weapons
Check out the repurposed (and upgradeable) tools you'll need to stand a chance against the Necromorphs.
Humanity Ends Here
Prepare to uncover the mystery aboard the USG Ishimura starting January 27, 2023.
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