Black Marker

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"I'm convinced we are puppets of some alien influence. I no longer believe we are in control of this project, or ever were. I believe even our rationalizations for this whole thing are an illusion, planted by the forces behind the original Marker, the Black one."

—Kinner Phelps on Project Telomere.^[1]

Black Markers are the source of every reverse-engineered Red Marker. Black Markers are thought to be sent out by the Brethren Moons and arrive on planets filled with life, providing the potential for sentient beings to evolve and, eventually, reach overpopulation and the level of intelligence required to replicate the Marker.^[2]^[3]^[4]

With the case of the Black Marker found on Earth, it is thought to have arrived in the asteroid that caused the massive extinction event 65 million years ago, wiping out the dinosaurs.

Overview[]

Influence and Replication[]

"A little trivia, Isaac, to put things in perspective. Fact: The original Marker, the Black Marker found on Earth, predates the rise of mankind. Are you listening to this? Fact: The Marker exerts a field of influence that guides and grows biological organisms, evolving them over time towards some greater purpose. Do you see where this is going?"

—Jacob Arthur Danik

0220 ui proj marker 1.tg4h — Earth's Black Marker being pulled to the surface above the Chicxulub crater in 2214.

As is believed by Unitologists and individuals affected by Marker Dementia, the Black Marker forces a specific species to evolve into sapient beings, for example the Tau Volantis aliens and humans on Earth, by influencing their DNA through the Marker signal.^[5] Once the beings are intelligent enough, the Black Marker makes its presence known and attempts to influence them into creating Red Markers, copies that function much like the original.

In the case of humans, they saw the Marker signal as a source of limitless energy and sought to replicate the artifact to harness its power, while others began to worship the Markers as a sign of God, founding the Unitology religion which believes that man was created by an alien influence and that, in the afterlife, they would reunite during Convergence.^[6]

Convergence[]

"They know us better than we could ever know ourselves because they shaped us. Our DNA is touched by the Black Marker and is our sacred inheritance!"

—Note found on the USG Ishimura's Medical Deck.^[5]

DS3 Aliens Watch Convergence Event — Tau Volantis' Black Marker initiating a Convergence Event.

When the time comes, the Black Marker or its copies begin to transform the dead into Necromorphs, increasing the dead and the creatures' numbers all while still influencing living beings to continue to create more Markers. Once there are enough Necromorphs and the conditions for a Convergence Event are met, the creatures gather around the Markers or the source Marker that caused the outbreak and await the activation of the event.

Convergence can be triggered either by the Black Marker or by one of the Red Markers, although the latter require their "makers" to be killed and their bodies to be absorbed as part of Convergence.^[7]^[8] Once a Convergence Event is completed, the newly-created Blood Moon connects to its brethren in a network spanning the universe and starts over the cycle of rebirth by presumably choosing a planet with organisms and launching a Black Marker toward it.