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"My friends, is this what you hoped for when you signed your lives away to the Church? Does this... carnage look like transcendence? I don't know what lies beyond death - not any more. But I do know our lives are more than just fuel for Convergence. If we work together, we can fight this evil. It's not too late. Please..."
—Kyne's speech to the surviving Unitologists on the Ishimura.[1]

Doctor Terrence Kyne was the Chief Science Officer of the USG Ishimura and a high ranking member of the Church of Unitology who was tasked with studying and bringing Marker 3A to the Church after its discovery on Aegis VII.

Biography[]

Little was known about Kyne's early life beyond his marriage to Amelia Kyne, who had died seven years prior to the Second Aegis VII Incident. After his wife's death, Kyne took solace in the teachings of Unitology and eventually became a devout and high ranking member of the Church. He became an expert on the Black Marker, which resulted in his selection by the Church to serve as the Chief Science Officer aboard the USG Ishimura and assist Captain Benjamin Mathius in the retrieval of Marker 3A from Aegis VII.

The Second Aegis VII Incident[]

"This Marker could herald the dawn of a new age, and I will do my part to see that age come to pass. Maybe this is fate. In the darkest time of my life, the Church and its teachings comforted me - saved me. And now I'm here, in the right place at the right time, to be of service to all humanity. To repay those blessings. Amelia. If only you could be here now."
—Kyne in his personal log.[2]

While Kyne was initially eager about his assignment and the chance it offered him to repay the Church for saving his life,[2] his enthusiasm turned to horror when he learned about the chaos that befell the colony upon the Marker's discovery. Kyne, in stark contrast to the other Unitologists aboard the Ishimura, sought to assist the colony with its problems by going so far as to openly question the validity of the Church. He suggested that the Marker should not be brought aboard the ship until its nature could be determined.[3]

CH04_Captain_Benjamin_Mathius_death_by_Terrence_Kyne_Videolog_DEADSPACE_2023

CH04 Captain Benjamin Mathius death by Terrence Kyne Videolog DEADSPACE 2023

Mathius' death by the hands of Dr. Kyne.

With the Necromorphs infesting the ship and the Communications Array sabotaged by Mathius, Kyne sought to bring the situation under control and he confronted the Captain. When Mathius revealed that their mission was still to bring the Marker to the Church, Kyne declared him unfit for duty and attempted to have the Captain arrested. With First Officer White and Second Officer Chic holding Mathius, Kyne proceeded to inject him with a sedative to ensure that the Captain could not hurt himself or others. Mathius, however, broke free of their grasp and lunged at Kyne, who pierced the Captain's ocular cavity with the needle, resulting in his death. White and Chic immediately sought to arrest Kyne, but he eluded capture, knowing what the Unitologists would do to him once they learned of the Captain's death.

In order to ensure that the Ishimura could not return to Earth with the Marker, Kyne went on to disable the ship's gravity centrifuge and fuel lines, before eventually losing all hope and retreating to a hideout on the Mining Deck. There, he was approached by Dr. Nicole Brennan, who sought to learn more about the Marker in the hopes of stopping the outbreak. While Kyne told her that the Marker's signal was indeed responsible for creating the Necromorphs and that Dr. Challus Mercer must have greater insight into how to stop it, he refused to give Nicole the codes to Mercer's room, fearing that the Unitologist doctor would kill her and that he would have yet another death on his conscience. However, Nicole managed to convince him to tell her the codes after revealing that, much like Kyne had loved his wife Amelia, she too loved her boyfriend, Isaac Clarke, and curing the outbreak was the only hope she had of ever reuniting with him.[4]

Succumbing to the Marker[]

"She was only a voice at first. But now she is my constant companion again. I had forgotten how much her presence soothes me. And as always, she sees to the heart of the problem. The Marker must be returned!"
—Kyne about the Marker's hallucination of Amelia.[5]
DSR Kyne Amelia Messages

Kyne's working space in his hideout. Note the messages to "Amelia".

After his encounter with Nicole, Kyne seemingly began to feel the presence of his dead wife Amelia, a hallucination induced by the Marker. While "Amelia" was only a voice in the doctor's head at first, Kyne soon entered a completely delusional state and began seeing and speaking to his deceased wife as if she were real.[5] "Amelia" convinced Kyne that his only option was to return the Marker to its pedestal on Aegis VII, telling him that it would return the Necromorphs' controlling Hive Mind to its slumber; in reality, the Marker's true intentions were to imprint its codes and blueprints in Kyne's mind, allowing it to be reproduced.[6] Spurred on by this, Kyne attempted to reach the Marker by holding a miner hostage and demanding that Supervisor Dallas give him the access codes to the cargo bay, but this was unsuccessful.[7]

DSR Valor Isaac and Kyne

Kyne contacts Isaac Clarke for the first time.

While Kyne was still trying to find a solution to this problem, a support team arrived at the Ishimura aboard the USG Kellion; among them was the engineer Isaac Clarke, who immediately attracted Kyne's attention (likely due to the Marker's apparition of Amelia, as graffiti could be found in the doctor's hideout, stating: "She's right! He can help us!"). After observing Isaac's progress through the ship and learning that he was attempting to repair the Executive Shuttle USG-09 with the singularity core from the USM Valor, Kyne contacted Isaac and implored him to help fix the shuttle and return the Marker. However, he was quickly cut off by Isaac, who ended the video call.

Kyne made his way to the Crew Deck, where he finally met Isaac in person. Kyne once again asked for assistance in returning the Marker, showing Isaac a video of the Hive Mind, and the engineer finally agreed to help him. Having Isaac transport the Marker to the hangar bay, Kyne piloted the shuttle to the bay and picked up Kendra Daniels along the way. After Isaac loaded the Marker onto the shuttle, Daniels told Kyne to open the hatch for him.

Death[]

DSR Kyne Death

Kyne dies after being shot by Kendra.

"But... Amelia-? No, Amelia, wait... We said we'd go together..."
—Kyne's last words.[8]

Isaac attempted to meet up with Kyne again, but before the two could get on the shuttle, Kyne was shot by Daniels, who escaped with the Marker and the ship. Falling to his knees, Kyne gasped out for Amelia to come back to him before collapsing and dying.[8]

Personality and Traits[]

"How painful to admit that the Marker's horrors still hold a fascination for me. Now I think I understand my predecessors, those who first studied the Black Marker, rather better. The road to hell begins with unprincipled curiosity."
—Kyne's toughts on the Marker and the Necromorph outbreak.[5]
DSR Kyne and Isaac

Kyne speaking to Isaac.

Respected as a man of conscience, Kyne balanced his role as a pragmatic scientist with his devout belief in Unitology. He found comfort in the religion after the darkest period in his life - the death of his wife Amelia - and had used his scientific knowledge to unravel some of Unitology's deeper mysteries.[2][9] He had devoted much of his career to studying the limited information available on the Black Marker found on Earth, using just two pages salvaged from Michael Altman's notebooks as the foundation for his theories and becoming the Church's leading expert on the Marker's workings.[10]

However, Kyne's strong moral compass led to a crisis of faith after the Ishimura arrived at Aegis VII and news of the Marker's devastating effects reached the crew. In contrast to fellow Unitologist doctor Challus Mercer, Kyne saw the madness and violence caused by the Marker as a sign that the religion's teachings were wrong, and he often clashed with Mercer and Captain Benjamin Mathius over what the crew should do with the artifact. Despite still finding the Marker scientifically fascinating, Kyne was completely convinced that it must not fall into the Church's hands, to the point that he was willing to doom the Ishimura to be stranded at Aegis VII by sabotaging the ship's engines.

DSR Kyne Shuttle

Kyne piloting the Executive Shuttle.

It is likely that Kyne's expertise on the Marker and his intelligence led to him becoming a target for the artifact, as it manipulated him in order to implant its replicating signal in his mind on Aegis VII. Despite his knowledge of the insanity caused by the Marker, Kyne's love for his deceased wife fueled his growing delusions and he eventually fell into a state of madness, becoming a puppet for the Marker's hallucinations of Amelia.

Trivia[]

  • Terrence Kyne was voiced by Keith Szarabajka in the original game and in the animated movie. In the 2023 remake, Kyne was played by Pej Vahdat.
  • During the Necromorph outbreak on the USG Ishimura, Kyne's character is seen as a polar opposite to that of Challus Mercer's. Kyne expressed guilt in the creation of Necromorphs and requested Isaac's help in attempting to stop the outbreak while Mercer aided the Necromorphs by attempting to kill Isaac and by creating the Hunter. Kyne also lost his faith in Unitology completely while Mercer's zealotry in the religion increased further. Ironically, however, Mercer was still able to point out that Kyne had fallen under the influence of the Marker, something Kyne was completely oblivious to.
  • In the original game, after Kyne is shot by Kendra, the player may see his RIG lifesigns go down; however, there is no flatline when he dies. This is rectified in the remake.

Gallery[]

Sources[]

"If you leave now, you condemn all humanity!"
—Kyne to Isaac Clarke.

Dr. Terrence Kyne was the Chief Science Officer of the USG Ishimura and a high ranking member of the Church of Unitology who was tasked with studying and bringing the Red Marker found on Aegis VII back to Earth.

Biography[]

Little was known about Kyne's early life beyond his marriage to Amelia Kyne, who had died some time prior to the Second Aegis VII Incident. After his wife's death, Kyne took solace in the teachings of Unitology and eventually became a devout and high ranking member of the Church. He became an expert on the Black Marker, which resulted in his selection by the Church to serve as the Chief Science Officer aboard the USG Ishimura and assist Captain Benjamin Mathius in the retrieval of Marker 3A from Aegis VII.

The Second Aegis VII Incident[]

"Captain, listen to me. We're not in control anymore. I'm not sure we ever were. The artifact, the mission; it's a trap, it has to be. We've brought something aboard that we didn't understand, something alien, and it's trying to kill us! We cannot bring the artifact to Earth!"
—Kyne trying to convince Mathius of the Marker's true nature.[1]

While Kyne was initially eager about his assignment, his enthusiasm turned to horror when he learned about the chaos that befell the colony upon the Marker's discovery. Kyne, in stark contrast to the other Unitologists aboard the Ishimura, sought to assist the colony with its problems by going so far as to openly question the validity of the Church. He suggested that the Marker should not be brought aboard the ship until its nature could be determined.

With the Necromorphs infesting the ship and the Communications Array sabotaged (most likely by Mathius), Kyne sought to bring the situation under control and he confronted the Captain. When Mathius revealed that he wished to bring the Marker back to Earth, Kyne declared him unfit for duty by maritime law 5469 and attempted to have the Captain arrested. With two crew members, Chic and White holding Mathius, Kyne proceeded to inject him with a sedative to ensure that the Captain could not hurt himself or others. While the details of Kyne's encounter with the Captain were disputed, they ultimately yielded to the same results: Kyne, either intentionally or by accident, pierced the Captain's ocular cavity with the needle, resulting in his death. The crew members that were present immediately sought to arrest Kyne, but he eluded capture.

Completely convinced that to ensure that the infection could not spread he would have to destroy the ship and the Marker with it, Kyne attempted to disable the guidance computers for the Ishimura, but failed to do so due to the intervention of Chief Alissa Vincent of P.C.S.I. Security. Still proceeding with his plan, he went on to disable the gravity centrifuge and fuel lines. He also damaged the propulsion and navigation systems of the Executive Shuttle and, presumably, destroyed its ShockPoint Drive in order to prevent anyone from escaping.

Succumbing to Dementia[]

"Amelia? No... No, no, NO, NO! The shuttle is mine. I control access to the shuttle! If it could make the journey... I could fix everything..."
—Kyne heard talking to a hallucination of Amelia.[2]

It was around this point that Kyne ceased his sabotage of the ship due to the intervention of his deceased wife Amelia, a hallucination induced by the Marker. Kyne, entering a delusional state and believing that he was really speaking to his wife, was convinced that the Necromorphs' controlling Hive Mind on Aegis VII could be contained if the Marker was brought back to it. Unfortunately, by disabling all of the shuttles on the ship, Kyne had made it impossible for him to return the Marker to the planet. He nevertheless attempted to reach the Marker by holding Jacob Temple hostage in the Mining Deck and demanding access codes to the Marker's cargo bay, but this was also unsuccessful.

Dead Space Kyne by AlsatianVDK

Dr. Kyne speaking to Isaac.

While Kyne was still trying to find a solution to this problem, a support team arrived at the Ishimura aboard the USG Kellion; among them was an engineer named Isaac Clarke, who immediately attracted Kyne's attention. After observing Isaac's progress through the ship and learning that he was attempting to repair the Executive Shuttle with the singularity core from the USM Valor, Kyne contacted Isaac and implored him to help fix the shuttle and return the Marker. Furthermore, Kyne asked Isaac to find the navigation cards that were needed for the shuttle by telling Isaac that he would not allow access to the shuttle until this was done.

Isaac complied with Kyne's wishes by proceeding to meet with him. Kyne told Isaac that it was he who had sabotaged the ship and showed Isaac a video of the Hive Mind. Having Isaac repair the shuttle, Kyne transported it to the cargo bay and prepared it for takeoff while Isaac loaded the Marker onto the shuttle. During these events, Kyne was heard several times speaking to the Marker's apparition of Amelia, muttering that soon they would "take it home" and "make [them] whole again".

Death[]

Kyne's death

Kyne dies after being shot by Kendra.

Completing this, Isaac attempted to meet up with Kyne again, but before the two could get on the shuttle, Kyne was shot in the chest by Kendra Daniels, who escaped with the Marker and the shuttle. Falling to his knees, Kyne reached his arms out and gasped out for Amelia to come back to him before collapsing and dying.

Trivia[]

  • Terrence Kyne was voiced by Keith Szarabajka in the original game and in the animated movie. In the 2023 remake, Kyne was played by Pej Vahdat.
    • In the Italian dub of the original game, he is voiced by a famous horror director named Dario Argento, known for his gore-laden horror films, many of which have helped establish the zombie genre. 
  • In Dead Space 2, Dr. Kyne is the narrator of "Previously on Dead Space", a video that recaps the events of the series so far.
  • During the Necromorph outbreak on the USG Ishimura, Kyne's character is seen as a polar opposite to that of Challus Mercer's. Kyne expressed guilt in the creation of Necromorphs and requested Isaac's help in attempting to stop the outbreak while Mercer aided the Necromorphs by attempting to kill Isaac and by creating the Hunter. Kyne also lost his faith in Unitology completely while Mercer's zealotry in the religion increased further. Ironically, however, Mercer was still able to point out that Kyne had fallen under the influence of the Marker, something Kyne was completely oblivious to.
  • In the original game, after Kyne is shot by Kendra, the player may see his RIG lifesigns go down; however, there is no flatline when he dies. This is rectified in the remake.

Gallery[]

Sources[]

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