- "We are not authorized to interface with military or civilian operations, except as they directly concern our priorities."
- —The Oracles[1]
The Oracles are an enigmatic organization who appear in Dead Space: Salvage and Dead Space 2: Severed.
Biography
Dead Space: Salvage
The Oracles were depicted as mysterious men dressed in white who made their first appearance in a meeting with David Chang. They inform him of their involvement in the retrieval of the Ishimura. One of the Oracles implies that the authority of their superiors goes well beyond that of most Earth Government authorities and that they aren't authorized to interact with either civilian or military operations unless the situations "directly concern our priorities". This suggests the Oracles are only brought out for operations of the highest importance.
Later, when Julia Copland betrays the Magpies to go contact EarthGov and arrange a kind of deal in exchange for the Red Marker shard she stole, the Oracles are brought in to interrogate her. After learning everything they can from her, one of the Oracles express their gratitude for Copland's aid - Copland asks for a reward, and the Oracle responds by merely holding her hand. A ring on the Oracle's hand glows with a blue light, and moments later, Copland falls to the ground, dead, bleeding from her nose. This is the first indication that the Oracles possess psychic powers of some kind, or that their 'rings' are some sort of weapons or tools which possess the capability to kill someone in such a way.
The Oracles eventually locate the Ishimura, presumably using Copland's information, and board the ship. They note that 'reanimation has already started', showing their familiarity with the Necromorph contagion. They begin searching the ship for some sign of the Marker, employing unusual laser weapons along the way, using them to dispatch several Necromorphs and even a miniature Hive Mind. Eventually, they find and confront Stefan Schneider. Schneider, fully aware they could stop him and take the Marker shards at any time, asks why they choose to chase him instead. The Oracles tell him they need to "know what you know; what you saw."
Schneider says that they could have just asked, and the Oracles say that "you don't possess the language to tell us." They also refer to the Necromorph outbreak as "an unfortunate side effect." After a brief struggle, Schneider manages to escape the Ishimura using the stealth ship the Oracles arrived in, leaving the two agents to be slaughtered by the Necromorphs.
Dead Space 2: Severed
During the outbreak on Titan Station, the Oracles arrive in search of Lexine Weller. The two men exhibit the same mannerisms and behaviors as their brethren in Salvage. They are described by Lexine to Gabe Weller as strange men "dressed in white". They presumably search the psych ward for Lexine's whereabouts for the duration of Gabe's journey through Titan Memorial Medical Center.
When Lexine is captured by Victor Bartlett, the colonel demands to know why they're following him. He tries to tell them to follow the orders given by Hans Tiedemann to eliminate the "key subjects". Their answer, however, suggests that they are following orders opposite of Bartlett and use finger rings with apparant stasis abilities to subdue Bartlett. They capture Lexine and take her to the hospital shuttle bay. There, they are killed by two Infectors who transform their bodies into Twitchers[2].
Trivia
- One of the Oracles from Dead Space: Salvage has a nearly identical face to that of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a retired KGB colonel.
- The Oracle Twitchers seem rather different from regular Marine and Titan Security Twitchers, as they still possesses the original hosts's arms with their human arms clasped to their chests, sprouting new ones from their shoulders instead. This trait is seen again in Dead Space 3-era Twitchers.
- It is possible that the Oracles may be a branch of Unitologists, as they refer to the necromorphs as "servants" in Dead Space 2: Severed.
- It is written in the comic that the Oracles "are designed for exactly the eventuality that's now occuring in the Dead Space universe". This implies that EarthGov dispatched the Oracles to research and assess the threat of the Necromorphs.
- According to the Dead Space: Salvage comic, Oracles are rare and highly prized, implying there is a special criteria by which a person must fill qualify as an Oracle
- According to the Dead Space: Salvage comic, Oracles have extensive levels of free reign in their activities due to the paramount significance of their secrecy and their mission. To that end, they are given licenses to kill anyone that they deem to be a threat to security, their mission, or Earth Government integrity.
Gallery
Sources