Character Bio: The Variants

Our first Character Bio will focus not on a specific character, but an entire group that forms the basis for the fantasy elements of the story. This group is, of course, the variants.

The variants are a race of genetically-evolved humans born with all sorts of incredible abilities, not unlike the superheroes or super-humans you often see in today's media. Some of them can fly, some of them can move things around with their minds; it's the typical "person born with a superpower" type of deal. What makes them a little different, however, is how their abilities work. Often there's no attempt at explanation for how a character's gift actually functions, or how and why it's able to be so perfectly efficient all the time. People with abilities on TV or in the movies never seem to get tired from using their ability, nor do they ever really seem to have to expend much effort to use it. I never quite understood that. Where were they getting the energy to do these incredible things? How were they able to sustain them for so long?

With the variants, I wanted to shake up the archetype a bit. I wanted to put a more "realistic" spin on the concept of having a superpower. The variants have incredible abilities, yes, but their abilities take energy to use, just like any other activity. Flying makes them tired. Constantly moving things with their minds wears them out, just like constantly moving things with your arms would. Despite their gifts, they are biologically still human, and thus are limited in their power.

At the same time, the condition of genetic variance is incredibly rare in society, to the point where the variants' existence is not public knowledge at the onset of the book. They are myths, stories, and nothing more as far as the world knows. The only people aware of their existence is a small sect of the United States government, which will be covered in the next Character Bio focusing on the AVA.