Character Bio: The AVA

The second entry in our Character Bio feature focuses again not on an individual character, but on a group of people that have tremendous influence on the structure and direction of the story. They are a major driving influence on the narrative that leads up to the events of the book, serving as an antagonistic presence in several characters' back stories, while also playing an integral role in what plays out on the pages themselves. This group is called the AVA.

The AVA, or Anti-Variant Agency, began as a government-mandated task force designed to investigate the existence of genetic variants in society. At the time, the idea of genetic evolution or mutation was seen as a serious threat, as research suggested that a human mind mutated to the point of true genetic variance would be incredibly unstable. Abilities and mental illness would go hand-in-hand, and the United States would have a serious problem in its midst...or at least that's what the geneticists believed. This theory was quickly debunked as the variant's existence was confirmed and several subjects were brought in under examination. At the same time, the AVA was promoted to a full-fledged government agency and tasked with a new challenge: regulating the variants and keeping their existence out of the eye of the public.

To accomplish this, and to extend it's influence, the AVA split into branches, the most notable of which was AVARAD: the Anti-Variant Agency's Research and Development wing. This particular branch grew into the militaristic arm of the AVA, tasked with policing the variants as well as developing tools and software aimed at keeping their existence a secret. While many variants felt oppressed by AVARAD, others joined the agency as civilian liaisons, hoping their contributions would show the government that the variants were of no threat to the country.

AVARAD was headed up by the next entry in our Character Bio feature: Director Harrison Bloom.