A biotic is not born. They are created.


My first memory will always be of my creator. The middle aged biotic with the kind blue eyes.



They are assembled with precision by other biotics. They are the canvases and their creators are the artists.


I remember my motherboard, the closest thing I will ever have to a mother. I remember her genuine smile and her silky, brown hair.


Memories are the only things that a biotic can call their own.


I remember seeing my two best friends for the first time.


They have no family, no siblings, and therefore, can not have biotic children of their own.


There was Drew and there was Emery. Drew was like a brother to me, keeping me out of trouble and taking care of me when our motherboard was not around. Emery was my best friend, a girl who was always there and could keep secrets of any kind.


But that was what made them strong, that is what made them biotic. Man and machine brought together to create one perfect being, a being that eliminated the worst in both creatures.


It was dangerous, though, sharing my feelings for others. I could not be strong if I showed I cared. I could not fight side by side with them if I was capable of crying when they would fall.


With each biotic created, their creators would learn from their mistakes. Eliminate those feelings. Destroy the emotion. Create a creature that can not be defeated.


But humans feel and I am half human, am I not? They can’t eliminate what makes us so unique, what makes us so strong.


Robots were too cold, too risky. Humans were too emotional, too impulsive.


I am human because I laugh. I laughed when I was with my friends… my colleagues, I mean, when Drew fell into the pool. I laughed when he pulled Emery in too.


On the table was a small, metallic torso, attached to it were two metallic legs and two metallic arms. The small head sat in the blue-eyed biotic’s hands, the newest update on biotic engineering already implanted inside the soft tissues of this biotic’s brain.


I am human because I love. I loved when I kissed Drew for the first time on the rooftop of our barracks. He kissed me and I didn’t know what to do, so I kissed back.


“This will surely bring a new kind of biotic to this era.” said the biotic as he looked at the childlike head in his hands.

“Are you sure this is the right thing to do?” asked the female biotic on the other side of the table. “We are the only team attempting this experiment.”


I am human because I feel joy. I aced the exam and I would be sent out to the Dead Zone on my first assignment as a biotic officer. I would be training with the best.


“Yes, I know, but this will be the first step in helping us win the war. The biotics after her will surely be stronger, she will be stronger.” and the biotic placed the head on the table and pushed a few buttons on his arm piece, commanding the robotic limbs to begin assembly.


I am human because I feel sorrow. Leaving for the Dead Zone meant leaving my friends behind, meant leaving Emery behind. We were supposed to sign up for the Centuria army together. We were supposed to fight side by side against the Balkans…


“If she does not work out,” began the third biotic, a much older one. “Then we will shut her down immediately.” For her entire life, they would watch her, always, always watch her.


I am human because I feel pride. I am the best in my class at the training camp in the Dead Zone. I have successfully defeated even my mentor in a one on one sparring session.


The head is placed on the body by one robotic arm and attached with another that has a blue laser burning bright. The female biotic watches the screen next to her as the brain of the biotic immediately comes to life.


I am human because I feel lonely. I am the best and because of that, the others hate me. I message and message Emery and Drew, but they never message me back. I still remember our final goodbyes, though. Emery’s a meaningful speech and a comforting hug and Drew’s a quick kiss on the mouth that left my cheeks burning… Have they already forgotten me?


The blue-eyed biotic watches his arm piece as the heart of the young biotic on the table pulsates to life. It becomes stronger and stronger with every second that passes by.

“The brain seems to be functioning perfectly with the heart.” she says, eyes still on the two images of the little one’s brain.

“Yes, the heart is very strong.” the blue-eyed biotic then looks inside her open chest to see that everything is in place, that everything is working accordingly. Her organs all came to life. It seemed like her metallic organs were agreeing well with her organic brain.


I am human because curiosity made me follow the biotic down into the canyons. He was tall, dark haired, and muscular. He was covered with scars which was unusual for a biotic. He wore something metallic over his chest and something else on his arm. It looked like an arm piece, but it was much more bulky than mine.


“She seems ready to be sealed.” said the older biotic from the end of the table.

“Yes,” agreed the female. “Shall we seal her up, sir?”

The biotic nodded and typed in “chest piece” to his arm piece. The robotic arms immediately brought them over and sealed them on. A biotic never required this much metal.


I am human because I feel pain. I slid off a small cliff because of some loose rocks and twisted my ankle and skinned my knee. I bled, but only for a minute. And the pain in my ankle disappeared as I stood when the biotic came back around. He had heard me, but there had been no sign of my fall once he had returned.


“The skin is growing. Her regeneration seems to be working well so far,” said the female as the skin covered the top of the head and the face of the youngling. “The eyelids and lips are forming perfectly on its metallic base.”

“Even the ears.” said the older one.

“Yes, it seems to be working, but we should test it first,” the blue-eyed biotic grabbed a scalpel from the tray next to him and cut a small incision on her cheek. It closed up immediately, not even leaving a scar. “Finally, we’ve found a way to get rid of blemishes.”

“And a way to hide what’s truly underneath.” added the older one.


I am human because I feel surprised. The biotic is human. He is not half. He is fully human. He was born and his parents were born and his parents’ parents were born. His parents are French, descendants of the human people that use to live here. He is French too, but he can’t speak. He speaks to me and others through a computer. That was the thing on his chest.


The pale skin covers every inch of the child’s body, all the way down to her toes. Nails pop through the skin, a belly button forms, eyelashes sprout, and eyebrows appear. There is absolutely no other form of body hair on her, nor any kind of blemish on the skin. Her skin is as smooth as a stone. Her entire body is one color of light apricot.


I am human because I feel confusion when the human tells me that I am not human. That I am nothing but a hunk of metal. He tells me no biotic in the last twenty years has been “half human”. He says no biotic is human. If you are not flesh on flesh, you are a robot. No matter how many times I tell him he is wrong, he tells me different. He tells me that I wouldn’t know. That no biotic knows what they really are. He says that he’s not wrong. He says I am.


“What color hair shall we give her, sir?” asks the woman as she pulls up all the different hair colors in the system.

“Hmm,” begins the blue-eyed man. “Why not blonde,” he said, thinking of his Cecile back home. “Curly blonde. Ringlets, to be exact.”


I am human because I feel anger. The human doesn’t know what it’s like to be biotic. He is not biotic so how would he know? He says he is older than me. He says he has seen more than me. He says everything they have told me is wrong, that they fill my brain with nothing but lies. I yell at him. I tell him he is wrong. I tell him he is stupid, that people like him, the ones who refused biotic engineering, were the ones who killed their species. Humans wouldn’t have survived without the help of a robotic half. When the Balkans came, they would have died, they would have been taken control of, they would have lost everything.

He tells me that the Dead Zone was our fault. He tells me the Balkan War was our fault. He tells me millions of innocent died and they weren’t just biotic.

He tells me the Balkans were scared, that just like the humans, they were a dying race.


And just as she typed in the code for curly blonde, the young biotic’s hair began to sprout from her head. It flowed out all around her, curling just like long ringlets. The blue-eyed biotic smiled and picked up a strand of her hair, rubbing in between his thumb and his index finger.

“She’s going to be a pretty one.” he says, looking over the child fondly.


I am human because I feel fear. Another biotic, a guard that surrounds the town, has caught me after curfew. He points a gun at me, demanding that I freeze. He asks me my rank he asks me my name he asks me my commanding officer and I feel afraid of what my mentor might think. I step closer with my hands up and do the first thing I think to do. I kick the gun from his hand and swing for his face but he dodges and I swing again this time my fist colliding with his skin he swings and hits me in the stomach my heart is beating so fast and adrenaline seems to make me act on instinct I can not get caught so I fight him harder than I have ever fought before. Everything happens so quick that I can barely remember what has happened until I see what I have done to this biotic. He is on the floor defeated, knocked unconscious, but he has no face. His face is gone it is nothing but wiring and metal and lights and chips and I step away, thinking of what the human has said. What if I am robotic? What if I am nothing, but a robot who thinks it is human? Robots didn’t exist just like humans didn’t exist. Were the creators bringing robots back or were they just turning us into them? I feel scared I run my heart beats fast and a million thoughts race through my head. I want to scream I want to cry I want to return back to Centuria but I can’t because I can’t leave I have a job here I have a life here.

I stop running and think. I clear my head of crazy thoughts and try to compose myself.

I need to return to my barracks before another guard spots me.

As I do, though, I wonder if any other biotics here are just as the other one. I wonder if my mentor is like this, if my fellow biotics are like this. Emery’s words run through my head again: Biotics don’t return from the Dead Zone and nobody knows why.

In fact, nobody knew much about the Dead Zone. Nobody knows that this much life, Balkan, biotic, and human, live here like this. There’s so much the world doesn’t know…

Is this why they don’t return home?


“And what color eyes shall she have?” the female biotic asks the blue-eyed biotic now. The male biotic thinks it over, but can’t decide. He thinks brown, but then thinks green. He also believes her to be pretty with hazel eyes.

“Next thing to eliminate from our genes is our indecisiveness,” he says sarcastically, though he actually might contemplate doing so. “I haven’t a clue on which eyes to give her.”

“Why not blue like yours, sir?” the female suggests.

The blue-eyed biotic nods and says, “Sure, blue eyes will suit her.”

The female then types in the code for blue eyes and the robotic arm swings over. The female then holds open the eyelids to revel clear irises. The robot arm scans both eyes with a light blue laser.


I am human because I feel a longing deep within me as the human guides me through an ancient cave with our hands intertwined. As we go deeper and deeper, glowing fungus begins to light our way and eventually the human leaves the lantern behind.

We enter a giant room in the cave that is filled with water. The pool glows brightly from the fungus as does the roof of the cave. I feel so much joy that I feel my heart might burst. The human never lets go of my hand. He just stands next to me as I take in the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

He does not have his computer on so he can’t speak to me, but I feel like we can understand each other on a deeper level than ever before. We have gotten closer, I have to admit, and humans and biotics are not very different. He tells me the stories of what it use to be like, stories that he says were passed down from generation to generation. He tells me how we use to coexist, how getting a biotic upgrade was just a really expensive choice. I laughed at that.

Now, he bends down and pulls me down with him. He touches a glowing mushroom and shows me his fingers after doing so. It’s glowing and I smile. He motions for me to do the same thing and I do. My fingers glow as well and childishly, I wipe them on his cheek. He tries to dodge, but I get him before he can move completely out of the way.

He smiles and touches the mushroom again, and this time, getting it all over his hand. I stand up and tell him to stop, but my laughing seems to urge him on. I try to turn and run when he gets closer and that’s when I realize our hands are still intertwined. I tug on his hand, but he won’t let go, and that’s when he gets me on the face and on the neck and on the arm.

With my hand still glowing, I get him on the face again and on the shirt and on the arm and on the forehead.

He pushes me up against the wall of the cave and holds me there as we both laugh. There is a mushroom right where my hand rests and I rub my hand all over it, but the human, with his other clean hand wipes away at the glowing stains on my cheeks. His smile fades and is replaced with a look of passion, a look of longing. His eyes are brown orbs of desire. I’ve seen him look at me like this before, but only once, only once has he shown his true feelings for me.

I wipe some blue glow away from his cheek, but accidently get some more on him. He smiles a small half smile as he leans in.

My heart was pounding, my breath caught in my throat, and every muscle in my body froze as he came closer to my lips. I closed my eyes, remembering the kiss I shared with Drew. That felt like such a long time ago…

Our lips touched and an electric shock filled my entire body. His kiss felt like nothing I have ever felt before. It was a new experience, a new feeling, something I hadn’t felt when I was with Drew. I wondered if this was what love felt like.

Suddenly, I wanted the human more than anything else in the world. I kissed him back harder and he only replied with the same desire. His kisses were hot and passionate, causing the butterflies in my stomach to fly throughout my entire body. This felt so right, more right than what I had felt when I had kissed Drew.

The human held me tight and my arms wrapped around his neck as the kisses became deeper. Everything just felt so natural with him.

And then suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. I pulled away from the human and began gasping for air, choking on the too humid air around me. The human looked at me frantically and helped me to the floor. Stupid biotic lungs. You give us the ability to heal quickly, you give us super strength, super speed, enhanced intelligence, and a high immunity to disease, but our lungs have seemed to get worse with every upgrade you’ve given us throughout or race. You’ve gotten rid of cancer, but you can’t seem to make our lungs work in humid environments?


“Everything seems to be perfect,” said the older biotic after five minutes of observation. “She is working completely fine. Her heart has not skipped, her brain is not rejecting the mechanical organs, and she’s even began breathing on her own.”

“I think it’s safe to say that this experiment is a success,” said the blue-eyed biotic. He looked at the female biotic now and said, “Mark her as number 0001 of the emotionless branch. And make sure she is observed at all times.”

“Yes, sir, and what should we call her exactly?”

The biotic looked down at her and observed her features. He thought of what she would be for the future of their species. The very first biotic with less emotion than the rest. He thought of his love Cecile and thought of the list of baby names she had made just last night if she could have a child. He remembered his very favorite.

“Ava. Name her Ava.”

“And what about her last name?”

“Hansen. She can take my name.”

“Alright, then. Biotic 0001 of the emotionless branch, Ava Hansen,” and the woman pushed the animate button on her arm piece.


I felt all these emotions and experienced them in my everyday life. But as they took away the human and his family, I could not speak. I could not fight. I felt… helpless then. If I wasn’t afraid or confused maybe I would have fought against the guards that were hauling him from his bunker.

But because of sorrow and love and longing, I had called out his name. Those feelings were stronger than the feelings of fear and confusion. Those feelings were always triumphant inside of me.

Nathan, Nathan, I had yelled as I pushed my way through the crowd of human, biotic, and Balkan.

He looked back and tried to stop, but the guards pushed him, forced him to keeping moving. He was able to mouth one thing to me, though, before he had to turn away and continue up the ramp of the shuttle.

I love you, was what he said and I nodded, and with my eyes, I promised I would find him one day again, that I would find a way to escape this place and rescue him and his family and bring them back to some unknown place in the Dead Zone.

I would make it up to him. I would make it up to them. This was all my fault. I should have been more careful.

Nathan and his family were ushered up into the shuttle and I never saw them again.

But as the days passed, I knew there was only one thing I could do. I needed to join the rebellion and I needed to find the leader. He was Nathan’s uncle so how hard could it be?

It didn’t matter how hard it would be. All that mattered was that I needed to save Nathan and his family. The time for rebellion was now.


The blue-eyed man watched with a smile on his face as biotic 0001’s eyes opened with a start.

“Hello and welcome” he began in a kind voice. “Your name is Ava Hansen and you’re the first of your kind.”

The young biotic looked at each and every biotic in the room. She returned her gaze to her creator, though.


I realized I wasn’t human at all because despite the sorrow, pain, and longing that ached in my chest, I never cried once after Nathan was gone. I realized that I couldn’t cry because Nathan was right. He told me three emotions that a robot didn’t have.

They could not love, they could not laugh, and they could not cry.

All this time, I believed I was human and I was wrong…


“You’re going to change a nation.” said the blue-eyed man to the young biotic on the table.

And he was not wrong.