Zeka



Zeka, from the Russian word for "prisoner", is the name of a Promethean Lineage; they are also known as the Children of the Atom. The youngest Lineage, the Zeka are the legendary "Nuclear Prometheans" that haunt the legends and stories of the Created. Extremely rare, Zeky struggle with the very nature of their existance, and if they can even succeed in the Great Work like their non-radioactive cousins.

Zeky may take any element at their creation and the associated humour; however, that element has a radioactive taint that affects its interaction with other things, most notably in the effects of a Zeka's Disquiet and Wasteland.

Origins
The Progenitor of the Zeka is a complete mystery; there are no less than five demiurges who have created Zeky independantly of each other over the last sixty years. The most famous of these creations and the one that lent its name to the Lineage is Tsar Bomba from Siberia, as he was made from the bodies of zeka, or convicts who worked in a nuclear gulag.

Creation
In order to create a Zeka, radiation and lots of it must naturally be involved. The potential body or bodies of Zeky must have died of radiation poisoning; more radiation is then used to awaken the Azoth in the body. The methods for awakening a Child of the Atom are varied, from placing the body at ground zero of an atomic bomb to using long-term exposure at the site of nuclear disasters like Chernobyl.

Refinements
Zeky exist in constant agony, usually alone and unable or unwilling to make contact with the humans and Prometheans around them. In addition, not one Zeka has ever achieved their New Dawn. As a result, the majority of Zeka are Centimani; seeing themselves as incapable of humanity, they reject it utterly. The rare few who take a less hazardous path tend towards Cuprum, reflecting their solitary existances, or Stannum, reflecting their constant Torment. Rarest of all is a Zeka who will follow Aurum, as it seems to go against everything in their natures.

Because of their composition, the Zeka are the only Prometheans who have access to the Irradiation Transmutation. It replaces one of standard Transmutations on any Refinement, unless the Zeka is a Centimani. If that is the case, a Zeka can take Irradiation alongside the Pandoran Transmutations avaliable.

Traits
Zeky are usually content to be alone, away from the society of humanity and the Created. They tend to become obsessed with certain ideas and notions that may benefit themselves but no one around them, such as ending their own suffering, even if it means destroying others, or of using their powers to expand their territory with no regard for the environment or humans around them.

Most Zeky also suffer from constant pain or discomfort in some form. Headaches, lesions, or sores that constantly itch or bleed are some of the more benign forms of pain that the Zeky feel in their existance.

Unlike the other Prometheans, Zeky cannot use electricity to heal themselves or regain Pyros. Instead, they must use radiation. The radiation does not have to be at harmful levels, however, and can come from any source, from a microwave to a radio tower to a nuclear reactor. Generally, the more powerful the source, the more they will be healed or the faster they will regain Pyros. Zeky cannot, however, reap any benefits from the radiation effects of their Wasteland.

Disfigurements
The Zeka suffer from Disfigurements in both their mortal forms and their true forms. When appearing as a human, a Zeka will have a sign of radiation exposure clearly visible on their person; it may take the form of tumors, melanoma, a lack of hair, or a pattern of burns. Zeky always appear strange and unsettling to humans, and it is one of the major reasons they usually hide away from society.

The effect is only compounded in their actual Promethean Disfigurements. Most Zeka show the horrific effects of long-term radiation exposure through their skin, from massive burns, sores, or tumors to having none at all.