Altaz "The Apothecary" Zia is a Hungarian nova associated with the Teragen.
Biography[]
Zia was born in Budapest in 1963. A gifted bioengineering researcher, he worked for Horizon Pharmaceuticals, a corporation tied to the Triton Foundation. At the dawn of the Nova Age, Zia thought only about using novas as test subjects, but soon became fascinated by them for their own sake. In 2001, he had a sudden stroke of insight about Taint: it wasn't just an annoying side-effect of quantum powers, but the key to unlocking novas' full potential. With this realization, Zia himself erupted.
Initially, Zia kept his powers a secret, and embezzled money from Horizon to establish his own research facility in Heartland, Nebraska. He also stole research data directly from the Triton Foundation. Team Tomorrow eventually exposed Zia, resulting in Horizon losing its Triton contracts, but by that point Zia no longer had need for the company or for secrecy. He joined the Teragen and established the Harvesters, a faction of Terats rendered so inhuman by Taint that they have nowhere else to go.
Zia has undergone the Chrysalis, which is his current research focus. He hopes to make it an ongoing process, so that Terats no longer have to spend months or years in helpless dormancy in order to master their Taint.
References[]
- TU: Aberrant: Teragen, p. 60-63