A

Alpha - Name given to some decendants of people affected by Bacteria Z, deposited after the meteor strike which devastated four areas of the planet. Despite the fact Alphas are born to family lines entire generations can be skipped before an Alpha is born and its does not necessarily follow that parents have to be Alphas, only that their family lineage indicates their ancestors were close to the impact zones.

All Alpha humans can be identified by diamond shaped blotchy markings on their backs located between the shoulder blades often assumed to be "ordinary" birthmarks. Siginificantly all Alphas are immune to the disease and ailments that trouble ordinary humans.

Alpha Inferior - All Alphas born are genetically classed as "Inferiors" and apart from the immunity they lack any other special properties. They are to many considered "normal" and some Apha Inferiors can go through their entire lives unaware that they are different to other people.
Alpha Superior - In rare circumstances (greater than 1 in 1000) an Alpha Inferior may go through a "change" (see below) after which they gain abilities or properties that makes them super human. Since such people are noticeably different in either their looks or actions it has slipped into common usage to interchange the terms "Alpha" and "Alpha Superior" whilst "Alpha Inferior" is disregarded altogether as the general public accepts them as normal people.

Alpha Transition - The term describes the process in which Alphas change "status" from Alpha Inferior to Alpha Superior. Despite much investigation whatever initialises the process is unknown and the general concensus in the science community is that the event which starts the transition is completely random in terms of emotional trigger, age related triggers. Theoretically any Alpha Inferior can go through the transition at any age although the youngest known Alpha recroded to go through the process was sixteen.

When the transition starts the individual will suddenly develop a skin irritation all over their body, sometimes accompanied by a rash but not always. At the same time the person will develop a sensitiity to bright light. For most Alpha Inferiors the unexpected "illness" is often quite a shock since they would never have experienced anything like it before. The itchyness and light sensitivity will then remain for a few weeks and then dissipate at which point the individual often assumes they have returned to normal. The person though will in fact be an Alpha Superior but their "special" gifts will not be active until they are triggered for the first time by an outside stimulus (see below.)

Alpha Trigger/Activation - To complete the transition from Alpha to Alpha Superior as soon as the skin irritation skin and light sensitivity cease an external stimulus is needed to activate a "new" Alpha Superior's abilities for the first time. Corelated data from studies of Alphas has revealed a common pattern which is usually and intense negative emotional responce coupled with a sudden adrenalin rush. The best example of this is a "near death experience" which combines fear/panic with the adrenalin rush but other combinations are known such as completely losing ones temper and "exploding".

Once the trigger is initiated the Alpha Superior will then inadvertantly use their Alpja ability for the first time. Since each person is different and the Alpha ability is not known (except in rare cases) the unexpected result of doing this can be highly dangerous for the individual and/or bystanders depending on the nature of the Alpha ability.

After this trigger event is over the Alpha Superior will then be able to access their Alpha ability simply by thinking about using their newly acquired "ability" and no emotional responce is required.

Alpha Abilties - blanket term used to describe an Alpha (Superior)'s super human properties/capabilties. Normally the Alpha ability a person acquires is completely random even if other generations of Alpha Superiors have been known in the family. The only exception to the rule is same generation Alphas who are siblings and they will often inherit similar abilities whilst twins often acquire the same ability.

In most cases an Alpha ability is used via conscious thought which is used to "turn it on and off". Some Alphas can do this as an almost instincive responce. The one major problem all Alpha Superior's face is the fact they cannot use their "gifts" permanently because when they are active they cause a drain on the human body's energy resources. Essentially this means once they get tired they can no longer use their Alpha ability and if they do try to fight their body's natural responce to "turning off" their Alpha ability they will collapse. In some situations Alphas who have done this have encountered "burnout" whereby they collapse and even after recovery they can no longer "access" their ability for days or even weeks.

Interestingly the type of ability and how it is used is often the limiter in how long a person can use their gift. An Alpha with a far less powerful ability can use their gift for very much longer, hours or even days at a time than a more powerful Alpha who at maximum "output" might only manage a couple of minutes before experiencing fatigue.

Note: Some Alphas do not have the means to shut off their Alpha ability and it is permanently active. Though they do not experience "burnout" their bodies are placed under permanent strain and they very often have to take great care to manage their condition because if they do not they will die by the simple fact the human body cannot cope and will literally tear itself apart from the inside.

Alpha Effect- Theoretical scientific term used to describe the as yet undiscovered difference between ordinary people and Alphas. Whilst the original cause of the effect is known to have been from extraterretrial bacteria scientists have never been able to recreate the correct set of circumstances to artifically create an Alpha human. Scientists believe solving this long sought after goal would enable the curing of almost every single known disease.
Apha Hero - term coined up by the media and now common language that describes and Alpha Superior who used his/her gifts for the benefit or others. (antonym Alpha Villain)
A.I. - Artifical Intelligence
Alpha villain/criminal - Opposite term to Alpha Hero and describes any Alpha Superior using their gifts to deliberatly harm others or for personal gain. The term was created by the press and predates the term Alpha Hero as Alpha Villains came to the public attention first.