Appleseed
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2004 DVD cover
This article contains information that applies MOSTLY to the 2004 and 2007 Shinji Aramaki interpretations of the Appleseed saga. Be sure to read the Notes and References section.
2007 DVD cover
Bioroid in incubator

A fourth generation female Bioroid, maturing in a liquid incubator prior to birth.

Bioroids are genetically engineered humans that are superior in overall biology, but feature intentionally suppressed emotional capabilities. Their species was developed sometime during the late 2120s, by Dr. Gilliam Knute, with genetic material provided by her husband Carl Knute of the Los Angeles SWAT. It was intended that these "perfect humans" would be artificially created en masse and matured to adulthood so that they could coexist with the more emotionally unstable real humans in society, acting as a "buffer" (as Hitomi, a Bioroid herself, put it) to their tendency to incite unrest and war. They were also designed to be superior politicians and world leaders.

Given that a large portion of the Bioroid population (at least several million) were generated from a common base of DNA from Carl Knute, they could be technically considered clones, and have been referred to as such on a few occasions. Cyborg Briareos Hecatonchires is later recreated in his original human form, as a Bioroid during the late 2130s.

Four generations of Bioroids have been created so far, though only three have survived.

Generational differences[]

Generation Population Created Identifying Differences Famous Examples Notes
First Less than 100
  • Minor emotional restraints
  • Exceptionally high IQ
  • Aloof personalities
Athena As a prototype generation, very few Bioroids of this generation were created, and even fewer survived.
Second Several million
  • Severe emotional restraints
  • High IQ
  • Greater variety of personalities
Hitomi, Nike The second generation forms the highest number of Bioroids living in Olympus.
Third/Fourth Not known
  • The first time a generation of Bioroids could be used for law enforcement
  • The most "human" of the species
Tereus The entire third generation was killed off by the Olympus Regular Army before it could be integrated into human society.

The first Bioroid[]

Athena

Athena Areios, during her tenure as Olympuses' Prime Minister.

One of the very first Bioroids to be successfully created was a female redhead named Athena Areios, who became quickly known for her superior intelligence and fearlessness. A first-generation Bioroid, her emotional restraint was slightly different than that of the subsequent generations, and as such, she is more naturally intuitive, and able to see things in a broader perspective. Although still personally non-violent by nature, she is able to authorize or oversee violent actions performed by authorities under her control, such as ES.W.A.T., unlike the second and third generations. Athena is somewhat dour in personality, but her wisdom is admirable and her life is mostly dedicated to the protection of humans.

Greatly trusted by Dr. Knute, she was the only individual named by her to be permitted access to the Appleseed data, the key to unlocking reproductive capabilities in Bioroids, even though she could theoretically have abused the knowledge. The actual possession of that data, however, was entrusted to a young Deunan Knute, Carl and Gilliam's only child.

Athena was born on the offshore Research and Development rig located somewhere close to a seaboard of the United States, the exact location not disclosed in the 2004 Appleseed feature film. It was not located in international waters.

Biology[]

Deunan with Hitomi in nightclub 2

At least in appearance, Bioroids are indiscernible from humans, as shown by Hitomi on the left.

Bioroids of either gender don't look or behave differently than normal men or women. They will, however, always defer to natural humans whenever possible. Neither will they counteract or countermand human authority, unless they believe the action that the human requests will ultimately harm them or the society in the long run.

As a countermeasure against unintentional Bioroid overpopulation, and also to differentiate them from the rest of humanity, they were unable to reproduce amongst themselves for a time, and had shortened lifespan. In order to continue living indefinitely, they had to periodically undergo a life-extension treatment at the Bioroid Care Center. If such a procedure was not performed when necessary, the individual would first experience a drop in body temperature and increased lethargy, before falling into a total comatose state. Genetic degeneration would rapidly increase to a rapid rate, which would result in patient death after only forty-eight hours.

Racism against Bioroids[]

Racism has always been somewhat of an issue against Bioroids. Humans dislike them for a multitude of reasons, and this opinion has sometimes resulted in race riots or other antisocial activities aimed at Bioroid harm or disruption.

An ethnic bioweapon, supposedly capable of eliminating only their species while leaving humans untouched, is stored atop the roof of the Tartaros building, maintained as sort of a 'reset button' for the human Olympian society. The actual name of the virus is unknown, but it is referred to generically as D-Tank, after the name of the container that holds it. This further inflames the issue.

The Olympus Regular Army also demonstrates a bitter distrust of Bioroids, or in the case of Col. Hades, outright hatred for their species. It's leader, General Edward Uranos III, had frequently opposed their development in the past, and prior to the creation of Olympus, led a strike team onto Dr. Knute's offshore development rig—the operation later resulting in her murder when she produced a pistol of her own and resisted capture. Although General Uranus still staunchly opposes granting Bioroids reproductive abilities, he has settled into a chilly coexistence with them; his inferior, on the other hand, Hades, would rather see them totally eliminated by any means, even if he has to do the job himself. He later authorizes and leads an attack on the Bioroid Care Center, killing the entire third generation of Bioroids under development in that building, and destroying the life-extension equipment vital for the continued survival of the first and second generation currently living.

The relevance of Appleseed[]

When creating the Bioroid species, Dr. Knute intentionally omitted the genetic material for reproductive ability from their overall makeup, thus preventing the real risk, and perception, that the Bioroids could take over the world or at least rival the imperfect humans that generated them.

Unwilling to doom her creation to an existence of constant life-extensions and inequality, however, Dr. Knute retained the data required to allow Bioroids to live a conventional lifespan and reproduce, keeping only a single working copy concealed from the rest of her colleagues and referring to it only as Appleseed to her firstborn Bioroid, Athena. The exact nature of Appleseed is unclear; it could have been actual genetic material, or it could have been computer code, but in any case it appears to have been stored in a memory stick of some variety, possibly biological rather than binary, and concealed in a decorative aquamarine glass pendant on a gold chain.

When the Bioroid Care Center was destroyed by the ORA in 2131, Deunan Knute was called upon to find the Appleseed, as it was the only way to prevent millions of these individuals, ultimately conscious humans regardless of ther biology, from dying.

Although Deunan remembered little about her childhood, a visit to the abandoned offshore development rig, and a viewing of the holographic video surveillance from the evening Dr. Knute was shot dead by Uranos' military insurgence (see the Media page for the video), shocked her into realizing she'd possessed the Appleseed data all her life since this event. The video depicts a young Athena urging Dr. Knute to escape before the soldiers arrive, and then Deunan, as a toddler, arriving to be given the pendant as a piece of jewelry.

See Also[]

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