Mitosis (2013)

Mitosis is a fantasy novelette written by American author Brandon Sanderson as the second part in The Reckoners series. It was preceded by the novel Steelheart, and followed by the novels Firefight, and Calamity. The novelette takes place in between Sleelheart and Firfight, and was published on December 3, 2013 by Delecorte Press.

Plot Summary
The title of the novelette, Mitosis, refers to an Epic who attempts to retake control of Newcago after the Reckoners have defeated Steelheart. Mitosis's super power is the ability to split himself into multiple beings. However, the more he splits himself, the less solid his individual parts become. They can only transfer memories by physical touch, and as the molecules grow more distant and less well bonded, the beings begin to fall apart.

A big theme in this story is that ordinary people can be heroes simply by being ordinary. The people of Newcago still live in constant fear of the Epics, even after the defeat of Steelheart, and the Reckoners make a concerted effort to help the people overcome these fears and live normal lives.

David Charleston, the protagonist of the Reckoners books, discovers a critical clue as to the weaknesses of epics in this story when he finds out that Mitosis's weakness is listening to rock music that he (Mitosis) had played in a band years before he ever became an Epic. He doesn't know the entire significance of this clue at the time, but it later proves to be a critical piece of information for the Reckoners as he realizes that weaknesses may be tied to the epic's past.