A high speed thin film two terminal resistive memory article of manufacture comprises a chargeable and dischargeable variable resistance thin film battery having a plurality of layers operatively associated with one another, the plurality of layers comprising in sequence, a cathode-side conductive layer, a cathode layer comprised of a material that can take up cations and discharge cations in a charging and discharging process, an electrolyte layer comprising the cations, a barrier layer, an anode layer, and an optional anode-side conductive layer, the barrier layer comprised of a material that substantially prevents the cations from combining with the anode layer.