So contrary to what some people believe cybernetics do not make you less human. According to the sources below (check real life section in tv tropes article), humans can adapt to any unusual alterations to their body without having to undergo any radical changes in personality or sanity. However, I’m not sure if the same applies if cybernetics are used to [mess](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WetwareCPU) [with](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BrainUploading) [the](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NeuralImplanting) [brain](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BrainComputerInterface) or if the [cyborg](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FullConversionCyborg) is more robot than man (Ex: robocop, cybermen).
Be that as it may are there any fics that avert or subvert the cybernetics eat your soul trope and show that cyborgs can be just as empathetic and sociable, as the next human?
Sources:
[Manipulating Phantom Limbs – NeuroLogica Blog (theness.com)](https://theness.com/neurologicablog/manipulating-phantom-limbs/)
[Cybernetics Eat Your Soul – TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CyberneticsEatYourSoul)
4 Comments
I think something notable is that like, we’re currently living through the aftermath of a lot of technological advancements that people said might be bad, which sci-fi fans (like me) mostly dismissed… and they were in fact pretty bad, or at least had some pretty bad side effects.
Most of those things are not like robot legs. But I think anything that dismisses the danger around infotech or even brain augs is kinda … not grappling with the moment. If social media already does damage to our soul (even if you don’t buy the over-simplistic “facebook demon turns people fascist” framing), I kinda do worry about the future!
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this isnt a helpful comment i’m just riffing
This reminded me of a scene in one of the Warhammer 40k eisenhorn books (excellent series) where a high level tech-priest of Mars, borged out to the point that his legs iirc are replaced with an anti gravity unit and there’s not one visible scrap of skin on him, slowly and awkwardly hugs one of the characters with arms very much unsuited to the task. It was a really touching moment. Pour out a shot of machine oil for our boy Magos Geard Bure, taken in his prime at the age of 700.
No Guns Life, modified humans are called Extend, and they have a sub brain installed in the spinal cord to control implants without over exerting their brains
In most cyberpunk media the kinds of cybernetics people in organized crime, mercenary or corporate realms are dealing with are high grade military cybernetics that give its users abilities often far above the ken of normal citizens.
So its not that they make you less human, its more like they are living off a high of being superior, like a drug addict. You could also, I suppose, safely say these kinds of high grade cybernetics could poison users without the proper counter acting agents.