Cyborgs

A cyborg is a human or other life form that has been modified with machinery and metal for better functioning. These mechanical enhancements can include cybernetic replacements for missing organs or body parts, metal skin for extra protection, and weapons installed somewhere in the body. The word "cyborg" is a blend of "cybernetic" and "organism".

Appearance


Cyborgs are organisms that feature cybernetic parts in place of flesh or organs. Those parts are often designed to mimic human body parts, but they can also take the shape of weapons, like firearms. Certain cyborgs may only feature as much as a single mechanical prosthestic limb, while others can sport several mechanisms built inside or around their entire bodies, to the point of resembling robots outright.



Cybernetic modifications are usually visible, but it might depend on the individual. The Pacifista appear to have no visible mechanical parts at all, although some can be seen hidden underneath their clothes. Aside from this, cyborgs may appear as a normal human or animal on the outside. Modifications may be more apparent when they receive wounds, since that might leave their mechanical parts exposed.

Biology
In the series, cyborgs are rare, as the technology required for their creation is somewhat advanced. The creation of cyborgs is usually in the domain of scientists or other skilled engineers, assuming they have the necessary resources. Cyborgs should not be confused with Automata, which are full-blown robotic in nature.



Though they have mechanical parts, so long as their brain is not altered in any way, cyborgs maintain their free will. As shown with Bartholomew Kuma, some cyborgs may have their brains modified and reprogrammed to ensure they will obey orders. This leaves them "dead", reducing them to being nothing more than a tool. Donquixote Doflamingo claims that such cyborgs have no memories or recollections of their past lives.

Indeed, Kuma has become obedient to the words of the World Government he once hated so much. In an earlier instance when Luffy heard a "heartless" remark from Franky, he asked him if he had replaced his own heart, to which the latter apologized in metaphoric terms that he "never meant to go that far".

Overall Strength


A cyborg's mechanical parts put them at high advantage against normal humans in both offense and defense, since those parts may contain in-built weapons or are made from a resilient metal. Unless they have access to means to increase their own strength, it is nigh impossible for regular humans to compete with cyborgs, who are essentially living weapons. In fact, even supernaturally trained humans, like Blueno, Fukurou and Nero of CP9, can be overpowered by an effective enough cyborg.



Amongst the cyborgs themselves, capabilities and power varies per individual design; more advanced models may be superior to less advanced cyborgs as Kuma proved against Franky. Often Cyborgs can be mistaken for Devil Fruit users given their abilities. Luffy once thought Franky had a Devil Fruit because he demonstrated the ability to breathe fire, however, this does not prevent cyborgs from actually obtaining Devil Fruit powers, like Kuma with his Nikyu Nikyu no Mi. Some Devil Fruit users, like the Worst Generation pirate Eustass Kid and Queen of the Beasts Pirates, may even use their cybernetic modifications in tandem with their fruit abilities to enhance their fighting style beyond the scope of either set of skills.

A cyborg with a Devil Fruit power will be placed above the overall capabilities of another cyborg of the same design. Due to the rules of Devil Fruits, copying the exact abilities of one Devil Fruit to another of the same model of cyborg is impossible. However Dr. Vegapunk seems to have found a way of at least mimicking the powers of the Pika Pika no Mi (excluding the intangibility and super-speed) into the Pacifistas models, putting this particular model of cyborg above the potential power of others. Vegapunk later circumvented the limitation of duplicating of Devil Fruit powers by utilizing Green Blood, which imparts the original user's powers into the recipients, specifically the Seraphim.



Another advantage cyborgs have is the ability to recover completely after receiving what may be otherwise crippling or lethal damage to normal non-cyborg individuals. They can also be repaired, modified and upgraded in ways humans cannot.

Weaknesses


Many cyborgs tend to become so more out of necessity than voluntarily. Usually, the point of a cybernetic prosthestic or enhancement is to replace a vital body part that has been lost for some reason. As such, cyborgs often become reliant on those enhancements just to function normally. In the case of the Pacifistas, if their modifications suffer too much damage, they may malfunction or even stop functioning altogether.



Even cyborgs are not without certain flaws that leave them vulnerable, since the modifications that they have received are generally man-made, there are usually some limits to the extent of what they can do. For example, Franky modified his right arm to function somewhat like a bludgeoning tool while modifying the left to house several gunner-type weapons. He could not possibly interchange both functions in both arms with each other whenever he feels like it. Also, because he personally made the modifications on himself, there were several restrictions when he converted his body into a cyborg, namely the place around his back area where he wasn't able to reach around with his arms, leaving it lacking with metallic reinforcement in comparison to the rest of his body. Furthermore, Franky's design runs on cola as fuel, and when he runs out, he is greatly weakened.



It is later revealed that, given that they were originally flesh and blood, vestiges of their former states may still remain within a cyborg's body. Because of that, they can be heavily injured if they receive internal damage. Another weakness that cyborgs share is that unless they are modified, they do not grow stronger. This is shown when the Straw Hats encounter the Pacifistas after the timeskip, since these prototypes were (according to Sentomaru) only as strong as they were two years ago, they did not stand a chance against the "Monster Trio", who were able to grow incredibly strong.

One other weakness that the cyborgs whose personality is erased (like the Pacifistas) seem to share, is that they, like zombies, seem unable to feel pain, and thus are unable to realize when they are in danger, though with their sensors and programming may counteract this to an extent (depending on what their programming is).

Regarding the Pacifista in particular, because of their lack of free will, they must be programmed to obey commands, following a certain hierarchy of authority designed by Dr. Vegapunk involving chips and specific people. In certain situations, such as an internal struggle, this sort of programming can backfire immensely, as people on different sides of a conflict can end up stealing control from the other side depending on where in the command hierarchy they end up slotted in.

Trivia

 * One of Nami's concept designs seemingly had her as a cyborg.
 * Initially, the first cyborg Oda wished to release was Don Krieg, as Don Krieg-9000, but the idea was scrapped. Instead, the first one shown was Bartholomew Kuma, although it wasn't until some time after the second (Franky) was introduced that his cyborg status was revealed.
 * The kanji used to describe cyborg is "kaizō ningen", the same word used for the modified humans.
 * According to Dr. Vegapunk, the cost of making a cyborg is equivalent to that of a stem cell transplant.

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