Taste of Cyn

Cyborgs And Caring For The Dead

By Cynthia Sax on October 23, 2021

Since it is October, Halloween month, a time to celebrate all things spooky (grins), let’s talk a bit about how cyborgs commemorate their dead.

Every culture here on Earth has different ways of dealing with death and with the dearly departed. Some bury their dead. Some burn their dead. Some leave their dead where they died. Some transport their dead back to their ancient Homelands. There are as many variations on death rituals and customs as there are cultures.

In space, it’s the same way. Death is treated differently depending on the alien culture.

In the cyborgs’ case, their treatment of death is evolving.

When cyborgs were under Humanoid Alliance control, they had no say in what happened to their fallen brethren’s bodies. If cyborgs were decommissioned, the Humanoid Alliance raided their forms for parts and scrapped the rest of them. If cyborgs died in battle, their forms were left on the battlefields.

All cyborgs could control was their memories of their brethren. Thanks to their databases and organic brains, these memories were perfectly preserved and, as soon as they were capable of transmitting large batches of data, these memories were transferred to other cyborgs.

Now that cyborgs have been freed, they have the ability to commemorate their dead in other ways.

Astrid Ragnhild, the Buoir Berserker, Vengeance’s Warrior Female, for example, shared her kind’s custom of writing down the names of the dead. The cyborgs now engrave the names of their dead on the outside of their structures on the Homeland.

In The Cyborg’s Secret Baby, we uncover that some frames of the fallen have been buried, ensuring those warriors also reach the Homeland.

Quinn, the heroine of B Free (releasing in November), being a researcher, will likely share her knowledge of how different cultures deal with death.

I suspect the cyborgs will add rituals and customs regarding death in the future.

***

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B Free

B is the last remaining B Model cyborg. All of his brethren, the beings he trained with, fought with, cared deeply for, have perished.

Or so he believes.

When he intercepts a communication mentioning the existence of one of his kind, he has to investigate its source. The message could be a trap set by his enemies. He’ll take that risk if it secures him the companionship he requires to be fully functional.

What he finds is a daring brown-eyed female who activates all his systems. She proudly proclaims she’s a researcher, brandishing that information like a weapon before her. He wants to kiss the sass off her beautiful face, protect her from the dangers around them, claim her forever.

Quinn is on a quest to locate the mechanics of an early-version cyborg. She believes the information captured within that frame will give her valuable insights into the past.

When her mission goes zombie-like beings levels of wrong, she comes face-to-face with a living, breathing B Model. He has big hands, a primitive countenance, and stern hard lips crafted for kissing.

She doesn’t trust him. And she doesn’t have time to indulge her desires.

Their shared enemies are chasing them, would kill to get their precious specimens back. One minor mistake could reduce B and Quinn to a mere line in the databases of history.

***

B Free is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It features the sole surviving B Model cyborg warrior, a courageous researcher seeking to uncover the past, and an unplanned visit to a settlement ruled by an extremely scary all-knowing, all-powerful being.

B Free is the fourth of five core stories in the Rebel Cyborgs Series.
Book 1: Containing Malice
Book 2: Under Strain
Book 3: Baring Grudge
Book 4: B Free
Book 5: Seizing Power

Pre-order Today:

Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B097CJJ6B7

Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B097CJJ6B7

Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B097CJJ6B7

Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/b-free/id1572709749

B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/b-free-cynthia-sax/1139701466

Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/b-free

Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1089821

Topics: Story Insights | Comments Off on Cyborgs And Caring For The Dead

Lights

By Cynthia Sax on October 22, 2021

The Dear Wonderful Hubby took this awesome photo in OMNIA Nightclub in Vegas. I thought it was super cool and very inspiring. It could be a heated battle using lasers or a chamber heavily protected with sensors. And I love the raised fist in the midst of the chaos.

***

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B Free

B is the last remaining B Model cyborg. All of his brethren, the beings he trained with, fought with, cared deeply for, have perished.

Or so he believes.

Quinn is on a quest to locate the mechanics of an early-version cyborg. She believes the information captured within that frame will give her valuable insights into the past.

When her mission goes zombie-like beings levels of wrong, she comes face-to-face with a living, breathing B Model. He has big hands, a primitive countenance, and stern hard lips crafted for kissing.

She doesn’t trust him. And she doesn’t have time to indulge her desires.

Their shared enemies are chasing them, would kill to get their precious specimens back. One minor mistake could reduce B and Quinn to a mere line in the databases of history.

***

B Free is the fourth of five core stories in the Rebel Cyborgs Series.
Book 1: Containing Malice
Book 2: Under Strain
Book 3: Baring Grudge
Book 4: B Free
Book 5: Seizing Power

Pre-order Today:

Topics: Guest Post | Comments Off on Lights

Are You 100.0000% Human?

By Cynthia Sax on October 20, 2021

I was chatting with a buddy about how Quinn, the heroine of B Free (releasing in November), looks and acts human, resembles a human except she doesn’t track as human on lifeform scans and she has the gift of psychometry.

My buddy replied, “Some humans here on Earth claim to have the gift of psychometry. Does that mean THEY might not be humans?”

Maybe people here on Earth who have special gifts AREN’T completely human. Maybe a distant ancestor came from another planet, bringing with them these unique powers. That COULD be possible.

Heck, there’s an ongoing discussion about how octopus might have come from space. There’s so much we don’t understand about people, about our world, about the universe.

All I know is Quinn might pretend to be a human but she is truly a humanoid. And she might be the only humanoid left of her kind.

***

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B Free

B is the last remaining B Model cyborg. All of his brethren, the beings he trained with, fought with, cared deeply for, have perished.

Or so he believes.

Quinn is on a quest to locate the mechanics of an early-version cyborg. She believes the information captured within that frame will give her valuable insights into the past.

When her mission goes zombie-like beings levels of wrong, she comes face-to-face with a living, breathing B Model. He has big hands, a primitive countenance, and stern hard lips crafted for kissing.

She doesn’t trust him. And she doesn’t have time to indulge her desires.

Their shared enemies are chasing them, would kill to get their precious specimens back. One minor mistake could reduce B and Quinn to a mere line in the databases of history.

***

B Free is the fourth of five core stories in the Rebel Cyborgs Series.
Book 1: Containing Malice
Book 2: Under Strain
Book 3: Baring Grudge
Book 4: B Free
Book 5: Seizing Power

Pre-order Today:

Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Are You 100.0000% Human?

B Free And Butterfly-Shaped Axe Heads

By Cynthia Sax on October 19, 2021

Quinn, the heroine of B Free, is a researcher. She also has the gift of psychometry, the ability to read the past by touching metal objects.

These butterfly-shaped axe heads, displayed in the Altos de Chavon Regional Museum of Archaeology in La Romana, Dominican Republic, are made of stone but I used them as inspiration for some of the weapons Quinn researches. They are so very beautiful yet are practical.

As per the sign…

“Butterfly-shaped axe heads wedged into wooden handles are representative of the late pre-agricultural groups and are thought to have been used to fell and chop trees to make canoes and paddles.

The decorated axes, petroglyphs, cave drawings, and various objects of unknown use left behind by pre-agricultural groups are all evidence that their societies followed practices that went beyond mere subsistence.”

***

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B Free

B is the last remaining B Model cyborg. All of his brethren, the beings he trained with, fought with, cared deeply for, have perished.

Or so he believes.

Quinn is on a quest to locate the mechanics of an early-version cyborg. She believes the information captured within that frame will give her valuable insights into the past.

When her mission goes zombie-like beings levels of wrong, she comes face-to-face with a living, breathing B Model. He has big hands, a primitive countenance, and stern hard lips crafted for kissing.

She doesn’t trust him. And she doesn’t have time to indulge her desires.

Their shared enemies are chasing them, would kill to get their precious specimens back. One minor mistake could reduce B and Quinn to a mere line in the databases of history.

***

B Free is the fourth of five core stories in the Rebel Cyborgs Series.
Book 1: Containing Malice
Book 2: Under Strain
Book 3: Baring Grudge
Book 4: B Free
Book 5: Seizing Power

Pre-order Today:

Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on B Free And Butterfly-Shaped Axe Heads

B Free – First Scene Of The First Chapter

By Cynthia Sax on October 18, 2021

Woot! The official countdown to the release day of B Free, the fourth standalone story in the Rebel Cyborgs series, has started! It is four weeks away.

While we wait for B Free to release on November 16th, I’ll be sharing the first chapter, starting today with the very first scene.

***

Chapter One

All I want is access to the B Model Cyborg.

B had intercepted that encrypted message 2.1325 shifts ago. It had been sent from a being called Quinn positioned on Heze 478 to a being called Levi-Lucas The Third situated on a Beings For Peace battle station.

There was a 94.1256 percent probability it was either a mistake or a trap.

B shifted his weight from his right booted foot to his left. He occupied a rarely frequented pathway wedged between two domiciles in the human and humanoid settlement on Mercury Minor. His huge form was hidden in the shadows.

In front of him, Valor, an E Model warrior, relayed key specs about the settlement to three newly arrived humanoid females. The newcomers held hands, twitched at every loud noise.

If B were fully functional and he wasn’t a B Model, he would volunteer for a role similar to Valor’s. He often stealthily watched the tours. The imparting of information was valuable. He considered it to be a task critical to survival. That was why he monitored all communication lines.

But he was a B Model, and he wasn’t fully functional. His lips twisted.

After he had spent 235.2545 solar cycles fighting the Humanoid Alliance’s brutal battles, his cruel manufacturers had imprisoned him in an underground laboratory. They had then tortured him for an additional 1,047.9478 human lifespans, testing him, experimenting on him.

Inflicting permanent damage on him.

B swiped his fingers across his forehead. The Humanoid Alliance had tried to partially reset him. There were gaps in his databases, and slivers of flesh had been slashed from his organic brain. His nanocybotics had repaired those parts but couldn’t restore the information contained within them.

Sometimes one of his memories resided in his machine and not in his organics. More rarely, a scene from his past had been captured in his organics and erased from his databases.

Those disconnects were…unsettling.

But they weren’t as worrisome as the time intervals that had been deleted from both his organics and his machine.

Those voids, those breaks in continuity, haunted him. He couldn’t process what had happened during the gaps, what he’d done, seen, heard, felt.

A cyborg with glitches couldn’t be relied upon. He processed that.

When Cadet, the now leader of the cyborg retrieval team, finally freed him from the underground laboratory, he kept his malfunctions to himself. B had been intent on fixing the damage quietly. He didn’t want to jeopardize his role with her, with others.

Taking that risk was unnecessary. Cyborgs shared information. Most warriors relayed everything they saw or heard or felt. Constantly. Once one of them experienced something, they were all aware of it.

B Models weren’t as adept at transmitting huge data dumps as the newer models were. Only scenes key for cyborg survival had been relayed to the next generation. Few full memories were transferred.

That information could be communicated, however. In exceptional circumstances. With assistance from others.

B had been counting on those relays to repair his malfunction, had planned to request them from his fellow B Models once he’d been rescued.

But then Cadet updated his databases, sharing the cyborg history he’d missed during his isolation.

And those plans had been blasted to bits.

Every other warrior like him—the males he’d trained with, had waged war alongside, considered to be his friends—had died during his forced confinement.

Most of them had been decommissioned by the Humanoid Alliance. They had been killed in the most painful way possible, had been sliced and diced for spare parts while fully functional, replaced with the newer models.

Grief, sorrow, and devastation had engulfed B. He had lost everyone he’d ever known.

He’d also lost his hope for a fix. His missing memories hadn’t been saved to the shared databases. They didn’t reside anywhere else.

That information was…gone. The B Model communication lines that had once brimmed with chatter were now eerily silent.

***

Read the next scene (available October 25th) here:

http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=8810

***

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B Free

B is the last remaining B Model cyborg. All of his brethren, the beings he trained with, fought with, cared deeply for, have perished.

Or so he believes.

Quinn is on a quest to locate the mechanics of an early-version cyborg. She believes the information captured within that frame will give her valuable insights into the past.

When her mission goes zombie-like beings levels of wrong, she comes face-to-face with a living, breathing B Model. He has big hands, a primitive countenance, and stern hard lips crafted for kissing.

She doesn’t trust him. And she doesn’t have time to indulge her desires.

Their shared enemies are chasing them, would kill to get their precious specimens back. One minor mistake could reduce B and Quinn to a mere line in the databases of history.

***

B Free is the fourth of five core stories in the Rebel Cyborgs Series.
Book 1: Containing Malice
Book 2: Under Strain
Book 3: Baring Grudge
Book 4: B Free
Book 5: Seizing Power

Pre-order Today:

Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on B Free – First Scene Of The First Chapter

Cynthia Sax Weekly Update – October 17th

By Cynthia Sax on October 17, 2021

I’m continuing to work on the first draft of Seizing Power, the fifth and final core story in the Rebel Cyborgs’ section of the cyborg continuity. This will take me ALL of October and a little bit of November. Creating that first draft is the longest part of the process.

Both Power and Cadet/Eirene Ours are still alive. I consider that to be a success. Every time Power opens his mouth, I worry Cadet will kill him. (laughs) This story is so much fun. I think you’ll really enjoy it.

Have a wonderful week! (big hugs) Consider going to a bookstore, either online or physical. Look at all the gorgeous covers. I’ve bought a few books recently based on their covers alone. They are obtainable works of art and I’m in awe of the talents that created them. Savor that beauty, my friends! We are truly fortunate to experience it.

***

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B Free

B is the last remaining B Model cyborg. All of his brethren, the beings he trained with, fought with, cared deeply for, have perished.

Or so he believes.

Quinn is on a quest to locate the mechanics of an early-version cyborg. She believes the information captured within that frame will give her valuable insights into the past.

When her mission goes zombie-like beings levels of wrong, she comes face-to-face with a living, breathing B Model. He has big hands, a primitive countenance, and stern hard lips crafted for kissing.

She doesn’t trust him. And she doesn’t have time to indulge her desires.

Their shared enemies are chasing them, would kill to get their precious specimens back. One minor mistake could reduce B and Quinn to a mere line in the databases of history.

***

B Free is the fourth of five core stories in the Rebel Cyborgs Series.
Book 1: Containing Malice
Book 2: Under Strain
Book 3: Baring Grudge
Book 4: B Free
Book 5: Seizing Power

Pre-order Today:

Topics: Cynthia Sax Weekly Update | Comments Off on Cynthia Sax Weekly Update – October 17th

Is Quinn, The Heroine Of B Free, Human?

By Cynthia Sax on October 16, 2021

When I first ‘met’ Quinn, the heroine of B Free (releasing in November), I thought she was human. She looked human. She acted human. She was raised in an orphanage with other human children. And she certainly didn’t correct me when I assumed she was human.

Sure, when she touches a metal object, she can determine its past and the feelings and events of its previous owners. Not many humans have that ability. (It is called Psychometry here on Earth.) But some do. So that revelation didn’t shift my view of her.

I happily crafted the first draft of the book description, mentioning in it that she was human.

That wasn’t the truth, unfortunately. Quinn ISN’T human. When she undergoes a lifeform scan, she is classified as being humanoid, much to her dismay.

Cyborgs have a built-in lifeform scanner. Things get…interesting for Quinn when she meets B. One of her ‘secrets’ is revealed. She can’t fool him….about THAT aspect of her. (grins) She has other secrets that she can keep from her big cyborg warrior.

***

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B Free

B is the last remaining B Model cyborg. All of his brethren, the beings he trained with, fought with, cared deeply for, have perished.

Or so he believes.

Quinn is on a quest to locate the mechanics of an early-version cyborg. She believes the information captured within that frame will give her valuable insights into the past.

When her mission goes zombie-like beings levels of wrong, she comes face-to-face with a living, breathing B Model. He has big hands, a primitive countenance, and stern hard lips crafted for kissing.

She doesn’t trust him. And she doesn’t have time to indulge her desires.

Their shared enemies are chasing them, would kill to get their precious specimens back. One minor mistake could reduce B and Quinn to a mere line in the databases of history.

***

B Free is the fourth of five core stories in the Rebel Cyborgs Series.
Book 1: Containing Malice
Book 2: Under Strain
Book 3: Baring Grudge
Book 4: B Free
Book 5: Seizing Power

Pre-order Today:

Topics: Story Insights | Comments Off on Is Quinn, The Heroine Of B Free, Human?

B Free And Psychometry

By Cynthia Sax on October 15, 2021

Quinn, the heroine of B Free, the fourth story in the Rebel Cyborgs series (releasing in November), has the gift of psychometry.

Psychometry, also known as token-reading, is “the claimed ability to make relevant associations from an object of unknown history by making physical contact with that object.”

The term was first used on Earth in 1842 by Joseph R. Buchanan. Critics call psychometry a pseudoscience and there is quite a bit of disbelief around it. I believe, however, there are things in this awesome universe we don’t yet fully understand and psychometry might be one of them.

Quinn’s gift makes her even more suited to her role as a researcher. Whenever she touches a metal object, she can ‘see’ its history and feel the past emotions of the beings who held it.

Quinn’s gift also causes her problems. Like many present-day Earth scientists, her colleagues don’t believe in her abilities. Other beings are afraid of her gift. It is uncomfortable being around someone who can see your deepest darkest secrets.

As a certain cyborg will soon discover. (grins)

***

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B Free

B is the last remaining B Model cyborg. All of his brethren, the beings he trained with, fought with, cared deeply for, have perished.

Or so he believes.

Quinn is on a quest to locate the mechanics of an early-version cyborg. She believes the information captured within that frame will give her valuable insights into the past.

When her mission goes zombie-like beings levels of wrong, she comes face-to-face with a living, breathing B Model. He has big hands, a primitive countenance, and stern hard lips crafted for kissing.

She doesn’t trust him. And she doesn’t have time to indulge her desires.

Their shared enemies are chasing them, would kill to get their precious specimens back. One minor mistake could reduce B and Quinn to a mere line in the databases of history.

***

B Free is the fourth of five core stories in the Rebel Cyborgs Series.
Book 1: Containing Malice
Book 2: Under Strain
Book 3: Baring Grudge
Book 4: B Free
Book 5: Seizing Power

Pre-order Today:

Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on B Free And Psychometry

Adventures With Nature

By Cynthia Sax on October 13, 2021

Two days ago (yes, on Canadian Thanksgiving), a western conifer seed bug entered the house via a fan vent. These awesome armored-looking bugs moved really, really slowly (they fly quickly, however). Everything seems to be in slow motion for them.

Our visitor exited the fan vent in the main bathroom, turned his head slowly from side to side. He was likely wondering where on the Earth he was.

He looked at me.

I looked back at him.

He continued to look at me, not moving.

I retrieved the flyswatter, carefully slid it under him and transferred him outside. He didn’t want to leave the flyswatter. I had to nudge him off it.

Once he was on the ground, he slowly turned his head and looked back at me.

I don’t know what he was expecting me to do. I left him there. (grins)

Yesterday, as I was gardening, a western conifer seed bug (not often spotted in my neighborhood) landed on a plant beside me.

He looked at me.

I looked back at him.

He very slowly waved one of his front legs at me.

I like to think he was the same insect and he was saying hi. (smiles)

***

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B Free

B is the last remaining B Model cyborg. All of his brethren, the beings he trained with, fought with, cared deeply for, have perished.

Or so he believes.

Quinn is on a quest to locate the mechanics of an early-version cyborg. She believes the information captured within that frame will give her valuable insights into the past.

When her mission goes zombie-like beings levels of wrong, she comes face-to-face with a living, breathing B Model. He has big hands, a primitive countenance, and stern hard lips crafted for kissing.

She doesn’t trust him. And she doesn’t have time to indulge her desires.

Their shared enemies are chasing them, would kill to get their precious specimens back. One minor mistake could reduce B and Quinn to a mere line in the databases of history.

***

B Free is the fourth of five core stories in the Rebel Cyborgs Series.
Book 1: Containing Malice
Book 2: Under Strain
Book 3: Baring Grudge
Book 4: B Free
Book 5: Seizing Power

Pre-order Today:

Topics: Dear Wonderful Hubby Stories | Comments Off on Adventures With Nature

B Free And Needing To Know

By Cynthia Sax on October 12, 2021

One of my Awesome Sisters always needs to KNOW things, to verify things she suspects are true. I could tell her there’s a bear in the backyard and we should all stay inside and she will insist on leaving the house, risking her safety to verify there’s truly a bear in the backyard.

(This is one of the reasons her loved ones, the Dear Wonderful Hubby and I included, send her cameras and other surveillance equipment to be installed around her home. So she can SEE possible dangers without leaving her home.)

In B Free, the fourth core story in the Rebel Cyborgs series (releasing in November, which is SOONER than we all think – grins), B intercepts a message mentioning the existence of a B Model Cyborg. He knows, deep down in his soul, he is the last remaining B Model Cyborg. He suspects the message is a trap. There are no other living B Models left in the universe.

But not knowing for sure bothers him. He can’t ignore the message. He has to investigate.

Even if doing so risks his lifespan.

***

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B Free

B is the last remaining B Model cyborg. All of his brethren, the beings he trained with, fought with, cared deeply for, have perished.

Or so he believes.

Quinn is on a quest to locate the mechanics of an early-version cyborg. She believes the information captured within that frame will give her valuable insights into the past.

When her mission goes zombie-like beings levels of wrong, she comes face-to-face with a living, breathing B Model. He has big hands, a primitive countenance, and stern hard lips crafted for kissing.

She doesn’t trust him. And she doesn’t have time to indulge her desires.

Their shared enemies are chasing them, would kill to get their precious specimens back. One minor mistake could reduce B and Quinn to a mere line in the databases of history.

***

B Free is the fourth of five core stories in the Rebel Cyborgs Series.
Book 1: Containing Malice
Book 2: Under Strain
Book 3: Baring Grudge
Book 4: B Free
Book 5: Seizing Power

Pre-order Today: