Taste of Cyn

Defying Death – Cyborgs And Clones

By Cynthia Sax on April 29, 2016

In Defying Death, Death, our cyborg hero, encounters a community of clones.

Here’s a snippet…

***

Three very large human males faced them, carrying long guns, bows, daggers, their bodies clad in white animal skins. They were the same height, width, had the same bone structure, the same startling bright purple eyes, the same pale purple skin. They wore their white hair in different lengths from closely cropped to long and braided but they were remarkably similar.

“They’re clones,” she whispered. Cloning was outlawed by the Humanoid Alliance. Many species, including humans, had also forbidden the practice, fearing the weakening of their genetic material.

Death’s body stiffened.

Oh right. She wasn’t supposed to talk. “Sorry.”

He exhaled heavily.

***

According to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloning ), cloning “refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments (molecular cloning), cells (cell cloning), or organisms.”

One of the concerns with cloning is the breakdown of genetic material. When animals are cloned today, there’s a higher possibility of deformities. The scientist who founded the clone community, the mysterious original, discovered how to offset this. He also carefully chose the beings to be copied, these males and females matching his ideals.

Because it is a clone community, sex isn’t necessary for reproduction. Clones reproduce in a laboratory. Any offspring produced from sexual encounters would have different DNA and might not match the original’s ideals.

So sex is forbidden. To prevent temptation, touching a being of a different gender is also forbidden.

There are other rules. For example, any injury or illness is viewed as genetic weakness. If that male or female were to be cloned, that genetic weakness might be passed onto future generations. To prevent this, the injured or ill being is exiled from the community.

I’ve always been fascinated with cloning and the questions surrounding them. If you fall in love with one clone, would you fall in love with all of them? Is love tied to genetics or to the being as a whole, the combination of genetics and life experience? Defying Death explores a bit of this.

***

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Defying Death

He’ll risk it all for one moment of happiness.

Cyborgs don’t show emotion. Death learned that lesson early in his long lifespan. To survive, he hides his fierce passions behind a stoic wall. He calls no warrior friend. He never admits to caring for any being.

Even the human female he’s destined to love.

Tifara is Death’s obsession, his sole opportunity for happiness, to express the all-consuming passion burning brightly inside him. He’ll do anything to obtain the curvaceous medic: defy a direct order, abduct Tifara from her battle station, and wage war on his fellow cyborgs.

To earn her love, he’ll have to risk much, much more.

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Defying-Death-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B01D6OUQS2/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Defying-Death-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B01D6OUQS2/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-defyingdeath-2001671-147.html

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/defying-death-cynthia-sax/1123562659

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/defying-death-2

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Cyborgs And Spirituality

By Cynthia Sax on April 22, 2016

Cyborgs are half human and half machine. One of the things that have always intrigued me is… how would cyborgs react when faced with another being’s faith-based beliefs? Faith is a human concept. It isn’t always logical.

In Defying Death, Death grapples with Tifara’s belief in fate and destiny. He’s also introduced to the faith-based beliefs of Ada-972 and her clone sisters and brothers.

Here’s a snippet…

***

“Don’t return until you see a spirit star,” Ada-972 called.

“I won’t.” Ada-971 gave her a wave and then ducked out of the cave.

“What is a spirit star?” Tifara rummaged through her medic pack, her voice suspiciously watery.

“It’s a star that moves across the darkened sky.” The damaged female gazed at the ceiling of the cave. “As the original has shared with us, this star collects the spirits of the clones who die, bringing them upward to be assimilated into the black nothingness that holds the constellations together.”

A spirit star sounded like a meteoroid that had fallen into the planet’s atmosphere, burning to nothing. Death pressed his lips together, choosing to keep that information to himself.

“I want Ada-971 to see my ascent.” Ada-972 smiled. “She’ll know that I’m fine. I’ll be with all of the others who were created before me. I won’t be alone.”

“I’m injecting you with all of the pain inhibitors we have left,” Tifara said brusquely, her eyes glimmering with unshed tears. “You’ll go completely numb but you’ll be able to talk.”

“I would like to go outside, if that is possible.” Ada-972 slid her gaze shyly to him. “That will aid in my ascent and I would like to see the constellations one more time.” She paused. “From this angle. My view will soon be very different, won’t it?”

“I’ll carry you outside.” He knew nothing about her future view. The black nothingness, from his observations, consisted mostly of ionized hydrogen, not clone spirits, but he hadn’t yet scanned all of space. He couldn’t be certain.

***

Death can’t prove Ada-972’s faith but he can’t disprove it either. So he doesn’t express an opinion on it. Instead, he waits for more inputs.

***