Cyborg

A , short for "cybernetic organism", is an individual who has been mechanically modified in order to achieve enhanced performance or compensate for compromised or lost body parts. They primarily belong to the Science side and presumably only Academy City has enough technology to properly produce them.
==Principles==
A cyborg is an individual who has had their body partially or wholly replaced with mechanical parts.Souyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index SS The exact definition and extent varies, from artificial organs to full body mechanization, but in Academy City, a cyborg is specifically defined as someone who had the necessary parts all contained within their body - for example, optical fiber nerves might make someone a cyborg, but heavy metal claws would not.
Cyborg technology is used for both medical reasons, such as performing the functions of damaged or lost body parts, and for combat purposes, such as enhancing one's abilities and weaponry, with different variants for the technology designed for specific purposes.
===Capabilities and Specifics===
Aside from fulfilling the function of lost body parts, due to their mechanical construction, cybernetics can provide enhanced capabilities beyond those of the original parts, such as greater strength, resistance, speed and sensory abilities. Additionally, depending on their construction and nature, they can provide capabilities which would not be possessed otherwise, such as being able to connect and interface with electronic systems, greater control over bodily functions such as metabolism, sense of pain and facial expressions, or extra tools, from lights to weapons. Since the artificial parts can be mass-produced, they can be repaired or replaced if damaged or destroyed.
Since a cyborg's key mechanical parts are often delicate, precision equipment and are constantly running, they require periodic servicing, with lifespans of about 3 or 5 years at most. In the case of artificial organs, this entails major surgery in order to switch out the old parts for new ones. As most cybernetics are electronic in nature, cyborgs with them are susceptible to electrical esper abilities and disruption technologies. Chapter 3 Part 1 Chapter 5 Part 7 Chapter 2 Part 9
Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T E22 04m 17s.png|Depiction of a cyborg harming itself while squashing a fly
Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T E22 04m 24s.png|Depiction of a cyborg with safeties preventing excess damage
With cyborgs, particularly medical ones, if the mechanical components supporting the biological components cease to function, it can adversely affect and potentially endanger them. Additionally, their mechanical capabilities may increase the potential for accidentally inflicting harm to themselves. As such, cyborgs may be equipped with limiters and safeties which prevent actions which would damage their bodies beyond a certain level.
Cyborg bodies can also have an effect with regards to esper abilities. A prominent example of this is Kuroyoru Umidori's use of additional mechanical arms to provide additional output points for her Bomber Lance (providing the parts are properly connected), Chapter 2 Part 4 which would otherwise be restricted to the two palms of her normal hands. In her case, the extent of what counts as her body is rather vague, Chapter 4 Part 11 and she has exploited this in conjunction with the rejection reaction experienced by an esper when they use magic, completely thinking of objects connected to her body via her mechanical limbs as part of her body and then forcing the side-effect onto the targets to destroy them (together with her arms). In the case of Rensa, the cyborg's controllable bodily characteristics were used to provide output points for the abilities of other espers, allowing her to switch between and use the powers of the top six Level 5s as well as any espers within a 200m radius. Chapter 3 Part 8 One of Kuriba Ryouko's previous assignments was a project involving the use of stimulation caused by cyborg replacement of the body for the development of abilities which could not be produced by a regular human body.Ogino Kentarou (Railgun editor), Twitter. Retrieved on 29 August 2020.
===Other===
There are a number of projects and experiments which have their roots in cyborg research, including the Total Human Cyborg Replacement Project, which aside from testing technology also had the hidden objective of observing the creation of a soul, and Anatomy Mechatronics, intended to make perfect models of individuals' bodies (such as the Level 5s) using technology.Toaru Majutsu no Index: Shokuhou Misaki Figurine Part 1Toaru Majutsu no Index: Shokuhou Misaki Figurine Part 3
There are a number of suppressants used to counteract the rejection reaction from flesh towards the machinery bonded to it, and drugs for dealing with the after-effects of cyborg treatments, such as Miahilin.
According to Kuroyoru Umidori, people who wish to be cyborgs often have a defect or perceived inferiority which they wish to overcome (in her case, the limit of only having two arms and thus two palms to use with her ability), and one can get an idea of it from the cyborg treatment they chose to receive - be it defeating an illness, raising their physical abilities, or correcting their appearance. She referred to this with the term .
Comparisons have been made between cyborgs and powered suits, Chapter 4 Part 19 and it has been said that once a powered suit goes past a certain point (such as with the suits used by Silvercross Alpha), it becomes much the same as a cyborg, and vice versa, with the difference being whether the body is reinforced from without or within.
While cyborgs are primarily restricted to the Science Side and Academy City, there are a few individuals elsewhere who are referred to as cyborgs but were made through non-scientific means, such as Salome of the Kamisato Faction. Chapter 3 Part 3 Chapter 3 Part 7
==Background==
At one point, there was apparently a ban on certain forms of cyborg development in Academy City, though this was recently lifted.
A year before the story's first year, an extreme cyborg experiment was initiated - the Total Human Cyborg Replacement Project. The test subject was cyborg researcher Kuriba Ryouko, who was working to develop a cyborg treatment for her ill mother. With little time left and a lack of data for the many required parts, given the limited number of cyborg treatments, she volunteered for the experiment in order to gather the data for the required cybernetics in time to save her mother. In the experiment, her body was cut up into pieces and the separated human parts combined with mechanical parts to produce two cyborgs. The two lived separately for a year, with extensive data being collected from their bodies and cybernetics. As a cyborg researcher herself, Kuriba was able to act as both subject and observer. After a year had passed, she was combined back into one person, with the mechanical parts removed.
==Chronology==
===Toaru Majutsu no Index===
====DRAGON Arc====
Shiokishi referenced to cyborgs and their downsides (mainly the need for maintenance every few years and surgery for dealing with the artificial organs), when talking about his choice of a Powered Suit. Chapter 2 Part 1
===Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index===
====Freshmen Arc====
A prominent member of the Freshmen, responsible for the events which occurred on November 5th, was the cyborg Kuroyoru Umidori, whose robotic arms were meant to support her ability. Chapter 5 Part 1 Chapter 5 Part 7
====Agitate Halation Arc====
Rensa, a cyborg developed to counter the Level 5s if they rebelled against Academy City, played a prominent role in the events surrounding the Agitate Halation Project.
====Salome Arc====
Salome, Kamisato Kakeru's non-blood sister and a member of the Kamisato Kakeru, was noted to have abandoned her original body for a stronger one using a self-made chemical cyborg treatment, in order to drastically raise her abilities in conjunction with her sacrificial magic, Internal Offering and External Offering. Chapter 5 Part 4 Chapter 5 Part 9 Chapter 5 Part 14
===Souyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index===
====Operation Handcuffs Arc====
During the events surrounding Operation Handcuffs on Christmas Day, the term cyborg was referred to several times in contrast with Ladybird (whom an Anti-Skill officer briefly wondered might be a cyborg, with Kihara Hasuu then describing the term as about two generations out of date), Chapter 2 Part 1 Chapter 2 Part 7 Chapter 4 Part 11 who was an android entirely made of artificial parts built up into the shape of a human, rather than a cyborg replacing a human parts with machinery. When Ladybird's esper ability usage and brain-devouring nature came to light, she was contrasted with Rensa's approach, being described by Hasuu as a body given a brain rather than a cyborg made by giving a brain a body.
====Post-Handcuffs Arc====
During her clash with Tessou Tsuzuri on December 29th, Yomikawa Aiho recognized that she was using magnetic osmotic pressure cell membrane control, and also guessed that if she was controlling the ion channels and sodium pumps as well then she was altering signals sent to her muscles to overload their output. She supposed that in a way this made her a new form of cyborg, saying that not all cyborgs replaced their muscles and bones with metal. Chapter 3 Part 19
===Toaru Kagaku no Railgun===
====Dream Ranker Arc====
The distribution of Indian Poker in September and early October was a result of Kuriba Ryouko trying to find a solution to the problem posed by her mechanical doppelganger, created as a result of the cyborg experiment she participated in. At the same time, she was also working on the cybernetics needed to save her mother. After being accidentally shot during the events at the time of the doppelganger's termination, its parts were used to save her life.
===Toaru Kagaku no Dark Matter===
====Yuzuriha Ringo Arc====
Kihara Souji was noted to have started his career in medical science and the development of cyborg technology, specifically mechanical prostheses. During the events surrounding Yuzuriha Ringo and , he replaced at least one DA agent's lost arms with his prosthetic limbs, and after his death, Kuroyoru Umidori took his data and existing prostheses for her own use.
===Side Stories===
====Toaru Jihanki no Fanfare====
As a result of injuries from a past experiment, Kihara Nayuta has medical-purpose cybernetics making up over 70% of her body.Toaru Jihanki no Fanfare
====Toaru Majutsu no Index: Shokuhou Misaki Figurine====
During Shokuhou Misaki's encounter with the Anatomy Mechatronics Misaki, it was noted that the project had branched off from cyborg research.
====Souyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index SS====
While facing Hikarizawa Megumi, who was connected to a life support system made up of large medical devices, Kuroyoru Umidori compared them to artificial organs too big to fit inside her and the methodology to Shiokishi's previous attempt in the form of a Powered Suit, remarking that the system was two generations out of date compared to the more compact technology making up a cyborg.
==Known Cyborgs==
Name 	Details
Kihara Gensei 	
 of Kihara Family, who was obsessed with Level 6 and creator of Ability Body Crystal.Ogino Kentarou (Railgun editor), Twitter. Retrieved on 22 April 2020.Ogino Kentarou (Railgun editor), Twitter. Retrieved on 22 April 2020.
Having being involved in many accidents and close calls in dangerous experiments (partly due to his tendency to lose sight of his surroundings on seeing something unexpected), mechanical prostheses make up most of Gensei's body.Ogino Kentarou (Railgun editor), Twitter. Retrieved on 22 April 2020.Ogino Kentarou (Railgun editor), Twitter. Retrieved on 22 April 2020. According to Railgun editor Ogino Kentarou, Gensei is a full-body cyborg, with only his brain and right eye not being mechanical.Ogino Kentarou (Railgun editor), Twitter
Kihara Nayuta 	of Judgment. Medical cybernetics make up 70% of her body, due to injuries from past experiments.
Mugino Shizuri 	
Leader of . Fitted with prosthetics after sustaining extensive injuries on October 9th and 18th, with an artificial eye wired into her brain through her right socket and a prosthetic left arm fitted where her shoulder was, with special makeup concealing the prosthetics and burned skin. Chapter 3 Part 3
Mugino makes use of her artificial eye's movement tracking capabilities and her arm's strength in battle. Her eye is also capable of connecting and interfacing with systems via a cable and receiving visual information from them directly. Chapter 3 Part 6 With periodic maintenance on her arm, she carries out moderate exercises to test the fine finger movements and check for errors and deviations.
Curiously, while other similar characters have been referred to as cyborgs, Mugino has yet to be referred to by the term in-text (with only an indirect reference to cyborgs and herself in a taunt against Hamazura as to how she survived, prior to her prostheses being fitted). Whether this has to do with the Academy City definition of a cyborg is not known.
Kuroyoru Umidori	
 of the Freshmen and subject of the Dark May Project. Kuroyoru choose to become a cyborg to increase her power, replacing her arms with artificial ones (derived from technology developed by Kihara Souji) and adding connection points for additional arms, in order to increase the number of output points for her ability, Bomber Lance. Chapter 5 Part 1 Chapter 5 Part 7 Chapter 2 Part 10
Kuroyoru's cybernetic treatment is centered on her arms, the shoulder blades that support them, and connectors in various places on her upper body. Her lower body is relatively untouched and her insides have not been messed with too much. However, she is still capable of manipulating the signals in her body to bring about a state of suspended animation on a cellular level and can mess with her metabolism to go for a week without water.
Rensa 	
A cyborg unit developed as a countermeasure against the Level 5s in the event of a rebellion. Rensa has a fully mechanized body, save for a reduced hypothalamus which 'pilots' the cyborg, and is capable of drawing on the abilities of the #1-6 Level 5s, as well as any esper alive within a 200m radius.
Given the costs of the specialized cyborg body, only one unit was created, with 40 'pilots' taking turns to control it. Of these 40, only #28 and #29 were seen acting as Rensa during the incident caused by the Agitate Halation Project, prior to the unit's demise.
Kuriba Ryouko 	
Cyborg researcher and test subject of the Total Human Cyborg Replacement Project. At the start of the experiment, her body was cut up into pieces, which were combined with mechanical parts to produce two cyborgs, who lived separately for a year.
The cybernetics included technology which Kuriba herself had developed, including safety limiters which would prevent the cyborg body from performing actions which would damage itself beyond a permissible level, artificial muscles which used chemical reactions to expand and contract, and suppressant materials to prevent rejection from flesh towards the machinery bonded to it.
At the conclusion of the experiment, Kuriba was recombined into one person, with the leftover mechanical parts being combined into the Doppelganger. After being shot, several of the Doppelganger's parts were used to save her life, making her a cyborg again.
Salome 	of the Kamisato Faction. Replaced her original body with a self-made chemical cyborg treatment to support her sacrificial magic, Internal Offering and External Offering.
==Trivia==
*In the afterword of , Kamachi Kazuma pointed out that it was Narita Ryohgo (of Bacanno! and Durarara!! fame) who introduced the concept of cyborgs into the universe and thus decided to use the concept as a tool in the main series. Afterword
**Kamachi also contrasted the two main antagonists in the volume; one of them being a cyborg that altered her outer silhouette, rearranging the inside of her body in order to increase the proficiency of her ability, and the other one using a "powered suit" that altered the outside of the body, and optimized the inner workings of his mind.
**While the Freshmen cyborgs were modified for military purpose and meant for battle, the first cyborg created by Narita was modified for medical purposes, with her enhancement not meant to boost her combat ability.
*At several points in the series, the term 'cyborg' has been used for cybernetics, intended to be part of a cyborg, whether they were connected to organic parts or not at the time.
==See Also==
*Anatomy Mechatronics
*Android
==External Links==
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==References==
==Navigation==
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