The image of cyborgs in fiction has most prevalently been of the “bionic prosthetics” variety. Ghost in the Shell, Terminator, Robocop, Neuromancer, on and on, we see chromed enhancements. Cyberpunk games such as Shadowrun or GURPS Cyberpunk make heavy use of the trop as a means to enhance your characters.

But the spirit of Clynes & Kline’s cyborg is to be found most faithfully recreated in the Juicer from the Rifts setting, developed by Palladium Books.

Drug-fuelled super humans, they are able to commit feats of speed and strength that seem almost magical, thanks to a harness of automatic injectors that they come to depend on to live.

This information sheet that converts the Juicer class to a different roleplaying system gives a good overview of the character type.

The Juicer is a man augmented by special neurosurgery, nanotech and big time drugs. Designer drugs are combined with a computerized monitoring and dispensary system and a heavily tweaked metabolism to produce a fast, wired killer. Microscopic implants in the vascular system, brain and muscles map out the body for nano-technological and chemical modification and performance upgrades undreamt of mere years ago, without the extreme mechanical replacement and augmentation of bionic systems.

The first step in to Juicer procedures is the implantation of two specialized biomonitors linked to and controlling thousands of natural and artificial chemical responses. Only one biomonitor is in use at any time, but the second is implanted as a backup in case the first should fail. Once the biomonitors are in place a detailed reading of the subject’s physiology and metabolism is made and chemical and nanotechnical modifications are made until the metabolism is working at far beyond peak capacity - this involves minor modifications to the lymphatic system, adrenenal gland, thyroid system, cardio-vascular system and so on.