The first half of the novel details both Austin's reaction to his original injuries - he attempts to commit suicide - and his initially resentful reaction to being rebuilt with bionic prosthetic hardware. This mixture of man and machine is known as a cyborg, from which the novel gets its title. Other physical alterations include the installation of a steel skull plate to replace bone smashed by the crash, and a radio transmitter built into a rib. His left eye is replaced with a false, removable eye that is used (in this first novel) to house a miniature camera. One of the fingers of the hand incorporates a poison dart gun. Steve Austin is outfitted with two new legs capable of propelling him at great speed, and a bionic left arm with almost human dexterity and the strength of a battering ram. Wells also happens to be a good friend of Austin's, so when OSO chief Oscar Goldman 'invites' (or rather, orders) Wells to rebuild Austin with bionics limbs, Wells agrees. Rudy Wells concerning bionics - the replacement of human body parts with mechanical prosthetics that (in the context of this novel) are more powerful than the original limbs. Plot summary Ĭyborg is the story of astronaut and test pilot Steve Austin, who experiences a catastrophic crash during a flight, leaving him with all but one limb destroyed, blind in one eye, and with other major injuries.Īt the same time, a secret part of the American government, the Office of Strategic Operations (OSO), has taken an interest in the work of Dr. The novel also included elements of speculative fiction, and was adapted as the television movie The Six Million Dollar Man, which was followed by a weekly series of the same name, both of which starred Lee Majors, and also inspired a spin-off, The Bionic Woman.

Cyborg is a 1972 science fiction/ secret agent novel, written by Martin Caidin.

Barnstorming by Martin Caidin