The Cyborg of Bergerac

Foreword

When Edmond Rostand wrote Cyrano de Bergerac in 1897, I doubt he had any idea that his work would be interpreted as a Space Opera. While most of the characters have been altered and the tragic ending given a twist, I hope that the most important theme has remained intact: the theme of self-worth bound in outward appearance. In Rostand's original, Cyrano suffers needlessly for years on the assumption that the love of his life could not return his affections because of a supposed physical affliction; his abnormally large nose.

To bring the story into this new genre, we introduce another idea; transhumanism. Now not only do we question if our inner self is more important than our outward appearance but ponder the idea of a heavily modified physical body changing that same inner self. I fully agree with C.S. Lewis' observation that human beings are amphibians, half spiritual and half physical. The two are joined and inseparable... but where? When a person begins losing parts of their physical self, how much must be left to preserve the spiritual self? These are the issues that this rendition of Cyrano grapples with alongside the physical necessity of relying on an artificial body to remain alive.

I sincerely hope you enjoy this loose adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac. When Sarah proposed this as a possible project for our retelling series, I couldn't pass it up.