part human, part robot;
Cyborgs had their beginnings in the early 20th century with a French Novel entitled "L'Homme qui peut vivre dans l'eau" ("The Man Who Can Live in Water"). Before the WWII era, cyborgs had become quite widespread in novels. The actual term, "cyborg" was was coined by Manfred E. Clynes and Nathan S. Kline in reference to their idea of a person who could survive in alien environments in 1960. Today, cyborgs are quite common and popular in Science Fiction as well as real life. Wikipedia states the following regarding cyborgs:
"A cyborg is a cybernetic organism which adds to or enhances its abilities by using technology. Fictional cyborgs are frequently portrayed with a fine granularity mixture of organic and mechanical (synthetic) parts."
In many ways humans today could be considered to be cyborgs because of our attachments to technology in order to enhance their capabilities. However, in the more traditional sense of the word, there are many people who have bionic or robotic parts living in society. One example is the C-LEG, which replaces human legs that have been amputated. Claudia Mitchell and Jesse Sullivan are two people living today who have bionic limbs. There is even technology being developed which can help these types of people feel with these limbs!
Cyborgs in Xenosaga
In the universe of Xenosaga, cyborgs were once very commonplace. During the age of the Life Recycling Law many people donated their bodies to be revived and used as weapons by the Galaxy Federation. Although Ziggy did not willingly hand his body over to be donated, he did simply sign an organ donor card, probably a prerequisite of an officer in the Federation Police.
Those who were in affiliation with special forces or the military were given similar duty after being revived. However, donors without this type of background were sometimes assigned to harsh manual labor and often dangerous terraforming jobs. In some instances, they were even assigned as housekeepers. Because the abilities of cyborgs were superior to those of humans, their human rights were stripped. Thus, cyborgs were considered to be in a very low social position, living only to serve humans, although they were once human themselves.
It was because of these issues, many people stopped donating their bodies. Eventually, the Galaxy Federation adopted a negative stance toward cyborg donation. With the rise of Realian technology, the Life Recycling Law became obsolete, and was ratified later on.
People who underwent cyborg operations to repair and enhance their natural bodies after damage, accidents, or birth defects were not considered to have the same social standing as donated cyborgs.
The social position of cyborgs is seen clearly in Xenosaga. Ziggy states that he has no rights, and cannot deny any request made of him. In Episode II, after Jr and chaos join Ziggy before MOMO's analysis, if you choose Ziggy to be your lead character, the people in the UMN Center say some very interesting things to him. A few of them are angry that he's able to be in the room with the analysis when they worked very hard to get into their position and they aren't allowed. Another pokes fun at him, and he doesn't respond. Though a few of the people say nicer things to him. Later, when returning, if you play Ziggy and talk to the other people working there, the ones who reacted rudely toward him apologize, perhaps after seeing that he is part of the S.O.C.E. and under Juli Mizrahi. I assume this isn't because they feel bad, per-se, but because the Mizrahi name is feared throughout the Federation.
However, at the Kukai Foundation, many victims of the LIfe Recycling Law are protected there. Perhaps that could be one of the reasons why Jr wanted Ziggy to stay with them at the end of Episode II, beyond being able to continue being there for MOMO. It could also be possible that while traveling with Shion and the others, Ziggy is treated and considered to be a person instead of an outdated piece of equipment. Juli Mizrahi also regards Ziggy as a human, perhaps even from the start. I would assume, however, that after 100 years of being a cyborg, Ziggy has become accustomed to that sort of treatment. However, I'd imagine that being treated like an equal would be a nice and refreshing change. By the end of the game, Ziggy has accepted his humanity and seems to embrace it, instead of wanting to become an unthinking, uncaring machine.
Ziggurat Industries
Ziggurat Industries is a company that began it's business by specializing in the field of cybernetics and biotechnology. It's most popular products were the Ziggurat Series cyborgs. However, because the number of body donors decreased, and Realian technology took over cyborg surgery, the company ended it's development in cybernetics. However, because the defense capabilities of cyborgs are still superior to those of realians, Ziggurat Industries continues to provide replacement parts to organizations that continue to use their products. However, they are quite hard to come by, as Juli explains toward the end of Episode II when Ziggy looses his arm after escaping from the Omega System.
There were a total of eight series of cyborgs created by the company. Ziggy is of the final series, the type 8 battle cyborg. These models usually have their neural infrastructure transfered to a Realian body while not on duty. But because of Ziggy's own personal preferences he doesn't do this. This is, unless, you unlock his swimsuit in Episode III. Besides this, type 8 cyborgs were designed specifically for law enforcement usage. They have exceptional nerve impulse reaction speeds, resilience and resistance to bullets. On the downside, they require special machinery for maintenance and are quite expensive to upkeep.