Rio Cyborg
In a scorched and unforgiving future where water is more precious than gold, Rio Cyborg transports readers to Blanken 9—a frontier planet where grit meets circuitry, and the struggle for survival rides on the edge of a blade. Zestrum Doniphon, a soft-spoken yet sharp-witted cyborg engineer, searches for a fresh start after breaking free from years of forced labor under the Consortium—a ruthless corporation that terraformed the planet and discarded its cyborg workforce like spent tools. Carrying a past of pain and an arsenal of cybernetic enhancements, Zestrum arrives in the remote border town of Copperbank, where law bends to the will of Claude Etcheverry, a powerful rancher who hoards the valley's most coveted resource: water.
As Zestrum rides into town, a chance encounter tangles him in local politics and a simmering water war. Etcheverry wants more than just hired hands—he seeks loyal soldiers to crush opposition and maintain his grip on the valley. But Zestrum soon realizes that agreeing to help the rancher could cost more than he's willing to pay. On the other side, there’s a glimmer of rebellion in the grassroots resistance, and Zestrum must decide whether to stand alongside those who dare to dream of justice—or walk away altogether.
In a brutal world where trust is scarce and survival even scarcer, Zestrum faces more than just shootouts and saloon brawls. He must confront the injustice embedded in the very society he helped build—how cyborgs are considered disposable tools rather than equal citizens, and how monopolized resources leave small towns gasping for freedom. With a growing circle of allies, including a fiery boarding house proprietor and an enigmatic sheriff, Zestrum learns that the strength of his cybernetics pales in comparison to the perseverance of the human spirit—or what’s left of it.
Rio Cyborg is a whirlwind of gunfights, romance, and high-stakes drama, fusing the grit of an old-time western with the imaginative lens of speculative sci-fi. It’s a showdown between man and machine, power and resistance, and the ultimate question of where the line between humanity and technology is drawn. As Zestrum navigates an increasingly volatile world, he proves that sometimes it takes a broken hero to rebuild what’s been lost.