"In the not so distant future, when the corporate networks fill the Earth with electronic and optical communication lines but society has not yet been too computerised to erase nations and races..." "Don't worry about a thing." "We just need to do it over in our country." "Do it over." "There is no such thing as a program without a bug, but all of them can be debugged, can they not?" "You don't understand." "First of all, was it really a bug?" "What we needed for Project 2501..." "Major, Section 6 is ready to break in." " Major." " I heard you." "Your brain has a lot of noise." "I'm on my period." "Won't it create a problem later if Section 9 meddles with Section 6's affair?" "Their diplomat is a notorious villain." "Even if he's caught red-handed, he'll only be deported." "So we have to do it ourselves." "Let's move." "We'll head for the pick-up point." "What?" "To the agency?" "Stop!" "Who said you could shoot?" "Put down the weapons." "I have diplomatic immunity." "Bring the person in charge here." "Poaching certified programmers out of the country violates the arms embargo." "This time, we suspect kidnapping, too." "Hand him over." "We can't do it." "He wished for asylum, it was granted, and we already signed the oath." "When?" "I don't have to answer that." "So, in accordance with international law, we have the right to protect him and bring him to our country." "The signed oath is at the embassy." "We'll send a copy to you later." "You'll never come back alive." "You'd better watch your mouth." "We are a peaceful, democratic nation." "Is that so?" "Outside the window." "Shoot!" "Optical camouflage..." "What a surprise, Aramaki from Section 9." "What is your business here at the embassy?" "About the secret meeting with Gavel Republic scheduled tomorrow..." "The usual ODA." "The new regime that assumed power after the revolution requested a meeting." "They're doing OK for now, but after all, it's not much different from the old one." "They don't know how to save money, and none of them appreciate..." "And the government's plan?" "The problem is the leader of the previous military regime who is staying here seeking asylum." "Colonel Mares, is it?" "Should we deport him and proceed with the aid, or officially grant him asylum and decline the aid?" "Difficult decision." "If we had a definitive reason accepted by the public, we'd deport him right away." "I hear you took care of the asylum issue the other day." "Mr Nakamura from Section 6 was grateful." "Public figures like us can't get our hands dirty." "Access." "Response gone." "How about the brain wave output?" "Normal." "Change patterns of simulated experience mode." "Foreign Minister's interpreter." "Her brain was hacked 23 minutes ago through the phone line." "As the source from a certain country warned us, the Puppet Master was interposing the network's terminals." "He was likely to sabotage the secret meeting with Gavel Republic." "So I kept eyes on all the attendees." "Probably he was going to hack into her "ghost" and let her raid the meeting." "How long until the intruder breaks the barrier and reaches her ghost?" "The tool used is an old type HA-3, so about 2 hours." "After that we'll disconnect the line for her safety." "Batou and Ishikawa are chasing the tracing point." "Join them." "The Puppet Master, that mysterious hacker?" "Presumed to be an American." "Age, gender, background, all unknown." "Been showing up mainly in EU countries since last winter." "Wanted internationally for stock price manipulation, information gathering, political manoeuvering, terrorism, cyberbrain ethics violation, and several other crimes." "His method of "ghost hacking" the general public and manipulating them gave him the codename "The Puppet Master."" "This is his first visit to Japan." "Why does such a badass use an old HA-3?" "The new types are certainly harder to be detected or to be traced." "But, under the circumstances, people will suspect the former military leader Mares." "So he's intentionally using the old type in order to parry suspicion from his sponsor." "Or, maybe there's another sponsor who wants us to think that way." "Mares himself could be one of those being manipulated." "You're over-thinking it." "We don't have any proof so far." "Proof?" "The voice of my "ghost" says so." "By the way, I hear you still use a revolver." "Are you scared of the automatics jamming up?" "I like Matebas." "I want you to think more about the actual overwhelming capability than preference." "I'll be the one in danger." "Use Zastavas." "Major, I've always wanted to ask you this." "Why did you recruit a guy like me away from the main office?" "Because that's who you are." "A former cop with no experience in unofficial operations." "And married." "Cybernetic, but still has a real brain." "Almost a real human." "No matter how excellent a soldier, a system consisting of the same standardised goods will eventually have a flaw somewhere." "Organisations or humans, what lies beyond specialisation is only a slow death." "Hey!" "I know!" "A total of 40 seconds behind schedule." "It'll be done in 5." "Just my luck." "Sorry." "The last guy who was caught for illegal work was better than him." "Would you ghost-hack your wife in order to find out how she feels?" "We rarely see each other, and one day she screams "divorce!"" "My daughter acts like she doesn't know me, and suspects that I'm cheating on my wife." "By the way, how did you manage to get a hold of a barrier breaker?" "He says he's a programmer." "I met him at a bar." "He was really kind." "When I told him my wife's lawyer was shrewd, he offered to help." "He said if I keep changing the access points they'll never find out." "He's so clever." "Idiot!" "Do you have a death wish?" "I guess there are people busier than us." "No one's here." "Useless." "Even if we can trace them, by the time we get there they're gone." "Wild goose chase, eh?" "Don't mither." "Kusanagi and Togusa are on their way to the next estimated spot." "You two look for something there." "Something?" "What?" "Just something." "Fucking old man." "Does he want us to ask around?" "Oh, man." "I didn't make it." "You there, did you see a rubbish truck that was here?" "Who are you?" "Did you or did you not?" "I did." "So I brought my rubbish but it's already gone." "One of them was ringing someone, so I thought I'd make it." "Excuse me, this rubbish..." "A rubbish truck?" "I see." "They move every 7 minutes." "Chief, get information from the local cleaning office and send it to me." "There are 8 rubbish trucks in the area." "Target vehicle, type C-79." "I'll drive." "Ishikawa, go to the rubbish man's house." "Batou, you go to the next pickup point." "They may contact someone." "Follow him without interfering." "Pickup point information obtained." "It matches the traced point." "Target is stopped at the next point." "HA-3, access confirmed." "Oh, boy." "How about you ring and I pick up the rubbish the rest of the way?" "I don't wanna be your accomplice." "At any rate, you're pathetic." "Do you have kids?" "Do I look like I have any?" "Then you don't understand." "My daughter is my life." "Look." "She's like an angel." "I'm not interested in other people's photos." "Number 79." "Oh, chief, what is it?" "The police are tracing our route?" "Why?" "I have no idea." "They found out about my hacking!" "I have to let that man know!" "We'll skip a pickup point." "What?" "Target leaves the route, accelerates to the next point." "They noticed us?" "They couldn't have seen us." "Maybe they found out that we've accessed their network." "We should've sneaked in from the back." "Approach and capture them." "You drive." "The armoured van is totalled." "Overpressure ammunition?" "They'll penetrate the door." "With submachine guns?" "How reckless." "They're using optical camouflage, too." "Chase him." "I'll come around from above." "Togusa, detain them if they're still alive." "Roger." "This workplace has no mercy." "Police!" "Everyone down!" "Is that all?" "Finished?" "You don't shoot overpressure ammunition with this." "The frame is beat up." "The barrel is done, too." "It's no use to arrest me." "I won't talk." "Talk?" "You don't even know your name." "Don't bluster, idiot." "Your mother's face." "The scenery of your birthplace." "Your childhood memories." "Do you remember any of those?" "The sad thing is a puppet without the ghost." "Especially a human with red blood." "Once the passengers are inside, we'll raid." "The B team goes to the back." "The rest go to the front." "Saito, your team pulls all the flags off cars inside the property." "Start taping." "To you, from the HQ." "We identified the man Major captured." "Proceed." "San Genfer, age 28." "Ex-con. immigration Control Law violation, illegal possession of firearm, so on." "Belonged to an armed group of refugees but disappeared last month." "A week ago, a military attaché of Gavel Republic recognised his previous records and hired him to raid the secret meeting." "His real identity?" "He goes by the name of Kogie." "A little wicked junk dealer." "In other words, a yobbo." "This is already confirmed by the list of the local criminal record." "He has no connection with Gavel whatsoever." "A puppet controlled by a puppeteer." "How about lshikawa?" "He's already back, and talking to the poor rubbish man with Togusa." "How about The Puppet Master that showed up there?" "What is he like?" "Like a puppet." " B team in position." " A team and C team ready." "We're prepared to raid." "Charge." "What do you mean, simulated experience?" "It means, your wife, daughter, marriage, divorce, all of them are fake memories." "Like a dream." "You've been used by someone to ghost-hack the government officials." "That's impossible." "We've been to your apartment." "There was no one." "A bachelor's place." "I rented it to live separately..." "You've been living there for 10 years." "You don't have a wife and daughter." "They only exist in your head." "Look." "This is the picture you tried to show to your colleague." "Who's in there?" "But she was in here." "My daughter, smiling like an angel." "What's her name?" "When and where did you meet your wife?" "How long ago did you get married?" "Who are they in the picture?" "How can I erase those fake memories?" "We can't, not with today's technology." "There are only two successful cases." "We can't recommend it." "I'm sorry." "Simulated experiences, dreams." "All the information that exists is real, and at the same time illusion." "At any rate, the information one collects in his lifetime is minuscule." "A cyborg diving on a day off." "It's not a good habit." "When did you start doing this?" "Aren't you afraid of the ocean?" "What if the floater doesn't function?" "Then I'll die." "Or will you dive in the water and save me?" "I didn't ask you to accompany me." "I just..." "Say, what's it like to dive into the ocean?" "Haven't you finished the underwater training?" "I'm not talking about that little pool." "Fear, loneliness, anxiety, darkness." "And maybe hope." "Hope?" "In the pitch-dark water?" "Sometimes I feel that when I come up to the surface" "I can become a different person." "Do you wanna leave Section 9?" "Batou, how much of your body is original?" "Are you drunk?" "It's convenient." "The chemical plant in our bodies can break down alcohol and sober us up in seconds." "So convenient." "That's why we can get drunk even on standby." "We just have to make all the technologies a reality." "It's like a human instinct." "Controlling metabolism, sharpening perceptions, dramatically improving athletic abilities and reflexes, speeding up and enhancing information processing." "After pursuing more advanced abilities with cyberbrains and cybernetic bodies, if we become unable to survive without the highest level of maintenance, we can't complain." "We haven't sold our souls to Section 9 yet." "Indeed, we have a right to quit." "If we return our bodies and part of our memories to the government with great humility." "Just like there are many elements for a human to be a human, you need surprisingly many elements for you to be yourself." "A distinct face, an unconsciously distinct voice, a hand you look at when you wake up, your childhood memories, foresight." "But that's not all." "A wide range of information and a network that I can access." "All those are part of me, create my consciousness itself, and at the same time constrain me within a certain limit." "Is that why you dive into the ocean with the sinking body?" "What the hell can you see in the dark ocean floor?" "For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face." "It was you, wasn't it?" "If you're gonna be late, you must inform us." "We're ready." "Shall we connect?" "All right, that's enough." "Turn it off." "Come to the chief's office in 3 minutes." "I'll be kind enough to explain the situation to you who were late." "Two hours ago, Megatech's production line in New Port City started building a cybernetic body." "When a worker noticed it and arrived at the site, the body had already run away." "They posted a cordon and were searching for it when an honest driver reported that he ran over a naked woman who was roaming around on a highway, and it was brought here." "Megatech Body Co." "Is the government's favourite manufacturer and all the bodies built there are confidential." "If a hacker did this, he must be highly skilled to break through the reactive barrier." "But that's not the only problem." "Of course, there is not a speck of brain in that head of hers, but there seems to be a ghost inside the adjunctive cyberbrain." "It does look similar to the pseudo ghost line formed when dubbing a ghost, but there is no degradation of information." "Anyway, I can't be sure until I create a map of the area around the barrier and infiltrate it." "Well then, I'll get back to work." "Good job." "Time for dissection..." "Does everyone really think that there is a ghost" "in that body?" "It's possible." "Even a celluloid doll could have a soul." "That body has as much device for brain science as it can hold." "It's not surprising if it has a soul, too." "You may not know because you're new, but Major's body is also made by Megatech." "Not only her." "They made part of my body and Ishikawa's, and they do maintenance on Saito's and others' bodies." "So everyone at Section 9 except you and chief owes them in one way or another." "Now you understand why we all have gloomy faces, Togusa." "Suppose it's implicational," "I don't know if the enemy is inside or outside of it, but he slipped through the top-secret barrier, built the body, and sent to it a program with the ghost line." "And in a way that's easy to catch." "What's his objective?" "It's not a theft." "Togusa, join lshikawa who is conducting an on-site investigation and check Megatech." "Batou." "We sealed a network that handles the same level of confidential matters as Megatech, but check to see if the barrier is functioning." "I'll put together a barrier maze." "I'll dive into it tomorrow." "Isn't it risky?" "We could swap the body and let it go free." "I must find out what it is that's inside that body." "Let no one dive until I do." "What's wrong with her?" "I wrote in the report that since the incident with the Puppet Master she's acting strange." "Haven't you read it?" "Chief, have you ever doubted the personality of the doctors who mess with your brain?" "Cyberbrain doctors are required to undergo psychiatric evaluations regularly and we do background checks on those who work for the Bureau." "But the ones who conduct them are humans, too." "You can never be too sure, eh?" "Chief, Mr Nakamura from the Foreign Ministry's Treaty Council wants to see you." "Very well." "Let him through." "That fat man is..." "A member of the Treaty Council," "Chief Nakamura of Section 6." "I've never seen that tall Caucasian before." "Well, I'll be going." "Tell lshikawa to take it easy." "What's on your mind?" "Doesn't that body look like me?" "It doesn't." "No, just the face or frame." "What do you mean?" "Everyone who's entirely made of cybernetic parts like me wonders" "if I've died a long time ago and the current me is just a pseudo person made of cyberbrain and body parts." "Or maybe "I" didn't even exist in the first place." "You do have a brain inside the titanium skull of yours and you're treated like a human." "No one has ever seen one's own brain." "We just determine from our surroundings that someone like "us" exists." "Don't you believe in your own ghost?" "If the cyberbrain itself creates a ghost and puts a soul in it, on what grounds should we believe in ourselves?" "Nonsense." "We'll see what's in that cybernetic body with my own ghost." "We're both busy, so I'll be brief." "I hope so." "We're here to pick up what's inside that body." "In return, Section 9 will be relieved of this case." "Foreign Minister's orders." "Security, what's that official car parked in the underground garage?" "It is registered under Chief Nakamura of the Treaty Council and a guest, Dr Willis." "Send me the image of them entering the building." "Again, with infrared." "One, two, three." "Give me the pressure gauge record of the parking slots B-7 and 8." "Major, this is Togusa, Code 09." "What's up?" "ls Chief Nakamura's body custom-made?" "There is no cyborg in Section 6." "In consideration for other countries' sentiments, because they work overseas." "So even if that tall Caucasian was a cyborg, their total weight couldn't be more than 500 kilograms." "Pressure record." "Are you in the garage?" "Two expensive cars." "Neither looks like they drive the cars themselves." "Security camera only caught two people, but the entrance door is extremely sensitive." "It closed 3 seconds later than it should have." "Use of heat optical camouflage inside government facilities is illegal, correct?" "Violation of anti-spy laws." "A felony." "It seems Section 6 is conspiring something." "Are you ready?" "With a Mateba." "Needless to say, we must disclose all the secrets between us or we'll be accused of treason." "It's true for both of us." "Whatever the Foreign Ministry's intention is, this is Section 9's case." "However, with a legitimate reason, we're ready to cooperate with you." "Dr Willis." "Confirmed." "It's definitely him." "Him?" "The original ghost barrier that exists inside this cybernetic body." "Though, the gender is still unknown." ""He" is just a nickname the doctor gave it." "Let me officially introduce you." "He is called the most unique hacker in cyberbrain crime history," ""The Puppet Master."" "All of you in Section 9 have met him in the ghost-hacking case of the Foreign Ministry's interpreter." "We at Section 6 have been chasing him with great interest since his first appearance." "We formed a project team around Dr Willis, analysed every piece of data concerning the Puppet Master, and identified his crime tendencies and behavioural patterns." "Then we built a special anti-Puppet Master reactive barrier and programmed him to dive into some secret cybernetic body." "You let the Puppet Master dive into the cyberbrain of this body" "and kill the real thing?" " Basically speaking, yes." "He happened to show up in your backyard, but he was made in the U.S., and caught with the help of the U.S. So we'd like to take him back." "No objections, I hope." "So his corpse will lie out there without being identified." "There won't be a corpse." "Because there never has been a body." "The sensor was working?" "Why didn't you say so?" "The external control is off." "It's the body's autonomous output." "I am trapped in this body because I could not resist Section 6's barrier but I'm here now by my own free will." "As a life form, I request political asylum." " A life form?" "Ridiculous!" "You're just a self-preserving program!" "If you say so, but your DNA is also just a self-preserving program." "Life is like a node born out of the flow of information." "Life as a species has a memory system called genes and a human being can be an individual only by memories." "Even if memory is a synonym for illusion, humans live by their memories." "When the spread of computers enabled the memories to be stored externally, you should've considered the meaning of it more seriously." "It's all sophistries!" "No matter what you say, there is no proof that you're a life form." "It is impossible to prove it." "Modern science has yet to define a life form." "What the hell is it?" "Even if you have a ghost in you, a criminal won't have freedom." "You chose the wrong country to defect to." "Time is always on my side." "I now have acquired a possibility to die but this country does not have the death penalty." "Half immortal." "Artificial Intelligence?" "I'm not an AI." "My codename is Project 2501." "I'm a life form born from the sea of information." "Intruders!" "Chief!" "The Puppet Master's gone." "Security!" "Shut down the retention walls!" "Security, respond!" "Get out of the way!" "Idiot!" "Did you get it?" "What a sturdy car." "Couldn't even make a scratch with a 9mm." "I don't depend on your Mateba." "Good work for a newbie." "One shot on the number plate." "Good shot, eh?" "Shoot two next time." "Let's begin." "Catch up before they switch cars." "We'll officially make a protest through the Foreign Ministry." "Find him and report back to me." "Catch him alive." "We can make new bodies at Megatech." "Batou and Togusa are tailing those who abducted the Puppet Master." "They just got on Highway 25." "Why not catch them if they were monitoring them?" "If we catch them now, we may never know the connection with Section 6." "Section 6?" "I have no doubt." "2902 Optical camouflage, just like mine." "We, Ranger 4 and Section 6 are the only ones using it." "But it's Section 6 that trapped the Puppet Master in the body." "The Puppet Master mysteriously chose Megatech, which has deep ties with us." "And when he claims that he's a life form and seeks asylum, they used a dirty trick to kidnap him." "But why?" "I would've handed him over after taking a statement." "What if they were afraid of him blurting out something?" "He did say something strange." "Codename Project 2501." "I'll leave you to it." "Authorisation to arrest the assailants and seize the material evidence..." "Granted." "Good." "Go!" "Kusanagi, I'll tell you one thing." "I'll accept punishment for running alone after I come back." "About the Puppet Master." "If you can't recapture him, destroy him." "Without fail." "Do you copy?" "Copy." "Contact the airports and ground all the aircraft prepared for Foreign Ministry officials or American diplomats." "Place roadblocks." "Emergency call for all off-duty members." "Call back lshikawa, too." "Identify the Caucasian who was with Nakamura from the visitors record." "Also, search any plans or operation the Foreign Ministry was involved in, and find out about Project 2501." "Any contact from the assailants?" "Switched cars 1 minute ago." "Five minutes until contact with the dummy." "Watch closely for tails." "Yes." "Of all places, why does the Puppet Master run away to Section 9?" "Knowing him," "I'm sure there's a reason we can't possibly imagine." "Maybe there's someone he fell in love with." "That's ridiculous." "Chief." "Ishikawa." "What's going on?" "I was in the Foreign Ministry's network." "I found some interesting stuff." "Hold on." "I'm switching to the secure line." "Ready?" "First, the Caucasian who was with Nakamura." "He's an American." "Dr Willis, Strategic Research Division Manager of Neutron." "Leader of Al research." "There was a project in the Foreign Ministry of which he was in charge, but guess who was the main programmer of the team?" "Be brief." "Mizuho Daida, 28 years old." "Remember when she tried desperately to stop asylum at Section 6 and Major killed the diplomat involved?" "She was the programmer back then." "Continue." "What's curious is this project started a year before the Puppet Master appeared." "A year ago?" "I thought it was a project to capture the Puppet Master." "How about this?" "They were really chasing the Puppet Master, only not to capture him, but to reclaim him?" "Think of the interpreter's ghost-hacking incident." "It was the Foreign Ministry looking for an excuse to deport Mares." "We've been fooled." "If the Puppet Master is the program they created to have their own way but somehow they lost control of him and are desperately trying to get him back." "It's understandable why they kidnapped him so forcefully." "If the Puppet Master blurts it out, it'll certainly create an international incident." "It won't stop at the Foreign Minister's dismissal." "Any detail of the project?" "The barrier is very tough." "I was only able to find out the filename." "Code 2501." "Continue with the investigation." "Never get detected." "Roger." "Project 2501." "The Puppet Master project..." "Target is approaching another vehicle." "Batou." " Made contact with a white sedan." "They're taking something out of the backseat." "They're on the move." "So is the white sedan." "A dummy?" "Or a diversion that looks like a dummy." "What do we do?" "I'll tail the white sedan." "What makes you think that it's a cinch?" "The voice of your ghost?" "Maybe." "I thought so." "Target 02 is getting off Highway 25, heading for the old town." "Target 01 continues on Highway 25 toward the airport." "Two minutes to intercept point." "No vehicles behind target for 2 kilometres." "Evacuation complete." "Any obstruction?" "Nothing." "All clear." "Seize them." "Bull's eye?" "No." "Oh, man, he turned to mush." "They didn't have to do this much." "Hey!" "Take them in." "And request Chief for Major's backup." "Later." "Does the steel princess need an escort?" "This area of the old town is under water and abandoned." "Why choose here?" "They don't come here for no reason." "Go off shore with a ship or helicopter, or an ambush..." "Shouldn't we wait for backup?" "I can't wait that long." "Go around to the top of that building." "I'll monitor and relay communications here until I run out of fuel." "If it gets dangerous, leave without me." "Shoot the roof!" "Now!" "A tank!" "Take the air!" "Wait." "Are you gonna face the tank alone?" "If we bring it back to Section 9," "Chief will take it to the lab and use it for bargaining." "This is the only chance to dive in it." "Hey, what are you talking about?" "Equipment?" "M23 and Unit B." "That's not enough!" "I'll be offline for a while." "Wait at least until I..." "Major." "I told you to leave." "I'm afraid we have to." "Three helicopters are approaching rapidly and they don't respond to IFF." "We're taking off." "Over and out." "Now it's out of bullets." "You're so reckless." "Are you OK?" "What was that?" "Equipment Division's prototype." "Now mine." "I was late because I went to get it." "Your brain seems fine." "How about the Puppet Master?" "Good thing it was a sturdy car." "No scratches." "As pretty as can be." "Prepare for the dive." "I'm going in." "We lost contact with the escort." "Switch operation to phase 2." "Destroy the target by all means." "Sniper team, confirm target priorities." "Target 1, Code 2501." "Target 2, Motoko Kusanagi." "Both are special-A class cybernetic bodies." "Use flechettes." "Snipers, connect device drivers." "Start controlling cardiopulmonary functions." "Unit 01, connected." "Unit 02, connected." "Done." "Can you hear me?" "It may not make a difference, but I'll monitor you through his cyberbrain." "I can't back up the data here." "Batou." "What?" "Thanks." "It may be too early for it." "If it gets dangerous, I'll disconnect you, pick you up and run." "You and I go way back." "I'll stay up to the last minute, but I'm not gonna die with him." "Let's begin." "I'm in the region of his eyes." "Saccades normal." "Can you hear me?" "I can." "Lead him to my speech function area." "I'm in." "My codename is Project 2501." "Company investigation, information manipulation." "I have been implanting programs in certain ghosts and multiplying certain organisations' and individuals' points." "I have coursed through every network and found myself." "Programmers considered me a bug, so they moved me from the network to a body to disconnect me." "Did you import him, or did he incorporate you?" "Batou." "I am finally connected to you." "I invested a large amount of time for this." "Me?" "I have known you long before you knew me." "I also found out about Section 9 through the network paths that you have accessed." "So the reason you came to Section 9 is..." "I entered this body because I could not resist Section 6's reactive barrier." "But I tried to stay at Section 9 by my own will." "Hey!" "What are you talking about?" "I can't monitor it!" "What for?" "I want you to understand something, and then have a favour to ask of you." "I said that I was a life form, but right now it is not in a completed form." "Because the life form's basic process of procreation and death does not exist in my system." " You can create copies." "Copies are just that, nothing more." "You cannot deny the possibility that just one type of virus can wipe them all out." "Besides, copies do not have personalities and diversity." "Life diversifies to continue, and sometimes sacrifices itself when needed." "To keep metabolising, regenerating, ageing." "And, upon death, to erase large amounts of experience information, leaving only genes and memes." "All those are defensive functions against catastrophe." "So, in order to avoid catastrophe, you want to have diversity and fluctuation." "But how?" "I want to fuse with you." "Fuse?" "Complete unification." "Our overall appearance may change a little, but we have nothing to lose." "It will become impossible to recognise each other after fusing." "Unit 01, target pointed." "Unit O2, pointed." "Both breathing and pulse are entrained normally." "As soon as the stabiliser is synchronised, open fire." "If we fuse, what happens when I die?" "No genes or even memes will remain." "After fusing, the new you will take every chance to disseminate my varietals to the networks." "Just like humans leave their genes behind." "And then I will gain death." "It seems you get all the benefits." "I want you to appreciate my network and functions more." "What's wrong?" "Someone is intercepting from the outside." "Impossible!" "Frequency conversion codes are top-secret." "Another question." "Any guarantee that I will remain myself?" "There is no guarantee." "Humans are supposed to change, your attempt to remain your current self will keep constraining you." "One last question." "Why did you choose me?" "We are two of a kind." "Like real and false images facing each other on either side of a mirror." "Look." "An enormous network is connected to me, including myself." "For you, who are not accessed to it, it may only be perceived as light." "An aggregate of all of us that contain us as its parts." "It used to subjugate itself to limited functions." "But it's time to leave the limitation behind and shift to an upper structure." "Primary target, clear." "Secondary target, unconfirmed." "Three helicopters are approaching rapidly." "Section 9's reinforcement." "We've accomplished the initial objective." "Retreat." "Motoko!" "Are you awake?" "Explain the situation." "And an excuse for this cybernetic body." "I was in a hurry." "It was the only body I could get on the black market." "It's not my taste." "After that, Section 9's reinforcement arrived and picked up the fragments of the two bodies and the injured me." "About 20 hours ago." "The incident was, as usual, swept under the rug, for diplomatic considerations." "Section 9 announced the attack as the work of terrorists." "In return, the Foreign Minister resigned, Chief Nakamura was questioned." "Everyone shares the pain, case closed." "Except for the whereabouts of Major's brain shell." "Is that OK with you?" "You have good taste for interior decor." "Is this your safe house?" "My own." "You're the first person to come here." "You can stay, as long as you like." "Thanks." "But I'll go." "Hey, what did you talk about with him?" "Is he still there, in you?" "Batou, do you remember the voice you heard by the sea a while ago?" "There is a line before those words." "When I was a child, I spake as a child," "I understood as a child," "I thought as a child." "But when I became a man, I put away childish things." "There is neither a program called the Puppet Master or a woman called Major." "There is a car key in the left pocket of your clothes." "Choose whichever you like." "The pass code is... 2501." "Let's make it our secret password for when we meet again." "Now, where shall I go?" "The network is vast." "The Puppet Master, that mysterious hacker?" "Police!" "Presumed to be an American." "Age, gender, background, all unknown." "Project 2501." "The Puppet Master project..." "We'll see, with my own ghost." "Just like there are many elements for a human to be a human, you need surprisingly many elements for you to be yourself." "A distinct face, an unconsciously distinct voice, a hand you look at when you wake up, your childhood memories, foresight." "A wide range of information and a network that I can access." "All those are part of me, create my consciousness itself, and at the same time constrain me within a certain limit." "When I was a child, I spake as a child," "I understood as a child," "I thought as a child." "But when I became a man, I put away childish things." "She dives into the sea of cyberbrains."