"( "Tank" by The Seatbelts )" "I think it's time to blow this thing." "Get everybody and their stuff together." "Okay, 3..2..1.." "Let's JAM!" "E" "Huh?" "Blah, ha!" "Aaaahhhh!" "Hmm?" "Welcome back..." "So, how'd it go?" "(Everyone tells their stories at once)" "So what?" "You did it." "You caught every criminal on the whole list... but you didn't pick up any leads or clues?" "Come on!" "Still using paper to send in their complaints." "That's just harassment." "A waste of resources!" "And our server has gone down from all the e-complaints." "You know there's a movement out there to sue the company for damages." "Where are the damn bounty hunters when you need them?" "We put a huge bounty on the guy!" "True, but maybe it wasn't enough." "HIYA, AMIGOS!" "All you bad bounty hunters, how are y'all doing?" "Once again, it's time for BIGSHOT!" "Here's today's hot news!" "They caught the lowdown outlaws that carried out the recent Gate attacks!" "Really?" "The bounty on that guy was 12 million woolongs!" "I said "outlaws"." "They count 20 of them!" "Huh?" "What do you mean, Punch?" "It looks like they were caught in the act, but none were the mastermind." "Oh, and you don't get the reward unless you find the mastermind, right?" "Shucks, howdy, that's right!" "Then the guys... who caught them don't get a penny." "Sorry you guys!" "Why would the kind of two bit hoods that usually rob convenient stores..." " suddenly attack an Astro Gate?" " I don't know ..." "Maybe it's a new fad for criminals?" "Right. "Hey kids, if you're a fashion conscious ..."" ""...young hood remember that cute girl won't ..."" ""...even look your way unless you knock over an Astro Gate!" "."" ""Do it today!" You mean like that?" "So, listen guys." "Why don't we all pony up the information we have on this case..." "And agree to split the bounty three ways." "What do you say?" "You're kidding, right?" "You're the one that said to work separately." ""Each one gathering the facts and examining them."" ""Occasional rivalry between comrades is healthy" ..." "I believe that's the way you put it." "Did the size of the reward scrabble your brain?" "What?" "You guys are really keen on the idea!" "I can't believe it." "After all, we each wanted the bounty to put in our own pockets, right?" "In that case, all 20 hits were done the same way..." "Every one of them infiltrated the toll booth." "And attached the hacking unit very precisely." "So, the ship was coming through at the exact moment it paid the toll they could steal the entire balance on the credit chip." "The unit immediately sent the cash credits over an secure link to a bank on Europa." "There the money was electronically laundered through a series of blind transactions that can't be traced in any way." "All the culprits that were caught in the act." "None of them have anything in common." "Age, gender, nationality, religion, criminal record... nothing." "And on top of it, not a one of them had a single stolen woolong on them." "Well, that's all the information I could get." "How about you?" "The guy that I nabbed was so clueless he said he was following the instructions from a manual that he got mail order from some web site." "Maybe the other thieves were some wannabes ... who all read the same manual, you know?" "Manual?" "Here." "Hmm?" ""All new criminal support software"." ""Act now for this special offer." "For the low introductory..."" ""...price of 30,000 Woolongs, you could be a billionaire!"" "What the hell?" "It's complicated being an outlaw nowadays." "So, some people use manuals to help them out." "Where is this mail-order company?" "In cyberspace." "It's virtual, there's no actual location." "Now the web site is gone without a trace." "Spike, how about you?" "Those hacking units weren't designed by some piker." "It was an insider who knows precisely how the Gate system works." "Whoever is behind it is probably connected to the Gate Corporation." "That was my take on it." "I tried to look into, but ah ..." "You mean the crooked programmer?" "Right, yeah... but the guys from the Gate Corporation   suddenly became very uncooperative." "It was as if they knew what was going on, but they didn't want to talk about it." "You know?" "You dead?" " Where were we?" " Huh?" "Here, wait a minute." "Yeah, these pieces are it." "They're still our best clue." " Give it to Ed!" " Huh?" "Give it!" "There it is." "This is a memory cartridge for playing e-chess." "The memory chip stores data within the piece." "Yeah, you can activate one game." "It connects to the net." "See?" "And so, this has something to do with the incidents at the Gate?" "Not a bit." "Maybe this whole thing with the Astro Gate is really just a big game." "Go ahead and play against your cyber opponent, Ed." "Right!" "I'll try dealing with the Gate Corporation again." "Oooohhh... kkaaayyy!" "One... two... three... four..." "Ed is gonna score mo-re!" "Play ball!" "Another bounty hunter?" "I don't care what he wants, send him away." "He says he's looking for a programmer who likes to play chess." "What?" "!" "It's you!" "Hmm?" "You too, aye Jon?" "You went through all that trouble for nothing." "Like an amateur, huh!" "This one is much tougher than it looks, Jet." "You read our bounty bulletin, all the information is there." "It's very straightforward." "What else do you need to know?" "I'm afraid there is no smoking allowed in here." "Huh?" "I'm sorry, my bad." "Actually, I don't have any questions." "There's just something I want you to see." "What's that?" "This is a game, all planned out in advance." "You Gate guys know exactly what I'm talking about." "You put a bounty out on some mastermind who may not even exist." "Which means you don't want the police to know who's really behind this." "You suits are using us bounty hunters like pawns." "And I don't appreciate it." "Bounty hunters should look for bounties." "I suggest you do that." "Maybe you use to work for the ISSP, maybe not." "Either way, you would be wise to dropped this line of inquiry." "Our guest is leaving now." "Make sure he's escorted out of the building." "Shit..." "come on!" "Associate over the radio:"We should have never taken such a risk."" "If this thing ever gets out, you know what will happen." "Corporate head:" "I am fully aware of the danger." ""And if we don't catch him fast, the situation can only get worse."" "Associate: "But, why would a ghost from 50 years ago... suddenly come back now?" "It doesn't make any sense."" "Head: "And he gives every one a chess piece." "Unbelievable."" ""Chessmaster Hex..."" "Associate: "The whole thing really is a game for him."" "Chessmaster Hex, huh?" "(Ed humming a happy tune!" ")" "Oh, ho, ho, ho!" "No good." "There's nothing in here but chess data." "I wonder what they were planning to do with these things?" "Well, the data doesn't have any meaning." "But what if the chess pieces themselves are some kind of message?" "(Ed laughing hysterically)" "Hey, Spike." "I've got an ID." "See what you can find on him." "He could be the so-called "mastermind" behind this thing." " Ed?" " Edward is really busy right now." "Check, check, check, check..." "Checkmate!" "Huh?" "Oh!" "So I thought!" "At least my knight takes your rook!" "Huh?" "(Laughing at results)" "Curocky!" "This is either an idiot or a genius!" "I like this fellow!" "Spike:" "Chessmaster Hex." "Estimated to be 98 years old." "A programmer that had been dubbed a genius from his teens." "In the Cosmo-net chess tournaments, he held the champion's seat for decades." "He applied his intellect to the Hyperspace Gate Project." "Joining the program at 30 years of age." "He eventually developed central control system that all Gates use to this day." "But after that, he started to have doubts." "He said the design had defects and the Gates shouldn't be built yet." "And wanted to run more test." "So they fired him and built the gates anyway." "He's been missing for the last 50 years..." "So he's the mastermind who taught those beginners." "But why?" "Is he trying to get revenge after all these years, or what?" "Maybe if we track him down, we can get to the bottom of it." "Hey, Ed." "Edward is very busy, try later." "Faye:" "Forget later, we need some help now!" "(Hissing)" "Ed, we're trying to find a guy named Hex." "He's in cyberspace." "Hex..." "Hex..." "The Chessmaster!" "?" "Edward is playing chess against him right now!" "Huh?" "I tracked him through Edward's game." "We're coming up on him.." "Are you guys standing by?" "I don't like this." "He made it too easy to trace him." "This guy is much too smart for that." "Faye:" "Maybe it's a false trail?" "I mean, look where we're heading?" " Would he be in a dump like that?" " Hold on a minute." "Listen to me." "Jet:" "I heard about this place a long time ago." "A kind of floating scrapyard." "Where they leave wrecked Gates parts, abandoned spaceships, and scrap metal." "People moved in and started living there." "Squatters and drifters." "Faye:" "Why in the hell would they want to live there of all places?" "Jet:" "There's no government, no nationality, no taxes, and no cops." "They see it as total freedom." "Spike:" "Yeah, right." "It would also make it a perfect place to hide out." "Jet:" "Remember, this could be a trap." "A continuation of the game." "Whatever happens, happens." "Looks like there's air in here." "Jet:" "Then there's someone there." "Huh?" "How's it going, Jet?" "Jet:" "Jonathan!" " What are you doing out here?" "Jon:" "Tracking you, of course." "Thanks for leading the way!" "You mean, you've been following us?" "What for?" ""It's like this, I've got a score to settle with the guy you're looking for."" ""Bye bye!"" "Ohhh!" "Meow!" "Meow!" "Meow!" "What the...?" "Ha, ha, ha!" "Huh?" "What's that?" "(Dogs barking)" "What the hell?" "Huh?" "(Snoring)" "What's this?" "Hum, hum, hum!" "What's going on?" "He, he, he, he, he!" "Hi!" "Peace to the whole galaxy and to my bank account, love, love!" "You want one?" "Aaahhhh!" "Wow!" "Wow!" "Ha, ha, ha!" "Chessmaster Hex, I take it?" "Don't try anything, understand?" "You folks..." "Could you be just a little bit quieter, please?" "Old man!" "Hand it over!" "Hey, hold on a minute!" "Pretending to be senile won't get you out of this!" "Who are YOU?" "Either you give me the money you took  or I put a hole right through your brain!" "Ha!" "Ha!" "Ha!" "That's quite a large pipe there." "Hey, whatcha doin', Hex?" "You've got to see this." "My first formidable opponent in ages!" "He must be some player to pin you down!" "What's your next move?" "I don't know." "Let's have lunch first." "You ate lunch a few minutes ago, blast it!" "Really?" "Did I like it?" "Who are these guys?" "Dunno." "But this one is losing it." " You leave your brain somewhere?" " Yeah, like you can talk." "You numb skull." "My whole life savings gone!" "I'll never get it back now..." "Damn..." "Goddammit!" "Anyone and everyone, you owe!" "IT'S ALL A MISTAKE!" "AH!" "HA!" "HA!" "HA!" "What are we gonna do with him?" "The old duff is out of touch." "...he can't recall yesterday, let alone 50 years ago!" "Lucky for him." "Hex is no longer here." "There's no one left but an old man who loves to play games." "Hex was furious." "He wanted revenge, and this was how he got it." "He set up the sting to kick in 50 years later when the Gate was pre-scheduled for it's first automatic tech upgrade." "It was all planned out." "He even arranged for his operatives to carry chess pieces to let you know he had finally gotten back at you." "But 50 years is a long time." "Hex got old." "Then he got senile." "He had completely forgot about the traps that he himself had set." "Well, it's better for you this way." "You know he won't expose you now." "Your dirty little secret will remain a secret." "You can't tell anyone about the defects you built into the Gates." "So, that's it then." "You don't have to worry about him." "You just have to worry about us." "What do you want, money?" "Is that it?" "Come on, say it." "What's your price to keep from leaking this thing to the press?" "Just leave that old guy alone." "Call off the bounty hunters." "That's all we ask." "You see, Ed would be unhappy if she lost her favorite chess partner." "And we wouldn't want that to happen, now would we?" "Are you playing again?" "Not again." "Ed's still playing." "You mean...?" "You played the same game for a week!" "?" "Um, hmm." "I see." "Well, good luck Ed." "Yo, newbie." "You're in a good mood today." "Howdy there, guys!" "He's a easygoing dude, ain't he?" "Sure is, Antonio." "Nice fellow." "Checkmate." "Checkmate!" "Aaaahhhh!" "Ah, huh!" "He got meeee..." "English subtitle by Dana Robertson You're welcome." "( "The Real Folk Blues" by Yoko Kanno )" "Aishiteta to nageku niwa Too much time has passed by to" "Amarinimo toki wa sugitte shimatta Lament that we were deeply in love" "Mada kokoro no hokorobi wo The wind keeps blowing, while my heart" "Iyasenu mama kaze ga fuiteru Cannot heal all the tears in it" "Kawaita hitomi de dare ka naite kure Someone, cry for me with parched eyes" "The real folk blues!" "Honto no kanashimi ga shiritai dake I only want to know what true sadness is" "Doro no kawa ni tsukatta Sitting in muddy water" "Jinsei mo waruku wa nai Isn't such a bad life" "Ichido kiri de owaru nara If it ends after the first time" "Faye:" "Love is to believe in everything!" "Spike:" "Wait a minute." "Are you serious?" "Faye:" "Love is the heart that gives to all!" "Jet:" "Come on!" "That is what this story is about!" "Faye:" "Love is the heart that accepts everything!" "Spike:" "You know I'm not buying this!" "Faye:" "With me, you love me that much!" "Jet:" "You really can't trust the previews on this show!" "Faye:" "A romantic love story for all you lovers." "Next episode: "My Funny Valentine"" "Spike:" "It's gotta be a lie!" "Jet:" "Yeah, she's making it up."