"Chichiro...?" "Chichiro...." "Where are you?" "Chichiro..." "Chichiro..." "Is Chichiro a name your father gave him?" "Chichirone's the name he gave himself..." "I see..." "What a lovely name." "Aaaaahhh!" "There you are!" "Now it's Sachi's turn..." "Not yet..." "RING..." "MEOW..." "Not yet..." "RING..." "MEOW..." "MEOW..." "All right..." "Come on, Chichirone..." "Come on!" "Chichirone!" "Sachi..." "Sachi..." "All right you two." "In you go..." "THE RUNNING MAN" "THE RUNNING MAN by Yoshiaki Kawajiri" "Engine output:" "Check" "Oil pressure:" "Check" "Heart rate:" "Increasing" "Perspiration output:" "Increasing" "Brain-wave patterns:" "Normal" "I'd been sent there by the magazine to do a story on Zack Hugh..." "On him, and the unforgiving race which had claimed so many mens' lives..." "Death Circus." "For ten years, one man had reigned as it's champion..." "Zack Hugh." "Many admired him for the control he had over the machine he drove..." "Total." "Absolute." "Without any fear of death." "Zack the Reaper..." "The Phoenix..." "He'd been given many such names." "But..." "Ground clearance:" "Unstable." "Heart rate and perspiration output:" "Increasing" "We're reading a loss in retinal response." "The races had taken their toll on the man." "The constant stress was too much;" "It was destroying him, in both body and mind..." "He's past his limit!" "That machine's shaking him to pieces!" "It's no good." "Pull him out!" "Chief, he isn't slowing down!" "What?" "!" "What in God's name...?" "!" "Chief!" "Come on!" "He crossed the finish line, and the machine's engines revved up for more." "The race was over, but the running man was still running..." "Zack Hugh..." "A champion among champions." "To this day, his death remains shrouded in mystery." "You're aware of the coup d'etat which occured five days ago in the Aloana Republic, are you not?" "Yes sir!" "You're, of course, also aware of our company's special project #444 we have under construction along that country's Piroru River?" "Yes sir!" "That project will give our company access to the Aloana market... and to their resources." "However, three days ago, the new government there unilaterally cancelled our contract." "You understand what this means?" "Yes sir!" "Stop saying "yes sir" all the time!" "CANCELLED!" "The project's been cancelled!" "They've given us an order to cease construction!" "THE ORDER TO CEASE CONSTRUCTION by Katsuhiro Otomo" "Uh-oh!" "Looks like we ran a red light!" "According to their orders, we must cease construction of the project immediately." "Further, the contract fee is to be repaid over a period of 20 years." "20 years, sir?" "!" "Project 444 was a difficult operation from the outset." "The land they granted to us was a swamp surrounded by headlands." "Come rainy season, the whole area becomes a virtual river." "When the waters recede, the plants grow like monsters." "It's an insane, godforsaken place that just turns back into jungle within half a year." "I..." "I see..." "The start-up costs on #444 were enormous; it still consumes vast amounts of our resources." "We have to shut it down before we lose any more money!" "Why don't you just contact the staff...?" "I already ordered the supervisor there to shut the project down!" "The I don't see what..." "The supervisor disappeared without a trace shortly after I gave the order." "Disappeared, sir?" "Due to its location, it was decided that robots would comprise the main workforce." "The only human there is that supervisor." "So..." "At this moment, those stupid robots are throwing valuable resources into the mud!" "I'm sending you out there to find that supervisor and oversee the shut-down of project 444." "I'm COUNTING on you, Sugioka." "Yes, sir!" "What the hell...?" "You are the supervisor?" "It's worse than he told me..." "Please give me your name and employee identification number." "H-hey!" "What are you doing?" "!" "We're outta here!" "Give us a call when you're finished and we'll come back and pick you up!" "You're leaving...?" "Hey, WAIT!" "Take care of yourself!" "Hey!" "Hold it!" "Come back here!" "What's the big hurry, anyway?" "Jeez, if they've broken my camera or anything, it'll be coming out of their paychecks!" "For Pete's sake, you just can't figure these low-lifes." "I must have your name and employee identification number for confirmation." "Yes." "Oh, what was his name...?" "That supervisor?" "Do you know where he's gone?" "Your failure to give me your name and ID number leads me to conclude that you are not the supervisor." "If you are not the supervisor, then you are unauthorized personnel and have no business being here..." "Anyway, just take me to my quarters and you can tell me what you know in detail." "Any person who is classified as a threat to construction will be removed so that construction may continue." "Yes." "Tsutomu Sugioka." "ID number CX-88." "Check completed, yes!" "Hmpf!" "Welcome, Supervisor, from the distant land." "Yeah, yeah." "Glad to meet you." "I am number one here at Project 444 and all orders relating to construction here at Project 444 are transmitted through me, via radio." "Cripes, they're really buzzing away down there." "This procedure is very important, Supervisor." "Failure to follow this system may result in mix-ups." "Yes." "Fine, we'll use the system to give everyone here the new orders." "The first one I want you to transmit will be the order to cease construct..." "Hey!" "Hold it!" "I haven't finished giving you my orders yet." "Hey!" "HEY!" "What's the meaning of this?" "!" "Hey!" "Supervisor must be tired after his long journey." "Yes." "I will now return to my duties." "So why am I locked in?" "HEY!" "There are dangerous insects in the area." "It is for your safety that..." "God dammit, open this door!" "Hey!" "Don't you understand?" "!" "Open up!" "Come on!" "Supervisor's schedule for tomorrow is posted on the bulletin board." "It is to be followed precisely." "Come back here!" "Don't you hear me?" "I'm telling you to come back and open this door!" "Open it." "God damn it..." "Help!" "This crazy robot's trying to kill me!" "To my wife, Sachiko." "I'm done for, but you must know that I love you." "It's strange, but all I can think about now is what my mother used to say to me when I was young:" ""Study hard!" She'd say. "Study hard, and you'll grow up to be a fine man...."" "From a quarter of until 10:25 will be the first on-site inspection." "At 10:30, in the the resource room, we will..." "There, Supervisor." "Section eight." "This section is furthest behind in construction." "Hey!" "What's with that robot over there?" "Overheat." "Due to the intense pace of construction here, it's circuits are malfunctioning." "WHAT?" "!" "Do you know how much that thing costs?" "Airplanes are less expensive than those things!" "Due to this section's being so far behind schedule, I have ordered all units here to work at peak capacity." "Yes." "My orders are to have Project 444 ready by the due date." "Some losses are to be expected." "Yes." "Listen to me!" "There IS NO DUE DATE anymore!" "And you're supposed to be conserving our resources, not..." "Due date is only one month away." "Yes." "To make the due date, the robots must work at peak capacity." "YES." "H-hey, what gives?" "Don't get sore at me..." "We will now inspect section ten." "Follow me, Supervisor..." "W-wait for me!" "Breakfast will last until half past the hour." "Yes." "From a quarter of until 10:25 will be the first on-site inspection." "At 10:30, in the the resource room, will be a report on last month's work, which you and I will..." "What the hell..." "We should be leaving soon, Supervisor..." "Hold it!" "Hold it!" "I've had enough of you making a fool of me!" "H much of this crap do think I'm going to take?" "!" "Because the rainy season will soon be here, I have ordered all robots to work at maximum output." "Wha..." "Who ordered you to do that?" "!" "Losses have increased slightly, but construction has been greatly speeded up." "Please be happy, Supervisor." "Increased slightly..." "How much is "slightly"?" "!" "Today's losses: 20." "Yes." "Tomorrow's expected losses: 24." "Yes." "There's no way I'm just going to stand here and let you keep shredding our robots!" "Now listen to me and listen good, you dumb sonovabitch robot!" "You are ordered to cease construction." "You're to stop immediately." "You got that?" "!" "The order you have just given is classified as an obstacle to construction." "Your clearance to command me is now void." "Shut up!" "I'm telling you to stop, you stupid robot!" "All obstacles to construction must be removed." "Yes." "Removed...?" "From this day forward, your on-site inspections are cancelled permanently." "Yes." "Madness..." "Good morning, Supervisor." "I have brought you your breakfast." "It worked!" "Even if I am destroyed, construction will never cease." "Yes." "There will be no changes." "We must complete by..." "due-date..." "Yes.. yes..." "God damn you!" "You bastard!" "It's no use." "Those stupid things are still working..." "Yeah, of course." "He was just a terminal, after all." "They won't stop unless I shut down the main core completely!" "This cable should lead me there..." "Emergency!" "Priority one message from headquarters!" "Sometime earlier today, another coup d'etat occured in the new Aloana Republic." "The new government has been restored, and Project 444 has been reinstated!" "Repeat, Project 444 has been reinstated!" "Tsutomu Sugioka." "It's me, Maruyama." "Sugioka!" "It's me!" "Do you read me?" "Come in!" "Sugioka...!"