All language subtitles for Ghost.In.The.Shell.Stand.Alone.Complex.-.Solid.State.Society.2006.1080p.BluRay.x264.AAC5.1-[YTS.MX]-English

Passengers and crew have been evacuated
for terrorist response procedures.

All arriving and departing flights are in
a holding pattern or waiting on the apron.

Divert only those planes that are expected
to run low on fuel to other airports.

Three Zero Five calling One Zero Two.

Public Security Section 9 has arrived.

Give them any assistance they need.

Full authority of the situation
has been transferred to them.

Hey! My people have taken casualties!

Believe it or not, there better
be a damn good reason...

for us to keep this line clear.

There's no telling if
there is a back hack on it.

Besides... What's going down
here is way out of our league.

I've located him.

From what we're told, the initial reports say that
the suspect willingly submitted to questioning.

When they explained to him that he'd be transferred into
public securities' custody, he almost seemed happy about it.

Happy?

-Yes.
-That doesn't make sense.

So... Batou is a no-show, I guess we
aren't gonna meet up with the big guy.

He's sticking to his... "I only pick cases based on
my gut instinct", obviously, and passing on this one.

Ironic. Because if Batou hadn't poked his nose where it
didn’t belong, we couldn't have pieced this case together.

Boma, Pazu, take the rookies
and cover the North Gate.

We're on it.

-You and I are going in through the front.
-Yes, sir.

You know something, boss? You've changed,
too... You've outgrown your Moma-san fixation.

Nobody said I outgrew it.

This Ka Gae-Ru guy's supposed
to be 100% natural, right?

Yeah.

-Explained that then.
-What does it look like?

It's an unexpected development.

-So now there's a chance that the guy's armed?
-Even if he is, it's only a nine-millimeter.

This is this just peachy.

Come on, bird head. You're surrounded.

We're with public security.

As you demanded, we'll consider
safe passage for you out of the country.

Release your hostage
first, then we can talk.

Colonel Ka Gae-Ru!

Are you listening?

Ka Gae-Ru!

Drop your weapon!

No one do anything.

Come on, give me the gun.

Looks like he's high on a reclass
booster that the military uses.

Understood.

Colonel Ka Gae-Ru!

The Puppeteer is coming!

I don't want to die!

If you don't want to die, put the gun down.

Say what?

You won't make a public
spectacle out of me!!!

No, don't!

Shit. Why'd he do it?

The puppeteer, huh?

Not a bad name at all.

♫ I'm dead inside! ♫

♪ 占占点 占点占 ♪

♪ 六四 ♪

♪ 五四+一个月 ♪

♪ 占占人 ♪

♪ 敏感词 ♪

♪ 8的平方 ♪

♪ 陆＋肆 ♪

♪ 小熊维尼 ♪

♪ 达赖喇嘛 ♪

♪ 包子 ♪

♪ 占占点 占点占 ♪

♪ 六四 ♪

♪ 五四+一个月 ♪

♪ 占占人 ♪

♪ 敏感词 ♪

♪ 8的平方 ♪

♪ 占占点 占点占 ♪

♪ 六四 ♪

♪ 五四+一个月 ♪

♪ 占占人 ♪

♪ 敏感词 ♪

♪ 8的平方 ♪

♪ 陆＋肆 ♪

♪ 小熊维尼 ♪

♪ 达赖喇嘛 ♪

♪ 包子 ♪

♪ 五四+一个月 ♪

Prime Minister, special operatives
bearing tattoos of "True Believer",

to signify their loyalty
to General Ka Rum...

have been committing suicide
one by one here in Japan.

And moments ago his oldest son,
Colonel Ka Gae-Ru, killed himself too.

In light of these events, do you still insist
that there's no need to interrogate the General?

Some reports state that Colonel Ka Gae-Ru's
death was the result of a botched arrest attempt.

Let's assume for a moment that indiscriminate terrorist acts
are being planned as we speak by Siak Republic holdouts.

I find it difficult to believe that General Ka
Rum could be involved while under house arrest.

My enactment of the refugee
naturalization policy met with opposition.

Please do your utmost to avoid viewing
the actions of the opposing faction.

It was my impression that such work
fell under the purview of public security.

Understood, Prime Minister.

Ishikawa! Send me the file
of Ka Gae-Ru's debriefing.

Coming right up.

We're moving out.

Is that why, sir?

I don't believe she gave
you authorization for this.

If no one finds out that I'm the person who opened up Pandora's
box, then I didn't break my word to the Prime Minister.

Batou!

Are you listening to me, Batou?

Yeah... I'm listening.

Just where are you?

We've found the body
of a 13th tattooed man.

Is it another suicide?

Yeah.

- It looks pretty cut and dry.
- This place to looks a lot like our own safe houses.

It's probably one of their hide outs.

Let the prefectural police handle it.

Grab a subordinate and
go out to this location.

It's a hide-out that Ka Gae-Ru
told us about in his debriefing.

Oh... you sure, Chief?

I mean, don't you think a mainstream
job like that is more up Togusa's alley?

Togusa is coming to me to the dungeon.

Ahh...

I follow ya.

We're gonna be here a while.

Somebody go get take out.

Question.

How long has it been since the
Major resigned from Section 9, Togusa?

I guess it's nearly two years.

That long?

I'm sorry... about what
happened with Ka Gae-Ru.

It's not your fault.

This is a vital matter which might ultimately
prove to be the Prime Minister's Achilles heel.

I suspect her intention is to keep a lid on
things that she doesn't want to see right now.

Still, she was scared that the other countries
at the six party talks would examine the real

motivation behind the
refugee naturalization policy.

This entire damn mess got started because
she was coerced into looking after Ka Rum.

That's because even before General Ka Rum chose to seek asylum here
in Japan, he threatened to carry out acts of terrorism in retaliation.

"At the moment of my death, I
will reap terror upon the world."

You mean that retribution declaration
in the speech he gave when Siak fell.

Now that we've learned about this, the responsibility
for handling the situation falls upon us.

It's a mystery how the General has been able to issue orders
from an island that's cut off from the rest of the world.

But if we take Ka Rum into custody, maybe
we can uncover all the details of the plan.

Also, we'll learn how far along
this terrorist plot is right now.

Hey Chief! I just heard
from the Coast Guard.

They've opened up the
airspace over the island.

We're good to land.

Fine.

Thank them for me and take us down at once.

Make sure you've doctored
the records of the flight plan.

Roger that.

No firearms or knives detected.

Clear.

Proto, turn the power
back on and open the blinds.

Roger.

What's wrong?

Chief.

Hmm?

He looks like he pulled them out himself.

This is bad news.

If he killed himself too, it means that
their plan might already be in motion.

What's that?

This?

It links up to the nursing net.

Basically, it's a terminal used to exchange
patients' data with all medical facilities.

There were rumors about Ka Rum being
seriously ill before he left the country.

Apparently, they were true.

So, even though he was hooked up to that,
the government doesn't know he's dead.

Um hmm.

Got it.

He was going through a
back door in the system.

I think there was more to the good
General here than meets the eye.

Looks that way.

The Comm Log shows that he
was in contact with his people.

We need to get this back to
HQ for a thorough analysis,

but it definitely appears that they were planning
a terrorist strike using a micro-machine virus.

You said we're planning?

When his operatives began
offing themselves one by one,

he went and had a chat with Ka Gae-Ru.

He questioned whether they
should temporarily abort the plan.

What do you mean?

Are you saying that the suicides
weren't intended to be the plots go code?

I don't know.

But what really worries me is that
there was a program planted in here

from the outside designed to make
it look as if Ka Rum was still alive.

I wouldn't be surprised if the government still hasn't
caught onto the fact that this fella's long gone.

Then it's an assassination
disguised as a suicide.

Yeah.

Done by somebody who doesn't want the government
to know that Ka Rum is dead, dead or...

So, what about the micro-machine virus?

Well, looks like it was sent to
the hospital or that Ma Shaba guy.

Assuming Bazzo is not playing hooky,
he might be able to recover it for us.

Mm-hmm.

Togusa.

Oh.

What the hell is this?

Puppeteer?

Azuma...

Just before Kegail died, do you remember
him saying something about a Puppeteer?

Come to think of it, maybe he did.

The keyword Puppeteer
shows up in this log too.

It appears to be the
codename for one of his men.

We had better apprehend
Ma Shaba as soon as possible.

Once you make it completely
duplicate the log, go meet up with Batou.

It's imperative that we ascertain
the full scope of this plot.

What do we do with the stiff?

Leave things as we found them.

I hate having to do that, but we don't
have an option since we were never here.

Understood?

The hospital?

That car sticks out like a
sore thumb around here.

This security system set
up kind of reminds me of...

head around the outside.

Roger.

What the hell?

You can't hack my cyber
brain when I'm in here!

Die!

Puppeteer!

Must have gone down there.

It's Batou.

Who's that?

Get clear!

You dumbass!

I'll come back for you later,
play dead in the meantime.

Got you!

Freeze!

Major?

It's been a long time, Batou.

So tell me... what brings you out here.

Damn, it is you.

I ought to ask you the same question.

I pick and choose the investigations I
conduct based on my gut feelings about them.

Heads up.

Hold on a minute.

What the hell?

Hold on to this for me, would you?

Major!

Isn't that... Ma Shaba?

Do you know who he is?

Do I know?

Look, what the hell are you up to?

Thanks.

I'll take that now.

Hey.

Your tastes have changed.

A new car?

She swiped it.

Not too shabby at all.

Batou.

I'm assuming that the reason you're here is because you're following
up on a lead on that string of suicides by those tattooed men.

But let me give you
a bit of friendly advice.

Don't go anywhere near the Solid State, or
you'll end up killing yourself the way they did.

I'll leave your car where you can find it.

Didn't I tell you to take
one of your men with you?

You did.

And that's why I brought
this hunk of junk along.

We're too late.

Ma Shaba is dead.

Cause of death?

Neck trauma from the
impacts during his rampage.

I guess we can rule Ma
Shaba out as the puppeteer.

Batou, why the hell was that
thing going after you like that?

I don't know.

And that's something I'd like to find out.

It's possible that he attacked you
because he thought you were the puppeteer.

Hey, who's this puppeteer
guy you keep talking about?

It all still remains
speculation at this point.

But we have reason to
believe it's a rebels code name.

And we also believe that this is the person who
orchestrated the deaths of the tattooed men and carum.

He's a super wizard class hacker.

Here's how he works.

He hacks people's cyber brains
and forces them to commit suicide.

Wizard class?

Chief, we figured out how carum is
going to pull off his terrorist attack.

Oh.

You should come and see this for yourself.

This is the result of Ka Rum's handy work.

Apparently he was
trying to spread his virus.

Are you kidding me?

Terrorism, my ass.

No human being could come
up with something this demented.

Section 9 is going to figure
out my M.O. one of these days.

Loki, Conan, hold down
the fort while I'm gone.

Controlling two prosthetic bodies at
the same time is apparently my limit.

I don't see any option.

We need to start their
training again from square one.

Oh, man.

And we even went back
to giving him natural oil.

I know.

However, the observers
have ultimately changed.

It could therefore mean that their previous environmental
conditions haven't been perfectly replicated.

Same old Batou... still obsessing
over these guys in their development.

Africa was much harsher
than I imagined it'd be.

I got new prosthetics
before I left, but still.

If you're supplementing
cardio functions with prosthetics,

your O-2 extraction rate will take a hit.

Hey, I don't have a choice.

Not while I work for this outfit.

I respect that.

First, Togusa... and now you.

Good work.

From the roster, we
found that they're high dad.

We've learned that the group
consists of 16 members, the 13 suicides,

plus Ka Gae-Ru, Ma Shaba,
and someone named Raj Puhto.

Do you have any information
on this Raj Puhto guy?

What's the likelihood
that he's the puppeteer?

So far, he hasn't managed
to enter the country.

We verified that much from
their communications log.

There aren't a whole lot of people who are willing to
go to the grave with you just because you tell them to.

Things always seem to work out
that way when a dictator buys the farm.

Still, 16 people is nothing to sneeze at.

You're late again.

And when did you get back?

Just now.

Sorry.

Don't let me interrupt you.

Moving on. Next.

Regarding the missing micro-machine virus,

one gross, a total of 144 ampules,

was brought into the country.

They contained a bio-chem weapon, a
genetically engineered form of smallpox,

with an added time release function.

That's one nasty little
bug they lost track of.

Batou!

I need to make sure of something.

You're positive that you didn't
see anyone at Ma Shaba's hospital?

Yeah.

Then when that robot went berserk,

there was no sign that a
third party had been involved?

None.

If you say so.

What exactly are you implying?

-Well, um...
-The truth is,

We weren't able to ID the owner of that
vehicle that got flattened in the parking lot.

So, maybe it was stolen.

Judging from the security system
on the thing that's highly doubtful.

Plus, part of the surveillance
camera footage had been deleted.

I'm thinking that we should work under the
assumption that someone else was there.

And you believe that mysterious
someone was the puppeteer?

Why not?

It's early in the game still, and Ka Rum's
plan hasn't gone into effect at this stage.

But there's plenty of evidence to suggest that this
puppeteer hacker will pick up where Ka Rum left off.

From here on in, we will narrow
the focus of our investigation

to tracking down the ampules while
we are hunting for the puppeteer.

Roger!

Togusa!

What do you want me to do?

First off, go get some R&R.

You won't do anyone any
good if you're not in top form.

Gotcha. I can handle that order.

Oh, and Botou!

This morning the Chief said, and I quote,

it's about time you reeled them in.

You can either devote
yourself full time as an instructor,

or you can work under
me on this puppeteer case.

I leave the choice up to you.

What'll it be?

Do you even need to ask?
The puppeteer job!

Alright then.

Yeah, I like those kinds of whole lot too.

Learn anything?

Yeah, a few things.

Cut to the chase and fill us in.

First off, I got the medical results
back on the 16 kids we ran checkups on,

and there were no signs that they've
been injected with micro machines.

Although they showed symptoms of
dehydration and injuries from past abuse,

they're all basically healthy.

But we also found out that portions of
memory in every child have been erased.

In addition, their IDs had been rewritten
in order to turn them into somebody else.

They answered accurately when
asked their names and addresses.

But when the topic turned to their parents,
they had absolutely no memories whatsoever.

And when we went to check
out the addresses they gave,

there were only elderly people
who'd been living alone for years.

Maybe those people
really are their parents.

Not likely.

We saw everything from a woman living by herself in a 10 by 8
room to a rich old fart who could afford his own nursing robots.

But what each and every one of them had in common
was that they were hooked up to the nursing system

and they were all
noble rot senior citizens.

Needless to say, there were no signs
that any children had ever lived there.

We examined the residency ledgers
and 'child' was listed next to each name.

Those were undoubtedly doctored too.

What is this noble rot
you're talking about?

It's a reference to the fully
automatic nursing system.

It provides minimum treatment to
the elderly who are hooked up to it.

They lie there, languishing like graves
infested with noble rot shriveling on the vine.

It was originally developed with the intent
of solving the aging population problem.

And at the same time to prevent the
aged from dying alone and unnoticed.

But when NPOs learned that it was encouraging
patients to remain bedridden by connecting to the net,

they started rebuking it as a thinly
disguised asset collection process.

You know this?

I've heard all about it from the old
ladies who come to my Pachinko place.

It's sort of like the bare bones
model that was next to Ka Rum's bed.

Now wait a minute here.

Ka Gae-Ru was trying to
create human bombs, right?

If that's true, why did he go to the trouble
of erasing the kids' memories of their parents?

If he wanted them to remain inconspicuous
after he infected them with a virus,

why wouldn't he send the kids back home after
erasing the memories of their abduction?

You're asking the wrong guy.

You definitely have a point there.

And if he cyberised them just for his
plan, he's sure going to a lot of trouble.

The operations seem to have
been done prior to the abductions.

The Transformers seem legit too.

The Ministry of Health, Labor
and Welfare ought to have records.

Since all of those children are six years old, a consent
born signed by a parent or guardian is a legal requirement.

There are 144 missing ampules.

We should check to see if there are any kids
listed there who fit the same descriptions.

We've got to make sure
we cover all the bases.

Good call.

All right.

If the 16 kids we rescued had their cyberisation
surgery done through legitimate channels,

then the records would have been automatically recorded
in the databases of the MHLW and the management ministry.

Let's assume that they were snatched
afterwards and their family registries altered

to make them look like they
were the children of those old folks.

There'd be a discrepancy between
the number of kids listed as cyberised

in the National ID database
and that listed by the MHLW.

I follow.

All of the children claim to have the same last name as
one of those seniors, so it should be simple to spot.

20,000?

There's gotta be a mistake.

If kids were being swiped in such huge numbers,
I think somebody would have noticed it.

Yeah, you're right.

Besides that number is way
larger than anything we expected.

What now?

Let's begin by eliminating
the worst case scenario.

First, we ascertain the names and addresses
of the excess children in the database.

I'm on it.

I could have that for you in a few seconds.

It's a trap!

This is an emergency!
Class E virus detected.

Please shutdown all equipment immediately.

Repeat. This is an emergency!
Class E virus detected.

Failure. Facilities overide.

It's no use. It won't accept any commands.

Higaki...

You and Togusa lock down the backup server.

It's too late.

It's already been compromised.

We've gotta cut the damn power then.

Give me a hand.

So a virus was planted in a
management ministry's database too.

Data is also disappearing on their side.

Is the MHLW data intact?

Yeah... but hell if I know why though.

Move it!

Well, I bet the management ministry is
buzzing like a poked bee I've right about now.

Shit.

We just lost the best lead we had.

Yeah, but that's only true if it turns out
that there really were 20,000 abductions.

Huh?

What do you mean exactly?

Common sense dictates that Kigail's crew couldn't
possibly have carried out that many kidnappings.

Even if we were to tell ourselves that it's the work of
this hacker, the puppeteer, the MO is just too sloppy.

Don't you find it the least bit strange that this guy would
leave traces of tampering only in the national ID system?

This way, it's almost as if he's saying to us,
I've nabbed these kids now, please find them.

So for what it's worth, I'll throw in my two cents.
I think he's got something else in mind entirely.

I have to concur with your opinion.

Chief.

These were sent to the MHLW's pathogenic
microorganism isolation facility.

Analysis pegged them as a so
produced micro-machine virus.

This would suggest that
our intel was indeed correct.

What did the person
who delivered it look like?

There are absolutely no records remaining that might
have offered a clue as to who delivered it or when.

Is there a chance that this
person is the puppeteer?

It's possible. If that's the case, what's
the puppeteer's ultimate goal here?

It couldn't be to keep
cause terrorist plot rolling.

There's a possibility that the puppeteer is a hacker
operating into the authority of some government agency.

All right.

The way in which Ka Rum's death was so
deftly covered up has been nagging at me.

As I was trying to find some answers, I heard rumors of a suspicious conversation
that took place recently between the Prime Minister and the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

You believe the Foreign Ministry used a hacker to assassinate
Ka Rum because he was such a big thorn in the government side?

To be perfectly blunt? Yes.

In that case, we should probably start
thinking of the kidnappings as a decoy.

So, which section was it that took the job?

Well, this incident does not
amount to a serious crime.

Nevertheless, if we take into consideration the results that
it's achieved the government and we are on the same page.

For now, the best advice I can offer is if we should let
sleeping dogs lie and avoid making the situation even worse.

- Hmmm?
- Wha?

You're to identify the 16 children as soon
as possible, but you've finished there.

I'm temporarily taking
you off the investigation.

That's all men.

Oh, man.

All that work for nothing and now we've
got to tie up an ass load of loose ends.

Well, the least we can do is jump on the task at
hand and track down the parents of those kids.

Sorry I'm late.

I'm on my way there.

Need to ask you something.

What is it?

Who made you pull us off this case?
Was it the treaty review department?

You mean that.

I cut a deal with Nakamura.

In exchange for turning a blind eye to their work, we were
allowed to take possession of the micro machine virus.

And you're okay with that?

If removing Ka Rum from the picture was so vital to national interests,
I would think you'd be offended that they didn't ask us to do it.

Otherwise, what was the point of
expanding section 9 these past two years?

She's not going to come
back, not when we're like this.

So what do we do? Wallow in regret for not
receiving such an order or do we rejoice?

The answer to that will determine
what path we walk in the future.

I completely understand the
point you're trying to make Batou.

But we must also consider the possibility
that the Major will never return to section 9.

Her talents were more rare than ESP.

Unfortunately, there would be
no one but her can fill her shoes.

And reality being what it is I
won't be able to stay here forever.

So under the circumstances,
shouldn't we create a new organization?

A unit that can tackle not just one investigation, but
three at a time, while using only 80% of its resources.

Don't you think that's the best way to
carry on our ideals after we're gone?

That's what I hope for as I work
to expand our current organization.

Making Togusa the squad
commander was part of that plan.

But if you had accepted the position instead of him,
then things might have worked out quite differently.

Old man, I ain't cut
out for a job like that.

If you subjectively believe that to be
the case, you might be correct then.

With Togusa, it's different.

Before a person's inherent talents can blossom,
one has to overcome a whole slew of obstacles.

He needs support and I
want you to give it to him.

Are you sure about that?

Because I think Togusa is
doing a bang-up job personally.

I know the Major would say that he's preventing
his feelings from interfering with his work.

It sounds like he even told his family about
his new job and the prosthetics he got.

But I doubt he had an easy time
trying to win their understanding.

That's something that I was
never able to do to the very end.

I'm glad we were able
to talk like this again.

I can't make it home again tonight.

It can't be helped. You're in a
position of responsibility now.

Yeah. So, have the kids been behaving?

Yes, in fact our little queen declared last week that she'd
be sleeping by herself in her own room without her brother.

They don't fight now,
so it's quiet around here.

Her own bed. She's growing up too fast.

I know. It's hard to believe she's six.

Wow... six already.

Send me a picture of her sleeping, okay?

Sure, will do.

Togusa. We have an emergency.

Get to flat 47 right away.

What happened?

I'm sorry, sir.

They're all... the children are...

By the time we learned
what was up, they were gone.

It's like with Ka Gae-Ru.

Sure, looks that way.

The puppeteer.

If he wanted Proto dead, he would
have made him pull the trigger a while ago.

He's buying time.

Shit.

Boma. Ishikawa.

Use the IR system to
locate those kids ASAP.

But we can barely keep the damn lights on.

Ask the local police for assistance.

Get Proto to the analysis room.

Togusa.

We need to talk.

It'll have to wait.

Finding those kids is
a little more important.

This is just as important.

I think I know who the puppeteer is.

Enter a my key.

Oh, pardon me.

What kept you?

Sorry... things are hectic at work.

And you, sir.

How are you feeling, Colonel Tonoda?

Hmm... the Colonel's hobbies
hadn't changed at all, have they?

Don't be so hard on him.

All his health problems are
due to the stress of prison life.

Where the hell is Sujisaki?

That ingret hasn't come
to see me even once.

He forgets the debt he owes to the man who
looked out for him more than anyone else.

No!

His memories are also a bit jumbled.

Let's step out.

I have something I want to give you.

There's nothing left now for man
once known as Colonel Red Demon.

You should seriously
think about remarrying.

There's no sorrier sight
than a single old man.

I decided long ago that I would never own anything
that I couldn't take to the grave with me.

And Steely I didn't
resolute as ever, I see.

So, what was it that
you wanted to get to me?

All right, this is it.

The truth is, when I was at Ma
Shaba's hospital, I ran into the Major.

You ran into her? You mean that...

At first, I never would
have believed it possible.

But then I gradually became more and more
convinced that she had to be the puppeteer.

I missed an opportunity
to bring it up earlier.

Then did you witness
the Major kill, Ma Shaba?

No, but I did see her
walk off of the ampules.

Before I used to always butt in whenever it seemed
like the Major might be involved in a specific case.

But back then, I always believed that she was
helping us to solve the case in her own fashion.

This time, it's different.

It simply doesn't add up.

What the hell is the Major trying to do?

Damn the fight.

But one thing's certain, the treaty review
department set up the hit on Ka Rum.

The Major is probably there.

Batou!

I want you inside to head over to
Beltway number 16 immediately.

This is an urgent
matter. It has top priority.

Chief, we have a situation
on our own hands here.

The puppeteer has struck at session 9 also.

He did what?

Old man.

I hate to say it.

- But I think the pup...
- Keep it between us.

Until I can verify it.

Chief, now that he's made a move, does
that mean the investigation is open again?

I suppose so.

Understood.

Now, what's happened on your hand?

About two hours ago, security cameras in coastal district 2
happened to catch sight of an internationally wanted criminal.

Huh? Who is this guy?

He must be one tough customer
if he wants Saito and me on him.

He's a super class-A sniper,
formerly of the Siak Republic.

Lieutenant Raj Puhto.

Raj Puhto.

Wait, that was one of the names from...

The one member who
hadn't come into the country.

He was the commander of
Ka Rum's personal guard.

The way I heard it, he saught
asylum in China after Siak fell.

Considering the timing of his entry into the
country, there must be something to this.

Right.

Fortunately, the intelligence bureau
has a fix on his current position.

I want the two of you to tail him
to find out what his objective is.

Roger.

Togusa...

If it turns out the Major is the puppeteer.

Then we have to take her on.

Yeah, I know.

I don't want to think about it either.

Somehow or someday I will
repay this favor, my friend.

Colonel Tonoda, I'm
afraid I can't stay any longer.

They say that children take after their
parents and robots take after humans.

But you didn't turn out anything like me.

I am pleased that a fool like
me made a genius like you.

Try to look after your health, alright?

Thank you, I will, sir.

Take care of yourself, too, Colonel.

What's his MO going to be for a sniping?

The same is mine, who uses Hawkeye to establish
a satellite link and then take his shot.

Which means it's only a matter of time before
we lose the ability to track him by GPS.

Right, we have to catch him before then.

Let me take over.

I'm gonna get a good look at his face.

Don't let him spot you.

I have confirmation.

No doubt about it.

This is our guy.

Mm-hmm.

Togusa, good news.

The IR system just
picked up one of the kids.

Really? What's his location?

He's walking through the grounds of
the Kohoku public housing projects.

Hey, that's close to where I live.

Okay, I'll go check it out.

I'll put it in the call to the PPD.

I guess it's back to investigating
all those kindnapping cases for us.

Looks that way.

Dammit.

We'll have to put the
Major on the back burner.

The puppeteer, I presume.

It's certainly a fitting name.

I had an inquiry a moment ago from public security section
nine asking if I knew a hacker called the 'Puppeteer'?

My answer was... "sorry,
I don't have any clue".

So, what do you want to talk to me about?

I came here to refund your payment.

As far as we're concerned, if the assignments you've been
given are carried out, we really don't care what you do.

I'm sorry, but... you won't see me again.

I'll leave a net channel open
for you to contact us in that case.

Feel free to.

Hmm?

That's a puppet as well.

What a waste.

And she was so talented too.

The sun's about to come out.

Still, why do you think he
decided to come here now?

You don't think it's to carry
out Ka Rum's revenge, do you?

Ka Rum's revenge, possibly.

Makes sense, but how could
anyone have gotten that intel?

We were even left out of
the loop about that little tidbit.

Good point.

How much longer is he
gonna keep driving around?

Come to think of it.

There's that same building again.

Hey, wait.

Isn't that the...

Togusa.

The kid just went into
building in N-25 apartment 602.

Can you find it?

Yeah.

I know this neighborhood
like the back of my hand.

A noble rot senior citizen.

Move back!

Everything I had in this
world is invested in that boy.

I will it to some stranger
of the damn street.

Sooner than I let the
government get a hold of it.

Besides, the boy would have died of
mistreatment if I hadn't taken him in.

That's the will of the people of
those who live in the Solid State.

It's our little game.

No, it's much more than that.

It's our economic action.

If you don't end up killing
yourself like the others,

then keep your nose out of our society.

You're gonna sit in yourself... warned!

I'm definitely getting the feeling
that a sniping target is in there.

Yeah.

Turn off his cyber brain and
assign a guard to him, okay?

Right away, sir.

Cardiac arrest confirmed.

Requesting disposal of remains
and retieval of nursing system.

Disposal?

That's strange.

Didn't he have family somewhere?

There's a six year
old kid listed in his file.

Data error, maybe?

I shouldn't complain.

That's one less job that I have to do.

Data error?

No.

He's missing because I rescued him.

Which means if I hadn't come here, it would have made no difference. They would
have taken that boy into custody anyway as part of their standard procedure.

Special operatives committing suicide. Children who vanish. Noble rots in your
citizens. The will of the people of those who live in the Solid State. Hang on.

In the first place, what does Solid State
mean? What was that old man talking about?

Hi, Hun. What is it?

Thank goodness I finally got through,
I've been trying and trying to reach you...

You've got to come home right
away. Our little girl is missing.

That clinches it. Let's go after him.

Hold on.

Shit. He's got optical camouflage.

What the hell is going on?

Our GPS has turned off. It's the puppeteer. It
can't be. She doesn't have any cyber implants yet.

I need you to pinpoint
which satellite he is using.

Now that we've lost his trail, we
won't find him until he starts to shoot.

And the instance he does is going to
be our first and last chance to get him.

I could probably locate that satellite for
you, but how will you actually spot the guy?

He should be in this zone. He'll know where we are,
but we'll be able to spot his position from up here.

Wear this? You're way
too easy to see in that.

There's no time. If we could beat
him to the punch, I can take him.

Let's do it.

-Bingo
-Patch me in.

This guy's the target.

I've got a back-trace on his position.

SE37

There he is. Send my data back at him.

Someone's lining up a shot.

Saito!

Did I nail him?

Lay low. I'll go check.

Oh...

Damn hurry up.

Huh?

Daddy?

Well?

Have a little faith in
your skills, why don't ya?

That's a relief.

Now then.

You want to start by telling me who that guy was you
were gunnin' for, and while you were trying to kill him?

It was to avenge the General's death.

I'm gonna kill every last
one of you lousy Japs for him.

Out of revenge, huh?

Don't give me that load of crap. Where'd
you get your hands on that piece of intel?

It was a tip that I got
from a double agent.

He said he'd tell me who masterminded the General's
death, so I had to go take out the target.

Who is this double agent? Give me his name.

He spends a lot of time at the foreign
ministry, an assembly man named Munei.

Old man, I need you to collar an
assemblyman by the name of Munei ASAP.

And here's the picture that
guy that Roger's trying to kill.

Looks like he's the brains
behind the hit on Ka Rum.

If I'm not mistaken, this photo is
of the assemblyman Hitoshi Munei.

What are you trying to pull?

You know that target you
were just trying to whack?

He's the same guy who fed
you your intel. Explain that to me.

That's his problem.

Maybe the bastard wants to
commit suicide or something.

Commit suicide?

Alright, I've had enough of this.

Are you sure the puppeteer isn't
pulling your strings too, bucko?

Oh shit... could be.

If that thing was human, I'd
have killed it right off the bat.

If it got to me, I'm
gonna be so pissed off.

Are you saying the puppeteer is a human?

It's the name of the mechanism that's built into
the Solid State and designed for abducting kids.

Huh, what the hell do you mean?

Hey listen, what is the Solid State?

You really don't know. It's
the nursing net, that's what.

The government of this great democratic
country of yours goes around stealing children.

It's too damn funny.

Old man, I need a paramedic
team and a chopper over here.

And do some digging into the
background of this Munei guy.

There's something dicey going on.

Understood.

So anyway... I found
her right after I called you.

Apparently she's been with
the neighbors since this morning.

I see. I'm just happy it was a false alarm.

Never leave the house
without telling mommy.

Okay.

Come on, I'll drop you off the school.

I'll have to go right
back to work after that.

Are you sure you have to
go? You look exhausted.

I feel better just seeing you two.

Really? Well, if you say so.

Huh?

What is it?

Nothing daddy.

Togusa.

Huh?

We have Raj Puhto in custody.

It looks like the puppeteer
was involved in this one too.

Which means that the Major is...

Yeah.

But the way this is going, the Major
might not be the puppeteer after all.

Raj Puhto claims that the puppeteer is the name of an
abduction mechanism that's built into the nursing system.

An abduction mechanism?

That's right.

Not only that, but he referred to
the nursing net as the Solid State.

And implied that the
government is somehow involved.

I should have mentioned this before.

But when I ran into the Major, she warned
me to stay away from the Solid State.

At first, I thought she was
talking about cyber implants.

But I think what she was really trying
to tell me was to stay away from her.

Or maybe she was giving me a
heads up to avoid the nursing net.

I'm guessing that Ka Rum and his group found the
mechanism, tried to exploit it for their plot...

and got themselves purged.

That makes sense.

Huh?

It's from Mommy.

Give me this.

Hi, honey.

Hey.

That mistake will cause
you your precious daughter.

Togusa, what's happening with you?

Ishikawa, can you give me
Togusa's current location.

I'll try to track him down.

Why? What's up?

His cyber brain is being hacked.

Daddy, this isn't the way to school.

Shit.

So you're the puppeteer, huh?

What's your plan?

And how do the missing kids fit into it?

Where did those 20,000
children disappear to?

We are doing nothing more than recycling ghosts
that have been foolishly allowed to go to waste.

I am about to mention the experience for
yourself, exactly what some of them went through.

Batou, I have a fix on Togusa's' location.

He's at the cyber brain surgical
hospital over in Korhuku new town.

Now I get it.

The kids are taken to the hospital
by their own parents for cyberization.

And the doctors perform the
surgery without suspecting a thing.

He then overwrite the child's memory.

The parent drops off the
kid with the senior citizen.

And the abduction is complete.

After this, they're going
to wipe my memory.

And my own daughter
will vanish like the others.

You shouldn't feel regret about
your memories being altered.

In modern society, memories are constantly
modified on a subconscious level.

The probability of such modifications already
exceeds that of being in a traffic accident.

Am I being given a choice now?

There it is!

I won't let you people take my daughter.

Never.

Listen sweetheart, I need you to do
something very important for daddy.

When daddy lets go of your hand,
you run away as fast as you can.

Run away?

That's right.

You'll hear a loud bang just
like the field games at school.

When you hear that sound,
run with all your might.

After you start running,
don't stop for anything.

And whatever you do, do not look back.

Can you do it?

Okay.

Good girl.

Now close your eyes.

I'm sorry.

This is goodbye my angel .

Togusa.

Togusa!

Max, Misashi.

Now don't you worry.

It's okay.

Major?

I had to wait until the
last possible second.

Sorry about that.

And I guess this means
that you aren't the puppeteer.

Where have you been?

Daddy!

I've kept busy since section 9.

I've been wandering the net.

Covertly solving crimes that can't be handled
with standard organization-based methodology.

In the course of doing that, I
came across these abduction cases

and have been conducting
my own investigation.

I can't believe that you
would use Togusa as bait.

Didn't you stop to think that it might
put his family in their crosshairs?

They were safeguards in place.

I made sure of it.

Thanks to those, we should be able to
learn now who the puppeteer actually is.

Isn't puppeteer the name of a system
that's operating on the nursing net?

Instead of a system, it would be
more accurate to call it a Gestalt.

Those hooked up to the nursing net.

Meaning all those senior citizens.

But there's a hub cyber brain running
independently of it that manages the entire thing.

Hub cyber brain?

Hey! Are those what I think they are?

I can start in another day
I've found drifting in a net.

Hi Mr. Botou.

Long time no see.

It's nice to see that you're doing well.

A back door was installed in the nursing net
that's been there ever since the design stage.

Look.

This is the full view of the rhizome that's
been woven by those elderly peoples' Gestalt.

A rhizome doesn't contain
the concept of center.

Therefore the hub cyber
brain is constantly in motion.

That or the rhizome itself
might be acting as a hub.

Now that I know what's going on, I
gotta find out who or what this hub is.

Max, Musashi, report your findings.

What's the problem?

I don't know how to
bring this up to you Major.

You failed?

But we did succeed in
pinpointing its location though.

Okay where is it then?

It's at the Sacred Citizen
Relief Center building.

That's where the heart of
the nursing net is located.

They've arrived.

Disengaging locks.

It's been a long time Major.

I suppose it has.

Too bad we have to reunite
under these circumstances.

Why?

Why did you come back?

That can wait.

There's no time now.

At the moment our priority
is to catch the puppeteer.

Hitoshi Munei, assemblyman
in the lower house.

The reason why he was marked for death is our sole
lead in uncovering the true identity of the puppeteer.

This man Munei is a reactionary conservative nationalist who's
always been a proponent of the formation of a ruling class.

One comprised of pure blooded Japanese.

He's always in contact
with the foreign ministry.

And he has ties to the
treaty review department.

He was also involved in Ka Rum's murder.

What are you saying Major?

I contracted out to the treaty review department so that
I could make it look as if Ka Rum had been assassinated.

But before I could do it
the puppeteer got to him.

Then you were only responsible for
covering up his death after the fact.

Yes, more or less.

We've also learned that Hitoshi Munei has secured a leadership position
in the day-to-day operations of the Sacred Citizen Relief Center.

What's in it for him?

The place is just a service organization that provides
healthcare and vocational training for old folks.

True, however, thanks to the patronage of certain politicians
and its public image as a non-profit foundation...

The center acts in reality as a training
facility servicing the power elite.

It's a veritable brainwashing factory.

That has to be what Raj Puhto meant when he
implied that the government had a part in it.

If this place is being used as a temporary central
cleaning house for those children who are abducted,

then what the puppeteer is having trouble dealing with is
the fact that Munei is using it as a brainwashing factory.

Chief, why don't we go search the place?

Our top priority here is to
find those missing children.

Yeah, but raiding the
place will cause a scandal.

And if that happens, that scumbag of a politician
ain't the only one who's going to catch heat for it.

Ishikawa. How's it coming?

That you Major?

Hmmpf.

You picked a hell of a
time to rejoin the fold.

I found evidence of a massive amount of equipment being
brought in that was based off of the HC25 brainwashing machine,

but that's pretty
flimsy-proof to justify array.

What about from the inside?

I only found footage from
their manual labor wing.

The defense barrier protecting the education
wing is a complex virtual experience maze.

I had no luck at all sneaking in.

Just looks like refugees.

And the children were being held in the education wing, which means that the
abduction mechanism had to be built into the place during its planning stages.

If it weren't, I'd find it hard to believe that a rank-and-file
politician would have the balls to propose such an audacious policy.

And do you suspect that when they laid the groundwork for
the project that the puppeteer was also among those involved?

Ishikawa, use decoys to make it look
as if hackers are trying to dive the place.

I'm going in. Even if it fails,
it'll give you guys some cover.

If you and Togusa are still
around, Section 9 can carry on.

Batou.

I don't want to hear
that kind of talk, all right?

Oh, so you're the one
who's gonna retire this time?

I appreciate your consideration, but the only reason
I came here is to ID the puppeteer, nothing more.

It's true you'll always need someone
who'll get their hands dirty for you.

And besides, I don't have
anything to lose right now.

Chief, no offense, but
I'm going there by myself.

The puppeteer is waiting for an opportunity to
eliminate Munei, and I don't want to miss this chance.

But how do you plan to
find the puppeteer, Major?

We still don't have the foggiest
idea who this character is.

I'm gonna keep my ears open.

My ghost will whisper.

Whoah!

Gosh! This is some awkward? Huh?

Hi everybody!

Been a long time hasn't it.

Alright... Here we go.

Let's do it!

There's nothing like the thrill you get from
zipping around in a physical body, is there?

Really? I wouldn't know.
I'm not used to my joints yet.

Their responses strained
for a seemingly basic attack.

Go to alert status to be safe.

Yes, sir.

A fellow pro, huh?

Uh oh.

I guess we have each
other's attention now, huh?

Hacking from the public
prosecutor's office again, hmm?

They're wasting your time.

I'm going to inspect the facility.

Batou and Boma. Secure the e-vac route.

Roger!

Who are you?

I could tell you.

Of course I'd have to kill you then.

Hmmm? I've lost communications?

Here come the security cyborgs.

Major.

You go on ahead.

The one that got inside is as good as dead.

Go after the Think Tanks.

Got it.

These guys open fire without warning.

This must be a key
government facility, all right?

- He's following us!
- That's what we want.

No thermal signatures.

Cloak of invisibility hmmm? Which means...

Your intel is way out of date!

My 3302 isn't called
a cloak of invisibility.

Ah. Shit!

Get off me. Get off me.

Mow 'em down.

Roger!

You back me up. In a couple
minutes I'll gain control of the system.

I got it.

Isn't this the way we've always done it?

Togusa. What's your current position?

Major. I'm making my approach
up the face of the building.

Good. I want you to make your way to
the roof and rendezvous with the Chief

I found out where the children are.

Let's go.

Assemblyman Mounei,
we're public security section 9.

We've already seen for
ourselves what you're up to.

Judging from what we see here, a full scale compulsory
investigation would seem unavoidable, wouldn't it?

Really?

Though it doesn't show up on the books,
it's the government's most vital agency.

You self-righteous public security
piss-ants have no business in here.

Begging your pardon, Assemblyman.

But from what I observe here, this exactly fits the criteria for
the type of situation in which our organization needs to intervene.

For a public servant, you don't seem to have the vaguest clue
as to the gravity of the threat that this country is facing.

If nothing is done, our country's prosperity will be
supplanted by other races one day in the near future.

So to prevent that, we're expanding tax dollars on these children who have
no families, giving them educations and entrusting our future to them.

Just what exactly do
you find wrong with that?

Those taxes are from the money you've exploited out of the
elderly and the refugees that you indenture to this facility.

That couldn't have been avoided either.

Stop and think about it.

What have these people ever
done for the good of the country?

They don't have families or children.

They don't contribute as taxpayers.

After living only for themselves, they
demand, I'm old... take care of me...

Their selfishness is appalling.

If I could, I'd impose a new tax on them to restore the
revenue we lose because they're too old or can't work.

Your splitting hairs, besides I'd like to know what
your politicians have been doing about it all this time.

Who takes responsibility for you people putting self-preservation and vanity
ahead of your duties and burying pressing issues at the bottom of a pile?

I'm proud that I have
accepted responsibility for it.

Are you proud of violating cyber brain
ethics laws and human rights as well?

They were steps that needed
to be taken in my opinion.

You refuse to budge.

Major, I ran a check on
the number of kids here.

It's nowhere near 20,000.

It's more like 3,000 tops.

I see.

Switch your coms channel to autistic mode.

You, Assemblyman, were you aware that a system to automatically
steal children was designed and built into the center?

The children that are here are not orphans.

The vast majority of them are abductees.

Our investigation into their
disappearances led us here.

You yourself are a material
witness in the case, Munei.

I'll admit, I've overseen this
project from the very beginning.

But I know nothing
about a bug in the system.

In that case, we'll have to interrogate
the ones who came up with a system.

It was me.

I was the one who devised the core concepts
that the Solid State system is founded on.

Togusa, take everyone into custody.

Roger!

Batou.

You're gonna dive this guy's cyber
brain before his memories pull a white out.

Back me up.

Hope I'm in time.

Batou, I'm connected.

Gotcha. I'm boosting your signal right now.

I see his memory field.

But the output's dropping. It's too low.

Batou, do you think
you can boost his output?

We'll try going through Tachikoma.

You, get yourself over here.

There's no time.

Puppeteer, can you see me?

Puppeteer, can you see me?

Puppeteer.

That's the name of the hub cyber brain that
managed the noble rot senior citizen's rhizome.

Entering right visual center.

Saccades have ceased.

No eye movement.

What happened?

Batou, I'm patching the
puppeteer into my speech center.

Don't be stupid. Come on.

You see, Munei was the Solid
State's greatest bottleneck.

I've tried to burn him time and time again.

But he's an old-fashioned type
who hates the thought of cyberization.

Who the hell are you? Why
would those children taken?

What are you using them for?

Setting aside the matter of
my identity for the moment.

Perhaps my motives
were the same as Munei's.

This country has reached the point where
someone has to step in and take action.

There's the problem of 6 million
plus noble rot senior citizens,

increasing unemployment and the
proportionally decreasing worker population

that continues unabated.

Then there's the
declining birth rate as well.

So many problems to address.

And here's a fact.

Even though there's such
a furor over the birth rate,

nearly 50,000 children in this
country under the age of six

needlessly lose their lives every year.

Approximately 30% of those deaths
can be attributed to domestic abuse.

Well, can you do it?

I'll try!

Child guidance centers.

The police and other relevant
authorities were aware of the situation,

but they were unable to prevent the deaths.

This country's systems
have already collapsed.

And the potential of the
individual is declining considerably.

Major!

Now listen to me.

If you stay in there much longer, you're going
to white out along with him when he dies.

That's when...

I came up on the idea of recycling ghosts
that were being damaged unnecessarily.

I found at risk children through
the abuse surveillance net,

and that laundered
their family registeries.

I believed that it would give
them a new chance at life.

So that's the core concept
of the silent state system?

Correct.

But to make it work, it was essential to have
the assistance of the noble rot senior citizens.

They hunger for a reason to exist.

Although they aren't able
to pass down their DNA,

their posterity would exist on paper.

They would then have someone to
whom they could be weak their belongings.

That way, they could continue to
take part in this economic action,

instead of forfeiting their personal
property to the state of their deaths.

They happily gave my
plan to their approval.

You realize that what you're
doing is a crime, don't you?

Yes, but if those ends
had absolute priority,

they would be the only possible means.

My primary task was to save these children
who were in danger as soon as I could.

For that reason alone, I have
no regrets about what I've done,

even though it's cost me my life.

On the contrary, it means that my
life as a bureaucrat had meaning.

All that remained was to
reinforce the Solid State system

and make it into a
self-perpetuating mechanism.

Maybe.

But the purging one by one, those
who had meddled with your system,

drew attention to your plan,
and the scheme was uncovered.

Considering how they must have felt
when they knew that the end was near,

their reactions are understandable.

Now, Ka Rum, I can see.

But Munei, why him?

Because Munei held
the children prisoner here.

If those young ones end up
becoming brainwashed elite for him,

giving them new leases
on life was for nothing.

Children need an education,

but if they aren't
released out into the world,

they won't develop a
strong will of their own.

That was the point of
contention between Munei and I.

And it was the main reason
why I had to eliminate him.

But this time, you people
had to go and show up.

Nevertheless, my plan has
progressed smoothly to its next phase.

I've never been able
to hack your cyber brain,

but now I've succeeded in
getting you to link me directly into it.

Major!

You killed yourself just all
over me into linking with you.

You're a formidable opponent,

but if I can momentarily
trap you in a thought maze,

I'll be able to eliminate
session 9 all at once.

I'm surprised.

You're thinking is so
arrogant and self-righteous,

and you have so much drive,

that being a bureaucrat
is wasted in talent.

Plus, you know all about me.

Who the hell are you?

You still haven't pieced it together?

Come now, Motoko Cusanagi.

Surely there can't be an overabundance
of people dwelling within your memory,

burning with this overwhelming,
egotistical rightfulness?

We've synchronized with countless
consciousnesses over the years,

so it shouldn't come as a big surprise that
your deep collective subconscious came to life.

And with it, the Solid State is complete.

It's time for us to go forth.

Let's become a vanishing mediator,

and go take an active
hand in the next society.

I can't see anything.

Somebody give me a status report.

Finally awake?

Bato, are you there?

What's happening?

Where am I?

So, do they make a decision
about what to do with the children?

It appears that they're going to be returned
to their real parents for the time being.

Even though their
memories were overwritten,

and they have no knowledge of any abuse,

I wonder if that's really
what's best for the kids?

Perhaps the fact that no one can answer
such a critical question after all this

underscores the limitations of our system.

What'll happen to those
kids who found foster parents,

and managed to get out before
their brainwashing education began?

For me, I'd say we'll have to
wait a while for the verdicts.

I expect there to be some rather complicated trials
as they go through them on a case-by-case basis.

Then Chief, when a situation like
this arises, what can we hope for?

I can only tell you one thing.

We need to persevere and work
within the rules by which we're governed.

That's the best we can do to make
a stand against the unjust for now.

I only wish that when those kids are grown,

when they've matured and
reached their full potentials,

they'll be able to find the
answers that we couldn't.

That's my hope.

You know, if you just sit
down and think about it,

the name Solid State
System is actually quite ironic.

The guy's metaphor for cyber
brains of old people was transistors.

Sure sounds like something a stuff-shared
bureaucrat would come up with, doesn't it?

I gotta admit, I was a little freaked out
to learn who the puppeteer really was.

What are you talking about?

We discovered a few interesting bits of information
after you lost consciousness when he died.

That pencil pusher, he
actually croaked two years ago.

Name, Takaaki Koshiki, age 33.

Born into a respectable
family of civil servants.

Fast-track to elite status since childhood.

College, then the Ministry of
Management and Coordination.

But he quickly grew frustrated and stopped going to work,
possibly because he had no sense of purpose as a civil servant.

Due to his cyber brain skills, he was allowed to
work from home through a remote prosthetic body.

But he was apparently
indifferent to performing his duties.

Then two years ago, Munei
noticed the guy's talents.

Those abilities were skills he needed on his project to
manipulate both the welfare and management ministries.

Mooni brought him on board in Koshiki independently
designed and implemented his abduction system.

But the trouble was, Koshiki
wasn't the type who stood out.

He wasn't noticeable.

In spite of the huge job he was working on, not one damn person
happened to realize that the poor slob had gotten sick and died at home.

Thanks to that, the true identity of the
puppeteer is going to remain a mystery forever.

So now we know the truth about Koshiki's death. Does it then mean
that someone else was operating his remote body to cause all of this?

It's possible.

As a matter of fact, of any theory that's probably the most
likely, even with those old folks that formed a Gestalt with a guy,

their collective unconsciousness was the force behind
their actions and caused them to do what they did.

I hate to say it, but there's no
way for us to find out for sure now.

With one exception, the conversation between you
and Koshiki that's recorded in Tachikoma's memory.

Is it still stored in there?

It should be, but when Koshiki died, they claimed that all of his
memories underwent a white-out and were supposedly lost along with him.

Batou, did you listen
in on that conversation?

Well, sorta.

At this point, though, it doesn't
really matter now, does it?

The neglected old timers, those kids who were being abused,
all that stuff is on its way toward being resolved at last.

Even if we didn't find out the true identity of the
puppeteer... this case is still more or less closed.

Written off as a scandal involving
a few bad apple politicians?

It's the strangest thing, Batou.

Hmm?

What have I been feeling so
jaded and disillusioned about?

What do you think I was searching
for as I was wandering around the net?

A friend, truth?

Or a certain special someone, maybe?

Perhaps I just wanted to blame this organization or
even the system for my own sense of helplessness.

What's gotten into you?

You're turning all meek and modest on me?

Did you get whatever it
was out of your system?

Okay, so what are you gonna do now?

Plan on keeping up that, picking the investigations you conduct
based on your gut feelings about them, routine of yours?

Maybe I'm finished with that, too.

When I'm operating under restrictions,
I definitely feel constrained by them,

but without those restraints, it doesn't seem
like my actions are accomplishing anything.

I guess I'm right back
to where I started from.

What's that supposed to mean?

Is that your way of saying
you're coming back to section 9?

Well, what about Togusa?

Would I get in the way of his development?

Well, if that prevents him from growing
and he wasn't gonna go any further anyway.

I wouldn't sweat it if I were you.

Perhaps you're right.

Batou... the net truly
is vast and infinite.

Who knows?

Maybe a new society would never
even dreamed of as already being born.

Subtitle by hamonwheat88

@ subscene.com