I'm a soldier, znatchit ya... I'm a soldier, and that means...
...i otvetchik i sud'ya ...that I am both defendant and judge.
Ya stoyu na dvuh kontsah ognya I stand at both ends of the fire.
Ogibaya virazhi, Leaning into the curves,
obgonyaya smert' i zhizn', overtaking life and death,
ya begu srazit'sya s ten'yu lzhi I'm running to fight the shadow of lies.
Skol'ko b nitej ne plyol obman, No matter how tangled the web of deception is woven,
pokazhet lik sveta istina... truth will always illuminate the outline of the light...
Save your tears for the day...
...when the pain is far behind.
On your feet, come with me.
We are soldiers, stand or die.
Save your fears, take your place.
Save them for the Judgment Day.
Fast and free, follow me.
Time to make the sacrifice.
We rise or fall...
We are coming to you from above the Kyushu Radio Tower.
A mass evacuation operation began five days ago...
...with the discovery of an unexploded bomb planted in a subway construction site...
...that was suspected of being a tactical nuclear device used during WWIII.
The evacuation of 35 million citizens within a 30 km radius...
...has finally been completed under the direction of the Self Defense Army.
However, some parties are speculating that this may be another act of refugee terrorism,
and with no specific announcements on the part of the government...
...and with part of Fukuoka sealed off by the Self Defense Army,
the city almost looks as if it has been placed under martial law!
Inbound lanes closed
Martial law, huh?
I'll be the first to admit that there are problems with the government's response to this,
but it ain't like their authority's been handed over to the military.
You're right.
It's a fact that the ship Kuze was aboard sank off of Dejima,
we're still not sure whether or not there was any plutonium on board.
It's also still uncertain whether it was really the refugees that caused that massive blackout...
...that seemed to be timed to help the camouflaged ship escape.
The citizens are directing their anger over the refugees towards the government,
and support within the government for refugee expulsion is gaining strength.
And no one is giving a second thought to what that will mean for the country.
Even if this all is the result of information manipulation by the Cabinet Intelligence Service,
the false information they've been circulating isn't going to simply go away.
Batou.
What's gotten into the Major?
I wrote in my report that she's been acting a little funny...
...ever since she dove Kuze's cyberbrain back in Dejima, didn't I?
For now, focus on disposing of that nuclear bomb.
The CIS has already started to take control of the scene under the pretext of media control.
I'm going to negotiate with the Prime Minister and ask for authorization to investigate the CIS.
With nothing but circumstantial evidence?
The Prime Minister's already got a lot on her plate,
what with the whole "SDA Invasion of Dejima" situation.
At this point, I don't see how she'd okay a proposal...
...that might result in a national scandal.
If we don't play our cards right, it's Section 9 that's gonna take the heat again.
That's why I got approval for us to get involved at the scene.
Turn up something over there.
Say, Major... After all this, why do you think the refugees are keeping quiet?
The truth had already been silenced before the phenomenon...
Kuze must have come to that conclusion.
Right now, he's keeping quiet, hiding the truth even from the refugees,
searching high and low for something that will let him turn the tables again.
What makes you think that?
Because that's what I'd do if I were him.
Your mind doesn't seem to be on the job.
Look, it's true that we're all here because we're drawn to you by your talent,
but we're not so dependent on you that we can't back you up, got it?
Thanks. I don't have a problem with you telling me off like that.
Borma, you and Paz will join in on the bomb disposal work as planned.
Saito, you're with me.
Hey, what's the deal? We're not all going in together as a unit?
I have an idea.
Besides, I have something for you to do in my place.
Have the arrangements for the Japanese Miracle been made?
Excuse us.
Everything is ready.
I see.
It's unfortunate that it's come to this.
As soon as the bomb defusing operation is complete,
I'll hold a press conference and announce the truth to the country.
After that, an invasion of Dejima by the Self Defense Army will probably be authorized.
Prime Minister, as I wrote in my report, the possibility that the refugees...
...actually obtained any plutonium is exceedingly small.
In all probability, it is the CIS that has worsened the situation to this point.
I ask that you delay any invasion of Dejima for the time being.
Yes, I've read your report.
However, we are already out of time.
Based on intelligence obtained from the Russian authorities,
the government is now operating under the assumption...
...that plutonium has already been brought into Dejima.
Pardon my saying so, ma'am, but isn't that exactly what the CIS wants you to do?
Nobody wants it, but what we'll find waiting for us after an invasion by the SDA...
...is an all-out war against the refugees.
Please, ma'am, present the findings of that report to the Cabinet.
If only I had seen this sooner...
Public Security Section 9 was my final trump card.
Chief Aramaki, I'd like you to remain on standby for the time being.
Understood, ma'am.
Squads 6 and 13 have reported in. They are in position on the top floor.
Public Security Section 9. We're here on orders from the Prime Minister.
Nobody said anything about you people coming.
Don't worry about it. It happens all the time out in the field.
Isn't that right?
It's her signature, all right.
We just want you to put our bomb techs on the front line.
I guess we don't have much choice. Take them up there.
Yes sir!
And what is it that you want to do here?
Actually, my business is with the suit over there.
And what might that be?
Thanks to you, we're this close to being put out of business,
but there are two or three things I wanna ask you.
If you insist.
That's it, huh?
We've spent the past five days running a structural analysis on it.
We're finally about to start the defusing procedure.
They're with Section 9. If there's anything that they can help with, put them to work.
"To Kayabuki with love"...
Talk about a twisted love letter...
I hear they used to write messages like this on the nose cones...
...of bombs like Fatman or on Scud missiles.
You mean they're mimicking the Americans?
Beats me. Maybe, maybe not.
How do your Geiger counter's readings look?
Bingo. But it doesn't look like they had the time or technology to turn it into a nuclear bomb.
So it's just a dirty bomb, huh?
That's right. But if it blows, it'll cover everything inside of 30 km with radioactive fallout.
Until they got the citizens evacuated and the Japanese Miracle ready for use,
all we could do was put the thing on ice.
There wasn't a timer on it?
Luckily for us.
That's good to hear. But it's gonna have redundant detonators,
...with a vibration/pressure sensor and a photoconductor element at the very least.
Wait a minute... There's something on the back cover, too.
Geez, are you really with Public Security?
I was in the army during the war.
Of course, my specialty back then was planting these things...
You won't have a problem with us talking right above...
...where they're defusing that nuke, will you?
So, how far are you planning to take this?
Take what?
Aggravating this situation.
I'm afraid that's a question that you'll have to ask the refugees or a military analyst.
It's outside my area of expertise.
Like hell it is.
The fabrication of a mediator who will give rise to copycats...
That topic's part of your old field of research.
This society contains factors that make it easy for situations like this to be triggered.
After all, human history has been written by those with power,
...who have programmed things like myths and legends.
And in that world, unbeknownst to anyone,
there was a megalomaniac whose hunger for his 15 minutes of fame had grown.
Eventually, he wanted to produce a hero who was greater than himself.
Wasn't the Individual Eleven just a fake standalone complex...
...created by a criminal along those lines?
My, what a fascinating story.
You're a sneaky SOB...
But when it's all said and done...
...you're just second rate.
Kill the lights.
Does the cover look crooked to you?
Clear.
Found it. One parallel reflector switch.
Okay, I'm inserting the mirror.
I've cut all the photoconductor elements.
It's a mockup of an implosion-type nuke.
So this is their way of saying that they did have the time and technology.
They just chose not to build one, huh?
What are you talking about?
A different retrieval team passed through here a few minutes ago.
There was a what?
Borma, what's your take on the bomb now that you've gotten a look at its construction?
It has "message from the refugees" written all over it, but there's something strange about it.
Like what?
The explosives they're using are M112 demo charges used by the U.S. Army.
The refugees have always used C4.
I see. You two stay there until the very end, and then meet up with the transport team.
But I still haven't found anything that links the CIS to...
You've done enough for now.
Roger that.
What exactly do you mean, I'm second rate?
We met a standalone-type hacker prodigy a while back.
You can't help but compare this incident with the phenomenon he triggered.
Compared to him, the guys that killed themselves here...
...don't seem all that impressive.
And when we checked out the Individual Eleven's external memories,
we found out that they were nothing but simple copycats created by a virus.
Did you, now?
That means they were an opinion-manipulation device that some criminal somewhere created,
probably lifting the name from that terrorist group that took over the Chinese embassy.
Still, I bet the bastard who spread that virus thinks he's a hacker with serious skills.
And are you implying that I was the one who created the virus?
I'm not saying that at all.
In that case, what do you want me to tell you?
I want you to tell me what your take on these guys is.
Very well. If, as you say, the Individual Eleven appeared as the result of a virus,
wouldn't you have to say that they are the ones who are geniuses,
no, heroes, in the same vein as your standalone hacker...
...for continuing to escalate the situation even now?
That mass suicide stunt of theirs spread their cause, I'll give you that.
But whose heroes did they become?
The citizens of Japan? Not likely!
At best, they were nothing but saps who gave the refugee situation an excuse to get worse.
The fact is, their deaths have already been forgotten.
I think I follow you.
But if the important thing isn't their memory, but rather the creation of our current situation,
wouldn't one be forced to say that the criminal who...
...produced the Individual Eleven is a talented hacker?
Yeah. Much as I hate to admit it, there's no denying that.
I still have some problems with using labels like "genius" to describe the guy, though.
The criminal profile that comes to mind from their ideology and that virus...
...is that of an individualist who's ruled by the desire to break free from his inferiority complex.
You'll never win people over by forcing your personal beliefs on others.
It doesn't matter if your intentions are good or bad.
Unless you've got some kind of unshakable conviction in something,
you'll never become someone worthy of being called a genius or a hero.
Conviction?
That's right. That's my take on it, anyway.
And one more thing.
The most important factor of all. The one you have to have.
Luck is the one factor that's indispensable.
Oh? And why is that?
Isn't it obvious? When you get right down to it,
geniuses and heroes are pretty much dependent on a third party's point of view.
To convince people that a hero is actually a hero, you need a response from onlookers.
And it's the content of that response that will either...
...raise the hero to great heights or cast him down to the ground.
That's entirely dependent on luck.
I see. That's an interesting hypothesis.
I must say, I had no idea that you were this talkative.
Is that supposed to be a compliment?
You can take it as one if you like.
Since you're complimenting me and all, let me mention one other thing.
It's about the X-factor that's part of this situation.
They're up top.
Hideo Kuze, the only one of the Individual Eleven who didn't kill himself that day...
Afterwards, he vanished to who knows where,
and when he resurfaced, he had become the leader of the refugees.
Pretty strange, isn't it?
Was it just a fluke? Or something that was planned from the very beginning?
His behavior was the exact opposite of that of the other Individual Eleven,
so that must be your X-factor at work.
But one can't help but see his actions...
...as having the effect of contributing to the cause of refugee expulsion.
Considering that his actions, albeit different, are guiding the situation to the same conclusion,
it must mean that the criminal produced even this X-factor of yours.
Would it?
I'll admit that his actions are spurring on the cause of refugee expulsion, though.
His escape on the camouflaged ship that was carried on the national networks...
...was made all the more dramatic thanks to the blackout of Nagasaki.
And now, a nuke is being defused under our feet as we speak...
If Kuze's done all this, I guess the government has no choice but to take off the kid gloves.
But the thing is, is it really Kuze who's behind all this?
Isn't it really just a fabrication that's being cooked up...
...by the criminal who's acting as his producer?
Or more to the point, couldn't you say that this criminal "producer"...
...is unwittingly helping Kuze and is starting to mimic his actions?
What do you mean by that?
Kuze came back to Dejima from Etorofu, but he didn't have any plutonium with him.
I bet that he normally would have wanted to tell the refugees...
...and rein in the situation for the time being.
But in spite of that, we've now had a terrorist act involving plutonium.
And then what?
Would he play along with his "producer's" plans and use a bluff to declare war?
But he didn't do a damn thing.
Right now, he's keeping his mouth shut about it and lying to the refugees,
looking for something that will let him turn the tables.
Or on the contrary, maybe by keeping quiet, isn't it actually Kuze...
...who's drawn a trump card that can control the situation?
Kuze started out as nothing more than an unknown variable,
so if it turns out that he's the real genius... the real hero... in all this,
isn't it possible that the guy who thinks he's his producer...
...has actually turned into Kuze's copycat somewhere along the line?
Okay, it's all yours.
Roger.
Those guys didn't become anybody's heroes,
even though they believed in that fabricated ideology and even killed themselves.
I wonder where their Ghosts are wandering right about now...
Major, did you get the plutonium okay?
The job's done.
No kiddin'.
I used your external memory to keep him talking about Kuze as best I could,
but I'm not so sure it worked.
It did. We'll take this straight to Spring-8.
Their information warfare pros' obsession over realism...
...made them leave material behind, and that's going to be their undoing.
If this plutonium matches the plutonium we collected at the Shinjuku nuclear plant,
it'll prove that the CIS is behind this incident.
Roger that.
Gohda. Just like Kuze, we haven't given up the fight yet, either.
You don't say?
There's one thing that I forgot to ask you.
I don't think there'll be another outbreak, but we still don't know the final trigger for the virus.
We want to write a vaccine just to be safe.
If it was you, what would you use as the final triggering factor?
Well, if I were the culprit...
...the factor I would probably use is that they were a virgin prior to getting a prosthetic body.
Say what?
If you're looking for people who are prepared to martyr themselves as a hero of the masses,
that is a factor that is absolutely necessary.
Of course, it would be a bit of a gamble as to how many people have that particular "gift"...
You bastard... How much more twisted can you possibly get?
You think it's twisted? If you must know, I myself am a virgin.
This little chat we've had has been most enjoyable.
Or informative, I should say. You have my gratitude.
My own battle isn't over yet, either.
Will you stop me first, or will my plans come to fruition?
I suppose the answer to that is up to our X-factor.
Now, if you'll excuse me.
Finding out a galaxy...
...of planets and stars within me...
Listening to each of them...
...singing the same silent melody...
I've never seen such beauty...
In possibility...
No speck of doubt or fear...
Wake up!
I hear a voice,
hear a voice calling out to me...
I see inside,
see the light now ever holding me...
All the truth, all I need...
...to make of this reality, it's inside...
The beauty within the shell...
I hear a voice,
hear a voice calling out to me...
I see inside,
see the light now ever holding me...
All the truth, all I need...
...to make of this reality, it's inside...
Right here within the shell...