Angely i demony kruzhili nado mnoj, Angels and demons circle above me,
rassykhali ternii i vechnye puti. through the thorns to the stars.
Ne znaet shast'je tol'ko tot, Only those unable to perceive its call...
kto jevo zova ponjat' ne smog. ...do not know happiness.
Naljubuites', naljubuites'. Watch in awe, watch in awe.
Aeria gloris, aeria gloris.
Naljubuites', naljubuites'. Watch in awe, watch in awe.
Aeria gloris, aeria gloris.
I am calling, calling now,
spirits rise and falling.
Soboj ostat'sja dol'she. To remain myself longer.
Calling, calling, in the depths of longing.
Soboj ostat'sja dol'she. To remain myself longer.
Naljubuites', Watch in awe,
aeria gloris.
They beefed up the patrols, huh?
Ishikawa, any luck getting new testimony out of the remaining narc squad members?
We weren't able to get much useful intel out of them.
Their boss was Director Niimi, who tried to commit cyberbrain suicide,
so that lead is a dead end now.
And we can't find the Laughing Man himself, either.
That's true.
Following the Chief's instructions, we're now going after this man.
That's...
Right.
Assemblyman Kaoru Yakushima, standing Secretary General of the ruling coalition.
Yakushima, huh? He's the most powerful man in his party right now,
and he was Minister of Health at the time of the Laughing Man incident.
He's a diehard MHLW man who built his current position...
...by switching jurisdiction of cyberbrain tech from METI to the Ministry of Health.
And although it's not widely known,
there's a secret connection between him and the JMSDA.
So you're saying that's where that Armed Suit came from?
That's what the Chief seems to suspect.
The fat pipeline between the political world and the JMSDA was laid by Yakushima,
who was Chief of Staff for the JMSDA,
when he set up shop as a politician with a huge sum of stake money.
But where he got that money raised questions,
and the JMSDA's chief accountant accused Yakushima of misappropriating secret funds.
However, the lead prosecutor on the case was found run over next to a railroad track,
and the investigation came to a stop.
In the end, Yakushima was never charged, and the suspicions about him remain unresolved.
There's more.
Superintendent General Daido, who recently retired,
was Yakushima's junior at the National Defense Academy,
and word has it that the late Imakurusu had been a close golf buddy of Yakushima's...
...since his days as an army medic.
Should you be up and around?
I can't be the only one around here lying in bed.
Which would mean that as far as this string of incidents is concerned,
he has more than enough clout to be the one pulling the strings behind it all?
Although we don't have a shred of evidence at this point.
So, how do you intend to go after the serving Secretary General?
We'll tug on the last thread that links...
...Chief Secretary Yakushima and the Laughing Man incident.
Serano Genomics.
That's right.
The suppression of the Murai Vaccine,
which we believe to be the origin of the Laughing Man incident,
and Serano's micromachine therapy, which received approval at that same time.
If we take into custody Mr. Ernest Serano, who seems to be deeply involved in both,
and question him immediately, the link between the two will probably be made clear.
In the six years since right after the incident to this very day,
Mr. Serano has been under house arrest under the pretext of police protection.
Do whatever it takes. Take him into custody this time no matter what.
The Laughing Man is probably thinking the same thing.
What do we do if we run into him?
Arrest him. In a sense, he's the key witness to this case.
Isn't it possible that Serano will be liquidated once we go into action, just like before?
It's possible, of course. That's why I want you to do whatever it takes.
Mr. Serano, you have a call from the Holland branch.
What would you like me to do?
Tell them that I'll call them back when I get to the office.
Understood.
I feel terrible about having you play secretary for me all the time.
Even so, you're the most competent of all the detectives that have been assigned to me.
What do you say? How about becoming my secretary for real?
I'll make it worth your while.
Thank you, but no.
It looks like your car has arrived.
I see. Thank you.
I'll come up to escort you, so please wait there a moment.
All this heightened security is making me a little nervous.
It's nothing to worry about.
It's open.
Ever since I saw the news about the Sunflower Society and Imakurusu,
I've been resigned to the fact that you would probably come here next.
I'm here to see to it that you make good on the promise you made six years ago.
Will you come with me?
Subject has left his room.
He's heading for the entry hall.
Good morning, Mr. Serano.
Good morning.
Now opening entry hall door.
Be careful.
Thanks.
Subject is through the entry hall.
Roger that. We have visual.
It's just like last time, isn't it?
You're right.
The only difference is that it was detectives in the hall instead of your family.
There wasn't a car following us, either.
So, what are you going to do about them?
Well, let's see...
Driver, go left at the next intersection.
That's not like him...
Don't let him shake you.
It'll take that unmarked police car about an hour to reach Serano Genomics' head office now.
Until then, I'd like you to tell me why you haven't kept your word,
and have kept silent these past six years.
I have to decide on my next course of action.
You're awfully audacious.
Hold it! Put both hands on the hood of the car!
Take it easy.
We're Public Security Section 9. We contacted you earlier.
I was told that Mr. Serano had already left. Is that true?
His ride to the office left, same as always. What about it?
Look at your watch. Is that the same time as always?
Gee, that guy's a real working man's CEO, ain't he?
Every last one of you bozos had your eyes hacked by him!
Mr. Serano was alone when I called his room, too.
Looks like the surveillance camera Al's been hacked...
"Medusa"?
Your ID.
Huh?
Hurry it up.
Of all the stupid...
You guys are such easy marks.
What's that?
Interceptors. I can't believe you're still being bugged with them.
When Interceptors upload data, they use the comm devices in the subject's cyberbrain.
You probably noticed a load spike every once in a while.
What the hell?
Your brains recorded Serano walking past you by himself,
but he's showing up just fine on the Interceptors.
This is what really happened in the kidnapping six years ago.
Major, dive into all IR-Systems inside a radius of three kilometers from the Serano estate...
... and look for Mr. Serano's company car.
The Laughing Man has kidnapped Mr. Serano again.
Find them, no matter what it takes!
Understood. But there's no guarantee that the car will show up on the IR-System.
Ishikawa!
I was listening. Beginning full-scale search.
Bear in mind the possibility of an A.I. overwrite.
Roger that.
Circle around the area for half an hour or so.
I have some personal business to see to.
Let's go.
The view from here has changed quite a bit, hasn't it?
I see your hair has gone white, Mr. Serano.
It's been a rough six years.
The official story is that the police are there to protect me against threats from you,
but they're really there to keep an eye on me...
...to make sure I don't blab anything about the truth behind the incident.
For all intents and purposes, I'm under house arrest.
Compared to back then, I see you've lost your naiveté.
I suppose I've managed to mature a little.
I'll admit that back then,
I seriously wanted to give all the phonies in the world a swift kick in the ass,
Still, you were pretty wild back then, yourself.
For two whole days, you hung out with a mere anonymous student...
...who had hacked into you, in spite of the fact that you were being brain dived.
I had enough passion left in me...
...to make me want to debate a student who spouted naive crap.
I understand what you're trying to say,
but I'm a micromachine developer, not a member of the Drug Evaluation Council.
I don't have anything to do with the rejection of the Murai Vaccine.
I understand that.
But the Drug Evaluation Council is a bunch of crooks and phonies.
I'll have to confront them someday, but first, I want you to publicly disclose the data that...
... shows that your company's micromachines have practically no effect on cyberbrain sclerosis.
I've told you again and again that I can't do that!
I'll admit that like you wrote in your blackmail letter three years ago,
micromachine therapy was nothing more than a theory at that point.
But that's how patents work!
There's no law against being the first...
...to register technology that's certain to be practical one day!
That's what goddamn lawyers always say.
For Christ's sake...
I was well aware that our approval request was premature.
It was partially meant as a bluff to our competitors.
But I believe that the reason we got approval from the Drug Evaluation Council...
...after just three months, faster than anyone expected,
was because they realized that my company's theories are the superior ones.
You have no idea how much damage would be caused...
...by a loss of faith in the use of medical micromachines now.
You're trying to kill a technology that holds more potential...
What I'm trying to say is that this is a matter of life or death...
... for those people who are suffering from cyberbrain sclerosis.
At the very least, can't you concede the effectiveness of the Murai Vaccine...
... until micromachine therapy shows clear results?
I have nothing to say in regards to Murai.
Can you really say that?
If that sonuvabitch God gave you cyberbrain sclerosis for kicks,
would you choose micromachine therapy without giving it a second thought?
Of course. I have pride and faith in my company's products.
So, you'd even choose it if it was your children who came down with CS?
Yes. I suppose I would.
Look, let's drop this hypothetical stuff.
Pride and sentiment are two different things, aren't they?
That's no fair, Mr. Serano.
If you're really so proud of micromachine therapy,
you should make use of your position to do what's right.
The only thing Imakurusu could think of...
... was rejecting the vaccine that had Dr. Murai's name on it.
The goddamn Drug Evaluation Council, whose only job was to rubber-stamp...
... any new medicine that came through the Ministry of Health,
was chaired by Imakurusu,
a man who had a stamp specially made to reject the Murai Vaccine...
... which read "Approval Denied"!
Your own micromachines were used in that dirty deal!
You can't be completely unaware of those circumstances, Mr. Serano.
It didn't really matter to them if it was your micromachines.
Any goddamn micromachine that was up for approval back then...
... would have worked just as well!
If you know how corrupt the shitty medical industry is,
can you honestly say that it's got nothing to do with you?!
All right. Let's do this, then.
For now, release me and let me act on my own.
Once I make preparations after that,
I'll call the press together and disclose the current state of micromachine therapy.
Are you being serious? There's no advantage for you in that promise.
I'm not such a petty man.
It may not be as grand as yours,
but I believe I have a sense of social justice just like anyone else.
I wonder.
You have my word.
At the time, I was exhausted from your brain dive,
and I fervently made that promise in the hopes of escaping.
I thought that if I could get you in front of a TV camera, the eyes of the viewing public,
you wouldn't do anything crazy.
That's right...
But unfortunately, I had an S&W Chief in my pocket.
Will you disengage your brain dive?
Even you have to know that what you're doing is illegal.
If you want to hide your face and maintain your anonymity,
it wouldn't be a good idea for you to be shown on TV.
I enjoyed our debates.
But as a man who protects his enterprises, I might not be able to keep my promise.
Society isn't as cut and dried as you think it is.
I won't try to uncover who you really are, either.
For now, let's go our separate ways here.
That's no fair!
Then look into that camera there and tell the truth!
Stop that. You won't shoot me.
Are you so sure?
Afterwards, when I had been taken into protective custody by the police,
I learned from a company director who came to visit me...
...that the two days I had spent with you...
...had developed into a major kidnapping incident that had shaken our whole society.
I also learned that immediately after I left home with you,
a demand for a huge ransom was delivered to the company.
But I couldn't believe that it was you who made that demand.
The fact that you're an ingenious hacker didn't change the fact that you were a criminal,
but it seemed to me that you were only using those abilities...
...to fight the injustices of the world out of the righteousness of youth.
But the police determined that you had kidnapped me for the ransom money,
and they questioned me again and again, asking if I knew anything that could help them.
But the director and I decided to maintain that we couldn't think of a single thing.
We couldn't cause a situation which would lead to suspicion...
...that our company's micromachines were defective.
Just like you said, we were taught that we had a guilty conscience.
The secret of our micromachines was being held hostage,
and a ransom was being demanded.
And then the micromachine killer virus incident happened.
That's right.
Even as I was angry at myself for being overjoyed...
...by our micromachine therapy being approved,
I was cursing you from the bottom of my heart at the same time.
I thought, "This is corporate terrorism, plain and simple!"
But that wasn't you, was it?
The evil that lurks in this world exists on a level that's far higher than we imagine.
I assume you know that we blackmailed companies that were granted an influx of...
...public funds because we were on the verge of bankruptcy due to the killer virus infection.
Let me tell you what happened afterwards.
At the same time our stock prices were gradually beginning to climb after their collapse,
we were visited by a man who introduced himself as a member...
...of the private support association of a certain assemblyman.
He said that he was acquainted with someone who could put an end to the corporate blackmail,
so he asked if we would be willing to make a political donation to this assemblyman...
...in the event that a declaration was made that the blackmail would end,
The amount he suggested was equal to the public funds...
...plus the demanded blackmail money.
This clearly meant that Serano Genomics had been targeted for blackmail all along...
...because we were the latecomer among the manufacturers.
To them, what I did must have seemed like a performance that came at exactly the right time.
I suppose it did, at that.
By continuing to imitate the incident you triggered,
they created a fabricated image called the Laughing Man.
They manipulated stock prices by invoking the name of a criminal that didn't exist,
stealing money from companies besides us.
That, in spite of the fact that they had probably been...
...making a tidy sum even before then off of short-selling the stocks.
Was this assemblyman Secretary General Yakushima?
You knew, did you?
Basically, hackers have always existed to peek at things that others have hidden.
But the depth of the darkness in the hotbed of corruption I had tried to confront defeated me,
and all I could do was become a deaf-mute and avert my eyes from it all.
Just as you have done these past six years.
The Laughing Man... That was a good name they came up with.
And here I'd thought that if I failed to persuade you,
I'd simply follow Holden's quote and disappear...
They followed the Salinger angle... Good grief.
Say, Mr. Serano, if that's what they're doing, I have to become the original Laughing Man...
...and drag that phony Yakushima into the light of day.
When you showed yourself to me, I made up my mind, too.
There isn't much evidence to accuse him with,
but I'll become your copycat and fight him, too.
Don't die before you take the witness stand.
Sure.
Squad 2, ready.
Squad 3, ready.
Squad 4, ready.
All squads are in position.
Building's security system now under our control.
Batou.
No change in subjects.
Storm the place!
Everyone, freeze!
Hold it right there!
Subject B secured. He's alone.
No sign of subject A.
Hold position there.
That was one hell of a performance.
With chops like that, you could fool anybody with no trouble at all.
Gee, and I was never in a single school play, either.
I guess this clinches the connection between Yakushima and Serano, huh?
Right. And what the Laughing Man told me was the truth, too.
This should have lit a fire under Mr. Serano, too.
This might work.
She's so cold and human
It's something humans do
She stays so golden solo
She's so number nine
She's incredible math
Just incredible math
And is she really human?
She's just so something new
A waking lithium flower
Just about to bloom
I smell lithium now
Smelling lithium now
How is she when she doesn't surf?
I wonder what she does when she wakes up?
When she wakes up?