Original subtitles

You called for me, Colonel?

Yes, I'm getting a tad sweaty, so I was wondering

if you might wipe it off for me.

No...

Threat has ceased operation.

Returning to normal mode.

My complimentary Tomliand model...

hated the thought of wiping my sweat that much?

OCTOBER 1, 2029

TWO DAYS LATER

Please evacuate the designated area immediately!

I repeat...

- Somebody must've died. Terrorism? - Yeah! Awesome!

This is the police! Clear the road!

Major.

Picking up a crazed robot is a job for the police.

I don't care if elections are around the corner,

do we need to be providing advertisement for Public Security?

I wonder if Ol' Ape-face got any jobs from the Minister of Internal Affairs.

Our only target is the Hanka Precision Tomliand model.

It has nothing to do with the police and their little trash pickup op.

Don't let it escape! Block its path!

I'm bored out of my damn skull.

What the hell is this? That ain't the Tomliand!

Damn it, this wasn't even my job.

You fed me a line, Newbie.

The police were hunting down something else.

I caught the Tomliand myself.

I pulled a lot of stupid crap in my younger days,

but I never foisted crap jobs off onto my senior officers.

Nobody bothers with the seniority system anymore.

If that's the attitude you're gonna take,

- I have a few ideas on-- - Togusa.

Fill out the paperwork on that Tomli and send it to the Chief.

Send me a copy.

We're going to Prefectural Police HQ.

This really sucks.

How about some nice, soothing music?

We strongly condemn! The police's use!

Of these violent and inhuman methods!

Corpses don't have rights, but machines have their own advocacy group?

Life sure comes cheap these days.

Don't even bother.

Griping about population explosions here won't get you anywhere.

They're a bunch of unfeeling bastards who would act like forgiving saints

if their whole family got murdered.

Every last one of 'em, they're just looking out for themselves.

NIIHAMA PREFECTURE POLICE STATION

Yes. Yes, that's right.

They say they're from something called

the "Shell Squad," a special assault force from Public Security Section 9.

Sir! Yes, sir!

Er... Go right in.

CRIMINAL IDENTIFICATION SECTION PHYSICAL EXAMINATION DEPARTMENT

My answer's the same as the last time. I'm not doing a joint examination!

Take the hint, or I'll lock you up!

Do all the cops here moonlight as comedians?

Oh. Sorry about that.

The robotics industry people keep hounding me.

Public Security Section 9. Give us a general rundown on the robot cases.

Well, 99% are being written off as malfunctions.

Caused by the microbe disaster. Or cyberbrains.

Or prosthetic engineering.

Self-termination cases are on the rise.

By deliberately causing a malfunction in their own systems,

the robots give themselves permission to attack humans.

Are you saying it's a robot uprising?

Sounds like something from a pulp sci-fi novel.

My original specialty was social pathology,

and let me tell you, there's been a clear risk increase in recent years.

Any chance they're being programmed to do so?

That was true in four cases.

Those were solved by following the "personal grudge" angle.

Whether it's due to company reparations or stricter regulations,

it follows the same pattern each time.

What's your take on the cause of the increase in cases?

It's because they're being discarded. They're no longer wanted.

So there's a never-ending stream of units

ending up on the streets, to say nothing of going feral.

It's especially bad with love dolls and industrial-use models.

New models hit the market whenever a product gets updated,

and the old ones get abandoned one after another.

According to psychologists, it's due to a hollowing out of the spirit

that happens in a time of information overload.

Or that rampant consumerism has fueled its own unique desires.

The robots just want us to stop treating them as disposable.

If it was me, I'd program them at a hardware level to suck it up.

Is that a personal opinion you wrote in the comment section of a report?

I give out a lot of those. You know, personal opinions.

Go check out Hanka Precision next.

Just me and Togusa?

Are you making any headway in your investigation, Daisuke?

Your hobbies aren't something to boast about to the public, Col. Tonoda.

That Tomliand was a work of art,

but I can't stand the mechanical aroma the others give off.

Even that one you brought with you,

I can smell her white blood from way over here.

There are no robots in my outfit.

Really now?

The fact is, I'm canceling your personal protection detail.

I came to tell you in person.

What?! You can't do that!

There's no guarantee that the Trichoderma and Arnateria I'm using now

won't attack me just like the Tomliand did!

We've determined the incident wasn't a terrorist act directed at you, Colonel.

You will be fine.

I should be going.

Daisuke! Daisuke!

Who on earth is that guy?

During the war, he was known as Col. Red Demon,

the wily devil who ran the old Investigations Division.

If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be where I am today.

Two days ago, he was attacked by a Tomli in his home,

and we were called in, as a formality.

To determine if it was a simple robot malfunction or an act of terrorism.

So, not terrorism then?

It wasn't terrorism.

Then HQ is going to take over this case?

No, we'll keep digging.

What on earth for?

Because inside the Tomli's cyberbrain case that attacked the Colonel,

SOS was written in blood.

It was put there deliberately, obviously,

and we've only found it in the eight units we've captured.

Our culprit made those eight Tomlis go berserk

in the hopes that someone would find the SOS they wrote.

Only the police and the culprit know about the SOSs

mixed in with the increase in robot incidents over recent years.

And the shipping inspectors at Hanka Precision.

They must have known.

I'm going back to providing security for the EC economic policy cabinet meeting.

The three of you handle it.

- No going rogue, you hear? - I won't!

Batou, were you listening in?

Basically, we got involved because of an attack on a VIP,

but a weird message was found inside the robot's head.

Looks like the cause and the culprit will be found inside Hanka Precision.

HANKA PRECISION INSTRUMENTS

Chief Inspector Kubonuma, Shipping Inspection Division.

Y-Yes, that's right, President.

Explain this.

Was it you who put that message in all 23 sample Tomliand units?

Or do you have accomplices helping you?

H-Has there been a complaint about an inspection error?

I am not a fan of such archaic methods, but needs must.

Make sure he at least has a cyberbrain.

And how are we feeling?

I'll report this to the union...

The union, eh?

With my automated factory, we won't need one of those for 300 years!

I sent those special Tomli samples to 23 special clients.

Of those, seven went berserk and were written off as malfunctions by the police.

And although we were able to recover 14 of them ourselves,

we can't reach the owners of the remaining two!

If their heads were destroyed, there would be no issue,

but I do not want for them to be analyzed with the software still intact!

I was...

I was asked by Link and Adam, who are in stage 4 imprinting,

to rig all 23 units to go berserk with an SOS in them.

In return, the girls let me...

Doctor, was that the serum talking?

It's taken full effect, sir.

One of our clients wants a culprit, so cut him loose.

Yes, sir.

Now, then.

Let's tie up some loose ends.

HANKA PRECISION INSTRUMENTS

That's not what I'm saying, and you know it!

How is that any different from a class system?

The person with seniority is always right and the people below him are twisted?

Even monkeys know when to show some manners.

Give it a rest!

I'm flashing back to my days as a detective.

Like I told you...

If I could pin it on the president...

Hey. His name badge says "Chief Shipping Inspector."

He sure isn't acting like one.

Excuse me.

Dumbass! You're supposed to advance while I cover you!

Who the hell is shooting at us out of the blue, damn it?

Son of a...

He's coming down on the emergency stairs out back!

What do we do about Hanka Precision?

Stay in the car and stake them out!

Stop trying to be a one man show, ex-Ranger!

I wish we'd brought a Fuchikoma.

Crap!

Okay, not another step!

Hello!

If you give me any trouble, you're a dead man!

Come on out with your hands up!

Fuchikoma?

The Major said to tail you and back you up if things got dicey,

but that never happened 'til now.

Okay, check the perimeter.

He might have friends nearby.

Start with the cars and pay phones.

Yessir!

My wife and daughter's faces flashed before my eyes.

That wasn't your wife or your daughter you saw.

That was the grim reaper coming to collect.

What the hell are you doin'?

When I get out of the joint, I'm gonna...

Why'd you cap the chief shipping inspector?

Who the hell are...

During the war, you were held prisoner in Khorasan or Balochistan, am I right?

Wh-What's it to you?

That scar on your lip that you hide with your mustache,

you got that from being tortured by the Dentist.

I-It ain't!

M-My lawyer's gonna hear about this!

You'll never get the chance to, moron.

Well, this isn't the kind of pain that you can tough out.

- You yourself again? - I'm fine.

He tell you anything?

He says it was payback for his yakuza boss getting attacked by a Tomli.

That Tomli was a special model that was sent out only to special clients.

His boss was a special client?

He said they smuggled kids in via the Southway,

and delivered them to Hanka Precision.

He says they're also involved in drug routes.

- Let us go! - Stop it! I don't wanna!

No!

Stop it! No!

The President is waiting for you! Link! Adam!

Quit your dawdling!

Crap!

Hey, wait!

Stop! We're the police!

Nothing personal.

Hang on, this is...

a Ghost dubbing system?

It can make bulk copies of info-degraded Ghosts,

but the tech was banned because the original dies.

They're using the trafficked kids and throwing them away once they're used up.

- We have to get out of here! - No, I don't wanna!

Gosseyn said that people called "police" would come and save us!

Gosseyn moved up to Stage 5

and got turned into a whole different person!

You're the ones who made the Tomlis go berserk and wrote those SOS's?

That's right!

Gosseyn was right!

Now we won't be used up and thrown away!

Was anyone else involved?

Gosseyn planned it all out,

and the chief shipping inspector activated the program!

It didn't occur to you that people might get hurt?

Out of those eight Tomlis, there was one assault on a VIP.

There were two homicides and 12 cases of assault and battery.

And they committed lots of other crimes besides.

And you made them do it. Do you understand that?

So what? It's the outside people who did bad stuff to us first!

I've apprehended 20 engineers, but the president's office was empty.

What the hell are you bursting in here like an action hero?

You weren't responding, so I came running to help,

half expecting to find your corpse!

The chamber must be EM shielded.

Somebody matching the president's description left in a car.

Why didn't you start off with that?! Let's go after him!

Fuchikoma! Use C42 anesthetic on all of them and come with us!

They still have rights!

If rights counted for squat,

the world would be at peace and we'd be unemployed!

President, you're driving too fast!

If those two were yakuza, we're dead!

If they're police, we're looking at life in prison for Ghost dubbing!

If you're that worried, you didn't need to bring five robots with us!

You'll ruin this poor V8 engine!

Feel free to get out, then!

I can replace you in three days, but not these robots!

If I can't make enough money with these,

I can't make peace with the yakuza and the police!

He's heading for the harbor.

He's involved in child trafficking and drugs, so I can't say I'm surprised.

Let's have the Coast Guard seal it off.

Only if I stop hearing the roar of his V8 before we catch up to him.

Never put yourself in someone else's debt.

President, why are you driving so slowly?

You look for it too, Doctor!

There's a boat registered to the company berthed at pier 92!

- They're following the playbook exactly! - I'm not hearing that V8.

We're less than a klick away. We can catch up!

Hurry! Hurry!

I hear a car!

If you have the robots attack them, we can--

Are you trying to make matters worse?!

Those aren't combat robots!

Use the ship's radio to find out what the situation is from the yakuza boss.

Who else besides him do I know who has pull with the police?

Of course! We'll call Col. Tonoda!

I-In any case, let's get aboard!

President!

Everyone, stay where you are!

Hang on, something's weird here.

The president is going to fall in!

H-Help me!

They say the sludge around here is five meters thick.

He's a Jameson-type cyborg. He should be fine for two hours or so.

Let's have the cops dredge him out. Yeah? Yeah?

President...

With the assistance of the Coast Guard,

the president of Hanka Precision was pulled from the water and arrested.

The president is fully mechanical except for his brain and part of his spine,

so the hope is that further investigation will determine

if his crimes were the result of his Ghost or a mechanical issue.

In our next story--

AI development alone

must not have been enough for Hanka to keep up with other companies.

And?

He trafficked children into the country using the yakuza,

dubbed their Ghosts into his company's machines

after using drugs to turn them into near robots,

and gave them out to special clients.

And you're suggesting that I'm one of their "special clients"?

Hanka Precision is on the site of a former Intelligence Department training center,

and the department's head at the time they relocated there was you, Colonel.

They might send me units for evaluation purposes

since I'm in their monitoring committee,

but I have no idea how they're made.

This is a copy of your secret bank accounts

from the time the center relocated.

A massive funds transfer, origin unknown, purpose unknown.

Would you care to explain?

Always start by investigating the money and the women. You taught me that.

You were more afraid of the possibility of terrorism

than you were your cozy relationship with Hanka coming to light.

After all, you made quite a few enemies while running the Intelligence Department.

Children take after their parents, robots take after humans.

You'll end up just like me one day.

I'll see you in court, then.

Alrighty, then!

Now that that case is wrapped up with a bow,

I sure wouldn't mind two or three days off!

I have four days' PTO left, so... Hm? What's wrong?

The human heart is a flimsy thing.

If we get caught up in the rat race and focus only on pleasure,

we either end up as machines that pursue efficiency

or as simple consumption units.

Come on, what's with the sudden elderly philosophizing?

No one stays young forever, not even me.

A long time ago, an adventurer said something.

"Humans need time to stop and reflect every once in a while."

"And the only creatures capable of doing that

are human beings," he said.

Chief! About my paid time off...

Oh, it totally slipped my mind.

You're leaving for England tomorrow for the next two months

for special training with the SAS!