All language subtitles for Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex - The Laughing Man (2005).eng

(HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING)

MAN 1: (OVER COMMS)
Dread calling Somerset.

Sleeping gas injectors now attached
to outer walls and rooftop air conditioner.

MAN 2: (OVER COMMS) Roger.
Set it for 0220 hours. Wait for the signal.

(COCKS GUN)

(GRUNTS)

(GRUNTS)

(GROANS)

(SCREAMS)

You people are cops?

Now I know there's no hope
for the justice system!

If you've got issues with this world,
change yourself.

If that's a problem, block your ears,

shut your mouth and go live like a hermit.

And if that's a problem...

(COCKS GUN)

(SIRENS WAILING IN DISTANCE)

(WATER DRIPPING)

Another one?

What's going on here?

-MAN: Yamaguchi.
-(GASPS)

Oh, Chief Nibu.

So, what are you doing
down here after hours?

(CHUCKLING)

Hell of a question.

I was working.
You know what that is, working?

Isn't that what you're doing?

Yeah.

(WATER DRIPPING)

How about a drink? Just you and me.

I can't.

Sorry.

(COMPUTER BEEPS)

I think I'm gonna call it a night.

(MOBILE RINGING)

Hello?

Togusa, this is Yamaguchi.
We worked together at HQ.

-You remember me?
-Yamaguchi?

Oh, yeah, how have you been?
It's been quite a long time.

Sorry to call you so late
out of the blue and all.

But I'm analysing some sensitive data
and I need a second opinion.

-Can I bring it to you?
-Something happen?

YAMAGUCHI: Well, you remember
the Laughing Man case?

The Laughing Man?

Oh, yeah, he was the guy who kidnapped
the CEO of a micromachine corp

and had the nerve to hold him for ransom,

but that was six years ago.

Right. I'm on the research unit
for that case right now,

but some of our own people are acting,
well, suspicious.

You mean, like a turf war between detectives.

No. It goes further up than that.

Maybe all the way to the top.

I'll tell you more when I see you.
I'll be there in about an hour.

All right. I'll be waiting for you.

-Thanks.
-(MOBILE BEEPS)

WOMAN: (OVER COMMS)
Togusa, we just got a call from the Chief.

Meet up with the team, A-2 Loadout.

TOGUSA: (OVER COMMS) Roger.

(SIRENS BLARING)

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

I can't hand over command authority
without a rational explanation.

This matter falls within police jurisdiction!

I'm not obligated to explain.

Don't be stubborn.
Relinquish command authority to the military.

We're stubborn?

Gentlemen, is this any time
for petty squabbles?

-Hmm?
-(GASPS)

Aramaki?

Oh.

Shouldn't our main concern
be the customers inside?

Yes, sir.

We have reason to believe
that the Minister of Foreign Affairs

and his personal secretary
are among the clientele

who are being held inside the restaurant.

It's been roughly 17 minutes
since geisha robots

took the Minister
and the other patrons hostage.

Have they issued any claims or demands?

OFFICER: Not at this time, sir.

-Transmission blackout?
-My guys are on it.

And media control?

OFFICER: We put Code 14 into effect
nine minutes ago.

It won't hold for long.

Section 9 will handle the incident from here.
Hold your position.

-Yes, sir!
-Yes, sir!

ARAMAKI: (OVER COMMS) Major!

The military is itching to jump in.
Watch your back!

MAJOR: (OVER COMMS)
Thanks for the concern. Batou?

BATOU: (OVER COMMS) I'm Still en route.

That explains the wiretap noise I was getting

while I was listening in on the sniper team.

MAJOR: Togusa. lshikawa.

Major, there are just too many channels.

This might take a couple of hours to pinpoint.

MAJOR: Togusa, go to the main courtyard
and get ready to storm the place.

Copy that.

MAJOR: Saito.

SAITO: (OVER COMMS)
I've neutralised the image curtain.

But all those trees down there
limit my firing field.

MAJOR: Paz. Borma.

PAZ: Ready when you are.

MAJOR: Whoever's controlling
the geisha robots ought to be nearby.

Don't shoot the power transformer.

I'll upload a virus
before he can wipe the evidence.

BATOU: But Major! What if the robot geishas
demand a pay raise?

TOGUSA: Knock it off.

MAJOR: All personnel in position.
Standing by.

Right. Proceed!

MAJOR: Go!

(WHIMPERING)

(CAMERA WHIRRING)

-(GROANING)
-(WOOD CREAKING)

-(SILENCED GUNSHOT)
-Ahhh!

-(SILENCED GUNSHOT)
-Ahhh!

-(SILENCED GUNSHOT)
-Ahhh!

(GROANING)

(SCREAMING)

(STRAINING)

(SIRENS WAILING IN DISTANCE)

-Togusa, look alive!
-(PANTING)

Chief, the scene is secure.

ARAMAKI: Good.
Bring the Minister and the others out.

And be extremely careful.

I have four vans and a tent corridor
waiting at you at the entrance.

Move them under B-6 guard protocol.

(TV PLAYING INDISTINCTLY)

Mmm, did Togusa spend
the whole night here?

MAN: Uh, yeah, I guess.
He said he had to wait for someone.

-(NEWSPAPER RUSTLING)
-(GROANS)

Huh?

Hey, you're finally awake.

TOGUSA: "Highway accident.

"Police officer burned beyond recognition."

ARAMAKI: Are you certain

that the agent who contacted you last night
is the same one who died in that accident?

Yes. He said there was suspicious activity
in his unit.

He sounded very worried to me at the time.

So you think his accident wasn't an accident.

TOGUSA: I don't have any evidence,
but the timing's very convenient.

What did the lab report say?

They think he just lost control of the car.
Poor visibility.

Which is very possible
since he was driving in a rainstorm.

TOGUSA: Yeah, but...

Let him make his point, Major.

Regardless of what might have been
the cause of death,

this agent had inside information
that may be very pertinent.

We need to follow it up.

But we need to do it quietly.

You have three days. Find out what you can.

Thank you very much, sir.

(DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES)

So, we are back on the Laughing Man case.
What do you think?

I'd forgotten all about it until he brought it up.

Six years and that same unit
is still working on the same case?

A lot of companies were blackmailed
and they all have to be covered.

It's the largest act of corporate terrorism
since the war.

Even if they drop the case
without an indictment,

HQ can't back away cos of public opinion.

I still say they are taking their sweet time.

You've got a point. Even the top execs
can't agree on the culprit of the crime.

Some say it's politically motivated extremists

who hate prosthetics
and all forms of cyber technology.

Others think it's standard corporate warfare.

Some conglomerate trying to get an edge
on the market.

Laughing Man

And still others believe
it's just about the ransom money.

Plain old thievery.

There are plenty of theories, but no facts.

They don't know if it's one or a whole group.

They don't know the suspect's nationality,
age or sex.

The only thing they agree on is
whoever broke into the system,

is a Super Class A hacker.

He was Class A when he started this thing.

But he couldn't sustain it.
His work turned mediocre.

Ah, I don't like anything about this case,

not the hacker, the corporations or the cops.

Right. But we still have
to check out police headquarters.

If there is high-level involvement in this,

we have no choice but to step in.

(CHANTING)

WOMAN: Mr Togusa?

Thank you for coming here.

I'm Mrs Yamaguchi.

Ah...

I'm sorry.

But how did you know who I am?

My husband told me about you.
He said I could trust you.

I'm glad you came, so I could give you this.

It arrived from my husband this morning.

He must have sent it just before the accident.

There was a note inside,
saying to give it to you.

He said you'd know what to do with it.

Really?

Well, I'll take a look at it.

Er, are you certain that this is what
he wanted me to see?

Yes.

I mean, I'm pretty sure.

TOGUSA: Next.

Next.

Next.

Next.

Enlarge 22 to 56.

Next.

Next.

Enlarge 35 to 28.

Next.

Next.

Next.

Hmm...

(SIGHS)

(GROANING)

What is all this?

Yamaguchi wanted me to pick up something.
But what?

(WATER DRIPPING)

Wait a minute.

(GASPS)

(BEEPING)

Load C97. Enlarge 35 to 28.

Nothing. Load C98.

That's gotta be it.

Load C96.

This one, too.

C92.

Enlarge 4 to 13.

Enlarge 42 to 30.

This one, too.

And this one.

In every photo, there's one thing missing.

The camera.

(SLIDES CHANGING)

ARAMAKI: Now it makes sense. Interceptors.

Yes. I've verified the data.

Yamaguchi's photos
are from the point of view

of detectives in the Laughing Man unit.

They were all implanted with Interceptors
without their knowledge.

So this is the suspicious activity
Yamaguchi tried to warn you about.

And he thought it went all the way to the top.

-Yes, sir.
-It may be a little irregular

to implant them in your own agents,
but it's not illegal.

Headquarters can use Interceptors
all they want

as long as they submit the right paperwork.

But they didn't submit any paperwork.

This was all done in secret.

Also, the law requires a neutral
third-party observer.

They didn't have one of those either.

The original intent was to plant Interceptors
in key suspects they identified.

But instead, they brought the investigation
team in for some bogus medical checkups

and implanted the Interceptors in them.

As far as I can tell,
every guy in the department

was under round-the-clock surveillance.

I've heard of monitoring
on-the-job performance,

but that's going a little too far.

By the way, it's Serano Genomics that sells
these Interceptors to the police.

Isn't that right?

Looks like the victim in this incident

is also supplying their products to the police.

There must be something behind this.

It's strange. There are detectives
who've been assigned to monitor Serano,

and they've also been implanted
with Interceptors.

Neither Serano nor the agents know
these Interceptors are recording everything.

For friends,
they're sure not on very good terms.

We've got the pieces of the puzzle now.

So, we need to move on this
as soon as possible.

But we don't have the goods
to confront them yet.

In that case, let's shake them up a little.

(REPORTERS CLAMOURING)

In response to the story
being widely reported,

police authorities will answer allegations

regarding the illegal use of a new
sensory surveillance technique...

Superintendent Daido
called a press conference?

Looks like we got a bigger reaction
than we imagined.

Daido was in charge the first time
Laughing Man struck

and he handled the initial investigations.

It looks like there's something
his people want to keep in-house.

And they are going great lengths
to cover it up.

MAN: Thank you, gentlemen.
We are ready for your statement.

Last week, certain publications alleged
that Interceptors were being used

in violation of legal standards.

Standards that were set out by
the Sensory Perception Surveillance Act.

Therefore, an internal investigation
was ordered.

Subsequently, Captain Kunihiko Nibu,

Chief of the Special Investigations Unit,

admitted to participating in these acts.

After the Laughing Man
investigation hit a dead end,

Captain Nibu attempted to gather
additional information

by implanting Interceptors in his detectives
against department regulations.

Captain Nibu regrets
having taken these actions.

He stated that he lost sound judgement

due to stress
caused by severe setbacks in the case.

Despite the Captain's apology,
the fact of the matter is,

his actions deviated
from his professional responsibilities.

Therefore, as of today,

Captain Nibu has been given
an official disciplinary dismissal.

And we offer those investigators
who were assigned to this case

as well as their families
our deepest and most sincere apologies.

REPORTER 1: What about senior officials?
Aren't they implicated?

I believe that the Commissioner
will be issuing a statement shortly.

Wasn't there a conflict of interest when
Serano sold these devices to the police?

I was told the agency followed
strict guidelines

when it purchased these devices.

It's my understanding that they were
selected through a formal bidding system

that is carefully regulated.

REPORTER 2: What kind of answer is that?
-(REPORTERS CLAMOURING)

REPORTER 3: Wasn't it the police
who asked for this new surveillance law?

Huh.

Sir, is it true that you are planning
to retire soon and relocate to Holland?

And is it also true that Serano's
corporate headquarters are in Holland?

Is there any connection there, sir?
-(REPORTERS CLAMOURING)

DAIDO: Those are personal questions
that I'm not obligated to answer.

REPORTER: What does that mean?

Never changes.

Huh? That's weird.
ls the cameraman drunk or what?

(STATIC)

MAN: You haven't changed a bit,
Superintendent-General Daido.

Pleased to meet you.
But you already know who I am, don't you?

ALL: What's going on?
-(INDISTINCT MURMURINGS)

That's him.

Argh, what's wrong with this thing?

(BEEPING)

Emergency Special Report
illegal Interceptor Use

Hey, what's the matter with Takekawa?

You Know, Mr Daido,

I tried to avoid this.

I didn't want to be involved
in your world any longer.

I was honestly fed up with you people
and your rotting, rubbish heap of a world.

So, I haven't interfered with the little farce
you've been staging

since the incident occurred.

Even though I knew everything.

You could say I was exhausted
from my fruitless exertions.

Hey, you watching this?
That guy's cyberbrain is being hacked.

MAN: But I've changed my mind.

Because, well,
this show you put on today is pitiful.

A farce is supposed to be funny.

But this one hasn't made me laugh even once.

And so, with the utmost reluctance,

I must challenge you once again.

You and your comedy troupe
are going to reconvene in three days, right?

When you do,
tell the truth this time, won't you?

Because when the curtain goes up,

if you put on another performance
that rings as false as this one,

I will be forced to remove you from the stage.

-(CRASHING)
Takekawa!

Call an ambulance! Hurry!

And we are now returning to the studio
for a brief recap.

-At the conference...
-(STATIC)

MAJOR: February 3, 2024.

Serano's kidnapping occurred
two days earlier,

but no announcements were made
in order to keep the press at bay.

This case was difficult as hell,

and investigators didn't find a single clue.

Then, ironically, it suddenly broke
with that media stunt.

This is where it all began.

A theatrical crime widely known as
"the Laughing Man incident."

According to the detectives who worked
on the case back then,

Mr Serano received warnings
prior to the event

by word of mouth from people
that were close to him.

But because their cyberbrains
had been hacked,

he didn't take the situation seriously.

Immediately after,
Serano himself was cyber-hacked

and kidnapped from his home.

An enormous ransom was demanded
for 10 billion yen

and 100 kilos of gold bullion.

Following that, however, all contact was lost.

Up until he appeared on that TV broadcast,

there had been no inkling of news
of Mr Serano whatsoever.

And while the Laughing Man
was threatening Serano on live TV,

he took the opportunity to plaster his logo

over the camera's Al
and the eyes of onlookers,

including those of the TV station staff.

All done in real time.

The Laughing Man fled from police
when they rushed to the scene.

Yet, despite the fact that so many people
saw the suspect,

the only ones who were able to see
his real face

were two homeless men
who had not been cyberised.

The reports of those who testified seeing
the Laughing Man's face are famous.

Based on these eyewitness accounts,

detectives came up with a composite sketch
of the logo every time.

This bizarre and disturbing incident
along with that twisted pop icon

gained popularity among a lot of
young people and subculture commentators.

At its peak of popularity, the logo could
be seen plastered all over the city

and store shelves
were filled with branded merchandise.

At the same time, acts of corporate
terrorism were occurring one after the other,

while the popularity of the icon
had even reached the point

where it was featured on TV programmes.

Hot on the heels of Serano,

Japan Micro Industries has apparently been
blackmailed by the notorious Laughing Man.

Breaking News
The Laughing Man Strikes Again!

REPORTER: This is incredible!
What are those?

It looks like a warehouse load of office desks.

How in the world were they all moved up here
in a single night?

The head office of Sagawa Electronics
is being blackmailed this time.

And I'm pretty sure this qualifies as
an unprecedented act of corporate terrorism.

This is the real one, right?

MAN: Please call Nanoplant Industries.

WOMAN: Satsuma Meditech is the most
powerful corporation in Kyushu.

Don't you know?

Why would you go and plant
a murder virus in there, for heaven's sake?

I don't know.

I imagine somebody managed to hack
into the landscaping robots during the night.

Go!

(HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING)

Look, it's him.

This MO matches the threat
against the Superintendent-General.

If this guy really did all this by himself,

he's definitely a Super Class A hacker.

But this time-worn kidnapping case
is beneath his abilities.

(BEEPS)

After his shocking and dramatic debut,
he avoided the public eye

and went on to blackmail
the Serano Corporation.

He did this by planting
the "Virus Program Unto Death"

into their micromachine production line.

When sales of their main product,
medical micromachines,

drastically slowed, and the price
of Serano stock took a nosedive,

the blackmail quickly stopped,
as if that was the goal all along.

He then blackmailed
six other micromachine manufacturers,

hitting one after another
using his unique method.

This continued for about three months.

It sort of makes me wonder if blackmail
really was the underlying motive.

What was his true objective?

Did he act alone or as part of a group?
What's his race? His age?

Is there something hidden
in his criminal philosophy?

(SIGHS DEEPLY)

He left a hell of a lot of unanswered riddles.

Then, all of a sudden, he vanished
into the shadows of the Net.

(TV CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY)

With regard to the announcement
at the news conference last night

by the Laughing Man,

a terrorist who has resurfaced after six years,

I consider it to be an elaborate farce

that was pulled off by the Metropolitan Police.

-(ALL GASP)
Hold on.

I'll admit that this threat pushed
the Interceptor misuse matter

clear out of the limelight.

But isn't your reasoning a bit far-fetched?
I mean, come on.

Yeah, Chief.
It's not like you to make accusations rashly.

Are you basing this on something?

-Mmm-hmm. Togusa.
-Sir.

ARAMAKI: Nanao Ei.

He's a material witness
in the Laughing Man case.

The Metro Police Special Investigations Unit

has had this man under surveillance
for the past three months.

Are you kidding?

He seems like any run-of-the-mill
office jockey to me.

Yeah, I know.

And it's certainly not how I had imagined him.

I figured the Laughing Man
would be a lot younger than him.

ARAMAKI: According to the SIU's records,

he'd been working uneventfully
for Serano Genomics as a programmer.

A year into the job, though,

a tip to the company
exposed his activist past,

and he was let go.

Pretty straightforward resume, Chief.

Yes. However, Special Investigations HQ

has suddenly started turning up
more circumstantial evidence

that leads them to think
that Nanao is their man.

The SIU focused its investigation on the
"grudge against Serano" angle this time.

They are tailing him right now.

And as soon as they link Nanao to the threat,

they're just gonna move in and arrest him.

Those idiots.

There's ain't no way in hell
that doofus could be the Laughing Man.

That guy is so battered
and deep-fried in guilt,

he defines innocent.

ARAMAKI: I agree with you.

Why then would Special Investigations
swallow the bait

when anyone else can easily tell it's a decoy
if they look at the big picture?

Besides, this whole Interceptor nonsense,
there's something we can't ignore.

Don't forget police conspiracy
is a part of the equation.

Is it still a theory that's worth considering?

Well, since he...

Yamaguchi was killed
in the crossfire, probably.

I don't have any hard evidence.

But if we can catch Nanao Ei,

who's been playing
the role of the Laughing Man,

and this elusive something
that's managed to fool the SIU,

the answer should surface on its own.

We have two days to find that something.

Oh, yeah.
We sure uncorked a big can of worms.

Right. You and Togusa locate Nanao Ei

-and start 24-hour surveillance.
Yes, sir.

Don't screw up.

TOGUSA: Don't you get bored and wander off.

ARAMAKI: The rest of you,
follow the Major's instructions

and find out who's duping the SIU.

-Yes, sir.
-Yes, sir.

(DOOR CLOSES)

-So, what is it, Major?
-Nothing.

(DOOR CLOSES)

(VEHICLE APPROACHING)

Chief, I'm getting off of
the Nanao case as of this minute.

And I could use the help
of Saito and Paz as well.

What have you got in mind?

Protecting the Superintendent-General.

I think your hunch was on the money,

but I can't shake the feeling
that there's one piece which doesn't fit.

My Ghost is telling me to tail Daido now

to discover what that is. I hear it, whispering.

Hmm.

All right. You know what needs to be done.

Every Section 9 member has a unique ability
and you work best on your own.

But individual success is a reflection
of strong teamwork.

Thanks, Chief.

(OVER COMMS)
Put the word out to Saito and Paz, OK?

(TYRES SCREECHING)

ARAMAKI: (OVER COMMS)
It's me. What's Nanao's status?

TOGUSA: No sign of any activity yet.

He's still sending out e-mails sporadically.

(MOBILE RINGING)

Yes? Thank you for all your help.

That was only one of the plans
I had worked out in advance.

Well, then, I hope you'll look forward to it.

-Right. Goodbye, then.
-(MOBILE BEEPS)

No, it wasn't me.

I didn't issue that warning. But no matter.

That's because it will all be over soon.

(HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING)

(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)

MAN: Major, the Superintendent-General
has entered the building.

GUARD: (OVER COMMS) Routine check...

MAJOR: Chief, how are things on your end?

BORMA: Got it.

Like it says in the SIU's report,
Nanao's activities at the time of each crime

overwhelmingly substantiate the possibility
that he's the Laughing Man.

But during my investigation
of those 43 related files,

I came across a lot of weird stuff

in the testimonies of those
who knew the man back then.

I noticed a definite trend
of admiration for Nanao.

And I suspect this trend may be result
of a forced language-recognition program.

These records have been
clearly manufactured.

Or rather, skilfully overwritten.

The Cybercops would never have seen
through these.

Hell, not even Special Investigations were
able to tell these are altered documents.

This falsifying was a quality forge job.

Superb work.

Batou, do it quick. Apprehend Nanao.

BATOU: Roger. There's a lot more
to this case than I ever imagined.

MAJOR: Saito, Paz,

is the police jamming barrier causing
interference in our connection?

SAITO: No, you're loud and clear.

PAZ: Same here.
MAJOR: Really?

GUARD: (DISTORTED OVER COMMS)
Routine check. All personnel,

move from security level Beta to Charlie.

Huh? Hey! Who are you people with?

-Move! Public Security!
-(GRUNTS)

Stop! Don't go in!

Nanao Ei, you're under arrest

for threatening to kill
the Superintendent-General!

What the hell does Public Security
want with...

(CHAIR CREAKS)

-Huh?
-Huh?

What's going on?

(LAUGHS) I was never there in the first place!
This is rich.

(CHUCKLING)

Oh, I'm sure I'll be written down in
the history books now as the Laughing Man.

(LAUGHS)

That noise.

There. They're Interceptors!

That static in the routine checks
was a modular delayed-action virus.

He's been peering through SIU's eyes
all along.

MAJOR: Batou, Nanao is sending out
a modular virus via that room.

Huh? I'll trace the source from here!

Send

(BEEPING)

GUARD: (ON RADIO) Radio signal violation
of Cyberbrain Code of Ethics detected.

Possible contamination.

All personnel, check cyberbrain activity.

Keep an eye on people around you.

(SILENCED GUNSHOT)

(ALL APPLAUDING)

(GASPS)

(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)

So, it's begun.

Excuse me. There's a possibility
of cyberbrain contamination, sir.

We'll run a check on the cyberbrain activity
of everyone in the place,

including the security unit.

-Please, sir, postpone your speech.
-Mmm-hmm.

Until we identify those infected,

all personnel will stand ready on F-2 alert.

Hey! Who are you?

Hold it! State your name and rank!

Now listen up.

All you people on security detail

are the ones who are most likely
to exhibit any symptoms.

-Oh.
-And considering

that your routine check transmissions
carry a delayed-action virus,

it'll either infect just the command class
equipped with an encryption conversion key,

-or everyone else.
-Er...

-Go.
-Right!

Is that him?

Stop them! Don't let them near
the Superintendent-General!

Everyone else, form a... (GROANS)

(ALL GASP)

Now the purge will begin!

(BOTH GASP)

(GRUNTING)

(GRUNTS)

This is an excellent training exercise
for your men.

If you don't wanna live out your golden years
in the intensive care unit,

then I suggest you stay put!

(GRUMBLES)

(GRUNTING)

(EXCLAIMS)

Now that's a reality show.

(ALARM BEEPING)

Damn it, someone's trying
to copy the virus online.

(ALARM BEEPING RAPIDLY)

An attack barrier! Ahhh!

Major.

That was close.

Going in through a dummy barrier
was a fortunate move.

Was it a booby-trapped virus?

I'm not sure.

MAJOR: Who the hell was snooping around
inside this man's brain?

(PANTING)

BATOU: (GASPS) It's open!
TOGUSA: He got away?

(DOOR OPENS)

Point blank, one bullet.

Marga uses a silencer, too.

What the hell's going on?

Wasn't the whole idea
to have the SIU collar this guy

so they could drop the curtain
on the Laughing Man case?

Hey, don't ask me.

It's sort of like cutting the tail off a lizard.

-A new perp appears.
-I know, but his face...

BATOU: Yeah. (SCOFFS)
The son of a bitch is smiling.

Nanao's been killed? (GRUMBLES)

They got the drop on us.

Scope out as much
of the crime scene as you can,

then clear out before the SIU gets over there.

Dead men tell no tales.

Roger.

MAJOR: Chief, I'm sending a copy of the virus
that we believe Nanao planted.

It's only showing up in a commander
with an encryption conversion key,

so I doubt anyone else will exhibit symptoms.

But better make a vaccine, just to be safe.

All right. I'll have it made up at once.

-(REPORTERS CLAMOURING)
-GUARD: Stand back!

Please clear the way!

Stand back!

MAJOR: Get that vaccine ASAP.
I'm getting a bad vibe here.

-Paz, tail the Superintendent-General again.
-PAZ: Roger.

MAJOR: Saito, watch the perimeter.
SAITO: Roger.

-(STRAINING)
Back off!

(WOMAN SCREAMS)

I am the Laughing Man.

I will kill the Superintendent.

Ow! My leg! (GROANS)

(ALL SHOUTING AND CLAMOURING)

The virus is beginning to manifest already.

-(CAMERAS CLICKING)
-(ALL CLAMOURING)

Just back Off! (STRAINING)

Daido, tell everyone the truth!

-Do it or die!
-What are you doing?

(GROANS)

Daido! (STRAINING)

MAN: (ON RADIO)
Requesting immediate backup!

(CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY)

Looks like nothing vital was hit.

This thing might have infected more people.
Be careful.

MAN: I repeat, numerous accomplices of
the Laughing Man have infiltrated the hall!

Requesting immediate backup!

Damn it! What's happening here?

MAJOR: Have an ambulance standing by
in the underground parking lot.

MAJOR: Chief, the vaccine.

Yes, we're working on it.

What's going on over there?

MAJOR: I can't spare the time
to send you any visuals.

Just put a rush on that vaccine.

Saito, anything fishy along the perimeter?

lshikawa, what about the Tachikomas
the Major brought with her?

Aside from Saito's, two of them are free.

All right.
They can give the Major some backup.

-And hurry it up with the vaccine.
-BORMA: Roger.

-(CAMERAS CLICKING)
-(PEOPLE CLAMOURING)

WOMAN: A police officer just shot
the Superintendent-General.

MAJOR: OK, this is a little much for a farce.

(GASPS)

(GUNSHOT)

(PEOPLE MUTTERING INDISTINCTLY)

Major, the vaccine is finished
and ready to use.

But your guess was correct.

The virus only seems to affect the security
police's encryption conversion key.

It doesn't look like this virus
is what's causing this situation.

MAJOR: Then what the hell is?

-Ha!
-Eradicate!

(GROWLS, GRUNTS)

TACHIKOMA: Major, the cavalry's arrived!

Finally. Now keep this guy held down.

TACHIKOMA: Yes, ma'am!

(TYRES SCREECHING)

(GROWLS) You're dead, Daido!

Damn it. Just how many can there be?

OLD MAN: Excuse me. Hello?

Say, how I get to the hotel
where the Superintendent-General

is going to be assassinated?

Huh?

(LAUGHS)

MAN 1: Oh, come on now, Officer.

Why bother to ask that question
when you already have the answer?

I am the Laughing Man. Laughing Man!
The one and only.

The rest of those people are imposters.

I'm the genuine article, pal.

MAN 2: I heard the message.
It was sent to me from the Laughing Man.

In that threat of assassination,

it told me that I was
to become the Laughing Man.

But I don't recall there being
any mention of assassinating

the Superintendent-General.

Jeez, what's the deal with all these people?

Anyway, putting aside police statements
for the moment,

what about those... Those people who were...

You could refer to them as copycats,
I suppose.

Who or what do you think they were?

Three called themselves the Laughing Man.

Two confessed to committing the crime
out of admiration for him.

Three others said that the threat came to them
as a revelation.

In addition to those people, we rounded up
another 39 Laughing Man copycats,

if you include those who were arrested
for suspicious behaviour along the perimeter.

Plus, none of them acted together,

and there's no religious connection either.

All these upstanding people

who couldn't possibly be linked
to the Laughing Man crimes,

with no trace of external manipulation
by a virus or brainwashing device,

committed an act of terrorism

simply because they saw a warning on TV

insinuating that the Superintendent-General
would be assassinated.

Can you tell me how anyone
would begin to explain that?

Explain? Well, in a play, even the audience
is a part of the performance.

Sorry, but that's not much of an answer.

Like you said once before,

and I do agree with you now,

that there was an police cover-up
using Nanao Ei as an unwitting decoy.

But I can't ignore the feeling
that there is an entirely different story

behind the madness brought on
by the imitators.

Everything's being tinted the same shade.

Major, what's this?

It's internal data from a vocational aid centre.

TOGUSA: Vocational aid centre?

They give job training
to some of their patients

who have severe
Cyberbrain Closed Shell Syndrome

to help them re-enter society.

You have heard of this, haven't you?

The database of the Ministry of Health
and Welfare was hacked into last week.

It was a large-scale inside job.

The leaked information included material

that was classified even higher than A Level.

Notice the amount of time
it took to crack the barrier.

They breached a triple layer of varied
attack barriers in just two hours.

If it was only one person,

then they're an old pro
who's even better than the Major.

Huh. Better than her?

Borma and lshikawa
did a thorough route trace

and that building is definitely
the point of origin.

However, the strange thing is,

the circuits at the centre
are normally kept isolated.

That would make it virtually impossible
to establish

external contact from the inside
and vice versa.

What's even more odd is
the Ministry of Health and Welfare's reaction.

Someone's accessed
their highly classified data,

but they haven't filed a single damage report.

Even if they were embarrassed
by the hacking,

their response is very unnatural.

They've got some stuff in there
that they don't want us to know about.

But they can track us down
if we go about this the wrong way.

That's your part.

TOGUSA: So, an undercover investigation.

Still tying up loose ends
in the Laughing Man case

and they send me out on another assignment.

What a bunch of slave drivers.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

-(SWING CREAKING)
-Huh?

(CREAKING)

(DEVICE BEEPING)

(DOOR OPENS)

Some cases of Cyberbrain Closed Shell
Syndrome involve complications

that can lead to intellectual damage.

But there are quite a few patients

who display a surprising knack
for cyberspace.

(KEYBOARD KEYS BEEPING)

We make use of the peculiarities
of their condition in their job training

by having these children
program barrier mazes.

Occasionally, these activities result
in a barrier maze so remarkable

that government agencies adopt it.

Each and every one is constructed
in a truly unique fashion.

I'm certain if we were to leave them alone,

they would go on,
never stopping, never bored,

assembling and dismantling barriers.

(BEEPING CONTINUES)

(INDISTINCT CLAMOURING)

(CLAMOURING STOPS)

I'll put you in charge of a relatively
manageable single group room for now.

Tobusa, this is Aoi.

-He's one of your charges.
-Right.

I believe the other children
are back in their room,

-so take him to join them.
TOGUSA: Yes, ma'am.

Aoi, right? Nice to meet you.

-(DOOR CREAKING OPEN)
Cripes, Aoi. What took you so...

Hi, I'm Togusa. I'm taking over today.

How you doing there?

(GRUNTS)

(GASPS)

Hey, you wanna play a game of catch?

Hey, give it back! He's getting freaked out!

(MUMBLING INAUDIBLY)

Oh. Er...

He... He goes into panic mode
when he doesn't have his mitt.

Besides, nobody wants to go outside.
Not any more.

Hey, the Chief swears
he's gonna come again! (CHUCKLES)

Huh?

You mean it?

Mmm-hmm, I heard about it just now.

-No way, he was just here last week.
-(LAUGHING)

Last week?

So, who's this "Chief" guy?

Hey, pretty slick of you, mister.

Shh.

What's wrong?

We don't trust grownups around here.
Especially, ones we don't know yet.

BOY 2: Oh, yeah...

BOY 1: So, don't think that we'll just blab
everything to you.

-That's pretty strict.
-BOY 1: We have to be.

BOY 2: Hey, I'm gonna go tell the others, OK?
BOY 1: Yeah, sure!

TACHIKOMA: Comrades!
Word has it that, starting tomorrow,

we'll be going back to the lab
to participate in simulations!

-Ooh! Simulations!
-(GIGGLING)

(ALL LAUGHING)

(TACHIKOMAS CLAMOURING)

TACHIKOMA:
They say that what we've acquired in secret

might help the investigation
of the Laughing Man case!

-Oh, what do you mean?
-(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

Does this have to do
with the natural oil we used to get?

I don't know about that,
but the day has finally arrived

when we can contribute mentally
as well as physically to Section 9.

That's a huge promotion!

Er, what is it we're supposed
to have acquired again?

Individuality!

Little by little, our Als have begun to develop
individual differences.

Yeah, even though we synchronise our data
after each mission. Weird, huh?

It's the opposite of what happened
with those Laughing Man copycats.

Maybe the fact...

TACHIKOMA 1: But it's also possible
they'll just have us scrapped.

ALL: What?

TACHIKOMA 2: What's with the negativity?

TACHIKOMA 1: If there are new jobs
waiting for us at the lab,

then doesn't that mean we've been declared
unfit for our current duties?

Though I still like the idea
of us contributing mentally.

To take an extreme theoretical example,
it's not beyond the realm of possibility

that a mass of data with no body
could carry a Ghost.

TACHIKOMA 3: Whoa!
You came up with that? I'm impressed.

Why don't you join their conversation?

TACHIKOMA 1: No, I'm more interested
in books lately.

Really? What are you reading?

Flowers for Algernon.

Wow, you're going to the trouble
of reading it on paper media?

Whether it's a mere job rotation
or impending destruction,

I don't want to forget my love of reading.

BATOU: Tachikoma!

Oh, Mr Batou.

Why don't you come with me for a while

and give me a hand doing some
target practice with the trainees?

Coming! Whoa!

-So what were you guys talking about?
-Oh, nothing.

Anyway, what am I gonna do
with you, little Batou?

You can't even handle some
target practice without me.

BATOU: (CHUCKLES) I guess not.

Why does he always get to go?

Maybe we need to find out the real reason

why the Major is sending us back to the lab.

What's up?
Why'd you want me to meet you here?

I'm guessing it's not to confess
your burning passion for me.

It's the only room in the building
that's electro-magnetically shielded,

so we can have some privacy.

(BATOU CLEARS THROAT)

TACHIKOMA: Pass that dossier to Batou.

Just glance through it, all right?

-You spot it?
-Hmm?

MAJOR: (OVER COMMS) Don't turn around

but there's a camouflaged Tachikoma
hanging from the corridor ceiling.

It's reading our lips.
Pretend you haven't noticed.

We'll physically speak about something else
while we talk via encrypted cybercomm.

BATOU: What the hell?
Why go through all this trouble?

(INAUDIBLE)

TACHIKOMA: Now, what's this?

"Well, to make a long story short,

"judging from the end results,
there are major issues

"regarding your qualifications
as a training instructor."

Well, to make a long story short,

I have a serious issue with the similarities

between the Tachikomas' development
and the Laughing Man case,

their formation of egos, which should be
impossible, and the loss of individuality.

At first, these seem to be
contradictory problems,

but we need to keep a close eye on them,

as unintended consequences
of information synchronisation.

Hey, I don't feed them natural oil
on the sly any more.

No one suspects you of doing that.

I wouldn't have a problem with this
if it had happened in a lab,

but for a weapon, it could be lethal.

TACHIKOMA: "Hey, I'm not beating them up
on the sly any more.

"No one suspects you of doing that."

Huh! It doesn't look like
they're talking about us after all.

Don't we still have the option
of doing a full initialisation of their AI?

We tried that,
but we got the exact same results.

I'm sorry, but all Tachikoma use
is suspended as of today.

On the brighter side,
it looks like their AI will be useful

in running simulations
on the Laughing Man copycats.

They won't be told.
But after they've been disarmed,

we'll send them to the test lab
where they'll assist us

with our investigation.

Is that clear?

Are you giving me an order as my superior?

MAJOR: I am.

I don't have the luxury of refusing, do I?

I'll comply.

It's time to re-establish contact with Togusa.

We'll go there the old-fashioned way.

BATOU: What, I don't even have time
to say goodbye to them?

MAJOR: Sorry. But I'm afraid not.

TOGUSA: (OVER COMMS) If somebody
is using the barriers created by these kids,

it might explain why the hacking
of the Ministry of Health and Welfare

was so skilful.

I see. Any suspects so far?

TOGUSA: No, not yet.

But this is one weird operation.

They've even got a heavy load of cyborgs
stalking the halls.

Copy that.
Carry on your investigation for now.

TOGUSA: Roger.

Huh?

(GASPS)

So, somebody besides me
has been using this, huh?

(READING)

What the hell?

(SNIFFS)

Oil paint.

-You're in charge for now.
-MAN: Right.

(FOOTSTEPS APPROACH)

It's you. Hello.

Good afternoon.

Going out, ma'am?

Yes, there's a welfare industry gathering.

Oh, really? Have fun.

Wait here.

Sorry about this.
But I'll be done in a minute, OK?

Hmm.

Huh?

-(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
-Hmm.

No suspicious records to speak of.

And zero visitors last week, huh?

Damn it.

Not being able to access
external memory is a freakin' pain.

-Dear, oh, dear.
-(GASPS)

You've abandoned your charge
to do a bit of spying?

Search all you want,

you won't find any clues
about the Chief in there.

I guess you're in no mood for excuses, right?

You can hurt him, but don't kill him.

-Yes, ma'am.
-Now, wait a minute.

(GRUNTS)

If we fight in here, your paintings could be...

Is that what you're going to fight with?

Er...

(GROANS)

(GRUNTS)

(YELLS)

(GROANS)

(COUGHS)

Paintings shouldn't be treated roughly!

(GASPS)

(GRUNTS)

Unlike electronic data,
they can't be duplicated, dumb-ass.

(STRAINING)

(ELECTRONICS SHUTS DOWN)

(GASPS)

(PANTING)

Didn't think I was armed, did ya?

Huh?

Huh?

Huh?

(GASPS)

(LOUD THUD)

Section 9.

(LASER BEAMS)

Major, unusual activity.
Every terminal in the centre just went online.

Something's happened.

It's our access codes.
They're attempting to decrypt them.

Was his cover blown?

I don't know. Cut all circuits. Hurry.

What's the hold-up?

I... I'm locked out!

-(ELECTRICITY FIZZING)
-(GROANS)

-Batou, now! We're pulling Togusa out!
-OK!

MAJOR: (OVER COMMS)
lshikawa, comandeer their circuits!

Saito, secure an evac route!

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

Got her! Man, did I fry that Al peeper!

-Kuroha.
-Hey, what's up.

Where have you been, Chief?

AOI: Things have gotten bad.

I was spotted by people on the outside.

A lot of adults will be coming,
so I'm disappearing before then.

Uh... Why?

Till now, everything's been going smoothly.

We'll protect you, Chief. Same as always.

No. I appreciate everyone's help,

but it's time I left this place.

(GASPS) Togusa!

No! Togusa!

What the hell happened here?

Come on, talk to me!

Damn it! Togusa, wake up!

Togusa!

So, was there any evidence to prove

that this Aoi kid Togusa mentioned
ever existed?

I couldn't find a single trace.

It's possible someone deliberately altered

the centre's computer files
and the staff's memories.

But I can't go too much further
using only Togusa's testimony.

(SCOFFS) That's why his report
was gonna be a sketch, huh?

Yeah, a handsome young lad
in a wheelchair with a lefty catcher's mitt.

Togusa said he would use the memories
in his own cyberbrain to draw him.

Wait. Did you say a lefty catcher's mitt?

That term is Net jargon.

It means something you think is real
when it actually isn't.

TOGUSA: You sure about that?

-Sorry I took so long, Major.
-Give.

I wanna see if what you got there
is good enough to save your sorry ass.

Now, don't be shocked.

This shows I have talent.

Hmm.

Huh?

What the hell is this?

(STUTTERS)

Looks like you picked up a bad case
of weird memories in a weird place.

The Catcher in the Rye

(SURFACE SQUEAKING)

"Just because people didn't know me

"and because I didn't know anybody,

"I thought what I'd do was

"I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes.

"I thought what I'd do was I'd pretend
I was one of those deaf-mutes.

"What I'd do...

"Was I'd pretend...

"Or should

(SQUEAKING)

(GASPS) Wait a minute!

MAJOR: So, I hear you're pursuing
the Salinger angle?

Yes.

It's well known that he wrote
a short story entitled "The Laughing Man"

and there's no shortage of people
who point out the similarities

between his story and the crimes.

Thing is, special investigations HQ
has already analysed

every possible interpretation of that story.

I don't think there's any new take
on the subject that's gonna break the case.

But you've heard art imitates life.

The opposite should be true, too.

You know, I can't help
but think that the boy I met,

the one at the aid centre,
was actually the Laughing Man.

Hey, there have been countless suspects.

They all seemed certain
to be the Laughing Man.

So, in light of that, what basis do you have
for thinking this kid is the genuine article?

Major, are you familiar with the phrase
around the Laughing Man logo

and the meaning of it?

Yeah. "I thought what I'd do was
I'd become one of those deaf-mutes."

I understand it's a quote,
from Chapter 25 of The Catcher in the Rye.

Uh-huh.

Like I included in my report,
I saw some of it written

on that panel at the centre.

At first, I convinced myself
it was verbatim from the novel.

However, I realised something.

The original quote ends with,
"One of those deaf-mutes."

But what I saw was different.

"Or should I?" This little bit had been added.

You don't suppose it's a conversation
he was having with himself, do ya?

Asking himself if he should break
his silence and go back out into the world?

Tell me something, Major.
Have you ever experienced this?

When you try to imitate an artist you admire,

you want to get as close as you can
to the original work,

so you try to make a perfect copy.

But here, we have a boy who dared
to modify Salinger's quote.

He was able to rewrite the end of it
because this young man was the original.

That theory is awfully dependent
on your personal views.

You do realise it's far too weak
for you to base anything on, don't you?

Regardless of his cutting edge
hacking techniques,

the Laughing Man kidnapped CEO Serano.
At gunpoint, no less.

These actions don't fit it all
with his technical abilities.

Couldn't this mean that the Laughing Man,
despite the fact that he's so good at hacking,

or should I say, because he's so good,

didn't place any value at all
on electronic media,

something that can be rewritten?

If you think about it, he was after information

that's stored in some sort of
physical medium.

In other words, paper documents.

Do you want to investigate this angle further?

Yes.

I was going to stop you if you were doing
this out of emotional revenge

for that centre fiasco.

But it could be your Ghost has finally
begun whispering to you, too.

All right, fine.

You go ahead. Do what you want.
I'll fill in the Chief.

I appreciate it, Major.

(HORN HONKING)

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

(BEEPING)

How's it coming?

(EXHALES SHARPLY)

This is a big job.

Thanks for the help. And the coffee.

Huh. Found it!

WOMAN: Found what?

More precisely,
something isn't here which ought to be.

The list of Murai Vaccine Recipients.

That file is the only one missing.

I wonder how long it's been gone.

It's funny.
I don't see how stealing something like that

would do anybody any good.

Is there anyone you can think of
who would want it?

You know, someone the file
might be a value to?

Er, well...

If I had to say,
I would guess the Sunflower Society.

Sunflower?

Testing Centre Report Murai Vaccine.

Pharmaceutical Approval.
Evaluation Record

TOGUSA: 2019 AD.

During that year, just as cyberisation
was starting to become commonplace,

cases of cyberbrain damage
of an unknown origin

became a growing concern
in the medical community.

It was discovered that
gradual hardening in the brain

occurred in areas where cyberisation
had been performed,

resulting in brain death.

This condition later came
to be known as cyberbrain sclerosis.

Although the likelihood of displaying
the symptoms is considerably low,

anyone who's been cyberised is susceptible.

Because there was no basic treatment
once the symptoms appeared,

it was called the incurable disease
of the 21st century,

following in the footsteps of
tuberculosis, cancer and AIDS.

Enter Keyword Murai Vaccine

The Murai Vaccine is a tumour suppressor

developed by an MD named Chitose Murai

who created this specific treatment
for the disease.

However, the medical association back then

was dominated by proponents
of micromachine therapy.

And many of them voiced the opinion
that the doctor's vaccine

was a step backwards.

They were concerned
that if his research was approved,

it might even hold back the development
of a micromachine treatment.

Perhaps that's the reason approval
for the Murai Vaccine was shelved.

And in February of 2021,

Dr Murai, who carried his dream
of a vaccine therapy to the very end,

died a broken man at the age of 68,

without seeing a decision
from the Drug Evaluation Council.

Then, in April of that same year,

the vaccine,
which had been denied acceptance,

was hastily sectioned
as a fee-based clinical trial drug

for use by specially designated patients.

The approval was never made known
to the general public

and the official position on it today is that

there are no patients
being treated with the vaccine.

Even now, one group remains
actively interested in this fact,

the Sunflower Society,

a non-profit organisation
that offers support to individuals

who want to take major companies
and government agencies to court,

by filing lawsuits against them.

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

Interesting.

Looks like you've certainly
done your homework, I'll say that.

So, you're a freelance journalist, are you?

My situation is this.

I lost my father to CS a few months back.

He'd been given micromachine treatment
up until the very end.

But after he passed away,
I heard about your group

and about the Murai Vaccine.

Oh, I see. Sorry for your loss.

If only someone had told us sooner
about the vaccine

and the excellent results it's had,

my father might be alive today.

The thought of it is killing me.

Hmm.

You see, before now,
I never took an interest in this.

It didn't concern me.

But if it can save people who suffer
from that awful disease,

I'd like to offer my services.

How kind.

A lot of people like you
filed with determination used to come here.

But every single one of them ended up failing.

They failed? Why's that?

There are individuals
who don't want the public

to turn its back on micromachines.

Individuals from everywhere.

Just as I suspected.

As luck would have it,

I have some pull
in the entertainment industry.

And from what I've heard
from my inside sources,

there are even people in the biz
who have been secretly receiving the vaccine.

It's not easy to spread
unpleasant news like this.

So, if you want to get people talking about it,

I guess you'd need some sort of scandal,
wouldn't you?

Well, it's obvious,
you did not come here to see us

out of some temporary emotion.

Mmm-hmm.

In fact, we just acquired a certain file.

A file?

IMAKURUSU: Damn it, I'm finished.

I shouldn't have run like that.

Since you were the one who stole the file.

They won't have any choice now, will they?

They are going to think
that I've betrayed them.

MAN: If I hadn't arranged for this to happen,

you never would have
taken the matter seriously.

You have to realise that they're not
as forgiving as you seem to believe.

I feel bad about framing you for the theft.

I hope you can understand
why I had to resort to that.

But I swore that I wouldn't give up
until I had exposed the truth

of what went on
behind the micromachine treatments.

How can you be so naive?

Research in cyberbrain technology
was advancing in other fields back then.

If I had approved the vaccine,
people might have rejected that technology,

and impeded this development.

What a convenient excuse that is.

Micromachine Industries, the company
whose board of directors you sat on,

received approval only one month
after filing its paperwork,

very quick and easy, just like Serano.

And thanks to that, you people raked in
profits of nearly a trillion yen per year

by selling protein granules
that have no effect on cyberbrain sclerosis.

That's a blatant act of fraud
perpetrated under the direction of the state.

What excuses do you intend to offer
those patients who died not knowing this

and kept paying their treatment fees
in the belief that it actually worked?

Micromachines nowadays are showing
a certain degree of effectiveness.

If you look at the situation
in terms of sclerosis prevention,

you can't say that nothing of benefit
came from our decision.

Benefit?

Well, then, if that's the case,
why aren't you treating yourself

with the micromachines?

(EXCLAIMS)

Murai Vaccine Recipient List

(GASPS)

Huh!

Here, come, take a look.

Huh? Isn't he an author?
SUNFLOWER OFFICIAL: That's right.

There are also artists, former star athletes,

and this man is a professor at
Niihama University's medical school.

TOGUSA: Wait a minute.
There are even names of politicians.

SUNFLOWER OFFICIAL: Yes.

And someone even more critical
to our cause is taking the vaccine.

Can you spot him?

TOGUSA: Hisashi lmakurusu.

Chairman of the board of the
Central Drug Evaluation Council!

Are you saying the chairman
who rejected the Murai Vaccine

is dependent on that same medicine?

Yes, the file arrived yesterday
from Mr lmakurusu himself.

What does all of this mean?

He's claiming that he's grown exhausted

from having to remain silent
all these years about what they've done.

He knew it was effective.

However, he deliberately suppressed
the Murai Vaccine out of ulterior motives.

Now, lmakurusu has given his
solemn word to stand up in court

in front of a judge and divulge
this motive that only he knows.

You mean, the Drug Evaluation Chairman

is going to testify as to
why he wouldn't approve the vaccine?

Uh-huh.

-This time, victory is ours.
-(ELECTRICITY CRACKLES)

(BOTH GASP)

(GUNSHOTS)

-(GUNSHOTS CONTINUE)
-(COUGHS, GROANS)

Oh!

(GRUNTS)

TOGUSA:
The DEA's Narcotics Suppression Squad?

-(COUGHS)
-(GUNSHOTS)

Move it! Come on, hurry up and kill 'em!

We can take our time
and look for our target afterwards.

But first, kill 'em all!

They're from the Ministry of Health,
Labour and Welfare.

Then they want the file?

You've got to get out of here.

These people are trained assassins.
They will kill you.

Just who are you?

I'm with Public Security.

Hmm.

Oops. Some of our boys got taken down.

(RAPID GUNFIRE)

We need to take some losses on our side, too.

That's just how reality works.

Right?

(GROANS)

(PANTING)

Now, go search the corpse.

(EXCLAIMS)

(LAUGHS)

A cyborg?

(GUN CLICKS)

(PANTING)

(GROANS)

(STRAINING)

Ah, now things are getting interesting.

Got a survivor. Get over here.

(GASPS)

Tell you what, I'll give you a running start
before I shoot!

(GUNSHOTS)

Oh, damn!

That was our own truck I just shot up!

Go on! Get down there and kill him!

(GRUNTING)

Shit!

Maybe I should have gone full-cyborg, too.

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

(GROANING)

TOGUSA: (OVER COMMS)
Major, Chief, I've been shot.

GEIR: (OVER COMMS)
Bureau Chief, we completed the op.

But the item is a copy.

What did you say?

We know where it came from.

From: Hisashi lmakurusu
Contents: Documents Copy

It was lmakurusu.

Do you mean to say
you've got the original, you son of a bitch?

No! No! I wasn't the one! I'm not to blame!

I heard that the file the Sunflower Society had
was a duplicate

which was sent to them from your office.

Don't tell me you're feeling repentant
after all this time.

What do I have to gain by doing that?

Someone was passing himself
off as me, that's all.

Then what the hell is your name doing
on the list of vaccine recipients?

I...

Tell me. Do you have cyberbrain sclerosis?

It's been quite a while now.

They tell me it's already in the final stages.

Why didn't you come talk to me
first about this?

How could you leave your records
on that list, you fool?

Sorry.

It's just that the vaccine really works.

But we've known that all along, you idiot!

We'll talk later!

GEIR: What would you like me to do?
Eliminate him?

Shut up! I'll get back to you.

Final stages?

That fool.

Togusa!

You can't come in here!
He's in very serious condition right now!

(GRUNTS) Major.

Take a look through my memories.

It was the MHLW.

Lucky for you,
the bullet's missed my head. (GRUNTS)

-intubate!
MAN: Right.

While you're operating on him,

I want you to extract the last 16 hours
of his memories from his cyberbrain.

-I can't.
-ARAMAKI: Do it.

Right now, that information's
absolutely crucial to us.

We must have it.

MAJOR: There's too much noise.

Must be from the anaesthetic.

We'll be picking up everything,
right down to his emotional fluctuations,

so it might even affect our own reactions.

It can't be helped. Play it.

-(DEVICE CHIMING)
-(EXCLAIMS)

Damn!

If he goes around playing hero like this,

you know the dumb bastard's
gonna get nailed.

(SIGHS)

Let's go over the situation.

Togusa had figured out what the hacker
from the aid centre was after.

It was paper media.

So he made a number of trips to
the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

to verify his suspicion.

And out of the vast amount of documents
he researched,

he discovered the existence of a missing file.

Which, as it turns out, is a record
of all the Murai Vaccine recipients.

Mmm-hmm.

That file was extremely important
to the Sunflower Society,

and Togusa was attacked
when he went to see them,

but we don't know exactly
what happened there.

No! We do know!

The DEA shot Togusa!

The Narcotics Suppression Squad,
who specialises in violent crimes,

butchered a bunch of civilians. Very simple!

And their objective was
the seizure or elimination of the file?

It seems like the cause of all of this
centres around one name we discovered.

This lmakurusu person.

We're wasting time with these discussions!

We'll find out soon enough
if we go bust those

filthy DEA sons of birches! Come on!

Don't let those memories
affect your judgement.

No doubt they're a step ahead of us

and already leaking
falsified information to the press.

The truth is being erased.

MAJOR: This is our man?

ARAMAKI: OK.
Major, you pay a visit to Mr lmakurusu.

Meanwhile, I'll try to find out
how the Narcotics Suppression Squad

came to be mobilised in this affair.

We'll also petition the American Empire
for access to their Echelon system.

Roger.

Paz and Saito, you two come with me.

Batou, you're on memory analysis
with lshikawa and Borma.

Screw that! Put me on the DEA investigation!

And do what, wearing that look on your face?

I'll give you a call when I need you.

(EXCLAIMS) How the hell do you
expect me to look?

All she's saying is that
you need to cool off a bit.

How am I gonna cool off after seeing that?

You're under the influence
of Togusa's memories right now.

She made a good call, Batou.

(GRUMBLES)

(COIN CLINKS)

(LINE RINGING)

MAN 1: I'm very sorry about the weather.
What can I say?

MAN 2: Yeah, it's not your fault.
Don't worry about it.

Today is the only day to work for everyone.

-(PHONE RINGS)
-(GASPS)

It's me, lmakurusu.
Please, you've got to help me out.

Talk to Niimi and straighten out
this misunderstanding.

Right, I'm at the golf course.
I'm counting on you.

BORMA: Got it. That's big brother for you.

ISHIKAWA: We don't know for sure yet.

Our voiceprint search got a hit on
the word "lmakurusu," that's all.

How's it coming?

We just pinpointed
at the location of a terminal

that was used by a man
who we believe to be lmakurusu.

Now we need to determine
whether or not it's really him.

(MOBILE RINGS)

You have a call on your direct line,
Bureau Chief.

Huh?

Niimi here.

Is that the truth?

Yes. Right. No, I'll deal with him immediately.

(DIALLING)

Geir, it's me, Niimi.

We have lmakurusu's location.
He's at the Kohoku Country Club.

Get over there.

MAN: (OVER COMMS) His present location
is the Kohoku Country Club.

He was spotted at a public terminal
on a sidewalk

on the north side, just two minutes ago.

BATOU: Bingo!

-It's who he called that has me worried.
I only want his location!

Old man, I'll be there before the Major
if I take the chopper!

Go! Better you secure him than someone else!

BATOU: lshikawa,
do you have a trace on lmakurusu?

After his call,
he went into room 909 in the hotel annexe.

He's staying put for now.

ISHIKAWA: Borma,
what is this look like to you?

Here.

Er...

The authentication code that's got top priority
on the American Empire's wiretap list?

Yeah. It's not supposed to officially exist,

but isn't this the number for the headquarters

of the government's ruling party?

So what do you think of that
JMSDF Type-303, sir?

These Marine units are really streamlined.
Damn things are works of art.

Now, if only those guys would show up,
we could get some live combat here!

Argh!

-MAN: Commander!
-Hmm.

I'm picking up a chopper
heading for the target's building.

Looks like Section 9.

Well, what do you know? What great timing.

Now, you guys can show me what you've got
by securing lmakurusu.

It'll take a while to get my systems booted.

Once you cut off their escape route,
leave the rest to me.

BATOU: What the... Is that?

(GRUNTS)

Hisashi lmakurusu? I'm with the police.

The narc squad's on its way.
We're getting out of here.

Stay away from me!

(GUNSHOTS)

(EXCLAIMS)

MAJOR: (OVER COMMS) Batou, you all right?

BATOU: Yeah, for now.
But they've got us pinned down.

MAJOR: Can you make it out in the chopper?

BATOU: No. Not with this guy in tow.

MAJOR: Do what you can to hold out.
I'm almost there.

(TYRES SCREECHING)

(ALL SCREAMING)

BATOU: Oh, yeah. They can cloak,
but they can't completely hide themselves.

Come on, what's your next move?

(GUNSHOTS)

(GROANS)

Is that you, Major?

I've secured an escape route.

But for now, let's get back to the lobby.

-(GUNSHOTS)
-(GROANS)

Go!

-Get down!
-(RAPID GUNFIRE)

MAJOR: (OVER COMMS) What was that?

BATOU: It's a damned Armed Suit!

MAJOR: Batou, get ready. I'll draw it off.

BATOU: Don't be stupid.
That's what you have me for.

MAJOR: I have faith in you,
but you can't stop that thing.

Take lmakurusu and get out of here.
That's an order from your superior officer!

(GROANS) Fine, I'll do it.
Don't get yourself killed.

Mmm.

PAZ: Major, we're almost there.

(PANTS)

(BULLETS RICOCHETING)

(CRACKING)

A direct hit didn't punch it?

(GROANS)

Saito, fork over that weapon now!

Hey, wait! Pop my hatch!

GEIR: (WEAKLY) Can't breathe.
Please pop the hatch.

BATOU: A little closer. Good.

Get this guy on board ASAP.

Huh?

What a moron. Wait here!

Hey! Hold it right there, both of you.

Good. Don't even blink.

-(GROANS)
-(GASPS)

(TYRES SCREECHING)

(GRUNTS)

lmakurusu!

BATOU: (OVER COMMS) Our guy's been hit!
Requesting ambulance.

Laughing Man,

is that what you really look like?

What's that?

The Laughing Man? What does he mean?

Murai Vaccine Recipient List

Wait, this file is...

Huh? Huh?

Optical camouflage? No, that's not it.

You bastard.

I know why I can't see you.
You hacked my eyes!

Where are you? Are you close by?

Where the hell are you?

They're here.

Aramaki won't get any further than me.

-Tell him that.
-Yes, sir. I understand.

(LIFT DINGS)

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

-Come in.
-Pardon us.

Bureau Chief Niimi,
I have a warrant here for your arrest.

You're being charged
in the murder conspiracy

tied to the investigation
of the Sunflower Society,

as well as the death of Mr lmakurusu.

If you would please come with us.

I heard what happened with the narc squad,

but it's absurd to think that
I had anything to do whatsoever

with the ordering of lmakurusu's death.

The head of the narc squad,
a man named Geir Yasuoka,

is much more willing to talk than we expected.

You see, he recorded
his conversations with you

and he is being most cooperative.

We know about the Laughing Man incident

and how it motivated you
to have lmakurusu killed.

So, as you can see,
you and I have a great deal to discuss.

Fine. Let's get this over with.

Take him away.

Batou. I want you
to investigate the narc squad

and find out why they would
go to such extreme measures

to retrieve the vaccine recipient list.

Find the real reason.

Another thing,

the surviving members may be
lying low somewhere out there.

Watch out.

I'll head back when we're done with Niimi.
Over and out.

The Chief, huh?

Yeah. The Chief just arrested
some bureaucrat named Niimi.

Looks like he was the man
behind the narc squad.

That so?

Well, at least my getting perforated
was worth something.

But what was that powered exoskeleton?

A little toy that narc squad
was somehow able to get their hands on.

The Major took it on.

She overheated in the fight,
now she's swapping her body for a new one.

TOGUSA: Is she OK?

BATOU: Well, yeah. But, uh...

What you said before,
about your eyes getting hacked,

same thing happened to me.

(GROANS) Huh?

See you later. I've got a ton of stuff to do.

Here, I'll leave this with you for now.

This is... Wait, you mean the Laughing Man...

(HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING)

I apologise for keeping you waiting.

I'll be in charge. I'm Sano.

This isn't your first time, right?

There's no need to worry, I'll be gentle.

Mmm.

-(PNEUMATIC HISSING)
-(MACHINE WHIRRING)

SANO: All right then,

I'm just going to take
a little look under the hood,

if you don't mind.

(GASPS)

Oh, my, you have a fine body.

(CHUCKLES)

How are you feeling? Does your brain hurt?

That's supposed to be some kind of joke?

The brain's not capable of sensing pain.

Don't be like that.

There's no reason
we can't take our time and enjoy this.

Or could it be that you don't like me?

No of fence, but that's it exactly.

Now that we're both clear on that,
can we get on with this?

I'm in a bit of a rush.

My, someone's in a bad mood.

I decided to lock down your speech centre.

Of course, it's not as if someone
would come to your rescue anyway,

no matter how loud you shouted.

(MACHINE WHIRRING)

Miss Kusanagi?
How's my little patient feeling now?

Oh, my! What a rebellious look in your eyes.

That simply won't do.

What do you think
of the world without red?

Kind of pretty, isn't it?

Don't get the wrong impression.

I don't enjoy doing barbaric things like this.

But you left me with no choice.

You and your friends
went a little too far this time.

(POKES NEEDLE)

(STATIC HISSING)

MAJOR: (OVER COMMS) What's going on?
Is this some kind of joke at my expense?

MAN: You're giving off
some unpleasant brainwaves.

Why not use my eyes for the time being?

Huh?

MAJOR: You're the Laughing Man, aren't you?

LAUGHING MAN: This is the third time
we've met, you know.

And let me clarify, I'm not the one
who came up with that name.

MAJOR: It was very arrogant of you
to sneak in here, not to mention dangerous.

What did you come here for?

LAUGHING MAN: To get you to help me.

MAJOR: From where I stand,
you've got that backwards.

LAUGHING MAN: True enough.
You're not an easy person to talk to.

You see, my back is against the wall,

and you're the only option
I could come up with.

I figure if that son of a bitch God
hasn't completely turned his back on me,

you might actually lend me a hand.

MAJOR: Blasphemous
and yet polite at the same time.

You're awfully full of yourself, aren't you?

LAUGHING MAN: I do what I have to do,
failure is out of the question.

Because if I don't succeed this time,

all the phoneys in the world
will be legitimised.

MAJOR: Sounds to me as if you've hoisted

all the problems of the world
onto your shoulders.

So, what could the hero of the Net
possibly want me to do for him?

LAUGHING MAN:
You could start by listening to me.

I'm going to tell you the whole story
behind the Laughing Man incident.

After that, I'd like you
to stand back and do nothing

while I face my final challenge.

And if by some chance I should fail and die,

all I ask of you is this,

that your people bring this incident to light.

MAJOR: Unbelievable.

All right, fine.

As your captive audience,
I've listened to your words,

now I have a few for you.

"The mark of an immature man is that
he wants to die nobly for a cause,

"while the mark of a mature one
is that he wants to live humbly for one."

LAUGHING MAN: Ah, yes.
Written by the psychoanalyst Wilhelm Stekel.

MAJOR: I sensed this about you
as soon as I met you.

It's a quality that I dislike intensely,
Mr Know-it-all.

LAUGHING MAN: Seems like you fall
into the same category.

But all you have to do is ask for help,
and I'd give it.

MAJOR: Must be hatred of one's own kind.

Fine. Go do what you have to do.

I don't know if I'll be able to
keep my word, though.

LAUGHING MAN: If I know you, you Will.

(MACHINE PROCESSING)

(INNER UNIVERSE PLAYS)

I leave you my memories.

I'm counting on you.

It's up to you now.

Well, then, as much as I'll miss you,
I'm gonna let you die peacefully now.

(GASPS)

The needles!

(GASPS)

-(SANO GRUNTS)
-(GASPS)

(CRASHES)

(GRUNTS)

What's up?
Don't worry. It's nothing.

BATOU: (OVER COMMS)
Chief's calling. You done yet?

MAJOR: I am now.

MAN: Hmm.

lshikawa, have any luck
drawing new testimonies

out of the remaining narc squad members?

We weren't able to get
much useful intel out of them.

And there's the fact that their boss,
Director Niimi,

just committed cyberbrain suicide,

so that lead turned into a dead end.

And we haven't been able to find
the Laughing Man either.

That's true.

Now, we have a new set of instructions,
we're going after this guy.

Hey, that's...

Right. Assemblyman Kaoru Yakushima,

standing Secretary-General
of the ruling coalition.

ISHIKAWA: 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.

BORMA: He's a diehard MHLW man
who built his current position

by switching jurisdiction
of cyberbrain technology

from METI to the Ministry of Health.

MAJOR: And it's not widely known,

but he's got a secret connection
to the JMSDF.

So that explains
where that Armed Suit came from.

Yes, that's right.

When Yakushima was
Chief of Staff of the JMSDF

he laid the fat pipeline
between it and the political world.

He bankrolled this
with a huge sum of state money

while he set up shop as a politician.

But questions were raised about
his financial source

and the JMSDF's head accountant
accused him of embezzling hidden funds.

Then the lead prosecutor on the case
was found run over next to a railroad track

and the investigation came to a halt.

MAJOR: But Yakushima was never charged,

so the suspicions about him
are still unresolved.

There's more.

Retired Superintendent-General Daido
was Yakushima's junior

at the National Defence Academy.

And word has it that the late lmakurusu
had been a golf buddy of Yakushima's

ever since his days as an army medic.

What you're saying then, Chief, is that
as far as this chain of incidents is concerned,

our guy here has more than enough clout
to be the one pulling the strings behind it all?

ARAMAKI: Yes, though we don't have
a shred of evidence at this point.

So, then how do you plan on going after
the Secretary-General?

We're going to tug on the last thread
we've got left that connects Yakushima

to 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 affair

and Serano's micromachine therapy,
which received approval at the same time.

Ernest Serano seems up to his neck in both,

which is why we want to
take him into custody.

If we can question him immediately,
then the link should become evident.

Ever since the incident six years ago,

he's been under house arrest,
though they call it "police protection."

So use whatever means.
Take him into custody no matter what.

Well, the Laughing Man is probably
thinking the same thing.

Suppose we run into him, what then?

You arrest him.

He's not only a prime suspect in this case,
but in a way, he's also the key witness.

Aren't you worried that Serano
might get bumped off

once we go into action,
like what happened before?

That is a possibility.

That's why I don't care how you get him.

(BIRDS SCREECHING)

(INTERCOM DINGS)

MAN: (OVER INTERCOM) Mr Serano.
It looks like your car has arrived, sir.

I see. Thank you.

MAN: I'll be right up to accompany you.
Please wait there a moment.

(SIGHS)

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

Come in. It's open.

(DOOR OPENS)

(DOOR CLOSES)

The subject has left his room.

He's heading for the entry hall.

Morning, Mr Serano.

SERANO: Good morning.

MAN 1: Now opening entry hall door.

You take care, sir.
Thank you.

MAN 1: Subject is now through the entry hall.

MAN 2: Roger that. We have visual.

SERANO: It's just like last time, isn't it?

LAUGHING MAN: (OVER COMMS)
You're right.

The only difference now is that detectives
were in the hall instead of your family.

There wasn't a car following us, either.

So, what will you do about them?

LAUGHING MAN: Well, let's see.

Driver, turn left at the next intersection,
would you, please?

(TYRES SQUEAL)

Something's not right.
Just don't lose him.

LAUGHING MAN:
It'll take that unmarked police car

about an hour to reach
Serano Genomics' head office.

In the meantime,

I want you to tell me
why you haven't kept your word

and why you've stayed silent
these past six years.

I have to decide on my next course of action.

You're awfully audacious.

(TYRES SQUEALING)

(TYRES SCREECHING)

(OFFICER GASPING)

(GUN COCKS)

Hold it! Put your hands
on the hood of the car, now!

Take it easy, boys.

We contacted you earlier.
We're Public Security Section 9.

I was told that Mr Serano
had already gone, is that true?

Yes. His usual ride to the office left,
same as always. What about it?

Look at your watch.
Is that the usual time he leaves?

Gee whiz, your boss sure is
one hell of a hard worker, ain't he?

Here's a bulletin.

Every single one of you dumbasses
just had your eyes hacked!

LAUGHING MAN: (OVER COMMS) WOW.

The view from here has really changed a lot,
hasn't it?

And I've noticed your hair
has gone white, Mr Serano.

SERANO: It's been a rough six years.

The official story is that the police are around
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 infamous incident.

For all intents and purposes,
I'm under house arrest.

Compared to back then, you've changed, too.

You've lost your naïveté.

LAUGHING MAN: I guess
I've managed to mature a little.

I'll confess that in those days,

I wanted so bad to give all the phoneys
in the world a good, swift kick in the ass.

By the same token,
you were something of a wild guy yourself.

For two whole days, you hung out with
a student who was an anonymous nobody.

You did that in spite of the fact that he hacked
into you and was brain diving the entire time.

SERANO: I still had enough
unjaded passion left in me

to want to debate a student who
sanctimoniously spouted his unworldly crap.

I understand what you're saying

but I'm a micromachine developer,
not a member of the Drug Evaluation Council,

you know that.

I had nothing to do with
the Murai Vaccine rejection.

LAUGHING MAN: I realise that,

but the Drug Evaluation Council
is a bunch of assholes and phonies.

I'll be forced to confront them someday.

First, however, I want you to publicly
disclose the data showing

that your company's micromachines have
practically no effect on cyberbrain sclerosis.

That's something I can't do
and I've told you that over and over!

I do admit that some of what you wrote
in your blackmail letter

three years ago was valid.

No one could argue
that micromachine therapy

was anything more than a theory
at that stage in its development.

But that's precisely how
the patent process works.

It's not a crime to be the first
to register a technology

that's certain to have
future practical applications.

LAUGHING MAN: Oh, please.

That's something
some damned lawyer would say.

Son of a bitch.

OK.

I was well aware that our
approval request was premature.

You see, it was actually meant in part
to serve as a bluff to our competitors.

But I believe they realised
that our theories are superior.

That's why the Drug Evaluation Council
gave us approval

within the short span of three months.

You have no comprehension of the scale
of damage that would result

from people losing faith
in medical micromachines.

This is cutting-edge technology
that has immeasurable potential...

LAUGHING MAN: You're not listening.

What I'm trying to say
is that it's 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 finally
turns out some clear results?

I have absolutely nothing whatsoever
to say regarding Murai.

LAUGHING MAN:
How can you honestly say that?

If that sick-humoured son of a bitch God
gave you cyberbrain sclerosis for sheer kicks,

would you choose
micromachine treatment hands down

without giving it a second thought?

Yes, of course.

I have faith and pride in every product
that's manufactured by my firm.

So, then, you'd even choose it for
your children if they came down with CS?

I... Yes. I suppose I would.

Listen, let's get of this hypothetical track.

LAUGHING MAN: Pride and sentiment
are two different things, aren't they?

That's not fair, Mr Serano.

If you're really so proud
of micromachine therapy,

you should exploit your position
and influence to do the right thing.

The best that lmakurusu could come up with

was to reject the vaccine
that had Dr Murai's name attached to it.

The damn Drug Evaluation Council
had only one job,

to merely rubber-stamp any new medicine
that passed through the Ministry of Health.

But lmakurusu, a man who had a stamp
specially made to reject the Murai Vaccine

which read "Approval Denied,"
shared that council.

And, hey, what do you know?

Your own micromachines
were used in that dirty deal.

You can't be totally oblivious

to the circumstances
surrounding the situation, Mr Serano.

It didn't matter a rat's ass to them
if it was your technology or not.

Any damn micromachine
that happened to be up for approval back then

would have fit the bill!

If you know how corrupt
the shitty medical industry is,

can you honestly tell me that
none of this has anything to do with you?

(GRUNTS)

All right. I propose a compromise.

For now, let me go so I can act on my own.

Once I've done that,
I'll make the necessary preparations.

I'll organise a press conference

and disclose the current state
of micromachine therapy.

LAUGHING MAN: What? Are you serious?

There's no advantage for you in that promise.

Contrary to what you believe,
I'm not so petty.

Perhaps it's not as grand as yours,

but my sense of social justice is alive and well
and equal to that of anyone else.

-I wonder.
I promise you.

At the time,
I was exhausted from your brain dive

so I fervently made that promise to you
in the hopes of escaping.

I thought that if I could just
get you in front of a TV camera,

the eyes of the viewing public,

you wouldn't do anything crazy.

LAUGHING MAN: That's right.

But unfortunately, I was packing
a S&W Chief's Special in my pocket.

Well, are you going to
disengage this brain dive?

You're breaking the law by doing this,

an informed individual like you
should know that.

If you want to keep your anonymity
and hide your face,

then it wouldn't be a great idea
to be shown on TV.

(GRUNTS)

I've actually enjoyed our vigorous debates.

But as a man who has to
protect his enterprises,

I'm afraid I might not be
able to honour my word.

Society isn't as cut and dried
as you seem to imagine.

However, I have no intention
of trying to uncover who you really are.

Let's go our separate ways from here.

-(GUN COCKS)
-(GASPS)

No! It's not fair!

-(GASPS)
-(WOMAN SCREAMS)

(GRUNTS)

MAN 1: He's got a gun!
MAN 2: Call the police!

(INDISTINCT SCREAMING AND SHOUTING)

LAUGHING MAN:
Look straight into that camera.

I demand you tell the world the truth.

Listen, stop. You won't shoot me.

Are you sure?
-(GROANS)

-(ALL GASP)
-(GUN COCKS)

(PANICKED CHATTER)

(STATIC HISSING)

LAUGHING MAN: And what followed was
the micromachine-killer virus outbreak

at your production plant.

That's right. At the same time that I was
angry at myself for feeling overjoyed

by our micromachine treatment
receiving approval,

I was cursing you
from the bottom of my heart.

I thought it was just corporate terrorism,
plain and simple.

But I was wrong. That wasn't you, was it?

A word of wisdom,
the evil that lurks in this world

exists on a level that's far greater
than we could ever envision.

I assume you're aware that our company
was granted an infusion of public funds

because we were teetering
on the brink of bankruptcy,

thanks to being blackmailed

and the damages caused
by the killer virus outbreak.

Let me tell you what happened afterwards.

Right when our stock prices

were gradually beginning
to climb back up after their collapse,

we were paid a visit 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.

And in the event that this person
solved their little problem,

he asked if we would be willing to make
a political contribution to this assemblyman.

The amount he suggested
was equivalent to the public funds

plus the demanded blackmail money.

This obviously meant that Serano Genomics
had been targeted for a shakedown all along,

just because we were the latecomer
among the other manufacturers.

LAUGHING MAN:
They must have considered my stunt

to be a performance that
couldn't have been staged at a better time.

SERANO: I suppose they did.

And by continuing to imitate
the incident you carried out,

they created a fake persona
called the Laughing Man.

They manipulated stock prices by invoking
the name of a non-existent criminal,

stealing money from
other companies as well as us.

The greedy bastards did this

even though they had probably
been making a tidy sum before that

by short-selling the stocks.

LAUGHING MAN: Was this assemblyman
Secretary-General Yakushima?

Then you already knew?

A basic rule of thumb about hackers is that

we live to peek at things
that others keep hidden.

It's our nature.

But the depth of the darkness
in the hotbed of corruption

that I had tried to challenge defeated me.

And all I could do was become a deaf-mute
and avert my eyes from it all.

Just as you've done these past six years.

"The Laughing Man."
That was a catchy name they came up with.

And here I'd been thinking
that if I was unsuccessful in persuading you,

I'd simply follow Holden's quote
and disappear.

(CHUCKLES)

They went with the Salinger angle, too.
I can't believe it.

Hmm... Mr Serano, if that's what they're up to,

I'll have to become the original Laughing Man

and drag that phoney Yakushima
into the light of day.

It was when you revealed yourself to me
that I made up my mind as well.

There isn't much evidence,

so it's going to be a difficult job
to accuse him.

I'll even become your copycat
in order to bring him down.

LAUGHING MAN: Just try not to die
before you take the witness stand.

That was one hell of an acting job.

Boy, with chops like that,
you could fool anybody, no trouble at all.

(OVER COMMS) Hmm. Gee,
and I was never in a single school play, either.

So, did you manage to confirm the connection
between Yakushima and Serano?

Yeah. And to his credit, all the information
the Laughing Man gave me was true.

This should jolt Mr Serano as well.

-(POLICE SIRENS WAILING)
-Could work.

TOGUSA: Reporting for duty.

I thought you hadn't been cleared
to leave the hospital yet.

Come on. Lay off, Major.

I can't be the only one of the crew
to lay in bed at a time like this.

I decided to bring Togusa back.
I've done all the paperwork.

You're going to be coming with me
to the Prime Minister's residence.

Right.

BATOU: You're gonna be OK?
You're not back to 100% yet.

-I can handle it.
-Mmm-hmm.

After all, it was Togusa
who first found out about this case.

You should be on it.

WOMAN: (OVER COMMS) Chief?
ARAMAKI: Yes?

You have an emergency call
from the Home Affairs Minister, sir.

ARAMAKI: All right, put him through.

Aramaki, this is serious.
Are you watching Channel 33 right now?

ARAMAKI: No.
Then turn it on quickly.

NEWSREADER: (ON TV)
And now suspicions have surfaced

about the members of
Public Security Section 9.

This armed group under the direct control
of the Ministry of Home Affairs,

is believed to have had a hand

in the attempted kidnapping of Ernest Serano,
CEO of Serano Genomics.

Labelled an international rescue team,
Section 9 was formed by the MHA.

But their excessive information gathering
and use of force under their own authority

have long been viewed with concern.

This event also strongly suggests
that Section 9 was involved

in the 2024 string of Laughing Man incidents.

Major!

They're calling an emergency cabinet session.

Look what you've got me mixed up in.

I want you to get over here, too.

In the meantime, you'd better think about

what you're going to say to them
in your defence.

Our intel was leaked before the op,
is that what this means then?

Just calm down.

All it means is that
the operation is now underway.

We'll go to the Prime Minister's residence
as planned.

ARAMAKI: (OVER COMMS) Major.
MAJOR: Yes?

ARAMAKI: The rest of you, find out where
news of our op was leaked from.

MAJOR: Roger.

(SIGHS)

Well, it seems you weren't exaggerating
when you said it was top secret.

Who else besides you
knows of this this money trail?

Now that you've read it,
there is you, of course,

Mr Serano,
who decided to accuse Yakushima,

and there are my people. That's all.

I see. Very well then.

As for Mr Yakushima,
we will deal him when the timing is right.

However, with the Lower House elections,
we're in a crucial time now.

I want the public and the media
to feel as if they've won a victory.

If I let a man as powerful as Yakushima go,

proportional casualties on our side
are very likely to occur.

I don't understand
what you're trying to imply, Prime Minister.

(SIGHS)

I mean passage of the Special Forces Bill.

-Hey, Chief.
-Mmm-hmm.

(ACCELERATING)

TOGUSA: They're following us.

(HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING)

MAN: (OVER COMMS)
The enemy has nine think tank units.

Squads 3 and 4, you will drop in from above
and infiltrate the hangar from the heliport.

Your top priority
is the destruction of the tanks.

Squads 5 and 6, quickly capture
the seven primary members

and gain control of the entire facility.

All units, go autistic once we're in.

These people specialise
in information warfare.

We'll pin 'em down with brute force!

(TYRES SCREECHING)

(GRUNTS)

Wait, Chief!

We came here to pick you up, sir.

There are still a few things
you need to do for us.

Making all the necessary arrangements
in such a short amount of time.

The Prime Minister is certainly a capable man.

Section 9 is probably being
neutralised as we speak.

Neutralised?

-(THUDS)
-(GROANS)

Take him away.
MAN: Yes, sir.

Wait, Chief! What's going on? What is this?

Please explain it to me! Chief!

Tell me!

BATOU: (OVER COMMS) Is it just me,

or does something seem different
about the building?

And what's with this muster call?
It's a little weird.

MAJOR: I don't have time
to fill you in on the situation right now.

Just keep quiet and carry out my orders.

Prep six generic prosthetic bodies
and bring them to the command centre.

BATOU: Hmm? Hold on, are you saying...

MAJOR: Get to it.

(LOUD THUD)

(LIFT DINGS)

Major, you want to tell us
what the hell's going on?

You two take these seeds.

Once we get out of here,

leak the information and then
let it sprout among the media.

We'll need a push
to oust the Secretary-General.

Verify the situation and see
to the wounded on the double, damn it!

TACHIKOMA: Oh, goodness gracious,
what are we going to do with you?

You know you shouldn't
spill your tea like that.

(TACHIKOMA HUMMING)

Hey, look, the news is on! Let's watch TV!

NEWSREADER: We interrupt this programme
to bring you breaking news

-on the latest Section 9 developments.
Huh ?

An emergency Cabinet meeting passed
a special forces restriction bill,

ended military deployments

after urging the dismantling
of Public Security Section 9.

Special forces stormed
Section 9's facility moments ago

when they failed to respond
to repeated warnings,

indicating the groups' intent
to maintain this stand-off.

We now take you live to the scene.

REPORTER: A short While ago,

above the building which houses
the Section 9 complex...

MAJOR: From here, we'll go off in three
directions in order to split up our pursuers.

After that, we go to ground in the city
and head our separate ways.

Security Section 9 has now disbanded.
That is all.

Hmm.

They're severely damaged,

but we believe these are the corpses
of the six members.

We're analysing the cyberbrains
for traces of residual usage.

Call Squad 5 in here
while you're waiting for the results.

Assume that this operation is camouflaged
and seal off any exit you can think of,

including the elevator shafts,
ventilation ducts and every sewer outlet.

Yes, sir!

BATOU: So, Section 9 is finally finished, huh?

All that blood and sweat we poured into it
just went poof. Up in smoke.

Yeah. Free access to the latest
maintenance and cutting-edge equipment

was a sweet setup.

But when you get down to it,
that's really all it was.

The only thing we need to do
is find a new sponsor.

Or is there something else? Have you got
some kind of attachment to the place, Batou?

Hmm, not if you put it like that.

If anything,
it's the good and bad times we had.

All the memories.

MAJOR: Memories?
That's awfully sentimental of you.

While we're on the subject, that reminds me.

Where's that watch you're usually wearing?

Oh, I had to pick today to leave it
next to my bed at my safe house.

Since they've hit Section 9,
they've probably got my place secured, too.

That sucks.

Because I seem to remember
you got that as a gift

to mark the occasion of your very last
prosthetic body resizing.

But I don't know who gave it to you.

MAJOR: So you knew?
Well, don't get the wrong idea.

I didn't actually wear it
for sentimental reasons.

Well, enough idle chatter.

Once we're out of here,
we can't get in touch with each other again.

Even if we do meet,
I might not be who I am now.

I want you to give your own survival
top priority, Batou.

We should split up here.

All right.

(RAPID FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)

(ELECTRONIC HUMMING)

(GUN COCKS)

Hell, this is my life, isn't it?

How I decide to waste it
is my own damn business.

(SIGHS) That report about Section 9
has me worried.

-OLD MAN: The battle is going badly.
-Huh?

TACHIKOMA: I know. It sure is, mister.

The battle is going badly.

You know the building
that blew up last night?

That's where I used to live.
The place was my home.

It's pretty nice here, I can't complain.
And I like all you old folks.

-You're OK, but...
-(SOFTLY HUMMING)

There's someone that I really want to go help.

-Huh?
-The battle is going badly.

(GASPS) Mister, is that what I think it is?

Mister, I... Thanks!

I'm gonna go now!

Oh, Batou.

Hey, there!

-(GASPS)
What are you guys doing here?

Once a problem child, always a problem child,
know what I'm saying?

This means each of us have the same thought

even though we were independent
of each other.

One thing we all share in common
is the desire to help Mr Batou.

Right. And besides, it's impossible for you

to load that howitzer shell you're holding
by yourself, isn't it?

Yeah. But are we the only Tachikomas
who came here?

Out of all of us that were sent back to the lab,
I'm the only one who survived.

They just left me lying around,
hooked up to equipment

for final testing like some specimen.

So I ripped out the cords and ran away!

I couldn't stop wondering what was going on

while I was doing high-altitude work
at a construction site. How about you?

I'd say it was pretty much the same.

But what happened to the rest
who went to the lab?

They're all having structural analyses
run on them.

They had their Als removed to help them
run simulations on the Laughing Man.

But you know what?
Everybody who had their brains taken apart,

they kind of looked like
they were enjoying it.

Oh, I see.

(GRUNTS)

Hmm?

That's my Major. She doesn't miss a trick.

Huh?

(GASPS)

(GUNS COCK)

Don't do it! Drop your weapon!

Yeah. OK. I give up.

(EXPLOSION)

(MEN GROANING)

(RAPID GUNFIRE)

Score!

I knew the Major'd have
a stash hidden around here.

(EXPLODES)

(EXPLOSION)

MAN 1: (OVER DEVICE)
You finally done putting up a fight?

Uh-oh.

Damn, I killed him.

(CLEARS THROAT) What's wrong?

Right, I forgot. I look dead to you, don't I?

-Don't believe it.
-Huh?

(GASPS)

I'm sorry. But I had to hack your eyes, pal.

(GRUNTS)

(EXPLOSION)

(SCANNING)

Huh? (GRUNTS)

You're kidding! There's more?

(GROANING)

(GROANS LOUDLY)

(STRAINING)

You didn't have to go and kill my partner.

You're not coming back alive!

(OVER DEVICE) A corpse Will do.

But before that...

(GROANS LOUDLY)

I want to give you this.
For my buddies you killed!

This is for my dead partner!

What the...

Now's our chance! Get Mr Batou out of here!

Right!

MAN 2: The think tanks.

(EXCLAIMING)

I'll go in first. (GRUNTS)

Mr Batou, I'm sorry I was late.

It took us a while
to tap into their comm signals.

Don't worry. We'll take that guy.

You can count on it.

Wait right here until we get back, OK?

-MAN 2: Son of a...
-(GUN COCKS)

Where the hell were they?

I've got a plan.

-Think you can pin him down with your wires?
-I'll give it a shot!

(SCANNING)

Matsukei Construction

-(EXPLODES)
-Ow!

(YELLS)

(COCKS GUN)

Uh-oh!

(EXCLAIMING)

Easy does it.

Don't rush this. I only have one shot.

-(RAPID GUNFIRE)
-(SHRIEKS)

Now! Shoot!

Right!

Eat this!

(FIZZLES)

(GROANS)

You're kidding!

It's a dud?

(GRUNTS) I'm still alive?

-(EXPLOSIONS)
-(SHRIEKS)

Huh?

Oh, God.

We're weak,

we're powerless,

my fellow Tachikomas and I.

MAJOR: (OVER COMMS) That's not true.

What you and the others have gained
makes you far from powerless.

-Huh?
-That voice!

(GRUNTING)

This is the last I've got!

(YELLS)

Now!

(GRUNTS) Right!

Mr Batou!

Goodbye, Mr Batou.

BATOU: What were they doing here?

The only thing they could
think about was saving you.

-So they escaped from the lab.
-Huh?

Major? Is that you?

I was the one who made the call
that they were useless as weapons

because their Al had evolved too quickly.

But the entire time that they were
busy pursuing the accumulation of data,

and synchronising
with each other again and again,

they were also acquiring individuality.

I never knew. Not an inkling.

They even became capable of self-sacrifice.

If only I'd realised that sooner,
instead of now when it's too late.

Because maybe then I could have found out

whether or not what the Tachikoma
had acquired were Ghosts.

BATOU: Ghosts?

Well, if they hadn't shown up here,
then You would be dead right now.

-(HELICOPTERS HOVERING)
Let's move it.

Nice view of Section 9.

You could pick anywhere in the world to live
but here's where you choose a safe house?

Hey.

Hmm?

This body has always suited me.
No other will do.

Huh, that was a remote puppet
the whole time?

MAJOR: Uh-huh.

(HELICOPTER APPROACHING)

By the way,

I have something of yours
that almost didn't make it here.

MAJOR: I knew it.

BATOU: No matter how many
prosthetic bodies you went through,

this was the one thing
that was always ticking away,

keeping the same time as you.

In the midst of life's fleeting moments,

people entrust their memories
to external devices

because they want to set down
solid, physical proof

that can distinguish them
as unique individuals.

That watch is all you have though, isn't it?

Your only external memory device
that identifies

the person you've been up till this minute.

Those are pretty serious words.

I'd really like to know
where you got them from.

Hmm. A watch and weight training gear.

Both of us have clung to useless
scraps of memory, haven't we?

(MAJOR SIGHS DEEPLY)

In all probability, you and I are

the only members of Section 9
who haven't been arrested or killed yet.

Let's make sure that we both stay alive.

At least long enough to leave behind a record
of what we tried to accomplish.

Yeah, I'm not about to die
without completing my mission.

(HELICOPTERS HOVERING)

MAN: (OVER COMMS)
Primary sniping target, Motoko Kusanagi.

The committee has issued
an order for her termination.

We've only got one shot at this.

Take her out when she's climbing aboard.

Hmm.

(GASPS) Motoko!

(GUNSHOT)

Motoko, no!

Motoko!

(GRUNTING AND STRAINING)

Damn it!

No vitals detected.
Target destruction confirmed.

You dirty sons of... (GRUNTING)

Motoko!

LAUGHING MAN: (OVER COMMS) You mean
to tell me that even if the flesh is lost,

a person's thoughts can wander the Net
and continue to exist as a unique individual?

MAJOR: I'm not so sure. It's hard to imagine
that a will which is free of its shell

could maintain its individuality
in the sea of the Net.

LAUGHING MAN: Then, for someone
that continuously loses their individualities,

they live on.

This is a world of despair.

MAJOR: I guess that depends
on your definition of despair.

Besides, there's always
the option of giving death a try, right?

LAUGHING MAN: I suppose
that's an ever available choice.

Anyway, I'm in your debt. Thank you.

The way you kept your promise
was extremely charming.

TOGUSA: (OVER COMMS)
"You know what needs to be done," he said.

"Every Section 9 member has a unique ability.

"And you work best on your own.

"But individual success is a reflection
of strong teamwork."

That was the first nugget of wisdom
the old man offered us

back in the glory days of Section 9.

NEWSREADER: We've been informed that
the public prosecutor will be arriving shortly.

Throngs of reporters are gathered here
in front of the ruling party headquarters

and the atmosphere is tense.

Making the tabloid rounds
before Lower House elections,

the MHLW scandal
involving Serano Genomics

implicated Secretary-General Yakushima.

Now, a week after the forming
of a new Cabinet,

this scandal has prompted
a full-scale investigation

by the Public Prosecutors Office.

...said the prosecutor.
A full-scale investigation has been launched.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

MAN: It's the DA! The DA!

(CLAMOURING)

Sir, things are just getting started,

but before the day is out,
will Yakushima be arrested?

What about the Serano stocks rumoured
to be here at ruling party headquarters?

We have reliable information.

The Secretary-General would like to be asked
to come with us for questioning.

Any chance that the cash
in sequentially numbered bills

referred to in Mr Serano's testimony
is being kept here?

Everything will be made clear very shortly.

My staff and I have laboured long and hard
to prepare for this day,

in anticipation of arresting Mr Yakushima.

TOGUSA: (OVER COMMS)
Is this how things should be?

Don't these facts that
Section 9 pieced together

show the truth about the Laughing Man
incident from six years ago?

And even if the prosecutor succeeds
in uncovering the whole scandal,

Yakushima still might not resign
from the assembly.

Exactly how does this
make the world a better place?

It's not like I had aspirations
to be a hero or anything.

However, I'm positive we followed a code
of justice that all of us believed in

without condition or compromise.

Laughing Man,

you were the one who first tried to shed
some light into the black abyss of this case

and bring it to the world's attention.

Is it possible that at this moment
you're feeling the same as I am?

No, you wouldn't.

You're not the type to be
bothered by something like that.

You must have had a revelation
about something,

and you're watching this with eyes
that see the big picture.

Isn't that right? I can tell.

Major, if all this plays out like I think it Will...

(GUN COCKS)

-(GUN COCKS)
-BATOU: Hold m

Pull your hands up nice and slow,
and turn around.

(CHUCKLING)

As lousy as you are, you'd be caught
before you could even see Yakushima.

Batou, uh...

You're a dummy, you know that?
Come on, let's go.

(PROCESSING)

(CHUCKLES) And the star arrives!

What took you so long?

So, where did you end up tailing him?

Just as we figured,
he went to the ruling party HQ.

-(ALL CHUCKLING)
Are you serious?

Hmm, what's wrong? Hey!

-Are you crying?
-(CLEARS THROAT) Yeah, sure. Get real.

Well, how did everything go on your end?

It seems like Yakushima's given in.

He's cooperating with them.

That's a typical ex-military fellow for you.

I'll bet the prosecution's gonna get
the hero treatment because of this.

BATOU: You got that right.

And you're all OK with this?

I mean, don't you think the credit
for tracking him down...

"Should go to us here at Section 9?"
That's what you wanna say?

(CHUCKLES) Well, it ain't like
we don't feel the same way.

However, this is the way the old man
had it set up the whole time.

So, we're rolling with it.

-Set up?
-Yeah.

When it dawned on the old ape that
the Prime Minister was going to avoid

a Secretary-General shake-up
before the elections took place,

he made a hell of a bold decision
to make Section 9 out as the bad guys.

Right when the Major was disguised
as the Laughing Man

finagling the truth out of Serano,

Section 9's existence
was leaked to the media.

That made it impossible for us to do
our thing secretly like before.

So the Chief cooked up a scheme.

He'd make a deal with the PM,

and force the Public Prosecutors Office
to take action.

He pretended to sacrifice Section 9.

"Sacrifice Section 9."

Even if that's the case,

have you any idea what it was like for me
these past three months?

I had no way of knowing
what had happened to you guys.

Hey, don't take it so hard.
Think of it as an extended vacation.

It's not as if we were filled in on the details
of this little op beforehand, either.

The Chief was confident
that we would survive,

then find each other and regroup,

which is why he made the tough decision
to go ahead with his plan.

Hell, your arrest and confinement
was a way to protect you.

The Chief had kept you alive and safe

by getting you clear of
the Section 9 clean-up operation.

For one thing, your body's totally natural
and you'd just gotten out of the hospital.

Not to mention that you're a married man,

fudging data would be hard,
so he kept you out of the loop till it was safe.

Don't be too offended.

According to the records, I'm a convict
spending the rest of my days up the river.

More profit, less honour.

Meaning that we're once again
an offensive organisation,

which doesn't officially exist, of course.

That's what this was all about?

Uh, but, hey, GUYS,

the Major, what happened to her?

Hmm. Who cares?
I don't give a rat's ass about that bitch.

(LAUGHTER)

Batou, that reminds me, weren't you
bawling your eyes out a few months ago?

-Oh, screw you.
-Oh, really?

In that case, what do you say I grab
the satellite footage from the scene?

Yeah. And you ought to
send it to the Major, too.

-All right, cut it out!
-"Motoko!" Right?

-You bastard!
-(BOTH GRUNT)

-I told you to stop, damn it!
-(LAUGHTER)

Take it back! (GRUNTING)

ISHIKAWA: I give, I give.

Seems like it's over.

Hmm.

The rest can be left to the Attorney General.

My work here is done.

The Public Prosecutors Office will be able
to hold their heads high, thanks to this.

But now that it's all behind us,
what remains for you?

From my part, I'm just gratified
that I was able to see justice served.

-And that's enough for me.
-Hmm.

So, what are your current plans?

You can't keep on playing war
with tanks and weapons forever, you know.

Why not join up with us?

I've always thought you were
better suited for the judicial world.

Well, I'm not so sure.

Section 9 wasn't finished
by this trivial matter.

I intend to rebuild my unit.

In fact, I'm on my way to scout
a prospective member.

Oh.

MAJOR: Now I get it.

Hah! You really aren't
the Laughing Man, that's for sure.

(MACHINE WHIRRING)

MAN: Welcome.

You took longer than I expected.

MAJOR: Don't give me that.

You didn't even send me an invitation.

"If you stay right where you are,
eventually the world will come to you."

I believe it was Doisneau who said that.

Yes.

I had a lot of time to think
about what should be done with you.

Wasn't much else to do
while I was floating around.

Speaking of which,
I thought you might have decided

to keep on floating like that.

I was afraid that you were going to die.

I'm not ready to bid life farewell just yet.

Though I did have an interesting
little near-death experience

during this recent business,

when my fully-remote cyberbrain
was blown off.

Your brand new body was destroyed, but
you still haven't done a prosthetic swap out.

MAJOR: You've got a sharp eye.

Well, peeking is my hobby.

So, what's the deal? Meaning, what is this?

Some kind of information graveyard?

Did you seriously think you could
somehow change the world from here?

Yeah. Sort of, at first.

Hmm. How do you feel about it now?

I'm not blazing with satisfaction or anything.

But the truth is, it all ended for me
the instant I shared my memories with you.

At that point, my work was done.

I figured that you'd probably
be able to run with it from there.

Is that so?
You're a hell of a liar, kid.

I clearly recall you didn't want me involved.

I'm sorry.

But the minute you share and synchronise all
your information, you lose your uniqueness,

and become absorbed into the unconscious
malice of a third party that has no motive.

Or perhaps into the will of someone
who does have one.

Are those your words

based on what you've acquired
from a hard-earned experience?

Yes.

Because the fact is, you yourself played the
role of a Laughing Man copycat as well.

Well, I have to admit,
it was a fascinating phenomenon.

At any rate, what was your underlying reason

for orchestrating such a huge event
in the first place?

"To you everything that's happening
in the world appears phoney,

"to be something other than what it is, right?"

J.D. Salinger?

Yes.

And when it comes to cyberisation,
I'm pretty much the perfect poster boy.

(OVER COMMS) So, you'd think,
at the very least, I would have felt terrified

at the thought of contracting
cyberbrain sclerosis.

I'll tell you.

It was a simple piece of mail I stumbled
across in the Net that began this whole thing.

What I'd found was a blackmail document

that had probably been sent
to Serano Genomics.

It was armed with a thesis that was
a comparative study of the inadequacy

of Serano micromachines versus
the effectiveness of the Murai Vaccine.

Then the original Laughing Man
was the person who authored it?

You could say that, I suppose.

"I am the machine that reveals
the world to you

"as only I alone am able to see it."

Dziga Vertov.
He was a Russian filmmaker, wasn't he?

Yes.

I was kidding myself by thinking
it was my personal mission

to prove and circulate that information,
vital data I alone had discovered.

Failing spectacularly.

The pure, innocent mediator grew dejected
at the base nature of the social system,

and he turned mute.

Yes. It was because of that
I became the vanishing mediator.

Just like an author whose existence
is emphasised by the fact

that he rarely puts out
any new works for publication.

"In other words, by disappearing,

"it acts as a regulating medium
for the dynamism of the social system."

"Per sociological theory,
it ultimately vanishes,

"leaving no trace of its presence
inside or outside the system."

Fredric Jameson, I believe.

Yes. But no.

The latter was Masachi Osawa.

Even though I was familiar with the words,

I didn't believe it
until I saw it with my own eyes.

Who knew that copies could still be produced
despite the absence of an original?

If you had to give a name to this
phenomenon, what would you label it?

It would be Stand Alone Complex.

Right. Yes. The Stand Alone Complex.

From the start, the very nature
of our current social system

has contained the mechanisms
to trigger such an amazing occurrence.

Personally, however, I feel this marks
the beginning of a new era of despair.

What's your opinion?

I don't know. It's impossible for me to say.

Although I have found one thing
capable of restoring your individuality

after all your information
has been synchronised.

Oh, really? And what's that?

MAJOR: Everyday human curiosity.

Oh, you're right.

You know, that's something
that never occurred to me.

I think my brain has already
started to harden.

(SIGHS) OK, what's going
to happen to me now?

Will I be arrested for kidnapping?

Or for inciting multiple,
simultaneous terrorist acts?

Hey, don't ask me.

That little matter is completely
at his discretion.

Why not ask him yourself?

I've been listening in for a while now.

But without an external memory device,
I couldn't keep up with you two.

Have you read every single book
in here, young man?

Not every book.

Let me introduce you.

This is Daisuke Aramaki. He's my boss.
The Chief of Section 9.

I'm very pleased to meet you.

Do you actually plan to continue
with this dull, futureless occupation

of preserving obsolete printed materials

that nowadays are only published
out of force of habit?

Yes. If I'm allowed to, then I will.

ARAMAKI: As far as this case is concerned,
it will probably be concluded

that the original Laughing Man
never officially existed.

So I have an offer to make. It's this.

Do you want to put your hacker skills
to good use

and join up with Section 9
as our ninth regular team player?

Wow! I'm surprised.
You came here to recruit me.

That's right.

Man, I'm speechless.

It does sound like it would be interesting,
but I'm gonna have to pass.

Cos, as much as I hate to say it,
I'm not a team player.

MAJOR: Hmm.

Well, the kid shot you down. Now what?

Not a thing.

Section 9 will resume work
as an anti-crime unit.

It will remain that way
for as long as you and I want it to.

That's all, Major.

ARAMAKI: (OVER COMMS) Major!
Assemble the team with an A-2 loadout!

MAJOR: Batou, you copy that?

BATOU: You need a lift?

MAJOR: Togusa!

TOGUSA: I'm already on my way.

MAJOR: lshikawa! Saito!

SAITO: I'll go separately
and meet up with you.

ISHIKAWA: Ready on my end.

MAJOR: Paz! Borma!

PAZ: Just give the word.
BORMA: We gotta get lucky sometime.