Ghost in the Shell Page #3

What is it you see

in the water's darkness?

"For now we see through

a glass, darkly."

That was you, wasn't it?

Sensors:
restarted.

Auxiliary computer link:

check.

Visual sensors:
online.

- Cyborg body signal?

- Output:
nominal.

Can't you call in

if you're going to be late?

We're all set.

Should we hook her up?

Okay, looking good!

Kill it!

Be in my office

in three minutes.

Since you were late,

I'll explain what's going on.

Two hours ago,

a Megatech Body assembly line

in Newport City...

...just started up

and produced a cyborg shell.

By the time the guys in charge

realized what was happening...

...the body had escaped.

Then, just as they had

thrown up a cordon

to catch the thing...

...we got a call

from a conscientious

truck driver that...

...he'd just run down

a naked lady wandering

around on the highway.

Which brings us to here.

I've heard Megatech Body's

tied pretty closely

to the government...

...and that all the shells

made there are secret.

If a hacker did this,

he had to swim through...

...some of the heaviest

protection around.

And that isn't

the only problem.

Of course, it doesn't have

an organic brain in its head...

...but we've detected

what looks like a ghost...

...in the auxiliary

computer brain.

It isn't unlike

the virtual ghost-line

you get...

...when a real ghost

is dubbed off.

But it shows none

of the data degradation

dubbing would produce.

Well, until we map

the barrier perimeter

and dive in there...

...we won't know

anything for sure.

Anyhow, better get back

to checking her over.

Good work.

Time to rip her apart.

Come on, you guys don't think

there's a ghost in that thing.

It's possible.

I've heard celluloid dolls

can have a soul.

And this thing's stuffed

full of neurotech devices.

I wouldn't be surprised

if it had a soul.

Since you're new here,

you probably don't know.

The Major's shell was

also made by Megatech Body.

Not just hers.

Me and lshikawa for one...

...along with Saito and others

all need maintenance and such.

Outside of you and the Chief,

everyone in Section 9...

...needs to make use

of their kind services.

Maybe you can see now why we all

look a little worried, Togusa.

Assuming the enemy

is an outsider,

we can't know for sure...

...whether he's in that

cyborg body or not.

But he cracked through

the protection...

...around some of our

most secret files...

...and managed to send a program

with a ghost-line on it through.

And in a way

that was easy to spot.

What's he after?!

Let's leave that for now.

Togusa, get over to Megatech

and help lshikawa

check the place out...

Batou, I've closed

down the nets...

...with files as sensitive

as Megatech's.

I want you to double-check

the protection we have on them.

I'll get a protection maze put

together. I'll dive tomorrow.

You sure?

We could force it into

another shell and let it swim.

I have to see for myself

what's inside that thing.

Don't let anyone else

dive in there before me!

What's with her?

I wrote in my team evaluations

that she's been acting weird...

...ever since this Puppet Master

case fell into our laps.

Do you even read them?!

Chief, do you ever wonder

just how trustworthy

the cyberdocs...

...who service

your brain are?

Cyber-brain technicians undergo

regular psychological testing.

And security-cleared ones

have their private lives

checked, too.

But the people who administer

those checks are only human.

Once you doubt,

you can't stop...

Chief, a Mr. Nakamura

from the MFA treaties

bureau to see you.

Okay, send him up.

Wasn't that fat guy...?

Nakamura, chief of Section 6.

Foreign Affairs treaties bureau.

I don't know who the

white guy with him was.

I'm outta here.

Tell lshikawa

to keep cool, okay?

So, what's your problem?

Doesn't that cyborg

body look like me?

- No, it doesn't.

- Not the face or the figure.

What then?

Maybe all

full-replacement cyborgs

like me start wondering this.

That perhaps the real me

died a long time ago...

...and I'm a replicant

made with a cyborg body

and computer brain.

Or maybe there never was

a real "me" to begin with.

You've got real brain matter

in that titanium skull of yours.

And you get treated like

a real person, don't you?

There's no person

who's ever seen their own brain.

I believe I exist based only

on what my environment tells me.

Don't you believe

in your own ghost?

And what if a computer brain

could generate a ghost...

...and harbor a soul?

On what basis then

do I believe in myself?

Bullshit!

I'll see for myself

what's in that body.

With my own ghost!

We're both busy men,

so let's keep this short.

I would prefer that.

I'm here to take the contents

of that cyborg body.

In return, we absolve Section 9

of all responsibilities

in the case.

The Foreign Minister's

signature.

Security, whose official

vehicles are parked

in the basement garage?

They belong to Chief Nakamura

of the treaties bureau

and a Dr. Willis

Give me the video record

of their entering the building.

Replay, infra-red view.

One... Two... Three...

Send me the pressure sensor

records for basement garage

spaces B-7 and 8.

- Major, this is Togusa.

Code 0-9.

- What?

Does Nakamura have some sort

of special cyborg body?

There are no cyborgs

in Section 6.

Besides the diplomatic problems,

maintaining them is too much...

...trouble when they

have to go overseas.

So, even if that tall guy

was a cyborg himself...

...together they wouldn't weigh

more than half a ton, right?

Pressure sensor data...

The garage?

There are two

VIP-mobiles here.

But neither of them

looks like the type

who'd drive himself.

The security video

only shows the two of them...

...but you know how sensitive

the entrance door sensors are.

They took three full seconds

to close after them.

It's illegal to use

thermoptic camo in

a government building, right?

It's a serious violation

of the National Security Act.

Section 6 is up to something.

You all ready?

If my Matever'll do.

I don't need to remind you

that it's treason for you to...

...be hiding something from me,

no matter how sensitive.

For both of us.

Whatever the MFA may prefer,

this case is in

Section 9's jurisdiction.

But we wouldn't mind cooperating

if there was good reason to.

Dr. Willis?

Confirmed.

It's definitely him.

"Him?"

He's referring to the original

ghost block within the shell.

Its sex remains undetermined,

and the use of the term "he"...

...is merely a nickname

the good doctor has given it.

Perhaps it's time

I introduced you.

This is the most unique hacker

in the history

of cyber-brain crime.

The Puppet Master.

I believe you in Section 9

ran into him in that case...

...involving the ghost-hack

on the Foreign Minister's

translatior.

We in Section 6

have been pursuing

the Puppet Master...

...with the utmost urgency

since he first appeared.

We formed a project team

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