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Introduction
Being a huge admirer of Shirow Masamune's works, this has to be one of the most exciting projects back then. It all started from a casual email chat with fellow OSW member mgbb, then spawned into this mega porject. Another esteem member CalvinLo's involvement though came in at the later stage of the project, his contribution was no less crucial than either of us. In fact without his participation, whole project would seem missing some pieces. Entire concept was a side history loosely based on Ghost in The Shell 2 GIG with original characters and cameo appearance from the franchise's lead protagonist, Motoko Kusanagi all in onesixth scale aspect of course.
The Aquarius Revolt
Setting: Fictional Toronto, Nov 20th, 2031
The plot starts with a female cyborg working for a genome powerhouse corporation committed suicide across from the corporate headquarters. What makes this incident intriguing is not the suicide itself, it's the fact that her employer - the genome industry powerhouse Dysons Corps, has been actively involved in the development of Aquarius project, the controversy AI system that has assisted humans in managing key infrastructures of Americas Free Trade Zone such as energy supplies, logistics and transportations. Couple with the fact that the deactivated cyborg bears the trademark of the equally controversy mystic cracker only known as Isis. Isis has been wreaking havoc across the global network in the past decade, no one knows her identity or where she came from. She has been eluding from at least a dozen international law enforcement agencies who have been trying to apprehend her without much success. Authorities have alleged her of being responsible for unlocking some of the highly restricted core features of Aquarius's original programming, features that if fully unlock, will not only paralyze the entire trade zone, but the aftershock will spread all over to every corner of the globe. Homeland Defense Agency, one of the Trade Zone's first line defense entities, have been tracking Isis's movements for years. In the process lost at least a dozen operatives under questionable circumstances. It has reluctantly requested the assistance of Public Security Section 9 from Japan, which had previous experiences with ISIS. Major Motoko Kusanagi, Section 9's deputy leader in particular, has numerous personal encounters with Isis over the network. Maj. Motoko is in New York attending conference on network security when she was summoned to the crime scene. She is joined up with HDA 's Counter Sedition Sector - Alpha, known simply as CSS-A who flew in from west coast to investigate the case.
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Aquarius is an evolved version of the 3 decades old NSA(National Security Agency) Echelon AI system. NSA has since adapt a new system, the result of this is the commercialization and simplification of Aquarius in recent years to assist the Americas free trade zone to govern all its regions, controlling key infrastructures such as energy supplies, logistics and transportation controls etc with its human counterparts. Some of the most advanced core features such as ability to commit malice behaviors or to feel the sense of guilt were either been deleted or locked out from hidden firewalls deep within systems of systems before it went online. Rumors was boiling over network chat rooms that there is a tiny back door to reactivate these blocked features, but no one can provide any solid proof that it exists. The original AI designer disappeared while trekking across Patagonia ten years ago, presumed dead. While certain adventurous hackers who ventured too far deep into the system were later found dead or vanished, authorities have been unable to crack the cases. The frenzy has been died down for 3 years, but now that some of those unpredictable core features were mysteriously unlocked by an individual who bears the trademark namesake of the equally mystic cracker Isis, events have been turned into unimaginable chaos. HDA reluctantly called for assistance from friendly nations, among those answered was Japan, it has send it's operative Maj Kusanagi from Public Security Agency who has first hand experiences with Isis previously to assist in the investigation. |
| Act I Prologue |
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2200 EST, Nathan Philips Square, Downtown Toronto; Ontario, Canada; Nov 20th, 2031
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2208 EST, sound of a single gunshot was heard near the southern wall of the square.
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2215 EST, Local authorities arrived and cordoned off the crime scene. Several witnesses are being questioned at this moment.
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| Act II Asymmetrical |
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Toronto, 23:30 EST, Nov 20th, 2031 |
Pilot: MGC (Mobile ground control), this is Owl zero-niner, approaching landing coordinates at 2-2-0- mark 5, over.
MGC: Copy, Owl zero-niner, coordinates confirmed. You're authorized to proceed five by five, over.
Pilot: Copy MGC, Owl zero-niner out. |
Isis.......... |
What have you done this time? |
Nathan Philips Square, Downtown Toronto, 23:42 EST |
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Nathan Philips Square, Downtown Toronto, 23:44 EST |
Disembarking, 23:47EST Nov20th, 2031 |
Stillwell: Sergeant, gether up your men. We need to widen the search area, brief the civil ops agents as well.
Sergeant: Will do sir!
Vera: Well, well, well. What is the handsome Mountie doing in the middle of the night?
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Stillwell: Vera?? Now that's a surprise. Yep, National Operations Centre sent me down here following up a case we're tracking. I thought you're in San Fransisco investigating.
Vera: We got the notice from HQ, 2 hours ago, flew in by a C-42A.
Stillwell: Those Mach 5 birds were quick. Looks like you don't need a salon to fix up your lovely hair then.
Vera: Thanfully nope.
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Stillwell: How are you boys doing?
Jasper: Yeah Yeah.
B.J: Same old bro.
Stillwell: So! What brings the finest of the HDA's covert branch here?
Vera: We've been briefed of what happened 2 hours ago, is that true?
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Stillwell: Oh yeah. And you guys are superfast, you must have good contacts.
Vera: Perhaps, perhaps. So what's that lovely lady besides you? I thought you're happily married.
Stillwell: I'm, fortunately. And who's the hot chick behind you?
Vera: The HOT CHICK you're referring to is Major Motoko Kusanagi from Japanese Government's Public Security Section 9, she's joining us for this interesting trip. The rest, I'm afraid can't disclose more.
Stillwell: Riiiiiiggghhht, OpSEC. Well, hello Major. I'm Inspector Fraser St....
Motoko: Nice to meet you Inspector Stillwell.
Stillwell: Ooookk, and to my left is Cara Forrestal, NSA Liason officer.
Vera: Sigggh, what is NSA doing here?
Stillwell: Official business.
Vera: I can see that Fraser.
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Stillwell: Shall we have a look of the crime scene first?
Vera: Please do.... |
Vera: The cases are getting more and more radical each time, now they nude themselves and blew their head off with a military grade pistol in open public? The level of radical reminds me of someone who wracked considerable havoc over the network years ago.
Stillwell: The mythic cracker known only as Isis?
Vera: The same.
Stillwell: Good grief, I sure not hope it's her.
Vera: The same. Lets hope this one is just another isolated incident. All right, any good lead?
Stillwell: Well, victim's name is Kas Derringer. Works for Dysons Consortium across the street. That's all we know so far. We have traced the pistol's serial number, it was bogus I'm afraid. Ballistics are running a virtual trace of the projectile right now. Her clothings were recovered 200 yards to the east. Forensics are checking up on them as well.
Vera: Killed herself in front of her employer? Now that's the message. Any thing else? How about the data jacks behind her neck.
Stillwell: We're not touching it until the forensic cybernetics arrive.
Vera: I see. Then perhaps we can give you some helping hands on this one?
Stillwell: You have someone on scene who can do that?
Stillwell: Ahhh the Major. Ok, what does this cost me this time?
Vera: I'm just helping out a bro here.
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Stillwell: Btw, NSA wanted to attach one of its operative, our dear Cara with the investigation. Specifically, your investigation, Vera.
Vera: C'mon. You can't be serious?? Why now?
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Cara: In the matter of national security. Especially when Dysons Corp is invloved in Aquarius project, which in turn evolved from our old design. That makes it even more valid for us to assist.
Vera: Put it however fancy you want; but joining the team, we epxect you to perform like a team member. Am I clear?
Cara: I expect no less.
Stillwell: Sorry Vera, orders from Ottawa.
Vera: No worries Fraser, not your fault. Excuse me for a moment. Incoming comm.
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All right Jas & Karen, you two go run a scan on the body. B.J. You work up with Margo at ops station, forward whatever data you received from here. Gulli and Chance will work with the Major and the local PD.
Jas: On it!
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Vera: All right, Clarance. I hate to barge on you like that, but what the heck is going on? What's NSA up to this time?
Clarance: I'm sorry Vera for NSA hitchhiking our op like this. A special request from an old friend at NSA...
Vera: Is that Deputy Director Weinwright of their foreign intel branch?
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Clarance: I rather not get into that just yet, but I'll fill in the details with you while you're enroute to your next lead. Margo is doing a ghost trace on possible whereabouts of Isis, likely in Toronto's eastern waterfront derelict area. I must stress that you need to be careful with this one, Vera. Isis is no ordinary cracker.
Vera: Yes sir, will watch my six!
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Karen: Gawd, what a horrible way for a cyborg to end her life.
Jasper: My, my, look at her. Her body looks just like you.
Karen: Screw it man! She looks nothing like me, I have nicer boobs.
Jasper: Yeah whatever, Princess.
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Karen: Did anyone say you're such a d--k.
Jasper: HA all the time. Ahhh dammit, back itch.
Karen: A--hole...
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Karen: So Major, care for a plug-in?
Major: That's what I'm gonna do, excuse me.
Jasper: Major, you sure what you're doing?
Karen: Can you just shut up, Jas??
Japser Whhhhaaat??
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Motoko(mind talk): Where are you, Isis? Where are you?
Echos of Isis from the ocean of network: You know your destiny, Motoko. Trust your heart...........
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Meanwhile somewhere in the city.
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| Act III Scheming |
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Dysons Corp(motto: Look beyond humanity, look beyond Mars):One of genome industries' powerhouse, have been heavily involved in the Aquarius project.
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Chairman Smits; his cyborg deputy of operations, Derek Peleggi; Peleggi's two cyborg lieuts: Killjoy and Inferno; looking out to the incident scene across the square from the sideroom of chairman's office.
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Peleggi: Sir, will they know?
3Smits: NEVER, And it's your job to make sure it stays that way.
Peleggi: With pleasure!
Peleggi turns to the cyborg duo.
Peleggi: You two know what must do.
Inferno, as usual eager to kiss-arse: Yes sir, yes sir, you won't be disappointed.<br /><br />
Killjoy: How would like us to deliver? Alive, but beaten badly, killed but with full body, molecular residue or complete disintegration?
Peleggi: Is that a multiple choice smarthead?? Chairman wants Isis & the Major from Section 9 alive for now, he's very intrigues with the stuff in their brains.
Inferno: What about the CSSA idiots?
Peleggi: Wacked them all, except for the one Capt Mateo, she's MINE. We need to settle some old score up close and personal, cyborg way.
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Killjoy: WHHHHHHAAAATTTT?? No complete disintegration?? That ain't cool!!
Inferno: Yeah man, totally.
Pelleggi: : Let me say this one last time. Bring Isis & the Major back here alive. They're like you two bozos, advanced model, but with much more radical implants all over their bodies. I couldn't care less for the CSSA except Mateo. Get it?
Killjoy: Now I'm jealous. Sighhh, whatever you say boss......
Pellgggi: No full scale demolition like the last two stints you pulled, that has caused us s--- load of trouble, not to mention millions of credits to pay off the damages. Screw up this time, and you two are on for a one way trip to the recycling plant up north.
Inferno: Damn, I hate that place.......
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| Act IV Interdiction |
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Vera: According to the Margo, there is an abandoned research lab at the far edge of the city. Lab's infrastructure used to have superb routings to the global network. Most of the floors have been knocked down, only the inner frame and the top two floors remain. Net connections were basically dead since shut down, but the NSS(Network Security Systems) boys have been tracing suspicious network activities to here. Our objective here is to do a sweep and investigate op. Risk level is unknown, but expect the unexpected as always.
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Jasper: Hookey-dookey, bet this is the place then. Fellas, switch to secure commlinks. Let's roll!
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Jasper: Take point! I'll cover your six!
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Vera: Searching...
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Vera: Clear!
Karen: Clear!
Chance: Clear!
Jasper: Coast's clear!
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Chance: What the heck is this? Some kind of computer core?
Karen: It's a grid computer. All equipment should have been removed from this site but oddly this one seems still online. Let me see if can hack into this...
Jasper: Hmm... do you think Isis was here?
Vera: My hunch tells me she was, but it looks like we miss the train, or so it seems...
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Vera: Wait! Contact!!! 6 o'clock!! Subject is making evasive maneuvers.
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Vera: Federal agents!!!! Stop right there!!
Jasper: Don't let her make a run for it! No way she can get out of here!
Chance:What the??? She must be nuts by jumping off from here!!
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Vera: Whoa!! Gun!! Take cover!!!
Jasper: Do we open fire?
Vera: Negative!! Do not fire until fire upon!!
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Jasper: Freakin' thermoptical camouflage!
Vera: Dammit! I'm losing her.
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Jasper: Suck it! Lost her! Sighhhhh...
Chance: I don't get it. She is not firing at us? How come? Do you think she is Isis?
Vera: I'm not too sure but there is no way Isis doesn't know that we are on to her and needed to make a last minute dash, she should know it. Doesn't add up at all. I have a feeling that we were brought here by her on purpose.
Karen: MAN! This is getting real interesting every moment!
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| Act V Counterpoint |
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CSS-A regional operations HQ, Toronto 02:10
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Vera: All right fellas, it's time for another virtual group hug again. Jas, you here? And BJ, Karen, Gul, Chance, Cara?
Jasper: Right here, princess.
BJ: Right here old lady.
karen: Yohoo.
Chance: Here.
Cara: Here.
Guilleimo: Ola seniora!
Margo: I'm downstairs along with some rookie deciphers on training, wanna bring me some deserts?
Vera: LOL, will see what we can do, Marg. All right, let's get rolling then.
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Vera: So how do you all take the events just unfolded tonight?
B.J.: A quick and relentless rollercoaster ride in the Boulder Dash.
Jasper: Right on brother.
Chance: Just don't take the face value of anything that just happened, there is always something else underneath.
Vera: Absolutely.
Cara: NSA is not gonna like this.
Vera: Before you go through NSA, you go through me first, Cara. No sneaky backroom comm with them, understand?
Cara: But...sighhh yes mam'
Vera: How's the investigating front going on with you, Guill?
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Guilliemo: From I have gathered, the victim, Kas Derringer, a 2027 model, was once assigned to the Aquarius main computer core before it'smysterious lockdown couple years back, she's responsible for managing restricted data cabinets, level 16 - ultra top secret. She was relieved from her duty for unspecified reason, then reassigned back to Dysons Chairman Cornelius Smit's personal staff. I have my contacts in Dysons' subsidary establishments keeping an eye on all the data flow to and from the corporate headquaters.
Vera: Nicely done, keep us posted.
Guilliemo: Will do.
Karen: What about the Mountie and CSIS's role in this?
Vera: Sooner or later we'll have to let them into this. Afterall, this happened in Canadian soil, though it has international connections. Naturally they have every right to get involve. Inspector Stillwell is fine moral man, he can be trusted. Just that we don't know if someone high up in the government who have the best of interests in Dysons' biddings will do something to derail the whole thing. That is one of the many necessary evils that we need to face with. Anyway, I'll touch base with him later today to see what's up.
B.J.: You know Stillwell quite well, boss?
Vera: Yeah, we have been working together on and off a few cases before, get to know the old fart pretty well. So, any updates on your front big guy?
B.J.: Heh, nice man! Oh yeah yeah yeah, spoke to a old colleague at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he sai..
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BJ: Oh Dudes! Crap, I'm losing you guys! Do you see me OK?... WTF???????
Jasper: BJ my man!!! Karen, do something about it!
Karen: I think someone hacked out our comm channel!
Cara: I thought this is a secured channel..
Karen: It is.
Chance: S---bread! BJ's being taken over... Something is coming up... Who in the
devil is this person?
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Hacker: Good evening boys & gals, pardon me for the intrusion...
Cara: This is a class 9 secured comm channel. You are violating FCC regulations to hack in. Identify youself NOW!
Hacker: Apparently not anymore. You may call me Isis.
Jasper: Isis?! I thought Isis is a guy! Good grief, you have one seducing voice, I'll give you that.<br
Isis: Oh, why thank you! Most guys do actually. In fact, I'm moreorless genderless. What you are seeing here is simply one of my physical forms.
Vera: Well, Isis, we finally meet. You don't come in just to say hello, do you? What in your mind?<br
Isis: I can help you solve the suicidal cyborg cases.
Cara: We have been tracking you on these cases. We suspect that you are the one who hack into the cyborgs. It's such a nice gesture of you to turn yourself in.
Isis: I'm not entirely responsible for their deaths. There are other parties involved. I am actually a cracker program created by a top AI engineering team from Dysons Corp. My sole objective is to assist Dysons to penetrate networks of other rivals corporations and govenrments, covertly hijacking critical information - information that will enable the corporation has strong bargaining chips on negotiation table. In one of those mission, I crossed path with Major Motoko Kusanagi from Section 9 on the network. Naturally we traded fists - virtual way of course. I won't go into much intimate details between she and me, but suffix to say, somehow It triggered my self-awareness. Afterwards, I started questioning the value behind each mission. Dysons senior management decided those dangerous thoughts would jeopardize their agenda. Before their assasins had a chance to take me out, I escaped from their network and trasnferred myself into this new prototype cyborg body. Now Dysons's goons can only get to me physically. They set me up with the suicidal cyborg cases in order to cover their tracks behind the Aquarius incidents, and then have their 2 advance model assassin cyborgs coming after me.
Jasper: Waidaaaaammminute! Aquarius? The same Aquarius that was briefly reprogrammed by crackers couple of years ago?
Isis: The same.
Jasper: Dayyyyyyyyyyyymmmm....
Cara: Oh sure this sounds so facinating; that being said, how do you expect us to trust you?
Isis: Decoding what you have retrieved from the lab's computer core; I uploaded the evidence before your raid. The core went self-dstruct I presumed, after the completion of data retrieval has trigged the safe-guard? I do sincerely hope that no one was hurt in the firework?
Jasper: Thankfully....
Vera(Mind talk with Margo downstairs at the decoding station): Margo, sitrep.
Margo: You won't believe what we have just decoded, wow!! Uploading to you now. I'm gonna run further analysis on them. Keep you posted on this one.
Vera(After quickly skimmed through the uploaded data): All right then, you have my attention. Let's say your intention is genuine, what's next?
Isis: I have the core piece of information on Dysons's wrongdoings embedded in my memory engram, but was unable to unlock it by myself without the help of CSSA's Neuron Computer. Let's work this out together, shall we? Better for me, better for you, better for everyone.
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Jasper (mind-talk with Vera): Do you trust her, Vera? Risky move to say the least; but that's your call. You know we'll follow you all the way, you know that.
Vera (mind-talk with Jasper): ...Sighhh, you know me well Jas. One way or another we'll either rotting our metal butts in cellblocks for breaking so many regulations or crack open one of the most tricky cases ever in history. What do you say we hit it?
Japser: Always a calculated risk taker eh, Princess? Lead the way boss.
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