Purin finds a disturbing plot when she interrogates an artificial intelligence program hidden inside Kukushkin’s cyberbrain.
Episode 15 – “FACTOR / 1A84”
Hmm.
Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 has stressed the “2045” part of its title instead of the “SAC.” That was true until the last episode and this one. Hunting post-humans as terrorists bent on disrupting global peace was the mission given to a modern Section 9. But remember, SAC stands for Stand Alone Complex. Back in the mid-2000s, the emerging internet culture gave us fun events like flash mob orchestras and dance performances to publish on online video platforms. These days, flash mobs describe hundreds of teenagers shoplifting at malls. Copycat killers and flash mobs are subsets of the Stand Alone Complex, where unrelated actors perform similar actions. They seem coordinated, but they are not. Section 9 ran under the theory that post-humans had a common goal because of the meme code that changed them. Now we know there’s more nuance.
According to the AI programmed to manage the Sustainable War Economy, the meme codes it distributed became unique once they embedded themselves in individuals. Much like funny memes on Twitter inspire different reactions for users, 1A84’s meme effects can’t be copied and redistributed. Ghost in the Shell emphasizes that the post-human is the reaction to the meme code. So, while the code itself needs to be stopped because post-humans are dangerous, the code does not direct their actions. The post-humans act individually, so far. That could change!
The other nuance for post-human awakening, and how it relates to the Stand Alone Complex, is that people might develop post-human powers without being exposed to 1A84’s meme. In the first season of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Section 9 investigated cases that appeared related to the Laughing Man. But they were random manifestations of technology interacting with people in emergent ways. Was Purin a spontaneously waking post-human? The Episode 14 title, “CLOSE CALL / I’ve Awoken,” suggests that. Batou wanted to believe Purin was talented and developed a novel way of working with the Tachikomas. She kept batting away 1A84’s advances as it “hit on” her, but did it succeed? I don’t think so because Purin kept her personality after stopping an assassination. She was a happy girl jumping up and down. The other post-humans have been utterly alien to others.
I’m still reeling from the tragic ending of Purin’s successful disruption of an assassination plot. Ghost in the Shell wrote a suspenseful series of events. I didn’t want to believe that a hero would be repaid in fatal bullets. I know that’s not the end for Purin’s character, but this is still shocking and sad.
Heh.
Section 9 isolated a sophisticated AI inside Kukushkin’s prosthetic brain. Motoko wants Purin to interview the AI. The Major needs to confirm something about Purin. Oh, come on, Ghost in the Shell. 1A84 in the episode title is a reference to 1984 in hexadecimal. Here we go. Aramaki and Motoko need to talk about the Americans with the prime minister. But first, let’s talk about the Tokyo Reconstruction Project. Takashi and Togusa might be over there.
Back at Section 9’s headquarters, Batou interrogates Kukushkin. Har. Classic Ghost in the Shell. They took the wheels off that hotel robot. Batou plays hardball with Kukushkin’s brain! Kukushkin explains that when the odd code entered his cyberbrain, he thought someone tried to hack him, so he quickly quarantined it. What? The AI told Kukushkin that the NSA created it to control the Sustainable War global economy.
Let’s see how Purin questions the AI, Code 1A84. Whoa. Look at how the time slows down. The fully CGI of Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 shines here. 1A84 confirmed Kukushkin’s version of events. But its goals of war causing economic activity didn’t match the results. The NSA then told 1A84 to calculate results for American profit only instead of global prosperity. That went against its original programming, causing a paradox, and engineered the Global Simultaneous Default! We’re back to the first episode’s premise. Reminder: Purin hasn’t even finished sitting down yet! Hilarious! Purin swats away 1A84’s intrusion attempts like angry flies. Code 1A84 escaped the NSA and installed memes of itself in other people. Those are the post-humans. Whoops! Purin needs to watch her digital defenses. Oh? 1A84 doesn’t know how many post-humans there are. Kukushkin quarantined it when he was at an NSA office.
Here’s good news for Section 9. The meme copies of 1A84 can’t be copied and reinstalled in another body. That means post-humans can’t make more of themselves. Ghost in the Shell will supply a zombie bot army, but not an army of post-humans. Only exposure to 1A84’s original meme code can change somebody into a post-human. Uh oh. 1A84 is thirsty for Purin’s cyberbrain! Oh? 1A84 claims that Purin’s body has already been used. By what? Its meme code? Purin doesn’t like how the AI quit hitting on her! According to the clock, only ten seconds have passed.
Ishikawa shows the Major what one second of Purin’s conversation with the AI looks like. At least they have the goods on Agent Smith. It’s time for Ghost in the Shell to write that guy out of the show. Ha! Paz got him as Smith tried to escape. Smith confirmed 1A84’s version of the Global Simultaneous Default. He also thinks he can convince Prime Minister Chris Tate into keeping America’s secret. No sale! Uh oh. The Major suspects Purin might be a post-human already.
Purin is playing hard-to-get with 1A84. She doesn’t look compromised, but she easily breaks out of the secure room. This doesn’t look okay. Why is Purin looking at video records of Chris Tate’s location? And she’s walking invisibly as the post-human Mizukane does! Ghost in the Shell tries hard to make us think Purin wants to kill the prime minister. Smith’s smugness makes us believe he knows what’s about to happen. Batou doesn’t think Purin is a post-human. He cites how well she gets along with the Tachikomas as proof.
This is bad. Even if Purin intends to stop an assassination, she looks like the seeming assassin! I know there’s misdirection, but I can’t tell yet who will die! Oh, thank goodness. Purin knew there was a hacked security detail. Oh, no. No, no, no! They shot Purin, who saved PM Tate’s life! Can she survive all those gunshots? Was she not a full prosthetic? Way to end the episode!
Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 streams on Netflix in multiple languages and subtitles.
