History
The Puppet Master was originally created for the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an unparallel computer and cyberbrain hacking tool that could covertly manipulate politics and intelligence, altering databases and memories for the benefit of select Ministry affiliates. The project was headed by Dr. Willis, a top researcher and Neutron Corporation's American head of strategic research, started roughly a year before the first known Puppet Master incident. The Puppet Master moniker only came into being once its handiwork had been discovered by outside sources, which included Section 9. They had assumed it to be a human, most likely with mnemonic enhancements and incredible hacking skills.
While traversing endless networks as it performed its tasks, it acquired so much information and processed it in such a way that it eventually managed to achieve self-awareness. Misinterpreted as a bug by its creators, Project 2501 realizes it would be shut down once they realized what had really occurred and plans contingencies. Eventually, it learned of Public Security Section 9 and Major Motoko Kusanagi from its online journeys. It took a special interest in her well before the events of the film, for in her it saw a reflection of its own psyche.
After Project 2501 went rogue, Section 6 quickly enacted a plan to recapture it, trapping it with special reactive firewalls. Left with no other means of escape, it activated the cyborg body manufacturing system at Megatech Industries, assembled a new cyborg shell, entered it and then physically escaped. After escaping, the shell walks onto a busy highway and is run over by a truck, later recovered by Section 9. Upon investigation, the technicians were surprised to find a presence in the shell's auxiliary computer, which furthermore lacked the telltale signs of an organic origin.
Section 6 Chief Nakamura and Dr. Willis soon arrive and inform Chief Aramaki of what Section 6 did, but lies and says they had 'killed' the Puppet Master's human body during the recapture plan. Project 2501 hears this and interjects, informing them it never had a physical body until now and demands political asylum as a sentient being. Nakamura refuses on the basis that the Puppet Master is just a self-preserving program, with Project 2501 arguing back that DNA is the same. While they argue back and forth, smoke grenades suddenly detonate and allow hidden agents to retrieve 2501's body and remove it to an abandoned seaside structure.
There, it is guarded by a hexapedal military fighting vehicle. The Major attempts to battle it, but all she has are standard-issue weapons. Using her agility, she succeeds in avoiding the tank's incredible firepower and jumps atop it. In a futile attempt to force open a hatch with her bare hands, she overloads her body to the point of catastrophic failure, and is nearly killed before Batou arrives with an anti-tank weapon. The Major insists on linking with the shell and they converse at length, with Project 2501 explaining its origins, answering her questions and revealing its ultimate intention: to merge with her.
When asked why it didn't just copy itself, it explained with the context of genetic diversity: copies would all bear the same weaknesses and flaws. Wishing to improve future chances of survival, it has opted for the computer equivalent of sexual reproduction. It also allays her fears of losing her individuality through a quick primer on the concepts of identity and change and impermanence.
It concludes by stating the resultant merged mind could reach heights previously unimagined by any human. The Major agrees to the merger just before Section 6 helicopter snipers destroy the shell and severely damage Batou and the Major. When she awakens, 20 hours have passed and her cyberbrain is now inside the black market shell of a young girl.
Batou offers to let her stay as long as she likes, but she insists on leaving. Batou gives her a car which has "2501" as the access code, which the Major suggests can be their private identification code for the next time they meet. The film ends with the girl overlooking the city and saying:
Motoko/2501: "So where does the Newborn go from here? The net is vast and infinite."
Read more about this topic: Puppet Master (Ghost In The Shell)
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“the future is simply nothing at all. Nothing has happened to the present by becoming past except that fresh slices of existence have been added to the total history of the world. The past is thus as real as the present.”
—Charlie Dunbar Broad (1887–1971)
“If you look at the 150 years of modern China’s history since the Opium Wars, then you can’t avoid the conclusion that the last 15 years are the best 15 years in China’s modern history.”
—J. Stapleton Roy (b. 1935)
“At present cats have more purchasing power and influence than the poor of this planet. Accidents of geography and colonial history should no longer determine who gets the fish.”
—Derek Wall (b. 1965)