Torn Branches: A Science Fiction Review

"I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes" Ghost in the Shell Episode 10 A government database is hacked and the source is tracked to a health centre for children with Cyberbrain Closed Shell Syndrome. Togusa is sent to the facility under cover as a medical assistant to investigate. The Children all suffer from what we might call high functioning autism. They are so engrossed by the networks that their cyberbrain's allow them to access, that they never want to leave. A group of children refer to an individual they name 'The Chief', but will not divulge anything else. Togusa hacks the facilities computer server but is caught in the act. At the same time, someone starts hacking into Section 9. Kusanagi and Batou storm the facility, only to find Togusa unconscious. It is revealed to the viewer that The Chief is a young boy called Aoi. He tells the other children that he has been found and so will be leaving. He also ...

"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it" Episode 10 A former U.S imperial naval officer, Marco, has killed several women in Japan in the past months. The CIA requests Section 9's support to bring him to justice. Suspicious of the C.I.A's true motives, Section 9 hacks the American agent's computer to reveal that Marco was part of a secret operation in South America aimed at breaking the enemies morale by using terror tactics, such as skinning civilians alive. Batou then reveals that before joining Section 9 he was a ranger in the Japan Defense Force, and encountered Marco's work first hand. Under persuasion from Major Kusanagi, the CIA agent reveals that they intentionally asked for Section 9's help as they knew that Batou would likely kill Marco, thereby removing the last piece of evidence that the terror squads ever existed. While Batou does track down Marco, he arrests him despite wanting to kill him. What I liked This ...

"A copy of a thing that never even existed?" Episode 9 Major Kusanagi enters a web chat room discussing the laughing Man. The chat room is a kind of online discussion panel, exchanging ideas on who the Laughing Man really is, what his motives are, and if he even existed in the first place.  One of the participants reveals that he had hacked the security feed on the day of the attempted assassination of the police commissioner. Kusanagi confronts him about what he saw and gives him a pointed warning to butt-out.  Kusanagi then explains her own theory to the group, that apart from the first and last Laughing Man event, all the other hackings and attacks have been committed by copycats. Just as Kusanagi finishes explaining her theory, she is pulled out of the chatroom by an external force and briefly witnesses the Laughing Man in what looks like a library.  What I liked Even though there was no action, I really enjoyed this ep...

Episode 8 Major Kusanagi is called to a hospital by a friend who has suspicions about the origin of a young girls donor heart. The heart was taken without the parents permission from a young boy undergoing a prosthetic heart operation  Police had been called in to investigate but the investigating officer fell ill suddenly. Aramaki is also suspicious and is concerned that the Yakuza may be involved.  Kusanagi and Togusa decide to interview the police officer in hospital, but upon arrival finds young men fleeing the scene. A chase ensues and it is revealed that the young men are med students, using their knowledge of the hospital system to trade in black market organs.   Kusanagi has taken a keener interest in this case than normal, and decide to scare the young men senseless by making them think she is a Yakuza agent sent to kill them for stepping in their market.   What I liked This was a fairly straight forward episode meant ...

"Is a ship that has been restored by replacing every single wooden part still the same ship?" Episode 7 Marcelo Jarti is a revolutionary leader that closely resembles the real life and mythos of Che Guevara. Jarti was instrumental in the liberation of the State of Jenoma, but instead of taking up as the nation’s leader he continued to fight for the liberation of countries across the world. Jarti is also a notorious drug lord, which he undertakes to fund his liberation movement. We are told that his death has been reported on six separate occasions, and in each case, he has been able to appear unscathed later in time. Jarti makes regular visits to Japan, where he is a national hero, but the Department of State suspects the true motivation for his regular visits has to do with drug production. It is widely reported that Marcelo Jarti, leader of the Jenoma Revolutionary movement, has been assassinated by the United States Empire – this time the assassination is ‘...

"I'll work you all like dogs" Episode 5 A former Serano Genomics employee, Nanao, is suspected by the police of being the person behind the Laughing Man identity. Section 9 is unsure whether or not the Laughing Man even exists, and specifically, believes that the former employer is a scapegoat to disguise high-level police corruption.  When the police commissioner gives a public speech, members of his bodyguard are cyber-hacked and attempt to assassinate him. To make matters worse, members of the public begin to claim that they are the Laughing Man and that they intend to murder the police commissioner.  Section 9 saves the life of the police commissioner, and speculate that the public attempts at assassination are the result of a stand alone complex - a copy of something that never existed in the first place. What I liked This episode gives us a little more information into the personal life of Major Kusanagi. I was actually surprised that sh...

"I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes." Episode 4 A police detective working in the Laughing Man task force is murdered after he calls Togusa, requesting to see him concerning suspicious activity by superiors in the police department. Before being murdered, the detective posts Togusa an envelope that contains a series of strange photographs. Togusa soon realises that none of the photos has been taken by a camera. Investigating further, it is revealed that the detectives on the Laughing Man case have all been bugged by their superiors with an "interceptor", a nano-machine that allows constant audio and visual monitoring of the subject via their own senses. In order to provoke a response, Section 9 leaks this information to the media, forcing the police commissioner to provide a public denial of personal wrongdoing, instead blaming an underling. It is at this point that the hacker, the Laughing Man appears. Hijacking an offic...

"Grief is a waste of time. If it's between emptiness and grief, give me emptiness".  Episode 3 When an obsolete android model with a cult following starts committing mass 'suicide', Section 9 are called in to investigate. After investigating the plant that the 'Jeri" model android is manufactured in, Kusanagi believes that a hacker introduced a virus into the mainframe, probably by having an infected Jeri sent in for repairs. The Jeri Model android was technologically obsolete even upon introduction. It's cult following stems from its good looks and 'cute' personality. Through a process of elimination, Section 9 discover that the culprit is Marshall McLachlan, the son of the Canadian ambassador to Japan. Marshall is in love with his 'Jeri', whom he considers a real person. His motive for killing off the other Jeri androids is to ensure that his Jeri is unique. Unfortunately, Marshall's Jeri doesn't feel the same ...

Where is the boundary between human and machine when the differences between the two become more philosophical than physical? Episode 2 A new model multi-pedal tank has been hacked by an unknown assailant and breaks out of the military compound. Section 9 is called in to stop the tank, which appears to be heading into suburban Tokyo. Section 9 first try and stop the tank through brute force, but any attempts to target the tank with their satellite-linked weapons is useless as the tank can simply hack the satellites to throw their aim off. Togusa interviews the tanks co-designer, who eventually caves in and reveals that the tanks primary designer, who recently passed away, requested that his mind is placed into the tank. He further reveals that the tanks designer hated his parents, whose religious beliefs forbade him from seeking the medical treatment he needed while still alive. With this information in hand, Section 9 assume that the tank is heading to the parent's ho...

"What exactly is the definition of 'human' in a society where a mind can be copied and the body replaced with a synthetic form?" Episode 1 Section 9 is requested to assist in a hostage situation. Cybernetic geishas have been hacked and are holding a key military figure and the Minister of Foreign Affairs hostage. In a fantastic action sequence our protagonist, Kusanagi, storms the building and takes down the geishas. She also manages to hardwire herself into a geisha and find the source of the hacking. After a chase scene, Batou apprehends the hacker, but before he can be questioned he burns out his memory. Back at HQ, the military reveals that the Minister of Foreign affairs is being investigated due to his interest in a report detailing the steps the military would take in the event of a national crisis. The military had granted the request but had posted an agent to follow the Minister just in case. There is an interesting exchange between Kusanagi and ...