Another meeting with the Secretary-General, Jennie Yen and the stockholders. Jennie moves for the approval of the inauguration of the meteorological nanomachines. Although surprised by Kushima's absence, the Secretary-General has no choice but to approve Jennie's motion.
Souta, Haru, Minamo and Holon gather around Kushima's body after having been informed of what happened: Kushima's cyberbrain was taken, leaving only his empty shell of a body. According to one of the lab assistants, Kushima has exactly twelve hours to live unless and until his cyberbrain is dead. This is the approximate lifespan of a human brain when it is separated from the body.
who's the culprit
Of the four of them, it is Souta who exhibits extreme reaction. He even resorts to manhandling the lab assistant, suspecting that he has something to do with the foul play. Eventually, he calms down enough to resolve to track Kushima's cyberbrain with Holon's assistance. In the meantime, Haru and Minamo decide to try to find Kushima's consciousness in the Metal.
While in Hanamichi, Souta discovers firsthand the sort of people they are up against in investigating the incident as none other than the head of the Advisory Committee, Jennie Yen, stands in his way. Even Holon does not attempt to engage Jennie in a fight as she witnesses for herself how he easily subdues Souta.
the search for Kushima's brain
Haru and Minamo are likewise having trouble investigating on their end as they realize that they are not allowed to use Denriken equipment in order to dive into the Metal. As such, Haru is forced to use his own crude equipment at home with Minamo's help as timer. Once in the Metal, Haru encounters a myriad of information which he must sort through one by one.
Back in Denriken, Souta and Holon ask the doctor in charge of cyberbrain maintenance for the last data on Kushima. The doctor is willing to accommodate them but when he tries to get the files, he finds that the Trustee Committee has restricted access to them.
Souta, with Holon tagging along, barges into the Secretary-General's office. An android tries to stop him but the Secretary-General puts the order to let him through. As soon as he enters, however, the Secretary-General sees Holon, who only bows respectfully.
looking for answers
Without preamble, Souta asks why the Trustee Committee is restricting access to information regarding Kushima's disappearance. The Secretary-General has a perfectly logical explanation for this: since Kushima's cyberbrain was stolen at Denriken, there is every likelihood the culprit is an employee. But Souta is not satisfied with this. He forces her to touch palms with him and pass vital information on someone who might know about the incident. The Secretary-General ends up revealing the name of the one of the stockholders.
In the Metal, Haru continues to search for Kushima. While he does, he gets flashbacks of happier times with his friend. He remembers Kushima standing on the deck of the ship, staring at something.
friends
However, Haru is running out of time. Minamo tries to call him back to no avail as he begins to brain down. Fortunately, Minamo's diver friends arrive to rescue him. With Haru back, Minamo tells him that all of Kushima's data are about the ocean. All this time, Haru assumed that Kushima was interested only in the artificial island but it turns out that he loves the ocean as well. Armed with this new knowledge and with support from Minamo's diver friends, Haru prepares to go back into the Metal.
In the meantime, Souta and Holon find the stockholder. While Souta questions him, Holon fights off robots in charge of security.
it all makes sense
Back in the Metal, Haru begins to make sense of Kushima's complex data. As he does, he sees visions of his younger self with Kushima as well as the fifty years he spent in a coma.
Perhaps, one could say Kushima suffered the most during all that time as he watches his friend sleep while his body slowly rots away.
running against time
Souta and Holon finally manage to track down Kushima's brain. It turns out, it is being kept all along at some ultra-secret lab complex. Souta confronts the scientist responsible for keeping the brain and would have beaten him to a pulp had not Holon stopped him. She advises him against his emotions.
Realizing her point, Souta lets the scientist go and goes to where Kushima's cyberbrain is kept. Holon notes that they can't just unplug the cyberbrain without causing damage. To help with the transition, she volunteers to override the program with her own A.I. and thus allow Souta to take the brain. Souta readily agrees to this. However, he fails to consider what this might do to Holon. The program ends up reinitializing Holon's A.I., thus, in effect, wiping all her memories.
is this the end?
In the end, they were able to restore Kushima's cyberbrain to his body but he remains in a braindowned state. On the other hand, Holon's last backup data goes back three months ago, which means she will not remember having met Souta, Minamo or Haru once she wakes up.
COMMENTS:
Kushima is sooo gay =)
Seriously now, his friendship with Haru is truly touching. How odd to give his character this much dimension this late in the series.
That woman in the flashback...I thought at first it was Minamo's grandmother, but I realize it's the "love letter" woman -- Haru's one-time love. Nice reference. So subtle you'd miss it if you weren't paying attention.
I feel a bit sorry for the Secretary-General. I thought she was going to turn all "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" on Souta but no. She's refreshingly civil. Not cold because it's obvious she has still has some lingering feelings for our resident waifu.
I wonder if Holon is aware of the tension between the Secretary-General and Souta. She hasn't really exhibited herself as a particularly perceptive android. In fact, she is the opposite of perceptive. She's quite literal (I'm referring to how she suggested taking on the form of a human male while training with Souta). But the respectful bows she gives the Secretary-General kind of makes me think twice. Of course, the gesture could just mean she acknowledges the Secretary-General as the person after whose image she is modeled, but then again....
Anyhoo, it's all moot at this point since her memory has been wiped out. Ugh! Of all the unfortunate things that could happen. Poor Souta. You should have given Holon the bracelet when she gave you the sneakers. And while at it, you should have propositioned her as well. She can't refuse. She herself said she's an android made for public service. XD
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