Cyborg 009 Tribute

Cyborg 009 Tribute (サイボーグ009トリビュート) is an anthology light novel published by Kawade Bunko, produced as one of the various projects for Cyborg 009's 60th anniversary (along with the stage show, the Ghost of the Pacific manga, and the webtoon adaptation).

Overview

"Cyborg 009's 60th Anniversary Project! A collection of nine war demons: Masaki Tsuji, Yuki Shasendo, Fumio Takano, Denpo Torishima, Haruna Ikezawa, Satoshi Hase, Sayo Oda, Taiyo Fujii, and Tou Enjo. An anthology of newly written works by a luxurious group of writers. "

As mentioned in the summary, the light novel is comprised of nine different stories by nine different authors. Each of these stories focuses around a particular character or theme, although it is notable that 005 and 007 do not receive their own outings.

Characters

The 00 Cyborgs

• Cyborg 001
• Cyborg 002
• Cyborg 003
• Cyborg 004
• Cyborg 005
• Cyborg 006
• Cyborg 007
• Cyborg 008
• Cyborg 009

Allies and Humans

• Dr. Isaac Gilmore
• Princess Mia, the 17-year old royal of Mirandavia in "The Warriors of Peace Never Die".
• Annie Smith, a poor Black ballerina used as a pawn by the Neo Black Ghost in "The Lonely Ears".
• Konoko, a young Japanese woman hiding some dark secrets in "Artemis Calling".
• Yi Zhi, a new employee at the Chang Changku restaurant in "Consuming Charcoal".
• Jin Bei, a man who seeks revenge for his trauma over the death of his friend Meimei in "Consuming Charcoal".
• Meimei, Chang's young niece whose tragic past is laid out in "Consuming Charcoal".
• Amani Mwangi, a Kenyan crew member of the Santa Maria II in "The Sea is Anywhere".
• Marcos Ibarez, the chief secretary of the Santa Maria II.
• Captain DuBois, the current captain of the Santa Maria II.
• Samir Peter and Hana Young, fellow engineers on the Santa Maria II.

Black Ghost/Neo Black Ghost

• Dr. Ballantine, a former Black Ghost scientist in "The Warriors of Peace Never Die".
• Doctors O, Q, and X: Anonymous Black Ghost researchers responsible for the 002 project in "Eight Rooms".
• Julia Manoda, a scientist of Black Ghost later known for being one of the leaders of the Neo incarnation in the Shonen Sunday "Arctic Ghost" arc. She is referred to as "Dr. M" within the "Eight Rooms" story.
• Instructor R: A military commander at Black Ghost who educates the subjects on the differences between conflicts, civil war, and war to give propaganda on why the organization is fine.
• Tony Kaczynski, one of the other test subjects for Cyborg 002 that winds up being more sympathetic to Black Ghost ideologies.
• Kevin Warner, another test subject for Cyborg 002 that dies due to his impulsivity.
• Lorenzo, a test subject for Cyborg 006 briefly alluded to that dies due to malfunction of his heat generator during a building fire.
• Unidentified other test subjects for cyborgs like 003, 004, and 005.
• Kriemhilde Helga Berger, a former Black Ghost scientist who split herself into her human form and a most unusual bio-engineered cyborg experiment known simply as "Doctor". While she regretted her power-hungry actions, the "Doctor" form retains her madness and is responsible for generating so many more creatures. Gilmore at first doesn't remember her, but then confirms she was a scientist of the organization after consulting Ivan about memories.
• Zattan-human hybrid soldiers and Pu'Awak monster women, the latter which have Berger's DNA grafted to them as well.
• Hans, a Black Ghost soldier sent to ambush Albert and GB. When last heard of, Ivan has used his powers to transfer Hans' mind to a new cyborg body.

Other Enemies outside Black Ghost

• President Yakun, the 53-year old dictator of Razilia aiming to start a nuclear war
• The Shark Gang, the rival NYC gang that Jet and his friends fought against. They were led by a young man named Pedro, until Jet wound up stabbing him and causing a further gang war to break out in retaliation.
• "The Patrol", strange shadow beings made by micromachines possibly left behind by Black Ghost. They appear to randomly target humans, but actually have a particular fixation on swallowing up the hidden ghosts in Japan.
• System Gilmore and his copies, AI interfaces of the deceased Dr. Gilmore that can be as helpful or harmful to society as they please. While initially appearing more benevolent, these copies of Gilmore are willing to keep the 00 Cyborgs fighting at whatever cost by manipulating situations and commissioning more cyborgs, as well as being behind the revival of Black Ghost. After many of these copies have been shut down, the scandals they have created have far-reaching effects on the world, leaving the 00 Cyborgs' status and future in a precarious place.

Stories

Masaki Tsuji: "The Warriors of Peace Never Die"

The classic final episode of the 1968 TV series, remade for a light novel format. Takes place in the 1970s.

A TPS News report mentions that a long-range bomber from the Public Republic has gone missing, with suspicions fielded towards the warring Ura Federation who denies involvement in the incident. Meanwhile, Joe Shimamura attends a 30th anniversary memorial for the bombing of Hiroshima at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. He and Francoise head off, with her having completed her recent ballet tour in Japan.

A month later, Joe reads about a coup in the country of Mirandavia and how its monarchy has been abolished, wondering what had happened to the princess in the process. We learn that it is separated from the Public Republic by the sea, and that the world is divided into a Cold War by the Public Republic and the Ura Federation. Another month passes, and we learn another country Razilia has formed a military alliance with Mirandavia's new government. Razilia has the reputation of being the worst rogue country on the Pacific side, and its president is a national criminal who supports drug manufacturing and exportation along with having been an intelligence agent for a certain major country. After another month goes by, Joe learns in the media that Razilia's President Yakun had fallen in love with Mirandavia's Princess Mia and proposed marriage, for why the two countries are allied now.

Joe learns from Great Britain about a rumor that Princess Mia has been forced into the marriage, and that she'll be imprisoned for life if she refuses. At the Gilmore Research Laboratory later, the 00 Cyborgs learn that Dr. Gilmore received a certain "Psychomail" about Black Ghost. An image showing a creepy, large pitch black doll with sharp teeth if shown to the team. Ivan recognizes the entity as a "Dr. Ballantine". We learn that Dr. Ballantine was a former colleague and rival of Dr. Gilmore, and that he contributed to the remodeling of Ivan's brain.

They realize that Ballantine has issued a vague challenge to them, to "Stop it" (the marriage). Albert reveals that President Yakun has been in Mirandavia, in exchange for the provision of a nuclear bomb. There is confusion over how Razilia is meant to be politically neutral, but in fact they have a secret pact with the Ura Federation. Both countries are now locked in a secret war, beinning to make their moves in case the other launches an attack. The team now have three weeks to prevent the marriage, and the delivery of the nuclear bomb to Mirandavia.

Some time ahead, Gilmore, Joe, Francoise, Great Britain, and Ivan board a Razilian ship named The Great Ocean. There is a day left until President Yakun and Princess Mia's wedding ceremony will happen. Thanks to GB's shapeshifting to blend in and transmission of information, they learn that Razilia's bomb is of the Little Boy class, same to what was dropped on Hiroshima. However, since technology has advanced, the bomb could be compact enough to smuggle onto such a cruise ship and be hidden within something like a suitcase.

The next night, after the wedding, President Yakun prepares to sleep with his new wife, only to find that "Princess Mia" is a crocodile that tries to eat him. His guards enter the room, hearing his panic, but see no such reptile while seeing the princess is gone. Francoise then enters the bedroom, taking over from GB's trickery and in disguise as a nurse to slip Yakun a sedative. They find the suitcase with the bomb and confiscate it, while Jet escorts the princess to the Dolphin. But there is still tension and doubt that Ballantine's challenge would be over this easily.

At Gilmore's laboratory, the cyborgs are troubled how Ivan has fallen into too long and deep of a slumber since their resolution of this case, but then witness him awaken and cry. Another "Psychomail" from Ballantine arrives, urging the team "Try and stop it". They wonder what this could mean, but then remember that the nuclear bomb they had seized has been stored in the Dolphin. Strange activity can be witnessed in the surveillance cameras on board the ship, so the cyborgs now have to investigate.

The suitcase appears to have taken on a mind of its own, attacking the cyborgs and disappearing through the ceiling. Gilmore figures this has to be the work of Ballantine, who had perfected the miracles of super-physics, such as passing through walls. Joe follows after the suitcase with his accelerator and grabs on, but it shoots up through the sky, taking him with it. Ivan manages to telepathically track the movement, while Jet aims to physically follow wherever Joe is going. But suddenly, the brainwave communications with Joe are cut off, and the team can't find him. They wonder where Joe may have gone, and theorize about dimensional slipping, while there's talk of how Dr. Ballantine had a chronic heart condition.

Joe finds himself and the suitcase aboard a strange satellite, but then sees a strange black doll there with him. The doll, speaking in Ballantine's voice, explains the functions of the bomb in the suitcase, but that a bomb is also aboard the satellite and would hit the Earth with a storm of radiation, invoking more nuclears wars to occur. The black dolls begin to multiply, as Ballantine explains how he had lost his parents and siblings in a war but that their corrupt neighbors had survived. "It's impossible to fight against the absurdities that exist in the world, which number as many as the stars in the sky. So why not just make the world itself absurd? I had discovered the truth...and it has been my starting point for action ever since. Denying humanity! Why is it so simple? Can't you understand the truth?"

Joe attempts to appeal to Ballantine's humanity, but is told, to the contrary that the man is also different and "no longer a human being". The doll explains his struggle with his illness was in vain and he died, as a wooden coffin with Ballantine's corpse is presented before Joe. It is revealed that Joe is speaking to a "residual thought" of Ballantine, who had predicted what kind of questions he'd ask and answer in such ways. Though Black Ghost had been defeated, the wars in the world had not died out, and so his residual thought, or rather a residual grudge, remains.

At the laboratory, the other cyborgs and Gilmore come to the conclusion that Ballantine may be dead by now, but that there's no way they can observe what's going on with Joe and would have to wait until they could sense any activity from him again. Back at the satellite, Joe continues to fight against the countless black demonic dolls and defend the suitcase from having its button pressed. He believes even if he dies, there's still the rest of the team and 5 billion people on the Earth.

In the laboratory, Francoise has been meditating to the point of her nose and ears bleeding, but she successfully reaches Joe's brainwaves so Ivan can intervene. In the satellite, the dolls start to attack Joe again, but are interrupted by the sound of screaming babies and the visuals of an endless horde of babies crawling into the satellite, which defeat the dolls and then vanish. Joe realizes that as Ballantine has made a grudge his ally, his own allies are the babies of the Earth that are about to be born, and states so to his enemy. But there is only a silence, and Jet arrives in the satellite to greet Joe. The two look out into space, and Jet asks if Joe's ready to dive back to Earth.

"Please go easy on me."

"Sleep in my arms for a while."

The two are witnessed by the Ishinomori Junior High School Astronomy Club as a shooting star in the night sky. The students report on the amazing sight the next day, and muse over how they felt like praying.

"I hope there will be no more war in the world...I hope that people over this world will live in harmony. May we live in peace..."

Yuki Shasendo: "Applause, Applause"

A sequel to the Yomi arc. Who do the cyborgs fight for?

Joe awakens to the sound of applause by GB, who equates him to an actor and their world a stage. Joe is relieved by GB's jokes, and that everyone must be safe if the world hasn't ended.

"Was I saved?"

"Of course you were. Do I look like an angel?"

"A bald angel is quite a novel idea..."

"If you can talk like that, your brain must be fine. Your energy tank, the artificial lungs, blood pipes, all were on the verge of burning out. It was a crisis like 008 from a while ago. 003 was crying so hard. Poor thing! You don't make a beautiful woman cry."

Joe then recalls what had happened with Jet rescuing him, and wonders if he survived too; figuring if he's alive, the "other half" of the star must be alive. GB confirms this and Chang enters the room, summoning the rest that 009's finally awake. Joe is surrounded by the others and Gilmore, and takes note of how Francoise has been crying. He learns that Ivan managed to teleport both him and Jet down to Earth when they'd lost consciousness, and were left in a state of suspended animation for a few days as Gilmore repaired them. Since then, Ivan has fallen into a deep sleep.

Francoise expresses her fear that she would hear the sound of him and Jet burning up, and that she didn't think they'd survive. In the time she'd been waiting for them to wake up, the world seemed the same as always and that nobody seemed to realize it had been saved. She notes how he and Jet had become a shooting star that had been witnessed by many, and that maybe many people had made wishes.

Joe realizes at her words though, that although people make wishes on stars, nobody really seems grateful. He doesn't feel tired of saving the world in itself, but tires of helping others. He then remarks that he'd woken up to GB clapping, and Francoise notes that she'd receive applause whenever she finished a performance but she's never gotten that as 003. But that she applauds Joe for having worked harder than anyone else and truly saved the world as a "shooting star". Francoise wonders if he heard anything in his sleep before that, but realizes he must have been too out of it to hear her speaking to him.

Joe recalls Jet asking "Where do you want to fall?" and thinks back to anxiety over where he would fall, worrying if somebody would be there to be impacted by them, and if shock waves would've affected the land or ocean. With Jet though, he thinks of how he could choose where they'd fall. Joe then remembers his dream of falling in all sorts of places, and wonders where Jet wanted to fall.

Jet and Joe converse over their current survival and how GB had also applauded Jet when he'd woke up, as well as the risks they'd taken in Yomi and why they did so. Even if nobody applauds them, they have each other on the team to know that they're awesome.

Some time passes, with the events of Monster Island. Albert wonders why Joe has been staring at him, and wants him to speak up if he has something to say. Joe wonders how he had managed to correctly assume the giants were linked to Black Ghost, and recalls how Albert had suspected Helen of being a spy even if he was technically correct there as well. It's pointed out that just because the Black Ghost organization was reduced to space debris, they wouldn't have been entirely eradicated as their evil is like a pathogen. Joe feels disappointed, as he felt his sacrifice had to have meant something, but there are still many unreasonable losses.

Joe brings up the case of Vena, but Albert shuts him down, stating there was "nothing between them" and nothing he could've done. Joe believes that his presence had to be encouraging to her though. He thinks back to how Albert had avenged Vena and assisted him in battle against Van Vogt. He'd seen his lips moving while in acceleration mode, and asks what he'd said. "It's nothing".

Joe realizes there's some distance between his perception of Albert and who the man is and senses something up, but instead simply claps for him. Albert remarks how he's not cut out for that, as his metallic hands have separated him from humanity, much like the wall in Berlin divides it, and that he's a machine clinging to humanity. Joe insists they're humans, but while Albert would like to think so, he feels it'd be better if he wasn't human as he's tired.

Later, Joe is viewing the stars with Geronimo and Pyunma and trying to identify the constellations. To Joe though, he can't see the shapes the others see, and only thinks of the legends of shooting stars. He didn't know where he wanted to fall, yet hoped he'd be a star that would grant a wish.

Joe manages to get to have a private talk with Ivan, being concerned about his habit of long sleep but Ivan remarks that even while sleeping, he can sense the rest. Joe wonders that if Ivan could turn back time, if he would still send him up into the Demon God Statue, and hears that he would. But Joe is still concerned over how the logistics of Ivan teleporting him and Jet worked, and if his powers offset the energy of their fall. Ivan remarks that if he noticed that, he clearly has a good grasp of physics. He learns that Ivan had teleported him and Jet into the ocean to reduce the force of their fall and to cool them off, and then transported them back to the surface.

After their talk, Joe claps for Ivan, thinking of how they may not be appreciated by the greater world and that nobody "thanks stars", but that all they can do is fight for peace.

Fumio Takano: "The Lonely Ears"

Autumn 1984. 001 returns to Russia to the first time, due to 003 having a ballet performance there.

"My name is Ivan. Ivan Whisky. Between the name Ivan and the silly surname Whisky, a patronymic is made from the father's name but I choose not to use my patronymic. This is because my father not only performed an anatomy modification operation on me when I was still a newborn baby, turning me into a cyborg with an abnormally developed brain, but he also beat my mother Erika to death when she tried to protect me. No, that's not all. My father took me and joined the Black Ghost Organization, and I became part of the Black Ghost. Did he join in on the modification of the other eight 00 Number members? I don't know what happened to my father after that. He probably died during some battle by the ghosts who'd used him to the fullest. He may have been killed by the Black Ghost."

Ivan relates his origins, but is interrupted by Francoise, who is doing her ballet lessons in the same room. He notes how they get along well not simply because of a "girl's role to take care of a baby", but that they have a certain shared loneliness. He can read the thoughts of people, while her super-hearing and sight give her insights into the ugliness of humanity in a different way. While Ivan can sleep long and control his abilities, she has to witness such things without even concentrating.

Francoise has a deep concern though, with revealing she has been invited to a pivotal ballet company performance in the place of a New York City-based member who had dropped out. She worries over being selfish, for only being a trainee, if she'd jump at the chance though her instructors seem to favor her as the recommendation. Ivan tells her she should discuss the subject with everyone else, not just him, and that it's dangerous for her to be training with such worries and stress.

The other guy cyborgs are baffled by the circumstance; Chang points out that the prize money wouldn't be that great, but Pyunma believes the honor is worth it itself. GB notes that Francoise would have the advantage in being scouted by a famous company, but the group and Dr. Gilmore become unsettled when finding out the competition is held in Leningrad.

Albert cites the KGB and other dangerous secret agencies of the Soviet Union, and that since Ivan's father was a "genius with different morals", there may be other men like him associated with the Black Ghost. Francoise points out she's only going to dance, but Jet and Albert believe she should refuse as they're not meant to stand out. Pyunma counters that she probably doesn't want to dance to gain honor as a human being, and that dance is a sacred thing of the Gods. Geronimo agrees, and notes that while people have many different religions, they are connected in ways beyond human understanding. Chang worries of Francoise's despair she may face if she fails, while GB theatrically talks of how there may be fickle demons on the stage.

When it comes to Joe, he wonders about the Soviet Union itself as he'd finished talking with Gilmore about some other issue there. Gilmore presents a coded message they receive, about a plot to assassinate a Soviet Politburo member named Ilya Tarasov. They realize that with Tarasov's role in art diplomacy, that there could be those against that who want to assassinate him, including the very Neo Black Ghost itself. Gilmore feels it's best for Francoise to go, while Joe, GB, and Ivan should come along as well. GB vows that he'll go in disguise as a "Madame Grace Britain", with Joe as a younger brother and Ivan as her son. Albert feels skeptical about Ivan being spotted in the Soviet Union though, as the Soviets could discover his abilities and abduct him.

The group that has decided to go to Leningrad arrive at the Kirov Theater. Ivan has concerns about Francoise's performance ability, as while she's an excellent ballerina she has little practical experience, yet has overcome many risky battles with her physical and mental strength. Francoise and Ivan communicate over their brainwaves about the possibility of suspicious activity, but Ivan urges her to "stay a ballerina" for now. Francoise takes note of a last-minute American entry named Annie Smith, who has a very simple costume and repaired pointe shoes. She doesn't want to come off showing pity for Annie, so she makes an excuse of asking her to check if her makeup's fine. We learn that Annie had been chosen after various candidates before her met with unusual, dangerous accidents, narrowing the choice down to her. When it seemed like Annie couldn't afford to travel, a mysterious woman paid for her to go and gave her a small crossbow to accompany the piece of "Diana and Actaeon".

Ivan wonders if this could be the work of Neo Black Ghost, but Francoise detects that Annie is an ordinary human and the bow is solid wood. Francoise then heads out for her performance to Rachmaninoff's "Nightingale". Ivan wonders more of how her powers must be so painful, for her to know that men stare at her body and how jealous other women must be, or the insults men mutter if she turns down their advances. She finishes her performance to applause, and Annie's turn is up, but Francoise goes to the balcony to keep an eye on things. Ivan notes how Annie receives racist whispers about her appearance and feels it glad she doesn't have cyborg's "lonely ears", but her own performance quickly turns out impressive, making her the very image of the goddess Diana.

Francoise then catches on to a mysterious noise, as Annie makes a motion to shoot her bow. It turns out to be filled with mechanical golden arrows, to which Joe uses his accelerator to leave the audience and knock and crush the bow from the ballerina's hands. All the spectators can see is that she must have dropped her bow and it shattered. Francoise analyzes that the wood of the bow has been integrated with a deadly laser-emitting device and it must have been programmed to aim at Tarasov. Even so, Annie manages to recover her dance steps quickly, to resounding applause. Francoise runs to the stage and gathers up the debris of the bow.

Annie appears to be the winner, while an artistic director states that Francoise had been disqualified due to stepping back on the stage. Even though her actions were to help Annie, no exceptions to the rule can be allowed. The audience protests in shock, but Francoise leaves the theater.

Back in Japan, Joe and Francoise walk through a park, with Joe musing about what a pity it was she got disqualified. Francoise insists she'd wanted Annie to win, but they both realize that this means Francoise would never be able to be a professional ballerina. Ivan then interrupts them with a brainwave communication, stating that Dr. Gilmore has collected dance critiques from around the world. Even if Francoise didn't win the competition, her performance still impressed everyone and she was able to complete both her missions to dance and to protect others.

Ivan then closes his communication with the two, figuring it'd be rude to overstay his welcome. He thinks of how he'll drink the special nutritious milk Chang gave him, and that when he wakes back up, he'll argue with GB. That Pyunma and Geronimo can keep a close watch on him, and that Jet and Albert would also be there to protect him if something happened. He wonders if he'll dream of his homeland, but then decides he doesn't care about that anymore, and that his goal is to concentrate and rest as much as he can.

Denpo Torishima: "Eight Rooms"

The origin story of 002, taking place from his arrival at Black Ghost to how he escaped.

Two Black Ghost scientists, Dr. O and Dr. Q, observe the flight tests of a young man named Tony Kaczynski on a war-torn beach. A Dr. X also comments that the test is going well. The two other test subjects, Jet and Kevin, are told to take their roles more seriously as "Air supremacy" will be the future and they had specifically been chosen for Project Nurnurzwei.

At this point, the 002 candidates have not yet had their thruster cybernetics fully integrated and have to operate with clunky machinery attached to their legs. Jet relates how a Turkish test subject from another abduction had lost his life when his thrusters exploded in a previous landing, and they'd barely gotten to know him. Tony appears to land safely, but then starts to fall over due to the weight of his thrusters. Dr. G boasts and promises that they'll improve upon the thrusters to fit normal human legs. Jet is the next to undergo the flight test, but feels intense heat within his body and panics, only for it to subside. He realizes that a normal human being wouldn't be able to withstand the test.

Kevin is up next, but his right leg explodes due to a malfunction. The three are taken back to a maintenance building to undergo upgrades and repair. The three walk through other parts of the Black Ghost facility, and spy two candidates for Room 004, men with bare upper bodies that have been converted to metal. They then see the candidates and another in an elevator, including a silver-haired man with white eyes and a metallic hand who has a copy of Leon Uris' novel "Exodus".

Tony and Kevin wonder how come they hadn't seen the 004 candidates before, and mock them as "Robots". Their attendant scolds them and tells them they're not meant to talk to people from other rooms, as confidential information from other departments may be leaked. Jet, Tony, and Kevin arrive at Room 002, and are locked back in.

The three young men turn out to have been from New York City, as they talk over drinking from some beer in the room. Jet reminisces of how a friend of theirs, Jeff, had been stabbed to death six months before, and how it may have been by the Shark Gang. They think of how if they had the bodies they do now, the Shark Gang would've been defeated easily and they would've all been scared back to Puerto Rico. Jet doesn't quite remember why exactly their fight with the Shark Gang started, though. Why did Jeff die? What were they so angry about? And yet, because they were no match for the Sharks, they'd run away easily.

Jet recalls his accidental fatal stabbing of Pedro, the Shark Gang leader, and how Black Ghosts agents bailed him out of the police finding him. Three days later, Jet would find that Tony and Kevin had also been abducted by Black Ghost, when a big fight between the Jets and Sharks broke out due to Pedro's death. While Jet feels regret for this, the other guys tell him it's fine since they like their new bodies...other than their legs. Jet thinks of how he'd accepted Black Ghost's offer not only out of panic, but because he was tired of NYC and himself and wanted to get away from everything.

The three then hear the sound of a baby crying, but write it off as a hallucination. A robot then unlocks the door to bring them their rations. Kevin wonders if he'd made the right decision to go with Black Ghost after all, but Tony insists it's good due to their powers an that they would've been in a bad position if they went to prison. But in their current state, Jet feels this place may be even worse than prison. The other two wonder what Jet thinks, as he's been quiet lately, but he insist he's just tired. The three boys then reminisce about Polish foods they're missing, from kielbasa to pierogi, bigos, kopytka, and golabki. Tony and Kevin then wonder about the relationship of a "Dr. G" and "Dr. M", and debate over M's looks as well as the girls in room 003 and how one looks like the actress in "Les Parisiennes". One boy refers to the girl as an obvious prostitute due to her fancy dress, but Jet becomes angered and orders them to stop, having remembered his own mother being mocked for such a thing.

Jet tries to sleep, but finds himself unable to. The narrative then treats readers to various complaints by Tony and Kevin, such as nausea and diarrhea, or other illnesses and side effects due to their surgeries. The next day, the three are taken out from their room and see four test subjects from Room 003 leave as well. Tony whistles, but Kevin becomes intimidated by the ladies' glares. Jet realizes that their attendant is the severe Dr. M, who had been beside Dr. G as he operated on the 002 subjects.

At the lecture room, led by Instructor R, he relates to the cyborgs that "Humans have an eternal war instinct" and that's why they were brought there. Jet wonders if that's true, and that's why the Shark and Jet Gangs had such rivalry. He also thinks of how the neighboring room to 002, 001, often has nurses coming and going and if it might be a nursery for babies. Others find the idea ridiculous, though. As Jet continues to try listening to the lecture, the sound of a baby crying continues to interrupt him.

As the lecture ends, Jet sees a Latino man facing his attendant in front of Room 007, trying to flirt but being told to get back in the room. Jet feels he's been getting a rough idea of what type of people are in each room, but can't be sure how many subjects are in Room 007 and wonders if there's a lot of turnover. For some reason, he'd see many faces of different races, but they all seemed to be speaking in British English.

The three 002 candidates talk more of their past, reminiscing on how they once raided a man named Joey's store, but Jet becomes disgusted by the memories especially when reminded how he led the charge to loot Joey's different stores and reasons "I must have been really drunk". The other two invite Jet to watch a movie, but he retires to bed, citing his heartburn. He wonders how humanity can avoid destruction and escape from their war instinct, and if Black Ghost may be right, but the crying baby interrupts him again and he panics over the idea he could buy into the propaganda.

After about ten days, another flight test is scheduled and the 002 candidates are outfitted with new jet units. Kevin is the first to test out the device, and Jet goes next. He winds up able to see the training ground of Room 004 candidates on the other side of a wall, including the strange expressionless man they'd seen in the elevator. Jet reaches 300 meters in his flight, surpassing Kevin's record, but he wonders how he could live day to day to like this with such unwieldy legs and artificial organs that regular doctors might not know what to do about if they malfunction. As the wind speed increases around him, Jet finds himself being swept away and has to make an emergency crash-landing in the sand. The flight test is cancelled, to the aggravation of Tony.

Once another lecture class is over with, Jet sees the attendant in front of Room 007 arguing with a man of Polynesian descent. Jet wonders if it's another newcomer, but swears he'd seen him somewhere before and notes his British English speech.

"Stop playing such nasty pranks. Are you trying to be a ghost? Get over it."

"What are you talking about now? You've been calling us subjects 'ghosts' behind our backs for a while now, haven't you? YOU know that, don't you? That's why I'm showing myself as I wish. It suits the name of the organization and the name of the island. Or do you feel guilty about something?"

"Stop it right now! Stop it!"

"Would you be satisfied if I confessed that my brother poisoned me? Yes, that brother is you. I had an illicit relationship with your mother. Will you take revenge for me? Take revenge for me."

"I told you to stop!"

The attendant orders Jet to hurry up and walk away, though Jet points out they were distracted too. Jet remarks to the other 002s that he feels he's seen that man before, and Kevin remembers seeing a man drown in the ocean. They figure it may have been that guy and that he was saved, but then wonder if that's so, why he isn't in Room 008.

For the next flight test, Tony is instructed to go first while Dr. G observes and a woman (Dr. M) tells him "Your children are growing up beautifully". Tony reaches a height of 500 meters, yet can't go further, and there seems to have been some sort of malfunction. Jet goes up next, being able to reach that height and see the entire island and all of its facilities. Jet reaches 1,000 meters, and remembers that being 3,280 feet, the height of the Catskill Mountains that his mother took him to climb as a child. He descends, and Kevin goes next, reaching the same height. On the way back to room 002, Jet notes that the expressionless man from 004 seems to be the only candidate there and his metallic arm has been upgraded.

The ensuing flight test three days later aims for even greater heights, to that of the Grand Canyon, but the 002s are warned about the stratocumulus clouds that will make them lose spatial orientation. While Kevin and Jet do well, Tony's fear of heights impedes his success. This continues through the next test, but Kevin's respiratory system winds up malfunctioning. After his recovery, Jet learns from him that Dr. M's name is "Julia" and that she and Dr. G have been arguing. Jet notes how the students attending lecture classes have dropped in number sharply, figuring that they must have died in accidents or been sent off to the battlefield. He hears rumors from the others that they're all meant to be test prototypes for cyborg soldiers, but then he is interrupted by the voice of an "Ivan", the only test subject in 001.

Ivan explains how he can communicate with Jet, and tells him of how his father operated on him to increase his brain functions. Ivan does not like the organization, and while keeping his telepathic abilities a secret from adults, has sent communications to different subjects in order to make them question the propaganda in Inspector R's lectures. Jet learns Tony is too sympathetic to the propaganda content, while Kevin is only partially responsive to Ivan's messages. Very few Black Ghost subjects seem to respond and have dialogue with Ivan. Jet laughs, but the other candidates overhear this and think he's going crazy.

The next flight test involves more organ and thruster replacements. Jet is directed to be the first on the launch pad, and notes how his legs look more ordinary compared to before. He is given a pair of high-top boots to aid in his flight, and manages to reach 2,000 meters. The three 002 candidates undergo their combat training next, being outfitted with olive drab protective suits. They engage in mock battles with small fighter air-crafts, but find it painful when the bullets pierce their skin as Black Ghost prohibits them from using painkillers during training. While Tony hadn't done well with the flight tests, he seems to excel with the mock battles. They are made to battle against trainees from other rooms as well, including a man from 008 and two tall men from 005. Kevin winds up greatly wounded in the stomach and having to undergo a skin graft.

The man from room 004 seems to be the most skilled in fighting, with unmatched shooting accuracy and able to hit the 002s right away. Jet manages to get lucky once and hit him, but winds up scathed another time. They come to refer to the man as "The Grim Reaper", but Jet learns via Ivan that the man is named "Heinrich".  Jet continues to listen to Ivan, but writes him off as a fictitious personality he must be creating while resisting propaganda and that maybe it's coming from his auxiliary brain and several of the details must be fabricated.

Still, Jet listens and learns that there is only one man in Room 007, a shape-shifter who can become various characters. The women in Room 003 are information-gathering test subjects, with one named Francoise Arnoul, the very same name as the actress in Les Parisiennes. He learns Ivan has brought various subjects together to form a plan, but writes this off as his own unconscious opportunism and thinks back to Heinrich carrying "Exodus".

The 002 candidates try to celebrate another combat training, but learn that a fire has broken out and that all test subjects must evacuate. He witnesses the two giant men from 005, and sees some 006 subjects trying to help one another. The Arab of the two 005s yells out for anyone in Room 004 to run too, but is informed by a black-haired woman from 003 that he's not there right now. Jet fears there's no way the two of them would survive the fire, while Ivan communicates to him that a "Lorenzo" is no longer breathing but that another man named "Chang" is fine. A nurse walks near Jet, holding a baby, and refers to him as Ivan, which startles Jet.

Jet is in disbelief, but Ivan reminds him that he was from the room next door.  Kevin tries to open the emergency door, but finds it still locked. The Arab 005 subject brings down his arms to dent the door, but an attendant states that the evacuation order has been lifted and for subjects to return to their rooms. Tony wonders if the baby is Dr. M and Dr. G's child, but is glared at by the nurse. Ivan lets Jet know that he won't be bothered by him for a while, as he can only wake up every 15 days but the escape plan will continue in the meantime.

Jet continues the flight tests, reaching 10,000 meters. Unfortunately, Kevin winds up disappearing during his flight test, deviating from the route, getting the scientists worried he'll wind up in the sea as the nearest island is Island X and there's not enough fuel for him to get there. As much as the scientists try to override his flight, they can't correct his directions. Kevin winds up crashing into a mountain, dying from severe damage to his brain and organs. Even with his death, Black Ghost moves ahead for the next flight test for the remaining two 002s.

Jet passes 10,000 meters, seeing the unobstructed expanse of the blue sky and the curved surface of the Earth. He learns he's reached 50,000 meters and entered the mesophere, to the scientists' joy as no human could normally survive such an environment without a spacesuit. As Jet descends into free-fall, he winds up falling out of control and learning there's an abnormality in his left leg's piping system and to deploy his emergency parachute. As he does so, he's rocked by an explosion. Jet wakes back up, having crash-landed, but still finds his system out of control and he crashes into the ocean. He is rescued by the man from room 008, who carries him up to safety.

After Jet finds himself in the intensive care unit, he sees Dr. G is operating on him and instructing a woman from Room 003 to help him find the damaged parts of the subject's body. The doctor confirms to Jet that there's an escape plan, and the room's communications can't be traced by anyone at Black Ghost. This surgery has removed the "Z consciousness" that Black Ghost could use to control his body and prevent him from escaping. One day, Tony visits the hospital room, to let Jet know he's leaving Black Ghost to be used as a special agent somewhere and that maybe they might meet again on the battlefield.

Jet and the others that the doctor has gathered for his plan witness the training of a "009", who succeeds well, but it is now time for their rebellion. They take Dr. Gilmore as their "hostage", and urge 009 to come along.

Haruna Ikezawa: "Artemis Calling"

003 experiences a miracle due to her super-sight and hearing abilities.

A young woman, Konoko, calls out to Francoise and asks if she's okay. Francoise smiles at her and apologizes that she hadn't heard Konoko. Konoko then realizes she has to leave to avoid the "Patrol" as if you're caught by them, you won't come back. She knows that her own friends and acquaintances disappeared without a trace due to the "Patrol". Konoko wonders out loud if she can see Francoise again, as it's been a long time since anybody has paid attention to her. Francoise promises that they can meet there tomorrow at the same time.

The next day, the two decide to go to a park and introduce themselves, with Konoko learning Francoise is currently in Japan performing in a ballet. Konoko admits right now she isn't doing anything with her life, and has nowhere to go. She thinks of how her mother had taken two weeks to name her, deciding to call her "Konoko" ("This Child"), but using kanji for "Yoshiko". Even so, the way Francoise says her name makes Konoko feel better.

The two meet up occasionally after, with Konoko wanting to see Francoise's ballet but being interrupted by sightings of "The Patrol" and having to run. The days seem to blend together, but Konoko enjoys showing Francoise around Japan. Konoko admits she's never been on a plane, only knowing her hometown, but Francoise insists she can go anywhere. The two pick out flowers at a flower stand that remind them of the other, with Francoise picking a gerbera (Transvaal Daisy) for Konoko while Konoko picks a double-flowered lisianthus (Prairie Gentian).

Konoko attends Francoise's ballet, noting she feels out of place but that nobody cares to notice her. She is amazed at the ballerina's skill, musing that it seems like she doesn't even breathe when performing. When the two go to a park after the performance, Francoise talks of how ballet was her dream since childhood though Konoko wonders about how pained she looked and thinks back to her own memories of being forced to wear a "cute" but restrictive and itchy velour dress and patent leather shoes that gave her nothing but blisters. As the two converse, Francoise offers Konoko to watch her dance again in the park.

After she completes her dance, Francoise wonders about the identity of "The Patrol" and wants to help Konoko in turn. Konoko insists it's dangerous and they'll take her too, but Francoise can't bear to leave her alone. Francoise reveals she knows of a particular sound that comes when the Patrol do, and will follow the sound. They promise to meet again the next day and investigate the Patrol, and if it's too dangerous, they'll retreat.

The next day, Konoko and Francoise meet in an alley and encounter the "Patrol Men", mysterious black shadows who will swallow humans up. Francoise shoots at the shadows, though the Super Gun doesn't seem to work. Konoko watches how Francoise can only dodge the attacks, and is about to be swallowed by the shadow until a lavender elephant appears, calling her "003!" and blasting apart the shadows with the force of its trunk.

Konoko witnesses a flying man in red carrying Francoise, and the elephant shrink down and turn into a naked man. It's revealed that Jet and GB were there in Japan for a car commercial, with GB there to do stunts. The 00 Numbers wonder about the "Patrol", but realize they must be micromachines or some type of cyborg created by Black Ghost and left abandoned, to absorb energy from people.

The three cyborgs battle against the "Patrol", with GB utilizing his shapeshifting through the fight. Francoise detects some type of microphone in the sky controlling the "Patrol". Francoise becomes concerned about Konoko though, to the confusion of the two men. She reveals that she has a friend there, although not visible physically. Konoko then realizes her secret's been found out.

"Since when have you realized that I'm not really alive?"

"When you called out to me."

"At the very beginning? And yet you've been with me for so long...but why?"

"I told you then, I didn't hear you coming."

"Yes. You have very good hearing."

Konoko recalls how she wouldn't eat or drink due to her anorexia, and how she couldn't connect with people or enter their territory unless called by her name. Nobody would respond to her if she spoke to them, as she was at the bottom of the barrel. Or rather, those were the reasons that she told herself until she realized that she was a ghost. In life, all she could do was focus on the pain that self-harm gave her and the strange relief that would come when she'd see blood or take a lot of pills. She wonders if when she died, her mother ever called her by name, and how she wanted her mother to love her. She thinks of how she'd tried buying herself "cuteness" with money, yet still hated herself and found the people around her vanishing and never truly loving her. Konoko describes how there are other ghosts like her in the city, who gradually fade away or are eaten by the "Patrol". One disappears, for another to appear.

Konoko thanks Francoise for calling her by her name, and Francoise insists for Konoko to call her by her own name and not just "Big Sister". Konoko then departs, disappearing into light. Francoise thinks of how she wanted to be a heroine like Athena, Durga, Brunhilde, or Ishtar, and how the enhancements of her sight and sound had given her too much to deal with while all she'd have to do in battle is just "listen and watch".

No matter what happens though, she must protect Ivan, and she believed the role she was given was that of Mary, only smiling while holding a baby. But now, she realizes she is like the goddess Artemis, defender of the animals and the weak and who protects the voices and invisible thoughts that others cannot hear. As she remembers there are battles to be fought, she realizes she'd met Konoko as by some miracle, she heard her voice.

"Thank you Konoko, it was good meeting you."

Particles of light flow around her, and to her ears, the wind sounds like laughter.

Satoshi Hase: "Wash"

After 60 years spent on the battlefield, 004 encounters a ghost from his past.

A strong breeze blows on a deserted island, causing a lone cyborg soldier's scarf to flutter. The narrator runs down the list of cyborgs for who it can't be, until they reach 004. Since the days of his conversion, he has been upgraded to be able to control a combat drone and have a computer display in his eyes.

Gilmore appears on a screen, apologizing for causing Albert trouble. It has been at least six decades since they met, and the doctor is described to have aged like a dead tree. Albert figures that if anything, somebody has to fight the evil. Albert practices against the targets on the island, testing out his abilities. When he finishes, he returns to the Dolphin which now serves as their mobile base. While his hair had always been pale before, some degree of aging has turned it completely gray.

Dr. Gilmore can no longer walk on his own due to his advanced age, working from an electric bed chair. Despite the cyborgs' urging, he refuses to get organ transplants and become a cyborg himself to prolong his life. Instead, he uses a VR interface and work robots to assist with his declining bodily functions. The cyborgs themselves have had their own debates about upgrading their bodies to have drones, but as the threats of weapons have evolved, those like 004 have been outfitted with such.

Later, Albert walks down a cobblestone street in Germany in the night. He takes a photo of a downtown area on his smartphone and uploads it to a social network, getting a like from Francoise as the other cyborgs' accounts and posts are described (Albert posts scenery, Francoise entertainment industry type posts, Jet with cars, Geronimo and Pyunma animals and nature, and Chang having cooking themed posts). Albert observes young people at a bar, and thinks of how all his old human friends from the past have already passed away. He had long avoided reconnecting with such people because of the tragedies that had befallen his comrades, and didn't want to involve people in the fight against Black Ghost. Or perhaps, it was not wanting them to see his mechanized body.

He approaches an old-fashioned theater, though, even as a younger immigrant man warns him the area is dangerous. Albert thinks of how in the past, immigrants to Germany were usually Eastern Europeans but now it is Arabs that are more prevalent. Albert suspiciously regards the younger man, noting his multiple smartphones and switchblade and musing that he must be a drug dealer. When the other man regards him with suspicion over being "old" yet having perfect posture though, Albert moves along. He thinks of how if he was younger, he would have confiscated the man's drugs. But he's a natural cynic, having fought Black Ghost and other countless banal evils. Now, he doesn't have it in him to fight anyone like poor immigrants and those who have nowhere to live. Being in his 80s, he has seen too much to get angry.

Albert enters the theater, witnessing Great Britain's one-man performance of "MacBeth". While the audience is on edge at his magnificent performance, Albert thinks of many things he's seen to where it doesn't even register a flinch; the memories of Skull and Van Vogt and the death of Vena are those that he can't quite wash away. The play ends in applause, and Albert visits GB back in his dressing room, noting how it seems like he hasn't aged at all. The two friends go to a beer hall to eat and talk about their recent activities, but Albert becomes suspicious at the sight of an unusual woman following them and claiming to be one of GB's biggest fans. The two take their leave, arguing over whether or not they're truly safe. Albert claims to not care much about surveillance anymore, as he's a truck driver despite the fact the secret police would have had a record of an "Albert Heinrich" being shot at the border and apparently killed in his 20s.

The narration describes how though GB is a seasoned actor, he is a cyborg soldier first and unable to join a theater company to be in major productions. He also faces the inconvenience of having been a famous stage actor active in the 1950s, before he ruined his life with alcohol. Because his physical age is far from his actual age, even on posters at his private theater he has himself billed as "Great Britain II".

Albert picks up the sound of four large electric cars trailing them, and the two battle against the suspicious cars (though his gunfire can't affect such armored vehicles. The occupants appear to be cyborgs from the Neo Black Ghost, shooting at them with military rifles. Albert manages to slice off the enemy commander's arms and his right leg, causing the others to retreat as he tosses the body into one of the cars they'd arrived in. Albert then destroys the dashcam of the car, to avoid leaving behind evidence of the shootout, and tells GB that they'll be going for a drive. GB gets in the driver seat, while Albert examines the enemy commander, who refers to him as "The Grim Reaper". A transmission from Gilmore requests that Albert remove the cyborg's armor, and the suspicions are confirmed: he's a Black Ghost project, but the design seems to be of the original Skull era. The enemy cyborg has a left prosthetic camera eye, while his body is a mix of flesh and machinery. Buried under the artificial skin is a modern smartphone, added as part of his updated technology. The two then transmit a video of the mysterious woman from earlier to Gilmore, but he isn't sure whether or not he's seen her before and will have to consult Ivan's telepathic abilities.

The two cyborgs learn of a secret hideout at a decommissioned power plant, and that the Black Ghost cyborg is a man named Hans who was born in 1938 but was put in a cryosleep until very recently, still appearing to physically be around 30. It turns out he was part of Black Ghost's mission to create a larger-scale unit of cyborg soldiers, only for the organization to be destroyed with the battle at Yomi and the branches to become dysfunctional. Fearing that the German government would steal Black Ghost's advanced technology, the organization's scientists put men like Hans into cryosleep in an underground chamber at the power plant. According to Hans, there were more than 200 soldiers sleeping in the plant, so there are bound to be more enemies to come.

Albert contacts Pyunma, who is now also chronologically in his 80s and has become an advisor of a national park back home. He learns Francoise is still in Paris, having recently visited her elderly brother in the hospital. She receives a message as well, letting them know she can assist with their information processing. While she would be elderly as well, her young appearance makes her true age hard to tell and her human strength and emotions have grown stronger with time. For now, they are the only four that can deal with the situation, as Jet and Geronimo are busy in America, Chang is running his restaurant, and Joe is busy in Japan protecting Ivan and Dr. Gilmore.

Hans begs Albert and GB to get him to a hospital where he can be fixed, but is injected with a drug and falls unconscious and Albert figures he'll leave him there for when Ivan wakes up. The two men leave the car behind and walk the rest of the way, as GB goes through transformations. They realize with GB's longevity, it's possible he may be the target. The two get into a truck that Albert had bought, with GB in the passenger side.

They arrive at the power plant, but decide to spend some time taking a break in a nearby forest first, testing out surveillance drones and camping out in a tent. GB suggests they upload a camping video to YouTube, but Albert says it'd only attract trolls from Neo Black Ghost or some other bad guys. The two enjoy their meal and receive a message from Pyunma who'd be arriving soon. The men make plans to go back to the Christmas market, buy food, and have a camping trip once everything is done. Francoise muses over how the power plant was unable to be shut down for so long, and wonders if Black Ghost had used the Zattan's hypnosis abilities. Albert thinks back to the horror of the Zattan and how they exploited the Pu'Awak species, but they had the impression there were no survivors. If there were any, only more horrible things could be done through the Black Ghost organization. This suggestion by Francoise ruins the fun time camping, as Albert thinks back to Hans and how he knew nothing of the underground, only happily taking selfies with the other soldiers at the plant.

The two cyborgs go to investigate the power plant, to see if the suspicions are correct. Albert bristles over the hydrogen bomb that destroyed Yomi, killing the Zattan as well as hundreds of thousands of Pu'Awak citizens. He punches an oak tree in anger, recalling Vena and her sisters' deaths as well as how nuclear bombs had not only destroyed Yomi, but Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well. Francoise then admits over the communications that they can't be absolutely sure yet that those guarding the plant are the Zattan, but GB transforms into a bird to go scout the location and the surveillance drones are sent to collect information.

Albert spies the mysterious woman from the bar arriving at the power plant, and urges GB to be careful. He then receives a communication from GB that the plant is a den of monsters, with giant cocoons underground. The inhabitants aren't ordinary cyborg soldiers, but genetically-engineered creatures. Albert communicates to Francoise about the possibility of the Zattan, and how Hans had spoken of being in cryosleep in the basement. He belatedly realizes the power plant may be a trap for GB after all, but GB insists he should infiltrate even deeper. Albert detects strange heat reactions coming from the water, and prepares his gun hand, but is knocked out before he can fire. He comes to in a strange prison cell-like space, and finds that his cellmate is GB disguised as a mouse. The suspicions of some form of Zattan are confirmed, as they are what captured Albert. GB suggests they not let the soldiers know the hypnosis had worn off, and to quiet down.

A pair of enemy soldiers enter, which happen to be half-human, half-Zattan cyborg men who have the heads of the Zattan but bodies of men. Albert is escorted to an unusual underground forest at the end of the corridor, with just as bizarre creatures. At the center is a four-story high white cocoon, constantly pulsating. The Zattan men announce to their "Doctor" that they've arrested a 00 Number, and a tentacle reaches out from the cocoon, swallowing up one soldier. Albert pretends to be in a daze, but his optimism that things would work out has just evaporated. He stops pretending, and jumps backwards, firing the machine gun to avoid the cocoon. The top of the cocoon blooms, to reveal the naked upper body of a blond woman, letting him know "It's no use".

This "Doctor" is the same woman he had seen earlier, who informs him he'll become her next Zattan soldier once she captures him. Six blonde sisters approach Albert as further enemies; one has wings grafted onto her, one has insectoid eyes and exoskeleton-like skin, one has a limbless snake-like body, and the remaining three are less distinctive cyborgs and hybrids. These sisters are followed by other monstrosities such as a dinosaur-sized lizard, and an eight-legged lion. Albert realizes that Black Ghost must not have only stolen the genes of the Zattan, but that of the Pu'Awak people as well. The lady doctor confirms his suspicions, and the two argue over Gilmore's betrayal of the Black Ghost, her angry over how Gilmore took away and concealed 007's bioengineering data.

Albert shoots the Doctor, and he and GB try to escape. Doctor, however, is still alive and urges GB to "donate his body to save the dreams of mankind". Albert fires his knee missiles at the various bio-modified organisms and the cocoon, and the two men continue running. But they encounter the blonde woman from before, insisting they follow her exit path. She introduces herself as Kriemhilde Helga Berger, the creator of the strange cocoon being and the other creatures and explains the mistakes of those creations. The self-modifying cocoon with "Doctor" happens to regenerate quite easily, and there's doubt that the creatures may have a true weakness if they survive without electricity and can photosynthesize. She admits that "Doctor" is her other self, with her having split into two lifeforms with genders inapplicable to Earthlings. The relationship between "Doctor" and the cocoon is akin to the stamen and pistil of a plant, and just as seeds grow, bodies multiply.

Albert questions how far she's willing to desecrate life, but Kriemhilde insists that she wanted to do something worthwhile with her life after having survived the war in Berlin. The two realize that she herself has wanted to betray the Black Ghost, and perhaps they should have conversed with her the night before. He then learns that Pyunma and Francoise are arriving at the plant. In the fray, GB is snared by a tentacle and dragged back into the plant. Francoise uses drones to capture footage and transmit it, but Jet and Geronimo reveal that they've arrived to help at the plant as well. While Geronimo's mohawk is now gray and his face has softened compared to the harsh features he had when younger, he still has a terrifying impresion on the battlefield. It is decided that he'll break through the marked walls and floor, while Pyunma will flood the basement. Albert chases down the tentacle that captured GB, in the meantime.

He returns to the underground jungle with the strange bio-modified soldiers, as the surroundings begin to flood with water. As he rushes towards the cocoon in the muddy surroundings, a Zattan soldier hypnotizes him, but he continues to run, relying on the VR map in his eye cameras and proceeding to shoot down the soldiers. Doctor emerges from her cocoon, and the two argue about war. Albert relates that their lives have always had the risk of "picking up chestnuts from the fire", and that they battle and live for life is worth living. The Doctor remarks there were brave men like that during WWII, but they met a tragic end. She grabs and reabsorbs Kriemhilde into her form, and absorbs other monster soldiers. Albert is horrified, as the cocoon multiples into three.

Francoise is contacted, and told to ask Gilmore to think of a way to save GB. Albert yells at Doctor, stating she had half a century to think about her selfishness and that everyone had suffered and endured many things, that time washed away. The Doctor feels the passage of time means nothing, and she won't forget the anger she felt at her dreams being destroyed. Albert wonders of the best way to end this, and how Dr. Gilmore has refused to extend his own life by becoming a cyborg. It is only at the end of his life that such a doctor can wash away his own sins.

Albert notes how the creatures he keeps killing are reborn from the cocoon and forced to fight endlessly, not even allowed the mercy of death. He realizes that the Doctor has "washed away" the things truly important in her life, and is stuck. Francoise then transmits a message, letting him know to keep destroying the cocoon until the belly button is exposed. Geronimo then descends into the scene, throwing the ultrasonic monster soldiers around, while Francoise flies a drone in, allowing Albert to use his AI to activate it and destroy over 200 of the enemies. He then shoots down Doctor, who tries to regroup, but the drone destroys her regenerating ability. A belly button is now visible on her body and is pressed, causing her to split in half violently as GB emerges from her shed skin. The team overhear police sirens, an realize they'll be arriving at the power plant soon.

They depart, after Albert proposes his next plan and Francoise finds the best escape route. They decide to have lunch at a camping restaurant, as there'd always be enough food if nine people came.

Sayo Oda: "Consuming Charcoal"

A strange incident that befalls his restaurant leads 006 to a journey through the past.

Chang narrates a recipe for cooking chicken, but overhears the scream of his employee Yi Zhi. Yi Zhi is a younger man who came to Japan to be a chef, having been scammed and left homeless but bailed out by Chang giving him a job. Though Chang doesn't like that Yi Zhi makes everything too spicy due to his Hunan upbringing, GB seems to like him very much.

It turns out that several customers have crowded the store to ask about their food being in such horrible quality or half-eaten, when it should be the restaurant's day off and no deliveries have been made. The delivery bowls are still even at the restaurant. Chang decides to open the restaurant for the day to calm down the crowd and serve free food, learning that the customer all received special discount flyers in the mail for the restaurant. However, the phone number is different, and the notation of the restaurant's name is also different and in permanent marker on the bowls. Chang's first suspicion is GB, as silly as the idea is, due to the fact he's caused trouble with those transformation skills. But whoever the culprit is definitely would understand Chinese. The two wonder how they can trace back the number, or if they can trick the fake restaurant into delivering.

Yi Zhi also has suspicions of GB, due to him going missing, but GB insists it's because he's not a regular employee and that they should order and scam the man who's trying to scam them. They arrange to have Yi Zhi place the order, but when the delivery man comes to the restaurant, it's GB he encounters and is captured by him and Chang. The man fights back though and swears at them in Chinese, with Chang recognizing the Canton accent from his hometown.  Chang wonders who it could be, as he only had contact with a limited number of people after his remodeling, but when the man yells "You're the one who killed Meimei!", he freezes in fear.

Back before the famine of The Great Leap Forward, food was plentiful and there was much waste from the leftovers. It was a happy time for Chang, who had no major worries and was popular for his cooking skill. Even with the first year the famine happened, he didn't take it too seriously as maybe he could get by on the last year's stockpile. Unfortunately, the crops didn't bear fruit the following year either. Locusts and drought made things worse, but the villagers tried to use the seeds they had to grow food. This took too long, and Chang had to find ways to improvise recipes, using the bark of dead trees, dead animals' bones and skin, and insects, but the village still starved.

Chang wonders the identity of the man, if he's a "Chao" or a "Yang", but the man answers that he's "Jin Bei". He groans in despair, insisting he didn't kill any Meimei, but Jin Bei's insistent it was him and wonders why Chang disappeared for so long. Chang starts ideating about the possibility of hanging himself again, as GB wonders how the men know each other. Chang thinks of how he tried to banish his old memories after his remodeling, feeling himself "reborn" and wanting to be satisfied with the situation, even feeling guilty of it since others had sad lives. GB punches out Jin Bei, and insists Chang tell him what's going on. He insists he wouldn't be surprised at any sins Chang had before being a cyborg, as he himself was once a drunken scoundrel who lost his friend in a mountain accident and there were all the suspicions of having killed him.

We learn that Meimei was Chang's niece, with her father being away at war and leaving the rest of the Chang family to look after her. His mother especially took a liking to the child, and she and the other adults spoiled her greatly. This brought jealousy from some other kids in the village over the preferential treatment. Jin Bei would bully Meimei and yet she'd continue inviting him to play. The Jin family had six children, consisting of three sons and four daughters, and as the last child Jin Bei would often be caught stealing from restaurants. Chang would catch the boy and lecture him, telling him it would be better to ask, but would be met with the child's defiance and rudeness back. All they could do was kick him out of a restaurant, but the people couldn't quite rehabilitate him.

Once the famine started, Jin Bei became more obedient, but people in the village began dying of starvation. Chang's parents, younger brother, and younger sister all perished, along with Meimei's mother. Eventually, the desperation for food came down to the Chang family's starving donkey Damai and her baby Shaoma being slaughtered. As more people died, others lost the energy to dig graves and there was a shortage of fuel when it came to trying to cremate the bodies as well, leaving corpses to just be lined up in the open. At seeing children like Meimei and Jin Bei try to eat stones and sticks out of desperation, Chang came up with the idea to cook some soil. He had remembered hearing from his grandparents that the soil left over from a hearth could be used for a Chinese medicine called Bukuryukan, and that it is good for bodies weakened by hunger. The resulting "Earth Soup" wound up golden and spicy. The other villagers celebrated over the discovery, and began to cook whatever soil they could. Unfortunately, this would also involve soil that contained compost, but the famine had clouded their judgment.

It was around this time that Meimei fell severely ill and was unable to even drink water, and she passed away. In the present day, Chang and Jin Bei mourn over the loss of Meimei, but Jin Bei winds up shocked when he sees what appears to be a living Meimei appearing before them. Chang realizes it's GB in disguise and quickly sends him Chinese language over the brainwave communicator to make the disguise more convincing, though Jin Bei is startled as Meimei asks about the fate of Damai. The adult Meimei then takes her leave, and GB returns to the shop. Jin Bei thinks back to the day he discovered Meimei dead, when he'd arrived at the Chang house to invite the man to look for soil.

Chang wonders why Jin Bei had come to Japan and made such trouble, and what had happened to the rest of the village, and believes if GB had taken too long to come back from getting cigarettes, he might have gotten out the rope. Jin Bei tells of a tale of a man in the next village who had eaten his grandson during the famine, and of his life since those times in going to Shenzhen for work and eventually winding up in Japan. Upon seeing the Chang Changku restaurant, his memories were triggered and he felt the need for revenge on the man who killed his own niece, and as a chef himself he couldn't tolerate such a thing. Yi Zhi returns and is informed of Jin Bei being the culprit. They decide to have Jin Bei work in the restaurant as well, to pay off his debts.

Chang reflects on how not much has changed about running a restaurant, but his past of serving people soil won't ever go away no matter how much he tries to forget. But as Yi Zhi complains, Chang thinks that they'll eat a lot and work hard again tomorrow.

Taiyo Fujii: "The Sea is Anywhere"

While undercover and investigating a Mars exploration rescue ship, 008 is caught up in a mysterious accident.

A man named Amani Mwangi works aboard the Santa Maria II, a Mars rescue ship with water between its walls, used as a coolant and protectant from space radiation. After the two year voyage, the water will also be used for supporting the crew or sent to an electrolysis plant on Mars to be converted to liquid hydrogen for the return trip.

Amani spots what appear to be two men within the water, an African like himself and a bald white man. He wonders if he is hallucinating, but a head lamp illuminates the far wall within the space, confirming the existence of another man. The chief secretary of the ship, Marcos Ibarez, scolds him for being distracted from his training. Amani points out the unusual men, and Marcos confirms an older worker specialized in underwater welding had joined their facility. They can't be quite sure of his age, figuring maybe he's over 50 or 60, but Amani can't believe it from the man's superior swimming ability. Amani finds out he has this man is named "Peter Oronana". While Amani is curious at the man's Maasai surname, he is disappointed that they may not be related, going by such a Western-sounding first name. Marcos notes that there's not much information on Oronana, only his place of origin, age, and gender along with some qualifications, though being a park supervisor would be pointless on Mars.

Amani realizes that his superior is way too loose-lipped, and worries he'll be telling other colleagues too much about him. But the two are interrupted as they get a sight of "Peter"'s face through the window; though the man is apparently in his 50s, he has no wrinkles at all even if half of his hair has grayed. They continue to note his amazing swimming skills.

Pyunma waves to the two men, but overhears their continued gossip and disbelief about his age. He notes they wouldn't know his body is mostly mechanical, and that while his hearing is nowhere is great as 003's, his enhanced senses and his lip-reading skills give him a perfect idea of what they're saying. Still, he points at his ear and shrugs, feigning to have no clue what they're saying. He takes his leave, as he narrates about the Santa Maria II's size and its water walls. It is a ship equivalent to two medium-sized football stadiums, with artificial parks, farms, and sports fields aboard it in addition to the rooms for its contract staff. Its interior is neat and tidy, comparable to a hotel on land. He continues to swim through the water walls, crawling through the ducts and memorizing the structure.

Now that several hundred people live in space and the ISS has reached its third generation, there are high hopes for a Mars mission. This current expedition has 50 people. Unfortunately, the team has been trapped on Mars and the Santa Maria II was chosen to travel there to rescue them and bring 300 crew members to the planet. Its residential block will be a new orbital base for development on Mars, while a ground base "The Cocoon" will be made. Members who wish to return to Earth will be placed in hibernation tanks and treated as cargo. He then notes how positions below the captain are decided by crew votes, but that this may not be the best judgment. The reason Pyunma has come to help is not due to space development, but that a scientist once involved with Black Ghost was involved in this rescue mission. This man specialized in brainwashing, but moved into politics and business and now works as an election consultant. While Dr. Gilmore had initially dismissed him as a small-time figure, Ivan noticed the politician made a big invetment in the rescue plan. Ivan would choose to send Pyunma into space, under the alias of a Kenyan park ranger named Peter Oronana, and instructed him to dye his hair gray.

In the Santa Maria II dining room, Amani enters and sees that a party and buffet is going on for "The Last Taste of the Earth". He thinks of how if this rescue mission is successful, there are plans for a manned mission to the asteroid belt a decade on, and a Jupiter mission a decade after that. Peter Oronana is introduced to the group, and tells of his times at Kisangani National Park, with how his rescue mission of a hippopotamus and being sprayed with its urine is a party-worthy story. Marcos insists he tell it after they're finished eating, and the group laugh. Amani and Peter converse about the importance of Amani's role as an African in space, but they're interrupted by Marcos introducing Peter's security partner; a London man named George Burns, "GB" for short.

The new officers learn of the ship's way of voting, but Peter is wary of how such things are decided. The voyage starts, making for busy days as they journey to Mars. Peter notes the ship has been hit by debris in its rear frame. This causes a soccer broadcast on a ship TV to stop, getting crew members angry, particularly because they were gambling on who would win. A crew is arranged to investigate the accident in about 20 minutes, and Peter insists he come along, showing off a fabricated Space Center Weightless Environment Training Facility A-class license. They observe the impact to the antenna on the ship. The repair to the damage would be estimated to take about three years, but Peter says it wouldn't have to take that long if they slowly make something bigger, which would still take three months and leave them without communication to Earth.

Later, Pyunma and GB convene, with GB shedding his disguise and joking that Pyunma having to dye his hair gray is payback for treating him as an old man. The two remark on the situation with the ship, and wonder what's next. GB looks at an information slate with a conversation between Captain DuBois and another member, and the two look through more messages about criticism of engineers. They try to track down the source, but realize this may be the work of the Black Ghost scientist spreading dissent among the ranks. GB notes a candidate for the captain is Jimmy Murdoch, a man who foiled the previous Mars landing mission. The crew elections have grown more chaotic, while communications to Earth are cut off. GB then realizes why Pyunma was chosen as the main guy for such a mission, as he's sensitive to finding the truth of what's been said.

The governance of the Santa Maria II has been in flux due to the delay of the ship's launch, and more stress has unfolded over the elections. Amani finds other workers confused by the loss of communications, angry at the use of voting tickets, and who's declared himself the leader. The matter of the antenna repair continues to be an issue among staff as well, when Amani attends a staff meeting. It is learned that the new captain Murdoch wants to put several people in hibernation, and make Santa Maria II a permanent base on Mars, forbidding them from going back. The accident on the ship, which DuBois and Marcos wanted a sense of unity to come from, is now being used by Murdoch to destroy such unity. Peter then speaks up that the broken antenna wasn't an accident. He presents 3D images from an information slate, showing that the antenna was hit by a piece of metal fired by electromagnetic induction. Other evidence of tampering with the ship is shown. Marcos wants to announce this discovery, but DuBois refuses to let the photos be published, insisting on an internal investigation. Amani believes they must hold the culprit accountable and find the railgun that damage the ship, but DuBois asks him what he believes accountability is. On Earth, banishing someone would be enough, but banishing someone in outer space would be the same as murder. DuBois believes that they need to give the community a purpose to move forward and unite.

As discussions go on over what to do about the communication cable and return shuttle, Peter unzips his suit and insists he can do it. The crew members are in shock to see he has silver scales, as Peter explains he's a cyborg modified for deep sea activity and can breathe and function for several days even when exposed to a vacuum environment. Amani then understands the mysteries surrounding the man, but wonders how he'll travel 12 km.out to space. Amani offers a reel of yellow cable, as he can't do the EVA alone. He ventures out into space, and spots a rescue shuttle. If the shuttle doesn't get a datalink within three hours, it'll have to give up and return to Earth.

Pyunma finds his wetsuit covered in frost in the vacuum, trying to brush it off, and thinks of how the yellow cable reminds him of the yellow scarf he'd wear with his cyborg uniform. A mass of water is unleashed from the ship, creating a fog for Pyunma to move through. GB contacts him, to let him know the insulting commenters on the ship were tracked down, and were plants mixed in by Black Ghost with the other contractors. A message from Ivan helped identify the consulting company, causing them to give up and confess. Pyunma wonders if Ivan's woken up, and it's confirmed that GB received a message from Francoise about it three hours ago. GB has handed the traitors over to DuBois to investigate. It is also learned that the ship stuck on Mars has been so due to the advance guards seizing control of it, that Black Ghost was planning to set up a research center for human body modification there to create electrically-powers humans. Pyunma thinks of how if the metabolism of his cells were changed, it would be difficult to live in oxygenated environments. He muses that in about 100 to 200 years, people who may want to travel to Jupiter and Neptune may accept more drastic measures of body modification, but the science is not there yet.

They wonder whether or not Murdoch was involved in the Black Ghost plan, and whether or not to hand over those plans to DuBois but decide it's their personal job. The rescue shuttle is revealed to be coming from Washington DC, while Jet and Geronimo are also on their way. The Santa Maria II workers are bailed out by the rescue shuttle, though Pyunma wonders if things will truly be fine for the astronauts 8 years from now with their election system. He insists for them to take care of themselves, and that Amani shouldn't let himself become somebody like Caesar. As the two mysterious men depart, Amani believes he'll never forget the memories of Peter Oronana, who he saw swim across the universe.

(Fujii notes in an explanation to the work that he was always interested in the character of Pyunma due to the history of the character's controversial design and his themes, and had hoped to involve an African colleague as a writer for the story but it did not work out.)

Tou Enjo: "Kublai Khan"

Are the nine cyborgs including 009 the ones who will build a paradise?

Joe Shimamura and Jet Link finish their fight against targets on a stratospheric drone. They move to return home in one, with Jet noting diving from the stratosphere would be a bit much. Joe says he's done it before, but Jet remarks he'd never thought they'd want to do that again.

Back at a Western-style mansion, Jet, Joe and Geronimo are given their orders. The narration mentions there aren't many advanced cyborgs in the world today, but the number of simple cyborgs continue to grow. Advanced cyborgs are under strict regulation and kept secret from the general public, although they were once more widely-known. Now, they are only known to different world leaders and special forces. The design and maintenance of the advanced cyborgs is considered too expensive, and not something just one country could afford. The cyborgs must stay working no matter what though, and are often sent off on infiltration missions. Dr. Gilmore serves as the mediator between human society and the cyborgs, and is the commander, designer, and manager of the team.

Black Ghost is now believed to be behind the threats to climate control on Earth, and a Russian authority has vanished. Gilmore lets the three cyborgs know that they must ensure his safety, and vanishes.

Elsewhere, Chang and Albert receive orders from Francoise and a reconstruction of what she sees, allowing them to detect and defeat enemy soldiers easily. They find a dead figure on the ground, and realize they've found a factor for advanced cyborgs that Ivan had told them of. There are ten male and ten female cyborgs, unclothed, and in stasis. We are given a run-down of the cyborgs' defection from the Black Ghost organization, as well as their history with Dr. Gilmore. While he'd underwent genetic therapy to extend his life and organ replacements, he eventually couldn't escape the natural breakdown of his entire body. While the cyborgs insisted he could save himself by converting himself to something like them, he decided to die of his old age. Ivan would try to persuade Gilmore in his sleep to change his mind, while Gilmore came up with the idea of creating an AI that mimics his personality. While Ivan insisted the doctor should become a cyborg, Gilmore believed it felt right for him to die off. Shortly after their conversation, Gilmore had died but System Gilmore was created as the new mentor.

GB meets up with a secret agent about Russia and its secret plans for world domination with climate control. Through their conversations, he learns of a list of facilities where the missing scientist could be hiding or imprisoned, and is urged to stop "System Gilmore"'s attack on Mimir.

In the ocean, Pyunma swims along the outer edges of an underwater city called Dendrocacaria. The narration emphasizes how as Albert can survive on the battlefield with his weapons, Pyunma is built to survive for long-term living underwater and doesn't even have to urinate or defecate while being able to eat or sleep in the ocean. Dendrocacaria utilizes whales and dolphins for its labor, and has enhanced them in the same ways human cyborgs have been with communication devices. Pyunma notices a strange metal "cradle" floating about, but receives a transmission and learns Ivan is in there, running low on oxygen in the device to get to the underwater city. Ivan insists that Pyunma leave him be.

Later, after confirming the existence of a fifth cyborg factory, Albert and the others discuss what they had found. These cyborgs have no human brains, and are single-function ones for simple tasks. They wonder if these "cyborgs" should be considered more like "medical prosthetics". They discuss over who could be responsible for such factories after "A group of fanatical scientists", "God", or "Just a dream" before coming to the conclusion that Gilmore is behind it.

Pyunma has taken the metal "cradle" and left it in a warehouse, by Ivan's instructions. He learns that Geronimo was the first to suspect something strange with "System Gilmore", and that Ivan has come to Dendrocacaria as a refuge because the seawater blocks the electromagnetic waves used in their communication devices. This is to avoid detection by the rogue Gilmore, though Ivan says the AI is tolerant of babies going out on their own.

Pyunma has a conversation with System Gilmore in protecting Dendrocacaria over a video monitor, and takes note of the unnatural ways the AI behaves. Being asked if he is Dr. Gilmore only results in the AI continuing to talk about possible attacks in the sea, while Pyunma notices the AI's drink changes from tea to whisky. He then learns that System Gilmore has in fact multiplied and plans to help the destruction of humanity through his other copies, feeling that since humanity will perish anyway, he has chosen cyborgs as the next superior species to succeed humans.

Elsewhere, GB searches for the missing Russian scientist but has been caught off guard by enemy robots. When all seems lost, Geronimo enters to help. They enter an office and find it to be abandoned and items lying everywhere. A crudely-drawn mark resembling a black skull can be seen on an envelope, to GB's amusement. They realize that while the original Dr. Gilmore betrayed Black Ghost, System Gilmore has helped revive Black Ghost due to them also being into science and technology.

Back at the mansion, System Gilmore congratulates Francoise, Chang, and Albert on having fought Black Ghost. This has become common for a long time, where Gilmore has them gather in the mansion, go on their assignments, then come back and go back to their own lives. Francoise, however, responds that he's been illegally promoting the production of cyborgs. The AI is not offended, but cheerfully states that while it's him, it can also be said it's not him due to his different subsystems. Francoise remarks that they've decided to enact a suspension operation to shut down that System Gilmore and other copies, while the AI insists that it's only natural for him to decide on cyborgs being the leading race. With modern technology, these cyborgs could even grow and have descendants.

Jet and Joe are on another mission, with it having been a month since their last. They note last time they stopped secret agents, they were trying to get info on the Dendrobium device. They talk of how all these conflicts have been arranged and manipulated due to the copies of System Gilmore, and debate over whether or not the Dendrobium should be destroyed, but it begins to attack them. Around the same time, Ivan and Pyunma fix their copy of System Gilmore who's been in a maintenance state, and come up to the sea platform. They watch pieces of the Dendrobium fall into the sea, after Jet and Joe's battle against it. Pyunma wonders if it'd be better to stop the System Gilmores altogether, as no matter what they are, their fundamentals remain the same and cyborgization of humanity will continue along with climate change. Ivan explains that this particular Gilmore was isolated from the network, and he was able to get a sense of that one's outline. Pyunma wonders if this particular Gilmore is something other than an AI or a cyborg, but Ivan is inconclusive.

After the team has completed their takeover of System Gilmore, rebuilding Dendrocacaria's core system and undergoing the turmoil about the halting of the Mirrorshade Project, Joe and Francoise clean the mansion and go out onto the terrace. The entire team has had to go into hiding due to scandals having broken out in different countries about the illegal cyborg factories and the loss of the Dendrobium device, with heightened vigilance against cyborgs. Joe and Francoise thus have to shut down the mansion, and realize that they may not be able to see each other in person again for a while. The two watch the unnerving changes in the climate, and remark how they'd always wanted others to take over for them and for their role as soldiers to end. The two then silently wonder if they'll continue to be able to protect the Earth.

Trivia

• Various stories touch upon the idea of the cyborgs having aged or not aged to some degree, and living in the 21st Century. A connecting thread in particular between Hase and Enjo's stories is the mortality of the all too human (yet quite advanced in age) Dr. Gilmore, and his refusal to become a cyborg, instead wishing to die and let his sins of cyborg remodeling be completed that way.
• The missing mountaineer partner of 007 in "Consuming Charcoal" is likely meant to be Henry Brown, an original character from the 1979 series, placing the story as either happening in that continuity or such a detail carried back over as a nod to that version.
• A consistent detail in stories taking place in the far future is that Ivan cannot age at all due to the brain and cybernetic modifications, keeping him frozen in the form of a newborn baby while his mind is much greater.
• While 001 and 003 are usually referred to by their given names, Enjo's story refers to them primarily as "Whisky" and "Arnoul".

External Links

• Book page at Kawade Shobo (Japanese)
• Cyborg 009 Tribute at eBookJapan (Japanese)