CHAPTER 08 . AN INNOCENT LIFE
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Atmospheric Conversion Center (interior)
Upon finding Shinatama, the SLD informs Konoko that she is too damaged to save. In her last moments, she reveals that Konoko's real name is Mai Hasegawa and mentions a "Chrysalis" inside her. Upon being told that "the host" is de-stabilizing and that Shinatama is near Konoko, Griffin orders the android's self-destruction. Shinatama manages to warn Konoko in time for her to escape the explosion. Konoko flees, and Griffin pronounces her a rogue agent and a Class B threat. From here on, the agents of the TCTF will be her enemies.
Added value
- Konoko's first ecstasy in CHAPTER 06 . COUNTERATTACK went unnoticed, not surprisingly: all TCTF troops nearby had been wiped out, Damocles had been shut down, Shinatama had been kidnapped, and most of the staff was off-duty. Without that knowledge, Griffin lacks determination when it comes to stopping Konoko from going after Shinatama, and his awareness of Konoko's progress as a symbiote is delayed until the end of CHAPTER 07 . A FRIEND IN NEED. At this point, Konoko's second ecstasy appears as unprecedented to the scientific staff, and since there is no visual contact, Griffin has no choice but to assume that Konoko is becoming, or has already become, an uncontrollable threat; hence the radical decision to detonate Shinatama's Xiox mechanism.
- Griffin's deadly decision is likely also based on Konoko's "I don't care who you are" in the previous Chapter's flashback. Konoko is clearly not willing to follow orders any longer, and Griffin sees now that he can't change that. Her emotions are leading her to act independently, and whatever's inside her is becoming more powerful. Griffin has long been afraid of what could happen if Konoko becomes unstable. We'll see further evidence of his fear later on.
- It could be said that with Shinatama's destruction, "Konoko" dies as well. From now on, she'll be without the identity given to her by the agency that has betrayed her. Without a history or future in the TCTF, Konoko can do nothing but search for answers to who she is.