A robot escapes from Megatech Body Corporation. It is apprehended by Public Security Section 9, but the robot is inhabited by a Puppet Master. The Puppet Master tells Aramaki and the others that he is a "life form that originated in the sea of information." Immediately after requesting political asylum, the robot is stolen by an unknown assailant.

Due to someone's machinations, the incident is reported in the media, and Kusanagi is accused of murdering a terrorist. Suspecting that the Gorantol intelligence agency is pulling the strings behind the scenes, Kusanagi conducts his own investigation, but is eventually brought to trial.