"We are not to build certain rules on

the contingency of human actions." -- Artistotle


The following are decoded emails sent between members of the illegal underground political faction known as the Contingency in the year 2009 AD, used without expressed permission of the authors or recipients.


To: CF

Sent: 1st May 2009

From: MPK

Subject: Target

Doctor Nicholas Ling possesses a medical knowledge allegedly unrivalled in modern scientific circles. We are unsure of his exact age, as no known records of his birth date exist; and if they do they are not made available to anyone but the most prestigious members of political society.

He has one offspring that we know of, though she is unaware of it. Other than that, he has no known living relatives. His current residence is unknown, though we have discovered that he is overseeing the development of something codenamed the Deus Ex Machina, and the likelihood is that he currently lives in the place of its construction.

Doctor Ling has two major functions in the running of the United States of America. Primarily, he is the chief physician of the President and Presidential Staff; however, this is merely a public cover-up for his real role. He is the puppet of a secret organisation that govern the US known as the La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo, the Twelve Wise Men, the Patriots; he is their hand and their instrument. It was Ling who kept in constant contact with the double operative codenamed Revolver Ocelot during his manipulations of Liquid Snake and ex-President George Sears respectively. Without him, some have foreseen that the Patriots would cease to function.

This is myth. Ling is nothing more to the Patriots than a pawn, or less, a convenience. Ling is only used by the Patriots because he is the best at what he does. He is the best doctor known to modern medicine, having won in his youth several Nobel Prizes; and a fantastic manipulator, rumoured even to have potent telepathic powers (though if this is true it is likely that his employers have negated the use of such powers, as is their want). However, the Patriots do not live or die by Ling's actions.

Nevertheless, Doctor Ling is a vital cog in the works of the Patriot external machine. If nothing else, his death would slow down their processes for a limited amount of time and send a very real message to them. By the very nature of our organisation, he must fall.

An attack on Ling would be difficult, but not impossible. He is the founding member of a group of apparent super-humans; or, as they have been defined, biological weapons left at his disposal. The group's members are as follows:

Karl Mathers

Also known simply as "Shark", Mathers is the possessor of one of the best US military records in history. He led several top-secret black-ops missions under the command of George Sears in the 1980s and continued to serve the military at the President's pleasure until being drafted into FoxHound in 1999. As you know, he was never called into field action, but passed every entrance exam with flying colours.

In 2004, Mathers was volunteered for the Military's Genome Army project. He was stationed at several nuclear testing facilities, including briefly at Shadow Moses, but was moved before the rebellion a year later. His continuing outstanding achievement put him forward for another experimental genome project: enhancing his muscular physique using DNA tissue obtained from various species of shark. The exact process is highly classified, but the result has made Mathers invulnerable to all but the most extreme pain and has put his physical prowess beyond the realms of human attainment. He can bench press almost two tonnes in weight, and can maintain a swimming speed of around 15 knots for a considerable period of time.

Miasma

No known real name, Miasma is the name given to an operative seen with Ling on several occasions. The most infamous sighting of this mysterious individual was on September 30th 1999 where eyewitness reports describe her "evaporating" before an attempted assassin of presidential candidate Senator Michael Johnson, son of ex-President James Johnson, Senior and brother of the late President James Johnson, Junior. The assassin, who had managed to infiltrate the White House via methods unknown, died within a few seconds of the "evaporation". An autopsy dictated that he had died by suffocation.

"Miasma" has been seen in public on two further occasions, at Ling's side, and is apparently in the US Government's employ, though I can find no record of such an employment under any name save her codename. She has allegedly been involved in many top black-ops missions before her genetic altering. Her abilities remain a shadowy area, defined only by a few unreliable sources who claim that she can alter her physical density and state of matter by will. Whether she can or not, the very fact that Miasma is aligned with Shark is warning that she is highly dangerous and not to be taken lightly.

The Janus Collective

As mysterious as Miasma is, there is even less available evidence regarding the final members of Doctor Ling's bodyguards. Reports have identified the Janus Collective as consisting of "three middle aged females", though have varied to "three young women", and even "two teenagers." There is one constant throughout: the Collective are female, always dressed in white, and never speak. Their descriptions roughly match those of three individuals briefly drafted into the ill-fated FoxHound Psi-Division along with operatives Precog Mantis and Psycho Mantis a few months before FoxHound took control of Shadow Moses in 2005, but because of the varying nature of these legendry figures, nothing is for certain.

These adversaries are formidable, and far beyond any operative we command. As such, I propose that we take a leaf from the Patriots' book in order to defeat them, a tactic they have utilised since their founding: manipulation.

If the following individuals can be deceived into fighting against Ling, then we will have struck a vital blow in the battle for Liberty.

VII

The only information that we have available regarding this individual is that which you have supplied us with. Your recommendation of his skills coupled with the fact that he was a recent prisoner of Area 51 make him an excellent choice as a weapon to be wielded against the Patriots.
Solid Snake

A product of a section of the Legacy of Blood programme, the Les Enfants Terribles project, Solid Snake has often been described as the penultimate soldier. Trained by the US Military, Snake is fluent in six different languages and has a known IQ of over 160, this figure estimated to be closer to 180. Thanks to his military training, Snake is also proficient in skydiving, scuba diving, abseiling and freestyle rock climbing. While his best weapon is his stealth, Snake has also been heavily instructed in the use of both small and large firearms and is a natural in the field of combat. In the past, he has defeated the world's best snipers in long-range battles. However he prefers to use his expert abilities in the field of silent infiltration and only relies on firearms when faced with life or death situations.

Snake is also quite capable in hand-to-hand combat, and possesses a more than rudimentary knowledge in several martial arts forms. In this area he is said to outstrip the legendary Big Boss and has defeated the Cyborg Ninja man to man.

Snake suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to his past missions. He is now a part time slow-dog racer but commits most of his life to the eradication of Metal Gear development in one way or another as a part of the outlaw faction Philanthropy.

Though he has recently come into contact with the Patriots, I believe that more motivation may be required. I'll leave this up to you due to your history with Snake. I'm sure you'll think of something.

Raiden

Raiden's past is a blurred background. It is known that Solidus Snake killed his parents in battle before he was taken to be Solidus's godson, and that he was trained to be a child soldier, earning names from frightened African villagers such as Jack The Ripper and White Devil. He was later christened Jack, but his second name is as unknown as his birth name.

After the war Jack was given to the United States, who brainwashed his past experiences out of him by the use of nanomachines and gave him the second name "Andrews". He participated in VR training that simulated the past missions of the legendary Solid Snake, although they were largely inaccurate.

After his VR training Jack was sent to a military barracks in New York. During his spare time, he met a Patriot operative known as Rosemary, who had been given extensive cosmetic surgery to look like what Jack's nanomachines had dictated were his desires. The two have since become lovers, and are currently engaged. This commitment could be one thing that prevents him from entering conflict again, but hopefully we can work around it.

Jack was soon recruited by Fox-Hound and was put through further VR training until he obtained the rank of Snake. Soon after this event the Big Shell was taken over by terrorists that were being led by Solidus Snake, so Jack's codename was altered to Raiden to avoid confusion.

His outstanding performance, though linearly channelled, in the Big Shell incident is alone evidence of his skills. If he were to realise that the nanomachines that are capable of robbing him of his very free will are Patriot inventions, he would be a more than susceptible factor to turn against them.

Liquid Snake

Liquid Snake is the "brother" of Solid Snake, and from his early years was led to believe that they were both clones of Big Boss, but that he was given the weaker genes. In reality it is obvious that Liquid is the possessor of the dominant genes, and it has been since revealed that Liquid is the stronger of the two "clones".

Educated in Britain at Oxbridge, Liquid is known to have an IQ of around 180, this being slightly higher than his brother Snake's. He is proficient in seven languages. While not answering to official military services, Liquid has often offered his abilities as a mercenary to the highest bidder. He was trained for years by MI5 and later by the SAS, the superior British version of Delta Force. He has a massive experience of battle stretching back to his early teens and has served in many desert operations including the first Gulf War, where he was captured and held in an Iraqi prisoner of war camp. Liquid's brainwashing ensures that he can withstand extreme temperatures with minimum effort.

Liquid was recruited by FOXHOUND after the departure of Solid Snake following the Zanzibar mission. He was furious that Snake had killed Big Boss; he had long wanted to achieve that himself. Due to his exceptional combat skills Liquid rose to leader faster than any operative in history and turned the group AWOL in 2005 in order to obtain Big Boss's remains for the purposes of genetic experiments. Throughout this whole fiasco he was manipulated by Revolver Ocelot, who was allegedly under Solidus Snake's (then the President of the United States) orders.

During the Shadow Moses incident, Liquid battled Snake twice. The first time was in a Hind D helicopter; the second in Metal Gear REX. He did not confront him in a fair fight until it seemed that it would be the last thing he did, as he thought he would lose, being the weaker clone. He survived this fight after being thrown off the top of REX, only to meet his fate because of the FoxDie virus. Ironically, the FoxDie virus has bred with other cells in Liquid's physiology to become the only factor that anchors Liquid to this Earth.

His arm was grafted onto Revolver Ocelot's handless right limb, which at first appeared to control Ocelot when he was in close range of Solid Snake. However, these possessions have now become more frequent. As Liquid is in control of Ocelot's body, he gained the location of Area 51. It's only a matter of time before the aptly-named Snake Virus completely consumes Ocelot's body and Liquid attacks. Before that time, we must make sure that the other operatives listed here are ready for a collaborative assault on Area 51.

Vamp

Vamp is the last surviving member of the former governmental action team known as Dead Cell. He has been both Marine Commandant Scott Dolph and Dolph's daughter Fortune's lover, being bisexual. This is how he got his name, but could also refer to his seemingly supernatural powers. Vamp's real name is unknown, and his history is a dark one. He was born in Romania and lived with his family until a church bombing buried them. Impaled on a crucifix, Vamp only stayed alive by drinking the blood of his family. This is perhaps where he obtained his vampiric tendencies.

Vamp's powers are frightening. He has incredible agility, rival at least to the best of Dr Clark's Cyborg Ninja (see Grey Fox). Vamp also possesses superhuman strength and speed, to the point when running on water is possible, and has been known to hypnotise his foes. Vamp is also apparently indestructible and has survived a bullet wound in the forehead with little ill-effect. Vamp has wiped out an entire SEAL Team squadron in mere minutes and appears to crave blood. Vamp is also an expert with blades, preferring them to guns.

It may be that the only way to kill Vamp is by traditional vampire slaying methods. If so, then a stake must be driven through his heart and then his head completely severed from his body. However Vamp does not seem to be weakened by sunlight and this may point to the fact that he is totally invulnerable. If this is true, then he could be our most potent weapon, and is unlikely to take much persuasion as he has an animosity towards the Patriots, blaming them for the death of his former superior Colonel Jackson.

I bid you good luck in fulfilling your quota. I remind you that the Contingency is in eternal gratitude to you. Though the successful completion of this escapade is only a step, it is nevertheless a step in the direction of a free America. Please reply a.s.a.p. with any suggestions on how to improve this mission as our most trusted tactician.

MPK


To: MPK

Sent: 2nd May 2009

From: CF

Subject: RE: Target

The only problem I foresee is the friction that exists between Solid Snake and Liquid Snake, and Raiden and Vamp respectively. What I suggest is a two-pronged assault on Area 51, with Vamp and Liquid attacking on one team, and VII and Raiden on the other, with both teams unaware of each other's actions. Quite where Snake will fit in I've yet to establish. Having an agent already inside the base when the attack begins would be the best possible situation, though this would be difficult to achieve despite the say I have in the running of the base.

I will do what I can to entice Philanthropy into action. I have considered using the blood ties between Ling and an associate of the aforesaid group as bait; this will be difficult, but not impossible.

Though the resistance of Shark, Miasma, and the Janus Collective will be considerable, I have personal faith in the operatives you have short-listed, and I am confident that one day America will once again be a free country.

CF