The Patriots

The Patriots (or the "La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo") are an organization who's sole purpose is to control the United States of America. The organization was originally overseen and founded by twelve men known as the Wisemen's Commitee, former members of the American branch of The Philosophers. Usually, when someone says "The Patriots" they are referring to these twelve men.

Among other duties, The Patriots decide who the President will be and stage the Presidential Elections in order to please the American public, tricking them into believing they have a small level of control. The Patriots tactics can be viewed as totalitarian in their efforts to deceive the public.

The Patriots were originally a part of The Philosophers, who also included members of China and The Soviet Union before the American members decided to branch off and become The Patriots shortly after the incidents at "La Peninsula De Los Muertos." The Boss is the daughter of one of The Philosophers and EVA is a student from one of the Philosophers "Charm Schools." Arsenal Gear was The Patriots' tool for securing power over the United States and in the world. The Patriots hoped to use Arsenal as a way of shaping the "truth" to fit their agenda. Arsenal Gear housed GW, a computer A.I. created by them to censor and delete unwanted information that could loosen their grip on the United States. For instance, GW controlled information through the media, television and mainly the free flow of data from the Internet. This is a means to completely censor any data that is detrimental to the Patriots rule. This is a method of memetic eugenics, in which memes are artificially selected for or against by GW. One of the main contributors to the production of the programming for GW is Emma Emmerich, Otacon's sister, whom is saved by Raiden when the Big Shell was flooding.

It is believed that the Patriots were formed by Ocelot using the Philosophers' Legacy, with the help of "The Man With The Same Code-Name as Null." The pair also extended an invitation to Big Boss but whether he accepted or not is unknown.

At the end of the Big Shell Incident, Philanthropy discovered that all twelve members of the Wisemen's Committee had apparently been dead since at least a hundred years before the Incident (as early as 1900), and that one of them was "(their) biggest contributor" (adding fuel to the theory that Big Boss accepted the invitation). They also heard that the Patriots had somehow succeeded in digitizing life itself. Whether the original Patriots are manipulating world events from a digital realm or whether there are actual physical people doing the job of the Patriots is still unknown.