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The Shadow Moses Incident was an armed revolt against the United States, initiated by FOXHOUND and the Next-Generation Special Forces on Shadow Moses Island, Alaska. Under the command of Liquid Snake, FOXHOUND and the NGSF formed the Sons of Big Boss and captured a secret nuclear-weapon facility on the island on February 28, 2005, the night before the signing of the START III treaty. Initially deployed to oversee a weapon-testing exercise, FOXHOUND took DARPA chief Donald Anderson and ArmsTech president Kenneth Baker hostage, along with a soldier who refused to participate in the insurrection.

"Introduction"[]

After threatening a nuclear strike with the American-developed Metal Gear REX, the Sons of Big Boss demanded that the U.S. government hand over the remains of Big Boss and $1 billion[note 1] within 24 hours. The NGSF’s Genome Soldiers had undergone advanced gene therapy, their senses and combat skills enhanced by Big Boss's "soldier genes". The government could not allow this information to be disclosed because the genetic enhancement of soldiers was controversial and Big Boss's DNA was a priceless military secret, dangerous in the wrong hands.

By request of Defense Secretary Jim Houseman, former FOXHOUND commander Roy Campbell enlisted Solid Snake to help thwart the terrorist threat. Armed soldiers went to Snake's retreat in Twin Lakes and brought him aboard the Ohio-class nuclear submarine USS Discovery in the Bering Sea. Forced to strip down to his underwear, a reluctant Snake was briefed by Campbell while FOXHOUND medical chief Naomi Hunter injected him with nanomachines.

With only 19 hours until the terrorists' deadline,[1] Campbell convinced Snake of the gravity of the situation as the Discovery approached Shadow Moses, admitting that he himself was participating in the mission because his niece, rookie soldier Meryl Silverburgh, was among the hostages. The objectives of Snake’s solo covert operation were to rescue DARPA chief Donald Anderson and ArmsTech president Kenneth Baker, learn the terrorists' nuclear-launch capabilities, and prevent them from carrying out their threat. During his infiltration Snake would receive radio support from military analyst Nastasha Romanenko. Snake agreed on the conditions that he take orders only from Campbell directly and that Campbell disclose the full details of the mission.

"Intruder"[]

On February 28, 22:01[2][3][4], the Discovery approached Shadow Moses, and Snake began his infiltration. Because weather conditions prevented an air insertion and enemy sonar could detect the Discovery if it approached too close, the military inserted Snake underwater via a Swimmer Delivery Vehicle. A diversion by two F-16 fighters scrambled from Galena Air Force Base allowed Snake to sneak in unseen. Snake reported his successful infiltration to Campbell and Naomi by radio. They introduced him to data analyst Mei Ling, who explained the operation of his Soliton Radar.

Hind d

Liquid Snake confers with a Genome Soldier, before boarding a Hind D.

Snake witnessed the terrorist leader, Liquid Snake, board and take off in a Hind D gunship, making Snake and Campbell ponder over the presence of Russian weapons on the base. Infiltrating the tank hangar via the air ducts, Snake was contacted by his former mentor, Master Miller, who had offered radio support after hearing of the mission from Campbell. Snake then eavesdropped on a conversation between two Genome Soldiers and learned that the DARPA chief had been relocated. Meanwhile, Liquid used the Hind D to engage and shoot down the two F-16s.

"Encounter"[]

Making his way deeper into the base, Snake located the cell where DARPA chief Donald Anderson was being held. Anderson informed Snake that the terrorists could indeed launch a nuclear strike with Metal Gear REX, whose existence shocked Snake. Anderson also explained that arming REX required two detonation codes: one from him, which the terrorists already had, and one from Kenneth Baker. Fortunately for Snake, REX could be deactivated with a PAL system using three card keys. Before Snake could escort Anderson to safety, Anderson suffered a heart attack and died.

A

Several heavy weapon Genome Soldiers prepare to ambush the holding cells.

After reporting to Campbell, Snake suspected that Campbell knew more than he was letting on, but Campbell wouldn’t tell him more. Hearing the commotion from the next cell, Meryl Silverburgh made her own escape by tricking the guard on patrol and stealing his uniform. As Snake left Anderson’s cell, he ran into the disguised Meryl, who held him at gunpoint. After a tense showdown, they were ambushed by a squad of heavily armed Genome Soldiers, and the two joined forces to defeat them. When the coast was clear, Meryl ran into an elevator, shooting at Snake after falling under the influence of FOXHOUND's psychic, Psycho Mantis.

J

Revolver Ocelot ambushes Snake in the armory.

Using information from Anderson, Snake headed to the lower levels to find President Baker. Upon spotting Baker tied to a pillar rigged with C4, Snake feared he had arrived too late before being confronted by FOXHOUND member Revolver Ocelot. The two had a gun duel, and then the Cyborg Ninja intervened. He cut off Ocelot's hand and the wires holding Baker, who recognized the Ninja. The Ninja vanished and Ocelot ran off, carrying his severed hand. Snake helped Baker, who mentioned that Meryl had the PAL override keys.

He gave Snake a hint about where to find her Codec frequency. After giving Snake the REX launch data and telling him where to find Dr. Hal Emmerich, Baker revealed that he had been colluding with Anderson to develop a new Metal Gear funded by the government's so-called black budget. For several years, regular payments of tens of thousands of dollars had been made to a dummy company, for which Anderson's wife ostensibly worked as a consultant.

Baker handed Snake an optical disc containing all the remaining information on the Metal Gear project (the hard drive had been shot up during the revolt). Snake asked Baker what he knew about the Ninja; Baker answered that the Ninja was "FOXHOUND's dirty secret." He implored Snake to stop Metal Gear's launch, as his company would be finished if its development were leaked. Surprised, Snake asked Baker whether Metal Gear used existing technology.

Baker confirmed that the Metal Gear unit itself used existing technology but couldn’t elaborate, for he then suffered a heart attack eerily similar to Anderson’s. After rambling that the Pentagon had double-crossed him, Baker died. Snake contacted Meryl, who opened the hangar's cargo doors, allowing him to advance north and find Dr. Emmerich.

On his way, Snake got a call from a tipster calling himself "Deepthroat" claiming to be "one of his fans." He warned Snake that claymore mines had been planted nearby and that an M1 tank was waiting for him up ahead. Sure enough, the tank was there, commanded by Vulcan Raven and crewed by two Genome Soldiers. Snake put the tank out of commission by throwing grenades into the hatch after confusing its electronic sensors with a chaff grenade.

"Warhead Storage"[]

When Snake entered Dr. Emmerich's office, the Cyborg Ninja reappeared and confronted him. Confused that the Ninja seemed to remember him and finding his fighting style familiar, Snake defeated the Ninja, who vanished again. Snake realized the Ninja was Gray Fox, an old war buddy whom he had killed in Zanzibar Land.

MGS1 Ninja

The Ninja confronts Snake in Dr. Emmerich's lab.

Snake revealed his discovery to Campbell, who disbelieved it until Naomi confirmed it. Gray Fox, she explained, had been used for a gene-therapy experiment led by FOXHOUND's former chief of medical staff, Dr. Clark, who had died in a lab explosion two years before the Shadow Moses Incident. Campbell hadn’t known about the experiment, as it had happened shortly after he retired from FOXHOUND; Naomi knew only because she had stumbled upon it when she joined.

Dr. Clark, she added, had recovered the body of a soldier after the fall of Zanzibar Land and revived him. He was then outfitted with a prototype exoskeleton, treated with drugs, and experimented on for four years, leading to the creation of the Genome Soldiers. Campbell was sickened to hear this, while Snake asked Naomi why she hadn't told them sooner.

She claimed that the experiment was confidential, but Snake suspected that there was more to it. When Campbell asked what happened to Gray Fox afterwards, Naomi answered that he died in the same lab explosion that killed Dr. Clark, at least according to reports. The Ninja's behavior led Snake to speculate that Gray Fox didn't even know his own identity, and that he had lived on only to fight Snake to the death.

Rescued by Snake, Dr. Emmerich explained that he had developed Metal Gear REX without knowing it would be nuclear-equipped; on the contrary, he’d believed it would provide Theater Missile Defense against nuclear weapons. Emmerich asked Snake to call him 'Otacon', in reference to his love of anime and the mecha shows that inspired him to become a scientist. He told Snake that REX's armament was handled by another department (to keep him in the dark) and that REX's rail gun (based on the rail gun for the Strategic Defense Initiative) was miniaturized for REX by a joint venture between ArmsTech and Livermore National Labs. Livermore Labs also developed an experimental nuclear weapon for REX. Finally, Otacon warned Snake that if the PAL override keys didn't work, he would have no choice but to destroy REX. Snake briefly expressed concern for Otacon—Anderson and Baker had suffered fatal heart attacks shortly after telling him what they knew—but Dr. Emmerich survived unscathed.

"Mantis's Hymn"[]

Snake tracked down Meryl, but she was carrying only one of the three detonation-override keys. They headed toward the REX hangar by way of the Communication Towers, but Psycho Mantis took control of Meryl using his psychic powers, and Snake had to knock her out to save her. Snake defeated Mantis, who then read both their minds, mentioning that he and Snake experienced a shared suffering and predicting that turmoil awaited him and Meryl.

MGS1 Snake interrogation

Solid Snake is captured by FOXHOUND.

As they were going to the towers, Sniper Wolf shot Meryl and used her as bait to lure Snake out. Devastated, Snake headed back to the armory for a PSG1 to battle Wolf. Finding one, he headed back and managed to out-snipe Wolf. Yet Snake was captured and tortured by Ocelot, who took the launch data Baker had given Snake. Snake resisted the torture, knowing that if he gave in, Ocelot would kill Meryl.

The cell where Snake was then imprisoned also held Anderson's corpse, appearing to have been dead for days. Naomi and Campbell called Snake to check on him, and as details about the situation surfaced, the conversation between Campbell and Snake grew heated. Snake realized that Campbell was hiding information from him, for instance that REX was a nuclear-delivery system. Campbell countered that even the U.S. president hadn’t known of REX’s existence until the day before.

To complicate matters, the president was due to meet with his Russian counterpart the next day to sign START III. If it came out that the U.S. was developing a new nuclear weapon, the treaty would likely be canceled. Worse still, the loss of confidence in America's commitment to non-proliferation could stir international chaos. The U.S. government had every reason to keep the situation under wraps—a fact the terrorists were counting on, to judge from the timing of their Shadow Moses takeover and 24-hour time limit.

Naomi told Snake that the reason the government couldn't give the terrorists Big Boss' corpse was that the president, having passed restrictions on human genetic engineering, couldn't have the public learn about the military's use of genetically enhanced soldiers.

Eventually Otacon, using his stealth camouflage, helped Snake by giving him rations and ketchup. Thinking on his feet, Snake used the ketchup as fake blood, and his guard, Johnny Sasaki, foolishly opened the cell door to check on him, and Snake capitalized on the opportunity: he knocked Johnny out, escaped the cell, and returned to the Communication Towers.

"Hind D"[]

Atop the first tower, Snake found Liquid piloting the Hind D, and Liquid shot the bridge to the second tower. Using a rope he’d found, Snake rappelled down to a lower bridge that also connected to the second tower. There he met Otacon, who worked on fixing the elevator while Snake headed back out to fight Liquid in the Hind D. When Snake reemerged on the rooftop, Liquid addressed him as a brother and asked whether he was ready to face his fate. Snake asked know why Liquid kept calling him brother; Liquid answered cryptically that he was Snake, or rather his shadow. Snake demanded to know what Liquid meant, and Liquid suggested that he ask Big Boss, sarcastically offering to send Snake to meet him in hell. Snake shot down the Hind with Stinger missiles, remarking that the explosion should take care of Liquid's cremation, and left the rooftop. Back below, Otacon informed him that the elevator had started working again before Otacon could fix it.

After Snake boarded the elevator, Otacon called him again, realizing he’d forgotten to tell Snake something important. He’d had five prototype stealth camouflage suits in his lab, counting his own. He’d meant to get one for Snake, but when he went back to the lab, the other four suits were gone. He began to suspect that someone was "holding" the elevator down. Snake, slowly realizing what had happened, asked Otacon whether the elevator’s weight-limit warning had gone off while he was riding it. It had—strange, because Otacon weighed only 135 pounds and the elevator could carry 650. Snake concluded that it would take about five people to exceed the limit. Realizing what had happened, Otacon warned Snake that the four stealth-suit thieves were on the elevator with him. At that moment they ambushed Snake, but he managed to beat them.

MGS1 Sniper Wolf death

Solid Snake listens to Wolf's last words.

Emerging onto the snowfield, he was caught off guard by Sniper Wolf but defeated her in the end. She told him about growing up and being taken away from the battlefield by a man named Saladin, who Snake correctly guessed was Big Boss. Now at peace, she asked Snake to "finish her quick." At that moment, Otacon turned up, admitting that he had fallen in love with her. Snake shot Wolf and parted ways with Otacon, who promised to help Snake any way he could.

"Colosseo"[]

Heading to the control room where REX was being held, Snake met Vulcan Raven for the second time. Raven battled Snake with a Gatling gun. After losing, Raven revealed that the man in the cell who had told Snake about Metal Gear was actually Decoy Octopus in disguise. Later, Master Miller told Snake that Naomi was not who she was making herself out to be. From details she’d shared about her past, Miller had deduced that she was lying and was likely a spy. Snake mentioned that she had once worked for FOXHOUND, and Campbell asked Miller if she’d been involved in the uprising.

Hinting that Naomi might actually be part of a third party, Miller told Campbell to arrest Naomi, who had endangered the operation and needed to be interrogated to find out her employers. Campbell worried that they would be in big trouble if she turned out to be a spy. When Snake asked what he meant, Campbell denied any deeper meaning. Miller then asked Campbell if he was hiding any knowledge about the DARPA chief’s and ArmsTech president’s deaths. Campbell tried to reason with Miller to keep Naomi on the mission a little longer, accidentally letting slip to Snake that he might have had some involvement in Anderson’s and Baker’s deaths. Snake said that he wouldn't give Campbell any more time.

"REX's Lair"[]

Snake made his way to the REX hangar control room. Otacon called to tell him that he had overheard some guards saying that REX's preparations were complete, and that he was in the computer room and could hack into Baker's files to find the PAL key. After hacking in, he told Snake that while he hadn't found the PAL key file, he had found what kind of missiles REX could launch: fired from a rail gun, they required no fuel, and they were imbued with stealth technology and a specially designed surface-piercing nuclear warhead. This discovery made even clearer why the Sons of Big Boss made START III their deadline: exposing Metal Gear could induce the UN to denounce the U.S. and possibly even bring down the president.

Otacon also told Snake that that a nuclear launch from REX was only simulated, never actually tested—hence the exercise on Shadow Moses. That exercise, said Otacon, had accomplished more than expected, although he couldn't find the data from it; Snake admitted that Baker had given him a disc with the data but that Ocelot had taken it during the torture. Otacon called Snake again later to explain Baker's motive: ArmsTech was in worse financial shape than even Otacon had thought. There were rumors of a hostile takeover after the company’s X Plane project was scrapped by the military and its funding was cut by the SDI. REX was ArmsTech’s last chance for survival, so Baker bribed the DARPA chief to work on it. After the conversation with Otacon, Snake overheard Liquid and Ocelot discussing their plans: instead of attacking the U.S. or Russia head on, they would provoke them into attacking and perhaps even destroying each other.

The prospect of goading the superpowers into war enticed Liquid to dismiss Ocelot's suggestion to strike Chernoton, Russia, instead targeting Lop Nor, China, the location of a nuclear test site. Firing a nuke on civilian territory would prevent future negotiations, but an attack on a nuclear test site could still be concealed by the Chinese government. Striking Lop Nor could pit China (and also India, thanks to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty) against the U.S., forcing the U.S. to give up some state secrets. At that point, Liquid reasoned, other governments would want to buy Metal Gear REX and perhaps the Genome Soldiers, and Liquid could sell them to the highest bidder.

MGS1 Metal Gear REX & Solid Snake

Snake gazes up at Metal Gear REX.

Liquid and Ocelot also mentioned making more demands of the White House: $1 billion, to be used with Big Boss' DNA to cure the Genome Soldiers of a mysterious genetic illness, and the FOXDIE vaccine. Additionally, with Metal Gear REX in his possession, Liquid planned to join his forces (FOXHOUND and the Genome Army) with Sergei Gurlukovich's forces and turn Shadow Moses into Outer Heaven.

With these resources at his command, Liquid would drag the world into World War III, fulfilling Big Boss' dream of a world that always had a place for soldiers. Otacon called Snake to say that he’d finally found the PAL key file and discovered its trick: the key was made of a shape-memory alloy that changed at different temperatures: room temperature, low temperature and high temperature.

"Enclosure"[]

Just then, Ocelot noticed Snake and shot the PAL key out of his hand. Snake managed to find the PAL key in a ditch for draining nuclear waste before the radiation could poison him.[5]

A call came from Naomi, now in Campbell’s custody. She confessed she was a spy and revealed her motive: her brother Frank Jaeger, better known as Gray Fox, had adopted her in Rhodesia after her parents were killed. Not even knowing her own name, she bought the identity of Naomi Hunter. After the Rhodesian Civil War, Big Boss brought Frank and Naomi to America; shortly after, Big Boss and Frank went off again to fight in the Mercenary War, where Frank was nearly killed by Snake. Crippled, he underwent years of genetic experimentation. Blaming Snake, Naomi joined FOXHOUND and waited for a chance to take revenge. The moment came when she injected Snake with FOXDIE, an artificial virus that induced heart attacks in specific people. Its original targets were FOXHOUND and Baker, but Naomi re-engineered the virus to target Snake as well.

But after hearing his perspective on the fight with Gray Fox, Naomi no longer hated Snake. Further, she said, her hatred wasn’t the main reason she’d injected him. Before she could explain, Campbell wrestled her down and forbade Snake to speak with her. Snake was upset, feeling "betrayed and used" by Campbell.

MGS1 Liquid Snake & Metal Gear REX

Liquid Snake stands before REX.

Cooling and heating his PAL key, Snake eventually input all three keys, inadvertently activating Metal Gear REX. Miller called to congratulate him. Anderson's and Baker's detonation codes, he said, had never been used; the terrorists had failed to obtain Anderson’s before his death. Octopus had posed as Anderson to trick Snake into retrieving the PAL keys, but FOXHOUND hadn't anticipated that Snake would be carrying FOXDIE.

Just then, Campbell called to tell Snake that the person he was talking to wasn't Miller. The real Miller had been dead for three days. Campbell hadn’t known because he’d lost contact with Miller’s Codec, but Mei Ling had traced this Miller’s frequency to its origin: Shadow Moses Island. Exposed, Miller revealed that he was actually Liquid in disguise.

Having revealed his identity, Liquid trapped Snake in the control room and filled it with deadly soman gas. Snake escaped with Otacon’s help and ran to confront Liquid. Caught by Snake, Liquid explained that he had posed as Miller to gain Snake’s trust, and that Snake was being used as a disease vector by the people who recruited him: the Pentagon. Employing Naomi to make the virus, the Pentagon did not anticipate that she would modify it to target Snake. Injecting Snake would allow the Pentagon to recover the Genome Soldiers’ bodies as well as the Metal Gear REX weapon undamaged.

Liquid then described his and Snake’s shared origin. They were not ordinary twins, but clones of Big Boss created in the Les Enfants Terribles project. Big Boss had chosen one twin, Solid Snake, to inherit his dominant genes, leaving the other twin, Liquid, inferior.[6] For that, as well as Solid Snake "stealing [Liquid's] chance", Liquid hated both his brother and their father. By defeating Solid on Shadow Moses, Liquid could punish his brother for "stealing that chance"; by acquiring and exploiting his father’s DNA, he could "surpass and destroy Big Boss."

"Duel"[]

Liquid climbed aboard REX, leaving Snake no option but to destroy it. If he failed, Campbell would be forced to bombard the Shadow Moses facility with nuclear warheads from the Discovery. Otacon called to tell Snake REX's weakness: though its hull was indestructible, its radome was Liquid's only view of the outside world while he was piloting it, so destroying the radome would force Liquid to open the cockpit and thus expose himself to fire. Snake fought valiantly but made little headway.

Just then, Gray Fox jumped out from the shadows and damaged REX's radome, temporarily blinding Liquid. Fox and Snake took the opportunity to hide, and Fox told Snake that he had adopted Naomi out of guilt for killing her parents. Fox then challenged REX again, destroying the radome before being crushed underfoot. As Otacon had said, Liquid opened the cockpit, and Snake shot in Stinger missiles until REX exploded, knocking Snake unconscious.

Solid-Snake-vs-Metal-Gear-REX

Snake battles Metal Gear REX.

When he awoke atop the destroyed REX, his hands were bound and Liquid was watching over him. Liquid unfolded his plan to create a world at war, where warriors like the two of them would always have a place—just as Big Boss had dreamed. Liquid accused Snake of also wanting such a world, citing his actions on Shadow Moses.

Liquid went on to reveal the existence of "Les Enfants Terribles" to Snake, a project in which the two of them were created: they were both clones of Big Boss, with Liquid Snake having supposedly inherited Big Boss' "inferior" recessive traits, while Solid Snake inherited his "superior" dominant traits. The Genome Soldiers were also products of Big Boss' genes, though their gene therapy had resulted in the appearance of a certain genetic disease, for which they needed Big Boss' DNA to cure them. Liquid then revealed his belief that he was obeying the "will" of his genes, so that eventually he would surpass Big Boss and his own heritage, and that he would kill Snake in order to do so.

MGS1 Liquid Snake atop Metal Gear REX

After surviving the assault on REX, Liquid challenges Snake once more.

Liquid then directed Snake's attention behind him, to the prone body of Meryl, whom he had also placed atop REX. Although Liquid was unsure as to whether she was still alive, he told Snake that he would release her as soon as they both finished their business. Informing Snake that they were just about "out of time," Liquid relayed intel that the Pentagon had likely learned of Naomi's betrayal and REX's destruction, and were about to destroy the Shadow Moses facility.

Apparently, Naomi's manipulation of the FOXDIE virus (casting grave doubts on the reliability of FOXDIE itself) and the destruction of REX (thus ending the nuclear threat) had put the Pentagon on alert. This was shortly confirmed by Campbell, who explained that a nuclear strike (from a payload of surface-piercing B61-13 tactical nuclear missiles) was on its way, though he intended to delay the launch in order to buy Snake and Meryl some time to escape. Campbell revealed that the Pentagon had deliberately and knowingly assigned her to Shadow Moses on the same day that FOXHOUND would rebel, in order to blackmail him and that he was forced to hide vital information from Snake in order to ensure Meryl's safety. He apologized to Snake, saying that it was the least he could do for lying to him throughout the mission.

However, before he could give any orders, in order to confuse the chain of command, Campbell was arrested by Jim Houseman, the Secretary of Defense. Houseman personally took over as the mission's commander and headed for Shadow Moses on an E-3C AWACS. Houseman assured Snake that the facility would be destroyed, along with him and his brother, both of whom he considered to be an embarrassment from the 1970s. When Snake accused him of setting up Donald Anderson and the other hostages, he expressed sorrow that Anderson had died, due to the fact Anderson was a friend of his. Houseman then offered to stop the bombing if Snake provided him with the REX battle data. Since Ocelot had stolen it during the torture session, Snake couldn't meet that demand.

After Houseman signed off, Liquid demanded that the two fight. A grueling bare-handed fight then ensued between the "Twin Snakes," with Solid Snake eventually forcing Liquid over the side of REX’s head, to a long fall to the ground below. Snake immediately ran to check on Meryl who was fine. Otacon called and Snake demanded that he leave as soon as possible, warning him about the F-117 Nighthawk and B-2 Spirit stealth bombers that were on their way to nuke the base, but Otacon refused. He told Snake that he would rather stay where he was and help him and Meryl to escape, using his hacking talents to open any doors and passages for them.

"Escape"[]

Snake and Meryl escaped through the adjacent supply route and commandeered a jeep nearby. With Meryl driving, and Snake manning the rear machine gun, they broke through several barricades along the supply tunnel, eliminating the Genome Soldiers they encountered along the way. Shortly thereafter, Liquid, having survived his previous fall, appeared in another jeep, pursuing them whilst opening fire with a FAMAS assault rifle. Snake and Liquid exchanged fire, until the two jeeps reached the end of the tunnel, and crashed into one another in the confusion of the chase. Snake and Meryl were trapped under their overturned jeep, as Liquid slowly approached. However, before he could shoot Snake he began to suffer from a heart attack, as a result of FOXDIE. Snake, now convinced that he too would die, remained solemn.

Metal-gear-solid-ending

Snake and Meryl escape from the wilderness on a snowmobile.

He then noticed that the stealth bombers weren't present, despite the fact that they should have arrived by then. Snake then received a call from Colonel Campbell who informed him that Jim Houseman had been arrested, since he had managed to contact the President and inform him of what had happened: Apparently, Houseman was acting alone with the entire event. He also revealed that the air strike orders had been rescinded and the six F-117s and B-2 bombers had returned to base, since Washington, D.C. was apparently not stupid enough to use nukes to cover up secrets (although Snake had some doubts about that).

After learning that Meryl was alright, he again apologized to Snake for his behavior during the operation, though he also informed them that they were both now "officially dead," because their jeep "had crashed into the ocean." Snake requested a rescue for Otacon, and asked if he could speak to Naomi, who told Snake not to worry about FOXDIE and live his life as he would. Not afraid, Snake and Meryl rode off together into the Alaskan wilderness.

After the incident, the only surviving member of FOXHOUND, Revolver Ocelot, reported the events to the President of the United States, since he had actually been working as a double agent in order to recover REX's data. He revealed that he had purposefully killed the DARPA Chief because he knew of Ocelot's true identity and motives. He also reported that the "inferior" twin, Solid Snake had defeated his brother Liquid, the latter of whom died believing himself to be the inferior one. Ocelot then complimented the President on being a "well balanced individual", worthy of ruling the world, as the perfect clone of Big Boss: Solidus Snake. He also, after inquiring the status of an unidentified female, was told to keep surveillance on her.

Aftermath[]

The U.S. Government denied any involvement in the Shadow Moses Incident and subsequently issued a cover story, which claimed that the revolt was the work of a radical right-wing group. According to this account, the incident was speedily resolved by the successful deployment of a commando unit, after rejecting the group's demands for the release of fellow members incarcerated in federal penitentiaries.[7]

As a consequence of sabotaging Snake's mission to Shadow Moses, Naomi Hunter was charged with treason and placed into a high-security federal prison. However, three weeks after the incident, Naomi managed to escape under mysterious circumstances. Nastasha Romanenko, doing her own independent research on the aftermath of the incident while preparing to expose the incident with the book In the Darkness of Shadow Moses: The Unofficial Truth, had discovered this and implied suspicion that it was Solid Snake who was responsible for engineering her escape, which resulted in Snake's rap sheet being modified to include this. In addition, the surviving Genome Soldiers (sans Johnny Sasaki) were reassigned to Pease AFB, officially for more training, although Romanenko suspected that they were actually imprisoned there to continue experimentation.

Because Metal Gear REX's rail gun had undergone technical problems that required immediate attention prior to the terrorist takeover (hence why Baker entrusted the optical disc containing the REX data to Snake, and why Houseman had wanted the data badly), and the loss of the data to Ocelot, the REX project was cancelled. However, REX's data was later leaked worldwide by Ocelot, who had disappeared after the incident.

Richard Ames was promoted to Colonel as a result of the mission, although the DIA, when Romanenko, Ames' ex-wife, called his office for his whereabouts, claimed that he never existed, causing Nastasha to falsely believe that he was killed for letting her escape.

Campbell resumed retirement, although Meryl would eventually end up returning to the service due to her father's connections and her continued support and belief in Snake.

Houseman's actions later resulted in his death supposedly by a self-inflicted gunshot, although Romanenko suspected due to witnessing his final actions late into the mission that the Patriots had arranged his death as he refused to "take the fall."

Otacon resigned from ArmsTech and decided to visit relatives at England. He later formed Philanthropy with Solid Snake to take down the Metal Gear REX derivatives.

Because the mission did not ultimately follow the Patriots' designs, the S3 Plan was developed specifically to resemble the mission, which eventually came to pass four years after the incident.

George Sears was removed from the presidency by the Patriots, alongside nearly being killed by them before Ocelot intervened. The Patriots issued a cover story that claimed Sears resigned.

Unconfirmed history[]

The following information has been detailed in official Konami-licensed media, written by various external authors. Its status in the Metal Gear canon is unconfirmed.[?]

After sensing the black ops soldiers that had been sent to arrest him in Twin Lakes, Snake grabbed a 9 mm Heckler & Koch P7 and bulletproof jacket to defend himself. Aiming his weapon at the soldier positioned outside his door, the group identified themselves as allies, under orders from Roy Campbell. Snake reluctantly lowered his machine pistol and raised his hands above his head. The soldiers then kicked down the door and pointed their assault rifles at him. After getting dressed, Snake was escorted aboard a transport helicopter and taken to the nuclear submarine Discovery.

At some point before the incident, Master Miller was doing his three-hour-per-day workout in his basement gym by punching his punching bag to take his mind off his reclusive living style since his retirement, when he heard one of his Huskies being silenced mid-howl. He grabbed a Glock handgun from behind a clipboard in his gym (he kept his main arsenal in another part of the house, but Miller kept a few guns in every room in the house), and prepared to investigate by going upstairs to check central alarm system control box, only to discover that his security system was cut.

He then ducked behind some furniture in the hopes of catching the intruder by surprise, comparing the intruder's skills as similar to that of Solid Snake, as the intruder somehow managed to approach his house, on treacherous terrain, with the only road being covered by several feet of snow, and avoiding the security cameras from a mile away. Five minutes later, Miller detected nerve gas, and prepared to dress up in something warm fast, but could not reach the stairs to his escape hatch in the ice cave in time before he collapsed and succumbed to the nerve gas poisoning.

When Gray Fox first unveiled himself after Ocelot and Snake's battle, Naomi rushed to the bathroom in a fit of shock and trauma at seeing Gray Fox, but then reminded herself to calm down.

After Meryl opened the hangar door, she, while disguised as one of the Genome soldiers, boarded a transport truck that led to an alternate route to the warhead storage building. In addition, shortly before Snake arrived to fight Vulcan Raven, Raven surveyed the canyon from a glacier above, and wondered why the United States government would choose Shadow Moses, a reclusive and harsh island close to Russia, as the place to develop Metal Gear REX.

Upon arrival at the nuclear warhead storage building, Solid Snake took a picture of the warheads for Nastasha using the Codec's camera option.

Shortly before their demise at the hands of Gray Fox, the sergeant of the six-man Genome squad tasked with guarding Hal Emmerich until he made the necessary completions to REX felt satisfaction that the scientists were in their predicament, as he hated them due to them having the answers to everything and because they made the big money, although he personally felt Emmerich should be dead.

Johnny Sasaki ended up brainwashed by the Sons of Big Boss into becoming one of their soldiers after originally being one of the computer maintenance members.

After Ocelot shot the PAL key out of Snake's hand, Snake had to dive into the nuclear-waste contaminated ditch around REX's hangar, and had to find the key within a 20 minute mark before he ended up poisoned from exposure.

During Vulcan Raven's fight against Solid Snake, Raven was grazed in the ear with a sniper rifle by Snake (Snake intended to give a clean shot to the head, but one of Raven's crows interfered with the shot). Afterwards, he hit Raven with a grenade in a manner similar to a bowling ball, blowing a hole in one of the crates and damaging Raven in the process. The crate contained claymore mines, to which Snake used as a booby trap by lacing it with C4, and then luring Vulcan Raven to attack by shooting down one of Raven's birds, and then remotely detonating them with the Codec as soon as he got into position, mortally wounding Raven.

Before Naomi contacted Snake with a spare Codec, she went through a brief interrogation and stalled them. She also thought Campbell was unaware that the interrogation was already finished.

Shortly before Snake inputted the blue PAL key, three Genome Space Seals in winter fatigues delivered two cases: a square shaped container containing grenades of both flashbang and fragmentation varieties, C4, and claymore mines, and a rectangular box that contained an ArmsTech-designed portable Stinger launcher system with three stinger missiles that were intended to be picked up by Liquid Snake in a few minutes. A third container also ended up stolen by an intruder (whether the intruder was Gray Fox or Snake was not specified).

The soldiers were also less enthusiastic about Liquid Snake's goals than they were two days ago, and that some of the surviving soldiers left via snowmobiles. The soldiers also joked about giving the hostages a closed-circuit TV to see the report on their attack, although one of the soldiers didn't understand that they were joking and reminded them that they were in an underground bunker. Snake overheard this and reported it to Otacon, who recognized it as being near the tunnels leading to the parking garage, with one entrance being sealed off permanently, and the second being underground at a location unknown to him.

Behind the scenes[]

The Shadow Moses Incident is an event that occurs in Metal Gear Solid. There is an alternate conclusion to the incident. If the player submits to Ocelot's torture, Snake will find Meryl dead atop REX, in which he will leave Shadow Moses with Otacon instead. While the plot of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty allowed for the possibility of either ending having occurred, the "Previous Story" novel, In the Darkness of Shadow Moses, suggested that Meryl had indeed survived.[8] This was later confirmed by her appearance in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

For unexplained reasons, the container that holds Snake's equipment after his capture, has a warning label on the lid. This could possibly be due to Ocelot having planted a timer bomb among his items.

REX's original target of Chernoton, Russia, is a fictional city in the Hideo Kojima game Snatcher, which had a biological outbreak of the Lucifer-Alpha virus.

The phone call between Ocelot and Solidus Snake was originally to have taken place against a completely black background, besides the subtitles. The addition of the words "Metal Gear Solid" was under the suggestion of one of the production team members.[9]

The specific date for the mission was never shown in the game itself, but was confirmed via dummied files within the game. The same data also indicated the events of the game occurred on 22:01 GST (9:01 in the Japanese version). This is erroneous in both versions, however, as Gulf Standard Time is not applicable for the Fox Archipelago as the time zone applies to the European portion of Russia as well as the Middle East while the Fox Archipelago is close to the Bering Strait, and 9:01 would be daylight by the time of the mission, while the mission either never occurred during daylight hours at all (The Twin Snakes) or only had daylight hours occur by the mission's conclusion (Metal Gear Solid).[10]

Versus Battle[]

Snake's battles with both the Hind and Metal Gear REX Battle were featured as part of Versus Battle on the series official website, where visitors would vote on their favorite. Similarly, Sniper Wolf and Psycho Mantis's deaths were also placed in competition with each other.

"STRENGTHS:
T-Rex + Solid Snake + Shadow Moses = Epic
WEAKNESSES:
Cracked Radomes Mean the Battles Must End
FEATURED FACT:
Whether appearing as friend or foe, in MGS1 or MGS4, METAL GEAR REX provides the best of battles and the greatest of memories
FEATURED GAME:
METAL GEAR SOLID: THE LEGACY COLLECTION
"
―Metal Gear REX Battle on Versus Battle
"STRENGTHS:
Killer Game of Cat & Mouse with Snake & Liquid
WEAKNESSES:
Requires Patience & Rooftop Full of Stingers
FEATURED FACT:
The high ground is usually the best ground, unless you’re fighting against a fearsome Russian attack chopper piloted by Liquid Snake
FEATURED GAME:
METAL GEAR SOLID: THE LEGACY COLLECTION
"
―Hind D Battle on Versus Battle
"STRENGTHS:
One Of The Most Moving Moments in Gaming
WEAKNESSES:
We Miss Her
FEATURED FACT:
Sniper Wolf joined FOXHOUND as a means to avenge the death of Big Boss, her beloved mentor, and mistook Solid Snake for him as she lay dying
FEATURED GAME:
METAL GEAR SOLID: THE LEGACY COLLECTION
"
―Sniper Wolf's Death on Versus Battle
"STRENGTHS:
Even The Most Evil Mind Is Capable of Good
WEAKNESSES:
Is Psycho Mantis Ever Truly Dead?
FEATURED FACT:
At death’s door, Psycho Mantis aided Solid Snake by opening a secret Shadow Moses passageway to METAL GEAR REX
FEATURED GAME:
METAL GEAR SOLID: THE LEGACY COLLECTION
"
―Psycho Mantis's Death on Versus Battle

Appearances[]

Non-canonical[]

Sources[]

Gallery[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ In the original Japanese release of Metal Gear Solid, the Sons of Big Boss sought $50 million, whereas the English release changed this to $1 billion. The Integral version and The Twin Snakes remake retained the billion dollar figure for both regions' releases, all of which feature English dialogue only and the associated script change, including updated Japanese subtitles.

References[]

  1. ^ Metal Gear Solid (Briefing), Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (1998).
    Colonel Campbell: Snake listen up. It all went down five hours ago. Heavily armed soldiers occupied Shadow Moses Island, a remote island off the coast of Alaska. // Solid Snake: What soldiers? // Colonel Campbell: Next-Generation Special Forces led by members of unit FOX-HOUND. They've presented Washington with a single demand, and they say that if it isn't met, they'll launch a nuclear weapon. // [...] Solid Snake: What's the time limit? // Colonel Campbell: 24 hours. They say they'll launch after 24 hours. // Solid Snake: Did they say what the target will be? // Colonel Campbell: So far they haven't mentioned a target. // Solid Snake: When did the countdown start? // Colonel Campbell: 5 hours ago.
  2. ^ This is indicated by dummied data contained within the PSX version, accessible via the PC version.
  3. ^ METAL GEAR SOLID Timeline. Konami Digital Entertainment. Retrieved on 2012-04-12.[dead link]
    MGS Event: Shadow Moses Incident 2005 01[sic] 02
  4. ^ Metal Gear Solid, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (1998).
    Roy Campbell: Is your life in Alaska all that great? // Solid Snake: There's a dogsled race this week. Next Saturday I have to be in Anchorage. // Campbell : The Iditarod?
    The Iditarod Trail Dog Race takes place on the first Saturday of March (the 5th in 2005). Although Nastasha Romanenko mentions that the U.S. President's term was to end "soon," during the events of the game, the exact year to which she is referring is not made clear.
  5. ^ There are actually two methods of finding the PAL key in Metal Gear Solid, depending on which action the player chooses. Snake can either locate the PAL key in the drainage ditch, or kill a rat, that had somehow managed to eat the key, in order to retrieve it.
  6. ^ In the original game, Liquid Snake mentioned that Big Boss repeatedly and directly told him that he had been chosen to be inferior when citing why he wanted revenge against his father. In The Twin Snakes, it's indicated that he merely assumed Big Boss deliberately chose him to be inferior rather than being told such directly.
  7. '^ Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Konami Computer Entertainment, Japan (2001).
    The New York Mirror review of In the Darkness of Shadow Moses: The Unofficial Truth, page 3 of 11
    "Official history states that the takeover of a nuclear weapons disposal facility on a lonely outpost of the Fox Islands, Alaska [Shadow Moses Island] was the work of a radical right-wing group [Sons of Big Boss]. Their demands for the release of group members incarcerated in federal penitentiaries were never met, and the incident was speedily resolved by the successful deployment of a commando unit."
  8. ^ Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (2001).
    In the Darkness of Shadow Moses: The Unofficial Truth: "Snake and Meryl appear to have successfully made it off Shadow Moses Island. I could however find no trace of them; I hope that the same is true for those who hope to see them silenced."
  9. ^ http://muni_shinobu.webs.com/mgs/commentary5.html
  10. ^ https://twitter.com/dra9onsMGS/status/1366453707399815171

See also[]


Timeline of events in Metal Gear
Date Event Game
1962 Sokolov Defection
Cuban Missile Crisis
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater
1964 Virtuous Mission
Operation Snake Eater
1970 San Hieronymo Incident* Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops*
1972 Les Enfants Terribles Project
1974 Peace Walker Incident Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Eliminate the Renegade Threat*
Intel Operative Rescue*
Classified Intel Acquisition*
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
19XX Déjà Vu**
XXXX Jamais Vu**
1975 Destroy the Anti-Air Emplacements*
Ground Zeroes Incident
Wormhole Incident** Metal Gear Survive**
1976 Attack on Zero Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
1977 Zero visits Snake
1984 Hospital Escape
Phantom Pain Incident
1995 Outer Heaven Uprising
(AKA "Operation Intrude N313")
Metal Gear
19XX Metal Gear (NES)**
19XX+3 Operation 747** Snake's Revenge**
1997 Mercenary War Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
1999 Zanzibar Land Disturbance
(AKA "Operation Intrude F014")
2002 Galuade Incident** Metal Gear: Ghost Babel**
2003 Assassination of Dr. Clark
2005 Shadow Moses Incident Metal Gear Solid (The Twin Snakes*)
2005-2007 Snake's VR Simulation* Metal Gear Solid Mobile*
2007 Tanker Incident Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
2008 Liquidation of Dead Cell
2009 Big Shell Incident
2011 Raid At Area 51
2012-2013 Raiden's Capture
2014 Guns of the Patriots Incident
(Liquid Sun · Solid Sun · Third Sun · Twin Suns · Old Sun · Naked Sin)
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
2016 Lobito Island Incident** Metal Gear Acid**
2018 World Marshal Incident*
(AKA "Raiden's Revengeance")
Raid at World Marshal · Ambush in Africa · Abkhazian Coup · Investigation in Guadalajara · Raid in Denver · Operation Tecumseh
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance*
2019 SaintLogic Incident** Metal Gear Acid 2**
* Dubious Canonicity
** Non-Canon
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