A Soviet bionics engineer was the original creator of Venom Snake's prosthetic hand, and had been responsible for creating countless similar prosthetic limbs while serving the Soviet Union, many of which he had personally presented to the Kremlin. In 1984, he unsuccessfully tried to defect from the Afghanistan base camp, due to unhappiness over being put to work creating machines that didn't fully utilize his skills.[1]
The engineer was captured and brought to Wakh Sind Barracks as a prisoner. The Diamond Dogs' subcommander Kazuhira Miller, after being rescued from being captured by Soviet forces accepted the mission alongside two others as part of Diamond Dogs' goal of rebuilding their forces and exacting revenge against XOF for past events, willing to do even wetworks missions if it means getting closer to completing their goals,[2] realizing that his skillsets would prove vital for bolstering Diamond Dogs as it rebuilds itself.[3] He was later rescued by Venom Snake, with the engineer recognizing his prosthetic arm as being his "masterpiece," and was recruited into Diamond Dogs' R&D department. where he proceeded to submit a proposal for modifications to Venom Snake's prosthetic arm in return. There, he continued to work on the prosthetic hand, modifying it for Snake.[4] It was suggested by Miller that he might've been working on Metal Gear Sahelanthropus in Afghanistan.[5]
Behind the scenes[]
The Bionics Engineer is a key character in the mission "Over the Fence" for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. He has a unique appearance (unlike other recruits) and is the only playable character in the game to wear glasses. Before a patch, if one replayed Over the Fence multiple times, multiple versions of the engineer will appear on Mother Base, with his skills increasing with each rescue. However, post-patch, with each replay and rescue, the original will instead be overwritten with the higher-skilled version.
Although the game makes it explicit that he was responsible for the creation of Venom Snake's bionic arm, it is unclear whether he was involved in the creation of a similar prosthetic hand that had been utilized by Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zadornov.
Notes and references[]
- ^ Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Kojima Productions (2015).
Soviet Bionics Engineer: That prosthetic... You [Venom Snake] are wearing one of my creations, my masterpiece. My specialty is not humdrum mechanics. My field is bionics. I create hybrids of organisms and artifacts. You can think of that prosthetic as a "bionic arm." I made countless artificial limbs in the service of the Motherland. Many of them I presented to the Kremlin. And this is the thanks I get. "Make giant hands for our new weapons platform," they tell me. I am a bionical engineer! Yet they waste my time on wind-up toys. I could not stand it, so I ran... but got caught. Now it is a lager for me. You saved me - now hire me. I can upgrade your bionic arm, eh? Let me continue my research.
The above speech is given if the player carries the bionics engineer before Fultoning him. - ^ Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Kojima Productions (2015)
Kazuhira Miller: Boss. I know you haven't been back long, but I have prepared a list of missions for you. Open your iDroid. // [Venom Snake takes out his iDroid.] // Kazuhira Miller: I've taken the job offers Diamond Dogs has received and made the list of those I want you to consider. Which ones you accept is your call. The objectives of the missions I've added are prisoner rescue, facility sabotage, and high-value target elimination... Probably all a walk in the park for you, but they should help you get back on your feet. I put the mission details on a cassette tape. Refer to that if you decide to accept the mission. We'll receive GMP for completing missions, and extracting soldiers and prisoners will boost our ranks. Building up Mother Base is the first step to achieving our goal. If the mean in wetwork, so be it. We're gonna have to get our hands dirty. I hope you are rested up, because we are not stopping. Not until the pain is gone. The future of Diamond Dogs is in your hands. We're counting on you, Boss. - ^ Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Kojima Productions (2015)
Mission 5: Over the Fence briefing
Benedict "Kazuhira" Miller: If we're going to expand Mother Base, we need more manpower. Not just for combat roles, either - R&D, the Support Unit, Intel... Each demands a different set of skills. If we want to achieve what we've set out to do, Diamond Dogs has got to get stronger. There's a Soviet engineer I want to have join us. He was the one who built your prosthesis. With him on our side, who knows what sort of enhancements he'll come up for it. He tried to defect but didn't make it, and now he's being held prisoner at Wakh Sind Barracks. Find this engineer and get him out. Having him on our R&D Team will go a long way to helping Diamond Dogs grow. - ^ Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Kojima Productions (2015).
"Over the Fence" debriefing
Benedict "Kazuhira" Miller: The engineer we rescued has been extremely cooperative. The guys on the R&D Team are glad to have him aboard. Thing is, his specialty isn't mechanics, but something called "bionics" - engineering based on... biology. He's already submitted a proposal for modifying your [Venom Snake's] prosthetic arm. If you're interested, go ahead and give the development order. - ^ Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Kojima Productions (2015).
Mission 5: Over the Fence intel commentary
Benedict "Kazuhira" Miller: The target's an engineer. A mechanical engineer, to be precise. That prosthesis you're using is apparently one of his creations. So you know... first-hand just how good this guy is. It'd be a damn waste to let them kill him. Get him out of there in one piece. Though I gotta say, what was a mechanics whiz doing in a place like that? It's just as we suspected - they must be developing some kind of weapon [Metal Gear Sahelanthropus] in that region...