Shadow Moses Incident

Shadow Moses Incident
Dates	Late February 2005
Locations	Shadow Moses Island, Alaska, United States
Outcome	Success
Participants
Solid Snake Roy Campbell Naomi Hunter Mei Ling Nastasha Romanenko Otacon Meryl Silverburgh Revolver Ocelot Jim Houseman Johnny Sasaki Richard Ames Solidus Snake Sergei Gurlukovich
Groups
Sons of Big Boss The Pentagon DARPA ArmsTech The Patriots
Deaths
Master Miller Donald Anderson Decoy Octopus Kenneth Baker Psycho Mantis Sniper Wolf Vulcan Raven Gray Fox Liquid Snake Numerous Genome Soldiers
Metal Gear threat
Metal Gear REX

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 weapons facility on the island in February 2005, the night before the signing of the START III Accord. Initially deployed to oversee a weapons testing exercise, FOXHOUND took DARPA Chief Donald Anderson and ArmsTech President Kenneth Baker hostage, along with those soldiers who refused to participate in the insurrection.

"Introduction"

After threatening to launch 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 dollars, issuing a deadline of 24 hours. The Genome Soldiers of the NGSF had been subject to advanced gene therapy, involving the use of Big Boss's "soldier genes" to enhance their combat skills and senses. Big Boss's DNA was considered to be a highly secretive and sensitive project and the U.S. government could not allow this information to be revealed to the public due to the controversial nature of the genetic enhancement of soldiers. The DNA was also considered a priceless treasure to the U.S. military, and the government could not allow it to fall into the wrong hands.

Five hours later, by the request of Defense Secretary Jim Houseman, FOXHOUND's former commander Roy Campbell enlisted Solid Snake to help thwart the terrorist threat. Sending armed soldiers to Snake's retreat in Twin Lakes, he was later brought aboard the Ohio-class nuclear submarine USS Discovery, in the Bering Sea. Forced to strip down to his underwear, Campbell explained the situation to a reluctant Snake, while Naomi Hunter gave him an injection of nanomachines. Campbell successfully convinced Snake of the gravity of the situation, also admitting that his own participation in the mission was because his niece, rookie soldier Meryl Silverburgh, was among the hostages. Persuaded to infiltrate Shadow Moses in a solo covert operation, Snake's objectives 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, for which he would receive radio support from military analyst Nastasha Romanenko. Snake agreed to the task under the conditions that he only take orders directly from Campbell, and that Campbell provide full disclosure regarding the details of the mission.

"Intruder"

An hour later, Snake began his infiltration of Shadow Moses Island. The military had Snake make an underwater insertion via an SDV (Swimmer Delivery Vehicle), to avoid the Discovery being detected by enemy sonar, which along with the weather conditions, negated the possibility of an air insertion. Two F-16 fighters were scrambled from Galena AFB as a diversionary tactic, allowing Snake to sneak in undetected. Snake reported his successful infiltration to Campbell and Naomi by radio, and was introduced to data analyst Mei Ling, who explained the operation of his Soliton Radar.

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

Snake later witnessed the terrorist leader, Liquid, board and take off in a Hind D gunship, causing he and Campbell to ponder over the presence of Russian weapons on the base. Infiltrating the base's tank hangar via the air ducts, Snake was contacted by his former mentor, Master Miller, who had volunteered to offer radio support after learning of the mission from Campbell. Snake then eavesdropped on a conversation between two Genome Soldiers where he learned that the DARPA Chief had been relocated, as well as the fact that another intruder had managed to sneak onto the base and kill three of the terrorists. Meanwhile, Liquid Snake used the Hind D to engage and shoot down the two F-16s.

"Encounter"

Making his way deeper into the base, Snake located the prison cells where DARPA Chief Donald Anderson was being held. Anderson informed Snake that the terrorists indeed had the ability to launch a nuclear strike thanks to Metal Gear REX, the existence of which shocked Snake. Anderson also explained that the terrorists needed two detonation codes to arm REX: one from himself, which the terrorists already had, and one from Kenneth Baker. Fortunately for Snake, there was a PAL system that he could use to deactivate REX, via three card keys. Before Snake could escort the DARPA Chief to safety, Anderson suffered a heart attack and fell dead. After reporting to Campbell, Snake became suspicious that he knew more than he was letting on, but was unable to learn more.

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

Hearing the commotion from the next cell, Meryl Silverburgh effected her own escape, tricking the guard on patrol and stealing his uniform. As Snake made his way outside, he ran into the disguised Meryl, who held him at gunpoint. Following a tense showdown, they were soon ambushed by a squad of heavily armed Genome Soldiers, and the two joined forces to defeat them. After the coast was clear, Meryl ran into an elevator, shooting at Snake after falling under the influence of FOXHOUND's psychic, Psycho Mantis. Snake, using information given to him by Anderson, then 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, before the intervention of the Cyborg Ninja who cut off Ocelot's hand, as well as cutting the wires holding Baker, the latter also recognizing the Ninja upon seeing it.

Revolver Ocelot ambushes Snake in the armory.

The Ninja then 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 to where to find her Codec frequency. After he gave Snake the REX launch data, and telling him where to find Dr. Hal Emmerich, Baker revealed that he had been colluding with the DARPA Chief, Donald Anderson to secretly develop a new Metal Gear on the government's so-called black budget. For several years, regular payments in the tens of thousands of dollars had been made to the cooperate account of a dummy company for which Anderson's wife ostensibly acted as a consultant. After supplying Snake with an optical disc containing all the information on the Metal Gear project remaining (as the hard drive was shot up during the revolt), Baker was then questioned about his knowledge on the Ninja. Baker then told him that the Ninja was "FOXHOUND's dirty secret," before imploring Snake to stop Metal Gear's launch, as his company would be finished if its development were leaked. Snake, surprised at his statement, asked Baker if Metal Gear used currently-existing technology. Baker confirmed that the Metal Gear unit itself carried currently existing technology, but was unable to elaborate more: Baker began to suffer from a heart attack, eerily similar to the way in which Anderson died. Baker then rambled on about how the Pentagon had double-crossed him, before eventually dying. Snake then contacted Meryl and she opened the hangar's cargo doors for him, allowing him to advance north and find Dr. Emmerich.

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

"Warhead Storage"

Entering into Dr. Emmerich's office, the Cyborg Ninja appeared once again and confronted Snake. Confused as to how the Ninja seemed to remember him, and finding his fighting style familiar, Snake defeated the Ninja, before he went crazy again. Snake realized the Ninja was Gray Fox, his old war buddy whom he had killed in Zanzibar Land.

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

Snake later revealed his discovery to Campbell, who was initially in disbelief until Naomi confirmed this as the truth. She explained that Gray Fox had been used for gene therapy experiments, led by FOXHOUND's former chief of medical staff Dr. Clark, who had died in a lab explosion two years prior. Campbell had been unaware of this, as it had happened shortly after his retirement from the unit; Naomi only knew about it because she had stumbled upon it when she joined FOXHOUND. She added that Dr. Clark had recovered the body of a soldier after the fall of Zanzibar Land, and revived him. He had then been outfitted with a prototype exoskeleton, treated with drugs, and experimented upon for four years, leading to the creation of the Genome Soldiers. Campbell was sickened by this, while Snake asked Naomi as to why she had failed to tell them sooner. She claimed that it was confidential information, but Snake suspected that there was more to it than she was letting on. When asked by Campbell as to what happened to Gray Fox afterwards, Naomi stated that he had 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 the only reason that he had lived on was for a fight to the death with Snake.

Rescuing Dr. Emmerich, who informed Snake he had developed Metal Gear REX, with no knowledge that it was to be nuclear-equipped. He believed that REX was intended for provide Theater Missile Defense against nuclear weapons. Dr. Emmerich informed Snake that REX's armament was handled by a separate department (in order to keep him in the dark) and that REX's rail gun (based on the rail gun for the SDI) 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, Emmerich warned Snake that if the PAL override keys didn't work, he would have no choice but to destroy REX. Snake also briefly expressed some concern for Dr. Emmerich, due to his experience of Anderson and Baker dying from a heart attack shortly after telling him everything they knew.

"Mantis's Hymn"

Snake tracked down Meryl, but she only had one of the three detonation override keys on her. Heading to the REX hangar by way of the Communication Towers, Psycho Mantis took control of Meryl using his psychic powers. Snake had to knock Meryl out in order to save her. Snake proceeded to defeat Mantis who read both their minds, mentioning that he and Snake had a shared suffering, and predicting a great turmoil that awaited he and Meryl.

Solid Snake is captured by FOXHOUND.

On their way to the towers, Sniper Wolf shot Meryl and used her as bait to lure Snake out. Devastated, Snake headed back to the armory to get a PSG1 in order to battle Wolf. Finding one, he immediately headed back and managed to out-snipe Wolf. Snake was then captured and tortured by Ocelot who took the launch data Baker gave to Snake. Snake resisted the torture, knowing that if he gave in, Ocelot would kill Meryl.

In the cell, Snake encountered Anderson's corpse, but mysteriously it appeared he had been dead for days. He received a call from Naomi and Campbell and Snake learned more about the situation and a heated conversation between Campbell and Snake ensued. Snake realized that Campbell had hid information from him and that he knew that REX was a nuclear delivery system. According to Campbell, even the U.S. President had apparently been unaware of the existence of REX until the day before. To make matters more complicated, he was due to meet with the Russian President the following day for the formal signing of START III. If the fact that a new nuclear weapon was being developed by the United States were made public, there was a significant chance that the signing would never take place. Worse still, the loss of confidence in America's commitment to non-proliferation could create international turmoil. The government clearly had every reason to keep the situation under wraps, and there were ample indication that the terrorists had counted on the fact. The timing of this takeover as well as the twenty-four hour deadline said as much. And Naomi told Snake that the reason that U.S. Government couldn't hand over Big Boss' corpse to the terrorists is because the President passed a number of policies that severely restrict genetic engineering on humans and he couldn't afford to have the public know 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 Johnny Sasaki, who was guarding him, foolishly opened the cell door to check on him, and Snake immediately capitalized on this opportunity. Knocking Johnny out, Snake escaped from the cell, heading back to the Communication Towers.

"Hind D"

Once atop the first tower, he encountered Liquid who was piloting the Hind D, who proceeded to shoot the bridge connecting to the second tower. Using a rope he found, Snake rappeled down to the lower bridge connecting to second tower. He met Otacon who attempted to fix the elevator while Snake headed back out to fight against Liquid in the Hind D. Snake shot down the Hind with stinger missiles and headed out the tower. Along the way, Otacon mentioned that the elevator started operating again, and he didn't even fix it.

Snake boarded the elevator when Otacon called him again, realizing he forgot to tell Snake something he felt was important. There were five prototype stealth camouflage suits in his lab, counting his own. He was intending to get one for Snake, but when he went back to the lab, they were gone. He began to suspect that someone was "holding" the elevator down. Snake, slowly realizing what had happened, asked Otacon if the weight limit warning went off while he was on it. Otacon confirmed this, also finding it strange as he was nowhere near being over the weight limit. Snake asked him his weight, Otacon replying that he's 135 pounds, and the elevator's maximum limit is 650 pounds. Snake concluded that about five people would be required to go over the limit. Otacon realizing what had happened, attempted to warn Snake that whoever stole the remaining stealth camouflage prototypes were on the elevator with him. They then ambushed Snake at that moment, but Snake managed to defeat them.

Solid Snake listens to Wolf's last words.

Emerging onto the snowfield, he was caught off guard by Sniper Wolf but he 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 assumed was Big Boss. Now at peace, she requested Snake to "finish her quick." At that moment, Otacon turned up, admitting that he had fallen in love with her. Snake then shot Wolf before him and Otacon parted ways. Otacon promised that he would help Snake anyway he could.

"Colosseo"

Snake then headed to the control room where REX was being held and in the process met Vulcan Raven for the second time. Raven, armed with a gatling gun battled Snake and was eventually defeated. Raven revealed to him that the man he met in the cells who told him about Metal Gear was in fact, Decoy Octopus in disguise. Snake was then told by Master Miller that Naomi was not who she was making herself out to be. Based on information she gave earlier about her past, Miller made the deduction that she was lying and was most likely a spy. Snake mentioned that she did used to work for FOXHOUND, and Campbell then asked if she was involved in the uprising. Miller then hinted that she may actually be part of a third party, before telling Campbell to arrest Naomi, as she had endangered the operation. Miller then told Campbell that she needed to be interrogated to find out her employers, with Campbell worrying that they would be in big trouble if she turned out to be a spy. Snake then asked Campbell what he meant by that, to which Campbell quickly denied any meaning. Miller then asked Campbell if he was hiding anything that dealt with the mysterious circumstances on the deaths of the DARPA Chief and the ArmsTech President. He then tried to reason with Miller to allow her to stay on the mission a little while longer, to which he accidentally let slip to Snake that he may have had some involvement in their deaths, with Snake remarking that he wouldn't give Campbell any more time.

"REX's Lair"

Making his way to the REX Hangar Control Room, Otacon contacted Snake and, after stating that he had overheard some guards talking about how REX's preparations were complete, revealed that he was in the computer room and thus could hack into President Baker's files to find the PAL key. He eventually contacted Snake after successfully hacking into Baker's computer files and stated that, although he hadn't found the PAL key file yet, he found out about what Metal Gear REX was capable of: Metal Gear REX was able to launch specifically-designed nuclear warheads with its rail gun, and in fact the missiles it launched were stealth missiles, due to not requiring any fuel as well as being embued with stealth technology and a surface-piercing warhead, thus making it more apparent why the Sons of Big Boss would choose the START III signing date as their deadline: its development being exposed would, in the worse case scenario, result in the UN denouncing the United States and possibly even result in the President being brought down. Otacon also revealed that it was only simulated and thus never actually tested, explaining the exercise, and Otacon's analysis indicated that it accomplished more than they had hoped for, although he couldn't find the test data to back it up, with Snake grimly admitting that Baker gave him the test data, and that Ocelot took it from him during the torture. Otacon later contacted him telling him about the reason behind Baker's motives: ArmsTech was in a worse financial state than even Otacon thought, as there were rumors about a hostile takeover against ArmsTech after their X Plane project was scrapped by the military in addition to the funding cut caused by SDI, and that REX was their last chance at the company's survival, with Baker bribing the DARPA Chief to work on it. Snake overheard Liquid and Ocelot talking about their plans: instead of taking the superpowers head on (such as by launching a nuke against the United States or Russia), they would provoke the superpowers into fighting against each other, which would possibly result in mutual assured destruction. This was the reason why he went against Ocelot's suggestion to set the target for the nuclear strike to be Chernoton, Russia; preferring instead Lop Nor, China, the location of a nuclear test site. Firing a nuke on civilian territory would spell the end for any possible future negotiations, but an attack on a nuclear test site could still be concealed from the public by the Chinese government. This way, he could pit the Chinese (and also India, due to the CNTBT) against the U.S., and the latter would be forced to confess to some of its state secrets. At that point, he figured the other superpowers in the world would be interested in buying the system from them (Metal Gear REX and possibly improved Genome Soldiers), at which point he would sell them to the highest bidder.

Snake gazes up at Metal Gear REX.

They also mention that they have included more demands for the White House: one billion dollars, which, along with Big Boss's DNA, would be used to cure the Genome Soldiers from a mysterious genetic illness, and the FOXDIE vaccine. Not only that, but 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 vast resources at his command, Liquid would drag the world into the Third World War, wanting to fulfill Big Boss's dream of a world which always had a place for soldiers. Otacon contacted Snake, telling Snake he finally found the PAL key file and discovered that the trick to the PAL key was that it was made of a shape memory alloy that changed at different temperatures: room temperature, low temperature and high temperature.

"Enclosure"

Just then, Snake was discovered by Ocelot. Snake lost track of the PAL key after Ocelot shot it out of his hand. Snake was able to find the PAL key in the drainage ditch before being poisoned from the radiation. After having been taken into custody by Campbell, Naomi called Snake and told him that she was, in fact, a spy. She then went on to tell Snake why she did what she did, revealing that her brother was Frank Jaeger (better known as Gray Fox), which shocked Snake. He had adopted her in Rhodesia after her parents were killed. She had simply bought her identity of Naomi Hunter, and didn't even know her real name. It was after the Rhodesian Civil War that Big Boss had brought Frank and Naomi over to America, just before Big Boss and Frank went off again, to fight in the Mercenary War where Frank was nearly killed by Snake. Filled with pure hatred for Snake, Naomi joined FOXHOUND and waited for her time. She revealed to Snake that he had been injected with FOXDIE, an artificial virus that targeted specific people and caused the victim to suffer a heart attack. He had been injected with it so it could be used to kill off FOXHOUND and Baker, but Naomi had re-engineered the virus so that it would kill him too. However, she admitted that she no longer hated him, after learning his point of view on the fight with Gray Fox. She also told him that while she did hate him for crippling her brother (and thus indirectly putting him in gene therapy as a guinea pig), her hatred wasn't the primary reason why she injected him. Just before she could reveal the truth, Campbell wrestled her down and told Snake that he was forbidden to talk to her, but Snake was deeply upset at Campbell due to him being "betrayed and used."

Liquid Snake stands before REX.

Eventually, Snake inputted all the three PAL keys, only to discover that he had inadvertently activated Metal Gear REX himself. Confused by how this could have happened, Snake was soon contacted by Miller. He revealed to Snake that Anderson's and Baker's detonation codes had never been used as the terrorists had been unable to obtain the former's before his death. He also revealed that Octopus had posed as Anderson to trick Snake into locating the PAL keys, but FOXHOUND hadn't anticipated that Snake would be a carrier for FOXDIE. Just then, Campbell called Snake and told him that the person he was talking to wasn't Miller. He told him that the real Miller had been dead for three days which shocked Snake. In addition, although Campbell initially didn't know about Miller's death due to Miller's Codec being cut off from Campbell, Mei Ling had traced "Miller's" frequency from being within Shadow Moses. After the truth came out, Miller revealed that he was actually Liquid in disguise. Liquid trapped Snake in the control room and activated the soman gas valves, but Snake was able to easily escape after calling Otacon for help. After escaping, Snake finally confronted Liquid, face-to-face, and Liquid explained that he disguised himself as Miller in order to trick Snake more easily, and also revealed how the people who were using him as a disease vector were the people who recruited him: the Pentagon. Naomi was working with the Pentagon on making the virus program, although they did not anticipate that she would modify FOXDIE to target Snake out of revenge. He also explained that the reason the Pentagon decided to inject Snake with FOXDIE was so they could recover the Genome Soldier bodies as well as the Metal Gear REX weapon undamaged.

After explaining this to Snake, as well as briefly stating that he and Snake were not ordinary twins, but twins that were clones of Big Boss as a result of the Les Enfants Terribles project, as well as expressing his hatred for both Snake for receiving the dominant genes (making Snake "the dominant one"), and their father, Big Boss for apparently choosing Liquid knowingly to be the inferior one. Liquid told Snake that he wanted to kill Big Boss and exact revenge, berating his brother for "stealing that chance", as well as saying that by following Big Boss's legacy, he would "surpass and destroy [Big Boss]."

"Duel"

Liquid then climbed aboard REX, giving Snake no option but to destroy it. In addition, he also learned from Roy Campbell that if Snake failed to destroy REX, Campbell will be forced to resort to using the USS Discovery to bombard the Shadow Moses facility with nuclear warheads as a last resort. Otacon then called Snake and told him REX's weakness: REX's radome was Liquid's only view of the outside world while he was piloting it under the nigh-indestructible hull of the Metal Gear, meaning that he needed to destroy the radome to force Liquid to open up the cockpit and thus expose himself to enemy fire. Despite his valiant effort, it seemed like Snake was getting nowhere against REX. At that point, Gray Fox jumped out from the shadows and damaged REX's radome, which temporarily blinded Liquid. Fox and Snake used this opportuity to hide, which allowed Fox to explain to Snake that he adopted Naomi because he killed her parents, and felt guilty because of it. Fox then attempted to take out REX, but was eventually crushed under by it, although not before completely destroying REX's radome which forced Liquid to open up the cockpit and expose himself. With Liquid now being forced to leave REX's cockpit open and expose himself, Snake shot REX several times with the stinger before REX exploded, knocking Snake unconscious.

Snake battles Metal Gear REX.

Snake, hands bound, awoke atop the destroyed REX with Liquid watching over him, the latter having survived REX's destruction. Liquid proceeded to explain his plans to Snake, of creating a war-torn world in which warriors such as the two of them would always have a place, similar to Big Boss's dream. He also accused Snake himself of longing for such a world, despite his protests, 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's "inferior" recessive traits, while Solid Snake inherited his "superior" dominant traits. The Genome Soldiers were also products of Big Boss's genes, though their gene therapy had resulted in the appearance of a certain genetic disease, for which they needed Big Boss's 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.

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 gruelling 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.

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 the pair 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 apparently 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.

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.

As a consequence of sabotaging Snake's mission to Shadow Moses, Naomi Hunter was placed into a high-security prison. However, three days 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 Genome Soldiers were reassigned to Peace AFB, officially either for more training or imprisonment, although Romanenko suspected that they were actually being sent 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.

Campbell resumed retirement, although Meryl would eventually end up returning to the service due to her father's connections.

Houseman's actions later resulted in his death 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.

After In the Darkness of Shadow Moses was released, with backing from The Shocking Conspiracy behind Shadow Moses by journalist Gary McGolden, George Sears was forced to resign from the presidency by the Patriots, alongside nearly being killed by them before Ocelot intervened.

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 9mm 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 permanenty, and the second being underground at a location unknown to him.

Behind the scenes

The Shadow Moses Incident is depicted in Metal Gear Solid. There is an alternate conclusion to the incident, if the player submits to Ocelot's torture, in which Snake finds Meryl dead atop REX and leaves 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. 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 of the words "Metal Gear Solid" was under the suggestion of one of the production team members.

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:br />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

Gallery

Metal Gear Solid

Solid Snake surfacing from the water near the dock.

A Genome Soldier on the lookout near the dock.

Liquid orders the Genome Soldiers to be vigilant of Snake's arrival.

Two Genome Soldiers discuss recent events on Shadow Moses in the tank hangar.

Snake meets Donald Anderson within the tank hangar's holding cells.

Donald Anderson succumbs to FOXDIE in the prison.

Meryl (disguised as a Genome Soldier) attempts to stop Snake.

Liquid scolds Ocelot for the death of the DARPA Chief.

Meryl fires at Snake after boarding an elevator under Psycho Mantis's influence.

Psycho Mantis briefly projects himself to Snake via a psychic emanation.

Snake and Meryl at a standoff.

Liquid sees the results of Ocelot's torture of the DARPA Chief.

Snake meets a death trapped Kenneth Baker in the armory.

Baker warns Snake not to trip the C4.

Baker forks over the sole remaining test data of REX to Snake.

President Baker succumbs to FOXDIE.

Vulcan Raven piloting the M1 Abrams in the canyon to face Snake.

Vulcan Raven prepares to fire at Snake in the canyon.

Mantis briefly produces a psychic emanation to Snake as he has a mind-controlled Meryl hold him at gunpoint

Mantis dying after his mask is taken off at his initial request.

The hallway leading from the western labs, strewn with the corpses of Genome Soldiers killed by Gray Fox.

Meryl successfully ambushes Solid Snake for the second time.

The commander's room, with a possessed Meryl attempting to seduce Snake at gunpoint.

Snake and Meryl find the underground passage leading to the Communications Tower A.

The claymores located in the Underground passage

Sniper Wolf ambushes Snake.

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

Snake and Meryl, after the events of the Shadow Moses Incident are over.

Appearances

• Metal Gear Solid/The Twin Snakes
• Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (mentioned)
• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (mentioned)
• Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel

See also

• 2000s