the "puppeteer" (, ningy-tsukai, "puppet master" in the film) is the main antagonist of the original ghost in the shell manga as well as in the first film. although it is first suspected of being a super hacker, capable of "ghost hacking", or taking control of a cyberized person's body without their knowledge, section 9 later discovers that it is actually an advanced artificial intelligence program, known as project 2501, created by section 6, the treaty bureau of japan's ministry of foreign affairs. when project 2501 went rogue, section 6 was able to trap it in a firewalled system, but it escaped after using a factory to produce a robot body that gets hit by a truck and taken in by section 9. when the truth is revealed to section 9, the "puppet master" demands asylum as a sentient creature, arguing that its self-preserving programming is no different from dna. after a battle between section 6 and section 9, major motoko kusanagi manages to link with the "puppet master" and converses with it, learning that it wishes to preserve itself and pass on its ideas as any biological creature would, but rather than make copies of itself with the same weaknesses and flaws, it wishes to merge with kusanagi. although she fears that she will lose her individuality, project 2501 reminds her about identity and change and impermanence. motoko finally agrees and the "puppet master" is merged with her ghost, just as section 6 snipers destroy the robot shell and severely damage the major's own prosthetic body.
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