Games - Otacon

	Games - Otacon

Dr. Hal Emmerich, nicknamed Otacon, is a fictional character in the Metal Gear Solid video game series.

A master engineer and the eccentric designer of Metal Gear REX. Otacon becomes a close ally of Solid Snake upon learning of REX's nuclear strike capabilities. After the events of Metal Gear Solid, he helped Solid Snake form Philanthropy, a group whose main objective is to prevent proliferation of Metal Gear-type weapons.

Snake and Otacon infiltrate the military installations and facilities of the world, delving into their compounds through stealth and cyber hacking. In a sense, Snake is the brawn and Otacon is the brains behind "Philanthropy."

A devoted fan of anime, Hal's chosen nickname is the short form of the Otaku Convention, with reference to Otakon held in Baltimore each year. The name "Hal" is a direct reference to the computer HAL 9000 from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, one of several references to the film which is present in Metal Gear Solid; in the Otacon ending of the game, Hal and Snake make direct comparisons to the film. The surname "Emmerich" comes from Roland Emmerich, one of Hideo Kojima's favorite film directors.

History

After the death of Hal's mother, his father married a British woman named Julie Danziger with a child of her own (Emma). Hal and Emma were close, and developed mutual infatuation. His stepmother seduced him, and both held a brief affair.

Upon learning this, Hal's father committed suicide by drowning himself, and accidentally dragged in Emma in the process. Emma expected her Hal to save her, but he didn't know it was happening since at the time he was with his stepmother. After the incident, Emma had become estranged from her stepbrother, blaming him for not saving her.

Shortly afterwards, Hal ran away from home and didn't see any of his family members until several years later. Choosing not to continue school, he began to educate himself via the Internet. He became a big fan of anime, and started calling himself Otacon, short for the Otaku Convention, which he never misses.

He matriculated at MIT and earned his Ph.D. in Princeton University. During his college years, he was recruited by the FBI's Engineering Research Facility, but was fired from his job after hacking into their classified database.

The Shadow Moses island incident

Otacon was hired by Armstech, Inc. to be the lead engineer for the Metal Gear REX project. He jumped at the chance to make an actual mecha type robot, which appears frequently in the anime he enjoys. He was led to believe that it was a mobile defense system, but in reality it is a nuclear doomsday weapon. During the Shadow Moses incident (the events of Metal Gear Solid), Otacon encountered Solid Snake, who had informed him of the true nature of Metal Gear Rex. Devastated, Otacon realized that he had written yet another chapter in his family's dark history-- his grandfather had worked on the Manhattan Project, and his father was born on the day of the Hiroshima bombing.

Otacon had developed a strong attraction to FOXHOUND member Sniper Wolf, possibly under the effects of Stockholm syndrome. Distraught that Snake would have to kill her, Otacon eventually came to terms with her, himself, and his position in life.

With Otacon's assistance, Snake was able to destroy Metal Gear REX and defeat the terrorist uprising. After the schematics to Metal Gear were placed on the black market by Revolver Ocelot, both men formed Philanthropy, an organization dedicated to the end of the proliferation of Metal Gear-type weapons.

The Sinking of the Tanker

In 2007, Otacon received an email from his sister, Emma, informing him of a new Metal Gear prototype codenamed RAY. The e-mail was actually a bait for the Patriots to lure Snake out of hiding and frame him for terrorism, by having Ocelot hijack RAY and place the blame on Snake with forged evidence. When the tanker was destroyed by Ocelot, Otacon took a boat and managed to save Snake, as well Olga Gurlukovich.

Otacon was forced to fake Snake's death after he was framed by the Patriots. Using connections he had with an organization, he managed to steal Liquid Snake's corpse (which was missing his right arm) and dumped it into the sea. He continued to manage Phlanthropy's activities, while keeping Snake's survival a secret from the public.

The Big Shell takeover

In 2009, he received another anonymous e-mail, this time from Liquid (while taking over Ocelot's mind), informing him about the development of Arsenal Gear in the Big Shell. When Solidus seized the Big Shell, he infiltrated the facility with SEAL Team 10 to find Emma, who was among the hostages. He managed to be reunited with her, but she died shortly afterwards, due to stab wounds inflicted by Vamp. Before her death, Emma admitted to always admiring Hal and wanting to follow his footsteps. Despite falling into deep despair, Snake encouraged him to move on and rescue all the hostages held in the Big Shell. Apparently he was successful in this, and stays in contact to support Raiden until he defeated Solidus.

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