Otacon
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- For the Otaku Convention, see Otakon.
Template:Metal Gear Character 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.
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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 Philanthropy'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.
When Snake met Otacon at their hideout he was given the disk that contained the data of the Patriots to look over, which included names and whereabouts. After this (The ending note) Otacon told Solid Snake about the Patriots information on the disc. The Patriots had been dead for more than 100 years...Otacon's current whereabouts are unknown, but it is assumed that he's still trying to unravel more the mystery of the Patriots while working with Snake in Philanthropy.
Otacon's Grandfather
In Operation: Snake Eater (the events of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater), it is revealed that in the 1960s, Otacon's grandfather was a friend of Soviet engineer Aleksandr Leonovitch Granin, the man who first developed the concept of bipedial tanks as weapons. Both of them were weapon designers working for the allied forces during World War II. Otacon's grandfather wrote papers on the subjects, and it's possible that Otacon himself based REX off these early designs. It is also possible that ArmsTech had been given Granin's REX-like designs and Otacon modernized them for the actual REX, with no knowledge of Granin's connection to his grandfather (as the very end of Metal Gear Solid 3 implies that Granin never got to send the designs off to Otacon's grandfather as Revolver Ocelot, talking to the CIA Director, implies that he found the designs and that they could be used for a future American weapon).
Guns of the Patriots
Image:OtaconMGS4.PNG Otacon has also appeared in a teaser trailer for the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Appearing to be several years older than he was in MGS2, Otacon assists Snake through the small, remote controlled robot similar in appearance and function to the Metal Gear Mk. 2 which featured in Hideo Kojima's earlier title Snatcher. Otacon's younger looks in the trailer has been used to contrast Solid Snake's elderly appearance.
It should also be noted that the kanji-like symbol on Snake's new sneaking suit is called an Otakon (オタ魂), which is a portmanteau of Otacon's name with the kanji character (kon or tamashii) for spirit; beneath it is the phrase "to let the world be". The symbol is Otacon's personal logo and will appear on equipment designed by him.