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TheMetal Gear Solidseries is full of groups and organizations. Some real and some fictional. There are mentions of the CIA, GRU, KGB, and other real-world spy and military groups, but there are also organizations such as FOX, FOXHOUND, XOF, MSF, and Dead Cell which are fictitious. One of the fictitious, and most important groups in the series is The Patriots.
For much of the game series, The Patriots are a group that’s mentioned, operating in the background, but rarely explained in full detail. They also go by the names ‘La Li Lu Le Lo,’ and CIPHER, just to confuse matters more. Understanding who and what The Patriots are is no easy task, so this article might help a bit.
Who Are The Patriots?
The Patriots were a group thatoperated in the background, controlling, and manipulating events, news, and people.
By the 1990s,they were essentially running the United States of America. Information, the economy, and warfare were all under their control.
Even the President of the United States was a puppet to their machinations, often without even knowing it.
What Is The Patriots' Goal?
The group was formed on an ideal envisioned by the legendary soldier, The Boss. She wanteda unified world, one without war and conflict.
In time, though, with changes in leadership and events unfolding in unpredictable ways,that vision was skewed and obscured, and the group instead put focus onpower and control.
Who Started The Patriots?
A group known asThe Philosophers formed after the events of World War 1.They were made up of thewealthiest, most powerful individuals in America, The Republic of China, and the Soviet Union.
Using their wealth, resources, and influence, they would steer the world away from war and conflict. After the death of a key member in the 1930s,this vision dissipated, and the organization lost its way.
The individual members then spun off on their own,manipulating their own countries, leaders, and events to suit their needs. They even established training for operatives and future members.
Prior to World War 2,The Philosophers put all their resources into what was known as The Philosopher’s Legacy — A slush fund of approximately one hundred billion dollars.
The money was used to fund new methods of warfare, including rockets, nuclear weapons, and super soldiers.
During the war, the factions split.The Russians spread misinformation, attempting to sabotage the Manhattan Project.
They didn’t want the Americans to have their own weapons of mass destruction, so they did what they could to destroy the project, framing a key scientist as a Nazi spy.
The Legacy was stolen by Boris Volgin, who then passed it on to his son.As the factions each desired to obtain the Legacy, tensions rose, and the Cold War formed.
The Boss was dispatched on several missions during this period. One of the final ones resulted in heracquiring The Philosophers’ Legacy and handing it over to America, hoping it would help bring the world together again.
Who Is In The Patriots?
Zero (The Leader)
Zero, whose real name was David Oh, was the original commander of the CIA unit, FOX. Born in England, Zero eventually became a Major, and he served time in the CIA, SAS, and MI6.
After the death of The Boss, Zero made it his life’s goal to carry out her will, or at least his interpretation of it.He wanted a world without war,which he would achieve via control and manipulation.
Ocelot (The Informant)
Ocelot, whose real name was Adamska, was a Russian-American member of the CIA unit, FOXHOUND, during the ’90s. He wasrenowned for his gun-fighting skills, as well as his interrogation techniques.
He wasthe son of The Bossand The Sorrow, having been born during a battle in World War 2.
Throughout his career,Ocelot served many masters, often as a double or a triple agent,reporting on one another, usually with a greater scheme or plan at play.
Big Boss (The Icon)
Big Boss, also named John or Jack, was thelegendary soldier and the one-time disciple of The Boss.
He served under Major Zero in the CIA unit, FOX, wherehe took down The Boss, earning the title, Big Boss. He then went on to found numerous units of his own, such as FOXHOUND, and MSF.
After the death of The Boss,he sought to carry out his interpretation of her will, a world in which soldiers would never be pawns to the government, and where they would never become obsolete or useless.
Donald Anderson Aka Sigint (Eventual Leader Of CIPHER, And Eventual DARPA Chief)
Donald wasan expert in weapons, munitions, explosives, and technology. He served as Naked Snake’s weapons advisor during Operation Snake Eater, and he was recruited into The Patriots by Zero after the mission’s success.
In the 1990s,he became the Chief of DARPA and was fundamental in getting Metal Gear REX developed in the 2000s.
When FOXHOUND went rogue and seized Shadow Moses Island, he was captured and tortured by Ocelot,who deliberately killed Donald to keep his own cover intact.
Dr. Clark Aka Para-Medic (Scientist)
During Operation Snake Eater and the Virtuous Mission of the 1960s, Para-Medic served as Naked Snake’s medical advisor.
After the mission, Zero recruited her into The Patriots, at which point she wasone of the key people involved in the Les Enfants Terribles Project that created Solid and Liquid Snake.
She later becamethe chief medical officer of FOXHOUND, and was instrumental in creating the cyborg ninja.
EVA (The Spy)
EVA wasa spy working for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army during the Cold War.At this time, she met with Naked Snake (Big Boss), becoming more than friendly with him.
After these events, she was rescued from her service in China by Big Boss, recruited into The Patriots, and then shebecame a surrogate mother to the Sons of Big Boss (Liquid and Solid Snake.)
What Is CIPHER?
In the early 1970s,Major Zero — the head of the CIA unit, FOX — disbanded the American faction of The Philosopher’s and reformed it under a new name, CIPHER. He led the group in its early days,attempting to control the American government and way of life.
To do this, he recruited Big Boss, Para-Medic, Sigint, and Ocelot into the group. After rescuing a Chinese agent, EVA, she too joined the organization.
With each of them having known The Boss, the hope was that they would revert to her initial hope for the organization.They then went on to try to unify the world through control.
Zero went to work onmanipulating the news and media into making Big Boss a legendary soldier.
However,Big Boss resented being treated akin to a puppet. At the same time,Big Boss and Zero clashed over their interpretations of The Boss’ will.
Zero believed she wanted control over the worldvia a unified government, while Big Boss believed she wanted a world in which soldiers would not become puppets or pawns to the government.
Why Did Zero And Big Boss Fall Out?
Afraid of losing Big Boss, Zero started a project called‘Les Enfants Terribles,’which would use Big Boss’ DNA to clone the legendary soldier.The result was the birth ofLiquid, Solid, and later, Solidus Snake.
Having not been privy to this,Big Boss left the organization and formed his own mercenary group (MSF) to carry on his interpretation of The Boss’ will.
EVA also left the organization after this, butOcelot remained there as a spy. Para-Medic and Sigint remained in the group, becoming corrupt and power-hungry.
The former pushed genetic science,twisting the interpretation of the law, and the lattertook bribes and started developing AI.
Afraid of Big Boss and what he would do,Zero himself went into hiding, controlling the American government through proxies and agents.
The organizationofficially took on the name of CIPHER in 1974, recruiting various members and groups from around the world, and beginning work on developing AI and Metal Gear’s.
They also negotiateda business arrangement between themselves and Kazuhira Miller, a co-founder of MSF with Big Boss. Big Boss was not, however, aware of this.
As a result,MSF was, in part, controlled and manipulated by CIPHER, the very organization Big Boss was opposing.
When Big Boss and MSF developed Metal Gear Zeke,Zero instructed his agent, Pacifica, to hijack the mech. However, her attempt wasthwarted by Big Boss.
CIPHER had intended on using MSF as a deterrent against enemy forces, butBig Boss continued to turn down any offers of joining or co-operating with the group.
So,Zero tried to frame MSF as extremists intent on launching nuclear weapons at America, but Big Boss prevented this plan from coming to fruition.
Using their knowledge and wealth, as well as developments on mechs, tech, and weapons of the time,CIPHER went on to further develop a future AI network.
Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes And The Phantom Pain
Discovering thatPacifica was still alive, CIPHER had her detained in a Cuban prison, believing she had been compromised. They also leaked information to the United Nations, provoking them to do an inspection of MSF’s Mother Base concerning the purchasing of nuclear fuel.
During the inspection,CIPHER attacked MSF via its strike force, XOF, andBig Boss rescued Paz from her prison. Many died during the incident, and Big Boss fell into a coma.
XOF leader,Skull Face, seeking some sort of revenge against Zero, used information obtained from Paz’s interrogation to track down Zero.Upon finding him, he sent a lapel pin once belonging to The Boss to Zero.
Unbeknownst to Zero, it was laced with a parasite that infected him,eventually sending him into a mute, vegetative state.
Knowing he could no longer control CIPHER,Zero developed a series of AI’s to take control in his absence.TJ, TR, AL, GW, and an AI called JD that would control them all, and in turn the world.
The idea was that they couldcontrol the world economy, politics, and warfare with AI devoid of free will or personal interest.
With Zero out of commission,Skull Face seized control of CIPHER until he was defeated by Venom Snake, a body double of Big Boss.
CIPHER later tried to siphon control of world energy and later the remains of Metal Gear Sahelanthropus, but by this point the organization was almost entirely run by AI collectively known as The Patriots.
The AI was shackled by certain rules. This limited its capabilities and reach, meaning it could only filter information they sought to control.
This filtration was designed toensure that the concepts driving society appeared the same to each and every person, so any information that said otherwise was filtered out, and everyone would see and believe the same thing.
The thinking was thatpeople would participate in their plan for society under the illusion of free will.
The 1990s
The Patriots pushed genetic testing and engineering during the Gulf War, continuing to use and experiment on Big Boss’ genes and DNA.
The result wasGulf War Syndrome, and deformed Gulf War babies. They covered up their activities,blaming it on uranium from tanks.
The Patriots then kidnapped a child soldier named Raiden from his unit, based purely on his hatred for himself and the things he had done. They thensubjected him to mind control and memory manipulationand would use him as an agent in the future.
Big Boss twice attempted to take down The Patriots but was thwarted both times by his clone, Solid Snake. His smoldering remains were then retrieved byThe Patriots, who kept him alive but comatose via nanomachines.
Furious at this,EVA and Ocelot began forging plans to take down The Patriots and rescue Big Boss.
The 2000s
The Patriots sent the populace and various governments a program that wassupposed to counteract the impending Y2K bug. This program was uploaded to all government and military computer systems.
Unknown to the populace and governments,there was a sub-program attached. This sub-program would activate once JD was ready to launch, and when it was launched into space as a satellite, it wasplaced among space debris to reduce its traceability.
During this period,The Patriots had almost complete control over the American government.They chose who would become President, staged elections, andtricked the populace into thinking they had any say or inputinto who ran their country.
At this time, the few human members of The Patriotsdisguised their identitiesand kept themselves hidden by almost everyone.
Metal Gear Solid
In 2005,Donald Anderson (Sigint) was bribed by the President of ArmsTech into funding a new Metal Gear.
Meanwhile, the President of the United Statespushed Ocelot into inciting Liquid Snake and FOXHOUND into seizing control of Shadow Moses Island, against the will of The Patriots.
During the takeover,Ocelot killed Donald Anderson during an interrogationandpassed it off as an accident. Donald was aware of Ocelot’s real identity and role and was therefore a risk to him and his cover.
The PatriotssentSolid Snake to rescue Donald Anderson, which he failed to do.They also sent in Meryl Silverburgh, in anticipation of the takeover, and as a means of getting Colonel Roy Campbell to cooperate on Snake’s mission.
Unknown to Snake,he was injected with a sample of the FOXDIE virusprior to the mission. His time on the island was, in turn,a deliberate attempt to spread the virus that targeted specific DNA.It resulted inthe death of FOXHOUND leader, Liquid Snake.
To cover up the real events,The Patriots concocted a story about the Sons of Big Boss seizing control of the islandin exchange for the release of several penitentiary prisoners.
When the demands were supposedly not met,a commando team went in and eliminated them all.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty
Against the will and plans of The Patriots,the United States Marine Corps developed their own Metal Gear.To counteract this,The Patriots sent in Ocelot to retrieve it for them.
After framing the now famous Solid Snake for the incident,The Patriots sent out and sank an oil tanker as a means of later developing an offshore cleanup facility called The Big Shell, which was a cover for their development of Arsenal Gear.
Arsenal Gear was the home of GW, one of The Patriot’s key AIs.This AI was responsible for censoring and deleting unwanted, unfavorable information, and thus further enhancing The Patriot’s control and standing with America.
When Emma Emmerich,one of the architects of GW, infected Arsenal Gear with a virus, Ocelot crashed the vessel into Manhattan. He then recovered GW.
During this time, Raiden was sent in to deal with the rogue group, Dead Cell, being led entirely by AI-generated versions of his girlfriend, Rose, and Roy Campbell, both developed by The Patriots as a means of controlling the situation.
Upon revealing themselves to Raiden, they forced his cooperation by threatening the lives of Rose and the child of Olga Gurlukovich. They also revealed thatthe incident was an attempt to prove the AI’s ability to manipulate people’s personalities and memories.
Investigating The Patriots, Philanthropy, a group operated by Solid Snake and Hal Emmerich, discovered thatThe Patriots had been dead for over 100 years.
They deduced that the deceased members were in fact The Wiseman’s Committee, andwere being used as cover for the real members.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots
Sometime before 2014,the proxy-AI running The Patriots without any human involvement began to mutate and gain self-control.This then allowed them to interpret and carry out their objectives however they sought, resulting in war.
The war economy was created, forging‘a new world without ideology, principles, or ideals, not even the thing [The Boss] treasured the most: loyalty. It was a colossal error in judgment – one Zero couldn’t possibly have foreseen.’
Essentially, to control the flow of information,The Patriots began to control the economy by influencing the flow and outcome of wars across the world, as well as individuals involved in them.
Using nanomachines, which had become much more commonplace in society, and not just in soldiers and operatives,The Patriots were able to control and manipulate people.
They couldcensor their thoughts and feelings, prevent them from saying and doing certain things, and control anyone who had the nanomachines installed.
In 2014, Liquid Ocelot brought the five biggest PMC’s (Private Military Company’s) under his control, which rivaled the size and force of the United States military.His goal was to use this force to hijack the Sons of the Patriots control system from The Patriots.
To counteract this, The Patriots manipulated individuals such as Solid Snake into eliminating the threat of Liquid Ocelot.
Unknown to them,Solid Snake and Otacon would end up destroying The Patriots, playing into Ocelot’s real plan.
The Patriots were brought down by a virus created by Naomi Hunter and Sunny, which infected the AI systems, ending them forever. To prevent total societal collapse, Sunny was able to pick and choose which systems were to remain intact after the fall.
With The Patriot’s destroyed,Big Boss woke from his nanomachine induced coma and immediately hunted down Zero.He then confronted Solid Snake for the last time, and euthanized the aging, vegetative Zero, before dying himself of the FOXDIE virus carried by Solid Snake.
In many of the Metal Gear video games, Ocelot is presented as an antagonist.However, at a young age in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, he encountered Naked Snake (Big Boss) and they found a mutual respect for one another.
They then united in MSF and later FOXHOUND, becoming close friends.Ocelot idolized Big Boss, almost to a father figure level,(Ocelot never knew his real father.)
In the later events of the series,Ocelot did everything to carry out Big Boss' dreams and vision, by freeing the world of control and manipulation, and finding a way to bring Big Boss back. He did thiseven if it meant sacrificing his own life in the process and presenting himself as the villain.
WhileOcelot had some good intentions, he did some very bad things to achieve them.To a certain extent, he is a hero.How much of a hero and a villain he is, is very much up for interpretationand a matter of personal opinion and belief.
