Episode 21 - Doppelganger
On her way to school, Mikoto is approached by Shokuhou, in a roundabout fashion. Shokuhou has learned about the Bust Upper incident, and gleefully mocks Mikoto over it — until the latter snaps, grabs Shokuhou's breasts, and demands to know what's so special about them. After realizing what she's doing, Mikoto pulls away in shock while Shokuhou attempts to recover her dignity.
At Judgement, Kuroko and Uiharu give a report on the Indian Poker craze. It seems the shared dreams are resulting in leaks of sensitive information, such as the layout of private areas and even security arrangements. They note that Anti-Skill has tried to trace the person who first uploaded the plans for the dream recording technology, but without success.
Shokuhou's associate Keitz, however, has identified the uploader: a 14-year-old researcher named Ryouko Kuriba, who was once involved with Clone Dolly. She is apparently working and living at another research institute... but there's some question whether the person there is actually the real Kuriba. Shokuhou, meanwhile, is uncomfortable with the science behind Indian Poker, which strikes her as similar to brainwashing.
Sitting at an outdoor cafe, Shokuhou summarizes this information for Mikoto. Regarding Kuriba, Shokuhou explains that her most recent project was apparently human cyborg experimentation. It seems Kuriba had half of her body replaced with cybernetics, and her removed organs were integrated into a separate cyborg body — effectively turning herself into two people. After a year of this dual existence, she was reintegrated, apparently none the worse for wear. Kuriba's objective was to develop viable human cybernetics... but it seems the research institute had another objective in mind: to try and create a human soul. Both 'versions' of Kuriba were apparently alive and conscious at the same time... so what happened to the second consciousness when she was put back together? Word is that when her body was reintegrated, the former cybernetic parts were similarly put together to form a purely artificial body — does that other body now have its own soul?
Mikoto wonders what Shokuhou's interest in all this is, and asks why she hasn't told Anti-Skill that Kuriba is behind the Indian Poker. Saying she wants to verify the cyborg situation first, Shokuhou asks Mikoto to break into the research institute and see if the rumours are true. She offers an exchange: if Mikoto investigates this for her, Shokuhou will use her considerable influence to smooth the way for the Misaka Sisters to live normal lives. Once Mikoto leaves, Mitori Kouzaku contacts Shokuhou using her metal puppet. After briefly wondering why Shokuhou is doing all this, she relays a message from Keitz: he has located the real Ryouko Kuriba.
That night, Mikoto heads to the research institute where Kuriba's experiment was conducted. Inside the institute, a girl with unusual two-toned hair is having a crisis of identity: is she, as she believed, Ryouko Kuriba? Or is she someone else? Is she even human? As she looks at herself, her perceptions suddenly shift as if a filter has been dropped, and she sees a body made of grey metal.
Mikoto, climbing up the outer wall of the building, sees an explosion far above her. Moments later, a metallic female figure plunges past on its way toward the ground. As their eyes briefly meet, Mikoto hastily tries to break its fall using her electromagnetism, but it disappears in a cloud of dust at the building's base. By the time she scrambles back down to the ground, the figure has vanished. Inside, the institute's scientists are frantic, not just over "the Doppelganger's" escape, but because the explosion also destroyed most of their research data. The chief researcher orders the Doppelganger to be retrieved with utmost priority.
The real Ryouko Kuriba, who has two-toned hair and an oddly patchwork complexion, is working late in her apartment when her doorbell rings. Her visitors prove to be Mikoto and Shokuhou (the latter by proxy), who say they need to speak with her. Mikoto explains how she just saw the cyborg escaping from Kuriba's former lab. Dismayed, Kuriba says she's been afraid of what would happen if the Doppelganger ever realized it wasn't human.
Meanwhile, the metal girl has made its way into an abandoned DNA lab. After dispatching several squatters, she uses the materials there to 'clothe' herself in artificial skin. Now looking fully human, she turns her attention to a screen displaying some kind of biological data. Unnoticed by her, myriad spectral eyes appear in the night sky to look down at her through a skylight.
A young girl with red hair and wearing a surgical mask reports that she's located the Doppelganger. A voice tells her and three other girls that they'd better not mess up this mission like the last one — a failure which has put their group, Scavenger, on probation. Understanding the implications, the four head out into the night to retrieve the Doppelganger.
Tropes
- At Least I Admit It: As Misaka calls Shokuhou out for making Kana-chan say mature things, Shokuhou doesn't deny it and releases Kana-chan from her mind control.Misaka: Just a minute! How can you put those awful words into a little girl's mouth, Shokuhou?Shokuhou: Uh-oh, the jig is up.
- Continuity Nod:
- Shokuhou mentions that Indian Poker reminds her of a technology she saw once before; it's also mentioned that Kuriba had a past connection to Clone Dolly. The Astral Buddy manga reveals that Indian Poker was based on a technology being developed at one of Clone Dolly's labs during the time Shokuhou was there.
- Brief mention is made of Scavenger having failed in their previous mission due to going up against Accelerator. This is a reference to events that took place in A Certain Scientific Accelerator.
- Foreshadowing: After acquiring her artificial skin, the Doppelganger looks at some sort of bio-data on a screen and mutters "while I'm at it...", implying that she's planning to use something else from the abandoned DNA lab. This will turn out to be very important later.
- Haunted Technology: Essentially what the research institute is trying to create via the Doppelganger.
- Not Herself: Shokuhou takes control of Kana-chan, a little girl Mikoto knows, to approach her. She spends some time using Kana to tease Mikoto with steadily-decreasing subtlety, until our heroine finally clues in. At least Shokuhou doesn't deny this even when Misaka calls her out for making a little girl say such mature things.
- Perception Filter: Before she realizes the truth, the Doppelganger seems to have one of these in place. She briefly sees an automated cleaning robot as a maid and mechanical repair tools as a first aid kit.
- Tempting Fate: Kuriba says she warned the institute about the risk the Doppelganger posed. They brushed off the warnings, assuring her they had everything under control.
- The Bus Came Back: Kana-chan, the little girl with whom Mikoto had several encounters in the first two seasons, shows up for the first time in a long while. She also has a name now; in all her previous appearances she was unnamed.
- The Cameo: Dolly appears briefly with Kouzaku in the scene where the latter is talking to Shokuhou. She has no dialogue, and just spends the whole scene happily eating doughnuts.
- Tomato in the Mirror: Happens to the Doppelganger moments after we're introduced to her. She does not take it well.
