Gundam 00 Episode 08

[Ryllharu]

If she was in denial of anything, it would be that he is from...whatever that region was called and is in CB. Earlier, she was discussing all manner of politics with her secretary Shirin, like everyone else they pondered using CB, and if they were righteous or not. Confirmation that he's from the extremist region that her country had a long-term conflict with, and eventually engulfed (think Tibet and China) is something she's very afraid of. It's like saying, "CB is certainly a confirmed terrorist organization, and they will definitely annihilate my country."

That of course, is outright confirmed by Setsuna, who says that if the current conflict in Azadistan doesn't end, CB will come. Knowing who he is and where exactly he's coming from makes Marina really worried. Disbelief that things could suddenly get so much worse for her country from a chance meeting on the street.


As for CB intelligence operations, I didn't think they were that unbelievable. CB is apparently an enormously funded organization, having the Gundams in the first place. They also operate through cells. We've only been familiar with military edge. The Meistars and the crew of the Ptolemaios. We've seen Alejandro (whatever the hell he does) and Liu-Mei (financial backer and apparently high in the inner administration). That's it. As Tieria pointed out, it's not for them to know what most of the others do. Classic cell organization.

Informants stay quiet and pass things on to Liu-Mei and she in turn suggests where a strike should be made. We've seen that Sumeragi, the head strategist, chooses what missions to go ahead with that provide the highest gain (or priority) for the lowest (or acceptable risk).

[shinta|hikari]

Makes sense. That makes the princess really weak though. Im not sure if I like it or not yet.

[Dark Dragon]

Another way to look at it.

Whoever chose Setsuna as the pilot for Exia already predicted that he is going to reveal the secret and chose him for that exact reason.

I have always believed that the CB play the role of a scapegoat and will eventually be the target of Earth hatred.

[Kraco]

As for CB intelligence operations, I didn't think they were that unbelievable. CB is apparently an enormously funded organization, having the Gundams in the first place. They also operate through cells.

Well, if we assume that's the case. However, that would also mean the major powers' intelligence agencies would have a long time ago been aware of them, probably much before the first public Gundam appearance. You can't have a vast, efficient and well funded organization and then just say it's also totally invisible. That would assume the traditional intelligence services would be much worse in the future than they are now, which is very doubtful because automated, electronic means become better all the time. Just look how quickly they revealed everything about that terrorist organization behind the low level bombings. That tells just how efficient the agencies are. It should be a piece of cake for them to find the CB.

[Ryllharu]

But that's the beauty of a cell organization like CB. Isolated agents scattered around nearly everywhere. You might find one, but since they may only know how to contact one or two others in the entire organization, there's never an idea of how big the organization they belong to really is, much less what it actually is called.

The terrorists were not a tightly guarded secret. Everyone knew where their old abandoned bases had been as soon as they found out who it was. CB has been planning their creation and first public appearances for apparently a century.

Granted, this is a Gundam series, so some suspension of disbelief is required.

[animus]

Wasn't it said that it was the Gundam that chose their meisters?

[TheBladeChild]

Wasn't it said that it was the Gundam that chose their meisters?

It was said that "Veda" chose the gundam meisters, but in Setsuna's case I think he believes that Exia chose him. Correct me if im wrong.

[masamuneehs]

Setsuna has spoken to the effect that he believes his Gundam "chose him"... then again, this was a child soldier who saw just about everyone he ever knew die... Add his religious fundamentalism to the mix, and you can see why him getting miraculously saved and then picked to pilot the Gundam as being a 'godly intervention'...

and, as far as the Arzadstan girl (Marina is her name?) is concerned: I'm pretty sure she was shocked into not believing Setsuna for several reasons. First, it would just be so potentially bad for one of the CB pilots to be from a people that you nearly wiped off the Earth years ago... Second, only the pilots who fought Setsuna had any idea that the Gundam pilots (or at least the Exia pilot) were so young, and this came as a genuine surprise to them. Third, it's just absurd to think he'd reveal himself like that.

I mean, you'd just have to be a rambling retard to go tell a nation's diplomat that you're part of CB... oh, wait...

as for what people say about CB being nicely split into cells: it seems that this is only true for their intelligence agents. We've yet to see exactly what Alejandro does, but Liu Mei has had contact with almost every facet of the organization so far (met all the pilots, met with the flagship head staff, arrived WITH parts for the Gundams, headed up intel gathering...) In a way, both her and Sumeragi (and probably Alejandro) would be the ones CB would have to protect the most, as the loss or capture of any one of them coule easily spell the doom of everyone in CB. Yet, we've seen that Liu Mei is a rather high profile person in the HRL (her being at the big party at the Pillar of Heaven), and that Sumeragi is at least infamously known by some in the Union for being involved in that mysterious 'incident'... the only guy who seems to be keeping his head down properly is Alejandro... and that's probably because he's busy sodomizing that green haired boy who's always with him...

[Buffalobiian]

It should be a piece of cake for them to find the CB.

Well, whether it was a piece of cake or not, we'll hopefully find out, but the HLR certainly find their flagship next ep. I'm not sure that it'll be that much of a pushover again, with just Lockon defending, from what we see, and the title "No one is omnipotent." They'll still win, seeing Lockon on the ground again from the preview, but it'll be a bit of a shock for the crew, it's probably their first attack, and the ship looks to have no offensive capabilities on it at all, save for the gundams.

You'd definitely have your doubts if someone you saved on the streets says to you "I am Gundam." You'd think he's a bit looney.(not wrong).

Marina is always discussing their energy issues with countries from the AEU. That rules out my initial guess that Setsuna and her were from or near the former Sri Lanka area.

[Kraco]

That rules out my initial guess that Setsuna and her were from or near the former Sri Lanka area.

The fact they spoke so feverishly of A god and the surroudings looked like desert with buildings like that were pretty sure signs of it being somewhere in the Middle East. I never understood that whole Sri Lanka guess at all...

[Buffalobiian]

The fact they spoke so feverishly of A god and the surroudings looked like desert with buildings like that were pretty sure signs of it being somewhere in the Middle East. I never understood that whole Sri Lanka guess at all...

I initially thought he was from there because of how he reacted in that intervention, and that the mobile suits from one side were the same model as the one that attacked him. But then I thought that it could have been the resemblance of the suits that set him off. That was my guess after watching ep2, and only ep2. I hadn't thought about the matter until he met Ali, and since I've thought he was from the Middle East. This ep just fortified that idea. I just thought I'd post that.

I'm still thinking about whether Setsuna is really wondering where Ali's God is, or if it's just sarcasm. He's clearly stated that he believes there is no god in this world, in ep 1 and this one, but that may only be to him. He may have truely believed that a god existed in Ali's world, and wondered where his beliefs lie now. Alternatively, he could have already known that Ali was just a mercenary, and that he's only in it for money. One thing I think is certain is that he's angry with Ali for tricking him into killing his parents since he's convinced there's no god.

[rockmanj]

The fact they spoke so feverishly of A god and the surroudings looked like desert with buildings like that were pretty sure signs of it being somewhere in the Middle East. I never understood that whole Sri Lanka guess at all...

I thought they were Sri Lankan too, but the places that they named as their homes were in the middle east, and also Setsuna is Kurdish, which should allay any other doubts about it.

[Ryllharu]

I was pretty sure the mobile suits from the first opening scene and Sri Lanka were a standard older model from the HRL. I believe both countries fall into (or very near) HRL territory.

[Kraco]

There's also no saying the major powers wouldn't sell the older models to (suitable) customers willing to pay for them. So, in that sense the parts of the world not belonging to the core powers most likely have a variable selection of mobile suits at their disposal - just like they do have a diverse selection of machines of war in our times.