On the subject of plausibility, don't they have surge protectors for 'offensive firewalls' in the future?
I'm surprised this thread is as long as it is, I took the whole incident as surprising because Aramaki didn't know about Proto's status as a bioroid and that bioroids aren't ever mentioned (even in passing) during SAC.
Aramike had to know about him for him to become a member of tech.
Bigger twist
Bishop is a biodroid clone of THE MR Bishop (se AVP, not as good as aliens)
Apparently (yes, it must be true, it's in Wikipedia!! ), if you compare the comparative timelines of Appleseed and GiTS all the events mentioned in the history of GiTS are also mentioned in Appleseed's timeline. I dunno where they got he supporting evidence from for that chestnut, I'd guess from looking into Appleseed (which I haven't really save for watching thew 2004 movie).
It makes sense then that bioroids appear in GiTS/SAC. It's a subtle cross-reference I feel, rather than a plot twist
[MKFC] [BFC] [NINf] [BID] [TMDDFCA] [LMFC] Beware the Left Eye
Not the dumbest. I didn`t even think that it was a subplot. Proto was a good supporting character and as most of you have already said usage of bioroids showed the level of technology.
While I don't think it was dumb, per se, it wasn't that well carried off in the confined timescale of the episode. it was poorly explained, and rushed a bit, it's something that you just wouldn't normally have tried to cram into such a hectic episode and scene. I guess they put it in there as they had to get it in 'somewhere' and that was the only place it seemed to apply.
In an odd way, Proto kinda reminds me of Bishop in Aliens. I think maybe that was intentional?
[MKFC] [BFC] [NINf] [BID] [TMDDFCA] [LMFC] Beware the Left Eye
I don't think Proto was a sub-plot. I think he was placed in the show for a specific reason, which was to allude to the future of Humanity, Robotics and perhaps even the future of the show itself. GiTS is all about analyzing consciousness and what makes us human, and Proto was perhaps the biggest threat to self-imposed human value in the show. Aramaki was shocked because I don't think he even knew that Bioroids were even being developed.
There's also another reason why Aramaki would have acted surprised...
In the show, there are some subtle hints that characters can tell cyborgs apart from humans. There's probably some in the manga too, but since I haven't read any of it, I'm not sure. Obviously someone like Aramaki who works in the government and is very much in touch with new technologies would have been able to tell something/someone like Proto apart from a human like himself. But he couldn't, and that's what surprised him.
Another reason I think they threw in Proto was because the idea of a bioroid or robotic rights could be a "powder-keg issue" in the third season, if it ever gets made. I wouldn't be surprised if religious organizations or individualists wouldn't be too pleased, and wouldn't be afraid to let it show!
I didn't catch that Aramaki was surprised. Maybe that will be my escuse to re-watch the whole series again
Anyway, the Time of Eve anime is exploring exactly that - when you can't tell a human from a robot, how do you deal with emotional attachments.
I dunno if ToE is going to go as deeply into their issue at GitS went into theirs, but by limiting themselves to one subject, perhaps 6 episodes is enough to bring it all out?
People tend to look at you a little strangely when they know you stuff voodoo dolls full of Ex-Lax.