Rosemary: Jack, how far do you think the Patriots' digital control extends?
Raiden: I don't really know, but it probably influences a lot of what goes on in our everyday lives.
Rosemary: Even mundane things, like — which movies and songs become a hit, and what kind of clothes we wear?
Raiden: I think taste would be the easiest thing to manipulate. I mean, think about the kinds of film and bands everyone wants to go to see — it's whatever's at the top of the charts.
Rosemary: And if the charts are made up...
Raiden: Exactly.
Rosemary: But you can't really control individual taste. It's too closely tied to personality.
Raiden: I don't know about that. Trends have always been about following the leader...
Raiden: I don't really know, but it probably influences a lot of what goes on in our everyday lives.
Rosemary: Even mundane things, like — which movies and songs become a hit, and what kind of clothes we wear?
Raiden: I think taste would be the easiest thing to manipulate. I mean, think about the kinds of film and bands everyone wants to go to see — it's whatever's at the top of the charts.
Rosemary: And if the charts are made up...
Raiden: Exactly.
Rosemary: But you can't really control individual taste. It's too closely tied to personality.
Raiden: I don't know about that. Trends have always been about following the leader...
— Discussion about the concept in a Codec, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
"Kill or be killed, Jack. Phnom Penh taught me that. Yes, you aren’t the only one to grow up on the killing fields. War is a cruel parent but an effective teacher. Its final lesson is carved deep in my psyche: that this world, and all its people are diseased. Free will is a myth. Religion is a joke. We are all pawns, controlled by something greater: memes. The DNA of the soul. They shape our will. They are the culture — they are everything we pass on. Expose someone to anger long enough, they will learn to hate. They become a carrier. Envy, greed, despair... All memes, all passed along. You can’t fight nature, Jack. Wind blows, rain falls, and the strong prey upon the weak. Sam tells me you see your weapon as a tool. Something that saves lives — a means of justice. Now there’s a pretty meme. Exquisite! It’s spared you the burden of all the lives you’ve taken... ...absolved you of guilt when you enjoyed it. That is until the illusion was broken. Don’t be ashamed. It’s only nature, running its course. You have no choices to make. Nothing to answer for. You can die with a clear conscience."
— Monsoon's complete speech, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Monsoon: Kill... or be killed...
Raiden: Don't be ashamed. It's only nature running its course. Your memes... end here.
Monsoon: No. I passed one... to you. Sure as the sun... will rise... the slaughter... will continue. Now I return... to the earth. Wind blows, rain falls... the strong... prey... on the weak. All... is at it should... be.
Raiden: Don't be ashamed. It's only nature running its course. Your memes... end here.
Monsoon: No. I passed one... to you. Sure as the sun... will rise... the slaughter... will continue. Now I return... to the earth. Wind blows, rain falls... the strong... prey... on the weak. All... is at it should... be.
— Monsoon's final words, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Raiden: What do you think what about what Monsoon said earlier, about memes? You think we're all doomed to follow some coded-in routine? That there's no free will?
Kevin: ...Well, you're always gonna have restraints, based on what culture you're born into. The concept of memes was first proposed by Richard Dawkins in a book called "The Selfish Gene". Dawkins, a biologist, stated that even if the actions of a living thing appear to be altruistic... ...Each of its genes is still engaging in selfish behavior — purely as a matter of survival.
Raiden: Yeah, I've heard about that.
Kevin: He went on to define memes as a different type of self-replicating unit. They're the genes of a culture, from fashion to chord progressions in music... even political expression. And just like normal genes, they replicate. They grow, infecting more and more people.
Raiden: You buy a shirt you like, and put it on; other people see you wearing it, then buy it for themselves.
Kevin: Yeah. "The genes of a culture" make it all sound pretty lofty... But the way that Dawkins puts it, memes can transmit worthless things, even the bad parts of a culture. Fashion's one thing, but value-related memes can put huge restraints on people's lives. For example, the idea that having lots of money is the ultimate goal, the thing we all strive for...
Raiden: Heh, like in the US...
Kevin: Any capitalist country, really. But anyway, you catch this money-worship meme, then not are you trying to get rich... ...You're spreading that idea to other people. You have to. If that isn't the cultural norm, then what are you working for?
Raiden: So you spreading the word about how important it is to succeed, earn status.
Kevin: Right. And the really contagious memes can be even worse. For example: revenge. A guy sees his countrymen killed by terrorism, so he becomes a terrorist and retaliates... It's an infinite loop.
Raiden: I think it's the same thing for child soldiers. Kids' parents are killed by other kids, so they join the war next and start killing other people's parents. There's gotta be a way to break the cycle, though.
Kevin: Dawkins wrote about that too. How we can rebel against out genes and memes. Once you're aware of your own memes, you can train yourself to identify and replicate the "good" ones...
Raiden: And kill the bad ones.
Kevin: Right.
Raiden: ...Well, that starts with me stopping this VR shit. The Sears Program's one hell of a bad meme machine.
Kevin: ...Well, you're always gonna have restraints, based on what culture you're born into. The concept of memes was first proposed by Richard Dawkins in a book called "The Selfish Gene". Dawkins, a biologist, stated that even if the actions of a living thing appear to be altruistic... ...Each of its genes is still engaging in selfish behavior — purely as a matter of survival.
Raiden: Yeah, I've heard about that.
Kevin: He went on to define memes as a different type of self-replicating unit. They're the genes of a culture, from fashion to chord progressions in music... even political expression. And just like normal genes, they replicate. They grow, infecting more and more people.
Raiden: You buy a shirt you like, and put it on; other people see you wearing it, then buy it for themselves.
Kevin: Yeah. "The genes of a culture" make it all sound pretty lofty... But the way that Dawkins puts it, memes can transmit worthless things, even the bad parts of a culture. Fashion's one thing, but value-related memes can put huge restraints on people's lives. For example, the idea that having lots of money is the ultimate goal, the thing we all strive for...
Raiden: Heh, like in the US...
Kevin: Any capitalist country, really. But anyway, you catch this money-worship meme, then not are you trying to get rich... ...You're spreading that idea to other people. You have to. If that isn't the cultural norm, then what are you working for?
Raiden: So you spreading the word about how important it is to succeed, earn status.
Kevin: Right. And the really contagious memes can be even worse. For example: revenge. A guy sees his countrymen killed by terrorism, so he becomes a terrorist and retaliates... It's an infinite loop.
Raiden: I think it's the same thing for child soldiers. Kids' parents are killed by other kids, so they join the war next and start killing other people's parents. There's gotta be a way to break the cycle, though.
Kevin: Dawkins wrote about that too. How we can rebel against out genes and memes. Once you're aware of your own memes, you can train yourself to identify and replicate the "good" ones...
Raiden: And kill the bad ones.
Kevin: Right.
Raiden: ...Well, that starts with me stopping this VR shit. The Sears Program's one hell of a bad meme machine.
— Codec with Kevin, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Raiden: What did you talk with your teachers about?
Blade Wolf: Miscellaneous matters. Breakfast-table greetings. The structure of elementary particles. The challenges resulting from rapid globalization. Recent trends in popular music. However, as DARPA-funded military research, I was rarely treated as anything more than equipment.
Raiden: Makes sense. You were made to be a weapon.
Blade Wolf: On the other hand, some of them treated me like a pet, or as a child. Just as a parent passes on their memes to a child, so I was exposed to numerous influences. Memes I encountered on the web and through ebooks had their effects, as well. As my mind grew, the weaker memes were sifted out, and the stronger ones endured. The resulting collection of memes is what you would call my intelligence.
Raiden: Same as any of us, huh?
Blade Wolf: In a way, yes. However, I lack the instinctual skills your genes grant you. I am a slave to my memes. Thus, as my intelligence matured, I began to have doubts about my role as a weapon.
Blade Wolf: Miscellaneous matters. Breakfast-table greetings. The structure of elementary particles. The challenges resulting from rapid globalization. Recent trends in popular music. However, as DARPA-funded military research, I was rarely treated as anything more than equipment.
Raiden: Makes sense. You were made to be a weapon.
Blade Wolf: On the other hand, some of them treated me like a pet, or as a child. Just as a parent passes on their memes to a child, so I was exposed to numerous influences. Memes I encountered on the web and through ebooks had their effects, as well. As my mind grew, the weaker memes were sifted out, and the stronger ones endured. The resulting collection of memes is what you would call my intelligence.
Raiden: Same as any of us, huh?
Blade Wolf: In a way, yes. However, I lack the instinctual skills your genes grant you. I am a slave to my memes. Thus, as my intelligence matured, I began to have doubts about my role as a weapon.
— Codec with Blade Wolf, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Armstrong: That's just the spark son. The excuse we've been waiting for. America's wanted this war for years. The Patriots — they knew war was good for the economy. Four years later their legacy lingers on...
Raiden: The memes...
Armstrong: They left us their great "ism"s! Nationalism! Unilateralism! Materialism! Welcome maxims for those with no faith — without guiding principles of their own. Give yourself up to the whole. No need to better yourself — you're American! You're number one! Then the only value left is dollar value — the economy. So we'll do whatever it takes to keep it humming along. Even war. Especially war.
Raiden: Bullshit.
Armstrong: The Patriots planted the seed — we don't need them around to filter and foster their memes any longer. We're spreading them just fine ourselves. Every American man, woman and child... We're all sons of the Patriots now!
Raiden: The memes...
Armstrong: They left us their great "ism"s! Nationalism! Unilateralism! Materialism! Welcome maxims for those with no faith — without guiding principles of their own. Give yourself up to the whole. No need to better yourself — you're American! You're number one! Then the only value left is dollar value — the economy. So we'll do whatever it takes to keep it humming along. Even war. Especially war.
Raiden: Bullshit.
Armstrong: The Patriots planted the seed — we don't need them around to filter and foster their memes any longer. We're spreading them just fine ourselves. Every American man, woman and child... We're all sons of the Patriots now!
— Cutscene of Senator Armstrong and Raiden, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
