The Tachikomas ponder "life" and their existence.  Motoko, Batou and Togusa track down a man who is defecting.  He is the man who designed the Tachikomas and, in order to get his research out into the market, he is leaving Japan.  In the process, the Tachikomas learn that their AI's are now located on board a satellite and that is the reason that they feel as if there is a third aspect to their being besides body and spirit.