Difference between revisions of "User:Chekhov MacGuffin/Latest case"

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[[Image:948p3-4 other drug convo.jpg|thumb|right|x500px|The full context regarding Haibara's discussion of her parent's death and another drug different from the APTX/Silver Bullet her parents made]]
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"Silver Bullet" is the name given to a mysterious drug created by [[Elena Miyano]] and [[Atsushi Miyano]] for the [[Black Organization]].
  
A hypothetical drug or chemical of some sort that predates Atsushi, Elena, and Shiho's work for the Black Organization.
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== Background ==
 +
[[Elena_Miyano#Elena.27s_Mysterious_Death|In a tape left for Shiho]], Elena reveals she had been working on "a truly terrifying drug" the Miyano parents called the ''Silver Bullet''. It was something incredible enough that Elena said they were "putting their hopes on it",<ref name=821p7>Manga Chapter 821, pg 7: "Mystery Train 「Junction」"</ref> and Elena's lab mates had taken to calling it "a dream drug". It was important enough that Elena and Atsushi had to leave behind [[Shiho Miyano|Shiho]] and [[Akemi Miyano|Akemi]] in order to complete the drug.<ref name=821p7/>
  
 +
After thinking about this message left by Elena, [[Ai Haibara]] expresses her resentment that she had only later realized that the drug was something that should have never been made.<ref name=821p7/>
  
== Evidence for existence ==
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== Speculation ==
=== 50 year old project ===
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=== "Silver Bullet" and "APTX 4869" are two names for the same project ===
{{quote|"Kudo-kun? You would probably never even dream that you are already part of a project the Black Organization has been working on already for half a century."|Haibara's thoughts on Shinichi's shrunken predicament<ref>Manga [[Volume 19#File_189_-_The_Endangered_Ball|Volume 19, File 9 (189), Page 6: The Endangered Ball]]; [[The Stadium Indiscriminate Threatening Case|Episodes 130-131: The Stadium Indiscriminate Threatening Case]]</ref>}}
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:''See also: [[APTX 4869]]''
 +
It is unclear whether Silver Bullet is the Miyano parents' personal nickname for what is currently called [[APTX 4869]], or if it was a closely related project they developed in parallel. Whatever the case, Silver Bullet and APTX 4869 are probably closely linked if not the same in-development drug. Haibara took over her parents' research after they died, with the APTX project named specifically. After watching Haibara shrink, Pisco, who knew about the project the Miyanos worked on, commented that Shiho's parents would be proud of the progress Shiho had made on the drug.<ref name=V24-11p9>Manga [[Volume 24]], File 11, page 9: "The White World"</ref> In addition, Haibara had earlier referred to APTX 4869 as a dream-like drug as well.<ref name=384p8>Manga [[Volume 38]], File 2, page 8: "The Old Picture"</ref> During her recollection of the tapes, Haibara was holding and considering the antidote to APTX 4869. She then regrets that she didn't understand the drug was something that should have never been made, strongly implying she worked on the same drug as well.<ref name=821p7/> Lastly, [[Vermouth]], who was in the Black Organization long enough to have heard the Miyanos use the name "Silver Bullet",<ref>Vermouth has been in the Organization at least 20 years dated by when she assassinated Jodie's father which is more time than the theoretical maximum 18 years the tapes could be recorded -- dated to Shiho's conception.</ref> may have given Conan the same nickname in reference to his deaged state caused by the drug.
  
[[APTX 4869]] is the only known intersection between Shinichi and the Black Organization, meaning that Shinichi's de-aging made him relevant to the Black Organization's project. That project is, according to Haibara, over 50 years old. Atsushi and Elena Miyano only joined the Black Organization some 30 years ago at most when Atsushi left his parents' house to take up research.<ref name=f423>[[Volume_41#File_423_-_A_Mystery_Left_by_a_Visitor|Volume 41, File 423: "A Mystery Left by a Visitor"]]</ref> Even if one assumes their [[Silver Bullet (drug)|Silver Bullet]] project was created immediately, that means there are at least 20 years unaccounted for prior to the Miyanos joining where the Black Organization had a project that APTX 4869 could be considered a piece of.
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== See also ==
 +
* Other uses of [[Silver Bullet]]
 +
* [[APTX 4869]]
 +
* [[Prototype Antidote]]
  
=== Another drug ===
+
== References ==
{{quote|'''Haibara:''' And the fact that <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Kohji Haneda]]'s] name was on the [[List of Black Organization related characters#APTX 4869_Victims|list of victims]] who were given [[APTX  4869]], I'd say there's a good chance that [[Asaka]] was one of the members of the Black Organization!<br>
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<References />
'''Conan:''' I don't get it. Kohji Haneda was killed 17 years ago. Then why is his name under mine in the list?<br>
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'''Haibara:''' Perhaps the person who compiled the list wasn't going by chronological order. Maybe it was sorted by blood type or something.<br>
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----
'''Conan:''' Wait a minute, so the drug that I was forced to take existed 17 years ago? And you are its creator? How old are you really?<br>
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'''Haibara:''' How rude. I've told you before. I am 18 now. Perhaps it was an early prototype of a drug made by my parents. The information for the drug that I created was mostly taken from the burnt remains of the data that my parents left behind.<br>
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[[File:APTX 4869.jpg|thumb|right|250px|APTX 4869]]
'''Conan:''' Burnt remains? What do you mean?<br>  
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'''APTX {{nihongo|4869|四八六九|Yon-Hachi-Roku-Kyū}}''', nicknamed "Prototype Detective" by members of the Black Organization, is a fictional toxin and derivative of an experimental formula of unknown purpose developed by [[Shiho Miyano]], which is used by the [[Black Organization]] as an untraceable, lethal poison. Right now, there is a [[prototype antidote]] for it made by Shiho.
'''Haibara:''' Well, the research lab that my parents worked in caught fire, and along with them, most of their research materials were burnt. I heard from the other members of the Organization that it was an accident.<br>
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''Well, what I was really ordered to make was another drug, however...<!-- SPIMER EXACT TRANS FOR THIS ONE LINE-->''|Manga [[Volume 89]], File 11 (948), Pages 3-4: "The Clenched Scissors"}}
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== Description ==
 +
[[File:APTX 4869 victim list.jpg|thumb|left|Haibara recalls [[List_of_Black_Organization_related_characters#APTX_4869_Victims|a list of all of the victims APTX was used to kill]]. Only Shinichi's death was unconfirmed.]]
 +
APTX is an abbreviation of "Apoptoxin," and, as the name implies, it involves the activation of [[wikipedia:apoptosis|apoptosis]]: the mechanism by which cells kill themselves. APTX contains ingredients which have other functions as well. It contains a component which activates [[wikipedia:telomerase|telomerase]]: an enzyme which lengthens the caps at the end of DNA whose length limits the number of times a cell can divide.<ref>Manga Volume 24, File 10</ref>  
 +
 
 +
In practice, most of the time APTX 4869 works as a lethal poison. [[Gin]] says it can't be detected when used, possibly indicating it leaves few traces that forensic examination could uncover. However, as said by [[Ai Haibara]], a rare side effect can in fact de-age victims. When talking about her own and Conan's shrinking, she said that the side effect causes everything apart from the nervous system to revert back to a childlike state,<ref>“[Shrinking] is an unexpected side effect. The nervous system is unaffected, but everything else—bones, muscle tissue, internal organs, hair – reverts to a childlike state” (VIZ english version of the quote in volume 18 file 8.)</ref><ref>[[Episode 129]]</ref> but the adult personality and memories remain intact.<!--However, in very rare cases, it causes the apoptosis of non-neural cells only and the apoptosis stabilizes at some point, causing the victim's apparent age to be decreased while leaving higher thought processes, memory, and personality unaltered-->
 +
 
 +
[[Shinichi Kudo|Shinichi]], the series' protagonist, was forced by Gin and Vodka to take the poison with the intention of killing him silently due to the police being around in [[Episode 1]]. Later [[Shiho Miyano]], was set to be executed for being a possible loose end after Gin and Vodka killed her sister Akemi. Instead of letting herself be murdered, Shiho took her own poison intending to commit suicide; however, her body was reverted back to a childhood state like Shinichi's.
 +
{{clear}}
 +
 
 +
== History ==
 +
[[Atsushi Miyano]] and [[Elena Miyano]] joined the Black Organization as researchers thirty years before the present timeline and started developing APTX 4869. [[Vermouth]] may have hinted that there was an earlier project that the Miyanos assumed control over when they joined,<ref>“If you [Shiho] want to blame someone, blame your parents '''who took over''' this foolish research.” Episode 345</ref> perhaps the one Shiho implied was at least 50 years old.<ref>Manga [[Volume 19]], File 9 (189): "The Endangered Ball "; Episodes [[Episode 130|130]]-[[Episode 131|131]] "Kudo-kun? You would probably never even dream that you are already part of a project the Black Organization has been working on already for half a century."</ref> Regardless, the pair worked on APTX 4869 until they met their untimely deaths, leaving their daughter [[Shiho Miyano]] behind and the project in an unfinished state. Shiho was then groomed to take over their APTX 4869 research project. She was educated overseas in America before returning to Japan at or before she was 13. Shiho advanced the drug to the point where she observed at least one of her lab mice reverting in age. Sometime along the way, the Black Organization decided to use the incomplete form as a poison for stealthy murder. The drug was still considered incomplete by the time it was used on [[Shinichi Kudo]], but [[Pisco]] implied that Shiho had advanced it significantly since her parents' tenure. It is unknown if the Black Organization has found replacement researchers to continue work on the APTX 4869 project after Shiho's defection.
  
-Check, does Haibara's quote imply that she didn't work on the other drug the Black Organization wanted? Japanese vs English on implications.
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== Name origin ==
<!-->
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APTX 4869 is a pun on "Sherlock Holmes". 4869 can also be pronounced <!--The 8 is read with yattsu's "ya", not hachi's 'ha". That makes the katakana シャロク Sharoku -->"Shi-Ya-Ro-Ku" (シャロク ''Sharoku'')<ref>Manga [[Volume 24]], File 10 (241), Page 11: "The Bullet from the Past"</ref>, which translates into Sherlock. Adding to the pun, the password for the APTX data is "Shellingford"<ref>Manga [[Volume 24]], File 10 (241), page 11: " The Bullet from the Past". This has been confirmed to be spelled as "Shellingford" in the original Japanese.</ref>, an unintentional misspelling of "Sherrinford", which was the name Arthur Conan Doyle called his detective character before deciding on "Sherlock".<ref>"The name comes from Arthur Conan Doyle's earliest notes for A Study in Scarlet, which gave the great detective's name as "Sherrinford Holmes" and that of his medical companion as "Ormond Sacker"." {{cite web|url=http://www.sherlockian.net/societies/baringgould.html|date=2010|accessdate=2012-01-28|publisher=Chris Redmond|title=Sherlockian.Net: William S. Baring-Gould}}</ref> The password and the pun name seem to be related to why several members of the Black Organization call APTX 4869 the "incomplete detective",<ref name="239p4">Manga [[Volume 24]], File 8 (239), pg 4: "The Black Burial Ranks ". Gin is conversing with Pisco and tells him, "Of course, it's up to you if you use the 'Incomplete Detective' or not...". Earlier on the phone, Gin had mentioned it was fine if Pisco used the drug which both Haibara and Conan took to mean APTX 4869.</ref><ref name="241p11">Manga [[Volume 24]], File 10 (241), page 11: "A Bullet from the Past". Haibara tells Conan that "the members of the Organization sometimes gave this uncompleted drug a nickname... 'the Incomplete Detective'."</ref> implying APTX 4869 is not finished yet.
=== Vermouth's aging issue ===
 
  
Vermouth's lack of aging presents another conundrum. As explained by Jodie and Akai in their showdown with Vermouth, matching fingerprints mean she is definitely the same woman as the one who killed [[Jodie Starling]]'s father twenty years ago, yet her face hasn't changed. She also admitted to pretending to age.<ref>"It's actually quite tough you know - pretending that it's not just your face, but everything about you that's aging too." (823 p2)</ref> That means at some point Vermouth was exposed to some event or drug which halted her aging, de-aged her, or both. The question is when this would have happened, and this would shed light on what compound affected her.
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== Antidote ==
 +
:''Main article: [[Prototype antidote]]''
 +
[[File:APTX 4869 given to Shinichi.jpg|thumb|150px|Gin poisons Shinichi.]]
 +
Throughout the series there are several instances in which the APTX was temporarily neutralized and Shinichi and Shiho were returned to their actual age forms. The main ingredient for this reversal is a component found in [[baijiu]], which Haibara has already incorporated in a prototype antidote for the APTX.<ref name="TGDOTW">Manga [[Volume 10]], Files 4-5 (092-095): "The Great Detective of the West"</ref>
  
At minimum, Vermouth would have had to stop aging sometime before she created Chris because there would be no reason for Chris to exist otherwise. That means Vermouth stopped aging at least 10-29 years ago, which is definitely older than Shiho's five year-old APTX project.  
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It is notable that in the instances where Shinichi or Shiho were successfully changed back, the recipient was suffering from a common cold while the component was ingested, indicating that the immune system somehow has to be taxed for the antidote to work.<ref name="TGDOTW"/><ref name="241p">Manga [[Volume 24]], File 10 (241): "The Bullet from the Past"</ref><ref>Manga [[Volume 26]], Files 2-4  (255-257): "School Play Case"</ref> The only apparent [[canon]] exception was Shinichi's reversion in the London arc. While not canon, ''[[Crossroad in the Ancient Capital]]'' uses this idea as Conan is given a pill to give him the symptoms of a cold, while drinking baijiu.
  
 +
Conan and Haibara briefly reverted to their true age while having rum cake (thought to contain among other things [[baijiu]]) in the live action drama ''[[Shinichi Kudo Returns! Confrontation with the Black Organization]]''.
  
Vermouth's aging problem probably also predates the 18 year old Silver Bullet Project as well. Twenty years ago, with the same face she has today, she personally murdered Jodie Starling's father and burned all his files because he knew some vital secret. Also 20 years ago, Vermouth was Toichi's apprentice, learning disguise. While not conclusive, both those activities imply that 20 years ago or earlier she had stopped aging and was acting to protect this secret. Finally, there are the suspicious deaths of her family and husband to consider. Assuming she or the Black Organization killed them in order to hide her non-aging secret, her need for makeup skills, and fake pregnancy/child, that would place the timeframe of her non-aging event at least 30 years before the current timeline, matching when Sharon was 20-30 years old. here is no evidence that Silver Bullet actually was a successful compound. In fact, it appears that it was probably the same project as APTX 4869 (discussed in the Black Organization section above.). It's hard to believe she would intentionally take such a drug.
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== Speculation ==
  
 +
=== Original intent ===
 +
At first, it was revealed by Gin that the APTX 4869 was a poison to kill people who know too much about the Black Organization. He used Shinichi as a guinea pig. Shiho Miyano said that she didn't intend to create a poison,<ref name="179p9">Manga [[Volume 18]], File 9 (179), page 9: "The Girl Made Of Lies"</ref> which suggests that APTX 4869 was originally developed with a different goal in mind. It probably was just a useful side effect that the current prototype kills while leaving no trace in the victim’s body, and was thus employed as a poison - a usage which Haibara detests.<ref name="179p9"/> Additionally, APTX 4869 is nicknamed the "''incomplete'' detective" by the Black Organization,<ref name="239p4"/><ref name="241p11"/> which means its true purpose has not yet been achieved.
  
-->
+
==== Immortality/anti-aging ====
<!--
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One possibility is that the goal of the APTX 4869 is to develop a therapy which will cause immortality, stall or reverse the effects of aging, or extend a human's lifespan. The de-aging effect that occurred when Shinichi and Haibara took APTX 4869 probably indicates the main intent of the drug's development. After [[Pisco]] saw Haibara shrink back to her child form, he commented that he was impressed she had developed the drug to that point, implying that deaging is in the right direction.<ref name="242p9">Manga [[Volume 24]], File 11, page 9: "The White World"</ref> Supporting this is Haibara’s line, "Kudo-kun? You would probably never even dream that you are already part of a project the Black Organization has been working on already for half a century."<ref>Manga [[Volume 19]], File 9 (189): "The Endangered Ball "; Episodes [[Episode 130|130]]-[[Episode 131|131]]</ref> APTX 4869 is the only known intersection between Shinichi and the Black Organization; meaning that Shinichi's de-aging made him relevant to the Black Organization's project.  
[[Kohji Haneda]] was killed by an APTX 4869-like drug 17 years ago. Implies the Miyano parents' APTX drug not working so well.
 
  
== Silver Bullet ==
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According to Haibara’s description about APTX 4869<ref name="241p"/>, APTX 4869 activates [[wikipedia:telomerase|telomerase]], an enzyme which can increase the number of times a cell can divide, and therefore affect a cell's lifespan and “reproductive potential”. The goal of this might be to revert all non-neural cells to a "youthful", high reproductive potential state. [[Vermouth]]'s unnatural youth is another indicator that the Black Organization may be involved in research towards extending lifespan, halting aging, or rejuvenating the body.  
Why it's not silver Bullet.
 
Evidence suggests that Silver Bullet and APTX 4869 are the same drug. Even if you assume that is not the case, Haibara's thoughts.
 
Haibara says she "resurrected" the research by gathering notes left behind by her parents.
 
-->
 
  
== References ==
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The goal of the antagonists in ''[[Magic Kaito]]'' is pursuing immortality, via the [[Pandora Gem]], but it is unclear whether if the [[Magic Kaito Organization|organization in Magic Kaito]] is the same one as the Black Organization.
<References/>
 
  
 +
====Raising the dead====
 +
The original purpose of APTX 4869 might be to raise the dead. Once when Conan asked Haibara directly what APTX 4869 was meant to do she replied, "It's a nostrum to raise the dead. I wonder if that answer is satisfactory?"<ref name=384p8>Manga [[Volume 38]], File 2, page 8: "The Old Picture"</ref> The context of the comment, however, makes it unclear if she was merely bluffing to provoke Conan into revealing that he had been looking into the Black Organization behind her back, rather than making a serious statement of the purpose of the drug.
  
{{APTX 4869}}
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=== "Silver Bullet" and "APTX 4869" are two names for the same project ===
[[Category:Theories]]
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:''See also: [[Silver Bullet (drug)]]''
[[Category:Objects]]
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In a flashback, Shiho recalls the end of [[Elena_Miyano#Tapes_left_for_Shiho|the recorded message]] left by [[Elena Miyano|her mother]] which revealed Elena had been working on "a truly terrifying drug" the Miyano parents called the ''Silver Bullet''.<ref name=821p7>Manga [[Volume 78]], File 4 (821), pg 7: "Mystery Train 「Junction」"</ref> It is unclear whether Silver Bullet is the Miyano parents' personal nickname for what is currently called APTX 4869, or if it was a closely related project they developed in parallel. Whatever the case, Silver Bullet and APTX 4869 are probably closely linked if not the same in-development drug. Haibara took over her parents' research after they died, with the APTX project named specifically. After watching Haibara shrink, [[Pisco]], who knew about the project the Miyanos worked on, commented that Shiho's parents would be proud of the progress Shiho had made on the drug.<ref name="242p9"/> In addition, Haibara had earlier referred to APTX 4869 as a dream-like drug,<ref name=384p8/> the same expression Elena's labmates used to describe Silver Bullet.<ref name=821p7/> During her recollection of the tapes, Haibara was holding and considering the antidote to APTX 4869. She then regrets that she didn't understand the drug was something that should have never been made, strongly implying she worked on the same drug as well.<ref name=821p7/> Lastly, Vermouth, who was in the Organization long enough to have heard the Miyanos use the name "Silver Bullet",<ref>Vermouth has been in the Organization at least 20 years dated by when she assassinated Jodie's father which is more time than the theoretical maximum 18 years the tapes could be recorded -- dated to Shiho's conception.</ref> may have given Conan the same nickname in reference to his deaged state caused by the drug. On the other hand, [[Shuichi Akai]] also has the nickname Silver Bullet, but no apparent connection to the drug other than dating Akemi Miyano, the sister/daughter of the drug's creators.

Revision as of 21:19, 6 August 2016


"Silver Bullet" is the name given to a mysterious drug created by Elena Miyano and Atsushi Miyano for the Black Organization.

Background

In a tape left for Shiho, Elena reveals she had been working on "a truly terrifying drug" the Miyano parents called the Silver Bullet. It was something incredible enough that Elena said they were "putting their hopes on it",[1] and Elena's lab mates had taken to calling it "a dream drug". It was important enough that Elena and Atsushi had to leave behind Shiho and Akemi in order to complete the drug.[1]

After thinking about this message left by Elena, Ai Haibara expresses her resentment that she had only later realized that the drug was something that should have never been made.[1]

Speculation

"Silver Bullet" and "APTX 4869" are two names for the same project

See also: APTX 4869

It is unclear whether Silver Bullet is the Miyano parents' personal nickname for what is currently called APTX 4869, or if it was a closely related project they developed in parallel. Whatever the case, Silver Bullet and APTX 4869 are probably closely linked if not the same in-development drug. Haibara took over her parents' research after they died, with the APTX project named specifically. After watching Haibara shrink, Pisco, who knew about the project the Miyanos worked on, commented that Shiho's parents would be proud of the progress Shiho had made on the drug.[2] In addition, Haibara had earlier referred to APTX 4869 as a dream-like drug as well.[3] During her recollection of the tapes, Haibara was holding and considering the antidote to APTX 4869. She then regrets that she didn't understand the drug was something that should have never been made, strongly implying she worked on the same drug as well.[1] Lastly, Vermouth, who was in the Black Organization long enough to have heard the Miyanos use the name "Silver Bullet",[4] may have given Conan the same nickname in reference to his deaged state caused by the drug.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Manga Chapter 821, pg 7: "Mystery Train 「Junction」"
  2. ^ Manga Volume 24, File 11, page 9: "The White World"
  3. ^ Manga Volume 38, File 2, page 8: "The Old Picture"
  4. ^ Vermouth has been in the Organization at least 20 years dated by when she assassinated Jodie's father which is more time than the theoretical maximum 18 years the tapes could be recorded -- dated to Shiho's conception.

APTX 4869

APTX 4869 (四八六九 Yon-Hachi-Roku-Kyū?), nicknamed "Prototype Detective" by members of the Black Organization, is a fictional toxin and derivative of an experimental formula of unknown purpose developed by Shiho Miyano, which is used by the Black Organization as an untraceable, lethal poison. Right now, there is a prototype antidote for it made by Shiho.

Description

Haibara recalls a list of all of the victims APTX was used to kill. Only Shinichi's death was unconfirmed.

APTX is an abbreviation of "Apoptoxin," and, as the name implies, it involves the activation of apoptosis: the mechanism by which cells kill themselves. APTX contains ingredients which have other functions as well. It contains a component which activates telomerase: an enzyme which lengthens the caps at the end of DNA whose length limits the number of times a cell can divide.[1]

In practice, most of the time APTX 4869 works as a lethal poison. Gin says it can't be detected when used, possibly indicating it leaves few traces that forensic examination could uncover. However, as said by Ai Haibara, a rare side effect can in fact de-age victims. When talking about her own and Conan's shrinking, she said that the side effect causes everything apart from the nervous system to revert back to a childlike state,[2][3] but the adult personality and memories remain intact.

Shinichi, the series' protagonist, was forced by Gin and Vodka to take the poison with the intention of killing him silently due to the police being around in Episode 1. Later Shiho Miyano, was set to be executed for being a possible loose end after Gin and Vodka killed her sister Akemi. Instead of letting herself be murdered, Shiho took her own poison intending to commit suicide; however, her body was reverted back to a childhood state like Shinichi's.

History

Atsushi Miyano and Elena Miyano joined the Black Organization as researchers thirty years before the present timeline and started developing APTX 4869. Vermouth may have hinted that there was an earlier project that the Miyanos assumed control over when they joined,[4] perhaps the one Shiho implied was at least 50 years old.[5] Regardless, the pair worked on APTX 4869 until they met their untimely deaths, leaving their daughter Shiho Miyano behind and the project in an unfinished state. Shiho was then groomed to take over their APTX 4869 research project. She was educated overseas in America before returning to Japan at or before she was 13. Shiho advanced the drug to the point where she observed at least one of her lab mice reverting in age. Sometime along the way, the Black Organization decided to use the incomplete form as a poison for stealthy murder. The drug was still considered incomplete by the time it was used on Shinichi Kudo, but Pisco implied that Shiho had advanced it significantly since her parents' tenure. It is unknown if the Black Organization has found replacement researchers to continue work on the APTX 4869 project after Shiho's defection.

Name origin

APTX 4869 is a pun on "Sherlock Holmes". 4869 can also be pronounced "Shi-Ya-Ro-Ku" (シャロク Sharoku)[6], which translates into Sherlock. Adding to the pun, the password for the APTX data is "Shellingford"[7], an unintentional misspelling of "Sherrinford", which was the name Arthur Conan Doyle called his detective character before deciding on "Sherlock".[8] The password and the pun name seem to be related to why several members of the Black Organization call APTX 4869 the "incomplete detective",[9][10] implying APTX 4869 is not finished yet.

Antidote

Main article: Prototype antidote
Gin poisons Shinichi.

Throughout the series there are several instances in which the APTX was temporarily neutralized and Shinichi and Shiho were returned to their actual age forms. The main ingredient for this reversal is a component found in baijiu, which Haibara has already incorporated in a prototype antidote for the APTX.[11]

It is notable that in the instances where Shinichi or Shiho were successfully changed back, the recipient was suffering from a common cold while the component was ingested, indicating that the immune system somehow has to be taxed for the antidote to work.[11][12][13] The only apparent canon exception was Shinichi's reversion in the London arc. While not canon, Crossroad in the Ancient Capital uses this idea as Conan is given a pill to give him the symptoms of a cold, while drinking baijiu.

Conan and Haibara briefly reverted to their true age while having rum cake (thought to contain among other things baijiu) in the live action drama Shinichi Kudo Returns! Confrontation with the Black Organization.

Speculation

Original intent

At first, it was revealed by Gin that the APTX 4869 was a poison to kill people who know too much about the Black Organization. He used Shinichi as a guinea pig. Shiho Miyano said that she didn't intend to create a poison,[14] which suggests that APTX 4869 was originally developed with a different goal in mind. It probably was just a useful side effect that the current prototype kills while leaving no trace in the victim’s body, and was thus employed as a poison - a usage which Haibara detests.[14] Additionally, APTX 4869 is nicknamed the "incomplete detective" by the Black Organization,[9][10] which means its true purpose has not yet been achieved.

Immortality/anti-aging

One possibility is that the goal of the APTX 4869 is to develop a therapy which will cause immortality, stall or reverse the effects of aging, or extend a human's lifespan. The de-aging effect that occurred when Shinichi and Haibara took APTX 4869 probably indicates the main intent of the drug's development. After Pisco saw Haibara shrink back to her child form, he commented that he was impressed she had developed the drug to that point, implying that deaging is in the right direction.[15] Supporting this is Haibara’s line, "Kudo-kun? You would probably never even dream that you are already part of a project the Black Organization has been working on already for half a century."[16] APTX 4869 is the only known intersection between Shinichi and the Black Organization; meaning that Shinichi's de-aging made him relevant to the Black Organization's project.

According to Haibara’s description about APTX 4869[12], APTX 4869 activates telomerase, an enzyme which can increase the number of times a cell can divide, and therefore affect a cell's lifespan and “reproductive potential”. The goal of this might be to revert all non-neural cells to a "youthful", high reproductive potential state. Vermouth's unnatural youth is another indicator that the Black Organization may be involved in research towards extending lifespan, halting aging, or rejuvenating the body.

The goal of the antagonists in Magic Kaito is pursuing immortality, via the Pandora Gem, but it is unclear whether if the organization in Magic Kaito is the same one as the Black Organization.

Raising the dead

The original purpose of APTX 4869 might be to raise the dead. Once when Conan asked Haibara directly what APTX 4869 was meant to do she replied, "It's a nostrum to raise the dead. I wonder if that answer is satisfactory?"[17] The context of the comment, however, makes it unclear if she was merely bluffing to provoke Conan into revealing that he had been looking into the Black Organization behind her back, rather than making a serious statement of the purpose of the drug.

"Silver Bullet" and "APTX 4869" are two names for the same project

See also: Silver Bullet (drug)

In a flashback, Shiho recalls the end of the recorded message left by her mother which revealed Elena had been working on "a truly terrifying drug" the Miyano parents called the Silver Bullet.[18] It is unclear whether Silver Bullet is the Miyano parents' personal nickname for what is currently called APTX 4869, or if it was a closely related project they developed in parallel. Whatever the case, Silver Bullet and APTX 4869 are probably closely linked if not the same in-development drug. Haibara took over her parents' research after they died, with the APTX project named specifically. After watching Haibara shrink, Pisco, who knew about the project the Miyanos worked on, commented that Shiho's parents would be proud of the progress Shiho had made on the drug.[15] In addition, Haibara had earlier referred to APTX 4869 as a dream-like drug,[17] the same expression Elena's labmates used to describe Silver Bullet.[18] During her recollection of the tapes, Haibara was holding and considering the antidote to APTX 4869. She then regrets that she didn't understand the drug was something that should have never been made, strongly implying she worked on the same drug as well.[18] Lastly, Vermouth, who was in the Organization long enough to have heard the Miyanos use the name "Silver Bullet",[19] may have given Conan the same nickname in reference to his deaged state caused by the drug. On the other hand, Shuichi Akai also has the nickname Silver Bullet, but no apparent connection to the drug other than dating Akemi Miyano, the sister/daughter of the drug's creators.

  1. ^ Manga Volume 24, File 10
  2. ^ “[Shrinking] is an unexpected side effect. The nervous system is unaffected, but everything else—bones, muscle tissue, internal organs, hair – reverts to a childlike state” (VIZ english version of the quote in volume 18 file 8.)
  3. ^ Episode 129
  4. ^ “If you [Shiho] want to blame someone, blame your parents who took over this foolish research.” Episode 345
  5. ^ Manga Volume 19, File 9 (189): "The Endangered Ball "; Episodes 130-131 "Kudo-kun? You would probably never even dream that you are already part of a project the Black Organization has been working on already for half a century."
  6. ^ Manga Volume 24, File 10 (241), Page 11: "The Bullet from the Past"
  7. ^ Manga Volume 24, File 10 (241), page 11: " The Bullet from the Past". This has been confirmed to be spelled as "Shellingford" in the original Japanese.
  8. ^ "The name comes from Arthur Conan Doyle's earliest notes for A Study in Scarlet, which gave the great detective's name as "Sherrinford Holmes" and that of his medical companion as "Ormond Sacker"." "Sherlockian.Net: William S. Baring-Gould". Chris Redmond. 2010. http://www.sherlockian.net/societies/baringgould.html. Retrieved on 2012-01-28. 
  9. ^ a b Manga Volume 24, File 8 (239), pg 4: "The Black Burial Ranks ". Gin is conversing with Pisco and tells him, "Of course, it's up to you if you use the 'Incomplete Detective' or not...". Earlier on the phone, Gin had mentioned it was fine if Pisco used the drug which both Haibara and Conan took to mean APTX 4869.
  10. ^ a b Manga Volume 24, File 10 (241), page 11: "A Bullet from the Past". Haibara tells Conan that "the members of the Organization sometimes gave this uncompleted drug a nickname... 'the Incomplete Detective'."
  11. ^ a b Manga Volume 10, Files 4-5 (092-095): "The Great Detective of the West"
  12. ^ a b Manga Volume 24, File 10 (241): "The Bullet from the Past"
  13. ^ Manga Volume 26, Files 2-4 (255-257): "School Play Case"
  14. ^ a b Manga Volume 18, File 9 (179), page 9: "The Girl Made Of Lies"
  15. ^ a b Manga Volume 24, File 11, page 9: "The White World"
  16. ^ Manga Volume 19, File 9 (189): "The Endangered Ball "; Episodes 130-131
  17. ^ a b Manga Volume 38, File 2, page 8: "The Old Picture"
  18. ^ a b c Manga Volume 78, File 4 (821), pg 7: "Mystery Train 「Junction」"
  19. ^ Vermouth has been in the Organization at least 20 years dated by when she assassinated Jodie's father which is more time than the theoretical maximum 18 years the tapes could be recorded -- dated to Shiho's conception.