John Smith operates as a National Security Agency agent within the American Empire, tasked with neutralizing post-humans—individuals altered by the renegade AI 1A84 to possess extraordinary mental and physical abilities. As head of the Post-Human Affairs Bureau, he spearheads covert operations to eliminate these perceived national security threats, deploying mercenary units like GHOST to apprehend targets such as robotics magnate Patrick Huge. Smith initially intends to silence GHOST post-mission to erase loose ends, but the American president intervenes, sparing the group under pressure from Japan’s Prime Minister Chris Otomo Tate. This political maneuver shifts Smith into an advisory capacity, where he liaises with Japan’s reconstituted Public Security Section 9 on joint investigations into post-human activities.

His strategies prioritize American geopolitical interests, exemplified by overseeing the imprisonment and analysis of figures like Gary Harts, a retired soldier who attempted nuclear escalation, and Sanji Yaguchi, a vigilante boxer attacking corrupt elites. While collaborating with Japanese counterparts to mitigate threats, Smith systematically restricts intelligence sharing to maintain American dominance.

Physically unassuming yet sharply professional, Smith sports a black suit, neatly combed hair, glasses, and a mole above his lip, embodying the aesthetic of a seasoned intelligence operative. His interactions with Section 9 oscillate between alliance and subterfuge, as he supplies vital data on post-human movements while advancing the American Empire’s Sustainable War initiative—an endless conflict engineered to stabilize global economies. This ideological commitment frames him as a morally complex figure: an indispensable resource tainted by institutional corruption.