EVANGELION
... Cat's Cradle ...
Problem Zero: The Yui that I was...
Was it disturbing to be dead? On the other hand, was it so outlandish enough that I still had thoughts, yet no way to tell anyone what they were? Well except for the cursed beast my soul was trapped in.
I had no idea of the path I was truly walking, when I sacrificed myself so long ago. Nevertheless, being a woman of science, I always had plans, and of course, back up plans. Sometimes there are even plans that you think up when you are depressed and drunk. Yet, with my brilliance, I wouldn't have expected that such an impossible and possibly stupid plan would have done anything to change the world.
This all started when I felt that I couldn't trust my beloved Gendo. His obsession over me had gone too far. He lost sight of our goals, which of course was, to save the world. Maybe the sex was just that damn good; maybe he needed more friends as a child. Anyways, he forged an unforgiving doll, in my own image. Flattered that he would even hold his love for me after death, I disliked the idea behind the Rei Experiment. Why didn't I like it? Having a couple dozen of mindless children with my face running around would freak anyone out. As a matter of fact, this Rei project of Gendo's was more disturbing than Project E. When I found out about the Rei Experiment, I turned to Gendo yet he refused to tell me the truth about it.
Sitting, in a small booth in an upscale restaurant, Yui Ikari sat, with a flattering black dress on, and her hair done up, something she never took time to do, since she was four. In front of Yui sat, the young, slapdash, slick and clean cut, Gendo Ikari. Wearing a tuxedo and an ear-to-ear smile, Gendo Ikari sat opposite of Yui, his love drenched eyes stared into Yui's. Slowly Gendo's hands grasped Yui's from their place resting on her place mat. He gently pulls her over towards him, both try to close the distance, despite the obstacle of the table. With their faces only inches apart a whispering discourse began. However, the sweet nothings muttered by Gendo turn to matters of business, as was often the case. As the talk turned to business, the two turn to their newly arrived meals.
"I find it highly disturbing, creepy and dirty." Yui muttered as she held her wine glass, allowing the wine to spin inside of her cup.
Gendo still had a smile chiseled on his face, as he swallows his food before speaking. "Yui dear, I fear we must have it, as a backup at least. You may disagree with my solution, however I disagree with yours, but I'm not going to stop you."
Still unsatisfied Yui leaned in. "Seriously Gendo, hybrids... It is one thing to clone angels, it's something entirely different when you bio-hack their DNA and splice it with humans. Don't you think that is crossing the line?"
"No..." Gendo simply did not see the issue, tools were tools.
With a small frown upon her face, Yui thought about how hypocritical her clone statement was, because she used very similar technology in creating the Evangelions. "Even if you could do it Gendo, you will run into the same problems we have with the Eva's; a total lack of a primary electrophysiological response interface. I still don't like the fact we are going to hide it from Doctor Akagi"
"The less the hag knows the better," Gendo nonchalantly took a sip from his wine, and looked down at his food. "The PERI or let's just get right down to it soul; can be generated artificially in theory, besides using human DNA should generate at least a half soul enough for it to function. Thanks to the ignorance of Akagi and her breakthroughs in brain transfer interface systems, and Artificial Intelligence Systems, these clones are possible."
"Oh don't give me that Gendo," Yui whispered with smile, as she took bite of her perfectly cooked Foie gras. She suddenly gave a small chuckle before she joked, "I see how she looks at you. She's your biggest fan."
Gendo shook his head at the joke still smiling. "Speaking of fans, I hear you set up a meeting with your good old Fuyutsuki, at twelve tomorrow."
"Will you cut that out..." Yui blushes at the fact that her former teacher has had a fondness for her since she was a undergraduate at Kyoto University's Brain Research Lab. "I have to go over my will and testament, one more time." The thought of what she was going to do, silenced them both.
Looking down to his plate, Gendo frowned, "Please Yui, just let these clones go. They will only be created in a worst case scenario."
A worst case scenario, As soon as he said that I knew that there was far more to these clones than he was letting on. However if I were to learn anything about them, I needed to find out on my own. That was easier said than done, it took all my nerdy hacking skills I learned back in high school to break into the Rei Experiment and what I found inside was beyond the pale.
I had no idea how far ahead he was. I thought bio-hacking and splicing human and angel DNA was just a concept but in reality he had already done it. I nearly vomited when I found the spawning chamber he so arrogantly named, The Room of Gauf. It was filled with over thirty human angel hybrid clones. What disturbed me the most was that Gendo used my DNA in their creation. As I delved deeper into what Gendo had done I discovered that Gendo already knew that the Rei clones lacked a true PERI, but Gendo was also right that the human DNA gave these clones half souls, barely capable of freewill.
Wasn't this what Seele wanted, I thought. The point I was risking my life by in the contact experiment with the Evangelion was so if Seele used an Evangelion to begin instrumentality it can be aborted by someone like myself or like my dear friend, Kyoto Zeppelin Shikinami. It struck me like a punch to the face. Why Gendo would use parts of my DNA, if Doctor Souyu and I failed in the contact experiment, these Rei clones would be perfect pilots. Perfect soldiers much like the Japanese Self Defense Forces Marionette Project Doctor Akaji consulted on at the time. These soldiers Gendo could use against Seele or the world. These half souled and horrid forms shocked me to my core.
I learned so much about the Rei Experiment I knew there was only one person I could trust, my dear friend Kyoto Zepplin Shikinami.
"For a scientist, I don't see how you can drag your own son into this mess." Kyoto muttered as she cradled a baby in her arms. Both were sitting next to each other on an old wooden bench in the middle of oldest Public Park in Germany, the Tiergarten. The lights of Berlin can be seen burning beyond the tree line that sways in the cool autumn air.
"What do you mean Kyoto?" Yu asked using her perfect 'high' German accent. She held the fragile body of her son Shinji in her arms. "I think that he should see what kind of future we can bring, one without Seele, one without fear of a third impact."
After a small sigh, Kyoto stared out into the trees as she plays with the tiny stubbly fingers of Auska. "What if we fail Yui? If we cannot return from the solidification, we would be trapped in these damn creations of ours. Even if we do comeback into human form, there is a chance we could be brain dead or even driven insane by the process. Reincarnation isn't meant for humans."
Looking away from her friend, Yui whispered, "It's a risk I am willing to take. Shinji and Auska should live in peace."
"Yui, I wish I had such blind optimism." Kyoto reached to her side and pulled a booklet from a large bag next to her. "I did some digging like you asked, and some research of my own. Do you want to know what the leading theories are if we get trapped inside the Evas? Handing Yui the booklet she continued, "The contact failure contingency program, better known as the Marduk Report. In the event human subjects are trapped within the evangelions core the most viable option would be to introduce a third party for direct communications between the Core and the Brain Computer interface."
"This is why Gendo was making the clones." Yui was quick to say as she skimmed over the booklet entitled The Marduk Report.
"That is bullshit and you know it," Kyoto interruption silenced even Yui's thoughts. "Our children make the best candidates over those half breeds your husband cooked up, because they would have PERIs. If you look deep enough into the research they discovered for optimal conditions a third party would have to have at least a fifty percent relation to the core to establish a stable synchronization. With us being the interface, it will be our children who they would use to interface with us. I would rather die than see Auska be put into one of those monsters."
That was the last time I spoke to Kyoto on that subject. A turning point in my little conspiracy to not just commit subterfuge against Seele and Gehirn, but also my own husband. Deep down I knew Kyoto was right. This would be our children's war if we wanted it to be or not. How could I or even my husband look Shinji in the eyes knowing we were complicit in such an evil undertaking? That he would face the very coffin I might die in. Leading up to the contact experiment Gendo began to show his distance form Shinji. I am sure he thought as I did; we were not helping him but sealing his fate.
This was the final nail in the proverbial coffin that would be my final act. I would do what Kyoto said shouldn't be done, I would plan my own resurrection. I remember it like it was yesterday, a warm winter night on my seventh can of Chuhai. Seele has had lifetimes to plan their plot, I only had half a decade. I guess they couldn't have just been satisfied with the little blue pill. Besides, somehow I knew that if I were to make a stand, it would be well after I left this physical world, resurrection was the only option.
Was it a great idea to use that old fuzzy logic artificial intelligence project I worked on as a P.H.D. candidate, most likely not. Cat's Cradle was a basic artificial intelligence using a carbon nanotube processes that learned off of and mimicked feline behavior. It was never intended to mimic human behavior so I borrowed, well stole, Doctor Akagi's pride and joy, the MAJI computer brain interface matrix. I was never one to steal, but Naoko Akagi was someone I never liked, and I felt as if she wanted me to die during Project E. After creating a bio-neural electrical copy of my memories to the MAJI, I intergraded them within Cat's Cradle to turn it into a fully functioning artificial intelligence, in theory of course, I would never be able to know of the personality program of Cat's Cradle could handle the memories even after updating them. To assure it would never be found or bothered, I hid it within my dear Gendo's plan B, the Rei Experiment.
I would use Gendo's precious Rei's against him, by downloading my digital self into the only interface able to handle such a program, a Rei clone. Then I had to give my resurrection a activation date. Since I had little information on when the Third Angel would come, I had to make my Choice wisely. The Angels were capable of causing Instrumentality, and they were going to attack Tokyo Three. Few knew that hidden deep within the falsely called Geo-Front was the gateway to heaven, the Second Angel. Tokyo Three's true purpose was to prevent an Angel from making contact. Not a great plan, but it focused everyone's Angel and Human's on one battleground, one final standoff for the souls of humanity. It also conveniently packaged the history erase button in a fortress of steel.
The one thing only Angels and Evangelions could generate was Absolute Terror Fields, and A.T. Field detection technology was only experimental. The only known systems were located within the Geo-Front. This gave me the only option of knowing when the Angels returned was the moment they penetrate into the Geo-Front. It wasn't the most convenient time, but it was the only one I could use.
The day an AT Field penetrates into the Geo-Front would be the day my resurrection program would activate and hijack a clone in the room of Gauf and I will once again take human form. Brilliance does have its limits, as the day came for my Resurrection, little did I know that nothing is as simple as it should be, and just maybe, Cat's Cradle will save the world.
Next problem: Forget it, I forgot it...