Real Life Japan: I Just Saved the World Today
Chapter 1
One more time.
He was going to watch it one last time and that was it.
When Chen suggested the idea of shooting a documentary on NERV he thought he was onto something big. He knew there would be problems (his producers wouldn't stop telling him that) but he thought there was nothing too hazardous for him to get around. After all, it was a win win situation. He would have in his hands the story of the year, and NERV would have all the positive publicity they would ever need. And boy did they need publicity. With the destruction of the last angel (and a large chunk of Tokyo-3) NERV had fallen into bad favor with modern society.
Getting past the yellow tape had been simple. It was just a matter of getting the idea heard by the right ears. While almost everyone who would be directly involved in the documentary found the idea to be less than savory, certain higher-ups though it was an appealing proposition. Filming started within a month. And so did the problems.
His film editors all fled within viewing an hour of the footage. Chen was disappointed, but he really couldn't blame them. This was deep stuff… much deeper than he'd ever have imagined. And now he was left to edit the footage by himself. He'd been at it for a week. One full week of solo editing and he'd finally been able to get rid of most of the offensive material… meaning everything that would get him killed. But what was left wasn't much better than what he'd started with. Someway, somehow, he had to make this film presentable. He'd reviewed it all more times than he could count and there just didn't seem to be a way to put a positive spin on things. But Chen was a resilient man. He had worked hard to get to where he was and he wasn't going to just lie down and quit. At least not yet. He would watch it one more time. And everything would be better. He'd know exactly how to edit the footage, he'd publish what was unarguably the greatest story of his career, and he'd finally be able to get some much needed sleep.
But before any of that could happen, he'd have to watch it.
One more time…
A few rustling noises and close up of what appears to be the left pocket of a pair of slacks. The soft murmuring of wheels against track. A shaky upward pan followed by a quick downward decent. The light and barely audible sound of the most crude of curse words. The line of vision moving upward once again in a fast jerking motion. Glimpses of a dashboard and steering wheel. A complete 180 on the line of sight and a focus (none too perfect) upon a man's clean shaven face as he settles back into his seat. His features are the epitome of seriousness and professionalism.
This is the opening moment. Of that there was never any doubt.
"After the catastrophe of Second Impact the world was thrown into a state of political unrest. The economy plummeted and wars rippled throughout all of civilization. The greatest of alliances turned to the most bitter of enemies. The city streets were littered with poverty. Stories spread worldwide of neighbors slaughtering neighbors over loafs of bread."
A pregnant pause.
"But despite this insanity man has survived. Order was restored and it seemed as if peace would finally prevail. At last we had time to morn the loss of those who died, time to reflect upon the failure of our sensibilities, and time to rebuild."
Another pause, shorter than the last.
"However, mankind is not out of the woods yet. Just when it appears as if we've found a moment of reprieve a new threat has surfaced. With the arrival of the colossal hostile beings dubbed by media sources as 'Angels' it seems as if our very existence is in more danger now than ever before."
Yet another pause. Shorter than the first, but slightly longer than the second.
"Yet, there are those who wish to save mankind from it's seemingly inevitable destruction. There are people, right here in Tokyo-3 working around the clock to ensure that we all live to see a New Tomorrow. The government organization NERV is a shining light of hope for those who dream of a new prosperous future!"
The longest pause yet. The man shows a brilliant smile. In a way that defies physics and common logic, trust and comfort are projected across a screen.
"I'm Chen Satoshi. Hello and Welcome to a very special episode of Real Life Japan: I Saved the World Today. Together we'll be taking an introspective look at the inner workings of NERV and the hardworking people who ensure our everyday survival."
Once again the man's face molded to a mask of journalistic experience.
"I'm now seated comfortably in my car as I'm being transported by way of a private subway deep into the lower depths of Tokyo-3. NERV is pulling out all the stops as they have allowed me to use an express entrance to their headquarts which is reserved only for top ranking employees. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity as we will be offered a rare view of the underground portion of the city, the secret to the Tokyo-3 defense system: The Geofront."
Hands extend in front of the vision and another 180 occurs. A windshield is seen, but beyond that there is darkness. The only light available is that of the interior lining of the car.
"As you can see, it's quite dark in here. We are currently speeding downward through a rather long tunnel. I've been informed that in moments we should be able to see th-"
"Wait! There's a light up ahead. Prepare yourselves. It's been said that the Geofront is a visual feet worthy of being hailed as the eighth wonder… of… the..."
Silence. A silence of uncontested awe.
"It's… God it's beautiful. What you are seeing here is a city suspended below ground. The lake below contains the clearest water I've ever seen in my life. The… wow… oh wow… the track we're riding on is suspended in mid air! It's as if I'm traveling with the very wind itself! I can't describe what I'm feeling right now… seeing this… this… words can't describe the…"
A voice chocked with emotion. The droning of the tram along the track. A silence so deep it takes the function of sound. A quick turn to the suspended buildings. A downward glance at the waters below. A look forward toward the tram's destination. The breaking of a heart can be heard.
"We're almost there… this is a sight that I will never forget. Burn this into your memories, people."
A pause… a lack of things to say. Then a return of the voice with a tone of heavy grief.
"This truly is an amazing sight… I never thought that I'd be sad to leave a subway car behind."
There was silence once again as the tram pulled into the unloading bay. A rush of movement. A descending view of the man. The sight of a pant pocket, once again. A hand reaching toward and then past the field of vision… then blackness.
It was the only scene that Chen was sure he could keep.
"Good evening, Mr. Satoshi," said a somewhat attractive woman with short brown hair. "Welcome to NERV." Dressed professionally in a black business suit, she had the round, cute sort of face that in and of itself was unremarkable. But couple that with her soft yet authoritative voice and Chen thought that his visit to NERV might be more pleasant than he had originally anticipated.
"Hello," said Chen with a smile. It took some adjustment to get used to regular surroundings after having viewed something as fantastic as the Geofront. He had turned his camera back on and was currently focusing his attention on the lovely miss… well hopefully he'd figure that out soon. "Thank you for having me. I'm quite glad to have this opportunity."
"And we are glad to have you sir," she said diplomatically. "If you would walk this way with me."
"I'll have none of this 'sir' business," said Chen with a wave of his free hand. The other one was busy handling the rather heavy camera set on top of his shoulder. "Please call me Chen."
"Okay, Chen," said the woman as the two of them began to walk. By the way she said his name, he was relatively sure she was making fun of him. "We really are quite glad to have you here. NERV has been a behind-the-scenes organization for far too long. With nothing but negative criticisms from the press, it's nice to know that someone out there is taking a positive interest in our work."
Chen frowned. "I know that there's been some controversy involved in the last battle, but surely the people can appreciate the work that's being done here."
"You'd think so wouldn't you?" said the woman, "But the fact of the matter is that the people are scared. At first they were overjoyed to have us here looking after them. But then the accident occurred and well…" Chen nodded in understanding. "We work hard, day in and day out to defeat an enemy that even we don't understand, but an Evangelion steps on one shelter (just one mind you) and the whole city turns on you." Chen frowned again.
"A shelter?" He said stopping in his tracks. "I heard that it was an abandoned apartment building and that the people who died were stragglers who failed to make it to the shelter."
The woman shrugged. "Apartment complex… shelter… what's the difference?"
"What's the difference? A shelter is suppose to be a secure area. The only place where the people can be safe from these types of attacks. Isn't that the whole point of having a shelter in the first place?"
"The point is that people died and people are upset about it. The location is insignificant."
Chen found this answer less than satisfying. "But the reports say that it was an apartment. One channel even did a whole expose about the unreasonable timeframe for evacuation drills. Saying that there wasn't enough time for people to reach the shelters before they sunk into the ground."
"Well," said the woman as the two of them began to walk again, "That surely is one way to look at it… admittedly not the most accurate one. "
"One way too look at it?" Chen was liking this conversation less and less. It was a shame too, since he had really thought he might like the woman. He had even planned on asking her out for a drink.
"Look… you're a reporter right? You know that everything that happens isn't what gets reported. And I'm sure you know that everything that's reported isn't what happens. If we were to let word out that a shelter was destroyed then we would have a real problem on our hands. People wouldn't be slightly mistrusting of their safety, they would be terrified. And terrified people are much harder to protect. Surely you can appreciate that."
"If they're in danger, they should be told. They have a right to the truth don't they?"
This time it was the woman who stopped.
"They have a right to safety and they have a right to happiness. If the truth denies them of these rights, then what good is the truth?"
Chen thought about this for a moment. He almost opened his mouth to protest, but realized he had no real argument. If he were in charge of an organization like NERV he couldn't say that he would do anything different. The only problem with this was that it rendered all of the footage from the past 10 minutes completely unusable.
"You're right," he said plainly. When he was beat, he was beat. "I hadn't expected that NERV would send such a talented debater to greet me."
"You flatter both me and yourself Chen," she stated with a smile. "I'm not a talented debater and NERV would never send someone to greet you. Now would you please hand over your camera and remove all metallic objects from your person."
It took Chen only a moment to realize why they had stopped. This was a security checkpoint. Directly in front of him stood a metal detector similar to the ones he had seen at airports, complete with the little conveyor belt used to check luggage for bombs and harmful substances. Standing on the other side of the metal detector were three men with shoulders that seemed to be broader than either of Chen's arms. One of them was holding the leash of the largest German Shepherd Chen had ever seen. They were all dressed in black suits similar to that of the woman who had guided him thus far. However, Chen thought she pulled off the look much better than her fellow employees.
"So that means you're part of the security team," said Chen as realization dawned on him. He was relatively positive that he'd gotten everything metal off of him.
"Not security," said the woman. She sounded slightly offended. "I'm with section-2."
"My mistake. I meant no offense."
"None has been taken. Now please step through the metal detector."
Chen did as he was told. The metal detector did as it was programmed.
"Sorry Chen," said the woman. "I'm going to have to ask you to step over here to the side."
"Sure," said Chen starting to feel embarrassed. However, he realized that his embarrassment often made for good footage. He gestured to the large men in black. "Could one of you possibly film this for me? I'd really appreciate it."
Nobody moved.
"Sorry Chen," said the woman again. Chen was starting to get the feeling that she wasn't using his name out of some notion of relaxed familiarity. She was just replacing the word sir. "We can't allow you to film our security in action. I'm sure you can understand why."
"Yes, I can understand." The reasoning was obvious. Should the footage be viewed by the wrong person (say a terrorist) it could be easily used against them.
"Good, then you also understand why we're going to have to wipe the footage you've already taken."
"You're killing me…"
"Don't worry, we're only going to delete what pertains directly to security. Everything else will be left untouched."
"I suppose I can't complain then," said Chen.
"I suppose not, Chen." Even if it was just a simple replacement, he loved the way she said his name. She pulled out the hand held metal detector. "Could you pleas raise your arms horizontally?"
"Sure."
She ran the handheld around his body, leaving no area unchecked. As the metal detector passed over his chest a crackling noise emanated from it. "Could you remove your shirt, Chen?" asked the woman. Chen slowly complied. He had an undershirt on anyways, so there was little discomfort in the procedure. After his shirt was gone, the woman waved the metal detector in front of his chest again. There were no noises this time. She then waved it over the shirt and the handheld detector went off again. Chen hit himself in the forehead with the palm of his hand.
"The microphone! It's my personal mic feed I use for the camera. I forgot all about it."
The woman examined the shirt and sure enough there was a small microphone clipped to the inside of the gap between the second and third button.
"Clever," said the woman. It was in prime position to pick up sound, yet conveniently hidden. Not that there was much need for secrecy given the large studio-grade camera the man was wielding. Chen was instructed to walk through the big metal detector again. This time no sound went off.
"He's clear," said the woman to the men standing around. The man with the dog let go of the leash. The dog circled around Chen sniffing everything it's nose could reach. When it was satisfied, it made it's way back to its master without so much as a bark.
"Clear," said the man with the dog. Chen was beginning to get a little freaked out by all the professionalism.
"Please be patient, Chen," said the woman. "We're almost done with you."
Chen merely nodded.
"Now could you please place your hands on this wall and spread your legs apart?"
"Frisking?" asked Chen. "Afraid the dogs and the machines didn't get the job done?"
"Better safe than sorry," said the woman. "We are dealing with national security here."
"Touché."
With no further words, the woman began to pat Chen down. She started with his arms and upper body and slowly worked her way down to his legs. Chen tried not to enjoy it too much.
"Clear," she said when she was done. The three men surveying the scene each nodded.
One of the men approached the woman carrying a box with a slit in it. To Chen it looked somewhat like a tissue box. But when the woman placed her hand into the slit in the box, she withdrew two white sterile gloves.
"We've reached the last stage of your security check," she said as she pulled one glove onto her small slender hand. "I'm required by law to inform you of the following: if you feel any excess discomfort or that your physical privacy has been needlessly violated, you can report the incident to the public relations branch of NERV. There they will have access to the name of your checker and will work with you to resolve any potential legal actions against the individual. Do you understand?"
"I do," said Chen. "By the way, what is the name of my checker?"
"That's classified information, Chen," said the woman. "But if you'd like you can refer to me as Agent 437 of Sector C3."
"Catchy."
"Indeed. Now would you kindly lower your pants and undergarments, keeping your legs spread as far apart as possible?"
"Come again," said Chen fearing that he'd heard her correctly.
The woman's smiled reassuringly and uttered two very unreassuring words.
"Cavity search."
Chen found that the halls of NERV were largely unremarkable. While the ceiling was quite higher than he was used to in an office building, there was nothing else notable about the place. For this reason Chen had no problems, leaving his camera off. The only noise to be heard was the sound of their footsteps and the occasional white noise that he had come to associate with Agent 437's security feed.
"So… is the commander a nice guy?"
Agent 437 gave him an oddly appraising look.
Smooth Chen, smooth. Way to break the ice…and fall right through it.
"The commander is a respectable and invaluable recourse to NERV. If I had to make half the decisions that he makes everyday, I'm not sure the world would still be here right now."
"I see." Clearly it was the wrong subject. "And what sort of decisions do you make?"
"Very few. Most of what I do has already been determined by protocol. When I have to act independently, it's only because something went wrong."
Chen couldn't stop himself from smirking. "And surely that doesn't happen often."
Agent 437 shrugged. "We're professionals. You look around NERV and you'll find people who are the best at what they do. Yes we make mistakes, but chances are there's 3 or 4 other people looking over our shoulders, just waiting to catch them."
"I should really get you on tape. You're great at this."
He looked over at her lightly smiling face.
"No, I'm not," Was that a blush? "I just try to be honest whenever I can. That's all."
She brushed at a stray strand of hair on her forehead. It was a decidedly girly thing to do. Seeing such a normal action taken by this highly professional woman gave Chen hope for the future. As they walked onward in silence, he couldn't help but think that his chances of having company that night had greatly improved.
"We're here, Chen," said Agent 437.
The lighting in Commander Ikari's office reminded Chen of a horror flick. There was just enough visibility for him to see in front of him, yet it was dark enough that if something wanted to pop out at him it could easily give him a gut-retching surprise. He was feeling very nervous about this meeting and Agent 437 had done very little to comfort him. She led him to the middle of the room and gave the commander a slight nod, which he returned. She then said quietly "I'll meet you outside, Chen" and promptly left the office.
"Mr. Satoshi," said the commander. The man was wearing sunglasses and his hands were folded together in front of his face, reminding Chen of his high school chemistry teacher who always seemed to find a reason to put him in detention. It took him a while to realize that this was a greeting.
"Commander Ikari, it's an honor to meet you."
"I'm sure it is," said the commander. Nary a smile was cracked. "Let it be known that you are here against my wishes."
The color drained from Chen's face. "…Okay."
"While I feel your little project to be risky and unnecessary, those who would label themselves my superiors have granted your request. However, this is a private institution and you will not be given free reign to roam about as you please. Within these halls you will be watched at all times. Though it may seem that you are alone, know that we are tracking your every move as we would any other security breach. You shall be granted access to any and all personnel for interviewing. The entire staff has been alerted to your presence and ordered to cooperate. From here on out you are permitted to film anything that does not directly relate to international security. We will not be wasting valuable time and recourses in editing your film. It is your responsibility to remove that, which is… unseemly. However, if we find your documentary to be a detriment to our efforts here, know that you will be held solely accountable for the content. I assure you, Mr. Satoshi, that you do not want to become a problem to us. We have ways of making our problems disappear." The man smiled. "Understood?"
Chen nodded. He then shut off his camera and began the seemingly endless trip to the sole exit of the room.
He finally managed to stop shaking when Agent 437 offered to walk him home.
The area surrounding NERV headquarters was full of life and devoid of value. There were no stores, no housing, no office buildings and plenty of people scattered about. Shelters and massive underground weaponry depots were the only landmarks visible. These structures and the large increase of homeless people were the only indication that anything as large and grandiose as NERV existed nearby. This was District Zero. Commonly referred to as No-Man's-Land.
People come through No-Man's-Land for one of two reasons. They're either passing through, or they have nowhere to go. This is what happens to those who ask desperately "What will become of us" when a tragedy strikes. This is where the neighborhood goes when an angel flattens their city block. This is the home for the homeless and the kitchen for the hungry.
Chen kept the camera running. He did not miss a thing.
"So how are you going to spin it?" asked Agent 437
"Huh?"
"Will it be District Zero, the refuge for the weary or No-Man's-Land, the dark and tragic underside of Tokyo-3?"
Chen clumsily turned to wield the camera at the woman. It was times like these that he wished NERV had approved the presence of a cameraman. It was hard working solo.
"I hadn't really thought about it, 437," he said. "Is it okay if I call you that for short? I don't want to get too familiar."
"Sure," said Agent 437 smiling lightly at the joke. She looked a lot nicer, having traded in her business-like suit for a more down to Earth look. She was now wearing loose black pants with a white v-neck blouse. "You can call me that. Or you could call me Naomi… unless that's too long for you."
"Ah, So you do have a name!"
Naomi laughed as they passed a family of four sitting around a trashcan fire. The sound slid down Chen's ears silky smooth.
"It would seem that way wouldn't it."
"Yes, but how do I know that it's you're real one?"
"You don't."
Chen frowned theatrically.
"Isn't that evil of me?" asked Naomi.
"Very evil," said Chen. He was doing his best to hold a straight face.
"Speaking of evil… how do you plan on spinning this place?"
"You're pretty persistent," Chen humorlessly observed. "I suppose you have somewhat of a professional interest in my little documentary."
"I'd be lying if I said I was asking purely for my own benefit."
"I see." Chen focused his camera back onto the streets. They were passing the ruins of what he assumed to be the shelter the Evangelion stepped on. The impact had been great enough to penetrate the buildings underground reinforcements. Chen let out an appreciative whistle. "So I'm guessing it wouldn't be wise of me to leave much of this footage in the final cut huh?"
"I don't know about that," said Naomi thoughtfully. "I don't profess to be any sort of expert on film, but from my experience it's not what you shoot that matters, but how you present it."
"Wise words, Naomi." Real or not, it felt good to say her name.
"I'm glad I could help."
"I'm glad too," said Chen smiling. There was something oddly mechanical about it. "I supposed I should have known that your offer to walk with me wasn't based purely on my excess of charm."
"Of course not." This time she was laughing at him. That hurt a bit. She fixed it with the words to follow. "No, I'm just messing with you. Technically I'm off duty now. I've already got an agent following you. I just wanted to make sure you understood some things." She paused before softly saying, "I wouldn't want anything unfortunate to happen to you."
"Me neither," said Chen just as softly. The change in tone was making him more than a little uncomfortable. But at least it seemed as if Naomi was sincere. He'd learned from the commander that NERV doesn't threat subtly.
"Don't worry though," said Naomi, her voice perking up a bit. "I like you, Chen. I look after the people I like."
Chen brought his camera to bear on the woman once again.
"That's the most comforting thing I've heard all day."
Naomi smiled shyly. She could tell just how seriously he meant that statement.
The two of them walked on for a while more. They had quite a bit of ground to cover, as Chen's hotel was still a mile or so off. They spent this time viewing the sights that District Zero had to offer. There were lots of people coming and going from the inside of the shelters. It was clear that these places had ceased to function as protection from the angels and had become the perfect home. Each building was stocked with enough food to last a third of the population a week and the fortification of the incredibly thick concrete walls was more than enough to keep out the nightly cold. Men, women, and children wandered the streets aimlessly, the expressions on their faces decidedly neutral. It didn't bother Chen so much that they looked poor as it did that they just looked bored. As if there was nothing in the world for people such as them to do.
One man in particular caught Chen's attention. He was passing out flyers to anyone who would take one. It was not a particularly chilly evening nor was there any rain, but the man wore a sweatshirt with the hood down, blocking the majority of his face. When the man saw the camera pointed his way he flinched. That's why Chen was so surprised when he came up and approached the two of them.
"Do you work for the TV stations?" he asked politely. It was awkward how natural he sounded.
"Yes," said Chen seeing no reason to lie. "I'm filming a documentary."
The man instantly handed Chen a flyer which he could not accept. His hands were more than busy with the camera. Naomi was kind enough to grab it for him.
"It's your job to tell the truth, sir." With an opening line like that, Chen knew for certain that he was dealing with a crazy. As he began to speak Chen soon found out that the man was the worst kind of crazy: the ever elusive, intelligent psycho. And like all intelligent psychos this man wanted nothing more than to tell his life's story. All of it. Without missing a single insignificant thing.
He worked in the research and development branch of GEHIRN, which apparently was the name of NERV before they hit the public eye. He worked closely in tangent with Dr. Naoko Akagi and participated in many projects directly effecting project E.
"I was a biochemical engineer. Straight out of college and one of the best in the field. I loved my job sir… it was everything I ever wanted in life."
But of course something went tragically wrong. One day he came to work to find that Dr. Naoko had killed herself and injured a young girl in the process. Naturally he didn't buy it. So he paid a visit to a friend down in central intelligence that owed him a favor or two. His friend did some looking around, but found nothing suspicious concerning the suicide. He did however, find something horribly wrong with the young girl who was reportedly "injured".
"The next day I came to work and my friend from intelligence was gone, without a trace. The only clue he left me was a note that said: 'They erased the files… get out.' I checked his computer to look up the girl's file, but it was wiped clean, just as he'd said. The very same day I packed up everything I had in my desk and left NERV for good."
The rest of the story is pretty typical of intelligent psychos. Letters and threats from anonymous people. Being followed by men in black suits. Leaving his wife and kids to find refuge in the streets, where nobody could tell the difference between him and the next bum. Yadda yadda. Chen was already getting bored with it, but it seemed as if the man had Naomi's full attention.
"So now I spread the word to anyone who will listen to me. NERV is evil. The things they've done are unspeakable, but to get into it now would be stupid of me. They have ears everywhere and they're always watching." He whispered the last bit so quietly that Chen wasn't sure the camera had picked it up. "If you want to know the truth come to the location listed on the pamphlet."
Chen gave the man a placating smile. "We'll be sure to be there sir," he lied. "It was nice meeting you."
He then made a motion with his head that signaled to Naomi that it was time to leave. They made it a good ways down the sidewalk before Naomi spoke up again.
"Eastbound on 132nd and Main."
"What?"
She smirked at his confusion. "Just reporting, Chen. Just reporting."
"Reporting what?"
"Our position, of course."
He looked over at her from the corner of his eye and saw no effective means for long distance communication. "How?"
"Let's just say that my microphone is hidden a tad bit better than yours." She momentarily brushed her hand along his shirt to the place where his microphone was hidden.
"I see," said Chen. "But I thought you were off duty."
"I am," she said bluntly. "But like I said, I look out for people I like."
The rest of the walk back to the hotel was filled with lots of small talk. Each of them willing to offer what little information they were permitted to share. Chen learned that Naomi was an only child and that it'd been several years since she last saw her parents. He also learned that she held a pretty substantial position in Section 2 and was very passionate about her job. When it came time for him to talk about himself, he found her to be a great listener and he loved the way she would interject questions from time to time. As he entered the hotel lobby and bid her goodnight, he couldn't help but feel that he'd been in good company.
It wasn't until he got in bed and pulled the covers over himself that he realized they had been walking south.
AN: I suppose there's no real need for any author's notes here. I just like to hear myself talk. Isn't my textual voice beautiful? Anyways, as you can tell from reading the story the main character is an ACC (Dun Dun Dun!) but hopefully the good kind of ACC. I know this chapter wasn't very big on the canonical characters, but be patient with me. All those folks you know and love will make their appearances in due time. With that being said, Goodbye. I'll try and get then next chapter of Whipped out sometime this year.