Neon Genesis Evangelion: Legacy
Episode II: Attack of the Seeds
Chapter 11 – The Show Must Go On
September 19, 2003 – Undisclosed Location
The twelve monoliths came to life, each bearing a numeral, and the caption at the bottom "SOUND ONLY."
'SEELE 01' spoke first, as always. "We have much to discuss. Our goals seem so much closer now, but are once again reaching a crossroads."
"They may be close, but we have him another roadblock in our quest to godhood." 'SEELE 02' said solemnly. "And this is the reason or this meeting."
"Of course there is a problem, making ourselves into the gods of men is no easy feat." 'SEELE 07' quipped.
"What is this new problem we must contend with?" 'SEELE 09' asked.
"This new problem plaguing us involves those cloned beasts, what do we call them?" 'SEELE 04' responded tersely.
'SEELE 05' corrected him. "Evangelions."
"Yes, Evangelions…" 'SEELE 04' continued. "There seems to be a problem with how they will be operated. As we are cloning them from samples obtained from Adam in Antarctica and Lilith in Hakone, there are no souls within these beasts, meaning they are nothing more than empty shells."
"They need a soul to operate?" 'SEELE 12' asked.
"Yes, a human soul to merge with the machine, and another soul to control the beast. That is what the research suggests, and what the apocrypha confirms in its own way." 'SEELE 01' said authoritatively.
"How can that be possible? We could never get enough souls to accomplish our task!" 'SEELE 10' shouted.
"It is possible! We have the resources, and the means to create a viable solution." 'SEELE 02' snapped back.
"Yes, you are correct, we have the living and dormant samples found in Antarctica that we can use to create a dummy human that may eventually work on our own personal series of Evangelions." 'SEELE 01' mused. "But for now, we have no other choice to go ahead with the merging of human souls into the Evangelions."
"How will we get a soul to merge with an Evangelion?" 'SEELE 06' asked.
"We have done it before, in 1998." 'SEELE 03' replied. "By tampering with the safety features installed into the Alcion experiment, we were able to send a soul into that object, never to return. We did it once, we can do it again."
"Well, who would we put into this situation? We can't afford to lose any good scientists for a one way trip like this." 'SEELE 08' remarked.
"There are a few options given to us by the current Director of Gehirn." 'SEELE 02' replied. "That Ikari fellow has submitted that he believes his team can get the project back on track, and simply ask for a few months to come up with a viable solution other than simply trapping a soul inside the Evangelion."
"Correct, I say we give Ikari his time, he has come up with a plan or two in the past that have benefitted us, like the attack on Tokyo and getting both the U.S. and Russia together during a time of war. It was brilliant, and got the world right where we wanted it, under the thumb of the United Nations, where we, SEELE, hold the power!" 'SEELE 01' expounded.
"Ikari came up with those? Impressive, he has more good qualities than I assume. I agree, we should give him, that wife of his, your semi daughter in law, and the computer scientist the time to come up with a better solution." 'SEELE 05' said.
"Yes, but with ideas like that, we need to make sure that this Ikari fellow is kept under thumb, otherwise, with his mind and knowledge of our plans, he could be a large hindrance for us, along with his new hire, that retired old professor." 'SEELE 11' said cautiously.
"When the time comes, we will find a way to subdue Ikari, but for now, let them work. As for the good doctor, he was shown what could have happened if he had spilled the beans. After instilling some fear in the old man, he seems far more content now to work and live in comfort, than to defy us." 'SEELE 02' said menacingly.
"Fuyutsuki brought together the three women whose research made the Evangelions possible. We owe as much to him as we do Ikari." 'SEELE 01' stated.
"But can we trust those others in charge of Project E?" 'SEELE 08' asked.
"Those three women are the ones who are building us the vessels for our godhood! Of course we can trust them, they may be smart, but the wool is over their eyes, we have nothing to worry about from them." 'SEELE 04' said.
"Enough of this! Stop questioning those who we have under our control. The apocrypha says in its own way that those who are with us follow us until they are no longer needed. For now they are needed, and when their usefulness dries up, we will deal with them then." 'SEELE 01' stated. "Now if there is anything further to discuss, bring it to the floor now, and if not, this meeting is adjourned." 'SEELE 01' saw the first monolith shut off. "Ah, I see no one else has anything of value to add to this discussion."
With that unequivocal statement, the monoliths faded to black, one by one.
October 29, 2003 – Berlin, Germany
Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu was standing in an observation room between two hangars. In front of her was a window which showcased four massive blood red orbs. Three of them had just been completed, after being cloned from samples of the fourth, and were ready to be shipped to their destinations. Two of them were destined for shipment to the Geofront in Japan, for Unit–00 and Unit–01, while the third copy was meant for Unit–02 in Germany, Kyoko's Unit. While the fourth orb was destined, once again, for the United Kingdom. This particular orb was used in the failed experiment that took her young friend, Mari Makinami, from this world.
'God that thing feels creepy.' Kyoko thought as she stared at the fourth orb being loaded into a crate addressed to its destination. 'I don't know what it is about that thing, maybe it's just because that thing killed Mari, or trapped her inside of it or whatever.'
Kyoko walked over to the other window in the observation room and looked out to see the form of a mottled gray torso and head with a hole in the middle of its chest that was roughly the size of the blood red Core being lifted into place inside the hole. 'Impressive, it's coming along nicely. It seems the genetic modifications I made to the sample are coming out nicely.' Kyoko thought as she looked at the head of the creature, which sported four eyes, and four nostrils, as opposed to the two seen on Adam in Antarctica, and was being viewed on the Unit–00.
When Kyoko received the genetic sample from Adam, she had modified it slightly, she didn't know how the modifications would turn out. 'I guess I'm as good I thought I am. It's olfactory and visual acuity should be at least twice as powerful as the standard EVA. Well, that's the theory anyway. At the very least, a four eyed beast should be very intimidating. Maybe I should have the armor painted red…' Kyoko thought, but the rest of her thoughts were interrupted.
"Momma! Why aren't you paying attention to me?!" Asuka shouted, with a pout on her face. The precocious two and a half year old had been talking while her mother was distracted by the objects on either side of the room. "Momma! Pay attention!"
Kyoko slightly regretted bringing the attention needing could with her, but it was so fantastic to have the 'little cutie' around. As much attention as Asuka needed, she didn't know any better, she was only two after all. "Asuka, I'm sorry, I was busy looking out the window. Do you want to see what I was looking at?"
"Yeah!" Asuka's face brightened. "I wanna see what you're working on, momma!"
Kyoko picked her up and showed her the Cores out the first window. "See those, Asuka? Those are Cores for the Evangelions."
Asuka's eyes widened at the sight of them. "Wow, they're so big and red!" She turned to her mother "But why are they being boxed up? Are they going somewhere?"
"Yes, Asuka, two of those are going to Japan, where momma's friend is." Kyoko said.
"You mean your friend from college?" Asuka asked. "The one you talk to on the phone all the time?"
"Yes, Asuka, that one." Kyoko responded, as she watched Mari's Core get sealed into its crate and moved into position for transport.
"Momma, what about that other friend from college you like to talk about. The one that always sang when she was bored?" Asuka asked cutely. "I'd like to meet your friends from college, I think it would be fun." Asuka said as she smiled brightly.
Kyoko sighed. She hadn't told Asuka that Mari was. 'Well is she dead? Me and Yui can't agree on that to save our lives. So definitely unavailable. But I don't want to tell her she's dead, she's a very sensitive child, and may even cry if I tell her Mari's dead. I wonder what Yui would tell me to do?' Kyoko thought as she looked at the happy little redhead's toothy grin. Most of her teeth had come in, so there were only a few gaps left to fill out. Kyoko sighed and decided to just tell her. "Asuka, momma's friend, the one that liked to sing all the time, you won't be able to meet her."
"Why not?" Asuka asked.
"Well, sweetie, she got hurt in a lab accident, and she can't see anyone anymore." Kyoko said, hoping she was vague enough.
"Oh… I'm sorry momma." Asuka hugged her mother tightly. "Just promise me you won't have a lab accident, ok?"
Kyoko squeezed her back. "I promise sweetheart, momma will be very careful." Kyoko enjoyed the moment. "You know, you'll eventually meet my other friend from college, Yui."
"Really?! I hope I do, you always say nice things about her!" Asuka was excited at the prospect of meeting an adult that wasn't old and crotchety like her grandfather or that weird cousin of his. "When can we go?!"
"The next time momma has to go and visit Japan for work, I'll bring you with me. How does that sound?" Kyoko said.
"Perfect!" Asuka was excited to meet one of her mother's friends.
"Now, do you want to see what's out the other window?" Kyoko asked.
"Yes please momma!" Asuka said brightly.
Kyoko walked her over so she could have a clear view of Unit–02 down below them in the vat of LCL. Asuka's eyes widened in shock and awe at seeing the half formed creature. "Momma, is that an Evangelion?" Asuka asked politely.
"Yes, Asuka, it's an Evangelion." Kyoko responded.
Asuka had noticed its lack of limbs. "Why is it like that? Where are the arms and legs?"
"Well, they still have to be grown. That's why it's in that liquid, with all of the machines around it, to help it grow big and strong." Kyoko said proudly, looking at what her research ha culminated in. "Does that make sense?"
"Not really, but it's still cool!" Asuka said, still enamored by its appearance. "Momma, why does it have four eyes?"
"Well, I made it that way so it could see better than the others. It's a special Evangelion." Kyoko said proudly.
"Wow! That's so smart, momma!" Asuka said, but another thought formed in the young girl's mind. "Momma, why do we need Evangelions?"
Kyoko was shocked at the question. 'I've never really thought about why we need the Evangelions. We were told that they would protect us from more "Angels," but to what end? I guess, sometimes it takes the innocence of a child to point out the obvious an adult would miss.' Kyoko thought, before answering the young girl's question. "Asuka, the Evangelions are here to protect us from a Third Impact, because humanity can't survive if that were to happen. The pilots who will be chosen for the Evangelions will be special, and will be the protectors of mankind."
Asuka was silent, as though she slowly comprehended what her mother had said. "Momma, am I special?" She asked.
"What do you mean, Asuka?" Kyoko asked. 'I hope she doesn't mean what I think she means…' Kyoko thought.
Seeing the look on her mother's face Asuka clarified her question. "Am I special enough to be a pilot?"
'Goddamnit all, Asuka.' Kyoko thought, she sighed and answered. "I don't know Asuka, you're a very special little girl, but I don't think it would be very safe for a child to pilot one of these things. It's a very dangerous machine."
"If it's so dangerous, why make it?" Asuka asked.
'Goddamnit, I hate having a kid this smart. She keeps pointing things out to me that should have been blatantly clear before.' Kyoko thought. "Well, Asuka, sometimes dangerous things have to be made to protect the world." Kyoko said in an unconvincing voice.
Thankfully for Kyoko however, the unconvincing answer wasn't picked up on, as Asuka was beginning to get tired. Asuka yawned loudly. "Are you tired sweetie?" Kyoko asked.
"No I'm not tired, momma." Asuka replied defiantly. However, Asuka's stomach decided it was hungry. "Momma, I'm hungry!" Asuka exclaimed after the loud grumble.
Having heard the grumble, and felt the room shake a bit, Kyoko realized she hadn't brought any food for Asuka, and all she had in her desk were a few pieces of beef jerky for herself, nothing really healthy for a toddler. "Asuka, can you promise me something?" Kyoko asked, desperately.
"What is it momma? I'm hungry." Asuka whined.
"Can you promise me you'll be good for a little while longer?" Kyoko asked.
"Why, momma?" Asuka asked as she rubbed her empty belly.
"Now, if you're good until we get home, I'll make you your favorite sausages, ok?" Kyoko said. Bribing a child for her wasn't unethical, it was the best way to keep Asuka from going apeshit, especially when she was hungry. No one needed to suffer that. 'I hope to God her future husband can cook worth a shit, otherwise he's screwed.' Kyoko thought.
"Yes, momma, I'll be good till we get home." Asuka said, licking her lips. "I promise."
December 12, 2003 – New Artificial Evolution Laboratory, Geofront–01
"Oh, hell, why won't it grow any faster!" Yui said to the empty room she was in. It contained a very fucked up object. Lilith was sitting on a huge red cross lying down and bolted to the thing, laying a sea of LCL, some of it coming from Lilith, and the rest having been manufactured. Lilith's legs had been severed at the waist and disposed of. Something else was now in its place, a second torso, were mottled grey met Lilith's white body on the waist that it was being grown from, Unit–01 waist, chest, and head had been grown. Well most of a chest, as the arms and shoulders hadn't been grown yet.
Similar to Unit–02 in Germany, there was a hole in the chest for the Core that had yet to arrive. 'Stupid weather, couldn't they have avoided it in favor of a longer route?' Yui thought. 'I need that Core so I can start doing tests on the sync system for the Evangelions.'
Yui walked over to the other side of her lab, where a mockup of the Link Tube Mark III was linked in with the artificial spine segments (and papier–mâché Core) to show the workings of the Link System. "I need to think of a better name for this thing. Link Tube sounds stupid. Maybe the next gen of these things can be called something better, something to do with entering. I mean, we've designed a signal termination plug to stop these things from moving, but, hmm… that might work, calling it an Entry Plug." Yui said, still to herself, as she was still alone, unless you counted the two semi–sentient beasts nearby. "Damn, I'm good with making names up for this shit. Now if I could only solve the issue of actually linking with the Evangelion, we'd be all set."
Yui looked over the documents on her desk near the Link System mockup, and read the complicated readouts that summed up a simple problem. "No soul, no mas." Yui said. "I need to figure out how to not sacrifice a life to get a soul into this thing. Mari had a theory about soul duplication, but we can't find her notes. We might have to go to the U.K. to find those notes. I'm sure they saved them, every other fucking piece of paper here has been saved since at least 1979."
Yui looked at the Link System. "How will I get you to work? How will we get a soul in there?" She was startled when someone responded to her.
"Well, seeing as the Cores have finally arrived from Berlin, we can begin to actually test to see how the Link system will work, or at least make a workaround to get it to function." Naoko said, coming out of the shadows near Lilith.
"How do you intend to fix the problem Dr. Akagi? What work around can there be? Imprinting a human soul onto the Core, and then letting a human pilot it?" Yui stated. "Souls aren't as simple to duplicate as a human memory patterns, deep emotional thoughts and feelings can't be replicated! Anything that's duplicated or copied would be a weak facsimile at best."
"Well, I have a Core being installed into Unit–00. Let's go fire up its Link System and find out what we can do without a soul." Naoko said. "I'll need your assistance with the data collection, Dr. Ikari."
"Alright." Was the only response Yui could give to her slightly overbearing and emotionless boss. Yui sighed and followed Naoko to the elevator to take them to the lab containing Unit–00. When they arrived, Yui saw the imposing and partially armored figure of Unit–00 with its single eyed camera on the fully armored head, armored shoulders and arms, all colored orange with white highlights. The chest was exposed, and a blood red orb was being installed in the hole in the EVA's chest. "So, that's one of the Cores. Where is the other one for Unit–01?"
"It's being transported carefully to your lab, Ikari. But seeing as your EVA is not yet in a condition to be tested, we'll be using the Prototype for now. Now the Core should be installed shortly so let's get ready for the test." Naoko said condescendingly.
"Yes, ma'am." Yui said unenthusiastically. 'She always treats me like I'm an idiot. Just because I'm not making some Skynet Supercomputer with a human personality, doesn't mean I don't know how to run an experiment. I don't know why, but I just don't trust her.' Yui thought. 'Every time she talks to me in a condescending way, I just want to hit her, and I'm not even a violent person!'
Naoko was setting up the instruments near Unit–00. 'God I hate the way that even when I insult her, she doesn't even seem to get angry! What is her problem, and what does Gendo see in her, she's not good enough for someone as strong willed as him. He needs a real woman to please him, not some naïve child with an intelligent mind and gentle disposition.' She thought scathingly, staring daggers at Yui's back. 'I think Gendo would do much better with a real woman like me. I wonder if I should treat her worse than I do now, maybe get her out of the picture, and then he could be all mine, if only there were a way to get rid of her.' Naoko kept this train of thought going. "Ikari! How are we doing with the calibrations?" Naoko shouted.
Yui grimaced, she had been working in silence and had finished the calibrations for the A.T. Field modulators and the EM Stabilization equipment. She was currently working on the Link System connections to the EVE System. "I'm working on the final link ups between the EVA and EVE now."
'Figures, Ms. Perfect is moving at a faster pace than me, and I'm sure it's all perfect.' Naoko thought. "Well, hurry up, the Core is almost ready, I'd like to test it immediately after it's hooked up and before we place the armor over it!"
"Yes, ma'am." Yui complied, and hurried up a little bit, as to not incur further unsolicited wrath from Naoko. 'Ever since Second Impact while they were digging for Lilith, she's been more of bitch to me than usual. Before it was like she was indifferent to me, but since then, she's been so… hostile, I guess is the word. Well, let's get this done before she comes up with another reason to complain.' Yui thought, getting back to her work.
After a short time, the system was up and running and ready for a test. "Ikari, ready the startup sequence. Commence first stage connection." Naoko said.
Yui read the readout. "Roger, first stage connection initiated… EVE and Unit–00 are now networking together… EVE diagnostic programs now scanning and communicating with the Core… Core connection established… link to Core at 18%… 22%… 47%… 63%… 77%… 82%… 91%… connection failed… Core link terminated… Error Code 601, error cannot be identified."
"Try it again, and bypass step 2, and force the connection through." Naoko ordered. "I'll set the A.T. Field modulators to 80% to see if we can force this thing to work. EM stabilization set to 100% to keep the body secure."
"But didn't you just have it set to 20%? Isn't a 400% increase overkill?" Yui asked.
"I didn't ask for an opinion, I only told you to start the test over again!" Naoko snapped.
Yui didn't respond and simply set up for a second try. 'God what a bitch' Yui thought. "EVE and Unit–00 networking… diagnostic programs online… forcing Core connection… link to Core at 82%… 92%… 96%… 98%… connection failed again… Core link terminated… Error 601." Yui said. "I don't think we can connect to the Core without a soul present."
"How can you be sure? We're in unknown territory, Ikari!" Naoko was furious, Yui may be correct, but she wasn't going to take Yui's backtalk. "Now try it again, bypass steps 2 and 3, force the connection, and make it work!" Naoko shouted. "A.T. Field modulators set to 122%… EM Stabilization set to critical, 150%… Start the test!"
"Confirm… beginning link sequence again… EVE and Unit–00 networking… diagnostic programs offline… forcing Core connection… link to Core at 96.3%… 97.2%… 97.7%… 98.1%… 98.8%… 87.4%… 61.3%… connection terminated, Error 601." Yui reported.
"FUCK!" Naoko was pissed, she was getting more and more aggravated at not being able to connect to Unit–00's new Core. "Start it again, Bypass step 3, set step 2 for last, and initialize on my command." Naoko fumed. "A.T. Field modulators set to critical 250%… EM Stabilization is offline… Start!"
"EM stabilization can't be offline, that's against protocol!" Yui said.
"Just follow my instructions! Start the test!" Naoko shouted.
"Fine…" Yui said back, having finally become fed up with the slowly more insane Naoko. "Link sequence start… EVE and Unit–00 networking… diagnostic programs standby… forcing Core connection… 92.8%… 95.9%… diagnostic programs online… scanning now… 97.8%… 98.9%… 99.4%… 99.9%… connection terminated… Error 601… again."
"GODDAMNIT ALL TO HELL!" Naoko shouted, slamming the control console with her fists. "Ikari, take all this data and write a report, I want it on my desk by next fucking week, or I will pull you off the creation of Unit–01, is that understood!"
"Yes, very much so, Dr. Akagi." Yui responded, somewhat sullenly, but still with a smile on her face. She transferred the mass amounts of fail data to her terminal in the lab downstairs. "May I go now?"
"Yes, get out of my sight!" Naoko said, nursing her wounded ego. As Yui left, Naoko thought to herself. 'It should have worked, but it didn't. I guess we need to find a way to make a copy of a soul, otherwise someone is going to have to merge with the Core. A prospect I'm not really enjoying the thought of.'
When Yui got back to her lab, she was finally fuming, now alone in her lab, she could finally vent. "Damn her, she could have gotten everyone killed if that Core had gone critical! It might not be an S2 Engine, but if it exploded, it could cause an explosion ten times stronger than what hit Old Tokyo a few years ago. God, she's crazy!" Yui was beside herself. "If something had gone wrong, I'd be dead, and Shinji wouldn't have a mother to care for him! The only way we can fix this issue is to graft a soul into the Core, and try again. That's the only way. I just hope we can copy a soul, otherwise, several people will be trapped in these things, these Evangelions."
January 19, 2004 – Director of Gehirn's Office, Geofront–01
Gendo was up late working again. He was sitting in his office pouring over the newest reports on the three major projects Gehirn had, Project E, the MAGI System, and the Human Instrumentality Project.
The latest report from his from his wife, Kyoko, and Naoko dealt with project E. It had to do with the lack of a solution for linking with the empty cores. "So, they can't connect to the Core without it failing. The problem seems to be the lack of a soul. No viable solution. Damn it." Gendo, alone in his office, had an emotion and slammed his fist down. "Why can't the three greatest minds we have solve this problem. If this gets any farther behind, the committee will be up my ass to get it back on schedule." Gendo sighed. "Wait a second, there's another report here from just Yui and Kyoko, well more of a note really."
"Gendo,
Kyoko and I agree that we cannot connect to the Core without a soul. However, Dr. Akagi still believes if we only imprint a soul it will work. But an imprint is a sad imitation of a human soul. Rather, our idea involves copying a human soul into the Core, using some of Mari's research.
The problem is that Mari's research is still locked up in the Alcion archives, which neither me or Kyoko have access to. Only the Director can give permission to access the files stored there in the United Kingdom. Can you please give permission to me, Kyoko, and Professor Fuyutsuki to go and retrieve the files from the U.K. Branch?
Please let us go to the U.K., Gendo, it may be the only to get the project back on track. If you end up letting us go, please don't tell Dr. Akagi. I'd rather her not just slap her name on this solution. She would be getting credit without any of the legwork, like usual. Thanks a bunch Gendo, I really owe you. Kyoko says thanks too.
Love,
Yui"
"Well, this is a fortuitous solution. It appears Yui has thought out the solution quite well. I'm just going to let them go. Fuyutsuki can act as my proxy to get the files, and the three of them can take the new luxury VTOL we had delivered last week. But, I wonder why SEELE sealed the files off?" Gendo thought. "Kyoko is in charge of Project Alcion, why would those files be sealed off to her of all people. I should look into this quietly, I don't want them catching wind of this, otherwise it could spell trouble."
Gendo sighed. "Well, I need to look into the MAGI project now. Another project SEELE wants completed as soon as possible. It's already years behind schedule from the effects of Second Impact." Gendo flipped through the report. "Well, Akagi seems to be getting close to perfecting her hardware, but is having trouble with the personality transfer, all the simulations have failed. Hmm, I wonder if I should take her off of Project E to have focus more on her… masterpiece." Gendo contemplated the fallout from the volatile doctor. "I doubt that's the best idea, the way she acts around Yui, it would only be exacerbated if I pulled her off." He put his hand over his face. "The best I can do is telling her to put more time into the MAGI, and hopefully complete it before the next decade starts."
Gendo shuffled the remaining folders out of the way to look at the final folder in the stack, colored bright blue. "Ah the Human Instrumentality Project, the bane of my existence. It cannot be started until the Evangelions are ready for deployment, and the scenario laid out in the Dead Sea Scrolls has begun. Why would Akagi have a report on this?" He flipped it open and saw a single sheet of paper in the folder. "Ah, she's gotten an idea on how to activate the Anti A.T. Field by inverting the EM Field containing the Evangelion. Hmm, how does she have time to deal with all three of these projects? The woman probably doesn't sleep very much, no wonder she's a raving bitch half the time."
Gendo moved the folders to the other side of his desk. "Well, I guess I need to get my report to the committee ready. They need another update on the Evangelion issue. I can tell them we have at least come up with a viable solution. That way they can get their collective panties out of a twist." Gendo said, looking out the window in his office out over the Geofront. "Ah, and I wonder what else SEELE is hiding from me. It must be important to their plans and the Dead Sea Scrolls if they are keeping it this under wraps. I guess it will take all of my skills at evasion and deceit to pull off my research. I'll eventually need someone just as underhanded as myself to assist me in undermining SEELE. In time, I will be able to create my own destiny with Yui by my side."
May 10, 2004 – Gehirn, United Kingdom Branch, Project Alcion hangar
"Wow, I can't believe this is where it happened." Yui said.
"What do you mean, you're the one that came up with the idea to come here, Yui. Even when I've stopped by to see how things are progressing on Batsumojiki, I've avoided this hangar. I didn't even like being near the Core unit for this, uh… monstrosity." Kyoko said, looking up at the mechanical beast above them.
The Evangelion above them, produced from the pieces of genetic material recovered from Lilith's original Core. It had been partially grown, only the torso and the head were grown, and this main body was equipped with an identical, but more roughly made Link System than what was going to be used on the Evangelions in Japan. The torso was being outfitted with electronic joint components where the shoulders and hips should be. The partially assembled waist and hip section had four joints, for what appeared would be four legs. "I mean, what are they trying to do, mix Frankenstein's Monster with the Terminator?"
"It appears that they are using some sort of nerve impulse converter in the limbs and waist to eliminate any type of biologic interference inherent with a semi–sentient being." Fuyutsuki said. "Very impressive, if not a little unorthodox compared to what we're doing, and that thing is going to look quite… odd."
"Why do you think I gave it the full designation, Evangelion Mark 0, Unit–XP? It's not really an Evangelion, just extremely like an Evangelion." Kyoko said.
"So you made Batsumojiki a Concept Type?" Yui asked.
"Pretty much, I just made the name long and complex, like you like them, Yui." Kyoko joked. "You know Ms. Ultimate All–Purpose Humanoid Decisive Battle Weapon: Evangelion."
"Oh, stop it Kyoko. So what did you name the ones we're working on?" Yui asked.
"Evangelion Mark I of course." Kyoko said. "Consistency to show where the projects have evolved over time. I'm a genius, remember?"
"A genius just like me, smartass." Yui joked. "But I think I'm starting to see a theme here."
"All right, all right, enough you two, we actually have work to do." Fuyutsuki said tiredly. "I'll go down to file room and search for every note Mari ever took while she was here, and everything she brought with her should be stored downstairs. You two should look around up here, seeing as you're not really authorized to go downstairs."
"Alright Doc, we'll be good and try not to get into any trouble, alright." Kyoko said playfully, as she started to walk towards the technicians in the observation room.
"We'll be fine sensei, we'll see you later." Yui said, waving goodbye and walking off with Kyoko towards the Observation room.
Fuyutsuki went downstairs to the cold storage room. He swiped the access card Gendo had given him, and it beeped in approval. "Good, Gendo really did me give me access. Let's get this over with."
When Fuyutsuki entered the file room, he was surrounded by boxed stacked up to the ceiling "Jesus Christ, how many boxes can there be?" Fuyutsuki said looking around. "And of course the labels just seem like gibberish, like they're afraid someone might find something… unsettling… in all these boxes. I honestly wonder what they're hiding down here." Fuyutsuki looked at the boxes nearest him. "Hmm… XRLBS–9830988219–1984–0324… seems like a complicated code for filing, what does this one say? TABFJ–4758599043–1984–1222… and this one ZBDOW–4302849832–1984–0729. Hmmm… it seems like these last sets of numbers might be dates, but I have no idea what the other numbers or letters are supposed to mean, might be some sort of computer algorithm…" Fuyutsuki looked around further, and saw a small, but discrete computer in the back of the warehouse, it was a simple computer tower with an old CRT monitor. He turned it on, and a single line of DOS coding came up:
[...
C:\DIRECTORY\Search^exe\Enter Search Terms^
...]
"Hmm, perhaps if I just enter in Mari's last name, maybe something will come up." Fuyutsuki mused.
[...
C:\DIRECTORY\Search^exe\Enter Search Terms^Makinami
...Search 100.0% Complete
12 Files Found Matching Search^Makinami
^EIFNE–9602458193–1996–0318
^VKIBH–9869770742–1997–1031
^QENFG–1238674905–1997–1224
^NMBDG–9804840870–1998–0322
^UTEOU–0987667845–1998–0501
^YHNJI–4563273621–1998–0612
^SBCIX–3264942082–1998–0704
^DHJFE–8370474902–1998–0812
^HFEUE–9734720472–1998–0830
^LJUXS–3745893743–1998–0904
^POLBD–0735472334–1998–0912
^AOLUO–6124976002–1998–0914
...]
"Jesus, that's a lot of files, I guess I should pull them all and take them with us. It might take a while to find them all however." Fuyutsuki sighed and set to work.
Meanwhile upstairs, while Fuyutsuki was pouring over file boxes, Yui and Kyoko were talking with the technicians about Unit–XP.
"So, how is the progress on the prosthetic limbs?" Kyoko asked.
"They're coming along great. We have the basic design all set, we just need to begin fabricating the damn things, which might be a bit of a problem." The lead technician said. "The materials we're going to use need to be processed in a special way, which may make it difficult to make the arms and legs in any speedy fashion. Almost impossible really."
"Well, at least you have an idea of what you're going to do." Yui said. "So, how long have you been working on this project."
"Well, I've been working on Alcion for a while." He said. "Uh, let's see, I've been with the project for, oh, 12 years. Yeah that's right, I started here in 1992."
"12 years?" Yui asked. "Were you here when the experiment occurred?"
"Which experiment? There have been a few over the years." He said.
"I think my colleague here is talking about the experiment where someone died." Kyoko interjected, seething at the man.
"Do you even have clearance for that?" Another, snarky looking technician asked.
"How would they know to ask if they didn't have clearance, Dick?" The head technician replied. "I know which one you're talking about…" He said as he shuttered at the thought of that day. "Yeah… I was, uh, in charge when it happened. I was leading the experiment." He stammered.
"You were in charge?" Kyoko said. "Why were you in charge of Mari's research?" She demanded.
"I was the project supervisor, we brought her on to run calculations for the research we received. We were having trouble determining what the Core was back then, and the higher ups thought it would be a good idea to look into using some girl's research." He said.
"It was her research, she came up with the idea." Kyoko said, staring at the guy so intensely that if she had magical powers, he would have burst into flame.
"We used her to assist us, that was her job… she agreed to it." He said back. "And how did you know Ms. Makinami anyway?"
"We're her friends from college, we were all in the same Metaphysical Biology program. She was here for almost a month, she didn't mention any of this?" Yui asked.
"Well, to be honest, I never really talked to her directly until the day of the experiment. She was assigned to a lab downstairs because she wasn't authorized to view the project up in the hangar, so she didn't have much contact with anybody…" The tech said.
"You mean no one decided to talk to her… she was one of the staff, didn't anyone say hello?" Kyoko raged.
"Kyoko, stop, it's not his fault if no one talked to her, you know as well as I do that she was a very quiet person who didn't adjust quickly to change." Yui said to Kyoko calmly, and then she turned to the technician. "I'm sorry, even after all this time, Mari is still a sore subject for both of us. Please forgive us for being so rude." Yui bowed slightly, looking solemn. "But, could you please tell us what you think happened during that test?"
"I understand, being her friends, it must be difficult to know what happened to her is awful. And I can tell you what happened, as long as you're up for it." He said.
"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't." Yui said, while Kyoko merely grunted angrily.
"Well, even though the data said that everything had gone ok, other than your friend being taken in by that thing, I think someone sabotaged the test, and caused your friend's death." The technician replied.
"What makes you say that?" Kyoko asked angrily. "What makes you think that's what happened? Why sabotage?"
"Well, ma'am, it started out with the Link Tube being cut off from the control center, before it was absorbed, even though it was hardwired. We could hear her screaming until the bright flash of light enveloped her and the Link Tube." He said, shuttering again at the memory. "I thought it was a bit odd, and I put it in my report, but the findings were ignored. I poured over the data from the experiment for weeks after the accident. I found a few anomalous lines of code that cut off the Link Tube's fail safes and its link to the control center when it had a 100% link to the Core. I knew it had to be someone on the inside, but not one of my techs, because I was the only one with access to the computer coding. I don't know who did it, but I know someone did it intentionally."
"So, you're telling me that someone caused her to get killed?" Yui asked "And that it wasn't you? That's what you're telling us?"
"That's correct." He said. "The five guys from the U.N. that were observing arrived before the rest of us got there. Now these guys were really old, and the terminals were still off, I don't think it was them, but you can't rule anything out can you?"
"That's insane." Kyoko quipped "Why would anyone sabotage an experiment like that? It seems pointless. Absolutely fucking pointless."
"Well, I'm sure to the assholes that did it, it makes some sense to them. So if you ever find out who did it, I'd ask them." The head technician replied sarcastically.
Kyoko was going to say something snarky back, but Yui cut her off. "Do you have a copy of this data?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'll go get it for you. You may as well look into it, you two seem much smarter than me, anyway." He went and retrieved the disk from his office. "Here's everything you need on the experiment that day, who was in attendance, all the data from before, during, and in the 12 hours after the test. It's all yours now."
"Thank you so much." Yui said cheerfully. "One more question though, do you think she's still in there?"
"Well, we ran a few tests on the Core after the accident, and from what it said in her notes before they were packed away, there were positive indications that there was a soul in there." He said. "So to answer your question, yes, I think she's trapped in there, with no way out, theoretically speaking anyway."
"Thank you, I think we've taken up enough of your time today, so I think we'll get going." Yui said. "I appreciate you taking time to answer our questions." Yui bowed as she said that. "I'm deeply grateful for your help."
"Yeah, thanks." Kyoko said gruffly. "And I'd like copies of all of your most recent plans for Unit–XP sent over to my office in Germany for my review, is that understood?"
"Not a problem ma'am, I'll send them over tonight." He said. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Dr. Ikari, and it was good to see you again, Dr. Soryu."
The two women waived goodbye and went to meet Fuyutsuki in the file room to help, but they were pleasantly surprised that he was already waiting for them with a dozen huge boxes of stuff.
"What's all this, sensei?" Yui asked.
"Yeah Doc, she's got a point, why so many boxes." Kyoko said.
"Well, this is every box that has information listed for the search term, Makinami. These boxes are the twelve results that came up with her last name, so I took them all. Her notes will have to be somewhere in these boxes, and anything else we find out will just be an added bonus." Fuyutsuki said. "Did you two find anything out?"
"Yeah, Doc, we found out that Unit–XP is behind schedule, and that maybe Mari's experiment was tampered with, and that she may still be trapped inside that Core thingy." Kyoko said "And the head technician gave us a disc will of the experiment's data on it."
"Yeah, we have to go over all this data too, and maybe we can figure out what happened." Yui said holding up the disk.
"Well, this is an interesting development." Fuyutsuki said. "So let's get going, we have a lot of work to do."
July 18, 2004 – New Artificial Evolution Laboratory, Geofront–01
Inside the massive structure that held the Lilith/Shogoki There were four people working in the lab, with all of them pouring over a large spread of documents in front of them, Mari's notes. They all looked exhausted, like they hadn't slept well (or at all) in a few days, and it was starting to show emotionally as well as physically.
"God, we've been at this for days. I miss my daughter." Kyoko whined. "You'd think that Mari would have left a nice big neon sign to solve our problems."
"Relax, Kyoko, I miss my son too, you're not the only one." Yui said exasperatedly. "I wish there was a sign too, but life isn't anywhere near that fair, we should all know that."
"Plus if you stop all the whining, we'll be able to work a little faster, Dr. Soryu." Naoko said snidely, and in a deeply condescending tone. "And Dr. Ikari, stop coddling her, she's an adult, she should be able to deal with the stress just like the rest of us."
"Look, I realize we are all under a great deal of stress when I comes to finding a solution to these problems." Fuyutsuki sighed. "However, Dr. Akagi, could you please try to be a bit more tactful in your criticisms? Kyoko doesn't appreciate that tone of voice, and neither does Yui for that matter." Fuyutsuki said sternly. "And nor do I."
"Understood… Deputy Director." Naoko said, in the same snide tone, and then she got up. "I'll be back shortly, I need a break from this to run some calculations on the MAGI. I should be back in a few hours."
"Ok, bye then…" Kyoko said and then muttered under her breath. "Bitch." Yui giggled next her.
When the door shut, signaling Naoko had left the room to go to another lab on the other side of the level they were on, Fuyutsuki spoke. "Why does she dislike you tow so much?"
"I don't know, doc. Maybe she just doesn't like people who are as smart and successful as she is, who also happen to be younger than her. God, if Mari were here, Akagi would probably try to make her cry for kicks." Kyoko said. "But Mari could run circles around that bitch, and probably make her cry…"
"Well, I guess she just isn't that nice of a person, sensei…" Yui said.
"See, doc? If Yui, the girl who can find the good in anyone, can't find a silver lining for that Grade–A certified bitch, than she must be evil." Kyoko said. "She even has nice things to say about her husband, and most people despise him." Kyoko said looking over at Yui "No offence, sweetie."
"None taken, I know you don't mean it." Yui said with a smirk as she continued to go through the stacks of Mari's notes and doodles that comprised her research.
"Oh, shut up, Yui." Kyoko said as she blushed slightly. "We should probably get back to work, and maybe find the answer before that asshole comes back."
"Yes, we should get back to work…" Fuyutsuki said. "But not on this particular issue, the other issue regarding Mari…" Fuyutsuki turned to Kyoko. "Kyoko, you took the disc back to Germany when we left the U.K. right? Have you had time to go over it at all? Did you find anything?" He asked quietly.
"Well, yeah doc, I've confirmed a few things. First, the tech was right, someone accessed the program right before the test started, ran a hot resequencing and forced the updates to the code into the computer. That's why he could never find out why they didn't catch it in the final test run, it was done after that. Second, the committee that was there, the Human Instrumentality Committee, the ones that fund Gehirn, oddly enough? Well, I found out the head of that committee is Oscar's cousin, Ambassador Lorenz from Germany. I didn't realize that he was in charge of our funding, but him and his four compatriots were present for the testing." Kyoko said. "Which is a little odd, to say the least."
"Did you say Keel Lorenz?" Fuyutsuki asked. 'So, SEELE was present for the test? That's definitely something interesting, they're never that bold as a group. Lorenz is, seeing as he visited the Katsuragi Expedition and left the day before it went to hell, but they've never come out together as a group. So what agenda of theirs does this further?' He thought.
"Yeah, I said Keel Lorenz. Why?" Kyoko asked.
"Oh, I just recognize the name from the Valentine Treaty, that's all." Fuyutsuki said. 'I've been spending far too much time with Ikari, I'm starting to lie very convincingly.'
'Lorenz, the man Gendo is always in contact with? I don't trust him, he's a very suspicious looking and sounding person, and he gives me the creeps.' Yui thought. "What else did you find out from the data?" Yui asked.
"Well, that's it, I'm not sure who messed with the data, but it wasn't any of the techs, their access codes weren't used to enter the control room, and the only time the door opened it was for an unreadable code. I couldn't get any more than that." Kyoko said. 'I wish I could've gotten more, but that's all the disc had to offer.' She thought.
"It's ok, Kyoko, we know for sure that it wasn't Mari's fault, and that someone is responsible. It's no longer a question of if, but who." Yui said encouragingly, still going through the papers in front of her.
"She's right Kyoko, now all we need is time to and the culprit, and make them accountable." Fuyutsuki said. "Now, what if it was one of the committee members that observed the test? The tech did say they arrived early to the test, before anyone else entered the control room."
"Well, yeah, he did mention that, but he said it was unlikely to be them." Yui said.
"That is true, but in the grand scheme of things, those five are the ones funding these projects, so whatever meddling they might want to initiate, it would be beneficial to them, wouldn't it?" Fuyutsuki mused.
"Well, it is possible, the Lorenz guy seems kinda smart." Yui said. "But it still seems ridiculous to assume that."
"If they were the only ones in the room before the test, logically, it would have to be them." Fuyutsuki argued.
"Look, Doc, we can talk about this later, before I go back to Germany, but right now, let's focus on the problem in front of us, and not the one that we can't fix at the moment anyway." Kyoko said back.
"I agree. There are some things I should tell you two about all this anyway, but we can go over it later, in private." Fuyutsuki said. "Let's get back to work."
"Oh my God! I don't think we have to! I think I found something!" Yui said suddenly. "I think I've solved it!"
"What is it Yui?" Fuyutsuki asked.
"Yeah, quit jumping around like a school girl and tell us!" Kyoko remarked.
"Look, what this says!" Yui said pointing at the pages in her hand. "Soul Duplication Transference – thoughts and theories! She says it's possible, but would require careful calibration! We can do this safely, and not have to sacrifice ourselves! It's the perfect solution! We just need to figure out how to do it, and she has the rough calculations here."
"Yui, if what you're saying is true then we might have a viable solution." Fuyutsuki said. "Can you explain what the solution is though?"
"What solution? I was only gone two hours, and you found a solution without me." Naoko said, entering the room in a huff and a loud door slam, because she hadn't been the one to discover the solution.
'That right, bitch, Yui beat you to it.' Kyoko thought as she grinned.
'I'm so glad I found the solution, but now I think she's going to be even meaner to me.' Yui thought sadly.
"Correction, Dr. Akagi, as you came in, Yui was going to explain to us what she had found." Fuyutsuki said proudly about his former student.
"Well, go on then, explain it." Naoko said harshly.
"Hey! Watch the tone, she just saved all our asses with this solution." Kyoko said through gritted teeth.
"It fine, Kyoko." Yui said to her friend "Ok, so from what it says here… It's possible to copy the soul of a living person, as it is still attached to a living vessel. The copy will require the subject to be in a deep state of sleep, to lower the metaphysical barriers to minimal levels (A.T. Field). Whether this is through sleeping drugs, a state of nirvana, or an artificially induced coma, is at the discretion of the lead scientist. However, a natural state would most likely be preferable to anything having to be induced.
The process to copy the soul will require precise instrumentation, similar to the A.T. Field detector and soul transference machine, with an added part that can copy the soul as it is being read and analyzed by the equipment, something analogous to the burn function of a CD–ROM Drive. The theory of personality transplant, postulated by one Dr. Naoko Akagi could be modified to copy not only the personality, but the soul itself.
Below are some initial calculations based on Dr. Akagi's most recent published study (May 1998) regarding her new MAGI system and its eventual operating System, the Personality Transplant OS… See? Here are the calculations! It's almost done for us." Yui said excitedly. "I'm sure your theorem has changed over the past 6 years or so, but this is a great start! We could have a viable solution to copy our souls within a few months!"
Naoko looked at the paper "She just scribbled this down on a whim? That's some impressive work."
"Would it impress you more if you knew Mari was 16 at the time?" Fuyutsuki said.
"16?! How is that even possible?!" Naoko stammered.
"It's because she was a genius, obviously." Kyoko said sarcastically. "That's what makes it possible."
"Putting that aside, we should get back to work." Fuyutsuki said authoritatively. "Yui, Naoko and myself will continue work here in Hakone, and Kyoko, you can go home to Germany and work from there. The next time we met will be to over the safety precautions before the actual tests. I'll notify Director Ikari of the progress we've made."
"Alright then, seeing as you're notifying the director, and this problem is relatively solved, I'll send over my updated theorem to Ikari here so she can go over it, and then I'll get back to work on the MAGI." Naoko said smugly, as she walked out of the lab, past Lilith's massive right arm.
"Well Yui, I guess that means I'm heading home." She went over and hugged her friend. "I guess I'll see you the next time I'm in town."
"I guess so." Yui said as she squeezed her back. "But next time, bring Asuka with you, I'd like her to meet Shinji."
Kyoko sighed at her friend's persistence. "Yui, they're barely three, stop trying to play matchmaker. If it's meant to happen, it'll happen, don't force it."
Yui smiled. "You can't blame me though, it'd be cute to see them as a couple when they're older." She said sweetly.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it but still, ease up, we have a long time before either one of them starts dating, so just relax, and we can watch it happen." Kyoko said. "I'll call you when I land."
"Ok, bye Kyoko." Yui said as her friend left to collect her things and head home.
"Yui that was excellent work." Fuyutsuki said.
"It wasn't really my idea, sensei, it was Mari's." Yui replied.
"Regardless, you solved the biggest problem plaguing these beasts we are creating." Fuyutsuki said, and he too left the lab, to go and talk to Gendo about the latest development. 'I need to begin collecting everything I know about SEELE and anything else that may be important, so that if something happens to me, or Yui, or Kyoko, or even Ikari, there is some record of all this… evil.' Fuyutsuki though as he left.
This left Yui along in the lab with Lilith/Shogoki, and she looked down at the paper in her hand, written by her missing friend. "I know you're trapped in that Core, Mari, and I'll find a way to pull you out. As soon as I copy my soul I'm going to find a way to save you, like you somehow saved me with these notes." Yui said calmly to the paper.
She looked over at her giant creation growing out of Lilith and smiled. "Thank you, Mari." Yui said sweetly to the girl's research notes still clutched in her hands. "Even if you don't know it, thank you for helping to protect humanity."
To Be Continued
A/N: I do not own Evangelion or any of the characters, GAINAX and the other distributors of NGE related material do. I am simply using them as a backdrop for my fanfic.
Ok, so Batsumojiki is what I named Unit–XP, to more closely follow the naming scheme of the other Evangelions, Zerogoki (or Reigoki if you want see that symbolism), Shogoki, Nigoki, etc. Batsumojiki breaks down like this batsu is the letter 'X', moji is letter and ki in this instance is machine. Also, it looked like "Batmobile" when I typed it out, so I thought that was cool too.
Ok, so now, Fuyutsuki is assuming that SEELE trapped Mari, for whatever reason, he hasn't actually been told about instrumentality yet. Yui and Kyoko are determined to free their friend from her prison, but are forced to work on the Evangelions before attempting to save her. Fuyutsuki is also about to spill the beans on a few things to his former students, which will have some implications in the next Episode.
Yes, Yui wants Shinji x Asuka to happen, because she thinks it'll be adorable.
Yes, Asuka made an appearance but Shinji didn't. The reason for that is, Shinji will have plenty of page time between now and the end, and Asuka gets left out for a while come Episode IV, so, I'll give her some happy mother/daughter time now.
Apparently, Fanfiction(period)net does not allow for "Search(period)exe" to be used in text, or the greater than or less than symbols that should be used for computer programming. That being said, I replaced the offending symbols with "^" and problem solved.
I won't spoil the next chapter, but I'm sure you'll really enjoy it. It will be long, have flashbacks, but it will be full of lots and lots of information.
As I said before, and will always say at the end of chapter, please leave comments, as I would like to try to improve the story going forward any way I can. And, hell, constructive criticism is a good thing.
つづく