Interlude 11: Foundations of the Good Word

HERZ-Matsushiro, Early-Mid November 2016

Marie Vincennes walked into the empty breakroom and sighed quietly. It was rare that she did this entirely on her own. Often, Asuka had to stop their training and nearly order her to take a break. But this time, she was tired enough to not resist.

'Just this once.' she promised herself as she went over to one of the vending machines. 'Then I'm back on my feet and getting back into training.'

She took the can of soda, cracking it open and sipping it as she found a seat, setting her bag on the table as she took out a prepared lunch made by Hikari and Toji. 'If I eat this quickly enough, I can drink the soda on the way back to the Simulation Plug.'

She needed this training. She needed to prove that she was the best. That need had driven her since she had first seen Asuka's training stats after her first semester of college.

'And I've been getting there.' Marie mused as she took a bite. 'But not fast enough.'

Her jaw clenched slightly for a moment. She knew what she was doing. She had been jockeying to pilot Unit-04, after all, before that thief stole it from her after the accident. She had honed herself to a razor's edge on the old training manuals even as she sharpened her mind graduating college. She was Asuka's intellectual equal, and there was no doubt in that.

But she needed to be her equal in piloting, too. No, she needed to be better. Better than the high and mighty Asuka, better than Toji, the thief of her father's work…

She blinked. That was a dangerous line of thought. It always was, even with how correct she was in her appraisal of her skills. She could hear Reverend Simmons sighing again. 'You know that pride cometh before the fall, young lady. As good as you are, you must be better than your baser instincts.'

A part of her sniffed again. Since when did he have the right to look down on her? He knew, perhaps even better than anyone else, the lengths she had gone to make herself the best. Who could judge her but God?

Then, an image of Reverend Simmons in her mind sighed quietly, running a hand through his close-cut salt-and-pepper hair. 'If you listen to no one else,' he had always said when she had become unmanageable, 'listen to God. It's time to read your Bible again.'

'That it is, Howard.'

Marie admitted as she scarfed down the rest of her lunch, then reached into her bag, pulling out a well-worn Bible.

It was a King James version, and Marie smiled slightly as she began to flip through the marked pages. 'You always were old-fashioned, weren't you, Chaplain? What was it you always said? Right. Some things are old-fashioned because they were made to last. Especially the word of God.'

She found the book she was looking for, then the chapter and the verses, prominently marked. She read them through, pondering on the virtues Peter wrote about. Peace was a thing of the past. It had died with her father, and now that she was a part of the Army Evangelion Corps, she didn't expect its return any time soon. Gentleness was becoming easier for her. At least, it was before she came into contact with Asuka.

Meekness and temperance… she had always struggled with them. She was always so sure of herself. And she'd done the work to say that without boastfulness, deceit, or overt pride. But… there was still that little, devilish part of her soul that had pushed her further. Why not, after all? Why couldn't she show the world how truly spectacular she could be?

"Getting in some light reading before we hit the Plugs again?"

Marie blinked as she looked up at the door, and saw Asuka standing there, what she assumed was lunch in one hand. "Some, I'll admit." she said quietly.

Asuka nodded as she walked in. "Mind if I sit with you while I eat?"

Marie shook her head, and Asuka took a seat, beginning to unpack her lunch as she did so.

"So, I never asked." Asuka said after a moment. "Which version do you read?"

Marie glanced down at her Bible. "King James." she said after a moment.

Asuka nodded. "Alright, then." she took a bite as she glanced over. "What has you traipsing about in Galatians, then?"

Marie was silent for a moment. Did she say? And if so, what?

"I'm… having a few personal issues, is all." Marie finally sighed. "Galatians 5 has been one that I've flipped to more than a few times."

Asuka nodded. "I think I remember that chapter. And the verses you're probably talking about. I became pretty well versed with the Bible in my religious studies classes in college."

Marie looked over at Asuka as she closed the Bible slowly. "So you're not a believer, then?"

Asuka shrugged. "Not really. I went to church for my mother's funeral, and a few times after when my father and step-mother took me before I joined the Eva program. But…"

She shook her head. "We've fought enough gods and monsters to pretty easily disabuse me of the notion of a God. At least, any sort that actually cares about us."

Marie nodded slowly. "I see. Even with all the talk of miracles…"

"Misato has a saying." Asuka's brow furrowed slightly. "The only miracles that are worth it are the ones we make with our own hands. We didn't get any heavenly help during the Angel Wars. And we did just fine without it."

"Well, perhaps you didn't notice it because you weren't looking in the right places. After all, God works through people far more than he presents overt displays." Marie smiled slightly. "Perhaps Commander Katsuragi's 'womanly intuition' is more inspiration than just simply luck."

Asuka shrugged. "Maybe. But we also know where souls come from, now. We have for decades. We're children of Reality more than we are children of God, and that was true far before we understood it."

"Ah, yes, Asuka. But that raises another question."

Both girls looked to the door to see Daniel leaning against it, his own lunch in hand as he walked in. "The age-old question of where souls come from." Daniel continued as he walked in. "Mind if I take a seat?"

Marie shook her head, and Daniel sat down as Asuka looked at him quizzically. "You mean you don't know the answer to that question?" she asked with an arched brow.

"Not entirely." Daniel admitted with a slight shrug as he began to eat. "Souls are eternal constructs. Ones that we've never cracked how to fully replicate. Artificial Spirits exist, certainly, but a fabricated soul? It's impossible as far as anyone knows. As for natural souls, we've tracked their originating location to somewhere in Pneumaity."

It was quiet for a moment as both girls waited for Daniel to elaborate. "That's it?" Asuka said almost incredulously.

"We've never gotten an exact location." Daniel said with a shrug. "There's a lot of debate that swirls around where souls come from."

"And what do you think?" Marie ventured.

"Well, I'm of the opinion that there's something out there that's spun all this into existence. It's far too complicated a Reality to keep running, and produce immortal souls at the same time, without someone at the wheel. Whether it's God or a pantheon of gods or something else entirely…" Daniel shrugged. "Who knows? I certainly don't yet."

"So you're… agnostic, then?" Asuka asked slowly.

"I guess you could put it like that. I've bounced around many different churches and religions for a time. I even spent a few weeks with a Unitist congregation before the Unity War kicked off."

"So who do you think has the right answer, then?" Marie asked, leaning forward slightly.

"Everybody has bits and pieces, Ms. Vincennes. How big or small varies. But everyone, on every Echo I've ever been on, is close, in one aspect or another."

The conversation trailed off as Asuka and Daniel ate for a little bit, then Daniel looked back up at Marie. "And, I might ask, how is your faith in God, seeing as you've spent time with an organization that has experience killing Angels?"

"Well…" Marie trailed off for a moment as she looked down at her Bible. "It could be better, I suppose."

Daniel shrugged. "Everyone's faith in something wavers at some point, I've found. It's what you do when that happens that defines your faith."

Marie chuckled after a moment. "You know, Reverend Simmons said something remarkably similar at one point."

Daniel smiled slightly. "Many wise men come to many of the same conclusions. And after all, it's applicable to far more than just faith in the divine. Asuka and the other Children have placed their faith in their love for each other, their abilities to pilot the Evangelion, and in Interfacing. I'm sure their faith in all of those has wavered at some point. But they've persevered, and come this far."

"And they aren't the only ones." Daniel continued. "I know for a fact from my time in NERV's Engineering Division that there are a few good Christians that pitched into the effort to save the world. I'm somewhat surprised Misato hasn't considered a chaplain for HERZ." he smiled slightly. "Perhaps you'll be the one to convince her."

Marie nodded. "Yeah. Speaking of Interfacing, however…" she looked at Asuka. "Do you think I can become Interfaced, too? I know I ask a lot of you for training me to pilot an Evangelion, but if Interfacing can help me to pilot it…"

"Ah, don't sweat it." Asuka said with a shrug. "I'm surprised you're the first one that's asked one of us directly, honestly. And it shouldn't add too much to the training regimen we're putting you through. We'll get you plugged in whenever you're ready for it."

"Oh." Marie said. "Thank you. That's very kind of you."

'Yes, indeed.' she thought silently, somewhat guiltily. 'Thank you for helping me beat you, someday. You won't be the best for long. Not if I have anything to say about it.'