Chapter One.
\\~~~~//
The Book of
- Councils -
1:1. Among the gifts given to Humanity from the Lord were the Qumran scrolls. 2. Within these scrolls were the 248 positive scenarios that the possessor may enact and 365 negative scenarios. 3. Divided into first Loyalties, then Kingdoms, then Strains, each scenario could be used to bring about chains of events
… 34. It was the promise of the Lord to his Children that they be allowed to enact these scenarios according to the free will that he had granted them as they would…
4:3. It came to pass that in the lands of the Dead Sea emissaries of SELEE discovered these scenarios and took possession of them. 4. The men and women of SELEE were corrupted by the power that had been handed them and searched the scrolls for their personal aggrandisement. 5. Searching to rival God Almighty in their hubris, they seized upon the Red Earth Strain of Scenarios in an attempt to warp events. 6. Knowing the covenant that had been sworn, they demanded the events of the Red Earth Scenarios without thought for consequence or morality…
6:7. So Kihl Lorenz pressed his Councilors to the vote to see whether they would enact their scenarios. 8. Therefore the 16 councilors of SELEE gathered in the darkness to cast their ballots…
\\~~~~//
August 17, 2000
Seconds ticked away on the digital display of the clock. Nearing the designated time. In a quiet communication chamber, a very anxious young woman waits for the number to tick along to the appropriate time. Running her hands through her short brown hair.
Lucky bastard of a husband, he doesn't have to make decisions like this, she thought to herself in frustration.
The chair she sat in swiveled from side to side as her eyes slipped out of focus and her mind concentrated.
What if he's wrong? What if this isn't inevitable? But if he's right, my god … there would be no other way. This Strain of Scenarios would be our only fighting chance.
The digital clock was silent and only the humming of electronics and the grating of the swiveling chair filled the room. The entire room was black, with golden crisscrossing lines, encompassing the chair upon which the woman sat in a manner akin to a shell.
But of course, their words hold a ring of truth. We truly are at a standstill. Humans, condemned to a perpetuity of stagnation until we inevitably kill ourselves. Here we can take away pain and sorrow and suffering. And even those who die and suffer here will ascend with us to bliss and the pain and suffering will be meaningless. After all, if someone suffers, but the suffering is erased and they do not remember, did they truly suffer? If the tree falls in the forest and no is around…
What does the tree think of it all?
Time ticked over and the golden lines faded away, as did the confines of the shell. Now the brown-haired woman was within a void. There was a floor, as black as the sky, with no discernable horizon. Shapes began to appear; featureless monoliths. They were arrayed in a circle, of which the woman found part. Soon after appearing, each monolith would acquire certain features. The label "SELEE" and a number, as well as the words "SOUND ONLY" were soon emblazoned upon the face of the black slabs as they hung in the air.
The woman knew the others, behind those monoliths, who looked in her direction, would see only a monolith, sporting the label "SELEE 07" and that she was entirely anonymous amongst them. Everyone here prided themselves upon the intense security and the amazing technology at their disposal. They had created it, wrought these creations with their own hands and minds. Behind those monoliths sat heads of state, chief executives, scientific geniuses and military masterminds.
This brown-haired woman, a youthful eighteen, fit into the third category and was a prodigy in her field. With her husband, ten years her senior, their work was already rippling through the world of Biogenetics. It was to this that she owed her seat at this illustrious council; this and the councils mistrust of her husband. She knew she would have a role to play in what was to come, depending on her decision.
Idly wondering if her cooperation here was some sort of naïve fantasy, a dream of changing the horror her species could perpetrate, the scientist folded her hands into her lap and prepared her mind for what was to come. Graduate of University at 17, married at 18, the mind she prepared was not some stumbling tool but a lethal weapon. That was why she was here, a member of the council, albeit a junior member, replacing a more senior member who had passed away.
From the brimming silence between the assembled came forth the voice of Selee 01, who was, she knew, Chairman Lorenz or Secretary-general Lorenz, depending on the occasion.
"Twelve days past we held off on this decision, now we reached the juncture. No more may we idle, lest the time for it to be a decision pass us by. The question posed is known to us, the arguments for and against branded into our thoughts. We have reached the limits of the time we have to debate this, the future of our species. Your cast will be your one and only, and from here our paths are set in stone. Let there be no hesitation among us.
"Now how say you?"
Devices embedded in the walls of the shell in which the scientist's body sat projected messages against her pupils. A running transcript of the meeting was displayed in a manner akin to a Heads-Up Display. It let her keep track of who was saying what, what was said before and other information as may be required.
"Selee 02, how say you?" demanded the voice.
"Yea," voted the member, the voice male and confident. Selee 07, sitting in her little shell waiting her turn, knew that the tone was a fraud though and Selee 02 was a woman. All voices being transmitted in this meeting were male, regardless of their origins. It was part of their secruity, another piece of anonymity.
In the circle between them, a simple counter came into life, two numbers hovering in the air. One above the other. The upper, the yea's, was currently registering one; the other, the nay's, registered zero.
"Selee 03, how say you?" demanded the voice of the Chairman.
"Nay," came the reply.
With time ticking down against her, Selee 07 struggled with the question, switching opinions from second to second, desperately searching for the solution but knowing there truly wasn't one. The rope was too knotted for a human mind to assess and there were no knives to cut this cord.
"Selee 04, how say you?" demanded the voice again.
"Yea," voted the man behind the monolith.
There was no dodging the question, that the Chairman had the right of. From this point forward, action must be taken, in one fashion or the other. Two courses, one certain to provide horror, but with grace at the end. And one which may provide horror, with oblivion at the other end.
"Selee 05, how say you?" spoke the powerful tones of the first.
"Yea," came the vote.
Three over one, read the counters that Selee 07 could see. There seemed to be a preponderance for action already, but then, it was still early. The lower numbers had been more supportive then the latter ones had, anyway.
"Selee 06, how say you?" sounded out the voice once more.
"Nay," determined the man or woman for whom the sixth monolith was an avatar.
This is it, she though to herself, sounding as a whisper even within her own mind. All the struggles with her conscience, all the research, everything, now paled before this moment.
"Selee 07, how say you?" crashed the sound of doom.
She closed her eyes. Breathing ceased and the world slid to a halt.
Yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no…
"Yea," she said, clear as the rest, as timely as the rest and seemingly as confident as the rest. And with that word she set the fate of her soul upon sheets of granite and blot herself from the Lamb's Book.
From there, she couldn't focus and did not keep track of the votes from there until the end.
"Selee 16, how say you?"
"Nay," voted that last marker, with vanity in his heart, for the two counters would now read as follows, Yea '8' and Nay '7'. The contest was decided as the single white eight sat over the single white seven, determining the course of future events, with but eight syllables.
Truly, there is power in words to create and destroy and all manner of action within these.
"And as Chairman I cast my vote as 'yea'. There reads nine for and seven against. The yeas have it. Humanity will control Second Impact and the Red Earth and make a destiny for ourselves as an ascendant species; the hand of man at the right hand of the Almighty."
"In unity," chorused the assembled, denoting their concession that the majority decision will be in effect the unanimous decision. "Truly," they chorused after the notes of their unity faded.
"The necessary actions have long been laid out before us," reminded Kihl. "Now there is nothing in our way. All here know their tasks and what will await them in time. Nothing now remains but to carry them out and bear our burdens."
And with that the meeting was effectively adjourned and Selee 07 was one of many to quickly vacate the meeting. The void faded and the young woman was once more herself, no longer a Councillor of the Throne of Souls, no more Selee 07. She sat with her head clasped in her hands, crying as her shoulders shook. Behind her the door to her shell opened and light cascaded into the dark.
"Well?"
"Yea," she answered hoarsely, defying her tears.
"And you?"
"Yea," she responded once more, her nails biting at her forehead as she second-guessed her decision.
"Then it is done, Yui, and we must look forward. We have a part to play here and now we must play it, for good or ill," answered Gendo Ikari as he placed his hands upon the shoulder of his wife, Yui Ikari.
//~~~~\\
…6:35. Therefore the members of SELEE stretched out and called upon the covenants. 36. Upon Antarctica in the south, they unearthed Adamo and the Lance of Longinus and prepared for Second Impact.
//~~~~\\
September 12, 2000
"You're leaving already, Ikari?" asked Doctor Katsuragi.
Gendo smiled grimly and waved back to the Doctor absently. "Orders, Katsuragi, I've got to give an update report."
The dark haired Doctor frowned deeply as he turned to fully face his colleague. The two men stood in the commons room of the expedition base. Katsuragi stirred a cup of coffee as he searched the eyes of the other man, wondering what game was afoot. For his own part, Gendo's empty cup sat by the sink and he stood by the door, a briefcase in his left hand and a thick overcoat over his right.
"In person?" asked the Doctor incredulously.
"That's what I thought. But nevertheless, orders are orders," replied Ikari in a level tone of voice.
Unable to poke a hole in the rationale, the Doctor continued to frown, but took a sip of coffee and nodded. "Of course. When should we expect to see you again?"
"I'll be returning in about two days," replied Gendo honestly. "My helicopter is waiting, good bye." Without waiting for a response, Gendo strode out from the room without a backwards glance. Unhappily sipping his coffee, Doctor Katsuragi turned over possible ulterior motives for this abrupt departure from the Antarctic Research Station. Wading through several of varying degrees of likelihood or absurdity he eventually shrugged it off.
Katsuragi took a sip of coffee. So intently staring at the closed door was the dark haired man that when the door hissed open he started and spilt his coffee down his shirt. He swore profusely at the sting of the hot liquid. Laughter brought his eyes up, turning to glare menacingly at the new arrival.
"Tsk, tsk, daddy, you potty mouth," giggled the girl who had walked in.
Doctor Katsuragi sighed and frowned at his daughter. "Misato…" he grumbled.
"Yes, daddy?" she replied brightly, leaning forward with a wide smile, clasping her hands behind her.
Heaving a deep sigh the doctor just shook his head. "Never mind, girl." He took a gulp from his coffee and sat it down on the table. "How are you?"
//~~~~\\
7:1. When Katsuragi carried out his experiment there was a great fire in the south. 2. Awakened and angered, Adamo began to pour forth the cup of his wrath upon the ice. 3. Faced with his sins, Katsuragi sought redemption in the delivery of his daughter into safety. 4. So it was that when Adam's wings stretched into the sky the only witness was Misato Katsuragi. 5. Terror struck the heart of the child and she became mute … 12. The inferno burnt away Antarctica and unleashed a great flood upon the entire world. 13. A great ruin was inflicted upon all the coasts and fully half of all men and women perished without prejudice.
//~~~~\\
"Come on, Misato, hurry! Hurry!" urged Doctor Katsuragi, hauling his daughter through the biting winds. The howling of the winds in their ears was surreal. Into the open air hanger they ran, as if pursued by the very demons of hell. The buffets of debris nearly made them fall as the Doctor reached a single Containment Pod in the midst of a large warehouse. As he snapped the pod shut with his daughter in side he fell upon it's unyielding surface, his energy spent.
Behind him in the distance, out of the sight of his eyes, stood a giant. Brilliant and merciless, he stood vexed and all suffered his rage.
The warehouse was blotted out with the rushing passage of a tidal wave.
//~~~~\\
September 13, 2000
Yui Ikari sat under a tree upon a hill and gazed upon the ocean. Before her eyes it rose steadily. As it had been foretold, Second Impact was loosed upon the species. Even from here, she could hear cries of panic and confusion as relentless waves rose upon those who deemed themselves masters of the earth. In their folly and genius, humans had given granted unto nature to claim her revenge and establish dominion and in both hands she took that bowl of wrath and poured it out upon the earth.
Long had humans oppressed that which lay around them, imposing there will and order against that which nature had dictated. Now the seas swept forth and all Babylon's Wonders fell, the iniquities of humanity judged by cleansing waters that visited the revenge of the world upon which they preyed.
Sixty metres, at least.
Two billion, conservatively speaking.
The price demanded to turn destiny aside, not just to defy it but to create it anew, was ruinously high.
And Yui Ikari had gone into it without the grace of blinds or the bliss of ignorance, but with a knowing mind and heart. Her single syllable had joined eight just like it and changed the world. Should the world ever discover she would never be forgiven, Yui knew. By her hand nature had been given sway and the right to the cities and people of the coasts.
She wept and wept, the black fabric of her clothing spilling upon the ground as the tears ran dry even as she mourned. What she wept out from her soul was innocence and within each tear it was carried away, leaving coldness in it's wake. The beautiful young woman, eighteen years of age and a genius of her chosen craft, wept away what might have been and set herself to the path she must now follow. From here on, she swore she could permit herself no tears and allow no doubt.
The point of no return was dust in the depths of history and nothing but the cobblestone path of the Red Earth Strain of Scenarios lay ahead. She would have to know them by heart, deep in her soul, their meaning, their limitations, their malleability. Already the talk of who was to be One who Demands as written of turned to her; the one who would command those forces foretold from the Dead Sea Scrolls. Her and her husband Gendo were the two names of the current shortlist.
Her husband was now at sea, safe, or at least he should be. Returning survivors of the Katsuragi Expedition, Gendo, her husband, and Kozo Fuyutski, her mentor from University, blessed with foreknowledge denied Dr Katsuragi and his team. Adam awaited, now docile and meek, an embryo ready for what lay ahead, already the key to the ascendancy of humanity.
Kaworu Nagisa had been born today, she knew. Events years from being played out were already coalescing in a slow-moving tragedy millennia in the works.
Standing up from her rest under the tree on the hill, Yui descended back into the world, her tears spent and her soul sold.
//~~~~\\
September 19, 2000
Civilisations and people may be rising and falling but certain parts of life must go on. Sitting at home with a warm mug of cocoa late at night, Yui Ikari checked her e-mail accounts. Rugged up with a blanket around her pyjama-clad body her legs were pulled up against her chest as she pushed the cursor about the screen.
"Are you coming to bed yet, Yui?" came a voice from across the house. Yui smiled as she drank of her cocoa.
"Not yet, honey, I'm checking my e-mails first," she called back, poking through the various entries. Only a couple e-mails had arrived. There was a pang in her heart as she realised how much responsibility she bore for the conditions that led to that state. She pushed aside her guilty pangs; this was for the best, the evolution of mankind. They would understand, once all were one.
With a quick skim of the subjects she frowned at one from a Selee agent within the Interior Ministry that had the code words designating something of the utmost importance and urgency. She clicked it.
From: zsun@method.com.nz
To: yikari@harper-anon.org.cx
CC: archive@oslo-horticulture.net.ic
Re: HermesHermesHermes
"We have a problem. I don't know how, but the Minister knows the truth behind the Katsuragi Expedition. The Minister learned last night, again, unsure how. Absolutely furious, swore vengeance against the Council. As far as I know, the information is being kept with the Ministry Building in Tokyo. This is being played carefully, I don't think it even really left the department, but that's a matter of time.
I hear the Minister has arranged a meeting with Prime Minister Koizumi tomorrow morning. No prizes for the topic of discussion."
Chocolate milk went all over the floor as the porcelain shards of Yui's skittered across the floor. Ghostly pale and trembling, the young scientist stammered as she tried to get control of her voice box.
"Gendo!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as she finally recovered. "Quick!"
Her husband came running, a Russian made pistol in his right hand, eyes darting around. "What? What happened?" he said harshly, looking for danger. Yui just pointed to the screen in fear. "A problem indeed. This could be disastrous," said Gendo with a grimace.
"Yes, yes," replied Yui. "Oh, this could undo everything. We must stop this," she whispered.
"How?" asked Gendo, ever pragmatic. "I don't think fear will work. They'll keep this close to their vest, I bet, as they prepare to act. So the information would be central to Tokyo." He frowned as he contemplated the facts. "We'll have to decapitate the government before they decapitate us."
"Destroy the government? How, a commando assualt? Too much chance of missing things and their computer network would still be active."
A mild chill seemed to grip the room as Gendo's eyes hardened. Yui held her head in her hands, almost pulling out her hair. "An EMP wave would disrupt their computer systems," he said.
A nuclear device? thought Yui in horror. Insane! The radiation, the collateral … the radiation may not be the biggest issue and that city is going to drown anyway, right? The Americans have that new toy…
"Gendo, honey, do the initials 'N2' mean anything to you?"
//~~~~\\
September 20, 2000
"So do you have a plan?" asked Selee 01 harshly. The revelation of the information leak was entirely unsettling and the emergency meeting had been arranged with utmost speed. The worry was almost palpable as everyone prepared to confront one of the first of many unexpected obstacles.
There was quiet for a moment. Then the seventh spoke. "We will require the assistance of our American compatriots." Her voice, altered and mangled by the system, came through masculine and dangerous.
"What specifically?" asked Selee 09, a ranking official who would likely be arranging these things.
"An N2 mine," replied the seventh. Those four syllables delineated the plan. No one needed to really explain further; in this context, an N2 mine would only have one application.
"Are you sure?" asked Selee 01, masking his surprise.
"The Foreign Minister will be meeting the Prime Minister today. It needs to happen today," replied Yui.
"Very well," replied Selee 09. "There is a flight of B2 Spirit Wings currently en route to Diego Garcia in response to the Sub-continental Situation. This should not be difficult."
"Are there any objections?" asked Selee 01. "Very well, then. Another reminder that not all forces at work are our own. We must be vigilant and we must control this incident no matter what. Selee 09, carry this out, Selee 13, see to it our involvement is never brought to light. Try and ensure the American involvement is also unnoticed. It would be a difficult blow to our assets should it be destroyed."
"Unlike Tokyo?" questioned Selee 03, a very rare occurrence.
"Tokyo is attempting to turn upon us," responded Selee 01.
"Intolerable," agreed Selee 08 quietly.
//~~~~\\
Yui sat upon the roof of her house with Gendo by her side that fine morning. A soft cool breeze wafted through, a break from the hammering of the rainstorms that had been racking the hemisphere since Katsuragi's ill-fated experiment. The shingles were damp with that rain, despite the current interlude. So Yui shifted uncomfortably whilst she curled up against her husband. Gendo's calm held as his arm encircled his wife. His eyes were boarded up, impenetrable, like blast doors had been placed over them. One person could he let inside and in the turmoil of the past week, he did wonder if he knew her still.
They faced south-east, toward Tokyo.
"They wouldn't understand; they don't understand," whispered Yui as she curled up sadly.
Gendo said nothing.
"If they would understand … if they could understand." Haunting little whisper on the wind, carried into nothing. "They don't understand." She looked up at her lover hopefully. "This doesn't matter, will it? When the time comes, they'll be back and we'll be one." She smiled softly, dreaming of Gendo looking at her. "We'll be one, you and I, forever. And that'll be forgiveness, yes?"
Gendo glanced over at his wife. "Of course."
Harsh white light flared upon the horizon and Yui buried herself against her husband's chest. Soon after a rumble tore through the quiescent air.
//~~~~\\
"…Dragons are looking in fine form again this season, continuing a winning streak despite a scare in the first quarter of their match with … Ladies and Gentlemen we have breaking news coming in."
Humidity was prevalent in the muggy hospital room. Air was all but liquid; one drank rather then breathed. A young nurse was changing the bandages of her patient's torso wound. Then the nattering of the news anchor changed pitch into something much more frantic and caught her attention.
"A series of what appear to be nuclear detonations have struck the capital. I repeat, Tokyo has been destroyed by nuclear devices. We are currently scrambling to provide better coverage for you. Okay, we're crossing now to Yoko Furukawa on the outskirts of Tokyo."
Blanching in horror, the young woman stammered for a moment before screaming the name of her friend, in the hall just outside. "Get in here quick!"
The image on the screen changed from the very plain studio and to bedlam. A camera showed the newly wrought devastation over Tokyo. Clouds billowed from the impact sites in several points and all that could be seen of the ground was shattered construction and devastated environment. It was clear that Tokyo had been hit with the intention of making it disappear from the map. What the waters of the previous days hadn't done, the unrestrained fury of the atomic devices
//~~~~\\
June 17, 2004
"Well, now we make our decision. Who shall be the sacred heart of the Evangelion, and who shall be our commander. We stand at a fork in the road, either could accomplish either task with equal precision. To all eyes, there is no difference between them." Selee 01 laid out the situation to the assembled full council, shy Yui Ikari, Selee 07.
"All the relevant information foretelling this rift has been withheld as per the requirements," added Selee 13.
"If there be any difference between them in capacity or determination, none can tell," mourned Selee 09.
"Despite the seeming difference of soul, they are truly of kindred cloth, one as warm or savage as the other," said Selee 06.
"The question becomes, is Selee 07's presence amongst our council a boon or a detriment to her capacities?" asked Selee 02.
"If she is worthy of being a Councillor of the Throne of Souls, she is trustworthy for the role of the One who Demands. It is Rokubungi whose presence in this role I would dispute," said Selee 05.
"And yet her presence upon this august body would grant her too great an opportunity for dissonance," argued Selee 11.
Now, in the thousands and millions of permutations the universe had put forth in it's tramps through time under the watching Eye of God the Almighty, there were many times where this quandary was raised amongst this party. In half of the cases, the council tipped to one side and Yui Ikari was absorbed into Evangelion Unit-01 and distraught Gendo Ikari assumed the tools to engineer his quest for her retrieval. But in the other half, Gendo became the test pilot for the purple monstrosity. And from there results took a somewhat different trend.
And through it all He watched to see what His Children might do with the gift of free will this time.
\\~~~~//
The Book of
- Councils -
1:1. Among the gifts given to Humanity from the Lord were the Qumran scrolls. 2. Within these scrolls were the 248 positive scenarios that the possessor may enact and 365 negative scenarios. 3. Divided into first Loyalties, then Kingdoms, then Strains, each scenario could be used to bring about chains of events
… 34. It was the promise of the Lord to his Children that they be allowed to enact these scenarios according to the free will that he had granted them as they would…
4:3. It came to pass that in the lands of the Dead Sea emissaries of SELEE discovered these scenarios and took possession of them. 4. The men and women of SELEE were corrupted by the power that had been handed them and searched the scrolls for their personal aggrandisement. 5. Searching to rival God Almighty in their hubris, they seized upon the Red Earth Strain of Scenarios in an attempt to warp events. 6. Knowing the covenant that had been sworn, they demanded the events of the Red Earth Scenarios without thought for consequence or morality…
6:7. So Kihl Lorenz pressed his Councilors to the vote to see whether they would enact their scenarios. 8. Therefore the 16 councilors of SELEE gathered in the darkness to cast their ballots…
\\~~~~//
August 17, 2000
Seconds ticked away on the digital display of the clock. Nearing the designated time. In a quiet communication chamber, a very anxious young woman waits for the number to tick along to the appropriate time. Running her hands through her short brown hair.
Lucky bastard of a husband, he doesn't have to make decisions like this, she thought to herself in frustration.
The chair she sat in swiveled from side to side as her eyes slipped out of focus and her mind concentrated.
What if he's wrong? What if this isn't inevitable? But if he's right, my god … there would be no other way. This Strain of Scenarios would be our only fighting chance.
The digital clock was silent and only the humming of electronics and the grating of the swiveling chair filled the room. The entire room was black, with golden crisscrossing lines, encompassing the chair upon which the woman sat in a manner akin to a shell.
But of course, their words hold a ring of truth. We truly are at a standstill. Humans, condemned to a perpetuity of stagnation until we inevitably kill ourselves. Here we can take away pain and sorrow and suffering. And even those who die and suffer here will ascend with us to bliss and the pain and suffering will be meaningless. After all, if someone suffers, but the suffering is erased and they do not remember, did they truly suffer? If the tree falls in the forest and no is around…
What does the tree think of it all?
Time ticked over and the golden lines faded away, as did the confines of the shell. Now the brown-haired woman was within a void. There was a floor, as black as the sky, with no discernable horizon. Shapes began to appear; featureless monoliths. They were arrayed in a circle, of which the woman found part. Soon after appearing, each monolith would acquire certain features. The label "SELEE" and a number, as well as the words "SOUND ONLY" were soon emblazoned upon the face of the black slabs as they hung in the air.
The woman knew the others, behind those monoliths, who looked in her direction, would see only a monolith, sporting the label "SELEE 07" and that she was entirely anonymous amongst them. Everyone here prided themselves upon the intense security and the amazing technology at their disposal. They had created it, wrought these creations with their own hands and minds. Behind those monoliths sat heads of state, chief executives, scientific geniuses and military masterminds.
This brown-haired woman, a youthful eighteen, fit into the third category and was a prodigy in her field. With her husband, ten years her senior, their work was already rippling through the world of Biogenetics. It was to this that she owed her seat at this illustrious council; this and the councils mistrust of her husband. She knew she would have a role to play in what was to come, depending on her decision.
Idly wondering if her cooperation here was some sort of naïve fantasy, a dream of changing the horror her species could perpetrate, the scientist folded her hands into her lap and prepared her mind for what was to come. Graduate of University at 17, married at 18, the mind she prepared was not some stumbling tool but a lethal weapon. That was why she was here, a member of the council, albeit a junior member, replacing a more senior member who had passed away.
From the brimming silence between the assembled came forth the voice of Selee 01, who was, she knew, Chairman Lorenz or Secretary-general Lorenz, depending on the occasion.
"Twelve days past we held off on this decision, now we reached the juncture. No more may we idle, lest the time for it to be a decision pass us by. The question posed is known to us, the arguments for and against branded into our thoughts. We have reached the limits of the time we have to debate this, the future of our species. Your cast will be your one and only, and from here our paths are set in stone. Let there be no hesitation among us.
"Now how say you?"
Devices embedded in the walls of the shell in which the scientist's body sat projected messages against her pupils. A running transcript of the meeting was displayed in a manner akin to a Heads-Up Display. It let her keep track of who was saying what, what was said before and other information as may be required.
"Selee 02, how say you?" demanded the voice.
"Yea," voted the member, the voice male and confident. Selee 07, sitting in her little shell waiting her turn, knew that the tone was a fraud though and Selee 02 was a woman. All voices being transmitted in this meeting were male, regardless of their origins. It was part of their secruity, another piece of anonymity.
In the circle between them, a simple counter came into life, two numbers hovering in the air. One above the other. The upper, the yea's, was currently registering one; the other, the nay's, registered zero.
"Selee 03, how say you?" demanded the voice of the Chairman.
"Nay," came the reply.
With time ticking down against her, Selee 07 struggled with the question, switching opinions from second to second, desperately searching for the solution but knowing there truly wasn't one. The rope was too knotted for a human mind to assess and there were no knives to cut this cord.
"Selee 04, how say you?" demanded the voice again.
"Yea," voted the man behind the monolith.
There was no dodging the question, that the Chairman had the right of. From this point forward, action must be taken, in one fashion or the other. Two courses, one certain to provide horror, but with grace at the end. And one which may provide horror, with oblivion at the other end.
"Selee 05, how say you?" spoke the powerful tones of the first.
"Yea," came the vote.
Three over one, read the counters that Selee 07 could see. There seemed to be a preponderance for action already, but then, it was still early. The lower numbers had been more supportive then the latter ones had, anyway.
"Selee 06, how say you?" sounded out the voice once more.
"Nay," determined the man or woman for whom the sixth monolith was an avatar.
This is it, she though to herself, sounding as a whisper even within her own mind. All the struggles with her conscience, all the research, everything, now paled before this moment.
"Selee 07, how say you?" crashed the sound of doom.
She closed her eyes. Breathing ceased and the world slid to a halt.
Yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no…
"Yea," she said, clear as the rest, as timely as the rest and seemingly as confident as the rest. And with that word she set the fate of her soul upon sheets of granite and blot herself from the Lamb's Book.
From there, she couldn't focus and did not keep track of the votes from there until the end.
"Selee 16, how say you?"
"Nay," voted that last marker, with vanity in his heart, for the two counters would now read as follows, Yea '8' and Nay '7'. The contest was decided as the single white eight sat over the single white seven, determining the course of future events, with but eight syllables.
Truly, there is power in words to create and destroy and all manner of action within these.
"And as Chairman I cast my vote as 'yea'. There reads nine for and seven against. The yeas have it. Humanity will control Second Impact and the Red Earth and make a destiny for ourselves as an ascendant species; the hand of man at the right hand of the Almighty."
"In unity," chorused the assembled, denoting their concession that the majority decision will be in effect the unanimous decision. "Truly," they chorused after the notes of their unity faded.
"The necessary actions have long been laid out before us," reminded Kihl. "Now there is nothing in our way. All here know their tasks and what will await them in time. Nothing now remains but to carry them out and bear our burdens."
And with that the meeting was effectively adjourned and Selee 07 was one of many to quickly vacate the meeting. The void faded and the young woman was once more herself, no longer a Councillor of the Throne of Souls, no more Selee 07. She sat with her head clasped in her hands, crying as her shoulders shook. Behind her the door to her shell opened and light cascaded into the dark.
"Well?"
"Yea," she answered hoarsely, defying her tears.
"And you?"
"Yea," she responded once more, her nails biting at her forehead as she second-guessed her decision.
"Then it is done, Yui, and we must look forward. We have a part to play here and now we must play it, for good or ill," answered Gendo Ikari as he placed his hands upon the shoulder of his wife, Yui Ikari.
//~~~~\\
…6:35. Therefore the members of SELEE stretched out and called upon the covenants. 36. Upon Antarctica in the south, they unearthed Adamo and the Lance of Longinus and prepared for Second Impact.
//~~~~\\
September 12, 2000
"You're leaving already, Ikari?" asked Doctor Katsuragi.
Gendo smiled grimly and waved back to the Doctor absently. "Orders, Katsuragi, I've got to give an update report."
The dark haired Doctor frowned deeply as he turned to fully face his colleague. The two men stood in the commons room of the expedition base. Katsuragi stirred a cup of coffee as he searched the eyes of the other man, wondering what game was afoot. For his own part, Gendo's empty cup sat by the sink and he stood by the door, a briefcase in his left hand and a thick overcoat over his right.
"In person?" asked the Doctor incredulously.
"That's what I thought. But nevertheless, orders are orders," replied Ikari in a level tone of voice.
Unable to poke a hole in the rationale, the Doctor continued to frown, but took a sip of coffee and nodded. "Of course. When should we expect to see you again?"
"I'll be returning in about two days," replied Gendo honestly. "My helicopter is waiting, good bye." Without waiting for a response, Gendo strode out from the room without a backwards glance. Unhappily sipping his coffee, Doctor Katsuragi turned over possible ulterior motives for this abrupt departure from the Antarctic Research Station. Wading through several of varying degrees of likelihood or absurdity he eventually shrugged it off.
Katsuragi took a sip of coffee. So intently staring at the closed door was the dark haired man that when the door hissed open he started and spilt his coffee down his shirt. He swore profusely at the sting of the hot liquid. Laughter brought his eyes up, turning to glare menacingly at the new arrival.
"Tsk, tsk, daddy, you potty mouth," giggled the girl who had walked in.
Doctor Katsuragi sighed and frowned at his daughter. "Misato…" he grumbled.
"Yes, daddy?" she replied brightly, leaning forward with a wide smile, clasping her hands behind her.
Heaving a deep sigh the doctor just shook his head. "Never mind, girl." He took a gulp from his coffee and sat it down on the table. "How are you?"
//~~~~\\
7:1. When Katsuragi carried out his experiment there was a great fire in the south. 2. Awakened and angered, Adamo began to pour forth the cup of his wrath upon the ice. 3. Faced with his sins, Katsuragi sought redemption in the delivery of his daughter into safety. 4. So it was that when Adam's wings stretched into the sky the only witness was Misato Katsuragi. 5. Terror struck the heart of the child and she became mute … 12. The inferno burnt away Antarctica and unleashed a great flood upon the entire world. 13. A great ruin was inflicted upon all the coasts and fully half of all men and women perished without prejudice.
//~~~~\\
"Come on, Misato, hurry! Hurry!" urged Doctor Katsuragi, hauling his daughter through the biting winds. The howling of the winds in their ears was surreal. Into the open air hanger they ran, as if pursued by the very demons of hell. The buffets of debris nearly made them fall as the Doctor reached a single Containment Pod in the midst of a large warehouse. As he snapped the pod shut with his daughter in side he fell upon it's unyielding surface, his energy spent.
Behind him in the distance, out of the sight of his eyes, stood a giant. Brilliant and merciless, he stood vexed and all suffered his rage.
The warehouse was blotted out with the rushing passage of a tidal wave.
//~~~~\\
September 13, 2000
Yui Ikari sat under a tree upon a hill and gazed upon the ocean. Before her eyes it rose steadily. As it had been foretold, Second Impact was loosed upon the species. Even from here, she could hear cries of panic and confusion as relentless waves rose upon those who deemed themselves masters of the earth. In their folly and genius, humans had given granted unto nature to claim her revenge and establish dominion and in both hands she took that bowl of wrath and poured it out upon the earth.
Long had humans oppressed that which lay around them, imposing there will and order against that which nature had dictated. Now the seas swept forth and all Babylon's Wonders fell, the iniquities of humanity judged by cleansing waters that visited the revenge of the world upon which they preyed.
Sixty metres, at least.
Two billion, conservatively speaking.
The price demanded to turn destiny aside, not just to defy it but to create it anew, was ruinously high.
And Yui Ikari had gone into it without the grace of blinds or the bliss of ignorance, but with a knowing mind and heart. Her single syllable had joined eight just like it and changed the world. Should the world ever discover she would never be forgiven, Yui knew. By her hand nature had been given sway and the right to the cities and people of the coasts.
She wept and wept, the black fabric of her clothing spilling upon the ground as the tears ran dry even as she mourned. What she wept out from her soul was innocence and within each tear it was carried away, leaving coldness in it's wake. The beautiful young woman, eighteen years of age and a genius of her chosen craft, wept away what might have been and set herself to the path she must now follow. From here on, she swore she could permit herself no tears and allow no doubt.
The point of no return was dust in the depths of history and nothing but the cobblestone path of the Red Earth Strain of Scenarios lay ahead. She would have to know them by heart, deep in her soul, their meaning, their limitations, their malleability. Already the talk of who was to be One who Demands as written of turned to her; the one who would command those forces foretold from the Dead Sea Scrolls. Her and her husband Gendo were the two names of the current shortlist.
Her husband was now at sea, safe, or at least he should be. Returning survivors of the Katsuragi Expedition, Gendo, her husband, and Kozo Fuyutski, her mentor from University, blessed with foreknowledge denied Dr Katsuragi and his team. Adam awaited, now docile and meek, an embryo ready for what lay ahead, already the key to the ascendancy of humanity.
Kaworu Nagisa had been born today, she knew. Events years from being played out were already coalescing in a slow-moving tragedy millennia in the works.
Standing up from her rest under the tree on the hill, Yui descended back into the world, her tears spent and her soul sold.
//~~~~\\
September 19, 2000
Civilisations and people may be rising and falling but certain parts of life must go on. Sitting at home with a warm mug of cocoa late at night, Yui Ikari checked her e-mail accounts. Rugged up with a blanket around her pyjama-clad body her legs were pulled up against her chest as she pushed the cursor about the screen.
"Are you coming to bed yet, Yui?" came a voice from across the house. Yui smiled as she drank of her cocoa.
"Not yet, honey, I'm checking my e-mails first," she called back, poking through the various entries. Only a couple e-mails had arrived. There was a pang in her heart as she realised how much responsibility she bore for the conditions that led to that state. She pushed aside her guilty pangs; this was for the best, the evolution of mankind. They would understand, once all were one.
With a quick skim of the subjects she frowned at one from a Selee agent within the Interior Ministry that had the code words designating something of the utmost importance and urgency. She clicked it.
From: zsun@method.com.nz
To: yikari@harper-anon.org.cx
CC: archive@oslo-horticulture.net.ic
Re: HermesHermesHermes
"We have a problem. I don't know how, but the Minister knows the truth behind the Katsuragi Expedition. The Minister learned last night, again, unsure how. Absolutely furious, swore vengeance against the Council. As far as I know, the information is being kept with the Ministry Building in Tokyo. This is being played carefully, I don't think it even really left the department, but that's a matter of time.
I hear the Minister has arranged a meeting with Prime Minister Koizumi tomorrow morning. No prizes for the topic of discussion."
Chocolate milk went all over the floor as the porcelain shards of Yui's skittered across the floor. Ghostly pale and trembling, the young scientist stammered as she tried to get control of her voice box.
"Gendo!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as she finally recovered. "Quick!"
Her husband came running, a Russian made pistol in his right hand, eyes darting around. "What? What happened?" he said harshly, looking for danger. Yui just pointed to the screen in fear. "A problem indeed. This could be disastrous," said Gendo with a grimace.
"Yes, yes," replied Yui. "Oh, this could undo everything. We must stop this," she whispered.
"How?" asked Gendo, ever pragmatic. "I don't think fear will work. They'll keep this close to their vest, I bet, as they prepare to act. So the information would be central to Tokyo." He frowned as he contemplated the facts. "We'll have to decapitate the government before they decapitate us."
"Destroy the government? How, a commando assualt? Too much chance of missing things and their computer network would still be active."
A mild chill seemed to grip the room as Gendo's eyes hardened. Yui held her head in her hands, almost pulling out her hair. "An EMP wave would disrupt their computer systems," he said.
A nuclear device? thought Yui in horror. Insane! The radiation, the collateral … the radiation may not be the biggest issue and that city is going to drown anyway, right? The Americans have that new toy…
"Gendo, honey, do the initials 'N2' mean anything to you?"
//~~~~\\
September 20, 2000
"So do you have a plan?" asked Selee 01 harshly. The revelation of the information leak was entirely unsettling and the emergency meeting had been arranged with utmost speed. The worry was almost palpable as everyone prepared to confront one of the first of many unexpected obstacles.
There was quiet for a moment. Then the seventh spoke. "We will require the assistance of our American compatriots." Her voice, altered and mangled by the system, came through masculine and dangerous.
"What specifically?" asked Selee 09, a ranking official who would likely be arranging these things.
"An N2 mine," replied the seventh. Those four syllables delineated the plan. No one needed to really explain further; in this context, an N2 mine would only have one application.
"Are you sure?" asked Selee 01, masking his surprise.
"The Foreign Minister will be meeting the Prime Minister today. It needs to happen today," replied Yui.
"Very well," replied Selee 09. "There is a flight of B2 Spirit Wings currently en route to Diego Garcia in response to the Sub-continental Situation. This should not be difficult."
"Are there any objections?" asked Selee 01. "Very well, then. Another reminder that not all forces at work are our own. We must be vigilant and we must control this incident no matter what. Selee 09, carry this out, Selee 13, see to it our involvement is never brought to light. Try and ensure the American involvement is also unnoticed. It would be a difficult blow to our assets should it be destroyed."
"Unlike Tokyo?" questioned Selee 03, a very rare occurrence.
"Tokyo is attempting to turn upon us," responded Selee 01.
"Intolerable," agreed Selee 08 quietly.
//~~~~\\
Yui sat upon the roof of her house with Gendo by her side that fine morning. A soft cool breeze wafted through, a break from the hammering of the rainstorms that had been racking the hemisphere since Katsuragi's ill-fated experiment. The shingles were damp with that rain, despite the current interlude. So Yui shifted uncomfortably whilst she curled up against her husband. Gendo's calm held as his arm encircled his wife. His eyes were boarded up, impenetrable, like blast doors had been placed over them. One person could he let inside and in the turmoil of the past week, he did wonder if he knew her still.
They faced south-east, toward Tokyo.
"They wouldn't understand; they don't understand," whispered Yui as she curled up sadly.
Gendo said nothing.
"If they would understand … if they could understand." Haunting little whisper on the wind, carried into nothing. "They don't understand." She looked up at her lover hopefully. "This doesn't matter, will it? When the time comes, they'll be back and we'll be one." She smiled softly, dreaming of Gendo looking at her. "We'll be one, you and I, forever. And that'll be forgiveness, yes?"
Gendo glanced over at his wife. "Of course."
Harsh white light flared upon the horizon and Yui buried herself against her husband's chest. Soon after a rumble tore through the quiescent air.
//~~~~\\
"…Dragons are looking in fine form again this season, continuing a winning streak despite a scare in the first quarter of their match with … Ladies and Gentlemen we have breaking news coming in."
Humidity was prevalent in the muggy hospital room. Air was all but liquid; one drank rather then breathed. A young nurse was changing the bandages of her patient's torso wound. Then the nattering of the news anchor changed pitch into something much more frantic and caught her attention.
"A series of what appear to be nuclear detonations have struck the capital. I repeat, Tokyo has been destroyed by nuclear devices. We are currently scrambling to provide better coverage for you. Okay, we're crossing now to Yoko Furukawa on the outskirts of Tokyo."
Blanching in horror, the young woman stammered for a moment before screaming the name of her friend, in the hall just outside. "Get in here quick!"
The image on the screen changed from the very plain studio and to bedlam. A camera showed the newly wrought devastation over Tokyo. Clouds billowed from the impact sites in several points and all that could be seen of the ground was shattered construction and devastated environment. It was clear that Tokyo had been hit with the intention of making it disappear from the map. What the waters of the previous days hadn't done, the unrestrained fury of the atomic devices
//~~~~\\
June 17, 2004
"Well, now we make our decision. Who shall be the sacred heart of the Evangelion, and who shall be our commander. We stand at a fork in the road, either could accomplish either task with equal precision. To all eyes, there is no difference between them." Selee 01 laid out the situation to the assembled full council, shy Yui Ikari, Selee 07.
"All the relevant information foretelling this rift has been withheld as per the requirements," added Selee 13.
"If there be any difference between them in capacity or determination, none can tell," mourned Selee 09.
"Despite the seeming difference of soul, they are truly of kindred cloth, one as warm or savage as the other," said Selee 06.
"The question becomes, is Selee 07's presence amongst our council a boon or a detriment to her capacities?" asked Selee 02.
"If she is worthy of being a Councillor of the Throne of Souls, she is trustworthy for the role of the One who Demands. It is Rokubungi whose presence in this role I would dispute," said Selee 05.
"And yet her presence upon this august body would grant her too great an opportunity for dissonance," argued Selee 11.
Now, in the thousands and millions of permutations the universe had put forth in it's tramps through time under the watching Eye of God the Almighty, there were many times where this quandary was raised amongst this party. In half of the cases, the council tipped to one side and Yui Ikari was absorbed into Evangelion Unit-01 and distraught Gendo Ikari assumed the tools to engineer his quest for her retrieval. But in the other half, Gendo became the test pilot for the purple monstrosity. And from there results took a somewhat different trend.
And through it all He watched to see what His Children might do with the gift of free will this time.