Chapter Two.
//~~~~\\
The Book of
- Vigils -
1:1. Set in their monstrosity, Selee continued the requirements of the Red Earth Scenarios. 2. In their search for their living sacrifice, the council deliberated between Gendo and Yui Ikari…
4. Emboldened by their crafts, Selee assigned Gendo Ikari as their sacrificial lamb.
//~~~~\\
June 18, 2004
"So it's you, my dear," congratulated Yui. "So lucky, I wish I could be the one to prove what we have wrought here."
Gendo smiled as he embraced his wife. "Evangelion shall provide our species with it's final ascendancy, and it will have been through our efforts. We have a right to pride. When I am in that plug, of part you will be too. Will Shinji be watching us?" he asked.
"Yes," beamed the now slightly older, slightly wiser mother. "He'll see our triumph unveiled for the world."
"He'll be proud," said Gendo firmly, "Once he grows up."
//~~~~\\
3:1. In misled folly, on the 18th day of June in the year 2004, Gehirn committed the Contact Experiment. 2. Without soul and angry, Unit-01, Fallen Lilith, subsumed it's pilot Gendo Ikari…
7. Severed from her husband, there was weeping and gnashing of teeth. Yui locked herself away and began her vigil.
//~~~~\\
June 19, 2004
Kozo let himself into the room, to find it a disaster area. Yui had apparently lashed out once she'd gotten home. Everything was upset, with furniture and effects turned over, just like Yui's life. Upside down, never to be righted once more.
The test had failed, spectacularly so. Scars left from this failure would last for a long time. Of course, Shinji had to see the whole thing, just to create a nuisance. So now the pall of death hung over the base. Kozo's head hung under the oppressive scent of failure. Each step through the debris-strewn room was a conscious act of will, an act of defiance.
The door to Yui's study was unlocked and Kozo opened it, the quiet click audible against the uncanny silence. Yui had cried till she ran out of tears and settled against her desk. She lay there like a husk, emptied and abandoned. Her figure looked so small amongst the dark and foreboding, eight feet high bookshelves lining the walls. The musty smell of scrolls and books and the softest hum of the latest computer went unnoticed by the widow Ikari.
"Yui…"
"He's gone, Professor," whispered Yui, dispelling Kozo's belief she were asleep. "That abomination took him. Now I'll never get him back."
Kozo placed a comforting hand on Yui's slim shoulder, though she showed no sign of acknowledging it. "We're all going to miss him, Yui. We can grieve now Yui, there's nothing we can do whilst they investigate."
"It's never going to be the same without him, Kozo," whispered Yui. "My strength is gone…"
There was a pause as Kozo sighed and Yui raised her head. A glass of water provided a rippling reflection for her as uneven light shone through it. Everything seemed to ache as she watched her reflection morph with the disturbed water. It seemed there was still tears after all, as the salty liquid rolled across her cheek and down into the full glass.
"I know. Gendo was the strength of Gehirn," whispered Kozo, as he thought of his late, determined student. There had been such drive and power in the man and even so, Kozo had thought he was capable of more. Like reinforcing steel, Ikari had propped them up and provided strength and purpose to Gehirn.
"So what do we do?" asked Yui, we can't stop, else all be lost to us. But … how do we go on?"
"Our own strength," said Kozo as he knelt, placing his greying head near Yui's. You're the ranking member of the project now. You have that same strength Gendo did. You can be our guiding light."
"Gendo's strength?" whispered Yui as she closed her eyes. "How can I match that? I've never met his like, nor will I. God above broke the mould after he made Gendo."
That comforting hand on the shoulder squeezed, tightly so that, in other times, Yui might have winced. "You have that strength," said Kozo. "It was what drew Gendo to you and you to Gendo." His voice was urgent. "You lead Gehirn, now. It's incomprehensible our Selee commanders would order anything else."
Yui opened her eyes. Kozo saw a shimmering iris slide towards the corner of Yui's eye to regard him. "There's a secret I should let you in on, Kozo," she whispered as he stared at that blue iris.
"Yes?"
"I'm one of those Selee commanders. If you divulge that, you will be killed by their order."
Kozo's eyes went huge as he reared back slightly, his breath hitching. "You?" he whispered. Yui nodded once, shallowly. "I see. Why do you tell me this, now?" Yui didn't respond but looked at the desk once more. Kozo sighed and stood, burdened by new knowledge. He turned to leave.
Before he left, there was still something he had to say. "I'll stand by your side like I did Gendo. But you still have to be Gehirn's strength. You can do it every bit as well as Gendo did."
Yui burst from the desk in sudden rage and stuck at Kozo. "Bastard, how can you talk about him like that!" Kozo recoiled from the strike and the manic eyes of the widow. "Did he mean nothing at all?" she shrieked, following up with blows aimed at the aging man's head. "How can you ask this of me," she whispered as Kozo's hands caught her own.
"I was loyal to Gendo," answered Kozo as he struggled against Yui's athletic strength. "I am loyal to you, and I am loyal to Gehirn and our species." Slowly the tricks of his many years came into play and Kozo gained leverage. "This is what Gendo was loyal to, providing a future without pain for us all, and for Shinji. That's what he wanted."
The fight left Yui and she sank back upon her chair. Wheeling back under the force of the landing, she found herself facing the side of the desk. Her eyes drank of the wood grain of the desk as her mind all but left the now and then. Kozo stared for a while as she sank into quiet introspection. Seeing there was nothing for him here, he turned once more. It was when he had his fingers upon the door handle she turned and called his name.
"You're going to be my second, Kozo." Yui's voice carried across the room barely.
"Of course," assured Fuyutski.
"However, leave me for the next few days. Administer the investigation as required, but see to it that I'm left alone to study. It may take days, it may take weeks, but some things require doing."
How flat her voice is, thought Kozo Fuyutski, the old Professor. "Yes, Director Ikari."
"Carry on, Assistant Director Fuyutski," replied Yui.
Yui waited until she heard the door click close. Sighing, she stood up and turned 360, looking at the enormous bookshelves that lined every wall of the study. On the desk beside her, the computer whirred softly, ready to work.
This was never meant to happen, and I think there's something I haven't been told, she thought to herself. There are answers in here, and I can find them. It's all a matter of looking in the right spot.
//~~~~\\
June 20, 2004
"They say," began the mousy assistant in the dim lab. She was crouched conspiratorially with her friend between their workstations. Both eyes glinted in the harsh artificial light. Before she continued she noticed something wrong. "Wait, no, no, start with a parabolic extrapolation and continue from there," she warned a more junior tech deeper in the lab.
"Well?" asked her friend when the errant technician was set aright.
"She locked herself in her room. Packages of manuscripts and computer disks keep arriving but little food. Nothing leaves. She hasn't seen daylight since … since."
The friend shuddered. "Don't say it, I was there. Unit-01 is an Abomination." She crossed herself.
Agreeing wholeheartedly the mousy technician nodded. "She's taken it hard." Afraid of all ears, she leaned closer. Mouths sidled next to ears intimately. "They say she hasn't even seen her son yet. She had a meeting with Fuyutski yesterday, noontime. Since then, she's had almost no human contact, just study."
"That's not healthy," whispered back the friend. "And poor Shinji, the boy lost a father. Is he losing a mother, too?"
\\~~~~//
June 21, 2004
The heavy door shook under Kozo's knocking. But inside, Yui could ignore it; she could ignore anything. She sat on the floor reading through sheets after sheets of ancient script, translating as she went with the knowledge she acquired, with exhaustive concordances and with specialised PDAs.
The sheer amount of data being sifted was mind boggling. From Angels, to Sumerians, to the Qum'ran, to ancient cults, to modern cults, to the experimental Magi systems, back to the Qum'ran Scrolls, to the Eva Technical Documentation, to the experiment notes, to Gendo's diary, to council meeting transcripts, to the journals of ancient Israeli scholars, to the Holy Scriptures, back to Angels, then to angel-worshipping cults, to political hotsheets and back to the Evangelion Documentation, Project E notes and the Qum'ran scrolls.
Data surrounded her like a blanket and she was absorbed into it in a way she had never experienced. In all the cram sessions in university, the brainstorming and research in Gehirn or for Selee, at no other time had she given herself to learning as she did now. She learned with knowledge flowing into her as if she were a sponge placed into the ocean.
Other's needs, her own needs, everything was subordinated to one over-bearing desire. What had happened to her husband? What could be done? Why had it been done?
Shinji, work, eating, it all fell from her mind. And she went on, and learned more and correlated and cross-referenced and called in more data. The machinery continued.
//~~~~\\
June 22, 2004
"So where is the Director?" asked Naoko Akagi. Akagi was the Executive of "Project E", Gehirn's primary concern. "I've seen not hide nor hair of Ikari since … the Contact Experiment."
"Yes, the failed synchronisation test," added Naoko's assistant, who stood at the Doctor's left.
"Or not so much failed as too successful," corrected her second underling, on Naoko's right.
Kozo's glare was a thing of wonder, a palpable menace arisen from years of recalcitrant students. Both the underlings actually shied from his face whilst Naoko's straightened in surprise. Kozo fully turned to face them as they stood in the quiet control room of Gehirn. Blue light from panels reflected off of pale skin and tired eyes.
"Director Ikari is occupied with assessments. Her disposition is none of your concern. Carry on, Chairman Akagi," he said coldly, keeping to the most formal of titles to indicate his displeasure.
Naoko huffed and walked away, assistants in tow. As he watched her leave, Kozo frowned. Naoko was not the only one curious or worried about the Director's state. Even Kozo was in that number. She had shut herself in and locked the door. Security programs guarded her online searches but the throughput was immense. Packages containing all manner of manuscripts were being ferried to her quarters and she let nothing but those packages enter.
Yes, Yui's singleminded determination was frightening. Unfortunately, the aim of her determination was unknown. Kozo feared that whatever his words had meant to Ikari, they had triggered a fiend. Obviously, his words had the desired effect of getting the widow to take up the challenge of Directorship. Kozo knew that Gehirn was a temporary construction. In mandate, structure and form, Gehirn was not the creature to perform the defence against the Angels. That would be left to a new creation.
"Uncle Fuyutski?" asked a timid, scared voice at his side. There stood the four-year old Shinji, alone and neglected, by his late father and his bereaved mother.
Kozo forced a kindly smile to his face and he knelt to regard the boy. "Yes, Shinji?"
Shinji looked down ashamedly before timidly speaking. "I'm really hungry," he said at little more than a whisper.
Kozo shut his eyes and sighed. There had been no one to take care of Shinji and Kozo himself was flat out with his work. Shinji wasn't being properly taken care of, there was no one to administer to it. Kozo had been promising himself to free up some time and find a day care or something for the emotional boy. "Alright, Shinji, it's time I got some food for myself as well. Come along, let's see what we can find."
//~~~~\\
5:6 For five days and nights, Yui committed herself to the study of all topics. 7. Tireless work created it's own reward.
27:1. When at the end of her own travails, Yui happened upon a key, she emerged from her studies as if through fire. 2. Tested, emboldened and determined, Ikari found a course for herself and never wavered from it from that day forward.
//~~~~\\
June 23, 2004
Inside Yui's study it was claustrophobic. Remains of the most meagre of meals vied for ancient manuscripts upon the tabletop. Script after script occupied space and all three monitors of her terminal displayed enormous tracts of data that she sifted through. Her tireless work of amassing and correlating data continued without pause or regard for sanity. All angles were being examined the breadth and width of the Red Earth Strain of Scenarios was being studied.
She searched for anything and everything to explain the events of the 18th of June. Somewhere the answer awaited, and the chance to right that wrong.
And there it was…
Selee had double-dealt, but had missed a manuscript. When they attempted to censor the flow of Yui's information they neglected to obtain Yui's old books. One of these had information pertaining the Red Earth Scenarios. Not everything, but a lead. And that was what Yui had needed.
So now she knew. Knew what the Scenarios really promised. She had known Selee's stake in this, she would have the same fate. The species would be preserved against the coming judgement. The council would oversee the ascendancy of the human race. She hadn't known just what the personal price for her would be. The wording of the Scenario almost specifically laid out the price she would pay, and it was steep. Her husband, her family, her friends.
She knew it was too late to back away, but to continue was about impossible. Another answer was apparent though. The text suggested a different strain. Within the Seraphic Strain, of the Hod Kingdom of the Positive Loyalty were three scenarios. One of these was to become the driving force of Yui's existence from that day.
//~~~~\\
"Assistant Director Fuyutski," rang out a voice from the entrance to the conference room. The milling officials, such as Naoko and Kozo, all froze and snapped their gazes towards the door. There, framed by the open door, stood Yui Ikari. "Please come with me. For everyone else, I'm sorry for wasting your time, this meeting is postponed until tomorrow."
There was a moment of stunned silence from those assembled as they laid eyes upon their boss, who had been absent for almost an entire week. Her sudden reappearance took a moment to adjust to, but adjust they did. Even as Fuyutski's feet moved towards the door a bold interjection arose.
"Now wait just a minute, Director Ikari!" protested the Doctor in charge of Project Koi, an Eva weapons development unit. "This," he began before falling silent.
Yui Ikari had turned to face him and fixed him with the coldest glare. Everything from the furrow of her brow to the set of her jaw reflected the coldest contempt and disdain for the interruption. It was as if the temperature had plunged in the room, for no longer was sweet Yui there but an angered and betrayed woman and the new Director of Gehirn.
In her stare was the bitterness, betrayal and anger of Selee's actions, the sorrow and bereavement of her husbands death and the maniacal fire of someone who had spent too long reading divine texts. The power and authority in her stance was breath taking. What had gone into seclusion five days previous had been a strong-willed brilliant scientist. What had emerged was a spiritual juggernaut, whose determination, direction and confidence were evident to all that saw her. Gendo's personality and presence in life around Gehirn had been intimidating, even moreso than Yui. After the death of Gendo and a catharsis in studying Yui's presence was another order altogether.
"Doctor Mbeki, you do not give orders to me, I give orders to you. This meeting is postponed." Yui said no more but gave the Chairman of Project Koi a last terrifying glare and left. Fuyutski followed at her heels faithfully. Their footfalls made a unified echo through the corridors as Fuyutski adjusted his pace to follow Ikari.
For a time they walked in silence, composing their thoughts. Their travel through the corridors left scattered and surprised workers in their wake. Still they walked without pause.
"May I assume your study has borne fruit? Shinji would like to see you again," said Fuyutski with casual grace.
Yui faltered mid-step, maternal feelings beginning to return. She nodded. "I'll have to check up on him soon. He's kept out of mischief I hope?"
Kozo gave a ghostly smile. "We did what we could," he allowed.
Yui nodded. "First, Kozo, we're going to a meeting."
"Is this why you postponed our other meeting?" asked Kozo, keeping an even keel.
Yui frowned. "That was not a routine meeting." Ikari gave Fuyutski a searching gaze before sighing imperceptibly. "I guess my disappearing act was bound to ruffle feathers," she admitted, realising the meeting was meant to discuss her own state as Director.
"I did what I could with smoothing. I'm afraid I may have pressed some underheel, however," admitted Fuyutski.
"I'm sure you did whatever could be expected of you under the situation," allowed Yui with a sigh.
"So what is this new meeting?" asked the Assistant Director of Gehirn as he dodged a passing lab technician. The corridors were still utilitarian but acquired homier touches in places. They were entering the housing areas. "Unless I'm closer to senility than I thought, we're heading away from the meeting places.
Yui gestured with her hand for Kozo to be silent. Following that wish, they continued their trip without noise or incident until they reached the Ikari family door. Increasingly confused, Kozo waited until he was inside the family residence before raising a query. But his attempt was cut short by a more pressing matter.
Shinji launched himself across the room to be picked up by his mother. His eyes shone with an rising tide of tears. The neglected child lapped up the attention Yui finally paid him, finally giving him some parental comfort following the loss of his father. So Yui picked him up and held him tight and patted his back and dried his tears as only a mother could.
Watching the proceedings, Kozo felt relief that Yui still retained a mothering instinct after the unsettling display in the conference room. Five days locked away with manuscripts ancient and modern, not grieving but working like a machine, had affected Yui. She was keeping her grief bottled within her, and it wasn't healthy. But it had given her a power and presence he couldn't deny. Moreover, her subordinates couldn't deny it, and even the tempestuous head of Project Koi was silenced by it.
Yui rocked softly, lulling her child. "Shhh, little Shinji, your mother's here now, it's okay. It's going to be okay, one day, it'll all be okay."
Now that statement disturbed Kozo. He couldn't quite put his finger on which part was so worrisome as to raise hairs on his neck. But then his conscious mind caught up with his unconscious and found "one day, it'll all be okay". Yui hadn't grieved. Worse, she hadn't accepted it. It was a stretch to make from a simple statement, but with everything else Fuyutski had seen, he was certain. Now the question was, what had Yui found to break her from isolation?
"Now, Shinji, I need you to stay here. I'll fix you something to eat, but then you have to be a good little boy and wait for me, okay?"
Finally taking care of her beloved son, Yui stood up and fixed Kozo with a pensive look. "Okay, Fuyutski, now it's time for some explanations. You'll be meeting the Throne of Souls with me, as my assistant. This will be an Inner Council meeting. They feel you are loyal enough to allow it, and allow you to be my aide. Remember, that perception is important to us."
Fuyutski was taken aback by the warning. It was spoken as an outsider to the council, not a member as she had said before. "Ikari, is there?"
Yui leaned forward and whispered urgently. "Fuyutski, my old teacher, Selee planned this. They withheld information from me, but I got around their blocks. That accident with Gendo, they knew it was going to happen. There was no accident. But I can bring him back, and depose the council for betraying me. But I'll need your help, and your loyalty. Will you help me, Kozo?"
There was a moment of the most profound silence. Kozo let his mind run free, trying to understand his current predicament. Was this a test. Was Yui serious? Were they being listened too? What did all this entail?
"Will you help me, Kozo?" she asked again.
Kozo nodded. "Yes, I'll help you."
//~~~~\\
Authors Notes.
Well, okay, got a little more out. Coulda used with a bit more polish but that's something I do over time (don't be surprised to see updates of any/all of these chapters over time).
Other than that, thanks to my reviewers. And if any of you spots a blooper, please point it out for me. Much obliged, thanks ^^;;
//~~~~\\
The Book of
- Vigils -
1:1. Set in their monstrosity, Selee continued the requirements of the Red Earth Scenarios. 2. In their search for their living sacrifice, the council deliberated between Gendo and Yui Ikari…
4. Emboldened by their crafts, Selee assigned Gendo Ikari as their sacrificial lamb.
//~~~~\\
June 18, 2004
"So it's you, my dear," congratulated Yui. "So lucky, I wish I could be the one to prove what we have wrought here."
Gendo smiled as he embraced his wife. "Evangelion shall provide our species with it's final ascendancy, and it will have been through our efforts. We have a right to pride. When I am in that plug, of part you will be too. Will Shinji be watching us?" he asked.
"Yes," beamed the now slightly older, slightly wiser mother. "He'll see our triumph unveiled for the world."
"He'll be proud," said Gendo firmly, "Once he grows up."
//~~~~\\
3:1. In misled folly, on the 18th day of June in the year 2004, Gehirn committed the Contact Experiment. 2. Without soul and angry, Unit-01, Fallen Lilith, subsumed it's pilot Gendo Ikari…
7. Severed from her husband, there was weeping and gnashing of teeth. Yui locked herself away and began her vigil.
//~~~~\\
June 19, 2004
Kozo let himself into the room, to find it a disaster area. Yui had apparently lashed out once she'd gotten home. Everything was upset, with furniture and effects turned over, just like Yui's life. Upside down, never to be righted once more.
The test had failed, spectacularly so. Scars left from this failure would last for a long time. Of course, Shinji had to see the whole thing, just to create a nuisance. So now the pall of death hung over the base. Kozo's head hung under the oppressive scent of failure. Each step through the debris-strewn room was a conscious act of will, an act of defiance.
The door to Yui's study was unlocked and Kozo opened it, the quiet click audible against the uncanny silence. Yui had cried till she ran out of tears and settled against her desk. She lay there like a husk, emptied and abandoned. Her figure looked so small amongst the dark and foreboding, eight feet high bookshelves lining the walls. The musty smell of scrolls and books and the softest hum of the latest computer went unnoticed by the widow Ikari.
"Yui…"
"He's gone, Professor," whispered Yui, dispelling Kozo's belief she were asleep. "That abomination took him. Now I'll never get him back."
Kozo placed a comforting hand on Yui's slim shoulder, though she showed no sign of acknowledging it. "We're all going to miss him, Yui. We can grieve now Yui, there's nothing we can do whilst they investigate."
"It's never going to be the same without him, Kozo," whispered Yui. "My strength is gone…"
There was a pause as Kozo sighed and Yui raised her head. A glass of water provided a rippling reflection for her as uneven light shone through it. Everything seemed to ache as she watched her reflection morph with the disturbed water. It seemed there was still tears after all, as the salty liquid rolled across her cheek and down into the full glass.
"I know. Gendo was the strength of Gehirn," whispered Kozo, as he thought of his late, determined student. There had been such drive and power in the man and even so, Kozo had thought he was capable of more. Like reinforcing steel, Ikari had propped them up and provided strength and purpose to Gehirn.
"So what do we do?" asked Yui, we can't stop, else all be lost to us. But … how do we go on?"
"Our own strength," said Kozo as he knelt, placing his greying head near Yui's. You're the ranking member of the project now. You have that same strength Gendo did. You can be our guiding light."
"Gendo's strength?" whispered Yui as she closed her eyes. "How can I match that? I've never met his like, nor will I. God above broke the mould after he made Gendo."
That comforting hand on the shoulder squeezed, tightly so that, in other times, Yui might have winced. "You have that strength," said Kozo. "It was what drew Gendo to you and you to Gendo." His voice was urgent. "You lead Gehirn, now. It's incomprehensible our Selee commanders would order anything else."
Yui opened her eyes. Kozo saw a shimmering iris slide towards the corner of Yui's eye to regard him. "There's a secret I should let you in on, Kozo," she whispered as he stared at that blue iris.
"Yes?"
"I'm one of those Selee commanders. If you divulge that, you will be killed by their order."
Kozo's eyes went huge as he reared back slightly, his breath hitching. "You?" he whispered. Yui nodded once, shallowly. "I see. Why do you tell me this, now?" Yui didn't respond but looked at the desk once more. Kozo sighed and stood, burdened by new knowledge. He turned to leave.
Before he left, there was still something he had to say. "I'll stand by your side like I did Gendo. But you still have to be Gehirn's strength. You can do it every bit as well as Gendo did."
Yui burst from the desk in sudden rage and stuck at Kozo. "Bastard, how can you talk about him like that!" Kozo recoiled from the strike and the manic eyes of the widow. "Did he mean nothing at all?" she shrieked, following up with blows aimed at the aging man's head. "How can you ask this of me," she whispered as Kozo's hands caught her own.
"I was loyal to Gendo," answered Kozo as he struggled against Yui's athletic strength. "I am loyal to you, and I am loyal to Gehirn and our species." Slowly the tricks of his many years came into play and Kozo gained leverage. "This is what Gendo was loyal to, providing a future without pain for us all, and for Shinji. That's what he wanted."
The fight left Yui and she sank back upon her chair. Wheeling back under the force of the landing, she found herself facing the side of the desk. Her eyes drank of the wood grain of the desk as her mind all but left the now and then. Kozo stared for a while as she sank into quiet introspection. Seeing there was nothing for him here, he turned once more. It was when he had his fingers upon the door handle she turned and called his name.
"You're going to be my second, Kozo." Yui's voice carried across the room barely.
"Of course," assured Fuyutski.
"However, leave me for the next few days. Administer the investigation as required, but see to it that I'm left alone to study. It may take days, it may take weeks, but some things require doing."
How flat her voice is, thought Kozo Fuyutski, the old Professor. "Yes, Director Ikari."
"Carry on, Assistant Director Fuyutski," replied Yui.
Yui waited until she heard the door click close. Sighing, she stood up and turned 360, looking at the enormous bookshelves that lined every wall of the study. On the desk beside her, the computer whirred softly, ready to work.
This was never meant to happen, and I think there's something I haven't been told, she thought to herself. There are answers in here, and I can find them. It's all a matter of looking in the right spot.
//~~~~\\
June 20, 2004
"They say," began the mousy assistant in the dim lab. She was crouched conspiratorially with her friend between their workstations. Both eyes glinted in the harsh artificial light. Before she continued she noticed something wrong. "Wait, no, no, start with a parabolic extrapolation and continue from there," she warned a more junior tech deeper in the lab.
"Well?" asked her friend when the errant technician was set aright.
"She locked herself in her room. Packages of manuscripts and computer disks keep arriving but little food. Nothing leaves. She hasn't seen daylight since … since."
The friend shuddered. "Don't say it, I was there. Unit-01 is an Abomination." She crossed herself.
Agreeing wholeheartedly the mousy technician nodded. "She's taken it hard." Afraid of all ears, she leaned closer. Mouths sidled next to ears intimately. "They say she hasn't even seen her son yet. She had a meeting with Fuyutski yesterday, noontime. Since then, she's had almost no human contact, just study."
"That's not healthy," whispered back the friend. "And poor Shinji, the boy lost a father. Is he losing a mother, too?"
\\~~~~//
June 21, 2004
The heavy door shook under Kozo's knocking. But inside, Yui could ignore it; she could ignore anything. She sat on the floor reading through sheets after sheets of ancient script, translating as she went with the knowledge she acquired, with exhaustive concordances and with specialised PDAs.
The sheer amount of data being sifted was mind boggling. From Angels, to Sumerians, to the Qum'ran, to ancient cults, to modern cults, to the experimental Magi systems, back to the Qum'ran Scrolls, to the Eva Technical Documentation, to the experiment notes, to Gendo's diary, to council meeting transcripts, to the journals of ancient Israeli scholars, to the Holy Scriptures, back to Angels, then to angel-worshipping cults, to political hotsheets and back to the Evangelion Documentation, Project E notes and the Qum'ran scrolls.
Data surrounded her like a blanket and she was absorbed into it in a way she had never experienced. In all the cram sessions in university, the brainstorming and research in Gehirn or for Selee, at no other time had she given herself to learning as she did now. She learned with knowledge flowing into her as if she were a sponge placed into the ocean.
Other's needs, her own needs, everything was subordinated to one over-bearing desire. What had happened to her husband? What could be done? Why had it been done?
Shinji, work, eating, it all fell from her mind. And she went on, and learned more and correlated and cross-referenced and called in more data. The machinery continued.
//~~~~\\
June 22, 2004
"So where is the Director?" asked Naoko Akagi. Akagi was the Executive of "Project E", Gehirn's primary concern. "I've seen not hide nor hair of Ikari since … the Contact Experiment."
"Yes, the failed synchronisation test," added Naoko's assistant, who stood at the Doctor's left.
"Or not so much failed as too successful," corrected her second underling, on Naoko's right.
Kozo's glare was a thing of wonder, a palpable menace arisen from years of recalcitrant students. Both the underlings actually shied from his face whilst Naoko's straightened in surprise. Kozo fully turned to face them as they stood in the quiet control room of Gehirn. Blue light from panels reflected off of pale skin and tired eyes.
"Director Ikari is occupied with assessments. Her disposition is none of your concern. Carry on, Chairman Akagi," he said coldly, keeping to the most formal of titles to indicate his displeasure.
Naoko huffed and walked away, assistants in tow. As he watched her leave, Kozo frowned. Naoko was not the only one curious or worried about the Director's state. Even Kozo was in that number. She had shut herself in and locked the door. Security programs guarded her online searches but the throughput was immense. Packages containing all manner of manuscripts were being ferried to her quarters and she let nothing but those packages enter.
Yes, Yui's singleminded determination was frightening. Unfortunately, the aim of her determination was unknown. Kozo feared that whatever his words had meant to Ikari, they had triggered a fiend. Obviously, his words had the desired effect of getting the widow to take up the challenge of Directorship. Kozo knew that Gehirn was a temporary construction. In mandate, structure and form, Gehirn was not the creature to perform the defence against the Angels. That would be left to a new creation.
"Uncle Fuyutski?" asked a timid, scared voice at his side. There stood the four-year old Shinji, alone and neglected, by his late father and his bereaved mother.
Kozo forced a kindly smile to his face and he knelt to regard the boy. "Yes, Shinji?"
Shinji looked down ashamedly before timidly speaking. "I'm really hungry," he said at little more than a whisper.
Kozo shut his eyes and sighed. There had been no one to take care of Shinji and Kozo himself was flat out with his work. Shinji wasn't being properly taken care of, there was no one to administer to it. Kozo had been promising himself to free up some time and find a day care or something for the emotional boy. "Alright, Shinji, it's time I got some food for myself as well. Come along, let's see what we can find."
//~~~~\\
5:6 For five days and nights, Yui committed herself to the study of all topics. 7. Tireless work created it's own reward.
27:1. When at the end of her own travails, Yui happened upon a key, she emerged from her studies as if through fire. 2. Tested, emboldened and determined, Ikari found a course for herself and never wavered from it from that day forward.
//~~~~\\
June 23, 2004
Inside Yui's study it was claustrophobic. Remains of the most meagre of meals vied for ancient manuscripts upon the tabletop. Script after script occupied space and all three monitors of her terminal displayed enormous tracts of data that she sifted through. Her tireless work of amassing and correlating data continued without pause or regard for sanity. All angles were being examined the breadth and width of the Red Earth Strain of Scenarios was being studied.
She searched for anything and everything to explain the events of the 18th of June. Somewhere the answer awaited, and the chance to right that wrong.
And there it was…
Selee had double-dealt, but had missed a manuscript. When they attempted to censor the flow of Yui's information they neglected to obtain Yui's old books. One of these had information pertaining the Red Earth Scenarios. Not everything, but a lead. And that was what Yui had needed.
So now she knew. Knew what the Scenarios really promised. She had known Selee's stake in this, she would have the same fate. The species would be preserved against the coming judgement. The council would oversee the ascendancy of the human race. She hadn't known just what the personal price for her would be. The wording of the Scenario almost specifically laid out the price she would pay, and it was steep. Her husband, her family, her friends.
She knew it was too late to back away, but to continue was about impossible. Another answer was apparent though. The text suggested a different strain. Within the Seraphic Strain, of the Hod Kingdom of the Positive Loyalty were three scenarios. One of these was to become the driving force of Yui's existence from that day.
//~~~~\\
"Assistant Director Fuyutski," rang out a voice from the entrance to the conference room. The milling officials, such as Naoko and Kozo, all froze and snapped their gazes towards the door. There, framed by the open door, stood Yui Ikari. "Please come with me. For everyone else, I'm sorry for wasting your time, this meeting is postponed until tomorrow."
There was a moment of stunned silence from those assembled as they laid eyes upon their boss, who had been absent for almost an entire week. Her sudden reappearance took a moment to adjust to, but adjust they did. Even as Fuyutski's feet moved towards the door a bold interjection arose.
"Now wait just a minute, Director Ikari!" protested the Doctor in charge of Project Koi, an Eva weapons development unit. "This," he began before falling silent.
Yui Ikari had turned to face him and fixed him with the coldest glare. Everything from the furrow of her brow to the set of her jaw reflected the coldest contempt and disdain for the interruption. It was as if the temperature had plunged in the room, for no longer was sweet Yui there but an angered and betrayed woman and the new Director of Gehirn.
In her stare was the bitterness, betrayal and anger of Selee's actions, the sorrow and bereavement of her husbands death and the maniacal fire of someone who had spent too long reading divine texts. The power and authority in her stance was breath taking. What had gone into seclusion five days previous had been a strong-willed brilliant scientist. What had emerged was a spiritual juggernaut, whose determination, direction and confidence were evident to all that saw her. Gendo's personality and presence in life around Gehirn had been intimidating, even moreso than Yui. After the death of Gendo and a catharsis in studying Yui's presence was another order altogether.
"Doctor Mbeki, you do not give orders to me, I give orders to you. This meeting is postponed." Yui said no more but gave the Chairman of Project Koi a last terrifying glare and left. Fuyutski followed at her heels faithfully. Their footfalls made a unified echo through the corridors as Fuyutski adjusted his pace to follow Ikari.
For a time they walked in silence, composing their thoughts. Their travel through the corridors left scattered and surprised workers in their wake. Still they walked without pause.
"May I assume your study has borne fruit? Shinji would like to see you again," said Fuyutski with casual grace.
Yui faltered mid-step, maternal feelings beginning to return. She nodded. "I'll have to check up on him soon. He's kept out of mischief I hope?"
Kozo gave a ghostly smile. "We did what we could," he allowed.
Yui nodded. "First, Kozo, we're going to a meeting."
"Is this why you postponed our other meeting?" asked Kozo, keeping an even keel.
Yui frowned. "That was not a routine meeting." Ikari gave Fuyutski a searching gaze before sighing imperceptibly. "I guess my disappearing act was bound to ruffle feathers," she admitted, realising the meeting was meant to discuss her own state as Director.
"I did what I could with smoothing. I'm afraid I may have pressed some underheel, however," admitted Fuyutski.
"I'm sure you did whatever could be expected of you under the situation," allowed Yui with a sigh.
"So what is this new meeting?" asked the Assistant Director of Gehirn as he dodged a passing lab technician. The corridors were still utilitarian but acquired homier touches in places. They were entering the housing areas. "Unless I'm closer to senility than I thought, we're heading away from the meeting places.
Yui gestured with her hand for Kozo to be silent. Following that wish, they continued their trip without noise or incident until they reached the Ikari family door. Increasingly confused, Kozo waited until he was inside the family residence before raising a query. But his attempt was cut short by a more pressing matter.
Shinji launched himself across the room to be picked up by his mother. His eyes shone with an rising tide of tears. The neglected child lapped up the attention Yui finally paid him, finally giving him some parental comfort following the loss of his father. So Yui picked him up and held him tight and patted his back and dried his tears as only a mother could.
Watching the proceedings, Kozo felt relief that Yui still retained a mothering instinct after the unsettling display in the conference room. Five days locked away with manuscripts ancient and modern, not grieving but working like a machine, had affected Yui. She was keeping her grief bottled within her, and it wasn't healthy. But it had given her a power and presence he couldn't deny. Moreover, her subordinates couldn't deny it, and even the tempestuous head of Project Koi was silenced by it.
Yui rocked softly, lulling her child. "Shhh, little Shinji, your mother's here now, it's okay. It's going to be okay, one day, it'll all be okay."
Now that statement disturbed Kozo. He couldn't quite put his finger on which part was so worrisome as to raise hairs on his neck. But then his conscious mind caught up with his unconscious and found "one day, it'll all be okay". Yui hadn't grieved. Worse, she hadn't accepted it. It was a stretch to make from a simple statement, but with everything else Fuyutski had seen, he was certain. Now the question was, what had Yui found to break her from isolation?
"Now, Shinji, I need you to stay here. I'll fix you something to eat, but then you have to be a good little boy and wait for me, okay?"
Finally taking care of her beloved son, Yui stood up and fixed Kozo with a pensive look. "Okay, Fuyutski, now it's time for some explanations. You'll be meeting the Throne of Souls with me, as my assistant. This will be an Inner Council meeting. They feel you are loyal enough to allow it, and allow you to be my aide. Remember, that perception is important to us."
Fuyutski was taken aback by the warning. It was spoken as an outsider to the council, not a member as she had said before. "Ikari, is there?"
Yui leaned forward and whispered urgently. "Fuyutski, my old teacher, Selee planned this. They withheld information from me, but I got around their blocks. That accident with Gendo, they knew it was going to happen. There was no accident. But I can bring him back, and depose the council for betraying me. But I'll need your help, and your loyalty. Will you help me, Kozo?"
There was a moment of the most profound silence. Kozo let his mind run free, trying to understand his current predicament. Was this a test. Was Yui serious? Were they being listened too? What did all this entail?
"Will you help me, Kozo?" she asked again.
Kozo nodded. "Yes, I'll help you."
//~~~~\\
Authors Notes.
Well, okay, got a little more out. Coulda used with a bit more polish but that's something I do over time (don't be surprised to see updates of any/all of these chapters over time).
Other than that, thanks to my reviewers. And if any of you spots a blooper, please point it out for me. Much obliged, thanks ^^;;