-TWO DAYS AFTERWARDS-
EVANGELION UNIT-ONE HOLDING CAGE
NERV HEADQUARTERS-
Misato Katsuragi and Dr. Ritsuko Akagi shivered, despite the heavy fur-trimmed parka jackets they wore. Trying to remain as unobtrusive as possible, Maya stood to the side.They watched, almost solemnly, from a balcony as the giant Evangelion was being scrubbed down and jet-washed.
"How is the salvaging project for Shinji-kun?" Misato finally asked.
Ritsuko shrugged. "Well, what might be called Shinji-kun's life still exists."
Misato glanced sideways at the other woman. "Will life be respected this time?"
"Losing Shinji-kun is out of the question now."
"I don't know," Misato said slowly. "What Nerv wants isn't his life, but Unit One as their tool."
"I don't deny it," Ritsuko said simply.
An awkward pause hung in the air. Maya Ibuki squirmed uncomfortably, and finally said, "Shinji-kun's body is supposed to be drifting in the entry plug in a quantum form, because it lost its ego-border."
Misato turned towards the young engineer. "You mean that Shinji has become something which we can't identify visibly?"
"Exactly," Maya said, wishing she'd never spoken up. "The LCL ingredients in the plug changed chemically, and are now similar to the sea water of the primitive earth."
"Primordial soup...," Misato breathed, thoughtfully.
"All of the materials which formed Shinji-kun are still in the plug," Ritsuko added, nodding towards the looming figure of the Evangelion. "What could be called his soul exits there, too. In fact, his ego image gives pseudo-substance to his plugsuit."
"Salvaging means reconstructing his body and fixing his soul into it," Maya continued for her sempai.
"Is that possible?" Misato's eyes grew wide with hope.
"With Magi's support," Ritsuko nodded.
Misato lowered her head, as though a thought just occurred to her. "You're talking about the theory, aren't you? Nobody knows what will happen without trying."
"There's one more thing, though," Ritsuko said. Misato whirled around to face her. "All the science in the world is no good to us, if Shinji decides to disappear. He has to want to come back. He has to have something to come back to."
Misato said nothing.
"Does he have something to come back to? Does he have any reason to want to remain here with us?" Ritsuko said as she carefully watched Misato's face, and a corner of her lips turned up in what might have been a half-smile.
