For long moments, silence, save for the crackling of the kindling over the makeshift fire, hung in the air as Howard and Shinji regarded each other, weighing each other.
Shinji was the first to look away. "Why did you say those words?"
The chemistry teacher turned his eyes downwards, into the fire so the lights danced in his eyes. "No reason. In the bible, it's said that the time of judgement would begin with the rapture, when all the unworthy were cast out from heaven while the chosen were pulled from among us." He laughed wryly. "I guess we lucked out, then huh?
"Oh, no need to give me those looks," he said, smiling to lighten the mood, though the sentiment never reached his eyes. "They're stories. Myths. That's all."
After a long moment, Shinji sat down. Around his neck but under his shirt, he could feel Misato's white cross seemingly burn on his chest. "Stories? Can they really be stories? The world was plagued by Angel attacks, after all."
"That," Howard said, tossing his emptied water bottle into the fire, "is just a name we provided. Even I'm not sure who coined the term for those...monsters. But I hardly doubt those Angels were the religious kind. I believe in the Bible, but even then a lot of the things are farfetched."
"So you don't believe in what the Bible says?" Shinji titled his head, trying to ignore the black acrid smoke that came from the melting plastic.
"It's not that. Make no mistake that I'm a Christian. However, I suppose that, being a scientist, or at least a teacher of the sciences, I find it more likely that the Bible is a collection of stories told to children, or around fires just like this, to keep the darkness and the cold away. To keep the fire in here," he said, and tapped his chest, over his heart, "burning. With hope.
"And speaking of stories, it'd be a shame to waste this perfectly good fire." Howard La smiled again, and this time it seemed genuine. "When I was younger, we used to tell stories around camp fires just like this. This was before, of course, the Second Impact. In fact, I think the last time I went camping was a few months of the Second Impact.
"Do you know any stories to tell?" the teacher asked. When Shinji shook his head, and Asuka didn't reply, he poked the fire with a long stick to shift the logs, and said, "Do you mind if I tell one?"
Shinji watched the older man wordlessly, as did Asuka.
"Okay, I'll tell you a myth of my own. Once upon a time, long, long ago, a comet came down to Earth in the shape of a giant man of light. During this time, the earth was little more than a ball of dust and fire, still basking in the too-hot star that is our sun, and barren and void of anything but rocks and empty spaces.
"Now, this comet man shat in the hot soil under the sun, and his turds became men. Us, but only men. But still there was nothing on this earth. Feed us, his children said of him, give us nourishment.
"The comet-man took great offense to their insolence, and fought with the eldest of his children. The child bested his father, who then said, 'Cut off my head, and bury it in the rock, and in three days' time, I will feed you all you may eat, till your bellies burst.'"
"Well, that was a stupid thing to do--" Shinji began, but cut off his words as Howard raised his hand to forestall him.
"So the hungry children took the weapons they had made, and sliced off their father's head, and, as instructed, buried it in the hard, hot soil. As promised, their father changed the land to sustain the people, who by this time had begun to grow into uncountable masses. His body became the mountains, and his blood became the rivers and the oceans. His hair became a crop of corn, which fed the his children, and became the plants and trees of the sky. From his flesh arose the animals, and from the cave of his mouth came a woman. The first woman.
"The ages came and went, and the children of the comet-man propagated and ruled the earth. The children of the comet-man flourish still in you," he pointed at Asuka and Shinji, then at himself, "and me."
Howard sat back, satisfied with his story, but after a moment of expectant silence, added, "The end" for their benefit.
He asked, "So what do you think?"
"That was, um, a nice story," Shinji began after a while. "But who was that first woman? And why did the comet's kids have to kill him? It seems like such a horrible thing to do."
"Who knows?" Howard waved his hand, as if to brush away trivial questions. "It's probably some archetypal Oedipal angst or something. The important thing was the comet man's sacrifice restored the land. It's a myth. That's just how these things go."
Shinji glanced sideways at Asuka, who had an incredulous look on her face, despite the bandages over her eye and brow.
"It was kind of a stupid story," he said to the older man. "Sorry."
Howard folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the shopping cart. "Maybe I'm not a good storyteller. I certainly liked it when someone told it to m--- Huh?"
Suddenly he stood up, kickinig sand all over the place. Shinji was about to complain about the sand that went into his eyes, but held his breath when Howard shot him a silencing, almost-crazed look.
"Do you hear it?" he asked, after a moment. Asuka put her water bottle by her feet, and stood next to Shinji, looking around worriedly.
Shinji was about to ask what exactly he was supposed to hear over the crash and roar of the ceaseless waves, when he caught it, too-- the roar of an engine, carried on the evening breeze. A car! People!, the realization crashed down into his head.
"We've got to get their attention," Shinji exclaimed. He started throwing anything flammable from the cart onto the fire.
"Hey, what are you doing? That's our food!" Howard grabbed Shinji as he was about to toss some more cardboard packages onto the fire. "You can't put that kind of stuff in there-- it'll flare, sure, but you'll only kill off the fire faster if you keep doing that!" He paused as he saw the intent glare in the boy's eyes.
"We can always get some more. I know where. But if we have a chance to call more people over to our location, maybe we can get out of here!"
"And what if they're people we can't trust? What if they're hunting us down, scavenging us for our own supplies here?" Howard looked over his shoulder, worried, as the engine's roar seemed to grow louder and louder, as if it were only a few dunes away.
"And what if they're not?" Shinji's words slammed into the teacher's head, and he looked at him with new eyes.
Shinji was the first to look away. "Why did you say those words?"
The chemistry teacher turned his eyes downwards, into the fire so the lights danced in his eyes. "No reason. In the bible, it's said that the time of judgement would begin with the rapture, when all the unworthy were cast out from heaven while the chosen were pulled from among us." He laughed wryly. "I guess we lucked out, then huh?
"Oh, no need to give me those looks," he said, smiling to lighten the mood, though the sentiment never reached his eyes. "They're stories. Myths. That's all."
After a long moment, Shinji sat down. Around his neck but under his shirt, he could feel Misato's white cross seemingly burn on his chest. "Stories? Can they really be stories? The world was plagued by Angel attacks, after all."
"That," Howard said, tossing his emptied water bottle into the fire, "is just a name we provided. Even I'm not sure who coined the term for those...monsters. But I hardly doubt those Angels were the religious kind. I believe in the Bible, but even then a lot of the things are farfetched."
"So you don't believe in what the Bible says?" Shinji titled his head, trying to ignore the black acrid smoke that came from the melting plastic.
"It's not that. Make no mistake that I'm a Christian. However, I suppose that, being a scientist, or at least a teacher of the sciences, I find it more likely that the Bible is a collection of stories told to children, or around fires just like this, to keep the darkness and the cold away. To keep the fire in here," he said, and tapped his chest, over his heart, "burning. With hope.
"And speaking of stories, it'd be a shame to waste this perfectly good fire." Howard La smiled again, and this time it seemed genuine. "When I was younger, we used to tell stories around camp fires just like this. This was before, of course, the Second Impact. In fact, I think the last time I went camping was a few months of the Second Impact.
"Do you know any stories to tell?" the teacher asked. When Shinji shook his head, and Asuka didn't reply, he poked the fire with a long stick to shift the logs, and said, "Do you mind if I tell one?"
Shinji watched the older man wordlessly, as did Asuka.
"Okay, I'll tell you a myth of my own. Once upon a time, long, long ago, a comet came down to Earth in the shape of a giant man of light. During this time, the earth was little more than a ball of dust and fire, still basking in the too-hot star that is our sun, and barren and void of anything but rocks and empty spaces.
"Now, this comet man shat in the hot soil under the sun, and his turds became men. Us, but only men. But still there was nothing on this earth. Feed us, his children said of him, give us nourishment.
"The comet-man took great offense to their insolence, and fought with the eldest of his children. The child bested his father, who then said, 'Cut off my head, and bury it in the rock, and in three days' time, I will feed you all you may eat, till your bellies burst.'"
"Well, that was a stupid thing to do--" Shinji began, but cut off his words as Howard raised his hand to forestall him.
"So the hungry children took the weapons they had made, and sliced off their father's head, and, as instructed, buried it in the hard, hot soil. As promised, their father changed the land to sustain the people, who by this time had begun to grow into uncountable masses. His body became the mountains, and his blood became the rivers and the oceans. His hair became a crop of corn, which fed the his children, and became the plants and trees of the sky. From his flesh arose the animals, and from the cave of his mouth came a woman. The first woman.
"The ages came and went, and the children of the comet-man propagated and ruled the earth. The children of the comet-man flourish still in you," he pointed at Asuka and Shinji, then at himself, "and me."
Howard sat back, satisfied with his story, but after a moment of expectant silence, added, "The end" for their benefit.
He asked, "So what do you think?"
"That was, um, a nice story," Shinji began after a while. "But who was that first woman? And why did the comet's kids have to kill him? It seems like such a horrible thing to do."
"Who knows?" Howard waved his hand, as if to brush away trivial questions. "It's probably some archetypal Oedipal angst or something. The important thing was the comet man's sacrifice restored the land. It's a myth. That's just how these things go."
Shinji glanced sideways at Asuka, who had an incredulous look on her face, despite the bandages over her eye and brow.
"It was kind of a stupid story," he said to the older man. "Sorry."
Howard folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the shopping cart. "Maybe I'm not a good storyteller. I certainly liked it when someone told it to m--- Huh?"
Suddenly he stood up, kickinig sand all over the place. Shinji was about to complain about the sand that went into his eyes, but held his breath when Howard shot him a silencing, almost-crazed look.
"Do you hear it?" he asked, after a moment. Asuka put her water bottle by her feet, and stood next to Shinji, looking around worriedly.
Shinji was about to ask what exactly he was supposed to hear over the crash and roar of the ceaseless waves, when he caught it, too-- the roar of an engine, carried on the evening breeze. A car! People!, the realization crashed down into his head.
"We've got to get their attention," Shinji exclaimed. He started throwing anything flammable from the cart onto the fire.
"Hey, what are you doing? That's our food!" Howard grabbed Shinji as he was about to toss some more cardboard packages onto the fire. "You can't put that kind of stuff in there-- it'll flare, sure, but you'll only kill off the fire faster if you keep doing that!" He paused as he saw the intent glare in the boy's eyes.
"We can always get some more. I know where. But if we have a chance to call more people over to our location, maybe we can get out of here!"
"And what if they're people we can't trust? What if they're hunting us down, scavenging us for our own supplies here?" Howard looked over his shoulder, worried, as the engine's roar seemed to grow louder and louder, as if it were only a few dunes away.
"And what if they're not?" Shinji's words slammed into the teacher's head, and he looked at him with new eyes.
