CHAPTER 6
MATERNAL PROGRAMMING
SEELE HOLOGRAPHIC CHAMBER
BERLIN GERMANY
1 WEEK AFTER DEFEAT OF FOURTH ANGEL
One by one, the holographic monoliths appear around a hunched over man sitting at a desk. Keel Lorenz pushed a few buttons on the desk, and soon appeared a set of holographic images laid before them.
Images of a gaunt looking Gendo was shown In multiple shots. These Images were taken by sleeper agents inside NERV, however none of them has shown a photo of him inside his office.
"It appears Ikari might not be in the right state of mind currently. All this in one week. We might have to give Fuyutsuki the position and get him to leave."
"Agreed, he looks to be in a state of instability, this could prove to be very dangerous for the Scenario." Came the opinion of the American SEELE member, speaking in an ancient tongue that only SEELE uses themselves; Ancient Babylonian.
"How about Dr Naoko Akagi? She seems competent enough, And she is a sight for sore eyes." Said the UK member.
A wave of chuckles came from all around.
"Or Dr Katsuragi's daughter, I certainly wouldn't mind her as commander." Voiced the French Member.
"That reminds me, Do we ever get to meet the pilots? I certainly do hope they received our gifts." Spoke another member.
"Calm yourself, we will have some select chances to meet them. A UN meeting will be held in Tokyo 3 to discuss the logistics and nitty-gritty of supplying NERV. I'll Add a little request, that we can meet the pilots. But I will ask that you keep your hands and comments to yourselves."
"Alright, let's get back on track. We cannot allow Ikari's Instability to ruin the scenario. After the Meeting, we will decide his fate as Commander."
"Aye."
MATERNAL PROGRAMMING
EPISODE 6
"Self Destruction"
NERV HQ PRIMARY COMMAND BRIDGE
10:43 AM
A series of footsteps were heard on the normally busy Bridge, followed by another. These footsteps were unmistakable. The Commander and Subcommander were on the bridge. Maya turned to look at the pair and saw something she thought she would never see. A gaunt, disheveled looking Gendo Ikari.
The women sat there with wide eyed fear. Shigeru turned to see what was wrong, and he too froze in fear. No longer hearing the sounds of the computers being used, Makoto quickly looked around and saw the disturbing sight.
The Sub-commander stopped for a moment seeing the faces of the stunned Bridge crew staring at the commander.
"Don't mind us, we are just inspecting. Please continue your duties." This did nothing to calm the nerves of the Bridge crew who kept on staring.
"I-Is the commander ok?..." Maya meekfully asked.
Fuyutsuki gave a tired smile.
"Yes, he just was busy with a few international meetings. He hasn't had much sleep."
Maya slowly nodded and went back to doing her work, with the other two doing the same, although giving a worried look.
As the two walked away, Fuyutsuki pulled the malnourished man aside and spoke to him in a hushed voice.
"Gendo, You need to get help now. You cannot take charge when you are like this!"
Gendo didn't even give a sound of acknowledgement, he simply looked up at the older man.
"I suppose you are right…"
Fuyutsuki sighed and kept walking.
"I'll call Dr Akagi, but if you do anything to her, I will personally skin you alive."
Gendo grunted and began to shuffle off, but was stopped once again.
"Please Take care of yourself."
And with that, the older man walked off, leaving him to his own devices. He sighed and began walking to Dr Akagi's office to get a medical exam done.
As he walked off, the three main MAGI Bridge Technicians turned to look at one another.
"Do you think that Commander Ikari is ok?" Maya said keeping her voice hushed, as to not draw any more attention from anyone else.
"I'm not sure. After the 4th Angel, he seemed to just disappear completely. I don't buy that whole Meeting excuse." Makoto replied, continuing to work at his terminal.
"He seems very sickly. He was thin before, but now he seems malnourished. What happened to him?" Shigeru asked.
"I don't know, but that day when Unit 01 sortied against the 4th angel, Shinji seemed very angry, maybe that dealt with this." Maya said before going back to work.
Gendo walked down the halls of the Senior Officer Offices, until he came across the one he was looking for.
"Dr RItsuko Akagi: Project E Director, Head of Biology and Medical Division"
He pressed the buzzer on the side of the doorframe and waited. The door slid open with a conformational beep, and sitting at the desk was Ritsuko, typing some notes down on a tablet.
"Yes, who is it?" She turned around and looked up to see Gendo staring at her. She gave a slightly annoyed look and motioned him to enter. He stepped in, and the door closed behind him, giving the two privacy.
"What do you want?"
She asked, before getting another Nicotine gum from her drawer.
"I came for a medical Evaluation, nothing more." He had a weak voice to him, unlike the imposing voice he has usually. Ritsuko gave a quick look, and saw he was Indeed malnourished.
"While your exam isn't until next month, I could do this for you, seeing as you fell below the recommended body mass."
She gestured over to a door labeled "Exam Room" that was on the other side of the room. The two walked over and into the room, where Ritsuko began sanitizing her hands.
"Step on the scale." She said, preparing a few medical instruments.
Gendo did as he was asked.
She looked over at the weight and wrote it down.
"Sit on the Examination table please."
Gendo did so without a word.
"Remove your Jacket."
Gendo complied.
Ritsuko rolled up Gendo's sleeve and attached a pressure cuff to his arm, and a blood oxygen monitor on his finger. She began her series of tests on him, Checking his vitals and such. Gendo made no attempts at looking up or even straightening his glasses.
"You look pathetic, you know that right?"
Gendo gave no answer.
Ritsuko sighed before typing in some data at the examination terminal.
"Your BMI is very low, for your usual weight. Your blood pressure is also low. So tell me, What did my Mother do to you, to get you out of your facade?"
Gendo muttered a single word.
"Yui."
"I see… You still can't move on, can't you? In your anger that you took out on my mother, you've not only solidified her hatred towards you, you've also have Shinji potentially being a threat to you. Because he hates you too. As for me… I don't know."
Gendo chuckled softly, keeping his face still looking at the ground.
"It's best that way. It keeps everyone away and prevents others from being affected by my actions."
She gave a look of pity and annoyance.
"You know, when my father left, Mother felt the same way. She tried to bury herself in her work more, to try and distance herself from others. She felt guilty for her actions. But then Shinji was left in her care for some hours. She hated Yui, you know. She thought she was Ms Perfect."
Gendo Slightly raised his head at this.
"Where are you going with this?"
Ritsuko sighed and set down her stuff on the desk.
"After the accident, She said that Shinji helped her open back up. And then you left him, for the same reason now."
He barely narrowed his eyes.
"You should let people back into your life. She let the son of her rival open her back up. Maybe if you tried, he might open you back up. Shinji is one hell of a special person. You need to work for his forgiveness."
Gendo sighed and lowered his head into his hands.
"I don't deserve his forgiveness. Not even Naoko's forgiveness. It will even be impossible to obtain."
Ritsuko chuckled for a moment, before cleaning up the equipment around the room.
"Gendo Ikari, the commander of a Global organization that uses Biological Computers, Large Humanoid Mechs, and has the full support of almost every major country, Says forgiveness is impossible."
. . .
"Why are you doing this?"
. . .
"Because, despite you being an asshole to your Son and my mother, we still need you. You are the ruthless Commander of NERV, Quick, Efficient, and highly motivational. Also, Mother hasn't been the same since that incident. And I… Want you to apologize to her."
Gendo sighed before looking up at the brunette.
"... I can try… "
. . .
"Good. Because we also don't want Shinji to ambush you in the halls."
Ritsuko got up and began writing on a notepad, before tearing it off and handing it to Gendo.
"Head over to the Hospital's Pharmacy and give them this. It's a list of vitamins you need to take."
Gendo took the note and put it in his pocket. He began putting on his Commander's jacket and getting up from the examination table.
"Commander, Remember that we deal with the Impossible here."
Ritsuko said to the departing man, who stopped for a brief moment before continuing to leave.
"I hope he heeded my advice…"
As he left the office, He received stares from the oncoming traffic of NERV employees. But he paid them no attention, as he continued his trek.
Suddenly alarms rang out, and everyone began to scurry.
"All Bridge Crew to their battle-stations. A pattern blue has been detected off the east coast, about 23 kilometers and counting."
Gendo began rushing towards the Bridge as everyone ran past him. Despite his weakened appearance, he had no intention of letting the bridge crew go without their commander.
C: ANGEL ETA: 3 MINUTES
M: MAGI DATA RECORDERS: ACTIVE
B: UNIT 00: NOT READY
B: UNIT 01: READY FOR BOARDING
C: UMBILICAL CABLES ATTACHED
B: PILOT IS ON CAGE GANTRY WAYS AND ARE PROCEEDING TO BOARD
C: TELEMETRY IS GOOD
M: ONBOARD PRIMARY AND SECONDARY NEURAL PROCESSORS ARE ONLINE
. . .
B: GODSPEED AND GOOD LUCK SHINJI AKAGI
SUPERCOMPUTER MAGI ANNOUNCE A GO FOR EVANGELION SORTIE
BE ADVISED OF SLIGHT ANOMALIES WITH DESIGNATED 5TH ANGEL
Shinji boarded his Entry Plug's seat and began his entry into the Plug itself. Several of the Cage Crew members gave Shinji their luck and cheers, as he waved back at them.
The crash couch was locked in place and the plug screwed in. LCL poured in as Shinji took a deep breath.
The Neural connections turned on and Shinji felt the tingle of connection.
Excitement
Confusion
Disbelief
Sadness
"Shinji, are you ready? We are going to send you up via Route 32b."
Misato's voice said over the Primary TacNet channel. Shinji gave a quick grunt of confirmation before setting his hands down on the Control Yokes.
A buzzer went off, and he was soon launched up the launch rails.
B: TARGET'S ELECTROMAGNETIC LEVELS ARE INCREASING, TREAD WITH CAUTION.
"What?! Stop the Lift!" Naoko said, as she tried entering override commands. However her efforts proved to be fruitless. As Shinji reached the zenith of the launchpad.
"High Energy Readings from the Target! Shinji Evade now!"
A quick blast of light illuminated the surroundings, and a blue laser was fired from one of the Angel's many vertices.
A sudden shot directly to the chest sent Shinji into a boiling pain. He cried out in pure pain as the LCL boiled him alive.
"SHINJI!"
"SHINJI!"
Two voices rang out at once, but no one gave any mind to it, as they were trying to bring his Evangelion back down. The lift eventually gave out and rushed back down, with Shinji going into Cardiac Arrest.
"Beginning Chest Paddle Discharge!"
Shinji's pulseless body twitched as the paddles charged and discharged.
"SHINJI PLEASE!"
To be continued.