Four: Succession.
Central Dogma, Tokyo-3 Special Administrative District, Japan.
July 10th, 2015.
The great machines lay dying in steel tombs below the black pyramid. The MAGI hadn't been maintained since Naoko took her final plunge—and so they decayed year after year, circuits sparking and burning out. Even crippled they were still wonders; kilometers of wire, hundreds of screens, thousands of tons of silicon and copper, billions of gates and neuroids stalwartly processed libraries of data. The MAGI saw everything; their ten thousand eyes lurked in every great city. One circuit tracked every asteroid which passed within a million kilometers of Earth; another was eavesdropping on a "secret" talk between the President of the United States and the Premier of China. No whisper escaped the ten thousand ears of Akagi's masterwork.
Akagi Naoko's other child laughed bitterly. Is that how you would have put it, Mother? You were always so sure only you could operate the MAGI; so sure that Ikari would always need you, that he'd always want you. She leaned slightly over the railing, down at the three silicon minds in their boxy housings, below the drop which claimed the greatest computer scientist to ever live. "And where did that get you, Mom?" Ritsuko said, speaking to the void. "A grave three rows over from our lovely boyfriend's wife." The acting head of NERV drew a crumpled cigarette out of her pocket and flicked the lighter wheel once, twice, thrice before it produced a dim flame. She took a deep draft, exhaling leaden plumes into the frigid cavern. The deck was deserted; the bridge crew had been evacuated while the construction crew shored up the walls, who had all gone home for the night. The constant whir of the MAGI's fans and the hum of the attached substation filled the air with an eerie static. The woody odor of tobacco mingled with the sterile citrus scent of disinfectant spray and the all-encompassing damp of the Geofront.
"Except he didn't really need either of us, did he? He had his little doll …" Ritsuko's hands clenched convulsively against the cold steel railing.
The light tubes on the roof of the Geofront began to grind slowly open, casting beams of ruddy morning light across the cavern. This was always Gendo's favorite time of day. She remembered a familiar scene; the Commander standing beside her at the balcony with a cup of coffee. She would open a new pack of cigarettes and light one, and they would stand there in silence until Gendo drained his cup and left. "I offered you a smoke every morning," she murmured. "But you always said no. What, were you afraid of emphysema?" She laughed, wiping a tear from her eyes. A beam of sun broke over the edge and illuminated the three MAGI, casting slivers of gold across the vast hulk of Central Dogma.
"I'm going to find the man who planted that bomb. I'll bury the bitch in your grave—alive and screaming. That's a promise, Commander."
She turned away from the drop, flicking her cigarette over the railing, and booted up the nearest terminal on the bridge inside.
RAkagi: Initiate Contingency Protocol BLUE-THIRTY
Melchior: Password?
RAkagi: *************
Melchior: Accepted. Initiate Second Scenario?
RAkagi: y
Melchior: Accepted. MAGI Consensus?
Melchior: y
Balthasar: y
Caspar: y
Melchior: Consensus reached. Superuser privileges transferred from GIkari to RAkagi.
Caspar: Terminating system morality processes through Protocol ASIMOV KILL.
Balthasar: State CASSANDRA entered. NERV weapons platforms suborned to MAGI consensus.
Melchior: Process AENEAS active. Assuming control of peripheral MAGI systems.
Caspar: State MING entered. UNSC-HIC and SEELE access to secure systems restricted.
Balthasar: AJNA Procedure executed. Surveillance targets designated.
RAkagi: logout
She left the bridge, lighting up another cigarette. Behind her, the MAGI systems emitted an electronic hum as the reprogramming began.
NERV HQ, Tokyo-3 Special Administrative District, Japan.
July 10th, 2015.
Katsuragi Misato was not having a good day. True, nobody at NERV was really enjoying themselves—an Angel attack is generally not cause for celebration—but Subcommander Katsuragi's patience was running dangerously short. Everyone else had packed up and gone home two hours into overtime, three hours ago. She squinted at a gunnery department report, detailing a general shortage of anything which could be fired, detonated, or launched (and several things which shouldn't be). We have three operational railguns and nothing to shoot out of them—other than Ritsuko's cat toys. If an Angel shows up now, we might as well kiss our asses goodbye. "Unless the next one is Garfiel, the Angel of Cats," she muttered aloud. Maya would like that . She set the report aside, and booted up her computer. The propped window brought in a cool breeze, tinged with the unpleasant odor of sodden leaves, and the sound of rustling papers filled the deserted office. Misato sighed and began to type out an email to Logistics. I should be four beers into my Cosmo Girl marathon—I would be if Section 6 actually did their jobs. But nooooo, they can't give me an ETA on the air-defense systems we were supposed to get THREE MONTHS AGO. Has anybody told Ocotillo Conglomerate there's a war going on, or will they find out when their shipment arrives at a smoldering crater? She fumed for a moment, inserting several choice epithets into the memo, before groaning and hitting backspace.
"Um, Subcommander?"
Misato paused. A frayed looking Captain Ibuki stood at the entrance to the impromptu cubicle. She clutched a lucky-cat mug, from which wafted the delicious aroma of coffee.
"Yes, Ibuki-san? Did you need me for something?"
"The new Supreme Commander wants all the department heads at a meeting," Maya said.
"All of them?"
"All of them. That's Akagi-senpai for Section Three, you for Section Four, Captain Mizuho for Section Five, and Captain Ise for Section Six. Sections One and Two are, well, vacant."
"Can I have a minute to finish this email? I'm trying to figure out what happened to our last arms shipment."
"The JSSDF impounded them," Maya said, furrowing her brow. "Ise-san was complaining about it last week. He didn't tell you?"
Misato jabbed the power button on her computer, resisting the temptation to punt the desktop out the propped window.
"No," she spat around clenched teeth. "No, he did not."
"He should have. You're the head—"
"Of Operations, yes. You would think that warrants a lousy email, but apparently not." Ise, you son of a bitch, I'm going to feed you into the next Angel's maw—feet first.
Misato gingerly stood up, her joints groaning in protest. She cast an envious eye on Maya's cup. "Please tell me they have coffee."
"A full pot. Akagi-senpai told us to set at least that much aside for you." She knows me so well. Misato picked her coat off the back of her chair, pulled it on, and grabbed her bag.
"Alright, let's go." She flipped the desk lamp off and followed Maya out the long, shadowed corridor. The cubicles sprawled across the huge room, with the occasional forgotten lamp casting yellow wedges across the corridors. Maya pushed open the Operations Department door, emerging into a brightly lit hallway. Misato flipped off the flickering overhead lights and exited the room. A touch of her ID to the scanner locked the department.
"How's Sector Three holding up? Sector Four is completely swamped." Who would have thought we'd get an Angel attack and a terrorist attack on the same damned day?
"It's the same over here," Maya replied. "We're working as hard as we can to get Unit-00 deployment ready, but there's only so much we can do."
"Wasn't it damaged—"
"In the explosion, yes."
They passed another worker for the first time, who was wheeling a large cardboard box on a dolly. Misato sidestepped as Maya continued. "The blast demolished Commander Ikari's quarters and penetrated the reservoir wall on the sixth basement level. The LCL pipe servicing the repair docks passes right behind that wall. We think some shards traveled downstream and tore the Evangelion's blood vessels. Either way, we can't get it to reactivate for more than a few seconds. While Akagi-senpai is working on repairs, I'm on MAGI duty."
Maya tapped her badge on the elevator's scanner, pressing the up button.
"The flooding isn't helping," Misato said. "I was at the site yesterday—the lake has impinged on basement levels five, six, and seven."
The elevator arrived, and the two got in. A woman wheeling a rack of cylinders shifted aside to make room. With a whir, the elevator began to rise.
"The maintenance staff say they've almost got the breach sealed," Misato ventured. "One more day."
"That's good to hear." Maya sipped her coffee, leaning against the wall of the elevator. Her hands are shaking.
"Ibuki-san. Are you—"
"I'm fine, Subcommander. I have everything under control."
Misato glanced over at her briefly. Does anyone still have this under control?
The door dinged, and all three of them stepped out. The employee with the cylinders went down a hall to the left, while Maya and Misato took the hall to the right.
At the end of the corridor a door stood ajar. Akagi Ritsuko was wreathed in fumes just outside, smoking like a deranged locomotive. She noticed them after a second, taking both smoldering cigarettes out of her mouth.
"Ah, Ibuki-san. Subcommander Katsuragi." She spat the title out like an unprintable obscenity.
"Commander–" Misato started.
"Not anymore. Our lovely new Supreme Commander has decided to reassign me." She jerked a thumb at the folding staircase behind, leading to a trapdoor. "He's waiting upstairs. Best not keep him waiting."
Misato stepped around her, taking hold of the stairs. Maya tapped out a quick message on her pager and followed.
"Oh, and Maya-san?"
Both women stopped. Ritsuko stood in the doorframe, her expression a measure softer than before.
"I know how hard you've been working. Thank you." She stubbed out her cigarettes and walked away. Misato glanced at Maya's expression. I wonder if Ritsuko knows. Even I can tell.
Misato opened the trapdoor and emerged into Gendo's old office. The vast room had been turned into an ad-hoc command center. Folding tables and chairs had been set up all across the cavernous space, divided by movable dividers. Several dozen people had set up workstations; five agents in the dark suits of Section 2 stood chatting around the water cooler. Score. Misato zeroed in on one table in the corner, upon which sat a pot of coffee, styrofoam cups, and a plate of chocolate biscuits. She ducked skillfully around a man carrying a stack of paper and poured herself a cup. The coffee was lukewarm and had a distinctly metallic tang, but Misato was several long hours past caring.
"Katsuragi-san!"
Maya waved at the entrance of one particularly large enclosure sitting in the middle of the room. "The meeting is in here."
Misato topped off her already half drained cup and stuck a biscuit between her teeth. She pulled the sliding door shut behind her, immediately dimming the noise from outside.
Inside, the motley crew of NERV's officers had been assembled; Captain Ibuki Maya stood to one side of the desk, clutching her mug tightly. Captain Mizuko Kentarou sat quietly in a chair, sipping coffee from a similar styrofoam cup. He glanced briefly at Misato, acknowledging her with a slight inclination of his head. Captain Ise Minato leaned against a set of filing cabinets, apparently entirely absorbed by the contents of a manila file folder. He pushed his round spectacles up his nose, not looking away from the report. Behind the desk sat a gray-haired man in a dark uniform— Gendo's uniform —his hands interlaced on top of the desk. At his right hand stood a stocky, red-headed man in a heavy overcoat; at his left a lanky, blonde officer in the black suit of Section Two. The Commander looked up at Misato and smiled, gesturing towards the vacant seat in front of the desk. "Now everyone's here. Captain Katsuragi, please sit down." Captain?
She did so, Mizuko shifting aside to make some more room. The old man addressed the room at large.
"My name is Claude Allard. I am, as of yesterday, the Supreme Commander of NERV." He gestured to his right. "This is Subcommander Benedikt Lavrentiy, the new head of Section One"—who looked up from the pager, moving closer to the desk—"and Major Henry Powell, the new head of Section Two"—who nodded at them. "We'll hold a more extensive meeting tomorrow, but there are three things we need to cover now. Firstly, the recent attack on NERV. The JSSDF and Section Two have identified the attackers as members of an Angel-worshiping cult known as the Adamite Parish."
Maya stirred at this, drawing the curious eye of Powell. She froze in place, and he glanced away after another moment. Allard continued as if nothing had happened.
"We don't know how they managed to predict the day Sachiel would arrive. Section Two is investigating, but we cannot draw any conclusions yet. This brings us to the second point: there are Adamites within NERV. Somebody swiped the attackers into HQ and scanned them into the elevators. Not only did the bomber know where Commander Ikari's quarters were, he also knew when the guards were due to change. We do not know how far they have compromised us. Therefore I ask that you remain vigilant at all times. As the officers of NERV, your discretion is the only thing preventing a repeat. Finally, reassignments."
He looked directly at Misato. "Captain Katsuragi, thank you for your admirable performance as Acting Subcommander. You will be returning to your duties as Operations Director. As for the rest of you, you will be keeping your posts, with one exception. Captain Ibuki?" Maya flinched slightly.
"Yes, sir?"
"You will be assuming the post of Akagi Ritsuko as head of Section Three, effective immediately. Captain Akagi is being put in command of the new Section Seven."
She frowned slightly. "Sir, does that mean I'm also responsible for Project E?"
"No. Section Seven is taking over Evangelion operations. Section Three will retain control over the MAGI systems and Geofront machinery. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"Any other questions?" The room fell quiet. Misato took a sip of her now cold coffee. Allard stood. "Then, dismissed. Thank you."
Misato twisted the faucet knob. She leaned down over the chipped sink, splashing cold water on her face, and felt the day's exhaustion ebb slightly. She glanced in the cracked mirror. My makeup is a mess, but I'm not staying longer anyway. What time is it? She glanced down at her watch and sighed. "It's one in the morning. Again." She dried her face off, discarding the paper towels in a trash bin. Well, at least I can go home now. She pushed open the door, stepping into the hallway—and nearly bowled over Benedikt. Motherf—
"Ah, Captain Katsuragi. A word, please?" He strode back towards the offices, a deeply aggravated Katsuragi Misato following against her will. Guess I'm not sleeping tonight either.
He opened a door on the right side of the corridor, gesturing for her to enter. Misato stepped in, and Lukyanovich flicked the lights on. The spacious office had been rendered much less so by the sheer chaos within. Side tables overflowed with paper and envelopes, an armchair in the corner was stacked high with books, and a row of filing cabinets took up one entire wall, the others papered heavily with maps and graphs. The desk was, oddly enough, the one clear surface. He cleared it right before this meeting—there isn't any dust on the surface; he didn't want me to see something. So this wasn't a chance run-in. I wonder how long he was planning on standing outside the women's restroom? She scanned the room quickly, noticing a coat slung over a bulgy parcel in the far corner. He was wearing his coat in the meeting. Now he isn't. We both left the meeting less than ten minutes ago, so he must have dropped that off here and doubled back to catch me.
Whatever's under that coat is not meant for my eyes. Benedikt looked, following her gaze to the coat, and his eyes narrowed. Shit. "You're really working in this mess?" she asked, pushing her voice up an octave and hitching a fake grin onto her face. "My office is a pigsty too, but Ritsuko-chan comes by every so often to clean it. Says she doesn't want to start a fire." Benedikt's expression softened by a hair's breadth.
"Normally I try to clean up after myself, but I got all this"—here he waved vaguely at the papers and books piled onto every horizontal surface—"dropped on me the first day. I haven't had a spare moment to do any organizing."
"No rest for the wicked, huh, Subcommander?"
Benedict's lips curled slightly into a wry grin. "Sadly, the wicked always get their beauty sleep. It's the heroes who work until we vegetate."
He gestured to the chair. "Please sit down, Captain. I wanted to speak to you, if you can spare a few minutes?" His eyes made it perfectly clear that there was only one acceptable answer, and Misato provided it.
"Of course, sir. What did you need?"
Benedikt opened a desk drawer, pulling out a manila envelope stamped: "NERV—TOP SECRET." He pried the envelope open and withdrew a single monochrome photograph. He placed it down on the desk and Misato's heart nearly stopped. How did he get this? I was the only survivor… She glanced up. Benedikt fixed her with a piercing stare. All levity was gone from his hazel eyes, replaced by a hard edge. She looked down at the blurred picture again. Two great legs, looming over a shattered sea. Feathery wings of light embracing dancing aurorae. The Second Impact. "Where did you get this?"
He leaned forward. "What do you know about the Artificial Evolution Laboratory?" Misato blinked.
"My father worked for them. He never told me anything about what they actually did."
"On paper, they were supposed to be harnessing Adam to start a new age of technology. In reality, however, they had different plans."
Benedikt reached under his shirt, withdrawing a shard of scarlet crystal on a steel chain.
"You aren't the only one who lost a father on that expedition. They told you it was an accident, right?"
She nodded, and Benedikt continued, voice rising in volume with each word.
"GEHIRN lied. Your father and my father were both murdered in Antarctica by the same people who killed Ikari Gendo and Kozo Fuyutsuki." He's lying. Misato shifted back in her chair. One hand inched towards her gun. Benedikt opened the folder and showed a sheaf of papers to Misato. A large graph labeled "Estimated yield" marked out a set of concentric circles around a point plotted in the Amundsen Sea. Another plotted several lines labeled, "Mortality Projections, first year."
"Check the date, Captain. April 9th, 2000. This report was drafted five months before the Second Impact." He replaced the document and slid the entire folder across the desk towards Misato, who took it warily.
"Why are you telling me this?"
Benedikt sank heavily into his chair. "I've been looking for the truth for fourteen years. Fourteen years chasing a specter—but I found them. Have you ever heard of SEELE?"
Misato shook her head. "No." Yes, but I'm not supposed to know Ritsuko gets orders from someone named Kiel Lorenz.
"They're an international conspiracy. Second Impact, the Great Pacific War, Project E, the Artificial Evolution Laboratory: they've been undermining governments and sowing chaos for decades." He sighed. "And if the recent attacks are any indication, they're getting bolder. SEELE's endgame is moving into view—and I don't like what I'm seeing."
"Their leader," Misato said, all pretense of ignorance dropped. "What's his name?"
Benedikt tilted his head slightly. "Kiel Lorenz." He's not lying. Or at least he knows a little about his subject. She took the folder, tucking it under her arm, and stood up.
"I'll read this."
"Come back when you do. I'll have another one waiting. Remember, not a word of this can get out. Not even to the other NERV officers." Katsuragi Misato nodded and strode out of the office. Either the Subcommander of NERV is a raving lunatic, or my best friend takes orders from a mass murderer. I dunno which is worse.
Misato opened the fridge door. It's four in the morning. I know it's before 10AM, but I need a goddamn drink—social conventions can go to hell. She withdrew a Yebisu can, popped the tab open, and knocked back half in a single swallow.
"That's the stuff!" she cheered, before checking her volume. Pen-Pen and Shinji are sleeping. She poked her head around the corner—Shinji's door was firmly shut. She took another sip of beer and crossed into the living room. "I'll check on him tomorrow," she said. "Besides, we still haven't asked him about school." She picked up the manila folder sitting on the table. Misato hesitated for a long moment, before opening the file. "Tomorrow," she muttered.
Misato sat down and began to read. It's too late to turn back now.
Notes:
PREVIEW:
Yo, Ryoji here with your preview. The Third Child awakens under yet another unfamiliar ceiling and throws his lot in with NERV. Misato tries to break the silent terror in his heart. A final goodbye is said, and a new chapter opens. Next time on Herz und Seele, Chapter Five: The White Room. Don't worry, there'll be plenty of fanservice!
*winks at the camera, then walks off stage.*