Yu, in all honesty, expected to take an elevator that he had yet to step into in this life: the lift that would lead directly to the remnants of the Artificial Evolution Laboratory, where the first Evangelion prototypes had been built and constructed...
and where the crucified LILITH lied. (The public description of it as the 'LCL Production Plant' was rather inspired, in terms of keeping its true contents a secret.)
However, Ritsuko directed him to an entirely separate elevator, which would apparently lead them to the deepest part of Central Dogma: an entirely separate means of accessing Terminal Dogma, it would seem. "...what exactly is down here?" he asked, staring at the back of Ritsuko's head.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH7UdQbmeOM
"...the graveyard of failed Evangelions. The place where Yui Ikari disappeared." (Yu resisted the urge to blink with alarm; had Terminal Dogma and the lower layout of GEHIRN been shifted and reorganized
completely after it had been reconstituted as NERV? What would justify such a notorious level of secrecy?) "And the place where Rei Ayanami was born."
Yu frowned. "She was born down here? Who were her parents?"
"...there are none. Not in any conventional sense."
As the elevator came to a halt, Yu followed Ritsuko, who walked ahead with hands in the pockets of her lab coat. The odd miasma that GEHIRN and NERV had always exuded...now it seemed to be utterly tyrannical, as though sorrow itself had metastasized into something cancerous. It only solidified the odd tingle down his spine as they walked past the expanse showing bones of failed Evas, gathered into pits arranged in an esoteric design. The red glow triggered a long dormant memory, of another bloody skeleton rising from a treacherous abyss. (Like Izanami-no-Okami...)
(
If Izanami-no-Okami was a god...then would these be failed gods?)
Yu, trying to keep track of what he was 'supposed' to know (and what he
shouldn't know), cautiously asked, "...there've always been a lot of rumors about what the Evangelions were made of. They're definitely biological to some extent...but where did the material come from?"
"...what do you know about Second Impact, Narukami-san?"
"...that it was the result of a small meteorite moving at a significant fraction of the speed of light, carrying enough kinetic energy to vaporize the continental ice. Chaos ensued," he said, offering the official cover-up. Letting the silence hang, he then added, "but I'm assuming by the fact you brought it up that that's
not how Second Impact happened."
"Long ago, ancient knowledge of extraterrestrial origin was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. An organization known as SEELE worked to use that knowledge to advance the evolution of humankind according to their designs; it was through that prophetic knowledge that the Black Moon of Hakone and the White Moon of Antarctica were discovered."
(He couldn't help but think of the black sphere floating in the sky, before the world had ended. Had that actually been the Geofront?!) "...hmm. It always struck me as odd, that an arcology of the Geofront's scale would be built. NERV was constructed within an alien artifact, then?"
"Yes...within the Black Moon, LILITH was found; likewise ADAM, within the White Moon. Gods, for all intents and purposes...and in their joy, those humans tried to hold those gods within their grasp. Through experimentation, they hoped to divinize humankind, and make us a more perfect creature...and through the introduction of human DNA to ADAM, Second Impact occurred."
"...wait." The possibility was looming large (for the oddities surrounding NERV, Project E, GEHIRN...had always seemed so far beyond a typical government black project. Had they...?), and it was too horrifying to contemplate. "Then Second Impact was...
intentional...?" (All of the death and chaos of Second Impact, and everything that had come from it: the militarization of numerous countries, the destruction of cities and countries, the Annihilation of Inaba...were traced to a
man-made disaster...?)
"ADAM vanished, after Second Impact: split into pieces that, per the Dead Sea Scrolls, will soon return," continued Ritsuko, continuing her slow trek through the depths of Central Dogma. "Evangelion was an attempt to recreate ADAM, to have a god within the control of man. But without a soul of their own, they could not move, or be controlled...we learned this because of Yui Ikari's Contact Experiment. An attempt to salvage Yui was made...and although her soul remained bound within Evangelion, the remnants of that salvage attempt became the basis for a new lifeform."
(
Now you know why her face always seemed so similar to Yui's.) "...Rei Ayanami."
They walked through concrete halls, one of which opened up to a facsimile of a home; were it not for old bloodstains and privacy curtains common to a hospital ward, it would have seemed like a very cheap apartment. Isolation and resentment seemed to have been seared into the walls and floors. "This is where Rei was raised."
"...why keep her in such conditions?" he wondered aloud, feeling a stab of pity and anger and cold indignation. "For whose benefit...?"
Ritsuko did not answer. Instead, she continued on with her elaboration, "the means of manipulating the soul was perfected with Rei Ayanami...and would serve as the basis for a project that would enable standardized control of the Evangelions. Theoretically, at least:
that is the Dummy Plug Project."
"And Commander Ikari believes I should be brought into the fold, so to speak?"
"...I don't know what to think," she admitted.
They entered a circular room, in which a single glass cylinder stood, fixed underneath a titanic construction of metal, wires, and cables. Glass walls surrounded them, with no light illuminating the expanse beyond; however, he got the vague impression of water...and
eyes...? (He had never set room in this place before.) "And this place is...?"
"The Central Area of the Deep Underground Facility." Ritsuko held a small tablet of sorts (almost like a remote), pressing down on a switch. The realm beyond the glass walls was suddenly illuminated, casting the room in a shade of muted orange. Floating beyond (within LCL) were...copies, or perhaps clones, of Rei Ayanami. "Out there is where the spares are kept."
"...why are they all naked?" he muttered, unnerved by their vacant expressions and naive laughter, muted though it was.
"Just things. Vessels with no soul of their own. Hardly human."
"...but
why are they all naked?"
Ritsuko looked at him with a sort of drained weariness. "Does it matter?"
"...yes. Yes it does. Even if they have no souls, they possess the capacity to 'be' Rei, correct? Why not at least...I don't know, have them in
swimsuits or something?"
"The First Child's never cared for modesty."
"I
wonder why." Turning towards the central cylinder, he growled, "it's degrading."
"...maybe so," she relented, turning towards the cylinder herself. With another press of the remote, the central tank too was illuminated, revealing another Rei floating inside: seemingly asleep, with closed eyes. "That's the only Rei with a soul. It's been the biggest roadblock in the creation and implementation of the Dummy System: our inability to spread her soul to more than one body. You'd think
she of all people would be capable..."
"...question."
"Yes?"
"Why is
she also naked?"
"The nutrient solution within the LCL is absorbed more easily without any obstructions. Plus, there's no need for the life support systems within the Plug Suits like there would be in an Eva-"
"Then
why is the cylinder transparent?" he interrupted. "Why can't the glass be opaque from the neck down, if face-to-face visuals are needed? There is literally
no good reason for it to be see-through."
"...you'd have to ask the Commander about that," said Ritsuko with a resigned sigh, speaking as someone who knew they
should care but just couldn't find it in themselves to do so.
(A sensation akin to utter revulsion went up his spine.)
(
You've never considered that the man might have such 'inclinations'...and yet the 'first' time around, when all of this was new...?)
(He didn't want to think about it.)
(
You now know that she was salvaged from Yui Ikari. Who is Gendo devoted to more than anything else...?)
(He didn't want to
think about it.) "...you said that the Commander authorized you to inform me about the Dummy Plug Project. But you've told me a lot
more than that. Why?"
"...because you're in deep, Narukami-san. And surprisingly enough, you have a good head on your shoulders. I...felt that you deserved the truth."
"What about Maya-chan?" (He never called Ibuki by such an honorific to her face; however, by now it had become a bit of an injoke between him and Ritsuko to refer to her in such a way, when they were in private away from the mousey Second Lieutenant.)
Ritsuko's expression was conflicted. "You've...you've
both been good to me...but Maya's too innocent. For all your goofiness...you have a sort of weariness with the world that I can empathize with. Even if you do a good job of hiding it."
Yu blinked with surprise. (
You know she's not a fool. Relationships go both ways, after all...) Before he could ask another question, he suddenly turned towards the central tank.
Rei Ayanami was looking at them both with a detached expression. "
Dr. Akagi," she spoke, her voice echoing through the Central Area's speakers.
Ritsuko turned towards Rei, saying, "good morning Ayanami. The Commander authorized me to bring my assistant Yu Narukami down here; he'll be helping me with future scans and spiritual analysis-"
"
I wish to speak with him," she said, interrupting her. "
Please leave."
Ritsuko blinked, utterly flabbergasted by the girl's sudden insistence. "What the...? Why? For what reason?"
"
I have words for him, and him alone. Please leave."
Ritsuko's eyes seemed to flare with impulsive anger. "You wretched doll," she growled, with a sort of deep-seated anger that actually surprised Yu. "Where the
hell do you get off-?!"
"
LEAVE," spoke the voice of a legion.
Ritsuko went still, shocked by the force behind Rei's voice...that is, until she saw that all of the clones had pressed themselves against the glass partition, staring with a grim focus that should have been
impossible. "What..." she whispered, with dawning horror. "How are you doing this...?"
"Akagi-senpai," said Yu, raising a hand to cup the older woman's cheek. "It'll be okay. Might as well take advantage of Ayanami's willingness to talk to me while I can, you know?"
Ritsuko frowned, looking back and forth between him and Rei with an almost jealous expression. "...are you sure?"
"I'll be fine."
"...fine." Ritsuko briefly kissed him — for but a second, but with an intensity that was rather shocking — before backing away, keeping her eyes on the various clones with trepidation. The moment she crossed the threshold, the Central Area's door slammed shut.
"...Akagi-senpai is just going to reference the MAGI logs, you know," he said, trying to ignore the odd chill of being stared at from all sides.
"
I am aware. That is not relevant," said Rei, speaking only by herself.
"If you say so." Yu stuffed his hands into his pockets, staring face-to-face with the young yet mysterious figure. "Then let's talk."
