World of Evangelion

Thesis of a Cruel Angel.

Setting

The story of Neon Genesis Evangelion primarily begins in 2000 with the "Second Impact", a global cataclysm which almost completely destroyed Antarctica and led to the deaths of half the human population of Earth. The Impact is believed by the public at large and even most of NERV to have been the impact of a meteorite landing in Antarctica, causing devastating tsunamis and a change in the Earth's axial tilt (leading to global climate change) and subsequent geopolitical unrest, nuclear war (such as the nuking of Tokyo), and general economic distress. Later, Second Impact is revealed to be the result of contact with and experimentation on the first of what are collectively dubbed the Angels: Adam. The experiments were sponsored by the mysterious organization SEELE, and carried out by the research organization Gehirn.

In the year 2010, Gehirn had accomplished a number of its scientific and engineering goals and corporately changed into the paramilitary organization NERV which is headquartered in Tokyo-3, a militarized civilian city located on one of the last dry sections of Japan; NERV's central mission is to locate the remaining Angels predicted by SEELE, and to destroy them. However, NERV has its own secret agenda, as directed by its Machiavellian commander Gendo Ikari: the Human Instrumentality Project, which, according to Gendo in episode 25, is the task of uniting all human minds into one global spiritual entity. Associated with NERV is the Marduk Institute, which has the task of selecting the pilots for the Evas, the most capable being children conceived after the Second Impact (14 year-olds). The institute consists of Commander Ikari, and NERV's chief scientist Ritsuko Akagi; supporting the two are 108 companies which are all revealed to be ghost companies.

Technology

Absolute Terror Fields

The Absolute Terror Field (also known as A.T. Field (A.T. フィールド[?], "A.T. Fīrudo")) is a barrier that both Angels and Evangelions can generate to protect themselves. A.T. Fields typically take the shape of an octagon and are usually orange in color. The strength of A.T. Fields produced varies between Angels; for example, the Angels Zeruel and Ramiel possess extremely powerful A.T. Fields, while Matarael's A.T. Field was very weak. The strength of Evangelion units' A.T. Fields depends upon the synchronization level of the pilot, and the strength setting used at the time. Eva pilots can control the strength of the A.T. Field from their entry plug.

A.T. Fields are normally invisible barriers but become visible to the naked eye when colliding with other things. They are mainly used as an almost impenetrable shield; only the most powerful weapons, such as N² Weapons are capable of breaching them. Even then, damage to the Angel is generally minimal. Through most of the series, the only thing that can reliably penetrate an A.T. Field is another A.T. Field, as seen in Episode 02 when the Evangelion Unit-01 "corrodes" Sachiel's A.T. Field.

Some Angels are sophisticated enough to use A.T. Fields as a method of attack or movement. Sachiel, Israfel and Bardiel can be seen making jumps assisted by their A.T. Fields, while Sahaquiel and Zeruel use theirs to attack, with Sahaquiel using it to destroy satellites and Zeruel in the Rebuild to shove attackers away. Kaworu's A.T. Field is powerful enough (or perhaps his mass is low enough) that he's able to use it to glide through the air.

It is revealed later in the series that every living thing with a soul possesses an A.T. Field: Angels and Evangelions just have A.T. Fields so strong that they are easily detectable and can even stop physical attacks. The boundary within an A.T. Field is subject to different physical laws as decided by its creator, and in the case of Angels this effect is so powerful that they are able to create seemingly supernatural phenomena within the enclosure of their Field. While substantially weaker in human souls, the A.T. Field nevertheless provides a vital function: Bounding the ego and sense of self of a person from everyone else, allowing them to exist as an individual. Without an A.T. Field, it becomes almost impossible for souls to define their own existences without substantial conscious effort, causing the physical body of the soul to degenerate into pure LCL.

The Lance of Longinus, an ancient and unbreakable weapon, is able to penetrate any A.T. Field, no matter how strong it is.

Angels

Angel (使徒[?], "shito") is an ambiguous term that has various meanings within the Evangelion mythos depending on the context.

As most commonly used in the show and elsewhere, the word "Angel" refers to any of Adam's fifteen children, whom NERV must systematically destroy over the course of the story. Adam itself, the designated "First Angel", is occasionally included with its offspring when speaking of Angels collectively.[1]

However, considering SEELE's list of designated Angels in full, it includes entities as dissimilar as the Seeds of Life, Adam and Lilith[2][3], the natural progeny of Adam, the human-shaped vessel of Adam's soul, Kaworu Nagisa, and Homo sapiens itself, or the Lilin.

This conflict between the heavily-reinforced concept of Angel, god-like beings antithetical to human life, and the more inclusive version rightfully raises the question of what an Angel is actually supposed to be. Evangelion plays a similar game with terms related to humanity (hito, ningen, and jinrui).

One possibility is that Angel actually refers to all beings whose origin is ultimately traceable to the First Ancestral Race. This species, the prototypical humans of NGE, produced the Seeds of Life in order to propagate new lifeforms on distant worlds, into which the F.A.R.'s souls would be reincarnated.[4] Consider also that both "angel" and "apostle" (the literal meaning of Angel's Japanese equivalent, shito) inherently mean "messenger". Furthermore, the F.A.R. are stated to be esteemed as gods by Adam's children and the Lilin.[5] (On a perhaps related note, Rei muses, "What is a human? A creation of God? Is man a human creation?")[6] "Angels", then—which we know to refer to both Seeds of Life and their progeny—could be thought of as "messengers" for their "God(s)". The "message" to be disseminated is humanity itself.

Nature

Despite being segregated into separate "Angels" (Third, Fourth, etc.), Adam's children essentially comprise a single race of humanity – one possible variation upon a theme, with the Lilin being another variation. They are described as "humans who cast aside human form". Accordingly, they appear to begin life as humanoid entities, developing embryologically in perhaps the same way as Adam or an Eva would. Going by Sandalphon, the Angels develop inside oblong objects resembling eggs, compared in the show to a chrysalis. After developing to an indeterminate point,[9] the Angel's human form is "rejected". Immediately prior to hatching (again, going by Sandalphon's precedent), the Angel undergoes a spontaneous metamorphosis into its "adult form", then emerges from its "chrysalis".[10]

How the form is selected and its structure determined is entirely unknown. The A.T. Field appears to play some role in Angel metamorphoses. Taken together with what is said about the role of the A.T. Field elsewhere in the show, this implies that perhaps each Angel's form is a tangible manifestation of its self-image. That is, where Lilin are more or less constrained to a common form, and must express their individuality in subtler ways, Adam's children can simply be whatever they imagine themselves to be.

The genetic pattern of Shamshel is reported to possess a 99.89% similarity to that of humans (Homo sapiens). While no comment is made on Shamshel's brethren, this similarity can be deduced to apply universally to the group. In Sadamoto's manga, the same percentage is applied to the Evas, implying, at least in Sadamoto's view, the same genetic origins, which would be Adam. Of note here is that metamorphosis has no apparent effect on the Angels' biological blueprints, indicating that it must operate on a more metaphysical level.

Origins

How Adam generated its offspring is completely unknown. Explanations can be as disparate as "pieces of Adam blown off at Second Impact grew into the various Angels" to "Adam laid the Angels' eggs billions of years ago, but didn't give them souls until the day of Second Impact, when they were scattered by the explosion". The proposed theories have varied pros and cons.

Whether the Angels existed in some form prior to September 13, 2000, or only came into being on that very day, it doesn't seem to be any coincidence that Adam opened its Doors of Guf on Second Impact (implying the release of souls), and its children began to "appear" fifteen years later.

The cues in the show itself regarding the Angels intentions are varied and ambiguous. Some of them lend the common impression that the Angels are trying to return to Adam, in automaton-like manner, although the Angels' behavior is hardly consistent enough to support this. One explanation of their motivations, found in the Classified Information states, "Some of them were trying to access Lilith and reset all life, some of them had nothing in mind, and some were trying to recover their progenitor Adam."

Adam's children are generally uncommunicative, and the forms they take tend to be inexpressive, with the result that we have little insight into their thoughts. However, some is provided by Leliel, Arael, and Armisael, who engage the Eva pilots in forms of communication. Some of the Angels also provide some insight into their psychology through their behavior, such as Sachiel and Zeruel.

Common Traits

While each of Adam's children has a form unique to itself, there are many traits common to or prevalent among the group. (Some of these, in turn, can be found in other so-called "Angelic" lifeforms, such as the Seeds and Evas.)

Blood is observed for many of Adam's children, including: Sachiel, Ramiel, Leliel, Bardiel, Zeruel, Arael, and Armisael. It is red in all instances save for Sachiel, whose is blue (albeit changed in Rebuild to adhere to the norm). It is unclear why, or how, Angels whose forms seem to preclude the possession of circulatory systems possess blood. On one level, it might be considered a visceral reminder of their intrinsically human nature.

In the Rebuild continuity, the Angels dissolve into a red fluid resembling blood when their cores are destroyed, attributed to the collapse of their A.T. Fields.[12] This is possibly an analogue to LCL.

Most register "Blood Type Blue". "Orange" is seen on some rare occasions (Leliel's spherical shadow and Unit-03 parasitized by Bardiel; Armisael cycles between orange and blue when it first appears). What "Blood Type" actually refers to is unclear.

The core is a spherical red organ containing the soul and S² Engine. Observed in nearly all of Adam's children. This feature derives from Adam.

Several Angels demonstrate an ability to harness energy to trigger explosions or generate focused energy beams / energy-based projectiles. Angels possessing eyes—Sachiel, Israfel, and Zeruel—involve them in the energy projection process, although it's not entirely clear how this works. (I.e., if the eyes actually emit the energy, or if they simply act as a "focal point" of some sort.)

Both Sachiel and Zeruel are capable of projecting the infamous cross-shaped explosions. Unit-01 and Unit-02 appear to have the same ability, suggesting that it perhaps "runs in the family".

Most Angels are capable of enduring vast amounts of physical damage. As long as an Angel's core and S² Engine is intact, it can theoretically regenerate the damaged tissue, given enough time.

AT Fields

All of Adam's children have souls and, hence, A.T. Fields. Their A.T. Fields are much more powerful than those of LCL-based lifeforms, giving them various paranormal, especially psychokinetic, abilities. Common utilizations include barriers ("force fields"), levitation, and metamorphosis.

S2 Engines

An S² (Super Solenoid) Engine (S²機関, S² Kikan), also referred to as an S² Organ, is an organ located within the core of an Angel[1] which grants it a limitless source of energy. Evangelions are not born with S² Engines,[2] and are thus (normally) dependent upon energy supplied via a power cable or an internal battery.

A mostly-intact S² Engine is obtained from the corpse of Shamshel and sent to Germany for further study by the Third Branch's Energy Analysis Unit.[3] After the S² Engine is restored, NERV's Second Branch in Nevada undertakes an experiment to install it into Unit-04, which results in the disappearance of the Eva, related facilities, and everything and everyone else within an 49-kilometer radius, swallowed by a Sea of Dirac.[4]

Despite the loss of the restored organ, the research data is preserved in Germany. The project continues, ultimately producing nine Mass Production Evangelions outfitted with artificial S² Engines.[5]

A berserk Unit-01 is eventually able to obtain an S² Engine from the Angel Zeruel by physically devouring the organ and assimilating it as its own.[6] According to SEELE, this acquisition makes Unit-01 an "absolute being" and the living embodiment of a god.[7] The S² Engine is said to be the only thing (aside from, presumably, a soul) required to "complete" an Eva and bring it to a level of existence equal to Adam's.[8]

An intact S² Engine is never seen in the show, although it is known to be double-helical in structure, much like DNA.[8] (Regular solenoids are shaped like spirals.)

The name comes from Dr. Katsuragi's Super Solenoid Theory.[9] He had intended to create an actual device ("S² Engine") based on the principles established with his theory and verified with Adam's power source, but this never came to be.[8][10]

Why the name "engine" was applied to what is unarguably a flesh-and-blood organ[6] is never stated. It appears consistent with the show's tendency to disguise the inherently biological with terms of mechanical connotation. Incidentally, written with different kanji, 器官, "kikan" does mean "organ", providing a bit of wordplay that doesn't translate into English.

"Fruit of Life" is considered an alternate term for "S² Engine",[8] and exists in contrast with Fruit of Knowledge. According to Fuyutsuki, Unit-01 had attained power equal to that of a god's upon acquiring both Fruits.[11] The Fruit of Life is a reference to Tree of Life of Genesis, the fruit of which was said to bestow immortal life.

Core

A core (コア) is a red, spherical organ possessed by all Angels and Evangelions, serving as the primary power organ. In Angels and some Evas, the core contains an S² Engine, as well. The core is (typically) the only vital point of Angels and Evas; unless it is sufficiently damaged, these entities can receive inordinate amounts of damage without truly dying. In those Evas that do not possess an S² Engine, the core still serves as the primary power organ, but it is only capable of supplying limited power without an S² Engine.

A core is very hard and somewhat resistant to damage, though a solid strike from a Progressive Knife is enough to destroy one. Physically, cores are actually fairly brittle, and when damaged shards chip off and the core fractures, visually behaving like crystalline material.

The core appears to uniformly serve as a container for the soul of the Angel or Eva. This is the reason it is the only true vulnerable point of an Angel; so long as the Core exists, the Angel can still project it's A.T. Field and therefore repair any damage to its physical body.

In humanoids such as Adam, the Evas, and Sachiel—and even Zeruel and Israfel—the core lays exposed in the solar plexus region. (Lilith, alternatively, has no exposed core. Being outside of Adam's "family", she may not possess one at all.) The organ is positioned variously in other Angels.

Leliel's unusual nature results in what appears to be a flat (rather than spherical) glowing core within three-dimensional space. Ireul presents another odd case in being a collection of many microscopic entities: Is there one "shared" core, or does each individual possess its own? The nature of the cores possessed by the amorphous Bardiel and Armisael is also unknown.

For Yui and Kyoko's Contact Experiments and Eva piloting, the ventral end of the Entry Plug is inserted into the core. According to preparations made prior to Yui's Contact Experiment, a cylindrical cavity is excavated to permit the accommodation of the plug (21'). Eva cores also seem to generate their own supply of LCL (20, 23', 26').

Unit-01 uniquely possesses two to four small core-like structures that are situated around her main core. Since it is implied that NERV can alter or even manufacture cores (or some form of) the smaller cores might be artificial inserts, for purposes unknown. One suggestion is that the small cores around the main core serve as a complementary purpose, or as a backup to the main core.

At Second Impact, a black circle or ellipse appears in Adam's solar plexus region, apparently smaller in size than the core itself (OP, 12). Possibly related, a dark circle (sphere?) manifests within Unit-01's core shortly before she fuses with the Spear of Longinus (26').

First Ancestral Race

The First Ancestral Race (第一始祖民族、Dai'ichi Shiso Minzoku), usually abbreviated as "FAR," are ancient, extraterrestial progenitors of life. They were likely a humanoid species with hyper-advanced technological capabilities. The First Ancestral Race was responsible for the creation of the Seeds of Life, their Moons, the Lances of Longinus, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. They are also the ultimate source of life for both humans and the Angels.

The First Ancestral Race were inhabitants of an unknown world within the Milky Way Galaxy billions of years ago. It is possible that they were the first intelligent life in the Milky Way. At some point, their world faced imminent destruction, and their species confronted extinction.

However, in the face of termination, the members of the First Ancestral Race took measures to ensure the preservation of their legacy. They sent seven progenitor life forms, called Seeds of Life, to spread life descended from themselves in specified planets across the galaxy. Each Seed was imbued with the soul of a member of the First Ancestral Race, and placed aboard a carrier vessel known as a "moon." Each Seed was accompanied by a Lance of Longinus, which can control and incapacitate a seed in case of any exigencies. This included enforcement of a rule implemented by the First Ancestral Race that only one Seed of Life could populate a given planet.

The surviving members of the First Ancestral Race were united into seven singular life forms, each of which boarded a "moon" carrier. Presumably the members of the First Ancestral Race were reduced to their souls, and collected within the Chambers of Guf aboard each "moon" carrier. These souls would await rebirth on another world, meaning that both humans and the Angels possess the souls of members of the First Ancestral Race.

The First Ancestral Race are also the authors of the what are known as "Dead Sea Scrolls." A copy of the Scrolls was placed in each "moon" carrier transporting a Seed of Life. The Scrolls are, essentially, a manual detailing the functionality of the Seeds of Life and the Spears of Longinus. They also contained prophecies about future events that would occur in the event that a Seed of Life is awakened.

Since the First Ancestral Race are the ultimate creators of humans, as well as Angels, they could be considered "gods" from the perspectives of both.