Chapter 1:
Watermelon Patch in the Morning Mist

 

“WHAT HAPPENED HERE?!” Shinji shouted.

He’d come to visit Kaji’s watermelon patch for the first time in what felt like ages and was shocked to find the land eviscerated and hollowed out. He let go of the electric wheelbarrow that contained his farming equipment, and the machine wobbled, looking like it was about to topple, before correcting its center of gravity.

“Is it because the Chronostatic Sphere disappeared?”

Shinji surveyed the area and discovered that it was nothing so significant. There were scribbles written on the scrap of reinforced wall that had become the watermelon patch’s home.

I’ve taken your watermelons. –Six

The early morning sun shone down on the eastern side of the volcano, casting the shadow of the mountain’s summit over Hakone’s western walls. The inside of the caldera was dim despite the clear skies. This blackout was due to the thick morning mist generated by Lake Ashi sinking to the bottom of the crater.

The lake’s shore was much higher than the caldera, now that the ground had sunk a good three to four hundred meters below its original height, making the futuristic city look more like a rural village enveloped in fog.

“Wait, what?” In the solitude of the mist, Shinji puzzled over the tiny criminal’s confession. “What could she possibly want a whole watermelon patch for?”

“Well, you see…”

A squat brown shape broke through the mist and revealed itself as Azuchi. Holding her leash was the gray figure of Rei Trois.

“The first thing Six did upon the completion of the Eva-00 Type-F Allegorica was move the watermelon patch.”

The clock showed half past five. The pair had their own set of duties waiting for them right after breakfast, which meant early morning was the only time of day when they had sunlight to themselves.

“Morning. You out for a walk with, uhh…Momo, is it?”

“Momo is missing. This is Azuchi.”

This was Azuchi’s walking route with Six, and Trois basically let the golden retriever lead her wherever she wanted to go.

“Come on,” Trois returned her attention to Shinji. “I asked the commander for directions to the patch, and she said it was going to take some walking.”

Shinji tilted his head before hurrying to push his electric wheelbarrow again. They were going downhill now, and it looked like Trois was leading them toward the lake.

“Did she scoop the whole patch up with Unit Zero’s hands? Why would she do that?”

Trois pulled back on Azuchi’s leash, slowing her pace to an enthusiastic trot, though even this was enough to sway Trois’ hair.

“She wanted to protect your patch by moving it to an area less affected by the environmental changes.”

Trois’ light blue hair darkened to pitch black at the ends from the corruption of the Q.R. Signum. She’d taken the brunt of its tainting influence inside Super Eva to protect Shinji.

“That’s probably what she had in mind…” Thoughts of Rei Six preoccupied Trois. She hardly noticed she was talking to herself.

“What…?”

The statement sounded like an afterthought. But for Trois, the Ayanami with the inferiority complex, not to have compared herself to Six, the most distinct of the Ayanamis, was quite an accomplishment. The mere feat of compartmentalization might have been a sign of Trois’ budding individuality.

Shinji stared at her back, mesmerized by the fluttering of her dress. She noticed his gaze and turned to meet it, but Shinji immediately looked away.

Their surroundings suddenly brightened as sunlight finally reached the caldera floor. Their eyes hurt from mist refracting the golden rays. Trois seemed to be engulfed by them. It would be some time until the mist burned off and they could see again.

Beyond the white glare of the sun, over the creeping wall of light, lay the heavenly body that had become their destination.

 

Glass Egg was the name given to the structure found buried at the bottom of Lake Ashi after its water levels had been greatly reduced. The transparent egg was 666 meters in diameter and had a ninety-meter-wide opening that served as a gate, as well as ventilation for everything within it. The Glass Egg was currently lying on its side, as if toppled over. The Japanese government had tried to repurpose it into a disaster-proof shelter, but had withdrawn when the base of the Izu Peninsula, now home of Tokyo-3, was hit by a massive cave-in. Plans to move the central government to the Hakone caldera would have to wait.

Azuchi, Trois, and Shinji began climbing the long, limp bridge that linked the aperture with the outside. The transparent shell allowed them to see, albeit hazily, several decks of finished flooring within.

“It’s like a newly made ship in a bottle.”

Pipes had been installed in the perfect circle of a tunnel, which allowed it to transport people, things, and electricity into the Glass Egg. Two gigantic blowers stood at the end of it, one for intake and one for exhaust.

“These can’t be very effective. They should really open up more holes for ventilation.”

“Only problem is, they can’t seem to put a scratch on the eggshell.”

The Glass Egg’s thickness and resilience to all forms of cutting technology had made it the prime candidate for converting into a shelter. Alas, the tunnel was its only opening, and all attempts at even perforating the shell had failed. Indeed, scientists were still baffled as to the Glass Egg’s material, or if it was even made of matter at all. The thing might have been a force field for all they knew.

It did, however, resemble something in the records. The Glass Egg was the exact shape and size of Lilith’s Chronostatic Sphere, which had disappeared from Central Dogma. Of course, this hypothesis was impossible to prove, given the information at hand.

When the Human Instrumentality Project failed three years ago, Lilith had formed the Chronostatic Sphere around itself and waited for the world to pass away. The Glass Egg was likely the remnant of the Chronostatic Sphere’s outer shell. Whether time had stopped within this shell, or whether the shell was in a state of chronostasis itself, was a subject better left alone.

The Glass Egg was quiet when Shinji, Trois, and Azuchi stepped inside, even though its walls should have reflected and amplified the faintest sound. The scent of water washed over the three of them as they passed the cheaply constructed ventilation ducts. The only sound they could hear was the faint electrical notes of the fourth movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

“Wow.”

In a corner of the main deck, an artificial creek flowed through a proportionately small vegetable garden. A moss-covered, straw-hat-wearing Type-N robot stood in the middle, watering watermelons, its deteriorated joints creaking. It had the air of a middle-aged farmer and was the source of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” The robot briefly stopped singing when Shinji and the others approached to confirm their identities. It was no longer afraid of Azuchi.

“I was wondering where this one went. This is a Type-N robot, the kind that monitors my brain waves. I guess radio frequencies don’t penetrate the Glass Egg.”

The watermelon patch had been transported from its previous home in the bed of a dump truck back to the Earth, where it had been restored to its former glory. Rei Six seemed to have carefully replanted the whole thing herself. Kaji’s watermelon patch now sat level with the deck Shinji and the rest were standing on.

This thing was all over the place when I was in charge.

Shinji had moved the patch from its original home in the Geofront. He’d scooped it out of the ground with Eva-01’s hands after the Battle at Nerv HQ had rendered the old location off-limits.

“Six is a lot smarter than I am.”

Shinji squatted to look at the garden. It was so green that it seemed like a movie set. The watermelons had been jade marbles the last time he saw them. Six had nurtured them into large emerald globes. They were not the only fruits in the patch; there were other plants now, though they’d yet to reach their full size. Ayanami Rei Six had made her own little biosphere in this place the adults had abandoned.

“This is great.” Shinji said under his breath.

“This patch might survive the destruction of Tokyo-3—maybe even the whole world… Though I guess there would be no point, then.”

“There must be. Asuka protected this garden before Six came around.”

Tomorrow, Shinji would have to bring Trois up to orbit to deliver her to Eva-0.0. The atmosphere had been home to the three Ayanami Rei clones—Quatre, Cinq, and Six. These Ayanamis had lived in a dreamlike state, sharing the soul of Rei Trois on Earth. The girls had mirrored each other…until Armaros came along.

When the black giant had come into contact with Rei Quatre, the three formerly dormant Ayanamis had begun asserting their self-awareness. It was a cruel irony that the four Reis had lost the ability to agree with each other once all of them were sentient. One of them surrendered herself to her initial wave of emotions and went turncoat, while another died protecting her clumsy ideals.

Earthbound Rei Trois would now have to go up into space to look for the missing Rei Six, the last remaining Ayanami with whom she had had a mental link. Her post would likely be permanent. She might never return to the Earth.

Still looking at the soil, Shinji asked her, “Are you sure you’ll be all right? I figured you wouldn’t like going up to space.”

“I have…decided to be with you forever.”

“F-forever?!”

“Being so close to you, to the Q.R. Signum powering the Super Eva, being able to protect your heart that’s so far away… How should I put this… It makes me happy.”

The statement startled Shinji. It sounded a lot like what he himself had said three years ago.

“Everyone has somewhere they belong…” Shinji began, but Trois held her hand up as if to say, “Wait.”

“I wouldn’t mind fading away inside of you, if that’s what my role requires. But—”

Trois’ change of heart caused Shinji to straighten.

“I want to talk to my remaining selves about my formerly dormant emotions. It’s the only way to learn about them after the denial of my mental mirroring.”

Quatre had been the first to reject Trois.

“I’ve joined with Quatre, the me who is ruled by fear, and received Cinq, the me who compromises, from Asuka. All I need now is to meet Six, the me who is innocent, again. That is why I must find her.”

Trois was looking for the fragments of her soul, putting a literal meaning to the idea of “soul-searching”.

“This might be the first time you’ve ever wanted to do something for yourself.”

“False,” Trois said with a slight smile. “I have to become a visible color before I start looking for my own color.”

That was a promise of things to come.