Chapter 11:
Observer Kaji
NESTLED AWAY in the valley of a distant mountain range was Quatre’s mutant Eva-0.0. Its black wings covered the sky.
The inflated moon hung above, its exfoliated crust hypervisible as it advanced on the Earth.
“It’s a shame that such a large chunk broke off after it gathered so much mass.”
Quatre sighed in Shinji’s plugsuit. She looked up at the spectacle in the sky while standing on the mutant Eva-0.0’s chest. Behind her, the Kaji-vessel said, “The black giant has been informed,” and lit a cigarette. He held the Q.R. Signum lodged in the Eva’s chest.
“The other lance is already on its way to Earth. Primarily because you kept your mouth shut. You think you’re the only one who knows the replica’s trajectory?”
“Huh?” What was he talking about now?
Shinji and Trois had thrown the lance at the Earth from the Apple’s Core—a planet on the other side of the sun that had been the testing ground for the Human Instrumentality Project.
Why was Kaji bringing up the lance?
“Allow me to guess what you and Gendo’s son were thinking. ‘The black giant’s messengers require ground to transport themselves. Therefore, sending the lance through outer space, where ground is in short supply, would be the safest route it can take.’ And you would normally be correct. But what if I reversed your presuppositions, puppet?”
“Flipped them around?”
“Yes. How do you capture a lance flying through the void of space? Go on. Think about it.”
What was the Kaji-vessel asking her? Quatre went through her argument in reverse.
“You would need to teleport yourself to a point in the lance’s orbit before it could reach Earth…but you would need a large amount of ground to do that…”
“Yes, and…?”
The Kaji-vessel grinned as he pressed her. He’d used this grin on many women in his time, suggesting that Seele had not completely overwritten his mind.
As Quatre connected the dots, her face stiffened. No…
“You blew up a portion of the moon to get in the lance’s way…?!”
Had the sudden change in lunar terrain not been a natural process?
“But…based on its trajectory, it will be a long time before it reaches the Earth!”
“I suppose. But unfortunately, the lance will stop at nothing to reach its target. It will even ignore the laws of physics unless a great obstacle stands in its way. The lance is close to the Earth, which is a testament to its will.”
Was Seele/Kaji telling her the truth or only bluffing? Quatre considered the possibilities.
No!
The evidence to back up Kaji’s argument appeared in her mind. Quatre experienced a rush of déjà vu through the Ayanamis’ defunct mental mirroring. The whole scene of Six sighting the red lance and being blown away by its sonic wave played out in the blink of an eye.
“I am very pleased to see that the lance is still in high spirits. Gendo’s son flung it into space, and it traveled 300,000,000 kilometers to the other side of the sun in such a short time.”
The Kaji-vessel flicked his cigarette butt into the deep valley. Quatre’s displeasure manifested as an A.T. Field that crackled the stub into nothing.
“As for the black messengers, they will take the replica and turn that distant land into an execution site for the degraded beast.”
“Come,” the Kaji-vessel ordered as he released the black scale with blood flowing through it.
“We’ll go there as well. That place still counts as ground, after all. As Seele, we must reclaim the spear that is rightfully ours.”