Chapter 20:
Underground Experiments

 

NERV JAPAN’S science and engineering divisions were currently combining their efforts to lower Super Eva’s Q.R. Signum into the former Central Dogma—into the dome of the sarcophagus that had been the resting place of Lilith’s Chronostatic Sphere, before it disappeared. When the sphere vanished, it had left behind metal piles and anchors in a neat circle, which made a solid foundation for the construction of a high-speed train.

In the center of the circle was a large tank lined with sensors and filled with ultrapure water. This setup was exactly like the accelerated particle detection rig Tsukuba University had, with one key difference. The Q.R. Signum was placed in the transfer frame and submerged into the liquid.

An orange crane then lowered a giant staff into the sealed-off space. This staff had been an Angel Carrier’s weapon, and Super Eva had managed to haul it back from Novaya Zemlya.

<<The staff will be used to replicate the enclosed pyramid as explained in Shinji and Trois’ report. We’ll see if the Q.R. Signum reacts at all. Even if something goes wrong, at least we don’t have any giants around to make the situation worse—not even Evas.>>

Maya looked at the transmission window, remembering how the Angel Carriers had appeared out of the quadrilateral boundary formed by the four staves.

“What are you—” Misato began to object, but she stopped herself when she saw Fuyutsuki nearby. She brought her face closer to the communicator and whispered into it.

“I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t replicate the Tower of Babel here. We don’t need any more communication problems.”

The Q.R. Signum had been abnormally active inside the Tower of Babel. Within its boundaries, Carriers had greatly increased their size and strength. Outside, the Euro-Russian coalition had been plunged into chaos as all forms of communication broke down. Human interaction, photoelectric circuits, and even energy transmission had been affected by the phenomenon. “That’s why we’re conducting it deep underground,” Maya said, wondering if her commander had even read her report.

“Our pyramid is sufficiently miniaturized. Back on Novaya Zemlya, aircraft were less affected by the phenomenon.”

This was true enough. Maya pointed out that for people inside the tower, communication was so smooth that they’d had no use for communication systems.

Misato was looking for reasons to stop Maya from proceeding. Not to be mean, of course. She was only the person in charge.

“Hang on…” Misato held her hand over the display.

Of course, she thought. There was one major flaw in Maya’s plan.

“How do you plan on making a quadrilateral shape with one staff?”

<<You do have a point.>> Maya sighed. She drew her body away from the camera to show Misato the rail circling the water tank.

<<I think we’ll end up with a cone.>>

A square at the bottom of the tank…leading up to a circle.

“Are you running the staff around the rail?”

<<Yes.>>

This was a grade school idea with large-scale execution.

<<Sounds stupid, doesn’t it, ma’am?>>

The face of Aoba’s professor, Mizusato, appeared behind one of the protective suits on the side of the screen. He was the one who’d proposed the experiment.

<<Things would end poorly for us if we replicated the pyramid too well.>>

It was strange seeing him there. Above ground, the world was still dealing with the repercussions of Azumaterasu’s arrow. The blast had spared neither city nor countryside, and the full extent of its damage had yet to be determined. Aid was needed across the globe in a world where laborers were scarce and materials even scarcer. And here were the brightest minds of Nerv Japan, building life-sized railways out of scraps, like model train enthusiasts who’d lost all sense of proportion.

“So, what is this experiment for, exactly?”

<<We’re going to look for it.>>

“Look for what?”

<<Super Eva, of course.>>

Misato balked at the statement and looked to Maya for help. The head of the science and engineering division only nodded. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

<<We’ve seen humans turn to pillars of salt so much lately that we automatically assumed Shinji must have died. But Shinji is an Eva. The same rules might not apply to him, even after being turned into salt.>>

<<Shinji said that his heart was calling out to him,>> Maya added.

<<We don’t know how it works, but we’re going to use the Tower of Babel’s two-way perception enhancement to find Super Eva’s ‘tracks’ while they’re still ‘fresh.’>>

<<Why didn’t you tell me this before?>>

<<Because I’m a scientist. I can’t act on a hunch. Besides, we might just learn that Shinji was vaporized at the end of all this.>>

 

The grinder that had been polishing the railway had been removed. Aoba’s mentor scoffed when he saw the hundreds of jagged edges still left on the rail. They looked like a fluctuating graph.

“That’s about as smooth as we can get it. Any more, and it’ll warp out of shape.”

“Indeed.” Alarms rang throughout the sarcophagus.

“All right, back up, everyone! We’re about to begin!” The old associate professor announced to the rest of the staff.

The observation team moved to the booth inside the railway loop, which doubled as a shelter, while the construction team moved out of the area via the elevator. When the effect was reproduced, it was highly likely that communication with the command room would be disrupted, which was why Toji was standing by to act as Misato’s eyes and ears.

Mizusato made ready to evacuate the area, as well. “Where are you going, sensei?” Maya asked. She had more credentials than he did, but Aoba’s habit of calling him “sensei” had rubbed off on her.

“I’ve heard what the phenomenon does.” Mizusato smirked. “It transmits your thoughts faster than you could with words, doesn’t it? When that happens, I’d rather not be standing around a pretty young thing like you, love.”

“Excuse me…!” Maya gasped, more shocked by the professor’s choice of words than his knowledge. The nearby personnel quickly turned their attention back to their support work.

The rail was installed at close to a ninety-degree angle. Once initiated, the railcar would build up centrifugal force and reach a point where it could sustain its course along the inside of the rail.

The staff was attached at an oblique angle to the virtual center of the railway loop. It was pointed over the Q.R. Signum’s tip, which would become the apex of the virtual cone.

“Activate,” Maya ordered with a whisper.

The two-wheeled railcar was equipped with ballasts, equal in weight to the Carrier’s staff, to prevent it from going off the rails. The railcar started its run slowly, so as not to tip the balance.