From: Sparky Clarkson Subject: [Eva][FanFic] Project Proteus Episode One: Success / Hello my name is... Hi everybody! Here's the newest product of my demented imagination. Since the header is a bit confusing I thought I'd put in a little author's note before the story begins. As always, I hope you enjoy this little happy fun fanfic. Please send any comments and/or criticism to sparkster@writeme.com and I will be certain to respond gratefully. AUTHOR'S NOTE So just what the hell does that [Eva/Orig] tag mean? Well, I phrased it that way because this fic is going to be *very* different from most Eva fics out there. For starters, there are no Evangelions (at least, you won't see them for a while). However, that doesn't mean (as in some instances) that this is one of those fics based on the alternate world of the final episode. There *is* a war going on, the children *are* going to be pilots, and their lives *will* be emotionally and physically painful. But the way in which this happens will be to a very large extent different from the plot of the series. About half of the source material for this series of fanfics will come entirely from my imagination--in fact, one of the characters is a spinoff of a long original poem I wrote (available on request) and another is a self-insertion (and you'll have to figure that one out for yourself). This fic will definitely weird several people out, and it will get weirder the farther along it goes. The different technology might alienate some people. I considered these problems, and decided I would go ahead anyway, in the hopes that I could nonetheless produce a worthy tribute to this stunning series. Consider yourself forewarned--I accept no responsibility for any damage to your mental health that results from your reading any further. Have a nice day ;) COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Neon Genesis Evangelion, all the characters, locations, and unique terms and descriptions associated therewith are the intellectual property of Anno Hideaki and GAINAX incorporated. They are here used without license. Any personal profit derived from the archiving or display of this story must therefore be remitted in full to GAINAX as a licensing fee. Proteus, all characters, locations, and unique terms and descriptions associated therewith are the intellectual property of Sparky Clarkson. The author grants unlimited license to archive and distribute this fic on the condition that the story not be changed and that the copyright notice remain attached. The author grants unlimited license to produce creative material based on the unique material of Project Proteus, but asks that all those who do give him first crack at pre-reading. Sparky Clarkson can be reached at sparkster@writeme.com or by posting to the rec.arts.anime.fandom newsgroup. Other works can be accessed at his http://sage_ohlmin.tripod.com/evafic.htm webpage. And without further ado... NEON GENESIS EVANGELION PROJECT: PROTEUS By Sparky Clarkson Episode One: Success / Hello my name is... "What people rarely realize when they talk about what is possible is that for every possibility, there exists a real universe. For every thing that *could have been*, or *may be*, somewhere out there one can find a universe where it *was* or *will be*. Some of us have been privileged to wander the multiverse in actuality--entering each alternate reality to see the might-have-beens made real. The strange thing is that some people seem to be stuck with greatness. For instance, given certain minimal starting conditions, Albert Einstein always rises to greatness--sometimes as a physicist, sometimes as a musician, and (in a few universes) even as the man who peacefully unifies Europe. Ikari Shinji provides one of the best examples. He rises to greatness in every universe in which he exists, provided that he lives to his 14th birthday. Most of these universes bring him to glory as an Evangelion pilot, a master gamer, or a cellist. But in one small subset (far less than 1% of possible Ikari Shinji timelines) he achieves greatness in a far stranger, and in some respects more remarkable, way..." --Excerpt from _Ikari Shinji: Fated Child_, by Galahad Wanderer, Ph.D. (30), Mp.D. (5), MPA. The rain tumbled from the sky. The drops of moisture, too heavy to remain in the clouds, descended from the atmosphere, accelerating every second until they crashed into the asphalt, spreading their moisture around the warm black surface. They had made miniature lakes and rivers, the contours of the road and sidewalk producing a landscape of streams, ponds and waterfalls even as the water flowed into the culverts and sewers designed for just this purpose. _It rains here almost every day,_ the boy reminded himself mentally. _This is just a coincidence._ He stood dripping wet inside a phone booth, searching through his pockets. His thin frame seemed overburdened by a massive backpack. _I should have packed a spare umbrella,_ he thought, staring at the gnarled remains of his collapsible rain protection that rested up against a railing, bent completely inside out by the force of a gust. He at last found what he was looking for: a large piece of paper, folded many times and covered in transparent tape. The stuff did such a good job that only a close inspection would reveal that the paper had been torn to bits before it was stitched back together with the adhesives. The paper was wrapped around a small green card. The boy pulled out the card and reached for the phone, but stopped, surprised. A man in a black trenchcoat and fedora was standing right outside the booth, though the boy could have sworn that he was not there a moment before. The man's face was shadowed by the hat, but the boy caught a glimpse of sparkling green eyes as the man nodded at him. The boy blinked, and the man was gone. Shrugging, the boy swiped the card through the reader on the telephone. A small display above the keypad lit up, the green LEDs spelling out a simple message: YOU HAVE 50 GCU LEFT--PLEASE DIAL YOUR NUMBER. The boy grabbed the handset and held it tightly between his head and left shoulder as he began to dial. He read aloud from the patched sheet as he pressed the touchtone keys. "Uh... 196...8...3... 00... 2... 7," he whispered. His voice was high, clinging to a childish soprano that reverberated sweetly in the small phonebooth. The phone rang twice, and then was answered by a woman with a brusque voice and impolite demeanor. "Who is this!?" the woman demanded, the harsh tones to her voice accentuated by an angry crescendo. "I... I..." the boy stuttered, unable to deal with the rude response on the line. "Look, whoever you are," the woman continued, her harsh voice growing more querulous, "This is an official government number, and we don't take kindly to prank calls. So you tell me who you are, before I trace this and send a security team to pick you up!" "My... my name is Ikari Shinji..." the boy began, but he was interrupted by a sharp laugh almost before he finished saying his family name. "Sure it is, sonny. And I'm Prime Minister Honsho," the woman barked, then cut the line. The boy stared at the receiver for a moment, then hung the phone up. The green LEDs said "YOU HAVE 45 GCU LEFT--PLEASE DIAL YOUR NUMBER," briefly, then went dark when he did not pick up the handset again. The boy slumped against the wall of the phonebooth and slid slowly to a sitting position on the floor. "This was a mistake," he said aloud. "I shouldn't have come here." Outside, the rain continued to pour down. *** "Shit!" the woman swore as she stopped for yet another accident. A small sedan had collided with a well-outfitted SUV at the intersection just ahead of her. "These damn newcomers!" she shouted, noting that the traffic lights seemed to be in perfect working order, "Why can't they understand simple traffic patterns? It's not like you have to have a Ph.D. to get around in this city!" The car and SUV had collided in just such a way as to make the intersection totally impassable from any direction. The woman fumed silently as the minutes dragged on. Neither car was badly damaged, but the drivers seemed incredibly reticent about moving out of the way. The rain continued to fall, and the woman began to impatiently tap her fingers on the steering wheel in time with the windshield wipers. "This sucks," she muttered. "Of all the times for the city to be cursed with incompetent drivers..." The woman ran her fingers through her purple-black hair, looked at her watch, and swore again. With cars lining up behind her, she was quickly running out of options. At last she punched the dashboard and nosed her vehicle into the right lane. She pulled up almost to the intersection going the wrong way, then flipped on her hazard lights, slammed into reverse and drove backwards down the right lane. When she reached the next intersection she wheeled her blue car around and took off down a side street. She turned the wipers to maximum frequency as she gunned the engine to full speed. *** The steady drumming of the rain on the roof of the phone booth was interrupted by the sound of screeching brakes. Shinji lifted his head and stared out through the rain-splattered panes of the enclosure. A blue sports car had just pulled up to the main entrance of the train terminal, about 20 meters away. The driver-side door swung open, and almost immediately a large maroon golf umbrella was shoved upwards and spread. A woman in a red jacket, black blouse, and miniskirt hopped out nimbly and slammed the door shut. Shinji's blue-grey eyes widened, and he fumbled around in his pockets again, quickly coming up with a neatly folded (and undamaged) piece of paper. There was a picture printed in the center of the young woman who was now holding the umbrella, with the words "Major Katsuragi Misato" printed below. Above, sloppily-written characters were written that said, "I'll be picking you up, Shinji." At the bottom of the page, in smaller (and neater) print, someone had written "Keep your eye out for these!" and drawn an arrow pointing to the Captain's breasts, between which hung a small metal cross. The boy shrugged, refolded the piece of paper, and put it back in his pocket. He opened the door of the phone booth, stepped out into the rain, and began plodding towards the car. As he was the only person really moving in the weather, Misato noticed him almost immediately. With the practiced ease of someone who exercised often, she jogged over to Shinji and immediately lifted the umbrella to shelter the boy. The gesture was futile, of course. The continuing downpour had already soaked him. "Sorry I'm late," she offered. "It's okay," the boy replied glumly. "I'm Misato," the woman said, extending her hand. "I'll be in charge of you while you're here." Shinji shook the Major's hand, his grip weak and his skin clammy. The woman's hand wrapped tightly around his. "I am Shinji, Katsuragi-sama," he replied. "Just Misato, please. You don't have to be so formal with me," Misato said. Shinji only nodded. Misato grabbed the boy's shoulder and steered him towards the car, pulling the backpack from his shoulders when they reached it. She pressed a button on her keychain and the passenger door swung open. She tossed the pack into the back seat, then held the umbrella up so that Shinji could get into the car. When he was in, she twirled gracefully, kicking the door shut even as she started to walk back around the car. "Strange kid," she murmured. "Maybe it's just the rain." *** "I just want to tell you again how sorry I am that I was late. I should have anticipated the traffic jams," Misato said. The car was stopped in traffic yet again, and though Misato felt frustrated, it wasn't bad enough to make her pull another crazy stunt. The rain continued to pound incessantly on the roof of the sports car. "It's fine, really," Shinji replied. He sat looking straight forward, a small frown on his face. "I don't mind." "Are you cold?" Misato asked. "A little, but it's no difficulty," the boy replied, not shifting his head. Misato pressed a few keys on the dashboard and warm air began flowing out of the vents around Shinji's seat. The car's occupants sat a moment in silence. "You should smile more," Misato commented quietly. "Huh?" Shinji asked, turning to look at the Captain. "You should smile more," Misato repeated, "A frown isn't the right expression to be wearing on such a pretty face." She gave Shinji a warm grin. The boy blushed slightly, then turned back to face the front again. _Strange woman,_ Shinji thought. _Maybe she's just embarrassed because she was late._ *** Misato opened the passenger door and waved Shinji out. He reached for his pack, but she said, "I'll take care of it for now. The General wants to see you immediately." Shinji nodded and stepped out of the car. Misato had parked in a massive underground garage. Shinji had no idea how they had gotten there--they had been driving along normally one moment, and then the next they were on some kind of maglev that had brought them to the garage. He only knew the place was underground because the people who built it had not bothered to tinker with the walls nature gave them. Several sides of the garage were closed off by exposed rock. Misato led Shinji to a red double door with a large black pad to the side. Misato raised her hand so that her spread fingers pointed towards the wall, then gently inserted her hand into the black pad, down a bit past her wrist. She turned to Shinji and said, "For most doors we just have I.D. cards--this one is a little more special. It's a shortcut. I figure we ought to take it since we're already so late." Shinji nodded once in reply. The double doors slid open to reveal a small, box-like room with grey metal walls. Misato ushered Shinji in, then followed him. She turned and typed a quick series of numbers into the keypad near the doors. The double doors--they were metallic-grey on this side, too--quickly slid shut, and then the room plummeted. Shinji fought momentarily to maintain his composure, but regained his equilibrium quickly. He realized that the Captain had been watching him carefully the whole time he had been in the elevator. Shinji nearly said something, but the doors chose that moment to slide open again. They revealed a broad walkway leading to a pair of blue double doors with a strange golden symbol engraved on them--a triangular shield, with a picture of a hand grasping a sword on it. About halfway to the doors a transparent tube with a small chamber floating in it stood in the center of the walkway, reaching up to the ceiling five meters above. Four sets of stairs led down from the walkway, two on either side. "Welcome to Trinity," Misato said, nudging the boy forward. As he left the elevator he saw that the walkway was about 3 meters above a large octagonal room. Misato directed him towards the staircases. They were made entirely of metal, and the feet of the boy and woman made loud clanking noises as they descended. When Shinji reached the bottom, he saw that there were four doors leading from the lower level of the room, two on either side of the walkway. Each door was blue, with a number inscribed on it in gold. Misato led Shinji to the door marked with a three. "The General told me he wanted to see you in here immediately, so I can't show you central command just yet. I think you'll be impressed enough by this, though," she said, pressing a button to the side of the door. The words were accompanied by a wry grin. A red light came on, and a small swipe-slot extended from the wall. Misato pulled a card from her pocket and slid it through, smiling in satisfaction as the slot retracted and the door slid open. The long hallway behind the door had only a few doors irregularly spaced along its sides. Shinji looked around with wide eyes while Misato led him down it, her boot heels clicking loudly on the floor. The hall's construction was seamless--there was no visible border between floor and wall, wall and ceiling. Even the doors could only be discerned because their color differed from the institutional gray of the hallway--without the color change, the border would not have been visible. The doors were dark blues and reds, mostly. They bore words like "Simulation Chamber," "Meditation," and "Locker Room," in white lettering. Shinji frowned, confused, but continued walking. The air inside the headquarters conditioned--stale and cold, scrubbed clean of every odor that might reflect life. The only smell allowed into the atmosphere was the false cleanliness of clorox. The cold air, combined with Shinji's still-soaked state, caused him to start shivering slightly. Soon enough, they came to the end of the hallway. It opened onto a broad metal catwalk, dimly lit in what appeared to be a very large, dark room. A blonde woman in a labcoat and dark blue dress awaited them there. She was accompanied by a younger, brown-haired woman wearing khaki slacks and a khaki jacket with blue trim over a white shirt. "So this is the boy?" the blonde asked, frowning. "His name is Shinji, sempai" the younger woman said. She ran a hand through her short hair, as if to push it back from her face. The blonde woman frowned more deeply for a moment, but then let her face relax into a slight smile. She looked like she was wearing too much lipstick, Shinji thought. "Well, then," the blonde woman said, "let's get this started." "Very well, Ritsuko," Misato said. She tapped a button near the passage back to the hallway. With a series of loud, booming sounds, lights came on all through the room. Shinji had to shield his eyes for a moment, as the lights made the room much brighter than either the hallway or the catwalk had been. When he lowered his arm, his eyes widened and he staggered back a step, nearly floored by what he saw. The room was indeed very large, and the floor was taken up by more than 100 strange objects. All but one of them had identical designs--a central steel-gray body about 4 meters long and one wide, with four appendages about 1.5 meters long--one pair near either end of the body. At one end of each somewhat conical body was a purple, glassy dome, and at the other end was what looked like an exhaust pipe. Each of them stood on one pair of appendages, with the domes facing up and forwards. The position made them look vaguely human. Shinji could also see that the things had large bulges on their backs, though he could not guess the purpose of the constructions. The one unique object hovered right next to the catwalk, more than three times as large as the others. It looked like a large black sphere, with several bulges extending from its sides at irregular intervals. The top of the sphere was taken up by the same kind of glassy purple dome as was on the ends of the other objects. The sphere floated about ten meters off the floor, giving off no sound. "Wha... What is that?" Shinji asked. The shock of the sight had dried his throat and made his voice sound hoarse. "This is Proteus 03," Ritsuko responded, walking towards Shinji. The younger woman with short hair followed a half-step behind. "You will, hopefully, be piloting it." "P-Piloting it?" Shinji asked. "Me?" "Yes," came a voice, emanating from above. Shinji turned his head around to see a large window in one of the walls, about 10 meters above his level. Despite the distance, Shinji recognized the tall, slender, bearded man standing behind it. Speakers to either side of the broad glass panel explained how the man had been heard. "Father..." he said softly, his voice almost a growl. His right hand clenched into a fist, relaxed, then clenched up again. "You will get into the Proteus unit and we will test to see if you can pilot it," the man in black said. Behind his orange-tinted glasses, the man's eyes were inscrutable. "Pilot it?" Shinji shouted back. "How can I do that? I've never seen this thing before!" "All we're asking you to do is try, Shinji," the brown-haired woman said. "B-b-but I don't even know what the hell that thing is!" Shinji shouted. Ritsuko raised an eyebrow, turned to face the boy completely, and said, "This is Proteus--a modular, adaptable remote-operated drone fighting squadron. The pilot controls all 128 drones from the black sphere, called the Unity Seat. That is all the information you are cleared for at this time." "I... I... What if I don't want to do this?" Shinji asked. He was no longer shouting, but his hand was continuing to clench and unclench. "Then go back to your teacher's place. I have no use for you if you cannot or will not pilot Proteus," Gendo said. "What do you need a pilot for? Why me?" "You do not need to know why pilots are useful unless you become one. And you are here because you may be able to pilot it. As I said, if you can't or won't, then you are useless to me." Shinji wilted. The hand relaxed, and his shoulders slumped completely. He hung his head as he whispered, "All right. I'll try." Silently, he thought, _He didn't want me, after all. But maybe... maybe I can show him..._ "Excellent," Ritsuko said. "Maya, will you show the boy to the Locker Room?" The short-haired woman moved forward. "What, now?" Misato asked. "Of course. He doesn't need any training for a simple synchronization, so we might as well get it out of the way. If he can't pilot, then he should leave," Ritsuko replied. Maya gently prodded Shinji back towards the hallway. As she started to lead him away from the chamber that held Proteus, he heard Misato say, "Sometimes I honestly can't believe you, Ristuko." *** The locker room had a somewhat strange design. Obviously meant for only two people to use, it had a pair of closet-sized lockers situated on opposite sides of the room, with a bench in front of each. One was purple and marked with a golden three, the other green and marked with a golden four. A curtain at one end of the room looked like it hid showers and probably toilets. At the opposite end were a few pieces of gymnasium equipment--weight bench, treadmill, exercise bike, and resistance trainer. There was an elevator door at that end of the room also. Maya had gently pushed Shinji into the room and let the door slide closed behind him. He had almost turned around to ask her what he was supposed to do when he saw that someone else was in the locker room. A man of average height and a fairly athletic build was leaning up against the number four locker. His long black hair was neatly pulled back into a ponytail, but he was poorly shaven, as if he were trying to unsuccessfully grow a beard. He wore black slacks and a blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked like the type of man who attracted a crowd in bars. The man stepped away from the black locker and quickly crossed the room. "Hello Ikari Shinji-kun," he said with a lopsided grin, "I'm Kaji Ryouji. I'll be helping you get ready for the test today." The man's good humor was infectious. Shinji felt comfortable in his presence for some odd reason. He smiled slightly and said, "Call me Shinji, please." "Of course," the man said, still grinning. "Call me Kaji--everybody does. I like it better." "Your family name?" "Not really. I'm an orphan, so I got to make up my family name. Only, since I got to make it up, I actually like it better than my given name. So I ask everyone to call me Kaji," the man replied. "Oh," Shinji said. _Very strange people here,_ he thought. Kaji produced a card from his pocket and slid it through a slot to the side of locker three's door. The slot pinged and the locker swung open. Inside were a number of identical purple bodysuits hanging on a rack on the right, with about three helmets resting on a shelf above them. A low rack on the left held several towels, and there were many shelves. The back of the locker had a small screen with an alphanumeric keypad beneath it, and a larger screen to the left of it. The large screen was showing panorama shots of some well-vegetated mountain region. "Okay, Shinji, you're gonna have to get out of your street clothes," Kaji said. Shinji sat down on the bench, pulling off his shoes and socks, then quickly stripping down to his boxers and a t-shirt. He dropped the sodden clothes on the floor, then looked to the ponytailed man. Kaji shook his head. "Sorry Shinji, you're going to have to get rid of everything." Shinji blushed and froze, unwilling to undress completely in front of a stranger. Kaji nodded and squatted a bit so his face was level with Shinji's. "Look, buddy," he said, "I know it's a little embarrassing, but you've got to do it. The system doesn't work unless the suit contacts your skin. Now come on. A man isn't embarrassed by this sort of thing." Shinji slowly nodded. He peeled off his blue t-shirt, then quickly stood up and shoved his boxers down before he lost his courage. He trembled slightly in the cool air of the locker room. Kaji grinned, turned round, and grabbed a bodysuit from inside the locker. "Sit down, Shinji," he said, "I'll show you how to get into this." The bodysuit seemed to be made of flexible plastic, with several metallic components showing, mainly around the chest area, wrists, neck and waist. Kaji flipped the suit over and ran his finger down a nearly undetectable line in the back. A seam opened up that ran from the neck of the suit halfway down to the waist. "Stick your feet out," Kaji said. Shinji complied, and Kaji pulled the suit on so that the boy's feet went down into their proper place and the rest of the suit bunched up around his calves. Kaji signaled that Shinji should stand up, and the boy did so. Kaji said, "Okay, now when I pull this up to around your waist, you're going to have to make sure that everything goes in the right place. There's a groove that your penis should go into--you'll know if it's not in the right place." Shinji blushed a little at the direct language, but nodded. Kaji pulled the suit up so that it was around Shinji's navel. Shinji felt an intense pressure on his genitals. "It... it's not in the right place," Shinji wheezed in pain. Kaji nodded, let the suit fall down a little, and manipulated Shinji's genitals through the fabric so that his penis was pointing straight down. Then he lifted the suit again. This time there was no pressure. "Th-that's better," Shinji said. "Okay, now let's pull this thing onto your arms," Kaji said. Shinji nodded and calmly stuck his arms into the sleeves of the suit. The whole thing hung rather loosely on him, and Shinji had no idea how he would close it up. Kaji, however, just stood up in front of the boy. "There's a little switch down by your waist, Shinji," he said, indicating the place. "Touch it twice, quickly." Shinji obeyed and the suit began to move. First he felt the open seam in the back coming together, until the suit was completely closed. Then the suit itself moved, shrinking so that it fit snugly around his arms, legs, neck, and torso. Then it tightened around his groin. Something wrapped completely around his penis, and he also felt the suit tightly wrapping around and separating his buttocks. Shinji gasped and wobbled. He felt violated, and a little sick. Kaji frowned slightly. "Sorry about that, pal," he said. "I promise you it's for a good reason. Ritsuko should explain when you start the test. You okay to go on?" Shinji took a couple of deep breaths. _I can't run away from this, no matter how bad it is,_ he thought. _Not after I've come this far. I have to show him..._ He sighed, and said, "Yeah... I'm ready." Kaji picked up the boy's wet clothes and placed them on a shelf in the locker, putting the shoes on its floor. He grabbed a helmet and kicked the locker door shut. Holding the helmet under one arm, he put the other around Shinji's shoulders and propelled the boy towards the hallway. *** The catwalk had changed a bit since he last saw it, Shinji realized as he stepped back into the hangar that housed Proteus-03. The black sphere had moved a little higher, so that its equator was level with the surface of the catwalk. The railing was gone, and a small bridge had extended from the main catwalk to the sphere. A rectangular door two meters high and one wide was open in the side of the sphere, but the interior was unlit, so nothing could be seen. Ritsuko, Maya, and an older woman, who looked a bit like Ritsuko but with curlier, graying brown hair, were waiting on the catwalk. "Hello, doctors," Kaji said lightly, gently shoving Shinji forward. "Here is our fearless pilot." The older woman raised an eyebrow and stepped forward. She smiled and said in a warm voice, "Hello, Shinji-kun. I am Doctor Akagi Naoko. I command Gehirn, which is in charge of research and development for Trinity. This is my daughter and second in command, Ritsuko, whom I'm sure you've already met. This young lady is Lieutenant First Class Ibuki Maya, a resource shared between Gehirn and Nerv who will be responsible for monitoring your condition during experiments and--if the experiments are successful--battle." She indicated the people she spoke of with vague waves of her hand. Ristuko stepped forward. "You need to get into the sphere, boy. Kaji will walk out there with you to show you how. We'll be in touch with you from the control room," she explained. The three women turned almost as one and walked towards an elevator door at one end of the catwalk. Kaji handed Shinji the helmet and said, "Put this on. It will fit." Shinji pulled it down onto his head. The helmet was steel-gray, but it had no face protection. Other than that, it covered his head entirely, and the lower portion of it wrapped around his chin. As soon as he pulled the back portion of it into contact with the metallic components around the neck of his bodysuit, the helmet snapped itself onto the suit and extended metallic and plastic bars that wrapped themselves around the underside of Shinji's jaw and neck. Now his face was the only skin exposed on his body. "This is a lot of protection," Shinji commented. Kaji frowned deeply, an upset expression on his face. "It's not protection," he muttered, then started pulling Shinji along the catwalk before the boy could ask him what he meant. A few steps brought them to the black sphere. "Some lights will come on when you walk in," Kaji explained. "Walk to the end of the entryway, and you'll come to a spherical chamber with a chair in the center. Sit down in it, and press the green button that you'll see above your head and slightly to the right. Then put your arms on the armrest of the chair and wait. Got it?" Shinji nodded, and Kaji pushed him into the sphere. Dim purple lights came on almost immediately. The passageway was built of metal segments separated by several plastic or metal gaskets. Shinji had no problem moving down the passage--it seemed like it was made to accommodate someone much larger than he. The passage was perhaps four meters long and opened into a spherical chamber about four meters in diameter. The center of the chamber held a large metal chair. The chair seemed to be supported along a rod which stretched between two bowl-shaped objects at the top and bottom of the sphere. Shinji sat in the chair, lining his feet and arms up with the appropriate rests. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small panel to his upper right that had two buttons on it--one red, one green. The red one had a cover. Shinji pressed the green one with his right hand, then returned to the original position. After a momentary pause, large cuffs wrapped themselves around Shinji's arms, legs, waist, and neck, binding him to the chair. Then doors slammed shut along the passage he had just entered through. He counted seven doors that slid closed along the four meter passage, all of which looked fairly thick. Then, more disturbing, fluid began to appear in the spherical chamber. "What's going on?" he wondered aloud. Ritsuko's voice sounded in his ear, "The fluid you see below you is called LCL for link connection liquid. It will completely fill the compartment in a moment." She sounded exasperated. "How will I breathe?" Shinji asked, involuntarily struggling against the restraints. He noticed that the chair had begun to float slightly in the LCL. "The fluid carries oxygen for you, in a higher concentration and pressure than normal air does. Once it's gotten into your lungs, it will actually be easier to breathe with than air," Maya said. Shinji relaxed a bit. The LCL level quickly rose to that of his face. He instictively fought to keep his head above it, and gagged as the liquid, which was a little thicker than water, started to slide down his throat. It tasted sweet, but with a twisted tang to it, like the odor of a rotting body. _It's too thick,_ he thought, _I'll never be able to breathe it like air._ He started to struggle against the restraints in earnest. He also began coughing, but this had very little effect besides forcing a few bubbles out of his lungs. He felt like he was drowning. Shinji's fear was multiplied when he suddenly felt the bodysuit constrict around his chest, then release. Naoko's voice cut through his mounting panic. "Relax, Shinji-kun. The suit is designed to do the expulsion of LCL for you. It will contract and expand around your chest regularly so that you breathe normally, since the LCL is too dense for the human diaphragm to expel from the lungs," she explained, her voice gentle. "Hold on Shinji-kun, this next part is a bit rough," Maya interjected. He had no time to prepare himself, though. Almost as soon as she finished talking, Shinji felt a prick in the back of his neck, followed by the feeling of some kind of probe pushing into both ears. This was followed by a sharp pain in both ears. Then some kind of viewscreen slammed down around his eyes, blocking his view of the chamber. He felt something tightening around his neck, and a couple of pricks on the front of it. Then he felt a wave of pinpricks around his whole body. Alone, each would have been nothing, but in concert they caused him to writhe uncomfortably. Shinji tried to scream, but the viscosity of the LCL made it difficult for him to produce a sound. Finally the new sensations stopped, and he slumped in the chair. He would have gasped, but the constriction of the suit made it impossible for him to do anything but breathe regularly. *** The command center had two levels: a large lower level with several consoles and a smaller balcony above it all. In front of the center was a large holographic display of a landscape, showing a city and much of the airspace above it. The walls of the chamber had several huge monitors, all of which presently showed the black sphere of Proteus-03. Maya and Ritsuko were sitting at two consoles on the right side of the lower level, with Naoko seated in a large, comfortable command chair behind them. On the left side, Misato sat in a similar chair behind two young men manning control panels. The young men were dressed in uniforms identical to Maya's save that theirs had maroon trim where hers had blue. They were relaxing and joking. "Lieutenants Aoba and Hyuga, sit at attention," Misato ordered. "Though we are not doing a full combat simulation, the General *is* watching. So at least pretend you are professionals." "Yes, ma'am!" both men replied, snapping upright in their seats. Aoba pulled his long hair back behind his ears, as it had fallen into his face. Misato leaned back in her seat and adjusted her jacket. Naoko's chair was only a meter away, so she swung around to look at the scientist. "How does it look, Colonel?" Misato asked. Naoko perked up and turned around. "Initial signs are good, Mi-chan" she said, her face graced with a small smile. Naoko removed a pen from her labcoat pocket and began twirling it around her thumb. She continued, "Shinji's uncomfortable, but his body hasn't rejected the probes. Of course, we won't know whether that does us any good until we try the interface." Misato nodded. She replied, "Do you think this will work? The dummy system..." Naoko cut in, "The dummy system was based on a flawed premise--one we're attempting to work around. But since the error was right at the basics, we have to start over from scratch. Unfortunately, the recent events mean we don't have that kind of time. So this has to work. We have no other options for the time being. We allowed ourselves to rely too much on the prospect of the dummies." "Mother, Proteus and the Magi indicate that all preparations are complete. The boy's stopped squirming," Ritsuko reported. She absently brushed her bangs back from her forehead and scowled briefly at a display. "Open a channel to Shinji and explain to him what's about to happen," the chief scientist replied. "Maya, you had better do this... you have a better bedside manner," she added. "Yes ma'am," the young woman replied. She pressed a button on her console and began to speak. "Shinji-kun, we're going to start the interface in a moment. Now, the way you pilot Proteus is by thought--the motor nerves in your body can't possibly react fast enough, so you have to control the system directly from your brain. Now, you'll have some control over your body, but almost none below your neck. You can't control the Proteus units properly unless there is an absolute barrier between your cerebrum and your spinal cord. The suit is designed to control everything down there--it will help you breathe, help your blood circulate, and eliminate wastes. You can speak to us like you normally do. You won't make much sound in the fluid, but the Proteus unit has good enough sensors to pick it up. You'll be able to hear us through your ears. Are you ready?" she said. "Y-yes," Shinji replied over the intercom. Misato looked at the screens that showed the sphere and noticed that Kaji was still standing on the catwalk, just one step away from the hatch. His pose was outwardly nonchalant, but the sharp look in his eyes and a hint of tension in his legs and shoulders let Misato know he was ready to jump to the hatch at an instant's notice. Naoko nodded sharply, then said, "Very well. Ritsuko, Maya, begin interface." *** On the balcony, Ikari Gendo sat at a small desk, monitoring the situation below on a small television, and watching the relevant data from Proteus-03 scroll across the screen of a laptop. He wore the same black administrative jacket as always. Two men stood behind him, and one of them cleared his throat. Gendo spun his chair around, and said, "Yes, Colonel Fuyutsuki?" The man who had cleared his throat, an elderly figure with wavy gray hair wearing an olive-green suit, indicated the other. "General Ikari, Minister Ishiwara Seishiro has come to observe the test," Fuyutsuki said. Seishiro was a bit taller than Fuyutsuki, with brown eyes and gray hair cut very close to his scalp. He looked extremely healthy--the khaki suit he wore might have fit perfectly on an athlete. He wore a white banded-collar shirt. A small pin bearing the image of a cherry blossom had been stuck in his lapel--evidently the only personal decoration he allowed himself. Seishiro bowed to the General. "I appreciate your hospitality," he said preemptively. Gendo smiled. "An ally," he replied, "Is always welcome to view the operations of Trinity. I trust the most recent negotiations went well?" It was Seishiro's turn to grin. He said, "Indeed they did. The principal opposition parties have joined the coalition. None of them know the particulars, of course, but many have been getting strange reports out of Mongolia. They are aware of the threat, and are willing to give up anything to get rid of it. They are afraid. The plan you suggested has been implemented, and I am now on the board of Trinity, as well as being part of the cabinet." "Since only Prime Minister Honsho and his Defense Minister, who supported Trinity for so long, have the ability to protect them anymore, they have no choice but to accept every proposal we give them," Gendo said, allowing a cold laugh to escape at the end. From below, Naoko's voice could be heard saying, "Get ready! Interface initiation in five... four... three... two... one... lock power and upload!" *** Maya flipped a series of switches, and then pushed an activation bar up her console. She stared at the computer screen and began to report what she saw. Misato leaned forward to hear more clearly. Maya said, "Neural relay at 32... 17... 8... 5.5... 3.4... 2.1... 1.3... 0.8... 0.5... 0.3... 0.2... 0.1... 0.0! Absolute barrier reached!" One of the massive screens switched to show the full hangar holding the Proteus-03 assembly. The purple domes on the sphere and the drones came to life, shining very brightly for a moment before settling back to a duller glow. Misato's eyes widened. "I've never seen such a response," she murmured. "I want the signal/acquisition ratio!" Naoko called out. "Ratio is... 0.356!" Ritsuko exclaimed, her voice reflecting her surprise. "35.6 percent?" Naoko asked. "That's incredible!" "Looks like we have a new pilot," Misato whispered. *** Shinji felt dizzy. He'd felt a flash of pain right after the activation countdown ended, but now he couldn't feel anything below his neck. His eyes were blocked out, and the LCL gave him a numb feeling around his face. Except for the sounds from the control center coming in through his ears, he had been experiencing total sensory deprivation. Then, suddenly, he saw something again: the Unity seat. The black sphere with the odd bulges floated in the center of his field of vision. He realized, however, that the sight had an odd quality--he was seeing more of the sphere than was possible from a human point of view. His perspective showed him almost all of the sphere, yet it seemed as if he were seeing it from many different distances, many different angles. _Is this how an insect sees?_ he thought, _Through hundreds of eyes?_ As moments passed, Shinji became more aware of his new perspective. He felt each independent viewpoint as a kind of pressure in his mind. Each had its own perspective, and each had a sense of the others around it. The realization dawned on him. _The drones,_ he thought. He reached out to the small crafts mentally, and felt some kind of surge from them. _That's why they call it the Unity Seat,_ he realized. For a moment, Shinji was jubilant. The drones were accepting him, letting him into their bodies. The warmth of the welcome was something he could not remember ever having felt before. But then he felt a powerful mental pressure from the drones. He realized they were pushing him away. _No!_ he shouted mentally, _Please keep me! Don't throw me away!_ The drones did not listen. The rejection continued, Shinji's mind being shoved away from the drones. He felt the force as he was pushed back, and then the sensation of pressure was replaced by one of pain. He had no sense of his body, so he could not localize the pain in any one place, but the searing agony dwarfed any he had felt before, or even imagined. Suddenly, Shinji once again became aware of his head. This was no relief, though, as he instantly felt as if it were being crushed in some giant's grip. Shinji could make little noise in the LCL, but he screamed and screamed nonetheless until he lost consciousness, falling into a blessed black oblivion. *** On the balcony, watching the screen that showed Kaji tenderly carrying the unconscious boy out of the Proteus unit, Gendo smiled. "A success?" Seishiro asked. "A success indeed," the General replied. ********* TO BE CONTINUED... Was this awesome? Did it move you? Do I suck? Let me know! E-mail me at sparkster@writeme.com and tell me what you think! Also, for more stuff that I wrote (which is more normal than this, let me tell you) can be read on the web in the RAAC Archive and at http://sage_ohlmin.tripod.com/evafic.htm (which also has some reviews, etc.). A BIG FAT THANK YOU TO MY PRE-READERS AND CONSULTANTS! Yay! Disaster, James Langley, and Axel Terizaki kick ass! Thanks also to the RAACreative Moderators, whose tireless efforts make this Newsgroup awesome! If you are interested in pre-reading future parts, write me an e-mail. EXTRA: The boy pulled out the card and reached for the phone, but stopped, surprised. A man in a black trenchcoat and fedora was standing right outside the booth, though the boy could have sworn that he was not there a moment before. The man's face was shadowed by the hat, but the boy caught a glimpse of sparkling green eyes as the man nodded at him. The boy blinked, and then recoiled in shock as the man opened his trenchcoat, revealing that he was wearing nothing underneath. Blushing furiously, the boy hid his face and scooted as far away from the flasher as he could in the confines of the booth. _I really, *really* shouldn't have come here,_ he thought. Sparky (is insane)