Chapter 17: Planetary Transformation

Chapter 17:
Planetary Transformation

 

SHINJI DREAMED.

His father used him like a tool, Asuka berated him, and Ayanami was off in her own apathetic world.

Shinji would have treasured even a pitying look from any one of them.

He constantly sought the approval of others—craving it, clinging to it—for proof that his existence had value.

He wanted to touch and be touched, but he also feared these things.

He was afraid of being told he was unneeded.

He put on his headphones, trying to drown his anxiety in the repeating music.

Tears welled in his eyes. Why? Why is living this painful?

<<That is you in the next world.>>

It was Kaworu’s voice.

<<You’ve performed too well in this world. You’re going to be revised for the next cycle so that the Human Instrumentality Project will succeed.>>

Revised…

<<Do you know why they’re so wary of Super Eva’s heartbeat?>>

Why?

<<Because, by possessing a heart, Super Eva—and you with it—has become the most powerful entity in the world.>>

Can it really be called a heart when no blood flows through it?

<<Sure it can. A heartbeat is like a lantern atop a lighthouse or a torch held aloft. It says, “I’m here.” A statement like that—an entity like you and Super Eva, firmly rooted in time and place—is nearly impossible to erase.>>

I’m…having trouble following.

<<Do your best. No matter what you are or what you become, I’m your ally.>>

Whether part of the dream or the waking world, the ground rumbled far away.

 

The communications infrastructure was slowly crumbling.

To start, the geostationary satellites responsible for most broadcasts no longer sent or received signals. In fact, all satellites more than 20,000 kilometers above sea level were now unreachable—20,000 kilometers being the altitude of the Lance of Longinus’s orbit.

When the decrease in Earth’s gravitational pull caused a Russian satellite to deviate from its orbit, the satellite was observed striking some kind of barrier at that same altitude.

The lance hadn’t simply claimed its orbit, it had completely isolated the Earth within a massive, invisible sphere, which scientists dubbed the Longinus Curtain.

A new picture emerged. Not only had the geostationary satellites deviated from their orbits, their signals had been cut off at the barrier. Observations of other astronomical objects also revealed slight distortions in the star map, further backing this theory.

 

The tectonic plates began moving on a larger scale. When the undersea cables started snapping, the communications shortage worsened.

In order to track of the changing geological state of the planet, an agreement was reached through the meager means of communication remaining. All operational particle accelerators would periodically fire neutrinos toward the Super-Kamiokande neutrino observatory in Gifu, Japan.

The angles of incidence and the times of arrival painted a picture of a rapidly shrinking Earth.

 

Postponing investigation into this constriction, the United States Air Force Orbital Combat Command attempted to destroy the Longinus Curtain but not the lance itself.

A squadron of military spacecraft, flying under the banner of the UN, launched twelve N2 warheads at the Curtain. Not only was the attack entirely ineffective, but it also resulted in further harm to humanity. The explosions created a massive electromagnetic pulse, the majority of which didn’t pass through the barrier but were neatly reflected by its smooth, concave inner surface. The energy converged on a city beneath the point of impact.

The city was annihilated.