Chapter 38: Roots of the World Tree

Chapter 38:
Roots of the World Tree

 

THE SAME PHENOMENON was occurring everywhere in the world. Roots covered the skies. The stratospheric platform over the equator, the backbone of the world’s communications network, had begun mooring around the roots, making them dangerous to navigate. Observations from the fleet of high-altitude aircraft were coming in, and people around the world learned that the sky was covered with black roots.

They all shared one thought. Was this Armaros’ doing?

 

“Wooowie!”

Little Rei Six whistled to herself as she looked at the roots in the sky. Eva-0.0 Type-F had been tasked with suppressing Trois’ siege, and she was currently headed northwest from the caldera toward Nagao Pass, where she could assume sniping position.

The roots were intertwined, leading to a trunk high in the sky. Countless thinner tendrils hung down from the thicker roots, though their tips disappeared before they could reach the ground.

Final Model was unreachable, and no one knew what had happened to the Lance of Longinus. Hakone command was abuzz, analyzing the roots’ data.

“Gravitational flux not detected at any point! Instead, gravitational pressure and the strain of the Longinus Ring over the equator are steadily decreasing!”

“That’s impossible!”

“Is that the real thing?!”

“Look at the weather map! The jet stream is changing course because of the trunk.”

Fuyutsuki watched the scene with a different kind of awe from the rest of the staff. “The absolute terror. The World Tree in the Antarctic. The roots that went down forever and disappeared into nowhere. Am I seeing its full stature now?” he whispered to himself.

“Gendo dispatched an expedition for the Lance of Longinus there.”

The sudden words startled him. Fuyutsuki turned around. The elevator doors opened to reveal the Seele/Kaji.

“This is the World Tree, the true form of what you people refer to as the tunnel network. The road that connects the Human Instrumentality Project.”

Fuyutsuki was aghast. “Who allowed this menace into the command center?!”

“I did.” Commander Misato said.

“I’ve been given permission to fire at will, sir, don’t you worry.” A security guard trained his pistol at the Kaji-vessel and stepped inside.

The display showed what had become of the skies around Hakone.

The tunnel network. A passageway used by Angel Carriers, Torwächters, Quatre’s corrupted mutant Eva, and the black giant Armaros. An invisible highway that might as well have been magic.

The way Kaworu had described it to Shinji, it was the trap room for the Human Instrumentality Project’s stage. Remembering her own warp experience, Misato felt that might be the best way to explain it.

“But I thought that thing was underground—”

“Not underground but in another dimension. It’s displayed itself across the sky for your understanding,” Seele/Kaji said with obvious annoyance. He hadn’t predicted this development.

For our understanding?

“This 3D representation doesn’t truly reflect the shrinking of space to shorten the distance traveled. Think of this as a visualization.”

“So you’re saying…someone visualized this?”

No, she still didn’t get it. The explanation only brought forth more questions. Misato squinted her eyes, and her confusion triggered Seele/Kaji’s rage.

“To whom has the boundaries of the world been shown? Who has observed it? Who threw the spear, like Lucretius of ancient Rome, to see the limits of human observation?” Seele/Kaji shouted.

But even he fell silent with surprise at what came next. Quiet fell over the command center, and not because of Seele/Kaji’s revelations.

 

As Kaji had suggested, the roots spread all over the observable world. Indeed, they were now covering the moon.

But their expedition didn’t stop there. One of the roots disappeared toward the sun’s surface, like a fuse about to be lit.

 

<<How far does the world go?>>

Shinji had shouted those words when he threw the lance birthed from Final Model into the sky.

Seele/Kaji slouched in his steel chair as he listened to the things that had happened so far.

“That spear wasn’t prepared by the Human Instrumentality Project. To begin with, that spear of materialism sung by the Roman philosopher was a question. A question of how far one could throw the spear outside the known universe. The spear was a metaphor for the limits of recognition.”

In the face of worldwide calamity, the lower deck of the command center was confirming the safety of Final Model, the current location of the Lance of Longinus, and the organization of a world thrown into chaos.

Meanwhile, the top deck was preoccupied with exchanging personal theories about the calamity.

The difference was so great that Misato’s ears began ringing.

We’ve made a mythology.

Seele/Kaji sighed. “That is what the Thirteenth Angel, Nagisa Kaworu, said. But the son of Gendo…! He flung the spear to the limits of his known universe. If you wish to know where that is, feel free to ask the third puppet.”

“Trois?” Misato mused. “The limits of her and Shinji’s known universe… Do you mean the Apple’s Core? You’re saying that’s where he threw the spear?”

“The spear of wisdom can exceed the speed of light. He flung the lance to the other side of the sun, and the lance flies true. No wonder then, that the World Tree has manifested itself.”

<<This is the world Ikari-kun chose.>>

Kaji’s statement reminded Misato of what Ayanami had once said.

“What we currently see is the known universe according to the son of Gendo—according to Ikari Shinji.”

<<Hakone—mand! This is Eva-01…Final Model.>>

“Shinji-kun?!” Misato turned to the display in amazement. Fuyutsuki issued orders to the communication booth at the lower deck.

“Those roots are affecting our communication lines. Switch communication relay to municipal disaster prevention band if the underwater cables to Ogasawara are still functional.”

“Hakone command to Final Model. Shinji-kun, are you all right?”

<<Kzzt. I’m fine for now…but I’m engaged with several Carriers.>>

His voice became clearer.

“We’re on the JSSDF circuit now,” Hyuga said.

“It’s from the Akashima Unit. Lieutenant Colonel Kasuga. He says Final Model is engaged with six Carriers in the sky over Anijima. They’re all surrounded by roots.”

Misato breathed a sigh of relief and then asked the burning question. “What happened to the Longinus?! Our seismographs detected some kind of impact, but we can’t see anything from here.”

<<I don’t know,>> Shinji said. <<These black roots showed up before it could hit me. The Longinus and its entire length were buried in it but never went through.>>

“Mr. Seele?” Misato asked Kaji.

“The Longinus…is now in the flow of the World Tree.”

<<These roots are so annoying! I can’t fly straight! What are these things?!>>