Retake: Rebuild of Evengelion 2.0

(The joy of reading or watching a particular work is that when you go over it a second or third time, you begin to see alternate perspectives on how the story is playing out. You get to highlight new items of significance and draw new parallels. So while we have covered a great many works in the WLIA blog, a select few will have multiple articles dedicated to them.)

Title: "Rebuild of Evangelion: 2.0"
Series: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Original Topic: The March of Technology

As we mentioned in the original article, the charm of the Evangelion series is that it is over a decade strong, and as such, it has been subject to many aesthetic changes thanks to real world changes in technology. Now, that article was written over nine months ago. Since that time, many changes in the real world have already manifested which coincide with futuristic tech predicted by the film. It's a good thing too, because most of these predictions have to do with the global water supply.

Here's a bit of perspective: California, the US's most diverse agricultural and economic region, is currently facing its most severe drought in history. As of today, over 50% of the state is in the highest drought level, to the point that wasting water has become illegal. Needless to say, if we want to continue to sustain water needs, we need to bring in water from elsewhere. The best place would of course be the ocean, but that requires removing dissolved solids from ocean water first.

In the "Rebuild" films, one of the key background points was how the Second Impact occurred across all of Antarctica, tainting the water supply of the southern oceans before spreading to cover all interconnected bodies of water, turning it all a deep red. In order to reverse this, oil rigs were converted to giant water treatment facilities in order to clean the oceans year over year. Since the release of the 2.0 film, there have been numerous new water purification technologies in the works.

First on the list is Float Lab, an experimental container which floats on an open body of water. It takes that water into itself, purifies it and continues to hold it in storage. The design is going to be used to create +Pool, which is a series of large movable swimming pools for human use to be built on contaminated water. Then you have a special carbon-graphite material which uses solar energy to purify water. It's currently in a small-scale production, but larger systems could be made which utilize solar mirrors.

Of course, all of this technology costs money and will only be funded if the need for it is dire, the way it was in Rebuild. Some would say that time has already come, while others are holding out for just a while longer, squeezing the land of every last drop (no pun intended). The bottom line though is that if we do nothing, we will be subject to the same challenges and tribulations as those in the dystopic world of science fiction.

NGE - "The Birth of NERV" - On the Criminal Elite

Following the 400% Sync Ratio incident, SEELE takes Fuyutsuki, Gendo's second-in-command, into custody for interrogation. During this time, he reflects on the events which led to this point, events dating back fifteen years to the days when he was a college professor. It was through his job that he met Yui Ikari and Gendo Rokubungi.

After Second Impact, the marriage between Gendo and Yui was finalized, and SEELE, the organization funding Yui's research projects, came under heavy fire for its near-exclusive investigation into the Second Impact. A press blackout was spearheaded by United Nations at the behest of SEELE, and the world would never know about the first Angel's part in the tragedy.

When Fuyutsuki threatens to publicize the scandal, Gendo shows him the Geofront for the first time, and the origin of the first Evangelion unit. In this episode, we also gain insight into the lives and connections that the Akagi family, and the Katsuragi family, had with SEELE and the eventual post-organization NERV.

NGE - "Ambivalence" and "Introjection" - On the EVAs

The eighteenth episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the most gruesome yet. Toji is taken to Matsushiro for the EVA-03 Activation Test, which Misato and Ritsuko are to oversee. Disaster strikes when the Unit is possessed by an Angel. Units 00, 01 and 02 are all sent to fight, but ultimately the fight is between EVA-03 and Shinji Ikari in EVA-01.

Shinji throws in the towel rather quickly. When pressed by his father, he explains that he cannot kill another human being, even if that human is an Angel. Therefore, Gendo Ikari orders the nerves cut between Shinji and EVA-01, and the "Dummy System" to control the Unit in Shinji's place. This dummy AI proceeds to literally tear EVA-03 apart.

NGE - "The Fourth Child" - On Forbidden Technology

At the start of the seventeenth episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Misato is being questioned on whether Shinji was "contacted" by the Angel of the previous episode. Each Angel has been getting more intelligent, and SEELE is concerned that the Angels may be working together for the eradication of the human race. Things appear to quiet down, however, at least until a sudden cataclysmic explosion rocks the NERV Second Branch in Nevada. Everything within an eighty-nine kilometer radius is completely wiped out, as if it had never existed to begin with. EVA-03, which was being housed at a different facility, is moved to the Japanese NERV headquarters to undergo pairing with the fourth child.

NGE - "Splitting of the Beast" - On the Delusions of Man

The sixteenth episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion opens at the Katsuragi residence, where Shinji and Misato are making dinner while Asuka is taking a shower. It appears to the viewer that all of them have pretty much settled into living and working together. The following day, the EVA pilots are given their sync ratio tests, and Shinji is found to have done exceptionally well. Unfortunately, this results in an inflated rivalry between him and Asuka.

When the newest Angel attacks Tokyo-3, Shinji takes point after being provoked by Asuka. However, when he tries to make the shot, the Angel appears to vanish, and a shadow forms below him, swallowing him whole. The order to retreat is sounded, and NERV attempts a rescue mission. If Shinji's EVA cannot be recovered in sixteen hours (the time it takes for the life support to fail on battery power), then Shinji will be presumed dead.

NGE - "Lies and Silence" - On Espionage

(NOTE: The fourteenth episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion is a recap episode and therefore will be skipped.)

"Neon Genesis Evangelion" opens its fifteenth episode by giving us further insight into the tensions between NERV HQ, the organization known as SEELE, and the Japanese government. What we know so far is that SEELE directs NERV's actions through the "Human Instrumentality Committee," in order to ensure human advancement in light of the Angel menace. NERV, however, is pulled into other directions thanks to the ulterior motives of Gendo Ikari. Finally, we understand that the Japanese government holds a severe distrust of both entities, and wishes to ensure that the two do not perform acts which are against the best interest of the nation.

In order to fully uncover the dark secrets of NERV, the Japanese government sends Ryoji Kaji as a double-agent to investigate NERV HQ. Kaji starts by looking into the "Marduk Institute," an organization supposedly drafted to select the pilots of the Evangelions. His investigation reveals that Marduk is nothing more than a collaboration of 108 dummy companies, and that NERV HQ are the ones really selecting the pilots. This is in direct violation of international laws as drafted by the world's remaining governments; such a scandal could turn NERV into a rogue faction (which is what happens in "End of Evangelion," a spin-off film).

Before we can continue, we need to delve into what made it so easy for Kaji to become a double-agent. The truth may lie in his history of interactions with Ritsuko Akagi and Misato Katsuragi, two of the highest ranking NERV officers. All three individuals attended college together, and Misato used to be in a relationship with Kaji. We can conclude that those prior interactions established enough pre-existing trust for his entry into NERV to be without question. By the time either Misato or Ritsuko figured out what was really going on, it would have become impossible to stop.

NGE - "Lilliputian Hitcher" - On the MAGI

The thirteenth episode of "Neon Genesis Evangelion" deals with a routine synchronization test that goes horribly awry. While Shinji, Rei and Asuka are undergoing their test, an Angel disguising itself as corrosive metal begins to bind to the mechanisms of the test equipment. Fearing for their safety, Dr. Ritsuko Akagi and Major Misato Katsuragi order the emergency evacuation of the pilots, just before the test chamber is destroyed by the Angel.

The Angel then proceeds to load itself into NERV's network and seizes control of MAGI Melchior. Its goal is to take over the other two MAGI - Balthasar and Casper - in order to launch the auto-destruct protocol and wipe out Tokyo-3 entirely.What ultimately saves them all is the fact that the MAGI is programmed to require unanimous decisions for every inquiry placed in the system. This gave NERV the time it needed to produce a counter-offensive. While the first two MAGI computers were taken with relative ease, the third had a self-termination virus in it, which the Angel mistakenly accepted, resulting in its downfall.

NGE - "The Value of Miracles" - On Batteries

The twelfth episode of "Neon Genesis Evangelion" delves partially into the life of Misato Katsuragi, who recently received a promotion from Captain to Major. It is revealed that Misato's motivations for joining NERV are centered around her relationship with her father prior to the main storyline. More importantly, the three pilots are tasked with fighting the next Angel, a massive creature hovering just above the earth's orbit. If it can tactically propel itself into the Geofront's land based location, it can completely destroy it, setting the stage for Third Impact.

In order to stop this angel, the three pilots must perform a tactical strike of their own: they must catch the Angel as it falls and destroy its core in close combat. Compounding the issue is the Achilles heel of the Evangelion unit: if the unit is not connected to an umbilical cable, it can only be powered for five minutes on an external battery. While this seems like an easy thing to fix - and it does get fixed later in the series - it is actually something all too common with our real world. And in the real world, we too are fighting to fix it.

NGE - "The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still" - On Simple Machines

(NOTE: The events and elements of Episodes 08 to 10 of NGE - "Asuka Strikes," "Unite the Minds" and "Magma Diver" - will not be discussed in the WLIA blog. I have deemed that there is not enough content in those episodes to be expanded upon, therefore they will be skipped.)

In the eleventh episode of "Neon Genesis Evangelion," the entire city of Tokyo-3 is plagued by a sudden blackout due to sabotage not by the Angels, but by a human-based entity. When an Angel really does attack the city, the three Eva pilots (Shinji, Asuka and Rei) must travel the subterranean tunnels leading to the GeoFront, in order to undergo a manual launch. To explore the underground layouts in more detail, refer to this article on Platform Architecture.

In order to perform a manual launch, the NERV personnel (including Commander Gendo apparently) must use pulley system to move the Evangelion units into place. As there was no electricity, the personnel had to use massive pulleys to counter the massive weight. It's actually a very simplistic concept from a technological standpoint, but you cannot really overshadow its effectiveness in certain situations.

And that's the thing with all simple machines. There are six universally labelled devices - lever, wheel/axle, inclined plane, pulley, wedge, screw - and despite their archaism we still rely heavily on them to this day. One might consider it odd that the overall mechanisms have stood the test of time, but on the other hand, why fix what isn't broken?

NGE - "A Human Work" - On Nuclear Fission

In the seventh episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion, an agency which rivals the NERV military organization sets out to build a brand new super-robot known as "Jet Alone." While the Evangelions are limited by a five minute battery life, Jet Alone units use a nuclear reactor as their power supply. And instead of a pilot, an AI system is used. It seems like the ideal fighter, but when the prototype begins to malfunction and its power supply threatens to go critical, it's up to NERV's Major Katsuragi to prevent certain disaster.

NGE - Episodes 03 to 06 - More on Platform Architecture

In the third and fourth episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion ("A Transfer" and "Hedgehog's Dilemma"), Shinji continues to learn more about what it means to be an Eva pilot, for better or for worse. When the fourth Angel, Shamshel, appears in Tokyo-3, Shinji has to make some tough decisions and rely heavily on his new training to overcome the threat. In doing so, he begins to question whether he is really cut out for the task of piloting an Eva.

NGE - "Angel Attack" and "The Beast" - On Neural Interfaces

In the first and second episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion, we are introduced to protagonist Shinji Ikari, whose father Gendo calls upon him to fight an otherworldly creature known as an Angel. Angel Sachiel is the third Angel to attack Earth, and the first one to attack Tokyo-3. When the JSDF is unable to neutralize it, it's up to Shinji to overcome his fears and step up to fight.

In order for Shinji to fight the Angel, he has to use an Evangelion mecha unit. In order to interface with it, Shinji sits in an "entry plug" which serves as the cockpit and is inserted into the spinal cord of the Eva. Shinji is then "synchronized" with the Eva, so that his nervous system and the nervous system of the Eva are linked. If Shinji moves an arm or leg, the Eva will move proportionally.

All of this may seem pretty cool, but there is a downside. If you've ever seen The Matrix, you might recall when Morpheus says, "Your mind makes it real." Like in that series, anything experienced by the Eva is felt by the pilot. So when Sachiel fires a pulse blast which hits the Eva square in the face, Shinji himself starts to feel intense pain, as if his head really were hemorrhaging blood.

So what does this all have to do with real life? More than one would think. Neural interfaces have only recently began to become viable. In 2008, Emotiv Systems unveiled a headset which uses electroencephalography to read signals from the brain indirectly. International Business Machines (IBM) reported that they hoped to piggyback off the technology and apply it to virtual training simulations as an educational tool. And then, in August of this year, it was reported that scientists at the University of Washington had found a way to send neural impulses from one human brain to another. They were able to have one individual control another's hands through this method.

Discovering how to communicate using neural interfaces is vital in the control of artificial components, such as robotic limbs. One year ago, a quadriplegic woman had her brain implanted with two electrodes, each containing 96 pins. The electrodes were then rigged to a mechanical arm, which the woman learned to control using her mind. After three months of practice, she could move the arm as dexterously as a normal human arm.

Evangelion Rebuild 2.0 - On the March of Technology

The second Rebuild of Evangelion movie begins to take the series in a different direction from the original, introducing a new character not seen in Neon Genesis, and changing some of the key plot events. Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami team up with Asuka Langley Soryu, a German Eva pilot with a slight perfectionist streak. As more Angels attempt to bring about the destruction of humanity, the characters find themselves thrown into greater challenges and traumas than they may be able to handle.

Evangelion Rebuild 1.0 - On Platform Architecture

In 2007, Hideaki Anno resurrected the Evangelion series with the first "Rebuild" movie. This was the first in a set of movies which is still in production as of 2013. The storyline begins in an identical fashion to the 1997 Neon Genesis series, but quickly moves into an alternate storyline.

In the year 2015, Shinji Ikari is your average schoolchild whose father runs a private military conglomerate known as NERV. When otherworldly monsters known as Angels storm the city of Tokyo-3, Shinji is tasked with operating the powerful Eva-01, and fighting the menaces as they come. In the first movie, he is assisted by fellow pilot Rei Ayanami, a mysterious and shy girl; and Misato Katsuragi, his temporary guardian and a colonel in the NERV military organization.

Some of you, at this time, might be wondering why it is called Tokyo-3. The first Tokyo was destroyed in the nuclear fallout that followed the Second Impact (one of the first sightings of the Angels, which claimed the lives of billions of humans in one fell swoop). Tokyo-2 is the series capital of Japan, though it was supposed to be a temporary location. Tokyo-3 was meant to be the final capital, but never received that designation formally.

Tokyo-3 is a technological marvel, relying heavily on a platform-based architecture that is easily swappable. During the day, the civilian buildings are locked underground, while weaponized 'dummy buildings' are locked into place above ground. At night, this layout inverts so the weaponized buildings are belowground, and the civilian buildings reach up into the starlit sky.

During Shinji's first battle with the Angel Ramiel, a platform emergency salvation system is activated. While Shinji is being bombarded by a particle beam cannon, Colonel Katsuragi orders that the explosive bolts which house the platform his Eva stands on be detonated. This causes the platform to vertically freefall, carrying Shinji with it and ultimately saving his life.

While it will be impossible for us to achieve such phenomenal architecture in the next two years, we are surprisingly already making progress. In 2010, the Ark Hotel in Changsha, China, was completed in six days. The process involved stacking pre-fabricated segments like you would LEGO bricks, and then securing them with heavy duty bolts. The finished product is capable of withstanding a 9.0 earthquake.

So yes, we could construct massive geometric tessellations on the landscape which are swappable in theory. However, the dilemma would come from the locking bolts built into the foundations of Tokyo-3 buildings in Evangelion. What kind of engineering would need to be used to allow these buildings to be unscrewed from their foundations, dropped several dozen meters, and replaced with identically proportioned blocks?

Neon Genesis Evangelion - On Psychology in Society

(Note: This post is a look at the Evangelion series proper, and not of its individual episodes. Therefore, this post may contain spoilers. The individual episodes may receive their own articles in the future.)

Neon Genesis Evangelion was phenomenal. Airing in 1997, the twenty-six episode anime gave a unique glimpse into a dystopic future. Taking place in the year 2015, it centers around three kids who must pilot giant mechaniloids known as "Eva" in order to neutralize invading monsters known as "Angels." These Angels hope to bring about the fusion of two cataclysmic elements, which would bring about the end of humanity's existence.