Episode 13
From The NGE Fan-Geeks Project
| Episode Information | |||||||
| Episode #13 | |||||||
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| Written By | Hideaki Anno,Akio Satsukawa, and Mitsuo Iso | ||||||
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| Directed By | Tensai Okamura(director), Masahiko Otsuka(assistant director) | ||||||
| First Aired | 12-27-1995 | ||||||
| Video Release Date | 8-7-1996 (Japan-Video/LD), 2-13-2001 (US-DVD) | ||||||
| Angel Appearances | Ireul | ||||||
| Eva Sorties | none | ||||||
| Episode chronology | |||||||
| ← Previous | Next → | ||||||
| "Episode 12" | "Episode 14" | ||||||
Contents |
Overview
A routine test involving the Eva pilots turns into a struggle for survival when a wholly new type of Angel appears and spreads inside Nerv HQ. This new, computer-like angel threatens to set off the self-destruct for the entire facility, leaving Dr.Ritsuko Akagi in a race against time to save the GeoFront and destroy the Angel.
Synopsis
Episode 13[1] begins with Ritsuko Akagi completing a routine maintenance test of the Magi supercomputer system, followed soon by an autopilot test[1] for the three Eva pilots. The pilots are supposed to enter simulation bodies[1] without their plug suits and after a thorough disinfection.
The pilots enter the "simulation plugs"[1], the entry plugs for the simulation bodies kept inside the Pribnow Box[1], while the Magi monitor the data coming off their bodies. While the test proceeds smoothly, Aoba shows Fuyutsuki what look like stains on construction brought in three days previously. Hyuga thinks they are corrosion from trapped air bubbles, and Fuyutsuki reminds them to fix the problem by the next day.
Maya informs Ritsuko of the corrosion in the protein wall above, but since it does not pose any problems to the test for the moment, Ritsuko decides to go ahead, saying that they can't abort the test due to minor technical issues. The simulation plugs are then connected to their Evas via their simulation bodies, contact being first established with Eva-00. Immediately afterwards, a contamination alert sounds as the corrosion begins to spread explosively. The experiment is aborted and several water pipes sealed to prevent the spread, but to no avail.
Without warning, Rei screams and her simulation body starts moving and trying to break free of its restraints. It raises a hand towards the control booth, but the arm is severed by a blasting bolt and the pilots are ejected at once. The mass of corrosion is fired upon with lasers, but to everyone's shock and horror, it deploys an A.T. Field, revealing itself to be the eleventh angel, Ireul[1].
Immediate panic ensues in the command facility, and Central Dogma is closed off at once and all personnel evacuate the Pribnow Box. Gendo cancels the alarm, and orders that the committee and the Japanese government be informed of an error in the alarm system. He then orders the Evas to be launched pilotless to avoid the risk of infection, giving Eva-01 priority[1].
Meanwhile, Ritsuko and Misato attempt to fight the angel without the Evas. An attempt to destroy the Angel with an excess of oxygen fails as the angel evolves, soon turning into a system of electronic circuits that attacks Nerv's computer systems, reprogramming the Magi[1] Melchior and attempting to initiate self-destruct for the facility. Unable to get clearance from the other Magi, it starts hacking into Balthasar as well. However, a temporary firewall is set up that prevents the Angel from hacking any further for the time being.
Ritsuko explains the nature of this new angel: a colony of microscopic entities working together to evolve and form intelligent circuits, and details a plan to counter-hack the Angel and program it to reach an evolutionary dead end, where it will have no choice but to die. She opens an entrance into the physical structure of the surviving Magi Casper, and begins work with notes left by her mother[1].
Ireul finally breaks through the firewall and completes infecting Balthasar, and with one second to go before Casper is defeated, the counter-hacking program is installed. The Magi are promptly restored to their normal status, and Ireul dies out. Ritsuko talks to Misato about the Magi and her Mother's personality, and the pilots are left wondering what happened.
Notes
- This marks the first and only time that an Angel is defeated without using the Evangelions at all: Ritsuko tricked the Angel into killing itself by reprogramming it with a self-termination program.
- This episode is also unique in that it barely involves the Evangelions or any of the three Eva pilots: they just show up briefly at the beginning and end of the episode, and play no significant part in the central plot.
- Nerv special order "582" is the order to self-destruct Nerv HQ.
Analysis
- Misato's drive to destroy Angels and sense of intuition cause her to suggest the physical destruction of the Magi so that the Angel has no growth medium. This time, it is Ritsuko's logic and clear thinking that win out.
- Misato thinks that the same "Personality transplant" operating systems used by seventh-generation computers to think for themselves are also in the Evangelions. Misato is rarely in the know, and whether or not she is right or wrong on this issue is an open question: Ritsuko does not answer her, and the question is never brought up again.
Quotes
- Asuka: "What? You want me to take off my clothes again?"
- Intercom: "All of Central Dogma under Sigma Unit will be completely closed off in sixty seconds."
Intercom: "Thirty seconds until activation of vacuum pump"
(Kaji sneaking around in Central Dogma)
Kaji: "So that's the Angel. Guess I don't have time for work now." - Ritsuko: "We can think of them as micro-machines. Angels the size of microbes. Those individuals have aggregated together and have undergone explosive evolution to achieve intelligence circuits in this short amount of time."
Fuyutsuki: "Evolution..."
Ritsuko: "Yes. They're continuously changing themselves, searching for a system that can cope with any situation."
Fuyutsuki: "That's truly the system of life itself." - (After Ritsuko opens up the Magi and crawls in)
Ritsuko: "Scribbles left by the developer."
Maya: "Amazing! These are back doors! Magi's back doors!"
Misato: "So it's a veritable encyclopedia of all the tricks up the Magi's sleeve."
Maya: "Is it okay to see these? What a surprise! This is INT-C! With these we can program much faster than we thought, right, Ma'am?"
(Ritsuko nods)
Ritsuko: "Thank you, Mother. We can make it for sure now." - (Large black graffiti inside the Magi left by Naoko Akagi): "Ikari, you jerk!"
- Asuka: "Jeez, I can't go anywhere naked! Somebody hurry up and help me!"
References
| Episodes & Films | |
| Television Series | Episode 01 | Episode 02 | Episode 03 | Episode 04 | Episode 05 | Episode 06 Episode 07 | Episode 08 | Episode 09 | Episode 10 | Episode 11 | Episode 12 | Episode 13 |
| Movies | Death | Rebirth |
| Rebuild of Evangelion | Evangelion 1.0 | Evangelion 2.0 | Evangelion 3.0 | Evangelion: Final |
