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{{Episode Infobox
{{Episode Infobox
| number = #13
| number = #13
| japanese_title = Angel Invasion
| japanese_title_k  = 使徒、侵入
| english_title  = LILLIPUTIAN HITCHER
| japanese_title_r = Shito Shinnyuu
| image =  
| japanese_title_e = Angel Invasion  
| english_title  = Lilliputian Hitcher<ref>The English title, "Lilliputian Hitcher" is a reference to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulliver%27s_Travels|''Gulliver's Travels'']:  the Lilliuptians are a race of tiny people, and the microscopic Angel Ireul infiltrates Nerv HQ by "hitching" a ride on a newly installed faulty wall panel. (Crichton's ''Andromeda'' organism hitched a ride on a returning satellite)</ref>
| image = [[Image:Ireul_Hacking_Magi.jpg|260px]]
| written_by = [[Hideaki Anno]],[[Akio Satsukawa]], and [[Mitsuo Iso]]
| written_by = [[Hideaki Anno]],[[Akio Satsukawa]], and [[Mitsuo Iso]]
| directed_by = [[Tensai Okamura]](director),[[Masahiko Otsuka]](assistant director)
| directed_by = [[Tensai Okamura]](director), [[Masahiko Otsuka]](assistant director)
| first_aired = 12/27/1995
| first_aired = 12-27-1995
| video_release    = 8-7-1996 (Japan-Video/LD), 2-13-2001 (US-DVD)
| angels    = [[Ireul]]
| angels    = [[Ireul]]
| eva_sorties = none
| prev = [[Episode 12]]
| prev = [[Episode 12]]
| next = [[Episode 14]]
| next = [[Episode 14]]
Line 13: Line 17:


==Overview==
==Overview==
A routine test involving the Eva pilots turns into a nightmare when a wholly new type of [[angel]] appears and spreads inside the [[Pribnow Box]], deep within the geofront. 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.
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==
==Synopsis==
The episode begins with [[Ritsuko Akagi]] and [[Maya Ibuki]] completing the 127th routine maintenance test of the Magi supercomputer system. Maya is impressed by her incredible skills at typing and coding. When the test is complete and everything is confirmed to be all right, Ritsuko goes into the washroom to freshen up. Inside, she looks into the mirror, and wonders if getting older is the only thing she is going to do.
'''Episode 13'''<ref>Episode 13 is heavily influenced by Michael Crichton's novel ''The Andromeda Strain'' and its 1971 movie adaptation.  See [[Theory and Analysis:Episode 13 Similarities to The Andromeda Strain]] and [[Tributes to Other Shows in Neon Genesis Evangelion#The Andromeda Strain]] for details. More thematic analysis can be found at, [[Ireul : The Andromeda Hitcher]].</ref> begins with [[Ritsuko Akagi]] completing a routine maintenance test of the Magi supercomputer system. With the results being satisfactory, Ritsuko notes to herself herself that "Mother" still appears to be in good shape, while all she herself seems to be doing is getting older by the day. The maintenance is followed soon by an autopilot test<ref>Ritsuko tells Misato and the Eva pilots that the test they are carrying out with the simulation bodies will ultimately help them develop "[[Dummy Plug|a new autopilot system]]".</ref> for the three Eva pilots. The pilots are supposed to enter [[simulation bodies]]<ref>This marks the only appearance of the [[Simulation bodies]] in the entire series.</ref> without their [[plug suit|plug suits]] and after thorough disinfection.  


An autopilot test for the Evas follows. Asuka, Rei and Shinji have to pass through an ultraclean-room environment, and walk to their entry plugs naked after a series of showers, to monitor the harmonics coming off their bodies without the interference of their [[plug suits|plug suit]]. Shinji and even Rei seem somewhat apprehensive, and Asuka is outright rebellious. Ritsuko explains that the test is essential because the technology of the Evas is changing with time, and to upgrade their technology a constant stream of new data is required. She further assures them that the recorders on the video cameras will be turned off to maintain their privacy. Misato finally makes Asuka comply by ordering her to enter.
The pilots enter the "simulation plugs"<ref>The testing booths that the Eva pilots are located in are labeled "C-01" (Rei), "C-02" (Shinji), and "C-03" (Asuka).  If the "C" is supposed to stand for "Child", this is actually an error:  Shinji is the Third Child, and Asuka is the Second Child.</ref>, the entry plugs for the simulation bodies kept inside the [[Pribnow Box]]<ref>The episode is actually inconsistent is stating where exactly the "Sigma Unit" of Nerv HQ, containing the infected Pribnow Box, is in relation to Central Dogma. Fuyutsuki says that it is fairly close to "Adam" (presumably [[Terminal Dogma]], the lowest level of the base). However, we then see Kaji, standing on Level 28, looking ''up'' at the Angel infection several levels above him, while in the same scene a voice on the intercom says that "All of Central Dogma under Sigma Unit will be completely closed off in sixty seconds" (Central Dogma, specifically the command center containing the Magi, is located around Level 40, and the level numbers decrease as they go farther down, so that would mean the Angel was above Central Dogma).  In the very next scene, another voice over the intercom says that all deep facilities were taken over by the Angel, again saying that the Sigma Unit is ''below'' Central Dogma.</ref>, while the Magi monitor the data coming off their bodies. While the test proceeds smoothly, [[Shigeru Aoba|Aoba]] shows [[Kozo Fuyutsuki|Fuyutsuki]] what look like stains on construction brought in three days previously. [[Makoto Hyuga|Hyuga]] thinks they are corrosion from trapped air bubbles, and Fuyutsuki reminds them to fix the problem by the next day.


The pilots enter the "simulation plugs", the entry plugs for the simulation bodies kept inside the [[Pribnow Box]], while the Magi monitor the data coming off their bodies. All three pilots notice that the sensation is different from being in a normal entry plug, and Asuka notices that her right arm is clear, but the rest of her body feels fuzzy. Rei is asked to move her right hand. As the Magi collect data from the test, a dilemma momentarily occurs among them. Ritsuko says, "You can sure see their creator's personality, can't you?", a comment that confuses and irritates Misato until Ritsuko explains that the real creator of the Magi was not her, but her mother.
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.


Meanwhile, [[Shigeru Aoba|Aoba]] shows [[Kozo Fuyutsuki|Fuyutsuki]] what look like stains on parts brought in three days previously, a location called the 87th protein wall. [[Makoto Hyuga|Hyuga]] thinks they are corrosion from trapped air bubbles, and comments that deterioration of sterilized rooms has been happening lately. Aoba makes further comments about a cut construction shedule and sloppy construction after the arrival of the angels, and Fuyutsuki reminds them to take care of the problem by the next day, "Or we will never hear the end of it from Ikari".
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]]<ref>This is the first time an Angel managed to get directly inside of [[Central Dogma]], which as we will see next episode, causes the [[Human Instrumentality Committee]] to become quite concerned.  It is not directly stated how it managed to infiltrate the base, but Shigeru's comments seem to indicate that it arrives in air bubbles within a poorly constructed cleanroom wall, the "87th protein barrier", which was installed in Nerv HQ ''after'' [[Sachiel]] first appeared.</ref>.


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 [[Unit-00]]. Immediately afterwards, a contamination alert sounds as the corrosion begins to spread explosively.
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<ref>The Evangelions are launched with priority given to Eva-01, with the other two Evas to be sacrificed if necessary. Once again, this is a hidden hint to how special Eva-01 is to Gendo, although it is not evident until [[End of Evangelion]] that Eva-01 was created with Lilith's biomass in addition to having the soul of [[Yui Ikari]].</ref>.  


The experiment is aborted, and several water pipes are sealed off to prevent it from spreading, but the corrosion continues to spread along the walls of the facility. Laser-equipped robots called polysomes are deployed to deal with the corrosion as it approaches. All of a sudden, Rei screams. Her simulation body is inexplicably moving and trying to break free of its corrosion-affected suspension system. It raises a hand towards the control booth, but Ritsuko blows up the arm using built-in explosives. The pilots are confirmed to be all right and 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]].
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<ref>The three Magi supercomputers have each been imbued with a different aspect of their creator [[Naoko Akagi|Naoko Akagi's]] personality.  See [[Magi]] for more details.</ref>  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.
 
Immediate panic ensues in the command facility, and [[Central Dogma]] is closed off at once. All personnel evacuate the Pribnow Box, Misato having to drag Ritsuko out as the damaged glass cracks and the room floods. 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.
 
Meanwhile, Ritsuko and Misato attempt to fight the angel without the Evas. The angel appears to be vulnerable to dissolved oxygen, and pumping ozone into the infected zone causes the angel to initially retreat, but it soon evolves to thrive off ozone and spreads even further. Next, it turns into a system of electronic circuits, and proceeds to hack into Nerv's computer systems, reprogramming the Magi 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. Misato plans to physically destroy the Magi computer system, the host body of the angel, but Ritsuko vehemently refuses, insisting that she can counter-hack the angel and program it to reach an evolutionary dead end, where it will have no choice but to die.
 
Ritsuko opens up the entrance into the physical structure of the Magi Capser, the sole uninfected Magi. The crawlspace is covered with post-it notes containing access codes and back doors to the Magi system, which can help them program faster. Misato chats with Ritsuko about the personality transplant operating system used on the Magi and the Evangelions. Ireul, meanwhile, 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.
 
In the aftermath, Shinji is left wondering what has happened, and Asuka is still whining. Misato hands over cup of coffee to Ritsuko, happy that she kept her promise again. An exhausted Ritsuko opens up a little to Misato, explaining that the Magi represent the three aspects of her mother's personality. She admired her mother as a scientist, but did not really understand her as a mother, and even hated her as a woman. Casper, the third Magi and the one responsible for stopping the Angel, was the one with the personality of her mother as a woman. "She remained a woman to the very end, just like my mother."
==Notes and Analysis==
*The English title, "Lilliputian Hitcher" is a reference to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulliver%27s_Travels|''Gulliver's Travels''].
*The [[Magi]] supercomputers, mentioned by name several times before and explicitly identified as such in [[Episode 11]], are the focus of this episode. We learn that they were built by Ritsuko's mother, [[Naoko Akagi]].  Naoko felt that each of the "personality" of each of the Magi represented one of the three aspects of herself:  Naoko as a scientist (Melchior), Naoko as a mother (Balthasar), and Naoko as a woman (Casper).  Casper's personality, in particular, comes to be of vital significance in the [[End of Evangelion]].
 
*Ritsuko appears deeply influenced by her deceased mother: she refers to her mother several times in this episode, and her comment on growing older seems to indicate a drive to be as accomplished as and worthy of her mother as a scientist.
**Ritsuko's intent on blaming herself for the Angel's invasion and the Magi's corruption might be due to feelings of her own inability to build on what her mother started, and prevent the Magi from being taken over in this way. By "keeping her promise", she seems to be trying to keep up with the image of her mother once again.
 
*Misato's drive to destroy Angels and sense of intution, which worked so well in the previous episode and [[Episode 5]], comes to a point of dangerous irrationality: she suggests 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 wins out.
 
*The only appearance of the simulation bodies in the entire series. They might be made out of parts from the failed Evangelions seen in Episode 23, but no real explanation is given. How the pilots synchronize with the simulation bodies themselves remains unexplained: there aren't any souls inside, and the simulation bodies visibly lack cores. It also raises a question as to whether Evangelions are born with cores, or if these are somehow manufactured.
 
*The first appearance of an angel directly inside Central Dogma. It is never explained how it managed to go so deep inside the Geofront undetected, but the comments about shoddy construction and air bubbles suggest it could have made its way in through a construction defect, or got on a construction part (A tiny angel hitching a ride on a construction part, hence the English title: '''Lilliputian Hitcher'''). The initial, vaguely cross-shaped mass of the angel is right on top of a junction between plates, to add to that possibility.
 
*The event of Ireul spreading to the simulation bodies and Rei's body moving has a number of oddities:
**Asuka says that her body feels fuzzy but her right arm is clear, and Ritsuko responds by asking Rei to focus on moving her right arm. Aside from the unusual nature of the tests(Rei and not Asuka, is instructed to move her arm), why does the right arm on Rei's body actually move later, when ''Asuka'' is the one who feels strange?
**Precisely when Rei's simulation body is linked to Eva-00, Ireul expands explosively. This might make Ireul, and not [[Bardiel]], the first angel to attempt contact with Eva-00/Rei.
**Only Rei's simulation body tries to break free, and seemingly at the moment it comes into contact with Ireul and not after being fully covered. It also moves the same way Eva-00 does when it goes berserk, pulling at its shoulder restraints. The other two simulation bodies remain unaffected. Notably, Ireul shows no sign of actually fusing with the simulation bodies the way [[Bardiel]] and [[Armisael]] later do, and the pilots seem unaffected.
***The moment Rei screams and the simulation body tries to break free, Ritsuko is standing right next to Misato, and the arm moves up towards Misato in the control booth before Ritsuko blows it off at the shoulder. Gendo in Episode 5, Misato in this episode, and Rei herself in Episode 14, stand behind a window while Eva-00 (in this case, a simulation body linked to Eva-00) attempts to strike the glass in front of them, and, next episode, Ritsuko is convinced that Eva-00 wanted to attack her. The simulation body was connected to the Evangelion at the time of its sudden movement. What ''really'' made that body move- Ireul, or Unit-00?
***Ritsuko stares at the glass, unmoving, just before it is about to break and shatter, and she seems unusually preoccupied when Misato asks her why she takes all the blame. She looks in a similar way the next episode, when she is convinced that Eva 00 was after her. She might have an inkling of why it moved.
 
*Ireul was extremely rapid in its evolution to electronic circuitry, and Fuyutsuki comments that it seemed to be searching for something within the files. Ireul then reprograms the Magi to initiate self-destruct, possibly at risk of destroying itself. Since it already had broken into the computers and read all the files inside, it might have found out about the Geofront's greatest [[Lilith|secret]], although it reacted very differently from [[Tabris|another angel]].
 
*Ireul's A.T. Field pulsates as a grid of hexagons that change size or pop in and out of existence. This, and the method of the angel's expansion, imply that the angel is actually a reproducing series of angels, each with a separate soul and combining to form a single driving existence. Since no more angels can be born, it seems that Ireul is capable of copying its own soul, or its own soul exists in multiple places at the same time. Only [[Ayanami Rei|one other character]] has been known to exist in multiple places at once.
 
*The Evangelions are launched with priority given to Eva-01, with the other two Evas to be sacrificed if necessary. Once again, a hidden hint to how special Eva-01 is.
 
*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. However, the problems associated with "thought noise", especially during Eva-02's activation in [[Episode 08]], suggest that such a system might be used as an interface between the pilot and the resident soul.
 


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<ref>The insides of the Magi supercomputers are covered in many post-it notes left behind by their creator, Dr. Naoko Akagi.  Pausing and zooming in reveals that many of them contain hidden Easter Egg messages, things like "Ikari, you are an idiot--Naoko", etc.</ref>.


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. Meanwhile, the pilots, still left in their capsules, wonder what has happened.


As things return to normal around Nerv HQ, Misato offers a cup of coffee to an exhausted Ritsuko. Ritsuko starts to talk about the Magi, explaining to Misato how her mother, [[Naoko Akagi|Naoko]], based its three personalities on herself: herself as a scientist, herself as mother, and herself as a woman. Ritsuko admits that she never really understood Naoko as a mother, and while she respected her as a scientist, she hated her as a woman. She finally muses on the irony of her using Casper as the module to fight back against Ireul; Casper was the component based on Naoko's woman aspect. In the end, she remained a woman.


==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 causes 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 wins 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 Langley Soryu|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."<br>'''Intercom''': "Thirty seconds until activation of vacuum pump"<br>''(Kaji sneaking around in Central Dogma)''<br>'''[[Ryoji Kaji|Kaji]]''': "So that's the Angel. Guess I don't have time for work now."
* '''[[Ritsuko Akagi|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."<br>'''[[Kozo Fuyutsuki|Fuyutsuki]]''': "Evolution..."<br>'''Ritsuko''': "Yes. They're continuously changing themselves, searching for a system that can cope with any situation."<br>'''Fuyutsuki''': "That's truly the system of life itself."
*''(After Ritsuko opens up the Magi and crawls in)''<br>'''Ritsuko''': "Scribbles left by the developer."<br>'''[[Maya Ibuki|Maya]]''': "Amazing! These are back doors! Magi's back doors!"<br>'''[[Misato Katsuragi|Misato]]''': "So it's a veritable encyclopedia of all the tricks up the Magi's sleeve."<br>'''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?"<br>''(Ritsuko nods)''<br>'''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==
{{reflist}}
{{-}}
[[Category: A to Z]]
[[Category: A to Z]]
[[Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion Episodes]]
[[Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion Episodes]]
[[Category: Originally Aired Episodes]]
[[Category: Originally Aired Episodes]]
{{Episode List}}

Latest revision as of 15:12, 22 September 2022

Episode Information
Episode #13
Title 1: 使徒、侵入
Shito Shinnyuu
Angel Invasion
Title 2: Lilliputian Hitcher[1]
Written By Hideaki Anno,Akio Satsukawa, and Mitsuo Iso
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"

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[2] begins with Ritsuko Akagi completing a routine maintenance test of the Magi supercomputer system. With the results being satisfactory, Ritsuko notes to herself herself that "Mother" still appears to be in good shape, while all she herself seems to be doing is getting older by the day. The maintenance is followed soon by an autopilot test[3] for the three Eva pilots. The pilots are supposed to enter simulation bodies[4] without their plug suits and after thorough disinfection.

The pilots enter the "simulation plugs"[5], the entry plugs for the simulation bodies kept inside the Pribnow Box[6], 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[7].

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[8].

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[9] 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[10].

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. Meanwhile, the pilots, still left in their capsules, wonder what has happened.

As things return to normal around Nerv HQ, Misato offers a cup of coffee to an exhausted Ritsuko. Ritsuko starts to talk about the Magi, explaining to Misato how her mother, Naoko, based its three personalities on herself: herself as a scientist, herself as mother, and herself as a woman. Ritsuko admits that she never really understood Naoko as a mother, and while she respected her as a scientist, she hated her as a woman. She finally muses on the irony of her using Casper as the module to fight back against Ireul; Casper was the component based on Naoko's woman aspect. In the end, she remained a woman.

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 causes 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 wins 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

  1. ↑ The English title, "Lilliputian Hitcher" is a reference to Gulliver's Travels: the Lilliuptians are a race of tiny people, and the microscopic Angel Ireul infiltrates Nerv HQ by "hitching" a ride on a newly installed faulty wall panel. (Crichton's Andromeda organism hitched a ride on a returning satellite)
  2. ↑ Episode 13 is heavily influenced by Michael Crichton's novel The Andromeda Strain and its 1971 movie adaptation. See Theory and Analysis:Episode 13 Similarities to The Andromeda Strain and Tributes to Other Shows in Neon Genesis Evangelion#The Andromeda Strain for details. More thematic analysis can be found at, Ireul : The Andromeda Hitcher.
  3. ↑ Ritsuko tells Misato and the Eva pilots that the test they are carrying out with the simulation bodies will ultimately help them develop "a new autopilot system".
  4. ↑ This marks the only appearance of the Simulation bodies in the entire series.
  5. ↑ The testing booths that the Eva pilots are located in are labeled "C-01" (Rei), "C-02" (Shinji), and "C-03" (Asuka). If the "C" is supposed to stand for "Child", this is actually an error: Shinji is the Third Child, and Asuka is the Second Child.
  6. ↑ The episode is actually inconsistent is stating where exactly the "Sigma Unit" of Nerv HQ, containing the infected Pribnow Box, is in relation to Central Dogma. Fuyutsuki says that it is fairly close to "Adam" (presumably Terminal Dogma, the lowest level of the base). However, we then see Kaji, standing on Level 28, looking up at the Angel infection several levels above him, while in the same scene a voice on the intercom says that "All of Central Dogma under Sigma Unit will be completely closed off in sixty seconds" (Central Dogma, specifically the command center containing the Magi, is located around Level 40, and the level numbers decrease as they go farther down, so that would mean the Angel was above Central Dogma). In the very next scene, another voice over the intercom says that all deep facilities were taken over by the Angel, again saying that the Sigma Unit is below Central Dogma.
  7. ↑ This is the first time an Angel managed to get directly inside of Central Dogma, which as we will see next episode, causes the Human Instrumentality Committee to become quite concerned. It is not directly stated how it managed to infiltrate the base, but Shigeru's comments seem to indicate that it arrives in air bubbles within a poorly constructed cleanroom wall, the "87th protein barrier", which was installed in Nerv HQ after Sachiel first appeared.
  8. ↑ The Evangelions are launched with priority given to Eva-01, with the other two Evas to be sacrificed if necessary. Once again, this is a hidden hint to how special Eva-01 is to Gendo, although it is not evident until End of Evangelion that Eva-01 was created with Lilith's biomass in addition to having the soul of Yui Ikari.
  9. ↑ The three Magi supercomputers have each been imbued with a different aspect of their creator Naoko Akagi's personality. See Magi for more details.
  10. ↑ The insides of the Magi supercomputers are covered in many post-it notes left behind by their creator, Dr. Naoko Akagi. Pausing and zooming in reveals that many of them contain hidden Easter Egg messages, things like "Ikari, you are an idiot--Naoko", etc.



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
Episode 14 | Episode 15 | Episode 16 | Episode 17 | Episode 18 | Episode 19 | Episode 20
Episode 21 | Episode 22 | Episode 23 | Episode 24 | Episode 25 | Episode 26

Movies Death | Rebirth

The End of Evangelion: Episode 25' | Episode 26'

Rebuild of Evangelion Evangelion 1.0 | Evangelion 2.0 | Evangelion 3.0 | (-46h) | (-120min) | Evangelion: 3.0 + 1.0


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