Plug Depth
Plug depth, in the Rebuild continuity, designates the proximity of the entry plug's interior array to the Evangelion's core unit.
In Rebuild, the internal array of the entry plug, upon which the pilot is seated, can move up and down the entry plug on a track, closer to or further from the core unit, depending on various conditions. Moving too close results in a negative value (i.e., exceeds the acceptable zero depth), which purportedly threatens the humanity of the pilot.
In Evangelion 2.0, three incidents involving excessive plug depth occur. Asuka Langley Shikinami's activation test puts her in close contact with the 9th Angel, resulting in some form of contamination, but otherwise leaves her human form intact. Mari Makinami Illustrious subjects herself to a negative plug depth when engaging Eva-02's Beast Mode, but emerges unaffected save for sympathetic injuries. Shinji Ikari, however, upon unleashing Eva-01's inner power and moving toward the "Great Beyond Depth", transforms into a radiant being beyond physical laws, later said to be absorbed into the Eva.
The concept of plug depth is present to a more limited extent in Neon Genesis Evangelion, although precisely what it denotes is ambiguous. Since there is no indication that the interior arrays in NGE can move, "plug depth" may simply refer to the proximity of the entire entry plug to the core.
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