Seed of Life
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"I've heard this story countless times already." |
Seeds of Life (生命の種, Seimei no Tane) are life giving alien entities created by the First Ancestral Race to spread life onto planets throughout the Milky Way. Seven total were created, each paired with a Spear of Longinus, and placed within massive transport carriers dubbed "Moons" (or sometimes "Eggs").
Seeds of Life were created in two varieties: one whose progeny benefited from the "Fruit of Life" and gained vast physical powers and strength, and a second type whose progeny benefited from the "Fruit of Knowledge" and thus mastered scientific knowledge and developed civilization. If a creature possessed both of these halves, it would possess power on-par with that of the First Ancestral Race.
- This reflects the Biblical story, Genesis 3:22, of how after eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden by God so they could not also eat the fruit of the Tree of Life, and become like God.
Only two Seed of Life organisms actually appear in the series: Adam, a "Fruit of Life"-type Seed, and Lilith, a "Fruit of Knowledge"-type Seed. A third appears in the PSP game Neon Genesis Evangelion 2: Another Cases to speak to Kaworu using his image and voice.
It is implied that throughout the galaxy on planets which Lilith-like Seeds landed, they began the first processes of life in the primordial seas of alien worlds, which evolved into what humans would consider more or less "normal" terrestrial environments, culminating in the rise of various intelligent alien civilizations.
Meanwhile, on planets which Adam-type Seeds landed, truly bizarre Angel-dominant ecosystems were set to develop on a global scale, using their amazing and almost super-scientific powers, which it would be difficult for humans to comprehend compared to "life" as humans normally understand it.
However, of all the worlds across the galaxy which the First Ancestral Race seeded with life, Earth is unique in that two Seeds of Life accidentally landed on the same planet. Adam, contained within the White Moon transport container, was the first Seed to land on Earth, at least 4 billion years ago. Before angelic life could start however, Lilith's Black Moon accidentally came into violent collision with the Earth (apparently destroying her Spear) and causing the event now known as the First Impact.
Due to an unspecified law in the First Ancestral Race's plan, two Seeds cannot co-exist on the same planet, possibly because the "forbidden union"(As stated in Episode 26') of an Adam-type and Lilith-type Seed would create a truly god-like being rivaling the power of the First Ancestral Race itself. Because of this, the only remaining Spear on the planet took the initiative to permanently subdue one of the Seeds: Adam. Lilith then spread the primordial ooze - Lilith's own blood, LCL - from which terrestrial life evolved over the course of billions of years, while Adam remained inactive until it was forcibly awoken by the Katsuragi Expedition, resulting in the Second Impact.
| Angels |
| Angels (general) |
| First and Second Angels (Seeds of Life): Adam | Lilith |
| Third to Seventeenth Angels (Adam's Children): |
| Sachiel | Shamshel | Ramiel | Gaghiel | Israfel | Sandalphon | Matarael | Sahaquiel |
| Ireul | Leliel | Bardiel | Zeruel | Arael | Armisael | Tabris |
| Eighteenth Angel: Lilin |
| Rebuild of Evangelion: ?Adams? | Lilith | 3rd Angel | 4th Angel | 5th Angel | 6th Angel | 7th Angel | 8th Angel | 9th Angel | 10th Angel | 11th Angel | 12th Angel | 1st/13th Angel |
| Other: Extracanonical Angels |
