DSS Choker

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A selection of Images of the DSS Choker
A 3D wire-frame of the DSS choker device, showing Hex Glyphs and the meaning of the anagram	The choker attached to Shinji's neck
Kaworu taking the Choker from Shinji	The Choker prisms preparing to kill Kaworu.

The DSS Choker (DSSチョーカー) is a device installed by Wille around Shinji's neck after his recovery from Eva-01. It is designed to explode and kill the wearer, and is intended to be used in the event that the wearer becomes a trigger for an Impact. DSS stands for Deification Shutdown System.

The Choker appears to have been immediately installed on Shinji subsequent to his revival by Wille. He is immediately taken to the Wunder's bridge, where the choker is paired with Misato's detonator. When Shinji asks for the device to be removed, Sakura comments that there is no way its is coming off. Shinji is later told in the quarantine that the device is to prevent Awakenings, and symbolises his punishment and Wille's mistrust of him. He is also told that the device will kill him to avoid an Awakening.

At Nerv HQ, Kaworu is somehow able to safely remove the device from Shinji's neck and places it on his own instead. Kaworu says that the device was originally intended for himself anyway, and that he will accept the risk of denotation in the event of an Eva Awakening.

The collar appears to be more than a simple bomb. As Kaworu's device activates, strange symbols begin lighting up and holographic prisms being circling his neck. After some time, the device athe device detonates and Kaworu is gruesomely killed.

The Detonator

The DSS Choker itself is paired with a detonator. The Choker/Detonator pair have several combined functions which are listed as:

• DSS Choker Connectivity
• Synchronisation Observation
• Suppression Function
• Detonation Function
• Master Key Mode Function
• Awakening Analysis Mode

The Detonator
Ritsuko configuring the detonator	Misato, unable to bring herself to detonate the choker in time.

Executive authority for the detonator is linked to Misato's personal pass code. When Shinji escapes from the Wunder with Mark.09, despite being urged to use it by Ritsuko, Misato hesitates and is unable to kill Shinji after the Choker passes out of range.

During Fourth Impact, the Choker activates and detonates, killing Kaworu. Before this, Misato was shown to have run out of options for containing Eva-13, the Wunder's engines still needing time to recover. Apparently unaware of the Choker having been switched, Misato briefly mentions Shinji's name before the scene cut away. It is not certain whether Misato used the detonator or the DSS Choker exploded on its own, but the evidence points towards Misato pulling the trigger to stop Fourth Impact.