Marduk Institute

The Marduk Institute is, supposedly, the secret selection committee that screens the global population for 14 year old children who would make suitable Evangelion pilots. However, Ryoji Kaji's investigations reveal that the Marduk Institute does not really exist; it is composed of 108 front companies. Evangelion pilots are not actually found through a screening process, but are hand-picked by NERV itself. All potential Eva pilots are then transfered to Class 2-A in Tokyo-3, to keep them on-hand should NERV require them.

Notes

The "Marduk Institute" is really 108 front companies: there are 108 sins in Tibetan Buddhism, and 108 beads on a Buddhist rosary.