A.T. Field. Pain.
He was in Lilin.
An A.T. Field. An isolated piece of Lilin approached him. Identity.
Inexpressive conduct. Negligible deviation from the mean. Alignment of normality
– professionalism.
Tabris.
His form responded to the identification.
It occurred to him that he could understand the language of light.
One unit of Lilin was covered in non-Lilin. Scrutiny. Aversion.
Communication within Lilin. Outside the unit.
Project's conscious.
The energy hit the smooth surface and returned to him. Reflection. Another isolated piece of Lilin. A body reconstructed. An unlikely appearance among Lilins.
Ask him his name.
But his form was faster, even before he processed the signal.
Shinji Ikari, it stated.
~
Others. A dull surprise.
Adam. Lilith. Tabris.
~
“It is time for Adam’s progeny to rise again.”
His first memory was of crushing loneliness, a blind urge to
rejoin the Mother, a quest for death. He felt the muscles in his Lilin face stretch in an attempt to approximate some visual signal.
It was probably a smile. His body really liked smiling these
days, even in response to the instruction of the ancient Lilin minds.
“To do this, you will become the Fifth Child to replace the one Arael destroyed,” they said, “The shuttle for Tokyo-3 has been prepared for
you.”
~
They are all aspects of a broken Mother.
He must choose his form carefully to honor Her.
~
He looked down at his Lilin appendages. Hands. Held together only because of a Lilin A.T. Field. Wrong.
Then he felt it. A strong, strangely familiar A.T. Field, thicker than any that he had sensed. Whispers. Whispers of loss. Whispers of pain.
His form was compelled to produce vibration. Standing waves of air particles. Patterns. Unnatural patterns. Lilin creation. Music. Ode to Joy.
His Lilin body said, “A song enriches the soul. It is the
crowning achievement of the civilization that the Lilin created.”
He felt emotions (that were not necessarily his) as Lilin perceived him. Warmth. Affection. He heard his form say,
“Do you not feel that way, Shinji Ikari?”
He now understood why he had made the error when he first gained consciousness. There was growing adoration from Lilin. A weakness in the A.T. Field. Lilin was starved of closeness to others. His form, of course, presented
the ideal alternative. A solution like his form shouldn’t exist, and yet
somehow it did.
It did not surprise him that they were quickly on first-name
basis. His form smiled for the Lilin despite himself.