I participated in the development of EVA

He has corrected many mistakes over the years, including the understanding of synchronization rate.

"????"

Ikari Fumihiko asked back before explaining.

"Why do you think Eva needs to devour souls to complete herself?"

Naoko Akagi didn't know much about this area, so she didn't say anything in response, but waited silently for Fumihiko Ikari's further explanation.

Ikari Fumihiko noticed this, so he organized his words and spoke again.

"It's because EVA, like humans, needs a growth process. Well... to put it simply, the body can be quickly induced by LCL liquid, but the soul cannot."

What he said was a little vague, but Naoko Akagi still understood it.

"The growth of the soul needs to be nourished by strong emotions? Just like humans become more and more mature mentally after experiencing things?"

"Yes and no. Mental maturity does not represent the strength of the soul, but this is generally the feeling."

"What exactly is synchronization?"

Fumihiko Ikari originally wanted to say that the synchronization rate represents the value of how much power the driver can exert in EVA.

But when the words came to my lips, I thought of the concept of "apostleization" in the new theater.

“I think that’s the assimilation rate.”

“Assimilation rate?”

"You should know that I once proposed the concept of 'apostolate', right?"

“I’ve heard a little bit, but I don’t know the details.”

"This Apostleization is easy to understand. It means that the pilot will be affected by EVA during the process of connecting with EVA. Well... this is not accurate enough. It should be said that the two will affect each other. The pilot will affect EVA's growth, and at the same time, the pilot will also be assimilated by EVA."

Fumihiko Ikari's words reminded Naoko Akagi of someone.

"Ayanami Rei?"

Although Naoko Akagi only said a name, Fumihiko Ikari knew what she wanted to express.

"Almost the same, but it's more natural than cloning. Well, to put it simply, there won't be the risk of Li's body collapsing after being out of LCL for a long time."

"These are just your speculations, right?"

"It may be due to the influence of the restraints. This phenomenon is not very obvious on Unit-0 and Unit-2, but there are already some signs..."

Fumihiko Ikari was interrupted by Naoko Akagi halfway through his speech.

"The backup machine turned into my appearance, is this the cause?"

"Correct."

Ikari Fumihiko paused here and then brought the topic back to the original question.

"You can understand it now, right? You and Ritsuko are driving the 02 EVA together, and there is no possibility of each other's thoughts being read."

"That's the truth, but I still... can't accept it."

No!

I have explained so much to get you to agree, but why do you still disagree?

Fumihiko Ikari had a headache.

Just when he thought things would become the same as the 'soul injection' problem, Akagi Naoko was silent for a moment and then spoke.

"During the connection process, is it true that... our minds will not be connected?"

Fumihiko Ikari knew that Naoko Akagi was wavering now and didn't want to make things difficult for himself.

"Judging from the situation of Unit 2, this is most likely the case."

Although Naoko Akagi had made up her mind just now, she still hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"I trust your judgment."

Faced with this trust, Ikari Fumihiko felt a little guilty and embraced the other person in his arms. This time, Akagi Nao did not resist.

The two did not take the next step and just snuggled together.

After a long time, Naoko Akagi spoke first, breaking the silence of the moment.

"Ritsuko, we're still outside. We can't stay together like this for too long..."

Ikari Fumihiko smiled bitterly in his heart.

It was originally quite normal for two single people to get together, but now it is treated as if they are having an affair.

He didn't want to continue like this, so he thought about it before speaking.

"Ritsuko is still young and doesn't interact with many people. When she grows up and interacts with more people, she will understand that it is not love. She just wants to get more attention from you in this way."

"Is that right?"

Fumihiko Ikari was actually not sure whether this was the case, but he knew that such an interpretation would help Naoko Akagi to see things more positively.

"Yes, it is like that."

Naoko Akagi wanted to say something, but she didn't say it in the end. She didn't know whether Akagi Ritsuko liked Ikari Fumihiko or admired him, or whether she wanted to get his attention in this way as Ikari Fumihiko said. Compared with the latter two, she felt that it was more likely that she liked him, but at this moment she hoped it was the latter two.

That is not love, it is longing, a way to gain attention from oneself.

Only in this way will there not be too much psychological burden.

It's like she is the framework for the Three Wise Men system, she is the mother, the woman and the scholar.

It was obvious that her part as a woman outweighed her part as a mother.

The two men arranged their clothes like thieves, not missing any details that might arouse suspicion.

however……

Ritsuko Akagi was fully focused on studying EVA-related materials and did not pay attention to the two of them.

20:09:24

611. Soul

Akagi Ritsuko didn't pay attention, which made Akagi Naoko's originally calm mood even more complicated...

She felt she had betrayed her daughter's trust.

Ikari Fumihiko didn't have that many feelings.

Before being with Naoko Akagi, he and Ritsuko Akagi were not boyfriend and girlfriend.

Time just passed by little by little in awkwardness.

It was not until a week later that all the materials needed for the experiment were ready. The three of them did not do nothing during these days. They upgraded the internal automation equipment of the laboratory and also installed some robotic arms. Therefore, now they have to do almost nothing and just need to input what they want to do into the Three Sages System.

The reason why the modification was not carried out based on the Type 02 prototype, but instead a semi-finished test machine was prepared, was to prevent the core of the Type 02 prototype from being contaminated.

Simply put, it is to prevent the souls of experimental animals from being injected into the core of the Type 02 prototype.

and……

The task of this test is to verify Fumihiko Ikari's previous conjecture.

Test whether EVA can devour the souls of connected creatures through the lepton network. Therefore, no safety devices were installed this time, that is, the brain was transformed into the Three Sages, and even the high-purity Longinus metal was not used. To put it simply, a set of Three Sages system was equipped with an Apostle core.

After spending two days completing all the preliminary preparations, Fumihiko Ikari was about to start the experiment when Naoko Akagi came to him again.

The two came to the office, carrying Akagi Ritsuko on their backs...

We started chatting secretly.

"Let Ritsuko stay away from this experiment."

???

Seeing that Fumihiko Ikari didn't react, Naoko Akagi explained.

"If engulfment occurs during the experiment, it will be difficult to explain."

Only then did Ikari Fumihiko react.

The phenomenon of EVA swallowing and the collapse of the human body LCL...involves soul injection.

Naoko Akagi is worried that after Ritsuko Akagi knows about the EVA swallowing phenomenon, she will notice the soul injection and thus infer that the Type 02 EVA needs to be completed.

Although he felt that Naoko Akagi was thinking too much, with Ritsuko Akagi's current knowledge, the possibility of reversing everything through the EVA swallowing phenomenon was very low, but Naoko Akagi's request was not excessive, and he naturally would not deal with this matter against Naoko Akagi's thoughts.

"okay."

The two left the office and came to the control room.

Fumihiko Ikari handled the situation very decisively.

"Ritsuko, the following experiments involve some confidential information, so you need to step aside for the time being."

Akagi Ritsuko looked incredulous.

you do not trust me?

Ikari Fumihiko noticed this and explained it casually.

"This is the order just issued by the higher-ups."

As he said this, he gave Zhao Shuo a look.

Zhao Shuo was a smart man and took action immediately.

"Dr. Akagi, please follow me."

Although Akagi Ritsuko felt helpless, she felt a little better in her heart. It was not Ikari Fumihiko's wish to drive her away.

Fumihiko Ikari likes to put on a full show, so in order to increase the credibility of his previous words and make Ritsuko Akagi feel that the confidentiality level of this experiment is very high, Fumihiko Ikari asked Zhao Shuo, who had returned, to drive out the rest of the people in the control room. Only he, Naoko Akagi and Zhao Shuo were left at the scene.

After dealing with this unexpected issue, the experiment officially began.

"Are the experimental monkeys in place?"

"It's ready."

Fumihiko Ikari checked each step and only spoke after confirming that everything was ready.

"Then let's get started."

In order to control the dangers of an accident during the experiment and to confirm whether it was the space that isolated EVA's devouring instinct or the mental power provided by the player that protected the driver, the dream used in this experiment was a brand new dream world built specifically for the experiment.

There is no mental power stored in the new dream world, so there is no change after the test machine activates the dream program.

"Put in the lab monkey."

The experimental monkey entered this dream.

He looked at the empty surroundings blankly, and then started running around anxiously.

"Start the virtual link program."

"Connection successful... Synchronization rate 2.01%... No abnormalities in the experimental subject so far."

After the connection was established, the experimental monkeys did not show any signs of swallowing, except that they became more anxious.

The test machine was like a dead object, with no abnormalities.

The two looked at each other, and they were still unable to tell whether it was the transformation by the Three Sages that eliminated Eva's devouring instinct, or whether it was the dream program that created a space barrier that prevented Eva's devouring instinct.

Akagi Naoko was the first to ask.

"This test will not give any results. We must test it on a real machine to eliminate the wrong answers through comparison."

Ikari Fumihiko nodded.

"Then let's go straight to the actual machine test."

After hearing this, Zhao Shuo took out his cell phone and sent a message.

Then someone pushed a cage into the laboratory and put the sedated monkey into the plug.

After the venue staff left, Naoko Akagi asked a question.

"Which driver's seat should I test first?"

"No. 1."