Death and Rebirth
Glossary of Terms

[Adam]
Adam is the name of the first Angel that appeared in Antarctica and is said to have been the cause of Second Impact. Ryohji Kaji also said that the embryo-like object he carried in the attaché case as he returned from Germany was "The first human -- Adam".

It hardly needs be said that Adam is the first human recorded in the book of Genesis in the Old Testament. The etymology of the word "Adam" is currently unclear, but there are theories that it is related to "earth", "red" and "create".

[Umbilical Cable]
The Evangelion normally operate on electrical power received from a cable called the umbilical cable. The Evangelion have a short active time using internal power, but can remain active for longer periods when supplied with electrical power from an external source. "Umbilical cable (cord)" means the blood vessels which extend from baby's navel to the placenta of its mother's womb. Thus, like a fetus receives nutrients through this umbilical cord, the Evangelion receive electric power through the umbilical cable.

[A.T. Field]
The Angels and Eva use the A.T.Field (ABSOLUTE TERROR FIELD) as a form of barrier during battles. This field has enormous defensive power, and can almost completely neutralize humankind's current weaponry. The last Angel, Nagisa Kaworu, described it as "the light of the soul" or "the barrier of the heart that everybody has." Perhaps the A.T.Field is a form of mental/spiritual power deployed as physical power.

[Evangelion]
The formal name is "All-purpose Humanoid Fighting Machine Evangelion" (HANYOU HITOGATA KESSEN HEIKI EVANGERION). Special Agency NERV spent 14 years of time and astronomical sums of money to build the Evangelion in order to protect humankind from the Angels. The Evangelion also seem to play an important role in the Instrumentality Project (HCP). The only people who can pilot Evangelion are 14-year old boys and girls who lack mothers. 3 Evangelion units are stationed at NERV: EVA-00, EVA-01 and EVA-02.

[S^2 Engine (S^2 KIKAN)]
The "S^2" in S^2 engine is the abbreviation of SUPER SOLENOID. Most of the Angels apparently use this S^2 engine as their power source. The Evangelion operate on electrical energy and can only remain active for a short time on internal power, so they must often rely on external electrical power supply. Equipping the Evangelion with S^2 engines is currently under investigation, and the explosion at the 2nd US NERV Branch was caused by an accident during an S^2 engine mounting test. EVA-01 succeeded in taking an S^2 engine directly into itself when it devoured the 14th Angel Zeruel.

[L.C.L]
When the Eva pilots are inside the Eva, they are protected by an amniotic fluid called L.C.L. Before being electrically charged, L.C.L. is a yellow, viscous fluid that smells like blood. L.C.L. performs a number of functions such as linking the pilot and the Eva, supplying oxygen directly to the lungs, and protecting the pilot from both mental attacks and physical shocks.

[Entry Plug]
The cockpit in which the Eva pilot sits. It is shaped like a long, thin capsule, and the pilot boards the Eva by having the entry plug inserted into the Eva. The entry plug is inserted to what on a human would be the nape of the neck -- right at the position of the cervical vertebrae. In an emergency the plug also serves as an escape capsule, and is equipped with a parachute and ejection rockets for this purpose.

[Gehirn]
The former investigative agency of the Instrumentality Committee. Gehirn had branches around the world, and its initial members included Gendou and Yui Ikari and Naoko Akagi. Fuyutsuki, Ritsuko and Misato also joined this organization later. Gehirn was disbanded on the very day that Dr. Naoko Akagi completed MAGI in 2010, and the organization was transferred in its entirety to Special Agency NERV, which was to carry out the various projects. Yui once said that SEELE and Gehirn were organizations for preventing Third Impact. [Translator's note: Yui said "the final tragedy", not "Third Impact".]

[Core]
The Angels have a giant red sphere inside their bodies. This is the core, and is said to be the only weak point of the Angels. During the battle with the 14th Angel Zeruel, the existence of a similar core-like object was also confirmed inside EVA-01, but it is unclear whether this same object also exists in EVA-00 and EVA-02.

[Dead Sea Scrolls (SHIKAI BUNSHO)]
SEELE appears to have built the Evangelion and fought the battles against the Angels based on writings called the "Secret Dead Sea Scrolls". The "Dead Sea Scrolls" are actual documents that were excavated from a cave near the Dead Sea in Israel in 1947. Their contents include the Old Testament of the Bible and its Apocrypha, as well as other non-biblical religious documents. Most of these are said to have been written by the Essenic branch of Jewism from the 3rd century B.C. to the 1st century A.D. The relation between the actual "Dead Sea Scrolls" and SEELE's "Secret Dead Sea Scrolls" is unclear.

[Angels (SHITO)]
The group of supernatural weapons that assault New Tokyo-3. They have varying appearances and abilities, ranging from gigantic creatures to a computer virus Angel, a "shadow" Angel without tangible form, and even a human-sized Angel. Although their constituent elements differ, the signal arrangements and coordinates of the characteristic waveform patterns unique to Angels closely resemble human genes. Their objective appears to have been the giant deep underground below NERV headquarters.

If we are to believe Kaworu's words, the other Angels were born from the 1st Angel Adam. Further, according to Misato in "REBIRTH", humans are "The 18th Angel, who were born from a being called Lilith, who is the source of life just like Adam."

[Instrumentality Project/Human Complementation Project (HCP)
(JINRUI HOKAN KEIKAKU)]
Like the name implies, this is a project to complement humankind's wanting parts and achieve a "perfect existence". This project was being advanced by the Instrumentality Committee as well as Gendou Ikari and NERV.

In "REBIRTH", Misato says that it is a project to "artificially evolve Humankind, which has reached its limit as a colony of flawed and separate entities, into a perfect single being." However, it appears that the complementation of humankind envisioned by the elders of SEELE does not equal the complementation aimed for by Gendou and Fuyutsuki.

[SEELE]
A secret organization that existed even before Second Impact, and which appears to wield enormous power throughout the world. It seems that Instrumentality and other projects are being carried out based on the "Secret Dead Sea Scrolls" possessed by SEELE. Yui Ikari appears to have had some connection with SEELE since her university years, but the details are unclear. "Seele" means "soul" in German. Further, the names of all the organizations that are related to SEELE, such as Gehirn and Nerv, are also derived from German.

[Second Impact]
In the year 2000, SEELE and Gendou attempted to minimize the damage by reducing the 1st Angel Adam to embryo form before the other Angels awakened. As a result, the 1st Angel Adam exploded in Antarctica, causing floods, volcanic eruptions, abnormal weather and other cataclysms around the world and killing half the world's population. This was the greatest impact since an asteroid collided with Earth 4 billion years ago (= Giant Impact), and thus came to be called Second Impact. The cause was explained to the general public as a massive meteorite falling on Markam Mountain in Antarctica. The earth's climate changed drastically following Second Impact. Japan lost its four seasons, and endures a year-round summer climate.

JSSDF (SENJI)]
"Senji" (JSSDF) is the abbreviation for "Senryaku Jieitai" (JAPAN STRATEGIC SELF DEFENSE FORCE). An organization directly under the command of Japan's military establishment, it was created due to military clashes between China and Vietnam over the Spratleys in 2003. The English name is "JAPAN STRATEGIC SELF DEFENSE FORCE", abbreviated as JSSDF. The land, naval and air divisions of the original Japan Self-Defense Force were all incorporated into the UN Military, and the JSSDF are the only force under the direct command of the Japanese government.

[New-Tokyo-3]
New Tokyo-3 is located on the shores of Lake Ashinoko in the current Hakone, and is the main stage for "Evangelion". Old Tokyo was annihilated by Second Impact and a new type of bomb that was dropped just one week later. Even those areas in which buildings remain are mostly underwater. Japan's capital city in this era is New Tokyo-2, which was constructed in Nagano Prefecture. Although it was generally publicized that New Tokyo-3 was being constructed as the new capital city that would replace New Tokyo-2, it is actually a fortified city which was prepared to fight the coming Angels. However, it was largely destroyed by the explosion caused by EVA-00 in the battle against the 16th Angel Armisael.

[Dummy Plug]
The limited nature of the pilots is a serious drawback for Evangelion as an all-purpose weapon. The dummy plug is a simulated entry plug developed to operate the Eva without the pilots as a means of overcoming this drawback. The personality of Rei Ayanami is transplanted to the dummy plugs. In addition, soulless Rei Ayanami bodies floating in a giant tank are used as the core of the dummy system.

The dummy system was first used on EVA-01 in the battle against the 13th Angel Bardiel. However, the Eva's behavior at that time did not resemble Rei's piloting in the least, and instead gave the impression of unbridled, feral brutality.

[Children]
Evangelion pilots who are limited to 14-year old boys and girls. These pilots are called "Children" (qualified persons), and are identified as First, Second and so on according to the order of their selection. Of these, the First (Rei) and Third (Shinji) Children have extremely similar personal patterns, and Eva crossover tests are even performed between the two. All the candidates for Children are gathered in the New-Tokyo-3 First Municipal Junior High School which Shinji attends, and all members of Class 2-A are in fact candidates. It is not clear why the plural form (CHILDREN) is used instead of the singular form (CHILD). Incidentally, the word CHILD includes various additional meanings such as: embryo, fetus, descendant, product, and even a person who has emerged from a special environment.

[Special Agency NERV (TOKUMUKIKAN NERV)]
Outwardly, Special Agency NERV was formed by the United Nations for the purpose of investigating, researching and destroying the Angels. However, its true purpose appears to be the execution of the Instrumentality Project (HCP). It has branches around the world, and its headquarters is located in the Geofront (deep underground city) spreading underground New Tokyo-3. Nerv is German for "nerve".

[MAGI]
The "brain" of NERV, the super-computer MAGI consists of three computer systems: MELCHIOR-1, BALTHASAR-2 and CASPER-3. These three computers investigate various projects, problems and strategies. MAGI was developed by Naoko Akagi, mother of Ritsuko Akagi, and also lover to Gendou Ikari. MELCHIOR-1, BALTHASAR-2 and CASPER-3 have slightly differing programs, having had Naoko Akagi's thought patterns as a scientist, a mother, and a woman input to them. In other words, the dilemmas inside a single human heart were intentionally transplanted into a computer. The naming for MAGI is derived from the three wise men from the east who prophesied the birth of Jesus in the New Testament.

[Marduke Agency (KIKAN)]
Evangelion pilots have special requirements -- they must be 14 years old, have no mother, and be able to have a core prepared for them. Of course, they must also be able to achieve a high sync ratio with the Eva. Persons who satisfy these requirements and are suitable for piloting Eva are selected by the Marduke Agency, an advisory agency under the direct control of the Instrumentality Committee. The Marduke agency selected four Children, starting from the first, Rei Ayanami.

However, Ryohji Kaji discovered that the Marduke Agency did not in fact exist, and that NERV itself selected the pilots. Incidentally, Marduke is the name of a Babylonian deity.

[Lilith]
A giant called Adam is crucified on a cross behind a door called Heaven's Door deep below NERV HQ. Kaworu Nagisa said that this giant was not Adam, but actually Lilith. He also called humankind the "Lilim". In Rabbinical scripture, the name Lilith refers to the first wife of Adam, and the Lilim are the demons born between Adam and Lilith.

[Lance of Longinus (RONGINUSU NO YARI)]
A giant lance-shaped object. It appears to have been used on the 1st Angel Adam during Second Impact, but the details are unclear. After that, it was transported from the South Pole to NERV HQ, where it was stuck into the chest of the giant sleeping deep below the HQ. It appears to have been used to stop the regeneration of this giant. According to the words of Keel in "REBIRTH", it seems to have been needed for complementation.

Gendou instructed Rei to use the Lance of Longinus in the battle against the 15th Angel Arael. Although the Lance destroyed the Angel, it continued on to reach the Moon and became irretrievable.

Incidentally, Longinus was the name of the soldier who pierced Jesus with his lance as He was crucified on the cross.

< BACK TO MAIN INDEX