章 45: Chapter 45

"As you know, the current situation in China has created a vortex of unwanted activity," SEELE 01 said from behind the anonymity afforded to him by the monolith marked 'Sound Only'. "Needless to say, the actions of Gendo Ikari are to blame for this."

"We should not have allowed him such leeway. The fact is that a wild beast is the most dangerous when trapped," SEELE 02 said. "And Gendo Ikari is no less of a beast than most maniacs in history."

Musashi Kluge stood in the middle of the circle created by all 12 monoliths. The only light in the otherwise dark room was that generated by the bleak holographic stand-ins for people who could have been yards away or miles away. It was like standing in a 21rst-century Stonehenge where men had supplanted gods as objects of worship.

And while he didn't find the overcomplicated protocol of their meetings particularly bothersome, it was somewhat frustrating that they did not trust him enough to deliver their directives face-to-face. He wondered what they would say if he told them that even the electronic voice boxes they used to disguise their accents could only do so much, and that a skilled listener would be able to pick up their cadence. Given that there were only a few people truly in a position to be part of such a secret organization, it would only be a matter of careful research to narrow some of them down.

But Kluge had no need to do that. He knew the head of this organization from the days of firebrand politics following the Second Impact and the ensuing cover-up, when lies kept the world together in the wake of total catastrophe. Keel, at least, felt he could trust him, and that was enough. Through the years their relationship had allowed Kluge to get away with things that were far beyond the scope of even a Department Chief. Oversight was a meaningless word when the people watching the watchmen knew and already consented to the methods of those being watched.

"We understand this is a troubling situation, but it is not a motive for panic," SEELE 10 said. "The UN must certainly be aware of that. Chief Kluge?"

Kluge shook his head. "Oh, they're in a panic. I don't believe there is much room for reasoning at the moment."

"Ikari must have known that this would happen," SEELE 12 said. "He did order the Chinese experiments, and they seized upon the opportunity despite the UN's objections."

Of course, the Chinese government could hardly be blamed for looking after its own interests. In a world without any superpowers, whatever advantage a nation could gain over its rivals could be the difference between ruling and being ruled. Even the ban on nuclear weapons had done little to hamper their trafficking—governments had simply stopped doing so overtly and moved on to traffic by proxies.

Politicians seemed to think that just because they said something was illegal everyone else was bound to agree. They misunderstood the lack of opposition for acquiescence. That simply wasn't the case; battling in the field of global politics was too expensive and time consuming when there were other methods available to people with the will and power to exert their influence. The Evangelion was no different.

"The Chinese have gotten their due for helping Ikari," SEELE 01 pointed out. "We can only hope that this will deter other rogue governments from doing the same thing in the future. Now we can move in and fill the void."

"The recovery effort is not the committee's concern," SEELE 08 said briskly.

"No. What is of our concern is the fact that the UN was told that there were no more Angels in an effort to destroy NERV's bargaining power," SEELE 03 said. "This incident will harm our credibility in certain circles."

"Surely, it is what Ikari must have intended," SEELE 07 said. "To force his influence over ours."

"Indeed," SEELE 02 began. "We are aware of his intentions, and he knows that we will not allow him to continue his plan. However, although we know the final destination, we do not know the road he will take. This latest situation is irrefutable proof that he cannot be entirely predicted."

"Mind you," Kluge said, repeating himself on this issue. "We still have no actual evidence. Which doesn't mean he isn't responsible, only that we cannot pin this on him in the court of international opinion."

That reasoning was not going to stop SEELE from blaming Ikari, but other people didn't know him as well as they did. Other people would need proof.

"Ikari has sought to unsettle us in the past, by losing the Spear of Longinus and refusing access to the First Child, but we devised a second scenario," SEELE 09 said. "He must also know this, so he concocted a new scenario of his own."

"That is what this is all about," SEELE 05 said. "He is challenging us."

Kluge nodded. "Be that as it may, it doesn't change the fact that he played this one brilliantly. Had we had a more competent agent in place, perhaps-"

"We have already gone over this, Chief Kluge," SEELE 07 cut him off, which surprised him. "It is permissible for you to disagree with the decisions of this council, but the matter has been settled before. Nakayima was the best tool available for the job precisely because he wasn't obvious."

"But it didn't do us any good in the end," Kluge retorted, momentarily forgetting his place.

"I trust nothing untoward has happened to the agent," SEELE 07 said.

"No," Kluge couldn't help the grin that came over his wrinkled face. "Of course not."

He couldn't really know that, but as far as he was concerned Nakayima was alive when he left him. He didn't believe himself responsible should the younger man bleed out on the street as a result of his wound.

"To every action there is a re-action," SEELE 09 said, steering the conversation back to its original purpose. "And now we must deal with this so-called 'Angel'. This Samael. What an insult."

"Man is not meant to create Angels, just as he's not meant to create gods," SEELE 01 added. "To do so is to defy God's power."

"We still don't know the nature of this threat," Kluge pushed Nakayima's fate to the back of his mind and followed along. "It is entirely possible it is simply the result of unforeseen consequences. The Emerald Tablet is not fully understood."

"This Angel was created by the foolishness of Man," SEELE 05 said. "But it is a beast of destruction and does not follow the rules of Man, and not even those of the Most High."

"We know what it is," SEELE 03 said. "It's a spawn, the first of those which will be brought forth by the Tablet's power. But it seeks not just destruction. We now know there was a reason Naoko Akagi abandoned that project so long ago."

So they said, but Kluge wondered if it was the truth. Had they known what the Emerald Table could do—assuming that it really was the Tablet that created this Angel—and still allowed Ikari access to it in a bid to call his bluff, then they were responsible for it too. It was also possible they had seen this coming and planned accordingly around it. Kluge was not a gambling man, but if he had been, he would bet on the latter.

Neither option troubled him much. He had long since come to understand that sacrificing pawns was often part of a winning strategy, which meant that a lack of scruples was almost mandatory.

Cruel as it might be, that was the nature of the world.

"Understanding is the key," SEELE 02 said. "That is what fuels this fearful symmetry. And when it understands Mankind, it will seek the total annihilation of its humanity, much like the previous Angels, and it will find the being guilty for the wretchedness of the Human race: Lilith, not Adam. Once Lilith is brought to divine justice…"

"The world will end," SEELE 01 said.

Unless NERV was victorious, Kluge thought. And if it was then Gendo Ikari would be a hero in the eyes of a lot of very powerful people. On the other hand, if it failed everyone would be far too dead to care.

It was a brilliant plan. Musashi Kluge could admit that much. Worthy of a man like Ikari. Of a monster.