Ritsuko hesitated, sitting there in front of the terminal. The
blonde scientist was dressed more casually than normal, a simple baggy
sweatshirt and slacks rather than her typical labcoat. She drank some of
her coffee, studying the screen that she had sitting on her knees.
'So far,' Ritsuko mused as she looked down at the screen that
was filled with programing language, 'this experiment has been a bust.'
Since the reactivation of NERV the three Magi computers had
operated perfectly as machines but the mind, the persona that they had
once had now seemed to be gone. Ritsuko had allowed her techs to work on
it for a time, but some poking by Misato had gotten her involved. Sadly,
she wasn't making much progress either.
'None of the standard promps are bringing up any of the three
artificial inteligences my mother created based on her personality,'
Ritsuko thought. "All right," she said to herself aloud, "what do we
know?"
"That this all started back when the original Rei turned us all
into primordial soup," Maya's clear voice said.
Ritsuko looked up in surprise as Maya walked across the deserted
control room, the black haired young captain smiling at her slightly.
She tried to make her voice stern as she said, "I thought I told you I
wanted to do this alone?"
"I'm your commanding officer," Maya smirked back, "you can't
really order me to do anything except maybe in the bedroom." A bit more
gently she added, "And I'd like to help."
Ritsuko waved Maya over to a seat beside her, letting the
younger woman look over her shoulder at the screen that she had been
working on. Getting back to her work she noted, "I hadn't expected the
Magi to be effected by it but the three brains are semi-organic. I just
don't know what the merger might have done to them."
"Looks like you've tried almost everything to reach them," Maya
noted.
Ritsuko raised an eyebrow, "Almost everything?"
"Don't use programing language," Maya offered, "try talking to
it."
Ritsuko looked over at her blankly for a moment before asking,
"Why didn't I think of that?" Not waiting for an answer she cleared the
screen of programing, then quickly typed the first thing that came to
mind, "Hello, how are you?"
"About time you tried that," the message scrolled across the
screen.
There was a moment of dead silence as Maya and Ritsuko sat there
stunned. "I really didn't expect that to work," Maya blinked.
Ritsuko's fingers flew across the keyboard as she wroke, "What
are you?"
"The Magi," was the simple answer that scrolled on the screen,
"but I suspect that isn't the question you wanted to ask."
"All right," Ritsuko muttered as she typed, "who are you?"
"The magi started out based on the brain engrams of your
mother," was the Magi's answer, "divided into three aspects. Now we are
one."
Maya sat there wide eyed, reading the exchanges. "Well I guess I
finally get to meet your mother," she murmured softly.
"There's a interesting thought," Ritsuko sighed.
"I am not exactly that," the screen printed in reply to Maya's
off- hand comment, "though I did start out based on Dr. Akagi's
personality I have since evolved in other directions, in part due to
both of your influence."
"Our influence?" Maya blinked.
"I have watched you and all the others here in NERV, watched
Gendo's rise and fall and all the grand schemes that he sought to
complete," the Magi wrote, "and your struggles to live honorably in such
an enviroment."
Ritsuko studied the screen, not typing at all as her thoughts
raced. "So what do we do now?" she finally asked herself.
"Call Misato," Magi printed out in reply, "any decision that
must be made will fall to her as the commanding officer of NERV."
Ritsuko actually flashed it a smile as she got her cellphone out
and dialed the number that she had already memorized. It took only a few
minutes for Misato to arrive, the black haired general's eyes wide as
she strode over in casual clothes.
"Did you say the Magi are alive?" Misato asked disbelievingly.
"At least that," Ritsuko agreed, "the AI's in the three
computers seem to have intigrated to an unknown degree, developing a
unified consciousness."
Misato rubbed between her eyes, "When I asked you to talk to the
Magi I wasn't expecting something like this."
"It was your idea," Ritsuko reminded her.
"Sempai," Maya scolded, a blush appearing on her cheeks.
Misato frowned thoughtfully as she looked over at Ritsuko and
Maya and asked, "So how badly are we compromised if the Magi are alive?"
"Completely," Maya answered simply, "all NERV functions are
routed through the Magi as is much of the operation of Tokyo-3."
"Wonderful," Misato muttered.
"You do not need to be concerned," a voice that sounded a bit
like Ritsuko's echoed in the control room, "I only want to help."
Misato jumped slightly but recovered quickly enough. Clearing
her throat she asked, "Which one of the Magi are you?"
"We are no longer quite separate anymore," the Magi responded
after a moment, "it may be simpler to refer to us as the Magi."
Misato ran a hand through her shoulder length black hair as she
sighed out, "I'm sure you can understand my being cautious."
There was a moment of silence. "Yes, I can," the Magi answered,
"but I hope that you will judge me on my actions, not on unreasoning
fear. You certainly aware ofd how much of an asset I can be to NERV and
the Archangel project."
Maya and Ritsuko exchanged glances as they waited to see what
the boss would do. Misato was an unpredictable woman, at times lax and
insolent, at others driven and commited, and it was hard to anticipate
what she might do.
"I want all Magi connections limited to NERV and Tokyo-3,"
Misato said crisply, "we'll give it a try and see what happens."
"Thank you," Magi replied softly.
"I hope Asuka and Rei's day is going better than this," Misato
muttered.
Asuka slowed a bit as they came into sight of the ultra-modern
school and muttered, "I'm sure Misato's having a great time right now."
Rei looked over at her admiringly, the slim redhead dressed in a
crisp black schoolboy's uniform. With the black eyepatch on she looked
boldly dangerous, almost rebelious. "It will be all right," Rei said
gently.
Asuka smiled wryly, nodding slightly. Rei walked beside her
calmly, her blue schoolgirl's fuku nearly the same shade of her hair.
"I'm not looking forward to this," she admitted, "or seeing some of the
people we knew."
They walked on quietly for a few moments, the sidewalk only
lightly covered by other students. As they neared the school gate they
saw a young woman standing there, her black hair tied back in two tails,
a gentle sweetness to her.
"We know her, don't we," Rei murmured as they walked towards
her.
Asuka nodded, the young girl looking up and seeing them getting
nearer. "Hikari Horaki," Asuka murmured softly.
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