The next week was spent cramming knowledge. The first three days of equipment assembly went smoothly without any issues. However, since this was a hastily assembled team, problems requiring his personal attention began to arise on the fourth day. Despite cramming a lot of knowledge, he still couldn't solve some of the issues. It was unclear if these problems were beyond the original's knowledge base; he could only give opinions based on intuition.
He thought a few more days of study would correct these mistakes, but... the errors only seemed to accumulate. Looking at the already assembled equipment, Ikari Fumihiko was genuinely afraid that it might explode when activated.
To play it safe, should he consult with Yui Ikari?
Uh!
Wouldn't that expose his ignorance?
Never mind!
I'll leave this mess for tomorrow's me to deal with! He really didn't feel like facing it now.
"You've all worked hard these past few days. Let's call it a day and go rest up. We'll start the experiment tomorrow."
As he was leaving the lab, he ran into Yui Ikari.
"Weren't you supposed to start the experiment today? Why is everyone leaving?"
Fumihiko knew from her words that Yui had been keeping an eye on the project's progress.
"They've been working intensively for a week, so I gave them half a day off. We'll start the experiment tomorrow."
"Good work! Remember to visit little Shinji when you have time. Don't focus solely on work; little Shinji is adorable, and he's soft and comfortable to hold."
Heh—
I'm not stupid; no way am I falling for your words and becoming a babysitter.
Yui looked at the silent Fumihiko and shook her head.
"You're not very endearing. Oh well... I'll come by tomorrow morning to participate in the experiment's start-up."
"Okay."
If Yui were killed in an explosion during tomorrow's experiment, would that be the end of the story?
Uh—
Besides the possibility of Gendo Ikari, that dangerous guy, targeting him, the plot's main framework shouldn't be significantly affected. At most, Gendo might go completely insane and drag all of humanity down with him... No, it's more likely he'd become like Obito Uchiha, trying everything to create a world where Yui Ikari still exists.
Yui's role in the plot is significant but not crucial. Mainly, her choice to stay in Unit-01's core paves the way for her son, Shinji Ikari, giving him a chance to save the world. Without her, Shinji might lose his protagonist role.
Eva... Angels...
Sigh!
The mere thought of these things gave Fumihiko a headache. He sighed inwardly and returned to his dormitory.
The only recent joy he found was in getting a gaming console. Although it was just a retro console similar to a Famicom and the games were old, it was still more entertaining than the computer's Minesweeper. Unfortunately, he was too busy to play for more than half an hour daily or too tired to enjoy it.
Today, I'm going to have a blast!
He hadn't been playing long before he started feeling distracted and couldn't continue.
Forget it...
Better go back and secretly test the equipment! I don't want it to explode tomorrow.
Back in the lab, he approached the control panel. Taking a deep breath, he reluctantly pressed the start button. One by one, the indicator lights turned on as expected.
Oh my god! It's a miracle it actually started...
No explosion!
No black smoke!
Seeing everything functioning normally, he initially wanted to test if the awakening program worked. However, he hesitated and abandoned the idea.
Better not...
This isn't some tame pet like a cat or dog. The test subject before him, only a head and part of a cervical spine, didn't seem threatening. Still, remembering the berserk scenes from the original work made him a bit scared.
The equipment doesn't seem to have any major issues... As long as it doesn't explode on startup, that's fine.
Given the current situation, his expectations were low: no achievements, just no failures.
Returning to his dormitory, he turned on the console, losing himself in the game as time flew by. He would've played until morning if Akagi Eiri hadn't reminded him to rest.
"Dr. Fumihiko, it's already 10 PM. You should rest; there's work tomorrow."
"Oh, okay—"
He felt a bit regretful not completing the game in one go.
No way... I can't let work delay my game completion.
Uh—
On second thought, let's delay the game.
Considering tomorrow's experiment, he decided to pause the game.
If I'm not well-rested and an accident happens, I'll be slower to react than everyone else.
In the end... he stayed up late and finished the game. The next day, he arrived at Lab 1, struggling to stay awake. Even though he arrived half an hour early, everyone, including Yui Ikari, was already there.
"You checked the equipment last night? How's it looking?"
"Yeah."
He wasn't surprised Yui knew; it would be strange if she didn't. After all, the lab was full of cameras and security personnel, and even if those failed, there were still access logs and power consumption records.
"How did it go?"
"The equipment started up fine without any adverse reactions."
"And the awakening test?"
"I didn't do it; I just checked the equipment."
Yui nodded.
"Alright, let's begin."
Everyone moved to the control room, watching the massive head submerged in a red liquid like something out of myth.
"Start the equipment."
"Starting—"
"Data is normal."
"Link is normal."
"No adverse reactions."
Everything was the same as what he experienced yesterday.
Fumihiko glanced at Yui, took a deep breath, and gave the order.
"Start the awakening program."
"Starting—"
"Signal feedback is normal."
"Data is normal..."
Just as this report finished, alarms started blaring in the control room. Before Fumihiko could issue a command, someone responded.
"Signal anomaly! Attempting to fix... Program unresponsive! Detecting abnormal data! Attempting to fix... Program unresponsive!"
He had anticipated this and immediately issued the command.
"Disconnect!"
"Values stabilizing... Link stabilizing... Continue with the disconnect command?"
"Yes! Disconnect."
Yui furrowed her brow, slightly confused. Since the equipment had returned to normal, why continue with the disconnect command? She would've canceled the termination order and observed further.
But she didn't say anything; it wasn't worth arguing over.
"Command unresponsive!"
"Initiate emergency shutdown protocol."
"Power supply cut."
With the power cut, the equipment ceased operation, and everything returned to normal. Fumihiko breathed a sigh of relief.