Then again, that's just what the Earths population was told. The truth is another matter....

The truth is that mankind was poking it's nose where it shouldn't have been. The dead sea scrolls, which in fact had been interpreted, foretold that man could attain a higher level of being. The catch was, that mankind would have to defeat 17 beings of immense power. In Antarctica the first of these beings was discovered, which unleashed a horrorfying eruption of power which led to the demise of half the worlds population. These beings came to be known as "Angels".

With little hope of standing against beings as powerful as the Angels, the United Nations decided to fund a new organization which would study and hopefully lead to the prevention of another event such as the second impact. This organization, headed by Gendo Ikari, is known as NERV. The truth is, that NERV is in fact serving to advance the compilation project which will facilitate mans evolution into a higher state of being. This is exactly what the Angels are set to prevent. Thus NERV develops the humanoid weapon known as the Evangelion: the only weapon in existence which can stand against the Angels. Should the Evangelions fail... man will become extinct.

So how did NERV come to select it's pilots? Well obviously, the person has to be capable of synchronizing with the Eva. Ah yes... but what type of person would that be?... a person that spends years honing their abilities, and synchronizing with the Eva? No, fourteen year old kids of course! This is anime after all, and everyone knows that a person that trains for years to become a warrior is nothing compared to the powers of young teenage Japanese school girls. Later on, Shinji was found to be capable (even though he's a boy).

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