Chapter Text
Misato looked out the window.
It was her third day at the Antarctica research facility where her father headed an expedition, and even though she knew he worked on some kind of important project, she had a hard time figuring out what exactly the team was researching. Her dad had been too busy to explain it in detail, but earlier in the day he had promised that he would take some time for that purpose in the afternoon.
So there she sat, gazing at the endless white expanse outside and checking the clock from time to time. Hideaki had warned her about the dangers of the cold and how easy it was to get lost in the blizzards, and Misato certainly wasn't going to venture outside alone. Thinking of the cold so much made her realize that she already missed the warmth of Tokyo, as well as her friends there.
Then, her father came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.
"How's my girl doing?" Hideaki asked, patting her on the shoulder.
Misato smiled and leaned into him. "I'm okay, Dad. Just a little bored."
Her father chuckled. "I know, sweetie. I know you've been waiting for me, and guess what? I've got about fifteen minutes until we go take some samples. I figured we could have that chat now."
She rolled her eyes. "You said the same thing yesterday, though."
Hideaki scratched the back of his head. "Er, well... I'm sorry about that. It was a bit of an emergency. One of the junior researchers slipped on a ladder while trying to climb up the radio tower. The poor guy messed up his ankle pretty badly. But I promise I won't leave this time."
He sat down beside her.
"I know I didn't tell you much before we arrived here, but you have to understand that this entire expedition is of the utmost importance, not just for me, but for the whole of mankind. And that makes our findings highly sensitive, perhaps even secret. We are trying to uncover the secrets of the universe, to find out how it all began," Dr. Katsuragi explained to his daughter. "And we may have found something extraordinary, something that could change the world as we know it. We found a being under the ice, one that could hold the key to the origin of life itself."
Misato looked at her father, wide-eyed. "A being? What kind of being?"
He hesitated for a moment before answering. "We've codenamed it ADAM. It's unlike anything we've ever seen before. And my S2 theory may be connected to it somehow."
She didn't understand all of what he had just said, but she could tell her dad was excited about it from the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes. "What's your, uh, S2 theory?"
Hideaki adjusted his glasses. "S2 stands for Super Solenoid. It's something I've been working on for years. It suggests that there's another type of source of energy, one that could revolutionize the world. It's been called speculation by my colleagues, but I'm convinced that we're on the cusp of proving its existence."
His daughter nodded and looked away for a few seconds, trying to process all that information. "So you think that this thingーAdamーis connected to your theory?" she then asked.
"That's what I'm hoping," her father replied. "We still have a lot to discover about it, but the data we've gathered so far suggests that it's different from everything we know."
A thought struck his mind and he stopped momentarily to think, before adding something.
"I could show it to you. But you must promise me to be careful on the way to the digging site, I don't want you to end up in a cast."
Misato smiled. At last, she would have something exciting to do. "Okay, Dad. I'll be careful,"
"Good," Hideaki said, patting her on the back. "Let's go. Don't leave any gaps in your clothes, the cold out there is no joke."
Misato quickly stood up and followed her father out of the room. Together they joined the team that had just finished putting on their protective gearーwith such extreme temperatures anyone with common sense would put a few layers on before venturing outsideーand they all went outside. Misato walked alongside her father as they slowly made their way to the digging site. It was incredibly cold, even with layers upon layers of clothes shielding her from the wind, and she kept closing her eyes as she feared they'd freeze in place otherwise. In contrast, most of the adults around her seemed unfazed, a sign that they had perhaps acclimated to the harsh conditions after several weeks on site.
"Good morning, Dr. Katsuragi, Miss Katsuragi," greeted one of them who appeared to be the team leader. His words sounded more like shouts, as he tried to be heard above the sound of the wind.
"Good morning," Hideaki replied. "Is everything ready for the extraction? The lab will need a few more samples for the biopsy and cellular fusion tests."
"Yes, sir," the other man said. "We've already cleared enough ice to access the specimen, but the excavator broke down. Can't go further for now but we're working on fixing it."
Katsuragi nodded in response, and minutes later the group reached the site. Misato was quick to notice the huge pile of ice that had already been removed, but something else caught her attention. Near the pile was a large depression in the ground. In that crater-shaped cavity laid a creature of gigantic proportions, with two thin spikes coming out of its back, almost as if it had been impaled. It appeared to be entirely white, though Misato wondered if this was because it had been trapped in the ice for so long. The girl kept trying to observe the strange creature and attempted to distinguish its features in more detail, but it was almost impossible with the amount of ice that still covered it.
"Is that it?" she asked, pointing to the object.
"Yes," her father said, a smile spreading across his face. "That's Adam."
The survey team had already begun to set up the equipment required for the cell extraction, and Misato watched in fascination as they started to work, carefully and methodically removing a patch of ice on the unknown being before extracting a few of its cells that were then placed in a sterile container. Eventually, and after a few minutes, the survey team had collected enough samples. Dr. Katsuragi directed the team and watched them seal the last container, before turning to his daughter.
"This is it. The key to the origin of life itself. Do you realize how lucky you are to see all of this as it's happening? Most people won't know about this before a few months at least."
"It's a bit like something out of a movie," she replied. "I know it's there, but it almost doesn't feel real."
Hideaki smiled again. "I know, it's amazing, isn't it? And to think, we're just scratching the surface of what this could mean for the world. Now, we'll be back here tomorrow, but it's getting late. Let's go back to the base, eat something and sleep a bit. You've been courageous today."
Misato couldn't help but smile as she nodded. She and her father joined the rest of the group, and the trip back to the base was more enjoyable than the one from earlier as the wind has settled. The scientists chatted animatedly about what DVD they would watch during dinner, and the atmosphere was generally positive and hopeful. Everyone seemed to believe that the coming days would be filled with discoveries and breakthroughs.
None of them expected what was coming for them.