The point of the meeting to which Commander Ikari summons Cirus, Misato, and Ritsuko is obvious and simple. Ikari is setting up his trap for Cirus using Unit 14. It's simply filled in with character interaction at the beginning (One point of interest: Cirus' private narration about Ritusko and Gendo not having a relationship is just a realistic case of Cirus being mistaken, not me changing more of the story from the series. I thought it important to show that, yes, my self-insert character can be wrong, too), and some useful plot-revelation about Cirus' relationship to his Eva, which continues throughout this chapter. Indeed, the inspiration for this sub-arc of the story (Cirus being disconnected from Unit 14) came from the desire to more fully explore how intrinsically connected the two bodies really are. On a related note, SEELE's classification of any information regarding Cirus' relationship to Unit 14 is simply following their secretive style. They don't especially care about Cirus, but he's one of their many resources, which they prefer to keep quiet. Misato's thought-narration at the end may be a little vague. Effectively, she notices that since Cirus didn't nearly panic at hearing Rei suggested for the experiment, she assumes Cirus knows it won't harm the pilot, but rather the cause of concern is something else. I finished the section with a logical lead-off for Misato, which then gave me an idea for the next scene on the spot, when originally written.

Asuka's boistrous reaction is very predictable for anyone who has seen the series. Misato is already sour from worry about Cirus, and Shinji is his usual, unwilling, dejected self. A somewhat lazy character-interaction piece, mainly serving to show how the other characters view the situation before it occurs. With some humorous pokes at old in-story humor (Asuka's crush on Cirus, Asuka's overly dismissive attitude to Rei), it really sets character-context for the start of this sub-arc in the plot.

One aspect of this chapter that bothers me, as I read it now, is the lack of interaction between Ayanami-sama and Cirus. Fixing this problem would require some major re-working, and so I avoid actually doing so at this point in the life of Kenosis. Revealing more about Cirus takes the spot-light from Rei, that's unavoidable, but I feel I could keep her more in-focus, as is the general point of Kenosis. Using thought-narration for Cirus, I continue to reveal more of the secrets about him and Unit 14, especially when things begin to go badly for him. Since almost every Evangelion has had a 'berserk in the lab' sequence, I decided to join the bandwagon and give Unit 14 one, with my own spin to reveal what I want to show about Cirus/Unit 14.

Effectively, Cirus and Unit 14 are so linked, that they synch without really being connected through an entry-plug. They really are the same being, divided over two bodies in physical reality, but never truly divided. Thus, the activation experiment starts to confuse their connection, Shinji acting as a catalyst for the 'dislocation' inflicted on Cirus by the end of the scene. Deciding how to show this 'mixture' of perceptions and bodies was a fun challenge to tackle, but the images flowed to me quickly. Standing and looking as one, Unit 14's struggle to escape with Cirus mostly in the Eva's body, and Shinji actually gaining some synch to help. This is a vague point, but Shinji's 20 point synch ratio is extremely good for anyone other than Cirus. I'm showing that Shinji is still a very powerful Eva-pilot, however much I dislike him.

The drama comes from Ikari's ruthless persistance in the experiment. This makes the other characters react with emotion rather than focus, making the scene more interesting and very 'human'. Rei confronting Ikari is a powerful example of how much she has changed thus far in Kenosis. Ritsuko taking over for Maya in pushing the final commands into the computers also shows her shift from 'you'll dirty your hands like me' to 'I'll take this on for you'. I wanted to make Ritsuko a more likeable character, and this small interaction is a key aspect of that development. Cirus finally gets enough of himself into his human body to beg for the trauma to stop, and Ritusko uses it as an excuse to kill the experiment at last. However, the last line shows that he is still very connected to Unit 14.

Shinji, Asuka, and Misato's interaction just after the experiment stops is simply a logical character-interaction scene to transition from the experiment to 'some time after' more smoothly for the reader. Obviously, Misato's patience for Asuka's sour attitude is very worn by this point in the story, and this scene continues to play on that while the plot flows along. The big 'plot point' of this section is revealing that Cirus out of commission and in a dramatically ironic situation (i.e. the reader doesn't know exactly what's wrong with him.)

Finally showing Rei with Cirus, I find the part where she actually takes his hand and holds it to her own face very touching and bitter-sweet. It shows how much she cares for him, and, emotionally, sincerely needs him. My use of 'need' is specific. If Cirus did die, she would life on strong and vibrant, but this 'need' is that of trusting love, the openness to each other than can lead to so much pain for the sake of the other. His gentle shows of affection in caressing her cheek have become a symbol of that connection to her. The caressing, and, of course, his gentle smile he only really gives to her so sincerely, but that's exactly what's missing this time, pointing out the loss Rei already feels. Naturally, she'll not stand for this if she can do anything about it, especially if Ikari is involved, so she storms off to demand his help in restoring Cirus. The interaction in Ikari's office is the probably the biggest example of Ikari's villainy thus far in Kenosis. Even Reiis shocked to learn the entire experiment was a set-up just to harm Cirus so that she would have to choose between the death of her beloved, or betraying him forever. Of course, the real answer is neither option, but her emotions are chaotic initially, and she flees for the time being. The chapter ends with Ikari being very clich� villainous and brooding over his 'soon to come victory'.

As a final note, the chapter title refers to Cirus and Unit 14. The duality of the human person as a beast and a human being with a Soul. Cirus and Unit 14 can be a vague application of that idea, showing the reasoning human versus the powerful behemoth.