Third Impact Initiation
The moment humanity ceases to exist as individuals and merges into one.
The Third Impact Initiation is the climactic apocalyptic event at the heart of Neon Genesis Evangelion, marking the activation of the Human Instrumentality Project. It represents the final stage where individual human souls lose their barriers and merge into a single collective consciousness, fundamentally altering reality itself. While SEELE originally planned this using the First Angel Adam, Nerv Executive Gendo Ikari hijacked the process to utilize the Progenitor Lilith, aiming for personal reunion with his dead wife rather than global salvation.
- Event Type
- Apocalyptic Convergence
- Primary Catalyst
- Eva Unit-01 and Lilith
- Location
- Geofront Bedrock Chamber
- Key Initiators
- Gendo Ikari, SEELE
- Outcome
- Human Instrumentality Activation
- Status
- Completed (Original Continuity)
Lore & Background
The event draws heavily upon religious symbolism involving Adam and Lilith, the two progenitors of life in this timeline. While SEELE sought to use Adam to trigger an Instrumentality that would allow them to transcend humanity as they are, Gendo Ikari manipulated the situation using Lilith found beneath Tokyo-3. This divergence creates a conflict over who controls the future of existence, turning the apocalypse into a battleground for ideological supremacy regarding what it means to be human.
In Their Own Story
The Geofront was silent save for the rhythmic dripping of red fluid echoing off the cavernous walls. Shinji stood before the giant cross-shaped figure suspended in the air, its eyes closed and hands bound behind its back. Above him, Unit-01 loomed like a dark god, its orange armor stained with the substance that now filled the chamber to the ceiling. The world outside was gone, replaced by an endless ocean of blood-colored liquid that reflected no stars. He could feel the pressure building in his chest, not from pain, but from the overwhelming sensation of every other mind touching his own simultaneously.
Reader's Guide
The sequence begins when Shinji Ikari is forced to pilot Unit-01 into a berserk state after the death of Kaworu Nagisa. Gendo Ikari retrieves the Spear of Longinus from the Eva, intending to control the event himself rather than letting SEELE proceed with their vision using Adam. Once the spear pierces Lilith's chest in the bedrock chamber, the barrier protecting the Geofront dissolves. Massive quantities of red LCL fluid flood the facility and eventually cover the earth as AT Fields across humanity begin to break down. Individual souls lose their separation barriers, merging into a singular collective consciousness known as Instrumentality. Shinji is placed at the center of this metaphysical shift, holding the power to decide whether individuality returns or remains merged forever. This event marks the definitive end of the Angel battles and the conventional human experience. While SEELE sought a return to primordial unity through Adam, Nerv executed the plan using Lilith, resulting in a third iteration of global catastrophe. The aftermath leaves humanity in a state of existential limbo until a final choice is made regarding the nature of existence itself.
Did You Know?
- The source mentions that in the original 1993 proposal for the series, the fifteenth episode would have Unit 01 heavily damaged, then remodeled and upgraded, with elements later used in 'Introjection' where Zeruel damages Eva-01 and it absorbs the Angels' S² engine.
- The source states that the episode 'Introjection' was first broadcast on TV Tokyo on February 7, 1996, and drew an eight-percent audience share on Japanese television.
- The source notes that the episode's title 'Introjection' refers to the eponymous psychological concept.
- The source indicates that the episode includes cultural references to the manga artist Daijirō Morohoshi, the Japanese anime series Ultraman, Buddhism, and Christianity.
- The source reports that during the production of 'Introjection', animator Takeshi Honda gave the female characters a youthful touch.