Asuka's rejection letter

[OutlawThirds]

During the sequence showing disappearing Shinikami headshots on a corkboard, we're briefly shown a memo on NERV letterhead. I'm trying to use it to make sense of Shinikami's backstory. Here's what it says:

Code: Select all

Candidate has failed to meet established performance requirements.
Thorough Assessment of subject's condition and circumstances has
concluded any probability of recovery and/or regaining prerequisites to
be minimal. Research resources have been reallocated. This decision is
final.


It could be that the idea is that the whole Shinikami program is being terminated but Asuka, by sheer determination, escapes retirement unlike the rest. Another theory I've seen floated is that there was some sort of battle royale where the clones where forced to destroy each other personally, but I don't see how this letter supports this, as you wouldn't send this letter for a dead clone, you'd sent it when explaining the decision to retire a clone. But if it's the whole program why refer to it collectively as "candidate?" Another possibility is that they where competing indirectly - whoever performed the best in some sort of trial was retained and the rest where scrapped, and the letter is shown right around when just two clones (candidates?) are left, with rejected clones getting copies of that form letter. But, then, why would Asuka have a memory of the letter that the dead clones got?

[FXArmaros98]

Honestly I think that Shikinami clones's series clones like Ayanami series were used as disposable, until the Asuka that we know managed to completed the tranings for becoming the Eva 02's pilot.

Who knows maybe the previous Shikinami like the Ayanami's series they cannot survive very long without the LCL, maybe Asuka instead mangaged to so because she was made for be more human and so no needs the LCL or maybe the contamination from the 9th Angel and the curse of Eva has made her immortal and so unlike the other Shikinami she have not a limited quantity of time for living without the LCL.

[nerv bae]

Here's some of my related speculation from another topic:

... The instrumentality picture wall shows us that only Shikinami Type 0278 and 0313* survive, and I think one of these must be the original because otherwise we would have three Asukas to keep track of rather than two. Call 0278 the original (whether born naturally or in a test tube) because she is kept center-frame during the picture wall zoom out. Then, either the memory with toddler Shinji is 0278's, pre-cloning, later transferred to 0313 (and presumably also to the hundreds of other clones), or the memory with toddler Shinji is 0313's, post-cloning, and original Asuka 0278 never experienced it. Either way "our" Asuka 0313 has the memory and gets to look back on it during instrumentality.

*Staring at the picture wall a bit, I think there are 555 total Shikinami Types, in 15 rows of 37, so that 0278 is dead-center.

Here's a screencap of the rejection letter:

SPOILER: Show

What I notice about this today, that I hadn't noticed until OutlawThirds mentioned the NERV letterhead, is that the body of the letter is right under the letterhead. There's no date, to or from addressing, or other typical letter preamble. From this I will speculate that the letter is to a candidate file, not to any particular person at any particular place. That's why the body is right after the letterhead: it's typed up raw and slipped into a physical file, without needing to be routed or mailed anywhere. Another speculation: this letter has gone straight to original Asuka's 0278 file, because 1) the letter is shown right after the picture wall zoom out finishes with only Shikinami Types 0278 and 0313 remaining and 2) only "our" Asuka 0313 is seen in operation in RoE (at least until original Asuka 0278 reappears in Shin).

[Szmitten]

I interpreted it as a euphemism for "retiring" the failed clones and isn't sent to anyone in particular and is just a memo rather than a letter.

[Blockio]

What I notice about this today, that I hadn't noticed until OutlawThirds mentioned the NERV letterhead, is that the body of the letter is right under the letterhead. There's no date, to or from addressing, or other typical letter preamble. From this I will speculate that the letter is to a candidate file, not to any particular person at any particular place. That's why the body is right after the letterhead: it's typed up raw and slipped into a physical file, without needing to be routed or mailed anywhere.

Yeah, this definitely reads more like a case report than a letter to anyone; very reminiscient of the type of thing that would be put in a medical file somewhere.

[nerv bae]

Why "candidate" in the first sentence and "subject" in the second sentence? Do both words have the same referent, e.g. an individual clone? Or does each refer to a different person or thing? If they share a referent why not use "candidate" twice or "subject" twice, instead of switching terms?

[Konja7]

Why "candidate" in the first sentence and "subject" in the second sentence? Do both words have the same referent, e.g. an individual clone? Or does each refer to a different person or thing? If they share a referent why not use "candidate" twice or "subject" twice, instead of switching terms?

I think both words have the same referent.

This may just use two different words to avoid the redundancy of using the same word. That is quite common.