The Evolution of the Concept of Arka – From Its Origins to the Moon
A brief introductory section. After posting the previous analysis dedicated to the Kikakusho and the original narrative framework that can be inferred from it – by the way, thanks to everyone who read it –, I could do nothing but delve further into that fluid stream of ideas that was Evangelion’s pre-production. I mean, I was already in it, and as a great fan that I am (of this work and of Japanese animation in general), it could hardly have been otherwise. In this particular case, my attention turned to the pre-production materials attributable to Iso Mitsuo, collected in “ ” Animation Works: Preproduction, the link to which was provided to me in the comments of my previous analysis by @Zanzor_BM. I would also like to thank everyone who, over the years, has spent time and resources translating all this wealth of material (which I will use as supplementary material), Reichu and the other collaborators mentioned by him at the beginning of the article, felineki and Nigouki.
Iso was evidently a very important figure during pre-production, having contributed to the development of numerous concepts, ideas, memos of all kinds (and, last but not least, he was also the designer of Lilith). The subject of this first analysis will be the mysterious place “Arka”, and how it evolved throughout these streams of ideas (presumably dating back to 1993-1994). Finally, I believe these analyses will take the form of a trilogy, which is why some mysteries may gradually be unveiled over the course of them.
(The order of the images in the gallery reflects the order in which these documents were discussed.)
Arka as a physical location
Let us begin with the first reference source available to us in chronological order, namely the Proposal. Within the project document, “Arka” is mentioned for the first time in episode 25, the penultimate episode, and in the title it is marked by a very specific designation, Yakusoku no Chi (約束の地), that is, the “promised land”. Below is the synopsis contained in the proposal for episode 25:
>The Laboratory houses the ancient ruins "Arka", which constitute its key.
>The UN leadership decides to abandon the "Human Instrumentality Project" and destroy the laboratory in order to stop the 12th Apostle.
>The father opposes this.
>Shinji and the others remain in the research center for Rei's sake.
>The drama of people clashing over different goals.
As it is presented, the information provided to us seems to strongly suggest that Arka is a physical, tangible place: the fact that the laboratory houses it, probably in a very deep underground section, that it is built above it (as will later be the case with the Black Moon in the final version) and serves as a shield for it, but above all the designation of “Promised Land”, which by its very nature inevitably evokes a physical place, towards which – perhaps, considering its biblical connotation – one might return.
In accordance with this first interpretation, my hypothesis followed that these ruins represented the remains of an ancient city dating back to the First Ancestral Race, coherently with the science-fiction framework that the proposal embraced (in particular Hogan’s Giants Series ). On the other hand, these ruins are also defined as “the keys” to the laboratory situated above them, suggesting to us that they were not a passive element but rather an active one within the narrative. From this, we can imagine how such a place was very likely designated as an “important revelation”, around which the originally conceived ending of Evangelion would have revolved.
On the basis of all this, we can suppose that Arka was primarily conceived as a physical location, although at the present state of things we cannot be certain of this with a good degree of probability, having (re)considered only the kikakusho.
Rei and the Nature of Arka
Moving on to the examination of the next source, we have Iso’s idea memos dedicated to the character of Ayanami Rei (p. 138 A, B, C).
On page 138 A, titled “綾波レイ [アイデアメモ] 案1.0”, the following sequence of events is proposed: Gendō fails Yui’s Instrumentality experiment > despite the failure, he manages to extract her cells, which are still alive, and cultivates them > however, this subsequent attempt at cloning also fails. Desperate, he leaves Arka (taking the card with him). Three years later, he returns there and, to his surprise, finds a three-year-old girl: Rei. Hoping to create more clones of Rei, he tried again and again, but each attempt failed. Only imperfect copies were produced. "Why only this child...?"
It is interesting, first of all, to wonder what differentiates the procedures to which Yui is subjected, since Iso uses two different terms in the memo: ユイの補完 (hokan, the same term used in 人類補完計画) and ユイのクローン (the phonetic transliteration of the term clone). My personal hypothesis is that the former may be a process similar to the one carried out in episode 20 to recover Shinji from his molecular state (that is, materially reconstructing his molecular structure – and therefore the original –, before attempting to create a copy).
Gendō leaves Arka (the memo specifically states that he takes the “card” with him, meaning his identification card), thus implicitly confirming with a high degree of probability that it is a physical place, where there must also be research personnel capable of carrying out experiments (because the experiments he conducted on his wife were performed precisely there, at Arka). But it is also the place where, after three years of absence, he finds a little Rei… Gendō tries to clone her but cannot: this is significant because it proves that Rei is, in every respect, a "biological exception". The mystery, then, seems to revolve around the question: how did that girl, whom Gendō cannot replicate, come to exist in the first place?
The strangest, and also the most uncertain part of the memo due to the way it is written, is where “孔子暗黒” is mentioned, which appears to be a reference to Kōshi Ankokuden by Daijirō Morohoshi. Something along the lines of “アルカの肉をたべて” can apparently be made out, which would be “eating the flesh of Arka” (?). The 〜みたいな can help us in this context, because it means “something like”, “something similar to”, etc. So, in my opinion, Iso is not literally describing the action of someone eating flesh (who the subject is, is unknown anyway, since it is omitted), but is probably noting down an image to use as a reference.
In memo 138 C, titled “第伍話「レイ、心のむこうに」レイの部屋・虹に関して [アイデアメモ] (2)” and explicitly addressed to Anno, Iso provides further information concerning Rei’s background.
>Rei grew up in a Terminal located far below Central Dogma. (approximately from ages 0 to 3)
Arka as mother, Gendō as father.
>In «The Cat and the Transfer Student», a blood-covered boy makes his way to the Terminal. At his feet there is something that reminds Rei of [an old?/dear?] toy — (that smells absolutely awful~).
In the background, the Essene symbol.
>Rei keeps the same toy very carefully in her room. It would be better to show it as early as episode 5.
>What could it be?
>Image: in the dark and eerily cold Terminal, the traces of the life Rei led remain.
>Yui’s Instrumentality and the generation of Eva-00 are both carried out in this Terminal.
You can imagine my astonishment upon reading this memo: Arka as mother, Gendō as father (アルカを母、ゲンドウを父として)? In this note, Iso proposes the possibility that Rei is literally conceived as the daughter of Gendō and Arka. The latter is no longer merely the place where Rei is found, but also becomes the place where she herself originated. This would also much better explain why the girl is a biological exception whom Gendō cannot replicate: he can attempt to reproduce Rei, but he does not possess the “mother” that generated her. The description of Rei that emerges from these two memos is that of a girl who belongs to Arka, born and raised there; she keeps an object from that place in her room, and the Terminal preserves traces of the life she lived there.
As for Arka as a location, we have another addition: mention is made of a Terminal situated very far below Central Dogma. There is no note explicitly stating that Arka and this Terminal are the same place; however, if we consider the consequential nature of the documents, as well as the fact that the memo states that Yui’s experiments and the generation of Eva-00 took place there, we can consider the two locations to be closely related. Or, even better: that this extremely deep Terminal itself houses the ruins and research laboratories.
Last but not least, the presence of the Essene symbol is also mentioned (the proto SEELE), thus establishing a connection between the ruins and the Essene heritage, which in turn connects back to the Dead Sea Scrolls.
What struck me the most was seeing the concept of motherhood associated with Arka. This could support my idea that the various concepts associated with Arka were, in hindsight, transferred onto the figure of Lilith: because, just think about it for a moment, Lilith is the mother of life, together with her primordial soup, and in this stage of pre-production we discover that the concept of motherhood had also been associated with Arka (it would have generated Rei). Let us remember how the GeoFront in the final version was subsequently built upon the Black Moon, that is, the ark with which the Second Apostle arrived on Earth, as well as how the creature’s design was conceived precisely by Mitsuo Iso… Naturally, these are all my own suppositions, but there is a common thread.
The Cat and the Transfer Student
As a third source, let us consider memos 159 C and D, which concern the storyboards for episode 22 entitled “The Cat and the Transfer Student” (「猫と転校生」), in which the Apostle who would later become Kaworu/Tabris appears. Before proceeding, however, a clarification is necessary: the aforementioned memos, whose respective titles are 第22話 「猫と転校生」 [ストーリーボード] (8) and 第22話 「猫と転校生」 「ストーリーボード] (9)、第拾参話 「使徒、侵入」 [設定参考]、 ターミナルドグマ [イメージボード], even though they are explicitly listed as storyboards for ep.22, may in fact not be. Let me explain: the storyboards for ep.22 would appear to be divided into nine parts, of which the eighth and ninth cited above would appear to be the last two, but when comparing the synopses it can clearly be understood that they do not match. The first seven parts all follow on from one another and perfectly support an autonomous narrative structure. The last two, on the other hand, show a different development of the story. There is an explanation and it would appear to be found in the textual data: shortly below 第22話 「猫と転校生」 [ストーリーボード] (8), we also find this: EVA20 シノプシス 4.23. In essence, these two synopses constituted part of the material originally produced for episode 20 and were subsequently reused/redistributed as material for episode 22. All of this is to explain how the sources I have considered in this instance are one of the many narrative developments relating to ep.22.
The first synopsis, briefly put, recounts Rei’s progressive discovery of her non-human origin and her connection to Arka and the Moon. The girl has an unsettling dream: she crosses a sea of mud carrying on her shoulders a person covered in blood, who is identified as Yui. Exhausted, she falls. Gendo appears with his left eye empty and bleeding. Rei herself begins to become covered in blood and upon waking she notices that only her hands are slightly bleeding: she therefore understands that her body is beginning to die.
Ritsuko warns Rei that she can no longer help her; she thanks her, as if she has now accepted her own death (this passage is very interesting, because it depicts a completely different relationship between the characters of Rei and Ritsuko from the one we will later see in the final version). At school Rei encounters the transfer student who immediately identifies himself as an Apostle; he declares that he knows she will die soon and that he has come to “receive” her. Only Rei can see him, while the others perceive him as some sort of spirit. The two then begin a short journey through the old districts that existed before the construction of Tokyo. The Apostle explains to her that human beings are made of “earth”, but that her earth is different from that of the other human beings and that it is the same one of which he is made. The Apostle finally reveals his nature: he is a messenger of the Moon and an emissary of Arka, who has come to take Rei back.
The two reach Central Dogma using Rei’s ID, entering Terminal Dogma. Eva 05 opposes them; the Apostle confronts it using telekinesis but is seriously injured. Rei proactively chooses to protect the Apostle and finally manages to defeat the unit. The two then proceed through a vacuum area and reach the Terminal, approaching the heart of the mystery of Arka.
In the subsequent synopsis, which picks up from the conclusion of the previous one, the two reach a door on which the symbol of the Essenes is engraved: at this point Rei regains her memory and recognizes the place as the one where she was raised and born (the one mentioned in the memos dedicated to her).
>Rei: Now I remember. I was raised here. I was born here.
Apostle : You are a child of Arka. Shall we get you there?
The Apostle encourages Rei onward.
Rei: We can’t go any further than this.
The Apostle walks into the vacuum area, his body shining beautifully.
Apostle : But we can. Our bodies are protected by holy light.
He leads her by the hand. Rei’s body takes on a beautiful light as well.
The Apostle enters into communication with the luminous Arka, while Asuka, who has arrived, strikes him. Asuka’s Eva snipes the Apostle . A cavity opens up, leaving Terminal Dogma fully exposed. Through the center of the hole, the full moon hangs in the sky. Rei’s heart stops and she is rescued, though in a vegetative state.
Yet Rei seems to awaken; an EVA beam from below and Rei seems to bid farewell to the Earth ("Goodbye...to the moon...") and determined to reach the Moon ("To the moon!!").
>「さようなら・・・月へ・・・・」
>下からEVAのビーム‼
>「月へ‼」
>レイ
The final sequence of events is not very clear, but the レイ placed at the end of all the dialogue at the end almost seems like a caption for the subject of the scene, as if to say that she is the protagonist of it; I therefore lean toward interpreting that the agent is her.
This passage, in my opinion, is important for several reasons: the first is that the narrative of these synopses seems to consistently refer to Arka as a place located enclosed in the depths beneath Terminal Dogma, thus placing itself in conceptual continuity with the memos dedicated to the character of Rei. The second is because the non-human nature of her character is revealed, which we discover to be made of the same earth as the Apostles (and therefore she herself can be considered one), and finally a significant connection is established between the latter and the Moon, as certified by the ending where Rei seems to be heading toward the Moon, perhaps with the intention of finally clarifying her origins. This connection woven with the Moon is important, because we will later see that it will be further reworked and developed.
Within the memo, a visual construction of the place that is the subject of the narrative is also listed (the relevant photo 159 D can be seen): at the top the Moon is indicated, below we find Terminal Dogma, which we discover is actually a base for lunar rockets, then Central Dogma (thus appearing inverted); roughly in that area the site of the explosion and the battle that has just ended is indicated. Given this visual representation, we can suppose that Arka is located even further below, as said enclosed within the bowels.
The scene as it is described also appears very spectacular, with a deliberately surreal image: the starry sky appears toward the bottom, because the perspective of the entire complex seems to invert itself like an elevator, with up and down switching places.
It is interesting that the detail that there is an “Arka substance” is also mentioned, that is, a muddy substance associated with it, which appears to corrode or cover the structure (アルカ物質に侵されている。泥のようなもので一層おおわれる).
Regarding the Moon as a destination, one could also advance the hypothesis that the latter too preserves vestiges of the First Ancestral Race, exactly like Arka on Earth. On the other hand, if they left them on Earth, why would they not have left them on its satellite as well? As in The Sentinel and 2001, here too the Moon would become the repository of a non-human past and superior knowledge. After all, the latter now seems to have been fully incorporated into the narrative, as well as being connected in some way to the Apostles themselves (many of whom, why not, could have originated precisely from there).
The Process of Cosmologization
The last source taken into consideration is memo 139 A, titled “月のモチーフ [アイデアメモ](1)”. This memo represents a fundamental step in the development of the concept of Arka, but I would dare say also for the entire cosmology of Evangelion. It is worth clarifying this from the outset: in this memo the concept of Arka evolves further, and numerous ideas/plotline suggestions are introduced, some of which would then survive in the further reworkings of the block of the final episodes. And since this is something so important, I will leave the entire text below:
>Would it be better to show the Moon‼ more explicitly? I agree with the idea that, after all, Arka is the Moon‼
>It might be a good idea that, during the Giant Impact, Arka, which was originally on Earth, was separated together with the Moon and the Earth. Or, that what came flying during the Giant Impact was precisely Arka.
>Or again, that until the moment of its arrival it was simply ordinary matter, but that, by mixing with the earth of the Earth — or, conversely, by failing to mix with it and repelling each other — it brought life to the surface. Life itself is contradiction: this is my theory. It is the physical contradiction itself that opposes heat and the second law [of thermodynamics]. Life dreams of stability and desires contradiction.
>It is still all undecided how to distribute the Adama of the Moon and the Adama of the Earth among Adam, Rei, humanity, the Apostles and the others. Rei will be the Adama of the Moon, I suppose. Could clones be obtained from the Adama of the Earth? — When her first menstruation arrives, Rei vomits blood and dies. (The Moon comes to take her back.)
>There is a theory according to which the influence exerted by the movements of the Moon on the Earth gave rise to terrestrial life. A theory born, for example, from the observation that several living organisms synchronize their cycles with the ebb and flow of the tides. Or the fact that werewolves, menstruation, the laying of eggs by marine organisms and similar phenomena are associated with high tides (full moon).
On this page, which almost seems to be characterized by a revelatory nature for the author who wrote it, Iso evolves the concept of Arka and merges it with the Moon through a substantial equivalence: Arka is the Moon itself (やはり、アルカは月‼). Since Rei was the daughter of Arka, with this evolution, Rei also becomes, by extension, the daughter of the Moon. Our satellite is personified, becoming Rei’s cosmic mother. After that, Iso proposes two theories about the birth of Arka:
Hypothesis A: ジャイアントインパクトで、もともと地球にあったアルカが、月と地球に分断した。
That is, during the Giant Impact, Arka, which was originally located on Earth, divided/separated into Moon and Earth.
Hypothesis B: と、いうのもいいですが ジャイアントインパクトでとんできたものがアルカであった。Or, what came flying during the Giant Impact was Arka (and therefore a celestial body/object coming from space).
It should be said that the term “Giant Impact” really exists, referring in real cosmology to the hypothesis of the enormous collision that would have led to the formation of the Moon; Iso therefore seems to be playing precisely with this event. Regardless of which theory one prefers, what Iso is trying to do here is give Arka a cosmological origin.
In the following paragraph the focus shifts to the theme of life. Iso here proposes a pseudo-philosophical metaphor for the birth of life characterized by his personal vision as an author: in accordance with the fact that, for the latter, life itself is contradiction (矛盾そのものが生命である), life is born when two incompatible principles are brought into relation (mixing or non-mixing of the materials, depending on the hypothesis).
The paragraph immediately following is simply pure madness: the concepts of Adama of the Moon (月のアダマ) and Adama of the Earth (地球のアダマ) are introduced, and it is written that, with regard to the latter, the appropriate distribution among all the other characters/factions involved still has to be carried out (Adam, Rei, humanity itself and the Apostles). Then it is added: Rei will be the Adama of the Moon, I suppose (レイは月のアダマなんでしょう). Then, besides wondering whether clones could eventually be obtained from the Adama of the Earth, it is written: when her first menstruation arrives, Rei spits out blood and dies (月経をむかえた時、レイは血をふき出して死ぬ) and, in parentheses, that the Moon will come to take her back (月からのお迎え).
When the distinction between the two Adama is introduced, Iso is perhaps taking the first steps toward an expansion of the cosmogonic entities of the universe of Evangelion, and it could be interpreted as an even more significant step if we think of it in terms of the definitive duality that the series would later distinguish itself by (Adam and Lilith; White Moon and Black Moon; Apostles and Lilin as different evolutionary lines and so on). It is curious to note a terminological variation: attention, these beings who are named here for the first time are called アダマ and not アダム like the First Apostle, thus the final syllable changes.
The assumptions and observations that can be made are manifold. One might think, at first glance, that the “Adama” may perhaps designate a category within which different entities are assimilable but united by the same origin or nature. Or, one could understand it exactly as it is written, that is, we have two unique entities: one represents the Moon and the other represents the Earth (and probably, in the absence of other information, this is to be regarded as the most correct interpretation). What is certain, however, is that at this point in the development the concept of a single and univocal entity designated by this name (that is, the Sentinel, the First Apostle) had been abandoned and it had been decided to expand the concept, introducing further ones. Put more simply: Adam no longer refers to a single entity but multiple entities that seem to bear this designation are introduced. Another interesting point would be to understand how to relate these entities to each other, that is, how do we relate the lunar and terrestrial Adama with the First Apostle called Adam? Because when Iso mentions that these two entities still have to find a definitive placement (even though he almost certainly candidly proposes Rei as the Adama of the Moon) the First Apostle is mentioned in the list. Perhaps it is to be understood as a replacement at his expense, or perhaps there would have been three entities that could really have coexisted in a hypothetical final version of Evangelion…
There is one last interesting thing relating to the discourse on the Adams. Remember how four Adams appear in Rebuild?
Bear in mind, I am not arguing that the concept implemented in Rebuild of the four Adams could have been recycled from this idea that appeared in the memo under examination, since these remain mere suppositions without any basis. However, it is very interesting to note – and this is a factual point – how this memo demonstrates that the introduction of multiple beings/entities called Adam had already passed through the minds of those involved during the same pre-production of the original 1995 television series.
As for the attribution of the status of Adama of the Moon to Rei, the girl’s non-human origins are made explicit in a very clear way, and not only as a clone but also by virtue of an extraterrestrial origin. Menarche, and therefore puberty, becomes the moment in which her lunar nature manifests itself. As a consequence, the Moon claims her for itself. All those who at this point thought of the tale of Kaguya hime in Taketori Monogatari have hit the mark.
The Abandonment
I chose this order of presentation because from a logical point of view I consider it the most valid. Attention: this is not the actual chronological order in which the development took place, since we do not know the dates. As such, the margin of error remains rather high, but, as stated, reasoning on the basis of the data in our possession, it is the one that I find most sensible from a logical point of view. I think the material born as ep.20 and then channeled into 22 predates the memo on the Moon, given the presence of some inconsistencies: here Arka is still understood as a place, and there is no mention whatsoever of the designation as Adama of the Moon. Furthermore, if we assume that the lines concerning the destination toward the Moon are spoken by her, this would conflict with her being claimed by the satellite, since she would be going there proactively.
At the stage of development concerning ep.22 we can notice how the plot concerning Rei’s non-human nature was about to be resolved, and how the Moon was already considered an integral part of the narrative. In the memo dedicated to the Moon, if we assume it to be later, Iso further evolves the framework, developing a cosmologization: he identifies Arka with the Moon itself (a concept then evidently discarded, perhaps because it was too extreme), introduces the concept of the Adama (identifying Rei as the Adama of the Moon) and further strengthens the connection between the satellite and the latter, providing additional background that gives meaning to the connection and outlining the Kaguya hime concept, with the Moon claiming its daughter back. We cannot prove it, but the narrative dynamic would appear to evolve in this direction. What remains common, instead, to this development flow, regardless of its actual order, is the character of Rei, who is progressively developed more and more.
Finally, as we can learn from this page (memo 160 A), titled “Plot Development Plan for Endgame and Beyond”:
>"On the basis of the Proposal, there would be a battle centered around Arka, the area beyond Central Dogma and treated as a mystery up to this point. Since it’s a relic from ancient times, we sought to create a burgeoning sense of the mythological. While some scenes partially made it in, Arka itself ultimately disappeared from the story. Leaving a few sequences behind, the whole Arka Line got decommissioned.”
