"Child of God, this is Mari," said a man who stepped forward, looking like a US military technical officer.
He was the technical director of NERV USA.
He then introduced the fruits of their research to everyone.
This cat-eared girl, about the same size as Six, was an EVA pilot created in the United States.
Her unit was the four-legged beast that had been shipped over from the United States.
That EVA was called the Wolf Pack-a fitting name indeed.
"I heard she was fused with animal genes, but she looks like an ordinary girl. Is she a clone of Aunt Maki?"
Yet no sooner had Six said this than she got a fright.
The cat-ear-shaped objects on Mari's head, which Six had assumed were probably part of her head interface, gave a little twitch.
"Ooh, her cat ears can move!" Six's little eyes filled with enormous wonder, and her childlike curiosity came rushing to the surface.
With Aunt Maki's face and a cute body the same size as her own, Mari seemed to be a very different sort of clone.
The ANIMA technicians also turned to look.
Though biotechnology had always been NERV's specialty, humans were self-centered creatures.
Even as they ignored their own mistakes, they magnified the flaws of others.
Perhaps sensing their odd looks, the NERV USA technician offered a brief explanation.
"She also has normal human ears on either side of her head. The ones on top weren't deliberately added for their appearance, but to eliminate psychological problems."
"Whenever we run synchronization tests with an EVA that amplifies animal impulses, the traits of the fused organism manifest in the pilot's physical characteristics."
Commander-in-Chief Misato Katsuragi crouched down to meet Mari's eyes at her level.
"Hello, Mari. How are you feeling?"
"Great. Shinji likes me a lot