Good, or Don't Be

The Dummy Plug System

The Dummy Plug System was a backup piloting method that required no pilots. It was an experimental system that was to mimic the way a human pilot would fight and also trick the Evangelion into believing there was a pilot inside of the Entry Plug. In the original series, the Dummy Plug was only used on Unit 01. Additionally, in the movie, The End of Evangelion, the Dummy Plugs were also installed on Units 05-13.

Central to the Dummy Plug System was Rei. She can be first seen in a tube connected to the system, suggesting she is related to the system. Later it is revealed the system was made based on her data. The Dummy Plugs were installed on Unit 01 and used in actual combat when Shinji refused to fight the Thirteenth Angel, Bardiel, because it had taken control of Unit 03 and there was a chance of hurting the human pilot trapped inside.

Piloted by the Dummy Plug, Unit 01 tore Bardiel/Unit 03 into pieces and did not stop until it had crushed even the entry plug with the pilot side. Though this was the only time the Dummy Plug was used in combat, it shows the system is ruthless. Despite intending to replace the human pilot, the Dummy Plug does not act like an actual human would. Since the data and behavior was based on Rei, in a way it suggests this is how Rei pilots. Rei is calculating as a pilot, but she is not cruel. I think perhaps the system captured the side of her that obeys and carries out orders absolutely. Another factor may be how the Dummy Plug System was made.

In episode 23, Ritsuko reveals the truth out of spite for both Rei and Commander Ikari. The core of the Dummy Plug System is actually a huge tank filled with clones of Rei, which are to serve as spare parts for the living Rei. The clones are soulless and their minds pretty much blank. As this is the core of the system, perhaps the reason the Dummy Plug acted so ruthlessly was because it had no soul, and its mind unrestrained.

Most importantly, the Dummy Plug System was really a vast tank filled with spare Reis, which explains how Rei is able to keep on living even though evidence points to her death. Most likely, all the spares grow at the same rate as Rei, though she is the only one who carries a soul.