Fifteen years had passed since the greatest cataclysm in human history, a massive blast in the Arctic Circle universally referred to as the Second Impact. It's consequences were far reaching, and untold lives were lost as a result of the fallout.
In those fifteen years the world began recovering, ecosystems healed, infrastructure was rebuilt, entire cities were constructed to carry humanity to a new era.
With the fear of a Third Impact looming over their heads government entities like NERV took shape in the ashes of the old world and carved their own path into the future, preparing for the trials they knew were still to come.
From NERV the Evangelion units were born, godlike creations that needed a perfectly matched human pilot to control them.
NERV-01, 03, and 04, the Eastern United States, German, and Japanese sections elected to raise their pilots from birth, often exposing the young subjects to heavily damaging situations.
Sensing an error in their brutal ways and having learned important lessons from their sister branches, the second branch of NERV located in Nevada elected to take a different route.
Just six months before the attacks leading up to the Third Impact were expected to begin NERV-02 released a simulator in the form of the worlds most advanced arcade machine, equipped with all the necessary sensors to evaluate each users compatibility with the Evangelion program.
While the simulator was very complex, its objective was quite simple. Users would be tasked to use their simulated Evangelion unit to defeat a series of computer controlled foes, each more difficult than the last. Scoring was determined by the number of AI defeated, projected synchronization rate, and negation of collateral damage. Each user would be given a single attempt or up to half an hour in the simulation every calendar day, and at the end of a six month period the highest scoring users would compete for a spot as a pilot.
Nearly half a million simulator units were manufactured and shipped to cities and towns all across the United States, along with announcements from NERV that they would be used to select pilots to be trained for a new technology.
The announcements created a tidal wave of excitement in the country's youth, many of whom were eager to test their might and many to make something great of themselves.