Item from Neon Genesis Evangelion by Hideaki Anno / Gainax
A shadow organization that has been steering human civilization toward deliberate extinction and rebirth for decades — using prophecy, money, and patience to make the apocalypse run on schedule.
SEELE (German for 'soul') is the secret organization that has controlled the trajectory of human civilization since before Second Impact. They possess the Dead Sea Scrolls — a set of prophecies that predicted the Angels' return and outline the path to the Human Instrumentality Project. SEELE funded Gehirn and then NERV, manipulated the United Nations, covered up the true cause of Second Impact, and directed the Evangelion project — all toward the goal of forcibly evolving humanity by merging all souls into one being through Third Impact. Chairman Keel Lorenz leads the twelve-member council. Their relationship with Gendo is adversarial — he uses their resources while pursuing his own version of Instrumentality. When Gendo's treachery becomes clear, SEELE sends the JSSDF and the Mass Production Evangelions to take NERV by force.
SEELE has no physical form to see — it manifests as twelve numbered monoliths in a dark room, classified documents stamped with its seven-eyed logo, and the quiet rearrangement of world events. Its symbol is a seven-pointed inverted triangle with an eye, matching the mask on Lilith.
Also known as: SEELE, The Council, The Human Instrumentality Committee