Rei Ayanami's birth date is never specified in the original series. All data about Rei's past are unknown or erased; her age (14 in 2015) is the only known fact. Officially, Rei is chosen by an organization called the Marduk Institute as the First Child and pilot of Eva Unit-00 to defeat creatures named Angels for the special agency Nerv, under the command of Gendo Ikari. She moves to the first municipal middle school of the new city of Tokyo-3, and Gendo becomes her legal guardian. Through the course of the series, Rei, who is originally completely submissive to the will of Gendo, becomes friends with fellow Eva pilot and classmate Shinji Ikari. She also begins to become more aware of her own identity and desires.