On the day of the ceremony marking the transition from the A.D. to the Universal Century calendar, the space station Laplace, official residence of the Earth Federation prime minister, is destroyed by a terrorist bombing. One of the terrorists, a young man named Syam Vist, is caught in the explosion but barely manages to survive. He obtains a forbidden box that will come to be known as Laplace's Box.

Almost a century later, in Universal Century 0096...
Yes. Not only did they lose three mobile
suits, but they let them get away.
.أجل. لم يفقدوا ثلاث بذل متنقّلة فحسب، بل وسمحوا لهم بالهرب أيضًا
Ja. Sie sagten, sie hätten 3 Mobile Suits
und das Ziel verloren.
Sí. No solo perdieron tres Mobile Suits,
sino que además dejaron que escaparan.
Sí. No solo perdieron tres Mobile Suits,
sino que además dejaron que escaparan.
Oui. Ils ont perdu trois MS
et l’ennemi leur a échappé.
Sissignore. Hanno perso ben tre Mobile Suit, 
e inoltre se li sono lasciati scappare.
Sim. Perdemos três Mobile Suits,
e ainda deixamo-nos fugirem.