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...
Don't blow off studying history because
you think it won't help get you a job!
لا تنفروا من دراسة التّاريخ فقط لأنّكم
!تظنّون أنّه لن يساعدكم في العثور على عمل
Nehmt den Geschichtsunterricht gefälligst ernst,
wenn ihr einen Beruf erlernen wollt.
No ignoren sus estudios de historia porque
piensan que no les ayudará a conseguir empleo.
No ignoréis la historia porque penséis que 
no os ayudará a conseguir trabajo.
Ne négligez pas le cours d’histoire
Non prendete alla leggera le ore di storia
Acham que não precisam de história
porque ela não vai ajudar a arranjar emprego?