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 believe everything you hear about
that 100% job placement rate- -
...%لا تصدّقوا كلّ ما تسمعونه حول نسبة التوظيف الـ100
Sonst bekommt ihr niemals zu 100 %
eine Anstellung, wie die Schüler vor euch!
No crean todo lo que escuchan
sobre el pleno empleo…
No os creáis todo lo que escucháis
sobre el pleno empleo…
Et n’allez pas croire
que vous sortirez tous diplômés, car…
Non farei troppo affidamento 
su quel tasso di occupazione garantita al 100%.
Não acreditem nesses boatos
de 100% de empregabilidade.