Serial Experiments Lain (1998) s01e05 Episode Script
Distortion
1
If you can hear it,
it is speaking to you.
And if you can see it,
then it is your
Mankind is a creature that no
longer evolves, is it not?
Compared to other animals, the cancer
rate in man is exceedingly small.
One theory says that man is a neoteny
and is no longer able to evolve.
If this is true, then what an absurd
creature man has evolved into.
Not knowing what it
is that drives them,
they keep their bodies merely to
satisfy the desires of the flesh.
They're worthless, don't you think?
That's all mankind is.
But it is no longer necessary
to remain a wretched human being.
Mankind has finally created an
exit whereby he may escape.
What do you mean?
The network. The Wired, Lain.
Who are you?
I'm God.
Wanna go get something to eat?
Hey, aren't you hungry?
Hey, wanna go to the pool next time?
Oh, man
Tell me a story!
Come on, please!
Tell me a story, okay?
What kind of story would
you like to hear, Lain?
Let's see
Something I don't know about!
There is nothing that
you don't know.
I can't tell you a story
that doesn't exist.
You understand, don't you?
Well, how about this, then?
For every event, there
is first a prophecy.
An event first comes into existence
when there is a prophecy.
Who? Who makes the prophecies?
Throughout Tokyo today, the VTCZX road
traffic information transmission system
sent out incorrect information.
Especially at congested intersections,
traffic signals interfered with the
auto-drive program in cars and
trucks, sending them out of control.
There was a fatality
in Shibuya, Tokyo,
but the Information Ministry says
that the system is already back up,
and that such an accident
will never happen again.
Excuse me.
Huh?
Uh
Mind if I hit on you?
Oh, shit
Later!
H-Hey!
That little creep
Damn it, this is gonna stain
W-What the heck is this?
Some kind of bad joke
What the hell?
What's she doing?
Is she crazy?
Lain?
What's her problem?
The prophecy is
being fulfilled, Lain.
But then it's not a prophecy
No, it is a prophecy.
History is not merely a linear
collection of points that
we pass through
on a time line.
They are connected by a line.
No, perhaps it is more accurate to
say that they are made to connect.
By who? Who connects them?
Lain!
What did you do?
I had no idea. I guess
you're pretty good.
I didn't know you could pull off
a hacky stunt like that already.
What're you talking about?
Playing innocent again, huh?
I really don't
You didn't do it, Lain?
Do what?
The Information Control Bureau
of the Information Ministry
began investigating yesterday's
information network abnormality,
stating that it was very
likely a deliberate act.
With the network now a lifeline for
not only the city, but for society,
such an act is tantamount to
Your total is 948 yen.
Out of 948 yen.
Please, enjoy your meal.
Huh? There it is again.
Again?
What?
Spam. Indiscriminate mail.
I'm really getting tired of this
"Fulfill the prophecy," right?
Is it a declaration of
war by some cult group?
I asked some geeks I met on
the Wired about it a while ago.
They said it might be the Knights.
Knights? Who's that?
Some kind of super-hacker group.
But I thought hackers don't
usually work together.
True. But maybe this Knights
group really isn't a group at all.
They say they have a lot of power in the
Wired, and that they do a lot in secret.
So they're a secret society.
Geez, do they get their
kicks out of this stuff?
I'm not sure why
Huh?
but something tells me that they're
not in it for fun or for money.
It's reasonable to see the Wired as
an upper layer of the real world.
In other words, physical reality
is nothing but a hologram
of the information that
flows through the Wired.
Mom?
This is because the bodythe activity
of the human brainis merely
a physical phenomenon caused by
synapses delivering electrical impulses.
I
The body exists only to
verify one's own existence.
Are youAre you really my mom?
Are you?
Lain?
Huh?
Didn't I see you at Shibuya?
Forget it. It's nothing.
Thank you!
Hey, don't you think
he's pretty cute?
How did it go with him?
Come on, you can tell us!
W-What? What prophecy?!
What's going on?
I usually have dinner with
Mom and Dad about now
Wha
What's happening?
I-Is someone there?
Come on, I know you're there.
Are you my real dad?
It may be that what flows through the
Wired isn't merely electrical information.
Huh?
If we assume that it was the
development of electricity and phones
that brought about the
formation of the Wired,
then I have to wonder if another
world was created at that moment.
Uh
Here in the real world,
God exists only as a concept.
But in the Wired, there may be
a sort of Deus-like embodiment.
God?
I don't know whether or not
it should be called a god.
But at the very least, I think
it has the same kind
of power that is
written of in myths.
I think I may have talked with God.
It's possible that the Deus of the
Wired may already have enough power
to affect the real
world in some instances.
YesIn the form of prophecy.
Prophecy?
What's wrong?
It's nothing. Forget about it.
Who is it today?
I thought I was innocent,
but I'm being punished.
I didn't start this, but I
have to finish it somehow.
I can't say I didn't know about it,
but I don't remember taking part in it.
I get the feeling my
freedom cost me dearly,
but I don't remember
selling my soul cheaply.
Hey, hey!
Until I die and say goodbye
Hey, hey!
no one can catch me.
You probably don't know
the eternal outlaws
who wander the distant night.
If you can hear it,
it is speaking to you.
And if you can see it,
then it is your
Mankind is a creature that no
longer evolves, is it not?
Compared to other animals, the cancer
rate in man is exceedingly small.
One theory says that man is a neoteny
and is no longer able to evolve.
If this is true, then what an absurd
creature man has evolved into.
Not knowing what it
is that drives them,
they keep their bodies merely to
satisfy the desires of the flesh.
They're worthless, don't you think?
That's all mankind is.
But it is no longer necessary
to remain a wretched human being.
Mankind has finally created an
exit whereby he may escape.
What do you mean?
The network. The Wired, Lain.
Who are you?
I'm God.
Wanna go get something to eat?
Hey, aren't you hungry?
Hey, wanna go to the pool next time?
Oh, man
Tell me a story!
Come on, please!
Tell me a story, okay?
What kind of story would
you like to hear, Lain?
Let's see
Something I don't know about!
There is nothing that
you don't know.
I can't tell you a story
that doesn't exist.
You understand, don't you?
Well, how about this, then?
For every event, there
is first a prophecy.
An event first comes into existence
when there is a prophecy.
Who? Who makes the prophecies?
Throughout Tokyo today, the VTCZX road
traffic information transmission system
sent out incorrect information.
Especially at congested intersections,
traffic signals interfered with the
auto-drive program in cars and
trucks, sending them out of control.
There was a fatality
in Shibuya, Tokyo,
but the Information Ministry says
that the system is already back up,
and that such an accident
will never happen again.
Excuse me.
Huh?
Uh
Mind if I hit on you?
Oh, shit
Later!
H-Hey!
That little creep
Damn it, this is gonna stain
W-What the heck is this?
Some kind of bad joke
What the hell?
What's she doing?
Is she crazy?
Lain?
What's her problem?
The prophecy is
being fulfilled, Lain.
But then it's not a prophecy
No, it is a prophecy.
History is not merely a linear
collection of points that
we pass through
on a time line.
They are connected by a line.
No, perhaps it is more accurate to
say that they are made to connect.
By who? Who connects them?
Lain!
What did you do?
I had no idea. I guess
you're pretty good.
I didn't know you could pull off
a hacky stunt like that already.
What're you talking about?
Playing innocent again, huh?
I really don't
You didn't do it, Lain?
Do what?
The Information Control Bureau
of the Information Ministry
began investigating yesterday's
information network abnormality,
stating that it was very
likely a deliberate act.
With the network now a lifeline for
not only the city, but for society,
such an act is tantamount to
Your total is 948 yen.
Out of 948 yen.
Please, enjoy your meal.
Huh? There it is again.
Again?
What?
Spam. Indiscriminate mail.
I'm really getting tired of this
"Fulfill the prophecy," right?
Is it a declaration of
war by some cult group?
I asked some geeks I met on
the Wired about it a while ago.
They said it might be the Knights.
Knights? Who's that?
Some kind of super-hacker group.
But I thought hackers don't
usually work together.
True. But maybe this Knights
group really isn't a group at all.
They say they have a lot of power in the
Wired, and that they do a lot in secret.
So they're a secret society.
Geez, do they get their
kicks out of this stuff?
I'm not sure why
Huh?
but something tells me that they're
not in it for fun or for money.
It's reasonable to see the Wired as
an upper layer of the real world.
In other words, physical reality
is nothing but a hologram
of the information that
flows through the Wired.
Mom?
This is because the bodythe activity
of the human brainis merely
a physical phenomenon caused by
synapses delivering electrical impulses.
I
The body exists only to
verify one's own existence.
Are youAre you really my mom?
Are you?
Lain?
Huh?
Didn't I see you at Shibuya?
Forget it. It's nothing.
Thank you!
Hey, don't you think
he's pretty cute?
How did it go with him?
Come on, you can tell us!
W-What? What prophecy?!
What's going on?
I usually have dinner with
Mom and Dad about now
Wha
What's happening?
I-Is someone there?
Come on, I know you're there.
Are you my real dad?
It may be that what flows through the
Wired isn't merely electrical information.
Huh?
If we assume that it was the
development of electricity and phones
that brought about the
formation of the Wired,
then I have to wonder if another
world was created at that moment.
Uh
Here in the real world,
God exists only as a concept.
But in the Wired, there may be
a sort of Deus-like embodiment.
God?
I don't know whether or not
it should be called a god.
But at the very least, I think
it has the same kind
of power that is
written of in myths.
I think I may have talked with God.
It's possible that the Deus of the
Wired may already have enough power
to affect the real
world in some instances.
YesIn the form of prophecy.
Prophecy?
What's wrong?
It's nothing. Forget about it.
Who is it today?
I thought I was innocent,
but I'm being punished.
I didn't start this, but I
have to finish it somehow.
I can't say I didn't know about it,
but I don't remember taking part in it.
I get the feeling my
freedom cost me dearly,
but I don't remember
selling my soul cheaply.
Hey, hey!
Until I die and say goodbye
Hey, hey!
no one can catch me.
You probably don't know
the eternal outlaws
who wander the distant night.