"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 timeline." "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." "Morn?" "This is because the body -- the activity of the human brain -- is merely a physical phenomenon caused by synapses delivering electrical impulses." "I..." "The body exists only to verify one's own existence." "Are you..." "Are you really my morn?" "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 Morn 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." "Yes..." "In 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."