"I'll tell you, but it's just between you and me." "I'll tell you what's happening in this society, what's beginning just because you don't know about it." "No, that's not it." "I'm just watching." "I mean, the me in the Wired is..." "Right." "She's becoming less and less like me." "I don't really know." "Huh?" "Who?" "Sis?" "My sister's been acting different lately." "I..." "I'm not sure." "Right." "Fine, suit yourself." "I know." "The real world and the Wired are attached end to end." "I can exist anywhere." "No matter where my body is, I can send my consciousness anywhere I want." "It's time for the EMA Motor Consortium banquet." "Right." "Mail." "I'll be down in three minutes." "Very well." "What game do you want to play this time?" "Try some of this..." "That's right, you morons..." "I'm better than you bozos!" "The real world isn't real at all." "Lain?" "Are you okay?" "Why do you ask?" "Lately, you've been..." "slipping again, Lain." "We..." "We wanted to make you happy, so we've been taking you out with us." "That's what we were trying to do." "Honest." "But if you weren't happy, I apologize." "No!" "That's not it..." "Of course I was having fun..." "I've had a great time." "Glad to hear it." "Arisu!" "Yeah?" "Um..." "Thanks." "Thanks for worrying about me." "That's what friends are for, right?" "See you." "This afternoon, the firewall of the Information Bureau's information Control Center was cracked and destroyed by some party, and information in the Wired Network is currently in disarray." "This news report is being sent out at this moment, but please be aware that it may arrive tomorrow, or possibly yesterday." "Looks like it was the Knights." ""Knights"?" "Who's that?" ""Knights." The Knights of the Eastern Calculus, said to have great influence in the Wired." "Members comprising the group: unknown." "They are not only involved in mere information manipulation, they also are involved in the development and distribution of illegal information devices." "I hear somebody's after Lain!" "Lain?" "Who's that?" "Lain." "Search has no matches." "I haven't seen Lain around lately." "Who the hell is Lain?" "A girl." "A girl?" "She's powerful!" "How?" "Her metamorphosis." "Her will." "Her power." "The light in her eyes." "Her existence." "Hey, can I ask you something?" "What?" "You wouldn't happen to be a Knights member, would you?" "Just a minute!" "Delivery, ma'am!" "Let me get my stamp." "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep you waiting so long." "That's okay, ma'am." "Okay, here's my stamp." "What is it?" "That Navi." "That's a new model, right?" "I wish I had one." "I bought it with money from my home job." "Even working at a job like this, I'd never be able to buy one of those." "Here you are." "Well, keep working for it." "Sure thing." "Yeah, you're right..." "If I don't work hard, I'll never..." "If you have trouble with anything, let me know." "I can teach you." "You'll teach me?" "Sure." "I'm pretty good." "So this is how you seduce bored housewives, huh?" "No, I just..." "Well, maybe a little." "I'm home!" "Well, thanks." "Morn, can I go over to Kinya's to play later?" "If you're going to play a game, can't you just do it over the Net?" "He's gonna teach me how to play it!" "The Wired and the real world are one and the same." "W-What?" "Ms. Lain Iwakura." "Would you please come with us?" "We won't force you." "This is a request." "We have no intention to harm you physically." "Who are you?" "If you come with us, we'll tell you." "I..." "I don't want to be here." "You understand that, don't you?" "Just look at all I can do!" "Look!" "I'm breaking the barrier between the real world and the Wired." "Come on, I think I'm plenty qualified." "Let me into the Knights!" "You're impressed, huh?" "I tracked you down all by myself!" "This is your dedicated top-secret channel, right?" "Come on, make me one of you!" "W-Who are you?" "!" "Could you come here for a minute?" "I can't seem to get the main office's firewall to recognize this machine." "I've done everything I can on the app end of things." "I guess it's hopeless with an old machine like this." "But I've always used this thing..." "I just can't work up the interest to switch over to a new Navi." "Not at my age." "If I were as young as you, though..." "That jumper there." "Try removing this jumper and that one over there." "Sorry, could you do it for me?" "Authorized." "L-Lain?" "You're one of the Knights?" "!" "You are, aren't you, Lain?" "I had no idea!" "Moron." "W-Wait!" "Please!" "That game you've been playing with those kids lately is the greatest!" "But I have an even better idea." "So, please!" "Make me one of you!" "Make me a Knight!" "Please, make me one of you!" "Some say that the Wired doesn't have political borders like the real world." "But there are far too many nonsense-spouting anarchists or idiots who think that pranks are a revolution." "But the Knights don't seem to be either of those." "Knights..." "I'm don't know how much of what you do is intentional." "Your presence in the Wired is highly unnatural." "And the Knights seem to have a special interest in you." "I..." "I don't..." "I don't understand what you're..." "The Knights..." "You've been in direct contact with them at some point." "But I..." "I don't..." "At any rate, it looks like they want to use you for something." "We believe that is something that must be prevented, no matter the cost." "W-What... are you?" "Who are you?" "Your secret's safe with me." "You bet!" "You believe in Deus, right?" "I'll follow your lead." "But is it true?" "ls God really in the Wired?" "I'm not ready to believe that yet." "But if you let me join you, I'll be able to learn more." "Then I'll believe!" "Is that you?" "You came!" "You came for me!" "My name..." "It's meaningless to know my real name." "I, and those gentlemen there, have no name." "Tell me." "Lain Iwakura, are you and the Lain of the Wired one and the same?" "Who are you?" "I..." "I'm..." "Are your parents your real parents?" "Huh?" "Is your sister your real sister?" "W-What are you saying?" "0-Of course they are..." "When is your father's birthday?" "Dad's..." "His..." "What about your mother's birthday?" "When did your parents get married?" "Did they meet, or was it arranged?" "T-That's..." "I..." "Why don't you know?" "You never asked?" "You've never celebrated a birthday in your family?" "Not since you were little?" "Well?" "When were you born?" "Where?" "I..." "What does it matter?" "It..." "You don't know?" "You don't know anything?" "Are you okay?" "You don't know anything." "Shut up, damn it..." "Who cares about that crap?" "Like any of it matters..." "You're Lain of the Wired?" "So what if I am?" "If you're here without a device, you know that the border between the real world and the Wired is starting to crumble, don't you?" "So?" "We believe that to be dangerous." "Sounds interesting." "Move it." "What's the big idea?" "You are what's dangerous." "Karl!" "It's as she said." "Something interesting is beginning." "We should just watch from the sidelines." "Shou!" "Yeah, Morn?" "Let me play, too!" "Are you done with work?" "You bet!" "I'm the greatest!" "I'm gonna get ya, Shou!" "See?" "Say your prayers!" "Watch this!" "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."