Serial experiments: Lain. Vol. 02: knights

Continuation of the animated Japanese series, “Lain”, Volume 02 “Knights”, episodes (layers) 5, 6 and 7. Lain is an introverted thirteen year old schoolgirl who is drawn into the world of “The Wired” (a euphemism for the Internet), an alternate reality where minds roam freely unencumbered by their mortal body. Episode 5, “Distortion”: Lain receives communication from mysterious forces about the workings of the Wired, intensifying her powers within the cyber network. As her life becomes progressively stranger, Lain starts to question the bounds of reality as her sister is beset by visions and warnings to fulfil a mysterious prophecy. Episode 6, “Kids”: Lain discovers that a rash of teen suicides is connected to a game played in the Wired. Inured to the world of the Wired, Lain is increasingly isolated from the real world. Episode 7 “Society”: when Lain’s existence is threatened by the ‘Knights’, she enlists the help of the men in black who have been trailing her. Conceptually, “Lain” is comparable to the classic definition of cyberpunk - a paranoid moral and psychological parable that centres on the relationships between people and technology.