Layer 02

"Layer:02 - Girls" is the second episode of the anime series Serial Experiments Lain. The episode was written by Chiaki J. Konaka and directed by Ryuutarou Nakamura. It was broadcast in Japan on July 13, 1998.

Summary
Alice, Juri, and Reika talk to Lain saying they saw her during their first visit to the hardcore techno club 'Cyberia', but with a far more vigorous and forceful personality. After some persuasion, Lain decides to join Alice and her friends who are at Cyberia again to disprove that it was her. However, Lain becomes involved with a shooting in the club by a man under the influence of the micro-machine drug Accela.

Characters Introduced

 * Delivery Man
 * Taro
 * Myu-Myu
 * Masayuki

Synopsis
The episode starts with an image of a busy Tokyo street, then a voice over "What are you afraid of? Just try a little bit."

[Title: Girls Layer:02]

The spinning mirror ball and heavy beat blare from the dance club. Floating text appears: "Cyberia. I don't want to be there." A boy is sitting at a table in the club and is approached by strange woman wearing a gas mask. She hands him a small packet and he pays her for it. Floating text appears: "10,000 Yen. That's Expensive! The Market price is only about 4,000 Yen." The boy stares at the packet. More floating text appears: "We call it 'Accela'. Although its from the same supplier its not exactly a drug."

Licking his lips, the boy opens the the packet which reveals a capsule surrounding a small object inside. Sweating and breathing heavily, the boy slits open the capsule with a hobby knife revealing the small device. He ingests the device and washes it down with his drink. Immediately his perceptions begin to change and he starts to foam at the mouth. Floating text appears: "I feel accelerated." Everyone he sees appears to be moving in slow motion. He sees an image of Lain's friends Alice, Reika, and Juri at a table. A man falls to the ground. He has been pushed down by a woman. We see her face, which appears to be an angry, more mature looking Lain. She mouths words. (Shades: looks like Baka).

The boy leaves his seat. Floating text appears: "Come on quickly."

Now a scene of the streets at daytime and the familiar buzz of power lines. Now in Lain's room, she talks to her Navi: "No its not. No mail received. I don't get it." Mika appears at the door to the room. She comments "I thought I heard someone else in here." Lain asks "Who?" Mika responds "Your imaginary friend, or something like that". Mika closes the door warning "You'll be late for school again." Lain pads down the hall and leaves the house.

While walking Lain sees a shadow behind a telephone pole, she then sees a strange, slightly bearded man staring at her. Frightened, Lain breaks into a run down the street. Shortly she runs into her three friends. Alice calls to her "Lain, Good Morning!". Reika comments: "See I knew she's not the one." Juri isn't sure. Lain says "What?". Alice chides the others "Stop it, you're picking on poor Lain," but the other girls just giggle. Alice says "Never mind them let's go."

Walking, Lain asks Juri if she's received anymore mail. Juri seems to have forgotten. Lain inquires further, "from Chisa?". Juri says no. Alice asks Lain if she received another prank mail. Juri asks: "Is it true?" Lain replies: "I'm just a little curious." Reika asks "About what? Now that I think about it she really looks like... " and then continues "Lain, where you last night." Lain is confused. Juri adds: "It was you, wasn't it." Alice corrects them: "I told you it wasn't her." The others say "well probably not." Reika explains to Lain that there was someone who looked like her at Cyberia last night.

Lain asks "Cyberia?" Juri explains that the Girls had gone there for the first time the previous night. Reika casually adds: "It was no big deal." Alice teases the other two: "You looked so tense," then turns to Lain and explains that it is an club where kids gather at midnight. Alice tells Lain that there was someone there who looked like her. Lain replies: "Yesterday I was..." but is cut off by Alice saying: "I already said it wasn't Lain. She was wearing a provocative dress and had a terrible temper." Reika breaks in "Her personality was completely opposite." Juri suggests: "How about taking Lain there tonight". Reika sarcastically expresses her doubt that Lain would go. Alice tells her to knock it off. Juri says: "Lain you might change if you went to the club." Alice agrees: "Lain might become even more outgoing." Juri thinks its a wonderful idea, while Reika thinks it will be interesting. Alice thinks that going would improve Lain's mood and tells Lain it will be fun.

The scene shifts to some sort of informational display. The Accela device spins while this commentary is recited: "Accela is a kind of 'smart supplement'. When it enters the body it oscillates at a certain frequency and helps the body secrete one specific hormone. When the hormone is secreted, one's sense of time will be altered and will feel that his consciousness has accellerated. Not only his consciousness, but his brain's calculation speed will also be increased by about a facor of 2 to 12 times faster. The digestive juices will dissolve this nano-mechanism in one day. But the effect is... "

As the voice fades we are back in Lain's classroom. Lain's palm computer flashes under her desk. Alice sends her a message: "Let's have fun at Cyberia tonight." Lain responds "I can't go tonight." Floating text appears: "Humans are all connected."

Lain is walking down a dark hall in the school. She pauses momentarily and sees the shadow of a girl coming from a closet. Then shadowy figures walk by her. Lain is visibility frightened. The girl from the closet approaches her. Her face changes form following the same pattern as the "train girl" from the previous episode... from smiling, to terror, to decaying deformity, to a contented smile. Lain cowers in fear as the image of the girl passes through her.

Back on the streets with the electric hum, Lain pauses when she sees a delivery truck in front of her house. As she approaches the driver asks "Is this your house?" He tells her he has a delivery and then proceeds to unload the truck. The driver asks Lain to sign the delivery confirmation. He is impressed with what he has delivered, indicating that he "always wanted one himself." Lain does not know what any of it is. The man tells her it is the latest Navi model, fully equipped. "With this much machine power," he comments, "it will make your surfing on the wired trouble free. I made one for my own use, but its now match against this." Lain says "but I don't know anything about this." "Soon you will," says the driver with a smile as he leaves.

The scene shifts to Lain in her bear pajamas. (eeh! says Shades... I hate those pajamas. I already have some, says Balto!) Lain hears a sound and gets out of bed. As she descends the stairs she sees her mother and father engaged in a deep kiss (can you say tonsil hockey?) Lain stares. Noticing her, her Father breaks it off and says "Your new Navi has arrived." Her mother says "Please clean up soon, they're in the way." Lain's father offers to set up the computer after dinner. He comments: "This Navi is so powerful that I'd like to use one myself." Lain asks her Father if he can set it up now. Her father is surprised at her eagerness, but Lain just stares back. He agrees.

In her room her father admonishes: "Don't use the Navi with kids all the time. Communication needs more advanced systems whenever you get involved in more mature human relations. You got that Lain?" Lain just stares. Her father boots the new computer and invites Lain to log on to the machine. She takes down the hood of her bear-suit (Shades: Yea!) then her father tells her to talk to it. Lain says: "Hello Navi." Her father tells her: "Finally this Navi is yours. You can show this off to your friends!" As his father opens the door he finds that Mika has been listening there. She feigns disinterest and walks away.

Lain checks her mail on the new system, but there is none. A beep comes from school jacket. Her palm computer has a message from Alice: "Lain, where are you? We are waiting for you. Be sure to come." Floating text appears: "Why don't you come here quickly."

Out on the street in the club district Alice is giving Lain directions over her palm computer. She points out the Cyberia Cafe and Club. Alice continues "its in the basement of the building." Lain stands indecisively on the steps. She hears a boy's voice saying "hey, sis, I can't get through." Lain apologizes. There are three kids descending the stairs, two boys and a younger girl in a frilly dress. The boys talk among themselves: "If you do it that way you'll be caught by the information surveillance center." The other boy asks "Isn't safe to just hack it." The girl says "Let's talk about this later at the game center."

Inside the club the beat pounds and Juri sees Lain saying "You're late Lain." Reika adds "Well, you know that its already past her bed time." Juri says "You should have dressed more appropriately for tonight." The three girls are wearing very adult outfits while Lain seems to be wearing a conservative black turtleneck. Alice protectively places her hands on Lain's shoulders and says "How about if we choose some adult clothes for Lain next time." Reika snaps "Will they match her well?" Alice retorts "Reika." Juri continues "It seems that the one we saw last night it was not Lain after all." Reika says: "That's what I've been telling you, Lain doesn't wear that kind of clothes or speak so roughly." Lain asks: "Did she realy look like me?" Juri indicates that she was absolutely sure it was her. Lain says "is that so."

A faint gunshot is heard and a light shatters. People begin to scatter as a second gunshot goes off. Juri falls. Alice and Reika rush to help her. Lain stands perspiring, her back to a wall. Blood pools on the floor. A mans heavy breathing is heard and the light from an infrared gun sight flashes about while the bodies of a man and woman can be seen shadowed on the dance floor. The boy who took the Accela drug the previous night holds the gun. He has a crazed look on his face. Alice and Reika escort Juri off the dance floor. Alice looks back and calls to Lain. Reika says towards Lain "What is she doing." Alice dumps Juri into Reika's arms and goes back to get Lain. The boy with the gun notices Lain and says "What are you looking at!" but he just stares back at him. Alice approaches Lain imploring "What are you doing? Run away Lain." Lain continues to stare at the boy. "I said go away," he says and approaches. He now has a good look at Lain's face and steps back in shock, his cap falling to the floor. "Why did you make me do such a thing!" He yells. "What right do you have to make me do it!" Lain continues to stare at him. "I just wanted to clear my mind," he continues. "I don't know, I have nothing to do with you. I have nothing to do with it." Then again he yells "I have nothing to do with it. Wired must not interfere with the real world! I have nothing to do with it. Who the hell are you." Lain begins to step away from Alice and walks stiffly toward the boy. He levels his gun at her, the laser site flashing across her body. "I don't understand, " he says. "I don't know anything about it." The laser site is locked nervously between Lain's eyes. Suddenly Lain proclaims: "No matter where you are humans are all connected." This brings tears to the boy's eyes. The pinpoint of the laser site moves across the room and targets the back of the boy's mouth. A flash of red and then blood splatters on Lain's face and the boy falls to the ground, his dead body sprawled across the other two victims.