Layer Five: Deletion

What are memories, really? Is a person's existence really all that solid? Masami Eiri tells Lain during one of their meetings that she has always always existed in the Wired, an omnipresent being that has always had access to memories and always told these memories to everyone. Lain, being unable to believe that she would ever do anything so hurtful to Alice, denies this. And because of her desire to right all the wrongs that had been done, by an entity that shared her image, she realizes that if she had the power to see all memories.. then conversely, Lain possessed the power to delete them.

Lain appeared in Alice's room briefly to apologize, and to promise to set things right. What Lain saw wrenched at her heart, as Alice cried and called her a liar. Being shunned by the one person who truly cared about her, Lain became driven to change things, to erase the rumour that was destroying Alice. What was "memory", really? If Lain could simply delete everyone else's memories of the rumour, it would be as if it never happened...

And that is what Lain does. She deletes the memories of Alice's rumour, and everything appears normal... Julie and Reika and the rest of the school are unaware of Alice's crush on the teacher. But what Lain didn't count on was Alice's reaction. Shocked by the revelation of what was happening around her, Alice lashed out at Lain, asking her what she did to deserve such a horrible thing. Only Alice remembered the rumour, and all the pain that had come from it -- she was left alone with the anguish of her memories. And Lain, once again crushed by Alice's suffering, felt her heart break. All she did was hurt Alice. All she was doing was hurting Alice. Was that all she could do...?

After the confrontation with Eiri, Alice is crying, heavily traumatized by what just happened. The knowledge of Lain not being who she was and Eiri turning into a monster, and claiming to be god was too much for Alice to handle. All Alice could do was cry out of fear and extreme confusion. And Lain, poor Lain was left with a crushed heart as she held her best friend, and realized that it was because of her that Alice was hurting. And so Lain did the only thing she could to save Alice, to lift the burden from the shoulders of someone who Lain truly loved.

In the end, it was Lain's existence who had caused all the trouble, not just with Alice, but with all the events in general; thinking only of Alice, she reset the memories of everyone, deleting herself from memory. And this time, it worked. Taro and his friends were children running in the streets, Masami Eiri was once again alive and was simply a disgruntled worker, while the Men In Black worked blue-collar jobs. Even the little girl who had been killed on the roof in a game of Phantoma (Layer 4: Religion) is alive, seen with her older brother (who was the boy who died at Cyberia in Layer 2). Instead of Lain, Yomada Chisa was now Alice's focus as she invites Chisa to Cyberia. The world was reset, minus Lain who had caused all the trouble in the first place. And Alice, years later is seen with the teacher she had a crush on, as they are picking curtains for their bedroom.

So, in the end, what happened to Lain? Simply put, she became what Eiri had claimed she was, and omnipresent being, who was always watching and observing the ebb and flow of memories and information. Ironically, it was Lain all along who was the god-like figure, not Eiri... and it was Lain who was the key to it all. And even though Lain deletes herself from the memories of others, she realized the true implication of the very words she had uttered in Layer 2...

"No matter where you are, everyone is always connected."

She was always connected to those she cared about -- after thinking she was alone in the Wired, she was suddenly wrapped in a soft light and found herself having tea with her father. And she visited Alice, when Alice was older. Lain was never alone, because she was connected to everyone... and before the series ends, Lain whispers her these final words to Alice...

"Yes, I can see you anytime. I'm here. I am with you, forever."

(( back to internal diagnostic ))

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