Layer 03

Layer 03 - PSYCHE
Layer 03	PSYCHE
Original Air Date	1998.07.20
Main Characters Introduced	JJ
Script	Layer 03 Script
Analysis	Layer 03 Analysis
Credits
Previous Episode	Layer 02
Next Episode	Layer 04

Short summary

• The police interrogate Lain Iwakura
• A voice speaks to Lain on the train
• Lain finds a Psyche chip in her locker
• Lain sees the Men in Black's car outside her home
• Lain goes to Cyberia and someone comments on how long they haven't seen her for
• Lain asks Taro, Masayuki and Myu-Myu about the Psyche chip
• Mika Iwakura sees the MIB outside her door
• Lain modifies her NAVI with the Psyche chip

Long summary

Leaving Cyberia

In front of Cyberia, police have arrived. 「LAINって子…聞いた事彼でしょう」(English: "This Lain kid, you've heard the word, innit?") Lain and Alice emerge. 「WIREDの…LAIN」(English: "In the WIRED, Lain")

[Psyche - Layer:03]

Police Station

Red laser beam. Blood puddle oozing. (Flashbacks.) Lain being questioned by a policeman at the station. The police comment that they have been unable to reach Lain's parents by telephone. Lain is confused about this. The police are concerned because they cannot reach anyone by telephone at Lain's house. As the interrogation continues Alice watches from an outer room.

Alice

She enters and apologizes to Lain. She grabs her hands and tells her it was her fault. Lain, confused, has trouble even speaking Alice's name, when she does, she sounds practically robotic. Alice is called by her mother to leave. The policeman tells Lain that she can go home.

Empty Home

As the police car carrying Lain pulls up to her house it is dark while many neighbors are lit. Lain notices the foyer empt. Her parents' bedroom is neat like it hasn't been used yet tonight. (Perhaps they're on a date.) Lain enters her bedroom, the glow of her computer monitor inviting. She sits down in front of her computer. She stares into the monitor. Cut. Lain is waking up at her computer. (It is not made clear whether she was using it, or whether she's aware of using it.) It's still night. She gets up and checks the house again. When she looks into her parents' bedroom again, a slight relieved expression seems to come to her face. (Maybe her parents have returned from their date or something.) She returns to her Navi and checks messages. No messages to Lain. Lain says "Good Night, Navi" and the Navi responds "Good Night, Lain." Lain seems to react to this. (Perhaps in Lain's mind this lends animacy to her Navi.) Lain falls asleep in her bearsuit.

Late Morning

Lain overslept. Her mother is in the kitchen washing dishes. A hearty breakfast on the table. She issues a wan admonishon to Lain about being late. Lain starts to ask about last night, but doesn't finish.

Walking to school

Walking to school, Lain notices a black sedan. A red dot appears from within. Lain's face seems to expresse surprise and fear. As Lain continues, the red dot moves in the same direction that Lain is going. Lain is taken aback and starts running.

Train (of thought)

On the train to school Lain hears a voice (hallucination) repeating ``Lain in beat with the oscilation of the passing wires. It says "Do you understand". Lain asks the disembodied voice "Who are you." The voice says "You are not alone." Lain gasps and stares out the window at the passing wires.

School

The girls are giggling about last night's murder `suicide.' July asks across the room whether Lain got in trouble last night. Reika reminds "It wasn't our fault." Alice looks towards Lain but is bombarded with questions about the gory details. They ask her to tell her about it and Lain flashes a smile and nod (happy that they got her to go out?) that Alice seems to reässure to Alice that Lain is alright.

Class concept

During class Lain is abstracted, doodling something spiralish. A voice is heard discussing the PSYCHE (it sounds like reading a news article aloud---another hallucination? or conscious imagination?)

Tisa Interrupts

Lain starts seeing a swrily tunnel under her doodle-swirl. The PSYCHE narration is interrupted by Tisa (or someone else of similar circumstance) talking about her suicide. Lain becomes distressed about this, looks at the classroon door where a Tisa-like person is standing, looking in to the classroom. As Tisa continues discussing her suicide, Lain's distress grows and she places her hands over her ears, squeezing but the voice doesn't stop. A distorted voice keeps asking "Who is Lain?"

Love Letter

Alice expresses concern about their lighthearted reactions to the murder `suicide,' to which Reika responds that it didn't feel real but like a movie or a TV show. July agrees and tells Alice not to take it too seriously. Meanwhile, Lain opens her locker and sees a small brown envelope on her shoes. Alice responds that she thinks its strange that they can't take it more seriously. She turns and says "Right Lain?" and then notices the letter in Lain's hand. Alice asks if is a love letter. Lain says "No, but maybe." Juri and Reika descend on her saying "Show me, show me." Reika takes the envelope from Lain and says "You shouldn't hide things like this from us." Alice chimes in "Stop it you're picking on her again." Reika opens the envelope and a small brown looking square comes out. No one seems to know what it is, including Lain.

Lain is walking home to the familiar electrical hum. She removes the small object from her pocket and looks at it. Suddenly she says "Psyche" and she just stands there and stares.

[Lainwashed Pseudofan here: I think there's supposed to be an ad-break here. It's roughly the middle of the episode, and the following scene is quite different from the preceding. In a certain sense, it seems that this is when the episode really begins, with what was before being a continuation of Layer:02. Thoughts?]

The scene changes to a PSYCHEdelic view of wires in the night. Several disembodied conversations are overheard, as if they are traversing over the wires we see. Female voice: "No, my voice mail was tapped! I can't believe it." Male voice: "There's no relevant information in the resume received. We're examining it for your company." Female voice: "I love kissing. Even by myself it makes me happy." Male voce: "After that silly incident with the kid and Accela the supplier got scared and now we can't hardly get any of them." Another male voice: "Psyche appears to be made in Taiwan and there is a rumor that it was designed by a group called Knights. But I'm not sure if the Knights really exist." Female voice: "Did you feel good while dying?" And now we see Lain sitting at her Navi. Male voice: "Yes. I felt like hugging myself with joy." Female voice: "No! There is someone in my room! A small child-like but wrinkled man is looking at me." The voice is crying. "Help me!" Lain watches on into a typical Navi screen. A different female voice says "I have a photograph taken when you were with your secret lover. If I take this to your company…" Lain turns away from the Navi screen and looks at the small device. We hear "Lain, why aren't you here yet?"

As she grips the device in her hand the Navi announces: "You have mail." Lain's father interrupts before she can read it. He asks if she has started using her new Navi, and then turns on the lights in her room. He asks if there is something wrong. Lain shows him he device she received. He says he does not know what it is. She implores "But Dad, I believe that you do." He says "I told you I don't know" and leaves.

It is later and we see Lain leaving her house. She sees the black car with the small red lights watching her again. Lain runs away. We see Lain in the city approaching the Cyberia Café. Lain tentatively enters the club. A man stops her and says "Lain, you haven't been here for a while." Lain looks at him. The man is surprised and says "You look too girlish today." He leaves to go back to his partying. Lain looks at a table in the corner where Taro, Myu-Myu, and Masayuki are seated. They are the three Lain ran into in the stairway the night before. Taro and Masayuki are teasing one another. Lain interrupts asking "Do you know what this is" showing them the device. Taro asks "isn't that the Psyche". Masayuki and Myu-Myu can't believe it. Masayuki asks "where did you buy it", but Lain just asks again what it is. Taro is shocked and says "With that you can gain access to the Wired perfectly, even with this" indicating his hand-held computer. Lain asks "How do I use this?" Myu-Myu cattily says: "How stupid!" Masayuki asks Lain if she will sell it. Taro retorts: "Idiot, you could never buy it." Taro then turns to Lain and asks "What is your Navi?" Lain isn't sure, but thinks it is the latest Tachibana model. The group is impressed.

Taro asks if she has worked on the inside of it and Lain nods her head "No." Masayuki asks if she's in second or third year of Junior High. Lain replies "Second." Masayuki points out that she should have studied information basics and tells her that the Navi layout is in her textbook. As Taro stares at Lain, Masayuki gives detailed instructions: "Connect this on the backside of the main processor board. It will re-rout the original information back to the processor and it will work automatically. Its easier than building a plastic model kit. Just be aware of static electricity." Lain smiles and thanks the boy. Now we hear Taro calling to Lain: "Wait a minute. Information is not free both in the Wired and the real world." Masayuki asks "How much, How much?" Taro continues: "Aren't you Lain?" Lain turns, surprised. Taro says "I saw you in the Wired once." Lain asks: "Me? In the Wired?" Taro responds: "But you look quite different. Its common to assume a different character in the Wired, but yours is quite the opposite." Myu-Myu says "Really?" Taro continues: "You were here when that stupid incident happened, weren't you." Then he asks: "What are you up to?" Lain responds "What can I do?" Taro says "Go out on a date with me." Taro says that he would rather go out with the wild Lain, though, instead of the current one. Lain turns angrily to him, but then Taro says "I'm just kidding! When ever you like." Myu-Myu jealously asks "What are you talking about?" But Taro says to never mind and beckons the group to leave. Myu-Myu snipes at Lain on her way out.

Outside, the next day, we see Lain's sister coming home from school. As she passes the black car, the red lights do not follow her. Mika sees two men standing on the doorstep. She asks what them men are doing there. "Who are you?" One man just responds "You didn't meet us." [Shades says "The Jedi Mind Trick!"] Mika says "What are you talking about? I'll call the police. [Shades: "Damn! The Jedi Mind Trick didn't work!!"] The other man asks "What for, we were never here," and they walk away. Mika is angry and tells her mom to call the police if the men come again. Mika heads upstairs and stops at Lain's open door. She looks in and asks what she's doing. Lain is seated on the floor in her underwear surrounded by pieces of her Navi. Mika asks again "What are you doing… dressed like that?" Lain tells here she has to avoid static electricity. Mika thinks that's silly. Suddenly the scene becomes static-like. A strangely happy Lain sits up in strobed action and says "Welcome Home, Sister!"

( Source )

Episodes the Serial Experiments Lain Anime [ × ]

Layer 01: Weird (Script)

Layer 02: Girls (Script)

Layer 03: Psyche (Script)

Layer 04: Religion (Script)

Layer 05: Distortion (Script)

Layer 06: Kids (Script)

Layer 07: Society (Script)

Layer 08: Rumors (Script)

Layer 09: Protocol (Script)

Layer 10: Love (Script)

Layer 11: Infornography (Script)

Layer 12: Landscape (Script)

Layer 13: Ego (Script)