Changes

In [[SEL]], God is defined most loosely as an omnipresent being who has at least one follower, much like [[Eiri]] when he is claiming to be God of the [[Wired]], and most narrowly as an omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient being, much like [[Lain]] at the end of the [[anime]].

In [[Serial Experiments Lain]], God is defined most loosely as an omnipresent being who has at least one follower, much like [[Masami Eiri]] when he is claiming to be God of [[the Wired]], and most narrowly as an omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient being, much like [[Lain Iwakura]] at the end of the [[Serial Experiments Lain (anime)|anime]].

On the [[Visual Experiments Lain]] page on [[Layer 04]] Religion, Lain is interviewed. The relevant portion of the interview, beginning with Lain's mention of God, is reproduced below:

On the [[Visual Experiments Lain]] page on [[Layer 04]] Religion, Lain is interviewed. The relevant portion of the interview, beginning with Lain's mention of God, is reproduced below:

  --That answer isn't good enough.

  --That answer isn't good enough.

  [...There is...a God...]

  [...There is...a God...]

  --All right, fine. The God of Wired is the god of the top level of the [[real world]] hierarchy--in other words,

  --All right, fine. The God of Wired is the god of the top level of the real world hierarchy--in other words,

  a being that controls the entire world. Is that right?

  a being that controls the entire world. Is that right?

  [...Who are you?]

  [...Who are you?]

The interviewer is suggested to be Eiri in disguise, speaking to Lain by a means similar to that seen in [[Layer 05]], in which he uses a holographic image of a doll, Lain's mother [[Miho]] and Lain's father [[Yasuo]] to speak to and influence Lain.

The interviewer is suggested to be Eiri in disguise, speaking to Lain by a means similar to that seen in [[Layer 05]], in which he uses a holographic image of a doll, Lain's mother [[Miho Iwakura]] and Lain's father [[Yasuo Iwakura]] to speak to and influence Lain.

Lain's statement "There is if I believe there is" can be seen not as a means of avoiding the question but as a reflection of the state of affairs later, in [[Layer 10]]. All the [[Knights of the Eastern Calculus]], Eiri's followers, commit suicide and Lain claims that Eiri is no longer God because he has no remaining followers. However, Eiri responds that there is one believer left, so he can remain God. That believer is Lain. This way, whether or not Eiri is God of the Wired truly depends on whether Lain believes in him or not.

Lain's statement "There is if I believe there is" can be seen not as a means of avoiding the question but as a reflection of the state of affairs later, in [[Layer 10]]. All the [[Knights of the Eastern Calculus]], Eiri's followers, commit suicide and Lain claims that Eiri is no longer God because he has no remaining followers. However, Eiri responds that there is one believer left, so he can remain God. That believer is Lain. This way, whether or not Eiri is God of the Wired truly depends on whether Lain believes in him or not.

[[Category:Themes]]

[[Category:Themes]]