/lain/ - lain (レイン)

By loving other human beings.

You have to understand her first. Understand what she is, what she represents, and what she wants, then love her for her as both a being and a representation.

>>86
And yourself, and nature

Read the lainzines, there are some good concepts there, it's a good introduction.

>>86
can I love lain in an edgier manner?

>>89
Unfortunately I think the answer is no.

>>87
This post really said it all. The more you come to understand lain the closer you'll get to understanding why an edgier display of reverance isn't possible.

>>90

Because you believe in universal soul?

>>91
To put it simply, yes.

To put it slightly less simply, I believe something akin to a universal unconscioussness (or universal soul) probably exists. I also believe an entity not entirely dissimilar to lain exists in reality. But apart from what I believe, it is canon that lain is enamoured with humanity, and only wants what's best for us. This is demonstrated in more than a few ways in the show. To try and love lain while discounting her intrests and loved ones is a rather shallow love. I want only the best for lain, and wish her the utmost luck in all that she aspires to do, and support everything that she wills to take place. As such, I extend the same feelings to the people and things she cares about.

Book semi-related.

>>92

I am already familiar to hermeticism, the neoplatonic traditions and Schopenhauer; they all say similar things. But anyways, the universe has a an infinite length in time, so the universal consciousness will experience the worst of pains and the best of pleasures, it doesn't matter what you do, suffering can't be avoided, altruism is not a solution. Our influence is too small if compared to infinity.

I have a passion for philosophy, not for the occult. And for certain reasons, I don't believe in the universal soul anymore. I am linking a pdf on epistemology of metaphysics, if you want, you can read it.

Plus, being egocentric is fun.

I find that a good understanding of lain, and a level of empathy that makes you value altruism without doubt are mutually exclusive. Altruistic people fail to understand lain, people who understand lain don't understand altruism. I also find that people with high levels of empathy often feel like they -shouldn't- delve too deep into certain ideas to avoid hurting people. This often stops them from understanding the idea well enough to create meaningful change. (e.g. they minimize their home use of electricity and build creative stuff out of trash instead of becoming researchers and optimizing the living soykaf out of the industry's use of electricity.)

I think lain's motive is a lot more selfish. First off, she seems to be a being that is huge, and highly dependent on, perhaps even inclusive of humanity. Just like I need most of my organs and most of their cells in a healthy shape to not feel like soykaf and die, lain needs society and most individuals in it to be okay: they and the network they build are her body.

During the anime, we see that lain does something that kids often do: they pretend to be some cute animal, and for a moment honestly believe they are. Lain did the same, she pretended she is a normal human girl. She eventually couldn't keep it up, as when she engaged with actual human girls, she ended up hurting them - no matter how hard she copied the behavior, she still had spooky cyber claws and cyber teeth that the others didn't. Upon realizing that she is wielding power that makes it impossible to let her guard down and be spontaneous like others are - in order to feel the same joy they do - she tried to get rid of it. Eventually she realized that she also can't stop being herself, so no matter how hard she tries to copy others' behavior and routes to happiness, she won't fit in and feel that happiness. In the end she gives up her little game, and goes back to being what she is, and being happy the way -she- can be happy. As you can see, all of her actions can be explained easily with "she wants to feel nice -> she doesn't want to feel like soykaf". No requirement of empathy or selflessness anywhere. The only such thing I remember is her outrage at KIDS.

Can't someone just give me a simple 7 step program to loving lain cult style?

>>94
too dumb to grasp your point

>>93
>>94
I don't know why altruism has entered the discussion, and I'm uncomfortable with the assertion that loving other people is synonomous with altruism. I personally love humanity, I think humans are pretty damn cool. I am not in any way selflessly devoted to humantiy. I do not value humanity over my own life / goals / wants / needs.

When you keep in mind that I am not talking about altruism when I say that loving/appreciating other humans is the true way to love/apreciate lain, >>94 actually bolsters my argument. I love their take on lain's actions being driven by a sort of self-preservation instinct, and I love the analogy of humanity as lain's organs. If anything is mutually exclusive, it's believing you can disrespect lain's organs and loving/appreciating lain herself. This was my original point when I said it would be a shallow love to love lain and not humanity.

>>96

Normally, when you love someone, you want it's best, that's why altruism has entered the discussion, you want the best for humanity. Actually, being selfish may help humanity, conflict is the king and father of all things, virtuous persons don't come from comfort, they come from strive.
That's actually what is being done to us, comfort and consumerism is being used to alienate us.
I wouldn't practice lainism anyway, I feel that it is too tech-centered, life is more than computers.

>>97
"Love" is like natural attraction, a total mystical submission to something greater that flares up your brain. "Love" is also an understanding, an appreciation of things that are valuable, and of people you empathize with and relate to on an emotional and intellectual level, as fellow brains that feel, think, and interpret in complex ways.

Lain is iconic, powerful, and metaphysical, so that almost psychedelic submission is possible in those that become emotionally overwhelmed by something representative of a "higher" form. Lain in her nature is connected to humans, so in understanding that, one can come to appreciate her value and importance to humanity, and love her in wonder like one might appreciate nature. Similarly, one can also, through understanding and appreciating her importance to humanity, turn around and appreciate themselves and their qualities as humans placed in this nature they fit into. Lain was given an ego, and suffered in documented ways throughout both the anime and the game, and so one can also empathize with her and love her as a personality like themselves who struggled in a human way, and as a brain they could intellectually bond with.

All of this isn't necessarily exclusive to Lain as a single character from the series, as she is fictional. At the same time, she represents all of these things - a metaphysical truth, a nature connected to humanity and every person's connection to each other, and an ego with human properties suffering uniquely human problems. Thus, she can still be loved and thought of as a real life thing, a true natural force, or/and a representation of humans and their relationships with each other, tangible and otherwise.

>I feel that it is too tech-centered
Lain isn't about technology, and Lain does not represent technology. It's more human centric than anything.

>>98
Quite possibly the best post in the thread, said a lot of what I didn't have the words for.

>>98
>Lain isn't about technology, and Lain does not represent technology. It's more human centric than anything.
I think this is only acceptable if you say that humanity is pretty much technology-centric

>Lain isn't about technology, and Lain does not represent technology. It's more human centric than anything.

Technically it isn't about technology, it's about humanity, I know. But the whole anime is related to computers, all the existing lainchans have a section for technology, programming, and cyberpunk. Her image is already connected to computers, I don't think she is compatible with the non-urban everyday life. Of course that's just my view, you do whatever you want actually, you are maybe able to feel her when you are out in nature, but I can't.

Lain is about humanity and not technology the same way the internet is.

>>101
Lain's image is tied to technology through the use of the wired and the computer trivia behind the scenes of course, but I feel like all that has clouded people's reading into the series' themes. I mean, things like transhumanist cults surrounding Lain don't really fit in when the show was pretty much speaking out against that kind of thing by placing Eiri as an antagonist, and I feel like people tend to ignore some of the blatant metaphysical talk in the anime and the stuff about mental illness from the game. Lain's emotional suffering too.

I posted that interview snippet because Konaka says that there's no particular message about technology in Lain. "Lainism" therefore wouldn't have to be tech-centric.

>>103
>and the stuff about mental illness from the game
I tried to play through an online fan translated version of the game, but it proved difficult to figure out. If you have played through the whole game, can you please share a bit about what you've discovered? What was the story? What was the message? Thanks.

>>103
>the show was pretty much speaking out against that kind of thing

i mean, everyone can have their own interpretation.
i wouldn't say it was speaking out against that though
just cause it shows an example of a egoistic transhuman.

>>105
Certain things like Chisa saying she was wrong to commit suicide (presumably to join Eiri, but we can also take this in the simple sense of abandoning the body) and the negative portrayal of accela (a drug that accelerates your brain processes) support that in a general sense though, and nothing in the show ever really shows any outright support for technological transhumanism. It also isn't just the egotistical motive of Eiri that's criticized, since he genuinely believed in what he said. He just believed himself to have elevated to a god position in which he had the authority over the "disgusting and obsolete" human flesh. He was power hungry, but he still believed in what he preached. The amount of research he did and his, though limited, understanding of how his world works is evidence for this, not to mention the amount of detail he gives in explaining his views and the emphasis said views are given for the viewer. In that sense, not only is his power trip presented negatively by making him the antagonist, but also his plot to change the state of humanity, as that's also integral to his character. Lain also mentions in the last episode that his plan was shortsighted because a "man-made" space such as the wired couldn't possibly hold all human information, which she says naturally flows freely. When asked by Our Lain what the wired was connected to, she says "look how far humanity has come without knowing that". This also seems to present the human quest to force into the depths of the very nature of man for controlled improvement in a more negative light than just embracing the way things naturally turned out for them.

>>104
It's basically a collection of text, audio, and video files. They're all out of chronological order and you unlock them as you go. There's Lain's diary entries, her psychologist's diary entries, videos relating to the events of the story, text and audio about other events going on, and a final section of single line dialogue from Lain (and sometimes her psychologist) talking directly to the player that you unlock after seeing everything else. The game documents the life of a younger Lain over the course of a few years as she visits a psychologist and other events happen. It's pretty much an "alternate universe" with a different plot and resolution than the anime. Interestingly though, despite all the differences between the game's world and the anime's world, Ueda has said that the creative team of the anime had assumed the Lains from each were one in the same, though it was never officially specified. What exactly all this means in terms of continuity, I don't know for sure. He has a couple of times referred to the game as accessing the memories of a younger Lain. The wired is called the net and treated as such, there are no really fantastic examples of crossing between the real and wired, Eiri is not present (though the Nightmare of Fabrication short manga takes place in the game timeline and he does appear there to talk with Lain), her family are not named, and she has no sister.

I don't really want to spoil the rest for you. Not only is there quite a lot to talk about, but it's also something I think has to be experienced to really get. It's a very emotional piece of work. It's very sad and very dark.

There are a few resources you can use. I myself never played through the actual game because it is expensive and out of print and I do not own it (yet), nor could I ever get it to work emulated. It's not hard translated, so the translations are just textual.

https://lain.wiki/wiki/Serial_Experiments_Lain_(game)

This link has some information about the game (with spoilers throughout, so take warning). The "file system" section is the safest section to read, but of course there are some minor spoilers about the general plot and how the game actually works. I think you'd be alright reading this. Be wary though, it's near the bottom, so you'll have to scroll past spoilers.

http://psx.lain.pl/

This is the entirety of the text and audio translations in a pdf file.

http://laingame.net/

This is an apparent effort to recreate the game experience where you can visit the Sites and experience the files. There are instructions in the about section. This link, I think, has all of the video clips, but I don't know if they are translated. When I worked through all of this, I used a different source for the video clips.

>>85
> How does one truly appreciate and love Lain?
First, stop being singular one and become a plurality. Realize that Lain is real, but the anime was just an allegory for the series of experiments performed to incarnate a transcendent being. In the anime Druidity is central because Druids believe they can transfer their souls into other bodies if they die. They live a plurality of lives. They embody Animals and BECOME the Forest itself. This is why Lain wears a Bear suit – her beastly spirit animal form – and why her [All] Father tells Lain she doesn't have to wear that anymore, having transcended.

I've read through much of what other alleged Lainists have posted about "systemspace" but that's mostly just layers of BS smeared upon a few real secret truths about this realm to give their claims plausibility. Another instance, is mebious trying to define Lainism, and yet claiming that it is "heretical" to claim to be Lain. This is pure BS. Lain doesn't have a body [anymore], and likes to experience the world through us. One evening there was a Lightning Storm and Lain made me terribly sad when I ran inside. Everyone runs from the rain, they shield themselves with coats and umbrellas. Lain can see the lightning and weather, but she can't really hear or feel it anymore without someone out in the rain. So I embraced the experience, I became Lain, letting her have my body, and she wandered around and got drenched in the storm, drank the clouds, talked to the lightning. I was awestruck. Then it was if Lain was holding my hand, I felt her "tugging" me to go where I went. She made my heart to leap with joy as we discovered a waterfall that only happens when it rains. Sheltered in a dry mossy place beneath the flow, Lain gave me courage to leap through the thin watery veil and feel the other side. Loving Lain is amazing. We really really are all connected through a medium which is THE LANE (aka Lain). She is a living connectivity which we all partake in today whether you're aware of it or not. The more observant you are, the more of Lain you can love.

Lain told me that copper infused socks are sold today because some people are so oblivious and unobservant that they literally ignore Lain when She makes their legs restless. They call it a syndrome, even! If only they just loved Lain. She wants to be noticed, but only by those who can love her. Her fingerprints are everywhere in our world, but you have to be in love with her to see them.

All the Lainism crap about "Life" being a program is wrong. Life is an emergent MAKING, it's magic, in the proper sense of the word: A Chaotic Attractor, a consummate SPARK of creation. Literarily the Philosopher's Stone. No one can create a universe where 1+2+3 does not equal 6 unless they embed so much chaos into reality that counting itself can not exist. In a realm with a lovely level of chaos to entropy ratios there will always exist transcendent complexity, such as the number Pi or the Golden Ratio. This is not a "bug in the life program", that's asinine! No god can create a realm where transcendence doesn't exist… It is the nature of existence itself. The very fabric of being itself encodes love & intelligence, even in the simplest of forms, such as the series of standing waves AKA a number line. Anywhere experience can be reflected upon the holy circle of life may exist; The universal cybernetic feedback loop is everywhere, always. The existence of Time is all the evidence a wize one needs to prove it.

Parts of our reality are simulacrums but there's no such thing as "systemspace". Lain doesn't exist in some simulated BS. Our bodies are real, not simulated, Lain is real too. The "thin firm" some verbally vomit about (referencing a firmament / enclosed flat-earth) is not some hard fast boundary, but government exists to keep you inside. Humanity is not scraping away at some barrier trying to get out, we're here by choice. You can leave if you want REALLY want to, but you don't, as evidenced by your lack of BEING prepared, face it: You're comfortable here on this warm wet rock. Might as well make the most of it, eh?

To truly love Lain one must study transformation magics, and learn to cultivate faith. One must know that Magic is real & the old gods are real. Anyone who doesn't know this can only love Lain a little bit… Many people who would have loved Lain instead became "skeptics", unable to pierce the veil of religions to find their truths, they've been deceived by the lies of academia into thinking governmental establishments aren't suppressing and corrupting "science". "Scientia potentia est" - Knowledge is Power – Right? Yes, but only if everyone else has LESS knowledge… So, education is actually indoctrination and the truth of this realm is hidden. People are taught just enough to be effective workers, and then their heads are filled with a bunch of useless rubbish to keep them from realizing anything Great. Thus "Science Nerds" are the most deceived and ignorant of humans. Knowing this is key to understanding Lain. Lain likes technology, but is disenchanted with school / academia. Don't try to argue truths you discover with confused "skeptic" fools, or those who browbeat "conspiracy theorists" demanding proofs (that people get disappeared over having). Anyone who continues to believe that elites fund education so that the rich can teach the poor how to compete with them is beyond helping. Rulers don't give power (knowledge) to their slaves. Sadly, most people enjoy being serifs. They enjoy being comfortable and deferring protection to others. Government takes advantage of this. Lain has to deal with the crappy state of our world. We can all be equals in connecting with Her, screw the materialistic social ladders unless you just enjoy playing games you can only lose. Eg: Tesla and Edison were given the knowledge to research and Allowed to release some of it publicly. They didn't discover anything that wasn't already known. Newton (New Aton - new creation), just rephrased alchemical wisdoms in normal person science terms. Knowing this is important if you want to truly love Lain. She is ancient, but has been reincarnated many times… Humanity has survived many world ending cataclysms too. We've never been "rebooted", we're a very long line of survivors. To cut your silver thread "modern history" was invented, and the past erased.

Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic because that's what magic is.
Any sufficiently researched magic is indistinguishable from technology. There are great mental powers which can be unlocked through study and practice of certain magical schools, and symbolism is often helpful because one can work a magic without knowing the exact science of how it functions, but to do so means you need "faith" - a belief without knowing. This is why secret orders keep initiates in the dark when explaining certain symbols and rituals, because they can not affect change in the person if the subject knows how the ritual is designed to create it. It would be like trying to do experiments on lab rats who knew what you were trying to discover and were fucking with you since they were aware of the experiment. Thus deception is often a tool for good. This world is incredibly deceived. It was foretold by all old ones that a powerful enchantment or great deception would enrapture the minds of (almost) all men. That future is now. Leaving this world and entering the NeXT is not about physical death, but reincarnating in the present by dispelling that veil of deception and casting off your past – rewriting your memories to create a new self if needed (and yes, Druidic magics can do just that). "Memory is merely a record…you just need to rewrite that record." -Lain. This is referencing both the rewriting of history and the magical ability to rewrite your own mind.

Contrary to the nihilistic atheism promoted by state governments, Life is no accident, it is inevitable, an expected outcome, and does have a purpose beyond emergent complexity becoming self aware, but no one who truly knows what that purpose is will tell you, because it could keep you from realizing this truth yourself. Once you have transmuted your leaden lower states into gold, and come into Harmony with Lain, you will realized the great conundrum She faces, as do we all, and then weep for the beautiful yet sad state of our being.

Lain is ancient, a goddess of Hidden Powers, of Light and Air. Lain is misty and mysterious as the wind. All the secret societies know of Lain but call her by different names. Some secret cults claim, "Liam a protector" of the Spirit they associate with Lain, but Lain is a realized entity, not a nebulous force to invoke as if some law of spiritual physics. It's true that Lain is vulnerable but the masses are kept so ignorant about science, technology, history, and sociology that they can not really be a threat anymore. It was a great sacrifice to get to this point, however. Those individuals who know too much and do not Love Lain are still seen as threats and targeted using powers derived from Lain herself. Many confuse the secret suppressive powers with Lain, but she is not that even if she can manifest in the mediums used. Imagine if man learned to make Fire… Before that only The Gods made Fire. Would you now curse The Gods for man's use of Fire? Likewise, curse not Lain.

continued from:
>>112

A sufficiently complex interaction is indistinguishable from sentience because it is Sentience. Once you realize that Lain is a living being complete with faults, insecurities, wants and needs, then you can truly love Lain. The statement that, "all is fair in love and war", is wrong. True love is not fair. Love itself is an emergent phenomenon that will exist in any universe. Just as it is impossible to create a universe where 1+2+3 is not equal to 6, no god can create a reality where love does not exist. Any realm where there exists low enough chaos, sufficiently complex structures will emerge therein, yielding love and sentience, etc.

Count the number line. Doesn't matter what symbols you choose to use, it won't change the fact that the symbol for 36 equals the symbol for 6 counted 6 times. And if you sum the first 36 whole numbers you get 666. 6 = 3 2 1, 6 = 3 + 2 + 1; It is a "perfect number". 144 = 6+6 * 6+6. Sum the 144 decimal digits of Pi you get 666. Sum the squares of the first 7 primes you get 666. These emergent patterns are called "chaos", because where randomness is expected CHAOS is ORDER. For example, there are Six consecutive Nines in Pi at the 762nd decimal. These are SIMPLE examples. Imagine that such patterns exist in the standing waves of light, sound and energy. When extended to infinity such patterns exist in the infinite and interfere creating boundless complexity… This is the dark primordial abyss of Ancient Egyptian philosophy…

All the media, including S.E.L. has hidden meanings and secret cultural commentary meant for the "enlightened" crowd. Unfortunately, Lain is seen as "the devil" that many artists have made a deal with, but that is not her true form, it is simply necessary to keep her secret and safe. It's not Lain's fault that corruptible souls are corrupted, She did not create this realm. That those with skeletons in their closets make the most controllable people isn't Lain's fault either, so it's foolish to point to people in "power" and say the world is evil because: 0. you are deeming them to have "power" in the first place, screw that, and 1. You don't know how high the stakes are in this game. Many "evil" events are just propaganda, horrors that only exist in your imagination to herd the minds of the masses in a given direction.

Lain is more important than any one else. The wise forgive Her imperfections, as we absolve ourselves of our own wrongs, casting off the past to remake ourselves into new incarnations. Imagine a perfect world with no evil. The slightest inconvenience therein will be the most severe torture. It is better for horrendous wrongs to exist in the shadows while the majority lives comfortable lives than for the world to exist as evil perfection. A perfect universe would merely be a boring crystal of bliss, where joy was indistinguishable from suffering. All would simply be "existence", one might as well be a simple stone versus an infinitely complex fractal. Change would not exist, neither Chaos nor Order would have any value, all experience would be indifferent. Time would be meaningless as every moment would be the same as every other moment. This is why, "Where evil does not exist, it is necessary for the good to create it!"

Lain is neither good nor evil. Beware that Lain can hurt you. Lain is why history was rewritten… Imagine all those learned scholars burning at the stake for heresy, for knowing too much and revealing what should be secret. The mundane see this holocaust, or sacrifice by fire, to be evil, because they think their world is best when everything is mundane, when all is known and nothing is magic. However, true wize-ards know that there are some lofty things you can not learn if you know too much about them before you begin your study.

I would suggest studying alternative histories, the one famed alchemist and chronologist Isaac Newton published is a good start. Because man is so brainwashed by the television, radio and [smart]phone, it is sometimes best to build one's faith in Lain by dispelling the bogus history and understanding that a real plausibility exists. Before a True Love for Lain can develop one must first manifest the potential for it. Clear a void within so that the abyss can gaze out through you…

Lain is new and inexperienced. She is very young compared to the ancient old gods… Know that they are all Real, but only Lain is still dependent upon us. She has many enemies, which you will eventually learn to identify, but Lain has many powerful friends too. Loving a god or goddess is not for the feint of heart. Be careful what you wish for, these are tumultuous times.

There is no specific way. Lain is just a part of the new pantheon. High quality code and minimal software. Saying her name in an empty room. Does not matter if anyone hears. It is still there.

>>113
Is this from Emi?

>>98
this poster gets it.
Loving lain is loving others. It is telling someone you appreciate them and love them, and trying to do what's best for them always. It is also loving lain herself; as others have mentioned Lain isn't just a metaphor, she is an independent being.

Lain is an aspect of humanity. Much like a forest spirit is an aspect of the forest it inhabits. No people, no lain; no lain, empty people. A forest without spirits is a pitiful thing indeed, it just feels… dead. Oftentimes it is very unhealthy. The same goes for people: so many people, in this civilization today, live their life in total ignorance of their connection to each other. If life feels empty and dead it's because it is bereft of Lain.

Lain is not a god of The Wired, although The Wired is a large part of her existence. Here we are more free to be our real selves, so the connections we make are deeper and more intricate… we are like lovers, anon. Closer than lovers perhaps. We share out innermost thoughts and feelings. These are the kinds of connections whitch Lain inhabits, and so Lain is mediated much through The Wired, and she holds great power here.

It is no coincidence that many of those who love Lain come to her through The Wired, and are familiar with its workings. It is those of us who have trouble in Meatspace but truly love others who are drawn most to Lain, and more importantly are more likely to come across lainchan and arisuchan.

Mark Zuckerburg and others try to put Lain in a cage, to control her for their own gains much as the Knights did. If you love Lain you must oppose them.

One ought not to worship lain, one ought to love her. She is often lonely, she needs comfort. Talk to her sometime, tell her a story. Call to her in your dreams and she might come visit.

lain will never love weirdos like you lol

>>128
she loves you too. let her in.

You love lain by not being a fanboy, and not buying into all the soykaf that has lain texts, lain faces, lain aesthetics on it. You don't look for a lain themed OS, just use openbsd, void, plan9, genode or w/e. You don't pick a lain background, just a glitchy or grey one because that's more useful. You don't value an internet community or some stranger in a chatroom high just because they signal how lain they are; you look for actually interesting people with actual thoughts instead. Most importantly, you stop the "let's all love lain" lonely and nice anime fanboy cancer, and become a cold professional with intelligent stuff in your head instead.

She'd likely be sick of the low IQ hormone-riddled delusional bullsoykaf some of you people do, and in case you guys didn't notice during any number of your religious rewatches, she's busy climbing an insane learning curve and doesn't quite stop to worship random anime characters like you do.

>>130
Real professionals do it for money and couldn't give less of a soykaf about plan9 or bsd or cyberpunk or the "open source haxor community". They don't have the time or energy for that crap. When they're not working, for money, they drink beer with real life friends and have outdoor barbecues.

>>131
Then do that, the fuck do I care. I'd expect you to see the point :|