The creators of ''Anime/SerialExperimentsLain'' drew on a freaking ''lot'' of sources. The series takes on a whole new meaning when you understand all the {{Shout Out}}s and allusions . So here's a quick guide to them all.

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[[folder: The entire series ]]


* '''Cyberia''', a bar/disco frequented in the series is an allusion to the nonfiction novel by the same name by Douglas Rushkoff. The pun on "[[EvilIsDeathlyCold Siberia]]" is intentional. See also ''Gaia'', the global brain in the same book.
** It was also the name of one of the earliest cybercafé franchises - which had a branch in Tokyo.
* '''Protocol 7''' refers, probably, to the 7[[superscript:th]] Layer, the neurogenetic circuit, of the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-circuit_model_of_consciousness Eight Layers of Conciousness]]'' as proposed by Timothy Leary. The neurogenetic circuit is roughly equivalent to the [[UsefulNotes/CarlJung Jungian]] idea of the collective unconscious.
** Creator/RobertAntonWilson reverses the positions of the 6[[superscript:th]] and 7[[superscript:th]] circuits. In his system, the 7[[superscript:th]] circuit is the neuroelectric or "metaprogramming" circuit, which is similar to the idea of a "higher self" and is associated with higher cognition, editing one's own brain, and possibly telepathy.
** And could also be a successor to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPv6 IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6)]] which was already in the planning stage when SEL was made. (the internet protocol at the time the show was made was [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPv4 version 4]]).
** Seven is also the ArcNumber of [[Literature/TheBible The Book of Revelation]], which details the final apocalypse or revealing of God in the Christian canon.
* '''NAVI''', the trademark-turned-noun for computer in the series, is contracted from ''Knowledge Navigator'', a term invented by Apple CEO John Sculley in his book ''Odyssey''. It referred to a computer connected to a vast network where everyone was connected.
** Probably completely unintended, but in Hebrew, ''navi'' is the word for "prophet." "Fulfill the prophecy" indeed . . .
* '''Copland OS''' was an unreleased operating system by Apple Computers. See also ''System 7'', its predecessor.
* '''Devices''', in this context, refers to Marshal [=McLuhan=]'s concept.
* '''Gaia''', a global brain in ''Cyberia'' shares a common thread with the collective shared unconscious in ''Lain''
* '''Earth Coincidence Control Office''' (or "ECCO") by John C. Lilly, a higher intelligence controlling the "coincidences" on Earth. Lilly considered ECCO a subset of the Solar System Control Unit (SSCU), in turn a sub-unit of Galactic Coincidence Control (GCC), which is itself merely a substation of the Cosmic Coincidence Control Center (CCCC). He considered this last entity to be [[OurGodsAreDifferent something like God]].
* '''Knights of the Eastern Calculus''': The Knights of the Lambda Calculus are a semi-mythical, semi-serious, real-world group of hackers devoted to the use of the programming language Lisp.
* '''Tachibana Labs''' is a play on words on Platform/AppleMacintosh, (a type of Apple) itself being the name of a citrus fruit (the ''citrus tachibana'')
* '''Layer ##''' at the beginning of each episode is said by Apple's ''Whisper'' voice in Mac OS text-to-speech software.
* Nezumi, the Knights-wannabe who carries a computer rig and accesses the Wired while he walks matches the description of a ''Gargoyle'' from ''Literature/SnowCrash'', as do the MIB agents, who wear the same headgear (complete with laser sight) that Lagos was described as wearing.
* '''Close the World, Open the [=neXt=]'''. Compare [=NeXT=] and [=neXt=]. [=NeXT=] was the high-end computer company founded by Steve Jobs after his ouster from Apple. The Internet as we know it (that is, the hypertext-based World Wide Web) was invented by Tim Berners-Lee on a [=NeXTSTEP=] computer.
* '''to [[color:blue:B]][[color:red:e]] continued''', where [[color:blue:B]][[color:red:e]] uses the same colouring as ''Be OS'' used.
* '''hello (again)''', the text from an Apple advertisement, is used in an omake.
* '''What is Artificial Life?''' from ALIFE VI is quoted in text-form at several places.

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[[folder: Layer 01: WEIRD ]]

* '''Think Bule Count One Tow''', an allusion to ''Think Blue, Count Two'', a short story set in Creator/CordwainerSmith's ''Instrumentality of Mankind'' series.
* Lain's old computer is reminiscent of a ''20[[superscript:th]] Anniversary Macintosh''. It runs a '''Communication OS''', denoted by a large capital C as its logo - reminiscent of the ''Commodore'' logo.
* The text seen on the blackboard in the classroom is code, written in the C programming language with Japanese locale (the backslash is replaced with a yen sign).
* '''[=NeXT=]''' (an OS) icons appear on Lain's father's computer desktop.

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[[folder: Layer 02: GIRLS ]]

* '''[[http://theplace.walkerart.org/urban_diary/page1/diarypage1.html Urban Diary]]''' is used as a background during the Accela TV News report.

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[[folder: Layer 03: PSYCHE ]]


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[[folder: Layer 04: RELIGION ]]

* Lain's computer rig includes '''[[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey HAL Power 5000]]''' systems.

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[[folder: Layer 05: DISTORTION ]]


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[[folder: Layer 06: KIDS ]]

* Parts of Lain's rig comes from ''[[http://moebius.co.uk Moebius]]'', a real-world software company that would have been quite new to the market when ''SE:Lain'' was released.
* Actually the URL of the brand in the equipment is ''[[http://mebious.co.uk/ Mebious]]''. Which contains a Lain related mumbo-jumbo page.

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[[folder: Layer 07: SOCIETY ]]

* The man walking around the street covered in gadgets seems to be a direct reference to the gargoyles from ''Literature/SnowCrash'', a novel that was very influential on hacker culture and predicted a lot of 21st century technology development.
* During class, Lain programs on her [=HandiNAVI=] in the multi-paradigm programming language [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisp_(programming_language) Lisp]]. This is likely related to the Knights of the Lambda Calculus, because in real life they were a community surrounding the Lisp language.
* Nezumi's perspective is viewed through Apple's ''[=HotSauce=]'' interface, which was created to give users a novel Internet experience. The program code shown in one scene seems to be a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perl perl]] script for generating a web page, also known as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cgi_script CGI Script]].

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[[folder: Layer 08: RUMORS ]]


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[[folder: Layer 09: PROTOCOL ]]


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[[folder: Layer 10: LOVE ]]


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[[folder: Layer 11: INFORNOGRAPHY ]]

* '''Think different''' was one of Apple's most successful advertisement campaigns.
* Alice apparently uses an '''iMac G3'''.

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[[folder: Layer 12: LANDSCAPE ]]


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[[folder: Layer 13: EGO ]]

* Lain's father comments that "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_(cake)#The_Proust_connection madelines]] would be good with tea." This is a allusion to the Marcel Proust novel In Search of Lost Time.

-->With thanks to ''[[http://www.cjas.org/~leng/lain.htm thought experiments Lain]]''

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