After episode 14, I started to get some vague ideas as to what might be going on. While, in the big picture, things are very much still up in the air, and us mistreated viewers are addled with yet more confusion with the introduction of Japanese mythological elements, I thought this episode gave some really important clues as to what’s transpiring. First and foremost was the textual insight into the goings on in the nearby laboratory:
We are not creating life
However,
At a minimum, we must ensure
That self-preservation instincts function.
There is only one way to resolve
The contradiction between our goals
And the taboos against creating life.
Thus we must ensure the cellular automata to function as an external brain,
And cause them to recognise their niche,
Their place in the ecosystem,
In the real world.
Therefore, we are running each of their ghosts,
Which correspond to a particular human consciousness, as programs.
However, each of their memories shares the same data.
This causes us to avoid approaching “sentient life” far more than we should.
We must maintain this system
Until they are shipped out as products.
However,
Regarding any emergent phenomena among the passive activities of the cellular
automata, in my capacity as an observer, I…
This block of text is probably the most important burst of information delivered so far, and offers some very real explanations for many of the linked strange events that have been occurring.
One of the ongoing questions that the show begs of its audience is in regards to whether or not the events occurring in the town are psychological/scientific, or whether they’re supernatural. Of course, many would argue that it’s inherently supernatural given the title and the unexplainable events such as Miyako’s possessions. However the way things have been presented could be grounded in science-fiction theory as opposed to supernatural phenomenon. For example, the connections with this “unseen” world have all been occurring through various states of psychological “meditation” - would that make any sense if this is in fact a fantastical/mythological world of ghosts and spirits? Given the heavy focus on psychology, I’m inclined to believe that the unseen world may in fact be utilising the same idea that we saw in SE:Lain, that is the concept (or a variation thereof) of the noosphere, which is ‘the sphere of human consciousness’. In a sense, it suggests interconnectivity between consciousness telepathically and the potential for consciousness to be projected into a sphere or plane of existence, as may be the case with Tarou and friends’ visits to the unseen world. As for why this unseen world appears to be populated by a horde of weird and whacky creatures - I wonder if these are the conscious projections of the “life” that is being created in the laboratory. If the lives being created there are, as the block of text suggests, hoped to find their function in an ecosystem and to maintain self-preservation instincts, then perhaps allowing them interactivity and freedom in this sphere is a good way to achieve that while keeping them locked away in the real-world. Rather an elaborate and pioneering method for an experiment of that nature, so there would have to be a deeper motive underpinning things that we’ve yet to see. And the link that follows from the laboratory to the dam, then to the sake yield (or whatever you call it) remains a mystery. There might be some theme involving water that hasn’t been established yet (as the sake brewery takes water from the dam), or something completely different.
With all that said, things also changed this episode that kind of messes up my theory. The introduction of mythology and gods, as well as the physical impossibility of Miyako’s hair levitating, point to a supernatural explanation. Could this “noosphere” be beginning to affect the real world in physical terms and not just in terms of the human mind? And perhaps this God purportedly possessing Miyako is a ghost in the sense that it’s a remnant consciousness stored in the “noosphere”. That all seems a bit farfetched, and it could even be that both science and the supernatural are involved behind the scenes. Personally, I’m convinced that the root of all these strange events lies with the laboratory and its attempts at “creating life”. |
