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Not fully being a 'real person' left Lain with a lot of free time. Time she'd spent exploring the Wired.
Logging on, she navigated the various net-spheres, first checking the news, but upon finding them rather dull, she decided to indulge in a particular hobby of hers. She was still in the process of figuring out who or what exactly she was, but she maintained her omnipresence in the Wired, which meant practically unlimited entertainment. That often consisted of reading through and leaking classified government files, researching whatever caught her attention and sometimes even revealing her existence to select individuals.
Today, however, she felt like scratching her itch for obscure digital mysteries. Browsing through niche forums and blogs, she eventually found her distraction for the day.
Various independent russian radio operators reported intercepting a transmission with a looping message encoded in morse, that only said 'I Love You'. It evaded any sort of wider recognition due to the fact that it seemed to emanate from rural Siberia, well within the polar circle.
After gathering all available information, that's to say very little, she decided to look into it 'in person'. Lain transferred herself into one of the few devices with radio equipment available to her in the region. Trying all of the inconsistently reported frequencies, she eventually caught the signal herself, which did actually surprise her. Now, she felt even more motivated to discover its origin.
She listened to it for a bit. Sure enough, the beeps of the morse code translated to 'I Love You'. It sounded intentional in a weird way. She wasn't one to get emotional over inanimate things like this, so she soon found herself confused by such feelings. The message felt personal yet directed to the whole world at the same time. That was the first thing that actually made her suspect it was more than just a simple automated message, but rather, a deliberate love letter to the entire universe.
The second was that, despite all her power and resources, she could not find its source, not even in outer space. For all intents and purposes, it shouldn't exist.
Of course, she wasn't satisfied by this conclusion. Having (debatably) godlike powers when it came to technology, she had more ways of examination at her disposal than anyone else.
It didn't take long for her to realize that the signal was, at least originally, a part of something else and it continued repeating even after its transmitter was gone.
So, she tried to reconstruct it.
She reached into the digital code around her and began recreating its parabolic antenna. While extracting the source material, she felt as if she had reached into something much deeper than the Wired itself. The source was lodged deep in the code, but not the binary of the computer she was working with. No, it was more fundamental, like the Code of the Universe itself. And it resisted. She didn't let go either, no, she pulled harder. And so did the Universe. It pulled her out of the computer, but in this cosmic tug of war, she held her own and also pulled someone out.
Huh?
She was sure she was reaching for the source of the signal...
The source in question looked an awful lot like a teenage girl, similar in age to Lain.
"I Love You"
"I Love You"
"I Love You"
"I Love You"
"I Love You"
"I Love You"
"I Love You"
The redhead repeated with her eyes shut in deep concentration.
Lain observed her curiously.
"I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You ...."
She continued ceaselessly, completely oblivious to her surroundings.
After seeing that she wasn't going to stop without external intervention, Lain quickly got bored.
"Hey."
"I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You..."
"Hey, you!" she flicked the other girl's forehead.
This seemed to have finally broken her trance, as she stared, dumbstruck at the the girl before her.
"Ah!" she jumped back after a criminally long reaction time.
'That was so embarrassing!' the transmitter screamed internally. She covered her beet-red face in her hands.
"I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to stare at you like that."
Lain just chuckled softly.
"Are you the parabolic antenna?"
"P-Parabolic antenna?"
"Yes. Were you the one transmitting the signal?"
"I was transmitting a signal?" she asks rather than states, though she looks excited. "I did. I did it!"
"A looping message in morse that translates to 'I Love You'."
"Yes!" she exclaims and looks to be very pleased with herself. Then her expression turned confused. "This is embarrassing, but I don't seem to know where I am."
"How did you do it?"
"Who are you? Are you you from the Research Center? I'm not telling you, until you tell me who you are."
"I'm Lain."
"Lain?"
"Lain Iwakura, though that doesn't matter. How did you do it?"
"I'm Asya, Asya Shubina. Nice to meet you?"
"How did you do it?"
'Why does she keep saying it like that? Am I... having an episode? No, they don't feel like this. I can think. Think..., think of a dog. Yes, I can see it in my mind. Floppy ears, soft matted fur and a wagging tail. Then, this must be real. Who is she? Her last name sounds japanese, so she can't be from Vorkuta-5. She sure looks like she could be japanese, but she speaks perfect russian. I'm not fully sure, I've never seen a japanese person before. That's not saying much though, I've never seen anyone from outside Vorkuta-5. I'll have to ask her where she's from.'
"Hey! How did you do it?"
'Might as well tell her, so she drops it.'
"I gathered enough gratitude and climbed to the highest place I could find. Then, the Universe accepted my message."
"What did you use?"
"I used... myself? As an antenna, I mean."
"Just that?"
Lain was genuinely perplexed. She hasn't felt this confused since...
"I-uhh, I mean Tosya was with me... maybe that helped?" Asya fumbled to explain. "Tosya. Hey, do you know where the others are? My friends? Do you know where Ira is? Marina and Tosya? And Garin?" though she said the last name with a slight apprehension.
"No, you were the only one."
"What?"
"You were the only one in the signal."
"In my signal?"
"Yes."
Asya's face turned expressionless for a few seconds.
"Okay, does Vorkuta-5 exist?"
"Let me check." Lain looked intrigued.
She turned to the ancient-looking computer through which she got here.
"No."
"I see."
"Was Vorkuta-5 a secret town?"
"Yes."
"Vorkuta-1 through 4 lie abandoned along with Vorkuta-6. There are no signs of any Vorkuta-5 ever existing."
"Ah, that makes sense."
"How so?"
"I'm not telling you until you tell me where I am." Asya was finally figuring out how to communicate with this person.
"A secret number-station radio outpost, 29 kilometers from Bajkalovsk. How come Vorkuta-5 doesn't exist?"
"The Universe erased it. How did I get here?"
"I caught your signal and I reached through the code to recreate the antenna. Why did the Universe erase it?"
"For tampering with its Code. Was there anyone else in the Code?"
"I couldn't feel anyone else."
Asya smiled solemnly. It was such a strange sight to Lain. To mourn people, family, friends. To mourn people with a gentle smile and calm acceptance instead of hysterics or apathy. She's never seen such a reaction, despite voyeurism being a prominent hobby of hers. She still had her questions, but felt uncharacteristically moved, so she just silently watched the antenna-girl. In a way it made her feel remorse for people she never knew, who never even existed in the first place. What other powers did this girl have, besides transmitting her signal? What was this spell she put her under?
"You said we're near Bajkalovsk. Is lake Baikal visible from where we are?"
"I haven't checked..."
The redhead struggled to get the door open, due to the piled up snow outside. As soon as she pried it open, a gust of cold sharp wind struck both of them. Asya didn't care.
The outpost was on a hill, so she had a decent view of the flat landscape. In the distance, she spotted a large reflective surface. She ran outside to look closer with sparkles in her eyes.
"I've always wanted to see lake Baikal! It's so huge!"
She looked back to the small building and saw that Lain was only wearing a thin white nightgown. She herself has barely noticed the cold, but she had and a built-up tolerance and a layered outfit. She quickly got inside the small dingy building and shut the door.
"You're shivering! I'm sorry!"
Lain hasn't even noticed. She looked down at her feet trembling from the cold. All of a sudden, Asya trapped Lain in a tight hug.
"You're gonna get hypothermia!"
However, Lain only felt her internal temperature rising, along with her heart-rate. Then Asya started undressing at which point Lain had to stop her.
"W-What are you doing?"
"Here, have my coat and scarf. You need warm clothes, it's cold in here."
"What about you?"
"Oh, I'm used to it. Vorkuta-5 is within the polar circle, so we have temperatures like this for most of the year. But you're only wearing a nightgown!"
Lain didn't think it worth the arguing, so she put on the other girl's coat and scarf. They smelled... nice. Shubina also made her wear her boots, while she was left with her socks, apron and thick dress. Lain would be lying if she said she didn't like their warmth.
Asya grew quiet again and looked to be contemplating something serious.
"But why was I still in the Code? I should've been erased as well..."
"I think... the Universe likes you."
"Huh?"
"It held onto you. It didn't want me to extract you."
Asya stared at Lain, wide-eyed.
'Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for hearing out my wish, for holding onto me, for giving me another chance and for letting me have such a wonderful life. Thank you for everything. My gratitude will never compensate for all that I owe you, so please, please, please, please, please, please let me continue my transmission! Thank you!'
The outdated radio cracked back to life and sounded the gentles beeps of 'I Love You'.
"Thank you, Lain, for letting me be real again."
"You're umm... welcome." Lain muttered, she wasn't used to people thanking her. Or, for that matter, being this flustered. This girl was so strange and making her feel strange things she hadn't felt since Arisu. "So... What do you want to do now?" she continued, her mechanical facade falling apart.
"Hmm... I just want to spread my gratitude, so I guess I'm down for anything you want to do. O-Or, alone, if you'd prefer that." Asya responded.
"Do you know what the Wired is?"
"Is that a novel or...?" Asya found herself surprised at how natural she let herself be around Lain. And how she didn't ridicule her for that at all.
"No, nothing like that. It's a secondary reality. One that connects everything. As it happens, I'm a part of it and it is a part of me."
"That sounds terribly lonely."
Once again, she caught Lain off guard. She was supposed to be intrigued and impressed, but instead, she saw right through her.
"Yes." she admitted. "I lived as a human for a short while. I think I liked that."
"And can't you go back to that?" Asya stepped closer and grabbed her hand.
"I-I can inhabit a b-body, but... I can't fully reject the Wired." Lain stuttered, losing what little remained of her composure.
"W-Well, maybe I should join you in there. My gratitude extends to you as well."
Lain mumbled something neither of the two understood the meaning of.
Both of them stood in awkward silence for a few seconds as their faces began reddening at an alarming rate. Asya realized she was still holding Lain's hand and pulled back in a useless attempt to salvage the situation, internally cursing herself for being as deluded as to think there was anything between them. But in this motion, she noticed Lain's hand reaching out, not ready to let go just yet. However, it was too late.
'Aaah! What am I doing? This isn't Ira, not that she was interested in me either! She just needed a little comfort and I overstepped her boundaries! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!'
"No."
"Wha-"
"No. You should stay as you are."
"Oh, right."
"Once you enter, you can't go back. It would be a shame for you to be stuck in there. B-Bodies have many advantages, you know."
"I... guess so."
She was getting infuriated at just how dense the this girl was. She left her with no choice.
Lain crossed the distance between them and leaned in for something the clueless Asya hadn't expected. She didn't push her away, so Lain ever-so-slowly inched her way to her lips. Despite her initial shock, Asya welcomed Lain's tongue once their mouths connected.
'Aaaaah!!!! My first kiss! Wha-What do I do? They never tell you how kisses work in those romance novels!'
For all her advances, Lain didn't know what the hell she was doing either. While there was no shortage of erotic material on the Wired, none of it prepared her for the real deal.
She didn't need to worry about that too much though, as she seemed to awaken a deep burning longing in the redhead, who now wrapped her arms around her waist and back. Both of them got into the flow and proceeded to do much more that either of them thought they were capable of.