The wider point that I'm trying to make is that it regularly pulls new concepts out of nowhere (and then gives it a nonsensical English name). Maybe the writer thought this makes the story more original or cool. The things that do need exposition don't get it and the things don't need exposition get it. This is a writing convention I've noticed that's pretty common in anime so I'm not faulting Lain specifically for that. I just don't like it very much, and I guess I'm disappointed that even Lain, an anime that's relatively subtle and thoughtful, can't escape these tropes.