Been following this closely, not that excited about the music but the concept behind it is fucking awesome.
Here's a little writeup I did for my friends:
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Here's a summary, for anyone who is interested but doesn't want to wade through the material:
On Nine Inch Nails latest tour shirt, certain letters were highlighted. Arranged, these spelled "I am trying to believe". This led people to <a href="http://www.iamtryingtobelieve.com">iamtryingtobelieve.com</a>, a website about a drug called parepin, that has apparently been introduced into the drinking water by the government at some point in the future. Supposedly it was to ward people against potential terrorist chemical attacks, but the author of the site thinks it has some negative side effects, including loss of energy, clarity and lack of ability to orgasm. He suggests you stop drinking the water to clear your mind, but if you email him you get an automated response that he is drinking the water.
Then, a few days later at a concert, a USB drive was found in a bathroom (unsure if it was actually found or story of it being found was just generated by NIN's marketing) with an MP3 and a link to the website <a href="http://www.anotherversionofthetruth.com">Another Version of the Truth</a> which appears to be the website to a resistance group to this future oppressive government.
More related sites quickly surfaced, both through more USB drives, and clues in the other websites. <a href="http://www.bethehammer.net">Be The Hammer</a> (another resistance group, apparently more violent), <a href="http://www.105thairbornecrusaders.com">105th Airborne Crusaders</a> (military group with deep religious ties that was deployed in the middle east, <a href="http://www.churchofplano.com">Church of Plano</a> (major religious organization that appears to have strong political influence, <a href="http://www.consolidatedmailsystems.com">Consolidated Mail Systems</a> (access to several different email accounts), <a href="http://www.uswiretap.com">US Wiretap</a> (access to government recorded conversations), <a href="http://www.artisresistance.com">Art is Resistance</a> (a non violent resistance movement), <a href="http://www.hollywoodinmemoriam.org">Hollywood in Memoriam</a> (a site dedicated to victims of the bombing of LA during 2009), and finally today <a href="
http://www.securebroadcastinformatics.com/">Secure Broadcast Informatics</a> (a government organization that's a cover for people trying to send data back in time to stop these events from happening.
So today from the SBI site we have learned that all these sites are viewable because they sent the data back 15 years into the past, 02/10/2007 (from 02/10/2022). The basic timeline is America invades/bombs Iran in ~2007/2008, then LA is attacked by a chemical weapon (ricin) in 2009. This leads to mass paranoia and the government establishing complete control, adding Parepin to the water. America gets attacked again, government controls more and more, eventually it culminates in 2022 with people seeing the hand of God (also known as The Presence) reaching down in some places and causing mass hysteria, then SBI sending back the information, then nothing after that is known.
As with all alternate reality stories, the ending is going to suck, because it has to end somewhere, and it won't be fulfilling. However, watching it unfold keeps me enthralled, even if I have very little interest in the album it's promoting.
Yes, it's a little weird, a little too overblown conspiracy wet dream come through, a little too rage against the man, but I think it's extremely <b><i>COOL</b></i>.
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and
Second, three new updates in the Year Zero sitch: <a href="http://www.thewaterturnedtoblood.net">thewaterturnedtoblood.net</a> (site detailing the origins of John of Boston, a religious leader inside the prison system), <a href="
http://www.judsonogram.net/">judsonogram.net</a> (prison he is housed in), and <a href="
http://www.cedocore.com/">Cedocore.com</a> (the company that makes Parepin).
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PS - wtf why are you never on msn anymore?
