Information

Subversive
Legacy Name: Subversive

The Nightmare Endeavor
Owner: silas

Age: 4 years, 6 months, 3 days

Born: October 22nd, 2019

Adopted: 1 year, 6 months, 4 weeks ago

Adopted: September 25th, 2022

This pet has been nominated for the Pet Spotlight!

Statistics

• Level: 70
   
• Strength: 173
   
• Defense: 172
   
• Speed: 172
   
• Health: 172
   
• HP: 172/172
   
• Intelligence: 166
   
• Books Read: 166
• Food Eaten: 0
• Job: The Hacker

YEAR ZERO (2007 ALBUM)

"Year Zero is the fifth studio album by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released by Interscope Records on April 17, 2007... In contrast to the introspective style of songwriting featured on the band's previous work, the record is a concept album that criticizes contemporary policies of the United States government by presenting a dystopian vision of the year 2022. It was part of a larger Year Zero project, which included a remix album, an alternate reality game of the same name, as well as a conceived television or film adaptation. The game expanded upon the album's storyline, using websites, pre-recorded phone messages, murals, among other media in promotion of the project." - Wikipedia

HYPERPOWER!

Year Zero was my first Nine Inch Nails album, coming out when I was in 7th grade, and it launched a special interest that would last YEARS.

The Beginning of the End

I didn't know about the ARG around it at first, just that I liked the music and it drew me into NIN's other albums.

Survivalism

I found the song "Survivalism" on one of those music television channels that just plays music with no visuals other than the album and artist information, and fell in love instantly.

The Good Soldier

I was so obsessed with it that I tried writing my own (extremely edgy, extremely immature but not in a poop joke way, extremely immature in a '13 year old who knows nothing about war' way) story inspired by what I could glean from the album. I actually got in trouble at school over it, but was defended by my English teacher!

Vessel

A few years later, in high school, when I was more internet savvy, I found out about the ARG (alternate reality game). Of course, by this time it was all over, but at this point the websites were still up, so I could explore them, and explore them I certainly did! I poured over them, taking in the worldbuilding, the story, everything about it. I was obsessed!

Me, I'm Not

I even did a presentation on the timeline of the ARG which concludes with the end of the world due to ??? aliens??? God? in... 2022. That seemed so far away, then...

Capital G

In the Year Zero ARG, America slowly sinks into religious fascism in the post-9/11 world, after dirty bombs being dropped on the Academy Awards. This escalates into things including suspending free elections, putting sedating drugs in the water (with the claims that the drug prevents diseases...), murdering and imprisoning protesters, and worse. Most other countries are not better off -- the UK puts microchips in its people to augment its surveillance state; India and Pakistan have been destroyed in nuclear war with each other. Several major cities on multiple continents are now underwater due to climate change and global warming. It's bleak.

My Violent Heart

But not all hope is lost. People are still fighting back, in various ways, documented on resistance forums. People fight back however they can: with art, with sedition, with violence.

The Warning

There is... a presence, a Presence, appearing to people all over the world. It's first thought to be a side effect of the drugs in the water (or lack thereof), but people outside of America see it too. These appearances become more and more common.

God Given

The Presence is thought to be alien in nature, or perhaps God itself. The Presence is on the cover of the album, which you can see as the background on this page!

Meet Your Master

When this album came out, George W. Bush was still president of the United States, and people of Course drew parallels between the ARG's storyline and current events, particularly the War in Iraq. The album was noted for its antiwar messages, which were relatively unpopular at the time.

The Greater Good

The ARG brought in fans -- literally! -- to participate. There were physical USB flash-drives found at concerts that contained music and hints toward the ARG; there were billboards, fliers, lithographs... There was even an official 'resistance' meeting in Los Angeles that featured an 'impromptu' performance from NIN themselves!

The Great Destroyer

One of the final websites chronologically in the ARG's timeline is Hour of Arrival, in which one man documents the ever-increasing appearances of the Presence, culminating in presumably the end of the world.

Another Version of the Truth

But! A group of resistance fighters had been working to send information back, say, 15 years, in order to head off the bad future at the pass, when it was more manageable, before everything really went to hell. And it works, because all of the information, all of the websites that we were able to peruse, were a result of their hard work and sacrifices.

In This Twilight

Art Is Resistance, one of the websites claims. Wake up and give a sh*t. You have the power to change things, you just have to get out there and do it. It won't be easy, and you will have to make sacrifices. But the future is worth it.

Zero-Sum

Year Zero is one of my favorite albums of all time, both musically and storyline-wise. It had a huge impact on me growing up, and I hope with this write up I've shown you at least some of why I love it so much!!!

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