(i know this isn't metal but this series isn't limited to metal. Sry if that bothers you)

*note* DUE TO THE HUGE, DETAILED STORY, I HAD TO SPLIT THIS IN 2 PARTS. THIS COVERS THE STORY, WHILE PART 2 WILL COVER THE SONGS AND THEIR MEANING

THE ALBUM ABOUT BELL

THE BOOK ABOUT BROWNING AND WISE

This album doesn't tell a specific story from song to song. Instead, all of the songs from this album relate to a larger story, and you would have to know the story in order to understand the meaning of each song. Because of this, before I talk about the specific songs, I need to cover the overarching story of it all. It is a long one....

[the following is taken (with some liberties) from the prox transmissions book and comic, based off the Starset storyline.]

We begin in 2016, when scientists create a small hot fusion device, called the free energy device. Not long after, the research was bought by billionaires. This company founded by them kept researching, creating more and more energy. In 2023 they went public, and called themselves the Free Energy Corporation, or the FEC. they began to produce energy faster and at about 5% of the price when compared to fossil fuels.

Quickly, all US energy companies became bankrupt. Those now without jobs began to riot daily. In collusion with the FEC, the government sent corps to stop the rioters. The jobless were sent to 'growth zones', said to give them food and shelter. In reality, they were essentially concentration camps.

In 2025, the FEC monopolized all of the fuel industries, including coal and oil. They raised the price of their energy 20 fold. Soon after, they began research to develop a machine capable of printing any three-dimensional object one atom at a time, using energy to convert carbon atoms into whatever elements necessary.

They then began to deny energy to all manufacturers, halting the production of everything. They began to produce everything with the "everything machine". The FEC soon took over the collapsing government. They soon leaned of a "Prox project", the idea of transporting life to a planet called Prox, which doesn't rotate. One side is cooked, while the other freezes. There is a strip where the two meet that is capable of sustaining life. The FEC expanded the program, thinking it would be a good means to escape In case of a societal meltdown.

Meanwhile, a resistance group called the NFA started to gain momentum. Under threat of death or imprisonment for doing so, a majority of people sided with the NFA. As they launch an attack on Washington DC, 12 year olds Thomas Bell and Hayley Rochester play near the capitol.

Guards grabbed Hayley, who was the daughter of a powerful FEC member. She was placed on a rocket to Prox, leaving Bell behind. The FEC was destroyed, with all centers except Chicago being destroyed by the NFA. 2 years later, Thomas traveled to Chicago, hoping to reach Prox. He spent 7 years infiltrating the FEC space program there.

In 2039, Thomas left on a supply ship on its way to Prox as a communications technician. He landed in 2046. He worked under a Dr Borden, and looked for Haley. As Borden discovered a way to send messages back in time, he also found a distress call from Hayley, coming from the dark side of Prox. Before entering the dark side (and potentially meeting his death), he sends a transmission detailing what happened leading up to the near anarchist state of Earth, and warning of the FEC. The message will be sent to 2013.

Unfortunately, Borden was incorrect. Instead of sending the signal to 2013, it was sent throghout history, popping up after specific intervals of time.

The first example of the message being received was from Nikola Tesla, who claimed in 1901 to have been contacted by aliens. He then founded a secret group dedicated to deciding the signal, called the Order of Teslonia. It came back in 1945, and the Order decoded it. A group called the USCOO is formed to spy on the Order and learn its secrets.

In 1971, NASA intercepts the signal, but the USCOO confiscated it the next day. This marks the first time they received the signal. In 2013, a letter left by a Gerhard Gregor tells Dr. Steven Browning to conduct a scan on New Years day, 2013. Browning discovers and captures the signal. A Dr. Wise and Browning successfully decrypt the data and learn the message about the future. The USCOO attempts to stop them.

Dr. Wise ended up founding the Starset Society, a group tasked with stopping the USCOO and releasing the contents of the transmission to the public. One way of doing so is through music, so they recruit a band and name them Starset to spread info about the transmission to the public, the fastest way imaginable: through music.

PART 2 IS UP, FEEL FREE TO CHECK IT OUT AS WELL!