Fans found that a new Nine Inch Nails tour T-shirt contained highlighted letters that spell out the words "I am trying to believe."[2][3] It was discovered that iamtryingtobelieve.com was registered as a website, and soon several related websites were found in the IP range (Another Version of the Truth, Be the Hammer, 105th Airborne Crusaders, and Church of Plano), all describing a dystopian vision of the world fifteen years in the future.[4]
Consolidated Mail Systems was found through reference on the Another Version of the Truth forums.[4]
February 14, 2007
During Nine Inch Nails' first ever concert in Lisbon, Portugal, a USB flash drive was found in a bathroom stall containing a high-quality MP3 of the track "My Violent Heart", which quickly circulated on the internet.[5] This was initially thought by many to be an accidental leak of the song, but further releases in a similar fashion confirmed these to be intentional "leaks" and as part of the overall alternate reality game.[6] On the end of the MP3 was a few seconds of static, which, when analyzed under a spectrogram reveals an image of "The Presence." The same static is on the album at the end of Track #9, "The Warning".
A teaser trailer was released through the Year Zero website and featured a quick glimpse of a blue road sign that says "I AM TRYING TO BELIEVE" and a distorted glimpse of The Presence.[8][9] Additionally, one frame in the teaser points to the url https://web.archive.org/web/20070409100756/http://yearzero.nin.com/0024/, which presented an image named "yearzero_cover.jpg", which was later confirmed to be the album cover.
During a listening party, lithographs were handed out to people who had pre-ordered the album.[15][16] These lithographs had the words "The Mailstrom" written across them, leading fans to http://www.themailstrom.com.
Year Zero album is made available for streaming play on the official Nine Inch Nails MySpacepage.[21]
An Art is Resistance kit handed out on April 13 in L.A.
April 13, 2007
Art is Resistance "meeting" scheduled in Los Angeles, California, posted on Open Source Resistance. Participants are asked to "Wear something that shows you’re one of us." Art is Resistance kits are handed out to those attending, consisting of Art is Resistance buttons, posters, stencils, bandannas, and in around 25 cases, pre-paid cell phones on which participants would receive in-game phone calls and become a part of the game.[22][23]
Resistance "meeting" scheduled in Los Angeles. Participants are invited via cell phones given to them in Art is Resistance kits on April 13. The meeting consists of a speech by a "resistance member" and a free concert by Nine Inch Nails. The concert is cut short as the meeting is "raided" by a SWAT team.[29] Unedited video of the entire meeting is posted on Open Source Resistance the same night, and an edited version two nights later. [1]
April 26, 2007
"Capital G," "My Violent Heart," and "Me, I'm Not" are released on the official Nine Inch Nails website in GarageBand/Logic Pro and torrent format.[30] Some files included, under spectrogram analysis, contain hints leading to the discovery of Exhibit Twenty Four.
April 27, 2007
Art is Resistance "members" receive automated phone calls on cell phones given to them in Art is Resistance kits on April 13 in Los Angeles. The pre-recorded message contains a clue leading to Hour of Arrival. The message marks the end of the alternate reality game, stating "we’ve got to go dark for a while, but that is ok - you don’t need us anymore."
