Quote Originally Posted by mauro995 View Post
Then, since Not The Actual Events made direct references to previous albums of NIN (Still) and songs (Reptile), is it somehow suggesting that the entire narrative of all NIN albums might take place in the Year Zero universe, differing in that some are narrated in first person and others from the point of view of an external narrator (Year Zero)?

If this is so, With Teeth could be the moment in which the first-person narrator begins to be aware that he lives in a simulation (Right Where It Belongs) and Not The Actual Events the moment when he manages to "wake up" from it (Burning Bright).

Maybe I'm speculating too much, but it would be extremely interesting if it were really this way.
and on a super rabbit hole style analysis... Trent coming out of various addictions and getting all ripped and stuff... getting married having kids etc etc all sort of fits that timeline of waking up and looking around and consciously breaking free of the "simulation"...