Between the Buried and Me – Automata

I’d recommend reading this along with listening to the album, following it song by song. Bear in mind this is simply my interpretation.

I’ve been putting this off for a while. Between the Buried and Me’s lyrics tend to be a little too metaphorical for me to easily pick apart the stories of their albums, but after a year or more listening to this one, and some help from Reddit, I feel like I’m finally sort-of ready to tackle Automata. Here goes.

Condemned to the Gallows [Night One]

The Voice of Trespass is a corporation that forces people into endless dreams and broadcasts them as entertainment for the masses. This simulation has been named by the company as The Grid. The story of Automata starts with our protagonist being dropped into one of these dreams. He’s in an old cabin in the middle of the woods, and it’s snowing heavily outside.

After a while the protagonist realises he’s missing something, and emptiness engulfs him. His son has gone missing. Frantically he starts searching the cabin, destroying it in the process, but the boy is nowhere to be seen. The protagonist must brave the harsh cold and leave the house in search of what’s most important to him.

As he steps outside he sees blood on the snow. The moon shines a foreboding crimson light upon everything. The protagonist strides forward into the endless stretch of white, desperate to find his son again.

House Organ [Day Two]

Our protagonist can’t help but imagine what has happened to his son, out there alone in the cold. Dark thoughts enter his mind. He senses himself being watched, and this unnerves him.

The protagonist reminds himself of how much he loves his son, and his spirits are lifted. He’s not lost hope yet. At this moment he starts to realise that there may be more to this hell he’s living than he first thought.

Yellow Eyes [Night Four/Morning Five]

Our protagonist is still wandering the plains of snow, and is growing more desperate now. It’s been four days and he’s tired, not sure if he’s making any progress. After wandering for some time, he comes across piles of bodies and flesh in the snow. The protagonist is starting to wonder if what he’s experiencing is even real. He still feels eyes on him, watching.

Morning breaks, and our protagonist is starting to break. The snow landscape changes too much for him to keep track of which direction he’s walking. On top of this, he’s becoming more and more aware that there’s something sinister going on. He can hear the hum of electricity, although there’s nothing nearby that would produce this sound. It’s at this point that the protagonist realises that this world isn’t real. He cuts an X into his palm and leaves a mark for whatever created this world, so that they know he’s no longer blind to it.

Once he realises this, he comes into contact with other people that are trapped in this world, but that are happy to stay. They’ve found a way to cope with it and live in The Grid.

The protagonist’s focus changes from finding his son, to finding out what exactly this simulation is, and who is responsible for subjecting him to it.

Millions [Before]

We briefly move away from our main character and switch to the perspective of his son. He’s confused and lost, and wants to know why his dad left him alone. Where there was once protection, there is now nothing. The boy is scared. The only person that exists in his world is his dad, and the fact that he’s given up hope on finding him is crushing.

Little does the boy know, but this nightmare that he’s experiencing is just another being broadcast to the masses.

Blot [Rehearsal]

We now switch back to the main protagonist, before he entered The Grid. He’s rich and successful, but doesn’t feel fulfilled. He hears of a company called Voice of Trespass who are experimenting with the human mind to produce a new form of entertainment, and decides to volunteer himself.

He’s driving through the desert on his way to their headquarters. The sun blots his eyes. He’s worried about what this company might do with him, but is also excited to start a new life.

He arrives the Voice of Trespass headquarters. They take him in and explain how their new form of entertainment works – how they take people’s dreams and broadcast them for the world to see. Our protagonist sees people being strapped into machines, their memories being taken to form dreams to place people into. He now realises he’s not going to remember anything that’s happened in his life up to this point, including signing up as a volunteer for the Voice of Trespass in the first place.

The protagonist is taken into a room that contains one of the machines he’d seen people being placed into. He then steps into the machine, which begins to hum with electricity. Voltage continuously increases, and he sees a tunnel of light. He’s being taken through this tunnel, and breaks through to the other side – into The Grid.

The Proverbial Bellow [Night Six]

We’re back in present day, and our protagonist has been taken in by the cult-like society that’s found peace within The Grid. They want him to stay. The protagonist feels calm, his senses erupting in blissful sensation.

At this point, Voice of Trespass find the mark left by the protagonist and realise he’s figured out he’s in a simulation.

Our protagonist wants to be freed from this world, and is growing desperate, but is being more and more drawn in by the cult. They’re explaining their way of life, trying to convince our protagonist to stay forever. He grows more and more trusting of this cult, and more and more convinced to give up on breaking free from this simulation. He eventually decides to stay with them.

Glide [Night Four]

Back in the real world, there’s a dinner being held by Voice of Trespass, during which they realise they no longer hold power over their victims. They can no longer broadcast their nightmares because they’ve found peace. The Grid is done. Everyone hooked up to it slowly shut down in the real world, leaving them as piles of flesh and wires. They can now live forever inside The Grid, at peace with their fate.

Voice of Trespass

Although Voice of Trespass know The Grid has been shut down, the dinner goes on. This song acts as a theme song for Voice of Trespass, portraying them as a money-hungry, ruthless corporation at wants to dine in people’s minds. They don’t care about the well-being of the people that volunteer for this experiment – all they see is money. During all of the commotion, Voice of Trespass know that their victims are aware they were condemned to the gallows, as it were.

The Grid [The Premiere]

Voice of Trespass claim that they’re the ones that shaped the new lives of the people in The Grid, but these people have now taken control back. The company is placing blame on society, and the fact that it’s the people they feed this entertainment to that should be judged. However, even while trying to justify their actions, Voice of Trespass begin to feel guilty about what they’ve done.

The people left inside The Grid see the end in sight. They’re in this together. The crimson moon slides past the shoreline, it’s glow lives on. Our protagonist is finally at peace, and can move on with a new life.

–

After two years, I’ve finally written this up. Feels good. I hope you enjoyed reading it, and feel free to give some feedback – I spent some time completely confused about Glide and Voice of Trespass, and where they landed in the story, but hopefully it makes sense. Cheers for reading!

– Kane