For their first three albums, a few of the Austrian electronica act Mind in a Box's songs feature monologues, snippets of audio logs and conversations that combine to tell a story that spans the albums. Together, they form a mysterious epic that draws on science fiction, fantasy and noir fiction. I've chosen to illustrate this nameless story in a serie of pictures, one for each of the eight songs in the story.
Chapter 1: Lost Alone
Waiting: This is a series of phone calls, in which Mr. Black talks to his superior White about a man who he has attached a trace to. Black is spying on Him. The man is concerned about a woman and is trying to get into contact with Her. Just before he is able to get a hold of the woman, Black calls his contact and agrees to take some sort of action against Him that will leave Him unable to escape and not interrupt the trace.
it's me. everything went fine. we attached the trace and he doesn't suspect a thing. he's so blind, he will never know. ... not yet. but we will know very soon now. ... alright. I'll let you know immediately.
he is looking for her. we thought he doesn't know, but now he seems really desperate to find her. ... no! I think we should take him out now! ... alright. I'll get back to the trace.
it's me. everything is fine. he's still looking, but he seems to know less than we thought. ... yes, that's the problem. but I don't think he'll be able to do that. ... fine. later.
he has found her! he's not yet there but he will be very soon. we have to get everything ready. ... yes. she is unable to recognize him, but that won't make a difference for long. but it won't matter anyway if everything goes as planned. ... alright, I'll do that. he won't be able to escape, and we still have the trace in place. ... yes. I'm sure. later.
Black: Black is the point of view that the story is told from. It's unknown what his motives are and until Crossroads even his name was a mystery. He is working for White, doing mostly surveillance. He seems to be some sort of a government or corporate agent, with little qualms about killing.
White: White is Black's direct supervisor. White is the only member of the story who has been named. While he had been assuming a sort of controller role in Lost Alone, he makes a physical appearance in Reflections, making it clear that White is comfortable with field work.
Him: The unnamed man, who is the target of investigation in Lost Alone, is only referred to by male pronouns. It is implied that he is some sort of a hacker, possibly even a decker or cyber-cowboy. At the end of Lost Alone his body is dead, although it is strongly believed that his mind still lives and he has transferred his consciousness into the Internet.
Her: The unnamed woman, who is the target of investigation in Dreamweb, is only referred to by female pronouns. She seems to have had some sort of relationship with Him. It is revealed that she "knows how to get there", suggesting that she knows what happened to Him and how to replicate it. At the end of Dreamweb, she has escaped surveillance and has triggered something in The Speaker's mind.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°° 3D items from DAZ and Renderocity Stock for texture on Black's trenchcoat courtecy of