Operation Mindcrime: The Story Overview

The album begins with the protagonist, Nicky, lying in a hospital bed. He lies in a nearly catatonic state, unable to remember anything but snippets from his past. Suddenly, Nicky has a violent flashback in which his memories come flooding back in a torrent (I Remember Now, Anarchy X). He remembers how, as a heroin addict and would-be political radical frustrated with contemporary society, he was manipulated into joining a supposed secret organization dedicated to revolution (Revolution Calling). At the head of this organization is a political and religious demagogue known only as Dr. X, who, manipulating Nicky through a combination of his heroin addiction and brainwashing techniques (à la The Manchurian Candidate), uses Nicky as an assassin. Whenever Dr. X uses the word "mindcrime" Nicky becomes his docile puppet, a state which Dr. X uses to command Nicky to undertake any murder that the Doctor wishes (Operation Mindcrime, Speak). Through one of Dr. X's probable associates, a corrupt priest named Father William, Nicky is offered the services of a hooker-turned-nun named Sister Mary. Details are vague whether these services are sexual or simply emotional (Spreading the Disease), though the lyrics for "Suite Sister Mary" seem to indicate that is the first time they engage in sex ("Your precious cross is gone. It made me wait so long for what you gave to everyone"). However, through his friendship and growing affection toward Sister Mary, Nicky begins to question the nature of what he is doing (The Mission). Dr. X notices this and, seeing a potential threat in Mary, orders Nicky to kill both her and the priest. Nicky goes to Mary's church and kills the priest, but after confronting Mary fails to comply with the command to murder her (Suite Sister Mary). He and Mary decided to leave the organization together, and Nicky goes to Dr. X to tell him that they are out. Dr. X, however, reminds Nicky that he is an addict, and that he is the only one who can provide his daily fix (The Needle Lies). Nicky leaves conflicted and returns to Mary, only to find her dead (Electric Requiem). He cannot cope with the loss, as well as the possibility that he himself may have killed her and not known it, and begins to succumb to insanity (Breaking the Silence, I Don't Believe in Love). The police, arriving on the scene, arrest him for Mary's murder and the murders he committed for Dr. X (Waiting for 22). Because he is in a near-catatonic state, he is put into a hospital, where he starts to remember… (My Empty Room, Eyes of a Stranger).