Hahaha i did pretty much the same thing, being to lazy to get up and change the disk after triad and then BAM freaked out, i also seem to link this to Roseta Stoned in the similarities of the extraterrestial beings, although thats about LSD trips.

Great! Now listen to Die Eier Von Satan. That one's a kicker too!

In fact, the whole Aenima album is just creepy.

Thinking about it, maybe the last thing Maynard wants is followers...

Indeeeeeeeeed SIR. Tool's purpose with this album was definitely to gather followers. But more importantly, to make everyone as conscious of themselves (mind, body, spirit), the impending doom that the Earth will see within a couple of years, and the ways to spiral out of this illusion of safety and pain we currently live in. Have you ever been stuck somewhere or in a situation where you wanted out? Out of this miserable sensory-perception GAME we call life? This album provides Square One for everybody...look around, look within, analyze, heal, spiral out, and leave. Like Tim Leary's old saying- (literally) Turn on, tune in, drop out.

Maynard subtly gives information and instructions to listeners on how to become aware of and activate the inner "light body". This was intelligently glimpsed at on the last (and best) track from Aenima, "Third Eye". It structurally follows most of Lateralus' musical style and its purpose was to make listeners more conscious by through audio samples, lyrics, and intelligently played progressive rock!

Also, traditionally, the process of consciously leaving one's body is done after the consciously activating your light body part. This entire process can be explicitly and BEAUTIFULLY depicted towards the end of the "Parabol/Parabola" video. This ancient rite was and still is integral to most (Eastern) societies, in that it provides the individual with profound psychic abilities and insight into the spirit world and altered states of consciousness. Most mystical religions believe it is the grand purpose of a human to learn to consciously leave one's body and explore multiple realms and dimensions, including their own inner ones. THIS is Maynard's grand purpose in Lateralus.

Of course, Tool is never that simple...they want you to ultimately see the BIG PICTURE. Therefore, Lateralus is accentuated by other bits of subtle, conscious information for the listener.

"The Grudge" can be heard as aurally and lyrically describing both humanity and society's cold, calculating, and ultimately prejudiced ways of operating.

"Ticks and Leeches" similarly describes humanity, and by extension, one's own Ego (Body). Selfish, mooching, and always looking to be fulfilled and glamorized, the Ego gives an illusion of fulfillment while sending the conscious mind down a spiral of self-destruction (the opposite of activating your "light body"). This is what you wanted? Cuz this is what you're getting.

"Faaip De Oaid" is interesting in that it alludes to the current circulating theory that an up-and-coming, governmental science experiment (to be ominously initiated by 2012) called "Finding The God Particle" will not only yield the discovery of this sub-atomic particle, BUT will accidentally (?) create a portal/wormhole/gateway to another dimension, releasing humanity's worst fears in the form of hellish creatures on Earth (think Stephen King's The Mist) and fulfill countless prophecies of apocalypse.
"The Children Of The Light", highly conscious and good-willed individuals (true religious people, mystics, acidheads, potheads, Tool followers, etc.) will know of this, come together, and simultaneously ascend from the human body/race and Earth - fulfilling many other prophecies and creating a true reality/paradise within the astral dimensions.

http://www.strayreality.com/Lanis_Strayreality/thirdtyepinealgland.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astral_projection
http://www.williamhenry.net/art_dis-cerning.html
http://www.childrenoflight.com/

EVERYONE! (TAKE 2 HITS OF LSD AND) SEEK THE ANSWERS. My rambling up there comes no where near the true intuitive knowledge you can gain by SEEKING THE ANSWERS. There are so many theories, prophecies, and happenings out there to become conscious of...once you have you can't help but put the pieces together and realize what WILL happen to the human race by 2012. The Pieces all fit.

ALSO.....listening to this album in this sequential order without breaks (might need a program to make it one flowing album) is how I believe Maynard wanted Lateralus to be heard....a true personal journey as opposed to an intelligently put together album.

6, 7, 5, 8, 4, 9, 13, 1, 12, 2, 11, 3, 10

I have extensively searched the internet and finally came across someone who put true logic and mathematics together (using the Fibonacci Sequence featured in "Lateralus" over the whole album) and deciphered the true, AURAL, order of this album.

Take a few hits of LSD, listen to this album in this order, then leave your body!!!!@@@

"voice of God"

They tested the voices they didn't match

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8k277_area-51-employee-phones-the-art-bel_tech

thats the link to the video, its pretty fucking weird

heres a website that also talks about the actual event and goes into further detail
http://www.ufomind.com/area51/list/1997/sep/a16-001.shtml

headphones? dude...

Crazy. Gotta try that out- maybe I can induce a psychosis like that haha ^^