Editing 2112 (album) (section)

=== Side one ===
Side one is occupied by the 20-minute futuristic science-fiction song "[[2112 (song)|2112]]". The seven-part track is based on a story by Peart who credits Russian-American novelist [[Ayn Rand]], inventor of the philosophy of [[Objectivism]] and author of the dystopian fictional novella ''[[Anthem (novella)|Anthem]]'', the plot of which bears several similarities to "2112". The band had read the book, and Peart added the credit in the album's liner notes to avoid legal action.<ref name=scene1976>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/19760603scene.htm|title=Rush's "Concept" Is Rock And Roll|first=Nick|last=Shofar|date=June 1976|magazine=Scene|volume=7|issue=22|location=Northeast Ohio|access-date=14 October 2017|archive-date=18 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918054232/http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/19760603scene.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In the British paper ''[[NME]]'', [[Barry Miles]] made allusions of the Rand influence to [[Nazism]], which particularly offended Lee, whose parents were [[Holocaust]] survivors.<ref name=40theditionnotes/> "Overture" begins with a soundscape from musician and album cover artist [[Hugh Syme]] performed on his [[ARP Odyssey]] synthesizer with an envelope filter and [[Echoplex]] Delay pedal.<ref name=CR2012>{{cite web|url=http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/20120611classicrockfanpack.htm|title=Classic Rock Presents: Rush - Clockwork Angels|publisher=Classic Rock|date=June 11, 2012|access-date=February 18, 2024}}</ref> Music writer and professor [[Rob Bowman (music writer)|Rob Bowman]] calculated that in the entire piece, 2:34 of the song contains improvised guitar solos.<ref name="40theditionnotes" /> "Overture" contains the lyric "And the meek shall inherit the earth", a reference to the Biblical passages [[Book of Psalms]] 37:11 and [[Matthew 5:5]] and borrows a short sequence from [[Tchaikovsky]]'s ''[[1812 Overture]]''.<ref name="40theditionnotes" /><ref name="guitarworld2013" />

"2112" tells a story set in the city of Megadon in the year 2112, after an intergalactic war in 2062 forces many of the planets to be ruled by the Solar Federation (symbolized by the Red Star on the cover artwork), where music is unknown and individualism and creativity are outlawed. The population is controlled by a cabal of priests living in the temples of Syrinx, who take orders from giant banks of computers that control all aspects of life ("The Temples of Syrinx").<ref name=40theditionnotes/><ref name=creem1976>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/19760300creem.htm|title=RUSH Pebbles & Bam-Bam in Alphaville|first=Rick|last=Johnson|date=March 1976|magazine=Creem|access-date=14 October 2017|archive-date=19 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919080555/http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/19760300creem.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> An unnamed protagonist finds a guitar inside a cave and rediscovers the lost art of music ("Discovery").<ref name=creem1976/><ref name=circus1976>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/19760427circus.htm|title=Rush Goes into Future Shock|first=Dan|last=Nooger|date=27 April 1976|magazine=Circus|access-date=14 October 2017|archive-date=26 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126232102/http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/19760427circus.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Upon playing the guitar to the priests, they destroy it and declare music a waste of time and against the computers' plan ("Presentation"). In a dream, an [[oracle]] shows him a planet established simultaneously with the Solar Federation, where an elder race flourish in creativity and individuality ("Oracle: The Dream").<ref name=circus1976/> He awakens, depressed that music is part of such a society that he can never be part of and kills himself ("Soliloquy").<ref name=40theditionnotes/> Another planetary war begins and the elder race successfully take down the Solar Federation,<ref>''[[Classic Albums]]'' episode on ''2112'' and ''Moving Pictures'', 2010.</ref> but the song ends with an ambiguous spoken ending: "Attention all planets of the Solar Federation: We have assumed control" ("Grand Finale"). Peart described the ending as a "double surprise ... a real [[Alfred Hitchcock|Hitchcock]] killer".<ref name=creem1976/><ref name=scene1976/><ref name=40theditionnotes/>