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| album = ''[[Year Zero]]''
| length = 6:15
| BPM = 74| versions =Zero-Sum<br>Zero-Sum (Instrumental)<br>Zero-Sum: Stephen Morris & Gillian Gilbert<br>Zero-Sum (''Fringe'')| live = N/A[[NIN songs never played live|Unperformed]] in full}}'''"Zero-Sum"''' is the sixteenth and final track on the 2007 release ''[[Year Zero]].''The song uses what seems to be a slowed-down version of the drum pattern from "[[God Given]]".
===Song title===
===Zero-Sum===
This is the original album version. It consists of [[Trent Reznor]]'s signature piano playing on a grand piano, glitch-like programmed beats, and vocals pushed to the back of the mix. The vocals alternate between Reznor delivering vocals reminiscent of dialog samples and distant, harmonized singing.
===Zero-Sum (Instrumental)===
'''''Running Time: 6:29'''''
This unmastered vocal-less mix was released by Reznor through his [[remix.nin.com]] account.
===Zero-Sum: Stephen Morris & Gillian Gilbert===
'''''Running Time: 5:38'''''
This remix appears on ''Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D.'' It begins with a basic melody and beat before the vocals come in. A synth comes in over the vocals, riding over them like a wave. The melody changes as the verse transitions over to the first chorus. After the chorus, many elements drop out as it builds to the second verse. Many sound elements from the first verse returned but are now joined by a hi-hat and drum beat. After the second chorus repeats, the melody heard at the very beginning returns accompanied by the hi-hat and drum percussion. These sounds drop out at the end save for a synth beat that simply fades quickly.
====Song Credits====
*Remix by [[Joy Division|Stephen Morris & Gillian Gilbert]]
===Zero -Sum (''Fringe'')===
A new version of the song created for a promo to the television series ''Fringe,'' it contains dialogue from the show read by Reznor in place of the original verses. When the promo's audio is viewed through a spectrograph, it is shown to contain a glyph from the television series.
====Lyrics==== And I've seen history repeat itself enough times to know A war is coming You don't have to trust me, or even like me But you can't deny I hold a unique perspective shaped by having lived in two worlds I've seen first hand the difference a wrong choice can make The truth will come out It always does Shame on us, For all we have done And all we ever were Just zeroes and onesThese lyrics may be incomplete, as the full edit of this version is not currently available
[[Image:Zerosum_fringe_spectro.png|thumb|Spectrograph image of Zero-Sum (Fringe version) from promo video]]
==Live==
"Zero-Sum" was played in part during the [[Lights In The Sky Tour]] in 2008. During the extended ending of "[[In This Twilight]]," Reznor performs the chorus melody and accompaniment of "Zero-Sum" on piano as the band members exit one by one. This song [[NIN songs never played live|was never played in its entirety]].
==Lyrics==
How we could justify it all
And we knew better
In our hearts , we knew better
And we told ourselves it didn't matter
And we chose to continue