Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s

In this brief chapter Robison describes his unique relationship to machines, explaining why he relates more easily to them than to people. Machines, he argues, follow a predictable pattern. They are logical. They are not malicious. In articulating the appeal of machines, Robison uses the analogy of a concert. The hall is dark and filled to capacity; the crowd is restless and potentially dangerous. Security watches for guns and knives in the huge throng of people. The sound and lighting engineers stand on a platform in the middle of the arena. The threat of violence is ever present, but once the show starts with the flick of a switch, the engineers are in control. Robison describes a delicate “dance” the engineers must perform to avert disaster—overloaded circuits that result in a blackout. Darkness, he says, is death; “that’s when they riot” (153). That control—over the equipment, the crowd, and even the band—is the ultimate aphrodisiac. He reflects, “There’s nothing like it in the world” (154).

In 1979 KISS embarks on its Dynasty tour with all-new equipment, effects, and costumes. Robison is building two new guitars, and as the start date for the tour approaches, he is still refining the electronics.