The price of Silence
went up today. You heard that somewhere... after you came home from work. Where
was it? On the television, likely. It was blaring away as you walked in the
door. As it always is, every single day. Your spouse met you at the door, but
the children stayed in the other room, under the television’s sheltering glow.
You can’t blame them, really. They’re only young. They don’t understand what it
says to them, but they feel safe all the same.
As safe as anyone can be these days. Best not to think about that,
though. Best to just put it out of your mind. Crime is down, after all. Theft, rape... all gone. That’s got to count
for something, right?
You hear a fanfare from the other room, and everyone rushes
in to cluster around the television. The News
is starting! Everybody loves the News,
and everyone watches it. The News can
always be depended on to bring the latest information about what is happening
in society, and changes to the prices of goods and commodities. But more
importantly than that, on a visceral, subconscious level, the News is safe. Watching the News
is the only time, ever, that there is a 100% certainty that you will not have
an... incident. Without the use of
Silence, anyway. For some reason,
because of some strange coincidence- and it must be coincidence, it must!- the News grants immunity to the Noise.
Some people, the older ones, tell stories of a time before
the Noise. You smile at them when
they say it, listen politely and thank them when they are finished. After all, no need to hurt their feelings. No
need to make their situations any worse. Because you know that they’ve been affected... had too many incidents, or just gone ‘round the bend.
There’s really no need to point out that it’s not true. That it can’t be true. A time without the Noise is... inconceivable. It’s impossible! The Noise is everywhere, always. Every second of every single day it is
there, twisting and turning in the back of your mind. Sometimes you can almost
tune it out, push it down and away until it is no more than a faintly sickening
shudder in the back of your mind. You can’t talk about it, can’t even think about it, because that might call
it. And sometimes, sometimes you can’t suppress it. It thunders into your mind,
stretching, growing until it feels like your head will explode, bursting from
the pressure of this jangling, discordant NOISE.
It fills you up, and you can’t move, you’re... paralysed. You can’t move, can’t
cry for help, can’t even think. You can hardly even breathe, for you’re trapped
in its disjointed pathways, its skewed rhythm beating against your mind. There
is only the Noise, etching itself
into every raw nerve.
Slowly, after a painful eternity, the Noise subsides, until you can move again, can regain some semblance
of function. But every time a wave leaves you, you can feel it taking a little
piece of your mind as it sinks back into the subliminal. Each and every time,
you lose a piece of your sanity to the Noise.
Every incident you have, a piece of
your humanity is lost forever.
That’s why everybody loves the News. Absolutely, 100% incident
free. Sometimes it even seems like the Noise
isn’t there. That it’s gone. But it never is, and that’s why Silence is so valuable. Silence, that wonderful product that
keeps the Noise at bay. With Silence, you can live your life without
every worrying about an incident taking
you or your family. Provided you have enough, for you have to use it
constantly. Nothing can save you once the Noise
takes you, not even Silence. There
is no cure for an incident, only
prevention. Constant Silence,
forever. Or else.
The News ends,
and you can hear that droning madness buzzing in the back of your mind. Why?
What happened? You have Silence, you
keep it above the kitchen sink. So why can you hear it? Why aren’t you
protected from the Noise? You run to
the kitchen, trying desperately to think of anything but what could happen to
you at any moment now that you’re vulnerable. You clatter to a halt, seeing the
box of Silence standing empty on the
counter. The last box. You must have more, and quickly. You must! So you sprint
to the depot, as fast as you can. You push people aside as you run, those
standing straight in Silence, those
hunched under the Noise. You skirt
past a dark alley, and finally you’re inside, staring at the comforting rows of
Silence lining the shelves. The Noise swells in the back of your mind,
and you panic, grabbing all the boxes you can hold. You turn, but the price draws
you up short.
It’s... insane.
How can they possibly ask that for it? They know people need it, know how much
they rely on it. So why is it quadruple its price, if not more? You look down at
the boxes in your arms. There’s no way you can afford this. Your family needs
to eat, right? But maybe... maybe starvation is better than insanity...
because-
Because you’ve seen those who’ve been touched by the Noise. Those who can’t afford Silence. Oh, they look normal enough
from a distance. But get close, and you can see it. They’re... not right in the
head. Twisted somehow, changed. As they draw close you see the unholy spark in
their hungry eyes, and the fear of death creeps up your spine. Will it go for
your throat? It might. Or it might follow you home, may claw at your door into
the lonely hours of the night, screaming vituperous rage all the while. The
quiet ones are the worst. They’ll pass you by, watching with their inhuman
orbs. They’ll follow you home as well, but you won’t know it. Because they
won’t scream at your door, they’ll climb in a window, or a chimney, or find
some other slippery way in. You won’t wake up, if that happens. You wouldn’t
want to.
Now all you can think of is the brown eyes of your precious
little girl. So wide, so innocent. And you see a nightmare flame igniting in
them as her vicious smile sets your flesh crawling, making you wonder just how
long it will take you to die... You’ll do anything to prevent that, ANYTHING.
Even starve her, though it breaks your heart. But wait! Maybe there’s a way you
can avoid both? Because what’s that further along down the aisle? It’s
something you’ve never seen before, a new product. Quiet. Cheaper than Silence,
that’s for sure. But maybe, it’s not as good? The name certainly suggests it.
Nevertheless, this gives you a chance to feed your family and avoid insanity. Quiet should hold the Noise off. For a time. You hope.
Another new product
catches your eye, so you venture further along, the Noise in your head reduced to a stray whisper. Black boxes, and
gray, as far as the eye can see. Dark
and... Dim. What could they possibly
be for? Surely there’s n-
Frenzied screams pierce the air as an actinic light blinds
you, making your eyes water furiously. You blink, but your eyes can’t adjust to
the blazing white light that surrounds you from every direction. Scintillating
patterns, white on white, dance upon your retinas, demented spirals tugging
your mind in all different directions. It fills your eyes, fills your mind
until there is nothing else. You can’t move, can’t think, can barely even
breathe. There is only this, this incident
that nothing will save you from. The Noise
is quiet for now, almost quiescent as you suffer.
Maybe you’ll die here, with the white in your eyes, mind
irrevocable snapped. Maybe you’ll become one of the touched, preying upon those
who’ve staved off insanity for one more day. Or maybe you’ll walk home with its
patterns still dancing in the back of your mind, making your vision slip and
tunnel. And in time, you’ll become one of those pitiable old people, telling
anyone who’ll listen sad stories about a time before the Light.
