So I was going to use an idea I'd had last time this challenge rolled around, but I was getting stuck on the logistics. Then I was at work and a song came over the radio and this idea sprang to mind. (The title still sucks but whatever) I deliberately left out dialogue this time, I wanted to work on getting more detail instead.
The Sound of Silence
MotherSong was all he could
hear, all he wanted to hear.
It filled him, it supported
him. Wave after wave of the glorious verse crashed into him, pulled him
down into its warmth, buoyed him up into its love.
All their work was for the song,
the machine must be tended. All the workers moved in perfect harmony with
the song, with each other.
The pitch of the song changed,
telling him where he was needed next. He followed the beat and left his
work, following the massive flow of hundreds other workers following the same
unspoken instructions.
Words were not needed. The song told them all they needed to know.
The
soothing hum of the MotherSong filled the central hall, a room as vast and
beautiful as the love Mother felt for them all.
Gleaming silver walls caught the light and warmed their bodies as the
song warmed their souls.
He stood in line for his daily
ration, one of the countless lines they all stood in. He waited for his turn for food, he listened to
the song. Everyone heard the song
differently, but all were blessed with the same feeling of peace.
Movement
at the front of the line drew his attention.
The Lord Overseer, glorious in his silver helmet, was announcing that
all the days rations had been given out, all workers were to report to their
next shift. The song was all the
nourishment he needed, it did not matter that he had not eaten in days.
The line turned as one, in tune
with the pulse of MotherSong. They moved toward the exit when something
happened. A hissing noise filled the air. A rasping screech that
cut into the beauty of the song.
The hissing grew louder, louder
and louder until it screamed in his ears.
Then the song stopped.
MotherSong stopped. He
could not hear it!
Why- Why was it not
silent? If MotherSong was not playing, then nothing should be playing.
But something was. He
could hear a humming pulse, a smooth flow of air. A steady double beat
that soothed him. What song was this?
Something else, something beyond
this new song. The noise…What was causing that noise in his head?!
It- It
was his thoughts.
His- My
thoughts.
I can
hear my thoughts?
I look
around me and see the shining silver of the hall as it really is, a dull steel
hull. I see the other workers, lying on
the floor in fear.
I see
the overseer, the faceplate of his helmet open as he calls for reinforcements,
waving frantically to protect the piles of unopened rations behind his station.
I feel
my hunger give me strength.
They find me hours later,
surrounded by scraps of food. Covering my ears and screaming, trying to
stop the song from taking me again.
I fight them, afraid they’re
here to take me back. It isn’t until they put the headset over my ears
that I relax.
I can’t hear the song anymore.
They explain that not everyone
can handle being freed. Many aren’t able to live without the song.
But some fight, some run, as I did.
They ask if I’m willing to join
them. To fight, to free others. One of them reaches out.
I take his hand. The
headset fills my ears with noise.
I ask what it is.
"We call it music."
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