Prologue : Wall of Sound

All stories, it is said, must have a beginning. And for quite some time now i have been struggling with how this story ought to begin.
I should point out that this is not a story about me; no.
It is a story about everyone, and a story about you; a story about stories, a story about truths, and lies.
A story about how a simple lie can bring someone down; a story about how silence speaks louder than words; and, in some way, maybe even a story about me.

It started with silence.
Silence.
But what is silence? What is it, beyond the mere word it is, far, far beyond it?
Is it the absence of any sound?
Or is that absence of sound but the opposite of noise?
It is something purer.
It is something so vast and infinite, that it exists on the very threshold of hearing, something so close, so near... that we can almost hear it.

But, and even if none of us ever had uttered a single word; or spoke yet another ever again, and however in tune we became with silence itself, we would find ourselves crashing headlong, ultimately, inexorably, inescapably against the wall of sound.

That final white noise that surrounds us all.
It is silence that deep down we crave.
Sweet, sacred, silent silence.
And it may be our most important and final lesson - to thrive amidst silence; to shunt noise; and with a primal scream, we let ourselves be heard anew.

For various cultures throughout the world maintain that silence teaches us how to sing; and indeed, only he himself can once more silence the singing that echoes through the ages.
If we were to live all our live in silence, and finally were given the chance to speak... what would we then say?
And what would we say, if by some turn of fate, we had to explain to a child that his family's survival hinged on his sacrifice?
What would we say?
What words would come gushing out of our mouths & what primeval mutterings would we spew forth?

Our names, our very names - part of who we are; of what we choose to become, as much a part of our identity as our personal beliefs, are but words.
Let us forget those words.
Let us forget the words we know, and the words we once knew; and those we know that will ever remain with those whose meaning we'll never know.
What matters now - and maybe has always mattered, and always shall - is silence...
Silence, so much swifter and heavier than sound... for when sound comes, silence has long fled.
Let us drink to silence; and know that because of it, this story, this so tragically human story ran its course and unfolded before your very eyes.

This is how it begins...

"The future teaches you to be alone, the present to be afraid and cold"

Manic Street Preachers, If you tolerate this then your children will be next