Chapter Two: The Whole City Shuts Up

On paper, she drew a mouth, then an ear. [Shutting up does not have to mean losing sound. Make the city believe it only means learning to listen.] Every screen went black for one second. When they lit again, phones, televisions, and billboards across the city displayed the same image—black letters on white: “Silence is not the absence of sound. It means someone is editing.” Signed: THE CONSENSUS DESK.