April 2012 - 3 new screens and a story
It's getting Dark
Since we got here, I've begun to notice a stillness in the air – a lifeless void where the rustle of trees and birdsong would normally abide. The wind, while unseasonably cold, blows softly and barely disturbs the surrounding trees. We have yet to hear a bird.
The vast majority of the time, people must go through life completely unaware of the constant noise they are subjected to. I know that I've lain in bed some nights, with not a single car on the road outside, thinking that I could hear nothing but my heart's syncopated rhythm, pushing a torrent of blood past my ears. I now realise that even at the dead of night my ears were picking up noises that had become undetectable to me. The low roar of traffic passing by miles away. The deep electric hum that seems integral to any city.
Here, though. This place is quiet like nothing I've ever experienced before. Untold hours have gone by where I hear nothing but the noises I myself make. Listening for the familiar rumble of a car in the distance, or a plane overhead, has proven itself futile. Even the blood pushing itself past my ears seems muted, as if afraid to disturb the deathly quiet.
The quiet is so overbearing that it has taken on an almost sacrosanct air. I had hoped to put myself at ease with conversation, but we seem unable to keep any kind of rapport. Never the big talker, he's become yet more withdrawn, and often lets the dialogue drop after just a few cursory replies. It's gotten so that I've taken to sleeping with my wristwatch next to my head. At least that way I can hear the dependable mechanical ticking close to my ear. It seems to ground me in some way, as if without a regularly occurring sound my mind might become lost in the still air.
Silence has always existed in my mind as the absence of sound, but I don't think that's right any more. Listening to it here, it's almost deafening in its purpose. It's the sound of something terrible waiting to happen.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
February 2012 - 2 new screens and an audio track
Audio: http://www.moddb.com/mods/visage/videos ... k#imagebox
![:[]:](./images/smilies/cube.gif "Companion Cube")
