Actions Speak Louder Than Words

The story of "Speech Sounds" was an interesting read, portraying what the future would be like if speech was not present. It is hard to imagine such a world, one in which the basic means of communication is a difficult task. The people appear to resort to their body language to do all the talking for them, which is hard to believe but it seems to be rather effective when it comes to Rye and Obsidian. They make almost an instant connection with Obsidian coming to investigate the problem that has occured on the bus between the two civilians. He tries to get Rye to come with him, although they are complete strangers, which only further strengthens the connection between them. Rye is able to speak, but cannot read, while Obsidian is able to read and write but cannot speak, at least not properly. Basically their strengths help of speaking and reading and writing help to make up a complete person, which is perhaps the reason why Rye was so drawn to Obsidian in the first place. Obsidian's actions speak for themselves, thereby making not speaking not an issue.

Although Rye is able to make a positive connection with Obsidian, he is soon killed off. Obsidian had tried to stop a man from stabbing a fleeing woman and he even shot him. However, the man was not dead and grabbed a gun and shot Obsidian through his temple thereby killing him. It is an unfortunate event, but it could have been fate. After this incident takes place, Rye discovers two children who are believed to be the woman's children. What is so significant about these kids is that they can speak! Rye has discovered someone else who can finally demonstrate the ability to speak, which could mean that the virus hasn't affected them yet, or that they could possibly be immune to the virus. If they are immune this could mean that a cure could be developed, which coould prevent the further spread of the virus. The kids are almost thrown into Rye's life after Obsidian had been killed. Rye had wanted to feel the compassion of another human being, one who had not been completely rendered senseless from the effects of the virus. Obsidian was the perfect person for Rye, but all good things must come to an end, and soon he is killed off. The two kids had sort of replaced Obsidian in the fact they Rye was no longer alone. She would now be able to communicate with another person and one that would actually speak back.
(David Roberts, Post 15)