In the early 2010s and into the 2040s, an entire new generation of children was born who failed to develop the necessary cognitive functions to use or understand language.
Parents became frustrated, trying every obscure teaching method available, while doctors and scientists were left baffled after any known cure and treatment failed. The children not only couldn’t understand what their parents and teachers were saying, but they seemed to show no interest in acquiring and using language at all, and their condition didn’t improve as they grew older.
At first, these ‘silents’ were just medical curiosities. But their numbers have gradually swollen, and soon they have grown into an established underclass, forming small secluded communes all around the world. To some, who feared anything new and unknown, they were seen as a threat; others saw them as salvation, suspecting that the children, deprived of one form of communication, may have evolved other unique abilities beyond our understanding instead.
The Silent History is an experimental e-novel tailored specifically for iPad and iPhone, written by Eli Horowitz in collaboration with Kevin Moffett, Matthew Derby and Russell Quinn. The innovative aspect of the novel is that it uses serialisation, collaboration and exploration, as well as makes clever use of smartphone features, such as GPS, to enhance and expand the storyline.
The story of the novel is presented in two forms: Testimonials and Field Reports.
The central storyline of the novel is encompassed in the Testimonials that constitute an entirely self-contained, fully-realised narrative, roughly the length of a 500-page book. (The novel was first published as an e-book and subsequently in hardback format). By definition, the voices we hear belong only to characters who can speak, therefore the individual Testimonials are presented in the form of oral histories told by characters indirectly affected by the condition – parents, friends, teachers, doctors, government officials, cult leaders and impostors, with unexpected intersections and unifying narratives. The 120 Testimonials form the central backbone of the story.
The Field Reports are short, site-specific accounts, written and edited in collaboration with the readers of the Testimonials, that deepen and expand the central narrative. These are designed for readers who would like to explore the world of the novel in more depth. There are hundreds of these additional, location-based, stories scattered across the United States and around the world. To access and comprehend a Field Report, the reader must be physically present in the location where the particular Field Report is set (which turns out to be both the biggest strength and weakness of this innovative idea, as one must be within 10 metres of the respective location and while some countries, such as the USA, have an abundance of the Field Reports, other are rather underrepresented). The Field Reports are deeply entwined with the particularities of their specific physical environments – e.g. the stains on the sidewalk, the view between the branches, a strangely ornate banister, etc. – so that the text and the actual setting support and complement each other.
Each of these reports can be read on its own, but they all interrelate and cohere within the larger narrative. While not necessary for enjoying the central narrative, as no single reader will be able to visit all the locations, the Field Reports will add to and enhance the central storyline.