Silence gradually disappeared from galactic civilization. This was not simply because people had begun to speak more. It was also because they believed that those who did not speak had something to say. Citizens throughout the galaxy were asked for their opinions on countless issues. Should new passages be built? How far should the right to connection be guaranteed for settlements in the outer regions? Could a person whose memories remained be called dead? Could the sacrifice of one world be permitted for the safety of another? Each question had supporters and opponents, as well as people who agreed with neither side.
At first, citizens were not required to submit their opinions. Their rights included not only the freedom to speak but also the freedom not to speak. Those who did not vote were not asked why, and those who signed no declaration simply remained people who had not signed. As disputes intensified, however, circumstances changed. When a movement opposing the closure of a passage arose in one world, neighboring worlds were asked to join. If a neighboring world did not respond, its silence was taken as a refusal to support the movement. Those in favor of closing the passage interpreted the same silence as tacit acceptance of their position. Both sides entered the same silence into different records.
The residents of the silent world had never agreed with either side. They were living their lives. They had children, repaired their homes, and maintained old machines. In the evenings, they watched the stars beyond their windows, and on some days they did nothing at all. It was not that they considered the disputes of the galaxy unimportant. They simply did not believe that they had to express their thoughts about them.
But the questions kept arriving. One side informed them that victims continued to suffer while they remained silent. The other explained that silence meant giving up the opportunity to prevent a mistaken policy. There were also requests that they declare neutrality. The residents did not declare themselves neutral. Neutrality, too, was a public position stating that they would take neither side. They had never said that they would take no side. They simply did not wish to explain which side they were on.
Citizens were taught that silence also carried responsibility. If they failed to oppose a mistaken decision, they were said to have contributed to it. If they failed to support a correct decision, they were said to have lacked the necessary courage. There were genuine grounds for these judgments. Among the disasters of the distant past were incidents in which the harm had grown because people who could have objected remained silent. From then on, silence was no longer a choice but an action that had to be explained. One citizen did not answer a public question sent to him. He did not know enough about either side's claims and had no intention of learning more. Tending the small garden where he lived mattered more to him. Those who had sent the question asked what he was afraid of. He replied that he was not afraid. They then asked why he would not state his opinion. He said he wanted to live quietly. His answer was soon made public. Some called him a citizen who had defended individual freedom. Others criticized him as someone indifferent to the suffering of the community. An organization was formed to support him, and another was formed to oppose that organization. He asked them not to support him. His supporters issued a statement declaring that his request should be respected, and his opponents opposed the statement.
He said nothing more. His silence acquired more meanings than before. After galactic unification, citizens' right to speak continued to expand. Citizens in the outer regions could express opinions on decisions made at the center, and not only victims of old accidents but also their descendants could participate in investigations. Everyone was guaranteed an opportunity to speak about decisions affecting their lives. That right was valuable. People who had long been unable to speak began to do so. Their records exposed incidents that those in power had concealed, and their objections sometimes stopped mistaken decisions. The problem arose when that right began to be used as though it were an obligation. The fact that everyone could speak became a demand that everyone should speak. Citizens who did not express an opinion were sent materials explaining how their silence affected others. If they remained silent after reading the materials, their silence became the subject of further judgment. A citizen who belonged to neither side was invited to represent people who belonged to neither side. He declined the invitation, and the organizers respected his refusal. At the event, they symbolically left his seat empty. He had never attended the event, but he was recorded as a person who had not attended.
The records of the later era preserved the positions of countless citizens. Support, opposition, reservation, abstention, inability to judge, refusal to respond. A category was also created for people who did not wish to belong to any of these categories. They were recorded as “citizens refusing classification.” One of them requested that his record be deleted. He said he did not wish to remain in the records as any particular kind of citizen. He was not demanding special rights, nor was he attempting to declare his withdrawal from the community. He simply wanted questions about himself to stop arriving. The administrative authority reviewed his request. Deleting the record required confirmation of his wishes. The official asked one final question. Did he truly wish to leave no record at all? He did not answer. Because his wishes could not be confirmed, the authority preserved the record. What he had wanted was not the right to remain silent. He already possessed that right. He wanted a life in which he did not have to explain even his silence.