#94 A world with a limit on words - I
Saturday, December 17, 2022
Contrary to the picture above, a dull & a rather strange decision was taken by the king of Austanaland on the night of December 31.
His kingdom, or democratically elected government as he likes to call it, passed an unanimous decision to allot each person exactly ninety nine words per day with immediate effect. Even a single word more than the capped limit would result in a death sentence, the order stated. Scrutinising the notice released by The House of Parliament revealed that this number was proportional to the age of his mother who was to turn hundred in the coming month of February. But why was this decision taken in the first place was a far greater question than why were the number of words capped to ninety nine!? The notice failed to answer the latter and only answered the former question. Since the announcement was made during the monthly town hall and the decision was to take effect from the next morning, a sudden wave of angst and shock ran through the souls of Austanaland. The people were furious, feeling that they were already stretched thin and that the burden of speaking only ninety nine words per day would be too much to bear.
The king, however, was not about to go down without a fight. He mobilised his loyal soldiers and declared war on the people of his kingdom, vowing to crush anyone who did not follow the new orders. All he wanted was peace and only peace even if it came at the cost of shutting everyone’s voice. No matter how helpless the people of Austanaland were feeling, as they felt a sense of powerlessness and vulnerability, and were unable to control their circumstances, preparations were being made in order to live in an almost voiceless world.
Tech bros being tech bros came up with an app overnight to keep track of the number of words one has spoken so as they do not cross the quota for the day. People started picking up the phone without saying Hello. Food was being ordered by pointing at the menu and the job of a waiter was now obsolete. It was a major turn off for the people who just got into a relationship as the long conversations would now be shorter and more concise, as they now had to be very direct and to the point in order to convey their thoughts and emotions effectively. Good Morning, Thank You, Sorry were now the least used words and the order of sentences had completely changed. Syntax of a sentence no longer determined the semantics of the sentence, in fact the word syntax lost its semantic. NinetyNine became the most viral filter on Instagram, followed by HundredMinusOne while Kuch Na Kaho was topping the billboard charts and the trending reels section. Ninety Nine words per day also meant no vivas and verbal exams in schools and no job interviews. No morning prayers and no 'open-a-bank-account-free-of-charge calls.
The world was completely changing. With only a limited number of words to use, people had to be very selective and careful about how they used their words. Conversations were shorter and more to the point, as people did not have the ability to speak at length or use a wide range of vocabulary. It was more difficult for people to fully explain themselves or provide context for their words, leading to misunderstandings and miscommunications. It was harder for people to express complex or abstract ideas, as they would not have the necessary words to do so. While people were adjusting to the new life of wordlessness, where the usage of words had become a scarcity, there was one major question that was bugging each and every individual of Austanaland. And I know the same question is bugging you too. Well, the people of Austanaland waited for one month to get their questions answered, I know you can surely wait for one week!
See you next week with all your questions answered, until then have a great weekend.
Cheers!