Speech Sounds

“Speech Sounds” is a dystopian short story written by Octavia Butler, a popular African American science fiction author. It first appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine in 1983. The story can also be found in several of Butler’s later anthologies, including Bloodchild and Other Stories. SuperSummary’s guide for Bloodchild and Other Stories is available here. “Speech Sounds” won the prestigious Hugo Award in 1984, one of many Hugo Awards for Butler. She also received several Nebula Awards and was the first science fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. In 2006, Butler passed away.

Please note that this study guide makes mention of sensitive topics such as suicidal ideation and murder.

The story begins with the protagonist, Rye, on a California bus going from Los Angeles to Pasadena. A fistfight breaks out between two men on board, scaring the rest of the passengers. Neither the men nor the other passengers can communicate verbally beyond grunts and other meaningless noises because a global pandemic has severely impaired human capacity for spoken language. More men begin fighting, and the bus driver halts the bus suddenly to stop the mayhem. Rye is familiar with this tactic and has already braced herself. She takes this chance to exit the bus via the back door, followed by several others. In these postapocalyptic times, running buses are so rare that when people see a bus, they take their chances and ride it.

While Rye stands outside the bus, a blue Ford drives over, drawing her attention, as functioning cars are rare. The driver gets out and gestures for Rye to come over to him. He is Obsidian, “a big man, young, neatly bearded with dark, thick hair” (Paragraph 12). Hesitant, she stands back. They exchange hand gestures as Rye communicates that there is a fight on the bus. In the exchange, she notices that Obsidian uses his left hand to point. Left-handed people are typically less impaired by the illness that has caused humanity to lose most of its capacity to communicate verbally. Obsidian approaches the bus. He is wearing a Los Angeles Police Department uniform, which is unusual because institutions and organizations no longer exist.

Obsidian throws tear gas through a bus window to break up the fight and evacuate the people. Then he and Rye help the remaining people out of the bus. The driver is furious with Obsidian for interfering in his business. The bus is his livelihood, allowing him to give rides in exchange for items. The bus driver shouts and gestures wildly. Obsidian does not respond; his level-headed demeanor is another characteristic of the less impaired. Conversely, those more affected by the illness have less control over their emotions. They often resent and even violently attack the less impaired for their calm “attitude of superiority.” Obsidian’s visible gun is enough protection for the driver to only spit on him and walk away.

Obsidian beckons Rye to leave with him, but she refuses. One of the men who was fighting assumes that Obsidian has had sex with Rye. He indicates crassly that he and the men nearby want to do the same. She refuses him, and he eventually walks away. Obsidian continues to beckon her, but now he has removed his gun. The illness struck the world quickly, diminishing or eliminating people’s language abilities and sometimes paralyzing, mentally impairing, or even killing them. Considering her loneliness since the illness killed her family, Rye finally agrees to go with Obsidian. The onlookers assume this means that she has just consented to sex with Obsidian, and they cheer. They remind her of her nasty neighbor and the two women who live with him in exchange for his protection; the neighbor has made it clear he wants Rye as his third. Onlookers throw rocks at the car while she and Obsidian drive away.

Obsidian occasionally looks to Rye to show him which direction she would like them to drive, which makes Rye feel safer. The landscape around them is all empty buildings and abandoned vehicles. Obsidian removes his gold chain with an obsidian pendant and hands it to Rye. It is meant as a “name symbol”; this is how Rye learns his name, though it is only a guess. She hands him her name symbol, which is a golden wheat-shaped pin. In the exchange of symbols, he rubs the callouses on her hands.

They then park, and Obsidian pulls out a map. Rye tries to show him her destination on the map, but she can no longer read or write, and her memory is poor. These impairments are difficult for her because she used to teach history and be a writer and reader. She guesses at where Pasadena is on the map and shows Obsidian. He looks at the word quickly and folds the map; he can read. Rye is jealous and feels the urge to kill him. Obsidian reads her expression and gestures asking if she can speak and understand speech. When she nods, he is also jealous; he cannot. It is dangerous for people to share if they can speak or are literate; others might fly into an envious rage. Obsidian and Rye do not turn to violence.

Obsidian puts his hand on Rye’s thigh to ask for sex. She declines because she is fearful of becoming pregnant in this difficult world. When he reveals condoms in the glove compartment, she happily accepts, and they have sex in the backseat. Afterward, Obsidian uses a gesture like rocking a baby to ask if Rye has children. She had three, but they are dead now. The painful memories overwhelm her. She asks if they can make love again; this rare pleasure distracts her from her suicidal thoughts.

When Rye invites Obsidian to come home with her, he is pleased but declines her offer. It could be because he has a woman already. Because the illness is more deadly for men than women, women are more willing to settle for any remaining man. When she asks him again, it becomes clear that he declined because he is committed to his unofficial work as a police officer. She pins her name symbol to his badge, showing him that they can be together while he continues this work. He agrees, and they decide to abandon Pasadena and drive back toward Los Angeles together. Rye is hopeful and glad she will no longer be alone or vulnerable to her neighbor back home.

Suddenly a woman runs out in front of them, chased by a man with a knife. Obsidian stops the car and gets out to help. Obsidian yells wordlessly, and when he draws his gun, Rye draws hers also. The man lunges at the woman and stabs her twice before Obsidian shoots him. Rye checks on the woman, but she is already dead. As Obsidian checks the man, he grabs Obsidian’s holstered gun and shoots him. Suddenly, Obsidian is dead. Rye shoots the man and is now left alone with three dead bodies.

At that moment, two toddlers emerge from the house from which the woman and man had run, and they try to wake the woman. Rye is sickened by the scene and returns to the car, but she decides to bury Obsidian. She realizes she must take the children with her since they are too young to survive independently. She drags Obsidian’s body into the car and then starts to do the same with the woman’s body. The little girl yells “No!” while the boy warns her not to speak. Both children can speak. Rye wonders how—maybe they are immune, or perhaps the illness had stopped infecting new people when these children were born. Rye resolves to be their protector and teacher. The children cry when she loads the dead woman into the backseat. Rye speaks for the first time in the story, comforting them and explaining, “You’re going with us too. Come on” (Paragraph 110). When she picks up the children, the boy covers her mouth. She reassures the children that it is safe for them to speak to each other when they are alone. She puts them in the car and introduces herself to them as Valerie Rye.