The Difference Between A Secret and Silence

A secret and silence are not the same thing.

A secret is something withheld.

Silence is more complicated.

Silence can conceal.

But it can also protect.

It can be an act of fear.

An act of loyalty.

An act of restraint.

Sometimes silence is imposed.

Sometimes it is chosen.

And sometimes the person who remains silent believes that saying nothing is the most responsible thing he can do.

That distinction sits at the heart of The Executor’s Silence.

When I began writing the novel, I was interested in what people leave behind. But as the story developed, I became equally interested in what they choose not to leave behind.

The explanation never given.

The conversation postponed.

The question never asked.

The truth someone decides another person is not yet prepared to carry.

We tend to judge silence from the perspective of the person who wants an answer.

From that position, silence can feel like deception.

But what if we stand for a moment in the position of the person who chose it?

What did they know?

What did they fear?

Who were they trying to protect?

And what did they believe would happen if they spoke?

None of those questions automatically justify silence.

But they complicate it.

That matters to me because The Executor Series is not built around simple divisions between people who know and people who do not.

Knowledge carries responsibility.

So does disclosure.

Once something is revealed, it cannot be made unknown again.

That is true in families.

It is true in institutions.

It is true in history.

And it is true in the life of Elias Ward.

The question is not simply whether the truth should be told.

The harder question is:

Who has the right to decide when?

Perhaps that is the difference between a secret and silence.

A secret asks:

What was hidden?

Silence asks:

Why was nothing said?

The first question may reveal information.

The second may reveal the person.

— Thomas