Don't Say A Word

***Don't Say a Word*** is a cyberpunk sci-fi action thriller novel currently being written by Ryan Nurse. Set in 2041, the novel depicts a power struggle between six different megacorporations, each vying for total control of Japan. The story is told primarily from the perspectives of Shizukesa, a mute assassin working for one of the corporations, and Ryuji Hasegawa, a young teenager who Shizukesa takes hostages after he witnesses her committing an assassination.

Initially conceived in November 2012, with a short teaser released later that month, Nurse began publishing the novel on FictionPress starting on 14 December 2013; the latest installment, Chapter 6, was released on 16 March 2015. It was Nurse's longest published work until surpassed by *StarLight* in mid-2015.

## Synopsis

In the mid-2030s, etaicracy - a system of government whereby a country is completely controlled by a single "megacorporation" - began to sweep across the globe, in response to a number of damaging political scandals. In 2038, the Japanese Diet was dissolved, and etaicracy declared; however, no one corporation was able to take absolute control, leaving the country's six largest "megacorporations" to wage a corporate war between themselves. By 2041, this battle had escalated into espionage, sabotage, and assassination.

Shizukesa, an assassin working for Mitsukashi Corporation, is spotted one evening emerging from the scene of her latest kill. She is forced to kidnap the witness, a fourteen-year-old boy named Ryuji Hasegawa, and to prevent Shizukesa's identity from leaking out, he is ultimately forced to live with her. Ryuji soon discovers that Shizukesa is not the stone-cold murderer she appears to be on the surface, and that the battle for control of Japan is far more violent and bloody than he could ever have imagined.

## Characters

* Shizukesa: The main protagonist of the series. A mute assassin in Mitsukashi's employ, she communicates by typing messages into a text-to-speech program. She appears cold and emotionless during missions, but soon shows a warmer, more human side when around Ryuji. "Shizukesa" is merely an alias; her real name is unknown.
* Ryuji Hanegawa: A fourteen-year-old boy who is kidnapped by Shizukesa and forced to live with her at her base of operations.
* Mitsukashi CEO: The currently-unnamed CEO of Mitsukashi Corporation, and Shizukesa's boss. He is intent on gaining total control of Japan.
* James Reynolds: An MIT graduate, hacker and programmer who leads Mitsukashi's "cyber-warfare" department. He appears to be addicted to energy drinks, and is known to drink several a day.
* Khorsheed Rahmani: An Iranian woman who works as the CEO's secretary.
* Murasame: An assassin who works for the rival Namida Corporation, but who decided to forge an alliance with Shizukesa after saving her life in Chapter 4.
* Handler: Shizukesa's mysterious, unnamed handler, who briefs her on her various targets.

## Development

Nurse first began working on the novel in late 2012, having been intrigued by the concept of a "silent killer [...] who was literally silent", and by the idea of a future ruled by megacorporations. The novel opens with the history and etymology of the word "etaicracy" - the word was in fact coined by Nurse himself, as he found that there was not already a term for such a system of government.

When Nurse first began writing, the only characters he had come up with were Shizukesa and Ryuji; the rest were created as needed. Khorsheed was created due to a desire by Nurse to create a Muslim character, something he had not done before; he later noted that she was the first overtly-religious character he had created who was "not a fundamentalist nutcase" and whose religion was not a major facet of their character.

## Content

### Published Content

The first chapter of *Don't Say a Word* was published to FictionPress on 14 December 2013, over a year after the initial teaser had been released on Nurse's Facebook page. As of 20 March 2015, six chapters have been published, with a total word length of 20,346 words; it was Nurse's longest published work until surpassed by *StarLight* in mid-2015. Chapter 4, at 5,014 words, is currently the longest single installment in any of Nurse's works; while the *StarLight* episode "Dawn" is almost twice as long, it was published in several parts rather than as a whole. In a departure from Nurse's usual style, and in a similar manner to *The Test*, *Don't Say a Word*'s chapters are untitled and are instead simply numbered as "Chapter [x]".

*Don't Say a Word* had only three Project 20:15 posts written about it, totalling around 3,600 words. Unlike many other featured projects, *Don't Say a Word*'s posts were intended to be supplementary to the source material, focusing on Shizukesa's previous missions.

### Planned Content

Nurse has not stated how long he intends for *Don't Say a Word* to be, or how many chapters it will have, simply stating it will be "as long as it needs to be". However, he plans for it to be published as a full novel once it has been completed.

## Appearances in other media

Shizukesa will appear as a support character in the crossover fighting game *When Worlds Collide*, and may possibly be upgraded to a playable character based on demand.