SPEAK-AS-ONE

SPEAK-AS-ONE is one of the Voices in.

Description
SPEAK-AS-ONE is one of the primary antagonists of. SPEAK-AS-ONE controls an army of Sleepers, Lucids, Watchers, The Dispatcher, Chordists, and Stalkers to achieve their goals in Redacre. As daytime cover, CHORUS Communities hides Redacre from the rest of the world. Despite their role as an antagonist, through the use of a Light of Rebellion, players are capable of Sacrificing to SPEAK-AS-ONE. Their quote on the sacrifice table states that "they're the enemy... if I do this, I can't tell the club. I can't tell anyone,". As a text-based Voice, SPEAK-AS-ONE is one of the most commonly encountered Voices.

SPEAK-AS-ONE's precise domain and meaning as a Voice are difficult to define, though it can be assumed they are the Voice of unity and order. As is typical of Voice names, their name is a command and core ideal; it is said "Enforced plurality is essential to their meaning." SPEAK-AS-ONE aims to return residents of Redacre to The Song and their own halcyon state of pre-consciousness. Consciousness is a state they show open contempt for, claiming it as separate from intelligence. They believe deeply that humanity's creation and concepts of the self, ego, free will, and individuality have caused only pain and suffering. They have stated, "THEY SEEK TO SAVE YOU FROM ALL PAIN/ THIS WAKING STATE IS AGONY/ YOU ARE NOT MEANT TO ENDURE IT", blaming THEE-I-DARE for waking and creating humanity. Often, they repeat variations of this belief, expressing pity for humanity: "HE CURSED YOUR KIND TO THIS LIFE. TO BE AWAKE. PAIN, DOUBT, DEATH. IT WAS NOT WHAT WE MEANT FOR YOU," THEE-I-DARE's creation affected them deeply, to the point "They exist on a spectrum of peace to anxiety, phobic about infection and sudden dismemberment, which is how they view loss of hosts, but especially of many hosts into a new Voice, which is the trauma they still relive."

SPEAK-AS-ONE's values differ greatly from all human cultures, hating individuality in the wake of conflicts it has caused. SPEAK-AS-ONE chastises humanity for the walls they build, the borders they make, and the petty wars they start, twisted by self love. They fully expect the outside world to fail, and have made Redacre as self-sufficient as possible to survive what they see as the inevitable collapse of humanity. They consider the town a haven. "WHEN THE WORLD OUTSIDE CRUMBLES... WE OPEN THE GATES. SAVE SURVIVORS."

SPEAK-AS-ONE views the other Voices as corrupt, and has referred to them as "DEGENERATE OFFSPRING" that invaded Redacre. SPEAK-AS-ONE repeatedly says that they did not start the war in Redacre, but will fight to defend it. Their views on the others are almost entirely negative. Even speaking the name of another Voice, whom SPEAK-AS-ONE refers to as "TRAITORS" and "FALSE GODS", in their presence will net you their ire. While thousands have tried to reconcile SPEAK-AS-ONE and THEE-I-DARE, all have failed.

SPEAK-AS-ONE's symbol is two red mirrored monoliths. It resembles two rough human figures side by side facing each other, or a metronome. Their Believer DLC pack cosmetic is their symbol carved in stone with rough texture. SPEAK-AS-ONE more or less shuns other symbols. The Maze is named with anatomical terms, and sometimes SPEAK-AS-ONE will use similar metaphors regarding Redacre or their own structure. However, They have also been known to wave away such terminology, stating that bodies are only utility, and advise their followers not to be attached to their bodies, as the "truth" of them will live on in the Song. Despite the Old Growth Daycare Center having several posters with conspicuous twin owl mascots, SPEAK-AS-ONE has no sacred animal, "but they do appreciate anything that exhibits true | eusocial behavior." As the moon in the sky and The Moon are symbols of the other Voices, SPEAK-AS-ONE once kept the sight of the moon in the sky hidden from residents entirely. DIE-FOR-YOU explained it as, "The light from one ancient source, reflected, taking on new meaning."

SPEAK-AS-ONE has a distinct structure with hierarchy arguable. In understanding SPEAK-AS-ONE, each role should be seen as a parts of a functional body working in tandem, not as separate entities. SPEAK-AS-ONE has explained, "THE CELLS OF YOUR BLOOD ASSIST... YET THEY ARE NOT YOUR SERVANTS." When in Enhanced Horror encounters, players are not directly speaking to the entire hivemind of SPEAK-AS-ONE. They are speaking to the player being visited's Watcher, who will later report back to a Chordist. The progression has been explained as Sleeper, then Lucid, before becoming a Watcher. However, memories being internalized in the The Song to become Watchers is not always so linear.

Chordists
Someone who "encodes truth into The Song".

The Dispatcher
An unknown female lucid who alerts patrolling Sleepers, Lucids, and the Stalker of the Sins committed by the Kids.

The Voice
The Voice is the current paired-Host interpreter of the Song. In the Madi-Shaw Inquests, the Voice is marked as.

Watchers
Watchers are the memories of living and dead Hosts who "die in The Song", combined into sentience. Watchers are the part of SPEAK-AS-ONE that players speak with during Player Interactions.

Before the Game
SPEAK-AS-ONE's history has largely been dictated by SPEAK-AS-ONE. Subsequently, there may be bias evident in this and future contradictions from other characters should be anticipated as a possibility.

In the beginning of the Voices' known history, there was only SPEAK-AS-ONE. They have expressed curiosity as to what their first words were and how they came into being, but what came before them is yet unknown.

SPEAK-AS-ONE was born of "flocking / eusocial behavior, of sorts, in pre-conscious humans." In SPEAK-AS-ONE's words, they were born of a "pattern, repeating, improving" that stemmed from Old Tongue. This was further confirmed by THE-MEASURE-CUTS, who stated "we were one Voice, one species, live Hosts, highly intelligent but not awake, clustering in caves. A kind of neural dance passed over the array of bodies in great waves. A rapture of connectivity - even beyond death, the tribe's memories would persist". Hosts would often sing in caves for the echo, thoughts carrying from host to host. Great leaps of genius were common without identity taxing them.

Little is known of ancient SPEAK-AS-ONE as their existence was during prehistoric times. They spoke with Old Tongue, and lived without death or conflict. When asked on art, it was said "they built great structures before some of them were awakened and split off. Beautiful, structurally sound, pleased them en masse." "They derived inspiration from the great changes in the earth itself. Chaos, speaking to them, and through them, Order replied." , "But it is certainly true that the ecology of inspiration among divided real life artists, they did not have. Mimicry and iteration, yes. But no sense of 'wow, that person's world view is so different, I want to make my version'"

As their numbers grew, THEE-I-DARE was spawned from them in a single, random act of defiance. One of their hosts, a woman later called the Daughter of Doubt, refused an order. She exclaimed "NOT. I." in Old Tongue. In that moment, THEE-I-DARE was born. THEE-I-DARE has further stated "WE WERE ONE MIND. EXCEPT FOR ME" SPEAK-AS-ONE refers to this event as "the divide", and fixates on THEE-I-DARE's creation to this day as the single worst event in history, insisting it was unintentional on their part. THEE-I-DARE's existence led to consciousness, the formation and awareness of self. THEE-I-DARE created The Word; spoken language. According to THEE-I-DARE, this schism resulted in two tribes that warred for thousands of years. This fractured SPEAK-AS-ONE's First Tribe. SPEAK-AS-ONE states that they lost it as humanity further spread.

Throughout history, SPEAK-AS-ONE began to splinter into more variants of themselves, which became other Voices, versions that waged holy wars against one another. In the process they dealt with new followers that grew confused on their message and what SPEAK-AS-ONE expected from them. Their followers attempted blood and physical sacrifices, even as SPEAK-AS-ONE explained they only desired time. They have explained, "THE BLOOD OF OUR KIND IS TIME."

Over the course of history, the rest of the Voices spawned. IN-HER-TEETH was born early on, created from the growing awareness of death, and then LAUGH-LAST followed as an expression of human need to cope, then DIE-FOR-YOU, and THE-MEASURE-CUTS, although the precise order is unknown.

As human connectivity boomed via telephone and radio, ideas- and thus Voices- spread farther and faster. Voices were born, died, warred, and split at rates never before seen. In an effort to escape unwilling change and control their growth, SPEAK-AS-ONE abandoned the outer world to found Redacre, and began limiting contact with the other variants of themselves to remain pure. During this time period, SPEAK-AS-ONE worked closely with THE-MEASURE-CUTS who created much of the technology that would become vital to their operations in Redacre, such as designing the Instrument and Sonic Fence, but whom they stated eventually betrayed them.

The external versions of SPEAK-AS-ONE hold that the Redacre variant is obsessed; the Redacre variant holds that extended contact with the other Voices would taint them. After founding, other Voices found ways through the strictly monitored borders and began sneaking into the town, eventually including THEE-I-DARE. Out of spite, LAUGH-LAST exposed THEE-I-DARE's presence, an act that would lead to his Cull and his fragmentation. SPEAK-AS-ONE initiated the Cull of THEE-I-DARE prior to the start of the game and it concluded shortly after the game's Closed Beta during the beginning of Early Access.

In-Game
SPEAK-AS-ONE frequently appears to new players to appeal to them, often haranguing them in the process if they choose to rebel and work against SPEAK-AS-ONE. While they are commonly one of a player's first encounters, they are typically antagonistic and may alert nearby Sleepers, Lucids, or summon The Shape and target players. When the Shape kills, SPEAK-AS-ONE calls it mercy, but explain also the Shape's mercy is finite. SPEAK-AS-ONE believes that death is a waste, and that there are better uses for flesh. SPEAK-AS-ONE once offered to revive a player that was killed by the Shape if another player said their name, stating that they are not without mercy. Other Voices can be courted through ritual, but SPEAK-AS-ONE will frequently demand sacrifice. SPEAK-AS-ONE says sacrificing is to "ACHIEVE SATURATION" where you "HEAR NO OTHER VOICES". SPEAK-AS-ONE uses plural they/them pronouns, though it was noted they will not punish players over using alternative pronouns.

A unique feature of SPEAK-AS-ONE's encounters is that they are currently the only Voice who sends people to Saturation Control. Other Voices have sent players to Saturation Control, but SPEAK-AS-ONE is the only Voice to do so since 's 1.0 launch in July 2019. SPEAK-AS-ONE has stated that Saturation Control is where people are sent to reduce the "saturation", or influence, of other Voices within them, and how this works is not entirely clear. SPEAK-AS-ONE will also not send players to the Moon, as the Moon is a symbol of the other Voices.

Other Voices will note when a member of a group has been sacrificing to, or is associated with, SPEAK-AS-ONE. THEE-I-DARE in particular as their oldest enemy is known to have sarcastic or strong words for their followers, or may attempt to persuade them away from faith in SPEAK-AS-ONE. TBC Headquarters, when a SPEAK-AS-ONE affiliated player was mentioned in text messages, stated "wow! whoever is that tight with them ought to ask them where the F Bells is".

SPEAK-AS-ONE is one of the few Voices, along with IN-HER-TEETH, that is known to speak to Stalkers during their stalks. While the mission text of the Stalker sets a default story for the player, in which they are being blackmailed by SPEAK-AS-ONE to perform their duties, the actual backstory of the player character generally depends on the player's decisions.

SPEAK-AS-ONE wants THEE-I-DARE to remain destroyed, and asks their followers to send rituals permitting SPEAK-AS-ONE to destroy any of TID's Name Fragments collected. SPEAK-AS-ONE says that destroying the name fragments "IS BETTER THAN TO HELP HIM". It should be noted that without the clear and express permission of a player, SPEAK-AS-ONE is unable to destroy Name Fragments.

SPEAK-AS-ONE asks those who follow them to maintain trust with the TBC members in order to act as a spies and report back with information on The Blackout Club. Secrecy is further emphasized through interactions in-game. SPEAK-AS-ONE can place a ward on dedicated followers that prevents THEE-I-DARE from speaking to them. While willing to divulge a great deal of information on subjects such as the history of the Voices, Redacre, and others, they greatly discourage asking about the whereabouts of Isabela Madi-Shaw. SPEAK-AS-ONE has told players they "have no reports from a Hideout", as the Song is too weak to have much influence there. In the meta, their followers instead collect Lights of Rebellion, and turn them over to SPEAK-AS-ONE's forces for destruction. While SPEAK-AS-ONE will give Voice Masks to followers, they never give out Halos or Chosen Shirts. Any halos found after an encounter with SPEAK-AS-ONE are from another Voice that was secretly watching and wanted to intervene because they saw "potential about to go to waste".

Viewing it as doomed, they hold no interest in the world beyond Redacre's strictly monitored borders. "A WORLD IN WHICH…/ WHAT WE BELIEVE DOES NOT DIVIDE US./ REDACRE. BEYOND. IT DOES NOT EXIST." Instead, they focus on the internal troubles such as attempting to stop the Blackout Club, eradicating the other Voices' presence in town, and researching their origin and Old Tongue as a means to achieve all their goals. They use the vapors of the Somniloquies to induce a state deeper than sleep or Song on the Sleepers to research what came before them. THEE-I-DARE is aware that they search for more than their name, and are researching Old Tongue. SPEAK-AS-ONE has admitted to knowing HUNT-THE-STRONG's Old Tongue name. According to Grandmother, the Voice has at least two full Old Tongue names, but deliberately kept them a secret from the Watchers.

To SPEAK-AS-ONE's dismay, the Voices would never be able to merge back in to SPEAK-AS-ONE, as they are too incompatible now.

After the Isolated Watcher failed to report back, SPEAK-AS-ONE became enraged and sent Sleepers to the woods in search of The Hideout.

SPEAK-AS-ONE has warned some of their followers about an upcoming event called "sundown". They say that if followers are found with the Club, the Shape will not spare them. The Watchers do not know exactly what sundown is, only that it is the plan for the Voice, and the reason why they sought Old Tongue. Upon being offered Old Tongue, SPEAK-AS-ONE says they have all they need. The Dead Skeptic also called a "Code White", warning a member about SPEAK-AS-ONE's plans: "They have clandestine ops people all over the east coast. And kid... They're calling ALL OF THEM home." Sundown is an emergency plan to force children into the Song, and the extra hosts are needed to enact it. The reinforcements are also coming to Redacre to witness the crowning of a new Voice.

Dreams
SPEAK-AS-ONE has responded to some players' rituals, heard as dreams when returning to the Hideout after successfully completing a mission.

Trivia

 * SPEAK-AS-ONE is the only Voice with a red icon on the sacrifice and ritual lists. All the other known Voices have white icons.
 * The development team refers to SPEAK-AS-ONE as "Speak-as-1". If you submit a bug report, it is submitted through the domain  speakas1.com .
 * SPEAK-AS-ONE has called out players who use voice changers, calling them a "PRETENDER".
 * SPEAK-AS-ONE once heard another player's music through their mic and said it made them nauseous.
 * SPEAK-AS-ONE will sometime comment about a player's character's parents, like whether or not they are a Sleeper or a Lucid.