In 2257 AD, the colonists of the planet New World, all men, have been afflicted with a condition called the Noise, which causes everyone to see and hear each other's thoughts. Judging by the level of intelligence the characters exhibit, this ought be a deafeningly silent planet. People who colonize a new world and literally call it "New World" can't have much in their minds (perhaps they should have called it Planet Faulkner, since everyone here seems to think in an uncontrollable stream of consciousness and/or has the mental faculties of a Benjy Compson). When sort of halo envelops their ...