O Word Sweep por George Zebrowski se encaixa na descrição quase perfeitamente, mas essa é uma história curta. Você pode lê-lo aqui .
The words on the floor were as thick as leaves when Felix arrived at the party. At five past eleven, the room should have been silent.
"Quiet!" he shouted, unable to hold back.
The word formed in the air and floated to the floor at his feet.
...
As Felix neared the landfill, he noticed the strangeness of the grass on both sides of the road.
...
A crystalline rod protruded from the dirt. Felix stepped into the hole and continued digging while Bruno rested. Slowly, Felix uncovered a complex mechanism, a cubelike shape of glassy-metallic connections, a maze of shiny pipes and joints, mirror surfaces and solid figures.