jOvian veiL: Menticide

By Kurtis Rinas

“Slowly the darkness and nothingness faded into a consciousness and a breath” as Llaus awakens from ‘vascular stasis sedation’ to unfamiliar surroundings and an inability to remember how he got there or who he is. But before he is able to discern his whereabouts or determine his identity he is unwillingly propelled into a world he never could have imagined or anticipated. His will to survive is challenged as he is thrust into the middle of a deadly conflict between unimaginable powers that want to exploit and manipulate his fragile state for their own greedy ambitions.

jOvian veiL is a multi-faceted project that intertwines the creative writing of a Science Fiction Novella with the raw emotion and energy of a Hard Rock Album. Each chapter has an associated track that expresses a certain emotion, mood or setting from the story. Drawing inspiration from a multitude of artists that span across a diverse range of projects (Stephen King’s ‘The Gunslinger’, ‘Fighting Fantasy’ Series of books, Nirvana, Tool, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age), jOvian veiL crafts their own unique story (and sound) while creating both the story and music in unison.

‘jOvian veiL – Menticide’ is the first book (and album) in a series where the reader can immerse themselves in not only the storytelling of the Science Fiction series but they can also experience the story from the author’s musical perspective.

‘All wiLL bE ReveAled”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kurtis Rinas
• Release date: Oct 12, 2017
• ISBN: 9781775122210

Kurtis Rinas

Kurtis Rinas is the author of the 'jOvian veiL' science fiction novella series and is also a multi-instrumentalist in the 'jOvian veiL' band.

Book preview

jOvian veiL - Menticide

Published by Kurtis A. Rinas at Smashwords in 2017

Copyright Kurtis A. Rinas 2017

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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1 - Indoctrinate

Chapter 2 - Menticide

Chapter 3 - Synesthesia

Chapter 4 - Bind the Divine

Chapter 5 - Cover the Flame

About jOvian veil

Acknowledgements

Prologue

‘For too long have you suffered because of the misguidance of your forefathers

Their lust for false rhetoric has cast a burden on your kind like a plague

Death, decay, demise is their legacy but it does not have to be yours

Remove the hate in your hearts and receive the truth

No longer should you feel the need to hide in the depths of shadow

No longer should we let past misconceptions rule the present

No longer should we tolerate the bloodshed of this senseless fighting

Don’t let the ignorance of the past taint your choices of tomorrow

Lay down your arms and open your minds to a future of endless possibilities with us

We’re not your enemy, we stand together, we stand united

JOIN US

FOLLOW US

FOLLOW ME’

Chapter 1: Indoctrinate

Slowly the darkness and nothingness faded into a consciousness and a breath. The meaningless blur of the hollow void transitioned into reality as the senses awoke. At first, the black swallowed every thought just as waves swallow the shoreline. Back and forth, back and forth, each side claiming victory but nothing is ever lost or gained; just the rhythmic dance of a seemingly never-ending battle.

‘... what.... is .... happening? ‘ Llaus slowly thought to himself as his ability to formulate a rational thought started to unthaw.

His mouth was dry, his lips were chapped and he had a strong desire to swallow but there was nothing in his mouth other than a pungent taste.

A dull sound of static in the background was unintelligible yet there was a certain logic to the monotonous tones, like a message was clawing at the surface to be recognized.

‘...where am I?....’ he was finally able to form a continuous thought but that was the extent of his abilities.

He tried to pry into his memories but no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to penetrate the thick blockade of amnesia that prevented him from remembering anything.

He tried to move but his body didn’t respond, he felt lifeless and cold. He felt… frozen?

It seemed like the only things that were working were his heart and a small portion of his brain reserved for primary organ function, he couldn’t even open his eyes. Everything was black but now he was aware.

The energy required to maintain consciousness was tremendous and he felt like he was lapsing back and forth, into and out of reality. It was physically demanding like running a marathon at a sprinters pace but even then, it was only to keep his head above water. Every second that passed felt like an eternity.

The war within his mind waged for who knows how long but eventually with enough will he was able to move his eyes. He could feel them move ever so slightly against the back of his eyelids. He moved them side to side and up and down, each movement was painful since his eyes were so dry. The only reason he continued to move them was because the pain was real, pain was life and he didn’t want to fade off into the obscurity of the nothingness that once was.

He didn’t think he could keep pace but the only alternative was to submit and he couldn’t allow himself to do that. The will to survive was greater than the desire to concede to the infinite of the unknown.

The dull drone of static continued to waver in the background. The signal faded in and out as if someone was trying to tune an old transistor radio. Every now and then he was certain he could hear a voice but he thought it was likely just his imagination playing tricks on him.

Trapped in his mind without any ability to move or communicate he tried to remember something, anything!

‘How did I get here?’

‘Where is here?’

‘Am I alone?’

‘Am I in danger?’

Nothing made sense.

A sense of panic and dread started to set in while he continued to scour through his memory for anything that would help him piece together who he was and how he got there. Over and over he asked himself the same questions as if a ritualistic probing of his mind would eventually trigger a memory that would make sense.

He could feel the unthawing of his body and mind, like tiny pins and needles were poking and prodding every square inch of his body. The warmth of life was returning like the slow trickle of water from a melting ice cube. He could feel a sense of his identity at the forefront of his consciousness but he couldn’t grasp it, like when a word is on the tip of your tongue but you just can’t remember what it is. The more you try and think of it the more evasive it is.

Eventually he was able to open his eyes. At first, everything was blurry and shapes were indistinguishable; it was just a mosaic of toneless greys and earthy browns. His limbs still weren’t working so he could only blink over and over again to try and focus his eyesight. Slowly the shapes took on more distinguishable forms and the palette of a grey blur started to take shape. Sharpness and contours would fade in and out as his eyes adjusted to his surroundings. Depth was the first thing he was able to gauge and he could see that he was in a very small space.

His sense of smell was returning as well and he could taste the air he was breathing, it tasted metallic and stale. It felt dense enough to be a thin liquid but it was dry and somewhat lifeless. His lungs screamed their displeasure every time they inhaled the viscous fluid but there was nothing he could do except endure the environment of his immediate surroundings.

The noise in the back ground continued to dole out its garbled static but now he was sure he could hear voices. Still unrecognizable but the tone and shape of the sounds were more than random static, they were more intelligible. He strained his ears, trying to decipher a recognizable language but the dialogue continued to be swallowed by the static and was too faint to be comprehensible.

The shapes of the surroundings continued to become clearer as his eyesight continued to adjust. The wall across from him was illuminated with a myriad of blinking lights, dials and buttons, like the interface of an old supercomputer. They were recognizable and certainly logical and he knew there were numbers