Spectrum: Detour of Wrong

Spectrum: Detour of Wrong

The Story

Logline: A female technological scientist creates a recreational system that takes users on emotional journeys but as she embarks upon and then finishes her final walk through tests, she discovers that artificial actions can follow you back into reality because her invention appears to develop a sense of justice and a personality of its own which it seems, wants to destroy not only her destiny but also every part of the very future that her invention was created to provide. Written by Jill Thrussell

A female technological scientist creates a unique invention that blends technology and science in order to allow consumers to explore emotional journeys in fictitious settings but in the pursuit of perfection as she ventures through her own emotional capacity, she struggles to maintain the very real love of her real life as reality rapidly fades into a dull, inferior substitute. The price of perfection requires a lot of personal sacrifices from Leah and as she starts to test out her invention, prior to its potential sale, she engages in an actual exploration of the various emotional landscapes, multitude of hybrid creatures and fictitious guides that she has formulated and created. However, Leah's creation she swiftly discovers, not only pushes the boundaries of science and technology but also starts to stretch the boundaries of her own relationship as she starts to view and inspect her life through the lens of dissatisfaction and the microscope of her own discontent.

During Leah's exploration as she dips her toes into her own artificial reality, her love and loyalties are swiftly put to the test by her own creation and as Leah's relationship slips down the ladder of priorities as fictitious entities sway her heart and mind, the future of Leah's own real life and heart start to hang in the balance. A desperate attempt is made to try and resuscitate the last strands of love and Leah’s relationship which is on its last heartstrings but as she rapidly discovers, there are a few surprises in store for her because somehow, her secret, fictitious betrayals have followed her back into reality and the very creation that she created and gave life to that was supposed to usher in a great destiny and future, is in fact that same creation that will perhaps destroy it.

When a bidding war erupts and as Spectrum's sale looms upon the horizon of Leah's life as she revels in the multitude of offers that she receives, her invention seems to develop a real personality of its own that spills out into reality as a judge and jury to her simulated conduct and real life which now seem to be under scrutiny. However, as Leah rapidly discovers, justice doesn't appear to be on her side because the real ramifications from her fictitious exploration of Spectrum, suddenly threaten to jeopardize her real future due to her own fragments of betrayal which could destroy the very future that her invention was supposed to usher in, lubricate and actually provide.

Some desires can cost us absolutely everything....

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  • Chapter One: The Creation 
  • Chapter Two: A Jestful Jaunt in the Joyful Kingdom 
  • Chapter Three: Jolly Jigs Through the Joyful Dance
  • Chapter Four: A Saunter into the Heart of the Fearful Forest 
  • Chapter Five: Inside the Tree of Discontent 
  • Chapter Six: Adventures within the Ark of Anticipation 
  • Chapter Seven: A Surprise Flight on the Wings of Intrigue
  • Chapter Eight: Rides of Heartbreak Upon the Waves of the Sea of Sorrow
  • Chapter Nine: Deep in the Rocky Caves of Reconciliation
  • Chapter Ten: Lost in the Maze of Trust
  • Chapter Eleven: Leaps of Courage Across the Clifftops of Trust
  • Chapter Twelve: A Deep Dive into the Disgusting Dimension 
  • Chapter Thirteen: The Slimy Rescue from a River of Misery
  • Chapter Fourteen: A Meander Across the Meadows of Surprise
  • Chapter Fifteen:  Chaotic Clashes with Vicious Vamptrolls 
  • Chapter Sixteen: An Exploration of the Mysterious Bay of Wrath
  • Chapter Seventeen: Curious Reflections in the Mirror of Trials
  • Chapter Eighteen: Fragments of Betrayal, Reflections of Justice & Broken Destinies

Genre: Sci-Fi/Romance/Fable

Quotes:

"This my dear is a bottle of courage, made from the essence of bravery and it can temporarily disable all your fears."  Gretchen clarified as she held the small silver bottle up in the air.  "If you drink this liquid which comes from the forest dew and the forest raindrops both of which contain essence of bravery, you won't be scared of heights anymore, well not for a while anyway."  ~ Jill Thrussell

"Yes, courage is generally one of life's sweeteners.  When bravery fills the heart and then holds on to one's hand, life really can be much sweeter and far more enjoyable."  Gretchen replied.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Since Spectrum was now almost complete, for the past month Leah had worked even harder than usual as her ship of aspirations had been firmly steered towards the port of completion but because she had tottered around on the brink of realization for that entire month and had faced several professional hurdles, a tidal wave of frustration had definitely built up inside of her which now sat behind a wall of incompletion, much like a dammed up wave that waits impatiently behind a concrete wall to be released.  ~ Jill Thrussell

"Time is a very stubborn companion and perfection is a very demanding friend."  Leah advised herself conclusively.  ~ Jill Thrussell

In every sense of the word, Zidane was the prince of Leah's heart and their land of love was a very peaceful and extremely pleasant place to reside because their kingdom had been built from the bricks of love with the tools of devotion and they had both fully committed themselves to their love, their future and to each other right from the very start.  ~ Jill Thrussell

When it came to the issue of the couple's actual relationship although Leah had never physically cheated on Zidane with another man, her creation Spectrum had in some respects, become a very greedy lover and the seductive grip of her work had literally devoured hundreds perhaps even thousands of hours of her life which would never ever be returned to her irrespective of any potential capital gains that may or may not finally be realized from all those hours of devoted professional effort.  ~ Jill Thrussell

For the first couple of years the couple's relationship had almost been totally saturated in heartbreak but somehow, Leah had finally managed to breathe life back into Zidane in a manner that healed and he had slowly and surely been restored back to life as she had resuscitated his broken heart and rescued him from the brink of despair.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Not even once had Zidane placed any demands upon Leah for more than she could give and he had never once complained and so she definitely now knew, without a shadow of a doubt that no other man would have accepted such romantic terms in a relationship, or tolerated such awkward conditions to keep one alive.  ~ Jill Thrussell

"Such a beautiful bed, so comfortable and so absolutely splendid."  Leah admitted to herself as she gave the lavish bed one final appreciative glance and one last look of total adoration.  "I'd love to take you home with me bed, are you committed to this bedroom, or are you open to other opportunities and willing to travel?  I don't really like to cheat on my own bed but for you, I would definitely be unfaithful and I'd even initiate actual divorce proceedings."  ~ Jill Thrussell

Once upon a romantic time Leah had made so much effort for Zidane on so many occasions to keep the sparks of love, romance and passion ignited, alive and rekindled between them both but in recent times, due to Leah's additional hours inside the basement as she had worked upon Spectrum, it almost felt as if those romantic sparks inside of her had dimmed, or as if those passionate sparks had just taken a vacation from their relationship and as yet, had not returned.  ~ Jill Thrussell

From what Leah could now clearly see, the Savage woods would not be as friendly as the Meadows of Serenity had been due to the brown wooden claws that protruded from each tree which appeared to be quite tightly intertwined and so much so in some places that each one gripped onto one another as if they were very close friends and so the unpredictable nature of those brown tree arms and wooden stick fingers would at times, obstruct the hunt rider's and Leah's own passage.  ~ Jill Thrussell

In fact, the brown sacks were no longer actually, really brown because every visible, filled sack was now stained a deep, crimson red from the blood of the dead animals that each one contained and as the horses that carried the full sacks moved around, blood from the swine’s' carcasses continued to seep out from the interior of each sack and decorate the exterior as the animals even upon their death, silently decorated their graves with the liquid remnants of their slaughter.  ~ Jill Thrussell

For Leah in some ways, her experiences with Spectrum now felt, extremely powerful because although Lancelot had been the first such magical creature that she had given an existence to that she had encountered with her own mind and even been in some kind of close proximity to, she definitely knew that Lancelot would not be the last and that in some highly unusual way, magic had been brought to life through science and technology, the two disciplines that usually stood in direct opposition to it.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Every object inside the forest from what Leah could see at first glance, seemed to be adorned in vibrant, lush green, frilly dresses and shirts and some had auburn or dark brown suits and as each tree trunk, branch and blade of grass stood politely to attention in its assigned spot, it was almost as if each one waited patiently for whatever might, or might not actually happen next in order to play their designated role.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Instead of Leah's arrival at the tree and the collection of the tenth key nailed to it as she had planned, the ground had suddenly swallowed her whole with absolutely no warning at all and now it seemed, she was just about to be chewed up by the muddy, circular, narrow tunnel that she'd fallen into as the muddy hole started to digest her via its spiral, slippery slope which it appeared, intended to hurtle Leah very swiftly towards the heart of the earth.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Once again however, another root rope dangled down directly in front of Leah's face from the earthy ceiling above her head and as she glanced at it, Leah noticed that the root remained very still and totally uncooperative and that it almost appeared as if it wanted to wait for Leah to make an independent decision as the root rope seemed to politely avoid any contributions or attempts to influence her internal deliberations with a stagnant, unwilling, eerie stillness.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Several fears now crawled through Leah's thoughts and lurked inside her mind and then started to crowd her thoughts with panic and alarm as she desperately tried to free herself, one of which doubted her ability to achieve her goal in a timely manner as she watched the spider crawl quite close to her actual hand and began to tremble.  ~ Jill Thrussell

"You’re probably older than any human being alive on the face of the planet."  Leah whispered as she ran her finger across some of the growth rings and smiled.  "At some point, you might want to think about retirement, though I'm not sure that you'd get much of a pension for your lifetime of leaf contributions."  She advised the tree.  ~ Jill Thrussell

If the woman was a real person in the very real world, Leah quietly considered, each line engraved into her face would perhaps represent the routes that she had taken throughout her experiences in life and those would be the lines which marked each journey that she'd embarked upon and the grooves would then represent the lessons that she had learnt, the trophies of bravery that she'd earned and the victories that she had achieved from the various challenges that she'd managed to overcome along the way.  ~ Jill Thrussell

"A drop of appreciation is like a ray of sunshine my dear."  Gretchen explained as she smiled.  "Cleans out, washes away and sweeps up all the cobwebs of negativity."  ~ Jill Thrussell

"I can breathe flames in little spurts and spouts."  Roto explained.  "But it's not like an eruption of lava from a volcano or anything.  I'm not old enough to unleash a lake of fire yet."  ~ Jill Thrussell

The human assumption of Earth's human ownership meant that other species were generally perceived as and deemed to be secondary to human agendas, human objectives and human lifestyles and as far as Leah was concerned that was by now, a very well established, unspoken term of humanity's earthly existence and humanity's planetary occupation but at times, she often wondered what the world might be like if that human assumption had been successfully challenged.  ~ Jill Thrussell

A powerful pulse of passion had suddenly gripped Leah's being that seemed to cause her heart to race and her form to tingle all over with sensual excitement as a surge of electric romantic attraction rushed through every ounce of her existence as she glanced at Toran's face and then smiled.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Some more random even more hectic surges of passion suddenly seemed to swirl around inside Leah almost like a storm as the chaos of attraction and a whirlwind of desire fully gripped every part of her form as she silently accepted that a frantic undercurrent of passion had now, very unexpectedly, totally and utterly conquered her being and that this particular storm of passion had almost rendered her completely breathless.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Snakes and dragbirds are a match made in hungry hatred."  Toran joked as he smiled.  "When dragbirds are young, snakes hunt them down and eat them but then when dragbirds become fully grown adults, they hunt snakes down and eat them, so that hungry hatred is mutually reciprocated, albeit in a delayed form on the part of the dragbirds.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Each wave seemed to gently wash further up the sands with each visit and then the waves would quietly subside as the sea and the beach happily conversed back and forth in an almost in a rhythmic fashion and as Leah watched for a few minutes in total fascination, it almost appeared as if the tide conducted the waves of the sea like an orchestra and as if it was determined to play each note on the scale to total perfection and in complete harmonious unison.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Nothing but teardrops of sorrow seemed to drench every single note of the lament that sounded not only beautiful but also soaked in despair, saturated with tragedy and laden with heartbroken remorse and so Leah's heart swiftly began to weep as the sorrowful melody weeped with pain, exuded tragedy and mourned with loss.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Since just a few more steps now lay between Leah and the smooth rock platform, she began to feel slightly intimidated by the dark tunnelled entrance that sat carved, chiselled and burrowed into the rocks on her left-hand side because she had no real desire to step into that dark, dismal, dreary looking space.  ~ Jill Thrussell

At the very least, Leah thoughtfully concluded as she paused for a moment, Delta definitely seemed to be very consistent, even if that was consistently stubborn and consistently uncooperative.  ~ Jill Thrussell

The chilliness of solitude gently tugged away at Leah's thoughts as she prepared to leave the familiarity of both the boat and Delta firmly behind her because this challenge would definitely as Leah already knew, have to be faced totally alone and as the icicles of fearful uncertainty began to collate inside her form, a cold fearful shiver ran silently down her spine.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Some enthusiastic rays of sunshine which consisted of deliciously warm beams, suddenly drenched, saturated and soaked Leah's simulated skin as each one poured in from the sky and the opening above her head and to Leah's complete surprise as she stepped further into the wood clearing, she actually found a woman seated next to a golden fountain that sparkled and shone as golden drops of water cascaded down over every inch of the golden structure.  ~ Jill Thrussell

The frantic crawl of Forlon almost broke Leah's heart which began to weep as she watched him try to stretch his entire body out towards Christine and as Christine continued to wrestle and fight the muddy swamp, Forlorn frantically fought the liquid mud too which it appeared, wanted to consume her and drag her body down into the depths of its grungy, muddy death bed but his efforts were futile.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Much like the liquid mud that Leah had encountered in the Fearful Forest this muddy swamp it appeared, wanted to claim any human bodies that it could lay its muddy claws upon as its own and it was a ruthless predator that seemed intent on capturing any innocent captives that it had managed to intertwine in its muddy, deadly embrace.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Some tearful drops of sorrow had fallen from Leah's eyes as she had related her experiences that day to Zidane and he had faithfully held her close to him and then had wiped away her tears and as each sorrowful tear and sad reflective thought had been gently washed away by the ripples of tenderness from Zidane's touch, he had somehow provided an immediate form of relief to the sorrows that Leah had felt.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Somehow, Zidane's touch and his words of comfort had instantly soothed Leah's sadness, had swiftly strengthened her mind, had rapidly cleansed her thoughts and had even discreetly nursed her broken heart and so that morning, she felt fully recharged and absolutely ready for her next adventure.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Although Spectrum was a tool that could easily export a user into a magical world, it also possessed the potential ability to temporarily dissolve the quite often stagnant realities of the real world and it could perhaps even replace real life with a lucid existence that thrilled where anything could happen and Leah had seen that herself with her own two eyes because she had hungered to experience more.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Inside Leah's form a definite tug of war had begun between bravery and her more cowardly, natural instincts which leant well away from the very high heights and flimsy shaky bridge and so, she felt really quite tempted to follow those much more cowardly instincts, purely for the sake of comfort.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Rather unconvincingly, in-between each wooden plank there was a length of rope which held the planks together, albeit in a slightly casual manner and across the top of the bridge ran two skimpy rope handrails all of which Leah felt, definitely lacked a proper sense of commitment to the bridge that each piece had been attached to but nonetheless, she immediately clutched onto the two handrails more tightly in the hope that the rope rails would perhaps steady her slightly or perhaps even stabilize the actual bridge itself.  ~ Jill Thrussell

The whole wooden contraption not only looked very delicate but also sounded extremely unstable because the wooden planks had creaked under the strain of Leah's weight every single time she had stepped onto one and that worry gushed through her mind like a sharp undercurrent of fear as she continued to make her way across the planks of wooden uncertainty.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Very uncomfortably, as Leah watched the fallen planks from the bridge shatter into tiny pieces of splintered wooden bits, she began to tremble with absolute fear because not only had several of the planks from the bridge fallen but with each one’s departure and destruction, the planks of her own bravery had departed too and had then been destroyed as each plank had hurtled towards the ground and so now, all that really remained, were some shattered pieces of broken bravery torn apart by the jagged rocks of horrified shock.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Although Leah's form had been absolutely abandoned and totally deserted by each plank of bravery that had held her mind and form together when she had begun to cross the bridge that had been required to fully conquer her some of her deepest fears, as she already knew, the divide would still have to be crossed whether the rest of the bridge behind her collapsed or not and so she bravely prepared to continue.  ~ Jill Thrussell

A few fearful, feverish shivers suddenly ran silently down Leah's spine and as fear rapidly gripped every part of her form, a wave of total alarm quickly swept over her and as it did so, Leah's hands swiftly became as cold as ice as the feverish sweat rippled across the surface of her skin and a nervous lump seemed to gather, expand and then cling onto the walls of her throat.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Unfortunately, excitement had been on a vacation from Leah's life for a very long time due to her long hours in the basement that had swamped her in hard work and the daily household chore routine which had bogged her down with conventionality both of which had diminished her zest for life and so, the sensual excitement currently on offer to her, invoked some very deep passionate undercurrents of desire that Leah now truly longed, to fully satisfy.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Unfortunately that day, Leah silently accepted, she had totally ignored Zidane's very human needs, desires and emotions as she'd eagerly fulfilled her own, albeit in a fictitious capacity and even though his dedication, patience and loyalty had not yet wavered, it was just a matter of time before the sands of his commitment and patience finally ran out and there was absolutely nothing artificial as Leah knew deep down inside, about that highly probable, potential eventuality.~ Jill Thrussell

The future that Leah hoped that the sale of Spectrum would usher in would be a future for the couple free from financial struggles, a future where they did not have to plan and pinch every penny that they made and spent, a future where their children would have the comfort of a large home, their own bedrooms and even a large garden to actually play in and a future where their romantic partnership would be totally free from the worries of tomorrow.  ~ Jill Thrussell

In fact, the pulse of excitement that resided inside of Leah was so strong that every time she passed the entrance to the basement, the excitement that rested gently on the outskirts of her skin and pores seemed to suddenly ignite and rapidly, voluntarily reawaken without any further provocation which created some internal and external tugs of desire.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Every weekday inside the basement, in recent times, Leah had waded through task after task, shoulder deep in her quest to reach the shores of completion and Zidane had not fallen short one single time but for once that day, Leah would try to make some amends and she would make an actual attempt to render some form of restitution to Zidane's heart.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Somehow, even though Leah was no longer actually present inside the simulated planes of Spectrum and she had made some form of restitution that day, it now appeared that her sins seemed to have followed her out of that artificial environment and back into the real world because visions of her betrayal continued to flood through her mind and crowded her thoughts with guilt as sleep continued to silently avoid her.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Since the household chores had never been an actual bone of contention between the couple because extreme feminism just wasn't part of Leah's makeup, it had therefore meant that their relationship had virtually run like a smooth engine of romantic peace for the past few years as the couple had operated on a daily basis upon a platform of mutual respect, devoted participation and dedicated cooperation from both parties involved.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Just a few minutes later, fortunately for Leah, she finally started to drift off into the gentle arms of slumber herself as her worries started to depart, chased away by the tiredness of the day and as she fully surrendered to sleep's call, Leah fully accepted that she felt absolutely worn out.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Although Leah had tried so hard to bridge the chasm of incompletion formed from unrealized tasks in order to reach the other side of the divide and actual achievement somehow, much to Leah's irritation, so far achievement had dangled just outside her reach and had lain beyond her professional grasp.  ~ Jill Thrussell

The deep divide of incompletion as yet had still not been fully bridged or crossed, even though Leah had firmly put in place so many sturdy, hourly planks of hard work to build that bridge of professional success and even though she had tied so many ropes of effort and dedication to those planks of diligent hard work and so, every waking hour that reality, constantly frustrated Leah's mind.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Since the rebel group appeared to take their cause and mission very seriously indeed, Leah smiled as she began to accept that just for today, disgust was actually the main enemy and that filth was the major manifestation of that disgusting enemy which therefore meant that the battle ahead, rather amusingly, was to be one filled with hygienic weaponry of various kinds.  ~ Jill Thrussell

"It's a social etiquette handbook Leah and every outfit on each page has its own set of personal codes that can transform the wearer of any outfit chosen which will equip them for any event, any kind of activity, any type of weather or for any occasion imaginable."  Jonas explained as he watched her inspect the book's interior and smiled.  ~ Jill Thrussell

The romantic taste buds that formed Leah's palate of male attractions had definitely been sensually tantilized, passionately ignited and accurately matched when it came to the issue of Jonas's simulated persona because every single aspect of his presence seemed to create seductive ripples of sensual excitement within Leah's inner being which felt heightened by his every simulated touch.  ~ Jill Thrussell

At least a hundred shaky planks of wood had been strapped together, albeit in a rather loose fashion from what Leah could see and so as she began to cross the wooden contraption, she hoped that the ropes of courage that tied her thoughts to her movements would also remain intact and stable as she ventured across it.  ~ Jill Thrussell

A few planks of stability, bravery and determination had been positioned very carefully inside Leah's mind in order to prepare for her walk across the bridge but as she already knew, those planks could quite easily fall apart, if the planks of wood began to make a sudden departure from the bridge due to the hungry hybrid creatures below it which definitely evoked and stirred up whirlwinds of fear within her interior.  ~ Jill Thrussell

The downcast expressions, Leah observed, had definitely flown away as Rhiannon had not only flown up into the air but also risen to her former glory and each remnant of sadness it appeared had fully abandoned her now beautiful form, chased away and replaced by the sparkles of happiness that now radiated from within her simulated being.  ~ Jill Thrussell

A joyful smile now adorned Rhiannon's face along with the sparkles of happiness that emanated from her form, both of which Leah noticed, seemed to silently decorate the cave with a lavish warmth as the cave's interior suddenly began to sparkle and shine in harmonious unison.  ~ Jill Thrussell

From what Leah could see as the silent rays of light danced across the smooth, cream surfaces that surrounded her, each ray of light appeared to quietly chase the shadows away as she watched in total fascination and it was almost as if each shadow was an unwanted guest that despite being chased away, seemed absolutely determined to return.  ~ Jill Thrussell

However, although Leah had almost lost herself that evening between the passionate sheets of Jonas's mahogany bed and their sexual exploration, quite suddenly thoughts of her real life rushed back to the forefront of Leah's mind which interrupted her focus upon the artificial, fictitious sensual entanglements that she had been absolutely, fictitiously immersed in and passionately, fully wrapped up for a very enjoyable part of that evening.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Deep down inside as Leah already knew, Spectrum could never offer her heart the real commitment that Zidane had so consistently provided and so, she could not afford to ignore his heart because unlike Spectrum which could be tweaked, modified, fixed and even rebuilt, Zidane and their relationship, if destroyed, would not be so easy to rebuild or repair and if their love suffered very severe damage, it would perhaps even become absolutely irretrievable and inaccessible to her heart.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Quite surprisingly in the end, Leah had discovered that the metal, snake like chain rings had relinquished their grasp without any further objections at all and as Leah watched the chunks of metal surrender to her now more gentle commands to depart, each metal ring swiftly abandoned the arm which only a moment before they had been so affectionately and tightly entwined around.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Once the metal rings had clattered to the ground, Leah noticed that each chunk of metal then sat in a stationery, redundant, discarded, unwanted heap piled up on top of each other and it almost looked as if the metal rings were in an actual sulk because each ring of metal now seemed absolutely lifeless and even looked, slightly duller.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Each of the town's four main streets spiralled upwards in different directions, Leah observed as her eyes visually scanned and then followed each one's path and as the cobbled stones made their way silently and voluntarily towards the entrance of the palace, each one seemed to willingly follow their destined route in total obedience.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Since Leah had never seen anyone prepare for battle ever before, the three men's actions absolutely fascinated her and so her eyes were literally glued to their movements with sticky fascination which fortunately for Leah, kept her mind focused for some minutes and far enough away from fear to avoid a deep dive into fearful paralysis.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Although the threat from the vicious vamptrolls was not yet visible as Leah began to follow Prince Lament's lead and started to head towards that as yet uncertain, unseen, unknown, unmeasurable threat, she tried to prepare herself for what might lie ahead but fear was definitely deeply embedded in every part of her being as she walked.  ~ Jill Thrussell

In fact, from what Leah could see, the only gruesome remnants that seemed to remain in the place of the vamptroll's two grotesque fleshly masses, once the doused spears and swords had been embedded in the hybrid's flesh, appeared to be two small pools of mucky water, the sight of which totally fascinated Leah because the creatures had looked so absolutely huge and so utterly unconquerable.  ~ Jill Thrussell

An uncertain number of enemies definitely lay inside the external walls of the palace and so as Leah crept further along one of those walls, she fervently hoped that her pulse of bravery would remain strong enough for long enough to face not only the battles ahead but also to overcome the undercurrent of fear that ran through her interior.  ~ Jill Thrussell

In terms of Leah's personal strengths, combat skills certainly weren't her forte or a zone of expertise that she felt comfortable to function or operate in which meant, in this instance confidence didn't brim from the interior of her being which felt more like a chaotic whirlpool of fear than a deep well of courage.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Unfortunately, the emotional journey of surprise that Leah had embarked upon that day had really swept her away her with surprises and due to the nature of the challenges ahead which were unfamiliar territory in every way that they possibly could be, she felt more like a coward that wanted to run and hide than a bold, strong warrior with courage in their veins that was just about to head into battle.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Most of the kitchen staff's hands, from what Leah could see, were either laden with trays that contained huge, raw, meaty slabs or large wooden jugs full of crimson fluid as they attended to the vamptrolls' dietary requirements but as she could also see, along with the trays and jugs that the staff carried, their faces carried silent expressions of absolute fear and total terror upon them.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Some of the kitchen staff, Leah noticed however, had no actual trays or jugs inside their hands as they rolled kegs of ale alongside them and as the gruesome feast of warts continued, totally uninterrupted, Leah shuddered as a large lump of disgust swiftly started to gather inside her throat which felt almost as large as one of the huge slabs of meat that sat upon one of the vamptrolls' tables.  ~ Jill Thrussell

An elegant evening definitely lay ahead of Leah which would be a very welcome change from the unexpected, rough, mucky vamptroll battles that she had endured earlier that day and so she couldn't wait to embrace the night and all it promised to deliver to her heart and mind.  ~ Jill Thrussell

After all the surprising oddities of Leah's day up until that point, an elegant sip of sophistication was definitely more than welcome and this final surprise activity that had been sprung upon her, would certainly be far more up her street of personal enjoyment.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Not only had the couple's relationship and love stood the test of time but it had also weathered the various storms of life which they had survived not only as individuals but also as united allies in their union of love and romance. ~ Jill Thrussell

Inside Leah a sensual current of excitement rapidly began to chaotically stir and swirl around as she walked as the passion that lingered on her lips provoked deeper internal questions within her as to the sensual delights that Prince Lament's seductive suggestion might contain.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Since Leah had already spent a few hours in the companionship of Prince Lament, his subjects and friends, she now definitely wanted to spend some time in direct companionship with Prince Lament himself so that the two could embark upon an exploration of his private royal domain.  ~ Jill Thrussell

A flag of passion could perhaps, Leah silently considered, be placed upon any sensual territory that the two discovered together in passionate unity but as she already knew, they certainly couldn't do that inside the banqueting hall and so a departure from it was therefore absolutely essential.  ~ Jill Thrussell

A cooperative, courteous invitation seemed to be swiftly offered to the two by the glassy contraption as Leah watched the glass door in front of them both, rapidly swish open and as the two were silently invited to enter into the glassy interior, a courteous lift was accepted by them both as they eagerly stepped into the glassy case.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Every inch of Leah's simulated skin seemed to tingle with absolute desire as she allowed Prince Lament to lead her towards the large kingsize bed which sat in the center of the room almost expectantly as it waited patiently to accommodate their harmonious, celebration of passion which as Leah now knew, was definitely going to happen that very same night.  ~ Jill Thrussell

No ropes of restraint appeared to exist as the two made love over and over again and it almost seemed to Leah as if the passion inside of her was unlimited because it had somehow, provided her with an endless source of energy which had silently dissolved any tiredness that she had felt just moments before.   ~ Jill Thrussell

Somehow, any fatigue that Leah had felt, had slipped from her now rejuvenated body which seemed to energetically burn with flames of desire and embers of passion as her veins surged with passionate excitement, her skin tingled with sensual delight and nothing but total pleasure swirled around inside of her.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Time and time again, Leah climaxed in total ecstasy and as her heart raced with excitement, her own sensual desires conquered her form as passion gripped every inch of her being and it almost felt to Leah as if their own desires seemed to hold them both captive as they spared not even a single thought for anything or anyone else, except for each other and that particular moment in time.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Every inch of Leah's body as she lay down felt almost completely worn out from the day's activities inside Spectrum because almost every minute had been action packed and full of surprises and so her fuel tank of excitement had run on a full load virtually all day.  ~ Jill Thrussell

However, deep down inside, Leah also knew as she prepared to rest that even though she had satisfied every ounce of her being, she definitely hadn't satisfied Zidane that day in any capacity at all but as she began to drift off to sleep, she vowed to make it up to him and to deliver more appreciation, passion, romance and love to his heart in the near future.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Since Leah had now completed Spectrum, she had stepped on the first stepping stone towards success and professional achievement and so, she hoped that once the walk-through tests were complete that would take her onto another financial stepping stone which would bring the couple closer to the realization of their future hopes and dreams.  ~ Jill Thrussell

"Did you collect all of the ten keys of courage from the Bravery Trail that were scattered around inside the forest and nailed to trees?"  Gretchen asked.  ~ Jill Thrussell

"If you give them to me, I can give you this bottle of courage which will help you to face your fears and it should even help you to overcome them."  Gretchen offered as she slipped her hand inside her black robes and then pulled out a small silver bottle.  ~ Jill Thrussell

"This bottle of courage my dear is made from the essence of bravery and it can temporarily disable all your fears."  Gretchen clarified as she held the small silver bottle up in the air.  "If you drink this liquid which comes from the forest dew and the forest raindrops both of which contain essence of bravery, you won't be scared of heights anymore, well not for a while anyway.  ~ Jill Thrussell

"Yes, courage is generally one of life's sweeteners.  When bravery fills the heart and then holds on to one's hand, life really can be much sweeter and far more enjoyable."  Gretchen replied.  ~ Jill Thrussell

For the remainder of the week as Leah faced her tasks and days an invisible gown of guilt seemed to adorn her person and so, she completely avoided the Spectrum capsule as she mulled over her seduction by the various fictitious characters that she'd met inside the artificial worlds that she had created.  ~ Jill Thrussell

In some ways, Leah now realized that those fictitious wanders had created a distraction in her mind because they had disrupted her real life routine as fiction had spilled out into reality and then had saturated her evenings and nights with sensual exchanges which bore not even a whisper of anything real and that did not involve the one true love of Leah's very real life who had almost been completely ignored in the interim.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Essentially, as Leah already knew, Zidane simply couldn't compete with any of the invisible challengers inside Spectrum or with the way that they made her feel and that meant, the competition that he was now deeply immersed in which was one that he wasn't even remotely aware off, was absolutely impossible for him to actually win due to the heightened sensual sensations on offer.  ~ Jill Thrussell

An unromantic threat definitely lingered around Leah's days that was very real because if the couple's relationship was totally destroyed through her own lack of romantic action that would render all their sacrifices so far, not only worthless but also absolutely meaningless and it would break their future into a million tiny pieces of regretful heartbreak because the present's fictitious betrayals on Leah's part could ultimately, jeopardize and destroy the couple's potential future joys. ~Jill Thrussell

The shameful reality was that Leah's mind and body had never felt so invigorated, so alive or so sexually aroused before because some of the men that she had encountered inside Spectrum had invoked deep passions inside her during those highly sensual moments that had not only infiltrated but that had also penetrated and gripped all of her senses with a clamp of desire that had been hard to escape from.  ~ Jill Thrussell

However, as Leah already fully appreciated, her sensual adventures during her sexual exploration of self, would not save the couple's relationship, if and when those intimate moments were actually discovered because their relationship was not just Leah's own to enjoy and destroy as she wished to with no consequences, since that relationship was a shared romantic commitment between two hearts not one.  ~ Jill Thrussell

So in some ways, Leah actually felt quite hopeful as she waited for the sleeping gas to penetrate the interior of the capsule because the completion of the prototype would ultimately, ignite the couple's future plans which had lain dormant in the background of their lives for so long now that it almost felt as if each one was buried under a large pile of dust from the particles of stagnant inaction that had accumulated and settled in the interim with absolutely no interruptions or any disturbances.  ~ Jill Thrussell

The pebbles, Leah immediately noticed as she stood up, were a wide variety of shades and colours which seemed to range from dark charcoal black to light grey and as each hard-stony symbol of solid rebellion sat silently upon a bed of dark brownish sand, it almost looked as if each one was in direct opposition to the sandy, grainy, soft makeup of the sand and absolutely determined to cover every inch of it up.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Rather tragically it seemed, the spiky, jagged rocks that tightly surrounded the wreckage as the sea gently lapped against the carcass of the ship, silently indicated to Leah that their stony presence had somehow been responsible for and had actually caused the ship's actual demise.  ~ Jill Thrussell

However, none of the treacherous rocky lumps from what Leah could see, showed any signs of regret or remorse nor did any stony one of them appear to want to take any responsibility and in fact, each one looked almost triumphant as the rocky surfaces proudly poked out from between the watery waves in a stony, outward display that glistened and shone as rays from the sun bounced off each one which almost looked like a silent celebration of their stony victory.  ~ Jill Thrussell

For a moment as Leah came to a total standstill just a few seconds later, once again at the edge of the first dark corner and the rotten table, it almost felt as if hope had not only set sail but as if it had now almost fully abandoned her mind's bay of curiosity because she felt that very little chance of success remained.  ~ Jill Thrussell

However, Leah began to hopefully visually search the corner once again as she tried to clutch onto the last few thin, short straws of hope that still remained inside of her that it might actually contain something useful that related to the scroll which could perhaps help her to solve the poetic riddle inside it.  ~ Jill Thrussell

In the end, despite all Leah's hopes, there had been no actual survivors and nor had there been any treasures to be found inside the skeletal rotten remains of the ship because the musty vessel’s only real occupant had been death which had clung to every particle of air and splinter of wood inside its interior as the souls of those lost, had silently and invisibly hung over her head.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Each deck that Leah had explored had felt haunted by those lost souls along with every rotten wooden plank that the unseaworthy vessel had initially contained and very sadly, all that she had found on the shipwreck itself had been the skeletal remains of a crew member that might possibly have been the captain of the ship at some point and even those bony remnants had later, rather mysteriously, totally disappeared.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Due to Leah's reluctance however, to brave the waters of the bay once again in the pursuit of any answers each question remained silently locked behind her lips because it had now become quite apparent that she had freed the skeletal captain and his ship from a bony, rotten eternity of perpetual decay.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Although Leah's liberation of the captain and his ship didn't answer all of her questions, it did satisfy her mind to some extent since it had ultimately, now provided her with comprehensive answers to both the captain's riddle and the skeleton's absence and so she quietly fully accepted and processed his sudden reappearance which had actually been not only a surprise but really quite a delightful surprise.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Somehow, not only had Leah finally managed to light the furnace but she had also found the skeleton's warm heart and she had released both the captain and his ship from the wrath of the bay which had taken not only his fleshy life but which had also held his ship captive for so very long that the rot, mould and dust on the wooden planks had become a permanent fixture.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Intriguingly for Leah that day, she had learnt how anger could capture someone, hold them hostage and keep them captive until their lives and being rotted away completely and unfortunately it appeared, the captain and his ship had been held captive by anger for so long that both had not only lost but also forgotten, due to decay, their once magnificent existence which had now been fully restored.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Upon Leah's face there was a smile of satisfaction as she watched the ship slip through the entrance of the bay as she hoped that the captain's soul would sail across the seas until he found a much happier place of rest where both he and his ship could perhaps spend a far more pleasant, much more peaceful eternity because from what she could see, the angry waves that crashed against the jagged rocks in the Bay of Wrath, certainly weren't peaceful or pleasant.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Although Leah still felt quite fascinated and intrigued by the captain and his ship which now looked like a visual delight, she quickly shook off that fascination with the once battered, bruised shipwreck that had slept a rotten sleep upon a bed of jagged rocks that had ultimately, held it captive as she turned to face the rocky bay cliff faces that surrounded her and then prepared to move off again.  ~ Jill Thrussell

The cave however, offered an acceptable compromise to Leah as it tunnelled itself rather comfortably into one of those rocky cliff faces and committed itself to an actual exploration of the interior of that stony surface and since it would provide her with a means of progression that didn't involve any high jagged climbs or any potentially dangerous slippages, Leah nervously approached the entrance and the darkness that lived inside of it as she attempted to bravely swallow her fears.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Unfortunately, however, the stagnant darkness, total stillness and absolute silence that lived inside the cave and that occupied the entrance to it, gave absolutely no indications that anything inside the cave was actually alive or to be found inside its interior as that dark, silent stillness neither committed to Leah's search for signs to proceed or offered any promises to her curiosity.  ~ Jill Thrussell

For a few seconds Leah paused just inside the entrance to the cave where she stood completely still and then just listened to the drips which would plop into her ears now and again, every time a watery drop fell from the ceiling of the cave as each sporadic drip seemed to provide a polite but irregular rendition of watery comfort to the stony emptiness that each drop had managed to discover, drip into and find.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Some uncertain pricks of curiosity needled away inside Leah's thoughts that jiggled and somersaulted through her mind as she more fully explored the cave's stoney confines and, in some ways, her impatience to find answers, almost made her feel like a small, impatient child that danced around on the spot to avoid a urinary accident whilst they waited an uncertain length of time for access to an occupied toilet.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Unfortunately however, no immediate answers presented themselves to Leah's mind as she swiftly concluded that the amount of impatience that one felt and internally possessed, even if it rose and grew significantly, didn't seem to have a direct correlation to the length of an indefinite wait or have any actual impact upon the duration of it because any potential answers seemed to remain absolutely silent, completely motionless and totally indifferent to her far more impatient expectations.  ~ Jill Thrussell

The humabear concluded as he shook his head.  "Pirate ships aren't generally liked by the seas at the best of times and that particular pirate captain had done something very bad, so the seas in the Bay of Wrath gathered very strongly against his ship and the angry waves crushed it against the rocks to destroy not only the ship but also anyone that was on board the vessel at that time."  ~ Jill Thrussell

Rather curiously for Leah however, she noticed that Bearciple seemed to skirt around the questions that she asked with quite vague explanations which appeared to offer no real commitment or any comprehensive answers to her curiosity as he somehow, avoided a detailed in-depth discussion about what exactly she would be shown as he guided her around the Caves of Reflection.  ~ Jill Thrussell

Some of the quotes from Spectrum from the old website.

Spectrum: Detour of Wrong Additional Quotes

Spectrum: Detour of Wrong Soundtrack Songs

Intellect User Repair Quote from the published book:

The constraints placed upon Resolve by his role within Intellect now suddenly frustrated him however as he began to grapple internally with his own desire to be more, do more and live more because he had watched human beings live their life to maximum capacity for three decades and experience so many different things.  ~ Jill Thrussell