I must admit this chapter is mind-enchanting.


It requires a lot of thinking about.


Well done, haywhaie.

zinnyzee:
I must admit this chapter is mind-enchanting.


It requires a lot of thinking about.


Well done, haywhaie.

Thanks a lot. I really appreciate your encouragement. It helps a great deal, believe me.

Have a wonderful day ahead, dear.

Haywhaie:
Thanks a lot. I really appreciate your encouragement. It helps a great deal, believe me.

Have a wonderful day ahead, dear.

And you too dear.

I already have a list of new words from your write up that i'm gonna look up in d dictionary.

Reading your work is really a new experience compared to what i'm used to on here.

zinnyzee:
And you too dear.

I already have a list of new words from your write up that i'm gonna look up in d dictionary.

Reading your work is really a new experience compared to what i'm used to on here.

Thanks.

wow!! following to the end you gat your self a fan.

Following.

No.1 fan here again today.


Bring it on OP

5
Long Night I: The Colorless Blue Band

There are members of the elite who didn't participate in the night's ritual. They stayed behind to enjoy themselves in the main house, dining and wining, and nodding to the music in the background, as they laugh and gist, having a nice time without having to share the same space with the lowly masses. Some of them are in the House of Janet just to have fun. The participants of the Red Room rituals still have their masks on. They will have to wear it throughout the night in order not to blow their cover. Jay, however, takes off his own mask. He closes the door of the Red Room behind him. It is made of the highest quality gold, studded with gems of a rare kind and different colors, following an alignment reminiscent of the rainbow, albeit only in color sequence, not in shape. Obviously shipped in from the Middle East, perhaps through a wealthy Saudi Prince. He can imagine the amount that must have gone into making this much change since the last time he was here. They are quite good at spending, and pretty much enthusiastic about it. Too bad their money can only take them so far. They can't buy the Elixir of Life. They must surrender chunks of their souls in exchange. Faust sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for all the secrets of the cosmos. It is about time they made the Faustian pact, the very one he made long ago, that sent him plunging into the abyss. This time, not only will he be among those making the pact, but he will be the one in charge, and he won't be making the mistakes of the past. The Psychologist of transmutation and transcendence, verging on becoming a God of the Mind.

Their minds still yet to recover from the "Jay Fright" of the red room, the tall figure of Alex and the aura of mystery he exudes give the mentally fatigued elite quite the quivers. Tall and a bit darker than Jay, with quite the baby face, Jay prefers to call him cute than handsome. He gives Jay a knowing glance, and the other responds with a nod. Give them the fücking apples. Immediately, he retreats to the stage, the spotlight beaming light onto him...... and the other three members of his band that have been waiting on the dark stage all the while. He's quite the clumsy one. He has the flair and vigour of John Lennon, his role model, but doesn't seem to be quite as good in the Charisma department. To him, trying to explain his lack of Charisma is admitting to his own lack of something Lennon actually had. Rather, he believes Lennon's appealing aura diluted his truths and watered them down, while his own crude presence complements his raw truths and allows their conveyance in their barest form, untainted and unaltered.

Alex chose for his group a rather curious name, The Colorless Blue Band. It is modelled after John Lennon's The Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music. For a band that never makes use of anything with the color blue, be it instrument or custome, it has always been unclear why they would choose such a name. But it begins to make sense when Alex explains that the Blue stands for their inner state, not the color of their exterior. They are externally colorless, but blue deep within. Their souls are always In the Blue, whenever they get In the Zone to perform on stage. The Blue represents the pitiful state of humanity, the solitude of the species, the sufferings of thousands, the grimness and sorrow that grip the world, the darkness contaminating the bright light, the conscious state of sadness they automatically enter when performing, in angry protest of this reality, which has always been the theme of their songs, and their penchant for attacking the entities responsible for such a world, the very elites in this grim House.

...BLUE; the world WITHOUT HOPE...

Jay has always seen Alex as a clown performing a circus show, an unnecessarily angry Mr Angry. But he loves his passion, and finds it amusing, however lacking in charisma and appeal his friend may be. He has always been that way since their primary school days. They finished from the same High School, Kings College here in Lagos. They both went for further education in the UK. He would eventually finish with a First in Psychology from Glasgow, while Alex graduated with a Third from Cambridge Law. The only thing Alex seemed to be excellent at was his hatred for the elite, and his incessant verbal attacks on them, which has never proved convincing enough to persuade anyone, not even Jay himself. Well, save for a few morøns like his band mates, Jay would often point out. Femi is the third person in their circle, and the only one of the three not to have been privileged to have a prestigious educational background. He finished from Osogbo Grammar School in Osun State, and would go on to Study Mathematics in Obafemi Awolowo University, bagging a Second Class Degree. The International Olympiad Competition was what brought him into contact with the two, and they have remained good friends ever since.

Jay has always found Alex's penchant for attacking the elite an amusing one. It is for this reason that he so desperately looked forward to having him perform here tonight. Not because he agrees with his ideas and the outburst they inspire, but because of the importance of the manner of delivery for furthering his own goals. Another psychological assessment of his Red Room patients. How would they react to Alex's scathing statements? How much have they evolved? He needs to keep giving them the lethal those to kill off their psychological vulnerability. It's not like he cares about their ambitions, but he must lead them successfully towards the elixir if he must become the Phoenix King. Let Alex do the magic tonight. Give them that Apple. The forbidden fruit. He should shoot the rich with words that sting their senses and pierce their skins. After the pleasure and debauchery of the Red room, they should feel the gloom and soberness of the Blue Band.

He has never really cared about Alex's leftist word view. Afterall, he sees him as just another fraud selling snake-oil. Another fücking hypocrite. Another fake. He claims to be a liberator of the masses, but even that is a bold-faced lie. No wonder no one follows him. Who would want to follow a fake that doesn't want to admit to his fakeness? He spreads revolutionary propaganda, but Jay only sees a craving for success in his eyes. He claims to be on the side of the nobodies, but Jay sees a man who secretly craves recognition, whispering to those who care to hear: I am not a nobody. I want to die a somebody with the nobodies as my stepping stones. He is just as Machiavellian as the cruelest thief, as Hobbesian as the most heartless yahoo boy. But he has no reason to indict him. He's not alone in his dishonesty. It is what everyone has to do to be great. Capitalism became successful because it is the system that went just as crude as humanity is. Even Karl Marx was another charlatan who was looking for a means to make a name for himself. After the editors of New York Herald Tribune refused to increase his munificent salary despite his constant appeals, Marx desperately looked around for a way to be relevant, and that desperation gave birth to Marxism. It was never about the people! Alex himself was a failure in School, and isn't it rather interesting that he is a Marxist too? The patron saint of Left-wingers Ernesto Che Guevara was sincere enough, “I am not a liberator. Liberators don't exist. The people liberate themselves”.

All so-called liberators of humanity are fakes and charlatans. But there's nothing wrong with that. And it's fine if Alex wants to be one of them. There are no good people and bad. Nobility is docility. Only the mad people count. The rest are contemptible entities.

A fraud; that's what every sincere human being is. Only losers see the world through the prisms of good and evil. There are only the insane geniuses and the sane fools. And the latter are nothing but pawns in the former's game.

Alex strokes his guitar, and the dancing strings draw all attention to the effect of their movements. Everyone goes silent. Jay snaps out of his thoughts and focuses as well. It's time for the Blue Band to go Red.

"Yes, the apple....", he says with excitement.

Update.

Happy Sunday.

Cc. zinnyzee
MhisTahrah
Martinez19
Solly01
Abiiiike
Optimist1998
sampz

Mehn, this is getting more interesting and thought-provoking. I look forward to more updates.
Few misspellings here and there.
You're a natural at this.

MhisTahrah:
Mehn, this is getting more interesting and thought-provoking. I look forward to more updates.
Few misspellings here and there.
You're a natural at this.

Thanks, dear.

epic

Where are you

zinnyzee:
Where are you

I am here now.

Will start writing asap.

Haywhaie:
I am here now.

Will start writing asap.

Okay.

Make it snappy.

zinnyzee:
Okay.

Make it snappy.

I just posted it, but anti-spam got me.

Haywhaie has been banned.

I want to know what caused the ban before I repost it with this one, otherwise, I may get banned on this one as well, and since this is the last of my monikers, there will be no updates if it gets banned.

Obinnau, Divepen1

I posted an update of my story just a moment ago, but I got banned by the anti-spam bot.

Can you help me look into it? I'm planning to repost the update with this moniker, but I want to be assured that the same thing won't happen if I do that.

The banned moniker is Haywhaie. If there's anything you can do about it, kindly do it asap. Thank you.

Obinnau & Divepen1

Thanks a lot guys! My post was restored and my account unbanned.

But it got deleted and I got banned again just now when I tried to edit it.

6
Long Night II: The Modern Orpheus

His guitar suspended on his shoulder, Alex stretches out his hands in a way suggestive of a ritualistic session, muttering inaudible words, before raising up his right arm and extending it outward, as if trying to pluck something in the air.... Jay's metaphorical apple. He restores his grip on his stringed instrument, looking on with a determined soul and an expressionless face. He wields an Archtop guitar, also known as the "Jazz box", which is rather odd for a rock performer like himself. An Archtop is a steel-string acoustic guitar with a big soundbox, arched top, violin-style f-holes, a "floating bridge" and magnetic or piezoelectric pickups. It is his favorite instrument, his trademark equipment, even though it is more commonly found among Jazz performers due to its suitability for their musical genre. He sees it as a way of selling his own uniqueness and expressing his maverick nature and lack of conformity. Of his four band mates assembled behind him, standing stone-faced in front of their respective tripod microphone stand, two wield a harp and violin respectively, while the two others both wield the more rock-oriented solid-bodied electric guitars, both of whom are already plucking the strings of their instruments in preparation for their murderous performance.

Alex's dexterity with his guitar is quite similar to Orpheus' skill with his lyre. Orpheus was a legendary figure in ancient Greek myth, the son of Calliope, mother of the Muses (the nine goddesses of the arts and sciences), and Apollo himself, god of light, music and reason. Orpheus played the lyre in a way that enchanted everything that heard his music. Trees and rocks would move closer to him, rivers would stop in their path to listen, and the storm of turbulence in the wild animal's soul would be made calm. People at war would drop their weapons and embrace peace. Similarly, Alex has a way of playing his guitar that gets into people's souls and imposes silence. When not performing with his treasured instrument, he carries it on his back like an Asian warrior heading out for battle. And, indeed, he has committed numerous metaphorical murders with the dances of his magical fingers on solid strings, and, on one occassion, a literal one too; when one of his music teachers dropped dead when he heard him play in one of the classes for the music course he took while in Cambridge.

Alex played his guitar at a frequency that resonated with the old English man's soul, resulting in a fatal effect of his Stendhal Syndrome; a psychosomatic disorder named after the 19th century French novelist, Stendhal, who fainted after visiting Florence's Basilica of the Holy Cross (Santa Croce), full of masterpieces by the likes of Giotto. Stendhal Syndrome is a "disease" that targets art lovers and represents a kind of overdosing on too much beauty. It causes a rapid heartbeat, chest pains, dizziness, hallucinations and usually concludes with the victim fainting. It's also known as hyperkulturemia {meaning "an excess of culture in the blood"}. It actually led to the unfortunate death of the poor man. When asked what he thought of the tragic occurrence, Alex described it as a beautiful moment of art, and stated his belief that the man must have gone to heaven. As he joins his band mates in strumming his guitar, he scans the club through rapid high movement, wondering if someone here tonight will be going to heaven.

The band launches their attack on the house. This time around, they won't be performing any of their own songs. They have come to pull a John Lennon on everyone here. The performance of John Lennon's song Gimme Some Truth explodes into action.

I'm sick and tired of hearing things
From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocritics
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth
Ive had enough of reading things
By neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth

No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dicky
Is gonna mother hubbard soft soap me
With just a pocketful of hope
Money for dope
Money for rope

...............

I'm sick to death of seeing things
From tight-lipped, condescending, mamas little chauvinists
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth now

I've had enough of watching scenes
Of schizophrenic, ego-centric, paranoiac, prima-donnas
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth

....................

Ah, I'm sick and tired of hearing things
From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocrites
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth now

I've had enough of reading things
By neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth now

................

He performs with much passion and ferocity. Each word, each line, accompanied by a sign, a gesture of contempt, directed at the audience, with the intention to get them riled. He wants them to think, to feel, to burn. The music is more than just the lyrics. His body language, his glare, their meanings, they all scorch. The COLORLESS BLUE BAND throws pebbles of vitriol that beam with gloom. The dancing fingers pluck apples from vibrating strings and feed the audience with fatal music.

Jay observes the situation with glee. Alex's music has the same magical and beguiling effect as Hitler's Oratory powers. But it works only on the weak-minded and suggestible, which is the psychological weakness Jay wants to test the Red Room ritual participants for.

He can already see the gloomy effect it's having on them from their facial expressions indicating that they're spiritually lost. It brings back memories of their deepest fears. The present situation of the club would have been described as being trapped in the devil's room, if they had not just returned from a communion with Lucifer himself. Jay observes them both in disappointment - falling short of his expectations of them as veterans of the Red Room - and delight - seeing the opportunity to get rid of their psychological inadequacies, take credit for their spiritual liberation, and get the elevation he so desperately craves.

Jay observes his energetic friend and smiles. Cursing the elites is not the only thing Alex is good at afterall. His skill with the guitar and overall musical talent are second to none. He might have failed at school, but he's quite extraordinary at what he does. Yet, was he really a failure at the University? He had always been the archetypal musician, right from childhood; his fascination with musical instruments, his obsession with church because of them at the time, even though he's now an atheistic Marxist. His parents wanted him to have a bright future, but as a prestigious Lawyer, not a low-class musician. He studied Law at his parents' behest, but being the rebellious one, he focused on something else, his true calling. He wanted to do Soul Music, the music of light that dispels the darkness, the symphonies of justice. He needed neither a Law degree nor a University to accomplish that. He believed himself to have come down from heaven with a PhD in Law. The Laws of life and the Constitution of the world were written in his veins. Who needs a University?

It was because of this very orientation that Tomilola left him for Jay who placed no importance on the Bro Code that prohibited him from having a romance with the ex-girlfriend of his close friend. His anger toward Jay seemed to have died when she left Jay too, because he became destitute. Despite this, there's always this tense atmosphere between the two men, a communication between their souls, a spiritual exchange that their tongues and mouth can't convey. And while he has no grouse with Alex's activism and secretly considers him a fraud seeking relevance, he doesn't know what his friend thinks of his very own ambitions, which he knows Alex is very much aware of. Perhaps, if his revolution succeeds he'll have Jay sent to the guillotine alongside the filthy elite, having the sweet revenge his silence has always whispered, but that he never really talked about.

As Alex continues his performance and screws with the minds of his audience, Jay hears a familiar voice that attracts his attention.

"This guys must be joking". A fair lady in sultry dress. Almost no make-up, save for the blue paint on her lips, and her well-drawn eye-brows. Her cleavage glints, with the flesh exposed in her mammary region suggesting the perfect boobs. She is wearing a short gown exposing her laps, hanging over her right shoulder, and falling to the side of her left. Jay catches a glimpse of her wedge and wonders how tall she would be when she stands. Her eyes catch his, and upon taking a closer look, a realization struck him.

"You again?"

Tohzara:
I just posted it, but anti-spam got me.

Haywhaie has been banned.

I want to know what caused the ban before I repost it with this one, otherwise, I may get banned on this one as well, and since this is the last of my monikers, there will be no updates if it gets banned.

Wow.... If it's anti spam bot that banned you, i don't think there's much you can do about it.
Perhaps you should ask Lalasticlala what's wrong?

I think the Seun's anti spam is being biased.

You're a freaking good writer, it'd be a shame not to get updates from you again.

zinnyzee:
Wow.... If it's anti spam bot that banned you, i don't think there's much you can do about it.
Perhaps you should ask Lalasticlala what's wrong?

I think the Seun's anti spam is being biased.

You're a freaking good writer, it'd be a shame not to get updates from you again.

I'm fücking frustrated. Tohzara has been banned too. I had to open another account.

I don't understand this anti-spam.

The moderators actually did something earlier, and I was unbanned on my Haywhaie account. They even restored my deleted post. After that I tried to edit it to remove the "winking" emoji that I thought wasn't supposed to be there, and I got banned again, the post deleted.

I attempted reposting with my Tohzara moniker, and anti-spam struck again.

Teecrudest:
I'm fücking frustrated. Tohzara has been banned too. I had to open another account.

I don't understand this anti-spam.

The moderators actually did something earlier, and I was unbanned on my Haywhaie account. They even restored my deleted post. After that I tried to edit it to remove the "winking" emoji that I thought wasn't supposed to be there, and I got banned again, the post deleted.

I attempted reposting with my Tohzara moniker, and anti-spam struck again.

Wow... Personally, i think that anti-spam is not really necessary.

So what's gonna happen now?
Can you post with this one?

zinnyzee:
Wow... Personally, i think that anti-spam is not really necessary.

So what's gonna happen now?
Can you post with this one?

I can. I hope it doesn't get banned too, though. Lemme try.

Teecrudest:
I can. I hope it doesn't get banned too, though. Lemme try.

Please try.

I just read this chapter for the 6th time... And something tells me this is actually the beginning of the book.


But then, do you think you could cut out a little on explanations?
They seem to be taking too much of the writing space and they make me drift off from the original reading.
I appreciate them tho, alot actually. They're needed, but then let it be minimal.

Another nice writing i must say.
Thumbs up!

7
The Krypteia and the Red Tube

He knew it. Approaching him at the amusement park yesterday, like an unpleasant wind blowing at is face right out of the blue, he knew she must have had some connection with his purpose for being there. Who is she exactly? Is she Abass' girlfriend? Did she come with him to the park? But they didn't act like the they knew each other. Perhaps, there's nothing personal going on between them. Maybe they're just partners, fellow errand people for members of "The Inners".

"I'm guessing you're not surprised?" She gives him an oblique glance that unnerves him a bit.

Seductress. Jay briefly observes the man sitting next to her on the same table. Clad in obviously expensive agbada with quite the unusual designs, with a befitting cap complementing his blue native attire. A politician? He can almost swear he has seen him somewhere, but his back is turned, so he can barely see his face. Did she come with him? Her sugar daddy? He finds it weird how comfortable and quite the man is, despite his own presence, which he seems to be very much aware of. Certainly one of the big weights of the elite class. They pay attention to nobodies. His comportment says it all. That also means he wasn't part of the night's Red Room ritual.

"What is the point of that question? What were you doing at Dreamworld Africana? You came for the particular purpose of taunting me, didn't you?" Jay notices the frown forming on his face. He has it diluted by raising his eye-brows.

"I came for you."

"What do you mean? Me? You knew I would be there? Were you working with Abass?"

"I heard your story, and I wanted to meet you."

"But you did nothing meaningful, and didn't talk to me about anything. Well, you did talk about my missing buttons, and my faded shirt." He can no longer conceal his anger. He glares contemptuously at her. "What was the point of that encounter?"

"I knew you would be coming here, and also knew we would meet tonight, so I wanted to create a memory of me in your head, one shrouded in mystery, so that when we meet here, you would have a lot of questions, and would have a reason to interact. I would attract you."

"I see. And indeed, I'm curious about you." The smile comes from nowhere. "You're quite interesting."

She offers him a glass of Champagne, while she refills her already empty glass. He takes a sip of the drink, and notices a difference in the taste, as compared to taking it in the Red Room.

He puts his glass on the table. And stares intensely at her, this time admiring her beauty. She looks a lot like Bianca Ojukwu, the wife of the Former President of the defunct Republic of Biafra.

"So, you are..."

"I'm Onyinye from Anambra State," she interjects with a seductive smile. "I work with the Nigeria Police Force. Rank ASP."

Jay feels so delighted meeting her. What a lady. She has the beauty. The shape. Assumptively, the smarts. The curves. And quite the job. And she knows about him. About his exploits. About House of Janet. She's more interesting than he expected. He's fascinated by her.

"Meeting you is such an honour, Onyinye."

"I am more delighted." The smile again. Jay is beginning to love it. But maybe she isn't trying to seduce him. It's probably her style.

He moves a bit closer and whispers to her. "Who is this man?", looking in the direction of the man in agbada.

"He's the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Olusola Alaba. I am his escort....."

"Wow...."

".....as well as his girlfriend." She grabs Jay's hand and draws him closer, wearing a smirk. "And you're really not bad, Jay."

****************************

In a dark room, four black figures are sittted. There's barely any sliver of light making its way into the room.

"The new contract is quite a colorful one," says the first man.

"Another blood to seal in the red tube. But this time, it is no ordinary blood," the second man interjects.

"This is just the perfect opportunity for satisfying a craving." A female voice. "I've always wanted to do him in. I can't remember the number of times I've strangled him in my dreams."

"Everything is working just fine. I have drafted the final plans. We'll be moving in an hour's time," promises a voice which seems to be the leader's. "What's the state of the Red Tube?"

"600 ML occupied. 400 ML until we're ready to launch", the second man reports.

"The Krypteia." The leader continues. "When we started the project, I never knew we would be getting more than money from it. The Krypteia has been a more effective way of powering the Red Tube. We couldn't have laid our hands on so many ‘special bloods’. There are very few ‘green cells’ around. And only those guys could identify them."

"Being the ones to get the contract is a great fortune indeed." The first man expresses his excitement.

The Krypteia is a deadly Spartan tradition described by the Greek-Roman biographer and essayist, Plutarch. It means "hidden, secret things", and might also be regarded as the Spartan secret service. It was a practice whereby the magistrates dispatched the ablest of young Spartan warriors to way-lay and ambush the dominant, aggressive, rebellious, troublesome ones among the slave population, so as to prevent sedition and revolt. At other times, they stalked the villages to root-out such elements. There are different methods that were tried out and implemented. It was all in an attempt to keep the servile population under control, and rule out the possibility of a rebellion.

The four figures move out of their seats, and as the door of the room opens in front of them, light rays hit their respective faces.

"The Red Tube is waiting for Alex," declares the lady among them, amidst grin. Fixed eyelashes. Black lip paint. Thin eyebrows.

zinnyzee:
I just read this chapter for the 6th time... And something tells me this is actually the beginning of the book.


But then, do you think you could cut out a little on explanations?
They seem to be taking too much of the writing space and they make me drift off from the original reading.
I appreciate them tho, alot actually. They're needed, but then let it be minimal.

Another nice writing i must say.
Thumbs up!

Thanks a lot, dear. I'll do something about the explanations. Maybe, I'll start adding a glossary at the end of each chapter?

Chapter 7 is out.

Cc. Optimist1998
Solly1
MhisTahrah
Abiiiike
Martinez19

Haywhaie:
Thanks a lot, dear. I'll do something about the explanations. Maybe, I'll start adding a glossary at the end of each chapter?

Chapter 7 is out.

Cc. Optimist1998
Solly1
MhisTahrah
Abiiiike
Martinez19

I've read chapter 7 too.
It's very self explanatory.
How many chapters do you intend to write? Because i think you're slowing it down a bit.

zinnyzee:
I've read chapter 7 too.
It's very self explanatory.
How many chapters do you intend to write? Because i think you're slowing it down a bit.

I don't even know. You know when I started, I told you guys that I'll be making it up as I go along. I had no plot. No outlined storyline. But it's beginning to take shape now, the more chapter I write. I can already picture the end, and now have the exact storyline I want to work with.

I don't think the chapters will be too many. Nevertheless, I will increase the length a bit in the next update.