Synopsis
Traces of Terror
a manuscript by s. nason & m. anderson
Synopsis
Brothers Jack and Todd Johnson own a successful, high-end video gaming & technology company that has recently developed a process that will revolutionize gaming. Their new technology allows for the recording and playback of basic human emotion and feeling. Video gaming meets adrenalin junkie. It is, with no equal, the ultimate in virtual reality.
As the initial research progresses from exploring simple adrenalin based memories such as skydiving and bungee jumping, to more complex and sometimes violent interpersonal interactions, Jack and his brother become increasingly concerned about the possibility of residual after effects. Do these pre-recorded memories have any lasting effects and if so, to what degree? (Not to mention a whole host of Corporate liability issues.)
Specifically in relation to some of the more violent memories; boxing, cage fighting and even worse, Jack is of the opinion that--no matter what you may experience--you cannot alter your own internal moral compass.
An opinion that his brother Todd does not share.
The outcome of conversations on the topic was a bet - wagered for a single dollar. (Over the years the single dollar bet had become a symbol to them; mainly of the absolute clarity of clearly defining a winner and a loser.)
Always eager to prove his brother wrong, Jack opts to do some testing on his own. His plan is to push the edge of the moral envelope and return unscathed. But he rushes too quickly to make his point and fails to question where some of these--hastily retrieved--memories actually came from.
And so Jack unwittingly ends up experiencing the sociopathic sessions from a sexually deviant serial killer known as the Lipstick Killer. The resulting imagery and emotion are so fervid and intense that even after the simulation ends, Jack is left questioning the line between his own feelings and those of the killer.
With the Lipstick Killer once again in the news and on the loose, a new string of grisly murders are under investigation and, to Jack’s horror, each murder occurred during one of his--now all too frequent--blackouts.
Desperate for answers and with nowhere else to turn, Jack tracks down the person responsible for the original recordings -— the Lipstick Killer's publicly appointed psychiatrist. A woman that Jack will ultimately fall in love with. A woman already targeted and stalked by the Lipstick Killer.
To save his newfound love, Jack is forced to make an unthinkable decision. The decision to face his worst fears and once again, experience a playback of the killer's memories. He knows it's the only real chane he has to save her, but at what ultimate cost?
Traces of Terror takes us on a terrifying journey to the edge of self-control and drops us face to face with the killer inside of all of us.
The story is a technological thriller that contains strong language, sexual content and violence. Traces of Terror combines elements of suspense, adventure, mystery and science fiction.
Join Jack on this mental merry-go-round with a crazed serial killer and experience his horror from the safety of your own cozy reading chair.