Once Upon a Space – Time

By Stephen Anthony

In this compelling narrative, seven exceptionally talented individuals, each excelling in distinct fields, find themselves together in a psychiatric hospital. Here, they are under the care of an empathetic doctor who strives to help them confront their personal challenges and fulfil their aspirations.

Their journey takes a turn with the arrival of an anorexic girl, who inspires them towards an action that has the potential to alter the world. However, their plans are threatened by two characters determined to thwart their efforts.

Intriguingly, the story is peppered with numerous references to George Orwell’s 1984, presenting a sort of literary treasure hunt for readers. Yet, in contrast to Orwell’s dystopian vision, this tale leans towards a more utopian perspective. It is also imbued with elements reminiscent of fairy tales, adding layers of depth and whimsy to the narrative.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Mar 28, 2024
• ISBN: 9781035815272

Stephen Anthony

Stephen Anthony is Irish and married, with two children. He lives and works in Toulouse, France. Prior to moving to France he worked in England. His hobbies include cycling, reading science publications and writing short novels and poems. Stephen would like to change the world with his work, influencing teenagers before they fall into the trap of the adult world where apathy prevails.

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About the Author

Stephen Anthony is Irish and married, with two children. He lives and works in Toulouse, France. Prior to moving to France he worked in England. His hobbies include cycling, reading science publications and writing short novels and poems. Stephen would like to change the world with his work, influencing teenagers before they fall into the trap of the adult world where apathy prevails.

Copyright Information ©

Stephen Anthony 2024

The right of Stephen Anthony to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781035815265 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781035815272 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2024

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®

1 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5AA

Dedication

To the cosmos; to its life supporting ability; to youth’s purity and exuberance.

To my mother, a beautiful pilgrim soul and my father, a beautiful mind.

To their love which produced a stardust unique in the universe.

To my brothers and sisters, Stephanie, Damien, Caitriona and Anthony. What would I do without you.

To my upbringing that taught me the order of things. And the Marxism; ‘from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs.’

To my beautiful wife, Monia, my Habibi, who saved me from myself on many an occasion.

To our two sons, Hassan and Ahmed, our greatest creations.

To the importance of family.

To twenty-one Iveagh gardens and its occupants.

To all the people who helped me throughout my life especially when my ‘black dog’ was raging.

To doctor Albert Danan who keeps the ‘black dog’ at bay.

To his secretary Agnes.

To the French health system before the predatory politicians got their hands on it.

Everyone with mental health issues deserves the care I have had.

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank Austin Macauley Publishers for their help in getting this work published.

I would also like to thank all my family and friends for their invaluable support.

Chapter 1

Once upon a space-time, PlayStations were being seized illegally by the WAR all over the world. Millions of parents, who had never protested before, took to the streets. Emmanuel Kant T-shirts were outselling Che Guevara ones by two to one. A Kandinsky painting had just sold for one billion dollars. Schoenberg’s three piano pieces were a hit in all the music charts. Telescopes were selling like hot cakes. Advertising was a crime. LINUX had just taken thirty per cent of the Windows market. Hairdressers were closing down and being replaced by meditation centres. Food was arriving, unexplainably, to the famine-stricken regions of the world. It had started. The world was awakening to a new dawn. No one had predicted it and no one knew how to stop it. Was that not what capitalism was all about? Giving the people what they wanted. But who decided what the people wanted? The people? What people and how? Of course, advertising helped. It was circular logic of the highest order. An alchemist’s dream. An idea became a product, something tangible. And if everything worked out, it sold and you got money to help make more of your ideas into products people wanted.

Chapter 2

A hunter’s moon hung just above the horizon. It was going to be a busy night at the Menninger psychiatric clinic. She had received seven new patients. None of them spoke. They were all around seventeen. And they shared a common dream. Or nightmare, more precisely. It was their eyes that struck her. Strangely, they all had translucent irises. There was a splendid array of colours, from honeydew to pistachio to stone blue. Aided by nurse John Weeman Bettelheim, she showed them to their rooms.

Chapter 3

Next morning, Doctor Hunter sat down with Doctor O’Rourke to brief him on the arrival of the seven patients. Doctor O’Rourke was the clinic’s head psychiatrist. No one was better at getting the happy chemicals circulating in a despairing mind again. ‘What approach are you going to use, Doctor Hunter, Freudian, Jungian, or Lacanian?’ asked Doctor O’Rourke. ‘Macmurphy’s,’ she replied immediately. ‘What do you mean by that?’ he asked. ‘Do you remember