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The Novae Terrae, volume 2 - first excerpt

"The Novae Terrae, volume 2: Power War", by Bloodwitch Luz Oscuria
"The Novae Terrae, volume 2: Power War", by Bloodwitch Luz Oscuria

This is the first excerpt from my novel, "The Novae Terrae, volume 2 : Power War", in its version translated by Andreea Mirică.

The first law governing the fate of the insane was promulgated by Jean-Etienne Esquirol, founder of the Organization of French Psychiatry, in 1838. This had also allowed the creation of treatment centres in each and every corner of the country, for those who met the criteria for insanity. Thus, these singular people have acquired the right to be treated as patients. After various changes to the original law, on December 18, 1839, what were up until then called asylums became public establishments, specialising in the treatment of the most severe mental disorders.

In 1941, both electroshock and lobotomy, among other practices, were created. In 1952, the first antipsychotics were distributed. And the nuns left these establishments in 1964. Today, the asylums of days gone by are called mental hospitals, with all that name implies in the minds of people. Truth be told, nowadays we like to evoke specialized centres, rather than alluding to asylums. For those who are more cautious about these somewhat unusual centres, let us point out that some celebrities have died there, such as the Marquis de Sade, Camille Claudel or even Guy de Maupassant.

But today is not about any particular personality. Today, the one who has just entered Esquirol Hospital, so appropriately named after the creator of the first law on the fate of these singular people, is Tomasz Wlidùcious. Since the moment he was put in this establishment, his mistrust grew worse. He does not know what he is doing here, and at the same time, he cannot remember who he is, let alone what happened to him.

All he remembers is waking up surrounded by four men, leaning over him and coming from he does not quite know where. He did not recognise the place where he regained consciousness. And, by the time the police took him away, after handcuffing him, he barely had time to notice a coffee table in front of a sofa and a bookcase in which he saw boxes. He could not have known what they were exactly. He was taken down the stairs outside, then through a courtyard before leaving that house and being pushed into a police vehicle.

He remembers being taken to a hospital, where he was given several tests, one of which he found peculiar because he had electrodes stuck to his temples. As surprised as he was hesitant, he let himself be carried throughout these tests. He also let everything be when he was asked to sit in the hallway alongside the police, awaiting the results. As a nurse approached him, one of the officers next to him intervened. He vaguely heard that he was suffering from amnesia, which really surprised him at the time. But since hearing what was wrong, no matter how hard he tries to remember what happened before he passed out and the police woke him up, he has not yet been able to do so.


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