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“In
1815, at the infamous London hospital for the insane, the two doctors running
the place have a problem. They have a patient who claims he is Christ returned
– a common malady for the time – but after a couple of incidents at the
hospital which shocked and amazed the staff [and some patients], the two
doctors are at odds with each other over the strange man who calls himself ‘Osiris
Kemet’. Jericho Tibbs and team 74 are on scene because souls are going missing.”
Episode Warnings:
Alcohol
– Smoking – Strong language – Sexual references [including references to sexual
assault] – Strong Violence [including medical interventions that today would be
classified as torture] - Horror.
Author’s notes
about this episode:
[1]
This episode is COMPLETED but currently NOT PUBLISHED.
[2]
This episode contains some anti-religious sentiments which might disturb some
readers.
[3]
The original Title for this episode was: ‘DIVINE MADNESS.’
[4]
A ‘Temporal Detectives’ original story.
[5] Illustration is a sketch found by the author with NO artist or Copyright details apparent. If you know anything about this please contact the author via his website: https://stephenjohnwilliams.blogspot.com
[6] There is NO Alexandra version available.
Episode details:
Concept
date: 1st April 2021
First
published: Unavailable
Status: COMPLETED BUT UNPUBLISHED.
Location: BOOK SERIES 0 – EPISODE 0.
Revisions: 2 [Last revised May 2023]
Version:
In Review.
Published
Episode No. 000
Previous
episode: None.
Next
episode: None.
Age
recommendation: 15+
Average
reading time: Approx. 45 Minutes.
Angel-in-charge: Margret
Team Assigned: Team 74
Human Time: 1815AD-1230AH
Mission: 1
- 716490 - 4 - 1815
Episode Preview:
Mr. Grimly [Doctor Oak’s assistant] checked the leather straps a second time as the patient squirmed and twitched on the table, a wooden block for a pillow which held his head in place. The thick restraining straps kept his constantly shaking body in place. The patient – a certain Joseph Threadwheel, aged 22 from Deptford in London and a former house painter – struggled against his bonds with no success. Mr. Grimly forced open Josephs mouth and fitted the leather gag with the nozzle hanging out. He tightened the clamp and – satisfied - connected it to the small hose and hand pump. He checked the big water bucket and swirled the brackish water with his hand. He turned to Mr. Jacobs [Doctor du Pans assistant] and told him to fetch the good doctors. The young man smiled and stopped picking his rotten teeth and sauntered off, knowing that the asylums two principle doctors would be in the women’s section in the West Wing and probably attending to fifteen year old Rosie who has suddenly ‘miraculously’ found herself pregnant. She couldn’t name the father: she was deaf, dumb and illiterate. Surprisingly she was the third ‘miracle’ pregnancy this year alone!
Mr. Jacobs did indeed find the two good doctors outside the heavy padlocked door that led to the section which incarcerated the female patients. He tipped his hat and mumbled that Mr. Grimly was ready. Doctor Gerald du Pans nodded and told Jacobs to tell Grimly they would be there shortly. He turned back to Doctor Oak’s and tapped his thick notebook with his well chewed pencil; “Definitely five months my friend.” He lowered his voice and waited for Jacobs to depart fully from the corridor, then added; “I fear one of the orderly’s are abusing the young female patients and it could be one of a dozen. But we need to take action.” Doctor Oak’s slowly nodded, the large obese man was thinking about lunch and he pushed both hands into his straining trouser pockets and muttered; “Maybe we should fit the naughty little things with a Chastity belt or something; I saw one at my uncles castle up in Dumfries. Strange looking thing but effective apparently…….”
The loud sigh from young Doctor du Pans stopped the big man in mid sentence. “I think we should find the culprit and have him up before a judge; these women are in no fit state to agree to illegal intercourse.” [The good doctor was referring to laws – at this time - that allowed sexual intercourse in marriage only!] Doctor Oak’s nodded his agreement and wondered if the cook’s totally wonderful treacle pudding was on the menu today. Then he saw the look on his young colleagues face and now smiled a little, coughing; “Yes, you are quite right Gerald. I’ll speak with Lord Well’s [the asylums Chairman of the Board of Governors] about the most delicate matter. Now I’m sure you’ll find this treatment fascinating: it’s new and revolutionary being applied in hospitals all over France I believe.” He chuckled to himself; “Do you get that pun Gerald? From France and it’s revolutionary!” [Note: the French Revolution was less than thirty years old at this point in time.]
Gerald managed a slight smile; he was well experienced in his colleagues supposed ‘sense of humour’. The pair walked on past heavy locked doors behind which came screaming and crying that echoed around, almost filling the corridor. At the end of the dimly lit passage sat a big man, smoking a pipe; it was Thaddeus, a senior orderly. On the small table by his chair laid a newspaper next to the yellow flickering lamp and a large leather cosh which was well worn and had clearly seen a lot of use over the fifteen years that its owner had worked asylums. He rose from his chair and smiled; “They all seem agitated today doctors, won’t settle down; something has them spooked.” He sucked on his pipe and blew smoke to the ceiling. Both doctors nodded, the strange happenings occurring around the hospital over the last week or ten days had certainly rattled the poor patients. Some had reported seeing and speaking with angels, and more fearfully, devils and demons. One woman – old Meg – had confessed to speaking with Jesus Christ himself and had transmogrified from from a screaming, babbling psychotic, mad old lady to a quiet and thoughtful women who asked the doctors politely if she may return to her family as Christ had cured her!
The transformation in her character and condition had been incredible, but Lord Well’s had refused her application saying it could only be temporary and since the good Lord Jesus went to heaven almost eighteen hundred years ago, it wasn’t himself performing the cure and besides, old Meg claiming to have met and spoken with the Christ proves she was still in need of care! [In modern parlances; that would be known as a ‘Catch 22’ situation.] Lord Well’s closing argument was that, he, as a close personal friend of the Archbishop of Canterbury would have been told by Charlie about the return! [Charles Manners-Sutton, 1805 – 1828.] Doctor du Pans had groaned at that revelation, his Lordship’s opinion of himself was far higher than reality actually confirmed.
The other pressing matter that his lordship procrastination over the new patient who claimed his name was ‘Osiris Kemet’ and that he was Jesus Christ reborn. A slightly Arabic looking fellow, well over six feet tall with a full beard and long hair, who was dragged in shackled from his court appearance, having been found too insane to plead to his crimes which consisted, well, basically, of telling people he was Jesus Christ. Found preaching around the east end and the London Docks, it was assumed he had decamped from some foreign ship and was clearly quite mad. No family or friends could be found and so ‘Osiris Kemet’ was committed to the Bethlehem Hospital, a patient for their new ward for the ‘criminally insane’ [‘Jesus’ had been charged with Blasphemy which was a serious criminal offence in these times and the law was only repealed in 2008!]
Doctor du Pans examined him three times and declared that he couldn’t find any insanity, except his constant claim that he was Jesus reborn and was not really a threat to anyone. Both Lord Well’s and doctor Oak’s disagreed and thus ‘Jesus’ remained banged up in a small dark cell which had no window, chained to the wall by his feet. Everything had been taken from the young man and he languished naked on the straw that was his bed. He was supplied with a wooden bucket for his ablutions and a single coarse blanket for warmth, and each morning [and sometimes in the afternoons too] a couple of orderlies would appear and taunt him to which he just smiled and blessed them. That usually ends with a good beating and a bucket of cold water thrown over him. They would also stop his rations if he particularly annoyed them: although thin soup and mouldy bread wasn’t much, they hoped he missed it. Strangely enough, he didn’t seem too and that really annoyed them.
Doctor du Pans was shaken from his thoughts by Doctor Oak’s gesturing him into the ‘treatment’ room and saying; “It’s basically a detoxication procedure, water is pumped in until the patient is full and then he’s allowed to piss it out. The normal thing to do is apparently have three or four treatments each day for about a week. Unfortunately the Frenchies report several fatalities but says it has had a marvellous effect on some of the minor cases with patients becoming quite normal suddenly.”
Doctor du Pans just nodded and kept what he was thinking to himself about the effectiveness of such a treatment; “I believe and understand it was invented by the Cardinal that ran the Holy Spanish Inquisition.” He muttered to himself and followed the large doctor into the ‘Treatment Room’.
“All incidents and dialogue, and all characters with the exception of some well-known historical figures, are products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Where real-life historical figures appear, the situations, incidents, and dialogues concerning those persons are entirely fictional and are not intended to depict actual events or to change the entirely fictional nature of the work. In all other respects, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.”
CAUTION:
“SOME OF THESE EPISODES CONTAIN VERY STRONG LANGUAGE, VIOLENCE, HORROR AND SEXUAL REFERENCES. Some are RECOMMENDED suitable for persons aged 15+ years only.”
THE AUTHOR.
Copyright © 2011-2024 Stephen Williams. No reproduction of any part without permission.