What does it cost to live in a world where tomorrow always brings joy? That question sits at the heart of Tomorrow Brings Joy: Elysium, the debut novel from brothers Mahyar A. Amouzegar and Mahbod Amouzegar. Published by University of New Orleans Press in 2026, the book is set more than two centuries after the Wars of Settlement. It presents a future that has solved scarcity, family, and most visible suffering. Humans are born in batches and raised in communal Farms by android caretakers and a handful of human teachers. They live in pods of six or seven until age twenty, when they enter adult life with personal apartments, unlimited synthesized goods, and a companion android tuned to their emotional needs.
I have been told over and over that no one would be interested in what I have to say, that I am the “wrong kind” of minority to count. That my ancestors’ tales of enchantment and wonder—and so, mine—are irrelevant. Yet I know better, and I refuse to listen to anyone except the little girl inside me, the one who needed to see herself and share her magic, to know she belonged and that her brown skin was as beautiful as her Sanskrit name. Who believes that myths and mythic fiction are meant for, and reflect, all of us.
