Chapter 111: Dead [1]
In the twenty-first century, death felt like a distant thing. Sure, everyone knew that since we were born human, we had to die someday… but for someone in their thirties like me, it still felt far off. Well, until I got a brain tumor and then got hit by a truck.
It’s different here…
In this era, death was always close. People could die suddenly, regardless of age. You might think that made it easier to accept, but it did not. It was not simple at all.
“Professor.”
“Huh?”
Liston was as relaxed as ever, for someone who regularly cut off limbs. Especially when it came to decisions about disposing of bodies.
Sigh.
Then again, maybe thinking about these things too deeply was pointless here. Everyone was just… indifferent. Their moral compass was completely different. It was not unreasonable to say we were still living in an age of barbarism, even if it was only one or two hundred years ago.
“How are death row inmates executed?”
“You’ll figure it out.”
“I mean… what if it doesn’t work? What if I handle it but they don’t die?”
“Huh? What are you talking about… Oh. Hmm. That would be a problem, yeah.”
The only consolation was that, despite everything, a doctor was still a doctor. I was not saying Liston had the mindset of one, but even he had probably seen cases where people declared dead later turned out to be alive. That really happened. A lot, actually.
But for a death row inmate… what a miserable way to go.
“Call Blundell.”
“Yes, sir.”
You would think hanging guaranteed death, right? Surprisingly, it did not. Sometimes, their necks did not snap. They simply passed out, suspended by the rope. With no blood reaching their heads, they lost consciousness. And at an execution site, how could you tell if someone was dead or just fainted?
Help me…
They would get stuffed into a coffin and left there until there was a place to bury them. So what happened if, as you walked past, you suddenly heard a voice crying out for help? Or knocking sounds inside the coffin?
Terrifying.
And often, the guards standing nearby were the same people who carried out the execution.
I passed out! Help me!
Sometimes, they were rushed to the hospital, still alive. Usually, no one cared enough to follow up, but Blundell did.
So someone almost got buried alive? Shouldn’t there be more punishment for that?
That was the kind of thing he heard when he ran to check. Speechless. Seriously… calling Premature Burial “a punishment”? There were things people did to each other, and things people should not do.
Of course, I was the only one who thought like that. Blundell had a different perspective.
No, that was not it. Shouldn’t we make sure people were really dead before burying them? Especially innocent citizens… oh, those didn’t count?
Thankfully, Blundell’s work was not wasted. With support from the police and some nobles, he started conducting research. One idea was to attach bells to coffins, though that turned out to be a failure.
Hmm.
Liston’s comment reminded me of that case. When the bell rang, it was just gas buildup in the corpse causing movement. I had seen plenty of horrifying things as a surgeon, but I would never forget that day.
“Professor.”
“Oh, you’re here. What’s going on?”
Blundell was wiping blood off his hands with a towel. Not water, just a towel. Why was there even blood? I did not want to ask.
“Well, Professor Liston says there’s something we need to discuss.”
“Liston? What is it? It’s not about amputations again, is it?”
“Kind of…”
I explained the whole situation. As I spoke, Blundell’s face shifted dramatically.
“No way… You’re serious? You saved someone who was already declared dead? And it was a death row inmate?!”
The police told me to collect the body, so I went to the scene. Only the guy was not dead yet. I saved him… and somehow ended up stealing a criminal’s corpse in the process. Honestly, in hindsight, Blundell’s reaction was not unreasonable.
“Anyway, that’s how it went. We’ll need to confirm death at the hospital.”
“Of course. That has to be done.”
“We need your help determining death.”
“If that’s the case, I guess I’ll just keep making paperwork.”
“You were doing some research with that, right? Any progress?”
“None. It’s difficult. The best we can do now is leave the body in the morgue until it rots… and then bury it.”
Ha.
They called it a Morgue, but it was not what we thought of as a morgue. There was no temperature control, no refrigeration. They just left the corpses out. Bodies literally rotted before your eyes.
And it was not just disgusting. It was dangerous.
A plague is going to break out sooner or later…
The smell attracted flies and rats. And rats carried disease. Those germs would spread fast.
But right now, we had more urgent issues to deal with.
“Let’s go. We might come up with something if we put our heads together.”
“Yes, Professor. Thank you.”
“I’m glad you came to me.”
“Of course. Aren’t you the expert?”
“Well, technically, my specialty is obstetrics and gynecology… but whatever.”
We returned to the lecture room. Inside were Liston, Joseph, Alfred, and Colin, all supposed to observe or participate in the practical. I had insisted they get separate training.
“If the guy survives, wouldn’t it be easier to just kill him here?”
“That’s not a bad idea…”
The moment we stepped in, someone said something horrifying. Liston was even stroking his knife and nodding. I had to stop myself from yelling. These guys looked more like serial killers than doctors.
“What are you saying? Doctors don’t kill people!”
Thankfully, Blundell still had his sanity.
“That’s the job of the police. Let’s get someone from there.”
No… even by nineteenth-century standards, this was insane. Kill someone in the lab and then dissect them right there? What was the difference between you and Burke and Hare?
“Wouldn’t that be… uncomfortable?”
Then our ray of hope, Alfred, spoke up.
“What?”
People did not take him seriously, but he had been around Liston long enough to know how to speak carefully.
“I heard many of the students here are from noble families. They’re already on edge after the Edinburgh incident. If we kill someone in front of them…”
“Ah, right. Nobles. They don’t come alone. That could be… awkward.”
Awkward? That was what you were worried about?
Still, the consensus was: do not kill anyone here. That should have been obvious, but I guess we had to vote on it.
“Then we have to confirm death on-site.”
“Hmm.”
“Hmm.”
“Any reliable methods? Blundell?”
“Hmm…”
That conversation really highlighted the limitations of the time. Two professors. Four medical students. And not one person was confident they could tell for sure if someone was dead.
Even though Blundell was technically a professor… of obstetrics and gynecology.
“Well, there’s one idea.”
Oh? Didn’t he say earlier there was no progress?
“I recently acquired something.”
He pulled something from his bag, and my stomach dropped.
It looked like a knife. Or an awl.
“It’s a needle.”
A needle? Sure, if you were talking about a harpoon. It had a hole inside, but it was huge, thick, and heavy.
“I’m going to stab it into the heart.”
“…What?”
“Think about it. If the heart’s still beating, blood will come out through the hole. If nothing comes out, he’s dead. If it does, he’s alive.”
“But won’t that kill him anyway?”
“I’m talking about condemned criminals. It’s not something you’d use on ordinary patients.”
“I see… Clever, I suppose.”
Clever? I guess that was one word for it. But it felt more like guaranteed murder. That thing was not a needle. It was a weapon.
“Don’t the families of the executed ever come to collect the bodies?”
“They don’t. It’s already agreed the hospital will take them. These are violent criminals. We’ll get money from the hospital. Students pay part of it.”
So… it was okay if you paid for the body? I wanted to throw up. If blood spurted out when you stabbed them, then what?
Only the state could legally execute people.
Even in a brutal time, Britain banned personal vengeance. Social status might skew things, but the law stood.
And among us, Colin was the only one from a high enough rank to have legal protection.
“That wouldn’t be right. We can’t be the ones doing the killing.”
“Then why not have someone else stab them?”
“What if they miss the heart?”
“Ah… Well. That’s true.”
“There must be a more moderate method.”
Blundell was still running his hands over the awl when he turned to look at me. The others followed his gaze.
Why… me?
I was a surgeon. I was good with knives.
Wait… no. This could actually work.
What about a Stethoscope? Would that be hard to make…?
Footnotes
Translator’s Notes
Death row inmate — A prisoner sentenced to execution.
Premature Burial — Burial of a person who has been incorrectly declared dead while still alive.
Rust Bell — A coffin bell system meant to allow someone buried alive to signal for help; the glossary already records this as a failed safety measure.
Morgue — A place where bodies are kept before burial or identification. In this setting, it lacks modern refrigeration or preservation.
Stethoscope — A medical instrument used to listen to internal body sounds, especially heartbeat and breathing.