Chapter 158: Now We Have to Disinfect More... [4]
“Just take a look. Let’s observe it first, then discuss it. I’m still only speculating.”
“Hmm.”
“Alright... since you brought it up, I’ll take a look.”
The two of them chuckled as they leaned toward the microscope. It was as if they had read my mind; their reluctance was obvious.
These guys...
Honestly, did they know how frustrating this was? How much longer did I have to keep arguing against Miasma Theory and all that outdated nonsense?
“Okay, what is this...? It looks weird.”
“Maybe it’s only here?”
Even as they peered at the clearly visible clusters of E. coli, they reacted with skepticism.
Bastards.
Honestly, that sample from yesterday was basically a lump of feces. My diagnosis: London was about to be hit with a diarrhea epidemic, and I would stake my whole reputation on that. It was not an easy call, but I was confident. If the drinking water was in this state, it was inevitable.
“What if the same things we’re seeing here are also found on corpses? The ones they claim died from Miasma?”
I suppressed my irritation and pushed forward. The moment I mentioned corpses, Alfred’s face grew serious. Understandable. He had nearly died because of one.
“Hmm... Can you see it there too?”
“Exactly. It doesn’t show up anywhere else.”
“Then... maybe... Hmm. Is that possible?”
“That’s what I’m saying. Let’s suppose it is. If so, we’re one step closer to exposing the identity of ‘Miasma,’ and medicine moves forward again.”
“Yeah. Now that you put it that way, I’m kind of excited.”
Joseph, meanwhile, still looked as if he had bitten into something rotten. Maybe it was the smell. I thought I had gotten used to it, but a faint stink of feces still lingered in the air.
“No, but... hmm. Is it really? I don’t know.”
It did not matter if he did not know. He was dust in this world. Maybe it would matter someday, but for now, no.
“Of course we don’t know yet. But isn’t it worse to avoid trying new things just because of doubt? Look at our professors. Aren’t they enterprising?”
Well, the real problem was that they were conservative in most areas but randomly progressive in strange places. Still, there were always people trying something new, like Blundell or Dr. Liston. The fact that they had even discovered appendicitis during a dissection was incredible. Since almost nothing was firmly established in this era, people seemed a little more open-minded.
“That’s true. This doesn’t seem that difficult.”
“Exactly. Let’s remember this clearly. I might as well sketch it... Alright, let’s go look at the body.”
“Okay, then. Sleep well.”
“Uh.”
“Ah.”
“Why?”
“Throw away that water. It smells awful. What if it’s a clump of ‘Miasma’ like you said?”
“Ah.”
...Good point.
Come to think of it, I had had a mild headache for a while. I assumed it was from dealing with these idiots, but maybe it was the water. I was already used to their nonsense, so it had to be something else.
Probably the stench.
So I tossed the iron bucket out the window. It was practically like dumping sewage, but this was London. No one was going to care. Bad smells were the baseline here.
“Hmm... Fecal water... I saw something similar in Thames water under the microscope, right?”
The next morning, just after sunrise, I grabbed the microscope and the drawing I had made yesterday and went to see Dr. Liston. I could examine the body any time, but what came next was what really mattered.
Yes, the same bacteria, or whatever it was, had been found in both the water and the corpse. But what could I do with that alone?
If we talk it through, maybe we’ll come up with an answer. Even if we want to do animal testing, we’d have to catch or buy something first...
Even if this led to sterilization protocols later, I would need Liston’s backing. There was no point shouting about it on my own. But if the “First Sword of London” took up the cause, everyone and their dog would be washing their hands and sterilizing everything in sight. It would be smart to bring him in from the start.
“Yes. If it’s also present in the body, maybe this is what Miasma really is.”
“Hmm... But for that, we’d need proof that it actually causes inflammation, right?”
“Right...”
I thought it over again.
Research did not always have to be prospective. It could be retrospective too, right? What if we tracked people who drank from the Thames and got sick...
“Well, I guess there’s a way.”
Wow.
It really was Liston.
A genius was a genius. Even though the term “retrospective study” had not been invented yet, he had just come up with it.
“Either way, we shouldn’t stop here. Let’s investigate. This is a promising hypothesis. Personally, I hope it’s correct.”
Classic Liston.
Just listen to him. He was a cut above us mere mortals. My social status might be high, but his mind was wide open.
“Haha, I only trust you, brother.”
“I thought it was odd, even if I couldn’t explain it. A microscope. You’re not the kind of man to joke about revelations. This hypothesis is exhilarating. I haven’t felt like this in a long time.”
“You’re giving me too much credit. It’s all thanks to you, brother. If not for you, how would I even have borrowed the microscope?”
“Haha. So that’s how the story goes again?”
Liston chuckled and stepped into the Anatomy Lab. In the corner, a body preserved in Formalin waited. It was mainly for teaching my students, but bodies still trickled in occasionally.
Thank goodness it was all done with consent...
Not that I like this. But...
Still, it was true that having a cadaver helped when practicing surgery. In this era, where even the basics were shaky, cadaver dissection alone was not enough. If I wanted to teach anything properly, I needed something as close to a living body as possible.
“Shall we do this?”
Liston took over handling the body. I chose one and poured off the liquid that had pooled inside.
I could say this now: the smell in that room was on another level. It was already bad, but now, with the added reek of Formalin, it was awful.
“Yes, that’s good.”
Thankfully, no one here was weak enough to be knocked out by the stench. I scooped up a bit of the fluid and put it under the microscope.
Lord Damien... forgive me.
The more I thought about it, the guiltier I felt. But what choice did I have? That microscope had helped save his life. And considering the alternative was literally choking to death on urine, maybe I did not need to return it.
No, no. I’m starting to sound like Liston now...
I scolded myself for such nineteenth-century thinking and peered through the lens.
“There it is.”
It was teeming with bacteria. I could make out some dead cells, but I skipped over that for now. I did not want to overwhelm anyone with too much at once.
“Take a good look.”
“Hmm.”
Alfred, who had seen the same thing yesterday, leaned over.
“Oh... this...”
“Oh, wow. It’s really there.”
They were amazed, but honestly, the main bacteria were not E. coli. They were staphylococci. Luckily, the magnification was not strong enough to show the details, only the clumps. Without background knowledge, it all looked the same. Even my drawing was deliberately vague.
Just a white lie...
I glanced up at the ceiling, hoping for some forgiveness, then gestured for Liston to come closer. His face was serious. Understandably so, considering this might be the moment Miasma was debunked. I had always known it was nonsense, and the people behind me barely qualified as medical students, but for Liston, who had dedicated half his life to medicine, this was a turning point.
“Huh...”
Was that why he could not take his eyes off the microscope? Even after a long silence, he kept muttering.
“Huh.”
“Ha.”
“Hya.”
“This is it... You can really see it here.”
“Yes. If this is Miasma, if this is what causes disease, then we’ll need to clean every surface where this shows up.”
“So it’s not in the air... not a smell...? Huh. There’s been talk for a while about invisible organisms visible through a microscope. But to connect it like this...”
Even after stepping back, Liston kept murmuring, clearly deep in thought. I did not interrupt. His help would be critical if we were going to carry out a retrospective study.
No way ordinary people will just tell me what I want to know...
I held my tongue and waited until finally, he returned to himself and spoke.
“Let’s not stop here. Let’s verify whether this hypothesis is true.”
“Yes, yes. I have an idea...”
“Follow me. I need to get some water.”
“Wait, what? What kind of water?”
“The Thames.”
“Huh?!”
...What?
By the time I reacted, Liston was already running across the hospital corridor with a bucket full of Thames water and feces.
“Uh, where are you going?!”
“To the lecture hall.”
“The lecture... what?!”
The moment he said “lecture hall,” Colin’s face popped into my head.
No.
No way.
It had to be a coincidence.
Right?
I ran after him, praying. With his long legs, I had to half-sprint just to keep up. My mouth felt dry. By the time I caught up, he was already inside.
“Ugh, what’s that smell?”
Of course, the person at the podium was Professor Blundell.
Liston, solemn as ever, looked around at the students holding their noses and said, “This moment may be as important as the discovery of anesthesia... No, more important. We stand at the edge of a new era. Who among you would like to drink this?”
A ridiculous question.
But every single student raised their hand.
“Me, me!”
“Me!”
Lord... are You sure You’re watching this?