Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Discovery of Bacteria (2)
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Benjamin Brisbane.
He's the guy lying in bed right now with a broken arm. Benjamin stared at the healer speaking right in front of him.
"What....... Yeah, well. They cut open my arm and nailed the bone, so of course it's gonna hurt."
Honestly, he thought the man was insane. What kind of healer talks like that? Sure, he corrected himself a few seconds later.
But he wasn't mad or anything.
The nurses at admission had warned him he might lose the arm entirely, or at least it might end up useless.
After they gagged him, though, he could wiggle his fingers, and the searing pain in his arm vanished. The surgery itself had been pure hell, but the outcome was satisfactory enough.
Well, this healer probably felt secure enough to joke around like that. He'd done a solid job treating him, and the results spoke for themselves.
Benjamin slowly, very slowly, flexed his injured wrist and fingers. It still hurt, but they moved.
On the day it broke, he hadn't been able to budge them at all.
The arm seemed to be recovering decently. I stepped out of the ward with Estina.
"Still, the patient's doing well."
"Yeah."
"It really feels like a breakthrough! Just disinfecting the patient and the operating table with alcohol to stop wounds from festering."
You could see it that way.
I nodded.
"Once I publish this paper, every hospital in the empire will do surgery our way. Handwashing and clean tools are basics, after all."
"Makes sense."
Estina replied brightly.
But even a graceful swan has to paddle furiously beneath the surface. Then again, with that black doctor's gown, she looked more like a crow.
Anyway. Reaching the goal meant hard work ahead. To prove bacteria existed, I'd need a microscope, Pasteur's swan-neck flask experiment, and...
Lots of hurdles to clear.
Microscope. The microscope was the issue.
I'd pulled an all-nighter sketching out a blueprint somehow. No clue if the focal calculations were right. There was something about diopters, but that was beyond me.
Anyway.
I'd drawn up the blueprint.
"Estina. If you were a clockmaker, could you build a microscope from this?"
"I'm not a clockmaker, so I wouldn't know. But I think so. It's way simpler than a clock, isn't it?"
Probably.
It was technologically feasible. They just hadn't seen the need to stack magnifying lenses for 100x magnification. Nothing in this world really called for it.
Until now, at least.
Once everyone learned about microbes and how they caused disease or decay, they'd all rush to build microscopes.
Even in the molecular biology era, Gram staining classification was still used to sort bacteria by color and shape. It was the most practical and yielded quick results.
"Who knows—maybe someone could whip one up just from a verbal description. Let's go with this for now."
I nodded.
Stains should be easy enough to source. Identifying bacteria types via Gram staining wasn't far off.
"Good."
"Then...... I'll take this."
Estina carefully took the blueprint. I stared at the back of her head.
If only I had ten more grad students. Then I could handle patients perfectly and run research without a hitch.
Too much to do.
This was when the thought hit me desperately: grad students. Just ten of them. Research would speed up several times over.
I brainstormed ways to snag some grad students.
Sure, I could wait until classes started, but who knew how long it'd take for students to be wowed by my lectures and sign up.
There was a faster way.
"Princess. Grant me one favor."
"Professor Asterix...... what now. Let's hear the nonsense this time."
"Hook me up with some grad students."
"No. Get your own."
"Come on, Princess. One word from you, and you'd have a truckload of grad students lining up. My life's better, the empire's scientific future's brighter—win-win!"
"What's a truck, you lunatic?"
"It's—"
"You treat my authority like a rubber band. One minute 'Princess is no big deal,' skipping titles. Next, 'one word from me lines up grad students,' huh."
Couldn't argue; she had a point.
"It's for the empire's future."
"Handle it yourself. Why always dump it on me?"
"No, Princess."
Mint wore an amused expression.
"Fine, suppose I cooperate. What exactly do you want?"
"Put out an announcement. Say I'm recruiting grad students. With your halo effect, they'll line right up."
Princess Mint pressed her temple.
"Lunatic. Just hearing it hurts my head."
"That bad?"
"Ridiculous. Borrowing the princess's name for grad-student bait?"
"Grad student recruitment is crucial."
The princess shook her head.
Knock knock. I rapped on Professor Klaus's lab door, then eased it open cautiously. Colleague or not, you couldn't be casual with someone old enough to be your father.
"Professor Klaus."
"Ah, Professor Asterix, the new arrival. What brings you today?"
"I'm giving a lecture soon, presenting a new theory to the students. I came to ask if you'd join the class."
Professor Klaus scratched his beard.
"That. Announcing a new theory to undergrads? Is that necessary?"
"Students are just props; the research matters. Think of it as a discussion among peers. Undergrads might learn something too."
"Well....... If I have time, I'll listen from the back. After class, we can talk about that new device you made and your research."
I bowed deeply to Professor Klaus. What a remarkable man. He accepted what could have seemed rude, and even considered the students' perspective.
Chalk. Been a while since I held any.
Actually, I had no real memory of using chalk. Wonder if it'd write properly.
"Estina. Take roll call after class."
Estina nodded.
"I've thought long and hard about how to run this class. In the end, I decided teaching my ongoing research straight-up is best."
My chalk scribbled busily.
-Causes of Disease.
Today's lecture: causes of disease.
I scanned the classroom slowly, but Professor Klaus hadn't arrived yet. Hope he shows.
"Diseases can be broadly divided into four types based on cause: infectious, deficiency, genetic, and physiological."
I looked around the room.
"What do you think causes epidemics?"
The classroom buzzed.
Estina sat up front, but she dodged my gaze. Came all this way and wouldn't answer?
"You there. Answer."
I pointed at someone random. A guy dozing in the front row snapped his head up.
"Uh, me?"
"Yes."
"Uh....... Plagues come from unclean environments and bad air, I think."
Half right.
"Social context matters for disease outbreaks too. When a patient comes in, checking background and occupation first is spot on."
The student nodded.
"In conclusion, most infectious diseases come from tiny particles. Pathogenic particles can be in the air, water, or food."
Had to be a hypothesis against conventional wisdom.
The buzz grew.
"Professor. Can we observe those tiny particles?"
"Not with the naked eye."
"Blaming disease on something unprovable seems unscientific. Unclean air, though—you can smell it, sense it."
"......"
This little—kid was sharp.
Wrong, but sharp.
"What's your name?"
"Oliver."
I nodded.
"Oliver, that's a sharp observation. Proving microparticles cause disease would require procedures and evidence."
Plenty of methods.
Some I could demonstrate right now.
"If we hypothesize that, how would we prove or disprove it? Estina."
"Eh?"
Estina dropped her pen.