Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Finally Pasteur (3)
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The experiment wrapped up in just two days.
The two swan-neck flasks had been covered with black cloths to prevent spoiling. Even I had no idea what was inside them.
"Hello."
Once again, the students who had come for class stared at me intently. The lecture hall was packed today, and I even spotted a few graduate students.
Word must have gotten out about the experiment.
At least no other professors were around. That was a relief. I walked to the center of the room, and the hall fell silent in an instant.
"Truth be told, I haven't opened them yet either."
No need to drag this out like some variety show. I turned around and pulled off the cloths covering the two swan-neck flasks...
"Ah."
The results were just as I'd expected.
Exactly as we'd discussed. There was no reason for them to differ from Pasteur's conclusion. We'd replicated the experiment almost identically.
The open swan-neck flask showed some mold and wriggling maggots. The one sealed with water, on the other hand, showed no real changes.
A brief silence followed.
Then sighs erupted from various corners of the lecture hall.
"Well, there you have it. The conclusion is clear."
Murmurs filled the room. Some students blurted out questions outright—probably grad students scouting for intel—while others raised their hands, and a few whispered among themselves.
Anyway. The conclusion was singular.
I was right. Again.
With so many questions, answering them one by one would take too long. I returned to the podium and locked eyes with Estina Ivyheart. She wore a triumphant expression, as expected. The experiment had succeeded.
"Any questions?"
Plenty.
Murmurs.
"Do you believe this disproves the miasma theory completely, Professor?"
"Does that mean the substance causing decay is the same as what causes disease?"
"Could the water sealing the swan-neck flask have blocked the miasma? Did you account for that possibility?"
"What angle will you take in your paper?"
A headache.
"You all aren't undergrads, are you?"
Obvious, right? Undergrads are supposed to be clueless. No way these question-askers were undergrads. They had to be spies sent from rival labs.
"I'm Anne, master's student under Professor Kropelter."
Anne's self-introduction dominated the far side of the lecture hall with that single line.
Me (Anne) had come to battle that guy (me). A declaration of war. And the students seemed to respect it.
"A spy, huh."
"What's a spy?"
"Just ask your question."
Anne cleared her throat awkwardly.
"Uh, yes. Professor, do you see this experiment as completely refuting the miasma theory? Doesn't that mean gases aren't the cause?"
Completely. A word no scientist should use. It implies the possibility of traps. Science has no absolutes, no irrefutable theories.
"I don't think gases cause it. But that doesn't mean the miasma theory is entirely wrong. There are probably diseases caused by bad air. The issue is what's in that bad air. I'm saying airborne particles are the problem."
Anne nodded.
"One moment. The airborne particles you're talking about are so tiny and fine that they can only be proven indirectly, right?"
"Well, if you're talking about magnifying air to see it, that's impossible for the foreseeable future."
Unless electron microscopes come along.
Anne looked at me as if she'd anticipated it. Of course, I'd foreseen this counterargument too. I even prepared a perfect rebuttal.
Just wait a bit, Anne.
"Professor. Specifically, how small do you think these particles are?"
E. coli are about 1 micrometer.
A very small size.
"Dozens of times smaller than a hair."
"Even with cutting-edge equipment, direct observation is practically impossible, correct?"
I nodded.
"Without culturing, it's realistically tough. But with culturing, we can handle bacterial colonies, making them visible or stainable at least."
This grad student was grilling me, but it was better than those just marveling in awe.
It gave me a chance to think about what it takes to convince skeptics. Opponents' thought processes aren't scientifically analyzable, so I needed to observe closely.
"Your claim still doesn't escape its original flaw. Positing particles too small for modern equipment to observe as the cause of disease is more complex than miasma theory and creates an unfalsifiable proposition."
Occam's razor.
The scientific principle that, among hypotheses explaining a phenomenon, the simplest one takes precedence.
It's simpler to assume the air itself is the problem than invisible particles floating in it.
Logically sound on the surface. Logically only. After all, airborne particles do exist—that's the phenomenon.
"Miss Anne. Isn't it proven fact that gases dissolve in water and can pass through water barriers? The experimental group was exposed to 'miasma' but not to particles."
Anne pondered that.
"That's true."
"Estina. Do you know an experimental way to verify Miss Anne's doubt from just now?"
"Uh, no?"
It's fine. I do.
Thinking I just copied Pasteur's paper would be a mistake. I'd anticipated even this rebuttal and come prepared for class.
"Miss Anne. Come to the front of the lecture hall. If airborne particles exist, they'd naturally spread through the air, right?"
"Well... yes?"
Victory for me again. I pointed to the microscope in one corner of the room.
"Take a look, Miss Anne. Look through the microscope and explain to everyone what you see."
Anne peered into the eyepiece.
"Ah."
Bacteria aren't easy to see, honestly.
To observe bacterial structure, you need at least 1000x magnification. Our microscope is only a few hundred times at best.
We can barely confirm their existence, not identify their traits.
But.
Mycelium or mold larger than bacteria changes everything. With our current equipment, we can discern mold's fine structure.
Ever heard of mold?
Spores—the fungal organs that spread particles causing decay. If Anne grasps this, the debate ends.
Evidence of decay: mold. We've observed mold spreading decay-causing particles, and samples exposed to airborne particles decay—experimentally verified.
All rebuttals crushed.
"Uh, some fine plant-like structures..."
Ah. Anne clapped her hand over her mouth in realization. She gets it now, right?
"You see it?"
"Yeah, they're really there... This is a mold sample, right? These fine structures are organs for dispersing mold particles into the air—"
Exactly.
Quick on the uptake. Good.
"Mold's fine structure. For dispersing spores—in other words, decay-causing particles. You're seeing the structure that releases them into the air, correct?"
Airborne bacteria are hard to spot. But fungal spores are several times larger, observable even with crude microscopes.
"This is... wow."
"Is inductive proof sufficient?"
"You're right, Professor."
Anne nodded at that.
"To summarize: Evidence of decay is mold. As you just saw, mold has structures that disperse particles into the air. Blocking airborne particles halts decay—we confirmed that too."
The lecture hall went deathly quiet. Only the rustle of pens and paper.
"That's it. Any questions?"
None.
"Class dismissed."
Princess Mint flipped through the letters piling up before her. Normally, she received dozens of greeting cards, requests, or queries.
Lately, though, letters asking about that man had surged. Hadn't Asterix mentioned a scholar who said medicine is politics? She couldn't recall the details.
The empire's leaders seemed deeply interested in this paradigm shift in medicine.
The Baron of Lapis (the regent) must have been bragging everywhere. Liberation from the terror of cholera-like dysentery made for intriguing gossip among imperial nobles.
What was deathly fear for commoners became mere entertainment for the elite. Still, appreciating the problem and seeking solutions was commendable.
Well... I should have kept him in the palace after all. Otherwise, Asterix's value would skyrocket uncontrollably.