episode_0017

Episode 17. Academia’s Lunch (2)

****

The conference is over.

I ended up having to talk for over an hour in the lecture hall. Explain the microscope, explain the research samples, answer every single one of the rebuttals. My mouth hurts again today.

Istina seemed to be secretly happy that the conference had ended well. She had a smiling face.

“This is my first time going to that conference!”

“Really?”

Actually, this is my first time going there too.

Strictly speaking, it’s not the very first time. I’ve been to a few academic conferences in my previous life, and I’ve done some academic stuff when I was in the palace.

It started out as a pretense of looking at papers, but it turned into a tea party or drinking party.

When the sun was up, there was a tea party, and when the sun set, there was a drinking party. Now that I think about it, I feel like I really lived like a bum back then.

“Is that how it was originally?”

“I’ve only been to the Imperial Society-sponsored academic conferences, so I don’t know how they’re usually run.”

“How was the Imperial Society-sponsored conference?”

“Tell me the truth?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know either. Those fools always ran away before they could crack open the high-alcohol liquor.”

One of those fools was Violet, who I just saw. I don’t know why she suddenly had a change of heart and came to the Academy’s conference.

I guess I’m finally going to do some work. Instead of just sitting around all day trying to be a poker expert.

“What are you going to do next?”

Next up is Pasteur’s swan-necked flask experiment, which became evidence for the bacterial cause of putrefaction, and Lister’s aseptic surgical technique.

“Nothing special for the time being. Sterile surgery. And experiments to prove the cause of corruption.”

“Aha. You’ve already planned it out?”

I nodded. It’s a bit grandiose to call it a plan. It’s just someone else’s research plagiarized from a textbook.

“Go and rest today.”

Anyway, I have to start researching again tomorrow and I have to keep seeing patients. It’s a bit unfortunate that there are still no new graduate student applicants.

So, why aren’t there any graduate student applicants?

There were several reasons why I thought this was the case, but I decided to take it easy. It was probably because the students had no interest in their studies, and there weren’t many students taking my class yet.

The next day.

Professor Klaus visited my lab. I looked up. Maybe it was because of the paper we wrote together?

“Hello.”

“Thank you for your presentation yesterday, Professor Asterix. Well, I heard that you completely turned the stage upside down. It was so bad that it disrupted the conference.”

That kind of thing happened.

“Was it that much?”

“I don’t know what other people think, but I think Professor Asterix’s research will be the starting point of a paradigm shift. So do people around me.”

Professor Klaus sat down at my desk.

“Thank goodness.”

“What are your next research plans?”

“To conclude, isn’t the evidence that the bacteria we found under the microscope are the cause of disease and decay weak? We plan to improve that point. So that we can discern the cause.”

“In the patient?”

That doesn’t seem possible.

I can’t think of a way to do that. Let’s start by refuting the theory of biogenesis or the theory of odor diffusion.

“Gooseneck flask. Put the boiled culture in the same gooseneck flask. One end is open, and the other end is indirectly blocked with a gooseneck flask.”

“Then?”

“Block the lid of the gooseneck flask with water to allow air to pass through but prevent particles from passing through.”

Professor Klaus thought for a moment.

“Ah, the one exposed to the air will rot much faster. The latter, where the particles have a hard time moving, may not rot at all.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“From now on, there won’t be much time. Every medical researcher in the empire will see your paper and try to follow it.”

I mean, it’s a thesis that’s compiled like that. There’s no problem with following my research.

No, then shouldn’t I at least get royalties? I actually paid money to intervene. What kind of absurdity is this?

If the paper I wrote sells so well, you should pay me. Why am I paying for an academic journal to publish it? Maybe I should publish a book later.

That won’t give you even a little bit of royalties.

anyway.

Istina and I went to the clinic the next day. Classes are held only once a week. Usually, we have to do research or see patients.

Today is the time to see patients who will not be admitted to the hospital.

“Hello, Professor.”

“Hello.”

First patient of the day.

This guy is Benjamin. He was my patient last time because he broke his arm. He was discharged safely, but I’m not sure if he can move his fingers.

I’m not an orthopedic surgeon, so I can’t rule out the possibility that your fingers aren’t moving properly. Are they moving normally?

“Patient. Try this.”

I raised both hands and clenched and unclenched my fists several times in front of the patient’s eyes. Benjamin followed suit.

The bone is broken on one side.

The fingers seem to move symmetrically on both sides. The surgery went well and recovery is going well. This patient recovered much faster than expected. Is it because of the healing magic?

Or did the surgery go that well?

“I asked other people, and they all said that if it weren’t for you, the professor, I would never have been able to use my arms in my life. Thank you so much.”

Well, if I hadn’t had surgery back then and had just put a cast or splint on, I probably wouldn’t have lived more than a month with compartment syndrome and its complications.

“That might be the case. Does the patient have any pain in their arm or anything? How is the wound?”

“There’s nothing particularly painful. It just itches sometimes.”

“Never scratch.”

Benjamin lifted his arm to show me the stitches. It was still a few days before they could be removed. The wound wasn’t open or red or anything.

“Is it okay to move your elbow?”

“None.”

Benjamin moved both elbows this time. It seemed fine, but the infection could spread at any moment.

“Your arm looks fine. Don’t overdo it, and if there is redness, itchiness, or fever in the stitched area, go to the hospital right away.”

“Okay.”

“You should not overdo it with your arms, but if you don’t move them at all, the area around the surgical site may become stiff. You should move them moderately.”

My arm might hurt a little though.

Benjamin nodded.

“Thank you again. I didn’t know it would recover so well. I know someone who fell off a horse in the same way, and his arm was completely twisted. It was hard to move.”

Benjamin left the examination room after saying those words. Who was the next patient? Did many come?

There weren’t many patients coming for treatment.

Is it because there aren’t many sick people, or because the transportation isn’t that good, or because it hasn’t been that long since I came to this hospital?

One patient with a cold. One patient with early-stage syphilis. One or two patients with headaches who seemed to be just there to dodge. None of the patients seemed to be in a hurry.

– I have a persistent cough. I drank honey tea, but it didn’t help, so I just came to the hospital.

Three days’ worth of oral antibiotics and regular cold medicine.

– There’s a red spot there.

One shot of penicillin. Syphilis is a terrible disease, but surprisingly, it is not a big deal in the face of modern medicine. It can be easily treated with one shot of the most basic antibiotic.

– My head hurts.

The patient didn’t look sick at all.

I gave her some chocolate and lied that it was medicine. If she really feels sick, she’ll come back. It’s not like we can do a neurological exam here.

****

The morning has dawned again.

I guess there aren’t many sick people these days. At least, wouldn’t a patient who fell off a horse come?

Bang bang bang.

While I was dazed for a moment, someone knocked urgently on the door of the examination room. After a while, Istina poked her head into the examination room.

“Professor! Who is looking for you?”

“Who is it?”

“It seems like an important person.”

Istina grabbed my sleeve and dragged me out of the examination room. What the hell is going on?

I followed Istina out… … .

Two winged reptiles stood on the roof of the Academy. One of them spread its wings at the sound of our presence.

“What’s the situation?”

“Wyvern Dragoon.”

The wyverns moved aside, and a man in black plague doctor’s garb emerged from between the wings. He lowered his mask.

Surprisingly, he was just a person.

“Priest, healer Hedwig.”

“Professor Asterix. Former Chief Healer of the Imperial Court.”

Hedwig cleared her throat.

“Professor Asterix. There is something that requires you to come as soon as possible. It is serious.”

“I will listen and decide.”

“A heterogeneous plague is spreading in a city near the capital. They say the city’s cemetery is already out of coffins. They’re all gone.”

There is not enough coffin.

Just hearing it, I can tell what disease it is. If it’s a heterogeneous epidemic, it’s most likely cholera. The problem is how to solve it…

“I’ll go. Did you say Hedwig? While I’m at it, let’s talk in the lab.”

The plague doctor who came to my lab nodded. You’ll know what’s going on when you go.