episode_0174

Episode 174. Elf Healer (2)

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Elf healer Linnea. She came to the academy with the intention of helping her hometown.

It was a pleasure talking to Professor Asterix. He was very kind and answered my questions, and I was already learning a lot.

He was talking excitedly and incoherently. But since he was a professor who usually saw a lot of students, he didn’t seem to be bothered at all.

That was fortunate.

“What the professor discovered, what the professor wrote in the book, I pushed hard in the duchy, we have to use the new method.”

“Ah. Did you get any results?”

Actually, there wasn’t much.

Linea fiddled with her hair absentmindedly. People’s perceptions wouldn’t change in a few months, and it was another matter to believe that and change the way the hospital worked.

Isn’t it easier to just do what you’ve been doing?

“Well, I can’t put it into practice. I’m trying hard to persuade them.”

“Anything important takes time.”

Professor Asterix replied as if it was no big deal. I thought he would react like, “My idea is right, so why don’t you follow me?”

I thought it was a bit unexpected.

“It’s a little different from what I expected.”

“What is it?”

“I thought Professor Asterix would be an arrogant genius, but when I actually saw him, he seemed like a kind teacher!”

Professor Asterix frowned.

“Is that so?”

“Oh, it’s just a compliment.”

“Just, there are things like that. In papers or books, it felt like, ‘Everything I said was right!’. I think the explanation was kind.”

Professor Asterix sat down and looked at Linea with a slightly tired expression.

“Are you curious?”

Linea tilted her head.

“Oh, right. What I was curious about was… … . First, the research you first did. I was curious about your opinion on bacteria.”

“Yes.”

“Every time I read it, I wondered about it. If germs are always around us as the professor said, why don’t we always get sick?”

“Most do not cause disease.”

“Then when does it cause illness?”

“The situation matters. Was it cold outside? Or did you have an open wound and the bacteria got into it?”

****

Talking to Linea was tiring. It was different from talking to a normal person.

“Teacher Linea talks a lot.”

“I saw Dean Fisher earlier. I told him I really wanted to see Professor Asterix, but he doesn’t have class today-”

“Aha.”

“He said I could ask questions all day long!”

I will take back what I said about showing enthusiasm.

“Did Professor Fisher say that?”

“In particular, he told me to learn all the experimental tools and procedures! So that I could help patients in my hometown and create a new educational institution.”

Oh my.

I think Professor Fisher was a bit… … . joking. Was he teasing me, or Linea? Or maybe Linea was just playing dumb.

I sighed quietly. After talking to her for a few minutes, I realized that Linea was oblivious, a bit rude, and not human.

I wish I could go now.

How old is this person? Since he’s an elf, he must have lived for hundreds of years. There was no sign of that in Linea’s eyes.

He just looked like a normal guy, about the same age as my graduate students. His speech was like that too…

The elf healer showed no sign of leaving. Instead, he continued to elaborate on his thoughts on germ theory.

“Professor, you said that the bad air hypothesis is not true, and that it appears that way because germs floating in the air cause diseases, right? But… … .”

“Yes.”

“I’ve been thinking about it. The cities of the Principality have much cleaner air than the crowded human cities. Wouldn’t that make it much harder for the plague to spread?”

“I guess so.”

“And. In most cases of diseases, we haven’t found the causative bacteria, right? I’m also curious about the professor’s thoughts on this.”

This was a valid question.

“Well, maybe the cause of the disease wasn’t bacteria, maybe we couldn’t find the right stain, maybe we just didn’t have enough time.”

“The most common cold. We haven’t found the bacteria that causes colds yet, right? It’s also hard to find bacteria moving around in the blood.”

It’s a matter of technical prowess.

“It’s a question of evidence. It’s nearly impossible to find the causative bacteria in a patient with a disease. How do you think you can prove that the cause of the disease is bacteria?”

I scratched my head.

“It varies from case to case, that’s it.”

There is a famous thing called Koch’s Rule, which is a way to determine whether a specific microorganism causes a specific disease.

It is a law that sees whether there are bacteria in the diseased organism, whether the bacteria can be cultured, and whether the organism becomes diseased when the bacteria is introduced into it…

In fact, Koch’s rules are difficult to apply to most diseases, even infectious diseases. Furthermore, viruses cannot be seen under an optical microscope.

Koch’s law is ultimately more of an abstract tool than an absolute rule. This is a story about trying to verify it experimentally.

Linea tilted her head.

“Then. Not all diseases are caused by bacteria? Most diseases are caused by bacteria, right?”

“If it has the characteristic of spreading between people, you should suspect microorganisms. There will be many microorganisms that cannot be seen even with a microscope.”

But, well, it’s not something that can be strongly asserted with only circumstantial evidence when it comes to something that cannot be proven with the technology of this era.

Linea moved to the sofa and sat down. Then, the sofa was softer than she thought, so she lay down. I looked at the elf healer.

“I’m tired.”

“If you’re tired, go home.”

“The house is near the forest to the east.”

When are you going out?

The pretty elf healer was looking at a book that was in my study, still lying down. I sighed.

“There are many things I want to ask you besides bacteria. Professor, you also wrote a book about the treatment of infectious dysentery before, right?”

Linea was talking about the research I had presented in order. If I keep doing this, I might be held captive for the whole day… … .

Ah, now I get it.

I should have noticed it sooner.

“Teacher Linea is a little different.”

“What is it?”

It’s nothing special, it was just a passing thought.

It’s a separate issue from being smart. It’s that you can’t think abstractly, you’re clueless, and you don’t understand metaphors or jokes.

This is a typical Asperger’s symptom.

****

I became a bit interested because I thought it was Asperger’s Syndrome. It’s not a major issue, but it brought up more than one question.

“Mr. Linea, do you often hear people say that they don’t understand jokes?”

Linea blinked.

“Oh, sometimes? That’s what elves are like. Human metaphors and jokes are often difficult for us to understand.”

Is it a racial difference?

Well, elves live much longer than humans, so wouldn’t it be tiring to live if they accumulated emotions in the same way as humans? If you think about having to spend decades with the same group.

It must be uncomfortable.

So, elves may have autistic tendencies to avoid going crazy, since their brain circuitry seems to be different from that of humans.

“Shall I tell you a funny story?”

“What is it?”

I looked at Linea.

“There is a disease called Williams Syndrome. It is a genetic disease, and the most noticeable symptoms are blind trust in others and an extroverted personality.”

“I see?”

It’s a look that says, “What does that have to do with me?”

“But. This disease can also occur in wolves. Do you know what a wolf is, with its extroverted personality and blind trust in others?”

“Ah. You mean that’s a dog?”

I nodded.

This is a molecular biologically proven fact.

The gene that causes Williams syndrome in humans is the same gene that distinguishes dogs from wolves. In a way, dogs are a type of wolf that suffers from Williams syndrome.

I finished my explanation, and Linea tilted her head. She still looked a bit puzzled.

“That’s amazing.”

“This is what I thought after seeing Miss Linea. Miss Linea seems to have a different brain circuit than humans. So her way of thinking is probably a bit different too.”

“I’m not a wolf?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I paused for a moment.

“If Linea Yang were a person, she might have been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. She doesn’t understand metaphors or jokes well. She only says what she wants to say… … .”

“Is that bad?”

I wouldn’t say it’s bad. I shook my head. Linea is doing well as a healer, to the point where she even goes to overseas conferences.

“Well, I think it’s not all bad, because Miss Linea can see the situation from a new perspective.”

“Thank you.”

It’s time to get to work. I got up from my seat and motioned for the elf to leave.

“Okay, Miss Linea. Now, let’s leave the lab. I’ll see you later, teacher.”

“Really? Can I come back later?”

“Um… …. If I can record the conversation with Teacher Linea and use it for my research.”

Linea nodded.