"Hahahaha!"
From a distance, Zemel's maniacal laughter echoed.
It was the smile of a true madman—nothing more, nothing less.
That guy… he's…
'Among the patients, there's bound to be someone… someone who's not doing well. Even if they're fine, those bastards will think otherwise.'
I was 100% sure. No, I was absolutely certain.
I felt an itch to do something right away.
This was that kind of era.
Was it because of the Age of Exploration…?
Especially the British—their arrogance knew no bounds as they built their empire. It seemed like their confidence was overflowing.
Well, I guess I'd feel the same if I were in their shoes.
'Soon, Queen Victoria will rise, right?'
Even though I'm more of a science person and have devoured liberal arts education, I still know some basic history.
I knew that in 1837, Queen Victoria would ascend the throne, marking the beginning of the famous Victorian era.
It was the peak of their power…
But the problem was, that was about the nation, not medicine.
'Well… there haven't been any incidents yet that made doctors more cautious… No, there probably were, but they just weren't widely known…'
The dark history of medicine is so vast that it's almost too much to talk about.
Good intentions don't always lead to good outcomes, and nothing proves that better than the history of medicine.
There were plenty of cases where attempts to save lives ended up contributing to death or even playing a decisive role in it.
"Hey, Professor Blundell!"
Anyway, I gave up on Zemel.
That guy's just… weird.
It's like he's not even prepared to be convinced.
Honestly, Zemel has seen enough of my skills, but…
His mind still seems closed off.
"Huh? Oh, it's you, Dr. Pyeong. Ah, right, you were watching that Killian case too. Isn't it astonishing?"
In contrast, Blundell was open-minded.
This was someone I could probably convince.
At the same time, he was also the type to cause trouble if not handled properly.
Good grief…
This was the guy who thought about mixing blood, for heaven's sake!
It's not a cocktail—how could he even think of mixing blood?
"Y-yes, it's astonishing. But…"
"Using mercuric chloride and mercury together has such a remarkable effect! I was truly amazed, haha. This is truly a discovery of the century!"
"No… wait a minute. But where are you going now?"
Even though I had called out to him and he was responding, Blundell didn't stop walking.
I felt uneasy.
He looked like he was about to dump mercury into the gynecology patients!
"Huh…?"
But as I followed him, the path felt familiar.
At the end of this road was…
"Professor Liston…?"
"Oh, didn't you know? Liston has syphilis."
"What…?"
What the…?
A medical professor… with syphilis?
Is he insane?
"I came to share this joyous news with him."
"No… but."
"He'll be the first to welcome this treatment. Haha."
"Ah… well."
It was shocking enough that Liston had syphilis, but…
The fact that he was telling me about it was also surprising.
Anyway, one thing was clear…
Liston was also a man with a crazy experimental spirit, and he wasn't the type to refuse such treatments.
"Really? Hmm… then I guess we should try it."
As expected.
Madman.
He knows exactly how it'll turn out, yet he's still going for it.
"Wait, wait a second!"
He looked like he was about to dive straight into a mercury bath, so I raised my hand and shouted.
If this were something where the outcome was uncertain, I might have let it go.
But this was mercury.
The very cause of Minamata disease.
It's the poster child for heavy metal poisoning.
Even Emperor Qin Shi Huang died from mercury poisoning while seeking immortality!
And above all, Liston wasn't someone who could be compared to Emperor Qin Shi Huang, and he was also someone I had a close relationship with.
In this era, he was practically my best friend.
"Huh?"
"What's the matter?"
At my shout, the two of them finally stopped in their tracks.
Whatever the case, these two would at least listen to me once.
Especially Liston—he had seen more of my… well, not so much medical skills, but more like miracles, right?
I've been slowly crossing the line, but even if I were to be accused of witchcraft, I've already gone beyond the times.
"From what I've seen… the effectiveness in treating Killian's syphilis wasn't due to mercury."
"Right, right. We used mercuric chloride too."
"Then why bother with it at all?"
But that didn't mean they wouldn't say frustrating things.
These guys…
Ugh.
I suppressed the sigh threatening to escape and continued.
"That's not what I mean. Why are you using mercury now? What's the theoretical basis for mercury being able to cure syphilis?"
"Basis…?"
"Isn't it obvious…?"
For a scientist, this wasn't something to just brush off.
Theory and evidence.
Aren't these two words the foundation of modern science?
No matter how many real-life cases you've experienced, without the theory and evidence to back it up, it's nothing more than a coincidence.
Doctors don't place too much importance on individual patient experiences for the same reason.
"Don't brush it off—tell me. I want to understand too."
Even though they were spouting nonsense, they began to frown and ponder at my follow-up question.
Their pondering didn't last long.
It wasn't like there was anything profound to think about.
These were the same guys who talked about the "energy of the universe" when dealing with infection issues before.
I doubted this time would be any different…
"First of all, mercury has traditionally been associated with longevity."
"Right. It's something that originates from the earth."
"But doesn't everything originate from the earth?"
"Is that so?"
"Now that you mention it, I guess it does."
It was so absurd that I was left speechless.
"It induces vomiting, right? The syphilis-causing agent comes out with it."
"And it makes you defecate a lot. All the bad stuff inside comes out."
Their follow-up explanations were equally ridiculous.
This era was truly a barbaric age masquerading as science.
When on earth are they going to stop using purgatives…?
The Industrial Revolution had happened, but people's minds seemed stuck in the time of Hippocrates.
"If that's the reason, there are plenty of other drugs that induce vomiting… and diarrhea, right? Besides, vomiting and diarrhea are also symptoms of enteritis. It's not a normal state."
"Hmm… that seems like an overinterpretation."
"Right. Do you know how many people we've treated this way?"
"And do you know the cure rate among those patients?"
"Haha. Syphilis… it's just that people keep getting reinfected. It's not that it can't be cured… it's just that it takes multiple rounds. But it does get cured eventually."
"Yeah, mercury alone can cure it too. It just takes longer."
Cure it?
I was momentarily confused by their words, but then I recalled the natural course of syphilis and nodded.
Originally, syphilis goes through stages—primary syphilis, where ulcers form and then disappear.
It hides and then reemerges as secondary syphilis, hides again, and then reemerges as tertiary syphilis.
In this era, they couldn't even confirm the presence of the bacteria, let alone perform simple blood tests… so it must have been hard to understand this progression.
Of course, if they had observed carefully, they might have noticed that recurring syphilis was similar each time, and they might have realized something was off…
"No, no. Have you ever seen such a rapid… reaction to medication before? Not the kind that drags on for months."
"No, we haven't."
"Does that make sense?"
"Then we should consider other causes besides mercury."
"What other reason could there be?"
"You're not suggesting that putting syphilis patients in the amputation ward would cure them, are you?"
At my words, Liston looked at me with a pitiful expression.
Ugh.
This is so frustrating, really.
Do you think I'm saying all this for no reason?
'I'm trying to save your life here!'
Even I don't know what would happen if someone were to take a dip in a mercury bath.
In fact, even in my time, mercury poisoning was something that only happened in certain industrial settings…
It was practically unheard of in everyday life.
But that's not a good thing.
It's not pleasant to look at, either.
But still, this is London's pride—what's with all the defecating and vomiting?
'Ah, I can imagine it.'
The horrifying scene made my stomach churn, and I spoke with an even more desperate tone.
"Actually, I have a confession to make."
As I spoke, I pulled out a piece of moldy bread I had been carrying.
The two of them, who had been quietly watching me, took a step back.
"I respect your tastes, but…"
Blundell looked at the bread and gagged.
"I… I do too, but is that… a traditional Korean dish?"
Liston barely managed to hold back his gagging, but he was clearly on the verge of it.
I quickly shook my head and explained what had happened.
I told them how I had bought the bread, let it mold, scraped off the blue mold, and fed it to Killian.
"Good heavens."
"Oh, Lord."
The two of them suddenly began to pray.
Seriously, these guys were about to dunk someone in a mercury bath, and now they're freaking out over a bit of mold?
"From what I've seen, this is what actually had the effect in treating Killian's syphilis. This is the biggest variable."
"That… ugh."
"You fed this to a person?"
"Isn't that more humane than drowning someone in mercury and making them defecate and vomit?"
"Well, but still. This…?"
"So you were planning to feed this to me too?"
As I looked at Liston's face—his deeply concerned face—I thought of penicillin.
The medicine I had made wasn't exactly penicillin, though.
It was just mold.
'The side effects of penicillin include… elevated liver enzymes, hypernatremia, hypokalemia, hyperkalemia, interstitial nephritis, hemorrhagic cystitis. Rarely, encephalopathy or seizures… and this is just the tip of the iceberg…'
Which meant I couldn't give it to Liston right now.
I would give it to him someday…
But it wasn't guaranteed to be the same mold as this one.
"No. Not right now."
"Not right now…?"
"It's not urgent, is it? Are you seeing anyone?"
"No, but is that something you can say with such confidence…?"
"Anyway, just wait a bit. I'll monitor Killian's progress and… see if this mold has any side effects. Then I'll give it to you too."
"So you're saying you'll experiment on me?"
Liston still had a dark expression.
Human experimentation… well, that's understandable.
But still, for guys who were about to dunk someone in mercury to react like this… it's a bit much.
But I couldn't lie, and there was no reason to lie, so I nodded.
"Good heavens…"
"You… you're truly a villain, aren't you?"
That's the response I got.
Maybe it's because they're ignorant?
They didn't appreciate the favor.