"Just look first. Take a look and then we'll talk. It's still just my speculation for now."
"Hmm."
"Well… Since it's you saying it, I'll take a look, I guess."
The two of them grumbled as they reluctantly pressed their eyes to the microscope.
I could practically read their minds—they really didn't want to do this.
These little shits.
I swear…
Do you even realize how frustrating this is?
How much longer do we have to keep talking about "miasma" and all that nonsense?
"Okay, this… This looks weird."
"Couldn't it just be something that's normally there?"
Even as they stared at the clearly visible clusters of bacteria, their reactions remained completely indifferent.
Damn bastards…
Just yesterday, they would've dismissed it as nothing more than a lump of feces.
But mark my words—I'd bet every single strand of hair on my head that diarrhea outbreaks will soon sweep through London.
It wasn't an easy bet to make, but I was that certain.
If the drinking water is in this state, it's inevitable.
"What if the things we're seeing here are also observed in the corpses we're certain are clumps of miasma? What then?"
Anyway, I barely suppressed my irritation and continued speaking.
The mention of corpses made Alfred, who had nearly died because of them before, take things much more seriously.
"Hmm… So these things are in there too?"
"Yeah. They're not commonly seen elsewhere."
"Then… to some extent… Hmm. Is that possible?"
"That's what I'm saying. It could be. Or maybe not, but… just suppose it is. If so, medicine would take another leap forward. We'd be uncovering the true nature of miasma."
"That's true. Now that I think about it, I'm kind of excited."
Joseph, on the other hand, still looked like he'd just bitten into something rotten.
Maybe it was the smell.
Just when I thought I'd gotten used to it, another faint whiff of sewage would drift in and sting my nostrils.
"Well, but… Hmm. Is that really…? I don't know."
Whether or not you "don't know" is completely irrelevant.
You're less significant than a speck of dust in this world.
Who knows what'll happen later…
But for now, that's the case.
"Of course you don't know yet. But isn't it a problem if we don't even try new things because of that uncertainty? Look at our professors. Aren't they progressive?"
Admittedly, they're mostly conservative, except in weirdly specific areas—which is a huge problem in itself…
But still, there are people who constantly push for new experiments, right?
Like Blundell, for instance.
Even Dr. Liston was like that.
I mean, wasn't discovering appendicitis during an autopsy a genuinely shocking breakthrough?
This era truly lacks established knowledge, so people's thinking does seem more flexible in some ways.
"Hmm, that's true. This isn't exactly a difficult experiment anyway."
"Exactly. So make sure you remember this. I'll draw it out too, but… let's also examine the corpses."
"Sure, let's do that. Good night, then."
"Yeah."
"Ah."
"What?"
"Throw that water out. The smell is unbearable. What if it really is a clump of miasma, like you said?"
"Ah."
Right, good call.
Now that I think about it, I've had a bit of a headache since earlier.
I thought it was because of these idiots, but honestly, I've long since gotten used to headaches from dealing with them.
That means the real culprit must've been this water.
So I flung the iron bucket's contents out the window.
It was practically like splashing sewage everywhere, but I was sure no one would care.
In this era, foul smells were practically London's default setting.
"Hmm… Sewage… So you're saying you looked at Thames water under a microscope and found this?"
The next day, as soon as dawn broke, I grabbed the microscope and the sketches I'd made the day before and went to see Dr. Liston.
I could examine the corpses on my own, but the real issue was what came after.
Yeah, the same bacteria—miasma—were found in both samples.
But so what?
'Maybe talking it out will help me figure out what to do next. Even if we conduct animal experiments, we'd still need to catch or buy test subjects…'
If I wanted to push for disinfection after proving something, Liston was an essential ally.
There'd be no point in me shouting into the void alone.
But if the foremost surgeon in London took the lead?
Every living thing would tremble in fear, washing their hands and sterilizing their tools.
To make that happen, it was best to involve Liston from the very beginning of this experiment.
"Yes. If these are also present in the corpses, wouldn't it support the hypothesis that miasma is something of this form?"
"Hmm… But to confirm that, we'd need evidence that this 'something' causes inflammation, no?"
"That's…"
I'd already thought of that.
Research doesn't always have to be prospective—meaning, we don't necessarily have to start experiments from scratch.
There's such a thing as retrospective research, right?
So, for example, if we gathered people who'd gotten sick after drinking Thames water…
"Well, there might be a way."
Oh.
Now that's Liston for you.
Is this what makes a genius a genius?
Even though the term "retrospective research" doesn't exist yet, he still managed to think of something similar!
"Anyway, instead of just talking, let's take a look. It's a plausible hypothesis. Personally, I'd love for this to be true."
Again, that's Liston for you.
His reaction is completely different from those useless students of mine.
Despite his high status, his mind remains completely open.
"Haha, I'm counting on you, boss."
"I've been feeling something was off myself. A microscope? Someone as brilliant as you wouldn't joke around with something like this. A hypothesis like this… It's been a while since I've felt this excited."
"You flatter me. It's all thanks to you. Without you, how could I have borrowed the microscope?"
"Haha. You're giving me too much credit."
Liston chuckled heartily as we entered the dissection lab.
In one corner lay a corpse I'd preserved with formalin for teaching purposes.
I mainly used it to slowly teach students about human anatomy, but despite its presence, we still received a steady (albeit small) supply of fresh cadavers.
At least we had consent for all of them, which was a relief…
'Not something I'm happy about, but…'
Having cadavers like this was essential for surgical practice.
In an era where even the basics weren't established, cadaver training alone wouldn't cut it.
To teach and practice everything from scratch, we had no choice but to train on bodies as close to living humans as possible.
"Let's use this one."
Liston selected one of the newly delivered cadavers and extracted some of the fluid pooled inside.
Now that I think about it, the smell in this lab was truly something else.
It was already horrific, but adding formalin to the mix made it downright surreal.
But of course, neither I nor anyone else here was weak enough to be bothered by mere odors.
So we just scooped up the fluid and brought it over without hesitation.
I poured it onto the microscope slide.
'Sir Damian… I'm sorry.'
The more I did this, the guiltier I felt toward Sir Damian—but what else could I do?
Thanks to this, he got proper surgery, didn't he?
Considering how he used to dribble urine everywhere, maybe I shouldn't even bother returning the microscope?
'No, no. Why am I starting to sound like Liston…?'
Feeling like I was getting too 19th-century, I shook my head and peered into the microscope.
"Just as I thought."
Bacteria swarmed everywhere.
I could also see some dead cells here and there, but I decided to ignore those for now.
Trying to explain something too complex all at once would only backfire.
"Take a look."
"Hmm."
Alfred, who'd seen the same thing yesterday, stepped up behind me.
"Oh… This is."
"Yeah, it's really here."
These guys were making a fuss, but…
Honestly, the dominant bacteria here weren't E. coli.
Most were staphylococci, but thankfully, the magnification wasn't high enough to clearly distinguish individual shapes.
You could only see them clustered together, and without prior knowledge, they all looked pretty much the same.
I'd even deliberately drawn the sketches somewhat ambiguously.
'This is a white lie for a good cause…'
I secretly glanced upward, praying for forgiveness for my sins, then offered Liston the seat.
He looked tense.
And why wouldn't he be? This could be the moment the true nature of miasma is revealed.
I already knew it was all nonsense from the start, and the guys behind me were still too green to be called proper medical students.
But for Liston, who'd dedicated half his life to medicine, this was a pivotal moment.
"Good heavens…"
Maybe that's why.
Once Liston pressed his eye to the microscope, he couldn't tear himself away.
Even after what felt like forever, all he could do was mutter things like, "Hah," "Huh," and "Wow."
"It's really here… These things are in the corpses too."
"Yes. If this truly is miasma—if it's the cause of disease—then anywhere these things are found must be thoroughly disinfected."
"So it's not in the air… It's not the smell… Heavens. Well, there have long been theories about invisible microorganisms visible under microscopes. But to connect it like this… Hmm."
Even after lifting his head from the microscope, Liston kept muttering to himself, even as he spoke to me.
Understanding his excitement, I simply watched him in silence.
Whatever the case, I'd absolutely need his help for any retrospective research.
'Ordinary people wouldn't just obediently answer questions…'
As I waited quietly, Liston finally composed himself and spoke properly.
"Instead of staying here, we should verify whether this hypothesis is correct."
"Right, right. I was thinking—"
"Come with me. We need to fetch some water."
"Huh? Uh… What water?"
"The Thames."
"What?"
Huh?
Before I could process it, Liston had already gone to the Thames and returned with a bucket of river water.
But he didn't stop there—he marched through the hospital halls carrying a bucket full of sewage.
"Uh, where are we going?"
"The lecture hall."
"The lecture hall…?"
Why?
The moment he said "lecture hall," the image of pulled Colins flashed through my mind…
Was it just a coincidence?
Surely not.
It can't be…
Right?
Right, Lord?
With a prayer in my heart, I followed Liston.
His long legs meant I had to practically jog to keep up.
Thud.
The problem was, by the time I caught up, we were already inside.
"What is… that smell?"
Of all people, Blundell was standing at the lectern.
Liston took one look at Blundell and the students pinching their noses and declared with grave solemnity:
"This could be a discovery as significant as anesthesia—no, even greater. Who here is willing to drink this?"
It was an absurd request, yet every single student in the lecture hall raised their hands.
"Me! Me!"
"Pick me!"
Lord…
Are You really out there somewhere?