Killian.
The rough Irish sailor screamed like a child.
I didn't particularly think he was a coward.
After all, it's not every day that an adult finds themselves naked in front of others, especially when the other person is fully clothed and barely knows them.
And then there was that mercury...
'Ugh... I can't watch this anymore.'
I had seen mercury thermometers before.
At least back in Korea, when I was a child, mercury thermometers were still in use. I'm not sure about the situation right before I returned, but they were definitely around when I was young.
But this...
"Agh, aaaah! Save me! You expect me to drink this?"
"There's also the option of injecting it, but I wouldn't recommend it."
Zemel, with an indifferent expression, handed the patient a cup filled with mercury—a silvery liquid that looked almost like water.
Well, "handed" is a generous way to put it. It was more like, "Open your mouth, here comes the mercury."
"Agh, aaaah! You madmen!"
"Look who's talking. The guy who slept around despite having syphilis. Hold him down!"
I'm not sure why, but...
The assistants of this era seemed like they were former constables in a past life. When it came to restraining people, they were absolute professionals.
Even a delirious patient in an ICU wouldn't stand a chance.
"Huff, ugh!"
"Pinch his nose. Make him open his mouth."
Killian, who had been thrashing around, was soon on his knees with his limbs tied.
If Liston had just beheaded him right then and there, it would've been a proper execution. Thankfully, no one did that. Instead, they forced his mouth open and poured the mercury in.
Thankfully...
'Have I gone mad? My brain is being pickled in the 19th century.'
Scratch that "thankfully."
At any rate, this patient was better off than the previous one. The amount of mercury was significantly less.
The previous patient had late-stage syphilis—stage 3—while this one was at stage 2, so it seemed they were trying to mitigate the treatment.
I'm not sure if that would make much of a difference, but at least it felt like there was more time compared to the previous patient.
'I should head to the condom factory after work today...'
I'd already collected the sizes, so it was about time to see the results.
Besides, I needed to visit Blundell today anyway.
If I'm going to a social gathering, I need to be prepared.
Of course, my goal wasn't just about the condoms.
'He's the only chemist I know... I need to discuss arsenic compounds with him.'
Though it was more likely to be a fruitless endeavor.
We'd managed to tweak the rubber to create something decent, but arsenic compounds were a whole different story.
If my memory serves me right, Ehrlich, who created compound 606 (Salvarsan), had confirmed its effects on bacteria.
He probably experimented to see if it killed syphilis bacteria.
Or maybe he stumbled upon it while trying to kill other bacteria. Either way, the timeline was a bit off.
'And I should buy some bread and let it mold. Blue mold... let's try making penicillin.'
I decided to start experimenting with penicillin as well.
Honestly, I wasn't thrilled about it.
Why?
Because mold is essentially an infectious agent. If it gets inside someone with a weakened immune system, it could kill them.
I couldn't bring myself to do something like that, but seeing people being fed mercury right in front of me made me think I had no choice.
There would be a lot of trial and error, so I figured I should start now.
"Ugh, ughhh!"
Meanwhile, the mercury finally made its way down Killian's throat.
Wow... heavy metals going down...
In my time, even a trace amount would've caused an uproar...
These 19th-century doctors are truly insane.
"Ughhh!"
"It's no use. Mercury is heavy and liquid, after all. It's already inside you. Haha."
Killian, using his experience as a heavy-drinking sailor, tried to induce vomiting with his fingers, but it was futile.
"And if you vomit, we'll just make you drink it again."
Zemel's threat was both terrifying and painfully realistic.
Honestly, this guy would make him drink it as many times as needed.
Part of it was the general desensitization to pain in this era, but...
In this patient's case, they saw him as a criminal, so they were even harsher.
If the Geneva Convention had existed, even enemies would've been treated according to its principles, but in this era, the concept of war crimes didn't even exist.
"So, do we make him drink it daily?"
"Huh? No! This is... this is poisoning...!"
"Shut up."
Look at that.
Even Dr. Liston, who invented the Liston knife to reduce patients' suffering, is telling him to shut up.
"Well... we'll see how it goes. We'll decide as we observe. Why are you so worked up?"
"Ah, we need to tie him down. If he escapes, who knows what he'll do out there."
"Why not just cut it off?"
"Ah."
Don't look so intrigued!
What do you mean, cut it off, you lunatics!
Even I, who had nothing to do with this, got chills. I can't imagine how Killian felt.
"Ah... no..."
He seemed to be on the verge of a panic attack and then fainted.
I'd faint too if someone force-fed me mercury and threatened to cut off my... you know.
I secretly patted Killian's shoulder in sympathy.
'Well, you shouldn't have slept around with syphilis...'
Though as I patted him, I remembered what he'd done and ended up hitting him a bit harder.
Sorry, Killian.
I guess I've become a 19th-century doctor after all.
*Thud*
At any rate, under Liston's orders, we dragged Killian to the amputation ward.
"Agh, aaaah!"
"Save me!"
As always, the place was filled with screams.
Even though I'd heard it many times, I still couldn't get used to it.
Hey, this...
It's giving me chills again.
"Huff. Is this... hell?"
"It's a hospital, you idiot."
Of course, the patient woke up.
He looked around in confusion, muttering the word "hell," which was somewhat terrifying. Liston, for some reason, looked offended.
Maybe because he's the one doing all the cutting...
'If you ask me, just releasing a few demons here would make this place hell on its own.'
A sign at the entrance saying, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here," would make Dante rewrite *The Divine Comedy*.
And that *Divine Comedy* would be several times better than the current version, considering it'd be written after seeing real hell.
"Hey, Pyeong. What are you doing? Tie him down."
"Ah... right, right."
Somehow, I'd become a grim reaper.
"Please, save me. I beg you... please don't leave me here!"
We tied the pleading patient's arms and legs to the narrow bed.
There were even patches of pus here and there, likely from previous infected patients.
"Should we gag him? He's too loud."
"Huh...?"
Liston even suggested a gag.
You madman.
If you're going to do that, gag everyone here.
Honestly, Killian's the quietest one!
"Anyway, let's go. We're heroes."
"Save meeeee!"
Huh?
Heroes?
From where I'm standing, we look more like villains...
"Ah, Professor Blundell."
Of course, now that I'm a full-fledged 19th-century doctor, I could put Killian out of my mind as soon as I left the ward.
"Hm? What is it?"
I'm not a bad person, really.
Look at Blundell.
He looks so calm.
Liston's still talking about gags, so he's an exception...
"You need to pick up the condoms."
"What... why are you saying such things in public...?"
"They're free, so why not? They're custom-sized for you... well, not too small, just right. I'll give you a few other sizes too, so you can share them with your acquaintances."
"What's with this guy?"
Blundell looked displeased but didn't leave.
"So, when are we going?"
He even asked me.
This era was truly honest about its desires.
Dr. Liston was also hovering in the background, clearly wanting his share.
Since we'd made them in various sizes, it wasn't a big deal.
"I'm about to go. There's nothing else to do here now that the patient's had his mercury... right?"
Acute mercury poisoning could cause vomiting or headaches, but what good would knowing that do?
Neither they nor I could treat it.
So, as I said, there was nothing left to do here.
Blundell agreed.
If there were an emergency—like a pregnant woman in labor—we'd have to rush to save her, but emergency medicine wasn't exactly systematic in this era.
Some drunk guy would show up claiming to practice medicine, and that was that...
'If lawsuits were a thing, you'd all be dead.'
The only reason nothing happened was because the belief that "life is in the hands of heaven" was still widespread.
In a way, it made sense.
You can't talk about saving lives if you can't even treat them.
With patients being treated like Russian roulette, if lawsuits became a thing, hospitals would turn into prisons overnight.
"I suppose you're right."
"Should we gag him before we go?"
"That's a bit much... Anyway, let's go, sir."
"Me? Ah, is mine ready too?"
I, who had been subtly hinting at my desires while pretending to be modest, led our benefactor—no, senior—to the factory.
After passing through the usual ominous alley, the chemist inside greeted us.
The prototypes were ready, and things were progressing, but the place still looked like a dump.
We hadn't sold anything yet, so it made sense.
But we were about to become rich.
Before I got too greedy, I needed to focus on one thing.
"Haha, so this is the... haha."
"We'll head out first, then."
"On foot? It's dangerous... no, never mind. Go ahead."
Liston and Blundell, eager to test the prototypes, disappeared first.
The younger ones stayed behind.
I wasn't particularly interested.
I like Korean people, but I'm the only Korean here.
Besides, I was about to embark on a great leap forward for humanity.
Though I'm not sure when that leap would actually happen.
"Arsenic...? You're going to feed arsenic to people?"
Of course, it wasn't going to be easy from the start.
Arsenic was a colorless, odorless substance that had long been used as a poison.
In fact, even in the 21st century, arsenic was used in pesticides.
"Yes. It can treat syphilis."
"How do you know that?"
"In Joseon, arsenic is used a bit. Of course, it's dangerous, but... I think if we tweak the compound, it could work."
"I'd rather stick with mercury... no, mercury has a long history of not working. But arsenic? The people of Joseon are brave."
"Could you help me? If it's too much, maybe you could introduce me to someone else..."
"No, no. Thanks to you, I've got a chance to get rich. I can't just throw that away. I'll give it a shot."
"Ah, thank you!"