Chapter 129

129. The Autumn Academic Conference (1)

****

It’s time to write a paper. I was sitting in the lab with Istina and Amy.

“What should we do?”

I glanced at my two graduate students. The first thing to do when making a paper is—

“We need to do research first. Istina, look into the Black Death. Amy, investigate the medicinal uses of willow. Other fever reducers or painkillers would be good too.”

Amy nodded enthusiastically. Istina, who had participated in several academic conferences before, sighed worriedly as she thought about the increasing workload.

“But… there’s so much to learn when researching. Flea ecology, rat ecology, bedbug ecology—it feels overwhelming. Do we really need to know all this to become proper healers?”

I pondered her question for a moment.

“How could anyone know all this stuff? It’s okay not to know everything. There’s still a lot that hasn’t been discovered yet.”

“Yeah, that makes sense…”

Of course, it’s normal not to know everything.

“But… if we don’t know, people might die. Not just one or two, but hundreds, thousands. Right now, how many would have died if we hadn’t gone to Vinia Castle?”

Istina fell silent. All we can do is work hard within our limits.

****

The day of the academic conference arrived sooner than expected.

“Why am I last today? They won’t even give me proper recognition despite all the progress I’ve made.”

“Well… isn’t it because you always cause a commotion every time these conferences are held, Professor?”

I looked at Istina.

“When have I ever done that?”

“Every single time. When you announced the discovery of bacteria, and when you announced the discovery of antibiotics…”

Today, I didn’t expect to cause such a big stir. After all, I didn’t bring anything groundbreaking with me.

****

And finally, the last presenter.

“So… ‘An Examination of the Transmission Mechanism of the Black Death’ and ‘Clinical Application of Willow Medicinal Components’ will be presented by Professor Asterix.”

For some reason, the autumn academic conference seemed unusually crowded compared to what I remembered. Was it because people were more relaxed after the harvest season? Or maybe it was the weather.

I stood at the podium with my two graduate students. We’d agreed they’d stay with me during the presentation, though they didn’t have specific roles.

Let’s get started.

“What is the Black Death?”

I opened my presentation with a question.

What even is the Black Death?

“To put it simply, it’s a disease where the limbs turn black and the person dies. For centuries, it was merely seen as a terrible calamity, but…”

The audience nodded.

“However, thanks to the power of science, we can now understand the structure and function of this disease. Thanks to tools like microscopes.”

I grabbed the chalkboard in the conference hall.

“First off, why do the limbs of Black Death patients turn black? Has anyone researched this issue?”

No answer.

I nodded.

“The reason the limbs of Black Death patients turn black is because blood stops flowing to the extremities, causing the limbs to rot.”

Then…

“Think about it. Why do you think blood stops flowing to the extremities?”

I scanned the conference hall. This time, someone raised their hand after some murmurs.

“I’m Benedict, a plague doctor under the Imperial Palace.”

“Yes, please speak.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. Isn’t this something that can’t be solved just by thinking about it? It’s not a logical problem that can be reasoned out, right?”

I shook my head vigorously.

“Science is all about reasoning. Hypotheses may be correct or incorrect, but everything is subject to logical reasoning.”

Anyway…

“Fortunately, the transmission process and ecology of the Black Death are relatively straightforward when it comes to logical reasoning. There are aspects we can infer.”

Murmurs again. The skepticism in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. Benedict still seemed unconvinced.

“I’ve heard stories of your exploits, Professor, but isn’t this just using a tragedy as an opportunity to deceive bureaucrats with fiction?”

“Hmm, do you really think so?”

Benedict continued speaking.

“The Black Death has no applicable treatment, and efforts over hundreds of years to understand its transmission have failed, haven’t they? Claiming that its characteristics can be logically understood is clearly a lie.”

I shook my head again, but among those agreeing with me, there were also dissenting murmurs.

“Haven’t we made significant progress over the past year? Isn’t the situation different now?”

“Isn’t this just an attempt to dazzle us with sensational phrases like ‘conquering the Black Death?’ You can deceive officials, but not the academic community.”

Diseases like Creutzfeldt-Jakob or AIDS might indeed be impossible to logically deduce no matter how much you think about them.

But the Black Death is different.

“Just hear me out. The reason limbs rot and turn black in Black Death patients is because small blood clots block tiny vessels, cutting off blood circulation to the extremities.”

So…

“In a way, it’s no surprise that logical deduction wasn’t possible until now. After all, the concept of capillaries was only published this year.”

The conference hall fell deathly silent.

“Let’s follow the logic a bit further. Everyone knows that blood can clot, right? But do you know under what circumstances it clots?”

“It clots when you’re injured.”

That’s half right.

“There are many ways to induce blood clotting. Of course, it clots when you’re injured, but it also clots when mixed with other substances. Most of you can probably figure that much out.”

After all, there’s the story of determining parentage by mixing two people’s blood and seeing if it clots, so the fact that blood clots isn’t that difficult to grasp.

By the way, that method doesn’t actually confirm parentage.

“So… it’s common knowledge that certain stimuli can cause blood to clot. The question is, why does the Black Death cause blood to clot?”

Why is key.

“In my opinion, the toxin produced by the Black Death bacteria causes blood to clot. So, why does only the Black Death bacteria cause blood to clot?”

No answer.

The hall just got noisy with murmurs.

“To summarize… most bacteria can’t enter the bloodstream. So, what mechanism allows the Black Death bacteria to enter the blood vessels?”

This time, someone sitting next to Benedict stood up. He appeared to be another plague doctor from the Empire.

“Still… there’s no clear evidence that bacteria are the main cause of blood clotting.”

“Yes, what’s your name?”

“My name is Hestia.”

“Hmm… let me give an example. Not all diseases that cause limbs to turn black are the Black Death, right? Haven’t you, Hestia, seen cases of gangrene caused by trauma?”

“Yes, I have.”

I nodded.

“Yes. The reason gangrene occurs due to wounds is because bacteria directly enter the blood vessels. Consider the pathophysiology of gangrene caused by trauma. Don’t you see similarities?”

The plague doctors paused to consider. Since gangrene also involves the rotting of limbs, there are definitely similar points. I continued speaking.

“When bacteria enter the blood vessels, the blood clots inside the vessels. As this spreads, the limbs turn black and rot. Of course, if treated properly, the hand would be amputated before it gets that far.”

“That’s true.”

“So… since bacteria enter the bloodstream and cause clotting, everyone understands why the extremities turn black and rot, right? Then… how do you think bacteria enter the bloodstream?”

This time, Professor Croftler stood up. The atmosphere in the conference hall was heated.

“Bacteria usually aren’t inside the body.”

“They’re usually not in the blood.”

“Is there a way for bacteria to enter the blood? I don’t know much. What does Professor Asterix think?”

If you don’t know…

“It’s simple. There are insects that feed on human blood, right? When these insects pierce a person’s blood vessels with their proboscis, bacteria can enter the person’s blood vessels. Fleas or bedbugs, for instance.”

“The disease caused by bacteria entering through insect bites. The logical conclusion of the transmission of the Black Death.”

****

Most of the conference hall reacted positively, but Benedict still seemed skeptical. I looked at Benedict.

“So… do you have any evidence?”

Straight to the point.

That’s the attitude of a good scholar.

“In the case of ticks, black scabs and skin lesions appear where they bite. Therefore, with tick-borne diseases, we can confirm the bite marks for diagnosis. Unfortunately, flea bites are less distinctive.”

“Yes.”

“Most of the Black Death patients I’ve seen had insect bite marks. Although there are a few other ways the Black Death can spread.”

The conference hall was stunned into silence.

“The important takeaway from my presentation today isn’t the Black Death itself. What I want to say is this: diseases can be understood, uncovered, and fought against.”

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