Dark-Haired British Doctor Chapter 282

Episode 282: Magic Bullet? No, It's Still Arsenic [1]

A fun tour of London with my parents ended with a reflection on the city's severe air pollution.

Well, my parents said that it was just a bit uncomfortable, with a musty smell, limited visibility, an uneasy feeling, and the occasional cough…

It was a situation where I couldn't be at ease either.

Air pollution is… … .

Actually, isn't it something really serious?

In 21st century South Korea, even when the fine dust warning was above average, I wore a KF94 mask.

why?

Because I want to live a long and healthy life.

No, more than that… … .

'I know how hard it is for patients with chronic respiratory diseases… … .'

Working at a hospital, you end up seeing patients with all sorts of illnesses, but in fact, it's hard to say that there's one illness that's more difficult than another.

When things get serious, everything gets difficult.

That's true, but among them, there are some diseases that make me want to avoid them.

This mainly includes head and neck cancer and respiratory diseases.

Especially respiratory diseases can leave you feeling half-drowned for the rest of your life.

'Why didn't I realize this until now?'

The Great Smog of London in 1952.

How many days was it…?

I don't remember exactly, but I know that in less than a week, thousands of people died and over 100,000 suffered aftereffects.

If the short-term impact was that great, then considering the long-term impact, most people who lived in London at the time probably had their lifespans shortened somewhat as a result.

So what about now?

I guess… … it seems better than it was 100 years ago.

First of all, there are no cars, and above all, the population is much smaller, right?

but…….

'Oh, come to think of it, why do these crazy kids only use coal for heating? If they burn wood… … Is wood any better?'

I think it's better than coal.

I thought about it, our London smog has a cute name, pea soup… … .

Isn't that what you see because sulfur dioxide is yellow?

I thought that even if you burn wood, there would be no sulfur.

Even so, if millions of people gather together and burn trees, that may not be good, but… … .

'Natural gas… … It's useless. I don't even know how to do it.'

I started to think that I should wear a mask from now on.

Not only during surgery, but also outside of it.

“Oh, sir. Where are you going to get your hair done?”

The problem was that at this time, the only masks available were cloth masks.

But if wearing a mask were normal, then I wouldn't know…

It is usually used only for the purpose of covering the face.

There must be a reasonable reason why Liston greeted me like this without a second of hesitation after seeing me.

"no……."

“If you find a good place, please share it.”

“You have a lot of money, bro, now.”

“There are a lot of you, so if you think about it, it must be some place.”

“It’s not that… … I just think the air is a bit bad.”

“Hahaha! Then that’s what London’s air is like. Isn’t that a good thing?”

"yes?"

What's lucky?

I looked puzzled as we entered the hospital we had set up in Kensington.

I really think I'm used to the 19th century now?

But I have no idea what's so fortunate about it…

Even yesterday I laughed and told my parents that smog was our famous London pea soup.

It got to that point, but I don't know now.

“Before, yes, there was irrational anxiety.”

“Huh… … ?”

I still don't understand even though there is an additional explanation.

“But not anymore. It’s all thanks to you.”

“Is it because of me?”

I don't know why people are saying it's my fault or something like that here.

No, now I'm not just feeling like I don't know, I'm also starting to feel a little uneasy.

My future reputation is already ruined by cocaine… … .

If something comes out here again, it's a bit weird.

“Isn’t it safe to say that the theory of poison has been practically abolished? Of course, there are still idiots who believe in it… … At least our hospital is now free from that ignorant world.”

“Ah, the theory of poison.”

It's been a long time since I've heard from you.

The theory was that if you smell bad, you'll get sick.

That's completely wrong, though… … .

Since Liston is denying it, this is happening again… … .

“Think about it, Pyeong. Isn’t that air ultimately made up of smoke from burning coal?”

“Yes.”

You have to be even more careful when you mix up the correct words.

Because scientists at this time absolutely do not know everything about natural phenomena.

In fact, even in the 21st century, not all secrets have been solved, so what about the 19th century?

“Could there be miasma there? The thing we use for disinfection is carbonic acid. And have you ever been around when that coal was burned?”

“No. Do you really… … ?”

“It’s so poisonous. No miasma can survive on it!”

“Well, that may be true.”

But can we humans survive?

I had a question, but I didn't continue speaking because a slightly scary thought came to mind.

-Oh, so you're saying that coal-burning fumes can kill people?

-How do you prove that?

-Why don't you try it?

-Haha. Let's make a gas chamber.

I don't want to be branded as having developed the gas chamber before the Nazis.

In fact, we have already conducted experiments on several death row inmates… … .

The gas chamber is kind of like that.

It feels like a full-blown murder factory.

What on earth were the Nazis doing, who turned it around not to prove anything, but purely to wipe out an entire nation?

“So, it’s been proven that the air is just a little uncomfortable and can’t cause any diseases. Haha. I was worrying for nothing.”

"ah……."

Those who believe in the theory of toxicity don't disinfect because they only need to be careful about the smell.

Even though London hospitals did that, patients still died, while our hospitals are losing money because fewer patients are dying, so even those who believe in the theory of toxicity are slowly disinfecting…

In other regions or countries, the doctrine of poison is still believed.

I was thinking about how to do something about it, but I just found out that if we deny the theory of poison, this problem will arise again.

'Haha. The 19th century… … It really is not easy.'

If it were the 19th century that I chose, I would have endured evil with brute force, but that wasn't the case.

If you were going to send it like this, you should have at least sent it with a status window.

“I told you that you are cute sometimes. Haha, people might find this story funny, but. Oh my. A commoner is cute. Look at my mind.”

While I was momentarily stunned or dismayed, Liston was talking nonsense while looking at my mask.

Really I… … .

Wasn't he a pufferfish like Yoo X-hyuk from Jeon X-si?

He may have ended his own life.

but…….

I am the incarnation of the heavy horse.

If you only look at the remaining problems, it seems like there are no real answers, but even so, if you look at the numerous problems that have been solved so far, your heart becomes splendid.

I even have a martial arts master named Liston.

“Oh, you’re here.”

As I thought about that, I barely managed to regain my mental composure.

So I went inside with a normal face, and our chemist had arrived.

I thought he was out of his mind because he was addicted to cocaine, but did my warning work?

‘No… … Maybe Sir Jamie sent someone.’

Sir Jamie, didn't you realize a long time ago that this cocaine thing is a bad thing thanks to me?

But it didn't seem like they were necessarily trying to regulate it.

Maybe he's running a business without me knowing.

At the national level.

If you ask how such a thing could happen, look up and see where the Opium Wars are taking place.

Britain can do it.

No, I did.

'But this guy is competent. He makes money, right?'

As we prepare for the Opium Wars, who better than Sir Jamie and his men would know the harmful effects of these damned drugs, which would later be called narcotics?

That means we're getting real-time reports on how people are being destroyed.

So, it was right to protect talented people.

I think there must have been some pretty unpleasant things along the way… … .

Whatever it is, shouldn't you just go to Seoul?

All you have to do is quit drugs.

“Oh, what’s up?”

“What happened? I came because of that arsenic compound.”

“Ah, ah, that’s right.”

“The police must have decided to send someone… … Isn’t that today?”

“Yes, today.”

“I see.”

The chemist was obviously with Liston, but he only talked to me.

Liston didn't seem to have anything to say to the old man.

Didn't you see it then?

People are like that.

Even after seeing that, it took a lot of courage to face Liston and have a conversation.

“They say they’re vicious guys… … .”

“There are still three?”

“That’s right. I can’t narrow it down any further. In fact, arsenic does kill syphilis, right? The problem is that it also kills dogs… … These three are less common.”

“I guess so.”

actually…….

It can't be helped.

Arsenic is poison in the first place.

In real history, Salvarsan, a syphilis treatment made with an arsenic compound, won a Nobel Prize for its achievements, but didn't it have serious side effects?

I don't remember exactly, but I know that it was completely phased out after penicillin appeared.

'The problem is… … .'

The thing about stale bread is that it's more dangerous.

I don't even know if it has any therapeutic effect.

Some are randomly drawn and some aren't, but I only used them when I was really in a hurry…

I'm not bad enough to use that on my patients on a regular basis.

“Are you there?”

After a while, people from the police station came.

Soon, prisoners could be seen being unloaded from the caged carriages.

Even in London, a city known for violent crime, these people were classified as vicious criminals.

At this point, you might be a little scared, but isn't this a very familiar sight to the people at our hospital?

Not only the doctors, but also the nurses and other staff members who helped with the work just watched.

“Oh, those poor bastards… … .”

“I happened to get caught by a poet… … .”

“Hey, you. What are you going to do if you keep talking nonsense and get caught too?”

“Why? The poet is a good person.”

“Oh, I guess so.”

Rather, most people looked at him with pitying eyes.

me?

I was half and half.

Because I knew about the crimes these guys had committed through the police chief.

The minimum is murder, and the worse ones commit several other crimes in addition to that.

If it were normal, it would be hanging, and since hanging at this time was not done by dropping from a high place and breaking the neck, but by causing the victim to feel the pain of suffocation for 20 to 30 minutes, arsenic might have been more humane.

'Still, I'm glad I got to go.'

At first, I thought they must have been sentenced to death, so I said I would kill them all, but then I felt a little uneasy and asked to see the charges, and it turned out that these crazy guys were killing people for all sorts of reasons.

Even simple theft, poaching, horse stealing, etc. were punishable by death.

Sin is sin, but it is not a mortal sin… … .

That's my opinion.

I can't do any rescue work though.

“Look here.”

"yes?"

“Let’s start slowly.”

“Oh, I see.”

Whatever it is, I think it's okay to target these guys.