"It's settled then."
"Right. If Pyeong says so, then it must be true."
Liston, a man you couldn't even falsely call good-looking, and Blundell, who sometimes benefited from that association and was mistakenly considered good-looking, continued their meeting even after sending Kim Tae-pyeong, who could be called London's best doctor at the moment, home.
It was called a meeting, but it was practically no different from collusion.
"Circumcision... We could do it much better."
"Is that even worth saying? It's a given."
Blundell's words made Liston chuckle heartily.
He laughed because it was true—they really could do it better.
Was there any other hospital besides this one where the concept of disinfection was properly established?
No matter how much they shouted about miasma or whatever...
The others were still just picking and choosing what they wanted to hear.
For example, military field hospitals were almost...
You could call them a paradise for miasma theorists.
It was fortunate that the recent war with Qing was so one-sided that Kim Tae-pyeong and Liston were able to handle it on their end...
Otherwise, it was obvious the death toll would have skyrocketed.
"So, the effects of circumcision include libido suppression and STD prevention, right?"
"That's right. And the surgery isn't even that difficult, yet it has such effects.... I'll be damned... So only those Jewish bastards have been doing this good thing?"
"No wonder those sons of bitches get so much hate."
"Well... With that kind of disposition, no wonder they poisoned the wells during the Black Death."
Liston even blurted out things that didn't seem appropriate for a doctor to say.
But it was fine.
After all, only Blundell and the students were present.
No, even if he had said it in a public square, nothing much would have happened, since Jews were truly intensely hated entities.
It seemed somewhat paradoxical to bring up male circumcision, which is a Jewish practice, but the 19th century was inherently a chaotic period, wasn't it?
"Really? A placebo effect?"
"He's not the kind of person to say that carelessly."
"Hmm... Is that the level?"
"Hey, you! He's the man who even treats baldness!"
"Ah... Then what... I guess it must be true?"
And so, the Great Circumcision Era began.
"Hyung, what is all this...?"
I had just come to the main hospital for the first time in a while, not the center.
It wasn't because of any particular incident, but because I had a lunch appointment with the director.
The fact that I found time like this amidst my immense busyness was entirely thanks to our students.
Colin, Alfred, Joseph...
Plus the recently joined smarty-pants, John Snow.
The guys were handling diabetes treatment to some extent, and thanks to them also handling the post-treatment care for hair loss patients.
"Ah, this."
Liston, who had come with me, instead of answering immediately, just chuckled.
The director next to him was also beaming.
They had reason to.
Were the patients not forming massive crowds?
Our center was making quite good money from diabetes, but no matter how much it was targeted at nobles, the limited patient pool meant it didn't generate truly huge sums.
I heard the overall revenue had decreased somewhat compared to the heyday when anesthetics were out and they were amputating limbs like crazy.
Surgery is still the best, but lately, as the concept of disinfection has spread, the cases requiring amputation have greatly decreased, right?
If all these patients were surgical candidates, it would be a truly enormous affair.
'But to say that... The patients don't particularly look like they're in pain?'
A sense of incongruity was washing over me.
It wasn't just that they didn't seem to be in pain.
'Ah, and why are they all men...??'
Yes.
The gender ratio was skewed, far too skewed.
As I waited with a question mark on my face, it was the director, not Liston, who spoke first.
"They're all candidates for circumcision. Thanks to that, I'm doing only that instead of kidney stone surgeries."
"Uh... Circumcision? Lining up for that...? Ah, don't tell me."
"Didn't you confirm it? You said it's effective in preventing STDs! It seems to be true, this thing. It's a jackpot."
"That.. Well."
STD prevention.
Could that work?
Theoretically, it could work to some extent.
It's horrifying to recall, but inferring from Liston's wrinkled end and Blundell's smooth end...
Wouldn't the degree of usual inflammation inevitably be different?
The 21st century is an environment where you can always wash clean, but here...
Since it's far from clean, that might work.
'Then.... well... If disinfection and anesthesia are done properly, it doesn't seem like a major problem.'
Of course, if problems occur, it could be a disaster.
I've actually seen such a case.
It wasn't circumcision, I think it was some kind of implant...
Anyway, an abscess formed there and they had to cut half of it off.
What happened to the surgeon?
He was murdered in the parking lot.
I confirmed then that urology is a specialty where if the surgery goes well, you might get gifted expensive whiskey, but if it fails, your life can be threatened.
'In the 19th century, that probably wouldn't happen... Perhaps it could even help public health...??'
Libido suppression is truly ridiculous nonsense.
If that were true, South Korea would have faced population extinction.
Everyone gets circumcised, right..?
'I saw it on YouTube? They say Korea's dating rate has hit rock bottom...??'
I don't need to look far; didn't I fail too?
I wasn't at the level of being a total virgin, but by the standards of the popular guys, it was almost the same as not having done it.
'Just look at the birth rate, ours is in the abyss...?'
Is this for real...?
"Pyeong, what are you thinking about?"
Well, just because you're a doctor doesn't mean you know everything, right?
If it's another specialty, I have no way of knowing.
Something like circumcision, I really have no choice but to not know.
Let's say it's not because I'm ignorant, but rather because I focused too hard on my own specialized field.
"No, it's nothing. It seems to be going well."
"Right? Haha. It would be a disaster if you changed your mind now. Many nobles have already had it done."
"Ah... Is that so?"
"Of course. Aren't they the class most vulnerable to STDs?"
"Ah... I suppose."
Our esteemed British nobility.
Aren't they the ones who pretend to be so pious on the outside but do all sorts of things behind the scenes?
I once heard some behind-the-scenes gossip about London high society and almost fainted.
The problem isn't just that they cheat left and right...
It's the people they cheat with...
'Ryan Giggs had an affair with his mother-in-law too.'
I guess British guys are just like that originally.
Anyway, since they're that kind of people, STDs are bound to be rampant, so if they hear that a single surgery can prevent it to some extent, they'd be tempted.
Even though they hate Jews, the fact that Jews have a lower STD rate is still a fact.
'Well... It can't be bad.'
Especially since I'm not even confident about the libido part anymore, why would I oppose it?
Furthermore, I thought that if the main hospital doctors become familiar with the concept of disinfection through this opportunity, they would save more people in the future.
I won't deny that the thought crossed my mind that if the main hospital makes a lot of money, some crumbs might fall to me too.
But anyone who has seen me until now would admit that I'm not doing this just for my own benefit, but solely for the advancement of medicine.
"The problem is that it's not just our hospital doing this."
"Other places too... Well, the surgery isn't that difficult, after all."
"Right. The anesthetic is also something that couldn't be patented."
Right.
"True."
Patenting the anesthetic.
Just thinking about it is thrilling, but it's impossible.
It's been around for too long.
So everyone everywhere is using it.
Back when amputations were all the rage, it wasn't much use anyway.
No matter what, Liston was the world's best at amputations.
But...
Circumcision... isn't it just snipping it off with scissors?
I don't know the details, but I probably could do it right away after reading a few books or watching others do it.
"Since it's not a difficult surgery... we're losing patients left and right. STD prevention is an attractive proposition for all walks of life, after all."
"Well... But there are still a lot of patients, right?"
"Haha. Am I not the director? I shouldn't be satisfied with something this measly. So I'm researching more."
While I was half-heartedly agreeing with such thoughts, we suddenly arrived at the restaurant.
It's a restaurant that's really hot lately, but I didn't have high expectations.
Frankly, eating plain rice with kimchi pancakes made by my mom is much tastier than eating anywhere in central London.
So I was feeling indifferent throughout, but the word 'research' struck a chord.
"Research... ?"
In 21st-century medicine, research is practically essential.
Especially for those with the title of professor, research is something you must do.
But my wish is that the 19th-century folks would just not do that.
Frankly, isn't this whole circumcision situation also caused by some madman's 'research' on STD prevalence among Jews and non-Jews?
The director is of Huguenot origin and an undeniable elite, but it's obvious that any novel ideas coming from his mouth would also be problematic.
"Yes, research! Haha. It seems this thing called circumcision doesn't only have effects on libido and STD prevention."
"Yess..?"
Aren't those two alone already a jackpot?
Frankly, circumcision is just cutting the foreskin covering the glans, that's all.
For just doing that, to have such effects...
'They probably don't exist...'
I suddenly became skeptical, but it seemed too late to change my tune now.
Not only the director, but everyone including Liston had stars in their eyes...
.
"There's research currently underway, led by the renowned pediatrician Nathaniel from East London Hospital. You saw the patients earlier, right?"
"I saw them."
To think that all those numerous people were waiting for circumcision.
I was truly shocked.
I don't think I'll forget it, probably.
"They're all adults. I hear Jews do it on the 7th or 8th day after birth... It's a pity."
"A pity?"
Wouldn't it be more difficult to perform on kids?
You need to be more delicate, don't you?
And you probably can't even anesthetize them?
The safety for children is still...
'No, no way.'
These guys would claim that since babies can't say it hurts, they can't feel pain.
"Newborns can't feel pain. You know that, don't you?"
Look at this.
This is the claim of a man known as a London intellectual.
"If we do it right away, it's clean. Don't even need medicine. As you know, accidents due to anesthesia back then still happen sporadically."
"That... is true. But even so..."
"Haha, listen. Nathaniel is a renowned doctor, you know. You probably... Yes, you went to that place before with Liston.. the monastery! You've been there."
"Ah...The asylum?"
"It's a monastery. The people there are such wonderful individuals."
"Anyway, what about it?"
I looked at the director with a genuinely clueless expression.
I couldn't follow his train of thought.
What does circumcision have to do with the asylum?
.
"There are quite a few epilepsy patients there. There's talk of them being possessed by spirits, but spirits... Isn't that a bit hard to believe?"
"That's true."
It seemed a correct statement had finally come out, but...
.
"There's research underway suggesting that circumcision can prevent that."
"WHAT?"
Once again, you really have to listen to people until the very end.