Alcohol.
Beverages containing ethanol.
It's no exaggeration to say it's probably the first beverage humanity started consuming, aside from water.
If you trace its origins back far enough, you'd reach not the origin of humanity, but the origin of Earth itself.
The ancient fruit wines, created from fermented fruit, were brewed not by someone, but by the Earth.
Anyway, the joy the ancient people felt upon tasting the alcohol within must have been immense.
Even in the 19th century, there weren't many fun things to do, but back then, it was really...
'Well, I like it too. In moderation.'
Even in the 21st century, wasn't the pleasure derived from alcohol still ranked pretty high?
So, it's only natural that the ancients went to great lengths to taste it again.
Some even argue that people started farming just to brew alcohol, and lately, this theory seems to be gaining acceptance as the established view.
Yeah, I know this much because I'm a connoisseur.
No, I have enough knowledge to talk about it for hours if I wanted to.
I'm serious about alcohol and know my stuff, that's what I'm saying.
'But this is just wrong.'
I let out a sigh and looked at the patient and the doctor... Liston and my companions.
Yeah, now I finally understand.
Why...
I realized just why they could be so wild.
And I also understood why a faint smell of alcohol sometimes filled the air around us.
I get why there were so many people getting into fights on the streets, and why, even in winter, there were people sleeping outside and freezing to death.
It's because they literally drink alcohol like water.
No, in this case, they drink it instead of water.
"Um..."
"What is it? Getting scared now? That it was water you've been drinking?"
We have to fix this somehow.
Ah, when I say 'fix,' I don't mean changing a custom that has been passed down for ages.
I realized long, long ago that humans, as animals, are governed more by ingrained habits than by reason.
Besides, did they somehow get the idea that water is dangerous?
No.
This is just vague knowledge, but I think I heard that even in the 21st century, European water had a lot of lime scale and could be bad for your health.
"Hey, brother. Look at this person's face."
"Huh? Why? He's handsome enough."
"Pardon?"
"This is fine. It's not like we live off our looks."
Even if we don't live off our looks, shouldn't we maintain at least basic decorum?
Liston, perhaps possessing liver detoxification abilities matching his build or something, just had a rugged face, with no sense of it being ruined by alcohol.
In contrast, this person's face was...
It was a complete mess, to the point where you'd think he was a real alcoholic.
Not only was the tip of his nose red, but his eyes were bloodshot.
Above all, his complexion was dark red, which suggested he had been drinking heavily until just a moment ago.
"How is this 'fine'? Just looking at him, his liver seems bad."
"Huh? Don't tell me you're into that popular phrenology lately? Is that even a plausible science?"
"No..."
Why on earth is pseudoscience like phrenology popping up here?
Is it because phrenology has the word 'ology' in it? It might sound plausible just hearing the name, but...
The idea of completely understanding a person's traits based on their appearance is highly unscientific.
There's a saying that physiognomy is a science, but...
Personally, I think real science doesn't need me to loudly proclaim it as such.
It naturally has unscientific aspects, inevitably.
"No? You're always like that. You like medicine but pretend you don't. You like bloodletting but pretend you don't."
"No..."
Above all, what Liston is saying now is quite unfair.
Medicine and bloodletting?
I'd rather he said I believed in phrenology.
No, wait.
I'm being gaslit.
It's neither!
"First, the patient."
"Look at him changing the subject."
I decided to examine the patient first, as it seemed I'd just be dragged along endlessly otherwise.
As Liston said, I am changing the subject, but it's not necessarily because I'm logically or morally inferior.
It's just that we're not understanding each other.
Just as a sane person becomes the madman in a world of madmen, a 21st-century human becomes a primitive in the 19th century.
"You've been drinking, right?"
"Huh? Ah, yes. My throat was dry."
"Ayy... but it seems like you drank a lot for that reason?"
"Ah... well... that's true. I suppose I drank more because I wasn't feeling well."
"You drank more because you weren't feeling well?"
What kind of crazy talk is that?
If you're not feeling well, you shouldn't even touch alcohol.
Thinking that, my face must have contorted a bit.
And lately, my scowling face in London is considered very ominous.
Rumors are spreading that I covered Paris in shit and corpses, and in that mighty Qing dynasty, I drew blood from the hearts of some officials and cast a curse so powerful it toppled a great empire, so it can't be helped.
'It was annoying at first...'
But in life, having someone fear you isn't always a bad thing.
Isn't that essentially authority?
No one can treat me recklessly.
"No, no! I should explain myself properly."
"What is it?"
"It wasn't just any alcohol, it was wine."
"Wine?"
Look at that, he's getting serious because I made a face.
But the answer that came out was quite different from what I expected.
Frankly speaking, what's the difference between beer, ale, and wine?
They're all alcohol, aren't they?
No, since it's a fruit wine, it might even have more impurities, leading to worse hangovers.
Especially the wine from this period, it's all natural wine, so it's even more likely.
"Ah, if it's wine, then it's medicine."
"Huh?"
While I was pondering this strange statement, Liston, who was behind me, was nodding with a look of understanding.
When I looked back at him, he retorted as if asking me what my problem was.
"You drink wine too, don't you?"
"Well... I do, but..."
Thinking back, I occasionally drank wine with Liston.
But that wasn't because wine is medicine or because it lacks the side effects of alcohol compared to other drinks.
It was just a drink to have with food, so we had it together.
And wine was one of the more palatable options.
'Although I stopped drinking it after I found out many contain lead...'
Of course, I only drank it when I didn't know any better, not now.
Beer is better.
At least that shouldn't have lead...
'I can't even be sure of that. Damn it...'
I should just boil water and drink that.
"Right, so you should know. Wine, you see, is medicine. A very healthy medicine. Doesn't it even appear in the Bible? There's a connection between Jesus's blood and wine."
"Well..."
That may be so, but that doesn't mean wine is blood, right?
No, even if it were literally blood, that would be problematic.
Blood contains quite a lot of iron, and iron can cause gastrointestinal issues.
On top of that, the blood of 19th-century people would contain all sorts of germs and viruses.
If the subject were Jesus, it might be safe in that regard, but...
"Why do you think we prescribe red wine to friends with anemia? It's because wine is absorbed directly and becomes blood."
"Ah, was that the reason?"
"Haha. This friend! You're quite ignorant in internal medicine!"
Hmph.
If the other person weren't Liston...
No, well, it's true that I'm ignorant in internal medicine by 21st-century standards.
But by 19th-century standards, there's no one as knowledgeable as me, even in internal medicine.
"Don't worry. The wine was a good choice. It's just the wound that seems to be the problem."
Since I was stunned into thought, it was useless.
In the meantime, the master of stuns, Liston, was already spinning his own tale to the patient.
"So... what will happen?"
"Well, what else can we do but amputate?"
"Huh? No, you're going to cut this off?"
"Ahh. Don't worry so much, I'll make sure it doesn't come to that. Our Dr. Pyeong here is a master of wound treatment."
"Ah... Phew."
In the meantime, I confirmed it.
I saw a flash of madness seep into the patient's eyes and then disappear.
A knifing... it's a possible situation.
I'd do it too.
Even if a limb is functionally and aesthetically critical...
I've never heard of someone pulling a knife because they're going to amputate it?
But this... if they cut this off, a knifing incident will happen.
"It will heal 100%, I guarantee it."
"No, please don't."
"Now, now, what kind of talk is that? You have to think positively for it to heal well."
"Positivity has its limits... this is..."
When I suddenly felt the metaphorical blade pointing at me, I snapped back to attention.
Right, it seems alcohol is the cause, but...
Whatever it is, the problem now isn't the alcohol, it's the infection, right?
"Let's take a look."
Pus is oozing out.
From the operated area.
"Joseph?"
"Ah, yes!"
Because it was covered in a scab, proper observation was impossible, but...
It was okay.
We have Joseph.
"Ee, eeek!"
"Keep still. This is all part of the treatment!"
"Eeeeeeek!"
The other person is in pain.
Naturally.
Areas with inflammation are supposed to hurt.
Because inflammatory mediators increase sensitivity to pain.
And we're scrubbing it vigorously with distilled water, so of course it will hurt.
But this is necessary for it to heal.
No, for there to be a possibility of healing.
"Let's see..."
"Hwaaaa..."
After a few minutes of scrubbing, the patient was almost on the verge of fainting.
I didn't feel sorry.
It kind of feels like it's his own fault, isn't it?
Besides, the urgent matter now is to see the condition of the wound.
"Hmm..."
Fortunately...
After wiping off all the scabs and pus, there were areas that had turned red, but it wasn't entirely like that.
It seemed only the remaining part of the foreskin was a bit rotten, that's what I mean.
If this had been any later, it would have spread to the penis itself, and then we would have had to amputate that.
But not now.
We can just cut off a bit more of the foreskin, disinfect it, and observe, that's what I mean.
'Well... it's not certain, though.'
What can I do?
It's not like we have antibiotics...
"Bring me the scissors."
"Yes."
"Huh?"
The patient started having a seizure.
He's naked, being held down by Liston so he can't move, we're scrubbing him with water, and now I ask for scissors... it's only natural.
In the past, I would have just proceeded, but not now.
"Alfred?"
"Yes."
A click sound and the gas starts flowing.
"Kii..."
And the patient fainted.
This isn't complete anesthesia, so if it gets too painful, he might wake up a bit, but...
It's an era where people barely endure amputations, so he probably won't wake up from this.
Moreover, the area to be amputated wasn't very large.
In many ways, it's fortunate, in this patient's case.
But...
'No wonder patients asked why we didn't give them alcohol during amputations...'
Back then, we kept them hospitalized for a few days for observation, so we didn't give them alcohol.
That's probably why they were in more pain, but at least not many died.
But this one, we're sending him home.
'If this goes on... isn't a second amputation crisis coming?'
My worries for the other patients were piling up like a mountain.