"Oh ho…"
"Hmm."
"Is that so?"
"How intriguing."
Dr. Liston's ability to manipulate people was nothing short of miraculous. The speed at which he worked was on a completely different level compared to when Joseph had handled Alfred earlier. At this point, it wasn't just a matter of feeling dizzy—Joseph was on the verge of passing out. His screams had reached an alarming intensity, yet the self-proclaimed head experts remained unfazed.
'These lunatics…'
It was understandable, though. The so-called "treatment" they were discussing was far more horrifying than what Joseph was currently enduring. In other words, the screams he was letting out now were nothing compared to what they considered normal.
'Their composure is truly something else.'
These were the kind of people who wouldn't bat an eye even if someone died right in front of them. In fact, one of them, Zemel, had once buried someone alive who wasn't even dead yet. The real problem was… they were all like this.
'Sigh.'
I let out an unconscious sigh before shouting out loud. If this continued, Joseph really might die. These people had no concept of moderation.
"Professor! If you keep spinning him, he might die!"
"Oh."
Oh? That's all he had to say when someone's life was at risk? Dr. Liston finally began to slow down. Only then did Joseph's expression come into focus—his eyes were rolling back. No, they were still rolling.
"Hey, Joseph."
It seemed his sense of balance had been severely overstimulated. Even if he stood still now, his vision would probably keep spinning. I didn't need to be an otolaryngologist to know that. It was a serious and debilitating symptom, but of course, these people didn't seem to care.
Dr. Liston, for one, was completely unfazed.
"Hey, Joseph!"
Wait, did he just slap him? The problem was, no one was going to stop him. Back when this guy claimed to have discovered an anesthetic, he'd even pulled out Collin's tooth. No one had tried to stop him then, either—in fact, they'd all eagerly volunteered.
"Ugh, ugh…"
It worked, though. If someone like Liston hit you, you'd snap back to reality unless you were already dead. Wait, no—actually, you might die from the hit itself. Fortunately, Joseph didn't die and regained consciousness. His vision was still spinning, though…
"Is… is it still spinning? Ugh… it's so dizzying."
"What are you talking about? You're standing still now. More importantly, did you feel like you were hanging upside down earlier?"
Despite Joseph's dizziness, these mad doctors didn't seem to care. Joseph had to answer quickly, especially since Liston was muttering about whether he'd fully regained consciousness while flexing his fist.
"Yes, yes! I did! It's still spinning now!"
"Oh ho… so you were aware that you were standing still the whole time?"
"Yes, that's right! I'm sure of it!"
"Hmm… how intriguing."
Fortunately for Joseph, Liston finally let go of his collar and stood up. He then turned to the four head experts.
"What do you all think?"
"It might be a problem with the head…"
"Interesting. To experience an illusion despite knowing the truth."
"I still think it's more of a bodily issue, but… there's a possibility."
"Should we try running an electric current through him?"
They all gave serious answers, though some were clearly insane. Liston, however, ignored the crazy suggestions and posed another question.
"If it's the head causing the illusion, how should we treat it? Amputation is still too risky. No matter how I think about it… if a foot is rotting, we can't just leave it. The problem is, we're going to see more patients like this."
"What if we try running an electric current through them?"
The issue was that Matthew, the guy who suggested this, seemed to be a complete lunatic. Why was he so obsessed with electricity?
"Electricity?"
"Yes. When you run a current through someone, they sometimes pass out. In those cases… how should I put it? It's like their head turns off and then back on."
"Turns off… and back on?"
You're talking about turning a person off and on? Dr. Liston blinked in surprise, just as I did. Of course, modern medicine does have treatments based on similar concepts. A friend in psychiatry once told me that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can be remarkably effective for conditions like depression. Naturally, it requires extreme caution… but would these guys care?
"Yes. If it's an illusion, why not try turning it off and on?"
The problem was, I found the idea somewhat plausible. If they could safely administer the electric current, it might not be a bad idea.
"Hmm… what's the theory behind this?"
Dr. Liston, being the cautious type, continued to ask questions. The electric doctor, Matthew, eagerly began to explain.
"You know how a frog's leg twitches when you run a current through it, right?"
"Of course, that's a well-known phenomenon."
"And if you apply it to nerves, the movement becomes even more intense. You know that too, right?"
"Yes."
"But here's something you might not know… there are nerves in blood vessels. Stimulating them can cause the vessels to contract or expand."
"Oh ho."
Dr. Liston looked intrigued. Honestly, so was I. That part was true. I thought this guy was a lunatic, but maybe he had some knowledge after all.
"It's already widely known that headaches can be caused by blood rushing to the head."
Ah.
Never mind.
I have no idea why he's so obsessed with blood, but…
"That's why I use this device."
The electric doctor excitedly drew a diagram on a piece of paper. It looked like a chair.
'It's not an electric chair, is it?'
That's what they use for executions. It's a device for killing people.
"It's an electric chair."
Yep, he's using it.
I barely suppressed the urge to run out and tell the patients to flee. Fortunately, Dr. Liston also looked like he was thinking, "What is this lunatic talking about?"
"How do you run the current?"
Unfortunately, the part he was curious about was different from what I was concerned about. Why is that even a question?
"I use electric eels."
"Electric eels?"
"Yes. The ones imported from South America have excellent output. If you feed them well, they conduct electricity beautifully."
"Oh ho."
Don't look so interested! He's seriously planning to electrocute people!
"How barbaric…"
Fortunately, I wasn't the only one who thought so. Dr. Thomas stepped forward with a determined expression.
"Did you just call it barbaric?"
The electric doctor bristled at the legitimate criticism. Dr. Thomas ignored him and continued.
"It is barbaric. Using something as unscientific as electric eels? If the goal is to make someone pass out, my method is better."
To me, they all seemed like the same kind of lunatics. The point wasn't to make someone pass out, but they were all fixated on that idea.
"If we use a stronger vibration, wouldn't that make them pass out?"
"No, no. I've done this many times, and if you make them bleed enough, they'll definitely pass out."
These guys suddenly started debating the best way to make someone pass out. Dr. Liston, clearly fed up, shook his head.
"Enough, enough… isn't there another way? If the goal is to make them pass out, you could just hit them. Why all this fuss?"
He then put an end to the useless discussion with a threatening fist. It was hard to imagine anything more persuasive than the idea of knocking someone out with a punch.
"Now… wasn't Dr. Piyong the first to suggest that the head might be causing the illusion? Maybe he has a better idea."
"Ah…"
"Right."
"He's a challenging doctor."
"But he lacks experience. We should still try electricity…"
Surprisingly, Dr. Liston handed the floor to me. The electric doctor protested slightly, but it was meaningless.
'Hmm.'
I had already been thinking about it. Phantom limb pain isn't exactly easy to treat, is it? Medication doesn't always help. Of course, we do use medication, but how it works is beyond me. I can't even make a simple painkiller without risking killing someone.
'The most interesting treatment I've seen is VR.'
One of the hot topics in modern medicine is digital therapeutics. These are treatments that use digital technology instead of drugs, and there's a wide variety of them. Broadly speaking, even games like Pokémon GO, which encourage walking, can be considered a form of digital therapy. But what I was thinking of was a more direct treatment.
Using VR to create a virtual limb and trick the brain into thinking it's still there. The brain, convinced the limb exists, eventually realizes it can't move it and stops the illusion. Fortunately, this wasn't just theoretical—it had been successfully used in practice.
'But we don't have VR here…'
Should I suggest making a prosthetic hand? But that wouldn't move. Hmm…
Is there any way to use the illusion?
"Yes, Professor."
Just as I was thinking this, a question came my way, so this was the only idea I had at the moment.
"What if we use the illusion?"
"What do you mean?"
"We could create a hand for him."
"If that were possible, we wouldn't be in this mess."
Dr. Liston looked at me like I was the most pathetic person in the world. The others trusted me even less, so I had to quickly elaborate.
"No, no. I mean, we could make a model and attach it. The brain might get confused, right? But when he tries to move it, it won't work, so the brain might realize the truth."
"Hmm. What do you all think?"
Dr. Liston didn't seem entirely convinced, but at least it sounded more plausible than just electrocuting him.
"We should use electricity."
"I think it's a plausible idea."
"It doesn't seem too difficult. Maybe we should try it?"
"I agree."
Except for the electric doctor, everyone agreed with Dr. Liston. The problem was, even I wasn't entirely confident in my own idea.
'But it's worth a try. We'll buy some time and think more carefully.'
This meeting wasn't entirely pointless, was it? At least I now knew that the so-called head experts of this era were all lunatics. I'd never seek their advice again. If it's a head-related issue, I'll handle it myself!
'It's so lonely…'
Having to do everything alone. I let out a small sigh.