Creating a hand. Under normal circumstances, it would have been an incredibly difficult task.
What should I make it out of?
Iron?
Blacksmiths were skilled, but they couldn't produce something like that quickly.
Besides, it wasn't the era for crafting gloves anymore.
The metallurgy techniques for medieval knights had long become outdated, and most blacksmiths were busy making other things.
"Rubber...?"
But who am I?
I could be called the epitome of foresight.
Today, at least, I truly believed that.
"Yes. Can you make a hand-shaped mold out of rubber?"
"It's easier to make something solid than hollow. I don't understand why you need it, but I can make it for you."
"How much will it cost?"
"Huh? Money?"
As soon as I came up with the idea, I immediately headed to a condom factory.
Given the dangerous environment, I naturally brought Alfred and Joseph along, but this time, Dr. Liston was also with us.
Maybe it was because of him, or maybe it really wasn't a big deal, but the chemist was very positive.
"Yes. How much...?"
"Haha. This... will be on the market soon."
Listening to him, it seemed that wasn't the case.
The chemist picked up a rubber condom that had been significantly improved compared to before.
It was still thick, but it seemed usable.
In fact, for contraception or preventing sexually transmitted diseases, thicker might even be better.
Anyway, he seemed to be in a really good mood because of it.
"This is going to be a huge hit. There's already an enormous amount of interest."
"What is this... though?"
It wasn't the era for condoms to be widely used.
No, most people didn't even know what a condom was.
Moreover, it wasn't the primitive kind made from pig intestines, but one made from rubber—something I had pioneered.
Given that, Dr. Liston seemed curious about why the chemist was so excited, talking about it being a huge hit.
Well, I had already achieved my purpose here.
With the chemist's permission, I had commissioned the creation of a glove roughly the size of a patient's hand.
If this were Korea, I might have gotten the finished product today, but since this was England, I had no choice but to wait patiently.
"Ah... this is a condom."
"Condom...? Ah..."
So, it was understandable that Dr. Liston asked a somewhat odd question.
Everything moved slowly here.
"But is it okay if it's this small...?"
Huh?
What did you say?
I couldn't believe my ears.
What the chemist was holding... was definitely not small by any means.
Honestly, it seemed like it needed to be smaller to be marketable.
'Is it because he's British...? Is it big...?'
Surely not everyone is like this?
Do others also think it's small?
As a sense of crisis began to rise, I noticed something.
The chemist, Joseph, and Alfred all had bewildered expressions on their faces.
"Is this... small to you?"
"Then is it big?"
"No... Professor, you're just showing off."
"Showing off?"
"No, are you serious?"
The chemist asked, clearly flustered.
He seemed a little worried.
"I thought I was average... I've been making them like this..."
No, you're big too?
I almost said that but managed to hold back.
If I carelessly said something like that and it damaged Korean pride, what would I do?
I was a man who knew when to keep my mouth shut.
"No, no. I also thought this was big."
But there was someone who didn't get it.
Joseph was like that too.
I thought he'd be big because of his size, but apparently not.
The chemist, seemingly thinking the same thing, suddenly looked smug.
"Eh, this isn't big."
"No... I also thought it was big."
When Alfred chimed in, the chemist looked even more pleased.
Dr. Liston?
Somehow, he seemed to be sticking his chest out more than before.
Surely he wouldn't go that far to show off.
But actually... it seemed like he was.
Brother...
"Ah. This is a problem."
While I was lost in thought, Alfred, being the merchant's son, had a practical concern.
The chemist, not understanding, asked why, and Alfred began to explain.
"It's about the size. We need to know the most popular size to adjust production accordingly..."
"Ah. Oh no."
The chemist's face turned pale at those words.
So did mine.
Certainly... if we made it too far from the average, we'd be wasting money.
No matter how good the product is, if it doesn't sell, we won't make any money.
"Before that... we'll need to do some research. For now, let's measure among ourselves."
"Huh?"
But how did the conversation...
Take such a turn?
"That sounds good. I'll cooperate too."
Professor...
Professor, you don't need to cooperate.
Can't you just go home?
The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I wasn't brave enough to say them in front of everyone.
Besides, looking at his face, it was exactly like before surgery in the square.
Is he crazy?
Does he really want to show that off to everyone?
'Just how... impressive is he?'
Pushing my doubts aside, I promised to gather as many samples as possible and left the factory.
From my perspective, it wasn't exactly a favorable proposal.
But it wasn't bad enough to make me frown.
I thought making the hand mold would take about a week, but since production would halt until we figured out the size, I could get it as early as tomorrow.
Well, as a doctor, isn't it most important to perform medical procedures well? What else matters?
Huh?
You guys.
Clatter.
Regardless of my thoughts, the carriage headed back to the hospital, and the conversation inside continued independently of my thoughts.
"No... is he really that... impressive?"
"Impressive? I thought I was average."
"No... if you show off your arms like that... what are we supposed to do from now on?"
"Haha... well. Does it really come to that?"
We're not teenagers...
Oh, right.
We are teenagers.
Then Dr. Liston, you should be steering the conversation, not encouraging it.
'I guess I'll have to step in...'
Feeling increasingly uncomfortable, I resolutely opened my mouth.
I had no intention of changing the subject entirely.
It didn't seem like the topic would shift anyway.
So, I brought up something vaguely related.
"By the way, what's the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in London, brother?"
Is that related?
Upon closer inspection, it was a completely different topic.
But the group fell for it.
Dr. Liston, for one.
This guy was also someone obsessed with medicine, after all.
Due to the limitations of the era, his knowledge might be incomplete or flawed, but his passion was immense.
"I don't know."
Is that so...?
Is that something you should admit so boldly?
"But I know it's rampant. There's no real prevention method, is there? You can't exactly perform surgery."
Listening to him, it seemed he wasn't entirely clueless.
He made a cutting motion at one point, but I decided to let that slide.
It's too scary to imagine in detail.
"I see."
"Hmm... but if that condom becomes commercially available, it could help solve the problem to some extent. Yes, definitely... it would be helpful."
"And I've heard there are many unwanted pregnancies."
"That's right. Among the poor, it's extremely common. Even at our hospital, we've had mothers committing suicide."
"Goodness..."
As I listened to Dr. Liston, I looked around the carriage.
London was as dirty and filthy as ever.
Thinking about the suicides, the grim reality hit me anew.
Well... it really was a mess.
This place...
"If we can prevent that, it would be a tremendous force. The question is whether the poor can afford such a thing."
"Ah... I see. How much would it cost?"
"We won't take a loss. It looks quite good, so it probably won't be cheap."
"Huh... did you bring it?"
"Of course. We need to compare, don't we?"
"Ah."
Dr. Liston was stretching and releasing what he had brought.
Despite his monstrous strength, it held up quite well, proving it was indeed an impressive invention.
Good.
Very good.
"Anyway... I hope that rubber hand of yours helps."
"Yes. I hope so too."
As we neared the hospital, Dr. Liston began talking about his patients.
This was a pretty serious issue, wasn't it?
It was hard not to feel the gravity of the situation, especially when passing the outpatient reception and seeing more patients with the same symptoms.
The rumors of an epidemic weren't unfounded.
One became five, five became ten...
The problem was that anesthesia had been around for a while, so it wasn't just us using it.
No, that was a good thing, but it meant amputations weren't exclusive to our hospital.
Which meant...
"Soon, there'll be thousands in London alone."
As Dr. Liston said, that was highly likely.
People who had been too scared to amputate before were now cutting off limbs left and right.
Not to mention, people from nearby areas were flocking to London to do the same.
Thousands of phantom limb pain patients weren't an exaggeration.
What kind of warzone is this...?
"I hope your rubber hand really works."
"Yes, I hope so too."
For the first time in a long while, I said a prayer.
The next day, I brought four rubber hands to the hospital.
There were so many patients.
I figured I'd need to treat multiple people at once.
"Please, come this way."
"Yes."
"Let's attach this here."
"Uh... yes."
I fixed the rubber hand to the patient's sleeve.
It didn't look realistic or anything.
It was clearly a rubber glove.
What could you expect in this era?
This was better than expected.
Anyway, I calmly observed the patients wearing the rubber hands on their missing limbs.
'I don't even know the exact procedure...'
I regretted not paying more attention when the article came out.
But what could I do?
Just knowing the concept was a blessing.
The patients seemed fascinated by the hand, touching it here and there.
That was good.
They wouldn't feel anything, after all.
I just hoped their brains would realize the illusion and move on.