I Became a Plague Doctor in a Romance Fantasy

58. Soldiers Within the Blood (3)

****

I’ll be submitting the paper on white blood cells as soon as possible, alongside the scurvy research.

But even if I write it fast, papers need reviewing and procedures take time.

The best way is to present at lectures or symposiums. That’s obvious, though.

I cleared my throat briefly in front of the podium.

“Before we begin, does anyone here know what centripetal force is?”

It seemed like Hedwig and others who attended yesterday’s symposium related to my work were now participating in this lecture. Well…

That could happen.

I naturally expected it.

“Centripetal force is the outward force acting on an object when it rotates.”

I only got skeptical stares in return. Do they really not know what centripetal force is? Scratching my head, I drew a circle on the board. Let me explain from the start.

“Look. When an object rotates, it moves in a circle because it’s tied by a string. If you release the string, the object flies off along the tangent of the circle, naturally.”

The audience still looked dubious. Violet raised her hand from the front row.

“Yes, Miss Violet?”

“Are you transitioning into a math professor?”

I shook my head.

“No, listen. When an object rotates, it experiences an outward force. In a typical 10-centimeter rotor spinning between 1,000 to 2,000 revolutions per minute, the force exerted on the object can reach 300 times Earth’s gravity.”

Violet raised her hand again.

“Are you transitioning into a magic professor?”

Is she joking?

I facepalmed.

“No, just listen. If you expose blood to 300 times Earth’s gravity for a few minutes, it separates into layers.”

The classroom buzzed with whispers.

“Professor, I don’t understand. We’ve never studied magic.”

That was Oliver speaking.

The rest of the class seemed to agree with Oliver. Why are they complaining about nonsense during a medical lecture?

“Rotation is when an object moves constrained around a point. The force that holds it in place creates a counteracting force known as centripetal force.”

“So?”

“We’ve used this principle to create something called a centrifuge. By applying centripetal force, we can separate solutions based on density.”

I glanced around the room. Amy was dozing off, Oliver frowned, and the graduate students and professors showed similar reactions.

This is frustrating.

Let’s move on. Centripetal force isn’t the main point anyway.

“Hmph… Somehow, we separated the blood into components. Okay?”

Everyone nodded.

“Anyway, this is what I’ll show you today. I prepared it right before class. Can you see how the yellowish plasma and the red liquid made of red blood cells are divided into layers?”

Oliver raised his hand again.

“What does this have to do with 300 times gravity?”

“It means we applied 300 times gravity to the vial to separate the blood into components.”

“So… You cast a ‘300-times gravity’ spell on the vial to separate the blood?”

What kind of ridiculous talk is this…?

Fine, let’s go with that.

“Let’s say yes.”

“How did you manage the 300-times gravity?”

“There’s a device for that.”

I sighed.

I won’t bother explaining this. I’ll put it vaguely in the paper; they’ll either get it or not.

Anyway, there’s no reason why we couldn’t build a 1,000 RPM rotor, right? With some exaggeration, it might even be possible manually.

“Please, let’s move on. Anyway, I’ve already explained that blood consists of cells, but among them, there are some peculiar ones.”

Of course, the most common one you’d expect would be red blood cells.

Red blood cells are nucleus-free. They’re simple structures compared to the warrior-like white blood cells.

“I call these white blood cells. Under the microscope, they appear white and are lighter than red blood cells, so during centrifugation, they form a layer above the red blood cells. If we transfer this sample to the microscope…”

A pipette dipped into the vial, and a single white droplet landed on the slide.

“You can observe their movement under the microscope. The key question is: What role do these white blood cells play in the body?”

Naturally, no one answered. I erased the diagram of centripetal force on the board and drew a simple neutrophil shape.

It looks like a jellyfish or slime.

“I’ve mentioned structure and function many times. Most white blood cells look like this. Based on their structure, what functions can you infer?”

I pointed at Amy.

“Amy! Take a guess.”

“Huh… It kinda looks like slime.”

“Right. What does slime do?”

Amy thought hard before answering.

“Slime? Oh, it freely changes shape and eats other things…”

I tapped the white blood cell drawing on the board. Amy was thinking hard.

They freely change shape and eat other things—this applies to white blood cells too.

“White blood cells also consume something—ah! Are you saying that white blood cells eat bacteria using a principle similar to slime?”

“Good job, Miss Amy.”

She seems to have understood.

Exactly what I intended to say.

“White blood cells eat bacteria. This relates to how the human body specifically responds to bacterial infections.”

Now one of the professors will ask for evidence. Three, two, one…

“Do you have proof?”

Obviously, that’s what they’ll ask.

“Proof? With luck, you can witness white blood cells consuming bacteria or foreign substances through this microscope. These are living white blood cells.”

Visible evidence.

Though seeing white blood cells actually eating bacteria might be rare, with enough attempts, it shouldn’t be impossible to find.

“In short, infections occur because bacteria invade the body and engage in battle with white blood cells circulating in the blood. As a result, pus forms, fevers arise, and redness or rashes appear.”

In infected patients, white blood cell counts increase.

Although I’m unsure if we can measure white blood cell counts with the equipment available in this world, attempting it might be feasible.

“The evidence seems insufficient.”

How many times do I have to hear that?

“Actually, doesn’t pus form around infected wounds? Pus has a different composition than blood or surrounding tissues because white blood cells gather to respond to the infection.”

The classroom erupted in murmurs, making further lecturing impossible. There’s evidence, excessive anthropomorphization, etc.

“Professor, can we see the white blood cells?”

“Uh, sure. Line up outside.”

The rustling of people standing up filled the room. The podium quickly became crowded.

****

Since white blood cells are dying as we speak, those who want to see them should hurry.

The lecture stopped, and once again, people lined up beside the podium to use the microscope.

A familiar scene.

Amidst the chaos, Violet approached the podium, curiosity evident on her face.

“Professor.”

“Yes?”

“So, what was that initial talk about centripetal force? It seemed like I almost understood it.”

“It means spinning the vial containing blood. When spun quickly, the blood separates.”

“Just spinning it quickly? That’s amazing… How did you know that, Professor?”

“I explained it earlier. Something about centripetal force.”

“Hmm…”

Violet didn’t seem fully convinced.

“Professor, where did you hear this? Isn’t it exactly what Miss Istina said yesterday at the symposium and got mocked for?”

Even if I don’t know exactly what Istina said at the symposium, I know it was similar.

The claim that white blood cells are soldiers battling bacteria inside the body was mocked. Even though it’s correct.

“Maybe.”

“You answer pretty quickly.”

“I’ve been pondering this for a long time.”

“So Miss Istina was right then? White blood cells exist, and the essence of infection is a war between white blood cells and bacteria inside the body.”

“That’s my opinion.”

Of course, the human immune process is far more complex than simply phagocytes eating bacteria. But discussing it at such a basic level is a good start.

“Well, thanks to you, the academic community is in an uproar again. The neat four-humor theory is shattered, and many scholars dislike the idea of the human body being a messy collection of tiny machines involving cells, blood circulation, and blood cells.”

“What can you do when reality is like that?”

We can’t go around lying, after all. I merely nodded.

Violet seemed quite amused.

“This will shake up the academic community again. Isn’t this what everyone’s been searching for? The specific mechanism by which the human body fights disease.”

Isn’t calling it the “Holy Grail” a bit exaggerated?

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