The Way Ahead

“So…” he eventually sighed, “What about the other Attributes? The Attribute theory I was exposed to suggested Mana, not Perception, was the third Attribute.”

“Bah! Zosiman knows not what he speaks of. Mana is far too rare to be an essential Attribute. Beyond the infinitesimal appearance of the Attribute itself, so few actually have mana of any amount. It is exactly as it seems, no more and no less. It is magic, not something that is an integral part of the body.”

“And the other Attributes?”

“Much the same. Charisma is merely another form of Perception, hence the name, though one which pertains to the interaction of the self out into the world. Constitution is a rough, mocking combination of Stamina and Health, which separates the body from the ravages of the world. Dexterity is akin to Stamina, and more besides. Do you need me ton continue?”

Edwin shook his head. He had a pretty decent sense of the sorts of stuff they believed, “So… how does this help when trying to give someone medical attention?”

“That depends on their ailment, naturally. In the purely physical Fever and chills are associated with Health, a cough or mobility issues with Stamina, digestive issues and pains with Perception. Similarly, more emotional ailments can be cured in similar manners, though with slight alterations. Once the required treatment is determined, it is merely a simple matter of returning the Attributes into their proper balance.”

“And how do you do that?” Edwin asked, feeling defeated. He felt like he already knew the answer, but…

“Well, one’s Perception is overactive, they require far more sleep than usual, or ensuring they don’t sleep if they are short upon the Attribute. If they are short upon Stamina, a potion restoring such is in order, whereas in the event they have too much, they are to stay as active as possible, or at the very least stay upright. Health is unusual in that it is more difficult in the event they do not have sufficient blood, as usually only alchemical means can regenerate it. In the event they have too much Health, the cure is simple.”

“Bleeding?” Edwin guessed

“You do know some medicine! I thought you were hopeless.”

He sighed, “Have you ever tested the effectiveness of bleeding people?”

“But of course! It is the standard response to any with a fever.”

“And does bleeding dramatically improve recovery rates, Alchemist Galen?” he asked skeptically.

“Of course! Fever is nothing more than the excess of fire, and bleeding is the way to reduce the amount of blood within a person, obviously. Surely you can understand that?”

Edwin glared at the ‘medic,’ “Yes, I understand that bleeding a person reduces the amount of blood they have. That’s obvious.”

“Excellent! Now, the next thing-”

“Hang on, hang on. I wasn’t finished. How do you know that removing blood from a person actually helps them recover?”

“Many who come to myself or my apprentices recover admirably from their fevers.”

“And some die?”

“That is simply the assurance of life.”

Edwin groaned. He hadn’t felt this frustrated in… well, about two months, when he found out what arycal was made of, “But how do you know they wouldn’t have recovered just as good if not better without the bleeding? Have you ever tested the idea of whether or not bleeding a person actually helps them with a fever?”

“What, you would have me experiment upon my patients? Bah! I will only seek to provide the best medical care I am capable of. Why would I ever desire to not treat an individual when I would be capable of curing them?”

“Well… what about making sure that whatever cure you gave them was the best you could? Like, what if it turned out you were wrong? How would you find out?”

“Ah! I comprehend your reticence more now. Rest assured, we only use the knowledge passed down for us from generations ago, which has been in use for generations. We would never dare to countermand the wisdom of those who have put in the difficulty of realizing how the body works and how best to cure it.”

“And what if they were wrong?”

The man looked at Edwin like he’d grown a second head, “You doubt the wisdom of your elders?”

Edwin resisted the urge to massage his temples, “Well, where I come from, bleeding used to be common practice, until someone actually took the time to compare how patients fared without being bled and with being bled, and bleeding them did worse than nothing. Centuries of people died at the hands of doctors who never questioned whether or not bleeding someone, reducing their health, would really be good when suffering from a fever.”

“Nonsense. This is not a discussion, this is a lesson.”

“No! You’re killing people by bleeding them.” Edwin started to lose his temper, “That’s not how the body works!”

“Be quiet! I will not be gainsaid by the likes of you!”

“You’ve never even tried another method, though! You don’t know the results of anything you do!”

“What, you would have me… experiment upon my patients, like they were some kind of test subject?”

“Yes! That’s the only way to improve!”

“Then tell me, oh wise one. How does one go about treating a fever?”

Edwin was momentarily caught off-guard, “Huh. I was expecting you to ask me how a fever came about. As for the fever, you don’t treat it, it’s just a symptom. You need to treat the base ailment rather than just trying to reduce the fever. In some cases, that can actually be harmful by itself.”

“Very well. How do you propose reducing one’s health if not by bleeding them? It’s right in the name, after all.”

“But… that’s not what causes the problem. It has nothing to do with an ‘overabundance of blood’ or whatever. So far as I know, that’s not even possible. Fevers are how the body tries to fight off infections.”

“In…infection? Bah! If you wish to try and spout such nonsense, at least do not deign to making up words!”

“What? No. Infection isn’t made up. Well, I suppose all words are made up, but that’s besides the point. Let me think how to describe this… You know about parasites, I hope?”

“Naturally. They can be created when drinking tainted water.”

“That’s… I’ll get back to that. Anyway, an infection is kind of like that, but instead of there being one big creature living in the host, there’s thousands, millions, or even billions that get in and start to divide, and the body trying to fight them off can raise the temperature to try and kill them.”

“Divide? They kill themselves?”

“What? Oh, no. Think of them like… you have slimes, right?” He’d yet to see one in person, but Niall had mentioned them so they were likely real here. An Alchemist Vital, who had presumably created life in some form or another, probably had lots of experience with them.

“Yes, what of them?”

“Well, a bacteria is kind of like a really, really small slime. So small and so simple that they can reproduce just by cutting themselves in half, more or less. There’s more to it than that, but that’s not relevant right now. Anyway, they’re so small that they’re basically invisible and live everywhere, but some kinds are harmful to humans- or other creatures- and the body tries to fight them off. That’s what a fever comes from.”

“So you claim that fever is caused by the body trying to fight off an attack by thousands of invisible slimes?”

“Ye- well, kind of. They’re really, really small, not invisible. You’d probably need a really powerful Skill to see them, or use a special tool.”

“So thousands of tiny slimes cause fever? Bah! Utterly ludicrous. You seem so genuine, too. You poor fool, being filled with all of these absurd lies. Worry not, I’ll ensure you get a proper education by the time I’m through with you.”

“Well, Alchemist Galen, if you don’t believe me, how do diseases work?”

“Simple! Thanks to the elemental nature of Attributes, a misbalanced Attribute can disrupt the surroundings of the individual, and cause a cascade of Attribute unbalance in their surroundings. When in an unbalanced situation, the body will mimic their surroundings, causing their own Attributes to unbalance and further spreading the disease”

“That…” Edwin sighed, “Well, it’s better than ‘miasma.’ Well, no. So what happens is that bacteria- the tiny slimes- will breed in their hosts, and then spread on contact, or when they cough, or go to the bathroom, or somehow. Fortunately, most diseases can’t jump species, so… huh. How does the Attribute theory account for different species not crossing diseases?”

“Avior, humans, gnomes, and more all have different balances for their Attributes, naturally. What would affect one might be completely normal for another.”

“So then, why doesn’t proximity with someone possessing a different Attribute balance cause them to get sick?” Edwin prodded.

“For the same reason that merely being in proximity with another will not spread disease, despite every individual having a slightly unique balance of Attributes. Unless the body is ailing, it will not taint its surroundings. However, tainted surroundings can still exist separate from an ailing individual, and that is where the disease first comes from.”

“That’s… that’s not how it works, though. And by that logic, what about individuals with really high Attributes? Shouldn’t someone with the Health attribute but not Stamina or Perception then always have a fever?”

“It is the gift of the System that such bestowals strengthen, but do not disrupt, the balance of Attributes within us.”

“So what, your explanation for how come the one time you can actually measure the supposed ‘balance of Attributes’ within someone doesn’t correlate to the afflictions which supposedly come from those Attributes is just ‘a wizard did it?’ That’s not how science works!”

“What do you mean by ‘an adventurer-mage did it?’ I do not understand the phrase.”

“Adventurer-mage? Oh, right. Wizard. Basically, you just wave your hands and say it’s magic when your theory doesn’t hold up.”

“The System would not irrevocably harm an individual. This is simply common knowledge.”

Edwin rubbed the bridge of his nose, “Look, I know that you have tremendous respect for whoever came up with this theory, but surely you can see it’s complete nonsense?”

“I am the one speaking nonsense? Bah! You are the one who comes in and start to speak of invisible slimes living within us. Indeed, what is your explanation for why not all diseases affect avior and humans alike, if not for the Attribute difference between them?”

“Simple. Not all bacteria- slimes- are equally harmful to all kinds of life.”

“So what? These things simply live within us and do no harm?”

“Yeah, actually,” Edwin shrugged.

“Preposterous! You’re lucky I don’t throw you out right here and now!”

“What for?” Edwin protested.

“For flagrantly disrespecting me, my predecessors, and my entire profession!”

“What, for daring to question it?”

“Yes!”

“But how else are you supposed to learn?”

“You ask questions, you do not question!”

“I’ll pretend that made more sense pre-Polyglot,” Edwin muttered, “Then how are you supposed to learn, if not by being asked questions you don’t know the answer to?”

“I do know the answer! You simply refuse to accept it!”

“Yeah, because it’s not the right answer!”

“Oh, so you know more than I and all of those who came before? A thousand years of knowledge?”

“Yes!” Edwin shouted, successfully shutting up the alchemist.

“I will not be spoken to in such a manner!” Galen shouted back over him.

Edwin paused to catch his breath and continued with a more sedate tone, “Besides, you don’t have a thousand years of learning that you’re falling back on. You just have one guy from a thousand years ago who came up with an idea and a thousand years of people then copying him. If anything, your healing is a thousand years behind where it should be.”

“Get out of my room.”

“What, because you refuse to listen?”

“Because you refuse to listen! Such impertinent youth. Know your place!”

“I do!”

“Yet you continue to challenge your elders!”

“That is my place!”

Both lapsed back into silence for a moment, staring the other down.

Edwin thought for a moment, “What if I prove it for you?”

“Prove what? The existence of these tiny slimes?”

Edwin’s resolve set, “Yeah. I bet you that I can prove they exist.”

“And how do you intend to do that? Are they not invisible?”

“Individually, sure. But I can either make something that would let you see that small, or get so many of them in one place you can see them yourself.”

“And how,” Galen scoffed, “Do you intend to do that?”

“You’ll see,” Edwin replied, mind racing, “You’ll see.”