Chapter 207 Interview Record of the Epidemic Doctor [Part 2]

【Epidemic Doctor: (Pause) My actions need no explanation. 】

【Dr. Zeman: You killed Hamm, then butchered him until he... 】

【Epidemic Doctor: (Interrupts angrily) Not dead! No! No... not dead. He was... he was cured. 】

【Dr. Zeman: Cured? Cured of what? 】

【Epidemic Doctor: Plague, sir! I thought you would realize how lucky I was to have discovered it before it began to spread... 】

【Dr. Zeman: (Interrupts) What plague? You keep mentioning the so-called plague, but you have never successfully described this "disease". And in order to prove the so-called plague, you actually took his life? Are you worthy of him! 】

【Epidemic Doctor: He... (Pause) The plague presented and developed in unforeseen ways, and spread to his unprepared body through strange channels... and... (Heavy breathing) Whatever you say, doctor, it was my kindness to him, he was cured. ]

[Dr. Zeman: He turned into a monster, we had to kill him! ]

[Epidemic Doctor: (Pause) I… I don’t expect you to understand. You and your… kind have proven time and again that you are not scientists, but rather rich… sentimental people. You cannot comprehend the horror I have seen, the millions who have succumbed to the plague and been changed, those… ]

[Dr. Zeman: Your treatment killed Hamm! ]

[Epidemic Doctor: No, dear sir, I saved his life! You will let the world fall back into the despair brought by disease and death, and ignore that I have created a miracle… ]

[Dr. Zeman: (In a higher voice over the Plague Doctor) What disease? What plague? He is a healthy man! He is a good doctor! ]

[Epidemic Doctor: Providing free treatment to those afflicted with the plague! It is not worth arguing with you, sir, you are short-sighted and stupid. Dr. Hamm was sick, and I… (breathing rapidly) I cured him. I am the only one who can do this. My work must continue, there is much to do, much to . . . ]

[Dr. Zeeman: I have had enough. All rations for you will be cancelled. Welcome back to the containment chamber! (away from microphone) We are done. ]

[Epidemic Doctor: I can save others! Even you, though you do not deserve it, will be saved! I can save everyone! I can end the plague once and for all. I can do it! Only me! I… I… (breathing rapidly) I saved… I saved him… Doctor Ham, I… I cured him… He was sick, I know he was sick, I know, you are all sick, but I can save you. I can save all of you, because I am the cure. ]

[End of log]

[Appendix Epidemic Doctor: Post-Incident Report]

[The following is excerpted from the Epidemic Doctor Incident Report of April 16, 2017, conducted by Dr. Elikin, three weeks after the initial investigation began. ]

[Date: May 7, 2017

Interviewer: Dr. Elikin

Interviewee: Pestilence Doctor]

[Begin Log]

[Dr. Elikin: Pestilence Doctor, this interview we are conducting marks the end of our investigation into your killing of Hamm, an action that resulted in the death of a staff member. Do you have anything to say? ]

[Pestilence Doctor: I look forward to having you return to work! Over the past few weeks, I have developed a new theory that demonstrates how the plague can infect someone in such a dangerous way that I can hardly detect it. ]

[Dr. Elikin: Do you have any regrets about your actions? About Hamm's death? ]

[Pestilence Doctor: (waves) Ah, yes. The death of a colleague is always regrettable, but in the face of the plague we must act quickly, doctor, without hesitation. ]

[Dr. Elikin: Dr. Zeman noted in his report that you seemed sad during your initial interview. ]

[Pestilence Doctor: Sad. . . . (pause) Perhaps. I had not expected... sadly a fellow has been infected, but the work must go on. Sadly, Dr. Ham's passing has provided us with an important lesson. Living human individuals are the only way forward. I have decided that my cure will not work on dead bodies, and I have taken all I can from your generous supply of corpses. I hope to obtain living subjects with the disease. ]

[Dr. Licking: I'm afraid you will be disappointed. ]

[Plague Doctor: (laughing) Doctor, I won't say no. ]

[End of log]

[Relevant notes]

[1. The Plague Doctor's robe and gloves are made of the same thick skin that accumulates on the skin, and the mask is composed of a type of chitin that grows from the facial bones. ]

[2. The entity claims to have originated in 15th century France, but also admits that it has "traveled widely". ]

[3. The space within the bag seems to be abnormally large, as the Plague Doctor has been observed to remove objects larger than the bag itself from the bag to perform surgery on corpses. We have asked to see its bag several times, but were rejected every time. We have no doubt that if we use force, we may get killed. 】

【4. The plague doctor had repeatedly expressed his desire to conduct human experiments, and was dissatisfied when he was rejected. 】

【5. The plague doctor once said that he did not need to eat, but enjoyed food and believed that food helped the brain function properly. 】

【6. The "humors" here and the balance of humors mentioned below indicate that the plague doctor still follows the "four humors theory" proposed by the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates to some extent, that is, the imbalance of the four humors of "choleretic, hematologic, phlegmatic, and black bile" is the source of various diseases. 】

【7. The plague doctor added the following words to his statement: "This is certainly the basic knowledge of a capable physician. I thought you would learn this knowledge during your education!" This makes us wonder if the plague doctor's knowledge is too old. 】

【8. It is worth noting that the plague doctor's diary is not written in any known language, and the attempts of linguists and decoding experts to decipher it have all ended in failure. 】

When seeing this, many people were dumbfounded, and many people had a common idea, that is, is this plague doctor crazy?

Strange: "First of all, based on the information I got later, I can conclude that its medical knowledge is completely stuck in the ancient times. It has only been exposed to the theory of humors. Its medical logic cannot be described by modern medicine at all! It's completely nonsense!"

Chopper: "I thought no one knew about the theory of humors. It is very valuable knowledge, but it cannot represent everything."

Dieter: "This plague doctor keeps talking about plague, but only he knows it, and he doesn't know how to describe it. He only knows to do strange experiments. He is completely crazy."

Orochimaru: "Mad? Maybe he is just walking in a higher realm that you can't see."