"Gather the bodies...?"
"Of course, we have to. At least twenty people are expected... How can we manage like this?"
Dr. Liston pointed to the dissection lab.
There had never been a shortage of bodies before, and even now, it didn't seem like there was a lack. But assuming that twenty surgeons would come and each need to practice at least once... it suddenly felt woefully inadequate.
In this era, without formalin, even if we secured bodies, the time available for practice would inevitably be too short. Coming from 21st-century South Korea, where a single body could be used for an entire semester or even a year, this felt utterly unreasonable.
"So, we need to gather more."
"Uh... where from?"
"That's the problem."
Fortunately—or unfortunately—in this period of London, obtaining bodies wasn't particularly difficult. Just look over there. *Thud.* Another one just came in today. Not every day, but... almost every week, one or two bodies would arrive. The lack of consent made it possible, but it was also a manifestation of a massive moral failing.
"If only those lunatics in Edinburgh hadn't been caught, it would've been much easier..."
What's astonishing is that this was actually an improved situation. The incident Liston just mentioned with regret—the one in Edinburgh, the former capital of Scotland, the city that gave birth to Adam Smith, the father of the "invisible hand," and David Hume, the champion of empiricism, a place nicknamed the "Athens of the North"—was truly shocking.
'William Burke... William Hare...'
At first glance, their names sounded ordinary, but these two men committed atrocities that were beyond imagination. They had an accomplice too—Robert Knox, a fairly renowned anatomist. His books were even available here at the University of London. What kind of crime could a prominent anatomist be involved in? None other than serial murder. Though the term "serial killer" wouldn't be coined until the late 1900s, in my eyes, they were unmistakably serial killers.
"Didn't they kill sixteen people?"
"Huh? Oh, yes. That's what's been reported."
"There could be more, honestly... and it's not like they were the only ones."
"Y-yes, that's true."
As Liston said, the number of people they killed was a staggering sixteen. And that's just what's known—there could easily have been more. Their motive? Dissection. To be precise, Dr. Knox bought bodies from them for anatomical purposes. They literally "produced" corpses.
"But... with so many people dying anyway... is Edinburgh's situation different?"
"Well... they wanted young, healthy bodies, didn't they?"
"Madmen. No matter how much they wanted bodies for dissection, killing people... it's unthinkable."
"They probably claimed innocence till the end. But they didn't escape punishment."
"No, they didn't. I heard they're trying to give lectures here and there, but if I ever see them, they're dead men."
"Uh..."
From what I could tell... such things had happened before, and even now, similar incidents were likely occurring under the radar. After all, weren't there bodies in our university's dissection lab with unclear origins? We didn't dig too deeply, afraid of uncovering something we couldn't handle. Of course, after that incident came to light, regulations were tightened, and the supply of bodies did decrease. I even heard that some universities banned dissection altogether.
'Is that why he's so angry?'
Just two years ago, there was never a shortage of bodies in the dissection lab. In fact, there were often too many, and the funds to pay for them ran short. The fact that the supply had decreased... seemed like a good thing, no matter how I looked at it. It meant fewer bodies were being brought in through murder.
"Anyway, it seems we'll have to gather them, right?"
Of course, I wasn't in a position to say such things in front of Liston. So, I changed the subject. Talking about William Burke and Hare in the dissection lab felt entirely inappropriate. The idea of murder for the sake of dissection... It was shocking that such a defense was even made in court. To commit such an unjustifiable crime and still act brazenly...
"Right. We'll have to secure bodies from other hospitals this week or next."
Liston, being goal-oriented, wasn't hard to steer away from the topic. The unfortunate part was that he was looking at me and the other students as he said this.
"Uh..."
"What?"
Joseph and Alfred's dazed responses weren't helpful.
"I'll go get them!"
Once Liston made up his mind, it was our fate to follow. But Colin's enthusiasm for gathering bodies didn't exactly make him seem normal. Where exactly was he planning to go, and what was he going to do to get them? His slightly psychopathic tendencies were concerning. In the past, I might have dismissed it, but now that I was fully under his command, there was no escaping it.
"Alright, go get them."
"Huh? You're telling me to go get them? After just talking about William Burke and Hare?"
"I'm not telling you to kill anyone. Just go get them."
"But... isn't that what you're implying...?"
"Don't misunderstand. A doctor can't go around killing people. Just find a way to get them."
The way he said it made it sound like there was an unspoken option of murder involved.
"Should we start with the cemetery? A huge number of bodies come in there every day."
"No, there are too many decomposed bodies there. We'll have to look elsewhere..."
I had a feeling something ominous was coming next. The streets, or people's homes... Just thinking about it was troubling, but hearing it out loud would be even worse, so I hurriedly interjected.
"How about the police station?!"
"The police station...?"
"If there's a murder case... we could follow up. Maybe even perform an autopsy."
"Oh! That's a good idea!"
"Wait, autopsies..."
"We can handle the autopsies here. They'll be grateful for it."
Uh... really? Grateful? Well, forensic science did develop alongside medicine, didn't it? Even though I didn't specialize in forensics—my knowledge was limited to what I'd learned as a student—I was still far more knowledgeable than anyone here.
"Alright, let's not waste time here. Everyone, let's go."
"Wait, are we really going to the police station?"
"You're the one who suggested it. Why are you backing out now?"
"What about the others...? No, never mind."
These guys. They must've really hated dissection, because their eyes lit up as soon as they heard we were leaving. I could understand, though. The smell of formaldehyde alone was enough to give anyone a headache, and here... ugh, I accidentally took a deep breath, and now I feel like throwing up...
"Let's go!"
And so, we left the dissection lab and headed to the police station in a carriage. Thanks to Liston's frequent amputations, our carriages were getting better and better. We really needed to develop new techniques to reduce the number of amputations needed, but with only one body, Liston's work in London was never-ending.
"Hey."
"R-requesting backup!"
"It's Liston."
"Liston! The wanted man... I mean, Professor."
There was a bit of commotion as we entered the police station. As usual, it was because of his face... Fortunately, since we'd had some dealings with the police before, some officers recognized Liston, so we were seated in a proper room instead of a cell.
"So... what brings you here?"
Hadn't we helped them with that syphilis case before? Turns out that guy wasn't just spreading syphilis—he'd also been embezzling money. After eating spoiled bread and being cured of syphilis, he ended up in jail. Thanks to that, the police's reputation improved, whether because of the chief or just Liston's face, so we were treated decently.
"Any murder cases lately?"
That was the first thing Liston said. Could there be a more inappropriate thing to say at a police station?
"Uh... you're not here to confess, are you?"
"What nonsense! I'm an honorable doctor."
"You mentioned murder... what's this about?"
"We need recently deceased bodies..."
No, no, that wasn't it. There was something even more inappropriate. A madman talking about bodies after mentioning murder?
"Officer..."
At this point, I had no choice. As an Asian, speaking directly to the police was incredibly intimidating, but I didn't want to end up in jail just for being here.
"Ah... go ahead."
The officer, like most British people, looked at my face with obvious disdain. But since Liston was with me, he didn't cross the line. If I'd been alone... I might've been thrown in jail just for speaking.
"We'd like to perform autopsies for you."
"Autopsies...? We don't have the budget to pay for that..."
They didn't even spend money on autopsies. If the victim was someone important, it would be a different story, but... such cases were rare. On the other hand, ordinary people dying was just a daily occurrence in London at this time. People died every day, really.
"It's fine. We'll do it for free."
"Hmm."
Free. In London, "free" was synonymous with a scam. Naturally, the officer's expression grew increasingly uneasy. Liston stepped in.
"Call it a favor, but if you let us keep the bodies, we'll handle the dissections too."
"Ah... well... hmm."
Hearing that it wasn't entirely free seemed to ease his mind. Not that it was a particularly comforting thought, but... I couldn't judge this with a 21st-century perspective. This was the 19th century—a time when so-called civilized people were still barbarians.
"Alright."
"Good."
"Yes, good. Actually... we just got a report. Let's go."
"Great."
With a verbal agreement in place, we headed to the murder scene. I'm supposed to be a doctor... trying to save lives... How did things end up like this? But here we were.