The Researcher's Caution

At a university, especially one like Darwin College, which had considerable achievements in the field of biology, finding a biology laboratory was a very simple matter.

Murphys and Rita Montalcini, whose curiosity he had successfully piqued, entered a laboratory under the guidance of the college dean and several professors.

A professor of cell biology introduced his laboratory. He was also a researcher of nerve cells, and very soon he had several graduate students prepare the experimental materials.

It was a mouse, with the nerve in one of its legs severed.

"I have most of the materials needed for neurobiology here. If you need anything, you can tell me directly." Although the professor did not quite believe Murphys's boasting, since the matter had caught the interest of a big name, he was not stingy about offering a little help.

Murphys looked around. "Everything's very complete, but I'd guess you probably don't have this."

As he spoke, he took from his pocket a small bottle of undiluted Essence of Dittany that he had prepared.

"Please secure the mouse's leg, expose the affected area, and rinse it so we can see the severed nerve clearly," Murphys instructed a graduate student naturally.

The girl, who was several years older than Murphys, froze for a moment, but under the attentive gazes of the various mentors and professors, she did not dare raise any objection and obediently did as she was told.

Murphys solemnly fetched a dropper, drew out a few drops of the undiluted Essence of Dittany, and dripped them onto the wound.

Murphys was already used to what happened next.

Amid a chorus of exclamations, everyone watched the wound heal in just a few short seconds. The mouse bounded around as if it had never been injured, while they launched into intense discussions about the mechanism behind this miraculous scene.

Rita was also very surprised. "This may indeed be a Nobel Prize-level discovery. What is this substance of yours called, and roughly what cellular mechanism does it involve?"

Having finally waited for this question, Murphys shook his head in embarrassment. "I don't know what cellular mechanism is involved. In fact, that's exactly why I wanted to speak with you today. I discovered this substance and I know its effects, but I still don't understand the logic behind it."

"As for the name of this substance, perhaps some people have heard of it. It is Cloud White Medicine."

"Cloud White Medicine? You mean that trauma-treatment drug that's been causing such a stir recently?"

Among the scholars who had come along, some were involved in medicine and pharmaceuticals, and they had heard the name Cloud White Medicine almost to the point of exhaustion these past few days.

Rita had not heard of White Medicine, but someone quickly explained the recent turmoil to her. The look in her eyes as she regarded Murphys changed somewhat. "You say you discovered this substance. Who are you? What is your relationship with that company?"

"You may call me Murphys Anon. Umbrella Corporation was founded by me."

"It seems today's demonstration is not merely a simple academic discussion," Rita said.

Murphys thought for a moment and decided to be frank. "Yes. You have also seen the effects of White Medicine. It can heal external injuries in a few short minutes, even seconds. No previous drug has been able to do that. White Medicine has extremely broad prospects for application in trauma treatment, emergency care, nerve repair, and even medical cosmetology."

"But White Medicine's overwhelming effects have also provoked pressure from multiple pharmaceutical companies. They..."

"Wait," Rita interrupted Murphys's lengthy speech. "You want me to endorse your drug?"

Murphys was speechless for a moment, then after quite a while said, "I only wanted you to verify its effects, to prove its tremendous uses..."

"Has your drug undergone clinical trials?"

"Not yet. The Medicines Safety Committee is delaying the issuance of clinical approval, but White Medicine's effects have already been verified by many buyers..."

"Young man." Rita pressed both hands downward, as if to calm Murphys's emotions. "The effect you just demonstrated is indeed astonishing. Perhaps your drug has immense scope for application, and enormous potential to be explored..."

"However, you do not know its mechanism of action," Rita said. "To you, and to everyone using it, it is a black box."

"Its effects may be, as you wish, the result of an extremely stable and effective biochemical mechanism, and may not cause rejection or adverse reactions in anyone."

"But countless lessons throughout history tell us that when we still cannot understand something and yet use it indiscriminately, it often leads to many unexpected tragedies."

"I am one of the discoverers of growth factors. Growth factors can promote cellular development, repair, and regeneration. They sound like something very good. But do you know that they can also promote the growth of cancer cells, and do so much more strongly than they promote normal cells? They may even lead to the birth of cancer cells."

"To see only the benefits of something while ignoring its potential risks is not what a researcher should do."

"I'm sorry, young man. Perhaps you can consider waiting until the drug has been clinically verified before putting it on the market."

When Murphys heard this, he knew he had failed.

From the standpoint of scientific rigor, her words made perfect sense and were impossible to refute.

Rita Levi-Montalcini was a scientist. Even if only to be responsible for her own academic reputation, she could not lightly endorse anything that had not been fully verified.

After Rita finished speaking, she prepared to leave. Murphys was still somewhat unwilling to give up. "Don't you want to know the therapeutic principles behind White Medicine? You yourself said this was a Nobel Prize-level discovery!"

Rita had already reached the laboratory door. Hearing this, she paused and said, "Young man, I am already seventy-eight years old. My energy is far from what it once was. Though I do not want to admit it, my research career is basically over."

"I am not Madame Curie. I do not have her talent or fortune to win the prize twice."

"Going around giving talks, telling stories, and luring young people into this field is one of the few things I can do now."

"However, you are right. I do indeed want to know the principle behind this experiment."

"Although I will not endorse your company or your drug, I may still think of a way to try to study it. Perhaps this is the risk of being a researcher. Our curiosity is always insatiable."

"But you had best not expect an old woman with one foot in the grave to produce any astonishing results."

"I suggest you talk with the professors here. Or, if necessary, I can also introduce you to a few people. They are all very outstanding scholars and should be more helpful to you than I am."

Murphys breathed a sigh of relief. Although he had not persuaded Rita, if he could spark a wave of research into Cloud White Medicine, that should count as fairly good positive public opinion.

"Thank you for your help! I'll write to you!" Murphys called.

"I look forward to it."

After Rita left, quite a few scholars gathered around Murphys to chat, all hinting openly and subtly that they wanted some of the undiluted liquid from earlier for experimental research.

Murphys agreed to them all, but he planned, after returning, to send them only some mixed medicine roughly the same as what was on the market.

The secret of Essence of Dittany was worth a fortune. How could he possibly hand it over to others?

Once the future research institute was built, he would only provide the true undiluted Essence of Dittany to researchers who could serve him wholeheartedly.

And he would have to sign confidentiality agreements with them.

Hmm... Maybe a mere agreement wouldn't be enough. Should he add something like an Unbreakable Vow too?

With all these random thoughts running through his head, Murphy was about to wander around the university campus some more when his mobile phone rang.

Under the students' astonished and envious gazes, Murphy took out the black brick. "Hello? Who is this?"

"Mr. Parker, it's—it's me, Wood. Mr. Parker? Can you hear me?"