Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 640 Is the war over?
The plot of the novel "The Story of Chess" is not complicated—

It tells the story of Dr. B, an amateur chess player, who plays two games against William Steinitz, the world chess champion, on a ship sailing from Paris to New York.

In the novel, Dr. B's secret to his superb chess skills is that he was imprisoned in solitary confinement for twenty years for exposing a scandal involving the Habsburg family.

For twenty years, his only pastime was a chess manual he had acquired by chance. He could only play chess with himself day after day, year after year, tearing his spirit in two.

He chose to play against Wilhelm Steinitz to prove that he "could play against a living person," and unexpectedly defeated the champion.

After learning of his past, Wilhelm Steinitz chose a cruel way to play the second game against him—slowing down the pace and deliberately making unorthodox moves.

All of this made Dr. B increasingly anxious and agitated, eventually plunging him into a state of split personality and mania, only snapping him back to his senses when someone reminded him.

In the end, Dr. B readily admitted defeat and vowed never to play chess again.

This story was originally intended to denounce the torment and devastation inflicted on people's minds by Nazi fascism. The original author, Stefan Zweig, mainly used it to express his hatred for Nazi fascism.

However, just as the cholera epidemic in Paris had ended in 1884, Jules Rochelle believed that this was a blatant attack by Lionel on him and the Paris Medical School!
In the novel, the chess world champion named Wilhelm Steinitz easily defeats all his opponents on a ship, enjoying the adoration of everyone—

Isn't this a testament to his status in the Parisian medical community? He was a professor at the Paris Medical School, the head of the cholera prevention committee, and an authority revered by countless doctors.

Then, Dr. B appeared.

An amateur, someone who had never appeared in an official competition, actually defeated the world champion.

Jules Rochelle immediately recognized that this "Dr. B" was Lionel Sorel himself, or perhaps he represented ordinary people who knew nothing about cholera.

The Habsburg family, the most influential ruling family in European history, undoubtedly symbolizes the bastion of French medical orthodoxy—the Paris Medical School!

To prove whether he could play chess like a normal person, Dr. B chose to play against Wilhelm Steinitz—wasn't that what Sorel did during the cholera outbreak?
He broke into the cordoned-off area and challenged the authority of the entire Parisian medical community with his "boil water and drink salt water" method.

The cruel "underhanded tactics" used by Wilhelm Steinitz were a direct satire of his own response to the cholera outbreak!
Those images flashed through Jules Rochelle's mind:
He calmly explained the miasma theory to reporters;

At a medical school conference, he insisted that bloodletting and enema were the only correct treatment methods;
In an interview from his hospital bed, he insisted that he only had gastroenteritis, not cholera...

Every step seemed composed, every step conformed to the posture of "authority".

But in Lionel Sorel's novel, this becomes "a cruel way of winning."

Jules Rochelle paced back and forth in his office, his mind filled with the plot of the novel and those seemingly bland but actually acerbic words.

Dr. B suddenly stood up. "I made a stupid mistake!" He bowed to Wilhelm Steinitz again. "What I just said was pure nonsense. Needless to say, you won this game." Then he said to all the spectators, "Gentlemen, I must ask for your forgiveness. Please forgive my embarrassment—this is the last time I will attempt to play chess."

Having said that, he left, and never appeared in the card room again.

Jules Rochelle's chest heaved as he murmured Dr. B's last words: "One last attempt at chess..."

Doesn't this imply that Lionel Sorel has conceded defeat in the "chess game" of cholera?

Isn't he basically saying that he admits he's no match for the medical community and will never venture into that field again?

But why does it feel like Dr. B is satirizing William Steinitz when it reads?
Dr. B is saying something like: You won, but you won in such a despicable and cruel way that I no longer want to play against you.
Jules Rochelle stopped in his tracks, his eyes fixed on Lionel Sorel's name and on the novel.

Publishing this novel at such a sensitive time, just after the cholera outbreak had subsided, was a satire and attack on the orthodox French medicine he represented.

For most people in Paris, wasn't cholera just a passing phase? Hundreds of poor people died, and the debate raged for a month…

Spring has come, the flowers are blooming in the park, but who remembers those who died in the hospital? Who remembers what happened at 17 Rue de Arles?
People just shrug and go on with their lives. But he, Jules Rochelle, won the game, preserving his authority and title.

As long as the next plague—whether it be cholera, typhoid, malaria, or bubonic plague—he and the Paris Medical School can continue to wield the baton behind the scenes, that's enough.

But for some reason, he felt no joy whatsoever. Instead, a surge of anger welled up in his chest, like boiling water, scalding and suffocating him…

After a long while, Jules Rochelle took a deep breath, the blush on her face faded, and she regained her composure and reserve.

He straightened his tie and muttered to himself, "Foolish. To get angry over a novelist's story is utterly foolish."

He picked up the magazine "Modern Life," flicked his wrist, and it fell into the office trash can.

He whispered to himself, "The war is over. I, and we, have won."

Then he turned around, sat down at his desk, took out a report on preventative measures for spring influenza from his drawer, and began to review it.

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At the same time, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, at the Pasteur Institute, a newly renovated laboratory with strict isolation measures was being set up.

Louis Pasteur stood in front of the lab bench, leaning over the microscope, completely immersed in the microscopic world he saw.

Around him, five research assistants were busy at their own pace. One assistant was carefully operating the steam sterilizer, placing a batch of glass petri dishes into it. The steam hissed, and the mercury column in the thermometer slowly rose.

Another assistant was preparing the culture medium by precisely weighing beef extract, peptone, and sodium chloride, adding distilled water, and then heating it over an alcohol lamp to dissolve it.

The third assistant was recording experimental data, writing down the time, temperature, culture medium formula, sample number, etc. in the experimental logbook.

The fourth and fifth assistants stood side by side in front of another microscope, exchanging observations in hushed tones.

“Look at this sample, the number of bacteria has been significantly reduced,” said one of the younger assistants.

The older man leaned closer to the eyepiece: "This proves that a mercuric chloride solution at a concentration of one part per thousand can kill more than 90% of cholerae in fifteen minutes."

"But quicklime works better; a concentration of 0.5% achieves the same effect in five minutes."

"Quicklime is inexpensive and more suitable for large-scale disinfection."

Pasteur straightened up and looked at his two assistants: "You've taken notes?"

“Yes, Professor,” they both answered at the same time.

Pasteur nodded and walked to the other side of the lab bench. There were dozens of glass petri dishes neatly arranged there, each labeled with its number, date, and origin.

Some of these petri dishes were covered with milky white colonies, some had only a few scattered colonies, and some were completely clean with nothing at all.

Over the past month, Pasteur and his team have accomplished remarkable work:

They successfully isolated and cultured active "Asian cholera spirochetes" in a laboratory setting and gained a deeper understanding of the characteristics of this bacterium.

Each discovery strengthens the evidence for the "bacteria theory"; each discovery shakes the foundations of the "miasma theory".

But Pasteur did not feel much joy. He knew better than anyone that overthrowing authority sometimes requires more than just "irrefutable facts."

"Professor?" An assistant interrupted Pasteur's thoughts.

Pasteur looked up: "What is it?"

The young assistant handed over a newly completed lab report: "These are preliminary results on the growth of cholera bacteria in culture media with different pH values."

Pasteur took the report and listened to his assistant's report as he read it: "It grows best in a neutral to slightly alkaline environment, and its growth is significantly inhibited in an acidic environment."

Pasteur quickly concluded: "This means that stomach acid may be a natural barrier. People with insufficient stomach acid may be more susceptible to infection or experience more severe symptoms..."

He looked at his assistant: "Design an experiment immediately to simulate the survival of bacteria under different gastric acid concentrations and times."

"Yes, Professor." The assistant immediately took note.

Pasteur walked back to his lab bench and bent down in front of the microscope again.

In the field of vision, those bacteria, curved like commas, are swimming rapidly in the liquid, shuttling through the microscopic world.

They are so tiny that they are invisible to the naked eye; yet they are so powerful that they can knock down the strongest adult and plunge a city into panic.

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On the newly renovated upper deck of the Perel, Lionel and Sophie stood side by side, enjoying the pleasant feeling of the sea breeze on their faces.

Compared to three years ago, this cruise ship has undergone a complete overhaul. The French cruise line invested heavily in upgrading the steam engines, expanding the cabins, and adding electric lighting.

It all started with that trip to America with nine French writers and the eight stories Lionel Sorel told in the ship's recreation room.

Since that voyage, the Perel has never had trouble selling tickets, especially first-class seats, which have brought huge profits to the cruise company.

After "The Legend of 1900" caused a sensation throughout France during last year's Christmas season, tickets for "Perel" became extremely difficult to obtain.

After boarding, passengers eagerly went to the entertainment room to catch a glimpse of the "80s" spectacle, even if it cost 10 francs to hear a song.

However, for Lionel, getting a ticket to the Perel was a piece of cake—the captain even delivered the ticket to him personally.

As Calais disappeared from sight, Sophie finally couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure this is a good time? We should be letting more people know the truth about cholera..."

Lionel smiled and said, "What I need is a complete victory, which is why I need to leave Paris at this time."

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(End of this chapter)