Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 531 Using Corruption to Combat Corruption

While the British Empire was experiencing a minor upheaval over the adventure novel "Pirates of the Caribbean," Lionel remained deaf to the controversy.

He recently spent a long time preparing for an extremely important meeting, which even delayed the creation of the second Pirates of the Caribbean film.

But if this meeting is fruitful, its value may exceed all the works he has ever created!
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“I have recently observed some interesting phenomena in life, but I have no answers to them, so I had Mr. Garnier bring me here to ask you.”

Louis Pasteur glanced at the young man who had "boldly" barged into his institute, and did not immediately begin to exchange pleasantries.

He first slowly took off his glasses, then gently wiped them with a cloth, as if trying to buy time to think about how to end the visit as soon as possible.

After putting his glasses back on, he looked at the young man: "You said observation?"

The young man said, “Some everyday phenomena, about mold.” He wasn’t deterred by Pasteur’s indifference, but he didn’t seem overly enthusiastic either.

Mold? Louis Pasteur almost laughed out loud. He studied rabies, anthrax, and the fundamental principles of fermentation and decay—

Now a stranger comes up to him and talks about the mold in the corner of the kitchen?
But he glanced at Charles Garnier. Garnier was his good friend, and the young man had indeed become quite famous recently.

Such social visits occur every now and then, sometimes by pretentious nobles, sometimes by wealthy merchants who consider themselves clever.

They often feel that they have extraordinary insights or talents in science and hope to obtain some kind of certification from him, a great scientist.

Then you can boast in the salon to your equally idle companions: "Look, even Pasteur agreed with me!"

Today's visitor is a writer, which is a first for me, but he doesn't seem any different from the other visitors.

He had no interest in literature and had almost no interaction with contemporary writers—such as Flaubert—so he had no intention of flattering the young man.

He asked casually, "You mentioned mold, what exactly are you referring to?"

The young man opened the paper package he had brought with him. Inside were not sophisticated instruments or specimens, but just a few everyday items:
A piece of moldy bread, half an orange covered in green mold, and a slice of cheese with white fuzz around the edges.

He carefully placed them on Pasteur's desk: "I've noticed some patterns in these things."

Pasteur looked at the food. The mold on the bread was greenish-blue, spreading outward from a small spot to form irregular patches.

The green fuzz on the oranges is denser, like a velvety blanket. The white fuzz around the edges of the cheese is thin but even.

Pasteur continued, "What pattern?" He was already preparing to end the conversation.

The young man drew a circle with his finger: "Where the mold grows, the decay seems to stop!"

Pasteur did not speak.

The young man pointed to the rotten food: "Look at this piece of bread, the part that isn't moldy has started to soften and has a sour smell—that means it's starting to spoil."

However, in the moldy part, beneath the mold, the bread remained unchanged; it didn't improve, it simply stagnated.

Louis Pasteur leaned forward, not because he was convinced, but because the way the description had caught his attention—

This person didn't rush to conclusions; they were simply describing the phenomenon, and doing so very accurately.

Pasteur's tone remained indifferent: "It's possible that the mold altered the local environment, the pH level, the humidity... anything is possible. It doesn't necessarily have any special significance."

The young man nodded: "Yes, I've thought about that too."

He picked up the piece of cheese: "But look at this. Rockford cheese, aged in a cave, the cave walls covered in mold."

The cheese was covered in mold, but it didn't rot. Instead, it developed a unique flavor and could be preserved for a long time.

Pasteur knew about Roquefort cheese; he even studied the cheese's fermentation process.

But what does that have to do with the current topic?
The young man continued unhurriedly, "And there's the wine cellar. The oak barrels often get moldy on the outside, but the wine doesn't spoil."

The mold is there, growing year after year, but it doesn't seep into the wine.

He paused, looking at Pasteur: "These molds—on the bread, on the cheese, on the barrels—"

They seem to be different from other microorganisms that cause decay. Once they take up space, others don't come.

The office fell silent as Ganiye stared in astonishment at the young man he had brought in.

His original idea was the same as Pasteur's: that the young people were just there to "chase stars." He never expected that they would actually start to "study" something.

Louis Pasteur quickly reviewed his knowledge of microorganisms in his mind: yeast, lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria, various bacteria that cause spoilage...

Mold is certainly included, but it is usually considered part of the decay rather than a factor that inhibits decay.

Pasteur finally became a little serious: "Where did you get these observations?"

The young man's answer was simple: "It seems so. The oranges and bread are from my own kitchen, the cheese is from the market, and the wine cellar... I've been to some wineries."

A writer came to talk to him about mold, and although Pasteur still felt it was a bit absurd, he finally became serious.

Because the phenomenon described by this writer happens to fall on the edge of his professional field—the boundary between fermentation and putrefaction, the competitive relationship between microorganisms.

These were all questions he had considered, but he hadn't thought about them in this specific direction.

The young man spoke again: "There's one more thing. I've read some old books, military doctors' notes, and village doctors' journals."

It was mentioned that during battlefield first aid, if there wasn't enough gauze, some military doctors would apply moldy breadcrumbs or mold spots to the wounds.

This method is not effective for all wounds, but for some, it actually reduces the amount of pus.

Louis Pasteur's expression finally turned serious: "Are those notes reliable?" The young man honestly replied, "I don't know. It could be a coincidence, or it could be a misremembering. But there are similar records in more than one place."

Moreover, the described scenes were very similar—using moldy substances stopped the wound from festering, or slowed down the festering process.

Louis Pasteur stood up, took a few steps around the office, and then turned back.

He suddenly asked, "Do you know about rabies?"

The young man paused for a moment, then nodded: "I know a little."

Pasteur walked back to the table: "I'm studying its vaccine. I'm doing animal experiments every day, observing how it spreads, how it causes disease, and how to prevent it."

That's a clearly identified pathogen, a clearly identified disease.

He glanced at the moldy food on the table: "And what you've told me is just fragmented observation. Oranges, bread, cheese..."

There are also potentially unreliable military medical notes; they may or may not be related.

The young man nodded: "Yes. That's why I came to you, hoping to get the answer from you."

Louis Pasteur stared at him for a while. The young man's eyes were calm, without the fanaticism or ostentation often seen in amateurs.

He was simply stating some facts and presenting the problem.

Pasteur finally asked the crucial question: "Do you believe these molds can inhibit bacteria?"

The young man shook his head: "I don't know. I just feel that these phenomena are so common that no one really pays attention."

But if there really is some kind of pattern behind them, that could be very useful.

"What is the use?"

The young man's answer was straightforward: "Wound infection. Puerperal fever, postoperative suppuration, and inflammation of small wounds at other times—"

If there really were a type of mold that could inhibit the bacteria that cause suppuration, it could save many lives.

The office fell silent again, and Louis Pasteur sat back down in his chair.

He picked up the moldy bread and brought it close to his eyes to examine it closely—the mold hyphae were very fine, interwoven into a net-like structure, forming a velvety blanket on the surface of the bread.

The edges are clearly defined, resembling the territorial boundaries of a country on a map.

He started talking to himself: "You mean the mold 'takes up space, so other things won't come'? Maybe it's competing for nutrients."

It's also possible that it secretes some substance that prevents other microorganisms from growing.

Louis Pasteur put down the bread, looked first at Garnier, then at the young man.

Two voices were arguing in his head: one said it was a waste of time, and the rabies vaccine was the important thing;
Another person said, "But this is indeed an interesting question, and if something is actually discovered..."

Finally, Pasteur slowly said, "Assuming—just assuming—that these molds can indeed inhibit certain bacteria, that requires systematic research."

Isolating the mold, culturing it, testing its effects on different bacteria, identifying the active ingredient, verifying its safety... this takes several years.

The young man nodded: "I know."

"And it's possible to gain nothing at all."

"I know too."

Louis Pasteur was silent for a moment, then he said, "Why do you care about this?"

The young man did not answer immediately, but looked out the window, as if he was organizing his thoughts or recalling something.

Then he turned back and said, “I’ve seen people in slums, in the countryside, in hospitals, get infected from the smallest wounds, and because there’s no medicine, they just fester.”

Sometimes it's the loss of the entire person; sometimes it's amputation. If there's a way—even if the chances are slim—it's worth trying.

Louis Pasteur looked at him; the young man spoke calmly, but his words carried great weight.

Louis Pasteur hesitated: "I need time to consider. Research on the rabies vaccine is at a critical stage, and I can't afford to be distracted too much."

The young man stood up: "Understood. If you decide to research this, I'm willing to provide funding, build a dedicated laboratory, hire assistants, and buy equipment..."

Louis Pasteur raised his eyebrows: "You have a lot of money?"

The young man shrugged: “There are some. And I think it makes more sense than spending money elsewhere.”

Charles Garnier also stood up: "Louis, he's serious. His novels sell well, and he has other businesses too."

Louis Pasteur remained silent, his mind racing with calculations:
If a team were to be dedicated to studying mold, how much budget and time would it require, and how much impact would it have on rabies research?

Finally, he said, "I will write to you. If I think it's worth starting, I will tell you what you need."

The young man nodded: "Okay." He began to clean up the moldy food, but Pasteur waved his hand.

He said, "I'll stay. I want to see what happens."

The young man paused for a moment, then nodded.

He rewrapped the bread, oranges, and cheese and gently placed them on the corner of the table.

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(End of this chapter)