"But the problem is... the infection pattern is strange."
"How so?"
When Taeho asked, Professor Durand spread out the patient list and said,
"They sat at the same table and ate the same langoustines. I can understand individual differences, but the pattern is odd. Generally, age or underlying conditions are important factors, but this time the healthy young doctors are more severe, while the elderly researchers are perfectly fine. I've never seen anything like this."
At that moment, a chilling thought flashed through Taeho's mind.
"Professor Durand, this may not be simple food poisoning."
"What do you mean?"
"I need to examine the patients myself first. And I'll need to check the blood samples personally as well."
"Of course. This way."
Professor Durand led the way toward the intensive care unit.
The corridor leading to the ICU was thick with the smell of disinfectant.
"There are currently three critical patients admitted. Among them, Professor Yamada is in the most serious condition."
Taeho approached Professor Yamada's bed.
"Professor Yamada, can you hear me?"
The patient's eyelids slowly rose. Pale skin, lips cracked from dehydration, pupils trembling faintly.
"Ugh... where is this..."
Taeho took his wrist and checked his pulse. It was irregular and weak.
"His blood pressure?"
"Eighty-five over fifty-five, and still dropping."
The nurse in charge answered. Taeho took out a penlight and shone it into his pupils. There was a response, but his focus was unstable.
"Professor, do you know today's date?"
"...The 15th?"
"That's right. Then where are we?"
"...Brest..."
He was conscious, but his response was slow, and he looked as if he might soon fall into shock.
On the bed beside him, Dr. Davis struggled to turn his body. His forehead was soaked with sweat, but his eyes were relatively clear.
"Dr. Davis, how are you feeling?"
"I think I'm a little better... but I'm dizzy."
"Thirty-eight point five degrees. Still a high fever."
"The vomiting has lessened, but the headache is terrible."
Compared to Professor Yamada, his voice had strength, but his breathing was rough.
Dr. Müller, at the far end, seemed relatively stable.
"My head feels foggy, but it's bearable."
His pulse was steady, and his blood pressure was relatively stable as well.
The three of them were clearly in different conditions.
Although all of them were in the ICU, the reason Dr. Müller was there was, in truth, closer to observation. Since it was a group outbreak, they were monitoring him in preparation for any sudden change.
Taeho's gaze deepened.
'Why are the three of them showing symptoms this different?'
Just then, a nurse came running over urgently.
"Professor, the emergency room called. Twelve more patients have come in!"
"Twelve more?"
Professor Durand's face turned pale.
Taeho spoke quickly.
"We need to check the blood samples right now. There is definitely something we're missing."
"Let's go to the third-floor laboratory. I'll assign Martin to you."
Professor Durand nodded.
Taeho hastened his steps toward the laboratory. The cold air of the corridor bit into his skin, but his mind grew even hotter.
There was definitely something. But he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.
When they arrived at the hospital laboratory, Martin, a resident in laboratory medicine, set a blood sample under the microscope.
"Dr. Kang, this is Professor Yamada's blood smear. We didn't see anything special with the standard stain."
Martin adjusted the microscope as he spoke.
"Is there something in particular you're looking for?"
"No, I just wanted to check it myself."
"Understood. Then I'll prepare the other samples."
Taeho looked into the blood smear. He couldn't see any ordinary bacteria or parasites. But when he activated Bio Vision, other things began to appear.
'What is that?'
Tiny particles of light were drifting among the blood cells. They resembled viruses in shape, but their size was far too uniform.
Taeho turned off Bio Vision and looked again. Truly, nothing was visible. When he turned Bio Vision back on, they reappeared.
'Does that mean they can only be observed at a specific wavelength?'
Martin returned and asked,
"Did you find something?"
"I think I still need a little more time."
"Then should I prepare other staining methods for you? Special viral stains, or..."
"Martin, could I look at the blood samples from the other patients as well?"
"The other patients? Who do you mean?"
"Dr. Davis's and Dr. Müller's as well."
"Hm. Since all three are food poisoning patients from the same incident, I imagine they'll be similar. Is there a special reason?"
Taeho answered carefully.
"The severity of their symptoms is different. I want to compare whether there are differences in their blood, too."
"Ah, I see. One moment."
Martin took several labeled test tubes from the refrigerator.
"Shall we start with Dr. Davis's?"
When the new slide was placed under the microscope, Taeho activated Bio Vision again.
The same luminous particles appeared in Dr. Davis's blood as well. But the concentration was lower than in Professor Yamada's. The particles that had been moving actively in Professor Yamada's sample were moving relatively slowly in Dr. Davis's sample.
"Would you like to look at Dr. Müller's now?"
Martin prepared the final slide.
The moment Taeho looked into the microscope, he blinked in surprise.
'That's strange.'
There were almost no luminous particles in Dr. Müller's blood.
Only a few drifted about intermittently.
It was completely different. Dr. Müller seemed almost uninfected.
Taeho began organizing the differences among the three samples.
'This isn't a simple individual difference.'
Seeing Taeho focused, Martin asked,
"Dr. Kang, did you discover some difference?"
Taeho quickly turned off Bio Vision and raised his head.
"Hm. The degree of white blood cell response is slightly different."
"Really? It came out similar in our quantitative analysis. That's odd."
"It's a subtle difference, so it would be hard to distinguish."
Taeho rose from his seat.
"Thank you for preparing the samples. They were really helpful."
"Don't mention it. If you need any additional tests, let me know anytime."
As he walked down the corridor, Taeho organized his thoughts.
The severity and the viral concentration were perfectly proportional.
It seemed as if the virus had been designed to react differently to each individual.
"Rema, analyze this for me."
-Please speak.
"Analyze the unknown particles in the blood samples I just observed. Focus especially on the differences in concentration and activity."
-Analyzing...
-Sample A: high concentration of active particles detected. Sample B: medium concentration. Sample C: trace amount...
"What are those particles?"
-Searching existing database...
-No matching pathogen found.
Taeho recalled the patients' faces.
No way!
"Rema, analyze the research topics of the presenters at this conference in detail."
-Professor Yamada: biomimetic AI—presented a completely new computing paradigm modeled after jellyfish neural networks.
-Dr. Davis: research improving the precision of existing CRISPR technology.
-Dr. Müller: verification of the mechanisms of existing antidepressants and research on reducing side effects.
Taeho's eyes gleamed.
Professor Yamada had proposed a completely new paradigm, Dr. Davis had merely improved an existing technology, and Dr. Müller had verified existing drugs.
"Rema, analyze the impact their recent research has had on the existing academic world."
-Professor Yamada: creation of a new research field, existing theory replacement rate 85%.
-Dr. Davis: improvement of existing technology, existing theory expansion rate 60%.
-Dr. Müller: verification of existing theory, existing theory retention rate 90%.
Taeho nodded.
The puzzle was fitting together more and more as he had expected.
"It's clear. Professor Yamada brought about a paradigm shift, while Dr. Müller verified existing research."
But how could a virus know the content of their research?
It couldn't read and understand text, yet it had infected the people in order of how innovative their research was, with more severe symptoms.
Could it be...
"Rema, is there a correlation between innovative research and creative thinking ability?"
-Yes. Those who conduct innovative research show, on average, 40% higher activity in brain regions associated with creativity.
"Good. Then I'll test my hypothesis. What if this virus is targeting brain regions related to creative thinking?"
-Testing hypothesis...
-Analysis complete. The virus selectively binds to cells with high expression of dopamine D4 receptors.
Taeho realized it in a flash.
"D4 receptors? Those are related to novelty-seeking and creative problem solving!"
-Correct. In addition, those receptors show higher expression rates in individuals with innovative thought patterns.
"Then this virus really is selectively infecting creative people?"
-Probability of hypothesis: 94.7%.
Taeho's mouth fell open.
Who could possibly imagine such a thing?
A virus that made creative people more likely to die!
"Then could such precise targeting evolve naturally?"
-Possibility of natural evolution: 0.003%.
-Possibility of artificial design: 99.997%.
Taeho crossed his arms and fit the puzzle pieces together.
"Rema, let's organize this. Innovative researchers were infected, they have many brain receptors related to creativity, and the virus targets those exact receptors."
-All data is consistent.
"This isn't a coincidence. Someone intentionally created this virus to eliminate creative people."
Taeho dug deeper.
"Rema, can you identify who designed it?"
-Searching higher-level database to access relevant information...
-Insufficient access privileges.
"As expected, it's platinum-grade information, isn't it?"
-Correct.
The disappointment was great.
But one more important question came to mind.
"We need to find a treatment first. Rema, what if we increase the neurotransmitters associated with creativity? Saturate the receptors the virus targets and interfere with its binding."
-Analyzing...
-An interesting approach. A decrease in viral activity is observed when the concentration of neurotransmitters associated with creativity increases.
"What substance would be most effective?"
Taeho mobilized all the neuroscience knowledge in his head.
"What about BDNF? Brain-derived neurotrophic factor. It's directly linked to creative thinking."
-Inhibitory effect on the virus confirmed when BDNF concentration increases.
Suddenly, lightning flashed through Taeho's mind.
"Rema! Do you remember the kelp research we presented?"
-Yes, are you referring to its immunomodulatory effects?
"Not just that. There were additional research findings that fucoidan from kelp promotes BDNF secretion!"
Taeho asked Rema excitedly,
"Rema, analyze the BDNF-promoting effect of fucoidan. Include the therapeutic concentration."
-At a fucoidan concentration of 500 mg/L, BDNF secretion is expected to increase by 300%. At that concentration, viral activity can be suppressed by more than 90%.
Taeho clenched his fist.
"Found it. I found the treatment!"