Chapter 95

"Mr. Graham, do you even know what you're talking about?"

In Mr. Fass's office at The Lancet, David stared with wide eyes, surprised and angry, and shouted, "For a paper by a physician whose name we've never heard, you're asking Mr. Fass to invite at least three busy gentlemen for a discussion? Do you know how much that will cost us?"

"I believe it's worth it!"

Mr. Graham didn't argue much, but he nodded solemnly, sticking to his stance.

On the surface, David was concerned about the paper itself and the magazine's interests, but Mr. Graham could see that his usually amiable colleague was so angry mainly because he had contradicted him and insisted on his own opinion.

"You!..."

Sure enough, David's expression became even more furious, and his gaze toward his colleague turned more hostile.

Seeing the two subordinates argue fiercely, Mr. Fass, the magazine's head, did not immediately intervene. Instead, he looked at the thick paper on the table with a serious expression, deep in thought.

As a paper, the views expressed by the author, John Hunter, were undoubtedly very novel. However, it was precisely these novel views and conclusions that prevented people bound by traditional thinking from accepting them. Like David, who was an editor of a journal and regularly encountered new ideas and discoveries, he still found it difficult to accept, let alone others.

But from Mr. Fass's own experience and insight, this paper was truly special!

From the initial description of blood coagulation to the analysis of clinical blood transfusion issues, from the experimental design to data collection, from the statistical results to the final conclusions, the structure of the paper was like an extremely precise chain, each link tightly connected, leaving no room for criticism!

It was hard to believe that an unknown physician could write such a rigorous paper!

Moreover, compared to the writing style, Mr. Fass valued the content of the paper even more—the views presented, if proven, would be a monumental achievement! Setting aside the issue of blood transfusion, the concept of blood types alone would be a revolution in hematology!

Mr. Graham undoubtedly saw this as well, which was why he insisted on finding Mr. Fass after David rejected it, requesting a consultation and discussion with experts in the field.

"Mr. Fass, I don't think it's necessary at all!"

Seeing his superior deep in thought, David was startled and immediately said sternly, "The author is unknown, and the content is just baseless speculation. I don't think this paper has any value for publication, let alone inviting several gentlemen for a discussion."

Hearing David's words, Mr. Graham became anxious and quickly said, "Mr. Fass, I implore you to take the value of this paper seriously. At the very least, a simple verification should be done before drawing a conclusion!"

"Gentlemen!"

Seeing David about to get angry again, Mr. Fass's expression turned serious, and he said calmly, "I will seriously consider whether it's necessary to invite others to evaluate this paper, but for now, please let me have a moment of peace, can you?"

...

While the editorial department of The Lancet in London was in heated debate over John's paper, in Berlin, Professor Bergmann, a professor of surgery at the University of Berlin's Medical School, was excitedly sending out a paper titled "Research on Several New Disinfection Methods" to a German medical journal in the same city.

John's name was also on this paper.

Although Bergmann was the first author and John the second, the professor did not claim the main credit for himself. Instead, he emphasized in the paper that John was the inventor and advocate of several disinfection methods, while Bergmann was responsible for implementation and effect testing.

Compared to more despicable acts of plagiarism, Bergmann was quite fair.

Of course, even if his teacher had taken all the credit, John wouldn't have cared. These techniques were originally created by Bergmann, and John had just brought them back through time, just as he had sold the patent for the bamboo filament light bulb to Edison, already getting a good deal.

For John, who was on vacation, he was completely unaware of these two events.

On this day, after returning from his cousin's house, Old Hunter was still very excited, pulling John to the fireplace and talking about his youth. The conversation naturally turned to his mother, Elizabeth, and the old man's mood gradually became somber.

Seeing the situation, John quickly changed the subject, "Grandpa, speaking of which, isn't it the day after tomorrow when Mr. Bristow and Baron Cole are hosting a ball? What were the balls in Berlin like when you were young?"

"What's different about balls?"

John's topic indeed diverted Old Hunter's attention. He immediately sneered, "Just some new dance tunes... Oh, right, now there are electric lights, which makes it a bit different. Before I came, more and more places in New York were installing light bulbs. John, you gave up a good business!"

At this point, Old Hunter sighed regretfully.

Although the sales of light bulbs were still not high due to the high cost and immature power plant technology, only some hotels and wealthy families could afford them, it was still a business of tens of thousands of bulbs a year, and in the future, it could reach millions or even tens of millions annually. Old Hunter had always been somewhat regretful that John had sold the patent to Edison.

"What's there to regret?"

John was indifferent to Old Hunter's words, shaking his head and saying casually, "I can always come up with better alternatives. Once they popularize electric lighting and people get used to it, wouldn't it be better for me to enter the market then?"

"You have better inventions?"

Old Hunter's eyes lit up, and he eagerly asked.

Old Hunter knew his grandson well and was aware of his capabilities, so it wasn't surprising that he had new inventions after being in Germany for over a year.

There was no need to hide anything from his grandfather, so John smiled and nodded, "Yes, Grandpa, I've designed a new type of light bulb that is much brighter and longer-lasting than the bamboo filament bulb, but with similar production costs..."

"Do you have a sample?"

Hearing his grandson's words, Old Hunter became interested and asked enthusiastically, temporarily putting aside his daughter's issues.

John nodded in satisfaction and led his grandfather to his laboratory.

John had indeed already made a simple sample of the light bulb, and its design and structure were closer to the incandescent bulbs of the future, essentially the final form. Under Old Hunter's curious urging, John connected the bulb to a homemade battery and quickly lit the only sample.

"Wow..."

When the bulb lit up in the dark room, Old Hunter couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath!

Indeed, as John had said, the new bulb was much brighter, and for some reason, the light felt more comfortable, unlike the dim, film-like light of the bamboo filament bulb!

Approaching to examine the bulb closely, Old Hunter asked in amazement, "John, I see it's a bit different from ordinary bulbs. Is the main difference in the structure?"

"Of course not, the main change is in the filament material."

Seeing his grandfather's curious expression, John found it somewhat amusing and smiled, shaking his head.

The appearance of the bamboo filament bulb marked the beginning of the electric lighting era, but the widespread adoption of light bulbs in households was due to several factors: the advancement of electricity, cost reduction, economic development, and the introduction of tungsten filament bulbs, which offered higher brightness, longer life, and easier manufacturing!

This was the good thing John had kept for himself.

And...

"Grandpa."

As if suddenly remembering something good, John's face showed a rather strange smile, and he leaned close to his grandfather, grinning, "Grandpa, isn't Mr. Edison busy building his power system now? How's it going?"

Before coming to Berlin, Edison's Light Company had already started building power stations in New York, which was widely publicized. Old Hunter had even commented on it, believing that Edison's power plant had a bright future. However, John remembered that Edison didn't succeed because he insisted on promoting direct current and disparaging alternating current, which ultimately led to his company being swallowed up and the birth of the giant General Electric...

"Pretty good, I guess. It should be quite profitable."

After a slight hesitation, Old Hunter made a conclusion. For a competent businessman, the standard for evaluating things was simply whether they made money.

However, from Old Hunter's hesitation, John sensed something.

"Maybe the drawbacks of direct current are starting to show?"

Thinking of this reason, John raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "Grandpa, what if we also develop a power system and start collecting electricity fees worldwide?"

"What did you say?"

Hearing his grandson's words, Old Hunter was stunned.

John smiled and leaned closer, "I mean, if we introduce this new type of bulb at the same time, it should have a bright future, right?"

"Who would build it? Do you know how to do it?"

Old Hunter shook his head and laughed bitterly, directly rejecting John's suggestion.

But John wasn't one to give up easily. He spread his hands and smiled, "I don't know, but I know someone who does! In fact, this person is likely in America right now. You can look for them when you go back..."

...