Dr. Redding, the Editor in Chief of the Blight Medical Journal (BMJ), crossed her legs as she read the content proposal for the next publication. She was a woman who looked much older than her age, but she had used that appearance for her advantage. Her motherly appearance triggered many people into compliance, especially when she needed to scold her editors about selecting nonsensical articles, like the one that Dr. Burton was proposing. Upon finishing the first draft, she turned to Dr. Burton from across the large round mahogany table. 

“You want to publish this nonsense?” After posing the question, Dr. Redding lightly chucked the eight-page medical research paper onto the table. 

Across the front page was the title, “the correlation between electrocardiograms and pulse diagnosis techniques from ancient China.”

Dr. Burton cleared his throat and glanced at his other colleagues from the room. Some colleagues sneered while the others with no bones to pick simply stared blankly  outside the large window that overlooked the green lawns of the memorial square.

“The original publication had already been published in Chinese through the TCM Journal,” said Dr. Burton. “I have a friend working there, and he said it is considered one of the most prized publications by the TCM  Journal.”

Dr. Burton had spent a few years working in Magic City working with doctors and medical editors. Many people in the room did not even know the TCM Journal existed, since many Chinese medical journals had less than 1 IF.

“Even more reason why we shouldn’t publish this paper,” said one of the other editors.

Medical journals prided themselves in being the first to publish medical papers. If the paper was published, they had to reference the original, boosting the number of citations. It was one of the reasons why medical journals required disclosure from the authors that the paper was not submitted to other publications.

From the author’s perspective, it was a waste of time to wait six months for the journal to review the research, only to be sent a notice of decline. The author would have to resubmit to another journal. However, from the editor’s perspective, if they spent 6 months reviewing a paper and the author was accepted to another publication, they had wasted their time. As the medical journals were the ones with the upper hand, naturally they would side with the editors.

It was considered unprofessional to submit to multiple publications. When Professor Shao Shan recommended the paper to Dr. Burton, there was a declaration that the original Chinese paper was already published, but the translated English version was only submitted to BMJ. This was common acceptable practice, but many medical journals still hesitated to publish papers they didn’t publish first.

“Dr. Burton, I’m not entirely against the idea of publishing a translated article, but what benefits are there to the public and medical profession if we publish this article?” Dr. Redding asked.

Dr. Redding valued medical reports that cautioned the public of dubious claims of supplements, the dangers of smoking, and unhealthy lifestyles. She was seeing more and more people searching for alternative medicine, and not many of them were supported by medical research. If she published the paper, she feared the quacks in Old Blight would start using it to advertise whatever scam supplements and remedies they were selling on their website.

“Dr. Redding, I understand your concerns about the rampant abuse in the alternative medicine community, but Dr. Li’s surgical ability is really something,” Dr. Burton stated. “The research itself stated the ability is extremely difficult to learn, and only a handful of qualified TCM doctors in the history of China could judge the rhythm of blood flow with accurate precision.”

“But I do not see any benefits,” said Dr. Redding. “The idea of pregnancy pulse relating to EKG is interesting, but there are too many variations the doctor has to consider when analyzing the EKG. It’s particularly easier for a doctor to run to the drug store and buy a pregnancy kit.”

“Dr. Redding, although the research seemed difficult for most people to analyze, what about computer software and testing robots?” Dr. Burton proposed. “China is at the forefront of new technology like creating robots to overcome the shortage of doctors in their country and diagnostic robots based on rapid blood tests. However, if that could be supplemented by Dr. Li’s EKG studies and fine-tune the diagnostic ability, this could revolutionize the future of medicine.” 

Although Dr. Burton was enthusiastic, many doctors sitting in the room were alarmed. The idea of being replaced by robots was a scary thought. Unlike China, the other first-world countries didn’t have a shortage of doctors, and it was also a lucrative and respected career.

“Robots are not always accurate, there are situations where the doctors must be involved to confirm the diagnosis,” was what most doctors would say.

However, their concerns were similar to people who were concerned about automated driving cars. Many feared glitches and hacking problems, but it was people who were more prone to glitches and accidents. Most statistics showed a higher percentage of human errors than machines.

“Dr. Redding, many journals are beginning to publish articles on nanotechnology and genetics,” said Dr. Burton. “Although the future may be unknown, we must not hold back on allowing people to glimpse into the future. Doctors must also work as innovators and researchers that will advance human capability”

It wasn’t just diagnostic robots, but nanotechnology and genetic modifications that were the future of medicine. Imagine switching on and off hormones and deciding traits of newborn babies. The question wasn’t if, but when the technology will advance enough for all those things to happen. By then, it wasn’t a question of ability, but a question of ethics. For some, scientists and doctors were playing God, but for others, it was the future of human evolution.

Dr. Redding tapped her fingers on the table, considering the options. She didn’t believe for one moment that Dr. Burton cared about advancing future innovations, he had always been the type who cared more about advancing himself. However, she had seen Li Yun’s surgery via a private medical site, and admittedly, the young doctor had amazing surgical techniques.

“Dr. Burton, I would like to publish something, but have Dr. Li and his team write up a new article,” said Dr. Redding. “I am sure they have other studies conducting on a similar topic.”

Dr. Burton was elated to hear the news.

****

Life returned to normal as Li Yun continued to collect all the necessary requirements for the missions.

The cauldron and jade trigrams was the most difficult, but with enough funding, he acquired a Shang Dynasty cauldron and Xia Dynasty jade stone. After carving out the jade, he finally completed his mission.

Comprehend Feng Shui to Small Perfection.   

Gather the following items.

   Tool: Cauldron with 1000 qi, jade trigrams with 1000 qi, and wood with 1000 qi.

   Items: 9 different items with 1000 qi. 9/9

   Medicinal: 9 different medicinal with 1000 qi.  9/9

Mission completed. Recipe rewarded.  

"A recipe?" Li Yun hoped it wasn't food-related when he scanned the recipe inside his head. "Too bad it isn't the elixir of life."

The recipe wasn’t even a recipe in a traditional sense, but a chemical compound and its molecular structure. People underestimate the importance of structure, but it was the difference between graphite and diamond.

As for the purpose of the formula, he was not sure until after he created it in his lab and tested it out on himself. And just because he got a formula and its basic structure, creating something wasn’t going to be simple. There were extraction and manufacturing methods for chemicals that weren’t suited for his simple lab at the Dong Xuan Clinic and he needed to upgrade the Shennong Factory laboratory equipment.

He spent a week focusing on making a small sample. As before, he could evaluate the potential effects on his body, but in order to understand its purpose, he needed to test it on different blood samples and microbes.

“I’ll give you the samples, but on one condition,” said Chief Zhang.

“Really Chief?” Li Yun had always gotten samples without many conditions. He was already preparing to teach a class for a previous favor. “Not another class?”

“Not another class, but you have to meet with an editor from Blight Medical Journal.”

“Oh?” Li Yun had submitted the translation to them on Professor Shao Shan’s advice. He didn’t think they wanted to meet with him in person, unless it was about something else.

“Director Hong has already agreed, so you really can’t refuse this one.”