[The papers are ignored. Alucard's eyes are still down on his own page, aware that he ought to ask Trevor so many follow up questions but he simply can't focus on that right now. When he hits upon a thought like this, it must be followed through in full.]
How did your family perform transfusions?
[It isn't a random question. His thought hinges on the information.]
[ He has to give that some thought, largely because there is a lot of information he could give in response to that and he's trying to narrow down what Alucard probably needs. ]
I'll spare you the history of the Renard branch of the family and the theories on what blood can and can't be turned and- We've been using the technique for maybe two centuries now. Usually to- exsanguination was always a pretty fucking common risk, and it's meant to help with that if you get there in time. Sometimes to get the sacrament into the body, to avert turning. I only saw it done a few times, but-
[ He rolls up one sleeve, so to point to places on his own arm as an example. ]
You make a cut here, usually. [ He points to the inside of his elbow. ] And you have a- it's a tube of thin metal. You put it in there. And you make a poultice of clay and- some herb or another, pack it around the tube to make a seal. Then you do the same on the other side, either with the person or animal that the blood's being taken from or with the bottle of the sacrament. You have to keep the patient lower down, and whatever they're receiving blood from higher up.
[Alucard takes notes as Trevor speaks, hand moving at nearly the speed of sound. What remains is a near verbatium transcription of what Trevor has just said, and he needs that right now.]
Tell me about what blood can and can't be turned. Theories are fine, I can run on theory.
[He is very pointedly not explaining why he wants this information. Not yet, at any rate.]
It was a theory that a barber surgeon in Paris had, that you could change a man's temperament by giving him the blood of something else. Say you had someone who was angry, who couldn't be calmed by other means, you could drain their own blood from them and replace it with the blood of a lamb, and they'd take on the attitude of the lamb instead.
It didn't work that way, of course. But the Renard branch of the family - one of Leon's daughters. Returned to France. Family of her own, all of that - they were interested in it. Thought that because turning is a process that begins in the blood, and because only humans can be turned, perhaps the risk of turning could be averted by filling someone up with blood from a cow or deer. An animal that doesn't hunt. It didn't quite work. It did make that side of the family really fucking weird.
[ Look he's not going to say that the Belmonts aren't weird about dogs. But at least they're not also weird about literally all animals. ]
Ugh, four humors nonsense. [Alucard's scoffing says everything that need ever be muttered on that particular topic.]
It's...an interesting theory, if a very unsafe and unsound one. I'd have expected simple blood poisoning, but it seems like there were greater side effects. [He tuts softly, then nods. This'll do for now.]
There was no thought about means to filter out toxins and purify blood during the transfusion process?
You don't do anything with it, you just- take the blood, put it somewhere else. Then there's blood there.
Incidentally, having deer blood in you doesn't stop turning. And it's apparently really hard to get a vampire to play along and try to turn someone in a convenient way for science's sake.
....Noted, but that's not actually why I'm asking. We'll come to the last part later, there's a story there.
[He sighs, then gestures to the pile of his father's work spread out on the table.]
Four hundred years of hindsight makes seeing errors much easier. And I believe that there may well be a way to make a version of that stone that can remove diseased blood from the system, purify it of the toxins that are linked to turning, and have that same blood return to the system. It'd be a hybrid of magical theory - the concept of intent - and actual medical science through the concept of transfusion.
[He shakes his head tiredly.]
Not what I ought to be focusing on, but the thought has not left me be.
[ Trevor considers this, comparing it to the Many Belmont Methods for this kind of thing. ]
Could you just leave the blood where it was, and put the stone into the vein? Seems less dangerous that way.
[ Insofar as any of this is at all not-dangerous. It's also the same way that Those Fucking Silver Needles are meant to be used, but maybe not the best thing to bring up. ]
You don't put other stuff into blood when the blood is in the body. [T r e v o r.] That's...I don't even have the time to get into how dangerous and deadly that is. For starters the pieces could cause a blockage and then you'd die and.
[He just said he wasn't getting into this.]
Essentially. But the mechanisms for the appropriate way to remove the problematic elements is where science and magic have to be wed.
[ He's tempted to ask 'why not', but- well. Alucard made it fairly clear why not. And also he doesn't care that much because he knows his stupid way of doing things works and he's going to keep doing weird deadly Belmont medicine. And also because he's long since realized that Alucard really does not like 'but you don't turn' as a response to 'then you'll die'.
And also that logic doesn't really work any more, because there's no longer an entire family of Belmonts. Just one. He's not quite as disposable as he was brought up to be. ]
Not that it isn't charming when you get this interested in something. But you do realize that you're talking about the two things I understand least. I don't even know what fucking question I need to ask to get you to explain that to me.
Your father chose his apprentice for his open mind, not for his ability to keep his fucking desk in order.
[ Which is to say, a wide range of things in no particular order. ]
Most of it is Rinaldo's notes on your father's work. Maybe not new information, but I figured it might help to have another point of view.
[ 'Another point of view' here meaning 'you can look at this through the work of someone who you're not quite so emotionally connected with. ]
The shit at the top is his own work on the Morning Star. He used Mathias' work on the stone to complete it. Might be useful. If not, I'd still like to bring it to the hold.
If there is one thing I appreciate about your family, for all of it's questionable understanding of medicine, it is your record keeping.
[You all infuriate him on that topic.
He moves the notebook aside, replacing it for the new papers. Skimming the first page becomes turning it over, and then sighing because Trevor was not kidding. There is no order here, and Alucard does not know this man. The logic is not apparent as it was in his father's work.]
We'll retain all of this for the Hold. [He pauses, turning another page.] I'll have it bound, so that we aren't chasing after loose sheets of paper as well. I'll see what I can sift out that's only on the Morning Star, there could be useful information for my own thoughts as well.
[ He manages to restrain himself from pointing out that corpses are inanimate objects. Be proud. ]
That- probably sounded less weird in your head, didn't it? [ Because it means a lot to him. It really, truly does. But it still sounds weird when said aloud. When he speaks again it's less joking, more sincere, and he puts a hand on Alucard's arm. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cryptsleeper) wrote2018-11-10 11:26 pm
no subject
[The papers are ignored. Alucard's eyes are still down on his own page, aware that he ought to ask Trevor so many follow up questions but he simply can't focus on that right now. When he hits upon a thought like this, it must be followed through in full.]
How did your family perform transfusions?
[It isn't a random question. His thought hinges on the information.]
no subject
[ He has to give that some thought, largely because there is a lot of information he could give in response to that and he's trying to narrow down what Alucard probably needs. ]
I'll spare you the history of the Renard branch of the family and the theories on what blood can and can't be turned and- We've been using the technique for maybe two centuries now. Usually to- exsanguination was always a pretty fucking common risk, and it's meant to help with that if you get there in time. Sometimes to get the sacrament into the body, to avert turning. I only saw it done a few times, but-
[ He rolls up one sleeve, so to point to places on his own arm as an example. ]
You make a cut here, usually. [ He points to the inside of his elbow. ] And you have a- it's a tube of thin metal. You put it in there. And you make a poultice of clay and- some herb or another, pack it around the tube to make a seal. Then you do the same on the other side, either with the person or animal that the blood's being taken from or with the bottle of the sacrament. You have to keep the patient lower down, and whatever they're receiving blood from higher up.
no subject
Tell me about what blood can and can't be turned. Theories are fine, I can run on theory.
[He is very pointedly not explaining why he wants this information. Not yet, at any rate.]
no subject
It didn't work that way, of course. But the Renard branch of the family - one of Leon's daughters. Returned to France. Family of her own, all of that - they were interested in it. Thought that because turning is a process that begins in the blood, and because only humans can be turned, perhaps the risk of turning could be averted by filling someone up with blood from a cow or deer. An animal that doesn't hunt. It didn't quite work. It did make that side of the family really fucking weird.
[ Look he's not going to say that the Belmonts aren't weird about dogs. But at least they're not also weird about literally all animals. ]
no subject
It's...an interesting theory, if a very unsafe and unsound one. I'd have expected simple blood poisoning, but it seems like there were greater side effects. [He tuts softly, then nods. This'll do for now.]
There was no thought about means to filter out toxins and purify blood during the transfusion process?
no subject
You don't use transfusion to put blood from people who are being turned into other people. You do it the other way around.
[ WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT BEING TURNED IS NOT THE ONLY FORM OF BLOOD TOXIN??????? ]
no subject
Animal blood doesn't have the same prop...you know what, no. I'm not getting into this one.
no subject
Incidentally, having deer blood in you doesn't stop turning. And it's apparently really hard to get a vampire to play along and try to turn someone in a convenient way for science's sake.
no subject
[He sighs, then gestures to the pile of his father's work spread out on the table.]
Four hundred years of hindsight makes seeing errors much easier. And I believe that there may well be a way to make a version of that stone that can remove diseased blood from the system, purify it of the toxins that are linked to turning, and have that same blood return to the system. It'd be a hybrid of magical theory - the concept of intent - and actual medical science through the concept of transfusion.
[He shakes his head tiredly.]
Not what I ought to be focusing on, but the thought has not left me be.
no subject
[ Trevor considers this, comparing it to the Many Belmont Methods for this kind of thing. ]
Could you just leave the blood where it was, and put the stone into the vein? Seems less dangerous that way.
[ Insofar as any of this is at all not-dangerous. It's also the same way that Those Fucking Silver Needles are meant to be used, but maybe not the best thing to bring up. ]
no subject
[He just said he wasn't getting into this.]
Essentially. But the mechanisms for the appropriate way to remove the problematic elements is where science and magic have to be wed.
no subject
And also that logic doesn't really work any more, because there's no longer an entire family of Belmonts. Just one. He's not quite as disposable as he was brought up to be. ]
Not that it isn't charming when you get this interested in something. But you do realize that you're talking about the two things I understand least. I don't even know what fucking question I need to ask to get you to explain that to me.
no subject
[He knows that they're at the end of what is useful. Everything else would be in the Hold.]
What have you brought back?
[He gestures to the new pile of papers, curious.]
no subject
[ Which is to say, a wide range of things in no particular order. ]
Most of it is Rinaldo's notes on your father's work. Maybe not new information, but I figured it might help to have another point of view.
[ 'Another point of view' here meaning 'you can look at this through the work of someone who you're not quite so emotionally connected with. ]
The shit at the top is his own work on the Morning Star. He used Mathias' work on the stone to complete it. Might be useful. If not, I'd still like to bring it to the hold.
no subject
[You all infuriate him on that topic.
He moves the notebook aside, replacing it for the new papers. Skimming the first page becomes turning it over, and then sighing because Trevor was not kidding. There is no order here, and Alucard does not know this man. The logic is not apparent as it was in his father's work.]
We'll retain all of this for the Hold. [He pauses, turning another page.] I'll have it bound, so that we aren't chasing after loose sheets of paper as well. I'll see what I can sift out that's only on the Morning Star, there could be useful information for my own thoughts as well.
no subject
[ To be fair, he did have a point with that one. ]
So you think- your father accidentally made a cure for turning?
no subject
[HE'S STILL ANGRY ABOUT IT.]
No, not truly. But I think he laid the foundations, and if I can do nothing else, I can ensure no one else in your family becomes an inanimate object.
no subject
That- probably sounded less weird in your head, didn't it? [ Because it means a lot to him. It really, truly does. But it still sounds weird when said aloud. When he speaks again it's less joking, more sincere, and he puts a hand on Alucard's arm. ]
Thank you.
no subject
It's weird on principle, I feel.
[The hand on Alucard's arm soon has another one resting atop it. Squeezing for just a moment.]
What else can I do when the work presents itself?