When Science and Shadows Collide

Posted on January 29 by Dr. John Watson

A good doctor must always keep an eye on the facts—but of late, I find my attention drawn more urgently to the people at the heart of this most unusual case. Fourteen men and women, all of them touched by the same improbable surge of electrical power five years ago at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital. What was, at the time, merely hailed as a miraculous set of life-saving measures has grown into something infinitely more complex.

In my days of medical practice, I have seen the wounded, the maimed, and even the seemingly lost make surprising recoveries—yet nothing like the stories now whispered among these survivors. Some speak of slight changes in their senses; others mention nightmares or fleeting moments of dizziness whenever a thunderstorm nears. It all points to a puzzle as fascinating as it is foreboding.

Still, these curious anomalies might remain a medical footnote if not for one truly unsettling claim: a certain brilliant, if morally dubious, mind could be plotting to harness the “lightning in their veins.” Professor Moriarty—whose name Sherlock and I have often encountered—appears bent on unraveling the so-called secret of defeating death. If Moriarty truly aims to perfect a way to reanimate the recently deceased, the consequences are almost too dire to imagine.

And so I sit here at 221B Baker Street, my teacup gone cold, pondering how far science may be twisted in the wrong hands. Sherlock is out on one of his solitary investigations, presumably trailing a lead he refuses to share until more certain of his evidence. For my part, I must rely on my medical training, piecing together peculiar observations from the hospital’s old records—and any new accounts that brave souls may come forward to offer.

Above all, I implore anyone with knowledge of these events to speak up. Whether you are a patient, a friend of these survivors, or simply happened upon something suspicious near St. Bartholomew’s, your testimony could be crucial. In matters such as these, no detail is too small.

I fear we stand on the brink of discoveries both wondrous and terrible. Let us do all in our power to see that such discoveries remain under the watchful eye of reason, rather than the shadowy grip of ambition. We must guard life’s miracles from those who would wield them as a threat.

— Dr. John H. Watson