9. Vampirology
Vampirology
Dracula
FR-T
Report of Dr Josiah Van Helsing, Head of Experimental Vampirology at Erasmus University Rotterdam
In accordance with the terms of the charter granted to the Department of Experimental Vampirology, our research teams have begun a series of experiments to determine 1) the nature of the Vampirus pathogen first postulated by my great-grandfather, Professor Abraham Van Helsing, in 1889, 2) the mechanism and extent of the supposedly supernatural abilities documented in victims of the pathogen, and 3) efficient means of treatment for victims of the pathogen.
1) The Nature of the Vampirus Pathogen
The existence of the Vampirus pathogen was merely speculated until its isolation in 1943 by Dr Quincy Harker, and has continued to defy scientific classification to this day. It is neither a bacterium nor a virus, but appears rather to be a eukaryotic pathogen of unknown kind, which defies analysis due to the extreme difficulty encountered in isolating and examining Vampirus specimens. The Vampirus Eukaryote Analysis Project will undertake a five year programme in collaboration with the Department of Microbiology to map the structure and genome of the Vampirus organism and study its effects on human tissue.
2) The Mechanism and Extent of Symptoms
The symptoms of the Vampirus pathogen were, until very recently, regarded almost universally as the results of supernatural agency, including as they do extreme catalepsy, prodigious increases in apparent strength and speed, loss of reflection, complete suppression of vital signs, substantial resistance to physical trauma, and the ability to affect an apparent metamorphosis into animal and non-corporeal forms. The work of Professor Holmwood in Oxford on complex variable reflection has, however, opened the door to the rational approach to Vampirology which has seen this Department transferred from the auspices of the Faculty of Humanities to Cellular Medicine.
We have several teams working in this area. The Blood Team are investigating the cause and effects of the appetite for unfiltered blood, while the Practical Vampirology and Metamorphic Analysis Teams will aim to explain the physiological changes and radical molecular rearrangement displayed by some patients. The Mental Influence Team will examine the less-physical effects of the disease. Given the high risk nature of any direct study of viable patients, a new secure unit will be constructed under the guidance of the teams themselves, at an estimate cost of €2,000,000.
3) Treatment of Victims
Currently, treatment of Vampirus sufferers has only a 40% success rate, largely achieved through a combination of herbal agents and blood transfusions in the early stages of infection, with more advanced cases rapidly facing a 0% survival rate and radical medical intervention being required to prevent further infection.
Department staff working with the Faculty of Engineering will be developing new and innovative approaches to the treatment of the Vampirus pathogen (the Filtration and Medical Intervention Groups), and more efficient means of preventing the spread of the pathogen from terminal cases (the Conflagratory and Transfixative Research Groups).
We will also be continuing our traditional cooperative relationship with the Faculty of Divinity.
Dracula
FR-T
Report of Dr Josiah Van Helsing, Head of Experimental Vampirology at Erasmus University Rotterdam
In accordance with the terms of the charter granted to the Department of Experimental Vampirology, our research teams have begun a series of experiments to determine 1) the nature of the Vampirus pathogen first postulated by my great-grandfather, Professor Abraham Van Helsing, in 1889, 2) the mechanism and extent of the supposedly supernatural abilities documented in victims of the pathogen, and 3) efficient means of treatment for victims of the pathogen.
1) The Nature of the Vampirus Pathogen
The existence of the Vampirus pathogen was merely speculated until its isolation in 1943 by Dr Quincy Harker, and has continued to defy scientific classification to this day. It is neither a bacterium nor a virus, but appears rather to be a eukaryotic pathogen of unknown kind, which defies analysis due to the extreme difficulty encountered in isolating and examining Vampirus specimens. The Vampirus Eukaryote Analysis Project will undertake a five year programme in collaboration with the Department of Microbiology to map the structure and genome of the Vampirus organism and study its effects on human tissue.
2) The Mechanism and Extent of Symptoms
The symptoms of the Vampirus pathogen were, until very recently, regarded almost universally as the results of supernatural agency, including as they do extreme catalepsy, prodigious increases in apparent strength and speed, loss of reflection, complete suppression of vital signs, substantial resistance to physical trauma, and the ability to affect an apparent metamorphosis into animal and non-corporeal forms. The work of Professor Holmwood in Oxford on complex variable reflection has, however, opened the door to the rational approach to Vampirology which has seen this Department transferred from the auspices of the Faculty of Humanities to Cellular Medicine.
We have several teams working in this area. The Blood Team are investigating the cause and effects of the appetite for unfiltered blood, while the Practical Vampirology and Metamorphic Analysis Teams will aim to explain the physiological changes and radical molecular rearrangement displayed by some patients. The Mental Influence Team will examine the less-physical effects of the disease. Given the high risk nature of any direct study of viable patients, a new secure unit will be constructed under the guidance of the teams themselves, at an estimate cost of €2,000,000.
3) Treatment of Victims
Currently, treatment of Vampirus sufferers has only a 40% success rate, largely achieved through a combination of herbal agents and blood transfusions in the early stages of infection, with more advanced cases rapidly facing a 0% survival rate and radical medical intervention being required to prevent further infection.
Department staff working with the Faculty of Engineering will be developing new and innovative approaches to the treatment of the Vampirus pathogen (the Filtration and Medical Intervention Groups), and more efficient means of preventing the spread of the pathogen from terminal cases (the Conflagratory and Transfixative Research Groups).
We will also be continuing our traditional cooperative relationship with the Faculty of Divinity.