A Hospital in Another World?-Chapter 855: Thesis Completed! Embarking on a New Direction!

Garrett's thesis took a full two days just to write.

Besides analyzing the relationship between passenger/tonnage ratio and mortality rate, as well as the mortality rates for various diseases, he also collected a ton of data:

The relationship between disease-specific mortality rates and sailing seasons;

The relationship between disease-specific mortality rates and departure/arrival locations;

The relationship between disease-specific times of death and the number of days at sea…

In the end, it was proven that the highest incidence of gastrointestinal infections was closely related to personnel density, significantly related to the number of sailing days, slightly related to the sailing season, and almost unrelated to the departure/arrival locations;

The second highest incidence of scurvy was most closely related to the number of sailing days, with less relevance to other factors.

"So, the previously estimated methods should reduce the mortality rate as much as possible, right? Are there any other methods, or are there methods already commonly used in large-scale passenger transport?"

Garrett closed the draft of his thesis. Just working behind closed doors wouldn't yield good methods. Public health science is an empirical field that requires field investigation, so—where to start...

Garrett reviewed his network of contacts, got up, and went to the Third Fleet base. During the last major operation against the Treasure Fleet, the council fleet had transported a large number of personnel; they had experience!

The entire base was bustling, preparing for departure. However, seeing him arrive, the fleet's logistics chief William Gonsen warmly welcomed him:

"Transporting large numbers of sailors and soldiers? We have experience with that! In general, for ships under 200 tons, the total number of sailors and soldiers should not exceed 300; for ships over 200 tons, no more than one person per ton."

He spoke confidently, with the natural pride that arises when talking about one's expertise:

"If we transport warhorses, war beasts, or barbarians, there are specialized adjustment algorithms... but that's more complicated, so I won't go into detail."

"No need for details!" Garrett nodded quickly:

"I just want to ask, what's the mortality rate when you transport large numbers of soldiers? Is it 10%? 5%?"

"5%!" William Gonsen nearly jumped up, as if he had heard something horrifying, or as if his professionalism had been greatly insulted:

"Are you joking? Transporting soldiers, especially barbarian soldiers, and having 5 out of 100 die is absolutely unacceptable! At most two!—Not due to combat, purely dying during transport, at most two out of 100!"

With a passenger/tonnage ratio of 1, the mortality rate is kept below 2%? How is that possible? Garrett earnestly sought guidance from this senior. William Gonsen, too, shared everything he knew without reservation:

"Those soldiers aren't prisoners! Even for the army, as long as the weather is good, the ship is steady, and there are no big waves, they should be allowed on deck regularly to move around. Carrying water, helping clean the deck and cabin... in short, they shouldn't be cooped up in the lower deck all the time!"

Regularly going on deck, breathing fresh air, and keeping the cabin clean. Garrett silently noted these points. He tentatively asked:

"What if they're not allowed out of the lower deck? If... they really are prisoners, for instance, war captives?"

"Even war captives aren't kept locked up all the time." Chief Gonsen dismissed the notion:

"At the very least, they have to empty their own latrine buckets, right? They have to carry their own food down, right? Who else would serve them? Of course, some people will cause trouble—which is why the mortality rate is higher than for ordinary people—but as long as they don't cause too much trouble, it won't exceed 5%."

"By the way, whether soldiers or war captives, they're at least level 1 warriors, right?"

"Of course!"

A level 1 warrior's physique is much stronger than that of an ordinary person. Meanwhile, disaster victims and refugees can be said to be among the physically weaker segment of the ordinary population...

Garrett silently noted this. A strong body makes it harder for external infections to break through the immune barrier, reducing the likelihood of an epidemic. He seriously inquired:

"So, what about transporting large numbers of civilians? For instance, this time's disaster victims?"

"Take good care of them." Chief Gonsen's smile faded as he replied seriously:

"The fleet has also been tasked with transporting some civilians. Generally speaking, treat them like people, don't skimp on food, let them on deck regularly, treat illnesses as much as possible, or at least move them to separate quarters. This will greatly reduce the mortality rate."

"How low can it get?"

"…7%? 8%?"

Chief Gonsen hesitated slightly. "The first batch of the fleet has just set off, and it's still early for their return. I'm estimating based on past experience. In any case, our fleet's death rate will definitely be lower than that of merchant ships."

Garrett breathed a sigh of relief, asked some related cost and assessment questions, and then took his leave. He returned to the Mage Tower, supplemented some data and arguments, and submitted it to the review committee:

"In summary, the following methods can effectively reduce mortality during transportation." The reviewer from the Black Crow Swamp skimmed through the thesis, muttering quietly:

"Only at times like this does he seem unlike a person from Black Crow Swamp. His heart and mind are all about saving people; he's happy if even one less person dies..."

Beside him, the two reviewers from the School of Sculpting and Modeling and the Conjuration School's medical branch simultaneously coughed.

"First, conduct a pre-screening of disaster victims before boarding the ship. Temporarily detain those with diseases. This screening can be done while queuing for boarding... Healers should check for symptoms such as fever and diarrhea, and use the Life Observation Spell for verification..."

"Second, strictly control the number of disaster victims handed over to the carrier, not exceeding 0.9 times the tonnage. Also, prohibit carriers from transporting large amounts of cargo, ensuring sufficient space for the disaster victims..."

"Third, require carriers to allocate isolation quarters, regularly conduct health checks on disaster victims, and isolate those with abnormal conditions promptly..."

"Fourth, regularly distribute medicine to cure 'sea plague'..."

"Fifth, implement reasonable incentive mechanisms..."

"It seems quite reasonable." The medical branch reviewer rubbed his nose and sneezed slightly:

"The cost isn't too high either. If the mortality rate can be kept below 5%, it would save the council a lot of manpower for developing colonies. As for the incentive mechanism, what's the best approach?"

—The cunning Nordmark Mage, with the phrase "I'm not familiar with economic practices," directly skipped the details of this suggestion and left it entirely to the council!

If you can write a thesis, why don't you write it in detail!

"Bonuses? Special rewards for captains and ship doctors if the death rate is below 5%?"

"Fines? If the death rate is too high, the council will directly impose fines and cancel the carrier's next contract?"

"Half of the freight cost is paid by the receiving end? The more people safely delivered, the higher the freight cost, with a tiered increase?"

The mages started discussing one after another. Meanwhile, Garrett had already embarked on a new research direction.