Doctors In the Isolated Room: Chapters 1-4

By MORI Hiroshi

Dr. MORI Hiroshi is one of Japan's most popular authors with over 370 books (as of 2023) to his credit. He wrote the first novel in his life more than a quarter of a century ago, at the end of the 20th century. His first novel, "Doctors In the Isolated Room," attracted the attention of editors, which led to the publication of his legendary debut novel, "The Perfect Insider," in 1996, and the creation of the Mephisto Prize for newcomer novelists, which has produced over 60 famous authors, revolutionizing the Japanese publishing world.

One year after the nightmarish murders depicted in "The Perfect Insider," Associate Professor Sohei Saikawa, accompanied by his student Moe Nishinosono, a sophomore at N University, visits the low-temperature laboratory of the Polar Environment Research Center where his colleague works, and encounters a mysterious murder that occurred in the "isolated room."

With many people watching and in a perfectly locked room, the bodies of two graduate students, a man and a woman, were found. How did the victims and the murderer enter the locked room?

This book is the first volume of a three-volume English edition of "Doctors In the Isolated Room," the maiden work of Dr. MORI Hiroshi, the genius novelist. Please do not miss this historical masterpiece that gave birth to the "S&M (Saikawa & Moe) series" about the master-disciple detective duo, the most favored by readers in the history of Japanese mystery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jun 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9781312392656

Book preview

Doctors In the Isolated Room: Chapters 1-4

Tsumetai misshitsu to hakase tachi © 1999 MORI Hiroshi All rights reserved.

First published in 1996 in Japan by Kodansha Ltd., Tokyo.

Publication rights for this English edition arranged through Kodansha Ltd.

Originally written in Japanese by MORI Hiroshi

Translated into English by Ryusui Seiryoin

Cover illustration and cover design by mm

English translation copyright © Ryusui Seiryoin, 2023

ISBN: 9781312392656

Doctors In the Isolated Room

The uniqueness theorems of Kirchhoff and Neumann are the foundation for the method of potentials. For, when uniqueness of solution is established, one needs to find only a solution of a given boundary-value problem: that solution is the solution.

But it is essential for our theory to be able to violate the uniqueness of solution is one way or another. We know that elastic columns can buckle, thin shells may collapse, airplane wings can flutter, machinery can become unstable in one sense or other. The word stability has many meanings; to define a stability problem we must define the sense of the word stability. But a large class of practical stability problems is connected with the loss of uniqueness of solution. Under certain circumstances two or more solutions may become possible; some of these may be dangerous from engineering point of view or undesirable for the function of the machinery; and the circumstances are said to cause instability.

This excerpt is from Foundations of Solid Mechanics (written by Y. C. Fung)

  Ground Plan

ダイアグラム 自動的に生成された説明

List of characters

[Instructors of Polar Environment Research Center]

Kyosuke Kikuma: Professor

Hokuto Kita: Associate Professor

Rika Ichinose: Research Associate

[Employees of Polar Environment Research Center]

Zentaro Hachikawa: a technical officer

Takuya Yokogishi: an office clerk

Keiko Nakamori: an office clerk

Harue Suzumura: a librarian

Koji Mukai: a guard

Syozo Ogawa: a guard

[Graduate Students of Polar Environment Research Center]

Kenjiro Niwa: second-year of doctoral course

Tamako Hattori: second-year of master’s course

Masanao Arai: first-year of doctoral course

Machiko Funami: first-year of master’s course

Shinji Wakabayashi: first-year of master’s course

Tomoya Kitaoji: second-year of master’s course

Hisashi Shimoyanagi: second-year of master’s course

Jun Masuda: a student who disappeared two years ago

[Others]

Sohei Saikawa: Associate Professor, Department of Architecture

Momoko Kunieda: Research Associate, Department of Architecture

Moe Nishinosono: a sophomore, Department of Architecture

Shosuke Nishinosono: Moe’s uncle

Chapter 1: Thought Set In Motion

-1-

Regarding the calculus problem made by Saikawa-sensei. I think ... This part to find the general solution of the differential equation is not in the textbooks for high school students. And, you know ... If they calculate this problem without any thought, it is indeed impossible to solve it in thirty minutes, isn’t it? A middle-aged professor gave his opinion.

I think so, too. Associate Professor Saikawa responded. But if they realize that they can transpose y to the left side and integrate, they should be able to get the answer in five minutes.

How many people do you think could realize that?

Ten or twenty percent, maybe. Would that be a problem? Isn’t that what an exam is all about? At least we are trying to sift through the humans with this problem ... There is no point in making a problem that everyone can solve. Saikawa spoke plainly, trying to avoid showing emotion as much as possible.

Yes, that is what an exam is supposed to be. They are not designed to find dropouts by giving problems that anyone can solve. The examinations are there to find out the outstanding talents by giving them problems that cannot be easily solved. However, Saikawa did not say so because it would cause a quarrel with his opponent. If the one had an above average brain, Saikawa’s words would have been enough for him to realize it.

Problems that require such type of inspiration are shunned. Another man said in an elegant voice. Our image will be negatively assessed if we make such problems. After all, an exam with an average 60 to 70 points score is desirable.

What is the subject of the verb assess? Saikawa wondered. Is it mass media or a prep school ...?

Understood ... Then, please reject the problem I made. Saikawa smiled. It was pointless for him to try to make his point any further.

But, I am sure that this problem is excellent. The professor who spoke earlier said, looking at the chairperson. Could you not devise and change the problem to something a little more elegant and simple?

Everyone can at least express beautiful words. Saikawa thought.

I think elegant problems require a particular spark of inspiration, am I wrong? Saikawa pointed out. The word ‘simple’ could mean many things, though ... If I make a problem solvable without a leap of imagination, it would be neither elegant nor simple ... I believe.

Well, could you think a little more in that direction? The chairperson looked at Saikawa and said. We will discuss this problem again next week.

Saikawa had no choice but to nod.

He then refrained from speaking for a while. He was formulating his opinion in his head, but on the surface, he acted expressionless.

Saikawa did not give any exams in his classes. Solving the problem is different from the person’s ability. The actual ability of a human being is to invent a problem. It is to discover what the problem is. Therefore, the act of giving a problem in an examination is not a test of the solver. The person submitting the problem is being tested in the exam. How many people realize the fact?

-2-

Sohei Saikawa returned to his room, the associate professor’s office. Like a cheap plastic boomerang, he returned with only the momentum he had gained when he took off. As the spinning power gradually wore off, he returned exhausted and staggering. Leaving the room would only drain his energy.

Of course, I knew this would happen.

Saikawa had not the slightest expectation that he would discover anything interesting there. He was even prepared to waste a portion of the time he had. Still, after a meaningless time, there was always a feeling of discomfort, the same as when he was interrupted by a vulgar salesperson. It is not an easy thing to accept.

I thought I got used to such relentless attacks from human society, though ...

When Saikawa left the room reluctantly about three hours before, he did not turn off the air conditioner. In other words, energy had been wasted the whole time to maintain the temperature in the empty room. He just wanted at least that much of a break when he returned. Now, suddenly free of the murderous heat in the corridor, Saikawa couldn’t help but sigh.

Really, those guys are all idiots.

And probably ... I think I’m one of them. That is what angers me more.

Saikawa put the committee file on his desk with a thud. It was the cheapest paper file sold at the Co-op on the university campus. The volume of the committee’s materials was inversely proportional to the importance of the contents. They usually exceeded the capacity of this cheap file. Even if the file swelled up like a zabuton cushion, Saikawa would often force it into the file, perhaps unconsciously thinking that he wanted to keep it in one place.

The committee meeting had been supposed to last an hour. But of course, as he had expected, it actually lasted three hours. It was a committee meeting related to university entrance examinations. The committee meeting might be the only one held in August when the university is on summer holidays. It was a committee to review the problems for the second round of examinations to be held at the end of the academic year. Saikawa was a member of the mathematics problem-writing committee. He was somewhat more comfortable with the one than he would have been with other subjects. He did not know where or by whom the assignment was made. At the beginning of the academic year, he received an envelope with Private & Confidential written in red. Inside was a piece of paper with only one verb in the sentence, appoint. A one-line letter of appointment. Only recently did he begin to have a negative image of the word Private & Confidential. Since it was not disclosed who was on the entrance exam committee, his hardship of being summoned to unproductive labor once a