“ШЕСТЬ СПИЧЕК”

Summary: An inspector is investigating a work related accident that had left one of the scientists, Komilin, in a coma. Before the accident Komilin was using a new tool to direct pulses of neutrinos at specific sections of the brain, calling it Neutrino Acupuncture. Through his experiments he found out that the Neutrino Acupuncture seems to stimulate not only the areas of the brain responsible for rapid healing but also ones that may lead to discovery of new never before seen abilities. In order to properly document the new abilities Komilin decides to start testing on himself. This is the crucial moment when things go wrong as he overexerts himself trying to lift six matches, therefore winding up in a coma.

The most important aspect of this story, I think, is the question whether or not it is acceptable to use your own body for experiments. The investigator does not think so, saying that the most precious thing we have is human life, and we should allow robots or animals be sacrificed instead of humans. The ethical question about using animals for experiments aside, I think it is a bad mental investment for a scientist to compromise themselves. At the very least he could have looked for volunteers to replace him so he could stay safe and continue the experiment even if the side effects were to become debilitating.

In the end a counterargument is made to the inspector that he himself had risked his life to disarm a weapon and that a scientist risking himself is equivalent. I do not think it is a very strong parallel, as scientific discovery, especially the one in question, is not life threatening. There would not have been any harm in Komilin being patient. Playing fast and lose with the new discovery lead to him being sick and unable to work, so in a way, by rushing he had pushed back any meaningful scientific work. Sometimes slow and steady does in fact win the race.