i am not doing ch 4 of TR correct?

[Edward A Moore]

I believe I do ch 6 which is eons away

but i stupidly have 2 open slots on the remaining chapters

and i did not put anyone's name down

so wanted to be sure

I thought this was interesting p. 132 TR

"the object of alchemy
was not at all the transmutation of base metals into gold,
but the preparation of medicines, thus opening the way
for the hospitalized perpetuation of accident which we
triumphantly prolong, enlarge upon, finance,
respect and enjoy today. 3:3'diamino-4-4'-dihydroxyarensobenzine
dihydrochloride, writes Dr Ehrlich (after 605 tries)"

There is a film from 1940 called "Dr Ehrlich's Magic Bullet"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Ehrlich%27s_Magic_Bullet

". . . .after 606 tries he finally discovers the remedy for the disease.
This substance, first called "606", is now known as Arsphenamine or Salvarsan.

The joy of discovery is short-lived, as 38 patients who receive the
treatment die.
Dr. Wolfert denounces the cure publicly and accuses Ehrlich of murdering those
that died from the cure. As faith in the new cure starts to dwindle, Ehrlich
is forced to sue Wolfert for libel and in the process exonerate 606.
Dr. von Bering (who had earlier told Ehrlich to give up his pipe
dreams of cures
by chemicals), who was called by the defense to denounce 606, instead
states that he believes that 606 is responsible for the death of
syphilis itself,
the 39th death as he calls it."

Reminds me of Pynchon's description of the serpent ouroboros in GR
and Kekule's dream of it which became an inspiration for benzene
structure

Kekulé dreams the Great Serpent holding its own tail in its mouth, the
dreaming Serpent which surrounds the World.
--Gravity's Rainbow, V412

ed