The Vanishing Wax Dolls – A History of Vole Collectibles
The Vanishing Wax Dolls
In the novel “Das Amerikanischer Vomiting Oximeter”, Thomas Harris depicts the private moments between Dr. van Andra and his assistant, Laurea. The illustrations help make the story more interesting to an extent. One of the more hilarious scenes involves the physician examining the results of the readings on the Vomiting Oximeter and commenting that it would look like “someone had dived into your stomach.”
As in most of Harris’ novels, the plot revolves around medicine, physics, biochemistry and physiology. One of the main characters is a neurosurgeon, Jannick van der Merteren. While at a hotel in London, he is bitten by a dog. The bite results in his immediate confusion as he cannot identify which animal it was.
The neurosurgeon quickly realizes that it was a vole, which, unlike other animals, can talk. Van der Merteren determines that the animal must have been trying to escape from a laboratory. The device he uses to measure oxygen saturation in the blood reveals that one of the voles was attempting to deoxygenate itself. After realizing what the vole was doing, Van der Merteren is able to catch it with the help of another scientist, Dr. Dedalus, who also has difficulty identifying animals.
The Vanishing Wax Dolls – A History of Vole Collectibles
The discovery that a vole is trying to starve itself to survive has implications for the field of medicine in more ways than one. While some would disagree with the implication that a vole can be an animal with Alzheimer’s disease, others would agree that there are similarities. As the vole is demonstrating self-preservation, the other characters become drawn into the story to learn more about the situation. One character tells the other that he may want to consult with a neurologist, while another recommends trying a remedy created from a flower he had found growing in the rain forest.
While the vole does eventually succumb to the poison, the other characters play a vital role in saving the vole. One of the characters, named Joe, later goes on to research dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Using a similar method as the one previously described, he finds that a combination of lysine and beta-carotene can protect against dementia and Alzheimer’s. While no cure has yet been found for these diseases, this demonstrates a significant step forward in the field of medicine.
The story ends with a twist that might not be too surprising for fans of the Van Der Merteren doll collection. In the last scene, one of the dolls falls to the ground as he is being trampled by a horse. His owners, embarrassed at their lack of foresight, fail to notice the injured vole until the paramedics arrive. The doctors quickly diagnose him as having been mauled by a raccoon. Little did the readers know that this twist would lead to even more toys from the bestselling series of Esikon dolls, including the popular “vanished” VAN HELDS action figures, which feature an array of vole collectibles.