[That would certainly be the case from where William is sitting. He suspects this is the attitude cultivated by a lot of book-learnin' and the resultant competencies. It's quite admirable, if you find pain tolerance amirable, and there are many subcultures around the world that make a rather profound point of that. Unironically and everything.] Science labs, [he says.] Sure.

Are you worried about side-effects? [He is probably not referring to the scientific laboratories or Severus' office location within them.

Probably??] The incidence of cancer of any kind aboard the Tranquility is remarkably low, actually, and I'd bet the psychoactive effects of the ship have got fuck-all to do wif substances. [He pinches the bullet between his fingers, pushes it back into the clip. Looks up at the Professor again with what passes for optimism, if you think you aren't likely to become transformed into a pig very soon.]