[ There is the briefest moment of hesitation before Gil puts his hands on Rau's arm to hold it steady and apply his scratch testing. He's confirmed that Rau is tangible before, of course, but there is still a part of him that expects his fingers to go right through. Touching is weird in a way that just talking isn't - two years of hallucinations will do that to you, Gil has to grudgingly accept.

He gets over it fast though, and the actual application of the tests is quick and clinical. For all his faults, he is a decent doctor and he and Rau have played through this song and dance often enough. ]

"Expectations" are collective, so I'm afraid simply expecting to make better medicines is nothing more than a mildly amusing joke. Nobody has reasoned out just how many Souls need to share a belief in order for it to take physical shape here, but just one or two people do not account for notable changes in reality.