Whitney 003

Glasses: Rodenstock (Tanya), late 1950's / early 1960's
[L=R: -3.00]

The inventor produced a shoe box from his little rucksack and opened it. The box was filled with prescription glasses. Most of them looked vintage and there were even a couple of antique pairs.

"Wow, that's a lot of glasses. I look forward to hear about the magic".

"The magic only works in my presence and only when I really concentrate on the person that puts them up. What happens is that the eyes adjust themselves to the prescription in the lenses. It can take between ten seconds and half a minute, depending on the prescription. As soon as the person takes off the glasses, his or her eyes return to their own prescription. So a safe return is guaranteed. But some glasses do even more than that. They work like a time machine. The person sees the surroundings the way it looked in the year the glasses were made. Many women tried them on and they all had the same experience. When they were looking in my direction, they could only see my silhouette. In some cases they were able to see right through my silhouette. But I could hear their voices crystal clear and they could hear my voice. It's essential to keep talking during the experiment. And again, a safe return is guaranteed. As soon as they take off the glasses, they land in the present right away".

"That sounds impossible. Flexible eyesight and a time machine on top of that. Can you cure my myopia?"

"I'm afraid that is still beyond my powers. But the flexible eyesight has been experienced by well over eighty people and they all had a safe return. The time machine has been experienced by nine or ten people and they all had a smooth landing in the present".

"This beats all logic but you have made me curious. Can we do a mild test?"

The inventor took one of the pairs from the box and handed it to the young woman.

"You said that your prescription is minus two. These lenses are minus three. The glasses were made shortly before my Gran died. Late fifties. It's unpredictable if you will experience the time machine effect but it's worth a try. By the way, my name is Lord Lentilux but you can call me Rob if you prefer that".

"My name is Whitney. Alright, let's give this a try. One question before we start. Where will I land in case the time machine effect works? Not in the canal, I hope".

"Don't worry, you will land exactly where you are standing now. This quay has not changed since my childhood days. But you may hear a subtle difference in the background".

He handed the glasses to the young woman and she put them on her nose.