#10 Taking a Closer Look
September 2, 2016
Transcript
There are people who specialise in work where you need to see things all close-up.
To make this possible, the Scholar-pioneers invented and manufactured something called “lens”. Peering through them allows one to observe things that are very near.
The leftover material was turned into round “marbles”. They became popular among children, to the dismay of many.
Gheralf says:
It’s a miracle tool, that’s what it is! Activities like writing and painting used to require huge objects on which to express oneself, because you would have to stand far enough to see what you were actually doing. Needless to say that such arts used to be much rarer in the old days.
Maybe some day in the far future, the Scholar-pioneers will make enough lenses for everybody. Currently there are plenty available for artisans and some for normal folk who would want one, but the slums and other out-of-the-city habitants seem to be almost devoid of any lens owners.
Vayandil says:
Again I had to use quite a bit of artistic freedom on the second panel of this comic. The scholar-pioneers cannot stand the sight of the common folk, so entering their manufacturing sites is strictly prohibited. We did not get any special permission to make a tour in their lens factory, even though it does not seem to be in use right now. So, I had to make do with what I observed from a distance; the factory does sit out there in the open after all.