.:004:.

[sumi_eight]

I must admit that I find the current Wilderness quite engaging. Although a bit disorienting, there are many books to peruse (some friendlier than others) and laboratories to explore. I'm not quite sure what to make of the uniform, however. The skirt i I am, apparently, a Ravenclaw

Comments

[getsome_sleep]

Think nothing of it. [Huo's reply is quick, smooth - no need to make a fuss. He's learned by now, if from hearsay more than experience, that whatever mysterious forces were at work behind the going-ons at the Sphere had a penchant for embarrassing their playthings. And it is just a skirt, anyhow. To award it further attention wouldn't add to the dignity of either of them.

Instead, he pulls up his bag to draw out a sheet of paper - not one from the journal - brush and ink, listening attentively all the while, the very image of the ready student. He nods, glancing over the diagram. Nothing about it is familiar - this is knowledge he has never had, and he instantly wants to drink it up. He has a dozen questions even before Sumi finished talking.

He knows better than to throw them all at once at her, though, and settles only for the most pressing matter.] I'm afraid that this is all new to me - please forgive me if I try your patience. Ignorance is never easy to tolerate. I must only ask one thing before we begin: to learn of the inner parts and workings of the body, one must cut into it and observe. Yet the eye, when damaged, bursts and runs. How does one, then, observe its inner parts?

[sumi_eight]

There are certain embalming chemicals that can help to solidify the inner workings of the eye. The vitreous humor, here [She taps a pen to the central part of the eye] is a gel made of mostly water and proteins, which are one of the building blocks of any living tissue. This is what runs from an eye when it's damaged. Many scientists and doctors have devoted themselves specifically to the study of the eye, and from this, they have developed many methods of correcting vision problems. My glasses, for example. There are surgical methods of correcting vision as well.

[Hopefully that somewhat satisfies his curiosity. Sumi has to choose her words carefully, making sure to try and use terms that won't confuse him further, since the technology or information simply didn't seem to exist in the place he called home.

She uses her pen again to indicate the lens and the cornea at the fore of the eye.]

Let's start with these: the cornea and the lens. In my case, the corneas of my eyes are misshapen, and that is why I have difficulty seeing. [Taking out a spare piece of paper, she quickly draws another, slightly rougher eye, adding slightly wavy lines to indicate light entering the eye.]

Vision is made possible by light traveling into the eye through these parts, and focusing here on the back. Because of the shape of my cornea, the light doesn't focus where it should, so my vision is blurry. The glasses change the light, so they it focuses where it should.

[getsome_sleep]

[Huo listens with attentiveness that's almost alarming in its focus, only nodding occasionally and writing swift little notes, a character or two at a time. Most of what she says is simple and clear, although many of the terms are new. The concept of lenses and glass twisting light is not new to him, but he quietly marvels at hearing it applied in this way. The reason is simple, too.]

The glass must be cut with unimaginable precision, then, [he notes the chief source of his awe.] Let me see that I understand. The shafts of light are like the shafts of an arrow in flight. [He traces the shape of an arrow above the lines of light she had drawn.] There is a target inside the eye for them to hit. The cornea, when misshapen, acts like a gust of wind that moves them from their course. And so another gust must return them to their path. [The metaphor makes the idea instinctive; he hopes it's a good one.]

And what is the target, then?

[sumi_eight]

The glass is cut, but also sanded to achieve the correct shape and smoothness. Other materials are used in glasses instead of glass, as well. Clear plastics is often used as a substitute for glass, though I imagine you're not familiar with what that is. Remind me to bring you a sample sometime.

I think you understand the basic concept, yes. The target that the light must hit is here, on the retina. [She taps the drawing to indicate the back wall of the eye.] The retina transfers the information to the brain, where it is interpreted as an image that we see and understand.