Thnktfthbx/TransparentFunction

Transparent Function Glass</b>
Artifact •

http://xs38.xs.to/pics/05296/magnifying_glass.jpg

Originally used in the First Age by artisans and artificers as a tool to examine the inner workings of a device without disassembling (and possibly damaging) the piece itself, this glass disk can be placed up against the surface of an object, after which looking through the glass will reveal what is underneath, as if a disk-sized hole were present in the surface.

Physically, this is a disk of convexly curved glass set in a steel rim. The glass is perfectly clear and smooth, and has a slightly pearlescent sheen when looked at the right angle. The band encircling it has a geometric design of circles and spirals etched into the outer edge. At one point on the rim there is a small knob with a hole through it (by which the glass can be hung on a chain or thong). This knob is the glass’s activator. Only when the knob is turned one revolution clockwise is the artifacts’ power operating, the rest of the time it is simply a somewhat ornate magnifying piece.

When active, the glass must be set against a surface (one cannot hold it to one’s eye and see through all surfaces, it must be in physical contact with the surface). Looking through the glass, one can see the layer beneath the surface it is sitting on. For example, setting it on the surface of a box would allow one to see into the box, as if there were a hole in it. There is as much light to see by as might pour through such a hole from the room, even though the inside might be in reality completely dark. Placing the glass against the surface of a lock in a door might allow one to observe the pins and tumblers within. The interior workings of many objects can be easily examined this way.

The glass can also, in some limited situations, be used in other fashions. The glass can see through up to two inches of material, so there exists the possibility of looking through a very thin wall, or some doors. But the glass only works through one layer, and is not adjustable. So looking through a door might be possible, but if there is a hanging on the other side, all that would be visible would be the back of the hanging. And in the case of hollow-wood doors, all that would be visible would be the interior cavity. Double-layered surfaces, such as iron-clad wood, also prove difficult, as only the first layer can be seen through. And finally, the glass is intended for looking at small objects at close range, and still functions in it’s magnifying capacity, so looking through it at anything more distant than a foot becomes distorted, lacking more detail the farther away it gets, though some color and movement will remain discernable.