Ed McBain_Matthew Hope 12 Read Online Free PDF Page B

Your Honor.”
    “Mirrors?”
    “Yes, Your Honor. If I may show you my other drawings.”
    “Please.”
    Nettleton turned some more pages, folded them back, and displayed another drawing to Santos.
    “This is the teddy-bear optical schematic,” he said. “It illustrates the manner in which I expressed the optical principles
     of my system for producing apparently straight eyes. A and D are button eyes that will be seen by reflection from the right
     and left mirrors. Their images only
appear
to be at R and L respectively.”

    “For the right eye, the distance from A to B equals the distance from B to R at the plane of the bear’s face. Similarly, for
     the left eye, the distance from C to D equals the distance from C to L. The lenses, as I mentioned earlier, are plano lenses.”
    “I’m not sure I understand,” Santos said.
    “The next drawing will make it entirely clear,” Nettleton said, and began leafing through the specs again.
    “Your Honor,” Brackett said, “this is all enormously fascinating…”
    “Actually, I do find it fascinating,” Santos said.
    “But it has nothing to do with whether the design was copied or…”
    “It may have
everything
to do with differences between the two bears, Mr. Brackett.”
    “Your Honor, in order to show originality,
substantial
diff—”
    “Well, let’s see the drawing, shall we?” Santos said. “Have you found it, Dr. Nettleton?”
    “Yes, I have it right here,” Nettleton said, and handed the pages back to Santos.

    “This drawing illustrates the implementation of the optical system in the manner in which I expressed it. As you see, the
     wraparound frame allows attachment of the button eyes A and D to the inside surface of the broad temples. The forty-five-degree
     mirrors are attached to the inside of the front frame and extend back to the temples. The depth of the frame conceals the
     mirrors. Thus, when the uncrossed plastic eyes and surrounding fur—integrated into the temples—are reflected into the fully
     silvered mirrors, they appear to be originating from the facial plane of the actual teddy bear.”
    “That is ingenious,” Santos said.
    “Thank you.”
    “Ingenious, Dr. Nettleton.”
    “Thank you very much.”
    “Don’t you think that’s ingenious, Mr. Brackett?”
    “If you’re using the word to mean marked by originality in conception, I must take exception, Your Honor. In fact, if I may
     continue with my cross…”
    “Yes, please do. Ingenious, Dr. Nettleton,” Santos said, and handed the specifications back to him. “Ingenious.”
    Brackett cleared his throat.
    “Dr. Nettleton,” he said, “would you know whether there are any eyeglasses in existence which are identical or even very similar
     to the ones you designed for Miss Commins?”
    “I have no knowledge of any device which
appears
to be a pair of eyeglasses but which is in reality merely a
carrier,
if you will, for reflective mirrors. If designs for any such device exist, I had no access to them.”
    “Ah, access. Did Mr. Hope ask you to mention access?”
    “No, he did not.”
    “Do you understand the meaning of the word ‘access’ as it pertains to copyright matters?”
    “I don’t know anything about copyright. I’m an optometrist. I examine the eye for defects and faults of refraction…”
    “Yes, yes.”
    “…and prescribe corrective lenses or exercises…”
    “Yes, but not drugs or surgery Thank you, we already have that, Doctor. What does access mean to you?”
    “It means I saw something. I had
access
to it. I knew about it.”
    “As pertains to copyright matters, it can also mean you had reasonable
opportunity
to have seen it.”
    “I never saw any device like the one I designed for Miss Commins.”
    “What if I told you that eyeglasses similar to yours…”
    “They are
not
eyeglasses!”
    “Your Honor,” I said, getting to my feet, “do you think we might stipulate that Dr. Nettleton’s design is
not
for eyeglasses, but only