After several successful nights of stargazing under clear, beautiful skies—during which the Count and his colleagues spent most of their time observing star clusters and galaxies—his wife, Chailya, typically stayed with their daughter, Pusha, who had recently turned two. 🌟
When the observations began to show increasingly frequent double images in the eyepiece, the Count and his colleagues swapped the precious lens for a spare, placing the faulty one in the cellar—the very same lens you saw resting in its mount at the beginning of this story. 🌟
Standing before the lens in the observatory’s cellar, the Count pondered what the underlying problem might be. At that moment, a portal opened on the opposite wall—projected by the lens, just as it had been in the earlier account. His wife, Chailya, pointed toward a researcher visible within the portal, who appeared to be beckoning them to come closer. 🌟