One of the most intriguing displays of humanity's optimistic determination was the invention of the true mirror. The device was designed to show the world as it actually was, without flipping the image.
Optical wizard Maxwell Morton spent five years in a solitary laboratory in northern Britain before he stumbled upon the secret of the mirror that would show the truth. Talks began between the man and prominent American businessmen in 1935 over production of the device. Morton decided on a small eyeglass factory in Indiana after being assured the finest optical manufacturing processes in the world. Thousands were produced. On August 5th, the first mirror was shipped to a wealthy widow in Cambridge. Newspapers rejoiced at humanity's progress. Around the world, smiles became fashionable. The second mirror was delivered to a Seattle politician on the 6th of August. After a week of shipments to high profile customers, the mirrors were to become available to the salivating public.
This did not happen. Governments around the world quarantined the devices and the knowledge behind their construction; the mirrors were hidden in dark, damp and secret warehouses of the British Navy. The public was urged to forget about the devices and return to their lives (the development of television was spurred to help them cope). Slowly we forgot.
The mirrors had been the second time in history that humans had a chance to truly see themselves. It was a disaster. The recipients of the mirrors became quiet, twisted, suicidal. Seeing one's soul--beautiful, fierce, profound, deceived--was more than one could bear. This second revealer of the truth was quietly forgotten; the crucifixion of the first caused the earth to tremble and the heavens to shriek.