Chapter 18 clock

1885 Munich German gentleman Frederick.An unexpected visitor came to Dyson's studio in Munich, a man named Aiden.Barris' British Mr.Mr Barris admits that he had been looking for the location of Dyson's shop for some time because of his admiration for a batch of cuckoo clocks handmade by Dyson, and finally found it after being pointed in the right direction by a local businessman. Mr. Barris asked Mr. Dyson if he would be interested in accepting a commission for a special clock.Mr. Dyson, who still had a great deal of bespoke work to do, told Mr. Barris so, and showed him a whole row of traditional cuckoo clocks, ranging in style from the simple to the elaborate.

"I don't think you understand me, Mr. Dyson," said Barris. "It's a showpiece, a rarity."Your clock is admirable, but what I want is something truly outstanding, das Meisterwerk (German: masterpiece).Money is definitely not an issue. Mr. Dyson was aroused and asked about specifications and details.What he got was very limited, with some restrictions on size (but still pretty loose), and clocks that could only be painted in black, white, and shades of grey.Other than that, the overall construction and decoration are at his sole discretion.Ask him to be creative, Mr Barris said.Dream is the only descriptive word he specifically mentions.

Mr. Dyson agreed, and the two shook hands.Barris said he would reach out.A few days later, a letter arrived with a considerable amount of money, and stated that he hoped that the work would be completed on a certain date in a few months, and also attached an address in London to send the finished clock. During the past few months, Mr. Dyson almost only used to make this clock.He has almost no time to do other work, and of course the high salary involved makes him very happy to make such an arrangement.He spent weeks working on the design and mechanical construction, and he hired an assistant to do some of the basic carpentry, but he took care of all the detail work himself.Mr. Dyson loves detail work, and he also loves challenges. He has completely constructed the whole design on the word Mr. Barris used. Dreamy.

The finished clock is extremely gorgeous and dazzling.At first glance it was nothing more than a clock, a rather large clock with a white face and silver pendulum.Exquisitely carved log frames, delicately lacquered clock dials, the craftsmanship is self-evident, but it is just a clock after all. But that's before winding up.Its pendulum swings gently and smoothly before it begins to tick.Then, then it suddenly changed. Change is slow.First, the color of the dial changes, from white to gray, and then a cloud floats past and disappears when it reaches the other end. At the same time, many parts of the bell body began to expand and contract, like many small pieces of a puzzle.As if the clock is disintegrating little by little, slowly and gracefully.

This whole process took hours. The dial of the clock turned dark gray, then black, and twinkling stars appeared in the numerals.At this time, the body of the clock has been turned inside out in an orderly manner and expanded, turning the whole thing into gray and white.And not just many small puzzle pieces, many images and objects, perfectly carved flowers, planets and little books that can be opened page by page.A silver dragon hovers over a clearly visible clockwork mechanism, and a miniature princess in a sculpted tower paces despondently, waiting for the missing prince.Many teapots are pouring tea into cups, and tiny steam rises as the second hand ticks.Many wrapped presents were opened.The mini cat chases the mini dog.A game of chess is going on.

In the center, where the traditional clock cuckoo would be, is a juggler.Wearing a harlequin-style costume and a gray mask, he tosses a number of shiny silver balls that correspond to the hours.Every time the bell struck, a ball was added, and until twelve o'clock at midnight, he tossed twelve silver balls with elaborate art. After midnight, the clock slowly returns to its original state.The dial lights up, and the clouds reappear.The number of silver balls thrown also decreases until the juggler disappears. At noon, it is only a clock, no longer dreamy. A few weeks after the clock was sent, he received a letter from Mr. Barris expressing his sincere thanks and appreciation for the originality of the work.Perfect.The letter reads.The letter also enclosed a frighteningly high fee, which would enable Mr. Dyson to retire to a comfortable life if he wanted to.He did not retire and continued to make clocks in his Munich studio.

He didn't think much about it, except for the occasional thought of not knowing how the clock was doing, and where it might be (he guessed it was still in London) especially when he was making something that reminded him of the Wunschtraum (German : The new clock hour of the Dream) clock; that's what he used to call it when he was building some of the troublesome parts of that clock, because he wasn't sure if it was just a dream, or if it could actually come true. Apart from this letter, he had no further news from Mr. Barris.