July 10, 2008 -- The automaton begs to differ
Here's a nerdy little bit of Turk Trivia, though not about the original -- it's about John Gaughan's replica. If you watch this video closely, you can see the genius solution Gaughan worked out to the problem of giving The Turk moving eyelids. Rather than create a secondary shroud of wood or leather for each eyeball (which would look fake-er and creepier and less-convincing against the wood of its face), he carefully painted the back-half of each eyeball the same brown as the face. This gives the automaton a permanent expression of sly confidence, and also allows the appearance of a downward gaze as they rotate forward. A truly effective illusion, and a nice bit of puppetry besides.
Also, this is the penultimate page of the chess game, I promise. After this, it's a nonstop whirlwind tour of Europe and the Americas for the next hundred pages. And drama. Ohhhh, the drama.
Promise.
For those of you who aren't able to follow the precise moves, suffice it to say: Cobenzl's in deep trouble. The line he delivers about his king is pure bravado; the automaton's just toying with him at this point. Come on back for the big conclusion next week!
