The Rooftop Inventor

The figure waving from the rooftop turns out to be a wild-haired old man in a leather coat covered in pockets, buckles, and what appears to be a small brass telescope jammed behind one ear. "Professor Vance!" he announces proudly, as if you should already know the name.

Behind him sits a contraption of canvas wings, copper tubing, and a tiny steam boiler no bigger than a kettle. "My emergency glider," he says, patting it fondly. "Tested once. Mostly a success." He grins. You notice he doesn't explain what mostly means.