Not the character Beaker, but the real Beaker. The guy was a film director at creator Jim Henson's studio, Abovitz explained enthusiastically. "He's tall, he looks just like Beaker and he acts like Beaker! You're like, 'How do I know him?' And then you find out he was the influence behind Beaker, and it all sort of makes sense," he said. Of the many celebrities Abovitz has met, Beaker was clearly a highlight.

"By the way," he said. "The Muppet Show plus Star Wars equals Magic Leap in my head."

In the absence of a product or even a prototype, this is the kind of wacky description we've had to work with in our efforts to understand Magic Leap over the last few years. The heavy dose of whimsy makes it almost too easy to write off the startup's boastful promise to be a leading contender in the race to dominate augmented reality. After all, Microsoft began shipping its HoloLens headset to developers nearly two years ago, in March of 2016.