Cat wearing Pessell's reading glasses
Pessell (first name and rank unknown) was a crewmember aboard Red Dwarf, who died in the Cadmium II radiation leak.
Legacy[]
Three million years later, the SOS virus was accidentally downloaded into the Red Dwarf computer core, rendering it inoperable and sending the ship on a collision course with a Black Hole.
While the Dwarfers were gathering their possessions to evacuate, Dave Lister grabbed some effects from Pessell's old quarters - some London Jets Zero Gravity Football video tapes and memorabilia, such as helmets. As Cat looked through the effects, he noticed a magazine and a pair of Pessell's old reading glasses. Putting them on, Cat realised that he could see better with them, and even read.
Arnold Rimmer had noticed this, which the very vain Cat was embarrassed about, and promised to remember it to blackmail Cat with. Rimmer indeed did, when the crisis was over and Rimmer put himself forward for position of Machine President, he used the knowledge to blackmail Cat into being his running mate and running against Lister and Kryten.
After Rimmer lost the election, Cat came clean about needing glasses, and also that he was becoming more intelligent after becoming able to read. However, deciding that being "cool" was more important, Cat put the glasses in a blender. In retaliation for his blackmail, Cat had sealed Rimmer into the Garbage Hold with only Talkie Toaster as company. ("Mechocracy", Series XII)