From the introduction: Edison's Optics...combine[s] the background material from [GDW's] Space: 1889 with the rules of Prism. Or, if you don't have Space: 1889, these rules will give you a sense for how to use Prism with a "steampunk" setting of your own design, based on the writings of Verne, Wells, Bergerac, Doyle, and others, and on your own imagination. User summary: Document presents a set of conversion tables and conversion techniques to adapt the Space: 1889 setting to the Prism rules.