Page 53 - Unlikely Stories 4

The Magic Clown

Through a Brick Wall, Levitation, Sword Swallowing and Needle
Threading, The Indian Rope Trick. You revived Houdini’s escapes,
including the Chinese Water Torture Cell. You made every large
animal in the zoo vanish in their cages. You did all these things
clowning around in a state of inebriation and without any props? No
mirrors, no wires, no collapsing cabinet, no Corsican Trap?”
“That’s right. Saved me a lot of money. I never came up with
anything new—remember, I could only perform ‘magic’—so nobody
ever cared to snoop around and discover my secret. And every
magician knows there are no secrets. All I had to do was jump around
like an idiot to hide the fact that I really had nothing to hide. The
musicians in the pit had a field day with rim shots on the snare drum
and raucous clarinet and trombone riffs. I made a living but it ruined
my health and disposition. People remembered the clown, not the
magic. I was unrecognizable without my costume, and happily so: it
would have been obvious that the clown was not an act, and that
would have raised questions about the magician. I see that you are not
entirely convinced.”
Ann frowned.
“I am just a journalist, Mr. Riga. If my editor doesn’t like what I do
then I am out of work. It is not for me to judge what you have told
me. I might say that many people in this field have incredible stories
to tell about their origins; many, out of spite or a desire to remain
mysterious to the end, will not reveal the mechanics of their illusions.
Your story is but one more thread in the tapestry of American magic
in the twentieth century. We hope to present the readers of Now You
See It with as many of those stories as we can. Thank you very much
for your time.”
“That sounds like the old brush-off to me,” exclaimed Tony, his
distress returning. Ann O’Malley turned off the tape recorder. “I want
to get this out to people. It’s my last chance! Listen: a science fiction
writer once wrote that any sufficiently advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic. There is a corollary to this—it’s what
happened to me with that damned wish I made: any sufficiently
retarded magic is indistinguishable from technology.”
“Yes, yes. I understand completely.” She stood up. “Is there
anything else you would like to say?”

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