EFFECT: A selected card is placed
between the two red kings. It then miracu- lously disappears and appears between the black kings.
PROCEDURE: Remove the four kings
and place them face up on the table in black/black/red/red order. Have a specta- tor cut the deck for a selection. Perform a double turnover to reveal the selection and have the card signed.
Obtain a left fourth finger break under the top two face-up cards. Now drop the four kings face up on the selection (double) and pick up all six cards (supposedly five) in right-hand Biddle Grip.*
Table the deck face down. While hold- ing the six-card packet in right-hand Bid- dle grip, use a Biddle procedure to peel off the kings, one by one, face up into the left hand. This leaves the selection (double) in Biddle grip in the right hand and the four Kings face up in the left hand.
Use the double selection to lever over the four kings to a face-down position on the left palm. Now place the double, face up and outjogged about half an inch or so, onto the face-down packet of kings. The left thumb and fingers at the long edges keep the double square.
Turn the left palm downward while holding the cards along their long edges. The top king is now in view while the out- jogged selection (double) is seen protrud- ing, as in Figure 1. Note the position of the left second finger. Move the right hand over the double with thumb above and fin- gers underneath and push the bottom card of the outjogged double (the selection) flush with the kings.
Figure 2 shows this action in progress.
This leaves only the extra card outjogged. This is a secret move and can be accom- plished as you apparently adjust the selec- tion. The spectators see an outjogged card, which they believe to be the signed selec- tion. (This is basically Marlo’s “Glide Variation*” from the May 1965 issue of
New Tops. It can be found in M.I.N.T. on
page 157.) The position of the left second
finger in Figure 1 helps in preventing the hidden card from being seen as it is being pushed in. It’s a good idea to turn slightly as you execute the move. The motion will help to obscure any flashing. Hold the packet in this position using the right hand while the left hand turns palm upward and re-grips the packet in dealing position (Fig. 3).
Push the top two kings to the right using the left thumb. Take these kings in the right hand, thumb on top fingers below. Move the kings to the left and take the outjogged card between them as in Figure 4. Move the three cards away from the left hand, finally dropping them to the table. The spectators believe that the face-down card between the tabled kings is the selection. Actually, the selection is face down on the bottom of the three-card packet in the left hand. Be sure to keep the three cards in left
hand squared since there are only sup- posed to be two kings there.
Take the remaining cards from the left hand into right-hand Biddle Grip. Use the left thumb to peel (Biddle) the top king into left-hand dealing position as the right hand then replaces its two cards as one on top of the king in the left hand. This positions the selection between the two kings. Table this packet, being careful not to allow the extra card to flash.
STATUS CHECK: The spectators
believe that the visible face-down card between the two tabled kings is the selec- tion. Actually, the selection is already between the other two kings. All that remains is to make the indifferent card vanish and then reveal that the selection has jumped to the other kings.
Pick up the three-card packet with the indifferent card between two kings, in right-hand Biddle grip. Keep the packet squared. Now snap the fingers of your left hand over the packet and say, “Watch this.” Using the left first finger, buckle the bot- tom card. This allows you to separate the packet so that the left hand holds the single bottom card while the right hand holds a double as one card. The extra card is hid- den below the king in the right hand. Apparently, the “selection” has vanished.
CLEANING UP: Move the right
hand’s double under the card in the left hand as you say, “The selection has van- ished.” You can now casually place the three cards (as two) on top of the deck. This gets rid of the extra card.
To end, spread the tabled packet con- taining the selection, revealing a face-
down card between two kings. Show it cleanly to be the selection. You’re done.
FINAL THOUGHTS: If you trust your
spectators, you can enhance the mystery by placing the packet containing the selec- tion into the spectator’s hands. Have her hold her left palm up. Place the three cards (as two) into dealing position so that she can keep them square. Finally, place her right hand on top as in Figure 5.
Now the effect happens in her hands for added impact.
The Fly
EFFECT: The performer recalls the
theme of the movie, The Fly, in which a scientist invents a device that can disas- semble a person’s molecular structure and reassemble it in a different place. The sci- entist performs the experiment on himself. Unfortunately, a fly is in the chamber with him. Their genetic structures intermix dur- ing the transfer, and the scientist begins to take on the appearance of a fly.
The four tens are removed from the deck, and a selection is removed and signed. The deck is then split into two piles, which represent the two chambers of the machine. The two black tens are band- ed together with a rubber band and placed on one pile. The selection is placed between the red tens, and the three are banded together and placed on the second “chamber.” A stranger card is now intro- duced into the pile containing the selec- tion. This card represents the fly. It is now
shown that the selection, like the scientist in the movie, has traveled from one pile to the other under impossible conditions. The selection is found banded between the two black tens! It is recalled that in the movie, the presence of the fly in the chamber later caused genetic changes in the scientist. Upon examination of the stranger card, it is found that this card’s back does not match the deck. For the big ending, the signed selection’s back is found to match the back of the stranger card!
PREPARATION: Assuming you are
using a red-backed deck, you will need two cards from a matching blue-backed deck. Let’s say these are the Jack of Hearts (JH) and the Joker. (It’s a good idea to use a pic- ture card to represent the scientist since such a card is more easily identifiable with a human being.) The JH will be forced on the spectator. The Joker will be the stranger card. Place the Joker in your shirt pocket. Now cull the red-backed JH from the deck and place it on the top of the face- down deck with the blue-backed JH sec- ond from top. Have two rubber bands wrapped around the card case for later. The rubber bands that I use are circular and measure 1.25 inches in diameter. They hold the packets of cards together without causing them to bend.
PROCEDURE: Openly remove the
four tens from the deck as you ask the spec- tators if they are familiar with the movie,
The Fly. Place the tens face up on the pad.
If they are unfamiliar with the plot, give a brief synopsis based on the description above.
Explain that you need a card to play the role of the scientist. As you are explaining this, cut the deck, centralizing the JH and hold a left fourth finger break at that spot in readiness for a Riffle Force.* Perform the Riffle Force, breaking the deck at the force card. Using the right hand, place all the cards above the break under the cards in the left hand as you say, “You stopped me here.” A red back is clearly seen on top.
Perform a double turnover, showing a JH, and say, “The Jack of Hearts will repre-
sent our scientist. Please sign the card for security reasons.” Hand the spectator a pen and have her sign the JH on its face. Obtain a left fourth finger break under the top two cards (the two JHs).
Pick up the four tens face up with the right hand. They should be in red/red/ black/black order. Add the tens to the deck momentarily while you pick up the double JH under them with the right hand. Table the deck face down.
Place the six cards face up in left-hand dealing position. Now, using the right hand, cut the deck into two approximately equal face-down piles. Place one on the left side of the pad and one on the right side. Explain that these two piles represent the two chambers used in the movie.
You are now going to perform the actions described in “Unexpected Visitor” starting in the fourth paragraph right after, “Table the deck face down.” At the end of this sequence, you’ll have the signed selec- tion (blue-backed) face down between the two tens in the left hand. The red-backed JH is face down between the other two face-up tens on the pad. Place a rubber band around the three (supposedly two) cards held in the left hand. Place these cards face up (ten showing) on the left- hand pile.
Pick up the three cards on the pad with the right hand and hold them in spread con- dition. Raise the packet showing the face of the JH and remind the spectators that the JH represents the scientist. (Note: Only a corner of the JH shows. The absence of the signature cannot be noted. This touch real- ly solidifies the notion that the selection is between the two tens.)
Hold the three cards squared in right- hand Biddle grip. Peel the top ten face up into the left hand. Now peel the face-down JH while simultaneously stealing back the first ten under the other ten. Finally, place the two tens, as one, on the face-down JH. Apparently, you have simply reversed the order of the cards. Leave a small gap between the double and the jack as shown in Figure 1.
Now pick up the other rubber band and insert it into the gap at the inner right cor- ner (Fig. 1).
You should turn a bit to the right during this sequence so that no one can see the dis- crepancy. Continue to move the band to the middle and around the top two cards. It must appear that you put the band around all three. Place the three cards face up onto the right-hand pile.
STATUS CHECK: On the left-hand
pile, there are two face-up tens with the blue-backed, signed JH face down between them. On the right hand, pile there are two tens banded together with the red- backed JH below them (Fig. 2). The stage is set.
Remind the spectators that, in the movie, there was a contaminant in the chamber with the scientist – the fly. Remove the blue-backed Joker from your pocket without revealing the color of its back. Place the Joker face up in the center of the right-hand pile.
If you are up to the task, make some sounds that evoke the sound of the trans- porter on the Enterprise. The experiment is beginning. Pick up the banded packet from the right side and remove the rubber band. The selection has vanished! Drop the tens on the pad. Now carefully lift the three
banded cards from the left-hand pile. Turn the cards face down and remove the rubber band. Spread the cards, showing the signed selection! The trick seems to be over, but the kicker is waiting to happen.
Place the selection face up on the pad as you remind the spectators that, in the movie, the presence of the fly later caused genetic changes. Spread the cards in the right-hand pile and remove the face-up Joker. Slowly turn it over and reveal that it was taken from a different colored deck. Place it face up onto the right-hand pile. Now, slowly turn over the selection, show- ing that it, too, has a blue back. Genetic changes have begun to take place!
CLEANING UP: Pick up the right-
hand pile in left-hand dealing position. Remove the top Joker together with the red-backed JH under it as a single card and replace them in your shirt pocket. This gets rid of the extra JH. Now, if the spectators examine the deck, they will not find a duplicate JH.
FURTHER THOUGHTS: The above
description is rather lengthy. In actual practice, the effect is fairly short. The little touches, such as using the duplicate JH, make this an exceptionally strong piece of magic.
It should be noted that since the backs of the two stranger cards (the selection and the Joker) are not seen until the end, you may alter the backs in any way you choose. The color contrast is one way. You could also draw a picture of a fly on the backs or use acetone to smear the color on the back. Use your imagination. An interesting vari- ation would be to use a double-faced card as the scientist. You would then use a duplicate of the opposite side as the fly. At the end you would reveal that the fly is inti- mately embedded in the DNA of the scien- tist. Give the card to the spectator as a souvenir.
With the advent of the smartphone there are other interesting options. You could cue up a sound effect on your phone, which could then be used as part of the teleporta- tion chamber. Simply place the right-hand
half deck onto the phone. Then, at the appropriate moment, unleash the sound effect. You could also create a video with sound and visuals that could add to the effect.
There are a number of iPhone apps that pretend to be scanning a fingerprint. They flash some colors and make sounds that would work well in this routine. It would be cool to write an app for two smart- phones so that one would control the other.