HYPERTIME
by Mike Rogers (with
thanks to Larry Jennings)
Earle
the Cyber Jock is sitting in an airport terminal
bar at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport
enjoying an imported beer while reflecting on
the many new high-tech gadgets he had seen at
the recent COMDEX trade show. Having just attended
the show he is loaded with a bundle of literature
telling of all that is possible with the best
of the best in high technology. Life is good
for Earle, as he pushes his coke-bottle-bottom
glasses higher on the bridge of his nose for
the 100th time today. The literature he is carrying
home, combined with the products he has seen,
become manna.
Two bar
stools away Bart Bosco is toying with a deck
of cards in a manner that suggests a strange
game of solitaire. Bart has also been at the
COMDEX show, though in a different capacity
than that of Earle the Cyber Jock. Bart doesn't
share Earle's enthusiasm for bytes, RAM, and
hard drive space. He doesn't personally know
Earle, but he easily spots him as being one
from the COMDEX show. The stack of brochures,
his collection of convention giveaway goodies,
and the fact that Earle the Cyber Jock is still
wearing his convention entry badge, reveals
why he's in town. Bart smirks a bit, for wearing
your convention badge outside the exhibition
hall simply tells every mugger in town that
you are a stranger, probably with money. In
Bart's opinion Earle is a nerd.
It's
apparent that both have more than a few minutes
to wait before their respective flights. Each
has reordered another round. Bart says, "I see
you are really into Cyberspace, but have you
any interest in Hypertime?"
"Hypertime,
what the hell is that.... I've never heard of
such a thing," Earle replies. "What company
at COMDEX demonstrated hypertime?"
"None,
it's an abstract thing," said Bart Bosco. "If
you have a minute I'll show you. Everyone has
a position in hypertime, though you don't know
what it is, and you have little control over
it, yet it has great effect on our lives."
"Listen
Pal," said Earle, "I have three computers having
hundreds of gigs. I own the fastest modems in
the state. I have two scanners, four printers,
three zip drives, a fax machine, a cell phone,
a beeper, call waiting, call forwarding, a camcorder,
two CD players, voice mail, and a Clap On Lamp.
I know what's what, and this hypertime jazz
sounds like pure hyperbole."
Bart
Bosco said, "If I can prove how hypertime affects
your life will you buy me another brew?"
"That's
a no brainer, of course I will, for you can't
do it. There's no such thing as hypertime,"
said Earle the Cyber Jock.
Bart
explained, "Hypertime is always expressed in
the form of a number and this number can be
acquired in many different ways. We don't control
it, but it has strong impact on the events on
our lives. Earle, here's how we will determine
my place in hypertime. I'll guard your beer
while you go next door to the news stand. Pick
out any popular magazine or newspaper having
advertising. Flip through the pages until you
come to an ad showing a picture of a clock or
watch. I want you to be able to read the time
on the clock or watch. It must be a time piece
having hands, not a digital display. Digital
time displays are high tech, and hypertime shuns
anything that's high tech. Remember the time,
replace the magazine and come back here. While
you are gone I'll order a big pretzel for us
to munch on."
Earle
the Cyber Jock returns in only a few minutes
telling Bart he found a picture of a nice Elgin
watch showing the time.. Bart says, "Great,
that's how we'll establish my spot in hypertime,
but remember, hypertime is stated by a number.
Don't tell me the time you remembered. Just
add the hour shown to the minutes shown. In
other words, if it showed the time to be 20
minutes past seven, you add 20 plus seven for
a hypertime of 27. If it showed two minutes
past nine add nine plus two. Get the idea?"
Earle
performs the addition establishing a hypertime
of 20. The number 20 becomes Bart's hypertime.
All quite fair, and certainly nothing Bart could
control.
Bart
says, "Earle, my hypertime is now established
as 20. We'll establish yours an easier way."
He sets his deck of cards on the bar and says,
"Cut a block of cards and set them on the bar,
but not in a puddle of beer please. We already
know my hypertime is 20, and that's pretty high,
so try and cut less than 20 as this is your
first visit to hypertime and I want it to be
a comfortable experience for you."
Earle
cuts a block of cards saying, "Let's get on
with it. I have to read up on the new cable
on-line service that works without a cache or
temporary internet files."
Bart
takes the balance of the deck and reminds Earle
that his hypertime is 20. He then counts 20
cards to the bar. He then places the talon to
one side while casually giving it an overhand
shuffle. Bart says, "Your spot in hypertime
has been established by the number of cards
you cut from the deck." He counts Earle's cards
learning that there are nine. "Earle, my friend,
your hypertime is nine. To make it all fair
I'll join you and count nine cards from my hypertime
pile." This he does, and places the new pile
to the table.
There
are now four packets on the table, the discarded
talon, Bart's original 20 card pack which has
now been divided into two separate packs, and
Earle's pack. Bart reminds Earle, "Remember,
the deal was you buy me another round if I can
demonstrate how hypertime impacts our lives.
The Fall COMDEX show is always in Las Vegas,
and in this town here's a winner." With that
he turns over the top card of each pack revealing
each to be an ace.
Earle
the Cyber Jock expounds, "Well I'll be a son-of-a-bitch,"
as his coke-bottle-bottom glasses fall to the
tip of his nose for the 101th time today.
Bart
summons the bartender saying, "Set 'em up, my
buddy is buying, and another soft pretzel please."
OK, what
do we have here? It's a well-disguised version
of the clock principle along with Larry Jennings'
"Intuitively Yours" from "Neoclassics," published
by Stephen Minch in 1987. Jon Racherbaumer has
a reworked version in "Big-Easy Card-Cunning."
The clock principle was beat to the fare-thee-well
in most of the Rufus Steele books years ago.
It's an ageless concept that continues to resurface
in many of the marketed card effects sold through
the magic dealers. For this to make sense I
have to give you the bare bones of the Jennings
handling, for it is Larry's creative thinking
that provides the neat disguise. I have added
this story line along with an extremely deceptive
method of forcing the number 20.
Here's
the method. There's a simple set up. Place one
ace on top of the deck, one ace on the bottom
of the deck, and the two remaining aces 20th
and 21st from the top. From this point on it's
all management.
The spectator
cuts the first block to the bar. You then count
20 cards to the bar REVERSING their order. The
talon is placed to one side, but casually sluff
the bottom card, an ace, to the top. Count the
spectator's cards WITHOUT REVERSING their order.
In this case there were nine cards. Pick up
your 20 card pack and count nine cards REVERSING
their order. There are now four packets on the
table, an ace on top of each.
Oh, the
force? (I almost hate to let this out.) Most
people do not know that in magazine ads showing
a clock or a watch, the time will almost always
be ten minutes after ten. This is not true when
the clock shows digital time, so it must be
one showing hands the old-fashioned way. It's
not sure fire, but the risk is small.
|
