Now You See It... Part 12

Now You See It. 53

follow. "Its a new illusion," he said. "I'm not prepared to show it yet"

"You shouldn't have used it on me, then," said Harry with a tight smile.

"You may not like it," Max warned.

"111 take me chance," said Harry.

Reaching the globe, he examined it, finding no special

feature.

He ran his hand across tihe curved surface.

Then he jerked it back abruptly as the outer layer of the globe rolled downward, revealing a gla.s.s globe under- neath. I reacted with surprise; to what extent I could.

Harry positively twitched, so startled was he by the sight that he could not prevent a gasp from pulling back his lips.

Inside the globe was a head.

His.

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H.

any gasped at the head. There was no denying it was his- It looked real in every way.

Its eyes were closed.

"Jesus H. Christ/' said Harry. Bending over, he took a closer look.

The head was larger than lifesize, I now saw. Still, it looked completely real. When did Max do this ? I wondered. It had to have been at night when I was sleeping; when every- one was sleeping-

"What the h.e.l.l-" muttered Harry.

He twitched again, shuddering this time and jerking erect.

The eyes of the head had opened and were looking up at him.

"Holy Jesus," Harry muttered.

Then a grin of pleasure creased his face and he turned to Max.

"You son of a b.i.t.c.h," he said in delight. "You tricky son of a b.i.t.c.h."

NgwYwS-H- 55

"You like it?" Max inquired.

"LQce it? Law if" Harry exploded. He squinted at the head. "But what the h.e.l.l is it?" he asked.

''Laser-produced, holographically processed, stored im- agery/' Max answered.

Harry gave him a hooded look. "Yeah, thafs what I thought it was," he said. He peered at the head/ which peered back. (Two Harry Kendals in the same room; a true example of superfluity.) "A Three-D movie, right?" he

asked- Max repressed a smile. "A bit more involved than that,"

he said. I felt awed pride in him. He'd carried magic into the technological age. G.o.d bless him.

"Controlled by-" Harry regarded him questioningly.

Max removed a small remote-control box from the left- hand pocket of his smoking jacket and held it up. Harry beamed. "You son of a b.i.t.c.h," he said fondly.

He tapped the globe. "Now thafs what I've been talking about," he said. "This is today."

"Indeed it is," said Max, meaning something other than Harry did (we soon discovered).

Harry was enthusing now. "Audiences are going to love it, pal! It's state of me art! Las Vegas will-"

"Forget it. Harry," interrupted Harry's head. "Las Vegas is out. Max didn't ask you here to talk about Las Vegas."

Harry and I were born astonished, staring at the head. He began to laugh, then stopped as the words he'd just heard

registered.

' "I don't get it/' he said, the edge of irritation in his voice

again.

He looked back at the head as it began to speak once

more.

"Allow me to explain," it said. "The Great Delacorte has been a star for almost twenty years-as ha father was before him. The Great Delacorte springs from a half-century

56 Riekard I

tradition of art and craft. Like his father. The Great Dda- corte has been honored before crowned heads of Europe.

"Yet you ask him now to entertain a herd of sheep. A gathering of dolts whose greatest pa.s.sion lies in feeding coins to slot machines- The Great Delacorte has been ac- claimed. Respected. Celebrated. World renowned."

The voice of me head was venomous now, charged with hatred.

"Did you really think," it said, "mat The Great Delacorte would display his wonders on the bottom of an ornamented garbage can?"

It may have been my most frustrating moment in those fourteen years-a desperate yearning to applaud with hands mat lay like sides of beef on my lap.

Harry had been stunned into silence; even anger was un- available to him, he was so shocked.