Telepathy Through a Touch
by Fraser Parker

Fraser Parker is 24 years old and first appeared in the manuscript Twists & Trances by Kenton Knepper, with his contribution of the illusion, "Change of Beliefs". Kenton introduced him as a "very interesting young thinker" and said that Fraser "may be new to this game, but he certainly has the right twist of mind for it". He was also included in the more recent manuscript, Ultimately Under, by Kenton. Stuck to the Floor, Not able to Speak: Illusions of Influence, his latest work, can be purchased from www.merchantofmagic.com and www.lybrary.com as an instant download. What follows is a wonderful example of Fraser's thinking.

This is a work in progress and has not been extensively tested out in performance. I share this here as an example of some of my thinking only.

Some may think that this is too bold a method to perform at all. But to let you know, it has been performed on stage by one of my friends, Peter Antoniou, and played very well indeed! He will offer some of his thoughts on this effect at the end of the explanation.

The effect is as follows; The magician asks for the assistance of two volunteers. For clarity of explanation we will call the two participants Hollie and David.

Hollie is taught how to do the magic; This is unheard by everyone else to keep the secret methods of the magician safe. She is asked to place the palm of her hand on the forehead of David. They are then both asked to let their thought come to mind and a moment later are asked to say at the same time the word they had in their minds.

They both say the same word and the illusion of telepathy through a touch is completed.

The method is bold and does not use the standard ways of obtaining the information secretly such as billets, impression devices or pre-show. Instead, the participant is asked directly for the information and any problems caused by this method are covered with the scripting.

You may think that an effect where someone else is taught how to do the magic would make the method harder to accomplish but it in fact actually makes this effect possible.

David is secretly asked the following without anyone else hearing what is spoken, “Think of a simple word and then tell me so that you cannot change your mind during this effect. Words are powerful and can create illusion. [He answers with the word - mouse, for the sake of explanation]”.

The effect is now introduced to the audience and two helpers with the following patter spoken openly for everyone to hear:

“Not yet but in a moment, you are going to both have the same thought in your minds at the same time, as if through telepathy when you touch. For this to work I am going to teach Hollie how to do this. To keep the magic secret safe i do not want anyone to hear what I say to her”.

Now Hollie is taken off away from David and the audience so that she can be taught how to do the magic secretly, without anyone hearing; This is a theatrical cover for secretly letting her know the information David will think of so that they will both be able to have the same thought in their minds at the same time. The following words are spoken to Hollie, with no one else hearing what is said:

“If you follow my words and do as i suggest then you will be able to do this. We will use the word - mouse. I am fairly certain the other person will have this thought in their mind at the same moment; although I somehow know, you will still be the one doing the magic so that they will think the same word as you when you touch them.

"When I tell you to, touch the other person on their forehead, hold your hand there thinking of the word - mouse, and imagine that this can work. Act as if it is so and pretend that you and the other person can somehow share the same thought in your mind at the same time, without you speaking of the word”.

Please note that this scripting does not make Hollie a stooge or feel like she is completely in on it; she still perceives what happens as magic and has to do what the magician suggests to get the magic to work.

Although Hollie is told the word directly, how the magician knows the word seems impossible because apparently the magician has no way of knowing the word the other person will be thinking of.

Her perception of the magic secret is something which still fits in with a magic explanation of what is happening and is not understood as a trick method.

The following words are now spoken openly to everyone now Hollie understands what she is to do in a moment:

“As I have talked to you in secret, people may be suspicious and think that I have asked you to play along and that you are in on it! So to stop these accusations please let everyone know that you are not just acting your part and you do not know the word the other person will think of when you touch them but are waiting to see if the magic will work yourself!”

This scripting stops David from thinking that the magician has told the other person what his word is and has asked them to be a stooge or just play along.

Hollie thinks you mean to say that she does not know for sure what the other person will think of when she touches them but to everyone else this sounds like she is agreeing to not having been told the word.

“Put your hand on their forehead. Both of you stay silent for now and let your thought come to you clearly.

"When I snap my fingers! Both of you name the thought that was in your head when she touched you”.

They both reveal the word each of them was thinking when Hollie was touching David and the illusion of telepathy through a touch is achieved.

Hollie is then asked, “Please don't tell them how you do it!”

The illusion is now complete; Everything looks as it would if it was real magic, with the two participants and the audience perceiving what happened slightly differently to each other.

Hollie perceives what happened as magic, understanding that she was sending the word to David.

David perceives what happened as magic but slightly differently, thinking that Hollie was taught how to receive the word, as in a mind reading effect.

The audience also perceive what happened as magic but think that Hollie and David somehow thought of the same word at the same time, through telepathy.

However, if the participants speak after the fact there is a danger that the illusion will start to fall apart. To stop this from happening the magician speaks the following words before the effect is attempted,

“Magic is something special and is fragile! - it all depends on your perception; thoughts of trickery will cause the magic to fade away, although it will still be there for those wishing to see it.

"So if you want to see the magic then do not think of what i do as a trick or try to work it out, but think of it instead as words and suggestions which create the illusion of real magic, which can be seen if you let yourself see it, for as long as you let it last!

"Of course there is a trick to it all but hopefully you will let yourself see the magic. Please do not speak of trickery, even if you have trouble letting yourself see the magic - do not spoil it for everyone else."

These words are a nice theatrical way of letting your audience know that magic is something special and a way of getting them to play the game and try to see what you do as magic without thinking of trickery.

After the moment of telepathy through a touch has passed the audience and participants are reminded of this and given the following last warning to keep the illusion from unravelling,

“Please remember, if anyone speaks of how the magic was accomplished - I can tell you quite truthfully, the illusion will fall apart! You have been warned that this is so, if you even think of how this was done you are risking loosing the magic forever!”

Now if they speak of how the illusion was accomplished, then they will realise what you say is indeed true - the illusion will come undone, the magic will be lost and it will be their own fault!

To stop anyone speaking and exposing the method before you can deliver the lines which keep them satisfied everything is above board, the following directions could be given at the start of the effect:

“Throughout this, to help the magic work both of you are to keep absolutely quiet, other than when I ask you for your word. You may become slightly confused during this but if you do, please still do not speak at all until I ask you to do so. This will either work or it won't”.

On stage the participants can be selected from different parts of the audience, to help keep the different perceptions involved in this multiple reality ploy from being discovered.

Here is Peter Antoniou to tell us what he found from performing this effect:

This is an ideal stage illusion from my point of view and the type of bold ploy I enjoy performing. It is clear and bold with no moves or writing down. The words Fraser suggests are ideal in making the routine seem so fair.

At my last show, I performed this and there was an actual stunned silence and gasps as they realised that they had read each others minds.

I see the risk in this effect no greater than the risk of you messing up a billet switch or forgetting your stack half way through an effect. If you perform on a stage then choosing people from different areas of the audience makes it easier to cover the illusion.

Another line I use before the sending/ receiving process is this:

“So Hollie, you are, I mean, are you nervous about whether this will happen? Just relax and believe this will happen and it will”.

The apparent mistake in phrase almost forces the spectator to admit they aren't sure this will work (see Kenton's “The Secret” for more work on phrases like that), which further cements the idea you haven't just told them the word, that they are exploring the magic for themselves.

I challenge you to try this effect out, those of you who do will realise the power that it holds. And those who don't want to perform it, well then that just means that there is one less person performing one of my strongest routines!

Fraser Parker