To our achievement.
The manager says he's never seen a reaction like it.
At least he saw it. I spent the ovation hiding under the stage.
No one cares about the man who disappears.
They care about the one who comes out.
I care about the man in the box.
Thank you. I don't know, maybe we could switch before the trick.
I'm the prestige, and Root's below stage.
No, the anticipation of the trick is everything.
We need your showmanship to build up the suspense.
Once Root opens his mouth, it's over. He can't introduce this trick.
Of course I can. I'm the Great Danton.
Root, you bloody fool, get out of that wardrobe and makeup.
Anyone could walk in here at any minute.
Congratulations, all.
Life is not full of these moments. We worked hard.
We need to celebrate properly.
What's wrong? Is it your wife?
No, it's the trick. It isn't good enough.
Borden's trick is nothing compared to ours. He has no style.
He doesn't spend the finale hiding under the stage.
- I need to know how he does it. - Why?
So I can do it better.
I need you to go and work for him.
Work for him? Are you joking?
You'll be my spy.
We just got our start. You want me to leave?
That's how we advance. Think of it.
People are excited by Cutter's version. Imagine what we'd do
with the real illusion. We'd have the greatest magic act anyone's ever seen.
- He knows I work for you. - Exactly why he'll want to hire you.
- He'll want my secret. - Why would he trust me?
Because you're gonna tell him the truth.
Hmm?
Good girl.
You must be curious to see what so much money has bought you.
Fitting you should be here for her maiden voyage.
Your hat.
You might want to stand back.
I don't understand.
Perhaps it would be best if you left us to it.
Is there a problem, Mr. Tesla?
- No. Come back next week. - Next week?
- Next week, it will be fine. - Tesla!
Just a little temperamental.
- Interesting workshop. - Yeah, we make do.
- My name is Olivia... - I know who you are.
Here to steal the rest of my show?
To give your show what it's missing.
- Yeah, what might that be? - Me.
I was just saying that, wasn't I?
- A woman's touch. - I've left Angier.
- All right. - I want a job.
Yeah.
I know you've no reason to trust me.
Why wouldn't I trust you?
You're only the mistress of my enemy. Why wouldn't I trust you?
- Mr. Borden. - Alfred.
I'm going to tell you the truth.
Now that is a slippery notion
in our line of work, isn't it, Miss Wenscombe?
I am here because he sent me here.
He wants me to work for you and steal your secret.
What does he need my secret for? His trick is topnotch.
He vanishes, and then he reappears instantly
on the other side of the stage, mute, overweight
and, unless I'm mistaken, very drunk.
It's astonishing. How does he do it? And tell me, Olivia,
does he enjoy taking his bows under the stage?
It's killing him. He's obsessed with discovering your methods.
He thinks of nothing else, takes no pleasure in our success.
And I've had enough.
There is no future with him.
He sent me here to steal your secrets, but I've come to offer you his.
This is the truth... is it?
Think you'd better get dressed, sir.
Root, you're late and more drunk than usual. Get down below stairs right away.
No.
No, we need to have a little chat, Mr. Cutter.
We have a problem. Cutter, Borden is performing right across the street.
Yeah, we have a bigger problem.
Root. He's realized that he can make demands.
Wha...? He's blackmailing us?
I was surprised, to tell you the truth.
It usually takes them a lot longer to figure it out.
- How much does he want? - It makes no difference.
- We've got to stop doing the trick. - Stop the trick? Look at this.
Last week they said you were the premier stage performer in London.
Not magician, mind you. Performer of any kind.
- What's your point? - My point is, you've climbed too high
to get away with professional embarrassment.
We don't do any tricks we can't control.
Just pay him for now. We keep doing the trick until Borden opens,
and then we'll phase it out.
All right.
Cutter was always surprised
how fast Root turned bad.
To what do I owe the pleasure of this rather welcome pint of ale?
- You're the Great Danton, aren't you? - Sh, sh, sh, sh, sh.
Of course I am, but don't advertise it, because I'll be mobbed with fans.
We paid him enough to keep him in beers.
You wouldn't expect him to rock the boat.
Many of you may be familiar with this technique,
but for those of you who aren't, do not be alarmed.
What you're about to see is considered safe.
- And who are you? - I am a humble admirer
and a fellow practitioner.
Mmm. Very good.
- Another one? - Oh, if you insist.
- Another. - I'm not performing tonight.
I'm only doing one show, but to be frank,
my people pretty much run things these days.
Get up there.
Get up!
Your illusion, The Transported Man,
I'm not claiming to know your methods,
but I had a similar trick in my act,
and, uh... I used a double.
- Mm, I see, very good. - Well, it was, and then it went bad.
What I didn't count on was that when I incorporated this bloke
into my act,
he had complete power over me.
Complete power, you say?
Ohh!
Be very careful giving someone that power over you.
Huh. Thank you. Um...
Yes, thank you for the warning.
Hmm. Cheers.
I cannot claim this next feat as illusion.
What you're about to see is considered safe.
Ahh!
Oh! The Great Danton.
I apologize.
There simply is too much magic...
...for my stage at The Pantages
across the street.
Pardon my intrusion.
And go easy on the poor chap. He does try so very hard.
I don't know how Borden found him.
Kept him under wraps. I was careful.
Yeah, well, he did.
Do you think it was her?
You weren't expecting me?
I expected you sooner. Your message said afternoon.
It takes a bit for me to get around these days.
He's taken everything from me. My wife, my career,
- now you. - You sent me.
I sent you to steal his secret, not to improve his act.
- It's my job. - Or fall in love!
- I did everything you asked! - Yes? Yes?
- How does he do it? - Cutter was right, a double.
- 'Course he said that. - He didn't say it.
I've seen things, makeup, glasses, wigs. We don't use for the show.
- I've seen it hidden backstage. - Misdirection.
He leaves them lying around to make you think that.
He doesn't know when I'm looking.
All the time, Olivia! That's who he is!
That's what it takes!
He lives his act, don't you see?
Just because you're sleeping with him doesn't mean he trusts you.
You think you can see everything, don't you?
The Great Danton is a blind fool.
His notebook.
You stole it?
I borrowed it for tonight.
I thought you could translate some of it...
I can't. No one can. It's a cipher.
Even with the keyword, it will take months to decode.
- And without the keyword? - Perhaps never.
- We'll see. - We will not see.
If I don't get that back by tomorrow he'll know I took it.
- Leave him. - I can't. He knows where I live.
This is his diary, Olivia. All of his secrets are right here in my hands.
It won't bring your wife back.
I don't care about my wife. I care about his secret.
Look, I'll, um...
I'll go to his workshop and stage a break-in.
- He'll know you took it. - Yes, me. Not you.
Understand?
Robert.
I have fallen in love with him.
Then I know how hard this has been for you.
Notebook?
Then he's just getting started.
Professor!
Good evening.
I'm walking tonight.
Let him come. I don't care.
Professor! Professor!
Ahh!
- You all right? - I'm alive.
Saves me cutting you an air hole.
- I'm impressed. - Why is that?
You're finally getting your hands dirty.
It's what a good trick costs, Angier.
Risk, sacrifice.
The sacrifice, I'm afraid, is all gonna be yours,
unless you give me what I want.
- Which is? - Your secret.
My secret?
Your method for The Transported Man.
Fallon wouldn't tell me. He doesn't talk at all.
- You have my notebook. - Useless without the keyword.
Write down your method, Mr. Borden, describe it in full.
I want the whole method, not the keyword.
I don't know if your secret's in your notebook.
The keyword is the method.
Where's my ingénieur?
- Alive? - How fast can you dig?
Fallon, you hear me? Fallon!
- How's the arm? - Still attached.
Did you find your answer?
Our answer, Cutter. I haven't looked yet. I wanted you to share this.
I already know how he does it, Robert.
Same way he always has, the same way as we do.
It's just that you want something more.
Well, let's find out then, shall we?
What does it mean?
It means, Cutter, we have a journey ahead of us.
- To America. - Robert?
Listen to me.
Obsession is a young man's game.
Come on.
I can't follow you any further in it.
I can't, I'm sorry.
Then the rest is up to me.
I'm sorry.
Good evening. Hello, darling.
Champagne, your finest.
I didn't know we were going to be joined for dinner.
Absolutely, we are celebrating.
Miss Wenscombe, Mr. Fallon.
- What are we celebrating? - We've hit upon a new trick.
- Haven't we? - What trick, Freddie?
Yes, Freddie, what trick?
I am going to bury myself alive every night,
and then someone will come along and dig me up. Wonderful.
- I think he's had quite enough... - No, pour the champagne.
Pour the... Sarah, don't talk to me like that. I'm not a bloody child.
- Perhaps it would be better... - Mr. Fallon, escort her home.
- My husband's being a bore. - Oh, please.
- I see no reason you should suffer. - Don't ruin this evening.
Good night, Mrs. Borden. Good night, Freddie.
- Freddie? - That's my name.
- Not at home. - I'm not always at home, am I?
Couldn't you have at least taken off the beard?
Sarah, I just came from the bloody theater just now.
All right? I'm out in public. Everybody else loves it.
Why are you being like this?
I had a terrible ordeal today.
I thought that something very precious...
...had been lost to me.
So I just wanted to celebrate just a little.
All right, what? What did you lose?
I see, more secrets.
Sarah, secrets are my life.
- Our life. - No, Alfred, stop, this isn't you.
Stop performing.
I thought I had the place to myself.
Unexpected guests, not very polite.
A lot of questions.
At first, I thought they worked for the government.
- No? - Worse, they work for Thomas Edison.
Today, a most curious development.
His assistant came to us with a proposition.
Obviously, Angier has sent her and told her to admit as much.
Does he enjoy taking his bows under the stage?
He sent me here to steal your secrets, but I've come to offer you his.
This is the truth...
...is it?
No, that's what he told me to tell you. The truth...
...is that I loved him and I stood by him and he sent me to you,
like he would send a stagehand to pick up his shirts.
I hate him for that.
I could spot Angier's methods from the back of the theater.
So, what could you possibly have to offer me?
You may know his tricks,
but you can't understand why no one sees yours are better.
You hide this. I had to look very closely
to spot it during The Transported Man,
but this makes you unique.
It shows you aren't using a double.
You mustn't hide it. You must display it proudly.
I'm sure it takes great skill to perform illusions with one good hand.
Yeah, it does.
So let people know.
You can be so much more than he is and I can show you how.
I think she's telling the truth.
I think we cannot trust her.
But I love her. I need her.
To open myself to such a relationship,
to the dangers of such an affair,
I need assurances of fidelity, of love.
But how to be sure?
I know a way. It's the only way to know her mind.
How could he send you away?
She must help me rid ourselves of Angier.
Today, my mistress proves her truthfulness.
Not to me, you understand.
I've been convinced since she led me to Root.
Today, Olivia proves her love for me
to you, Angier.
Yes, Angier, she gave you this notebook at my request.
And yes, "Tesla" is merely the key to my dairy,
not to my trick. You really think I'd part
with my secret so easily after so much?
Goodbye, Angier.
May you find solace for your forward ambition
back in your American home.
Tesla!
Tesla! Alley!
Alley!
Tesla never made a machine like the one I asked for.
- I never said he had. - You let me believe that he had.
You stole my money because your funding was cut off.
You've been shooting sparks in my top hat,
laughing at me all along, while using my money to stave off ruin.
- I have seen Edison's men. - Where?
In the hotel, I have a mind to bring them up here.
That would be unwise, Mr. Angier.
It is true that you are our last remaining financier,
but we have not stolen your money.
This is my cat.
When I told you I could make you a machine, I spoke a truth.
Why isn't it working?
Because exact science, Mr. Angier,
is not an exact science.
The machine simply does not operate as expected.
- It requires further examination. - So where did my top hat go?
Nowhere.
We tried the damn thing a dozen times.
The hat went nowhere.
We need to try different material.
It may provoke a different result.
Great.
You are responsible for whatever happens to this animal, doctor.
I hope whatever you were really doing with my money
was more worthwhile, Mr. Tesla.
Alley!
So the machine was working?
I never checked the calibration, 'cause the hat never moved.
These things never quite work as you expect them to.
That's one of the principal beauties of science.
I'll need a couple of weeks to iron out the problems with the machine.
We'll send word when it's ready.
Don't forget your hat.
- Well, which one is mine? - They are all your hats.
You look so pretty in this new dress of yours.
- Are we going to the zoo? - No, Daddy has some errands to run.
- But you promised. - I promised, did I?
Then go to the zoo, we shall.
Daddy will go run his errands, and I'll be back before you know it.
So you go get ready. We'll go see those chimpanzees.
Sarah... what are you doing?
Each of us have our vices.
Sarah, whatever you may think...
...your only competition for my affections is our little girl.
I love you. I will always love you
and you alone.
- You mean it today. - Absolutely.
Which makes it so much harder when you don't.
More shopping. She does love the smell of money.
The little lady wants to go to the zoo, so I thought you could take her, yeah?
I mean, I can do it tomorrow, if not.
And, uh... Sarah,
she knows.
Uh, at least she knows that something is not right,
so if you can just do whatever you can to help me.
Talk to her, just convince her that I do love her.
What is it, Freddie?
Listen, don't call me that, please.
It's nothing. It's just that sometimes it seems wrong.
I told you, when you're with me, you're with me.
Leave your family at home where they belong.
I'm trying. I'm trying, Olivia.
- I'll get dressed. - Yeah.
I saw Fallon hanging around again.
There's something about that man I don't trust.
You trust me? Then trust Fallon.
He protects the things that I care about.
We're sorry to see you go, Mr. Angier.
We were sorry to see Mr. Tesla leave, as well.
He's very good to Colorado Springs.
Mr. Angier,
I didn't think it was necessary to tell Edison's men about the box.
What box?
I apologize for leaving without saying goodbye.
But I seem to have outstayed my welcome in Colorado.
The truly extraordinary is not permitted in science and industry.
Perhaps you'll find more luck in your field,
where people are happy to be mystified.
You will find what you are looking for in this box.
Alley has written you a thorough set of instructions.
I add only one suggestion on using the machine.
Destroy it.
Drop it to the bottom of the deepest ocean.
Such a thing will bring you only misery.
Tesla's warning is as unheeded as he knew it would be.
Today I tested the machine. Taking precautions in case
Tesla hadn't ironed out the kinks in its operation.
But if it went wrong,
I would not want to live like that for long.
But here at the turn, I must leave you, Borden.
Yes, you, Borden,
sitting there in your cell,
reading my diary, awaiting your death,
for my murder.
Angier's journal, that gesture of good faith, that's a fake.
I assure you, it's not.
The provenance of the journal is clear and under no doubt.
And it's written in Angier's own hand, for which we have numerous examples.
It don't matter.
So my tricks.
- All of them. - Including The Transported Man?
- Lord Caldlow will be very pleased. - No, he won't.
They're not complete.
It's just the pledge and the turn for each.
Without the prestige for these tricks, these are worthless.
Yeah.
You get the rest of it... when you bring my daughter here.
I want to say goodbye.
We have to go through it now. We have to go through it now.
Now, listen to me, deny it all you want.
Olivia means nothing.
- Olivia? - I need an assistant.
- I'll go to her, I'll tell her. - You'll tell her what?
I know what you really are, Alfred.
- I know. - Sarah, Sarah, Sarah.
- I can't keep it in. - You can't talk like this.
- No. No. - Sarah, shut up! Sarah, shut up!
I don't want to hear it anymore. You can't talk like this.
You can't hide it anymore, because I know, Alfred, I know.
I know what you really are, Alfred.
I can't live like this.
Oh, well, you think I can live like this?
You think I bloody enjoy living like this?
We have this beautiful house, lovely little girl, we're married.
What is so wrong with your life?
Alfred, I can't live like this!
Well, what do you want from me?
I... I want...
I want you to be... honest with me.
No tricks.
No lies.
And no secrets.
Do you... do you love me?
Not today.
No.
Who's there?
I'm looking for an old friend.
I heard about a booking, nice little theater,
- good up-and-coming magician. - You're back.
It's good to see you, John.
Good rehearsal space.
Blind stagehands, I like it.
You always had a good eye for publicity.
I need your help, John.
It's my last show. A limited engagement.
Your last show?
A wise man once told me obsession was a young man's game.
I'm almost done. There's one thing left.
The Real Transported Man.
You want to design a show around it?
I don't want you backstage I need you in front managing.
Call in any favors or connections you have left
to get us the right booking.
What sort of booking you after?
The sort that Borden can't ignore.
Oh, what an honor it is to see you again, sir.
You told me you only wanted to show me one trick that'd pique my interest.
- It's a very clever trick. - Pleased to meet you, Mr. Ackerman.
Likewise, I'm sure. Let's get on, shall we?
Turn it on, gentlemen.
Very pretty.
That's it, Cutter? He simply disappears?
That's not a trick. He has to come back.
- There has to be a... - A prestige?
Exactly.
Pardon me.
It's very rare to see...
...real magic.
It's been many years since...
Are you interested in helping us?
Yes... but you'll have to dress it up a little.
Disguise it.
Give them enough reason to doubt it.
You haven't spoken about her, Freddie, not once.
Why would I talk about her to you, hm?
Because she was a part of your life and now she's gone.
You know, the day before she killed herself she said she wanted to meet me.
That she had something to tell me about you.
I was such a coward, I couldn't bring myself to face her.
But...
...what would she have said?
You want to know the truth about me?
The truth is that...
...I never loved Sarah.
I never loved her.
You married her, you had a child with her.
Yes. Part of me. Part of me did, but...
...the other part didn't.
The part that found you, the part that's sitting here right now.
I love you. No, Olivia, I love you.
That's the truth.
That is the truth that matters.
You could be in some other restaurant with some other woman right now,
talking about me that way.
- No. - Yes.
It's inhuman to be so cold.
He's back.
After two years, he's got a new trick.
They're saying it's the best London's ever seen.
You should see the look on your face, Professor.
You should go to him.
You two deserve each other.
But I'm afraid I'm booked. The Moscow Ballet plays through next year.
Then get rid of them. There will be 100 performances, no more, no less.
Five performances a week, no matinees.
That's what you'll charge for each ticket. Good day.
Ladies and gentlemen, my first trick of the evening involves considerable risk.
Anyone in the audience
who would be irrevocably damaged by seeing a man drown
should leave now.
When I tell you the lady who taught me this illusion
actually died performing it,
you'll understand the seriousness of the dangers involved.
Let's begin.
In my travels, I have seen the future.
And it is a strange future, indeed.
The world, ladies and gentlemen,
is on the brink of new
and terrifying possibilities.
What you're about to witness is not magic.
It's purely science.
I'd like to invite you to come up on stage now
so that you can examine the machine for yourselves.
Man's reach
exceeds his imagination.
Bravo!
One hundred performances. Why?
Does his method dictate that?
Is it a publicity move? What is it?
He's a no-talent magician, and they call him
the bloody best in England. Why?
Fifty yards in a second! In a second!
And all that we know is he uses a trap door.
Brilliant! What is going on under that stage? Huh?!
Why can't you out-think him?
They do this every night, after each performance. Yeah?
Huh.
We're done.
All right?
Let him have his trick.
I don't need his secret.
So...
...don't go back there, you leave him alone.
Both of us... just leave him alone.
We're done.
I told you, John.
I don't want you backstage on this one.
I would like to invite you onstage now
so that you can examine the machine for yourselves.
- Hey, where do you think...? - I'm part of the bloody act, you fool.
Who was that?
Hey! Where's the bloody key?!
Where's the bloody key?!
He's bloody drowning!
Hold on!
What have you done?
Alfred Borden, you have been found guilty of the murder of Robert Angier.
You will be hanged by the neck until dead.
May the Lord have mercy on your soul.
Mr. Cutter?
Owens.
Oh, thank you for coming, Mr. Owens.
It has fallen to me to dispose of Mr. Angier's equipment.
But I notice from this manifest
that Lord Caldlow has purchased the bulk of the items.
Mr. Cutter, if you need to know where to deliver these items...
No, it's just there is one particular item,
this item, in fact,
- I would like to... - You would like to...
...buy.
- Buy yourself? - Yeah, I suppose so.
- This is the machine? - Yes.
Well, I'm afraid Lord Caldlow was adamant
about purchasing this particular item.
Do you think I could talk to Lord Caldlow in person?
Out of the question, I'm afraid.
Of course,
I suppose if, in the course of your delivery arrangements,
your paths were to cross, I can't stop you speaking your mind.
Thank you.
- Still here, Borden? - For now.
You got a visitor. Lord Caldlow.
With a little girl.
Jess?
Hello, my love.
How are you? I've missed you so much.
Fallon's missed you too. We both have.
Daddy, can I come in there?
Not right now. Not right now, darling.
No, but everything is gonna be all right.
You must be Lord Caldlow?
Caldlow. Yes, I am. I always have been.
They flatter you with all those chains.
Don't they know you can't escape without your rubber ball?
I pulled you out... out of that tank.
All I wanted to do was prove that I was a better magician.
But you couldn't leave me alone.
I don't know what you've done.
But you're not afraid to get your hands dirty anymore, are you?
No, not anymore. And I win.
No one cares about the man in the box, the man who disappears.
You win?
This ain't a bloody competition anymore. This is my little girl's life.
And don't you dare put her in the middle of this.
Oh, I know how hard it is to have someone so special
taken away from you, don't I, Borden?
And you can't take it with you, now, can you?
Oh, she'll be looked after.
Goodbye, Professor. Come on, darling.
No, no, no, no, stop, my darling.
Look, here.
That's what you're after. That's what this is about.
Take it.
- Your secret? - Yeah.
You always were the better magician. We both know that.
Whatever your secret was, you have to agree,
mine is better.
Don't do this. Don't do this, Angier. Jess, Jess!
Jess, I'm gonna take you home soon. I promise.
- For God's sake. - I promise. Look!
I promise. I love you, Jess.
I love you.
- Come on. - I love you.
I love you, Jess.
Angier! Angier!
What, do you think this place can hold me?
Angier! They're gonna bloody hang me!
And you can put a stop to this now!
Listen! Listen! That man...
Listen, that man is the one I'm in for killing!
Listen! If he's alive, I'm not guilty!
- I'm not guilty! - I don't care!
- Get hold of him. - Angier!
Run along now.
Sir, there's a gentleman waiting.
- Dear God. - Hello, Cutter.
You're still alive.
How is it you're still alive?
I saw you on a slab, for God's sake.
- Child. - Good night, sir.
Good night, Jess.
I've seen her before.
I saw her in court with...
...Fallon.
- What have you done? - She needs looking after.
She needs her father.
You're letting him hang, and I helped you.
I came here to beg Lord Caldlow to let me destroy that machine.
I am not going to beg you for anything.
You don't have to. I'm gonna make sure it is never used again.
Then, Lord Caldlow...
...where do you want me to deliver it?
My theater. It belongs with the prestige materials.
John, I tried not to involve you.
So...
We go alone now.
Both of us.
I mean, I don't have as far to go as you.
No.
You were right. I should have left him to his damn trick.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry for a lot of things.
I'm sorry about Sarah.
Didn't mean to hurt her, I didn't.
You go live your life in full now, all right? You live for both of us.
Goodbye.
Are you watching closely?
Put it down on the end.
Take a minute to consider your achievement.
I once told you about a sailor
who described drowning to me.
Yes, he said it was like going home.
I was lying. He said it was agony.
Alfred Borden, this day, in the name of the king
and the High Court of England,
you will meet your end.
No one cares about the man in the box.
Cutter?
Cutter!
Do you have anything to say?
Abracadabra.
A brother? A twin?
You were Fallon.
- The whole time? - No.
We were both Fallon.
We were both Borden.
Were you the one who went into the box?
Or the one who came back out?
We took turns.
The trick is where we would swap.
Cutter knew. Cutter knew.
But I told him it was too simple, too easy.
No.
Simple, maybe, but not easy.
There's nothing easy about two men sharing one life.
I don't understand, how it can be bleeding again?
Wha... What about Olivia and your wife?
We each loved one of them.
I loved Sarah.
He loved Olivia.
We each had half of a full life,
really, which was enough for us...
...just.
But not for them.
See, sacrifice, Robert,
that's the price of a good trick.
You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?
I've... I've made sacrifices.
- No. - Yes.
It takes nothing to steal another man's work.
Yeah, it takes everything.
No, no, wait, I'm not...
It took courage.
It took courage to climb into that machine every night,
not knowing...
...if I'd be the man in the box...
...or in the prestige.
Do you want to see...
...what it cost me?
You didn't see where you are, did you?
Look. Look.
I don't care.
You went halfway around the world.
You spent a fortune.
You did terrible things.
Really terrible things, Robert.
And all for nothing.
For nothing?
Yeah.
You never understood...
...why we did this.
The audience knows the truth.
The world is simple.
It's miserable.
Solid... Solid all the way through.
But if you could fool them,
even for a second...
...then you could make them wonder.
And then you...
Then you got to see something
very special.
You really don't know.
It was...
...it was the look on their faces.
Every magic trick consists of three parts, or acts.
The first part is called "the pledge."
The magician shows you something ordinary.
The second act is called "the turn."
The magician takes the ordinary something
and makes it into something extraordinary.
But you wouldn't clap yet, because making something disappear
isn't enough. You have to bring it back.
Now you're looking for the secret.
But you won't find it, because, of course, you're not really looking.
You don't really want to work it out.
You want to be fooled.