First and Only

by Flannery, Peter

  ‘Yes,’ said Jeff shaking Psimon’s hand somewhat gingerly. ‘Jeff Wagg. I’m the General Manager here at JREF.’

  ‘This is Steve Brennus,’ said Psimon. ‘He’ll be accompanying me for the challenge.’

  ‘Steve,’ said Jeff turning to shake Steve’s hand. ‘Welcome to Florida.’ Then turning back to Psimon he said, ‘Are you sure you’re okay? We can always postpone the challenge…’

  ‘No, I’m fine, really,’ insisted Psimon. ‘We can go ahead as planned.’

  ‘If you’re sure,’ said Jeff adjusting his glasses.

  Psimon nodded and Jeff finally allowed himself to be convinced.

  ‘Well come on in then,’ he said ushering them into the building.

  Psimon and Steve followed Jeff into a large room lined with well-stocked bookshelves. There was a sign beside the doorway that read ‘Isaac Asimov Library’. A large glass table dominated the centre of the room and the far wall featured a brick and tile fireplace surmounted by what looked like certificates or awards and pictures of people that Steve did not recognise.

  ‘Grab a seat,’ said Jeff indicating a couple of chairs at the near end of the table. ‘Make yourselves at home.’

  Psimon and Steve hovered by the chairs.

  ‘Now, can I get you a coffee or anything?’ asked Jeff.

  ‘Coffee would be great,’ said Steve. ‘Thanks.’

  Jeff was barely gone a minute when he returned with a tray carrying a flask of coffee and two cups. In addition to this he had a clipboard tucked under one arm. He placed the tray on the table before them.

  ‘Randi will be here in a few minutes,’ he said filling the two cups. ‘He’s just finishing up with a call.’

  Psimon nodded as Jeff placed a cup of steaming coffee in front of him.

  ‘He’s quite keen to meet you, Psimon,’ continued Jeff. ‘In fact you’ve created quite a bit of interest here.’

  ‘Oh?’ said Psimon raising his cup to take a sip.

  ‘Absolutely,’ said Jeff. ‘This is the first time that anyone is actually going to take the challenge. No one else has ever got past the preliminary testing stage.’

  ‘Psimon passed the preliminary tests?’ asked Steve.

  ‘Not exactly,’ clarified Jeff. ‘But we were sufficiently impressed to agree to these special conditions.’ Here he tapped the clipboard that he had placed on the table.

  ‘Really?’ said Steve giving Psimon a meaningful look.

  ‘That’s right,’ said Jeff looking at Psimon. ‘Even the ‘Amazing James Randi’ couldn’t figure out how you did it. I think that’s why he’s so keen to sit in on this one.’

  Psimon just smiled innocently.

  ‘Psimon,’ said a voice suddenly from the doorway.

  Psimon and Steve turned as a bald man with glasses and a bushy, stark white beard entered the room. He walked with a slightly hunched gait but seemed animated by a youthfulness that belied his stately years.

  ‘Mr Randi,’ said Psimon putting down his coffee and rising from his chair.

  ‘Please, just Randi’ said Randi shaking Psimon’s hand gently.

  His gaze took in, assimilated and decided not to comment on Psimon’s injuries with startling swiftness.

  ‘You must be Steve,’ said Randi turning to greet Steve. ‘Psimon said you might be joining him.’

  ‘That’s right,’ said Steve resisting the urge to cast an accusing glance at Psimon. He reached out to take Randi’s hand and as he did so he looked into the man’s vaguely familiar face, a friendly face with a mischievous twinkle in his shrewd eyes.

  ‘Please… take a seat, finish your coffee,’ said Randi gesturing everyone towards the table. ‘I have to tell you I’ve been looking forward to this afternoon… hoping you’d be able to make it.’

  To Steve, Psimon seemed strangely self-conscious and he wondered if he was having second thoughts about the challenge.

  ‘I must admit to being more than a little intrigued,’ said Randi, taking a seat at the table. ‘Your performance over the phone was really quite impressive.’

  Psimon smiled.

  Randi nodded sagely, a small smile on his lips and Steve did not need psychic abilities to know what that smile meant... It was one thing to hoodwink someone over the phone but to do it face to face, under carefully controlled conditions, was something else entirely. Steve hoped that Psimon was not about to make a fool of himself.

  ‘Well,’ said Randi as the pause in conversation began to stretch. ‘We’re just waiting for Lionel, the JREF lawyer, to get here. Then we can begin.’ He turned to Jeff. ‘Is that the protocol?’

  ‘That’s it,’ said Jeff. He pushed the clipboard across the table as he too took a seat.

  Randi took the clipboard and scanned the first page, nodding as he quickly read it through. He turned to the second page and shook his head as he laid it down. ‘Most interesting,’ he said taking his glasses off to give them a quick polish. ‘Most unusual.’

  Steve did his best not to seem too intrigued.

  Seated on the opposite side of the table Jeff Wagg nodded in agreement with the JREF’s founder and picking up on Steve’s curiosity he offered a brief explanation. ‘Normally people state the psychic ability that they are going to attempt,’ he said.

  ‘And Psimon hasn’t told you?’ asked Steve, glancing at Psimon and back to the other two men.

  ‘Psimon gave us a choice of about ten so-called psychic powers,’ said Randi, shaking his head and laughing softly at Psimon’s audacity. ‘He invited us to choose one for the challenge.’

  Steve turned to stare at Psimon and the expression on his face could not have been clearer… ‘Are you mad!’

  ‘And which one did you choose?’ asked Steve wondering how they could get out of there before the embarrassment began.

  ‘We call it the spoon-bender’s nemesis,’ said Randi.

  Steve ran his fingers across his brow. He glanced at Psimon who gave him a small shrug that seemed to say… ‘Don’t look at me... I didn’t choose it!’

  Jeff reached into the top pocket of his shirt and pulled out a small glass tube, maybe ten centimetres long, sealed at either end with a red plastic stopper. Inside the tube was a metal rod of almost the same length as the tube. Jeff handed the tube to Randi.

  ‘Bending spoons is one of the easiest ‘psychic’ feats to explain,’ said Randi. ‘But there are still plenty of believers out there.’ He held up the glass tube so that everyone could clearly see it. ‘This challenge is simple,’ he went on. ‘To bend the metal rod without touching it, using only the power of your mind.’ He gave the tube a little shake. ‘The fact that it is enclosed in a sealed glass tube tends to put most people off.’

  Steve exchanged another loaded glance with Psimon.

  ‘Ah, Lionel,’ said Randi suddenly as a grey-haired man in a smart suit was led into the room by a younger member of the JREF staff.

  Randi got up from his chair and introduced the foundation’s lawyer to Psimon and Steve.

  ‘And this is Tony,’ Randi went on. ‘Rich normally videos the tests but he has another engagement this afternoon so Tony will be recording the challenge for us today.’

  With a brief nod of introduction Tony turned on the video camera and moved to the corner of the room to get the best angle for covering the challenge. As he did so Psimon caught Steve’s eye and the meaning in his eyes could not have been clearer…

  ‘He’s the one!’

  Trying not to make it too obvious Steve gave Tony a more appraising glance. So this was the mole in the JREF camp. He nodded his understanding to Psimon and sat back down on the couch. There was no pulling out now… the game was afoot!

  ‘Okay,’ said Randi when everyone was seated at the table.

  He pushed the clipboard back to Jeff who pulled a pen from his shirt pocket and offered it to Psimon.

  ‘If you could just read this through,’ he said. ‘Everything should be as we discussed… One challenge, one psychic ability of our choosing.�
�

  Psimon took the clipboard and gave the form a cursory once over as Jeff continued.

  ‘The rod is currently straight as a die,’ said Jeff taking the tube back from Randi and holding it up for everyone to see. ‘If at the end of fifteen minutes the rod remains straight then the challenge will be deemed a fail.’

  Psimon looked up from the clipboard and gave Jeff an affirmative nod.

  ‘If, after fifteen minutes, the rod has been bent, to the satisfaction of representatives from JREF, without Psimon ever having touched it, then the challenge will be considered a success and the million dollar prize will be transferred to the claimant’s account.’

  Jeff paused for everyone to absorb this summary of the agreed conditions.

  ‘As requested by today’s claimant…’ he held out his hand to indicate Psimon. ‘In the event of a successful challenge the results of the challenge will not be disclosed by JREF for the period of five days from today. After which, representatives from JREF will be invited to attend a press conference at the BBC studios in Manchester, England; a press conference at which the claimant may or may not be present…’

  Here Steve looked pointedly at Psimon. In this, at least, he was the only person in the room to fully appreciate the finer points of this clause.

  While Jeff read out the particulars of the protocol Randi watched Psimon with a penetrating gaze. He had seen all manner of people turning up to attempt the million-dollar challenge but he had never met anyone quite like Psimon. There was no bravado, no apparent nervousness, no suggestion of excuses or misgivings creeping into the procedure. Psimon just sat there holding the clipboard while Jeff read out the particulars. Despite his absolute conviction about the truth of paranormal phenomena Randi’s sense of anticipation had never been greater.

  ‘So, Psimon,’ said Jeff in conclusion. ‘If you could just sign both copies of the protocol… here and here…’

  Psimon signed his name and handed the clipboard back to Jeff.

  ‘And I will sign it on behalf of JREF,’ said Jeff adding his name to the contract. ‘Then we can begin.’ Jeff looked round at all those present to check that everyone was in agreement, then he set the glass tube down on the table in front of Psimon and settled back in his chair. ‘It is now two-fifty pm,’ he said. ‘Psimon, when you’re ready…’ Here he looked at Psimon who gave him a simple nod. ‘…you have fifteen minutes.’

  With that Jeff pressed the timer on his watch and all eyes fell on the glass tube and the metal rod that lay sealed within… the spoon bender’s nemesis.

  Chapter 14

  For a minute or so Psimon just sat there. No one was looking at him; all eyes were on the small glass tube and the metal rod that lay inside. He felt a faint shiver of nervousness, not uncertainty or doubt, more like a kind of stage fright; a singer who was just about to give a public performance, where before they had only ever sung alone. He found himself wishing that his mum and dad were here. And although he did not believe in life after death he could almost feel their presence beside him.

  ‘Do what you have to do…’

  Well this was part of it. There would be no going back from this. Psimon was about to give up his anonymity, about to expose himself to the perilous vagaries of public opinion.

  As the minutes went by and nothing happened people began to glance up at him, their expressions betraying a mixture of anticipation, doubt and sympathy. And yet interestingly to Psimon there was no sense of condescension, no sense of judgement. At one point Psimon caught Randi’s eye and the two men held each other’s gaze for a moment…

  Another minute went by and the camera, operated by Tony, began to focus more and more on Psimon. Lionel, the JREF lawyer, had settled back in his chair clearly convinced that nothing was going to happen and Randi’s face seemed to convey something akin to disappointment.

  He could put it off no longer.

  Psimon took a breath.

  From the small glass tube there came the tiniest of sounds; the barely audible tick of a seal being broken. Suddenly all eyes were glued to the table. There followed a collective suspension of breath as the red plastic stopper began to ease its way out of the tube.

  ‘Fuck me!’ breathed Tony quietly as he adjusted the camera’s zoom to make sure he did not miss a thing.

  Then everyone jumped as, with a small pop, the plastic stopper came free. Hardly able to believe his eyes Steve looked up at Psimon who was calmly gazing down at the table. Then Steve’s eyes were drawn down once more as the metal rod began to move.

  The rod slid clear of the tube and lay, unmoving on the table. The JREF lawyer was no longer lounging back in his chair. Like everyone else he was sitting forward, straining to catch any movement, no matter how small. Then, without anyone touching it, without anyone coming near to touching it, the metal rod began to bend.

  Steve’s heart was pounding in his chest. Once more he looked up from the astonishing scene unfolding before them only to find Psimon staring directly at him. He was not even looking at the rod. Psimon was doing the impossible and he was not even looking at it! And then it occurred to Steve…

  ‘This is easy for him…’ he thought. ‘He’s doing the impossible and it’s easy…’

  Psimon just held his gaze. And now, for the first time, Steve understood the expression that lurked behind Psimon’s eyes. That knowing, self-assured expression that made him seem so much older than his years.

  ‘God,’ thought Steve with sudden understanding. ‘He’s never told anyone… What kind of person does it take to live with something like this… and to never tell a soul? He must be the loneliest person alive.’

  For a few seconds more the two men just looked at each other. Then slowly they became aware of people talking excitedly and Psimon lowered his eyes. The James Randi million dollar psychic challenge had been accomplished and the world would never be the same again.

  In the hubbub of excitement that followed Steve found himself becoming increasingly annoyed and protective of Psimon…

  ‘How did he do it?’

  ‘Would he take another test?’

  ‘Could he really perform all ten of the psychic abilities he listed?’

  ‘Was there any way he could extend his stay in Fort Lauderdale?’

  But as the pressure increased it was James Randi who came to their rescue.

  ‘Enough,’ he had said with quiet authority. ‘That’s enough…’

  ‘But Randi,’ said the JREF lawyer.

  ‘No,’ said Randi.

  ‘But we can’t just…’ began Tony.

  ‘Gentlemen, please,’ said Randi more firmly, ushering his colleagues to the far end of the room. He turned to Psimon and Steve. ‘A moment, please,’ he said with a wry smile.

  Psimon nodded and sat back down at the table. Steve remained standing. ‘What do you think is the problem?’ he asked quietly.

  Psimon looked down the room to where the members of the JREF staff were talking in hushed, and occasionally heated, voices. Every now and then one of them would glance up at the two British men before returning to the huddle.

  ‘They’re trying to decide if they can honour the contract,’ replied Psimon.

  ‘You mean they’re not going to pay up!’

  ‘No,’ said Psimon. ‘The money isn’t the problem.’

  ‘Then what is it?’ asked Steve.

  ‘Keeping a lid on this for the next five days,’ explained Psimon.

  ‘That’s what they agreed to,’ said Steve with annoyance.

  ‘Easily done, when you don’t believe it will happen,’ said Psimon.

  Steve’s derisive snort told exactly what he thought of people who reneged on a deal.

  Finally Randi broke from the group and returned to Steve and Psimon who stood to meet him.

  ‘Please accept my apologies gentlemen,’ he said as he approached. ‘It would seem that the extraordinary events of the day almost got the better of us.’

  He stepped up to Psimon and reached out to t
ake his hand holding it gently in both of his.

  ‘I’ve spent a good many years inviting people to prove the existence of paranormal phenomena. I never believed they would,’ he said.

  Psimon gave a small apologetic smile.

  ‘It is my deepest privilege that you came here to prove me wrong, and I am profoundly honoured… thank you.’

  ‘You’re welcome,’ said Psimon shyly.

  Randi nodded. The smile and the twinkle had returned to his eyes. He turned to the members of his staff. ‘Tony, if you could put the disk from the camera in a sealed envelope and pass it to Jeff, he will place it in the company safe.’

  A disgruntled Tony seemed suddenly protective of the camera but he nodded his agreement as he left the room.

  ‘Jeff, I wonder if you could check out flights to the UK. I understand there’s a press conference being held at the BBC that we wouldn’t want to miss.’

  Finally he turned to the JREF lawyer.

  ‘Lionel, if you please… I believe we have some formalities to attend to. I trust you brought the necessary papers.’

  ‘Yes… yes,’ said Lionel reaching for his briefcase. He opened the case and withdrew several official looking documents.

  ‘Psimon, if you please,’ said Randi inviting Psimon to join them.

  Steve stepped back as Psimon went to join the two men at the far end of the table.

  ‘Basically…’ said Lionel laying the documents out on the desk, ‘we just need your signature and the details of the bank account into which you would like the money to be paid.’

  Steve could not suppress a smile as he watched Psimon bend forward to sign the ‘claimant’s’ document. He felt strangely proud of Psimon; pleased for him but at the same time he felt unbelievably foolish. Something he had said just two days ago kept repeating itself in his mind…

  ‘And I’ve already told you… I don’t believe in psychics!’

  He laughed softly and looked down at the empty glass tube that still lay on the table. And beside it a metal rod; a metal rod that was not only bent but had been formed into a perfect circle. Steve reached down and picked up the circle of steel. He weighed it in the palm of his hand and as he did so the smile faded from his face. He turned to look once more at Psimon. If this one unbelievable thing were true… then how much more of what Psimon had told him was also true?