--15--
The hall was full.
Heilmann had taken the liberty of booking the largest Psychology department lecture theatre for the event, and it seated two hundred and fifty people easily, without counting the students crowding the aisles and standing along the back and sitting in front of the first row. There were over three hundred people there. And they were all there to see Dennis Rafkin.
Dr. Heilmann walked out to the centre of the stage and motioned for silence. A deathly hush fell over the auditorium and he stood at the lectern, shuffling his notes.
"Good morning. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for coming", he began. "It has been some time since I last ventured into this particular field of study, as some of you will know. I abandoned my first love for a safer route, and today I almost wish that I had had the courage of my convictions. I did not. But today, I find I have regained my courage.
"I have brought you here today to share with you something. something truly amazing and as yet unexplained by science. Today we are here to prove the existence of ESP, extrasensory perception - that is to say, I have brought you here today to prove that there is more to the human mind than can be adequately explained. Psychic ability rests no longer in the realms of science fiction but, as we will prove today, a solid and substantiated fact.
"I have brought you here today to meet a very special individual. His name is Dennis Rafkin. And he is a psychic".
That was Dennis' cue. He took a deep breath, smoothed down the front of his new black jacket with the heels of his hands and walked out onto the stage.
He knew where he was supposed to sit. Over the past couple of days Dr. Heilmann had been over it with him time and time again, under the pretence of wanting to make him feel at home with the situation. Dennis knew better than this - it wasn't for Dennis' ease but for the doctor's. He was possibly more nervous about the whole affair than Dennis was himself, and with good reason. Dennis had nothing to lose, after all.
He took his seat and Dr. Heilmann walked over, taking the seat opposite from him across the desk that was set there on the stage. Heilmann placed his hand on the deck of cards sitting to his left and looked at Dennis. Dennis had a hard time meeting his eyes.
"Are you ready?" Heilmann asked.
"As I'll ever be", Dennis replied. Heilmann nodded, switching on the microphone.
"In order for Dennis to read my mind, he has to be in physical contact", he said, turning his head to the audience. "This causes him great pain, but he has agreed to undergo this demonstration in order to prove the validity of his abilities. I will ask my assistant to choose three cards at random; she will view them and then pass them to me. I will view them and will then shuffle them back into the pack. I will then touch Dennis on the back of his hand and he will tell us the cards that were chosen".
Heilmann beckoned to his assistant - a PhD student from his department - and she took the cards from him. She shuffled them, and chose three. She turned each over and showed them to the audience, then passed them to Dr. Heilmann who looked at them briefly himself before returning them to the pack and passing that pack to his assistant.
Then he reached over the table and touched Dennis.
He froze in place. His face contorted. His breath caught in his throat, then he choked in another and let his head drop to the table. This wasn't worth it. No way.
He knew what the cards were. He saw them as clearly as he saw Dr. Heilmann, as he saw him boning the assistant in her dorm room a couple of hours before, as he felt the guilt of betraying his wife and the anticipation of realising his lifelong dream. The queen of hearts, the ace of spades and the three of diamonds.
He took one long deep breath and motioned for the microphone.
"Nine of hearts, six of clubs, king of spades", he said.
There were three seconds of stunned silence. Then the hall erupted.
When he looked up, Heilmann was frowning at him. He shrugged.
"I'm sorry", he said.
"What are you doing?"
Dennis reached over the desk and took the microphone from Heilmann's hand.
"I'm sorry I've wasted your time", he said. "I'm a fraud".
And he left the stage, the whole room staring after him.
***
The hall was full.
Heilmann had taken the liberty of booking the largest Psychology department lecture theatre for the event, and it seated two hundred and fifty people easily, without counting the students crowding the aisles and standing along the back and sitting in front of the first row. There were over three hundred people there. And they were all there to see Dennis Rafkin.
Dr. Heilmann walked out to the centre of the stage and motioned for silence. A deathly hush fell over the auditorium and he stood at the lectern, shuffling his notes.
"Good morning. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for coming", he began. "It has been some time since I last ventured into this particular field of study, as some of you will know. I abandoned my first love for a safer route, and today I almost wish that I had had the courage of my convictions. I did not. But today, I find I have regained my courage.
"I have brought you here today to share with you something. something truly amazing and as yet unexplained by science. Today we are here to prove the existence of ESP, extrasensory perception - that is to say, I have brought you here today to prove that there is more to the human mind than can be adequately explained. Psychic ability rests no longer in the realms of science fiction but, as we will prove today, a solid and substantiated fact.
"I have brought you here today to meet a very special individual. His name is Dennis Rafkin. And he is a psychic".
That was Dennis' cue. He took a deep breath, smoothed down the front of his new black jacket with the heels of his hands and walked out onto the stage.
He knew where he was supposed to sit. Over the past couple of days Dr. Heilmann had been over it with him time and time again, under the pretence of wanting to make him feel at home with the situation. Dennis knew better than this - it wasn't for Dennis' ease but for the doctor's. He was possibly more nervous about the whole affair than Dennis was himself, and with good reason. Dennis had nothing to lose, after all.
He took his seat and Dr. Heilmann walked over, taking the seat opposite from him across the desk that was set there on the stage. Heilmann placed his hand on the deck of cards sitting to his left and looked at Dennis. Dennis had a hard time meeting his eyes.
"Are you ready?" Heilmann asked.
"As I'll ever be", Dennis replied. Heilmann nodded, switching on the microphone.
"In order for Dennis to read my mind, he has to be in physical contact", he said, turning his head to the audience. "This causes him great pain, but he has agreed to undergo this demonstration in order to prove the validity of his abilities. I will ask my assistant to choose three cards at random; she will view them and then pass them to me. I will view them and will then shuffle them back into the pack. I will then touch Dennis on the back of his hand and he will tell us the cards that were chosen".
Heilmann beckoned to his assistant - a PhD student from his department - and she took the cards from him. She shuffled them, and chose three. She turned each over and showed them to the audience, then passed them to Dr. Heilmann who looked at them briefly himself before returning them to the pack and passing that pack to his assistant.
Then he reached over the table and touched Dennis.
He froze in place. His face contorted. His breath caught in his throat, then he choked in another and let his head drop to the table. This wasn't worth it. No way.
He knew what the cards were. He saw them as clearly as he saw Dr. Heilmann, as he saw him boning the assistant in her dorm room a couple of hours before, as he felt the guilt of betraying his wife and the anticipation of realising his lifelong dream. The queen of hearts, the ace of spades and the three of diamonds.
He took one long deep breath and motioned for the microphone.
"Nine of hearts, six of clubs, king of spades", he said.
There were three seconds of stunned silence. Then the hall erupted.
When he looked up, Heilmann was frowning at him. He shrugged.
"I'm sorry", he said.
"What are you doing?"
Dennis reached over the desk and took the microphone from Heilmann's hand.
"I'm sorry I've wasted your time", he said. "I'm a fraud".
And he left the stage, the whole room staring after him.
***