The Price of Magic

Should magic be made available to those with money only? Of course not. But magic needs a price. Magic secrets need to be earned in order to be appreciated.

It used to be hard to get magic knowledge. The public libraries were a good start, but those resources were limited. Where did you go then? There was no internet, you didn't even know about magic dealers. In fact you had to get a phone book and go through the lists. And then you planned your trip to the big city. You went there with anticipation. You went into a magic store for the first time in your life. And there it was. Magic secrets. Each so close but often enough not attainable because of the price tag. The price tag actually protected the secret. But that visit got you connected to the magic scene. Magicians usually were hanging out in the store. You talked to them, they showed you a card trick that went over your head, because they were not using the key card principle and you got all exited.

And in order to get this trick you had to pay a price. It was either buying him a drink, become friend, or to beg the hell out of the man. And finally he would let you take part in the secret. A short card. Who could have thought of that? And with that you went home and explored all the possibilities of that principle. You didn't rush it. There was no pressure. No next secret that you had to learn with a simple mouse click. But along with the great card trick, the sponge balls and the svengali deck you bought was a piece of paper. The catalog. You read for hours in there. And your choice was valuable because you paid a price of that. Time.

A few days later that magician from the magic shop would call you. Asking how you progress is. And if you have time tomorrow. As there will be a club meeting. You are invited. So this is it. The great magic club. Surely there would be no more secrets.

So you went back to the big city, you met the guy a few hours before the club meeting. You proudly would show him the tricks that you made up with the short card principle. He would smile. And then he would show you another card trick. And that would totally blow you away. You would beg, but this time he wouldn't tell you.

It was such a weird feeling to enter the magic club. It was a cool, new and indeed full of secrets. But nobody shared anything with you. They talked in a language you didn't understand. "Oh it's simple, you run to the injog, get a break, pass them and dl the top card to show and indifferent card." Little did you know that they were sharing secrets. You just didn't understand them. You didn't pay the price. Experience and time.

When you went home, that magician you met at the magic store would bring you to the bus. And there he would tell you the secret of the card trick he did earlier that evening. You paid for the secret. With patience. It was the key card principle that made the trick work.

You couldn't believe that. How could he have fooled you with a method you already knew? Because you didn't explore it enough. Because it was free to begin with.

You went home having learnt an important lesson. There is always a price you need to pay for magic. Time, patience, experience, humiliation, social interaction and over all even money.

Now we got the internet. Now it's fuck you to all of that. Here are the secrets. They are for free. Swallow them quickly, the next one is coming up right away. No time, no patience, no experience, no humiliation, no social interaction and no money. What a great world we live in.

Fuck the secret. It's not worth anything anymore. Not even money.