Chapter 1 — A Crowd, A Trick, and a Bad Joke

The plaza of Neo-Veridian City hummed with the constant movement of thousands of lives colliding at once.

Glass towers stretched high above the streets, reflecting sunlight in sharp white flashes that bounced across the square. Digital billboards wrapped around entire buildings, displaying advertisements in a dozen languages. Delivery drones hummed between rooftops while sleek electric buses slid silently along the streets surrounding the plaza.

The air smelled like roasted coffee beans, street food spices, and warm pavement.

At the center of the plaza, a small circle of people had formed.

And in the middle of that circle stood Lucas Hale.

He balanced casually on a low wooden crate that had clearly seen years of performances. A small foldable table stood beside him, covered in props: a deck of worn playing cards, a polished silver coin, three rope loops, and a faded red top hat that had probably been purchased from a costume shop decades ago.

Lucas flipped a playing card between his fingers with lazy confidence.

His dark jacket fluttered slightly in the breeze as he surveyed the growing audience.

Tourists. Office workers. A couple of curious kids. Someone holding a phone already recording.

Perfect.

Lucas cleared his throat dramatically.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced, spreading his arms wide, “welcome to the greatest magic show you will see today between the hours of 2:15 and 2:20.”

A few people chuckled.

Lucas pointed toward a businessman standing near the edge of the circle.

“You sir, yes you — don’t worry. This is not a pickpocketing demonstration. That’s the show happening two blocks east.”

More laughter.

The businessman folded his arms but couldn’t stop smiling.

Lucas held up the deck of cards.

“Now I know what you’re thinking,” he continued. “You’re thinking: Lucas, how can you possibly amaze us with a deck of cards we bought at the airport gift shop for twelve dollars and immediate regret?”

A teenager in the crowd snorted.

Lucas leaned forward conspiratorially.

“Well… the answer is simple.”

He shuffled the deck rapidly. The cards snapped together with crisp rhythmic sounds.

“Magic,” he said.

He flicked the deck outward toward a woman in the front row.

“Please pick a card.”

The woman hesitated, then stepped forward and pulled one from the middle.

Lucas turned away dramatically.

“Show it to everyone except me. Especially him.”

He pointed randomly at a confused tourist holding a giant camera.

“That guy looks suspicious.”

The woman laughed and held the card up.

Several people leaned forward to see it.

Lucas turned back, eyes narrowed theatrically.

“Now place it back into the deck anywhere you like.”

She slid it back in.

Lucas squared the cards and tapped them on the table.

“Now here's the important question,” he said. “Do you believe in probability?”

The woman blinked.

“...I think so?”

Lucas nodded thoughtfully.

“Excellent. Because statistically speaking, I have absolutely no idea where your card is.”

More laughter.

Lucas began shuffling again, faster this time, the cards flashing between his fingers in practiced arcs.

“But here’s the fun part about probability,” he continued casually. “Sometimes the universe decides to behave very strangely.”

He flicked a single card from the deck.

It spun through the air and landed perfectly against the woman's jacket.

She looked down.

Her eyes widened.

The crowd gasped.

Lucas spread his hands innocently.

“See? Strange universe.”

Applause broke out around the circle.

Lucas gave a quick bow.

“Thank you, thank you. Please hold your applause until after the next trick so it sounds more impressive.”

A small boy near the front tugged his mother’s sleeve.

“How did he do that?”

Lucas leaned down toward the boy.

“Simple,” he whispered loudly enough for half the crowd to hear. “I bribed the laws of physics.”

The boy’s eyes went wide.

Lucas straightened and began gathering the cards again.

The crowd had grown larger now. More people stopped as they passed through the plaza, curious about the performance.

Lucas could feel it.

That electric moment when a street show was working.

He lifted the silver coin from the table and flipped it across his knuckles with effortless precision.

“Alright,” he said. “We’re going to attempt something very dangerous.”

A few people leaned closer.

Lucas pointed upward toward the wide blue sky above the plaza.

“Gravity.”

He paused dramatically.

“Yes,” he said. “That thing.”

A couple people laughed again.

Lucas held the coin high between his fingers.

“Scientists claim gravity pulls objects downward at approximately nine point eight meters per second squared.”

He shrugged.

“But scientists are wrong all the time.”

He flipped the coin into the air.

It disappeared.

Completely.

Several people gasped.

Lucas looked around exaggeratedly.

“Huh,” he muttered. “That’s new.”

He reached behind the same woman’s ear and pulled the coin out.

Applause rippled through the crowd again.

Lucas bowed slightly.

“Thank you. I’ll be here all week. Mostly because rent is expensive.”

He began setting his props back onto the table.

Then he clapped his hands once.

“Alright,” he said with a grin. “Now for the final trick.”

The crowd leaned in closer.

Lucas slowly picked up the worn red top hat and placed it carefully on the table.

He adjusted it, brushing imaginary dust from the rim.

“This one,” he said, lowering his voice dramatically, “is called…”

He paused.

“…Defying the Impossible.”

The crowd quieted.

Lucas reached slowly toward the hat.

And above the plaza, far beyond the glass towers…

The sky remained perfectly blue.

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