Yes, but I didn't believe you, 'cause I know magicians are liars and do it to heighten the tension and increase the drama of stuff that if you did know exactly what was going on wouldn't be in any way magical."� She started to point and saw her hand raise on the other side of the guillotine. She felt the shock of realizing that what she had been told had happened was really what had happened. Karen did not believe her eyes, so she made an OK gesture with her hand; the gesture was immediately visible on the outstretched hand the other side of the stock.
"Oh, My God!"� she exclaimed, "You really did it; you cut my head off!"� Then a panic started to take hold. Would she survive beheading? Would her body be safe? Would her head ever be re-attached? Would the young magician take advantage of the situation? She began to jabber barely getting half way through one thought before another two crowded it out.
Seeing Karen start to panic, Ian stepped in front of her and gave her a stinging slap across the face. The shock of the pain silenced her, allowing a small rational piece of her mind realize two things:- firstly, she was still alive and secondly, Ian was standing in front of her with both hands in view.
"OK, I think I needed that. But can you tell me two things?"� Before he gave any sign of ascent, she continued, "�I'm not going to die?"�
Ian replied, "You are not going to die of this."� He paused to allow the second question, which did not come, because Karen struggling in her confused state to understand his meaning. "I mean by that; this experience with the guillotine will not kill you, but I can not guarantee eternal life."� He paused to see how Karen took that. She soon realized how he meant what he had said and her face showed relief.
Seeing that his explanation had been accepted, he continued, "And what was your second question?”�
Karen momentarily looked blank, then she remembered, "If you're over there and my body's over there, what's holding my head up?"�
Ian smiled, "I can see you will make a wonderful assistant, because of the ladies that got this far in the audition process, you are the only one to notice that I was levitating your head. Most of them just asked me to put their heads back."�
"Thank you, I think!"� She made a face of mock annoyance. "Of, course I'd like my head re-attached, but I don't seem to be coming to any harm, so I don't suppose there is any hurry."�
Ian shrugged to indicate that there was indeed no immediate necessity for re-uniting Karen's head with her body.
"Would you help me get up from the bench, I think I might be a little unsteady without my head."�
Ian went round the guillotine allowing Karen to follow. Karen's body was soon sitting upright on the bench with her feet on the floor. Karen looked at her body and thought how good she looked, in fact better than she realized. "So, what happens next?"�