A short description of a stage magician from the Insulan Empire, performing a trick which might make Uri Geller slightly amused. Josh Greene makes an appearance in the third book in the Michal Piech series, tentatively titled Going Home. Originally posted to the /r/fantasywriters subreddit as a demonstration of how to write psychic telekinesis.
‘And now for my next trick,’ Joshua Greene announced to a packed house.
He held up a spoon, twirling it in his fingers, moving it faster and faster. He heard a murmur of delight ripple through the audience as the spoon moved from his fingers and hung suspended in the air. Greene could see very little through his creased brow and the bright stage lights, but he could feel the object in his mind. He kept his breathing deep, knowing that one false move would break the spell. Sweat poured off his brow, and he felt his make-up start to run.
‘Behold the power of the human mind!’ he managed to say through the haze.
He moved the spoon up and down, and then, knowing that he was reaching the outer limits of what his body and mind could handle, he visualised the spoon breaking in two. Sure enough, as he did so, the cheap tin utensil snapped, and clattered to the floor to a round of exuberant applause.