The Dolenz Circus: Season One: It's Great, It's Terrific!

Episode 16 : Nobody's Fault but Mine

  It was strange, having someone sitting at his table. It was strange just to have any actual person in his little car, really. In Tulsa, Jimmy never had guests. And after his uncle had passed, Page got used to the solitude. He had never really thought about being so alone until now, with Robert Plant sitting right in the middle of the dining area, looking around the car like a child in some distant relative's home.

  "I don't remember the place looking so good before." The trapeze artist said, squinting at the walls. "You fixed all this up since you've been here?"

  Jimmy dialed the gas burner on the stove top to a level medium-high heat, made sure the kettle was stable, and nodded.

  "Yeah, but I'm not very good at any actual renovations." He confessed. He turned around and leaned back a bit on the counter. "I mostly did all this the day after I moved in. These aren't illusions, either- It's all real." He looked a bit proud of himself.

  Robert's eyes got round. "Y'mean you magicked it?" He asked.

  Page had to give a little snort. "If that's what you want to call it, yes. I used magic."

  Delighted by this information, Robert began to blab again. "How'd you do it? You don't make potions, do you? It's just wand-flicking? I saw you've got one- Can you do magic without it? Is it permanent? I mean, if you left here, and didn't ever come back, would everything you've done just melt off?"

  Jimmy had closed his eyes half way through and just. Stood and smiled lightly. He figured there would be lots of questions.

  "Ah... Would you like me to start chronologically?" He asked.

  Robert fidgeted in his seat, but he couldn't hide a half-mouthed crooked grin. "Sorry, Pagey. But I only watched you practice yesterday once! 'N I've never seen, ah... Visual magic, you called it?"

  Page nodded. "Yes, in a performative field, I do visual illusions. Potion brewing is more alchemy than I care to deal with, but my uncle knew a potion maker."

  Thoughtfully mulling this information over in his brain, Plant paused a second before responding. "So... Your magic isn't real?"

  Jimmy gave him a look. "Uh... No. All magic is real. Illusions are, as well. They just change your perception a bit. They're a bit like a visual image you may have in your head. You can see, hear, even smell or interact with an illusion in a three dimensional plane. But it does not truly exist on the plane. Which... Um."

  Page paused. Robert looked entirely confused.

  He realized he would have to use a more basic approach.

  "I make hallucinations." He said.

  "Oh!" Robert seemed to get this. "That makes sense, yeah."

  Jimmy nodded and continued. "Illusions fade, or can get broken easily. They're really only temporary things, but they vary wildly. Many sorts of illusions- glamour spells, for example. But I am able to conjure as well. And that's how I've done the car."

  "Conjure." Plant repeated the word. "Like, ah... The rabbit in a hat tricks? Or pulling a card out of the air?"

  "Yes, that's the most popular conjurings." The magician nodded. "But you can conjure anything, as long as it's in existence. I can't apparate a mammoth, or a dinosaur, or any historical figures." He explained. "I have to make what I know is around appear. And then I can send it back where it goes if I chose to."

  Robert seemed to like this idea. "Can you rob banks?"

  "No." Jimmy snorted. "That's immoral."

  "Oh, pish- who would know?" The blonde asked. "Just a few hundred wouldn't hurt."