Heh, well I was also trying to think about just how the public perception would be these days.
I mean, if you know real magic exists, will "simple" prestidigitation still impress and draw crowds?
Will people find it as entertaining or consider it even better that people can pull off these tricks without resorting to magic? In the jaded and cynical SR world, would people still find the wonder and illusion in a good stage act?
Or maybe I've just been catching too much of The Cape on tv and thinking the fun effects of smoke pellets and triggered Invisibility spells would look like...
Again, I think this stuff will be as popular, if not more.
The flashy stage magic will still be impressive, as these people are entertainers. Will audiences be more jaded and cynical? Sure. But even so, they would still pay to watch a real magician (as unlike in a shadowrunner group, awakened metahumans are really, really rare
, and a prestidigitation performer will (as suggested by others) use FAB bacteria or something else to verify no actual magic (<cue creepy voice to audience> '...
as you understand it...') is being performed
It's a show, and it will evolve. People still want to be entertained, and so the show will go on
