Chapter 65: Chuck's Contemporaries
"You're seriously using that checkbook?"
Rachel scoffed at the sight of the dinosaur-themed checkbook. "What are you, twelve?"
"Did everyone who saw Jurassic Park turn twelve?"
Ross shot back. "Dinosaurs are magnificent creatures that fascinate people of all ages!"
"Are you calling or not?"
Chuck prompted.
"I'm calling!"
Ross, seeing Chuck's neutral expression, grew even more frustrated. He gritted his teeth and wrote another amount on his dinosaur checkbook: "I'm raising another $50!"
"Seriously?"
Rachel snorted.
From Ross's dramatic buildup, she'd expected him to go big, but after all that teeth-gritting, he played it so conservatively—totally underwhelming.
Ross avoided Rachel's gaze.
Come on, his money didn't grow on trees. Even though he felt like he had a lock on this hand, what if something went wrong? Better safe than sorry!
"I'll see your fifty."
Chuck pulled a $50 bill from his pocket and placed it on the table. "Let's see what you've got."
"I have a four-five-six-seven-eight straight flush!"
Ross looked around at everyone, then slammed his cards on the table with a triumphant grin. "I can't lose!"
"Wow!"
Rachel and Phoebe immediately gasped. A straight flush was practically the best hand possible. Unless Chuck also had a straight flush with higher cards, which would be astronomically unlikely.
Not to mention, Chuck hadn't even looked at his cards the entire time.
"Hold up!"
Chuck stopped Ross from collecting the pot and revealed his own cards: "Five-six-seven-eight-nine straight flush!"
"No way!"
Ross froze, then exploded: "You're cheating!"
"Come on! We're all watching—how could Chuck cheat?"
Rachel groaned in frustration. "You lost fair and square. Don't be a sore loser!"
"I have evidence!"
Ross declared excitedly. "He never looked at his cards, not once! That proves he's cheating!"
Rachel and the others looked confused, turning to Chuck for an explanation.
"I have an eidetic memory,"
Chuck said calmly. "I know everyone's cards."
"You really do? How is that possible?"
Everyone was amazed as Chuck correctly identified each person's remaining cards.
"I knew he was cheating!"
Ross declared smugly.
"Weren't you listening? I said I have an eidetic memory."
Chuck looked at him. "No matter how you shuffle the deck, I can track every card. That's how I know everyone's hole cards without looking."
"That's impossible! I don't buy it!"
Ross scoffed. "Nobody's memory is that good!"
"Test him."
Chandler grabbed the remaining cards on the table, shuffled them thoroughly, then randomly drew five cards and asked, "What are these?"
"Two aces, a deuce, a five, and an eight,"
Chuck said casually.
"Check them!"
Rachel urged.
"Holy..."
When Chandler revealed the cards, everyone gasped in amazement.
"Impossible, just impossible."
Ross couldn't accept it at all.
Having perfect card memory isn't considered cheating anywhere. You might get barred from Las Vegas casinos, but that's not the same as cheating.
Cards naturally test memory skills, and people have different levels of memory ability, leading to different skill levels and winners and losers. You can't penalize someone for having superior memory or force them to dumb down to your level.
It's like saying smart kids should be banned from taking tests. Everyone should just give up and coast.
"So are you going to keep complaining or keep playing?"
Chuck asked.
"...How exactly do you do that?"
Ross didn't dare continue. With his cards completely visible to Chuck, there was no way to bluff. And his opponent showed zero tells, maintaining the same expression regardless of his hand. How could anyone play against that?
"I told you, I have an eidetic memory,"
Chuck replied.
"You call that 'an eidetic memory'?"
Ross complained bitterly. "You're seriously understating things."
"How would you describe your ability to walk and chew gum?"
Chuck countered.
"Are you saying this kind of memory is as basic as walking and chewing gum?"
Ross scoffed. "Is there anyone else who can do what you do?"
"Paige Swanson, Sheldon Cooper, Spencer Reid, Sherlock Holmes, Charles Magnussen, Patrick Jane, Lexie Grey, Mike Ross, Zack Addy, Sean Boswell, Martha Masters..."
Chuck began rattling off names.
"..."
Ross was speechless.
Not just him—everyone listening was stunned.
"Holy crap! There are that many people with photographic memories?"
Joey said enviously. "If I had that ability, memorizing scripts would be a breeze."
"These aren't historical figures—these are people alive right now,"
Chuck clarified, looking at Ross and repeating his question. "So how would you describe your walking and gum-chewing abilities?"
Ross was at a loss for words.
If Chuck knew that many people with the same skill, maybe it really was normal to him.
But what was wrong with this world? How could so many incredible geniuses exist at the same time? A gift like perfect memory was apparently commonplace!
How were ordinary PhDs supposed to compete?
Ross felt completely demoralized.
"Patrick Jane—isn't that the good-looking mentalist who's always on TV?"
Phoebe's attention shifted. "He has that kind of memory too? I thought he was actually psychic!"
"There's no such thing as psychics,"
Chuck shook his head. "At least not in the real world. He uses memory and observation to make deductions. With enough skill and some showmanship, it can look like mind reading."
He glanced at Ross and added, "Or like cheating."
"...How can you be so sure there's no such thing as psychics?"
Ross protested weakly.
At this point, science didn't seem to matter anymore. Chuck's casual demonstration and his ability to rattle off gifted individuals like a grocery list made the whole world feel unscientific.
"You know him personally, don't you?"
Rachel asked with obvious curiosity.
"Yeah."
Chuck nodded. "We've crossed paths."
Seeing they were about to ask more questions, he collected his $200 from the table, then gestured to the remaining money and told them, "Ladies, help yourselves."
"This is all for us?"
Rachel and the others squealed excitedly, reaching for the cash and check.
"Ross, you're right—this dinosaur checkbook is actually pretty cool!"
Rachel waved Ross's check in front of him while making the comment that clearly irritated him.
"Yeah."
At that moment, a discordant voice chimed in, and everyone looked over to see Chandler also reaching for money from the table.
Seeing everyone staring, he shrugged and said self-deprecatingly, "Sorry, I misheard. I thought 'ladies' included me."
(End of Chapter)
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a Power Stone or Review!
P@atreon/Soulforger (45+ advanced chapters)