94 MAGIC WORDS • "The name written above the castle, across the sky in electric blue, was Shazzam." -- Martin Hegwood, The Green-Eyed Hurricane (2000) • "I remember a lightning bolt shooting straight to my crotch. Shazam!" -- Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts (2001) • "Science fiction movies often use the attention-getting command 'Computer!' to wake up a machine so it pays attention to what the human will say next. That's not very smart, because the word 'computer' is part of everyday language. If I'm telling my wife at dinner about a thunderstorm that afternoon and say, 'As soon as the lightning struck, the computer shut down,' my home machine would take note and might faithfully shut down itself and all the other computers in the house! That's why I prefer the prompting word 'Shazam,' because it's unlikely to occur in normal conversation." -- Michael L. Dertouzos, The Unfinished Revolution (2001) • From Gregory Corso, "Power," Mindfield: New and Selected Poems (1989): O but there are times shazam is not enough There is a brutality in the rabbit. • "After all, the Egyptian wizard didn't give Billy Batson a magic word in English or Latin. It was a private word in a private language. . . . Michael knew that the magic word was the same as the name of the wizard: Shazam!" -- Pete Hamill, Snow in August (1998) • "'André, Elise,' he said. 'Hold out one hand and make a wish.' Mr. Balzini moved his hands in quick circles. Then he smacked them together and a stream of glistening salt flowed from his left hand, until he had made a pile in each of our palms. 'Shazam, shazam,' he said and opened the door." -- Ian Wallace, The Man Who Walked the Earth (200 ) • "[O]n a day when no one's around to play with, take a towel, tie it around your neck as a cape, climb up on the roof edge, say the magic word, 'Shazam!' raise your arms and fly off into . . . Better wear your helmet with this one. The landing's a little rough, as I recall." -- Jerry Flemmons, Curmudgeon in Corduroy (2000) • "Dr. Hartman created a flourish with an imaginary wand, laughing. 'Shazam!'" -- Tony Hillerman, Talking God (1989) • "At that moment -- in a mad flurry of exhilaration -- Suzy charged into the room dressed in an angel costume, her hand brandishing a silver, star- shaped wand. She rushed up to Sheila and stood on her tiptoes, waving the staff wildly across her head. 'Shazam! Shazam! Abracadabra!' she yelled. 'I am the Angel Ariah and you will be spared if no more hate or lies spew out of your mouth. So be it!' She finished with a few more twirling maneuvers over the shocked woman's head and ended with, 'Shazam! Shazam! Fini!!'" -- Marguerite McCall, Danielle (2002)