"Hello, I am the amazing Karnak. I was designed to predict the exact time and place of someone's death, so you already know you're in for a good time."
- Karnak at the beginning of the cast album.
The Amazing Karnak, also known as simply Karnak, is a character in Ride the Cyclone. He is a precognition machine designed to predict the cause, time, and place of someone's death. This was not his main function when he was in use at the Fall Fair, where he seems to have only told people basic fortunes which consisted of their lucky number, a vague statement about their future, and to go ride the Cyclone. This function, called "Family Fun Novelty Mode", was set up when he was sold to the Fair due to the disturbing nature of his main usage. He dies at the end of the show, having been killed by Virgil chewing through his wires.
In the script, he is described as "a mechanical fortune-telling machine is revealed, circa 1920s penny arcade. The fortuneteller is an imposing figure with a majestic beard and glowing eyes."
Personality[]
Throughout the show, signs of Karnak's personality are few and far between, and often vary depending on the actor playing him. What can be made out is that he is often sarcastic, especially towards Ocean. His voice is generally blank, akin to how real precognition machines/fortune tellers act. The script describes him as an ‘ominous mechanical Santa Claus’. He also seems to be generous and selfless, as evidenced by his choosing to spend his last moments resurrecting one victim of the Cyclone accident. This could also be due to his guilt of not being able to tell them what was about to happen.
Trivia[]
-Karnak was originally two people- one person puppeteering, and one person speaking into a microphone. This only ended when Ride the Cyclone came to the US.
-To stay calm while the audience loaded in, Karl Hamilton would make origami. According to Kholby, he was ‘SO FREAKIN good at it’
Gallery[]
