Tesla's Signal (50 page)

***

It was just like Niko's old days in Bryant Park. He walked, he solved problems, and the pigeons gathered around to bring messages.

Alu called out.

 

Ayin added.

The Aon had given him knowledge; formulas. The figures were unfamiliar, but the patterns and structures suggested new insights...new ways of thinking. Now he put it all together in every possible way, reaching for understanding.

 He visualized the Saucer from every angle. If he used the Aon formula, it suggested a relationship between the frequency and the photonic curve.
To bend the light—to make invisible!
 

And what of the anti-gravity propulsion?
Two hemispheres. Top and bottom spinning in opposite directions, at a tremendous speed. Two reversing magnetic fields, creating a tremendous vortex of energy. Strong enough to repel the force of gravity?
 

He walked for many hours, running the experiments in his head. He saw a design in the shape of a spiral: a 3rd- or 4th-d version of the alternating current generator with its pulses out of phase. He could see all the pieces of the puzzle...but he could not make them fit together.
What am I missing?
 

Often he had his insights after extreme stress, illness or 'madness'. Was that what it would take now? Would he have to starve himself, walk a hundred miles, travel to an alien world, in order to find the answer?

 About sunset he turned to see Miss Ophelia and Jack following him.

“Mr. Telstar, my mother wants to know if you would like dinner. You haven't eaten anything all day.”

He frowned.
Can't you see I'm trying to work,
he almost said. Then he stopped himself. A realization came:
I push people away. They think I'm arrogant. I have rejected human company.
 

Perhaps it was time for him to change:
time to share.  
 

“All right. But first...won't you sit with me a moment?” He sat down on a log beneath a tree. “Listen: I may soon be killed in my fight against the Martians. So I want to pass on some secrets.”

The two youngsters sat down, their eyes big and solemn.

“I envision a free, abundant source of energy from the stars themselves. The secret is in the structure of the universe itself―think of a spiral with the proportions 3, 6, 9. Now imagine a multi-dimensional vortex engine which can tap this well of energy.”

“Really?” The youngsters looked at each other and shrugged.

“You think I'm crazy, don't you?” He grinned. “You see, my brain is only a receiver for this cosmic wisdom. There is so much more to reality than what we perceive with our senses. When you align with the proper frequency, it is possible to share mind-to-mind communion...speak with beings from other worlds. I have done this, and have traveled through the universe, and learned that all of it is alive: one universal soul.”

He continued to speak, and noticed that at some point Miss Isabelle had also joined the gathering. She was writing everything down in an ornate book which bore the seal of the Phoenix Temple.

“There is an invisible force which connects all of us: humans, animals, trees, stars.” Niko's hands traced the shapes that he saw with his inner eye. “We have the freedom to think and act...yet we are bound together, like stars on the heavenly arc, with unbreakable connections.”

He said a lot more, and Miss Isabelle wrote it all. “Please go on, sir. Your words will be a whole new Book of Wisdom.”

“Yes, Miss Isabelle, but now I wish to speak of practical matters. May I?” He reached for the book and began writing. “Miss Clara and I will have to leave soon to continue our fight against the invaders. If something happens to us, it will be up to you, and people like you, to continue the struggle.”

“You're...you're leaving? But...”

“I've decided to trust you with my secrets, Miss Isabelle. Here are my contacts...engineers and technicians who can build our devices.” He wrote out the names: Hugo, Davidson, Abraham Lowe. “But Ma'am, you'll have to work together, with those who are not 'the right sort'...not part of your social class. Do you understand?”

“Yes sir,” said Isabella, who had lost her usual imperious manner. “We will, Mr. Tesla.”

He stared. “You know who I am?”

“Well of course! You think we're blind?
Who else
is an electrical wizard?” Isabelle cracked a smile. “We never believed the lies they said about you. One can never believe what the Established order says. We always knew the truth: you were sent from Venus to teach us and give free energy to mankind.”

“Venus, eh?” Niko had to smile. The Aon world of Lumina did resemble Venus. “It is strange, Ma'am. The respectable scientists have cast me out; called me insane. But you people, whom society mocks as fortunetellers and crystal-ball gazers...you have understood me, on an intuitive level.”

He stood up. “Well! By St. Sava, my head has cleared―you've given me the answer. I know exactly how to configure the anti-gravity!”

“But
we
didn't do anything―
you
did all the talking,” Ophelia began.

“Yes , but the act of
sharing
was what
led to the breakthrough. Come, friends, I need something to eat. And then, I've got a flying saucer to build.”

***

Over the next few days the doings in the lab were even stranger than usual. With the Solar Water, Clara had reduced the shard of the Martian ship to its component molecules. Only a few more shingles had been blown off the roof in the process.

Now Niko and Clara hovered over their workspace, wearing gloves and goggles as protection from the mighty forces they had unleashed. Flashes of a purple glow lit their faces. Only a few whispered words passed between them, expressing concepts far too deep for human language to tell.

“Electrons...polarity...lattice.”

The electrons will align to the positive polarity.... Yes, only a few atoms thick...it will form a kind of lattice. Alu showed me the structure it should form....these materials actually incorporate parts of the 4th-d.

The end result of their labors was a material as flexible as silk—yet nothing could cut it except the same particle beam which came out of their Teleforce gun. Hardly daring to breathe, Niko and Clara gently molded the material to the hull of their Saucer. Without any sort of glue or rivets, it adhered perfectly.

“All right,” Niko said, “it's time for a test run.”

They moved the Saucer out to the nearby field on a wheeled dolly. It was remarkably light, due to the alloys that Clara had developed. The two of them could manage it easily.

Clara put on her goggles and climbed in. She triggered the ignition and a slight hum filled the craft. The two plates began to spin, in opposite directions, while the bubble in the center remained still. The hemispheres began to glow faintly. The two rotating magnetic fields, flowing in opposite directions, created a tremendous electromagnetic charge, enough to negate the effects of gravity and lift the saucer off the ground.

With a whoop of excitement, Clara waved goodbye and pressed a throttle. The ship lifted rapidly and disappeared into the sky. Niko observed, measured with his pulse-screen and took notes.

A voice asked, “how fast can it go?” He turned, and there stood Jack, along with Ophelia.

“That's what we're going to find out,” he told them.

“Can we have a ride?” said Ophelia.

“Your mother would kill me if I let you,” Niko said.

The ship came whirling back into view, graceful as a leaf and faster than a spinning top. It glided to a stop in the field across from the barn.

“It's magnificent,” cried Clara, unstrapping her helmet. “Now your turn.”

Jack and Ophelia just stood there, looking at Niko with wistful expressions as he put on the helmet and strapped himself in.

Niko sighed. “All right, youngsters, come on aboard.”

29: Blood and Diamonds

Miss Isabelle scanned her copy of the
Inquirer.
“Well, I see those Angel scoundrels are having a big show tomorrow, at the Colonial Theater in Phoenixville.”

“What? No!” Clara slammed her hand on the table. “They're not! Oh―sorry.” She had spilled a few drops of tea. “Let me see that paper.”

She read the article and scowled with increasing anger. “They're not getting away with this. We need to do a show ourselves―tonight!”

Miss Isabelle buttered a scone. “Really? How are you going to accomplish that?”

“It looks like they're showing cinema reels—I'll just ask for a half hour to demonstrate my unusual instrument. I'm an accomplished Theremin player, you know.”

“Really? Then I'll ask Mr. Griffin to talk to the theater manager,” Isabelle said. “He's got a lot of pull in Phoenixville. ”

Clara frowned. “I don't especially care for that Mr. Griffin. But still...they'll love it. Who can resist a Theremin? Oh...Miss Ophelia,” she turned to the young girl, “I thought I heard you playing piano the other day. You want to accompany me? Any simple music will do.”

“But—I've never played on stage before.”

“Well now's your big chance. It'll be your debut.”

Reluctantly Clara dialed up Mr. Griffin.

The manager of the steel plant was delighted to hear from her. “Sure, I'll be glad to oblige such pretty and talented ladies,” he said. “I know the theater manager personally...he'll do me a favor. We'll get you a spot just before tonight's cinema reels. But Miss Clara, perhaps you might do me a favor in return.”

“And what could that be, sir?”

“Merely a chance to take a lovely lady to dinner.”

Clara growled under her breath. “If you try to get fresh with me, I'll
introduce you to my lovely friend, Miss Electric Stinger.”  

***

“Ladies and gentlemen,” said the theater manager, “before we start with our regular cinema program, we'd like to present a short performance by Miss Kara, a visitor from Russia. She has come to play her unearthly instrument for you.”

The ornate Colonial Theater was the pride of Phoenixville's cultured class. The walls of the lobby were plastered with movie playbills, including posters announcing a special free Vaudeville show featuring the lovely Sister Shelia and her entourage. The theater itself featured plush seats and a highly decorated ceiling. To either side of the stage stood the  enormous pipes of a magnificent theater organ.

In the center of this stage, Clara took a few moments to explain what the Theremin was. Miss Ophelia played a chord, Clara pulled the first note from the ether, and the two women had the audience enthralled.

After Clara played two pieces, she launched into a spoken-word number. “Ladies and gentlemen, I request your attention,” she said, as her hands vibrated the air. “I hear that Sister Shelia is coming here tomorrow. You must not go! Stay away from Shelia and the Silver Chamber!”

While Ophelia played in the background, Clara left the Theremin to stand at the edge of the stage. “Some of you may know of relatives or friends who have begun acting strangely after going to one of these shows. That's because the shows are a front for alien invaders, who came to steal your souls!” Her voice rang out with fiery conviction. “They have taken over New York, and the people have become like the walking dead—complete slaves to the beings who are behind Sister Shelia.”

She brought out a box full of devices. “Here are some are protection devices which will cancel out the soul-stealers' frequency.” Done with their 'concert', Clara and Ophelia took the boxes up the aisles and began distributing the devices. “Each of you, take one and wear it all the time.”

Niko and the two Metalsmiths entered from the sides, bearing more of the devices. “Avoid public events,” Clara added, “and share this message with all you know!”

“Don't listen to her,” a voice cried. “She's a liar—an agent of the devil!” Suddenly a whole mob of Angel disciples charging up the aisle. One of them rushed toward Clara. “Get her! She's in league with
him
—Tesla the Evil One!”

Niko dove behind a seat and fired a spark at the cultist, catching him in the chest. The Angel disciple fell back against the rest of the mob.

A gunshot rang out. Someone screamed. The patrons leaped up from their seats and tried to flee, clogging the aisles. Niko crouched behind another seat and flattened several more of the Angel disciples with blue electric sparks. Meanwhile Clara was frantically shoving the Protection Amulets into the hands of the bewildered patrons. “Here, take this, sir. Take this, ma'am.”