Tesla's Signal (72 page)

“What's wrong, Mister? Did I say something...?”

“Sorry, Ma'am,” said Niko, “it's just a...phobia of mine. I'm a little peculiar,” he admitted. “Come back without those pearls, and I'll talk to you.”

Later that day, a couple came strolling through the park. While the woman stopped at a kiosk, the man approached Niko. “Hello, sir. Nice day, isn't it.”

“Good day, young Ike.” Niko stood up to greet Isaac Aronov, his young friend from Essex Street.

Many of Niko's old friends had died or drifted away, but Ike came by faithfully. He had grown up into a handsome fellow.

“I brought you some food, Mr. Tesla. And bird seed, of course.”

Niko welcomed the young man's visits; they were one of the few times he got a hearty meal. But more important, the two of them would discuss electromagnetism and cosmic rays.

Ike was one of the few. The rest of the world dismissed Tesla as a crackpot...but Niko dropped clues for those who understood.

“I have some happy news,” said Ike. “I met a woman in engineering school.” He beckoned his companion over. “I'd like to introduce my fiancée, Miss Ophelia Shepard.  We're getting married next month.”

“Ah! Miss Ophelia and I have met. Good day, Ma'am.” Niko stood, doffing his hat. “And congratulations. Listen: there are some things I'd like to pass on to you...both of you. Only for the select few, you understand...until the world is ready...”

He broke off, as a white pigeon appeared, seemingly from the middle of the air, and fluttered down to land on his hand. A single piercing note emerged from the bird's beak.

He stared in astonishment. “Is it...could it be...” he cradled the bird, his hands shaking with emotion, and stared into her bright, luminous eyes.

“It really is you,” he whispered, touching his cheek to the bird's head. “You came back...”  

“Are you all right, sir?” Ophelia and Ike exchanged glances.

“I'm very well, friends. You see, I have a love too.” He stroked the top of the bird's head with a feather-light fingertip. “I love this pigeon as a man loves a woman. One could say that...she is my wife.”

The white bird had a peculiar marking—a faint black stripe, extending halfway down her back. It resembled the long braid which Clara had once worn.

***

Historical Notes

I would like to clarify the historical facts which underpin this novel. Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) developed the alternating current electrical system which has powered the world for over 100 years. In addition, he pioneered in the concepts of radar, remote control and “tele-automatics” (which we would call robotics). He made many experiments and discoveries in the fields of high-frequency currents.

Tesla is also the true father of radio. Although Guglielmo Marconi received a Nobel Prize for sending the first radio message, the actual research and devices that he used were previously patented by Tesla—who finally instituted a court challenge. A few months after Tesla's death, the Supreme Court upheld his claim as the true father of radio.

Nevertheless, Marconi and Thomas Edison are household words, while Tesla's name virtually disappeared for half a century. Until recently, one would be hard-pressed to find mention anywhere of the genius who gave the world electric power and so much more. There is still scant reference to him in most textbooks and histories of science. I recently visited a major university and saw a display in the hallway of the Electrical Engineering building. It contained portraits of every notable who contributed to the science...except Nikola Tesla.

Historical sources agree that Tesla had extraordinary mental abilities. Some consider him one of the smartest humans who ever lived. He is said to have had a photographic memory, and the ability to visualize his inventions perfectly in three dimensions. In addition to scientific brilliance, he also exhibited a spiritual side. He claimed that he saw the alternating current motor in a vision. There are several anecdotes of his paranormal flashes. He was inspired by Eastern mysticism, and believed in a cosmic aether and the unity of all beings. Though he doesn't always get respect from the scientific establishment, many of the more spiritually minded devotees of 'alternative science' count him as one of their own.

One of Tesla's dreams was communication with other planets. While doing experiments with high energy transmission in Colorado, he claimed to have received a transmission from another world.

In the early 1900s he built a tower at Wardenclyffe in Long Island, for the purpose of telecommunication and wireless transmission of electrical energy. It is believed by many that financial and banking interests were threatened by Tesla's plan to provide “free energy”, and therefore blacklisted him. Tesla lost the financial backing to complete his Wardenclyffe project, and the tower was torn down in 1917.

In later years Tesla's fortunes declined and some thought of him as a 'crank'. Nevertheless he came up with other proposals and innovations including the Tesla Turbine, vertical takeoff craft (the 'sky flivver') and the “death ray”, a particle-beam weapon which he intended to be so destructive that it would “make war impossible”. Many of Tesla's ideas, misunderstood in his own time, came to underpin our modern world. A prime example is the cell phone: “a wireless communication device which would fit in a vest pocket.”

Biographers note that Tesla suffered many bizarre compulsions, such as an obsession with the number three, fear of germs and a phobia of jewelry, pearls and “round objects”. He was deeply devoted to New York's pigeons, and one particular bird was special to him in his later years. He claimed he loved this white pigeon “as a man loves a woman”.

Tesla never married, and had no known romantic involvements, although he did maintain a friendship with Katharine Johnson. Some of their letters suggest a  deep mutual affection.

Clara Eps is a fictional character, inspired partly by Clara Rockmore (Reisenberg), a Russian theremin player who was a student of Leon Theremin. She was considered the most talented thereminist in the world. Videos of her performances can still be seen on youtube.com.

Clara's story of escaping the Russian pogrom is based on historical fact; there were hundreds of anti-Jewish pogroms in Russia, Poland and Ukraine during the late 1800s and early 1900s. To escape this terror, a tremendous wave of East European Jews immigrated to America during these years.

Clara's innovations—devices using transistors, miniaturization and super-conductivity—are purely fictional.

There is no evidence to suggest that Tesla was an anti-Semite like Henry Ford. The remark made by Tesla in Chapter 6 is based on a footnote in Margaret Cheney's
Man Out of Time
(p.165, Touchstone 2001 edition, Simon & Schuster) No explanation or context is given in that book. I supposed that even a mostly enlightened person can show an occasional imperfection, but I had to write a scene to explain it, and this was how “Clara Eps” came into being.

In regards to Thomas Edison, the story of his “joke” on Tesla is well known, as is “the War of the Currents”. Edison was known as a ruthless businessman whose main concern was the bottom line.

Hugo Gernsback was a prolific magazine publisher who came to the US in 1904. His magazine
Electrical Experimenter
featured articles by Tesla, and the two men became friends. Gernsback published many of Tesla's fantastic predictions for the future, and in 1926 he published the first pulp science fiction magazine,
Amazing Stories
. Today, Hugo Gernsback is known as “the father of science fiction.”

I have taken a few liberties with the historical timeline for the sake of telling a story. There is an elasticity of 15 to 20 years when comparing elements of this novel with real events. Radio did not become popular for at least another decade, and the theremin was actually invented in 1920. Construction on Wardenclyffe Tower began in 1901; construction ceased in 1906 and the tower was demolished for scrap in 1917. The San Francisco Earthquake occurred in 1906 and the Titanic sank in 1912. The Tunguska explosion happened in 1908. (A few writers theorize that Tunguska was caused by Tesla's devices; in my opinion this is highly unlikely. By this time, the Wardenclyffe project had already become inactive and the generators had been repossessed.)

There are many sites on the Internet which speculate how Tesla may have built a turbo-powered electric car, flying saucer, anti-gravity, time travel and other science-fiction devices. Others theorize that Tesla may have met space beings or been one himself. I have chosen to use some of these ideas in a fictional way. There are many wonderful mysteries about Tesla. My answer is “who knows? They would sure make good science fiction stories. Perhaps enough for a sequel or two...”

Finally, I apologize if anyone is offended by any of my ethnic or linguistic depictions.
 

I hope that this novel has encouraged people to learn more about Tesla and the true magic of science: electricity, electromagnetism, alternate dimensions and life on other words.  

The reader is directed to my primary research sources:

Tesla: Man Out Of Time,
by Margaret Cheney 

Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla,
by Marc Seifer

Prodigal Genius,
by
John J.
O'Neill

Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity,
by David Kent

My Inventions,
by Nikola Tesla 

Nikola Tesla Universe, www.teslauniverse.com

Tesla Memorial Society of New York,
www.teslasociety.com
 

Readers might also enjoy these works portraying Tesla as a fictional character:

Wonder of the Worlds,
by Heri Sesh

The Invention of Practically Everything,
by Samantha Hunt

In the Matter of Nikola Tesla,
by Anthony Flacco

Tesla,
by Walter Stewart

The Inventor: The Story of Tesla,
by Rave Mehta (graphic novel)

Phoebe the Delphic Oracle Takes Nikola Tesla to Peru,
by PanOrpheus

Tesla: A Portrait With Masks,
by Vladimir Pi
š
talo

I recommend the excellent documentary,
Tesla: Master of Lightning,
available on Netflix. One can find many videos about Tesla on youtube. Some are biographical, while others put forth various theories and agendas which the reader will have to evaluate for him/herself.

Finally, I want to refer readers to the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe. (www.teslasciencecenter.org/). This group has purchased the site of the former Wardenclyffe Tower and laboratory in Shoreham Long Island. Their goal is to restore the laboratory building as a museum to honor this great scientist and encourage the spirit of scientific innovation and inspiration. They need much help to realize this goal, and I urge everyone to visit their website and give them all the support you can.

If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review at Amazon.com

About the Author

L. Woodswalker (Laura Todd) was raised in State College, Pennsylvania, where her father was an engineering professor at Penn State University. Her family enjoyed hiking on Tussey Mountain and the surrounding hills of Central Pennsylvania. She is a lifelong hiker and woods-walker.

At college, her favorite subjects were Art and Biology. She later worked as a nurse and graphic designer. She became interested in electricity after learning to wire simple LED circuits.  

Woodswalker has attended the Philadelphia Science Fiction Writers' Workshop for many years. Her short fiction has been published in
Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine
and
The Magic Within
anthology.

When she is not writing, Laura might be composing ambient electronic music, which she performs at the Electro-Music Festival in Huguenot, New York. Some of her other creative outlets include art and video, DIY crafts and steampunk gadgetry.

Laura's grandmother Ida Epstein came to America from Kostopol, Ukraine, in the early 1900s. To Laura's knowledge, no one from this side of the family was a theremin player or an electrical genius. As for Jake Flint, it is possible that he, or another ancestor, may have been a bootlegger.

The author admits that there might be a sequel to
Tesla's Signal
in the works. To keep apprised of the author's latest writing projects, visit
woodswalker.weebly.com/
or facebook.com/teslasignal.
 

Table of Contents

With Thanks