Tesla - Jason Walker (readict books txt) 📗

sycophancy. “Can we get on with it?” he said tersely.

Eiffel ignored the man’s gruffness and continued to grin at Tesla. “Only the most talented and brilliant people in their respective fields, the most elite members of society, are given the honour of being here. That means you must never tell another soul about this place. Ça va?”

Tesla quickly nodded. “Yes, Gustave. I won’t tell anyone.” Nikola had grown accustomed to keeping secrets, due in large part, if not entirely, because of Thomas.

“Good.” Eiffel winked. “I appreciate your discretion, Nikola.”

When Eiffel opened the door, it revealed a secret apartment complete with furnishings and a kitchenette. To their left was a sitting room filled with well-dressed men sipping bourbon and chatting away. The men looked up at their appearance, and several saluted the newcomers with a raise of their glasses.

“Messieurs,” Eiffel addressed these men, “I’m sure you all remember Thomas and Samuel.” Acknowledgment rumbled throughout the group.

“Mark!” one of them exclaimed, motioning toward Twain with his glass. “So good to see you. Did you jump here all the way from Calaveras County? Or did you just take the frog?”

The group burst out in laughter, and Edison nudged Twain in the ribs with his elbow. Even Eiffel chuckled.

Twain let out an exasperated sigh and waved his hand dismissively at the group. “No, I’m afraid some cheat poured lead shot down its throat and it was far too sluggish to make it here in time for the World’s Fair.” This caused the men to laugh even harder.

Twain took a seat next to his heckler, and Edison sat directly across from him, leaving Eiffel standing beside Tesla and addressing the room. “I would like to introduce you all to our special guest, Monsieur Nikola Tesla.” Eiffel gestured to the man.

The men offered greetings to Tesla, but he wasn’t paying them any heed. His gaze locked onto something to his right: a fully equipped lab, sterilized, well lit, and filled with only the latest tools and technology. In fact, there were many devices and tools in the lab that Tesla didn’t even recognize.

“Nikola!” Eiffel’s voice snapped him back to the gathering.

“Hm? Yes?” Tesla blinked and looked at the room, almost forgetting where he was for an instant.

“I was just introducing you to the group,” Eiffel said.

Tesla nodded and turned to face Eiffel’s guests. “Yes, of course. A pleasure to meet you all. I beg your pardon. My mind tends to wander, and I couldn’t help but notice your lab, Gustave.”

Gustave laughed. “Yes, I thought you and Edison both would like this addition to the apartment.”

Edison sat up in his chair and peered over at the corner lab, though he didn’t allow himself to show any overt emotion. He may have been impressed, but he’d never let on like his younger colleague did.

Tesla gazed at the lab once again. “It’s a very nice one, I’ll admit. Much nicer than anywhere I’ve worked before.”

Twain smirked and raised an eyebrow at Edison before throwing back his bourbon. Edison glared at Tesla and sipped his drink but otherwise acted as though he hadn’t heard Tesla’s thinly veiled insult.

“Perhaps I can give you a tour after our meeting is done, ça va?” Eiffel offered.

“Sounds wonderful.” Tesla smiled politely and silently wished he could tour the room at this very moment. Seldom had he seen such a fine setup that wasn’t of his own design. He took a seat beside Eiffel, and the meeting began.

The men spoke for over three hours, and eventually, Tesla grew weary of waiting and rose to stretch his legs and wander the apartment. He soon lost track of what the men were saying; he was too distracted by the details of the hidden home. He peered at the shelves and cabinets in awe of the ingenuity of the architects and engineers who had been able to hide such luxuries within this wrought iron lattice tower. The rooms had been supplied with the most up-to-date equipment, including electric lighting provided by—much to Tesla’s disdain—Edison’s incandescent light bulbs. The poor choice of lighting aside, he admired the equipment in these rooms, as well as the wrought-iron frame that was the tower encasing them.

“Isn’t that right, Tesla?” someone asked aloud.

Tesla was brought out of his reverie by Edison’s voice scraping his eardrums. He looked around at the men’s faces and realized that any business they had been conducting must have been over with for several minutes, replaced by more of the good-natured conversation and camaraderie that Tesla, Edison, Twain, and Eiffel had come in on.

“Pardon me. My mind was wandering,” Tesla explained with a sheepish grin.

Edison snorted, but Nikola ignored him and asked, “Would you mind repeating what you said?”

Edison replied, “I was just telling our friends here about the hilarious prank that my manager and I played on you before you quite suddenly quit Edison Machine Works,” Edison drawled, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

Tesla’s smile disappeared, and his brow furrowed. “I don’t remember any sort of prank, Mr Edison, but I do distinctly recall you owing me a $50,000 bonus for designing twenty-four different types of standard machines for your company.”

Edison waved his hand dismissively. “That was the prank! Ah, you still don’t understand American humour after all these years, do you, my friend?”

All the men except for Tesla, Twain, and Eiffel laughed. Twain and Eiffel exchanged a look, clearly concerned about what this argument might escalate to.

Tesla clenched his fist behind his back but, being the gentleman that he was, merely forced a smile and said, “I suppose not, friend.”

As Tesla hissed that final word, everyone else fell silent, truly appreciating the animosity between the two inventors. Some men dared to sip from their drinks, the ice clinking together, but that was all that they did. No one was willing to break the tension, and some even anticipated a row. Tesla and Edison stared each other down, Tesla was trying to suppress his anger while Edison looked on with unparalleled amusement.

“Well,” Eiffel finally said with a loud clap of his hands, stepping forward to block Tesla and Edison’s view of each other, “it seems that our gathering should be coming to a close, Messieurs. You will be contacted with the time and location of our next meeting. Please, remember to leave either by yourself or with one other person, and try to give a few minutes between departures to avoid drawing attention. Merci. Bon soir, mes amis!”

The men trickled out in singles and in pairs, with Edison and Twain the last to leave. Twain offered a sympathetic glance to the other inventor, and with a kind nod, Tesla thanked the writer for bringing them. Soon, only Eiffel and Tesla remained.

Eiffel handed Tesla a fresh drink and clinked the glass. “So, you wish to have a tour of the lab, c’est vrai?”

Tesla nodded. “Yes, please, if you would be so kind.”

“Come, then.” Eiffel gestured for Tesla to go first, and the two made their way from the sitting area to the lab. “What do you think of our little . . . organization?”

Tesla sighed and said, “I’m afraid that I really did not pay enough attention to pass any judgment.”

Eiffel chuckled. “Yes, yes, you were very distracted, it seemed. What could have been going through that brilliant mind of yours?”

Tesla’s posture straightened some at the compliment, though Nikola was far from the egocentric man Edison was. “I was just admiring your accomplishment, Gustave,” he said politely. “The tower itself is impressive enough, but to fit an apartment and small lab inside it as well? And for it to be completely undetectable from the outside?”

“Ah, yes. Well, my friends and I do like our privacy. It makes conducting business much easier, you know.”

Tesla nodded slowly. “That’s what you were doing tonight, correct? Business?”

“Yes.”

Tesla felt his cheeks flush. “I apologize for not paying closer attention. It must not have left a very good impression on the others.”

“C’est la vie. Think nothing of it. They know that a mind of your calibre can be hard to harness, especially when so close to technological wonders.”

“You flatter me.”

“It’s true.” Eiffel chortled. “Of course, I’d be lying if I said I invited you here just to show off my toys.” He leaned against a lab table that had been cleared earlier that day, and Tesla followed suit as the Frenchman continued, “You see, I’m looking for someone to help me design a wireless transmission system for the tower.”

Tesla’s eyes widened. “A wireless transmission system? Me?” His eyes suddenly narrowed with suspicion. “Why didn’t you ask Thomas while he was here? He’s already a member of your organization.”

“I talked to him before. His ideas were no good,” Eiffel said lazily and sipped his drink.

Tesla couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “I didn’t think I would ever hear those words spoken about Edison.”

Eiffel leaned toward Tesla and spoke in a hushed tone. “You must not tell anyone this, but I don’t trust him. I don’t think he’s as much of a genius as he wants everyone to believe. He’s smart, certainly, perhaps one of the smartest men of our generation, but I feel he might be more of a showman than an inventor. I’ve heard many rumours about him stealing designs and patents right out from under inventors’ noses, and every rumour must start with something.”

Tesla held back his dark thoughts and simply offered a polite, “Believe me, Gustave, I understand.”

“I knew you would. You see, you’re not like Thomas. I see much potential in you, and I doubt you would ever need to steal another person’s ideas. The rumours about you have been much more favourable.”

Tesla’s smile wavered, and he felt beads of sweat begin to gather on his forehead. He resisted the urge to pull out a handkerchief and dab them off. “What might those rumors be?”

“Come now, Mr Tesla, I was employed on the same site. I know that there’s something so secret that you wouldn’t be able to tell me about it even if you wanted to.”

Tesla hesitated, then nodded. “Yes, you can say that something of that nature occurred then.”

Eiffel put his hand on Tesla’s shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me. It just shows me that you are truly the best of the best.”

“Thomas isn’t going to like that,” Tesla muttered, hidden laughter colouring his voice.

“Well, all the better for you, right, my friend?” Eiffel and Tesla both laughed at the inventor’s expense. “So, before I give you a tour of the lab, do you have any suggestions? As you have seen for yourself, winters can be quite harsh here, and I’m afraid that the wireless transmission designs we’ve been working on so far won’t do well in such conditions.”

Tesla turned all the way around, scanning the room and imagining the outside of the Eiffel Tower in his mind’s eye. He stopped as an idea hit him. “Gustave, have you ever considered adding an antenna to this structure?”

 

Months went by, and Eiffel and Tesla worked closely to design a wireless transmission system for the Eiffel Tower. Out of courtesy—and knowing that he would hear about it eventually and complain—Eiffel invited Edison to join them.