Tesla

By Lisa Mason

Genius. Visionary. Madman.

Nikola Tesla (1856--1943) was the pioneering genius who invented the AC electrical system that powers our world to this day, as well as radio, remote control, the automobile speedometer, X-ray photography, the AND logic gate that drives all our computer systems, and countless other devices and precursors to devices such as cell phones, television, and the Internet that we so effortlessly use today.

Strikingly handsome and charismatic, fluent in half a dozen languages, mathematics savant and master machinist, a reed-thin perfectionist who quoted poetry like a Victorian rapper, Tesla became one of the most famous men of his day. Friend of tycoons like John Jacob Astor and Stanford White and celebrities like Mark Twain and Sarah Bernhardt.

Yet Tesla was an intensely driven and lonely man, beset by inner demons, and cursed with a protean inventive imagination a century ahead of his time. He died in obscurity and poverty and, to this day, his name is not widely known. How did that happen?

Blending historical fact with speculative imagination, Lisa Mason explores the secrets of the Inventor’s inner life and his obsession with Goethe’s Faust set against the backdrop of sweeping technological changes at the turn of the twentieth century that have forever changed the world.

A list of Sources follows the Screenplay, which was read by the producer of “Aliens” and “The Abyss.”

Lisa Mason has published ten novels, including Summer of Love (a Philip K. Dick Award Finalist and San Francisco Chronicle Recommended Book), The Gilded Age (a New York Times Notable Book and New York Public Library Recommended Book), The Garden of Abracadabra (“Fun and enjoyable urban fantasy”), Arachne and Cyberweb (Locus Hardcover Bestsellers), Celestial Girl, A Lily Modjeska Mystery (“Five stars”), a collection of previously published short fiction, Strange Ladies: 7 Stories (“A must-read collection” The San Francisco Review of Books), and thirty-one stories and novellas in magazines and anthologies worldwide. Her Omni story, “Tomorrow’s Child,” sold outright as a feature film to Universal Studios and is in active development.

Her latest novel is One Day in the Life of Alexa (“An appealing narrator and subtly powerful emotional rhythms” Goodreads)

“Fabulous screenplay.” Lewis Shiner, the award-winning author of Glimpses, Frontera, Slam, and Collected Stories.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lisa Mason
• Release date: May 10, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301377725

Lisa Mason

Lisa Mason is the author of eleven novels, including Summer of Love (Bantam), a San Francisco Chronicle Recommended Book and Philip K. Dick Award finalist, and The Golden Nineties (Bantam), a New York Times Notable Book and New York Public Library Recommended Book.Her most recent speculative novel is CHROME.Mason published her first story, “Arachne,” in Omni and has since published short fiction in magazines and anthologies worldwide, including Omni, Full Spectrum, Universe, Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, Unique, Transcendental Tales, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Immortal Unicorn, Tales of the Impossible, Desire Burn, Fantastic Alice, The Shimmering Door, Hayakawa Science Fiction Magazine, Unter Die Haut, and others. Her thirty-two stories and novelettes have been translated into Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish.Mason’s story, “Tomorrow’s Child,” first published in Omni Magazine, is in active development at Universal Studios.Lisa Mason lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her husband, the renowned artist and jeweler Tom Robinson. Visit her on the web at Lisa Mason’s Official Website, follow her Official Blog, follow her on Twitter @lisaSmason, or e-mail her at [e-mail].

Book preview

TESLA

A Screenplay

Lisa Mason

This is a work of historical fiction. Characters in this screenplay are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, used fictitiously, without any intent to describe their actual conduct. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright 2003 by Lisa Mason.

WGAw Regist. # 938156 by Lisa Mason.

Cover art, colophon, and interior art copyright 2011 by Tom Robinson.

All rights reserved.

PUBLISHING HISTORY

Bast Books e-screenplay published October 2011

No part of this screenplay may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Smashwords Edition

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting my hard work.

For information address:

Bast Books

[e-mail]

Thank you for your readership! Please visit the author at her Official Web Site for all her books, ebooks, stories, screenplays, blogs, interviews, cute pet pictures, and more.

Table of Contents

Praise for Books by Lisa Mason

Tesla

Flying Lessons

A Bolt Out of the Blue

The Emperor of Electricity

Dog Fight

The Next Big Thing

Wheel of Fortune

Epilogue

Sources

About Lisa Mason

Books by Lisa Mason

Praise for Books by Lisa Mason

Summer of Love

A San Francisco Chronicle Recommended Book of the Year

A Philip K. Dick Award Finalist

Remarkable. . . .a whole array of beautifully portrayed characters along the spectrum from outright heroism to villainy. . . .not what you expected of a book with flowers in its hair. . . the intellect on display within these psychedelically packaged pages is clear-sighted, witty, and wise.

—Locus Magazine

A fine novel packed with vivid detail, colorful characters, and genuine insight.

—The Washington Post Book World

Captures the moment perfectly and offers a tantalizing glimpse of its wonderful and terrible consequences.

—The San Francisco Chronicle

Brilliantly crafted. . . .An engrossing tale spun round a very clever concept.

—Katharine Kerr, author of Days of Air and Darkness

"Just imagine The Terminator in love beads, set in the Haight-Ashbury ‘hood of 1967."

—Entertainment Weekly

Mason has an astonishing gift. Her characters almost walk off the page. And the story is as significant as anyone could wish. This book will surely be on the prize ballots.

—Analog

A priority purchase.

—Library Journal

The Gilded Age

A New York Times Notable Book

A New York Public Library Recommended Book

A winning mixture of intelligence and passion.

—The New York Times Book Review

Should both leave the reader wanting more and solidify Mason’s position as one of the most interesting writers in science fiction.

—Publishers Weekly

Rollicking. . .Dazzling. . .Mason’s characters are just as endearing as her world.

—Locus Magazine

Graceful prose. . . A complex and satisfying plot.

—Library Journal

One Day in the Life of Alexa

Incorporates lively prose, past/present time jumps, and the consequences of longevity technology. An absorbing read with an appealing narrator and subtly powerful emotional rhythms.

—Goodreads

Five Stars! Like all the truly great scifi writers, what [Lisa Mason] really writes about is you and me and today and what is really important in life. . . . I enjoyed every word.

—Reader Review

Lisa Mason's character Alexa is not imprisoned in a gulag, but she is caught in the conviction she must continue the life-extending drug regime to stay alive. She tries to make the world a better place for other refugees, but side effects of the drugs limit her. She finds her internal resource that allows her to survive many more days in a much more uplifting manner than poor Ivan Denisovich. Discovering where her strengths [lie] is not depressing but uplifting for this reader.

—Reader Review

The Garden of Abracadabra

So refreshing! This is Stephanie Plum in the world of Harry Potter.

—Goodreads

Fun and enjoyable urban fantasy

This is a very entertaining novel—sort of a down-to-earth Harry Potter with a modern adult woman in the lead. Even as Abby has to deal with mundane concerns like college and running the apartment complex she works at, she is surrounded by supernatural elements and mysteries that she is more than capable of taking on. Although this book is just the first in a series, it ties up the first episode while still leaving some story threads for upcoming books. I'm looking forward to finding out more.

—Reader Review

I love the writing style and am hungry for more!

—Goodreads

Strange Ladies: 7 Stories

Offers everything you could possibly want, from more traditional science fiction and fantasy tropes to thought-provoking explorations of gender issues and pleasing postmodern humor…This is a must-read collection.

—The San Francisco Review of Books

Lisa Mason might just be the female Phillip K. Dick. Like Dick, Mason's stories are far more than just sci-fi tales, they are brimming with insight into human consciousness and the social condition….a sci-fi collection of excellent quality….you won't want to miss it.

—The Book Brothers Review Blog

Fantastic book of short stories….Recommended.

—Reader Review

"I’m quite impressed, not only by the writing, which gleams and sparkles, but also by [Lisa Mason’s] versatility . . . Mason is a wordsmith . . . her modern take on Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland is a hilarious gem! [This collection] sparkles, whirls, and fizzes. Mason is clearly a writer to follow!"

—Amazing Stories

Celestial Girl (A Lily Modjeska Mystery)

Passionate Historical Romantic Suspense

5 Stars! I really enjoyed the story and would love to read a sequel! I enjoy living in the 21st century, but this book made me want to visit the Victorian era. The characters were brought to life, a delight to read about. The tasteful sex scenes were very racy….Good Job!

—Reader Review

Tesla

FADE IN ON

INT. MANHATTAN—THE NEW YORKER HOTEL--JANUARY 8, 1943--NIGHT

TWO AGENTS IN BLACK stalk down a shabby hall. Dart to a door, flank it. Agent 1 eases a sign off the doorknob: Do Not Disturb. Raps his knuckles just below the room number: 33.

AGENT 1

Tesla? Nikola Tesla? We'd like a word.

Nothing. Silence.

AGENT 2

Open up, sir. FBI.

Still nothing.

AGENT 1

We’re coming in, Tesla. (To AGENT 2) Go.

Agent 2 whips out a lock pick, pops the doorknob. Shoves the door open--two inches. Bangs up against a chain lock on the inside.

AGENT 2

Take off the chain, sir.

Silence.

Agent 2 slams his shoulder against the door. BAM BAM, the flimsy wood splinters. They're in.

INT. TESLA'S ROOM

Smoke hangs in the air. Ragged wallpaper hangs off the walls. Bird shit is splattered here and there.

CRACKLE! of Electricity.

Agent 1 yanks a plug out of a wall outlet. Winds the wire around his hand, leading up to a strange little machine--A TESLA COIL.

Agent 2 finds a radio. Switches it on.

FDR (OVER)

I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, call for the courage and resolution of every citizen. Our love of freedom must prevail in this New Year of 1943 as the world struggle continues.

Agent 1 flicks the radio off. The Agents pick their way among rickety chairs arranged in rows. Flies dive-bomb dirty dishes set on a side table. Overflowing ashtrays. Empty booze bottles.

Agent 1 goes to a desk, pries open a drawer. Hundreds of loose papers spill out. He picks up a page, and a spider scurries across spiderwebby handwriting. Arcane mathematical equations.

AGENT 1

Bingo.

AGENT 2

I got something over here.

Agent 2 drags a traveling trunk from beneath a chair. A padlock secures the hasp.

Agent 2 slams his heel, shattering the lock. Throws the lid open.

The Agents trade looks.

Curtains are drawn across a sleeping alcove. Wind whistles through an open window. The curtains stir.

AGENT 1

Tesla? Dr. Tesla?

INT. COURTROOM—DAY

BANG! of a gavel on a podium.

JUDGE

The Accused will approach the Bench.

The ACCUSED leaps to his feet. Hugely confident, he is a man enthralled with himself. A youthful 40, he's strikingly handsome with thick, black hair and a chiseled face. Toweringly tall, as thin as a reed. Impeccably clad in a Prince Albert cutaway and cravat.

JUDGE

State your name.

ACCUSED

I am Tesla. Nikola Tesla.

JUDGE

Occupation?

TESLA

Inventor. Great inventor. GENIUS inventor. But I wouldn't call that an occupation. A curse, perhaps. An obsession, certainly. Or destiny? What else could rob a man of an ordinary life?

COUNSEL

Objection.

JUDGE

Counsel, you cannot object to your own client's statements.

COUNSEL

My client offers more than the question requires. Move to strike his statements after Inventor.

OPPOSING COUNSEL

Objection. The Accused offered his statements without duress. They are pertinent to the case at hand.

JUDGE

I'll let them stand. Now then, Tesla. Just what exactly do you claim to have invented?

TESLA

Electrical power. I have illuminated the entire world!

OPPOSING COUNSEL

Objection. The honorable Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.

TESLA

I do not mean a little globe of glass. I mean the power that lights the whole globe!

JUDGE

That's quite a claim.

TESLA

I shall prove it. And I invented the means of sending signals over distances, near and far. Without wires! I invented wireless!

OPPOSING COUNSEL

Objection. Everyone knows Guglielmo Marconi invented the radio.

TESLA

I think not, and I shall prove that, too. I invented arc lights and cold lights. Turbines and transformers. A flying machine and a submarine! One hundred and twelve patents, in all. I've signaled the stars!

OPPOSING COUNSEL

Yet no one quite remembers who you are.

Tesla trudges back to his seat. Collapses in it. Grips his forehead in his hands.

COUNSEL

Your Honor, my client suffers from acute migraine headaches. May we recess?

TESLA

No! Proceed, I beg you!

Tesla drags himself to his feet. His eyes are haunted, his face grim. His shirt-cuffs are frayed. His jacket has ragged holes. Yet he stands defiantly before the Judge.

JUDGE

Tesla, the accusations against you are many.

TESLA

My claims to greatness are many.

JUDGE

Sir, there is a huge body of evidence. Where shall we begin?

TESLA

On the day when I first wanted to learn how to fly.

FLYING LESSONS

EXT. CROATIA--1863--DAY

The Velebit Mountains. Lonely crags as ancient as time, shrouded in mist. An Orthodox monastery perches impossibly at the edge of a cliff.

GIRL (OVER)

Dane, Dane, come, you must hurry!

EXT. LIKA PROVINCE, SOUTHWEST OF THE MOUNTAINS

Mists clear over the village of SMILJAN. Clapboard farmhouses. Dirt roads. Little streams and ponds. Cattle meandering out to pasture.

EXT. SMILJAN--DAY

Church bells TOLL.

Parishioners in Easter finery promenade up a country lane to an Orthodox Church.

MILUTIN TESLA, a tall, stern Serb of 44, strides past them. Black clerical robes billow all around him.

Followed by DANE TESLA, as tall as his father at 15. Girls and women smile as he swaggers past.

The Girl, ANGELINA TESLA, 12, darts among the parishioners. Breathless, she catches up to Dane. Yanks at his sleeve.

DANE

For pity's sake, Angelina. Papa's starting Mass.

ANGELINA

But it's Niko!

DANE

Niko. Always Niko.

EXT. CHURCH--BACK DOOR--ROOFTOP

A choir lifts soaring voices in holy song as NIKOLA TESLA, a beautiful skinny boy of 7, steps up to the roof's edge.

Dressed in his Sunday best. Gripping a furled BLUE PARASOL. Niko pops the parasol open and looks down.

Giggling CHILDREN are gathered on the grass far below him. Another sister, MILKA TESLA, 10, plus a gang of neighbor kids. Here comes Dane striding up on his long legs, Angelina racing behind him.

ANGELINA

Niko! You come down from there. Right now! Mama will tan your hide. (to Dane) You see?

DANE

Niko, what do you think you're doing?

NIKO

I shall fly to Gospic and back again. Don't worry, Dane, it's only three kilometers.

DANE

Papa's starting Mass in three minutes.

NIKO

I shall return in plenty of time for Mass. And for Papa's bloody old sermon.

DANE

The commonsense of a turnip and a blasphemer, too.

MILKA

Niko, bring me a chocolate from Gospic. The sweetshop on Vidov Street has the best.

NEIGHBOR CHILD

Bring me a little boat with wheels that turn. From the toy stall in the square, you know the one, Niko?

NIKO

Yes, yes, of course.

ANGELINA

You see? You see?

DANE

So you're going to fly, are you? With Mama's parasol?

NIKO

I only need a means of catching a mass of air. Then the wind will propel me.

DANE

The wind will abandon you and the parasol, too, and there you will plunge, a bag of bones.

NIKO

Will not.

DANE

Take my word.

NIKO

Will not!

DANE

Oh, fine. Go on, then, leap away. You’d best repent of your blasphemy first. (to Milka and Angelina) Don't blame me if he breaks his neck. Papa needs me.

Dane strides off.

CHILDREN

Fly! Fly! Fly!

Niko LEAPS. Parasol held high. Spindly legs pumping the air. He soars--then plunges to the grass, hitting headfirst. WHUMP! A bag of bones.

The children shriek. Tear out of there.

Niko sprawls in the grass, dazed. Now a DAPPER MAN leans over him. Touches the pulse at his throat.

DAPPER MAN

Well, you're not dead. That's something, anyway.

NIKO

They're all going to laugh at me. Especially Dane.

DAPPER MAN

Never mind Dane. That was quite a leap, young sir. What do they call you?

NIKO

I’m Niko. Nikola Tesla. I've never seen you in Smiljan before.

DAPPER MAN

Call me Dr. Mist. Tell me, whatever made you think you could fly to Gospic and back?

NIKO

I fly in my dreams all the time!

DR. MIST

Ah. That’s a fine reason.

Dr. Mist stands, steps back, and another face looms over Niko. A careworn Serbian woman of 42, DJOUKA TESLA.

NIKO

Mama, why can't I fly like I do in my dreams?

MAMA

My foolish baby boy.

He loses consciousness. She lifts his frail body in her sturdy arms.

INT. TESLA HOUSE--NIKO'S BEDROOM--NIGHT

Niko lies in bed, his head swaddled in bandages. Dr. Mist sits beside him, reading from A BOOK by the light of flames flickering in a tiny fireplace.

DR. MIST

Three times the cock does crow.

Three times the vows expressed.

Now does the Cursed Spirit bow.

And thus you may conjure It.

Niko listens. Eyes of wonder. A pretty little white dog, MISHA, snuggles next to him. Over the bed on the wall is an Orthodox Cross.

DR. MIST

Make the compact!

And I will show you more

Than Mortal Eye has e'er beheld before.

Niko strokes the dog's fur. CRACKLE of static electricity. He strokes more vigorously. SPARKS fly up between his fingers.

Now BIGGER SPARKS. Now ELECTRIC BOLTS AS BIG AS A HANDSPAN shoot out of Misha's fur and dart to the ceiling. Now LIGHTNING BOLTS flash and strike all around the bedroom.

Church bells CLANG. Niko clutches his head. Skinny legs thrashing in the blankets.

INT. TESLA HOUSE--DINING ROOM--NIGHT

A SEWING NEEDLE bounces on the floor in syncopation with the Clanging Bells. As the Needle settles and lies still, the Bells fade to silence.

A Girl's Hand reaches down, picks up the needle.

MILKA