by Bill Blowers
Tesla walked out on the spot, defeated but unfortunately none the wiser. This incident was a foretelling of Tesla’s lifelong powerlessness to receive due recognition and compensation.
Tesla could have learned from Edison. He could have learned to see a project through to commercial success. He could have used Edison’s contacts to develop his own relationships with the moneyed of his time, but he did not. Tesla was at first in awe of Edison. But as he became more and more familiar with him, he became very disillusioned with the “Wizard of Menlo Park.” He watched him claim the ideas of others as his own, saw half-finished ideas become poor commercial products, and watched firsthand as Edison stuck stubbornly to his own ideas while being unable or unwilling to see the merit in the ideas of others, especially of Tesla. The most significant of these being Tesla’s AC versus Edison’s DC.
Edison often had ten or more significant developments going at the same time, facilitated by his large staff of mechanics and technicians. In contrast, Tesla was a one-man show, and as such he was never able to fully realize the reach of his many ideas and inventions.
Edison was dominated by his huge ego. His hatred for Tesla ran deep. In 1915, the Nobel committee planned to award Edison and Tesla the Nobel Prize for physics jointly for their work with electricity. Edison learned of this in advance and refused to share the prestigious award with Tesla. He denied Tesla an award that history would prove he richly deserved. The prize would have given Tesla’s sagging reputation the major boost it needed. Edison knew this and made sure Tesla got nothing.
Other scientists blatantly passed off Tesla’s inventions and developments as their own. One such man was Charles P. Steinmetz, who, after Tesla’s fade into obscurity, was often referred to as the creator of AC power distribution. Steinmetz headed up the division of General Electric that competed head-on with Westinghouse. At one society meeting in the early 1920s, Steinmetz presented a paper in which he claimed that the mathematical basis for AC electrical generation was his own creation. When challenged by knowledgeable members of the audience that he was merely parroting Tesla’s work of twenty years earlier, Steinmetz and the rest of the technical society simply ignored the protest.
Tesla was beyond brilliant but unwilling or unable to put himself first. He did not understand that to most people, the status quo is comfortable and change is often feared, or treated with indifference. When financial and business opportunities presented themselves to him, he created impossible situations and roadblocks. He was a scientific Mozart, a genius who died a pauper’s death.
Nikola Tesla’s genius and contributions went unrecognized until he was frozen in the ground.
BOOK 3
CHAPTER 16
Viktor Gracac, Nikola Tesla’s Nephew
Viktor (Viko) Gracac, Nikola Tesla’s nephew, was born February 12, 1876, to Christina Tesla and Branko Gracac. Shortly after Viko’s first birthday, Branko and Christina moved to the village of Salonia. Three years later a daughter, Djouka, was born.
As soon as Viko could talk, it was clear to all that he was exceptionally bright. He had an insatiable curiosity about everything, asking questions constantly. By the time he was three he began to read the newspaper. Christina, who had practically raised Nikola after the death of her brother Dane, was constantly amazed at the similarities between Viko and Nikola. His behavior was nearly the same, and he resembled Nikola to the extent he could have been his son.
Christina saw another side of Viko that she found chillingly familiar. Like her mother Ana and her brother Nikola, Viko would experience bouts of depression and darkness. Christina first witnessed this when Viko was eight. An elderly neighbor, Mr. Francolin, was like a grandfather to the neighborhood children. Viko and his playmates went to his door one afternoon and found it ajar, with Mr. Francolin unconscious on the floor; he had suffered a fatal heart attack.
The town turned out as one for his funeral, honoring an old man who had brought joy and laughter to so many. The neighborhood children cried and sobbed at his funeral, but none more than Viko.
Viko could not get over the loss. He cried at night and often awakened screaming, as his nightmares relived the discovery of Mr. Francolin’s body. He wouldn’t eat, lost weight, and stayed in his room, often curled up on his bed rather than being outdoors playing in the fields. His father forced him to go outside and spend time in the sunshine, but Viko just sat listlessly in the shade of a tree.
This brought back the terrible memories of Christina’s mother Ana after the death of Dane. She withdrew and became a shell of her former self and died much too young. Christina also recalled the deep depression she had seen in her brother Nikola, accompanied by episodes of deep trancelike sleep.
It was Viko’s little sister Djouka, five years old, who drew him out and put him on the road to recovery. She pretended that he was a big doll and spoon-fed him. She made him play games with her, and slowly he began to go outside to be with his friends.
But a permanent change had occurred in Viko. He matured several years that summer. His mind took on a new level of brilliance as evidenced by his pursuit of learning at a new and faster pace. While Viko had been in the state of deep depression, something had obviously changed in his psyche, as if his mental capacity had doubled. After tucking him in to bed one night, Branko remarked to Christina, “I think there are going to be two famous members of this family in the near future, your brother Nikola, and our little boy, Viktor.”
Viko had his uncle Nikola’s intelligence and insatiable curiosity, often confounding his parents with deep penetrating observations and endless questions about the stars, the sea, almost anything that had to do with science.
His father saw to it that Viko put in his share of effort for the family business, a successful inn and tavern. Beginning with sweeping floors and washing dishes, Viko was shown no favoritism; he came to understand the reality of a working life and the value of everyone, regardless of fortune or position in life.
He completed his studies at the school in Salonia by the age of fourteen. He served as a teacher’s assistant and tutor for two years, helping students three to four years older with their understanding of math and science. Shortly after his sixteenth birthday, and after several long discussions with his teachers, Branko and Christina agreed that Viko should attend a university.
Christina carried on a regular correspondence with her famous brother, Nikola, and had kept him informed of the amazing parallels between him and Viko. It was Nikola’s recommendation that Viko attend the University of Prague, and he contacted the chancellor on Christina’s behalf. They quickly agreed to allow this young prodigy and nephew of Nikola Tesla to begin at the start of the fall semester.
After a teary goodbye to his family, Viko stepped onto a train that would take him to destinations beyond his wildest imaginations. He arrived at a boardinghouse in Prague exhausted and just wanted to go to bed. Juliet Magas, his new landlady, would hear nothing of that. She sat him down at the kitchen table and placed a warm meal in front of him.
Juliet’s young daughter Lilet sat next to Viko and prattled on about her friends and dolls, asking him endless questions: where was he from, did he have a sister, what did he like to do? Juliet tried, with little success, to quiet her down but Lilet prevailed, as usual, much to the delight of Viko. He found her to be just like his sister Djouka—a little pest that kept him in stitches with her antics and practical jokes.
Juliet introduced him to her other boarders: Karl, a second-year student, and Josef, like Viko, an entering freshman.
Juliet Magas, a young widow, had opened her home to university students, providing a comfortable place to stay and good home-cooked meals. Branko arranged for Viko to live with her during his first year at the university with the hope that the homelike environment would ease his transition into the larger world of advanced education.
Viko quickly became Juliet’s favorite boarder. She found his youthful exuberance delightful. He was the son Juliet never had and was a
playful older brother for her daughter Lilet, who was just one year younger than Viko’s sister Djouka.
The living arrangement would have been perfect except for Josef, three years older and jealous of Viko. He was decidedly unfriendly toward the young interloper.
A week after moving in, Viko began his remarkable journey through the world of physics and engineering. Like all entering first-year students, he attended a lecture in the main auditorium where he received a warm welcome to the most prestigious learning institute in Europe.The distinguished chancellor of the university got Viko’s attention with an unfortunately accurate prediction. He asked them to look at the students on either side of them. “At least one of you will be gone in a year—unable to maintain the effort that makes you worthy of the education you will be offered here.”
Viko had already set his mind to the task and was prepared to put forth his best effort, and this lecture strengthened his resolve even more. He was determined to make his parents proud and to achieve his goal of going to America and working with his famous uncle, Nikola Tesla, the rising star of electrical generation.
A few days before Viko had left his hometown a letter had come from his uncle. Full of encouragement, the letter included advice on study and said Viko would be welcome to come to America whenever it could be arranged. That prized letter never left Viko’s pocket.
At school in Salonia, he had known the friendship of all, teachers and students alike, even those older than him. However, when he arrived at the university, everyone was a stranger. No one knew about this young genius or why such a young, scrawny person was in their midst. His intellectual abilities played well in the classroom, but in the world of living, eating, and walking to and from class, he was alone, isolated, shunned by nearly everyone. Juliet became concerned for him as he grew more and more depressed. At first it was the same homesickness that most of her boarders experienced during their first weeks and months away from home, but when it did not subside she recognized it as something deeper.
One cold December afternoon Juliet heard sobbing coming from Viko’s room. It was not yet two in the afternoon; he should have been at school. She went to his room and softly asked if something was wrong.
“Go away.”
“Now Viko, Christmas is just around the corner, and in a few weeks you will see your family.”
“They hate me; I never want to see them again!”
Assuming he meant his family, she scolded him. “Viko, what a terrible thing to say! Your mother and father love you and are looking forward to Christmas with you.”
Viko screamed at her, “Those bastards in my class, I hate them!” He burst into deep sobs, collapsed onto the floor, and wept openly. She coaxed him to get on the bed, covered him with a warm blanket, and left him to get some rest.
Later that evening, she took Josef aside and asked if something had happened to Viko that day. The smirk that came across Josef ’s face and the silence that followed infuriated her. She repeated her question: “Josef, answer me. Did anything happen to Viko today?”
“Yeah, we taught that little punk a lesson.”
A stinging slap across Josef ’s face wiped away his look of smug satisfaction. He hesitatingly told her of Viko’s treatment by a group of older jealous bullies. They threw Viko’s books and papers into the street and tore to bits the prized letter from his famous uncle. Josef was the ringleader.
Juliet was furious. “You miserable excuse for a human being! Get out of my sight. That boy in there is more man than you will ever hope to be. I want you out of this house as fast as you can find new lodging.”
The next morning, Juliet went to the university. She was determined to do something to help Viko. He was the most extraordinary student she had ever met. He needed nurturing and guidance to achieve his full potential.
The first year after her husband was lost at sea, Juliet had found work at the university as a cleaning woman. She had had a brief involvement with Professor Aleksandar Stipcevic that went nowhere quickly. She was a bit apprehensive about seeing him again, but her concerns were dismissed as soon as they began to talk about Viko. Finding him in his office, she greeted him with a brief embrace, accepted the tea he offered her, and settled into the one chair not buried by books and paper.
“To what do I owe this pleasure, my dear?”
“Aleks, do you know of a student named Viktor Gracac?”
“Why of course, Juliet, whenever we have a prodigy like him at the university word gets around quickly. Why do you ask?”
“He is one of my boys, one of my boarders. I’m very worried about him.”
“What is your concern? I hear he is a brilliant student, years ahead of his class, and is the nephew of Nikola Tesla. There must be something to heredity.”
Juliet went on to explain her growing concerns about how he was treated the previous day, and her fear that without guidance he would return home.
“Juliet, you do understand that as young men, we all have to put up with bullies and taunts, and at times we must fight for ourselves.”
“I understand that, Aleks. After all, I have three brothers and I saw enough of that as a young girl. But Viko is like a piece of rare crystal, beautiful and exotic, very fragile. He is young, surrounded by older boys, and inexperienced in dealing with them. I can give him a pleasant home, but he needs guidance and protection while in his classes, at least through his first year here. Can you think of anything that can be done?”
Aleks sat back and thought for a few moments. He had a good friend who was the newest member of the faculty in the physics department, Heinrich Lippmann. He had been a prodigy and, like Viko, a foreigner. If anyone could understand Viko’s situation, it was Heinrich.
Aleks agreed to talk to Heinrich that evening, but under one condition. With a serious tone to his voice, he said, “Only if you will do something for me.”
Juliet immediately became apprehensive. She had nothing to offer in return, unless he was referring to… Before her thoughts went any further, Aleks smiled, reached out, and touched her hand.
“All I am asking is that you join me next Saturday evening for dinner, and to attend the opera with me. I have two tickets for box seats. I was planning to take my mother, but she is quite ill and cannot attend.”
Juliet hesitated to accept, nervous about what appeared to be the renewing of a romantic interest in her. She made a few feeble excuses about Lilet being left alone for the evening, but Aleks wouldn’t take no for an answer. She gave in (not so reluctantly) and agreed to the date. She was secretly quite excited about the prospect of a little social life. Spending the evening with him would be a nice change from her daily chores of keeping up her boardinghouse and mothering a group of rambunctious university students.
As he had promised, Aleks talked to Heinrich about Viko Gracac and Juliet’s concerns. Heinrich had two passions in life, teaching and physics. Now he had the opportunity to indulge in both with a very promising young apprentice. Heinrich also knew that behind Aleks’ interest in helping Viko was an equally strong interest in getting close to Juliet once again, and he agreed to help in any way he could.
Over the next few days, the three of them put together a plan. Josef, the bully, found himself “invited” to move into university student housing—good riddance. A senior from the physics department, Damian Fenevesi, replaced him at Juliet’s boardinghouse.
Three days later, Viko came home later than normal, and when asked where he had been, he explained to Juliet, “I had some personal business to tend to.” Viko looked away when he said this, appearing to be secretive, or perhaps embarrassed. When she asked what he meant, he replied rather forcefully, “Juliet, please do not ask me any more about this, trust me.”
Josef was found later that evening at the bottom of a flight of stairs in the back of a university building. He was unconscious but not badly hurt, just a painful bruise on the back of his head. Everyone assumed he had slipped on the ice on the top step. When news of this reac
hed Juliet, she remembered Viko’s lateness and his comment. Had he done this?
Viko was summoned to Aleks’ office and introduced to Professor Heinrich Lippmann, who had been assigned to him as a special counselor and tutor, under the guise that Professor Lippmann would assist him through subjects at a faster pace than could be accomplished in a normal classroom.
The plan initiated by Juliet worked. It would be another few weeks before the depression completely left Viko and the nightmares subsided, but Juliet had successfully helped him to turn the direction of his life back onto the road toward success. Going home for the Christmas holiday was just the break he needed to knit closed the last fragments of the cloak of darkness that surrounded him. But Juliet, with her woman’s intuition and her motherlike caring for Viko, noticed a change. He was a little less open, more serious, and at times more introspective than before. He normally never commented on the behavior of others, but now he was occasionally mentioning the need for retribution for those guilty of crimes.
Had the Mr. Hyde in Viko begun to reveal himself?
CHAPTER 17
Three Years Later (1895)
It was late winter in Prague, cold and blustery. Spring was just weeks away, but the weather had not yet warmed. This was of little consequence to Viko, who preferred to be in the lecture halls or the science laboratories of the university, listening with an insatiable mind to the secrets of science he had wondered about for so long. Viktor Gracac was in his element. He loved the university. The city was beautiful, with its historical buildings and museums. Juliet and Aleks had been married eight months earlier, and Juliet was in the third month of pregnancy.
Just nineteen years of age, Viko was in his final year of the engineering program and three to four years younger than many of his classmates. Final semester exams were only a week away, prompting Viko to work even harder than normal.