“But this Arctic stunt… what was Tesla going to do?”
“He was going to bombard ionosphere with charged particles. Billions and billions of them. Make fantastic display – like a god.”
“And he knew how to do this?” Burke asked.
“Of course. What is Tesla working on at this time? Wireless transmission of energy.”
“Yeah. So…”
“So he’s finding way to transmit energy without conductive wire. How does he do this?” Ceplak raised his eyebrows. “Beam. Maestro creates beam of energy, beam of photons. From Wardenclyffe, Tesla targets beam for massive release of energy above Ellesmere. Particles hit particles – boom boom boom. Big light show for Windjammer, who will say Wow! Amazing! Windjammer will tell New York Tribune and investors will come running to maestro’s door…”
“And it worked?”
Ceplak bobbed his head and shoulders, left to right, as if to say, Yes and no. Sipped his champagne. Then wagged a finger. “First you must see that to create such beam is big accomplishment. Think of flashlight, searchlight, headlight. I’m reminding you that all light is same – stream of photons traveling at speed of light. But shine flashlight through dark and it’s going only so far and then beam falls apart. We say ‘beam loses coherence.’ It loses energy to friction. For beam to reach distant point and retain coherence is almost impossible.”
“But Tesla did it.”
“He finds way to send beam of energy as paired waves in plasmoid sheath. Maestro eliminate friction. This allow beam to reach target with all energy intact.” Ceplak chuckled. “If I can tell you how he does this, I’m winning Nobel Prize in physics.”
“Really?”
“Oh yes. Early days, in New York lab, maestro makes ball lightning many many times. Plenty of peoples witness. Maestro creates to amaze Mark Twain and others – like parlor trick.” Ceplak shook his head ruefully. “They should have been more amazed.”
“What do you mean?”
Ceplak was effervescent with excitement. “Because: This is Holy Grail in plasma physics! To contain energy within stable form! Like ball lightning! Like sheathed beam from Wardenclyffe! This is key to fusion energy – because why?”
Burke shook his head.
“Think, Mr. Math for Poets! Energy escape, you cannot have fusion. Find way to keeping energy in…?” Ceplak smiled. “Nobel Prize. Hundred percent.”
“So Tesla didn’t leave notes about this?”
Ceplak shrugged. “FBI confiscates most of maestro’s papers and put where? Los Alamos! I am sure scientists study maestro’s notes. But no one figuring out how to do what he did with ball lightning or energy beam. Not yet.”
“I still don’t understand the publicity stunt,” Burke confessed. “Why would setting off a big display of northern lights in the Arctic interest anyone? What would it mean?”
Ceplak tapped his fingers on the table. “Would mean that maestro could send and release a huge burst of energy – without wire. Peoples would understand that fireworks in sky were big discharge of power. If that power can be downloaded…” The old man’s hands opened wide, like a magician presenting an amazing trick.
Burke nodded. “So this publicity stunt – it must have been huge…”
Ceplak shook his head. He looked somber. “No! Stunt does not work. Is disaster.”
Burke blinked. After all that…? “It failed?”
“Not just fail.” A sigh. “Please to listen, yes? I tell you what happened when maestro fires his beam. This is what your friend is interested in.”
“My ‘friend’…”
“Yes. Wilson. He’s interested in Tunguska.”
There it was again.
“This is what Jack Wilson studies,” Ceplak said. “Tunguska, the beam, the publicity stunt.” Ceplak patted his lips with his napkin and leaned toward Burke. “It’s June 30, 1908. Nine thirty p.m., Eastern Standard Time. Tesla is at Wardenclyffe with my father. By now, maestro is broke. Money from Morgan all gone. Maestro having to borrow coal to start generator – this is how bad things are. The two of them climb tower. Maestro activates transmitter, aims beam at upper atmosphere, for release point west of Ellesmere Island. Same time, Windjammer is outside his igloo, looking at sky, waiting and watching.”
Ceplak took a long sip of water, and continued: “My father’s notebooks say at first they are not even sure beam is working. He and maestro, all they see is dim light. Then, there is owl flying into path of beam and… pooof… owl is gone. According to my father’s notes, bird vanishes. After that, they switch beam off. So, this is big disappointment. They see nothing. They hear nothing. Just… they are missing one owl.”
“And that’s it?”
“At first. Tesla watches newspapers, because this light show should be big phenomenon in Europe. Windjammer is just special witness, yes? Windjammer has best view, and he knows in advance – so he can attest that this is caused by Tesla, that at nine thirty p.m., Eastern Standard Time, exactly comes promised show in sky.” He shook his head. “But… nothing in papers. Then coming word from Windjammer – this takes few days – also sees nothing.”
“Nothing. So it-”
With a stern expression, Ceplak held up his hand like a traffic cop’s. “Couple days later, maestro happen to read about Tunguska.” The old man shook his head, knowingly.
“Which is what?” Burke asked.
Ceplak frowned. “Tunguska is place in Siberia!” A little mirthless laugh. “Was a place. June 30, 1908, nine thirty p.m., Eastern Standard Time, explosion in Tunguska destroy half a million acres of pine forest. Everything leveled! Power of event is equal to fifteen megatons of TNT!” Ceplak peered at Burke, waiting for a reaction.
Finally, Burke said, “Which is a lot. Especially back then.”
“Back then?!” the little man roared. “A lot? This is stronger than Hiroshima! This is strongest explosion in history – to this day.”
“You’re telling me this actually happened?”
Ceplak smiled. “Google it.”
Ceplak delicately removed bones from his fish, forking morsels into his mouth. He patted his lips. “So, maestro intends to create spectacular display of northern lights. Instead, he blows up big patch of Siberia. Reindeer, voles, birds, so on, trees – and also some people, nomadic herders living there.” He shook his head. “Gone from face of earth.”
Burke said nothing.
Across from him, the old man sighed. “So we are talking about big problems. One, power of beam in excess of maestro’s prediction. Plus two, targeting.” He wagged his head. “Targeting needs major work. Maestro is off by two thousand miles.”
“I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this,” Burke said.
Ceplak shook his head. “Is hundred years ago! Middle of nowhere! Much, much speculation about event at time. What was it? People hear explosion hundreds – maybe even thousand – miles away. Reporters from Tomsk go to see what happened. Is complete destruction! No one ever seeing anything like this. Is huge area. Trees, grass, animals – all gone. Evaporated.”
“And did people connect it to Tesla?” Burke asked.
“No,” Ceplak replied. “He is by then marginal figure, eccentric, maybe a little crazy. And he does not step forward to take credit. He is horrified.”
“So how did they explain it?” Burke asked. “The reporters.”