Reborn in America, I am a legendary short seller on Wall Street.

Chapter 225 Visiting Tesla

Matthew fastened his top hat and followed the patent attorney out through the gleaming revolving doors of the Astor Hotel.

The afternoon sun was blinding, and the streets were filled with the noise of horse-drawn carriages.

According to the patent attorney, Tesla's lab is located on the top floor of a four-story reinforced concrete building at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Lafayette Street in downtown Manhattan. It's not far from the Astor Hotel; the two could walk there in about ten minutes.

Matthew was not good with words, but he nodded kindly to the lawyer. The two walked silently through several streets until they were just starting to feel warm, then turned into an old building.

This building is a mixed-use commercial and residential building. There are many company signs at the entrance on the first floor, but also many mailboxes.

Interestingly, Matthew also saw a line of deliberately crossed-out text in the fourth-floor section of the company list downstairs—Edison Electric Light Company—which suggests that the laboratory may have originally belonged to that company.

The two went up to the fourth floor. The patent lawyer walked to an old, thick wooden door, looked around, and turned to Matthew, saying...

"This should be it... Yes, that's right, it says Tesla Labs here!"

The patent attorney pounded on the door, but there was no response. As Matthew listened intently, he could hear a strange noise coming from the lab.

After knocking for a full two minutes, the noise from the lab finally stopped. A moment later, a young man with curly hair opened the door, looked at the two of them, and asked, "What do you want?"

“I’m looking for Mr. Tesla!” the patent attorney exclaimed.

The young man glanced at the two of them and pushed open the heavy wooden door. A pungent smell, a mixture of ozone, burning metal, and some unknown chemical reagent, wafted out.

"Please come in, gentlemen. I am his assistant; Mr. Tesla is conducting an experiment."

The two entered the laboratory, and Matthew squinted as he adjusted to the dim light.

The space here is vast, yet incredibly chaotic. Huge coils, tangled wires, and oddly shaped metal components lie like sleeping behemoths in the shadows.

The walls were covered with charred, spiderweb-like arc marks from electricity. If Matthew hadn't also been exposed to electricity in Colt, he would have thought it was some kind of messy, devilish graffiti.

In the deepest part of the room, behind a large workbench piled with blueprints and instruments, a person with their back to them was bending over and adjusting a device that emitted a faint hum.

He was tall yet thin, with taut shoulders and back, completely absorbed in his work, as if he hadn't heard the visitor at all.

The patent attorney coughed softly. The man paused, then slowly turned around.

The man was wearing a lab coat stained with a little oil. His face was pale, his eyes were deep-set, and his eyes were unusually bright, as if they could pierce through the fog, yet they also held a deep sense of weariness and melancholy.

He simply watched the visitor silently, his fingers unconsciously twirling a small metal component. The only sound in the room was the continuous, low hum of the device.

The assistant said to the man, "Mr. Tesla, someone wants to see you."

The tall, thin Tesla glanced at the two men casually and said somewhat impatiently, "Could you wait even ten more minutes until I finish this step before bothering me again?"

Before the patent attorney could speak, Matthew cut him off, then smiled and said to Tesla, "We were abrupt. I understand your displeasure, as I also do mechanical research. Please, we'll wait for you here."

Tesla muttered something to himself as he turned around, fiddling with an unidentified little device in his hand. Then his gaze drifted to another, larger, strange, disc-shaped device, and he continued with his own tasks.

The patent attorney was a little annoyed and went to sit down in a chair, but Matthew stood there, watching Tesla continue his experiment with great interest.

On the table sat a sophisticated, futuristic instrument. At its core was a metal ring intricately wound with fine copper wire, which gleamed with a cold luster. The ring was slightly larger than a palm, yet quite heavy.

The collar's surface was inlaid with several crystal-like insulating materials, and finer metal wires connected to the coils could be vaguely seen inside. Several thick, short copper tentacles extended from the ring, their ends sharp, and were intermittently emitting tiny, ghostly blue sparks, producing a slight "crackling" sound, as if a life was breathing.

The collar wasn't connected to any wires; it lay there quietly, yet it possessed its own silent energy field. Matthew could even feel the hairs on his arms standing on end slightly due to the free-floating electrical charges in the air.

Tesla turned to look at Matthew again; after all, it wasn't a pleasant feeling to have someone watching you. But when he turned back and saw that Matthew's light brown eyes were clearly interested in his device, Tesla nodded back at him as if by telepathy.

Tesla didn't say much. He picked up the collar and gestured for Matthew to look at the other end of the room.

On a wooden table there sat an arc lamp that was not connected to any power source.

Tesla then connected the collar to a power source next to the workbench. The electrical sparks on the collar instantly became active, with pale blue arcs of electricity leaping and stretching between the antennae, like spirits breaking free from their restraints. Then, a magical scene unfolded.

As the energy of the collar surged, the solitary lamp a few meters away began to emit a strange, flickering, slightly purple glow! It wasn't lit to incandescence, but it did spontaneously and dimly light up in the darkness, as if gently brushed by an invisible hand of energy.

There were no traditional electrical connections in the laboratory; the electricity seemed to have traveled through the air, completing this mysterious transmission.

The effect wasn't perfect; the light was unstable and weak, far less bright than when directly powered, and the effect would quickly diminish and disappear as the distance increased or if there were obstacles in between. But it was enough to shock Matthew—he had witnessed energy being "transmitted" and "received" like sound or radio waves.

Matthew's eyes widened, his mouth gaped open, and after a moment he exclaimed from the bottom of his heart, "My God!"

Tesla's eyes gleamed with fervor and pride as he turned to Matthew and explained, "This isn't your God, this is my invention—the Tesla Collar!"

Tesla then went on to explain that the device was based on the principle of magnetic resonance that he had discovered.

The collar acts as the transmitter, generating a powerful alternating electromagnetic field through high-frequency oscillation; the gas or electrode structure inside the distant arc lamp can resonate with it, thereby coupling energy and being excited to emit light.

Matthew was Colt's engineer. Although he didn't understand electricity, after the other party's explanation, he understood the principle of the device, which was remote power transmission.

If Larry were here, he would surely be awestruck by this incredible long-distance power transmission. But for Matthew, the feeling wasn't so strong. People of this era were used to all sorts of incredible physical and industrial wonders, and would subconsciously assume that power transmission should be able to be done so freely in the air, even lighting up distant lights remotely.

Tesla was very satisfied with the experimental results. He then recorded some data in his experimental notebook before turning around and asking directly and without embellishment, "..."
"What do you want with me? Are you people from the company?"

Matthew didn't know which company he was referring to, so he quickly explained his purpose to the other party.

Tesla frowned slightly. "You're here for the electric motor? According to your description, that electric motor is far too small. What can such a small machine be used for?"

Matthew briefly described the intended use of the device, but instead of directly mentioning a cash register, he said he was working on a small desktop machine. A small electric motor would power the new machine and simultaneously drive more complex mechanical devices.

Tesla thought for a few seconds and said frankly, "That's true, but the brushless AC induction motor I invented is meant to replace the steam engine, not to handle these desktop machines that can be done by human labor. You should find someone else."

Matthew had actually prepared for this meeting. Although he was not good at small talk or dealing with people, he had his own more effective way of dealing with scientists who were also focused on invention and creation.

"Forgive my bluntness, but what you said is exactly the opposite of the truth. The steam engine has been invented and used for a long time. If your electric motor is to replace it, it must be efficient and inexpensive enough. These two requirements seem simple, but they are not something that can be achieved by just any invention..."

Tesla paused, pondering what the other person said, and unconsciously nodded, saying, "You're right... For a new invention, being cheap is much more difficult than being efficient."

Matthew smiled and continued to explain.
"Therefore, your new invention should first be applied to places where steam power cannot be replaced, to open up a new path for its application. I don't understand your electric motor, but I do understand firearms. If the enemy is carrying a state-of-the-art pistol, you shouldn't engage in a shootout with the pistol, but rather take a rifle and hide where he can't reach it... and then fire."

Tesla pondered for a moment, then looked up at Matthew and said bluntly, "How much money can you give me? To be honest, my current experiment is very costly, and I need enough money to continue it."

“I can’t make that decision, but my brother said that if you can make the electric motor smaller, it will be an endless source of wealth for you,” Matthew replied.

Tesla frowned and said, "Do we need this version that wirelessly transmits power? That's a bit complicated."

Matthew quickly waved his hand and said, "No need, we just need a regular motor with wires."

"Where is this kind of small motor used?"

"Shopping malls...or similar commercial application environments."

Tesla raised his eyebrows, waved his hand, and said, "That's too unrealistic. How many electric lights does New York have right now? Electricity is far from being widespread. For you to make a tabletop instrument that's powered by electricity at this time is just too far ahead of its time!"

Matthew smiled. "But my brother said that the Edison Electric Light Company is about to go public, and once it does, electricity will soon become widespread."

Upon hearing this, Tesla's eyes narrowed.
"Is that what your brother said? Well, to be honest, I was planning to go to Chicago next month to participate in the bidding for the electric lighting systems for the Chicago World's Fair with Mr. Westinghouse. I had no intention of getting distracted at this crucial time..."

As he spoke, Tesla looked at Matthew and continued, "But you've successfully piqued my interest, and I think I should meet you, brother... and see if this little motor he's talking about is worth my time."

“Mr. Tesla, you would be interested in my brother. He is a very intelligent man, and often surprises people,” Matthew said calmly.

(End of this chapter)