Joe Tesla’s underground world is full of secrets. Some I made up, but others are true. Before you start reading the rest of these notes, take a second to decide which is the most unrealistic claim I make in the fictional world beneath. Now, let’s go through these notes together to see if it’s fact or fiction.
First off, Nikola Tesla did indeed invent a device called the Oscillator or “Tesla’s Earthquake Machine.” On his seventy-ninth birthday, he told reporters that he had used this device to generate an earthquake near his laboratory. When asked what would be required to destroy the Empire State Building, he replied, “Five pounds of air pressure. If I attached the proper oscillating machine on a girder, that is all the force I would need, five pounds. Vibration will do anything. It would only be necessary to step up the vibrations of the machine to fit the natural vibration of the building and the building would come crashing down.” Here is the quote in the New York World-Telegram dated July 11, 1935. I’ve also come across the quote in Tesla biographies. MythBusters tried, and failed, to create an oscillator that would knock down a bridge.
On the other hand, destructive resonance may have knocked down the Tacoma Narrows Bridge near Seattle. The bridge was known as “Galloping Gertie” because it moved so much during windstorms. Although the bridge was built to withstand wind speeds of a hundred and twenty miles per hour, on a day with a wind speed of only forty-two miles an hour, the bridge collapsed. The video footage of the July 1, 1940 event is eerie:
Tesla did have someone who helped him with his pigeons, including collecting wounded pigeons from the streets, but I don’t know his name, and none of my characters is in any way related to him. I’d love to learn more about him, though, so if you find anything out, please send me an email (rebecca AT rebeccacantrell.com).
Spooky doesn’t exist, but there are other networks of hacktivists and activists spread around the world. The most famous is Anonymous, whose members wear Guy Fawkes masks when speaking for the group in the non-virtual world. The group was named by Time magazine one of the world’s “100 Most Influential People” in 2012 and has performed hacks against various government agencies, religious organizations, and corporations.
All of the locations in the book, besides Joe Tesla’s house, are real. The cemetery where his father is buried? Here are pictures. Grand Central Terminal does contain the information booth, the famous clock, the gorgeous constellations, the Biltmore Room, The Campbell Apartment and the Oyster Bar. If you visit any of Joe’s hangouts, do please send me a picture!
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Utterly fascinating. It would be interesting to locate descendents of the fellow who assisted Tesla with her pigeons. From what one reads.. that person may have been Tesla’s closest confidant.. even if they did not know that. 🙂
I wonder if the pigeon keeper might be a good link into Nikola Tesla from a story telling point of view. Maybe he’ll be the narrator in the next Tesla movie. 🙂