Chapter 245: A Long Forgotten Offer Finally Accepted
Bruno's predictions had more or less come true... Especially in regards to Nikola Tesla. Fearing the idea of leaving the "land of opportunity" which was the United States behind, especially in this booming era of free enterprise in the region. The genius inventor had declined to initially accept Bruno's invitation to move to the German Reich and work for him. Despite Bruno acquiring many of the era's greatest inventors, Tesla remained firm in his decision. But as Bruno also expected, nobody else was really willing to invest in his ideas that were just "not profitable" from the perspective of businessmen who could not grasp the bigger picture of Tesla's brilliance and what it meant for the world, and humanity as a whole.
Money began to dry up very quickly, and when the War broke out, that only further become a matter of complication, as US companies began to infringe on his patents, or at least those that were still giving him some monetary compensation.
The United States of America had entered a state of fervent isolationism, and this allowed them to justify ripping off patents from major European powers involved in the war by stating "they had no intention of aiding either side with compensation."
This, of course, caused many issues in society, as the United States began to pursue a path of self-sufficiency, both economically and military. Reinforcing the Monroe Doctrine, and more or less isolating itself from global trade out of fear of provoking both major alliances within the ongoing Great War.
In the long term, this newfound desire for Autarky and the importance which the United States government put upon it had many benefits for the American nation and its people. But in the short term, it would also cause problems for the economy as a whole.
And unfortunately for Tesla, who was already financially unstable, he had been a victim of these major consequences in ways that damn near rendered him homeless and bankrupt. Having few options left, as his attempts to legally compel companies to obey international trade regulations, such as financial compensation for his patents filed abroad, had all but failed.
The man was in the middle of packing up what few belongings he had left, as he was rather frantically trying to escape a hotel room which he had been living in for the past week, but had yet to pay for. Soon, the time upon him would be to do just that, and he could not afford to do
So.
And as Tesla did so, the most coincidental thing occurred. The card which Bruno had given the man nearly a decade ago, one which had various means to contact the German General and titan of industry, fell out of one of his old coats. A coat he had not worn in years, but was the only thing currently keeping the cold of winter in New York city from eating him alive.
At first Tesla did not notice the card which fell out of his pocket and onto the floor, that is until the knock on the door had startled him into tripping over one of his shirts which was hewn aside, causing to fall face first in front of the small device.
The shout at the door, which came from the angry manager who was demanding payment which had long since been past due, was just enough to awake Tesla from the stupor he had temporarily entered upon hitting his jaw on the floor.