EMPEROR

There was a final conquest for which Marconi now took the offensive. One last formality was necessary before he could be crowned Emperor of the Radio Empire. He now required the absolute seal of judicial approval, demanding the title “Father of Radio”. More than a purely protective act, Marconi simply behaved as a spoiled aristocratic child who believes that money buys entitlement, and legalistic threats honor. Inwardly of course, Marconi himself never truly believed himself worthy of the title. Honor had long flown with his first wind tom kites. Maintaining his sway, one which he could now easily afford, the necessary legislative support came to his aid instantly. His name, his name was enough. The existing media of page and press had long ago obtained his fame. The society which idolized every image forged by the media, had elevated Marconi above all the true originators of radio arts. Society had failed in the pursuit of purity, of revelation, and of vision. His name, a media darling, secured the title long before the court proceeding was actually conferred the title. Financial base weighed and paid the court The formality would seal the fame.

Marconi Wcis informed that this proceeding would be a routine bureaucratic exercise, a mere flicking of pens in the hands of civil clerks. He was wrong. There now stepped into the spotlight a tall thin smiling man with piercing magnetic eyes. The several caustic public statements concerning Marconi’s claim to priority in both the development and deployment of RadiosignaUing Systems came fi-om one whose public appearances had, henceforth been rare and furtive. This gentleman made a sudden, unexpected appearance which shook everyone in court Everyone, including the too poised Marconi; whose nose, for the first time in several years, actually declined a few inches to take note. That person was Nikola Tesla.

Tesla did not care for the title, having patent documentation in proof of his priorities. Tesla came to speak on record. Tesla came to insure that the world would remember its impending decision. If the court was going to declare Marconi the self-proclaimed Emperor of Radio, Tesla was going to make sure that the declaration would not be an easy afiair. His appearance insured that the bureaucratic process would find its just resistance. With famed priority in Radio Arts, Tesla had absolute sway in his domain. Tesla reminded the court of his Royal Society Lectures, his lectures in the St. Louis World’s Fair, and especially the documentation of his American Patents. Here were solid and admissible evidence that the entire Marconi System had been stolen from him. But why did Tesla come forward, and on whose behalf did he speak? Was it more than the acquisition of priority, or fame, of honors, or fortunes? Tesla knew that there could be no greater priority than the proof of prior years’ demonstrations, and legal patent documentation. If these two items failed in court, then there was no real justice in the nation. If priority could be purchased by the highest bidder, then there would be no reason to secure patent privileges at such expense and trouble.

Tesla took time to champion scientific discovery and the superiority of vision above mere technical apphcations. He explained that the nature of a technology as all-pervasive as Wireless had such powerful effect on society that a mistaken choice, so early in its history, would proliferate a curse rather than a blessing on the entire race. This in fact was what Tesla stated was occurring through the Marconi System. The fact that he had discovered Radiant Energy was not the issue. The fact that Radiant Energy systems offered humanity a far superior potential was the issue. Whenever Tesla spoke, the community listened.

Tesla continued to speak out on behalf of humanity, of civilization. He did so to insure the preservation of every one of his statements, those loaded with data, meaning, inference, and vision. These would be inscribed into the indelible public record. Others would, years later, seek these statement out and study them Uke a textbook. The visionary Tesla knew this. Encrypting his statements, as only he could, Tesla released sufficient pieces of privileged information to tantalize and draw in the younger engineers for years to come. Vision, was the power. The only power. Tesla knew it Marconi knew it Morgan knew it Invention, embodied vision, was a means by which idea and revelation coiJd be made physical. The archetypal power which carries humanity through its visionary gifts flows into and through visionary invention. Such information, dispersed among society’s minds, carry a message of power which is ever new. The message flows out to all who would listen and learn. While these wondrous visions glowed in Tesla’s vibrant mind, the predetermined Court awarded Marconi with sole priority of Radio. The decree, the edict was ratified in 1915 with all the pomp and circumstance of a coronation.