Original subtitles

(WIND HOWLING)

EDISON: To all whom it may concern,

be it known that I, Thomas Alva Edison,

submits on this, the 27th day of January, 1880,

the application of this abstract

to the Patent Office of the United States of America.

The unique design of my invention

is that of a glass vacuum tube

which houses inside a thin cotton thread filament,

the two lower ends of which secure respective posts,

forming an arch shape.

Details and schematic drawings follow,

exhibiting all aspects of the invention.

But its purpose is simple,

to give light.

(CLANG)

(BRAKES SCREECHING)

(RUMBLING)

(PEOPLE MURMURING)

MAN: Boys!

I hope you brought your checkbooks.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

- Are you excited to meet the President? - Yes.

Don't say a thing about J.P. Morgan's nose.

- What's wrong with his nose? - Nothing.

It's huge. Huge!

It's like someone took a hammer and slammed it into his face.

MARY: I thought you already got the money.

EDISON: I only got half.

MARY: Does Morgan even know that you're coming?

He'll invest as always. I hate this.

SAMUEL: Mr. Edison, you have dinner with...

- What? - Dinner with Westinghouse, on your return.

- GIRL: Why are barns red? - MARY: Maybe so you can see them in the snow.

EDISON: No, it's 'cause red paint's the cheapest.

Morgan will want to know the practicality of your system.

GIRL: I have money.

Enough for two small buildings in Manhattan?

- Yes. - Oh, good.

(DOOR OPENS)

This was intended to be my lunch.

EDISON: The President had asked to see the phonograph in person.

I had no idea you'd be here.

- Mrs. Edison. - Mr. Morgan.

- These are our children. - Dot and Dash. Delightful.

I know what you're doing. How much are you short?

Just how much of my money do you want to wash away?

Oh, as very, very much as possible.

- Who's this? - Samuel Insull.

Mr. Edison's personal secretary.

Mr. Morgan, Mr. Edison.

Which one? He's also Mr. Edison.

The President will see you now.

- Now. - "On the top of the Crumpetty Tree

"The Quangle Wangle sat,

"But his face you could not see,

"On account of his Beaver Hat."

This is the sound of your voice.

(ON PHONOGRAPH) "On the top of the Crumpetty Tree

"The Quangle Wangle sat,

"But his face you could not see,

- "On account of his Beaver Hat." - Is that what I sound like?

(CHILDREN GIGGLING)

My men tell me you're turning down $5 million.

I'm grateful for the offer, Mr. President,

but it's the type of science you're after that I find objectionable.

There's always money in guns.

The one device I shall never build

is that which takes the life of another man. It's barbaric.

But, take a look at this.

One square mile of Manhattan, the First District.

- And I'm gonna light it up. - Then you have done it.

A star in a jar. It's a warm glow.

No smell, no poison.

Thirteen hours of light per globe,

and it's cheaper than gas. Safer, too.

We bury the wires using my DC current,

and those same wires will bring you energy and heat.

I need two buildings to house six dynamos of my own construction.

This won't even reach my house.

Morgan, let me make you so rich

that you will look back at this moment and wonder,

"Why was I ever so disgustingly poor?"

(CHUCKLES)

(CLINKING)

EDISON: It's all right there. Ferry to Wall Street.

In case you missed my scribble, there's a big old circle

around The New York Times. Free advertising.

- 150. - Half a million.

I'm talking about $500,000,

you can buy the next century, brighter, safer, yours.

PRESIDENT: Sounds rather grand to me, Pierpont. If I had your fortune...

MORGAN: With respect, you don't, Mr. President.

- What is that? - That's not very nice.

- EDISON: Morse code. - (YOUNG DASH GIGGLES)

MORGAN: What did the boy say?

- What did the boy say? - If nothing else,

- it's been a pleasure, Mr. President. - What did the boy say?

Do you know what you're doing?

I always receive more by saying no.

Set up the Manhattan offices and make them look professional.

- What does that mean? - I don't know. Carpets...

I don't know, carpets. I don't know.

SAMUEL: And the name?

Edison Electric, of course.

Sir, why not build munitions?

$5 million, it's hard to say no to.

No. If it's Edison, it works.

If it works, I'd strongly prefer it not kill anybody.

Right.

"Thomas Edison has an unfavorable opinion

"of college graduates seeking employment,

"because they cannot answer his examination questions.

- "Who composed Il trovatore?" - MARGUERITE: Verdi.

- "What is the speed of sound?" - Wow, a trick question.

Sound travels at a constantly diminishing rate of speed.

But I believe the fastest rate on record

is 11,463 feet per second.

- How do you know all this? - I read that this morning.

(LAUGHS)

Never requested a houseguest before.

Really?

Hmm.

I can feel it. This is different.

Eight minutes from the junction, sir.

- Hmm? - The Westinghouse dinner.

We're going home. They're tired. I already shook enough hands today.

GEORGE: Evening, Frank.

FRANKLIN: George.

Pardon?

I'm not stopping.

Right.

(TRAIN ENGINE CHUGGING)

FRANKLIN: Maybe the brakes are busted.

I doubt that!

(SIGHS)

An emergency came up in New York.

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

(HORSE WHINNIES)

(GUN CLICKS)

FRANKLIN: Don't let him agitate you.

This is how he is.

Before he was a wizard, I let him live in my basement.

My wife wouldn't have him at the table with us

unless he cleaned himself.

And, boy, given the ultimatum, the man ate alone.

How does he work?

You want to know his secret? He engineers his own reality,

and he looks for needles in haystacks.

And how does he know there's a needle in the hay to begin with?

He doesn't. Neither do you.

But he's so determined not to be the second person to find it,

he'll go stalk by stalk on a what-do-you-know.

I will say one good thing about him.

He could be the richest man on earth,

but he doesn't give a damn about money.

What does he give a damn about?

It was rude, not stopping.

I spoke to Mrs. Westinghouse directly. I accepted the invitation.

- You've embarrassed us both. - Why do you feel embarrassed?

- What do you care what people think? - I care what they feel.

(CREAKING)

Mary.

Talk. I just want to test the resistance...

- Where's my barrette? - On top of your bureau.

- What's a bureau? - It's what's under your barrette.

Can I get you to promise on here that you'll build me a fence?

The ground's frozen. Needs to thaw.

DOT: Look, you're missing it!

It's a baby! Still has her spots.

MARY: Tom, come see this.

Tom! Tom?

(PHONE RINGS)

You want half a million dollars, you make me something

with your name on it that I can sell to General Sherman.

Counteroffer. How about I don't give you what you want

but you give me everything I want?

Half a million.

We are gonna be big, big, big!

- YOUNG DASH: Bigger than an elephant? - And no one stops an elephant!

- Whoo! - (GIGGLES)

(HORN BLARING)

It'll work.

Look, I got to be honest. This might not work.

Conventional wisdom has it,

if you think you're gonna fall flat on your face,

better not do it in front of a crowd.

(CROWD LAUGHS)

Tonight, things could change.

I hope they do.

And if they do,

they'll change there

and there.

My boys and I caught in a jar

what before now has only flashed across the night sky.

What say we unscrew the lid and see what happens?

(CROWD CHEERING AND APPLAUDING)

You ready?

Three, two, one.

(CROWD CHEERING)

GEORGE: The man has 100,000 feet of copper for 87 customers.

It will never be profitable.

FRANKLIN: It's a hobby for the rich.

Something to show off.

It doesn't have to be.

I'm securing the patents on the Siemens dynamo

and the Gaulard-Gibbs transformer.

Transformer? It's more like a metal suitcase.

How much did that cost?

Edison, he picked the wrong horse.

His current is like a hose with a knot in it.

He needs to sell one generator per mile.

You want to build an AC system.

It's too powerful for motors.

Put doubt out of your mind for one moment, and tell me,

what distance do you estimate one could get

with a single alternating dynamo?

- A few thousand. - Yards?

- Miles. - Mmm-hmm.

And how many houses could we reach?

I suppose all of them. What about the bulbs?

Hiram's agreed to license me his.

Ah, if you're gonna rip off Edison, rip him off right.

They glow bright gray.

I just want to do a demonstration for Edison.

Somewhere small, a small town, rural.

And then he'll see alternating is possible.

And we partner. Our system, his bulbs.

FRANKLIN: In my opinion, which I will admit is based solely on physics and reality,

what you want to do is fun to talk about.

I really don't think it can be done.

- Why? - Because he would have already done it.

(MUTTERING)

Well, my Paris office seems to think

you may be the only man on Earth to rival me.

How would you like to work for me?

- Very much. - I'm expanding to 12 cities,

- building direct current systems... - Direct current?

Alternating current is far more efficient.

- DOLL: Hickory, dickory, dock... - Higher voltage,

greater distance, less copper conductors.

It's lethal and it's far too much power for a motor to handle.

I'm gonna start you on a hundred dollars a month

until you prove yourself worth more or less.

A hundred dollars?

If you can solve five things that I can't, I'll pay you $50,000,

and then I'll have to fire you.

Mr. Tesla, welcome to Edison Electric.

We make a minor invention every ten days

and a major one every six months or so.

WOMAN: You know, I have a suspicion that,

though your husband's lab is but a hundred yards from your house,

it must seem sometimes like a hundred miles.

No, a million.

I've tried to find a way to stop his brain,

but it just runs and runs.

It's something he can't control.

All I can do is bring him back to center.

I've heard Mr. Edison called the worst husband in America,

on account of him sleeping in his lab on your wedding night.

I've heard the story myself.

Well, on our wedding night, Tom and I left on the Albany, uh...

...boat.

We spent a week in Niagara Falls.

I thought that one week of happiness

would be enough to illuminate an entire lifetime. (CHUCKLES)

He was a dashing inventor, and I worked for him, you know.

I was a...

I was a...

Uh...

I was a...

Yes?

Um...

(CHUCKLES)

I'm sorry.

I operated the...

(STAMMERS)

Telegraph?

Telegraph. Yes. Yes. Forgive me.

Does he have any hobbies?

(TRAIN RUMBLING)

You promised them Coney Island.

At the very least, a walk.

We'll go on three walks tomorrow. I promise.

Here, why don't you take a picture?

Say what we practiced.

DOT: Do you not love us anymore?

YOUNG DASH: Do you not love us anymore?

I love you more than anybody has ever loved anybody before.

MARY: Slow down.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

DOCTOR: It's neuralgia,

brought on by eyestrain.

A good pair of spectacles is all that's required.

Oh, no. I'll look awful.

No, no, no, you won't. That's impossible.

You're sure? That's all?

She's been having terrible headaches.

I'll leave her a vial of laudanum until her eyes adjust.

Thank you.

Can you...

Would you mind delaying the bill for this visit?

My son would love an autograph.

EDISON: Sure.

(TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS)

Christ, it's primitive.

How much did this cost?

- He won't tell me. - What we need is here.

GEORGE: Edison's current can't travel more than one mile, Frank.

It peters out. He'll have to build so many DC motors

and bury all his copper just to power one town.

This country will look like a checkerboard of power plants.

But, with one AC dynamo, we can step up the voltage

and reach as far as the eye can see.

We string the wires overhead on poles.

Less copper, more electricity.

We're 75% cheaper.

The only thing that matters here is distance.

Frank, this is as much yours as it is mine.

- I'd be proud if you'd flip the... - I couldn't possibly.

- Oh, don't be ridiculous. - The moment belongs to you.

- But you spent hours... - George, it was your idea.

You were the instigator.

- (MACHINE WHIRS) - Shall we go for a ride?

GEORGE: "To the Wizard of Menlo Park,

"as it seems your brakes have issues,

"I would be delighted to send my car to deliver you

"to Great Barrington, Massachusetts,

"where I have successfully transmitted current one full mile."

- No! - (GLASS SHATTERS)

How did he get the bulbs?

What a roaring silence from the brightest minds of America.

MAN: He's using Hiram's design.

Which Hiram stole from me!

Sue him.

We already did. The court upheld his patent.

I'm talking about Westinghouse. Find an angle.

Take a trip to Barrington and see for yourself.

Are you not even slightly irked that 15 years of work

is being filched from right under your eyes?

Not again.

I built a system here, and he goes shopping for patents

to cobble together something to legally steal what is mine.

If the bulbs are a battle, then nail him on the dynamos.

We can't.

He's not even using direct current, sir.

He's using alternating?

(MACHINE WHIRRING)

MAN: George Westinghouse?

George Westinghouse?

Can we help you?

I came from Thomas Edison.

He wants me to buy one generator per mile?

And then I saw the piece in The Globe that says

your electricity would save 66% on Edison's.

Well, it's a proposed saving.

And it's not my electricity.

It's electricity.

I think it makes much more sense to the taxpayers of Columbus

to go with Westinghouse Electric.

I don't want to compete. I only intend to license my system.

He's got the better bulbs.

Why not compete? By now, he knows. Edison knows, I promise you.

And the man doesn't care about getting it right.

He just cares about getting it.

GEORGE: But he doesn't respond.

EDISON: Westinghouse will never have a complete system.

He can't even power a sewing machine.

TESLA: But I can solve that problem.

Instead of, again, converting the currents

to work with a commutator, I would pass alternating current differing in phase

through two or more energizing circuits.

You're supposed to be working on commutators with DC dynamos.

Well, I have.

Look, I have done everything you have asked,

- but you are making a mistake. - What?

Direct current may be fine for cities when the build...

When the buildings are close together, but most of your country is empty spaces.

- Only high voltage can span the distance. - What is this?

You are not thinking long-term.

This technology is within your grasp.

I can build you an efficient motor.

- Have you tried it? - No.

Look, in my head, it is nearly complete...

Men claim to have their heads full of sonnets and symphonies,

but their only problem seems to be they can't quite write it down.

- Let me try. - No.

Because I can't start again. I got orders from Michigan.

I got a roomful of press waiting for me.

Do what you were hired to do.

So, you will not honor your word about the remuneration?

- What are you talking about? - Well, you said $50,000.

Are you unhappy with my contributions?

I'm not paying you $50,000. That was a joke.

I was relying on that income.

EDISON: Coconut fibers and horn shavings

and fishing lines and cork and celluloid

and flax and platinum and iron, nickel, copper, steel.

We scoured the Earth years and years,

trying thousands, 10,000 different combinations.

Then George Westinghouse saw how I did it

and put on a pirate hat.

(MEN CHUCKLE)

You get vultures in every venture, but you just got to keep 'em away.

So, this is just how it works?

Mapmakers include mistakes in their work to see if anyone else is copying them.

I don't have that luxury.

I can't invent streets to lead the world down.

Otherwise, we all end up in the dark.

Good, and remember,

as much as you can about how he's infringing.

Thank you, Mr. Edison, and thanks for this.

(FLASHBULB POPS)

Did I mention that his system's lethal?

Now, you reach out and touch a doorknob or a rail, and...

Well, you become the circuit.

Just to be clear on that point...

Well, you die.

You know, with DC current, you can reach out

and touch anything at any stage of the line

with your bare hands. It's safe, it works,

and it bears the name of Edison, so it's pretty.

(CHUCKLING)

Our government has been trying for some time now

to get me to invent a weapon,

but I won't use this brain to invent anything that hurts people.

For that, you can shop in Pittsburgh.

So you say Westinghouse wants to hurt people?

No, I can't say that.

But you can.

MARGUERITE: This is what he thinks of you.

Issue a statement to the papers today.

Refute his charges.

I'm not going to engage with this.

We have the better system. That speaks loudest.

Westinghouse Electric Company was founded

at a quarter past 9:00.

Hello. I'm George Westinghouse. Do we have an appointment?

North Dakota.

New Orleans.

Fort Worth.

Sioux City.

You want the good news or the good news?

(SINGING) Forever, hurrah, boys, hurrah...

There's always more to see.

Mr. and Mrs. Worthington, Mr. Manesberg,

Mr. McCoy, Mr. Faulk, Miss Faulk, enjoy your evening.

MAN 1 ON PHONE: We've been spending all our time

trying to nab him on what's in the glass bubble

when we should have been looking at the clear opposite end of the bulb,

- the corkscrew. - I own that.

MAN: That you do.

He's suing you.

MAN 2 ON PHONE: This is a massive lawsuit. This is Edison and Morgan.

My advice, is there any way that you can think of

to beat gravity, other than a corkscrew?

MAN 1: Westinghouse designed a stopper to get around your corkscrew.

It's only a matter of time before they're everywhere.

To tell you the truth, I am mostly looking forward

to using it at the lumber mills.

Well, at the moment, we offer only light.

In time, we'll move on to motorized tools and appliances.

When? I don't care what light costs.

My home's on gas. I'm after productivity. I don't understand.

Edison said that electricity can already be used in the factories.

Well, his can.

I need to see this needle move.

I can't step the voltage down without blowing the whole thing to pieces.

Come on! You must have made some progress.

It's just not ready.

(ELECTRICITY CRACKLING)

Kill it! Kill it!

(MACHINE POWERING DOWN)

(SIGHS)

GEORGE: There has to be a solution out there.

The Nikola Tesla Electric Light Company.

How does that sound?

When can you bring arcs to production?

Arc lighting?

I believe we agreed to compete

for incandescents, motors, and distribution.

Leave that to Edison.

I am working on advanced methods to surpass him.

To beat Edison? How soon?

Only a few years. I need a lab, engineers, supplies.

There are, of course, expenses.

Oh, where do you get the cash for those fancy silks?

How I spend my income is my concern.

Look, Mr. Tesla, if you need cash now,

you should sell us your patents.

- And what would I receive? - Stock.

And later, if you succeed, you could sell it for a killing.

That means a fortune.

Yes, I know what an idiom is.

We'll take on two-thirds of the risk.

It's a good price for the only thing you have to sell.

EDISON: "Congestion of the brain?"

Well, what does that even mean?

DOCTOR: There's a... An occlusion, hidden, and it expands.

Her eyesight will likely go first,

and then her vocabulary will fall away.

I can't lose her.

I'm working on a raised alphabet. I'll make her a dictionary.

She'll gradually lose her mobility.

I'll build her an elevator.

Mr. Edison,

what your wife needs, no man can build.

What my wife needs, according to you,

is a simple pair of spectacles.

Nature will take its course.

I, uh...

I have to leave for New York tonight.

It can't be avoided.

DOCTOR: I will attend to her while you're away, but...

Don't linger.

(TRAIN HORN BLOWS)

MORGAN: Ohio is going with Westinghouse.

- Columbus, Zanesville. - EDISON: Zanesville?

- Give it to him. - That isn't funny.

We don't know something is a pattern until it happens again,

which I sincerely hope it does not.

Now, you tell me, what is he doing right that you're doing wrong?

He is successfully selling machines

that will result in the accidental deaths of human beings.

- Where are these deaths? - Where are these deaths?

Why don't we switch now and then you get to shoulder

the inevitable suits of manslaughter?

I think that people aren't dying

because it's not as dangerous as you wish it were.

All right, he's beating us on costs

but that is a temporary advantage.

You give me enough time, I'll make ours so cheap

that only the rich will burn candles.

And until then, you bleed cities to Westinghouse.

- I'm not a bank. - That is exactly what you are.

We could have had this conversation by telephone

instead of you wasting my time.

Well, when I want to see someone, he comes.

Eye to eye. That's how it works.

No, here's how it works. I build miracles,

and you continue to give me as much goddamn money as I want.

Oh, what? Did I squander another town?

All right, what did I lose?

(INAUDIBLE)

- DOT: What's a bureau? - MARY: It's what's under your barrette.

EDISON: It's started. Say something.

MARY: Can I get you to promise on here that you'll build me a fence?

EDISON: The ground's frozen. Needs to thaw.

DOT: Look, you're missing it!

- DOT: What's a bureau? - MARY: It's what's under your barrette.

EDISON: It's started. Say something.

MARY: Can I get you to promise on here that you'll build me a fence?

(BELL TOLLING)

Can I get you anything, sir?

A time machine.

Yes, well, if I ever find one,

I'll travel back to this moment

and give it to you.

Did you read over the proposal?

I'm not diverting what I've got left of my resources in lighting up a fair.

It's much more than a fair, sir.

A third of this country will get on trains to Chicago

to try and see this city of light.

Every window, every streetlamp,

a sign that says the race is over and we won.

Why spend your final dollars traveling this country

to show everyone your electricity

when they're all traveling to the same place

to try and see it anyway?

Because in a year, they'll rip it down.

Only after 30 million people have seen it, yes.

Westinghouse is placing a bid.

Nice hat. Looks expensive.

I owned this before I worked for you, Mr. Edison.

I don't think you are working for me.

- He's still using my bulbs. - His patents are in order.

Do you want my advice?

You keep saying Westinghouse's current will kill people.

So, in lieu of evidence, why don't you provide it?

EDISON: We're doing this because

when we have a complete system, it works,

and it's Edison...

Poor bastard.

Well, he was going to be slaughtered anyway.

He's not going to feel any pain, right?

At 3,000 volts, it'll be over before it begins.

So there's nothing to worry about.

But these are reporters,

so you might want to liven up a little bit.

(HORSE WHINNIES)

- Welcome to Menlo Park. - How are you, sir?

Thank you for coming out on this cold morning.

Good to see you again.

- Good morning. - MAN: Morning.

- I'm Southwick Brown. - A pleasure.

Now, you you might all want to stand back a little bit.

Gus is being connected to the same current

that Westinghouse uses for his generator,

but there's no word yet coined to define death by electricity.

So, I asked the men who write the dictionaries

and I heard back "electro-dite,"

"electro-cremate," and "dyno-mort."

But just as Joe Guillotin got his name on his invention,

how could we rob the rightful inventor

of death by electricity of his due credit?

I ask you to please be respectful as we Westinghouse this horse.

(SNORTS)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

Mr. Edison, Southwick Brown.

Capital Punishment Commission.

You've read, no doubt,

of the botched hangings throughout the Northeast.

The prisoners either choke to death

- or are violently decapitated. - (MAN SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY)

The spectacle is inhumane.

But the horse, his death was so calm, you could call it...

(CLATTERING)

...poetic.

- (BOTH GRUNTING) - (BONES SNAP)

The governor of New York,

upon my personal recommendation,

would like to explore a death device,

which uses electricity on a human being.

It would be our honor to award you the contract.

- If nothing else, a pleasure. - I beg your pardon.

To kill a human being under the guise of justice is...

Is cockeyed.

There's a big difference between a horse and a person.

God humanely brings us into this world.

Why would you reject the opportunity

to be the first man to humanely take us out of it?

William.

I killed my wife.

(DOOR CLOSES)

MARY ON RECORDER: I'm turning the handle.

Maybe there's more to it than that.

If I'm doing it wrong,

you'll never know I was fooling around with your phonogram or gramophone,

whatever you end up calling it.

And what is this thing, really?

Today's Mary is speaking to tomorrow's Tom.

Or from where you sit, today's Tom is listening to yesterday's Mary.

I wonder what else you can do with it.

Mr. Tesla,

my son and his idiot friend tell me you don't want to make arc lights anymore.

Is that true?

Well, don't look at him, look at me.

I'm your primary shareholder.

No, I already completed the arc light project.

Completed? You covered one city.

Rahway, New Jersey.

(CHUCKLES) For the love of God, think bigger. Philadelphia.

You design arc lights to outfit cities. That was your only job.

No. My AC motor.

- Okay? We agreed... - No, I never agreed to anything.

In this office, you said...

Ah.

Lane, could you wait outside for a moment?

I'm sorry. Don't you realize you're being fired here?

No.

Please, let me work through what I have in my head.

I will make you the greatest provider of electrical power in the world.

Better than Edison.

I'm so close, just a few months.

I mean, you drop in here like you're from Neptune,

like you got a great vision of the future

- no one understands but you. - Please don't touch that.

You're just an immigrant.

Head full of notions, looking for a handout.

You're not Edison, there's only one Edison.

That's why he's him. There's millions of you.

Big ideas.

But you can't see the real force that moves things,

and it's not AC/DC, it's not currents.

It's currency.

And that's the only motor I'm interested in.

These patents belong to the Tesla Electric Light Company.

Which is now the Union Electric and Manufacturing Company,

and I own everything in this office.

Patents, designs, engineers, all mine.

Never going to be anything named Tesla ever again.

You take your notions and go back where you came from.

MARY ON RECORDER: Someday I'd like to see Niagara Falls,

when it is frozen over, like someone stopped the...

He's snapping up town after town.

Cats, dogs, sheep, 11 horses. What more do people need to see?

The problem is, is no one's actually dying from alternating,

apart from your cats, dogs, sheep, and 11 horses.

- Sir, I realize I'm only your secretary... - Just say it.

(SIGHS) Bring the phonograph to market.

You can make your own money.

- No, it needs too many improvements. - Make them, sir.

Bell is ripping you off.

Graphophone? He just switched the name.

Then direct me to a store where I can buy yours,

and I won't give him the business.

You have a real offer on the table here.

Half a million dollars.

Sir, take the money. You need it.

If Bell ripped you off with the telephone,

he'll do it again with the graphophone.

Did you just misspeak intentionally?

Do you want Chicago?

All right, I'm ready.

A dollar a ball?

So, what's your trade?

Inventor.

I fix problems for idiots.

Imagine dictation without the aid of a stenographer.

Phonographic books that will speak to blind people.

Reproduction of music, talking toys.

Clocks that will announce the time.

Preservation of dying languages. Teaching of elocution...

- You hustled us. - Yes. No.

I didn't come all this way to lose.

EDISON: The final capturing of the dying words of your loved ones.

MARY: Mary had a little lamb, whose fleece was white as snow.

And everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go.

Well, it's either not possible,

or I'm not the engineer I thought I was.

He's traveling around the country, cooking up cats.

George, he's playing dirty. You can, too.

Mmm.

You know, when I was a boy, my father...

He tried to whip me with a branch.

But after the first hit, it broke into three little pieces.

And we just stood there,

looking at this shattered stick on the ground.

And then I noticed there was a leather strap hanging on the wall.

So I pointed to it and said, "Look, that's the better one."

And he stopped.

I can take a beating,

but I have no patience for shoddy craftsmanship.

You are going to have a working motor

sitting next to your display in Chicago,

come hell, high water, or the Wizard of Menlo Park.

- GEORGE: Good night, Frank. - Good night.

(BLOWS)

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

(HORSE WHINNIES)

(ELECTRICITY CRACKLES)

(INDISTINCT TALKING)

REPORTER: So, you admit Edison was right?

We will remember Franklin Pope

for his fearless dedication to moving us forward.

He tried to see what was hiding in plain sight...

(VOICE FADES)

EDISON: Today, I am...

...filled less with grief than anger,

because what happened could have been avoided.

Hear me now as you have never heard me before.

As I breathe,

as long as Westinghouse stays in business,

more people will die.

My condolences.

Sounds like he was more than just an employee.

What was his name? Franklin Popes?

Pope. Just one.

It's a shame.

Mmm.

But I'm here to help.

Now, I know that you, uh... You wish Edison would quiet down.

So let me combine your companies. Let me clean up the mess.

You really think Westinghouse Electric is worth $5 million?

The value of something is the highest number

someone else is willing to pay.

But 800 men will lose their livelihoods.

I will keep your workers.

I will not make the same promise for your five-day workweek.

Mmm.

Seems like you're amenable.

Which current will you use?

Whichever Edison selects, I suppose.

- (GUN CLICKS) - (HORSE WHINNIES)

SOLDIER: You've crossed into territory for the Confederacy.

GEORGE: No, I, uh...

I think you're mistaken. According to my map here...

(GUN CLICKS)

Though I mourn the loss of my colleague,

misfortune does not trump progress.

Now, it seems to me that Mr. Edison puts his name on everything

because he's terrified of being forgotten.

If you want to be remembered, it's simple. Shoot a president.

But if you prefer to have what I call a legacy,

you leave the world a better place than you found it.

Thomas Alva Edison is a charlatan

who preys on the fears of the common man

because I have the better system.

And because I do have the better system,

Westinghouse Electric shall endure.

Good day.

MORGAN ON PHONE: Westinghouse has taken the lead.

He's not going away.

And while I appreciate your lights, Mr. Edison,

I'm also your customer.

If someone comes to my door and offers me something that I need

that is better than what I have now, at a cheaper price,

why, I'd be a fool not to invite him in for tea.

- Is this an ultimatum? - More of a threat.

If you maintain that fear is the best strategy,

then you'd better hurry up and try harder.

Time's up.

MARY: A man who is handsome and clever

built a box with a crank and a lever to store his wife's voice.

But he made a poor choice,

because now she can tease him forever.

(BRAKES SCREECH)

SOUTHWICK: I couldn't stop it if I wanted to.

Which I don't,

because I think it's a remarkable gift.

Electricity will kill that man in Buffalo.

All we need is your advice, Mr. Edison.

Where to put the electrodes. How much is humane?

And in exchange, I promise you something that I know you want.

Otherwise, you wouldn't let me talk to you.

I will put the Westinghouse name

right out front as the official electricity

used to kill human beings.

My name must never be associated with this.

I did not provide any consultation,

and you will advertise that Westinghouse is the best way to take a human life.

You guarantee your assistance?

If you ask a question, I'll reply.

Burn the correspondence.

Absolutely.

Fauteuils and blue-painted bergère.

I sold three sets of these last week alone.

Oh, uh, this is your classic spindle back. Oh, yes.

And these are framed Cockpen. Yeah, quite popular.

Oh, deportment style.

(CHAIR CREAKS)

Would you like four, six, eight, twelve?

Just one.

EDISON: Mr. Brown, the apparatus consists of a stationary engine,

a Westinghouse alternating dynamo capable of generating 3,000 volts,

wood chair with headrest, binding straps, and adjustable electrodes.

Burn. TAE.

"The voltmeter, ammeter, and switchboard controlling the current

"should be located in the execution room for monitoring.

"Burn. TAE."

"The dynamo room is communicated by electric signals.

"Burn. TAE."

"The most effective machines...

"manufactured by Westinghouse...

"Burn. TAE."

"I authorize payment of $3,600 for your efforts.

"Burn. TAE."

"Mr. Brown, the only argument which can be urged

"against Westinghouse on the score of cruel punishment

"is that the flesh may burn at the points of contact

"and the amount of current which can be given

"without such mutilation is not yet known.

"Burn. TAE."

For someone who's trying to compete for the World's Fair,

this death chair business doesn't look good.

GEORGE: Yeah, I know.

It's just Edison trying to smear me as usual.

- Can you prove it? - No.

But I was thinking maybe I could stop it.

You mean me?

If you want my advice, don't hire me. Save your money.

But I do know a man who could determine whether Edison

has an exploitable connection with the death chair.

No, I was thinking we could stop him via legal means.

- You want me to put Edison on trial? - No.

The chair itself. The Eighth Amendment.

So I'm to get an axe murderer who readily admits he slaughtered his wife

a what? A sustainment?

This is about showing what kind of a man is Thomas Edison.

You just keep my name out of it.

Does your wife know you're paying for this?

It was her idea.

MAN: The State calls Thomas Alva Edison.

Will you explain, generally,

the difference between your continuous current

and Mr. Westinghouse's alternating electricity?

A continuous current flows like water through a pipe,

and alternating current flows in both directions.

Water? That doesn't sound so dangerous.

- Not until you drown. - (PEOPLE CHUCKLE)

Suppose you took this wicked Westinghouse current,

the one that is going to be used on Mr. Kemmler here.

Now, suppose you kept it up for five or six minutes

at 1,500 volts,

how long would it take before he would feel the heat?

Well, the temperature might rise

four or five degrees above normal

and continue until he was mummified.

And this wouldn't cause considerable pain?

- It would not. - How do you know?

Because I personally observed such electricity

being used to execute a thousand-pound horse.

And did the horse feel pain?

If he did, he didn't mention it.

(PEOPLE CHUCKLE)

BOURKE: Now, Mr. Edison, there is a great degree of feeling

between you and Mr. Westinghouse.

EDISON: I do not dislike Mr. Westinghouse.

BOURKE: There's a contest between you two, isn't there?

That is not what this is about.

I've been asked as a dispassionate scientist

to advise on the simple question

of whether death by electricity

is a violation of the Eighth Amendment and is cruel and unusual.

In my expert opinion,

the only humane method of execution

is Westinghouse alternating current.

BOURKE: Your Honor, Mr. Edison knows that any current over 30 amperes...

Milliamperes. If you're going to interrupt,

at least do so in the proper denominations.

- Well, thank you, Your Honor. - It's my honor.

- (GAVEL BANGS) - JUDGE: All right. That's all I need to hear.

REPORTER: Mr. Edison, can I get a comment?

EDISON: What do you two lowlifes want, huh?

- MAN: Mr. Edison. - EDISON: What?

- Mr. Edison. - Huh?

Now, look...

I thought you were going to leave before I had a chance.

Mr. Edison, can I get your autograph?

Yeah, sure, I...

William, do you mind?

Thank you. Thank you.

Use this.

(CLAMORING)

BOURKE: I should warn you,

there's one thing that always beats justice.

Money?

Fame.

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

Oh, is that a New Model Army revolver?

What a lovely machine that is.

- You know how it works? - You want me to show you?

Oh, I didn't mean how it fires. I simply meant how it works.

It's quite a device. You should have a look.

You see, they designed the cylinder

so the hammer doesn't have to sit in an empty chamber.

(HORSE WHINNIES)

BOURKE: Edison lied on the stand.

If you're going to take your shot, now is the last time to fire.

Sometimes, we have to work outside of the rules to get what's right.

It would be nice if we didn't have to.

Wouldn't it?

Look, this doesn't make you like him.

Mmm.

So, what will it be?

(PIANO PLAYING)

(PLAYING HALTINGLY)

(PHONE RINGS)

In my bad ear, it sounded extraordinary.

DASH: Father.

Hello.

GEORGE: "The apparatus consists of a stationary engine,

"a Westinghouse alternating dynamo capable of generating 3,000 volts,

"wood chair with headrest."

EDISON: Where did you get that?

GEORGE: I'm sending them to the paper.

EDISON: Those letters are stolen.

- You can't publish them. - Why not?

Because they're private correspondences.

Mr. Edison, you say something about me or my company again,

I would ask that you tell the truth.

That would be the decent thing to do.

Wouldn't it?

EDISON: Why didn't you burn the letters?

SOUTHWICK: They were from Thomas Edison.

I don't think you appreciate that this chair is something

to be proud of and remembered for.

I don't even know how much electricity you need to use.

- You said 1,500 volts. - I said I think 1,500 volts.

But if all the water in his body evaporates,

- then he may ignite. - So we lower the amount.

And then you slowly roast him to death.

Listen, you must listen to me.

What you're going to do is wrong.

Now, you said that it's inevitable and somebody else will do it.

But just because somebody else is gonna do it

doesn't mean that you have to.

The state thanks you for your expert opinion and your help.

What?

- It's not my place to say. - Say it.

You said you'd never build a device that would kill anyone.

I make something impossible, and they rip it away from me,

so I do it again, and they do it again

and again and again.

But this isn't like everything else.

This is everything else.

Our future's not going to be paved with bricks,

but with copper.

Automation, transportation, communication.

And the man that controls that current controls that future.

But you know Westinghouse is right.

You don't actually believe that a few accidents

rule out the viability of his current. You just don't want to lose.

I have merely amplified what no one else was willing to take seriously.

No, what you did was run him over

- with a 12-ton train. - Oh, well.

He's the one that's supposed to only make brakes,

so who's to blame here?

Switch tonight, and you win.

His current kills people.

Only because you said it will!

Listen, I either stop complaining about the scavengers in my garden

or build a wall so damn high

that people will never even dare to scale it.

You are the smartest man I know.

Beyond building miracles out of thin air,

I was most impressed by your principles.

You didn't invent the incandescent.

People just think you did.

Let me welcome you to the reality of how things come into existence.

We all contribute. That's what invention is.

The salt, the grain, the heat, the heart.

But only one man makes the bread rise.

That's the one that puts it all together,

makes it taste so damn good that people will go out there

and hand over their hard-won dollars to buy it.

Mr. Edison, I want you to succeed, I do.

But you have to switch tonight,

or you'll die as P.T. Barnum rather than Sir Isaac Newton.

(FOOTSTEPS DEPART)

MAN: Though he may be unfamiliar to you,

his studies have demonstrated an understanding of electrical matters

unlike anyone I have ever known, with respect to the assembled.

Gentlemen and lady,

Nikola Tesla.

(APPLAUSE)

TESLA: Straight to our ultimate question.

Yes or no,

can alternating currents operate a motor?

Yes.

Now, anyone who builds an alternating system

will be able to do what Edison can for only a third of the cost.

In Figure 2 of my polyphase system,

the armature coils are shown in a more advanced position.

2A illustrates the corresponding magnetic

condition of the ring. A synchronous motor...

...a laminated ring provided with pole projections...

The induction is of an ideal character,

being always maintained at its maximum action.

Mr. Tesla, have you actually built the motor to test your theories?

Well, they are not theories. No, I have not built it.

- But that would prove your beliefs. - But they are not beliefs.

And it is absolutely immaterial to me

whether I run the motor in my mind or in a shop,

for I have built it already in my imagination,

and it is perfect.

- Are you serious? - Almost always.

(KNOCK ON DOOR)

Hello, I'm George Westinghouse.

- George Westinghouse. - Mmm-hmm.

An engine that compresses air into a tank,

which is taken via pipe to each brake on the train,

allowing them to operate simultaneously.

Smart design.

Thank you.

Please.

I think this entire room is slanted two degrees.

I sincerely appreciate you

taking the time to meet with me.

Are you going somewhere?

(CLATTER)

Oh.

This is it?

- It's Niagara Falls. - Yeah.

And ever since my school days, I have pictured in my imagination

a big wheel spinning out lightning.

Did you know that when I first came to this country,

- I worked for Mr. Edison? - I did not.

- Tea? - Sure.

I fixed two of his DC generators in one night,

and he called me "a damn good man."

So, why did he not treat me that way? I quit.

Tried my own company and was deceived. Who was I?

Some immigrant.

So I took the only job I could find, digging a ditch.

The men laughed at my fine clothes,

but at the end of the day, I had two dollars.

What was the ditch to be used for?

Edison Electric.

It felt like digging my own grave.

If Mr. Edison succeeds, he will set us back so far,

we may never recover.

The fair must be alternating. It must be my motor.

I have watched as the world talks of Chicago as a symbol,

a city of light.

All cities will have light in your lifetime,

but harnessing the power of Niagara,

that is to see our future.

The falls?

I'm here to talk about Chicago.

Think beyond Chicago.

Energy is as fundamental as food, as water, as air.

You can... You cannot say that only those with money

can eat or can breathe.

Yes, the falls will light up the Eastern Seaboard.

Yes, there is a great fortune to be made,

and I covet a very nice walking stick I saw on 63rd and Madison,

but Niagara is the proof that one day we may detach power from profit.

- That is how you truly win. - Mmm.

- How do I know you will not cheat me? - Well...

You don't.

But the fact is, Mr. Tesla, I need your motor.

I may be able to light up the fair, but I still can't move a machine.

If we cannot reach an agreement today,

my company will die right here in your hotel room.

But if it does perish, so might your dream

of harnessing power from Niagara.

So, do we have a deal?

Five thousand.

One thousand.

(LAUGHS)

(COUGHING)

Yeah.

I'll give you $2.50.

Per horsepower.

I'm no genius myself, but that should be millions.

- May I treat you to dinner at Delmonico's? - (DOOR OPENS)

All right, Mr. Tesla, time to go.

No, I will not leave your slanted room.

He hasn't paid his bill in over a month.

Well, how much would it cost to keep him here for the year?

(TRAIN ENGINE CHUGGING)

I need to shed 300 men from the gas company.

There's no way around it.

MARGUERITE: So, we pay their salaries and move them to electricity.

We can't keep doing this.

If we win, we won't have to.

You have truth on your side.

And whatever happens,

you know you never did anything

but play fair.

I stole the letters

linking Edison to the death chair.

I gave them to the papers to smudge him.

I know you're disappointed in me.

(INDISTINCT TALKING)

MORGAN: What am I looking at here?

An 80-foot-tall tower,

covered with 16,000 Edison bulbs, topped with an eight-foot lighthouse,

that signals to the world that we are the victors.

Otherwise, how will people know that we won?

It's an idol.

It's a signature.

And you'll get something that no one's ever received

from Thomas Edison before.

- Oh, yes? What's that? - An apology.

I admit the spending has been more than I anticipated,

but now more than ever,

it's important you must push through.

Whatever Westinghouse is bidding for the fair, we...

You must bid more.

I must?

"Must."

Who's Nikola Tesla?

What about him?

Well, he gave a talk at Columbia.

Word is the Serb is building Westinghouse a polyphase motor.

Light and power.

You can do both. He now may as well.

Who even knows how long it'll take them to build a functioning model...

As of this morning, you have ceded, I have here,

nine more cities to Westinghouse.

So, here's what's happening.

I am merging Edison Electric with some of the other ankle biters.

You are out.

Do you know why?

And I'm happy to tell you,

if you require this moment to be even more unpleasant.

You will receive stock

and you will retain a seat on the board.

Who's going to present? You?

Good God, no.

- You tell me now. - I was here.

I thought you deserved to hear it face-to-face.

No, you didn't.

You just wanted to waste my time

and get me to sign autographs for children.

What are you going to call it, then?

- That's your concern? - Edison Electric. It has to be.

Edison and electricity are synonymous, Morgan.

Do not attach a losing name to a fledgling enterprise.

Now that your letters have leaked,

- you've lost credibility. - So, what is it?

- The name? - Yes, the goddamn name!

On the contracts, it just says "General Electric,"

but I'll think of something. I can be creative, too.

(LAUGHS)

Yeah.

MORGAN: Mr. Insull.

A word.

(KNOCK ON DOOR)

- (GLASS SHATTERS) - EDISON: Damn it!

He said they'd keep your name attached as long as you didn't pursue action

or speak negatively to the press about the merger.

What did he offer you?

Tell me.

Vice president, but I turned it down.

- You should take it. - Why?

Alternating current, what's the transmission voltage?

230,000 volts.

What's the filament on a 12,000-hour lamp?

- Carbonized Japanese bamboo. - What do I eat for breakfast?

- Pie. - So, what's the surprise?

Of course, he needs you. You're me but a human being.

Look around the room.

Who's missing?

Edison General Electric Company, please.

General Electric?

MAN: Edison General Electric Company?

- Yes. - MAN: Ah.

Hi. Excuse me.

He's 12.

MAN: Mr. Insull, these are the committee members

- of Grounds and Buildings... - EDISON: Listen closely.

Focus on the quality of the light.

I don't care what the courts say.

Westinghouse ripped off my bulbs,

and the good news for you is he did a terrible job.

They're outdoor bulbs, so they have a life of about two hours.

So, focus on the replacement time.

Talk about the superiority of ours as if there's no competition.

Use terms like, "standard," "purest," and "the most beautiful light," etc.

Find out what kind of men they are. There are really only two types.

The first believe themselves to be practical,

but they're secret dreamers.

They're the ones who will take the risks.

The second, well, they'll smile and thank you for the show,

but they'll vote with their wallets.

Now, unless Westinghouse is mortgaging everything he's worth on this bid,

Morgan has you in good stead with the moneymen.

So, your only real job is to look the dreamers in the eye

and promise them magic.

Now, explain back to me

everything that you remember about a parallel

and series of electric circuits using none of the words I just said.

(EXHALES)

Should you choose Westinghouse, then...

Then, yes, there is a possibility you'll be putting in jeopardy

the lives of 28 million people.

Even if Westinghouse were to make even the smallest of errors,

unintentional, of course,

a visiting politician, a wife, even a seven-year-old girl

may lean against a lamp post and be struck dead immediately.

MAN: There you have it.

Mr. Westinghouse's brand of electricity is fatal.

Thank you, Mr. Insull.

Just to be clear, sir, any electrical current

over 200 milliamperes can be deadly.

Even yours?

Mr. Westinghouse, these are the committee members

of Grounds and Buildings, Charles Schwab, Craig Cannon,

- Mayor Cregier, of course. - Of course.

Victor Lawson of the Chicago Daily News,

and the Honorable Judge Tree.

Respectfully, we ask that you please keep your remarks to one hour.

That won't be necessary.

- There you go. Sir. - Thank you.

GEORGE: Hmm.

(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)

My bid.

- These are all your figures? - Yes, sir.

Independent estimates.

Let us begin with this most general question.

Why should we grant Westinghouse Electric

the contract for the World's Fair?

Well, I guess because our system works significantly better.

And, uh...

Because our system is significantly cheaper.

Mr. Schwab, Mr. Higinbotham, Mr. Cannon,

Mayor Cregier, Mr. Lawson,

Judge Tree, and Mr. Burnham,

thank you very much for your time and your consideration.

MAN: Financially, it's clear. We just take the better bid.

- Look, Westinghouse is dangerous. - Potentially dangerous.

You even printed it in your own paper.

Alternating will be used to kill that man in Buffalo.

- (KEYS JANGLE) - (DOOR OPENS)

MAN 1: They both light up lights, right?

Westinghouse will save us some money.

MAN 2: Thomas Edison sells tickets.

GEORGE: What I wouldn't give to flip through that.

It's like a handbook to the future, isn't it?

MAN 3: We need a clear majority, gentlemen.

- Don't you have stock in GE? - That's irrelevant.

TESLA: No one has ever done what you have done for me.

Well, the value of something isn't what someone's willing to pay,

but the value of something is what it contributes.

When we vote again,

Burnham, you can telephone the winner tonight.

Is it true you were born during a lightning storm?

It is true.

Hmm.

All right. Tell me one thing in that book.

Look, you and Mr. Edison, you spend all your time on either end of the system,

the dynamos and the lamps.

But what about what is in between?

- The wires? - Mmm.

Do we need them?

(BILLIARD BALLS CLATTER)

(PHONE RINGS)

GEORGE: Is that a New Model Army revolver?

You know how it works?

You see, they designed the cylinder

so the hammer doesn't have to sit in an empty chamber.

The problem is, despite all the advantages of the Remington,

it doesn't fix the fact

that you just dampened your gunpowder.

(GUNSHOT ECHOES)

(PROJECTOR WHIRRING)

What's this?

EDISON: This is gonna do for the eye

what the phonograph did for the ear.

(WHIRRING)

(CLATTERING)

Again.

Again!

(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)

(ALL CHEERING)

Do you have any final words?

WILLIAM: I believe I'm going to a better place.

Goodbye, William.

We live in a higher civilization

from this day.

(APPLAUSE)

(ELECTRICITY CRACKLING)

(PEOPLE CLAMORING)

SAMUEL: "An awful spectacle, far worse than hanging.

"George Westinghouse,

"'They would have done better with an axe.'

"Sizzling sound.

"A billow of smoke that filled the room with the odor of burning hair."

Well, at least it happened to a murderer.

EDISON: At least they'll never use it again to kill anyone.

(SIGHS)

And soon all these people will have electric light,

and no one will even remember it ever happened.

I have books so full of ideas,

it would take me more than 12 lifetimes to execute them.

So let the man have his fair and waterfall.

Well, for what it's worth,

I'd much rather have worked for you than Westinghouse any day.

Why is that?

Well, I wouldn't have had as much fun, would I?

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

Have you seen much of the fair?

A Muybridge lecture, "Little Egypt."

Oh, the dancer?

- You saw her? - No.

Oh, she was...

If you get the time.

Hmm.

Don't you think a fence is a unique creation?

Your neighbor puts one up, and suddenly one becomes two.

You also have a fence.

There's only one problem.

See, one person on one side of the fence designed it,

one person on one side built it,

and one person paid for it,

and yet the other person receives a fine, free fence.

I didn't take your ideas.

Mr. Edison?

Sure.

Thank you.

You know, I was wondering about one thing.

Oh, I'm sure there were many.

I was gonna invite you to dinner.

Again.

But I suppose now is as good a time as any.

You want to know what was in the 13-hour bulb?

- I know how it works. - Yeah, I know you do.

I only wondered what it felt like.

- What? - The bulb.

When you knew.

What was the feeling in that moment?

I can't tell you. I mean...

It's impossible to describe the feeling,

because it was impossible.

Years of work.

10,000 different filaments.

When the thread went in the bulb, as usual,

we placed our bets,

and the generator sputtered to life, and the ball began to glow,

we didn't expect anything but another failure.

Then something started to happen.

See, our best filament only lasted ten minutes,

and this fluke was rounding 20,

so people started to chatter.

And 30 minutes, 40 minutes, an hour, two hours...

Then people started to shout.

And remember, we hadn't got past ten minutes.

The boys were climbing up the walls,

tearing their hair out...

Because it was impossible.

Seven hours, eight hours, nine.

We were silent when we hit ten.

Just sat around that glowing bubble,

drunk on our own magic, staring at it like...

I don't know, like it was the baby Jesus playing Mozart.

After 13 and a half hours, the glass cracked, and I knew it.

The world would never be the same.

I'm working on something now,

something so new that...

People will forget my name was ever associated with electricity.

I wonder if you know what it is yet.

You know, I think the solution is

to divide the cost of the fence.

Or you could not build a fence at all.

Your garden would be twice as big.

Wouldn't it, Tom?

If nothing else, a pleasure.

Enjoy the fair, George.

MAN: Mr. Edison.

(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)

TESLA: We build monuments to speak to the future,

to say we were here,

we have lived.

Our true legacy isn't what we build up to the heavens

or carve deep into stone.

Rocks will crumble,

paper disintegrates,

and bone turns to powder.

Only that which isn't in the physical realm

and reaches in both directions can be eternal.

Our ideas.

They are what we leave behind.

And only they are what can push us forward.

(WIND HOWLING)

(PROJECTOR WHIRRING)

(MAN SPEAKING SPANISH)