49 Chapter 49 - The Core

"HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! If there's one thing you taught me, Josiah, nothing's for free in this world."

"Well… Once the Server of Iris starts earning, I'll ask 50% share in the profits."

He smiled once more.

"It's totally up to you if it succeeds or fails, Teslan."

Silence…

"Come. Dry yourself up and put on your clothes. Let's go in my office so we can discuss this further."

"Uhmm… It's 9:00 in the evening already, Josiah. If we're gonna go to the city, we'll probably get there at 2:00 in the morning. Nah, no can do. It's dark, it's late, and it's dangerous to travel in this hour. Let's do it tomorrow morning."

He gave out his signature heavy sigh.

"Please, Teslan. Humor me, just this once. Okay…?"

(Teslan's thoughts: I'm still skeptical but…)

"Oh what the heck. Let's get this over with."

======================================================

I'm quite surprised when I got out of our house.

"This is your office…?"

"Yes. Beautiful, isn't it?"

It's a stainless steel home trailer, and it's as big as a school bus.

"Please, come in."

(Teslan's thoughts: Did this guy really lost his job and money?)

As I entered the narrow doorway, a beautiful woman greeted me.

"Hey! Long time no see! You remember me? :)"

(Teslan's thoughts: Whoa… She's even more beautiful without her make-up and costume!)

"Remi…"

I glanced back at Josiah and looked at her again.

"You never gave up on this guy, huh?"

"It was worth the wait. :)"

(Teslan's thoughts: Wish I can find someone as kind as you…)

"Told you he's all soft and gooey inside! Isn't that right, sugarpie honeybunch? ;)"

(Teslan's thoughts: Ughh, cringe…)

"Please stop embarrassing me, orange marmalade. >w<"

(Teslan's thoughts: Orange… Marmalade…? Really? Again, cringe.)

We then sat at the wooden chairs of the mini dining table/conference room, and Remi brought us two cold bottled milk.

"Thank you very much, honey badger :)"

"Your very much welcome, honeycomb. :)"

"Please, go ahead and rest. I know you're tired. We'll just talk for an hour or two."

"Don't overwork yourself, okay? :)"

She kissed his forehead and went to their bedroom.

(Teslan's thoughts: Ughh… Can you two please stop? Give some respect to the single guy here. I'm getting envious.)

"As I've said before," Josiah began as he opened the milk bottle and took a big swig at it. "I'm now more than willing to offer my services, that is, my expertise, skills, knowledge, and resources to your Server of Iris, free of charge. And because you're the boss of this whole project, you're the one whose gonna make the big decisions. You're the one whose gonna lead and manage, not me. I'm only here as a consultant and an investor, so… Where do you want to start?"

Silence…

"I… I'm not used to this, you know? You being kind and all… Why are you doing this? Why are you being so kind to me…?"

"I already told you, Teslan. I owe you one. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't meet the love of my life. I'm happier more than ever! Way happier compared when I was working on Oogle! So it's time for me to return the favor and share the happiness."

(Teslan's thoughts: Huh… Kindness does go a long way…)

"I see… Alright then…"

(Teslan's thoughts: This is definitely a good opportunity… Strike the iron while it's hot!)

"I'll take it. I'll take up your offer. I agree on your conditions. If this project became profitable in the future, 50% of all profits will be given to you."

"Great! So… Where do we begin? :)"

(Teslan's thoughts: Isn't it obvious? We'll start from the very beginning. From the most ridiculous (it's only now that I realize this) part of my so called "Grandiose Plan".)

"I want you to hack the U.S. Government's Database Servers and steal Nikola Tesla's Wardenclyffe Tower Blueprints."

Absolute silence…

And then, we both laughed.

"HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!"

"Sigh… You never change, Teslan. I know you love anime and all but, this is not 'Stain's Gateway' and I'm not a 'Super Hacker'. I can't do what you're asking."

His tone became gentle, but deeply serious.

"Life is not a movie, Teslan. There are no second takes. Life is also not an anime. You can't do something illegal and still get away with it. Besides…"

He gave a long white folder to me.

"There's no more need to hack. No more need to steal. 126 years have passed. All the files of Nikola Tesla has been declassified and are now public domain."

I slowly opened the folder and got the shock of my life.

"The Wardenclyffe Tower Blueprints can now be seen and used by anyone in this world, without paying any copyright or royalty fees. As long as they acknowledge the deceased inventor."

"You've got to be kidding me…"

"I kid you not, Teslan."

(Teslan's thoughts: I can't believe it… I can't get over it!)

"It does exist…"

"Seven long years… Who knew, right? I never believe it was real in the first place."

(Teslan's thoughts: Could this be really it…? The missing heart of the Server of Iris…?)

I slowly, carefully turned the photocopied pages of the blueprints and quickly read it's contents…

My whole body went cold.

"Remember when I said it's totally up to you if this project fails or succeeds?"

"Yup…"

"Well, there you have it. The 'catch' in our deal."

And just like that, my heart sank as I tossed the white folder on the table.

"The blueprints… is incomplete… It wasn't finished at all… You were right, Josiah… If Nikola Tesla actually created a way to transmit electricity wirelessly, America should be using it by now…"

Sigh…

The Server of Iris was a pipe dream all along…

"Hey now, where's the fiery Teslan I once knew?"

"Nothing here but embers, mate."

"Hey… Don't be like that. All is not lost."

He picked up the folder, flipped it in the third page, and gave it back to me.

"The science is sound and the foundation is good-"

I cut him short.

"The only thing left for me to do is to figure out how to efficiently transfer electrical energy from Point A to Point B without harming anybody. The whole essence of the Wardenclyffe Tower Project itself. Great. Easy. No problem." I said sarcastically.

"If I remember correctly, Nikola Tesla is your favorite scientist. He's your inspiration, one of your heroes. You studied all of his lifework. Yes, I must admit, the blueprints are incomplete. But the formula is already there! Maybe you can see something that everybody missed."

Josiah gently pushed the folder closer to me.

"If anyone's gonna figure this out, it's gonna be you."

"You're smarter than me, Josiah."

"But I can't make any sense out of it. I never studied his work like you did. Please, give it another look. Don't give up now when you still haven't given it a try."