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Time A night in 1893. Setting World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Character A reporter for the Boston Globe. Reporter: I can't believe it! I just can't believe it! I've never seen anything like this. Have you really stepped back and taken it all in? Well, how could you? It's impossible. But that's exactly what my editor wants me to do. (Becoming editor) "Hey, Mack, we're sending you to Chicago to cover the Columbian Exposition of 1893 for all the readers of the Boston Globe. Good luck!" (Himself again and almost defeated) I hardly know where to begin. Let's see - (reading from pamphlet) - The total area of the Exposition is 633 acres, the number of its buildings exceeds 200. (Overwhelmed sigh) All right, I need an angle. (Perusing pamphlet) Here's one - (reading from pamphlet) "Rotate in a gigantic circle three hundred feet off the ground in Mr. Ferris' spinning wheel! This Ferris Wheel has been compared favourably with the Eiffel Tower." (considers the topic briefly) Nope. (He confesses to audience) Afraid of heights. (Peruses pamphlet again) Now, this is more like it. The "Streets of Cairo" exhibit. I was by there yesterday and there is a young woman whose performance must be seen, I assure you, in order to be properly appreciated. She#s called Little Egypt and she engages in an astonishing discipline known as danse du ventre, but everyone just calls it "belly dancing." And gentlemen, when you see the show you'll know why. (He sees it in his mind and laughs appreciatively) I do recommend it - all in the interests of ethnology, of course. (Pulling himself together, he returns to the pamphlet - no success - he throws it over his shoulder.) An angle, an angle - I need an angle. (While thinking, he paces and looks up and the idea comes to him) Lights. Lights! (He fumbles for pocket watch) It's almost 9 p.m. and it's still bright. I can see the buildings and the people and exhibits and - and - and the hot dog stand! Everything is electrically lit! In fact, the entire fair is electric! Electric lights, electrically powered fountains, electric motors! President Cleveland signaled the start of the exposition, and how? By cutting a ribbon or shattering a bottle of champagne? NO! He pushed a button and "click" the entire visible world was transformed! Lights blossomed like flowers. Machinery hummed into smooth life. Just walk by the canal at night and you hear someone marveling over this new wonder. Electricity! That's my angle! (Rifles through pockets for notebook and pencil, mumbling) I know people have been studying electricity for ages and I seem to remember some sort (finds notebook) of connection between electricity and magnetism. (Stops cold. Clearly, he has nothing to write down. Suddenly begins frantic search for pamphlet. He finds it and flips pages as he searches.) Electricity ... electricity ... electricity ... (he finds it) - Electricity! (Mumbling aloud he reads to himself, carefully places the pamphlet in his inside coat pocket, pulls notebook and pencil from other pocket and begins to jot down notes and he explains) In 1820, a Danish fellow named Hans Christian Oersted figured out how part of the connection between electricity and magnetism works. He noticed that a current-carrying wire made a nearby compass needle deflect. So, he realized that an electric current produces a magnetic field. This started scientists thinking that if electricity could create magnetism, couldn't a produce electricity? Just 11 years after Oersted's discovery, another scientist by the name of Michael Faraday figured out that moving a magnet can cause an electric current in a nearby circuit. Then, if you hook up some kind of device to that current, bulbs light up, machines run - it's amazing. (Considers this new information) I guess it all boils down to this: electricity is the ability to get work done, which is brought about by spinning a magnet near a circuit. This is big - really big! Electricity is going to change everything we do, right down to the fundamental way we live our lives. Just imagine what they're going to think of to put at the ends of all these wires. Something exciting has been set into motion here. Why didn't I see how significant electricity is to this fair yesterday when I toured the Electricity Exhibition. Oh - that's right. Little Egypt. I was still considering the invigorating nature of her - uh - acceleration of various masses. (Gathers himself again) When you enter the exhibition building, you're greeted by a statue of Benjamin Franklin, with his kite and his key, just waiting for lighting to strike. Well, it has struck! As you walk around, it's hard to miss the fact that electricity has become "big business" - names like Westinghouse, General Electric, Western Electric, American Bell Telephone all over the place. By the way, did you know that they're offering what they call "long-distance" telephone calls? They made a big to-do about connecting the very first Boston-to-Chicago telephone call. I said, "Don't answer it, it's my editor!" (Apologizing for bad joke) Sorry. Back to the exhibition! There are a great many motors, and engines, and dynamos on display. Not that impressive until you stop to think that everything you see is being driven by electric generators. One of the most intriguing displays is not really a display at all. It#s simply a man. A man named Nikolai Tesla, one of the names to know when it comes to electricity and the science of it all, one of the men most directly responsible for these marvels. He's a Serb from Croatia, and don't ask me to show you Croatia on a map. In fact, without Mr. Tesla I doubt that any newsman on the planet would ever have any reason to mention the place. But Tesla is here, everyday, letting 200,000 volts of electricity flow over him showing how safe alternating current is. Remember all the controversy between Thomas Edison and Tesla? You know, all that "Battle of the Currents" business? Edison swore that Tesla's alternating current would never be safe, that only Edison's direct current should be used. Well, Edison's inventions may be all over the exhibition, but Tesla's alternating current system is powering all the electrical equipment for the entire fair. It's Tesla who's the man of the hour. He made the whole show possible. And what a show it is! One of the crowd favorites is the Electric Theater. It offers a performance called "A Day in the Alps." It's really quite amazing. Every aspect of it is electrical. You hear the Alpine peasants singing, and it's coming out of an electric phonograph. You feel a cool mountain breeze, and it's coming from these huge, whirling fans, several of them linked like spokes on a wheel, turned by an electric motor. You see the Alpine sun rise, and it's a dazzling bright electrical light. The sun sets, and different colored lights are used to create a red glow that washes over the peaks of the "mountains." And then, overhead, the stars come out! Tiny twinkling lights. Each and every one electric. It#s the lights that captivate most everyone. Lights color the fountain at night, all different colors, shifting and splashing. Enormously bright lights called "sunbeams" are mounted on top of buildings, like long, white lances that spear the darkness for miles around. In the Electricity Building there is an Egyptian temple, a white pyramid, that glows mysteriously from within, radiating with the secrets of the Pharaohs. There's also a Tower of Light, 30 feet wide and almost 80 feet high. It's made up of thousands of bright globes of light constantly flashing and blinking, creating patterns. All over this world's fair, people gather and stare at the beautiful lights and marvel at the electrical miracles taking place before their eyes. All these wires, electrical miracles - and who knows what's at the end of each one, what new marvels await us at the end of the wire. You know, that's not bad. "At the End of the Wire." That's what I'll call it (jots down title of his story). You'll have to excuse me ladies and gentlemen, but I have a story to write. (Starts to leave - turns back) I hope you'll enjoy yourselves - there certainly is a lot to see. (He exits scribbling, muttering to himself) End. Copyright 1999 by The Science Museum of Virginia For information about the playwright, please hit the "Playwrights" link below. |
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