Bruno returned to the German Reich shortly after his visit to the Kingdom of Romania, but he did not spend long there. He, after all, had other business to attend to across the Atlantic. While Bruno had long since been investing in a variety of businesses across the land, he had also personally sponsored many inventors.
One of whom he desperately wanted to fund was a true visionary, a man who, after his death and until the 1990s, went into a state of relative obscurity despite his contributions, which helped build the foundation of the modern world.
For years, Bruno had been trying to acquire the Serbian American’s talents, but the man had eluded his attempts to do so, relying on the likes of American elites to fund his projects. By now, that money was starting to dry up, and Bruno saw this as an excellent opportunity to snatch the exceptional talent for his own ambitions.
Because of this, Bruno had finally decided to set sail across the Atlantic to Manhattan in an attempt to meet with the man in person and hopefully convince him to immigrate for a second time in his life, this time from the United States of America to the German Reich.
It was a tall task, but one Bruno was attempting, nonetheless. As he wholeheartedly believed, giving Nikola Tesla the funds he needed to bring his many designs to life would be an ultimate benefit to mankind in the long run.
Frankly speaking, Tesla was relying mostly on money from his patents at the moment, but those patents would be violated and infringed upon by U.S. corporations when the war broke out, and by the end of the war, he would be effectively bankrupt—or at least most certainly so in the years following its completion.
Bruno wanted to prevent this tragedy to scientific achievement from occurring by bringing Nikola Tesla back to the German Reich and giving him damn near unlimited funding in his pursuits. Hence, after a mere five days on board an ocean liner, Bruno arrived in the United States of America.
Because Bruno was of German stock and spoke damn near perfect English, he blended in quite well with the American population, walking through its streets and taking in the sights of the sleeping giant and its current progress as he made his way towards his ultimate goal: meeting with Nikola Tesla in one of his current offices based out of Manhattan.
Frankly speaking, when Bruno arrived at his ultimate destination, he was not the least bit surprised to find that Nikola Tesla was not the least bit pleased to see him. Bruno had been trying for years to get a meeting with the man, and for whatever reason, Tesla had kept eluding him.
Ultimately, Bruno had to finally petition for a meeting under a false identity to finally speak with Nikola Tesla, and in doing so, he had, of course, perturbed the man he was trying to coerce. Nevertheless, Bruno had a shameless smile as he introduced himself to a legendary scientist and engineer from his past life.
“You are a very difficult man to get a meeting with. But I’m afraid you can’t elude me any longer. Allow me to properly introduce myself. The name is Bruno von Zehntner. Though judging by the expression on your face, you already know who I am. I honestly have to admit, it behooves me why you would play so hard to get, but it is an honor to finally meet your acquaintance, Mr. Tesla…”
The look that Tesla gave Bruno when he sighed and finally accepted defeat was like an old rival who had long since been ten steps ahead of his opponent, only to find this adversary waiting for him at the finish line. Needless to say, when he finally spoke to Bruno, there was a hint of exasperation in his voice.
“You are quite literally the most dedicated pursuer I have ever had in my life…. I have to say, I am almost starting to think that you might fancy me…”
Bruno simply chuckled at this remark before rejecting the premise entirely.
“Oh, I assure you I am quite happily married, my friend. It is not your heart that I desire, but your mind. Few men appreciate your genius, but me, I admire it. If you had just given me the chance of day to speak with you, I would have told you that your financial problems have come to an end.
Isn’t that the purpose of renting these offices? To gain investment in your future projects? I am willing to fund whatever project you are passionate about without expectation of returns. I have more than enough money to do so, after all…”
Nikola Tesla was indeed surprised to hear this, but like everything in life, he expected there to be some kind of catch. I mean, nobody in this world would throw money away at a pile of unproven and frankly far-fetched ideas without expecting some kind of return.
In fact, one of the reasons he was having such trouble finding investors was because they were all concerned about the financial return of their investments. Because of this, the man quickly narrowed his eyes and demanded the truth of why Bruno was making such an absurd offer.
“What exactly is your aim? You have come all this way across the Atlantic after years of pestering me for a meeting. And your first offer is unlimited financing towards whatever pursuit I am passionate about? What are you really after?”
Naturally, Bruno was aware of the man’s skepticism. Hell, if someone offered to throw an unlimited pile of money at him to finance his goals in life, he would also be skeptical. And because of this, Bruno dropped his friendly façade and was immediately blunt with the man.
“Everything I have said to you is true. I admire your intellect; few men in history are as brilliant as you are, and even fewer as underappreciated as you are. But even so, I wouldn’t exactly be telling the whole truth if I denied that I had ulterior motives. And you and I both know that you can easily tell this. So, allow me to be blunt with you.
I want to secure your genius as an asset to the German Reich. I want you to immigrate to Germany, where you choose to live, and where you build your base of operations is of no concern to me. Hell, even if your ideals turn out to be abject failures, I really don’t care.
But I believe acquiring your genius will be an overall benefit for my people. And to me, the interests of the German Reich are worth the expense, even if I may personally never recover my investment into your scientific pursuits.”
Nikola Tesla was still skeptical, as he was quick to interrogate Bruno about what he said.
“You care so much about your fellow man that you would be willing to take such a financial risk merely for the potential of a brighter future for humanity?”
Bruno was quick to deny this while clarifying what he really meant in a way that finally convinced Tesla that he was being wholly honest in his assertions.
“My fellow man? God, no! I could not be compelled to care about the lives of the overwhelming majority of human beings on this planet. I am neither a saint nor an angel. But for my fellow Germans? Absolutely.
Besides, my wealth is both vast and diverse enough that even if I threw money at you for the rest of your life, resulting in nothing but failures, I would still be secure enough to live the same life I am now.
So what do you say? Will you come back with me to Germany, where together we can build a brighter future? Or will you stay here in America and become bankrupt when the war finally breaks out, and the Americans shamelessly infringe on the patents you have already filed in Europe?”
This was a future that was indeed bound to happen. Americans would infringe on multiple patents during the war. But the end result was that they would be forced to pay compensation after it was over.
And while patent infringement during a time of war was something the United States was willing to engage in, Bruno had no doubt they wouldn’t dare seize his assets in the country, which included his stock shares in major American corporations.
Because if they did so, there would be hell to pay for after the war was over. This, of course, was all contingent on the idea that America entered the war on behalf of the Allies in the first place, which Bruno hoped he would be able to prevent altogether.
Either way, his words gave Nikola Tesla much to fear, as he would effectively be bankrupt if such a thing were to transpire. And because of this, he was quick to give Bruno a response, albeit not the one he was hoping for, yet the one he still expected.
“Can you give me some time to consider your offer?”
Having already anticipated this would be the outcome, Bruno was quick to agree to it, placing faith in the genius, and that he would choose what was ultimately best for himself, the German Reich, and by extension, the world altogether.
“Of course, take as much time as you need. I am in no hurry. This offer is indefinite; you could approach me in twenty years, and I would still gladly help you out. Oh, and I forgot to mention, I have no intention of interfering with your projects or any corporation you might build with my investment.
You are free to use my money however you wish, in case you were perhaps worried that I might try to micromanage you. Or, God forbid, suppress your genius. So do with that information what you will. I look forward to hearing from you in the future, Mr. Tesla. Until we meet again…”
After saying this, Bruno stood up and left Tesla’s office, leaving the man with much to think about. Whether or not he would actually take up Bruno on his offer had yet to be seen, but Bruno was certain that he would. Even if it took him another twenty years to do so.
