Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror (TV story): Difference between revisions

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Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror (TV story) (edit)

Revision as of 09:03, 12 April 2021

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Finding a passing steam train heading to [[New York City]], the group enter to find [[Graham O'Brien|Graham]], [[Yasmin Khan|Yaz]], and [[Ryan Sinclair|Ryan]] in period costume. The Doctor explains they were visiting the area when she picked up a strange energy reading that led her to Tesla. Realising who Tesla is, she introduces him to her friends. Suddenly, the train jolts and a figure with an energy weapon breaks in. The Doctor uses her [[sonic screwdriver]] on the door and they run, but Ryan halts at having to jump between the train carriages. After Ryan jumps to the next carriage, their pursuer drops through the ceiling, but the Doctor grabs its weapon and the group move to the next carriage, which the Doctor then separates from the rest of the train. The figure generates a ball of lightning from its hand and throws it, but misses its target as the carriages get further apart. Lowering its hood, the figure reveals itself to be one of the investors from Tesla's presentation, but he has glowing red eyes. Now safe, the Doctor reveals the weapon to be [[Silurian]] made and confronts Tesla over his claims of not having seen anything strange. However, Tesla does not intend to hand over the orb to her. As a result, the Doctor promises to not let him out of her sight.
Finding a passing steam train heading to [[New York City]], the group enter to find [[Graham O'Brien|Graham]], [[Yasmin Khan|Yaz]], and [[Ryan Sinclair|Ryan]] in period costume. The Doctor explains they were visiting the area when she picked up a strange energy reading that led her to Tesla. Realising who Tesla is, she introduces him to her friends. Suddenly, the train jolts and a figure with an energy weapon breaks in. The Doctor uses her [[sonic screwdriver]] on the door and they run, but Ryan halts at having to jump between the train carriages. After Ryan jumps to the next carriage, their pursuer drops through the ceiling, but the Doctor grabs its weapon and the group move to the next carriage, which the Doctor then separates from the rest of the train. The figure generates a ball of lightning from its hand and throws it, but misses its target as the carriages get further apart. Lowering its hood, the figure reveals itself to be one of the investors from Tesla's presentation, but he has glowing red eyes. Now safe, the Doctor reveals the weapon to be [[Silurian]] made and confronts Tesla over his claims of not having seen anything strange. However, Tesla does not intend to hand over the orb to her. As a result, the Doctor promises to not let him out of her sight.


Arriving in New York the next day, the Doctor's friends discover a crowd of protesters gathered against Tesla and his attempts at using AC electricity, which they deem too unsafe. They enter his office as Tesla leaves to start hitting things nearby. Dorothy lets the Doctor and friends enter Telsa's lab, where the Doctor explains his history to her friends. Tesla finally shows the Doctor his orb, which the Doctor identifies as an "Orb of [[Thassor]]" - belonging to one of the ancient races who created them to share their knowledge. However, it appears to have been modified at some point. As the Doctor scans it, Tesla takes interest and bonds with her over also being an inventor. As they talk, Dorothy enters with a letter from a Mr Morgan explaining he is pulling his funding from Tesla's Wardenclyffe project. Just then, a camera goes off at the window which Dorothy places on an employee of Tesla's long-time rival, [[Thomas Edison]]. Wondering what he could be after, the Doctor, Graham, and Ryan go to visit him while Yaz stays behind with Tesla and Dorothy.
Arriving in New York the next day, the Doctor's friends discover a crowd of protesters gathered in front of Tesla's lab. They are protesting against his attempts at using AC electricity, which they deem too unsafe. The Doctor and her group move past the protesters and Dorothy shows them the lab while Tesla lets out some of his frustrations. When he returns, Tesla finally shows the Doctor his orb, which she identifies as an "Orb of [[Thassor]]" - belonging to one of the ancient races who created them to share their knowledge. However, it appears to have been modified at some point. As the Doctor scans it, Tesla takes interest and bonds with her over also being an inventor. As they talk, Dorothy enters with a letter from a Mr Morgan explaining he is pulling his funding from Tesla's Wardenclyffe project. Just then, a camera goes off at the window, with Dorothy identifying the photographer as an employee of Tesla's long-time rival, [[Thomas Edison]]. Wondering what Edison could be after, the Doctor, Graham, and Ryan go to visit him while Yaz stays behind with Tesla and Dorothy.


Visiting Edison as he gives a speech about the dangers of AC, the Doctor manages to convince Edison about getting his hands on alien weapons and they head inside. Walking through a significantly more advanced laboratory than Tesla's, Edison denies wanting to steal it from Tesla as he has enough products of his own. Edison explains that he gave Tesla his first job in the US, but upon not giving him the payout for his work, he quit, started work in digging ditches, and has been bitter ever since.
Visiting Edison as he gives a speech about the dangers of AC, the Doctor manages to get a private discussion with him after Ryan shows him the alien weapon. Walking through a significantly more advanced laboratory than Tesla's, Edison denies wanting to steal anything from Tesla as he has enough products of his own. Edison explains that he gave Tesla his first job in the US, but upon not giving him the payout for his work, he quit, started work in digging ditches, and has been bitter ever since.


Meanwhile, Yaz asks Tesla about his Wardenclyffe project, and he explains his plans to be able to transmit all of humanity's knowledge wirelessly, although he has no investors. In Edison's lab, two men argue about building parts and a piece drops to the floor. As one of them bends down to get it, the red-eyed figure appears and electrocutes everybody else standing up in the room. Just as the man steps up, he is spotted.
Meanwhile, Yaz asks Tesla about his Wardenclyffe project, and he explains his plans to be able to transmit all of humanity's knowledge wirelessly, although he has no investors.


Edison begins to theorise that the Doctor is hired by Tesla to sabotage his tracking of Tesla's work as the red-eyed man enters. Edison recognises him as one of his workers but the Doctor realises he has no human readings. As he attacks, the group flees and discovers the human he took his appearance from, dead in the lab. Edison is upset but the Doctor refuses to let him shoot the red-eyed creature. Instead, she asks for zinc. In Tesla's lab, he hooks the orb up to his work station and confirms it is emitting too much energy. He and Yaz consider it is scanning for something. As the Doctor's group hides, she uses the trail of zinc to trap the creature behind a wall of fire. Asking it to reveal its true form, its face distorts and it disappears.
In Edison's lab, two men argue about building parts and a piece drops to the floor. As one of them bends down to get it, the red-eyed figure appears and electrocutes everybody else standing in the room.


The Doctor's group runs down the street as the Doctor phones Yaz to update her. Before Yaz can lock the doors, Dorothy enters, being held hostage by two of the killed men, both with glowing red eyes. The creatures explain they do not want the orb but came for Tesla instead. As they reach out, the two creatures, Yaz, and Tesla vanish and land in a darkened large room full of giant scorpions. Spotting their leader, a female and more humanoid scorpion, she welcomes Tesla by name.
Edison begins to theorise that the Doctor is hired by Tesla to sabotage his tracking of Tesla's work when the red-eyed man enters, interrupting them. Edison recognises him as one of his workers but the Doctor realises he has no human readings. As he attacks, the group flees and discovers the human he took his appearance from, dead in the lab. Edison is upset but the Doctor refuses to let him shoot the red-eyed creature. Instead, she asks for zinc.


The Doctor retrieves [[The Doctor's TARDIS|her TARDIS]] with Graham, Ryan, and Edison in tow and picks up Dorothy from Tesla's lab. Inside, the Doctor attempts to bypass the aliens' cloaking technology while Dorothy and Edison take in the sights. The Doctor realises the orb has been hacked to receive information about the period and it has been searching for Tesla. Meanwhile, Tesla discovers he is in the throne ship of the [[Skithra]], high above New York, and he is talking to their [[Queen of the Skithra|queen]]. As she reveals she is responsible for his mechanical parts disappearing, she orders him to get to work on her ship and weapons. The Doctor searches for a trail to follow, leading Dorothy to remember Tesla's claims of a signal from Mars. She states they need to travel to Wardenclyffe.
Back in Tesla's lab, Tesla hooks the orb up to his work station and confirms it is emitting too much energy. He and Yaz consider it is scanning for something.


At the lab in Wardenclyffe on [[Long Island]], where Tesla has already moved some of his work, the Doctor and company find the "Teslascope" that he discovered the signal with. As Graham and Edison argue, the Doctor finds the signal readout.
As the Doctor's group hides, she uses the trail of zinc to trap the creature behind a wall of fire. After she asks it to reveal its true form, its face distorts and it disappears.


On the Skithra ship, Yaz and Tesla examine some equipment. Doing so, the queen states Tesla must use his engineering prowess to prepare them for battle, but he refuses. The queen commands her legions to kill Yaz. Meanwhile, the Doctor finds a "Braxium Bouncer, Mark III" in her toolbox for her to reach the ship with. However, she acknowledges she cannot get them back until it recharges but tries to make the group not worry. As the queen prepares to kill Yaz, the Doctor appears and stops her. She realises the ship and most of the technology on it has been stolen from other races, which is why the queen needs an engineer to fix it. The queen states that she chose Tesla because of his intelligence and the fact he answered back to their call - something he did not realise worked. As the Doctor carries on talking, she distracts the Skithra with a simple camera just as the bouncer recharges and the three are teleported out.
The Doctor phones Yaz to warn her not to let anyone into the lab, but before Yaz can lock the doors, Dorothy enters, being held hostage by two of the murdered men, both with glowing red eyes. The creatures explain they do not want the orb but came for Tesla instead. As they reach out, the two creatures, Yaz, and Tesla vanish and land in a large darkened room full of giant scorpions. Their leader, a female and more humanoid scorpion, welcomes Tesla by name.
 
The Doctor retrieves [[The Doctor's TARDIS|her TARDIS]] with Graham, Ryan, and Edison in tow and picks up Dorothy from Tesla's lab. Inside, the Doctor attempts to bypass the aliens' cloaking technology while Dorothy and Edison take in the TARDIS interior. The Doctor realises the orb has been hacked to receive information about the time period and it has been searching for Tesla. She searches for a trail to follow, leading Dorothy to remember Tesla's claims of a signal from Mars. She states they need to travel to Wardenclyffe.
 
Meanwhile, Tesla and Yaz discover they are in the throne ship of the [[Skithra]], high above New York, and are talking to their [[Queen of the Skithra|queen]]. The queen reveals that she is responsible for Tesla's mechanical parts disappearing, and orders him to get to work on her ship and weapons.
 
At the lab in Wardenclyffe on [[Long Island]], where Tesla has already moved some of his work, the Doctor and company find the "Teslascope" that Tesla discovered the Mars signal with. As Graham and Edison argue, the Doctor finds the signal readout.
 
On the Skithra ship, Yaz and Tesla examine some equipment. The queen states Tesla must use his engineering prowess to prepare them for battle, but he refuses. In response, the queen commands her legions to kill Yaz. Meanwhile, the Doctor finds a "Braxium Bouncer, Mark III" in her toolbox for her to reach the ship with. However, she acknowledges that it will need time to recharge before she can return. As the queen prepares to kill Yaz, the Doctor appears and stops her. She realises the ship and most of the technology on it has been stolen from other races, which is why the queen needs an engineer to fix it. The queen states that she chose Tesla because of his intelligence, which was proven when answered back to their call - something he did not realise had worked. As the Doctor carries on talking, she distracts the Skithra with a camera just as the bouncer recharges and the three are teleported out.


In Wardenclyffe, everyone reconvenes, with Tesla shocked to see Edison in his lab. With Tesla following everyone else into the TARDIS, the Doctor uses the orb to talk to the Skithra Queen and tells her to leave Earth, but she responds that she will have Tesla or the Earth will be destroyed. Overwhelmed, Tesla leaves again and the queen sends her disguised minions to find them.
In Wardenclyffe, everyone reconvenes, with Tesla shocked to see Edison in his lab. With Tesla following everyone else into the TARDIS, the Doctor uses the orb to talk to the Skithra Queen and tells her to leave Earth, but she responds that she will have Tesla or the Earth will be destroyed. Overwhelmed, Tesla leaves again and the queen sends her disguised minions to find them.


Tesla finds himself saddened at how he has to turn himself in and his plans for inventions will never be realised, but the Doctor refuses to let him and tells him to explain the Wardenclyffe project. She realises it could be used to generate a single bolt of lightning and hit the ship. Edison, however, dismisses the idea and he and Tesla argue about their respective ideologies. As Graham breaks them up, the Doctor concocts a plan: she and Tesla will finish the Wardenclyffe tower as she extends the TARDIS shields, Edison and Yaz will clear the streets, while Dorothy, Graham, and Ryan will work up materials to defend themselves.
Tesla finds himself saddened at how he has to turn himself in and his plans for inventions will never be realised, but the Doctor refuses to let him and tells him to explain the Wardenclyffe project. She realises it could be used to generate a single bolt of lightning that could hit the ship. Edison, however, dismisses the idea and he and Tesla argue about their respective ideologies. As Graham breaks them up, the Doctor concocts a plan: she and Tesla will finish the Wardenclyffe tower as she extends the TARDIS shields, Edison and Yaz will clear the streets, while Dorothy, Graham, and Ryan will work on ways to defend themselves.
 
Yaz attempts to generate panic on the streets to no effect, so Edison helps by playing on the public's existing fear of Tesla's experiments. Meanwhile, Graham and Ryan look through Tesla's inventions and find a "prototype death ray" as the Doctor plugs the TARDIS into the tower. As a disguised Skithra appears in the streets, Edison pulls out a pistol and attempts to shoot it. However, several more in their scorpion forms appear and start chasing them. Yaz and Edison find a hidden door leading them back to Wardenclyffe.


The two arrive just as a large group of Skithra amass at the shields and the lab is boarded up. Although outnumbered, the Doctor plans to take out the queen to ruin the species as they work as a hive. However, once the tower powers up, the shields will drop thirty seconds before it fires, leaving the group to fend the Skithra off themselves. As the tower charges up, the Skithra begin attacking the lab, but the Doctor receives a signal as the Skithra stop attacking. With the prototype death ray failing, the Doctor realises she cannot attack the queen on the ship because she has landed at Wardenclyffe instead.
Yaz attempts to generate panic on the streets to no effect, so Edison helps by playing on the public's existing fear of Tesla's experiments. Meanwhile, Graham and Ryan look through Tesla's inventions and find a "prototype death ray" as the Doctor plugs the TARDIS into the tower. As a disguised Skithra appears in the streets, Edison pulls out a pistol and attempts to shoot it. However, several more in their scorpion forms appear and start chasing them. Yaz and Edison find a hidden door leading them back to Wardenclyffe and they arrive just as a large group of Skithra amass at the shields and the lab is boarded up. Although outnumbered, the Doctor plans to take out the queen to ruin the species as they work as a hive. However, once the tower powers up, the shields will drop thirty seconds before it fires, meaning the group will have to fend the Skithra off themselves.


With the queen immediately disarming Edison, she threatens the group, but the Doctor puts herself first, having committed to defeating the Skithra as they were already given the chance to change. The Doctor attempts to take the bouncer, but she is apprehended by a disguised Skithra and it is given to the queen. However, the Doctor reveals this was part of her plan; throwing off the Skithra and sonicking the bouncer, the queen is teleported back to her ship with the rest following. Tesla activates the tower and the Skithra ship is electrocuted, leaving them no choice but to fly away.
As the tower charges up, the Skithra begin attacking the lab, but the Doctor receives a signal and the Skithra stop attacking. With the prototype death ray failing, the Doctor realises she cannot attack the queen on the ship because she has landed at Wardenclyffe instead. The queen immediately disarms Edison and threatens the group. The Doctor attempts to take the bouncer, but she is apprehended by a disguised Skithra and it is given to the queen. However, the Doctor reveals this was part of her plan; throwing off the Skithra and sonicking the bouncer, the Doctor teleports the queen back to her ship, with the rest of the Skithra following. Tesla activates the tower and the Skithra ship is electrocuted, leaving them no choice but to fly away.


The next day, Edison admits to Tesla how impressed he is and offers him a chance to work for him again, but Tesla turns him down. Meanwhile, the Doctor and friends say goodbye to Dorothy. Although Yaz is convinced these events will change history and make Tesla more famous, the Doctor reveals that time stays as normal - Tesla will be forgotten and die penniless, though his actions remain and his inventions change the world. Tesla arrives and begs the Doctor to look at the TARDIS, but she convinces him that his inventions are more important. He agrees and, thanking the group, says that no matter what anyone believes, he will always work for the future. As he leaves, the Doctor leads her friends towards the very future Tesla helped shape.
The next day, Edison admits to Tesla how impressed he is and offers him a chance to work for him again, but Tesla turns him down. Meanwhile, the Doctor and friends say goodbye to Dorothy. Although Yaz is convinced these events will change history and make Tesla more famous, the Doctor reveals that time stays as normal - Tesla will be forgotten and die penniless, though his actions remain and his inventions change the world. Tesla arrives and begs the Doctor to allow him a look at the TARDIS, but she convinces him that his inventions are more important. He agrees and, thanking the group, says that no matter what anyone believes, he will always work for the future. As he leaves, the Doctor leads her friends towards the very future Tesla helped shape.


== Cast ==
== Cast ==
Laura
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