Chapter 5 – Science is Science
~~~~March, 1878~~~~
Helen and Nikola sat in the back of the lecture hall, as always.
Helen was taking notes on the lecture, Nikola was discrediting the whole lecture and using a rubber band to shoot chewed up bits of paper at the back of the other student's heads.
The door of the lecture hall opened suddenly and a young man with dark hair and a growing beard entered into the room.
Nikola scoffed, assuming that the man was late.
"Ah, James, come here lad!" said the Professor and the man walked up to the front.
Nikola, fully alert to the new presence sat up straight and paid attention, curious as to the reason the man was there, and why he was greeted so fondly.
"Class this is Dr. James Watson, a growing mind in his field, especially in the field of medical sciences and diagnostics."
The professor beamed proudly at Watson, as if he was his own son, and the rest of the class applauded with appreciation.
"Excuse me, medical sciences?" said Nikola, raising his hand.
The professor's smile instantly faded.
"Is there such a thing?" mocked Nikola.
"I'm sorry, that's just Mr. Tesla, a foreigner, you understand," muttered the Prof to the young man.
"No, it's alright, it's a fair question," said James looking Nikola straight in the eye. "Medical Sciences is a growing profession, with the growing rate of disease and illnesses it's actually becoming quite essential to maintain our way of life."
"Yes, but would you really call it a science?" said Nikola crossing his arms.
"You call alchemy a science, history has proven the links between science and medicine dating back to Ancient Greece! They practically go hand in hand," said James calmly, unflinchingly still and confident.
"Alchemy is alchemy, medicine is medicine, and science is science, sure they benefit one another just like a lion killing a gazelle feeds the hyenas, but you would not call them a pack," Nikola smiled triumphantly and Helen shook her head at him. He was always doing this to guest lecturers, making sure they could back up their claims.
James gave a small half smile.
"Well, there's French cooking and Italian cooking but both use the same spice rack," he said coolly, silencing Nikola.
The rest of the class applauds him and he continues with his lecture.
Helen patted Nikola's arm.
"You can't win them all Nikola," he crossed his arms and pouted, watching the man intently.
Helen sat, quite interested in the subject, she had often heard her father praising the mind of the young Doctor, "revolutionary thinker in the field of medicine" he had proclaimed,
She had even read several of his papers detailing certain antibiotic qualities of certain plants, and his theory of cocaine has a more productive anesthetic than ether or chloroform.
She had to admit he was brilliant; his own collection of self-made medical equipment was simply spellbinding not to mention his demonstration of diagnostics.
He made it seem very much like a science, the way he could read people as if they were an open book, knowing such intimate details just by the way they cut their nails, parted their hair, which direction they stared in when they asked him a question.
Nikola hated him instantly, and with every moment loathed him all the more, especially seeing Helen's captivation with him.
He was a handsome man, well-built, tall, he was educated, English, intelligent, calm, suave, debonair, and he was confident, not cocky, but well founded in his knowledge.
Nikola was charming in his own right, but he was compulsive, and at best arrogant, girls loved him for the way he would swiftly cut down his peers with a quick quip, but any girl would rush away at the sight of James Watson, even Helen.
And boy was it starting to piss him off.
Nikola paid attention the whole lecture, waiting for the perfect opportunity to shove him off his high horse and discredit his logic.
Unfortunately Dr. Watson didn't just seem intelligent, he was intelligent, his theories were well founded, his science was sound, and his math was flawless, until he finally made one unnoticed mistake.
"That's wrong," Nikola said disrupting the class again.
"Excuse me?" asked James.
"That equation, it's wrong, in fact it's a disaster, the formula you've just created is unstable enough to bring down this whole building, you've just killed your patient, your attending nurses, any other patient in a 5 mile radius, and yourself, nice going," said Nikola bitterly.
"And what do you propose is the answer then?" asked Watson, his eyes observing him closely.
"8," said Nikola nonchalantly, as if it were obvious.
"I think that's enough for today, class dismissed!" said the Prof and everyone got up and started to leave, except for James who turned to the blackboard and examined the equation closely.
"I'm sorry James, Tesla is too smart for his own good, he has no respect for this establishment or it's teachings, he's convinced he knows it all, and he does, passes every exam perfect, as if it were grade school work, but he can't stop giving the rest of the class grief," the man ran a hand over his face.
"No, no, it's all right, I've had worse, will you excuse me?" said James politely before jogging out of the room and into the yard, passing by eager students wishing to ask him questions.
"Can you believe that? Medicine is science! Pah!" growled Nikola, Helen walked beside him.
"He made some valid points," said Helen calmly.
"He made a clever remark about a spices, the rest was crap!" Nikola pouted beside her.
"You just don't like him because he actually stood up to you, your just a bully deflated," she giggled.
"And what was with you, making moon eyes at him as if he was the messiah!" accused Nikola.
"I did not!" Helen defended.
"You couldn't take your eyes off him, you hung off his every word, Helen! You were like a kid staring at an illusionist wondering what happened to the bunny!" Nikola teased and she bit back a blush and smacked his shoulder.
"I was just interested that's all, and your deflecting!" she poked him in the chest.
"Well, you're acting like a girl, and I don't like it!" whined Nikola.
Helen laughed at him.
"Excuse me!" said James, finally catching up to the pair.
Nikola rolled his eyes.
"What do you want?" he glared at the man.
"You were right; 8! Solves the whole formula! I didn't see it," said James.
"I'm not surprised, you're a doctor," said Nikola flatly.
James laughed.
"I think we got off on the wrong foot, James Watson, forget the doctor," James held out his hand and Nikola stared in disgust at it.
Helen nudged him from behind and he groaned slightly.
"Nikola Tesla, forget the accent," he took his hand and shook it and compulsively wiped his hand afterwards. "This is my friend, Helen Magnus."
"Magnus, eh? Any relation to Dr. Gregory Magnus?" asked James, shaking her hand as well.
"He's my father," she smiled shaking his hand warmly.
"Fascinating, I'm a big admirer of his work, you must introduce me to him," said James.
"He seems to have quite a fondness for your as well," she smiled back, Nikola rolled his eyes, being ignored by the giggling pair.
"Really? You don't say…but what I really came to say is that I could use your help, Tesla, I may have a ken eye but some of the biggest mysteries are hidden in plain sight, and you're one of the few people I've met who has caught something I've missed, I know you're not a medical man, per say, but you are a scientist nonetheless, I'm sure what I'm working on could use some of your keen logic," James looked sincerely at Nikola.
"Only if Helen joins us, she is the smartest woman I know," in truth he didn't know if he could be alone with the man, without trying to kill him.
"It would be an absolute pleasure," James took Helen's hand and kissed the top of it lightly.
"As it would be for me," Helen smiled.
Nikola pouted some more, not liking the obvious shine the two had taken to each other.
"Meet me at this address, Saturday, I promise you you're in for a treat," he handed a scrap of paper with the address on it to Nikola and he handed it to Helen with a huff.
"Can you believe that pompous bastard?" growled Nikola.
"I thought he was quite charming," Helen said as she stuffed the scrap of paper into her clutch.
"You would," snarked Nikola.
Helen laughed and looped her arm with his pulling him in the direction of the park.
"Let's go feed the pigeons, you like that," she said condescendingly, like he was a child.
He muttered something in Serbian but allowed her to drag him to their spot in the park.