Thunderstruck

In New York, Marconi attends a banquet that is boycotted by scientists who doubt his claims. While the banquet is a success, it stands in contrast to the growing number of skeptics. Marconi’s fiancée breaks off their engagement, and he finds himself alone and surrounded by doubt.

Back in London, Marconi criticizes Preece and Lodge publicly, earning only more public ire. He has also made an accidental enemy in Kaiser Wilhelm, who believes Marconi blocked transmissions to Prince Heinrich’s ship, which is untrue. The Kaiser is working to change the laws so that all wireless systems can communicate freely. In this aim, he sends German military men to intimidate the workers at Marconi’s stations.

While aboard a ship, Marconi’s device signals the Cape Cod station, increasing the range to 2,099 miles, the greatest distance yet. The captain of the ship stands as a witness, and the receiver taps out a written code as a secondary verification. Further, Marconi discovers that transmissions travel further at night than in daylight.

In a demonstration aboard the Carlo Alberto to Italian King Victor Emmanuel III and Russian Tsar Nicholas II, the daylight effect impedes transmissions, and Marconi sets up an intermediary station. A telegraph company picks up the intermediary and copies the messages transmitting to the Carlo Alberto, which will be used against Marconi to great effect later.