ALBERT ANNA BETTY BROWNSHIRTS CAPTAIN CLASS DRIVER EINSTEIN ELSA ENTIRE_CLASS ERNST EVERYONE FRED FRENCH_TEACHER GEIST GERMAN_MAN HABER HERMANN HITLER_YOUTH HITLER_YOUTH_BOY JAKOB JOST JULIUS LENARD MAJA MAN_1 MAN_2 MARIE MATHIAS MATH_TEACHER OLDER_BOY PAUL PAULINE PHYSICS_TEACHER PROFESSOR_WEBER PROVOST RATHENAU ROSA STUDENT STUDENT_1 WOMAN YOUNG_VOICES YOUNG_WOMAN DRIVER Good morning, Herr Minister. RATHENAU Good morning, Abel. To the Reichstag, please. RATHENAU What in good God are they ? RATHENAU Christ. Abel, report that driver directly to MAN 1 Walther Rathenau, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Weimar Republic? RATHENAU Abel, drive. MAN 1 Death to the Elders of Zion. MAN 2 This is for ruining Germany. Jew pig. EINSTEIN I have a proposition to make WOMAN Not now, Albert. ... and we realize this hand belongs to: Professor Albert EINSTEIN, 43, black moustache, sparkling brown eyes, wrinkled shirt, breathing heavily. He looks up. At whom, we cannot yet see. EINSTEIN It’s an unorthodox idea, but-- WOMAN Please be quiet. EINSTEIN Crazier thoughts of mine have worked in the past BETTY Pick me up! BETTY Oh God. Oh God! Oh EINSTEIN God would likely disapprove of this idea, but I would convince him... Move in with me, Betty. EINSTEIN You haven’t given me an answer. BETTY You’re late for your lecture. EINSTEIN My lecture can wait. BETTY Fine. Since you have so much time, shall we address your schedule? The Telegraph, Life Magazine and the Los Angeles Times have all requested interviews. And the Universities of Prague, Zurich, and Princeton are all willing to pay * your lecture fees in Swiss Francs. Shall I accept? And please don’t forget that you invited Minister Rathenau to dinner on Sunday EINSTEIN Betty, move in with me BETTY You have a wife. EINSTEIN Whom I adore. BETTY You’re insane... EINSTEIN I’m quite rational, actually. Monogamy isn’t natural, it’s a construct of religious authority. And a foolish faith in authority, my dear Betty, is the worst enemy of truth. BETTY The truth being that rules don’t apply to you? EINSTEIN I love Mozart and Bach. The Swiss Alps and the Baltic Sea. Why can’t I love you and Elsa? BETTY For a man who is an expert on the universe, you don’t know the first thing about people, do you? EINSTEIN Forgive me, Betty. Perhaps triangular geometry isn’t as simple as I’d like it to be. BETTY Professor Einstein’s office... One moment, please. It’s Mileva Maric. EINSTEIN I can’t. Not now. BETTY I apologize. The Professor is busy. May I take a messa Yes, Frau. She says it is urgent... Professor? EINSTEIN As you said, I’m late for my lecture. EINSTEIN What is time? EINSTEIN A deceptively simple question, yet it is the key to understanding Relativity... and the reason my hair has gone grey. When we describe motion, we do so as a function of time: 10 meters per second. 100 miles per hour. But a mathematical description of velocity is moot unless we can define “time.” Is time universal? In other words, is there an audible tick-tock throughout the galaxy? A master clock so to speak, forging ahead like Mozart’s metronome? The answer, my friends, is no. Time is not absolute. In fact, for us believing physicists, the distinction between the past, present and future is but a stubborn illusion. A lot to consider, I know, but understanding time is essential to understanding Relativity... Now, I want you all to close your eyes. Not to worry, I don’t bite. But I am on the lookout for a new pen. Go on. Close your eyes. EINSTEIN To truly grasp the idea of time, we must take a step back and ask: what is light? So, journey with me, to the sun. We careen past Venus, Mercury, through a comet trail, to the SUN. It is a chaotic ball of fire. Welcome to Einstein’s mind. EINSTEIN Light travels from the sun to the Earth through space, yes? When I was your age, I wanted to know how. How does something - light - travel through nothing - space? Let us isolate a light beam and travel alongside it. EINSTEIN Scientists used to believe that light was only a wave. So let us imagine that is so. We circle and follow the beam. It moves like an ocean swell. EINSTEIN Let us go faster. Faster. Faster! As we SPEED up beside the beam, the waves begin to slow down. MATH TEACHER Herr Einstein... Herr Einstein? EINSTEIN The light FLARES OUT as the thought experiment is interrupted: we enter Earth’s atmosphere and dive towards Europe, Germany, Munich and finally: MATH TEACHER Herr Einstein MATH TEACHER Wake up! ALBERT I wasn’t sleeping, sir, I was thinking. MATH TEACHER Oh, really? About what exactly? ALBERT Well... the secrets of the cosmos I suppose... MATH TEACHER I suggest you think about trigonometry instead. With your eyes open. And sit up. MATH TEACHER Laws of Sines and Cosines. ENTIRE CLASS C-squared equals A-squared plus Bsquared subtract two-AB-cosine-C. MATH TEACHER Area of a triangle. ENTIRE CLASS Area equals C-squared Sine-A Sine-B over two-Sine-C. MATH TEACHER Let us move on to calculus. What is the function of this homogeneous first order differential equation? MATH TEACHER Herr Einstein, are you still too busy contemplating the “secrets of the cosmos” to solve this equation? ALBERT Excuse me? Oh. No, sir. I’ve already solved it. MATH TEACHER Leave. Now. ALBERT On what offense? MATH TEACHER Your mere presence spoils the respect of the class for me. ALBERT That is not an objective reason MATH TEACHER Out! ALBERT The natural log of a constant multiplied by X equals the natural log of one-plus-v-squared. And since v equals y-over-x, that gives us the final function: x-squared plus y-squared minus c-x-cubed equals zero. ALBERT And speaking truthfully, Sir, your mere presence spoils my respect for the future of Prussian mathematics. MATH TEACHER OUT! HERMANN Well? What do you have to say for yourself? ALBERT How do people get pleasure by marching in step? It makes me think they’ve been given their big brains only by mistake. HERMANN Turn around. I want you to listen to me very carefully, son: Rebellion will get you nowhere in life. You step on enough toes and I promise you, one day you will trip. ALBERT I’m not going to apologize for thinking HERMANN That’s exactly what you’re going to do. The headmaster is willing to give you one last chance, so go back in there and say you’re sorry. ALBERT Wait. Father, no. Please. I can’t. HERMANN You need an education. ALBERT I agree! But blind regurgitation and rote memorization is not an education. Let me study on my own and I promise I’ll make you proud. HERMANN And how will you do that exactly? ALBERT Look around you. What do you see? HERMANN I see my impudent son. ALBERT Yes, but what am I made of? Matter. And what keeps my feet on the ground? Gravity HERMANN Albert, I don’t have time for ALBERT Time, yes, that too! And light. And magnetism. Invisible forces that nobody fully understands. What are they made of? Where do 10 they come from? And why do they act as they do? I want to be the one who solves those mysteries. HERMANN Solving mysteries is not a vocation. ALBERT But it is. I’m going to be a physicist. HERMANN Not without a degree you won’t. And if you get thrown out again, I will not be here to save you. ALBERT I don’t need saving, father HERMANN No. I mean I will not be here at all. ALBERT What are you talking about? HERMANN Your mother, sister and I are moving to Italy. ALBERT Italy? I don’t understand... why? HERMANN Because there is a great demand for street lamps in Milan. ALBERT But what about your business here HERMANN Our business is bankrupt. ALBERT Why didn’t you tell me? HERMANN It is not your concern. ALBERT I could have helped. HERMANN We’ll be fine. ALBERT Let me come with you. Please. HERMANN You don’t speak Italian. How would you expect to go to school? ALBERT I’ll learn Italian faster than anyone has ever learned it before! HERMANN Albert. ALBERT ...so you’re abandoning me? HERMANN No, I’m looking out for your future. Sometimes growing up means doing things you don’t like. It’s time you learn to be independent and take responsibility for yourself. You will live with your cousins until your studies are complete. Now go back to school. HERMANN Pauline! Maja! The train will not wait for your hair to be pinned up! PAULINE Coming, coming already. PAULINE Albert, I left you two roast hens, green beans and potatoes. Oh, and I ordered extra milk delivery to your aunt’s house, so drink plenty ALBERT I won’t forget to eat, Mother. PAULINE You’re too skinny already. Come. I also left you a few extra marks. Don’t tell your father. It’s not his money anyway. Make us proud. MAJA This is terrible... ALBERT I know. How will I sleep without your incessant snoring? MAJA Promise me you’ll write. ALBERT Of course, Maja. MATH TEACHER Derivative of logarithmic functions. CLASS The x derivative of natural log x is 1 over x... CLASS One/Twelve/Seven/Fourteen. * FRENCH TEACHER Aller. Subjunctif présent. CLASS J’aille. Tu ailles. Il aille. Nous allions. Vous alliez. Ils aillent. MATH TEACHER Double angle formulas. CLASS Sine-2-theta equals 2-sine-theta cosine-theta. MATH TEACHER Cosine CLASS Cosine-2-theta equals cosine-- ALBERT NO! MATH TEACHER I beg your pardon, Herr Einstein? ALBERT I am feeling sick. I must go. DR. TALMUD Sixty beats per minute. Normal. ALBERT Take my temperature. DR. TALMUD I already did. It’s normal. ALBERT Take it again. DR. TALMUD Albert. ALBERT I’m feeling feverish. I may faint. DR. TALMUD You’re fine! ALBERT Then I must have a rash somewhere DR. TALMUD Albert, what’s going on? I’m asking not as your doctor but as a friend of your family. ALBERT I must leave Germany, Dr. Talmud. DR. TALMUD Your father wants you to stay. ALBERT My father doesn’t understand me. DR. TALMUD Chin up. It’s only two more years. ALBERT Well, maybe for you two years feels like the blink of an eye. But for me, it’s an eternity... I don’t mean that literally of course. Everyone knows time can’t move at two different speeds. DR. TALMUD What do you want me to do? ALBERT Deem me medically unfit to finish school. DR. TALMUD Ha! For what reason? Prussian malaise? ALBERT Nervous breakdown will do. PAULINE Spelt, milk, and do not forget the-- HERMANN Eggs. I heard you! I’m late ALBERT Buongiorno, papà. That is the extent of my Italian thus far. You were right. It is a difficult language to grasp. HERMANN What are you Why are you not in school? ALBERT I’ve decided to go to Zurich Polytechnic instead. HERMANN Zurich Polytechnic? You cannot expect to enter University without finishing ALBERT They’ll admit me if I pass the entrance exam in June. ALBERT I was hoping I could stay here... with you and Mother and Maja... while I study. PAULINE Hermann, who are you...? Albert? ALBERT Hello, Mother. PAULINE Hermann, let the boy in. But it’s all too much for Hermann. HERMANN No! He will go back to Munich immediately and finish his studies! That is an order. ALBERT ...I’m sorry, Father. I am not going back to Germany. Ever again. EINSTEIN Alright, let’s all open our eyes... EINSTEIN ... and return to Germany. EINSTEIN Here is our traveling light beam. Now, I will ask you again - how can something - light - travel through nothing - space? STUDENT 1 It... cannot, Herr Professor. EINSTEIN It cannot! Good! Therefore, if light is only a wave, then... STUDENT 1 Space is not empty? EINSTEIN Exactly. So just as sound waves travel through air, light waves must travel through some sort of medium in space. EINSTEIN Scientists called it the ether, an invisible but all-encompassing substance pervading the universe. I believed in it when I was your age, and trust me, I knew everything. But it turns out, I was wrong. STUDENT Walther Rathenau is dead! EINSTEIN I just saw him yesterday... He was * coming to dinner on Sunday. * BETTY I’ll get it ELSA That’s quite all right, Fraulein. If you don’t mind, I’d like some time alone with my husband. EINSTEIN Why did you send her away? I don’t want to be disturbed by the press. I need Betty to answer the phone. ELSA I know why you need Betty. ELSA And that is not the press. It’s Mileva Maric. She’s been calling all morning EINSTEIN Let her call. She brings us nothing but misery and pain and we have enough of that as is. ELSA Where are you going? EINSTEIN To my study. ELSA Please don’t. EINSTEIN Don’t what? ELSA Do what you always do. Hide in your work. Your friend just died, Albert. You must grieve. EINSTEIN A machine gun and then a grenade... What sort of animals would do this? ELSA You know exactly what sort of animals. MAN 1 Death to the Elders of Zion! MAN 1 Bolshevik cowards! We die for our ideals! MAN 2 The revolution is nigh! Germany will rise again and unite against the Jewish conspiracy! CAPTAIN MÜLLER Good day, Mrs. Einstein. Captain Müller. Berlin Police. Is your husband at home? CAPTAIN MÜLLER Good day, Professor. It is an honor to meet you, though I regret the circumstances. I understand you and Minister Rathenau were close. EINSTEIN We were, thank-you. CAPTAIN MÜLLER As you may have heard, we located and killed Minister Rathenau’s assassins and arrested the driver. ELSA Who were they? CAPTAIN MÜLLER Members of a fringe group called the Organization Consul. ELSA What is your definition of “fringe,” Captain? Ten members? One hundred? One thousand ? EINSTEIN Elsa, please. You are not here to offer your condolences, are you, Captain? CAPTAIN MÜLLER No, sir, I’m not. The assassins had in their possession a list of targets. Minister Rathenau’s name was on that list... ...and so was yours, Herr Einstein. CAPTAIN MÜLLER I’m afraid your wife is correct. These men are part of a larger movement. It may not be safe for you to remain in Berlin. ELSA I’ll call the movers. They can have the apartment packed by Friday. We’ll go to the Baltic Sea for the summer. It’ll give us time to consider a more permanent option. Albert, are you listening to me? EINSTEIN We’re not going anywhere, Elsa. ELSA Did you hear what the man said? You’re on a list! EINSTEIN The killers are dead ELSA -- and they have accomplices. EINSTEIN No. I will not kowtow to bullies! ELSA And I will not sit by and wait for fascists to kill my husband! ELSA I want to leave, Albert. Please. You don’t even like Germany. EINSTEIN This is not about Germany, darling. It’s about my work, my colleagues at the Academy, our friends, my sailboat, this apartment. Our life. It’s all here. It’s... home. ELSA That’s what Walther Rathenau believed, too. EINSTEIN Walther was killed because he was a politician. I am only a scientist. ELSA And you’re both Jews. HABER Where on God’s Earth would you go? EINSTEIN I have teaching offers abroad. Oxford. Princeton. HABER Ha! I’ve known you for over a * decade, Albert. You despise British * formality and you despise American exceptionalism. EINSTEIN I also despise German nationalism. HABER So do most Germans! The country has * declared a national holiday for Walther’s funeral tomorrow, for God’s sake EINSTEIN Do you know what I find extraordinary about you, Fritz Haber? HABER It might be my brilliant mind or my scintillating wit, but knowing you, you’re not about to flatter me. EINSTEIN You see yourself as one of them, and not as one of us. HABER One of us? I’m a German patriot, a proud war veteran, and a devout Christian. EINSTEIN You may have changed your religion, but don’t think for a second you can change your heritage. HABER Is that how you really see me? As some sort of... fraud? EINSTEIN It’s not how I see you that matters. It’s how men like Adolf Hitler see you. HABER Adolf Hitler is a loud-mouthed art school reject with a handful of supporters in country of sixty million. Do the math. He’ll be gone in a year. EINSTEIN Tell that to the esteemed Professor Lenard. HABER “Albert Einstein should hereby be barred from attending the annual conference for German Science. On grounds that his Theory of Relativity offends against the common sense of scientists?!” EINSTEIN I’m sure it took all the restraint he could muster not to refer to Relativity as a “Jewish Theory.” HABER Forget Lenard. He’s just jealous of your success. EINSTEIN ... Perhaps, but he has influence, and influence is dangerous. PROVOST Please, Professor Lenard, I beg of you. It is only one day of classes. LENARD I couldn’t agree more, which is why I’m choosing to teach. PROVOST But a national day of mourning has been declared. The University of Heidelberg must respect it. LENARD A national day of mourning for a Bolshevik Jew who bankrupted our nation and left behind a generation of jobless young men? No thank-you. The death of Walther Rathenau should be cause for celebration, not mourning. PROVOST Professor LENARD No. This funeral is a garish spectacle planned by left wing radicals like Albert Einstein to paint German patriots as criminals. PROVOST Philipp, please. As your friend, * I’m begging you. Don’t let old skirmishes cloud your vision. LENARD If that is what you think this is, sir, then we are not friends. LENARD Gentlemen, there is a new war festering. A war against reason, against clarity, against this very institution. Germany and German Physics are under threat! LENARD Galileo, Kepler, Newton, Faraday - these great scholars based their science on experimentation and fact. Not artificial formulae based on arbitrary definitions, or publicity-seeking fabrications of space and time. HABER Quite the turnout for a Jew, wouldn’t you say? LENARD This “Foreign” influence has been gaining momentum for far too long... LENARD ... and it is your job, as the future of this great nation, to protect our Aryan respect for empirical observation! Abstruse theories devoid of reality have no place in our field. If we do not fight against them, I promise you, the foreigner will spread through these hallowed halls like a virus, and before we have time to react, German physics will be no more. It is time to stand up, gentlemen, stand up for Germany! GERMAN MAN Doctor Einstein? GERMAN MAN We would just like to say that we are deeply sorry for the loss of your friend. And we want you to know that we are proud to call men such as Minister Rathenau and yourself our compatriots. BROWNSHIRTS Rathenau’s killers are German Heroes! Rathenau’s killers are German Heroes! Rathenau’s killers The crowd reacts, some recoiling, others SHOUTING at the Brownshirts, POLICE WHISTLES blow and OFFICERS tackle the Brownshirts and haul them away. ELSA We should go. Now. EINSTEIN No, we’re not going home until the funeral is over. And we’re not leaving Germany. ELSA Albert EINSTEIN If we leave, they win. PROFESSOR WEBER Herr Einstein? PROFESSOR WEBER I am Professor ALBERT Weber. Heinrich Weber. Chair of the physics department, I know. I read your paper on heat conduction. PROFESSOR WEBER It seems you have read quite a few papers, young man. You passed the math and science sections with flying colors. Where did you learn all of this? ALBERT I am self-taught, Herr Professor. PROFESSOR WEBER Ah, that makes sense. ALBERT Why is that? PROFESSOR WEBER Because you failed everything else. PROFESSOR WEBER Literature, Zoology, botany, French and politics, to be specific. ALBERT ... That’s... quite a few subjects. PROFESSOR WEBER Indeed. ALBERT My father... God my father is going to Can you make an exception? I only want to study physics. PROFESSOR WEBER That is not how a university works. Our students must have a breadth of knowledge, Herr Einstein. ALBERT But literature is a pastime, I’ve never been to a zoo in my life, botany I place under the same subsection as literature - bourgeois, and French, well... pourquoi, sir? PROFESSOR WEBER You forgot politics. ALBERT Politics? Politics are frivolous. They are only a matter of present concern. But a mathematical equation, Professor, well that stands forever. PROFESSOR WEBER I’ll tell you what, I’m going to bend the rules and invite you to audit my classes and work in my laboratory. ALBERT Will I be an official student? PROFESSOR WEBER No, but I’ll teach you all I can, at no cost. ALBERT That is a very generous offer, sir, but I’m afraid I cannot accept. PROFESSOR WEBER And why not? ALBERT I need to earn a degree, sir. Because without one, I’ll never be taken seriously as a physicist. And I’ll never get an office like this, will I? PROFESSOR WEBER Very well, young man. There is a good school twenty-five miles west * of here. I know a teacher who will take you in. Study for a year, go to a zoo, learn some French, then come back and re-take the exam. ALBERT I won’t disappoint you, sir. YOUNG VOICES Get the door!/No you get the door!/I’m doing homework/Liar! You’re in the bathroom/I have cramps!/She always says that! YOUNG WOMAN Everyone relax! I’ll get it! MARIE Hello. May I help you? ALBERT Yes. I... I... I FRED Well spit it out, then. MARIE Buzz off, you gnat. FRED Mother! Marie called me a gnat! MATHIAS Oh my God. Marie has a boyfriend. PAUL In her dreams. JULIUS Paul, did you steal my Marx? PAUL Share the wealth, Julius! Julius frowns, sees Albert. JULIUS Who are you? MATHIAS Marie’s boyfriend! MARIE Mathias, shut it. ANNA Marie has a boyfriend? Since when?! ROSA Anna, you said you couldn’t do dishes because you had cramps! ANNA I do, but look! A real boy! ROSA Who are you? MARIE I already asked him. JULIUS I already asked him. ALBERT Yes. Right. I am JOST Albert Einstein! JOST Albert. Einstein. Your reputation precedes you. Disobedient son, perennial truant, and unrepentant flouter of authority. Gulp. Yet another strict Germanic home. ALBERT Forgive me, sir, I can explain JOST I’m not chastising you. I’m congratulating you. We Wintelers respect a rebel. You are welcome here for as long as you like. ALBERT Thank-you, sir. MARIE Papa you never mentioned we were expecting a guest. JOST Because I never thought he’d come. JULIUS Do you know that Spinoza never taught a day in his life? He was a lowly optical lens grinder. MARIE Why should someone’s vocation define his intellect? JOST Well said, darling. JULIUS Fine, but his treatise on God is hearsay. “Natura Naturans?” Please. PAUL What does that even mean? MARIE It means God and Nature are one in the same. I am a certified teacher now, so if you need a Latin tutor JULIUS Marie, shut it JOST ALBERT I will? JOST Professor Weber tells me you need a little help in the humanities. Is that why you are so silent tonight? ALBERT My opinions are usually unwelcome. JOST Not here they aren’t. Speak. ALBERT ... All right. Well... I think, from a scientific perspective, what Marie said is very exciting, and funny enough, it’s an idea I’ve been considering for a while now. “Natura Naturans.” Everything is connected. Nature isn’t a product of God... Nature is God. And if we suppose that’s true, then we must conclude the universe isn’t some mystical netherworld outside our grasp of understanding. From the smallest molecule to the largest galaxy... every question must have a definable answer... and, well, I intend to find those answers. JULIUS Well that is the most hedonistic thing I have heard all night! EVERYONE Oh come off it!/You’re crazy! PHYSICS TEACHER Newton’s second law of motion. You all know it, but as we delve deeper into Newtonian mechanics, I need you to more than ‘know’ it. I need you to be able to see it. So when I ask what is acceleration, don’t immediately think numbers. Instead, close your eyes... and imagine a ball being shot across the sky. PHYSICS TEACHER Now imagine an identical ball in outer space racing the ball on earth with the same force applied. Which ball would win a race? PHYSICS TEACHER You don’t need to raise your hand to speak here, Albert. ALBERT Oh. Really? Well. The ball in outer space would win because it’s travelling in a vacuum. But I have another question. PHYSICS TEACHER Go ahead. ALBERT Well, now I’m imagining the ball is traveling in deep space... with no stars or planets around it. ALBERT The definition of acceleration is the derivative of velocity with respect to time, yes? PHYSICS TEACHER Very good. And? ALBERT Well, how do we know the ball is moving at all if there’s nothing to compare its motion to? PHYSICS TEACHER The spinning ball, all alone, freezes. Or should it be moving? It spins. Then freezes again. A jagged thought. ALBERT In other words, what is time? And for that matter, what is space? PHYSICS TEACHER Newton’s Principia, Volume One: “Absolute, true, and mathematical time, of itself and from its own nature, flows” ALBERT “-- equitably without relation to anything external,” Time and space are absolute, I know. PHYSICS TEACHER Then let’s move on ALBERT But when pressed on the subject of absoluteness, Newton said “The Deity endures forever... And by existing always and everywhere, He constitutes duration and space.” Which, in short, is saying, ‘I have no idea, but God must, so there.’ PHYSICS TEACHER Albert ALBERT I know. I should go. PHYSICS TEACHER Sit down. PHYSICS TEACHER ... Well, it looks like this is going to be an interesting year. JOST “The surest way to corrupt a youth is to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.” ALBERT Nietzsche? JOST Excellent. ALBERT “If you step on enough toes, one day you’ll trip.” JOST Confucius? ALBERT Close. My father. MARIE Hello, Papa. Albert. A letter for you. Looks official. ALBERT I don’t believe it. MARIE What is it? ALBERT ... My application to renounce my German citizenship. It’s been approved. I’m officially stateless. MARIE So now you have no passport? That seems... reckless. Why would you do that? ALBERT Because nationalism is an infantile disease. The measles of mankind. MARIE Where on Earth did you get such an idea? MARIE Papa, you didn’t! JOST I’m proud of you, Albert. Now you’re a citizen of the world. ALBERT Who will no longer be forced to serve in the Prussian military. MARIE Ah, so that’s what this is all about. Pacifism I can approve of. JOST That’s my girl. Let’s celebrate! MARIE Sorry, that will have to wait. Albert and I have work to do. JOST “And though she be but little, she is fierce.” MARIE William Shakespeare. JOST Good luck. MARIE Okay. Futur simple. J’aurais... MARIE ...tu auras, il aura, nous aurons-- are you listening to me? ALBERT Of course. MARIE You were sleeping! ALBERT I wasn’t! I promise. I was having the most wonderful thought. MARIE Oh yes? And what was that? ALBERT It’s been bothering me for over a year now. How does something... travel through nothing? All I had to do was visualize it. MARIE What are you talking about, Albert? ALBERT I imagined I was riding alongside a light beam. Guess what happened? MARIE I have no idea. ALBERT Let me show you. Come! ALBERT Imagine that I am a light beam traveling to Earth. Now catch me! MARIE How fast must we go? ALBERT About 300,000 kilometers a second. MARIE Albert! You are mad! ALBERT No, I am a wave. Traveling through the ether. Come on! ALBERT As you catch up to me, the strangest thing happens: I appear to slow down. Am I right? But here is the best part... ALBERT When you are traveling the speed of light alongside the wave... me... I appear... ALBERT ... frozen in time. MARIE Is that it? ALBERT Well, so far, yes. ELSA Have you read this? EINSTEIN Yes. Hitler didn’t win. ELSA He won two-hundred and thirty * seats. That’s almost a majority. * EINSTEIN Elsa, please. Not now. ELSA You’ve been saying ‘not now’ for ten years, darling. EINSTEIN Well, Sir Isaac was right about some things. An object at rest really does tend to stay at rest. ELSA This isn’t a joke, Albert. Where are you going? EINSTEIN I need tobacco. ELSA Send someone for it. It’s not safe. EINSTEIN I’m an able man. ELSA And I’m scared. When Walther was murdered, you chose to stay and I accepted. It was brave and defiant. But enough is enough. EINSTEIN ...We are fine. Hitler didn’t win. EINSTEIN Afternoon, Ernst. I took your advice and listened to Eric Satie. A little too French for me, but you’re right - his ability to evoke complex emotion with simplicity is remarkable. Though I must say I am surprised that a Wagnerian such as yourself enjoys the experimental Is everything alright? ERNST ... Yes, Professor. Of course. EINSTEIN That’ll be all for today. Elsa has me cutting back. ERNST ... It is only because my customers requested them. EINSTEIN Everyone has a choice, Ernst. HERMANN We need to deliver this order by Monday if we’re going to get paid. JAKOB Patience! I’ll fix it. ALBERT Your induced voltage is too high. JAKOB Thank you, Nephew, that is obvious. ALBERT Energy equals magnetic field times length of conductor JAKOB -- times velocity of conductor. I don’t need a physics lesson, I need to get the damn coil spinning at the correct speed. ALBERT Maybe there’s a simpler solution. The magnetic field is fixed, yes? JAKOB So what? ALBERT So why not shorten the length of the conductor instead of trying to change the speed of the coil? HERMANN How the hell do we do that? ALBERT Wire cutters. ALBERT Try it now. ALBERT I think the patient will survive. HERMANN You should have seen him, Pauline! HERMANN He comes home for one week and he fixes all of our problems. We should have school vacations more often! I’m so proud of you, Albert. ALBERT Thank-you, father. PAULINE How is Marie, darling? ALBERT Wonderful. She sends her regards. She’s teaching me French. MAJA I bet she’s teaching you more than that HERMANN Maja, please. PAULINE I’ve been corresponding with her mother. Everyone is quite excited. ALBERT Excited? About what? PAULINE About your courtship, of course! The potential of it! HERMANN Albert, your uncle Jakob was mentioning how we could use another gifted engineer in our company. PAULINE I’ve been saying that for years! I’m sure Marie would love Milan. The food, the fashion. We could even help them rent a nice apartment, couldn’t we Hermann? ALBERT Mother, I appreciate your interest and I adore Marie. But I’m not ready for marriage and I don’t plan on moving to Milan. HERMANN Not right away, of course. You’d have to finish your engineering studies first. ALBERT I’m sorry, Father, but I have no intention of becoming an engineer. HERMANN But you have such an aptitude for it. ALBERT Maybe. But I can’t bear the thought of having to expend my creative energy making practical every day life more refined for the sole purpose of capital gain. HERMANN What in God’s name have they been teaching you in Switzerland? You sound like a communist! ALBERT I’m not a communist, I’m an Internationalist. HERMANN What the hell is that supposed to mean? ALBERT I wouldn’t expect you to understand. HERMANN Why? Because I’m not as brilliant as you? PAULINE Hermann, please don’t MAJA May I be excused? PAULINE No. HERMANN Tell me, my son the genius, how do you plan on making a living without a job, hmm? ALBERT I’ve told you before. I’m going to be a professor. I will think for thinking’s sake. HERMANN That is the most indulgent thing I’ve ever heard! ALBERT I’m sure from your bourgeois perspective it would seem indulgent HERMANN My bourgeois perspective ? ALBERT -- but I’m going to Zurich Polytechnic. HERMANN You failed your entrance exam! ALBERT I won’t fail again! PAULINE Stop it, both of you! HERMANN Tell me, who is going to pay for this Zurich Polytechnic, hmm? ALBERT The same people who pay for you to keep plundering your businesses into the ground. Mother’s family. That’s who. HERMANN Like hell they will ALBERT They’ve already agreed. HERMANN Did you arrange this?! ALBERT No. It was entirely my doing. When you left me behind in Germany, you told me to be independent, to take responsibility for myself. ALBERT At the time, I thought you were being cruel. But now I realize you did me a great service. You were right. My future is mine and mine alone. So I must take charge of it. Thank-you for the lovely holiday, mother. Maja. MAJA Don’t leave like this, Albert. PROFESSOR WEBER Physics, pass. Math, pass. Zoology, Botany, Literature, pass. Which brings us to French - specifically, your essay. And I translate: “I will enroll in Zurich Polytechnic. I will stay there four years and study physics and mathematics. I suppose I will become a teacher in these fields, focusing on the theoretical parts.” The vocabulary is elementary. The syntax, simplistic, you did not use the futur simple... But I think it’s an excellent plan. PROFESSOR WEBER Welcome to Zurich Polytechnic. JOST Don’t let those academic fools in Zurich change you. Their knowledge is their weakness, while your imagination is your strength. ALBERT Thank-you. Thank-you for everything. MARIE Well, have a safe journey. ALBERT Marie, wait. MARIE Just go, Albert. ALBERT Marie, I’m going to write to you. And Zurich’s not that far. I’ll visit MARIE It’s all right. I’m happy for you. You’re going to do great things. ALBERT I will find a formula to freeze time, so you won’t even know I’m gone. MARIE What a lovely thought... HITLER YOUTH Kampf! Kampf! Kampf! HITLER YOUTH BOY Albert Ein-shtein? HITLER YOUTH BOY Herr Ein-shtein? Herr Ein-shtein! HITLER YOUTH BOY ... May I have your autograph, sir? EINSTEIN ... I am sorry, young man, I seem to have lost my pen... OLDER BOY Bruno! Back here. Now. HITLER YOUTH BOY/BRUNO When I grow up I want to be a scientist, just like you. Germany Heil! EINSTEIN You are right. It is time. A beat as she eyes her husband. Then: ELSA ... I’ll call Princeton. ALBERT Oh. I’m sorry. YOUNG WOMAN For what? ALBERT I must have the wrong room. YOUNG WOMAN What class are you looking for? ALBERT Physics. Good day. YOUNG WOMAN Tell me, do you know Empedocles? ALBERT Excuse me? YOUNG WOMAN Empedocles. The pre-Socratic philosopher who studied Cosmogony. ALBERT As I said, I am in YOUNG WOMAN Physics. Yes, you made that quite clear. Cosmogony is the study of the origins of the cosmos. And Empedocles, he was the first known person to ask the simple question: ‘what is light?’ ALBERT ... I’m sorry, who are you? YOUNG WOMAN He believed that Aphrodite, a woman in case you didn’t know, formed the human eye and lit a fire in it, allowing us to see. ALBERT Well that’s ridiculous. If that were the case, we could see equally well at night. YOUNG WOMAN Empedocles thought the same, so he postulated that the sun’s rays may be linked to the rays shooting from our eyes. A fanciful idea, I know, but if not for him, we might not have had the counter-theories of Aristotle, then Euclid, then * Alhazen, Kepler, Newton, Faraday and finally, James Clark Maxwell: light is electromagnetic radiation. Albert flushes. Shit. The Young Woman revels in it. ALBERT I apologize, I didn’t think YOUNG WOMAN That a woman could possibly understand that the curl of the electric field is equal to the negative time derivative of the magnetic field? ALBERT Faraday’s Law YOUNG WOMAN The Maxwell-Faraday equation if we are being specific. You see, Empedocles was wrong about how we see, but he stumbled upon a universal truth: human perception is frightfully narrow... We believe we see the whole, when in fact we’ve only seen a fraction. PROFESSOR WEBER Good morning, Herr Einstein. I see you’ve met the only student to score higher than you in the mathematics section of our entrance exam. Say hello to Mileva Maric. ELSA It must be Mileva. She called yesterday. And again this morning. ELSA She’s the mother of your children, Albert. EINSTEIN She just wants more money. ELSA So give her more money. EINSTEIN I have! For almost two decades. And every time I do, she squanders it. ELSA Zurich is an expensive city EINSTEIN Zurich is not the problem ELSA You must at least tell her we’re leaving. EINSTEIN Hello Mileva... Oh. Apologies, I was expecting... Come again now? GEIST Doctor and Mrs. Einstein. Thank-you for coming in on such short notice. I am Deputy Consul General Raymond Geist. It’s a real honor to meet you both. Please, have a seat. ELSA I must say, we were quite surprised by your call. We’ve been to America three times now and have never had a problem obtaining visas. GEIST Yes, ma’am. ELSA You are aware that our boat leaves tomorrow? EINSTEIN It’s alright, Elsa. How may we help you, Mr. Geist? GEIST What is the purpose for your travel to America, Professor? EINSTEIN I am giving a series of lectures at the California Institute of * Technology, then opening the * Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton... but you already knew that. GEIST Is that all you plan on doing? EINSTEIN I beg your pardon? GEIST What is your political creed, Professor? EINSTEIN Is this a joke, Mr. Geist? GEIST I’m afraid it’s not. GEIST Are you now or have you ever been a member of a political organization? EINSTEIN That is none of your goddamn business. GEIST Then perhaps we can talk about Mileva Maric, your ex-wife, yes? Are you in frequent contact? ELSA What has she got to do with this?! GEIST As I understand it, her political background is quite radical. EINSTEIN May I remind you, Mr. Geist, that your country invited me, not the other way around. GEIST Yes Professor, but you have a history of controversy that calls into question your... loyalties. EINSTEIN My loyalties? Have you looked outside your window lately, Mr. Geist? Perhaps you’ve noticed the marauding goons who call me Jewish Swine and want me dead ? GEIST If you’re referring to the Nationalist Socialist Party, they are not in power EINSTEIN Oh, no? Perhaps you’d care to take a walk with me GEIST Professor, perhaps I should mention that I am conducting this inquiry at the request of Mr. J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the United States Bureau of Security. EINSTEIN Hoover? What does he want with me? GEIST He’s been quite interested in your activities since your first visit to our shores. So unless you answer my questions to his satisfaction, you will not be granted entry to the United States of America. I must apologize MARIE They’re incorrigible MARIE Insufferable MARIE I’m so sorry MARIE Do you have brothers and sisters? MARIE Please forgive them MARIE One moment please MARIE Quiet, all of you JULIUS Did you hear what he said? MARIE I think it’s wonderful! PAUL Religion is the opiate of the masses! ANNA Oh, Paul, stop it! FRED What does hedonistic mean? ROSA I’ll tell you when you’re older. MATHIAS Someone pass the peas! JOST Now this is a wonderful dinner!