In the story, distant waves, a mother and her kids are at a park when an earthquake hits and they look for cover. When looking for cover they meet a tall man who helps them get to shelter and tells them that he is the one that caused the earthquake because he was experimenting with vibrations and this family will soon figure out that this man is none other than Nikola Tesla himself. In the novel, Tesla showed that he did not like Edison after his encounter with him . It seems to me that Tesla is trying to prove a point that he is better than Edison as an engineer and a scientist by proving points that have not been shown yet.

In the novel, when Tesla confirms his identity to the mother she tells him that she has heard of him in the newspaper and that she has heard of him because of his rivalry with Edison. Tesla grunts at the mother saying that Edison only invents things and Tesla said that he discovers things about topics that we do not know yet. In my opinion that seems better because it’s better to learn more things  about what you already know then inventing new things that we have no idea what they are for. While Tesla brings in the mother and her family into his lab and they see the many machines in there and they see him smash the machine that caused the earthquake, the many machines inside were invented by him to prove his point to Edison in my eyes. I already know how Tesla told the mother and her kids that Edison only invents things but I think that many of the things we know and yet we did not understand is what Tesla had invented in his lab and that is what those many machines were. 

I think Tesla wants to show the family and many other people that he is better than Edison in science and engineering and completely as a person. I’m saying this because I feel like that he genuinely wants to prove this because after what has happened with Edison when he worked for him, when he came to america and Edison offered him a job that he then took because he wanted to make money and he never ended up getting any money due to the fact that when Tesla asked Edison for the money he said it was american humor. I feel like based on what Tesla has said in the novel he would be a better person. One More  reason I feel like this is true is based on his selfless thinking and creativity. When the mother brought up the work he did in niagara falls and asked that he would have made the money back when edison did not pay him and he has informed her that since he made the electricity came from natural resources he felt like it should be free. 

In conclusion, I think that Tesla is trying to prove that he is a better overall person than Edison. He wants to show the world and the family that he has met that this is true. I feel like Tesla wants to show the world that he is a better engineer and scientist than Edison and how he can change the world one invention and discovery at a time.