QWhere does the new matter for the duplication come from?
AThe question is not answered or even alluded to within the film. Some theories that have been suggested are that the new matter could be created from the machine by converting electricity that powers the machine into mass. The new matter could be pulled from the "air" (that doesn't exist) or some alternate universe / quantum reality. It is even possible that the machine transmutes some of the mass from the destination (or the machine) into new material. Some viewers have suggested that Angier could be split into two identical beings, each with half the matter of the original Angier. Others have suggested that the machine may just be a prop in an illusion done by Angier, and that the scene with the double being shot is merely Angier thinking of lying to Borden about the machine as the scene is shown in flashback.In the end, there is no provable physics that would account for this duplication. But this is not really the gist of the whole film. The idea is that people will see "Magic" where they want to; as Cutter tells Jess, "You want to be surprised." The average person will not care or understand the reason, especially anything remotely scientific, behind a magic trick. This is why the science (not that there is any) is skirted when it comes to transportation. People don't care. The main point is fooling them. It may also be an allegory for the way in which Tesla's very real science about alternating current as superior was hamstrung by Edison and Westinghouse, in their greed, thus reducing a very real physics application (which we now use universally, by the way), to a parlor trick. Just so, Cutter (by sympathising with Borden?) eventually dismisses Tesla's machine and Angier's "Transported Man" as tricks.
QIf Tesla was so short of funds, why didn't he simply use the machine to duplicate precious items like gold, jewels, or banknotes?
AThis is never answered in the movie, nor is it even a part of the film. Just because the real Tesla died poor, however, does not mean that the fictional Tesla did. In the fantasy world of the movie, perhaps Tesla did use a Tesla machine to live in the lap of luxury or provide funds for research for the rest of his life. He had the perfect source; all he had to claim was that he had a gold mine. The movie indicates that people had come to this area at this time for gold prospecting. Duplicating banknotes would have been not only been illegal but unethical since banknotes have no intrinsic value. Duplicating gold, jewels, or other items with intrinsic value would neither be illegal nor unethical. Another possibility is that this is a clue that machine did not duplicate at all, but was just a prop that Tesla sold as a con.
One other explanation is that the process of creating such a machine was so unpredictable that he would be simply unsure whether he could create another. The duplication aspect was a glitch rather than being part of the design. The one duplication machine that he had ultimately did not belong to him.
QWhat were Borden's last words?
ARight before Borden is hanged he says "Abracadabra", a subtle comment to the audience. He is referring to the 'magic' which unfolds in the very next scene, when Borden's twin appears in front of Angier.
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