The Conversion of Russia

Scene: Inside a private chamber of the Kremlin, late evening. The Tesla tower outside glows faintly in the distance.

Putin: (quiet, heavy)
You ask me to fire it up. To give Moscow light without chains. But if I turn on the tower, the oil men will kill me the next day. The Bushes, the Rockefellers, the Saudis… they are not men, they are dynasties of knives.

Joe: (leaning forward)
Dynasties fall, Vlad. Rome fell, the British Empire fell. The oil barons will fall too. But someone has to make the first move.

Nelly: (soft, but steady)
We’re not asking you to make war with them, only to set your people free. Energy that flows like water—Nikola Tesla dreamed it for everyone, not for kings of crude.

Putin: (bitter smile)
You think I fear war? No. I fear betrayal. My own men could be bought. The OILAGARCHS don’t forgive. If I light up Moscow with free power, I won’t see another sunrise.

Nelly: (placing her hand on the table)
That’s why I’ll sing. Not just for you, but for Russia. There is a promise from Fatima—that the Virgin’s mantle protects this land. If I give that promise voice, no bullet, no assassin, no shadow can cross it.

Joe:
She’s right. Songs outlive bullets. When the world hears it, the oil men will look small, desperate, like tyrants grasping smoke.

Putin: (studying Nelly)
A song stronger than the oligarchs? Stronger than Rockefeller’s money, Bush’s armies, Saudi oil?

Nelly: (nodding)
Yes. A prayer set to music. Turn on the Light. That’s what I’ll call it. It will carry the protection of millions of voices.

Putin: (after a long silence)
If the song protects me—if I feel Russia shielded—then I will turn the tower on. I will give Moscow her light. But understand: this is no game. This is life and death.

Joe: (grinning)
Life and light, Vlad. That’s the future. The oil age is ending. Don’t be the last man defending a burning torch when the world could shine.

Nelly: (softly, like a vow)
Then let me sing for you. Let me sing for Russia. The Lady of Fatima will keep her word.

Putin: (finally, with resolve)
Then sing. And if the Virgin protects me, the lights of Moscow will blaze brighter than ever before.

Turn On the Light

(by Nelly Furtado)

Verse 1
In the shadow of the towers, where the black gold flows,
Men of power write their secrets, but the whole world knows.
They chain the earth with fire, they sell the night as day,
But the Virgin whispers softly, there’s another way.

Pre-Chorus
No bullet, no crown, no kingdom of lies,
Can silence the prayer that burns in the skies.

Chorus
Turn on the light, let it shine through the dark,
Over Red Square, through every heart.
Mother of Fatima, guard this land tonight,
Hold back the oil men—let Russia see the light.

Verse 2
They fear the free river, they fear the free wind,
They fear a Moscow rising they can’t cage within.
But the promise of the Lady, wrapped in holy fire,
Says the children of the future will lift the wires higher.

Pre-Chorus
No Bush, no crown, no oil-soaked throne,
Can stand against a song carved into stone.

Chorus
Turn on the light, let it shine through the dark,
Over Red Square, through every heart.
Mother of Fatima, guard this land tonight,
Hold back the oil men—let Russia see the light.

Bridge
From Lisbon to the Kremlin, her mantle unfolds,
Protecting the dream no empire controls.
And if they come hunting with shadows of fear,
The song will surround you—our voices are here.

Final Chorus
Turn on the light, let the free power rise,
Break every chain, unmask the disguise.
Mother of Fatima, guard this land tonight,
Turn on the light, let the world see it bright.