by Dixon, Jeff
“I suppose all of this is pretty difficult for you to understand right now,” Walt continued. “Believe me, Grayson, all of your questions will be answered, and I think you are going to be pleased with what has happened.”
“Pleased?” He couldn’t seem to string together an intelligent set of words.
“It hasn’t been easy for you to get here, I understand that.” Walt smiled as he spoke. “But I think you will agree that all of this mystery must be for a good reason. The problem is you don’t know the reason . . . yet. While you have been looking for us you have had a chance to go on a bit of a treasure hunt. You have discovered some of the history of how we do things here at my company. Actually you have discovered some of my history. I hope you have enjoyed that part of your adventure.” Walt chuckled. “I know I enjoyed living it.”
“How can this be happening?” Hawk interrupted.
“Hold on, Grayson.” Walt held up a hand to stop the question. “My friend Farren here is going to tell you everything you need to know, but first let me finish.”
“Sorry,” Hawk apologized.
“No problem.” Walt laughed. “I’m sure you have quite a few stories of your own to tell about all that has been going on. But now that you are here, you have to know how important it is that you found us. You did exactly what we hoped you would do and now my kingdom will be safe. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Hawk said softly. “But I don’t—”
“Farren, you have made a good choice.” Walt did not give Hawk time to finish his thought or ask the question that had to be coming.
“Thanks, Walt.” Farren was absolutely bursting with pride as he looked at his friend. “I knew he could do it and I knew he wouldn’t let us down.”
“Okay, Grayson.” Walt grinned. “I know you are anxious to get a few answers. I know I would be. I’ll be quiet and let Farren explain anything you want to know.”
Walt looked toward Farren, who stood and approached the window. Hawk also rose to his feet and stepped to the glass. They were close with just the glass wall separating the two of them.
“Well?” Farren said with a sparkle in his eye.
“Uh . . .” Hawk had so many questions he didn’t know where to start. “How can this be happening?”
“You are at Walt Disney World,” Farren said matter-of-factly. “Magic happens here all the time, you know that. This is a place where dreams come true.”
“But Walt Disney is over one hundred years old. How can he be sitting there talking to me?” Hawk looked at Walt then back to Farren. “No disrespect intended, Mr. Disney, but how can you be here?”
“It’s a good question,” Walt agreed. “I’ll bet you feel like Alice getting ready to step through the looking glass. You’d better go ahead and tell him, Farren.”
“Walt is not here, Grayson.” Farren studied Hawk’s face and he looked over toward Mr. Disney, who looked entirely present to Hawk. “Walt Disney is dead.”
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
* * *
Day Seven
Afternoon
“I AM DEAD,” Walt Disney said. “I died in December of 1966.”
Hawk closed one eye and looked at Walt. The conversation had turned from unbelievable to surreal. He turned away from Walt, who was now smiling and obviously pleased with the impossibility that Hawk was dealing with, and looked back toward Farren, who was nodding in gentle understanding. The preacher was at a loss for words.
“Would you like to step into the office and have a seat in here?” Farren offered.
Hawk nodded and then walked alongside Farren on the other side of the glass partition as they made their way to the end of the room. The Imagineer stepped out of the very same door that Hawk had used to enter the recreation of Walt’s office and momentarily disappeared. Instantly the one remaining door in the reception area opened and Farren stepped through, embracing Hawk in a huge bear hug.
“I am so pleased you got here,” Farren whispered as he held Hawk tightly.
“I’m glad you are all right,” Hawk uttered, realizing for the first time that his friend was really safe.
Keeping an arm wrapped tightly around the preacher’s shoulder the Imagineer lead him through the door into a hallway and then back through the door in Walt’s office. Gesturing for Hawk to take a seat, Farren waited for him to sit down before taking a seat next to him. They both faced the desk as Walt Disney looked back at them.
“Dr. Grayson Hawkes,” Farren said formally. “I would like for you to meet the one and only audio-animatronic Walt Disney.”
Walt Disney nodded. “That’s me. You have to admit I look pretty good for an audio-animatronic creation. Pretty amazing what they can do now with technology.”
Now that Hawk was seated close to the entertainer he began to notice the slight hints that he wasn’t a real person. Yet he was amazed at the realism that had been captured in this recreation of the legend. Farren gave him a few moments to gaze closely at the magnificent lifelike image before him. Amazingly as Hawk stared at Walt Disney, Walt smiled and looked back at Hawk.
“Back in the 50s Walt was traveling and purchased a mechanical bird,” Rales began.
“I was on vacation in Europe actually,” Disney added.
“After he got back, Roger Broggie and Wathel Rogers started working on what they called Project Little Man. They developed a miniature figure that would tap dance. It was primitive but it was the starting point for what would later become known as audio-animatronics.”
“The first true audio-animatronic technology was used in the birds we designed for the Enchanted Tiki Room and for the figure of Abraham Lincoln in Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln,” Walt filled in the history.
“Hawk, you are familiar with how much audio-animatronics have helped to create the magic in Disney theme parks. The A-100 Audio-Animatronic figure was debuted as the Wicked Witch of Oz on the Great Movie Ride at the Studios. This technology was groundbreaking; the movements and gestures were so lifelike and complicated. It took eight hours to animate one second of movement.” Rales looked from Hawk to Walt and then back before continuing. “We kept dreaming and engineering and the technology allowed us to keep getting better and better. Meeko from Pocahontas became our first portable audio-animatronic figure. Lucky the Dinosaur was another breakthrough for us when we were able to create a free-roaming audio-animatronic figure. Each time we created something better we amazed ourselves.”
“We sure have come a long, long way from the first birds we created, that’s for sure,” Walt injected.
“The biggest A-100 creation is the yeti in Expedition Everest. Over eighteen feet tall, he is quite an accomplishment,” Rales continued.
“Yes.” Hawk decided to join the conversation. “I met the yeti up close.”
“Ah, but of course you have.” Rales knew exactly what Hawk was talking about. “The beast is pretty intimidating, isn’t he? The most closely inspected A-100 was the Captain Jack Sparrow figures we added to Pirates. The most complicated is Mr. Potato Head in Toy Story Mania.”
“The potato is so advanced that he removes and reattaches his ear. His lips move and he is able to look our guest in the eye as he speaks,” Walt explained, looking directly into Hawk’s eyes as he said it.
The irony of what he was hearing—and whom he was hearing it from—unnerved the preacher. “But that is what you are.” He pointed toward the audio-animatronic Disney.
“Not exactly,” chuckled the rich voice as Walt looked once again toward Farren.
“A lot of people didn’t realize we made a decision that for some was controversial,” Rales began to explain. “In 2007 we decided we would start outsourcing some of the design and creation of our audio-animatronic figures. Some people screamed that we were hurting the company and that Walt never would have done it this way.” Both Rales and Hawk looked to Walt, who remained silent with a mischievous expression on his face. “The reason we outsourced is so we could take some of our most creative desi
gners and put them to work on the next level of audio-animatronics.”
“The next level?” Hawk asked.
“Yes, we wanted to create the first walking, talking, lifelike audio-animatronic man. It was a big, daring project, but we wanted it to be done in secret so we could really experiment and test it. We wanted to get it right.”
“So, how do you think we did?” Walt grinned at Hawk.
“I think you pulled it off!” Hawk responded quickly, which seemed to please Walt.
“The goal was to blend our previous technology with new experimental designs and then even add to the mix artificial intelligence, which would allow a level of realism and interaction we had never achieved before.” Rales paused and looked at Walt Disney. “Walt here is the result of that work.”
“I’m what they call around these parts an AI-1000 Audio-Animatronic.” Disney smiled as he said the words. “I can roam anywhere I want in this office, I can interact with and you verbally and can sense most of your gestures. I’m almost real.”
“Indeed he is.” Rales beamed. “Hawk, you are the first one outside of a few of his designers to ever see him.”
“So did you design him for an attraction?”
“Not really.” Farren paused for a moment. “Walt was created for a different reason.”
“Farren, that’s enough about me,” Walt said casually. “Grayson, obviously I’m not real. But my creation does have something to do with you and why you are here now. Farren, I think it is time you should tell my partner what is really going on.”
“Of course, you’re right.” Rales said. Looking at Hawk and standing he made a sweeping motion with his arm back toward the door. “It is time to show you something.”
Hawk stood and followed. As he and Farren got to the door, Walt called out to them from behind his desk.
“If you need me, I’ll be right here.” He saluted with two fingers placed near his forehead and smiled as the preacher and Imagineer walked out the door.
The pair stepped back into the hallway Hawk had been in for just a few seconds before. To the right was the door that would have placed them back in the reception area Hawk had entered earlier. The hallway did not extend beyond that point in that direction. Turning to the left Hawk looked down the length of a massive hallway. Mentally he was trying to figure out exactly where he was in relation to the utilidors. Before he could figure it out Farren had guessed what he might be thinking.
“You have entered through one of the two entrances to this tunnel,” he stated as he pointed his finger behind and then forward. “It was created especially for what you have seen and are about to see. There is no access into this tunnel from the utilidors and to get in here you have to know the way or you will never find it.”
“Farren, I thought something had happened to you!” Some of the shock of seeing Walt Disney had worn off, and now Hawk’s presence of mind began to return. “The police have been looking of you!”
“I know, I’m sorry to have put you through all of this, but it was the only way to get you here. There are so many people who would do anything to have the key to the kingdom and solve the mystery. I knew you could do it and it was a mystery that could only be solved by someone who was passionate and really cared about Walt Disney, his dreams, and what he lived his life trying to create.”
“You mean, this is it? I’ve solved the mystery?”
“Yes, my friend, you have solved the mystery.”
“The mystery was finding the AI-1000 Audio-Animatronic Walt Disney?”
“No, Hawk, the mystery was unlocking Walt Disney’s Kingdom and becoming the keeper of the key to the kingdom.”
As the two walked side by side down the long hallway, their footsteps echoed in a hollow refrain. The offset lighting lining the ceiling gave the passageway a warm and cozy feel. Momentarily they came to the end of the passage and stood in an intersection where they had to choose to go right or left. Without hesitation Rales guided them to the left where they came face-to-face with another stainless steel door. The cold metal door stood in stark contrast to the decor of the hall. The lock was identical to the one Hawk had entered earlier gaining access to the reception area of the audio-animatronic Walt’s office. Rales looked at Hawk, waiting.
“You know how to open it,” he said reassuringly.
Hawk slid the old key into the opening.
“I’m glad you didn’t lose the key I gave you,” Rales kidded.
“If I would have known all the trouble it was going to cause . . .”
“I know, that’s why I didn’t tell you all it would open.”
The key was followed by the four silver bars and then the N234MM punched into the keyboard. The light turned green and the door unlocked. Pushing it open Hawk once again retrieved the key and the bars from the lock. Rales nodded for Hawk to enter first. As Hawk finished pushing the door open, they both stepped through into the next room.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
* * *
Day Seven
Afternoon
THE ROOM WAS LINED with workspaces. Counters and consoles containing flat screens blazing with images, twinkling lights, whirring computers, and monitoring systems engulfed them. A sudden drop in temperature made Hawk feel as if he could actually see his breath as the wave of cold air hit him. The extreme chill, he realized, would allow the equipment to run smoothly, preventing overheating. In the center of the futuristic space was something that appeared as if it could have been snatched right out of Tomorrowland. It was a tall silver cylindrical tube that resembled a rocket ship loaded with gauges and dials. The entire area appeared to be designed around this ten-foot-tall hub, just as the rest of the theme park was designed around the hub of Central Plaza.
“Where are we?” Hawk asked.
“This is a command center.” Farren spread his arms. “You can actually sit in this room and monitor everything that is happening in the park.”
“Everything?”
“Everything,” Rales repeated. “I have been able to watch your progress as you got closer and closer to finding me.”
“So you watched me getting chased and beat up?”
“Well, almost everything.” Farren patted his friend’s shoulder. “But you are good; there were times I couldn’t keep up.”
“So this is a security center?”
“No, no, no . . . this is a unique command center designed for controlling the entire park. Security can only do what it was designed to do based on the plans of our security teams and designers. This place can see things that security can’t. It can override every other control in the park; it is a base of operation that gives access to every area and can protect the park even better than security. However, there are limitations.”
“Limitations?”
“Yes.” Rales shook his head. “For example, I didn’t know that Juliette was being held in the Character Zoo or I would have gotten her out. I didn’t know she was missing until you were looking for her and didn’t have any clue where she was until she emerged in the utilidor with you and Kiran after you freed her.” Rales punched up a view of the utilidoors and the entrance to the Character Zoo. “I could have seen her being taken in there if I had been looking for her, but I didn’t know she was missing or even in the Magic Kingdom. This command center is designed for more specific tasks than just general security. I spent most of my time tracking you as you moved through the park.”
“Can you track activity in other parks?”
“No, just this one.”.
“Farren”—Hawk titled his head—“I don’t get it.”
“I’m sure.” He smiled. “Hawk, remember I told you I was giving you the key to the kingdom and if you took that key and did what Walt did when he left the Dwarf’s Cottage . . . your imagination . . . your ability to understand a story . . . and how you touch the world will never be the same?”
“I do remember that.” Hawk nodded.
“I know you do,” Rales added. “Because you could und
erstand the story, you were able to start figuring out the puzzle, the mystery, you cracked the clues I left for you. Now, I’m sure you had some help from Pal Mickey. By the way, what do you think of my interactive clue giver?”
“Amazing,” Hawk patted the mouse’s head.
“There has never been another one like it!” Rales beamed. “It was created especially for you. After they took the little creature out of the gift shops, it became easy for me to tweak, adjust, and add to the technology we already had in place. I figured if I couldn’t be with you, then you needed someone to keep you on track. And now you have followed the trail, solved the clues, and have unlocked the kingdom, Walt Disney’s kingdom!”
“I’m sorry.” The preacher wrinkled his forehead. “I still don’t get what I’ve unlocked.”
“My dear friend.” Rales’s smile grew bigger. “You have unlocked the kingdom and it is now yours!”
“Walt Disney’s Kingdom is mine?”
“Yes, the kingdom is now yours!”
Hawk looked thoughtfully at his friend. He slowly allowed his attention to drift to the command center they were standing in. He wandered away from where Farren was standing and began to study the room more closely. Walking, he made a complete circle through the room, around the silver cylinder, before returning to where he began.
“I guess you still have some questions.” Rales quizzically raised his eyebrows.
“I would say more than just a few.”
“Have a seat.” Farren laughed as he pointed to one of the command stations. “Let me tell you the story.”
“I knew there had to be one.” Hawk sat, glad to be talking with his friend, who was safe and unharmed.
“There is always a story.” The old Imagineer chuckled. “This one began a long time ago. In the sixties when plans were being designed for Walt’s Florida project, some of us began to notice a change in Walt. His health wasn’t as good as it had been. Part of it was age, surely part of it was from the stress and pressure of being Walt Disney, but something else was wrong.”