Chapter Five: Time Zone
– 1977 (Before Temporal Displacement)
“Buzz Lightyear to Star Command. Come in, Star Command.”
He pressed a button on his chest as he made the call; however, there was
nothing but static as a response. Again, he pressed it and said, “Star Command
– come in. Do you read me?” And again, there was no response. “Why don’t they
answer?!”
(Narrative Note: Buzz's first few lines mirror those in his first scene in Toy Story.)
The space ranger paced back and forth in the basement,
not even glancing at the group of people who were staring at him in wide-eyed
disbelief. Bunsen and Beaker were completely beside themselves. Never before
had they been so successful in bringing a subject from one of the Disney Worlds
into their own reality. It was an achievement that they were both proud and
cautious over, fearing the possibility of a rift in the space-time continuum
with the subject’s absence from his respective dimension.
Joanie, Robin, Kermit, and Diana could hardly express
what they were seeing into words. Finally, Joanie turned to the two Muppet
scientists and said, “So…this is bad…right?”
Bunsen stammered for a reply. “Y-Ye…N-N…M-Mayb…Uhhh…”
“I’ll take that as an ‘I’ll get right back to you on
that’.” Joanie remarked.
Suddenly, the space ranger approached the group and gave
an odd salute, gesturing his fingers in a very “Spock-like” way. “Greetings! I
am Buzz Lightyear. I come in peace.”
They all barely knew how to react to his greeting. Kermit
braved himself to step forward and say, “Uh…hi-ho, Mister Lightyear. Er, I’m
sure this all seems very peculiar to you.”
(Character Note: "Hi-ho" is a common greeting catchphrase with Kermit the Frog, first used during his stint on Sesame Street.)
“Not at all, my small green friend. My mission objective
is to travel beyond multiple worlds. As a member of the elite Universe
Protection Unit of the Space Ranger Corps, I protect the galaxy from the threat
of invasion from the Evil Emperor Zurg, sworn enemy of the Galactic Alliance.”
(Pop Culture Note: Buzz's quote of being a member of the Space Ranger Corps and his mission are word-for-word what it says on the back of his toy packaging in Toy Story.)
Joanie blinked twice before saying, “Oh, you’ve just got
to see Star Wars, dude! What you just
said sounds so close to the plot of that…”
“Star Wars?!” Buzz exclaimed as his hand went to a button
on his arm. “Is there a battle commencing on this planet of yours?!”
(Narrative Note: This is the first and only moment in the story where it's assessed that the "space movie" Joanie's referred to is in fact Star Wars.)
Diana waved her hands negatively at the space ranger.
“No, no, no. She’s talking about a movie. You know…a motion picture?”
Buzz slightly rubbed his chin, pondering over the concept
that was brought to his attention. “Motion picture?”
It was clear to Diana, Kermit, Bunsen, and Beaker that
wherever this character had come from was obviously nowhere close to Earth. The
only ones who knew were Joanie and Robin, whom Diana immediately turned to and
asked, “Where did you find this guy?”
“Believe it or not, Mrs. Navarro…he’s a toy!” Robin
informed.
“Say what?!” Kermit responded, completely befuddled.
“We saw a kid at a birthday party – which was really
groovy, by the way – open him up and play with him a little.” Joanie revealed.
“That’s when Bunsen pulled us out of wherever we were and we ended up back here
with him in tow.”
(Narrative Note: Joanie utters the word "groovy" a total of seven times through the story. Her favorite verbal expression, the colloquialism reflects her upbringing through the 1960s and 1970s.)
Diana, Kermit, Bunsen, and Beaker all glanced back to
Buzz, seeing how extraordinarily human he looked to be, complete with a five
o’clock shadow, bushy eyebrows, and glistening blue eyes. The only thing that
stood out from his “humanity” was the high-tech space suit he was wearing.
While staring at him, they noticed how he flipped open a compartment on his arm
– some type of wrist communicator. He then began recording his voice for an
audio journal of some kind.
(Authorial Note: Buzz's human appearance depicted in this scene is based on an image of a more human-looking Buzz Lightyear that surfaced through the Internet.)
“Buzz Lightyear Mission Log. Stardate 4072: I appear to
have been transported to some unknown world full of humanoid women and strange
foamed creatures that resemble puppets. My ship is nowhere in sight, possibly
somewhere far off-course from my current location.” He tapped a gauge on his communicator
that had a needle pointed left to where the word “stable” appeared. “The
readout indicates that the air here is breathable. I might as well take my
chances.”
Buzz activated a button on his chest that made his helmet
open, allowing him to breathe in the air within the basement. He coughed a bit
after doing so, which Joanie took notice of and told him, “Yeah, the air’s a
little dense in here with all of the crowded space, but I promise you that it’s
breathable.”
“Fair enough.” Buzz hoarsely stated. “Would it be any
bother to you otherworldly beings if I investigated this planetary atmosphere
of yours?”
Kermit glanced to Bunsen, seeking some approval of this
request from the space ranger. When Bunsen nodded, Kermit happily told Buzz,
“Uh, sure. Go right ahead.”
As Buzz began heading out of the basement, Bunsen quickly
added, “Just be sure not to leave the building, Mister Lightyear. We…uh…are not
certain if the…uh…”
“If the air is breathable outside our station.” Joanie
blurted out, which got her a few odd glances from her mother and friends. She
shrugged her shoulders and mouthed the words, “I don’t know.”
Buzz appeared to have bought into what the young woman
told him, gesturing his odd salute again and declaring, “On my honor as a
member of the elite Universe Protection Unit of the Space Ranger Corps, you
have my word.” With that said, he went out of the basement, leaving behind a
very overwhelmed group of people.
(Authorial Note: Though the main purpose of keeping the Disney characters brought to the "real world" inside the theater was to prevent the world itself from witnessing their existence, it was thought at one point that leaving the theater would erase them out of existence - to reflect what happened to Joanie in the prologue. This idea was ultimately scrapped.)
“Now that is
impressive!” Diana exclaimed.
“Mom, are you serious?” Joanie retorted. “This is the
weirdest thing that Bunsen and Beaker have done yet! We’ve got a character from
some Disney movie that hasn’t even existed yet walking around our theater
and doing God knows what!”
Diana waved off her paranoia with a chuckle. “He’s
harmless, sweetie. I doubt if he even cares where he is more less who or what we are to him.”
“I’m just saying that this could get out of hand real quick.” Joanie presumed. “Maybe we
should send this guy back to wherever he came from and dismantle this machine
right away.”
“Dismantle it?!” Bunsen exclaimed, followed by a quick
meep of shock from Beaker.
“I have to agree with Joanie, Diana.” Kermit
acknowledged. “Something about this thing just feels wrong to me, too. It’s
like we’re tampering with a force that’s beyond our control.”
(Narrative Note: "Tampering with a force beyond control" is a common theme with the stories out of the World of Disney series. Each story centers on a character or group of characters using the Sphere for personal gain or study, leading to a universal catastrophe.)
Bunsen immediately stepped forward and said in his
defense, “B-But, Kermit…this is our chance to discover what lies ahead in our
future. The Magic Gateway doesn’t only open portals into other dimensions. It
also opens portals into other time periods as well. It’s sort of a secondary
function to the machine, much similar to a time machine.”
“Wow.” Robin reacted with sincere excitement. “We could
get to see what our lives could be like in thirty years and what Disney feature
comes out all at the same time.”
“This could be the one thing that can change the world!”
Diana said with much zeal. “I want to see one of these Disney Worlds. It
doesn’t have to be one from the future. I’d rather…Hey, that’s it! Yeah! Take
me to one of my old favorites! I want to see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs closer than I could ever hope to
before!”
(Character Note: There is a display of role-reversal among Joanie, Diana, Kermit, and Robin with Diana and Robin being the enthusiastic, adventurous two and Joanie and Kermit as the skeptical, cautious two. Normally, it'd be both the adults to express skepticism while the youths want the fun.)
Joanie could hardly believe what her mother was
requesting. And before she could talk her out of it, Bunsen was already
fiddling with the computer, typing in some information and pressing “Execute”
shortly afterward. The door to the Magic Gateway’s chamber then opened, letting
out a flood of white light that everyone briefly shielded their eyes from.
Without a hint of hesitation, Diana began walking towards the opened chamber,
alarming Joanie to the point that she ran up and held her back from it.
“Mom, no! You don’t have any idea what might happen while
you’re there!”
Diana snickered at her words. “Of course, I do. I’ve seen
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs more
times than you ever have. I know what I can or cannot expect while I’m there.”
(Narrative Note: Diana's choice of destination reconnects to the previous chapter, in which Joan had been watching the exact Disney flick.)
Joanie knew there was no talking her out of this. So she
boldly said to her, “Then I’m going with you.”
(UP NEXT: Heigh-ho, heigh-ho! It's off to time and space we go!)
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