Chapter Three: Time
Zone – 1977 (Before Temporal Displacement)
The explosion practically shook the entire Muppet
Theater, alarming not just the performers onstage and the people in the
audience, but Diana Navarro as well. She was just putting Scooter to bed when
she heard and felt the loud boom that erupted downstairs. Normally
when something like that occurred, it was no huge deal – explosions happen in
the Muppet Theater once every ten seconds, especially with Crazy Harry around.
But that particular one sounded very violent, concerning Diana to the point
that she worried if Joanie had been caught in it.
(Narrative Note: Readers flashback to where they left off at the end of Chapter One at the start of this chapter, in order to continue the follow of continuity with the real world setting.)
Hurriedly, she made her way downstairs and passed through
the heavy smoke that had seeped out from the basement. Just as she was standing
in the center of the backstage area, waving her hand in front of her face to
clear the smoke from her mouth and nostrils, Kermit frantically walked in.
“WHAT THE HECK’S GOING ON HERE?!?!”
(Character Note: This is Kermit's first proper introduction in the story. Fitting enough, it is during one of the chaotic scenes of the story that he has no control over.)
Diana coughed and answered, “I don’t know. But I bet it’s
coming from Muppet Labs.”
“Of course.” Kermit remarked in a nonchalant manner.
“Where else?”
The two of them then headed that way, covering their
mouths and noses with their hands in protection from the smoke. Walking
carefully and cautiously in, they soon discovered the smoke was just as horrid
inside the basement as it was outside. They could barely make out anything
between the heavy smoke and dim lighting. It was not until a bright light
emerged from within the haze that they were suddenly guided safely further into
the room.
Two familiar figures emerged from the light – one short
and pudgy, the other slightly taller and lanky. Once the short, pudgy one began
talking, Kermit and Diana knew instantly who they were. “I do believe that was the
best experience we have ever had through an invention, Beaker. To think, in
thirty-two years, Disney will have its first
African American princess at the same time America
Beaker meeped in agreement with that statement.
(Pop Culture Note: Barack Obama, the 44th and current President of the United States, first assumed office on January 20, 2009. The Princess and the Frog arrived in theaters on November 22, 2009 - ten months and two days after Obama's first inauguration.)
Squinting through the smoke, Diana and Kermit could see
that it was Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant, Beaker, walking out of what
appeared to have been some sort of heavily lit chamber. The light inside of it
soon dimmed after they exited out, without any interference from either of the
two Muppet scientists. It was like nothing Diana or Kermit had ever seen
before. And neither was the metal arch build over the chamber entranceway that
was glittering like a starry sky in a rainbow of colors. The sight of it was
beautiful and eerie at the same time.
(Authorial Note: The idea for the glittering design on the metal arch is based on the glittering "fairy dust" arch over Cinderella's castle in the Disney Pictures logo.)
While the smoke began clearing a little more, Diana and
Kermit could make out an array of supercomputers surrounding the arch and the
chamber, taking up practically all of the wall space in the basement. At the
center of the room was a workbench that had an Apple II series computer sitting
on it, connected to each and every supercomputer in the room. Neither of them
was certain what it was for – to open the chamber with, monitor whatever they
were doing in there, or something else entirely – but it looked fancy enough
for whatever experiment they had been conducting. After coming out from the
chamber, they went straight to the computer and Bunsen sat down in front of it.
He was just about to press a button labeled “EXECUTE” on the keyboard, until
the voice of Kermit interrupted him.
(Authorial Note: The machinery that made up the Magic Gateway invention is entirely based on that which made up the Swan station from Lost, continuing the backstory of Bunsen and Beaker as DHARMA Initiative scientists. Even the "EXECUTE" button is a direct reference to the computer that the numbers had to be punched in from.)
“Bunsen, what is going on down here?”
Bunsen and Beaker nearly jumped from their skins at the
unexpected sound of the frog’s voice. Bunsen quickly spun around in his chair
and looked directly to him and Diana, stammering a response. “M-M-Mister
K-K-Kermit! W-What a s-s-surprise!”
“Not as big as the surprise you gave the rest of the
theater.” Kermit remarked. “The whole building just shook like an earthquake
just passed through.”
“Yeah, and I might not be a seismologist, but I doubt we
get very many of those here in Florida
(Setting Note: Orlando, FL was chosen for the setting of the "real world" for many reasons, the top two being how close the city is to swamp land - Kermit the Frog's primary dwelling - and it being the home of the Walt Disney World Resort. Livingston considers Orlando to be his second home, which was another reason as to why it was integrated as the home of his World of Disney character.)
Bunsen began to numb on his fingers nervously. “Oh, my.
Beakie and I are very sorry. We didn’t expect for discharge to be that
extreme.”
“Discharge?” Kermit repeated the term that stood out from
the rest of the sentence.
“What on earth are you guys working on?” Diana asked.
Beaker meeped a cautious question to Bunsen.
“No, no. It’s fine. I am sure we can trust them with this
information.” Bunsen refocused on Diana and Kermit, stepping away from the
computer and motioning to the arch and chamber. “This is our newest invention –
The Magic Gateway. It tears into the fabric of space and time, opening entrances
into other dimensions. However, we have programmed it to access only one…the
World of Disney.”
(Narrative Note: Bunsen is the first character in the series to say the story's title in reference to the literal "world of Disney" discovered in the tale. The phrase "World of Disney" is uttered a total of seven times in this story.)
Kermit and Diana exchanged a look of disorientation from
what the Muppet scientist just unveiled to them. Some of it made sense at the
same time none of it did. “Are you telling us that you two built a machine that
allows someone to go into a world based on…what? Disney cartoons? Disney
movies?” Kermit inquired.
“Both! Oh…er…mostly Disney Animation.” Bunsen stated.
“Beakie and I just visited one not very long ago. Look what we brought with
us.” They showed Diana and Kermit the bead necklaces worn around their necks,
which looked as if they came right out of New
Orleans
(Cultural Note: Bead necklaces are strongly associated with the Carnival celebration known as Mardi Gras. In 1703, French settlers in Mobile, Alabama established the first organized Mardi Gras celebration tradition in what was to become the United States. By 1720, the French Mardi Gras customs had accompanied the colonists who settled in the then-new capital of Biloxi, Louisiana.)
Diana walked up and examined the necklaces, taking them
into her hands and feeling how real they were. “Where did you get these?”
“The computer found access to a realm based on a future
Disney film called The Princess and the
Frog.” Bunsen excitedly said. “We went there and experienced one of the
most wonderful parades we’ve ever seen. It was for a prince named Naveen, I
believe.”
Diana shook her head at the unbelievable discovery. “Wow.
Sounds like you boys have really hit the jackpot on this invention. Could
really make a fortune out of…”
“No! Most certainly not!” Bunsen snapped, surprising Diana
and Kermit with his hasty tone. Calming himself down, he stated, “I apologize.
But the Magic Gateway is a ‘for our eyes only’ invention. The both of you are
not supposed to be seeing it right now. It’s extremely classified.”
Kermit chuckled. “Bunsen, with all due respect, nothing
is ever a secret within Muppet Labs. Just about every day, you and Beaker…”
“I’m afraid this is beyond
Muppet Labs, Kermit.” Bunsen informed. “All that you see here now is for a much
larger scientific group known as the DHARMA Initiative.”
“The DHARMA Initiative?” Diana remarked in surprise.
“Sounds pretty heavy for a couple of small fries like yourselves.”
Bunsen nodded with her sentiment. “Beaker and I have been
members since 1974, when they were recruiting for the most intelligent
individuals around the world. They offered us to set up all of the equipment
you see here in the basement on an island somewhere east of Fiji
(Pop Culture Note: The island that Bunsen refers to is the Island that functioned as the primary setting for Lost. Had Bunsen and Beaker been instructed to set up shop there rather than the Muppet Theater basement, they would have certainly encountered the many Lost characters who've visited or inhabited that island.)
“And they actually trusted something this remarkable to
two Muppets?” Kermit asked, finding the notion a little difficult to believe.
“You would be surprised whom DHARMA will accept, Kermit.
Even the most brilliant of minds are found in the most unexpected of places.”
“Yeah, like the basement of a theater.” Kermit scoffed.
Bunsen suddenly felt his assistant hysterically tapping
him on the shoulder and letting out a string of meeps that were just the same.
When Bunsen turned to see what he wanted, he noticed him pointing to the
computer screen, which was still displaying the huge chunk of information that
he had yet to “execute” into the supercomputers. At first Bunsen was puzzled
over what Beaker wanted him to see; but then he saw it for himself and became
just as alarmed.
“Oh, dear me!” Bunsen exclaimed.
“What? What’s wrong?” Diana asked, glancing at the
computer screen with Kermit at her side and doing the same.
“It seems as if two other subjects from here in the real
world have entered through the Gateway, according to the readouts.” Bunsen
indicated. “Discharge occurred just a few minutes before Beaker and I returned.
Whoever went through is now within eighteen years between our realm and the
Disney one they’re in.”
(Narrative Note: The Disney realms exist within their own time and space, not just in terms of the time in which their films were released but also within the time frame their respective stories take place, which can reflect from the release date as well. If the Disneyverse counts as one entire parallel universe, time is a fractured concept between its existing worlds.)
Hearing this, Diana and Kermit suddenly realized that
Joanie and Robin were nowhere to be seen at the moment. That could only give
them the conclusion that the “two subjects” Bunsen was referring to had to have
been them. Realizing this, they turned to each other and saw the shocked looks
on their faces. Diana urgently told Bunsen, “You have to get them out of
there.”
“I most certainly intend on doing so, Miss Diana,”
declared Bunsen, “as soon as Beaker and I have the computer pinpoint the realm
that they are in.” While the Muppet scientist was typing on the computer,
Beaker went to one of the supercomputers and began turning knobs and flipping
switches. “The system should let us know of the two possible realms in existent
in 1995, limiting it down to the one that our ‘subjects’ are in.”
Kermit began to take offense to how Bunsen was referring
to Joanie and Robin. “They’re not just subjects! That’s my nephew and her
daughter you have trapped in your ‘World of Disney’!”
(Character Note: Diana and Kermit's friendship purposely reflects that between Joanie and Robin, to whom they are parental figures for. Their friendship is also much older than Joanie and Robin's, going as far back as when they were children.)
Bunsen glanced at Kermit with horror registered on his
face. “Oh…well, um…that certainly makes a difference.”
That statement peaked Diana’s interest. “How so?”
“Beaker can have the computer search for descriptions
that match Robin’s and Miss Joanie’s. From there, we can eliminate several
minutes of search time and find them instantaneously.”
Beaker meeped in approval of the idea and hurried over to
another supercomputer, entering the data that Bunsen referred to into it. After
doing so, right before Bunsen’s eyes (if he had any there on his face), some
text immediately popped up on the computer screen, giving him the information
he required. Diana saw it herself, noticing how encrypted it appeared to her
eyes and Kermit’s, and asked, “Does that mean you’ve found them?”
(Authorial Note: Much of World of Disney was inspired from elements and plots of time travel, crossing between dimensions, and discovering other worlds from other sci-fi franchises like The Matrix, Back to the Future, The Terminator, Star Trek, Inception, and Avatar.)
Bunsen nodded with a smile. “Most certainly.” He typed
some information through the keyboard. “All I have to do now is enter a request
for retrieval and…” Once he pressed the “execute” button, a series of odd events
suddenly occurred.
First, the lights in the room got very dim. Second, the
room itself began vibrating heavily – as if another tremor was starting. Third,
the arch over the chamber went from a sparkling rainbow of colors to an intense
white glow that forced everyone to shield their eyes from it. At the same time,
the inside of the chamber itself let off a white glow while the sound of
electrical energy sparkling could be detected. Lastly, there came a loud boom and the basement and much of
everything else shook violently, much like it had before.
After the chaos had passed, the chamber door opened,
unleashing a wave of clear smoke that seeped towards Diana, Kermit, Bunsen, and
Beaker. As they performed a waving motion to clear it from their faces, they
looked through it to see two brand new figures slowly stumble out from the
chamber, coughing out the hints of smoke they had breathed in. Once it all
cleared out of the room, the group could finally see that it was Joanie and
Robin themselves who exited the chamber. The moment they saw them, Diana and
Kermit ran their way and gave them each an enormous hug.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re alright!” Diana told her
daughter.
“I couldn’t imagine what would’ve happened if we lost
you!” Kermit said to his nephew.
Joanie and Robin were just as relieved as they were to be
back. But the tight hugs their loved ones were giving them that moment had
started to cut off their breathing, which was bad enough with the smoke still
in their lungs. “Mom, could you…please…not…squish me?!”
Obeying her daughter’s request, Diana let her go, just as
Kermit had done so with Robin. “You wouldn’t believe what we just saw!” The
tiny frog exclaimed. “We were toys…action figures…a child’s playthings!”
“And you are a sad, strange little man, Bunsen Honeydew!”
Joanie angrily belittled.
(Pop Culture Note: More callbacks to the dialogue in the gas station scene from Toy Story in Robin and Joanie's dialogue.)
“Whatever this is you built is a serious menace to
society! Poor little Robin and I got the scare of our lives where we were just
now!”
Robin seemed to have thought differently. “Well,
uh…actually, Joanie…”
But the young woman seemed too furious to listen to her
little friend. “Why would you create something so…so…bizarre? No, no. Don’t
answer that. There is always a reason
for a Muppet doing something bizarre.
But this…this…thing you made…”
“Uh, Joanie?” Robin suddenly beckoned.
“…I just can’t begin to describe what a huge nightmare…”
“Joanie?”
“…it was to be a small…”
“Joanie?”
“…lifeless…”
“Joanie?!”
“…unfeeling…”
“Joanie?!?!”
“…TOY!”
“JOANIE!!”
She spun around to see what it was that Robin was trying
to direct her attention to, and she spotted him pointing directly to the
chamber. In fact, everyone’s attention – except for hers – was directed to the
chamber, which was still open and heavily lit inside. As soon as she focused on
it herself, her clear blue eyes widened in shock to see what she believed had
to have been the strangest thing ever. There, standing in the chamber, was a
blue-eyed, 43-year-old man in a high-tech space suit with a control panel on
the chest (complete with a large red button), a retractable helmet over his
head, and other gadgets through his white, green, and purple outfit. At the
moment everyone saw him, he was standing heroically at the center of the
chamber.
(Biographical Note: The reference to Buzz Lightyear's estimated age of 43 years old connects with his voice actor, Tim Allen, who was 42 at the time he portrayed Buzz Lightyear.)
(UP NEXT: A flash-forward to the future!)
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