Chapter 1 - UnReality
My first thought, when I woke up in what I immediately recognized as a hospital, was Crap. This is going to cost a bundle. I looked around, blinking a bit, and noticed that I wasn't hooked up to any equipment, not even an IV. As my brain finally shifted into first gear, I realized that I wasn't entirely sure why I was there. I hadn't been injured. I hadn't gotten sick – at least, I didn't remember being rushed to the hospital or even feeling ill.
And I was starting to notice details that seemed out of place. The room I was in was clearly designed for a single patient, and I don't have that kind of money. Moreover, there were no windows, and the equipment pushed back against the walls indicated that this wasn't a recovery room.
I sat up gingerly. Since I wasn't entirely sure what had gotten me here, I wanted to treat my body carefully. I reached down to pull the blankets back and holy fuck my hands are green. For a moment, I couldn't breathe. I had no idea what kind of disease would turn my skin green. Not zombie-green – at least, as far as I could tell, given that I didn't actually know any zombies. It was deeper and more vivid, almost leafy.
A moment later, everything clicked.
I remembered the email I'd gotten from DisneyQuest about a month ago, identifying me as a potential prizewinner. I hadn't recalled entering anything, so I waited until the next day at work and then called from a telephone there while I was on my lunch break. I mean, duh, I wasn't about to give my number to some scammer.
It had gone straight to voicemail – that figures, I thought. But the message started out, "Hi, this is Dave at Blue Sky." There was more to it than that but I really didn't register anything other than BLUE SKY. Did I actually have the direct phone number of a Disney Imagineer?
My heart raced. This had to be a scam. It had to be. But I left my name and my work number and hung up and sat there numbly until the phone rang again not a minute later.
That conversation is mostly a blur in my memory, but it did eventually sink in that Disney was developing a fully-immersive "fantasy entertainment experience" and that they were inviting a small group of people to a weekend test of the prototype. I think I said yes before he finished the first sentence. Also, there might have been a little bit of squealing involved.
Okay, maybe a lot of squealing.
Dave was really awesome and gave me the basics. I'd have to get there on my own, but they'd give me a room at the new animation resort and a two-day Parkhopper pass as compensation for my feedback on the prototype. Two days at Disney World for only the cost of transportation and food? Hell yes, and transfer me to Dining Reservations ASAP!
He told me that I'd be getting some paperwork in the mail and to be sure to send the originals back Registered. They wouldn't accept photocopies or faxes. And he gave me another number to call if I had any questions, or if I didn't get the papers within the next two days.
Disney does not mess around one little bit with its legal stuff, folks. That became even more apparent the next afternoon and opened my mailbox. I pulled out an enormous plastic envelope and ripped it open without even waiting to get inside. Honest to goodness, that stack of papers could have put the phone book to shame! I think the non-disclosure agreement required me to forfeit my firstborn child, my soul, and my neocortex if I ever said anything to anyone. Also there might have been something about polyps. (You know, these guys – bogleech images / polyp4 . jpg )
So of course I got a pen from the car, signed at every little red X, then drove to the post office and filled out the Registered Mail form and sent it back.
The next month passed incredibly slowly, even though the days were full of activity. I arranged for a day off work the Friday I was scheduled to get to Orlando. I made my travel plans. I packed. I changed my mind about what I wanted to take. I unpacked and re-packed.
Finally, I left.
There is no feeling in the world quite like passing under the arch that says WALT DISNEY World. I checked in and debated taking my bag to my room and resting for awhile, but what was the sense in being sensible?! So I left my bag with bell services and went right over to the concierge and showed her the information I'd gotten after I'd sent in my legal packet. She did something-or-other on her computer, took my cell number, and told me that they'd be sending a car for me and it would be here in just a few minutes.
Sure enough, less than five minutes later a silvery-blue sedan pulled up and a woman with dark hair popped out and waved to me. I got in and she introduced herself as Jamie. While we headed wherever it was we were going, she reviewed the procedure with me: I was wearing comfortable clothes and lace-up shoes, as they'd requested. I would need to empty my pockets and leave all items in a locker. No photography under any circumstances. All medical issues had been appropriately documented.
By the time we turned onto an unmarked lane and pulled up to a nondescript building, I was a bundle of nerves. But I got through the security check without any issues, and soon Jamie led me down a quiet hallway decorated with animation cels and concept art to a plain wooden door. She pressed her company ID card against the wall by the door, and it swung open.
"I'll see you when you're done!" Jamie said, and I stepped through the doorway.
[AN: For the record, haha, I have NO idea how Blue Sky works. So all of that is made up. There are people who work at Disney called Imagineers, and some of them do design park attractions. This, however, is entirely a work of fiction… though it WOULD be awfully nice to see TOR developed into a full-immersion game! Also, I realize that there's not a lot of TOR in here yet - you're just going to have to keep reading, I guess! ;D
As always, reviews welcomed and encouraged!]
