THIRTY, and after a sleepless night, Hawk was the first to arrive in the friendly and familiar confines of his office.
Logging onto his computer he immediately put into action the plan born in the midst of his insomnia. Hawk had determined to understand better how Pal Mickey worked; his first stop would be at the Disney World Trivia forums. In moments his screen filled with a number of links loaded with information about Pal Mickey.
Relaxing and rocking back in his desk chair he reread what he found. The design of Pal Mickey began in the year 2000 as Imagineers began to flirt with ways that wireless devices could be used to enhance the guest experience in the theme parks. This technology would allow the guest to receive practical and helpful information but also allow the Imagineers to communicate some of the rich stories and details that were such an important part of the design of each unique park. Throughout the Walt Disney World Resort hundreds of hidden infrared transmitters emit information to the toy. The end result is a transponder network designed to keep the Pal Mickey constantly receiving and able to dispense information. The computer system that runs the emitters as well as the computing power inside the doll itself is one that builds and stacks the information so it becomes a genuine interactive experience. The small, protected transponder in the hard plastic nose acts as the receiver and behind the eyes is the speaker system that enables the user to hear all the information. Hawk also found that the Imagineers were only just beginning to experiment with the technology and that the future of what they could do was unlimited. Already prototypes of new receivers, transponders, and emitters were being tested. Pal Mickey had been the rollout of the first wave of this technology and it had worked. There would be more applications to follow, and as Karin had said, the Pal Mickey system would have to be turned off and shut down. But in spite of that, Hawk now possessed a plush pal that still worked. He reached into his bag and brought out the Pal Mickey he’d freed from Walt’s desk last night.
Since this particular Pal Mickey had addressed him by name the night before, Hawk felt it safe to assume that this was one of the new prototypes he had read about. The technology behind it was impressive and obviously one that the Imagineers had mastered. It reminded him of Kiran’s explanation of the technology behind the parades in the Magic Kingdom. Since Farren Rales had his hand in many things the Imagineers were working on, it would not be a stretch to think he could have his hand in this type of technology as it was developed and implemented. It was also fairly reasonable that Rales would be involved in whatever the next progression of this technology would become.
“Is it possible that Rales could have set up a system designed to communicate with just one receiver?” Hawk asked aloud toward Mickey.
It seemed to be the only reasonable explanation for the surprising sayings from the stuffed animal last night. Rales had wanted him to find the desk and the very special Pal Mickey. Rales also had intended for the interactive stuffed tour guide to talk directly to him. Beyond that, if he was thinking correctly about those things, then the key to the kingdom unlocked the desk and an even bigger mystery. This was something that Hawk hadn’t been anticipating. His assumption was that the key itself would give him an answer to what the key to the kingdom was. Instead the key had merely served to open up more questions. Running his fingers through his hair he realized it was not over as Kiran had suggested. Instead he felt compelled to pursue this even further. If what he had done the night before was only the beginning, he shuddered to think what he might have to do next in order to solve the mystery.
The ringing of the phone shook him out of his cloak-and-dagger moment. Reaching to grasp the handle he hoisted it toward
Logging onto his computer he immediately put into action the plan born in the midst of his insomnia. Hawk had determined to understand better how Pal Mickey worked; his first stop would be at the Disney World Trivia forums. In moments his screen filled with a number of links loaded with information about Pal Mickey.
Relaxing and rocking back in his desk chair he reread what he found. The design of Pal Mickey began in the year 2000 as Imagineers began to flirt with ways that wireless devices could be used to enhance the guest experience in the theme parks. This technology would allow the guest to receive practical and helpful information but also allow the Imagineers to communicate some of the rich stories and details that were such an important part of the design of each unique park. Throughout the Walt Disney World Resort hundreds of hidden infrared transmitters emit information to the toy. The end result is a transponder network designed to keep the Pal Mickey constantly receiving and able to dispense information. The computer system that runs the emitters as well as the computing power inside the doll itself is one that builds and stacks the information so it becomes a genuine interactive experience. The small, protected transponder in the hard plastic nose acts as the receiver and behind the eyes is the speaker system that enables the user to hear all the information. Hawk also found that the Imagineers were only just beginning to experiment with the technology and that the future of what they could do was unlimited. Already prototypes of new receivers, transponders, and emitters were being tested. Pal Mickey had been the rollout of the first wave of this technology and it had worked. There would be more applications to follow, and as Karin had said, the Pal Mickey system would have to be turned off and shut down. But in spite of that, Hawk now possessed a plush pal that still worked. He reached into his bag and brought out the Pal Mickey he’d freed from Walt’s desk last night.
Since this particular Pal Mickey had addressed him by name the night before, Hawk felt it safe to assume that this was one of the new prototypes he had read about. The technology behind it was impressive and obviously one that the Imagineers had mastered. It reminded him of Kiran’s explanation of the technology behind the parades in the Magic Kingdom. Since Farren Rales had his hand in many things the Imagineers were working on, it would not be a stretch to think he could have his hand in this type of technology as it was developed and implemented. It was also fairly reasonable that Rales would be involved in whatever the next progression of this technology would become.
“Is it possible that Rales could have set up a system designed to communicate with just one receiver?” Hawk asked aloud toward Mickey.
It seemed to be the only reasonable explanation for the surprising sayings from the stuffed animal last night. Rales had wanted him to find the desk and the very special Pal Mickey. Rales also had intended for the interactive stuffed tour guide to talk directly to him. Beyond that, if he was thinking correctly about those things, then the key to the kingdom unlocked the desk and an even bigger mystery. This was something that Hawk hadn’t been anticipating. His assumption was that the key itself would give him an answer to what the key to the kingdom was. Instead the key had merely served to open up more questions. Running his fingers through his hair he realized it was not over as Kiran had suggested. Instead he felt compelled to pursue this even further. If what he had done the night before was only the beginning, he shuddered to think what he might have to do next in order to solve the mystery.
The ringing of the phone shook him out of his cloak-and-dagger moment. Reaching to grasp the handle he hoisted it toward
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