Back to the launch memory now, from Callie Arnold’s viewpoint at the podium. Spreading from Jos\u00e9 Thomas like ripples from a stone, the realization that programmable matter is finally here rustles and mutters to the edges of the room. It surges again, higher, as the table under the remaining tray morphs into a muscular young male form (Serena’s niece’s fellow dance student) and begins to distribute to the left side of the room as the female form takes the right.<\/p>\n
All over the room, donkey picts come on over people’s heads as they dial their bosses in to ride their greyware, seeing what they see, and – importantly in this case – feeling what they feel.<\/p>\n
Cut to Halwaz’s viewpoint, present day, interviewing Vaclav Semyon, CEO of Disney-Fox at the time of the Gu launch.<\/p>\n
“I knew straight away this was epoch-making,” he is saying in his trademark style. “Tangible magic! When Sally van der Plotz called me I dropped everything and greyghosted her.”<\/p>\n
“Why was that, sir?”<\/p>\n
“Because I knew Sally was a sensible woman.”<\/p>\n
“So you trusted her judgement?”<\/p>\n
“So I trusted that if she was taking the career risk of interrupting me it was for something that was worth seeing. I was an old-style CEO, command and control, and people didn’t just call me for no reason. If Sally said I had to see it she had better be darn sure. And she was.”<\/p>\n
“Do you have the memory still, sir?”<\/p>\n
“I do.”<\/p>\n
This time Halwaz stays present in the memory, achieving her famous layered effect: You are getting Halwaz’s reaction to Semyon’s memory of greyghosting van der Plotz. Right in front of her\/him\/her\/you, one of the younger executives tries to pinch the female figure on the rump, but the Gu springs back immediately into shape and she doesn’t appear to feel anything. “How are they doing<\/span> that?” mutters Semyon, as if to himself. In response, van der Plotz runs a simplefish over the technical information given so far and squirts him a highload. It’s a strong simplefish; it gets the gist immediately.<\/p>\n “Holographic control from inside<\/span>. That’s brilliant,” says Semyon. He’s smiling, and Halwaz finds his mood of happy wonder infectious. “No propagation lag, total control. Central<\/span> control. I like it. We got to get us some of that.”<\/p>\n “Yes, sir,” subvocalizes Sally.<\/p>\n “And so, of course, we did,” says Semyon, present-day. The scene shifts back to his office, his viewpoint, Halwaz on an uncomfortable-looking stiffstuff chair in front of his large (also stiff) desk. “No more cramming park employees into stuffy suits with oversized heads. Toonotopia became one of our most popular attractions. Still is.”<\/p>\n “You were an early adopter of Gu for entertainment purposes,” says Halwaz. “Even before the game console makers. What was it like, being a part of that?”<\/p>\n “Well, Susan, it was magical,” you say. “It was a child’s dream come true – things coming to life, talking to you, interacting with you, and not just in virtuality, not just in an overlay that you can see but not touch – right there under your fingers and in front of your naked eyes. They say seeing is believing, but let me tell you, touching – touching is really<\/span> believing.”<\/p>\n “You’re often credited with the idea for the Mobile Disneys, Mr Semyon. Is that true?”<\/p>\n “Well, as to who had the actual idea – I don’t think that was me. But I championed it, certainly. I remembered when the circus, one of the last of the old touring circuses, came to town when I was a child. I remember watching Dumbo<\/span>, too. The circus train, the elephant parade… And when someone said “mobile Disney” – well, it just brought all that right back. It had to be done. And I made sure it was done. Twenty-six of them now, can you believe that? On every continent. And all they need is a big field where you can get power and water, and suddenly, there’s a theme park.”<\/p>\n Dissolve into footage of a mobile Disney setting up in the Ukraine. The long train arrives, and the Gu superstructure of each car morphs into dinosaurs, elephants, clowns, acrobats, and an assortment of Disney characters and forms a parade, leaving empty flatcars behind. A crowd of children and adults cheers the parade as it progresses down the street and into a large open space outside the town. <\/p>\n The dinosaurs and elephants begin morphing into rides, buildings and attractions. Already in place outside the field is a large billboard, in Ukrainian, announcing that the Disney will be there for a month and giving prices, a ticket sales net address, and the schedule of attractions: “Mondays, Frontierland; Tuesdays, Creature Country; Wednesdays, Adventureland; Thursdays, Retrofuturia; Fridays, World Park; Saturdays, Toonotopia; Sundays, Fantasyland.” <\/p>\n “It hasn’t harmed the popularity of the fixed-location parks, either – just the opposite, there have been two new fixed parks built since Mobile Disney started.”<\/p>\n “And, of course, it’s triggered a wave of imitators,” Halwaz puts in.<\/p>\n Semyon laughs. “Yes, but is a converted movie multiplex at the local mall really going to compete with the magic of Disney? Don’t get me wrong, we watched – I’m sure my successor still watches – the microparks with great interest. Most of our best hires started out as micropark designers. They come up with great innovative concepts, really novel stuff, pushing the frontiers of the medium. But the Disney rides are the classics, you know? There’s life in the old mouse yet.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Back to the launch memory now, from Callie Arnold’s viewpoint at the podium. Spreading from Jos\u00e9 Thomas like ripples from a stone, the realization that programmable matter is finally here rustles and mutters to the edges of the room. It … Continue reading