The Key To the Kingdom (48 page)

Hawk pulled the key out of his pocket and sat it on the counter. “This?”

“That actual key was ultimately a big part of it. But we designed the plan that would ensure that the story of Walt Disney, his life, the dreams that inspired him, and the imagination that gave him his passion would never die. We would make sure that no matter what happened, Walt would always have a voice in the direction of the Walt Disney Company. Whoever was entrusted with the Key to the Kingdom would be the one and only person who would speak for Walt in the Disney organization.”

“Wait.” Hawk raised a hand. “You said I had been given the Key to the Kingdom.”

“That’s right; you are now the keeper of the key.” They sat silently before Rales continued. “Walt and Roy explained that no one could predict the future but they believed you could shape the future. The three of us the Disney brothers had invited were to create the story line that would protect Walt’s dream in the years ahead. We were given total access to Walt and Roy, any plans, any discussions, and any decisions that were made. Although we were familiar with the brothers we became experts on the family history, the company, the directions, the plans, and all things that were related to Walt and Roy Disney. The message that Walt left for you on the
Old Yeller
DVD was given to me right after Walt died with the instruction to get it to the one who would be the keeper of the key. When Walt recorded it on film he had no concept we would convert it to a digital copy for storage through the years.”

“Why me?” Hawk slowly looked around the room, collecting the questions churning through his brain cells. “What does this all mean?”

“After the Magic Kingdom was opened and Roy suddenly passed away, the three of us who had made our promise to Walt and Roy had to put our plan into place. Roy had helped us get everything ready over the years, as always he was working behind the scenes and watching out for his younger brother. The company floundered a little bit in the years after Roy’s death. Walt and Roy both knew these would be difficult times and had cautioned us not to panic but be vigilant. The three of us—”

“Who are the other two people involved in this plan?”

“You will find that out in the days ahead.” Farren leaned forward, clasping his hands together. “Let me answer your other questions. The three of us had great positions of influence within the organization. Yet no one knew that our influence and leadership really was something the Disney brothers had counted on us having. As a result we were able to be influential voices when the company needed an outsider to step in and give leadership to Disney.”

“Outsider?” Hawk shifted his weight to the arm support of the chair.

“Yes, someone who really had no ties to Disney through family or history. Michael Eisner was one of our best strategic moves. In the Eisner years the Walt Disney Company went from being a ten-billion-dollar company to a sixty-billion-dollar company as the Disney Decade became a reality.

A changing economy and changing culture made us realize we needed to make some changes. So we used our influence again to start the movement that would have Michael exit his position and allow us to bring in Bob Iger. Iger was a fantastic move for us. He immediately inked the deal with Pixar that allowed Disney to become the uncontested leader in animated storytelling. The Pixar partnership also invigorated the Imagineering department and allowed me to have the freedom to put into place what was going to happen in our next transition . . . which you are a part of, Hawk.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.” Farren stretched out his hand. “Do you have the cast ID card you found?”

Hawk produced it and handed it to Farren. He swiveled in the chair he was sitting in and slid the card through an electronic card reader. The sound of a computer processing information clicked and Farren pointed to a video screen.

“Cambridge told me I was a cast member with unrestricted access,” Hawk told his friend.

“You don’t know the half of it.” Farren nodded to the screen. “Like I said, you have the Key to the Kingdom.”

The screen blinked and flashed the image of Grayson Hawkes. There was a series of lines containing personal information about him. As Hawk read the information and eventually got to the bottom of the screen where Farren’s finger was pointing, the lines that followed left him speechless.

          
Chief Executive of Walt Disney Imagineering

          
Unrestricted and Unlimited Access All Areas

          
Fantasia Security Clearance

“What does this mean?” Hawk asked in disbelief.

“Ah, well let’s see . . . you are the new head of Imagineering for the entire company. So you now have a creative voice in leading, guiding, pushing, and telling all of the Disney stories in whatever way you think they need to be told. You have access to every single area of the company, theme parks, movie studios, and you can travel where you want, when you want, however you want.”

“Fantasia . . .?”

“That means you have a security clearance that allows you behind the scenes to all of the magic of the park. It is the highest level that exists. In other words, you are now my boss, you are everyone’s boss, and you answer to no one else in the company. You don’t have to run anything or you can run everything . . . that, my dear friend, is up to you.”

Hawk sat there taking in what Farren had just said as Rales handed him back the ID card. He felt his heart thumping in his chest. He furrowed his brow and got ready to say something but his mouth felt like it was full of cotton. Gulping, he allowed the silence to speak for him.

“Let’s see . . .” Farren kept unloading information. “I think you wanted to know why you were chosen. We needed someone who could handle the responsibility in a way that Walt would have handled things. You know all about Disney history, you are a fan of all things related to Disney, you appreciate the image of the company, you value the attention to details, and the most important thing is you know the value of a great story and why it is important to tell it well. As a preacher you are telling the greatest story ever told. If you can handle that, then you can surely be entrusted to tell Disney’s stories. While they are not the greatest ever told, they are pretty good, and they have a global audience.”

“But I’m a preacher.” Hawk opened his hands, palms upturned, as he leaned deeper into his chair.

“Of course.” Farren nodded slightly. “You are an extremely good one. Your passion is what first got me thinking that you might be the one to be the next keeper of the key. You have a good moral compass, you care about right and wrong, you will do business guided by your heart and what you know is right. Walt used to do business that way. Roy always worried about the business side but Walt brought the heart and passion. The company has lots of people who know good business . . . but you will bring a heart and passion to the areas you decide to get involved in. You keep on being a preacher, but when you aren’t preaching you can influence and have access to the biggest and best storytelling company ever created.”

Hawk breathed deeply and slowly exhaled. “I don’t know what to say!” A bead of sweat rolled in front of his ear to his jawline.

“I’m not surprised; you have had one tough week. You have been living out a Disney story at its finest. You are a hero and you have had to face some villains. I have been watching you use your knowledge of Disney, his stories, the theme park, and your care for me, and doing the right thing. I knew you were the best choice. I can’t wait to see how you will bring your insight, imagination, and creativity into Disney’s world and make it even better.”

“So all of this has been a test?”

“Partially. It also allowed us to find out who was out there trying to discover the key.”

“Us? You mean the three of you?”

“No, by ‘us’ I mean a group of loyal cast members who have pledged themselves to keeping the theme parks and the company on a track that Walt would have liked. We call them Warriors of the Kingdom. The conductor from the train station, Sandy, and there are others . . . you will get to know them in the days ahead.”

“Is Reginald Cambridge a Kingdom Warrior?”

“They are called Warriors of the Kingdom.”

“Sorry.”

“No problem.” Farren waved his hand. “You will learn it all eventually. And the answer is no, Reginald is not a Warrior of the Kingdom. He is a good man and has been extremely loyal to the company. If you decide he can be trusted, then you have the responsibility to choose any new members of this very exclusive group. They will become your most trusted allies. Although they will be loyal to the company, their real loyalty will be to keeping one man’s dream—Walt’s dream—alive and protected.”

“Why have you chosen to tell me this now?”

“Honestly the answer is simple. The time is right. Rapidly changing culture, quickly developing new technologies, entertainment is changing, digital on demand, different delivery systems, new networks, this is a different world. It isn’t the world I understand. Walt knew things would change, he just didn’t know how. He also knew that he had to have someone who could understand how to navigate through the future. I could see the time was now, so I decided it was time to give you the key.”

“What if I hadn’t figured it out and solved the puzzle?”

“I had confidence in you,” Farren reassured. “I’ll admit the longer it has been since Walt and Roy have been with us, the tougher it has gotten. We even designed the AI-1000 Audio-Animatronic Walt Disney thinking that one day we might be able to make him so lifelike that we could film Walt proposing bold new ideas, kind of like a bunch of previously undiscovered Disney films, or something like that. We have the technology to fool people into thinking that Walt had left some marching orders for us.”

“So why didn’t you go with that plan?”

“Well, it was dishonest for one thing, but the other is that Walt left us with a plan. Again, Walt always knew that the times would change. He had enough imagination—we see it in Tomorrowland—to know that the future was going to be incredible. His plan guaranteed that we would have a person who understood the culture, the world we live in, and the Disney way enough to speak for the genius. That, my friend, is you!”

Hawk sat silent as a slight smile twitched across his lips.

“I know it has to be overwhelming,” Rales agreed. “But there is something else you need to know.”

“More?”

“Oh, yes . . . much more!”

C
HAPTER
F
IFTY

Day Seven Afternoon

“H
AWK, I WOULD LIKE
for you to meet Walt Disney!”

Hawk looked blankly at Farren. A quick glance around the room confirmed that the AI-1000 Audio-Animatronic Walt Disney hadn’t slipped into the command center. The preacher and the old Imagineer were still the only people in the room.

“I’m sorry?” Hawk widened his eyes and leaned forward.

“I said, I would like for you to meet Walt Disney,” Farren made a sweeping gesture.

Hawk followed the gesture of his old friend and saw it whisk across toward the middle of the room. Again the preacher turned head Imagineer confirmed they were alone. Then with startling clarity it hit him. There was only one thing in the entire command center that was out of place and yet to be explained. The large metallic silver cylinder standing in the center of the room glistened in the room’s lighting. Hawk turned back toward Rales to see his face smiling as he realized that Hawk was beginning to understand.

“Inside this cylinder is Walt Disney.” Farren paused, allowing what he said to sink in. “He is in a state of cryonic suspension.”