Exploration
Having apparently cleared whatever was required for entry, John decided to explore his new home and see if he could stake out a place for himself. The streets were eerily empty as he wandered up and down Main Street, secure in the knowledge that he wasn't ready for the rest of the park if that castle was any indication.
Still, he might as well handle this in an orderly fashion. John decided to begin on the west side of the lane, cross over at the end, and return the way he'd come. That way he wouldn't miss anything. The second building that he encountered was the Fire Station that Mr. Fell had mentioned. It was a small place but seemed better organized than Franklin's volunteer corps of firefighters. Open to the elements as it was, though, he didn't think the man could live here unless he'd taken the second story. He didn't wish to pry, however and walked on.
He poked around happily in the shops for a while, noting those places where food seemed to be available, avoiding something calling itself a Penny Arcade because of the noise it generated, and fascinated by the tiny crystal animals and wrist watches that he found. The mouse drawing that he'd met seemed to be on everything, even if he occasionally was wearing a pink bow and a dotted pinafore instead of the red breeches. But John couldn't bring himself to trust anyone who wore red...
Reaching the end of the street, which seemed to empty into a clean public square, he turned to go back when his eye fell on a building set back from the street. A moment's attention told him it was the First Aid Station. Susan's home. Unwilling to be found loitering outside, he glanced at it only briefly, memorized its location and hurried on.
Halfway back down the street after a number of other shops which were beginning to run together in his mind as easily as they did physically, he found himself in front of a small, curtained room guarded by a life size female doll which he'd mistakenly identified as a real person for one embarrassing moment. She was sitting in a glass booth outside a building apparently called the Main Street Cinema. Just inside were flickering lights and the mouse creature prancing around all the walls; here driving a steam boat and there contorting his body into ridiculous shapes. Of course, John had never seen a film before, so he thought it must simply be more of those living drawings moving about. But for some reason these images were lacking color. Deeply disturbed, John left quickly. What was this place?
Footsore and weary, he'd very nearly returned to the large building at the front of the park when a new building caught his attention. It looked like an opera house and the sign read 'The Walt Disney Story featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln'. Now despite being fairly sophisticated and urbane for his time, John had never seen a play in his life. He'd read many of the most popular of the day, but there wasn't a playhouse in Boston or in Philadelphia. He didn't know who Walt Disney or Mr. Lincoln were, but an opportunity to explore a playhouse couldn't be missed. Still seeing no one about, he went inside.
The interior was opulent and familiar. It looked something like Dickenson's house, truth be told, with all those fancy wallpapers and carpets. John had only been there once, but it had been more than enough. He understood where the man was coming from but he didn't have to like it...
The walls were covered with photographs, which he'd become inured to at Hogwarts, though these didn't move, and mostly showed a friendly looking middle-aged man and what he assumed must be parts of the place he was in because he recognized some of the buildings. Like that damn castle. Most of these were also black and white or in brown tones, though some were in color. Moving farther into the space, he found what appeared to be an office, but it was behind a glass pane with no obvious way to enter. The sign proclaimed it to be Walt Disney's personal office. It looked comfortable and as he was looking for a way to get in, a series of doors behind him opened of their own accord. John started and looked inside to see the largest theater he'd ever seen in his life. It had to be able to hold hundreds of people. Finding a seat in the center and feeling very alone, John settled in to see the show, not sure what to expect. The doors closed again and the lights went out.
***
About thirty minutes later, he stumbled out, dabbing surreptitiously at his eyes. Dib had mentioned the Civil War to him in passing but he'd had no idea the scope of the conflict or that the whole thing was directly attributable to his personal decision during the Declaration debate to remove the slavery clause and keep the South. It hurt to realize that he'd been the one to forfeit thousands of lives in his own time as well as a hundred years later in order to reach the greater good. What had Franklin said? 'First independence, John. America. Without that, what does the rest matter?' Oh, it mattered all right. But was it really for the greater good? When so many weren't able to profit by it? John had a lot to think about. All he could do was thank God that the country had such a leader at the time. Though the mechanical doll had been something of a shock. He wanted to know more about this Mr. Lincoln, however.
He was so deep in thought that he turned through the wrong door on his way out of the theater. Instead of returning to the lobby, John found himself in an employee waiting area. There were a couple of sophas, an indoor privy, and a changing area. A disinterested look revealed some clothing that on second glance appeared to consist of breeches, hose, a patterned vest, white shirt and long coat. John smiled faintly. It looked like he was home.