Genesis

**"Genesis"**is the first episode of *Rewritten* and the 1st episode overall. It is the series premiere and pilot.

It was published on May 29, 2017.

In the episode, the Toons have left Toontown and have forgotten who they are. Erstwhile, in the past, Toontown's desperate mayor attempts to find a solution to the crumbling economy.

## The Episode

Professor Pete Ingalls fell backward, his heart breaking, his eyes streaked with tears, his life slipping away. Backward, into the unknown. The metallic, monotonous voices sounded so close, but now so distant. The blackness consumed him. For the first time in his life, he was truly, completely, distraught.

===FANTASYLAND===

=Three Years Later=

Professor Pete Ingalls dropped the essays on his desk and sighed at the mound of paper in front of him. All the theses to grade. Pushing the thought of procrastination away, Pete slid the first essay toward him and clicked the bottom of his red pen, his necessity, and set to work perusing the student's work. His fingers assiduously traced the lines of ink, the words, a symphony of independent thought. Pete smiled with pride. His students were incredible.

Struggling to read in the dim-lit classroom of the University, Pete opened the blinds to allow the radiant sunny air to stream inside. He could hear the cats in the alley meowing, dogs in the park across the street barking cheerfully, and the people of Fantasyland milling about. The air outside was still, the same as yesterday, and the day before. The weather here was predictable and constant, never wavering. It certainly made dressing for work easier.

Piggy Pie strolled down Main Street with her dog, Lasagna, on her day off work. He was a sluggish puppy; Piggy Pie struggled to motivate him to do anything. His favorite activity was sleeping. But then again, Piggy Pie thought, so was hers.

As she rounded the corner, past the Emporium and theatre, she heard her cell phone ring. She fumbled to pull it out of her pocket.

"This is Piggy," she said, watching as Lasagna lifted his leg over a lamppost.

"Hey," Piggy Pie's manager said, "Ursula called in sick again. Can you cover her shift tomorrow?"

Piggy Pie frowned. That would depend, she thought.

"Was she on cleaning or feeding duty?"

"Feeding," the manager said.

"I'll take the shift," Piggy Pie said, relieved it was not the former. She missed feeding the fish at the Fantasyland Aquarium. It was her favorite task at work back when she held the same position as Ursula. Now she worked as an associate manager.

The Erut Nevda forests were destroyed a long time ago. Caused by a cataclysmic volcanic eruption and rampant subsequent deforestation. Violet Vance worked with habitat conservation in an intentional effort to preserve and reconstruct the demolished nature. It was important work and Violet enjoyed it. She was able to spend her days outdoors, among the flora and fauna, content. Recently, she was assigned to the elephant habitat, which mostly survived the disaster but the water, once pristine and vividly cerulean, was now murky and unfit for elephant bathing or drinking.

Violet dipped another test tube in the water and withdrew her hand, shaking the little glass vessel to mix all the minerals together. She frowned at the brown solution. Unfortunate indeed. She passed it to her colleague, who was bent over a rack of her own test tubes, analyzing the samples.

Violet heard a quack and turned around. A mother duck was leading her ducklings to the water. Violet smiled and watched them waddle. Even though the water was dirty, the ducks didn't seem to mind it. They frequently slipped behind the light waterfall across the river, making Violet suspect the water might be clearer beyond.

Violet whipped her head to the last duck. She could have sworn it was purple. A purple duck. A trick of the light or something, Violet thought. No purple ducks there. How absurd, she thought with a small laugh. Wouldn't that be something? A purple duck.

===TOONTOWN===

=Six Years Ago=

Mayor Flippy Flopper of Toontown waited patiently in the sitting room of the electrical facility in the Dreamland neighborhood of his town. Around the room, various portraits of starry landscapes adorned the walls. His cyan blue paws were folded in his lap. Flippy glanced at the clock again; almost time for his meeting. His mind kept wandering back to the economic report, easily the most unfun topic of his job as Mayor.

Stagnant.

That's what his advisor, the banker, said. The economy in Toontown was stagnant. And no one seemed to care. Flippy certainly had no idea. He hardly thought about the economy of all things. That word was probably uttered once aloud in the last sixty years. But now it appeared as if Flippy would have to make a decision for all of Toontown. If the economy continued on as it is...what was it that the banker said? There would be a crash...of what again? Oh it was something important. The banker said unemployment would rise. That could be bad. The value of the jellybean, the currency, would plunge. Not drop, plunge. And then...shops will go out of business. Toons would leave. Steal, loot. Vote him out of office.

Something had to change.

Flippy had looked over some charts in his office in Toon Hall in the heart of Toontown, Toontown Central. He saw that the electricity facility in Dreamland had the lowest profit rates of any industry. Why? That's why Flippy was here today. To meet with the foreman and demand answers, as well as offer assistance. After all, he was the Mayor.

The door in the sitting room opened and a pink horse ambled inside with the Leader of Dreamland: Ichabod Irving, a brown horse.

"Mayor Flippy," Ichabod said cheerfully, "I'm so glad you came. Allow me to introduce  the foreman."

The foreman smiled a horsey toothy grin and shook Flippy's paw with her own wide hoof.

"Please, follow me."

Flippy followed Ichabod and the foreman through the corridors of the factory, looping around the various storerooms and facilities. In every room, employees were at work, but working hard was not something Flippy would say. They were all overcome with lassitude. No one moved with urgency, no one was alert and efficient. Everyone was soldiering, going slow.

"Why isn't anyone working efficiently?" Flippy finally asked. "Don't you have management to ensure work is getting done?"

"Well," the foreman said, almost insulted, "yes. We encourage them to move fast. We have incentive programs. But the problem is no one wants to work. They don't care. Their tasks are not...essential I suppose. We're mandated by the town to employ a certain percentage of workers from Dreamland and so we have a lot of them do menial tasks. I guess I don't really see the point in having some of these jobs so it's hard to pretend like they're essential."

Flippy frowned.

"What if they were automated?"

The foreman inclined her head. Ichabod scrunched his eyebrows.

"What do you mean, Flippy?" he said. "Like the Trolley?"

"Sure," Flippy said. "The Trolley is automatic. It is controlled by a computer somewhere. Perhaps we can get a machine for you to perform some of these tasks."

The foreman was counting on her hooves.

"That would work. The money we would save laying off this surplus of labor could be beneficial to our profit margins."

"Leave it to me," Flippy said, swelling with pride at his bright idea. "I will see if I can find a mechanic or someone to build you some machines."

The foreman eagerly shook Flippy's hand.

"Thank you, Mayor!"

===FANTASYLAND===

=Six Years Later=

Dr. Doctor Smith, living up to his name, sat diagonally from his patient in his family practice's office. The woman sitting on the crisp, disposable paper was also his friend, Clara. She worked nextdoor as a warehouse clerk. She had about a dozen siblings, all of which were also Doctor's patients. Clara always regaled Doctor with stories of family drama, memories, or workplace experiences. It was for this reason that Clara's appointments were always twice as long. She was hilarious.

"Well, you're all set," Doctor said. "Make sure to schedule another annual appointment on your way out."

"I'll see you for dinner tonight?" Clara asked, picking up her coat.

"Indeed you will," Doctor said. "Piggy Pie said she got a reservation at the Palace."

"Bless her," Clara said. She paused. "You and she have some weird names, you know."

Doctor smirked.

"That we do."

Professor Pete dismissed his class after the lecture. The twenty-something students gathered their schoolbooks and filed out of the lecture hall. One of them deliberately stopped by the desk to thank Pete for the lecture.

Of course, Pete had said with a smile.

As Pete erased his mathematical equations from the chalkboard, he heard another student come up behind him.

"Yes?" Pete said, turning around. But he stared. This was not one of his students. He had never seen this man before. He was young though, so he might be a student at the University. Seeking to enroll late?

But before the student spoke, Pete was entranced by the man's outfit. He was wearing a leafy Hawaiian shirt with basketball shorts, an odd combination. What was even more strange was the complexion. The man seemed to be red. Not sunburnt or flushed with color, but red like a crayon. His face was basically scarlet in color while his arms and legs got progressively lighter. A living, walking ombre.

Pete quickly composed himself and stopped staring. It was rude to stare.

"Anything I can help you with?" he asked.

But the man only stared back sadly, his eyes rife with emotion.

"I'm sorry for your loss," he said.

And without another word, or before Pete could speak, the man turned and walked out of the classroom.

Who...Pete thought and hurried after the student.

What loss? What did he lose? No relatives, no family...they were all long gone. Pete was unmarried, no children...so then what? Did he lose a pen? Is this a joke, a prank?

Pete ran out into the hallway and glanced up and down the corridor. No one.

The man was gone.

Slate Oldman ignored the snickering of the younger generation as he entered the Emporium. The people of Fantasyland were not as kind toward their elders as Slate would have liked. It made his time here more difficult.

Slate wove his way through the shelves of the shop, looking for what he needed. The lights in this store were always annoyingly dull. Slate was sure it was not an electrical problem; it was the storeowner trying to attract the Millennial crowd. Slate hated this store. Hated it severely. But it had the cheapest prices and some of the groceries that were harder to come by, so here he was.

"Let me know if you need anything," a voice called out from somewhere in the store, to no one in particular.

Slate rolled his eyes and filled his basket. On his way to the checkout line, he passed the oddest decoration he had ever seen. It was a fortune teller, enclosed in a magnificent glass case. The fortune teller was a robot, an animatronic, who was also sedentary, always stationary, but sometimes spewed hogwash for a few credits.

Slate had seen many teenagers ramming credits into the machine in an attempt to see if that boy would ask them out, or if that girl was into them. If they would pass a test, should they cheat. All the meaningless questions. Slate had longed to ask it a more deep, intricate question. But to be truthful, he was embarrassed to do so in front of all these strangers. All these people who viewed him as senile, torpid.

So Slate walked past the fortune teller, whose name plate read in garish lettering "ESMERALDA." Only this time, this time, the fortune teller lit up all by herself and literally levitated off the ground.

Slate leapt backward, gasping in shock. He looked around at the other customers, but no one was there. Slate realized suddenly that he may be the only one in the store besides the shopkeeper, wherever he or she went. Esmeralda continued to levitate above the ground, rocking slowly. Then her mouth opened,

"I sense a portal opening to a Toon world..." she boomed, "have you seen this portal?"

Slate watched, transfixed. The box slowly lowered to the ground. Slate sighed as the machine went dark.

"Not yet," he whispered.

===TOONTOWN===

=Six Years Ago=

Flippy leapt for the phone as soon as it rang.

"Is he here?" Flippy breathed excitedly.

"Yes, sir," Flippy's secretary said, "Shall I send him in?"

"Yes yes!"

On the line, the secretary began to put the phone down.

"Doctor, you can head on inside."

Flippy straightened the objects on his desk and folded his paws to try to look as professional, as Mayoral, as possible. When in reality he was bouncing with enthusiasm.

The door opened and a neon green duck waddled inside, his beak in a wide smile. He carried a binder which looked rather unkempt. He outstretched his arm.

"Good to meet you, Mayor. My name is Dr. Adam Molecule."

"Dr. Molecule, it is a pleasure!" Flippy exclaimed. "I understand that you may have a solution to our economic problem."

This, more than anything, was the source of Flippy's excitement. A solution. Here, at last.

"I believe I do," Dr. Molecule quacked. He set the binder on Flippy's desk and rotated it so Flippy could read the large word imprinted on the cover.

"Cogs," Flippy read, intrigued. "Are they robots?"

"In essence," Dr. Molecule said, "yes. But they aren't just some robot that continuously picks up items and puts them back down. Or screws in a lightbulb repeatedly. They are more than that. They are independent. They do not require repair, they can think, they can speak, they can even interact with others."

Flippy stared. That was way more than what was necessary...

"Are you sure those traits, while impressive certainly, are what we need right now? I just need automated machines to replace sluggish workers."

Dr. Molecule frowned. What was that look on his face? Disappointment? Something harder? Colder? Resentment?

"My Cogs are able to do what you ask, but they are not a replacement. They are an upgrade."

"Oh," Flippy said.

"They are divided into four types," Dr. Molecule continued, opening the binder and showing Flippy the inside pages. "Sellbots, Cashbots, Lawbots, and Bossbots. Sellbots work with sales and marketing and can conduct outreach to all parts of Toontown. They are also the ones at the bottom of the totem pole, so to speak, so they are also the ones you would put in the factories to do those menial tasks. Those and Flunkies."

Flippy began laughing.

"They have cute names!"

Dr. Molecule was not amused.

"Their names are reflective of their individual talents."

Flippy bent over one of the profiles.

"A *Mingler?*"

"The Mingler excels in making connections and enhancing the company image."

Flippy swallowed.

"Company? Like a shop?"

Dr. Molecule blinked.

"Sure."

Flippy turned the page, seeing a matrix of green-uniformed Cogs.

"And these are...Cashbots?"

"Yes sir," Molecule said, "specializing in financial transactions."

Flippy grinned.

"Maybe I should just get some of those to solve these financial woes."

"You could," Molecule said quickly.

Flippy kept turning pages, looking at Tightwads and Loan Sharks and Robber Barons with dark sunglasses. They weren't photographs, just drawings. Very well-done drawings too. The details were so precise. Dr. Molecule was very passionate about his work. Could this be the future of Toontown? Cogs and Toons living in harmony in the silly streets? Maybe every house would have a Cog. The smaller ones cheaper and the larger ones more expensive. You could save up to purchase a Legal Eagle Lawbot for your shop to handle any legal issues (whatever sort of legal issue existed in Toontown). Or spend money for Flunky Bossbots to perform everyday tasks. Every home could use a Bean Counter to calculate their earnings. This was amazing!

But...Molecule said these robots could think for themselves. Toons were in general averse to robots. They weren't...fun. And that was irrefutable. Flippy was excited to solve the town's crises, but beings that were solely devoted to the unfun tasks in Toontown could be detrimental. They would be voids of darkness. Holes without joy. A robot going over financial statements. Poring through legalese. No jokes.

"Dr. Molecule," Flippy said slowly. The duck listened as Flippy listed his concerns. Molecule began quacking as soon as the Mayor was done speaking.

"No no, you've got it all wrong! The Cogs are completely capable of jokes and cheerfulness. They have minimal traces of joviology."

"Minimal...?" Flippy began, but Molecule stood.

"Let me show you. I brought a Cog with me."

Flippy watched in awe as Molecule exited the office and returned with a robot. A Cog. It was tall, towering over both of them. It wore a white suit, unlike any of the drawings in the binder. Its head was similar to that of Dr. Molecule's. It even had a beak. It looked like a white duck. Its matching white suit was metal, but shiny. A bright green circular light was attached to its chest, perhaps a battery indicator. On it's lapel, it read "Quack."

"Quack?" Flippy asked.

"A new Cog I'm developing," Dr. Molecule said. "It's designed to aid with doctors and surgeons. A nurse, if you will."

Dr. Molecule pulled a switch from his button and operated the Cog. Its eyes lit up and the Cog spoke in a robotic voice.

"How may I assist?"

Dr. Molecule proceeded to show Flippy all the various tasks the Cog could complete. Each task was interspersed with affable jokes.

"A lollipop for a good Toon!" the Cog would drone, "An apple a day keeps the Quack away!"

Flippy laughed at the Cog and felt himself swell with happiness.

"Dr. Molecule," he said, "I will order for a team to help you construct 500 cogs. You will base yourself in the Gardens neighborhood on Oak Street."

=Two Years Later=

Shopkeeper Eileen Irenic, a maroon mouse, locked the door to her shop for the evening. Her husband was out with their sons playing in the Playground. She descended the stairs to Oak Street and was careful to avoid a Penny Pincher Cashbot making its way up the street. It did not acknowledge her as it passed. Eileen frowned at the now common Cogs as they perambulated the streets of Toontown. Once they were rare, and only in shops and businesses. But now they were everywhere. On the streets, in the homes, inside, outside. Just never the Playgrounds. They weren't allowed to enter, or something. Not even the Central Bank of Toontown Central had Cogs. Or the Trolley Depots.

Eileen did not really think too much about them. She knew she never wanted one personally. They made her feel shuddery.

Eileen trailed the Penny Pincher, as they were going in the same direction. Its green suit moved mechanically with the body. Cogbucks, the currency among the robots (seriously, they had their own currency?), checkered the suit.

As the two approached the Playground tunnel, the Penny Pincher suddenly paused. Eileen slammed to a halt so she didn't bump into it. Cogs did not like to be disturbed. The Cog turned on its heel, and began marching off the street.

Eileen watched in shock. Cogs never did that. They always stayed on the beaten path. Something in their code, her husband said. But here was a Cog moving onto the sidewalk, up the stairs of a shop, Eileen's friend's shop, and inside the door.

Okay, Eileen thought, Cogs are now potential customers. Time to start redesigning the marketing strategy.

The Cog never came out. Inside, Eileen heard a commotion. On instinct, she ran up the stairs and pulled on the door.

But it was locked.

And then came that sound. The sound of something dropping. Eileen glanced up and saw an enormous grey cloud descending, fast.

Eileen jumped backward, falling down the stairs. The grey cloud fell on top of the building, completely consuming it. Eileen closed her eyes and pulled her legs to her chest in order to avoid being crushed. A crash.

Eileen opened her eyes and crawled back in shock. Her friend's building had been totally replaced by another. A grey building with a huge Cogbuck spiraling toward the sky. It filled her heart with dread.

What should I do? Eileen thought wildly. There was no door. No way to enter. There was an elevator, but the doors were shut, made of solid metal. Eileen started shouting for help.

"HELP!" she screamed. "SOMEONE!"

She ran next door and pounded on the door. The shopkeeper's face appeared in the window before pulling the curtains shut.

What in the...

Eileen returned to the street and gazed upward at the mammoth new Cog building. From above, from a high floor, Eileen could swear she heard a scream.

===FANTASYLAND===

=Three Years Later=

Mayor Flippy of Fantasyland reclined in his chair in his office, his daily duties complete. He felt as if there was something else he forgot, something he should remember, that was gnawing at the back of his brain. But alas, it never materialized.

On Flippy's desk, the phone rang he answered.

"This is Mayor Flippy," he said.

A crackle.

"Hello?" Flippy repeated.

A dull thud. The sound of something metal.

And then the line ended.

===TOONTOWN===

=Five Years Ago=

A year after Flippy and Molecule first met, the first line of Cogs rolled out. At the same electrical facility in Dreamland, Flippy met with Leader Ichabod Irving and the pink horse foreman to see how the Cogs were doing. Dr. Molecule tagged along.

"Amazing," the foreman said. "They're amazing. They do everything I ask, efficiently, quickly, without complaint. Sometimes they fix things I did not even know needed to be fixed. They are doing thrice the work of one employee. I could not ask for better."

"I'm glad to hear you say that," Dr. Molecule said.

"Could I order some more Cogs?" the foreman asked. Ichabod nodded with a smile to Flippy, who beamed.

"Absolutely," Molecule obliged.

As the foreman and Molecule worked out details, Flippy watched the Cogs work. One of them, a Flunky, stopped for a second and looked up, making eye contact with Flippy.

Flippy felt a pang in his heart. He doubled back, clutching his chest, wondering what just happened. When he recovered, he found himself being stared down by Dr. Molecule.

===FANTASYLAND===

=Five Years Later=

"There they are!" Doctor said to Violet and they moved to the table where Piggy Pie and Clara were sitting, Clara's vibrant red hair glistening in the light of the restaurant like a beacon.

"How *did* you get reservations here?" Violet asked Piggy Pie. "They say it's sold out for six months in advance."

Piggy Pie blinked.

"I made the reservation six months ago."

Everyone laughed.

The waiter came over and took their orders.

"Imma splurge tonight!" Clara said cheerfully, ordering the ossobuco.

"Mmm," Violet said, "I think I'll be a bit more economical," and ordered the pasta.

Looking across the table at his friends, Doctor smiled. He was happy.

===TOONTOWN===

=Three Years Ago=

Doctor watched in horror as everyone he loved was destroyed. Flames erupted from the Trolley Depot. Screams pierced the air. Doctor was surrounded by peril, by devastation. Toontown Central crumbled and burned. The Cogs had descended. Doctor squeezed his paw around Piggy Pie's.

And then they were falling, swallowed by darkness, the flames of their home, of Toontown, etched into their memories.

## Production

### Continuity and Story Arcs

The pilot episode set up several major story arcs for the season, including three of the four main time frames of the season: before the Cogs, after the Cogs, and after the Toons had left Toontown.

The eight main characters were introduced, mostly through their alternative identities in Fantasyland, the land beyond Toontown.

The eponymous genesis of the Cogs is first explored when Flippy sought an easy fix to Toontown's economic strife.

The robot Esmeralda first prophesized the arrival of a portal to a Toon world.

The first Cog Building is dropped in this episode, witnessed by Eileen Irenic.

The first line, the introduction of the series, was repeated in "Rain."

## Trivia

* "Genesis" is the name of the first ever episode of VMK's Storytime as well.
* Producers struggled with whether to name the new world "VMK" or "Fantasyland" but ultimately decided on Fantasyland because VMK sounded unrealistic.
* Piggy Pie's coworker, Ursula, is named after Ursula the sea-witch from *The Little Mermaid* because of her occupation at the aquarium.
* The Erut Nevda forests is a reference to VMK's Storytime. The volcanic eruption and deforestation is covered in its second season. Erut Nevda is a parallel for Adventureland and is "adventure" spelled backward.
* Esmeralda is based on the NPC of the same name from VMK. She resided in the Emporium.
* A Quack is not a real Cog in Toontown; it is an original creation. A Quack is a derogatory term for a doctor who is fraudulent or malpracticed.
* The Palace restaurant at which Doctor, Piggy Pie, Clara, and Violet dined is a reference to Walt Disney World's Crystal Palace restaurant.
* This is the first episode and first premiere to be published on a federal US holiday. "Winter of Discontent" would be the second premiere to coincide with a federal holiday (New Years' Day).