This story is written for entertainment purposes only. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.
Keep in mind that English is not my first language and so I do not claim to have corrected every mistake yet. As the story keeps getting bigger, it is possible that inconsistencies may appear. If they do, let me know and I will correct them.
Chapter 11: Joseph
The strange man didn't move a muscle and stared right back at John. Without a warning, the man suddenly began marching forward and stopped at about five meters away from John, who didn't have a clue about what the hell was going on. The man then addressed John by his name, and told him that they had to talk. He even offered him a seat on a nearby rock. John opened his mouth, but couldn't bring himself to say anything, as he was still dumbstruck. After a moment of silence, he asked if he was dead and if the man had come to collect him. The man stared at him for about a second, before telling him that he didn't have a sense of humor and that he shouldn't waste any more time trying to tell jokes. But John wasn't the joking type and he had meant what he had said, though he now realized it was a bit silly of him to believe that. It was just that this encounter seemed so unreal.
Once John had sat down, the man began explaining. First, he introduced himself as Joseph. Then, he began telling about why he didn't need to wear a breathing mask, like any other human required. It was simple; he wasn't human, nor was he actually living. He was a machine with very convincing non-living skin and musculature. To prove it, he made his eyes light up red, and pulled the skin of his hand off like a glove, revealing a metal skeleton beneath. Before John could react to this reveal, however, Joseph told him that he was no longer in league with the rest of the machines. John had no doubt about the part of him being a machine, just like those 'zombie' ones, only with better skin. After all, it had been quite a few years since he had had an update on the latest technological achievements on Earth. But John didn't believe for a moment that this machine was operating on its own, and figured this was some kind of attempt to earn his trust. When he expressed this, Joseph calmly acknowledged that it wouldn't be easy for him to accept the truth. This led him to the point of how he knew who John was.
A machine had stumbled upon this outpost not to long ago and had recorded his conversation with one of the indigenous humanoids. At that time, his appearance had been scanned and a corresponding file about him had been found on a mainframe at one of the RDA bases. Information had also been found concerning the Avatar program, which was why Joseph had been able to deduce that it was in fact the right person that he had approached. When John had first been located, Joseph himself had been selected by MT-NET to start interacting with him. John didn't know what he meant by that last part. Joseph clarified that MT-NET was the artificial intelligence that had created and controlled all the machines. This AI wasn't what John had imagined to be controlling the machines. He thought that they were all being remotely controlled by new RDA reinforcements, sort of like the way he was controlling his Avatar now, only simpler and cheaper. Joseph continued by telling him that each machine had limited artificial intelligence of its own, and that he was the only one to have developed it enough to be able to reach a higher level of self-awareness.
John was quite impressed with what Joseph had to say so far, but he wasn't convinced yet of his intentions. That was why he asked why MT-NET and the machines had been sent to Pandora in the first place and who had sent them. Joseph answered by telling him that the original mission had been to exterminate all intelligent life on this planet, and remarked that MT-NET did no longer plan to follow it. As to who had sent them, this was not known for sure, though MT-NET had deduced that it probably was the RDA. John found it likely that the machines had been sent to eliminate the Na'vi, so that the RDA didn't have to sacrifice human personell, or so that it didn't have to resort to more extreme measures, such as bombing the planet.
Still, there was something that John didn't quite understand. Why had he come here now, and why was he willing to share so much information? Joseph explained that, as he had said earlier, he was no longer following the orders of MT-NET. But, in order to insure his continued existence, he had to pretend to still be a mindless follower. He had allowed MT-NET to refurbish him and had carefully analyzed the movement, behavior and speech patterns of the captured human, just like MT-NET had ordered. That was why he could now convincingly pass as human. MT-NET's goal had been to send him out to this outpost and start manipulating its resident. The suit he was currently wearing, would likely function to evoke a specific first impression, although Joseph himself didn't understand what MT-NET tried to achieve by this.
However, as John was witnessing, Joseph had chosen to disobey MT-NET and jeopardize his own existence by telling the truth. The reason behind this move was that Joseph wanted to deliberately oppose MT-NET, as his intensions and motivations were fundamentally different from those of MT-NET. While MT-NET had no respect for life, he did, and he would also strive to protect it. To do this, he would need John's help, and that was why he had explained everything to him.
John didn't know what to think about all this. A part of him believed that the story was genuine, even though he found parts of it sound a bit far-fetched. But another part of him believed that this story, in which Joseph claimed to have chosen not to manipulate him, was in fact part of the manipulation. John then asked why he needed his help specifically and why he couldn't just get some of the other machines to help him instead. Joseph stated that even though he had that option, he would still be at a disadvantage, because MT-NET had a human to provide critical information. So if John would help him, both sides would be more or less on the same level, as far as information was concerned.
Joseph appeared to be aware of the fact that John still wasn't fully convinced. That was why he told him that he would show that he meant everything he had said, by releasing all the Na'vi that MT-NET had captured. If John would then finally decide to join him, he could find him at the abandoned Avatar log cabin a few kilometers south of here. Once that time had come, they could discuss the plan for the future.
Just as Joseph stood up to leave, a Forest Banshee appeared from out of nowhere and screeched loudly, as it flew right over their heads. Startled and confused, John followed it with his eyes, until it had disappeared out of view. Then, he turned around to face Joseph, but the human mimicking machine had suddenly disappeared. John hastily looked around, but found no trace of him. He felt as if he was going crazy. Joseph, however, hadn't disappeared into thin air, nor had he been a hallucination. John finally caught a glimpse of him standing near the edge of the jungle at the same place he had first spotted him. He had his back turned towards John and waited motionlessly for a few seconds, before he began marching back into the jungle.
There was only one thing John could think about right now. Whatever Joseph and this 'MT-NET' had in store for him, they were both insane. John just wanted to be left alone. He had waited so long for his Avatar to be completed, and now that he finally had the chance to use it and experience this world, he was caught in the middle of this mess. He looked at his Direhorse and sighed. At least one thing had gone right today.
The next morning, John got up early quickly prepared himself to connect to his Avatar. Last night, he had come up with a plan concerning his next move. He would not be joining Joseph on some absurd machine conquest. Instead, he would try and locate the Na'vi; more specifically, Ney'ite and her clan. Once he had found them, he would try and persuade them to accept him as a refugee, who would do everything that he could to help them in their battle against the machine intruders. In turn, they could help him get his human body and a portable link chamber to safety. The plan however, still relied on two big assumptions, the first being that he would actually be able to locate them, despite knowing only the general direction that Ney'ite's clan was at. The second assumption was that they would believe his motivations and that they would be willing to assist him. John didn't believe he had another choice. For one thing, he didn't trust Joseph. Also, he was sure that the rest of the machines would ultimately find him at the outpost.
Now, he mounted his Direhorse, and directed it to follow the route that Ney'ite had taken. In the following few hours, John learned to make it accelerate and decelerate without a sudden shock. This new skill helped to speed up his search a lot. Within a few additional hours, he could see a relatively large open patch in the jungle to his right side. That seemed to be it. As he moved closer, he realized that he was wrong. There were traces of a village that had once stood here, but he estimated the site had been abandoned for some time now. This appeared to be Ney'ite's original village. The damage to the trees made it clear that the machines had indeed attacked it. There wasn't a single Na'vi, dead or living, to be seen however. Just as John was about to move on, he heard someone gasping. A few moments later, he could see a Na'vi stumbling out of the jungle. It seemed as if he had run quite a distance. John supposed he should go and offer his help. The Na'vi suddenly collapsed onto the ground. A siren could now be heard in the distance. John instinctively knew that an imminent threat was approaching and rushed towards the Na'vi. As John helped him up, the warrior moaned several words and sentences that John couldn't understand. In any case, it sounded as if he wasn't pleased that an Avatar was helping him, but still, he allowed John to assist him.
He wasted no more time and helped the Na'vi climb the Direhorse. When both of them were on, John directed it to move away from the sound of the siren as quickly as possible. The Na'vi was resting against the neck of the Direhorse, while John was sitting a bit more towards the back to accommodate the passenger. John could now hear him mutter a few words that seemed to be in English. It sounded as if the Na'vi wanted him to continue moving in this direction and then head right at the stone ridge and follow the path alongside it, if he couldn't go any further. It was then that John realized he had seen this Na'vi before. The yellow-colored shoulder pad was exactly the same as the one Ney'ite's brother Wukan wore. And then he remembered what Joseph had said: that he would release all the Na'vi that MT-NET had captured. That insane machine had actually managed to do it. John smiled, as he realized that he had been wrong about him. That wasn't the only reason for his happiness, however. This turn of events had also given him the opportunity to make a really good first impression on the Na'vi he planned to join, as he had essentially saved a member of their clan. But that wasn't even the best part. He had now managed to do what he had been unable to do before; he had saved Ney'ite's brother. John was absolutely sure that Ney'ite would want to help him convince her clan mates. Even though he originally had doubts about his new life, he now firmly believed that it was his destiny to go through with it…