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Chapter 19: Hopeful Overture
Date: April 14th, 2170
Location: Camp Augustine, Pandora, Alpha Centauri A System
It was a full week before Jake and Neytiri arrived to talk.
As soon as they had seen the two ikran approaching, the small group had gotten ready. John had sequestered himself inside of Norm's shack, not wanting his presence to risk the negotiations. They'd done their best to clear enough space for him to lay out on the floor, and brought him some equipment to work with, but it was still probably going to be an uncomfortable afternoon for him.
Max waved as they ikan landed, and exchanged greetings in Na'vi as Neytiri and Jake dismounted.
"Max. Norm. Katrina." Jake returned, nodding at them in turn. "You said it was urgent, so what's up?"
Max steeled himself, they had agreed beforehand that it would be him doing most of the talking. "It might take a little while, mind sitting down with us? We have some water if you need it."
The Olo'eyktan frowned, but followed them and sat cross legged, Neytiri joining him.
"Max'patel, what is so important?" the latter spoke.
He sucked in a quiet breath, "We've been talking with the United Nations people Jake."
They both froze and stared at him.
Max spoke quickly now, before he could be interrupted, "And yes, it is the UN, not the RDA this time around Jake. I met with their leader a few days ago to try and set up negotiations. He's different than Quaritch, you have my word on that."
"Max, you can't trust them." Jake snarled, his tail flicking back and forth, "I thought Quaritch was all right at the start to, and you saw how that turned out. Besides, the RDA is here. Their logo isn't pasted all over the mining equipment we saw for nothing, and if they're back, then mining is all they care about."
He winced, "Mining is all the care about," he admitted, "But not for money, not this time. Earth's on the edge of another world war Jake, and they think that unobtanium may be the only thing to prev-"
"Bah! Even if that is true, how the hell does a single resource prevent, or cause something like that? Or is it just human greed gone out of control all over again." Jake wasn't having any of it.
"Jake, calm down. I don't think they're lying. They offered to start reclaiming the old mine site and Hell's Gate as soon as they had people to spare. Apparently there's all kinds of projects going on Earth right now trying to reclaim the land, and they're offering to do the same here." he was trying to stay calm, he had to get Jake to see.
Jake, still snarling, shot back, "Max, I just came from a patrol near their base. They've got some kind of Valkyrie rigged up as a bomber, and they're slaughtering everything that moves around their base. Would a people who respect life do that? Huh?"
"What? Why would they... oh. Oh." he grimaced.
Neytiri glared at him, "You know what would cause such insanity?"
Norm spoke up quietly, "They called a few days ago, asking if we knew anyway of keeping the local animals calm. Apparently they've been under siege by them for several days now, and have lost a lot of people. They must have gotten totally fed up with it."
"Eywa fights them." she murmured, apparently pondering the new information.
Max thought he saw where her mind was going, and did not like it at all. The Na'vi were extremely close to the wishes of Eywa, and if she was fighting, Neytiri might feel compelled to fight as well. "They're fighting and losing, Neytiri. These humans aren't like the ones you fought last time, those men were fighting for greed. These are soldiers, like you were Jake, and they aren't going to turn tail and run."
"The people are warriors too Max, and I trust them by my side far more than I ever trusted another human."
He saw Norm wince out of the corner of his eye. "Jake," he said, getting desperate now, "They don't want to fight, all they want to do is mine, reclaim the land when they're done, and go home. They don't want to hurt the people, or Eywa, anymore than they have to, but Weigand told me flat out that if you wanted a fight, he'd give you one without mercy."
The Tsahik spoke, "Max, you are a friend to the people, and you are seeking to save lives here, but we are the children of Eywa. If the Great Mother fights for us, how can we not aid her as we are able?"
"At least try to talk with them Neytiri," Katrina spoke, frustration in her tone, "I don't want to lose you or Jake or any of others. Didn't we lose enough last time?"
She frowned at the human woman's tone. "I will speak with Eywa, upon our return." she said after a long pause, "But if she believes that the tawtute must leave, then leave they must."
She rose, and Jake followed suit, speaking as he did. "Max, you may be trying to do the right thing here, but I don't want you talking with them anymore. You can't trust them. I've lost a lot of friends recently, and I don't want to see you caught up in this."
"Jake, I'm trying to save as many lives as I can. If a fight breaks out again, far more will die than if you just leave the humans be."
"Are you sure about that? Humanity has a great record of co-existence so far Max, both here and on the dead world they call Earth. I'm going to put my trust in the People and in Neytiri, and in Eywa. In the ones I know won't betray me for no other reason than it's convenient for them." The two rose, bade their goodbyes, mounted their ikran, and were gone.
He sighed and stared after them as they left. The three stayed that way, staring long after the two ikran had vanished.
Norm broke the silence first, "At least they were polite this time."
"Casualties from the fight probably woke Jake up a bit, and probably reminded the clan of just how much death that fighting humanity will require." Katrina murmured.
"What do you think Eywa will decide?" the tall scientist asked of the air.
He knew it was rhetorical, but Max answered anyway, "Who knows. She's the intelligence of an entire world, we can only guess at whatever logic that drives her, but somehow, I don't think she's going to trust humans anymore than Jake is, and the Na'vi aren't much for giving second... third? Fourth? Extra chances."
They all sighed, almost in unison. "Let's get inside then, call Weigand. I don't thinkhe'll be shocked. Maybe we can negotiate some of our research, get them to promise to the reclamation anyway." Max spoke, taking charge as best he could, and the three headed inside.
Date: April 17th, 2170
Location: Hell's Gate, Pandora, Alpha Centauri A System
"They really are devoted to this goddess of theirs, aren't they?" Weigand mused, leaning casually once more against the old armory block.
"If humans could speak and listen to god, we would be too." Max pointed out.
"Maybe. Maybe not. Though a fine philosophical debate, that is not what we're here for." the Oberst clapped his hands together lightly, "So, you wish to trade much of the research you've worked on during your stay here, in exchange for us reclaiming the lands both here and upon the ending of the lives of the mines near Tartarus."
"As well as promising not to initiate more hostilities with the Na'vi." he pressed, "And stop your over-hunting program."
The other man frowned and seemed to mull it over. "The first is easy enough, as I said, we have no desire to go beyond our current borders, or to engage the natives unless engaged first. The latter, however... the attacks have died down sharply in the last few weeks, perhaps we can at least cut back on the hunting, and if the attacks do not increase once more, we will cancel it all together."
He narrowed his eyes, "How do I know you'll keep your word?"
"You don't, Dr. Patel. All you can do is trust. I know that I speak the truth, and as long as I command Tartarus my word is law. I have laid out what we shall do, if you do not like it, that is your problem. If you do not trust us, there is nothing I can say to convince you, and this is a waste of time." Weigand spread his hands apart, "Do we have an accord, or shall I leave now?"
Dammit dammit. He's right though, a voice whispered in his head, you're human, not Na'vi. You can't just link to each other and know the truth, or ask a goddess for help. You're on your own, just like he is. The bottom line is.. do I trust him? "Fine. We'll give you some research now, more when you stop the hunting, and the rest when the reclamation projects are underway."
Weigand gave him a little military bow, "That is more than acceptable. Always a pleasure, and until next we meet." He clicked his heels, and moved off to his waiting Samson.
Max sighed, moved over to the shade were Weigand had been leaning, and rested his back against the wall, signaling Katrina and John as he did so.
Just because Eywa and her children prepared for war did not mean that Max could not still try to stop it. If he could get Weigand and the UN to start the reclamation, and stop hunting, maybe then, just maybe, Eywa would have second thoughts. If she could see that humans truly did intend to heal the damage they had done to her.
He sighed and moved towards their battered Samson as it set down. It was a long shot. A huge one, but it was all he really had left.
Date: April 18th, 2170
Location: Camp Augustine, Pandora, Alpha Centauri A system
They argued a while over what to send first, eventually deciding on most of their flora research, minus Norm's work on Eywa.
"So," Norm spoke up during dinner. "No word from the Omaticaya, but that's probably good news. If they're getting ready to attack, they'd warn us. I hope. They would right?"
"Probably." it was John who replied, "Jake still counts you as his friends, so he'll probably give you a heads up. Mind you, it will probably be right before the fight, not a ways in advance. So who knows."
"Max, you think the UN will hold up to their agreement?" Katrina asked from her lounging place on a cot.
He hastily swallowed some stew, "I do. If, for no other reason, than I believe him when he said they planned to do most of it already. Plus, I don't think they brought many scientists, if any, so having more information on the planet will only benefit them."
"You hope." she pointed out.
"I hope." he agreed.
Norm glanced over as he picked up his and John's bowls, putting them away. "Weigand say anything else interesting?"
He shrugged, "Apart from seeming surprised at their devotion to Eywa? Not really."
His friend frowned, "Why is that surprising? There's still a lot of religion back on Earth. I mean, it's not like it used to be, but it's still there"
"Take it in context Norm," Katrina pointed out, "We've been here a long time, Eywa is a fact of life to us. To most humans, even the believers, the level of devotion the Na'vi show Eywa borders on zealotry, especially given on how a lot of human religions are still pushing so hard on tolerance. The Na'vi refusal to even think about compromise when it comes to Eywa's will seems extreme to us, because we have don't have a similar paradigm. We can't just link into our world and listen to our ancestors sing or feel Eywa in our very bones, we have to make it up as we go and hope we got it right."
Norm blinked. "Didn't think of it like that before," he admitted. "Should have, considering how long we've been here. You think we'll ever achieve technologically what the Na'vi have with nature?"
"Being able to link to each other, to the world around us?" Max shrugged, "Probably could, but we probably won't. In the end, we humans are alone, and deep down, we like it that way. The idea of losing even the tiniest piece of our individuality is something most humans would never accept."
John chimed in from the floor. "Having lived with the Na'vi, I think it all boils down to the differences between Earth and Pandora."
Everyone blinked and looked at him, his spots flared brightly as he blushed, "Me and Miguel debated it a bit. Darwinian evolution doesn't really occur here, or if it did, it stagnated thousands of years ago, after Eywa achieved balance. On Earth, everything is always competing, changing, evolving, fighting, and dying, all the time. Here, even though there is hunting, fighting, death, there isn't much change or evolving. If the Na'vi stories are accurate at all, they haven't really changed their society or the way the live since they discovered language, and that was over five thousand years ago. The climate differences are probably a part of it too. Even in the colder regions, their idea of a severe winter is laughable compared to some of the stuff I saw on Earth, and I never went that far north. They don't even have words for 'tornado' or 'hurricane' either, they couldn't even image it when I tried to describe them."
Max nodded as he spoke, "Grace and I used to talk about that kind of thing too, wondering which world's way, in the end, is the better way to live. We've got knowledge, power, technology. But we also have poverty, starvation ,disease."
"The Na'vi are more content with their lives than any human is," John confirmed, "And Eywa provides for them. But... but maybe it's just the human in me, but I never really liked the idea of her determining my fate. Of living the same way for the rest of my life. I like making my own choices, I like learning new things, experimenting, changing. It's why I never became a member of the clan. Part of me wants to become like they are, but the rest of me.. the rest of me still craves the knowledge that only humans desire."
"The Na'vi saw the stars, and accepted that Eywa determined they could never go there. Humans saw the stars, and laid their lives down so that others could touch them." Norm said quietly, "Something one of the Avatar guys who left with the RDA told me. Didn't like him at all, and he was wrong most of the time when we argued, but I couldn't think of anything to say to that."
Max rose up and stretched, "All right guys and girl, enough amateur philosophy for tonight. We should get some sleep, we need to find out what Eywa intends as soon as we can, so we're heading out scouting tomorrow. If this is going to degenerate to a fight, we need to be forewarned about it.
Next up: Interlude II – Fallible Gods
I'll admit I waxed a bit philosophical in this one. I'll try not to do it again, which should be an easy promise to keep considering that the situation is about to really heat up.
That ends Act II: Arrival. After the interlude we'll have Act III: Upheaval.
Hope you're all still enjoying my work, the number of views exploded today, so I know people are reading, but some more reviews would be nice. : ).
Who am I kidding, I always want more reviews. Hope ya'll keep enjoyin.