-0630-
The irritating alarm of the monitor forced Jacen out of his slumbering state as he fumbled around to find the silence button. Frustration grew as he failed to find the button, forcing him to remove his head from his pillow. Having full attention, he searched for anything to mute the damn noise. In the end, brute force ceased the sound as he struck the monitor, sending it into the wall.
He pressed his fingers into his eyes in a feeble attempt to repress the dreams of failure that his mind tormented him with so often. Depression was always worse in the morning; his mind was never ceasing to focus on the directions he could have taken but failed to, always comparing it with other people's successes around him.
"If you don't like where you are at, sort it, change it, or challenge it because the worst thing you can do is be enslaved by it." Remembering something that he was once told, or heard, didn't matter.
That was why he was out here on Pandora, away from everything that he felt was keeping him down. The pressures of his parents and peers made it feel like he was gasping for air in an endless sea of potential. He had high hopes of starting anew and had flopped day one.
His mind tormented him with the reminder that he was out here all alone; it crippled his spirit. Then through the fog of his mind, an image of Cara appeared, she was his friend, and that made him feel better. He chuckled at the thought of sharing his emotions with her and what she would probably say, most likely comparing him to a cat.
"They will not get the best of me," he said out loud, motivating himself to get out of bed.
"I will determine how I will enjoy my time here, not them!" With that, he swung his legs out of his rack.
As his body began to awaken fully, he pushed himself from the bed and made his way to the bathroom to perform his morning rituals. Pausing at the mirror, he took a long look at his sleepy face as it barely hung onto his head. Carrying water, he splashed it to rejuvenate the skin, bringing some life back to it.
He ran his hands over the stubble that formed around his jawline and neck. Retrieving a razor from his bag, he removed the hair in smooth strokes, revealing his defined jawline. Giving himself a half-smile, he combed over his thick brown hair with his fingers to the left as he finished up at the sink.
After putting on his clothes, he departed his room and made his way to the mess hall, only losing his orientation once. That was progress, he thought. Collecting his breakfast, he ventured over to find an isolated spot and ate his meal in peace that only attracted the eyes of a few people there. Finishing in moments, he rose from his seat and returned his tray to the scullery, drawing whispers from a few people as he passed. Ignoring the remarks, he made his way to the research lab.
'Man, I wish Cara was here,' he thought to himself.
Standing outside the door, he let out a breath thinking, 'It was a new day, and he needs to make his next appearance, his lasting impression.' Passing through the doors, the gazes of the research fell upon him. A momentary silence fell over the lab as he moved through; his eyes focused on his mark. With haste, he made his way to the table in which Dr. Augustine and Max were standing discussing something on the monitor.
"Good morning, Dr. Augustine," Jacen said, mustering as much respect for the person that tore him apart hours earlier.
As Dr. Augustine and Max turned and registered who was speaking to them, Jacen drew a data pad from his pocket and handed it to Dr. Augustine. Reluctantly, she took the data pad from him; she searched his eyes, attempting to find his intention before she looked down to scanned over its contents. Jacen noticed the flutter in her eyes as she failed to hide her shock at what she was reading.
"I completed all the required training that was assigned to me, as well as receiving the highest marks that were possible," Jacen stated in a matter-of-factly tone.
"I also wanted to apologize for my actions yesterday. It was rash and uncalled for, especially to a superior," he spoke, knowing that he had her off balance.
"Noted," she dryly responded, pressing her tongue into the side of her cheek.
Leaning on the desk next to her, Dr. Augustine searched Jacen's face for some angle that he was playing, hoping the silence would force a response from him to hide his uneasiness of the situation given the events that transpired previously. Except he just stood there motionless, like he was anticipating an outlasted response.
"Well, don't expect me to treat you any differently. I need competent people, not some person here on a joy ride." Her tone was not changing, breaking the silence.
"Whatever it is, I will do it. I don't want to be a burden to this department," Jacen responded as he felt himself standing a little bit straighter.
"Good, because burdens leave in body bags here." With that, Dr. Augustine turned and left the workstation.
Max, who was standing next to her, gave a childish thumbs up as he smiled at Jacen. He reached back over and grabbed the data pad that Dr. Augustine left on the desk. Studying it, Max was impressed to see what he was able to do in such a short time.
"This is a good start. Keep this up and she will probably talk to you like a normal person," he sarcastically remarked at Jacen.
"But first, I have something that you really would want to see," Max's tone flared with excitement.
Beaming with excitement like a child at Christmas, Max hopped off the workstation and moved through the crowd of desks and lab equipment. People in the lab returned to their work and moved between them, unphased by Jacen's presence as they approached a massive holding vessel with hose protruding from the tank at all angles. Just before they could see the contents of the container, Max spun on his heel and held up his hands, halting Jacen in his tracks.
"I always love seeing this look," he said like he was hiding a surprise.
In slow, orderly motion, Max began to walk backward as he motioned for Jacen to follow him. Solid steel gave away to clear glass that contained light blue liquid, illuminated by lights that ran the length of the cylinder's glass body. As confusion and intrigue burst through his mind, he studied the container, wondering what he was supposed to find, and then he saw it!
"Wow!" Jacen breathed out, words failing to formulate in his mind.
In front of him was himself! Standing there, mouth gaping open, investigating his face. Well, not a mirror image of his face, but the same features that he possessed. Joy and excitement coursed through his veins as he gazed at his avatar.
The facial structure bore his resemblance like hiss minus the sizable flat nose and blue skin that was predominantly displayed. Venturing over, he noticed the more enormous eyes and what he would describe as tiger stripes marked the entirety of the body. Jet-black hair covered the massive head that was easily the size of Jacen's midsection.
Taking a step back, he took on the grand scale that this being was. The avatar was boasting ten feet of height, which far surpassed anything found on Earth that walked on two legs. Jacen was taken aback by the thick bands of muscle that covered the lengthy avatar body. He then looked down at his body with a new view of his weak and frail state.
"I always love seeing people's faces," Max beamed, taking in Jacen's excitement.
Max reached over and placed a hand on Jacen's shoulder, returning him to reality. Max could feel the anticipation and excitement radiating off of him as they smiled at the multi-million-dollar creation floating in the tank. Jacen could feel in his being the altered direction he was about to go, but for good or bad he did not know yet.
"It's ready to be taken out today," Max said, looking at the readings on the outer hull of the tank.
Jacen turned in shock at the prospect of basically switching bodies with that. Feeling the rush of adrenaline course through his body at the prospect of the unknown was quickly muted by a dark thought brewing in his mind. Suspicion grew, as a fear that he was the butt end of a joke enveloped his joy.
"I'm serious; they fully matured on your trip out here, so they are ready to go," he said after seeing the suspicious look Jacen was giving him.
Rushing past him, Max ushered Jacen to follow him over to another room. Passing through a heavy door, they entered a smaller room that housed glossy black floors. Surveying the room, Jacen noticed a circle of monitors in the center of the room. Along the outer wall of the room, grey, box-like chambers lay perpendicular to the wall in a uniform pattern.
With pace, Max moved through the room to one of the boxes that had its lid open, tapping fervently on the monitor that hung next to the bed. Jacen cautiously moved behind him, peeking around the corner to see the contents of the container.
Inside the container was a green gel-like substance that was etched out to hold a human form in it. Curiosity peaked as he pressed a finger into the cold gel substance of the bed and watched it return to its original shape almost immediately. Chuckling to himself with childlike excitement, Max turned to see what he was doing behind him.
"The gel's design helps reduce skin breakdown and pressure ulcers. Your body will be stagnant for long periods without the ability to rotate your position," Max educated Jacen on the contents of the chamber.
"Now, I will need you to lay down and get comfortable," he instructed, patting Jacen on the back.
Rolling into the bed, Jacen felt a cold sensation envelop his body as the gel displaced his body heat. After Jace adjusted himself into a comfortable position, Max reached over and moved a metal skeleton-like cast over his body. Wrapping his mind around what was going to happen, he forced a breath out.
"Why do I need to clear my mind?" Jacen asked, looking up at Max.
"It's because it's easier for the system to make a connection with your neural network and transfer it. It's hard for the system to get access to your neural pathways if the activity is going on in that location," Max replied.
The answer was sufficient for Jacen and as Max closed the lid on the bed, the feeling encased in the coffin became prominent. Making him a little uneasy, he nervously looked around the space as the only light came from the wires, casting the area in a very green hue. Pushing the thoughts back, he closed his eyes and cleared his mind.
As the last thought left his mind, he felt as if his body was being ripped up and hurled to this blinding light. Reflexively, Jacen tried to make his body grab something to slow the progress or do anything to feel like he had some sort of control to no avail.
A blinding white light clouded everything as his mind came to a crashing halt. Reflexively, he put his hand up to block the light and felt relieved that he could feel the weight of his arm that followed his command. Moments later, a fuzzy picture came into focus and grew clearer as his eyes adjusted to the light.
"Jacen, how are you feeling?" A muffled voice pierced through the haze.
A blurry person in white came into the picture, waving a yellow light over each eye to stimulate the pupils and gauge their sensitivity to the light. The other blurry person next to him snapped his fingers to stimulate a response from the ears as they twitched, reacting positively to the sharp sound.
"What's going on?" Jacen questioned in his mind, still a little clouded.
"You're in your new body, Jacen," the muffled medical person spoke.
"What?" He replied, his mind finally coming to.
Lifting his head, he looked down to see that he was no longer in his body, but in his avatar's. Bringing his hands up, he went through all their range of motions to get a feel for the new form. Everything still tingled like his whole body had been asleep for a minute, but as he moved his hands and arms, the feeling quickly subsided.
"Good, Jacen." The medic started watching as Jacen moved his hands and fingers.
"Are you feeling any pain?" Another questioned, as they examined the avatar.
"No, it feels great!" Jacen breathed out as joy began to build in him.
"Alright, let's get you up and have your legs swing over the side."
With that, the two medics assisted Jacen as he sat up straight. During the rapid change in position, his head began to swim as one of the physicians rotated his legs to hang off the bed. After a moment, he could feel his equilibrium returning as he looked down at the small people all around him.
"Alright, let's touch each finger to your thumb," the medic asked.
Jacen followed, touching each finger with his thumb. It was still crazy to him that he was in a completely different body, and he wondered what his family would have thought of him like this.
"Good, let's stand you up and test your balance."
Jacen lifted off of the bed and wobbled a bit. Something from behind him thudded on the gurney as people behind him took cover. Turning to see what was happening, more equipment crashed as a medical cart slammed into the wall, sending instruments to the ground.
"Your tail, Jacen!" Someone shouted at him.
"My what?" He questioned, looking behind him.
He caught another person square in the chest, taking him off his feet and straight into the wall. Reflexively reacting to aid the woman, his tail found the gurney and sent it rolling across the room into another person as a monitor pinned him.
"Get him out of here!" One of the medics pointing at him shouted.
Opening the door, two of the standing medical people helped navigate him to the door as a blinding light clouded his vision. The bright day, which was a stark contrast to the day of his arrival, forced his eyes to readjust again. Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply, taking in the Pandora air as a smile formed across his lips.
Surveying the area, he noticed that there were other avatars, in everyday clothing, out doing various activities. The ones closest to him were playing basketball with what looked like a child's ball that fits comfortably in the palm of their hands. The fluidity of their movements indicated that they had spent some time in their avatar bodies.
Beyond that was an oversized obstacle course compared to the human-size figures that stood next to it, inputting their finds. Avatars clambered through the wooden structure with varying degrees of difficulty, ascending tall ladders and ducking under massive logs.
His shaky legs gave way to secure purposeful steps as his mind adjusted to the new body. Soon he was running through the area, just bursting with this newfound energy; it felt as if life had given him a second chance. Skidding to a halt under a massive tree, he took in the sights and smelled the section of the base void of concrete and steel.
"You must be the new guy," a cheerful voice called out to him.
Turning to the sound, he saw another male avatar making his way over to him, waving to draw Jacen's attention. As he came closer, Jacen could see that he had a similar face structure as him, but his chin came more to a point. He wore a light brown shirt along with khaki cargo pants and had his jet-black hair done up in a knot on top of his head.
"How could you tell?" Jacen questioned once he was in earshot.
"Well, you are the only one out here with their ass hanging out," he chuckled, pointing to the gown.
Looking down, Jacen wrapped the excess fabric around his backside in slight embarrassment, thinking about who saw him running through the compound. Returning his eyes to the guy, he saw that he had his hand extended towards him.
"My name is Mark. Mark Davis." He spoke in a formal tone.
"Jacen King, nice to meet you," taking his hand and shaking it.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement that was bearing down on him. Reflexively with his other hand, he shot up and grabbed the object as his head jerked back. Surprise crossed both party's faces as they looked at the weird fruit thing that was in his hand.
"Nice to see your motor functions are normal," a female voice called out to them.
Tracking back the direction the fruit came from, they saw a female avatar saunter over, accentuating her hip swings while she approached them. It was clear from her gait that this person preferred the avatar body over her human form. Studying her features, Jacen was taken aback by the beauty this avatar possessed. A pleasant surprise was replaced with utter shock as he recognized the face the avatar possessed.
"Dr. Augustine!" Jacen shouted as she stopped in front of them.
"Who did you expect, dipshit, Santa?" She shot back, giving him a playful smile.
"Don't worry, Jacen, she is much nicer in this body than the other one," Mark added sarcastically.
Dr. Augustine Invoked a sharp slap to Mark's midsection that caused him to bend over from the surprise hit. Laughing it off, Mark returned to his full height as he rubbed his midsection. Returning her attention to Jacen, she looked down at the fruit he still held in his hand.
"Are you going to eat that?" Dr. Augustine asked, pointing to the fruit.
Looking back at it, he turned it around in his hand, studying the weird bluish fruit. It had a texture that resembled a dragon fruit back on Earth, but probably tasted nothing like it. Pulling it to his nose, he sniffed it slightly, and to his surprise, it had a sweet earthy smell to it.
Jacen's mouth was overwhelmed with the juices the fruit secreted as his teeth sunk into the fruit's soft skin. The juices that poured out had a sweet and tart taste to it that danced around his taste buds. A surprised expression was across his face as the other two laughed at his look as Jacen devoured the fruit.
Wiping the remaining contents of the fruit onto his gown, Dr. Augustine turned and motioned for Jacen to follow. She led him over to the solid wood structure that held oversized lockers which contained clothing sized for the avatars. Selecting full length, light brown pants and a light blue shirt, Jacen changed out of his medical gown and put on the new clothes.
As Jacen exited the building in his new clothes, Dr. Augustine was waiting outside like a mother waiting on her child. He couldn't help but notice how different Dr. Augustine's demeanor was while she was in her avatar body. She was kind and dare he says friendly to him, not knowing which form of her he would encounter.
Keeping his guard up, Jacen followed Dr. Augustine over to the obstacle course. Informing Jacen of the expectation, she sent him on his way. After each attempt, Jacen could feel the coordination of his body growing stronger and stronger with each pass. Instead of being a lumbering giant, he began to move through the course with a smoothness that was an echo to his human form.
Dusk began to settle on the compound as the group of avatars made their way to the house where they slept. The group of the avatars filed into the house and began to prepare to fall asleep. Seeing the mass migration, Jacen followed the others into the wooden house.
Entering the house, he saw avatars moving amongst their human counterparts as they settled down for the night. The building housed at least ten beds on each side, with most of the beds already occupied by avatars. Jacen found a vacant bed, sat down, and felt a sharp pain that elicited a tiny yelp from him. Avatars that were close enough to hear the noise turned and chuckled as Jacen sat on his tail, indicating that he still had a lot to learn about his new body.
Finally, after finding a way to sit comfortably, he pulled his long braid to the front to look at it. Analyzing it, he noticed that the hair did not come undone and was uncomfortable when he attempted to unweave it. At the base of the braid, black hairs fell to the side to reveal pink tendril-looking things that moved entirely on their own and looked like they were searching for something.
"Don't play with that or you will go blind, Jacen," Dr. Augustine warned, noticing his curiosity from afar.
Heeding her warning, Jacen tucked it back behind him as he laid down on the bed. Trying to find a comfortable position that did not involve his tail being crushed, he opted to lay on his side. Moments later, the lights begin to systematically click off as the nighttime noises started to pour in to fill the void.
"Alright kitties, see you on the other side," Dr. Augustine chimed out as the last light went out.
Closing his eyes, he felt the pull of his consciousness being thrown back into his other body. He was probably never going to get used to that. As his eyes fluttered to life, the top of the machine opened up, revealing Max's friendly smile.
"How was your first trip?" Max asked as he helped Jacen up.
Jacen, feeling weak from everything, was surprised at the physical toll his body took while his mind was in the avatar's body. Sweat clung to his shirt and hair, making him feel self-conscious that he probably did not smell very well either.
"It was unbelievable," he breathed out, reflecting on the events of the day.
Max helped him swing his legs over and Jacen hopped out of the machine. After a couple of wobbly steps, he regained his footing and was able to walk unassisted. Max was still next to him in case his legs gave out.
"Hey, Max, can I ask you a question?" Jacen asked in a small voice.
"Sure," the question catching Max a bit by surprise.
"What is the deal with Dr. Augustine? At first, she was for lack of better terms an asshole to me, and out there, she is like a completely different person," Jacen questioned as he looked at Max to gauge his expressions.
"Well, it's complicated," Max breathed out as he lowered his voice.
"She was brought here to win the locals over as well as understand the life that grows here on Pandora. The only issue is that she keeps getting stonewalled by the RDA before any real progress happens," Max answered as he slowed his stride while maintaining his distant gaze.
"I can see how that can get frustrating," Jacen replied.
"Her real dream is to be invited into one of the Na'vi tribes so she can make real progress rather than observe from the outside. Granted, she has had the most contact with them to allow her to learn their language, but they have always been skeptical of us and for a good reason," Max pointed out.
"I understand," Jacen said as things began to click in his head.
As Jacen was leaving Max's presence after thanking him for his time, he caught a glimpse of Dr. Augustine out of the corner of his eye, studying her as they went. Feeling something terrible would surely come from their interaction, he headed for the mess hall to grab some food and hopefully see Cara.
Grabbing the food, he scanned the busy mess hall to catch Cara sitting somewhere, but to his disappointment, she was nowhere to be seen. Breathing out a sigh, he made his way over to a vacant spot at the end of a table and ate quietly by himself.
After taking the first bite of his food, his body realized in a sudden shock of how hungry it was and forced Jacen to consume his food much faster than he would have liked. In a matter of minutes, his tray was empty, and his stomach ached from the rapid change. Getting up from the table, he returned his plate and headed to the quiet sanctuary of his room.
Opening the door, he flopped into his bed and pulled the monitor towards him. As he was logging in, he felt something different about his room that made him feel uneasy. Pushing the monitor away, he peeked out from his rack and surveyed the room.
"Hey there, roommate!"
A face popped in front of him, sending Jacen reeling back into his rack. His heart pounded in his ears as he studied the face that was looking at him upside down. He recognized the face but couldn't place where he had seen it before.
"It's Mark from earlier! I know I don't have the blue skin; it throws people off," Mark chuckled as he watched Jacen realize who it was.
"Damn it. You scared the shit out of me," Jacen shot back.
"But it was worth it," Mark pointed out, smiling at Jacen.
"Alright," he replied, thinking about ways to get Mark back.
As the thumping of his heartbeat subsided in his ears, Jacen sat up in his rack. Mark rolled out of his rack and grabbed a chair and placed it in front of him.
"So tell me about yourself," Jacen offered.
"Whelp, I'm from Earth as you probably know," waving his hand as the sarcastic came out.
"In all seriousness, I graduated from Stanford like Dr. Augustine. We were in the same graduating class, but I never knew her," Mark said as he reflected on a time long ago.
"I graduated with a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in laden terms, then I heard about this opportunity to come here. I signed up the first chance I got and killed myself for five years to come here. I was in the first group of avatar pilots and one of the few that didn't kill their avatar. You would be surprised how much we have learned in such a short time," Mark stated as he waved his finger in front of him.
"Tell me about yourself," Mark asked as he settled back into his chair.
"Well, I'm from Earth, just like you," Jacen said, following Mark's joke.
"I went to private school most of my life and went to Yale under my parent's suggestion. I came out with a master's in business management and that was it," Jacen replied, keeping it short and sweet.
"How did you end up here?" Mark questioned, leaning forward in his seat.
"Well," Jacen muttered, rubbing his neck.
"Ah, come on, it's no big deal! I'm not here to judge," Mark replied, trying to coax more information out of him.
"Well, I know some people on the RDA board that paid for my way here," he breathed out, trying to keep it as vague as possible.
"Damn," Mark whistled.
"Who do you know on the board that would pay for your trip here?" Mark questioned as he became intrigued by his new roommate.
"Eh, I don't want to talk about it," Jacen retorted, getting a little irritated.
"You can't drop a bombshell like that and leave me hanging," Mark stated with excitement and a little frustration in his voice.
"Well, how did you end up as my roommate? You have been here for a while," Jacen shot back, trying to change the topic.
"They wanted to condense us, so they moved me here," Mark replied, figuring that he was not going to get any more information out of him.
"Huh," Jacen responded, not satisfied with the answer.
"Well, I'm going to grab some rack, and I suggest you do the same. Grace likes to keep us on a tight schedule."
With that, Mark slapped his knee and got up from the chair. Returning the chair to where it belonged, he climbed back up into his rack and shut the curtain that afforded them the little privacy that they had.
Hearing the metal rings sliding across the bar, Jacen did the same with his as he pulled his monitor towards him and logged in. Scrolling through, he checked to see if he had any pending assignments and a feeling of relief washed over as he had none. Turning off the monitor, he returned it to its holding compartment and fell back into his pillow.
Author's Note:
Thank you for reading! I hope to hear from ya'll. Si arayo!
