Pandora: The Final Solution
I gratefully acknowledge one of the foremost creative geniuses of our times, James Cameron, for conceiving the lush moon Pandora and the "noble savages," the Na'vi, that inhabit it. This story uses the characters and setting he created for his movie, Avatar. I have not received any money for my work based on Avatar. If I could get paid by the hour for these stories, I would retire and spend all my time dancing and writing in comfort.
Chapter 17: Mo'at and Katy King
Mo'at is alone in the tent with the sleeping avatars, on the raised platform that holds the tawtute hospital in the Well of Souls.
Mo'at pulls her sleeping bag open and looks closely at the teeth around the edges. Pulling the handle makes the teeth lock together or separate, depending on its direction. It is very ingenious. Wonder what caused the tawtute to make something like this? She can't think of anything her clan makes that could use it, and certainly doesn't know how any of the crafters could make one. All avatars and humans wear much more clothing than the Na'vi. Maybe their home is much colder than Eywa'eveng. Toktor Keri did say something about water becoming solid when it is cold enough and piling up on the ground. That says their homes can get very cold. There is so much to learn about these tawtute.
She sees a loose thread sticking out from beneath the edge of the zipper. It extracts easily and is longer than her fingers. It is stronger than any thread she has handled before, it almost cuts her skin as she pulls it, trying to break it. It is stronger than a tendon, and much finer. She puts it in her mouth. It has no taste, unlike all threads made by the Na'vi. She ties the thread around the holder of the thorn she uses to check blood so she can show it to the weavers when she sees them in the morning.
She glances up and looks out the window, realizing it is more than a hole in the tent. She leans over her gurney and almost puts her nose against the very fine mesh covering the opening. Her eyes focus on the almost invisible threads that form this mesh. If only some of the master weavers were here to see this fine thread woven with regular spaces on either side. Next she looks at the tent wall below the window. It is made with much coarser thread that is tightly woven with no visible gaps between the threads. There was much talk among the weavers after they washed and examined the damaged clothes Jakesully wore into Hometree that first night. This tent and sleeping bag would also cause much discussion. The tawtute have many wondrous things, and don't seem to be aware of what they have.
Mo'at feels the need to relieve herself before lying down to sleep. Instead of heading directly out of the tent, she walks through the sleeping avatars. Most are in sleeping bags rolled on their sides, just as Toktor Keri suggested. A few are on top of their sleeping bags, covered with large pieces of finely made cloth. One is naked and almost fully exposed, with the cloth piled up on the floor below. This nude avatar is obviously male, and like Jakesully, has an odd patch of hair growing over his crotch. She picks up the cloth and rubs it with her hand. It feels softer than the sleeping bag. She drapes it over his body, covering him the same way she would cover a baby with a soft skin made from the belly of a female yerik. She looks at each face, seeing the same unusual features she noticed when Jakesully first arrived at Hometree: the oversized nose, the undersized eyes, and those peculiar lines of hair above the eyes. Some have strange hair colors, but maybe that is just the dim light in the tent. Toktor Keri said these are the volunteers that answered her call to help heal the injured Na'vi. Normspellman said most avatars want to become Omatikaya. It seems likely that these avatars are the very same ones that want to join her clan. Now they are all strangers to her. How many came here to escape difficult lives like Jakesully and Toktor Keri? How many are like Normspellman, spending their whole young lives working hard to be selected and sent here to Eywa'eveng, leaving their home, family, and friends behind? They all look physically weak. Only Jakesully has made the effort to strengthen himself to become strong like the Na'vi. Will these avatars have the heart and discipline to do the same? Jake said he was the only avatar that was not a scientist, and he has been the only tawtute to learn the Na'vi ways. Can Jake motivate these avatars to give up their old lives as scientists and learn the Na'vi ways? What will happen to those avatars who cannot or do not wish to become Na'vi? The scientists have much knowledge that can change the Na'vi way of life. Is that good for the Na'vi? She will discuss these issues at length with Jakesully. However, finding a new home must come first. The needs of the existing clan members must come before the potential clan members. As her mate said from within Eywa, Jake and Neytiri must lead the search for a new home. No one in the clan is untouched by this time of great sorrow. She has lost her mate and eldest child. All surviving members have suffered similar losses. Her primary job is helping the healing process of all these broken hearts, beginning with her own. With so many to help, she will have to get Neytiri and others to help out and see to healing everyone before other problems arise. These issues with avatars, as important as they are, must come later.
Mo'at walks through the tent flap, between the tents, and down the ramp. Odd, no fwampop are by the gate. As she lets herself out, she sees a white lab coat covered with other clothing on the top fence rail, and a female avatar squatting in the shadows, surrounded by fwampop. Remembering Jake's odd words when he walked into the gathering place that first night in Hometree, Mo'at says in English "Please, do not get up. My name is Mo'at."
The avatar answers "Oh, thank you. You must be the visiting dignitary Doctor Cari mentioned, Jake's mother-in-law. You caught me with my pants down. Actually off, in this case, I haven't figured out how to do this without splattering on my clothes, so I just take them off. My name is Katy King. Glad to meet you, Mo'at."
"Ketiking, I See you. Unlike Toktor Keri, your name is easy for me to pronounce." She undoes her loincloth and groin strap and lays them on the fence rail near the avatar's clothing. "Are you a healer?" She selects some leaves from the basket.
"Well, I am helping Doctor Cari, but I'm more like an orderly than a nurse. Won't claim to be a healer. My doctorate is in geology, and I am a mining engineer for RDA. I came out here to do field geology to identify any valuable deposits of metals and unique minerals that could be exploited. Lately I've been looking for secondary unobtainium seams in the mine that were overlooked by the miners, but that job seems over for now. I should have plenty of time to do real field work in the near future."
"Even though you do not want to be called a healer, all Na'vi thank you for helping our injured. So, you are a scientist?" Using her eyes and nose, Mo'at finds a dry patch of ground suitable for her needs, and squats down on it.
"You're welcome. Well, yes, I am a scientist, even though many of my colleagues look down on my job here." Some of the fwampop around Katy turn and amble over to Mo'at. "I really miss the facilities back at Hell's Gate. These tapirus animals are very annoying. How do you deal with them?"
"We call these animals fwampop. They are essential to the well-being of all Eywa's children. This place has not been used in the Na'vi way, it is too open. We would use the ground against the wall of the well, so the fwampop must stay in front of us. This open space allows them to encircle us, and that makes it more challenging."
"I'll say! I'll never get used to them. Hope the Na'vi weren't too upset with the toilet paper problem. I was skeptical at first, but these leaves really do work well. There are so many dangerous plants here, it was a shock to learn that some can be useful. So these fwampop also eat the leaves after we use them?"
"Yes, they eat the used leaves, and usually ignore the clean leaves. You are right, there are many dangerous plants, but there are many useful ones. You will be very sorry if you use the wrong leaves on your skin, especially on the sensitive places." Both women laugh together.
"Don't doubt that. I had a pet cat growing up. It would eat leaves when it was sick, and then vomit them back up. My mother grew flowers in pots around our apartment. That cat always would eat the leaves off of the best looking plant, making my mother so mad every time."
"Do you miss your home?"
"I miss my mother, but she died years ago, when I was in grad school. Cancer. Didn't know my father, he died when I was a baby. Never took to any of my stepfathers. So, I don't really have a home to miss or go back to." She stands up, carefully walks to her clothes, and puts them back on.
Another broken soul here in an avatar. "I am sorry to hear that. I hope you find peace here." Mo'at also stands and returns to her clothes. Instead of donning them, she simply picks them up.
"No worries. As some great philosopher once said, life's a bitch, then you die. I'm done with my shift, and need to get to bed so I can get a hot meal for my human body back at Hell's Gate. Hope they made something edible tonight. Going back to the avatar tent?"
"Yes, let's walk together. So you have no mate, no children?"
"No. I have never been very good at finding a partner, male or female. Was dirt poor growing up, and don't want to do that again. Didn't have the skills to become an entrepreneur or an executive or a professional athlete or entertainer. So, I focused on school and collected my degrees. Coming out here for RDA had the fattest paycheck, so that is what I set my sights on. Certainly beats being an academic drudge." Katy opens the gate and motions for Mo'at to go first.
Unlike Doctor Cari, Katy easily walks up the steep ramp beside Mo'at. This is the first avatar she has seen that does not seem weak. She is at the level one would expect from a young hunter before training for the climb to Iknimaya. "Toktor Keri said this ramp is steep, but it is no problem for you?"
"Yeah, this ramp is easy for me. Most avatars are academic wimps, just like their drivers. I hate wasting time on the obstacle course, but Cari and Max makes us run it periodically to see how we're doing with our avatars. I'm no athlete, but I usually have my avatar climbing around in the mine every day. It's much easier to cover lots of rough ground in my avatar than in person. It doesn't need to carry an exo-pack, either. And I don't destroy my nails if I let my avatar do all the hard work. That got my avatar in shape very quickly. Here we are." Katy opens the flap and holds it for Mo'at. "Let me grab my towel. Did someone get a towel for you?"
"Yes. Toctor Keri gave me a number of things."
"Oh yeah, I see your name on the shelf here. Get your towel and wash cloth, and you can follow me."
Mo'at removes what is left of her clothes as she walks back to her gurney. She hangs the clothes on one handle and covers them with her headpiece. She takes the towel and wash cloth off of the other handle.
Katy is standing by the sink. "Usually, I just wash my face and arms before bed, and do a more thorough job in the morning before work. Just do what I do, but you can wash as you like." Katy runs water onto her washcloth, and rubs one squirt of soap into it. While Katy is washing herself, Mo'at prepares her wash cloth the same way and does likewise. When Katy is done, she rinses out her washcloth and wipes every place she just washed. "Just run some water over it and then wring it out. I always rinse off the places I wash, to get the soap off to keep my skin in better shape. No one has worked up any avatar cosmetics yet, so this is as good as it gets. I've had enough chemistry. If I can find the right plants and rocks, I may try my hand at making some." As Katy is drying herself off, Mo'at rinses out her washcloth and wipes over the wet places. This activity is very similar to the Na'vi way, except washing is done in a river downstream from where clean water is taken for drinking and cooking. Leaves are used for washing and drying, instead of pieces of cloth. This soap has an odd and unfamiliar odor that lingers, very different from the hunter's soap used by the clan.
Katy grabs the cups marked "Katy" and "Mo'at." After Mo'at finishes with her towel, Katy hands her her cup. "Now for the fun part. I'm guessing that the Na'vi people don't have toothbrushes."
"We chew the end of a certain stick, making it soft, and rub that over our teeth to clean them. I have never seen a brush like this before."
"So, here is what I do." Katy explains what she is doing. "I put a dab of toothpaste on the brush, just squeeze the tube slowly like this. If you squeeze too hard, you get too much, and it doesn't go back into the tube."
Mo'at does the same, and gets more toothpaste than what is needed, but it all stays on her brush.
"You're doing great. Now, put it in your mouth and move it in little circles. Make sure you brush all sides of each tooth, inside, outside, in-between, and the working surfaces." Katy puts the brush in her mouth and starts brushing. Katy looks at Mo'at and exaggerates her motions.
Again, Mo'at follows suit. Eventually, Katy leans over the sink and spits out the toothpaste. "When you've brushed all your teeth, just spit out the toothpaste. Put some water in your cup and rinse out your mouth."
Mo'at follows along. Her mouth has a tingly sensation, not unpleasant, and it feels different. This is something the tawtute do that could benefit the Na'vi. She has helped the healers deal with tooth problems, and maybe this could save some pain. If only there was an easy way to discuss this with Eywa.
"Run water over your toothbrush to clean it off. Put the teeth maintenance items back in your cup, and put it back on the shelf for the next time. I always brush after breakfast and before bed every day, both my human and avatar bodies, and before special events, like dates or parties.
"Thank you for showing me this. We Na'vi take care of our teeth, but your way seems much better. It certainly feels different to me." Both women smile at each other.
"I don't know if any dentists or oral hygienists are still on Pandora, but if there are any, you should have Jake ask them to visit your clan and fix everyone up."
"That is a good idea. I will talk to Jake about it. But first, we have to find a new home."
"Well, Mo'at, It's been nice visiting with you, but I have to go to sleep so I can get a hot meal for my human body."
"Thank you again for helping me tonight and helping our injured warriors."
Katy walks to her gurney and turns back to Mo'at as she hangs up her towel and wash cloth. "I'm glad to be of service, and hope to visit with you again in the near future. Good night, Mo'at."
"May Eywa be with you always, Ketiking."
Katy climbs into her sleeping bag, rolls on her side, and almost immediately falls asleep. Mo'at walks over to her and sees she is unconscious, just like all other avatars in the tent. Ketiking seems like the others, coming here to escape a difficult life on Earth.
Mo'at remembers Norm saying he slept for almost six years to come out here, and will sleep that much again to return. Some stay for at least five years, and many stay longer. Graceaugustine was here for almost twenty years. That means they are away from Earth for at least sixteen years. That is such a long time, a generation for the Na'vi, that those with close ties to home would not consider coming out here. It seems that there are no tawtute here with close ties to their home. Toktor Keri and Ketiking both have broken souls, but seem recovered enough from these short conversations. Although neither of them mentioned it, chances are they knew some of those humans that died or were expelled. They may have new emotional burdens caused by recent events. It is clear that she must speak with all avatars and direct the healing of their broken hearts. She must get Neytiri and others to help with the avatars, along with clan members.
Mo'at walks to her gurney and hangs up her towel and washcloth. She sits down on the gurney and wraps herself in the sleeping bag, zipping it up. She pulls the head hole open as far as it goes, preferring her head to move freely, and rolls around to look out the window at the glowing sacred tree. Staring at the tree, she asks Eywa for the strength to deal with all the emotional pain she sees around her. Tomorrow, she will bond with the tree and meditate on these issues. Now, she wants something pleasant to think about as she falls asleep. Toktor Keri mentioned first bonding ceremonies. That has always been one of her favorite rituals. She thinks about the many times she has presided over this ceremony during her tenure as tsahìk, and that makes her happier. Soon she is sleeping soundly in this deathly quiet tent.