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 or any other form of compensation for my work based on Avatar.

PT means Physical Training

regs is short for regulations

Chapter 36: Survey Team

Jake is staring off into the forest, his back to the trail, when Wrrtll surreptitiously runs up behind him, with Maytse and Neytiri quietly following at a distance.

Wrrtll grabs Jake's tail and shouts, "Wake up, Jake, a herd of 'angtsìk is coming!" Jake turns around with a shocked look on his face.

Neytiri runs up from behind and hisses, "Wrrtll, you skxawng! He has so much on his mind."

Wrrtll says, "Got to stay alert, leader, or you will wake up in Eywa."

Jake focuses on him and replies, "You're right, Wrrtll. Thanks for the reminder."

Neytiri cozies up to Jake and puts her arms around his waist, pulling herself against him. He does the same so they are holding each other in a mutual embrace. She looks up into his eyes. "What's troubling you, my love?"

Jake looks at her sheepishly and says, "I'm thinking about something I can't discuss yet." He looks to the other newly mated pair, their closest friends and ikran training partners, and asks, "How's the clan holding up?"

Maytse answers, "Compared to the trip up to the Well of Souls after Hometree was destroyed, this is a festival."

Jake says, "After that attack, Grace, Norm, and I were placed in a holding cell together. Grace said she thought the clan would go to the Well of Souls. We didn't know how tough the overland trip was for the clan until later."

Maytse says, "We have plenty of food and water this time, no one was in shock from losing a friend or loved one, no one was crying, and the injured are all on pa'li. Having the Plains clans and their pa'li to help move us has made this trip much easier."

Wrrtll adds, "I was glad Akwey offered to help us. He's a great guy if you can ignore that bone through his nose. Once the older hunters worked out the back trails from the Well to the Sisters, it made sense that we travel together."

Maytse continues, "Having our elders and children riding pa'li also makes the trip go much quicker. Come on, my love, let's get back to guarding the trail. Give our leaders some alone time."

In a very serious voice, Wrrtll intones, "We should stay and guard them while they finish what they are starting. When they're done, they can guard us while we have fun." After a brief silence, he breaks out laughing loudly.

Maytse says sternly, "Neytiri is right, you are a skxawng! Come on, let's get to work." She grabs his arm and pulls him away back to the trail.

After the couple turns out of sight, Neytiri asks, "Can you tell me now?"

Jake replies, "Trudy told me something that has got me worried. I want her to tell you and your mother in person, so you can question her. Norm and Max should be there. I'm thinking Akwey and Za'ki also should be there. She might have an explanation, and if not, they will discuss it with every tsahìk on the plains. This may involve something from the Time of the First Songs, like the transference ceremony."

Neytiri's eyes get big. "How would Trudy know about something from long ago?"

"That's what has me worried."

"Let's get the clan to our new home. The tail end has passed, it is time for us to move up." She takes Jake's hand and together they run up the trail.

As the head of the column nears a pass into the valley of The Sisters, Jake takes his leave and flies his ikran ahead to meet the survey team he requested from Hell's Gate. As he flies through the huge trees, he hears a drone high overhead and sees a Sampson parked in a clearing by the river. He circles the empty helicopter and notices a large transport case sitting nearby unattended, open and separated into two sections. He hears whistling from the base of a huge tree away from the river, and sees Trudy and Norm holding their assault rifles and waving their arms over their heads. Both are wearing SecOps flight suits and have exopacks, side arms, and extra magazines on their belts, survival knifes in shin pockets, and machetes on their backs. He lands near them, and sends his ikran up into the tree to pick a roosting spot.

Norm says, "Hi, Jake."

Jake answers, "Hi, guys. You look like a cross between Rambo and Bonnie and Clyde."

They laugh. Norm explains, "We didn't know what to expect out here, so we came prepared."

"Married yet?"

They laugh again. Trudy says, "We should be. Max doesn't want to officiate, he forgot to get a doctorate in divinity. Maggie is looking into it, we weren't the first to ask her. RDA never made any regs for marriage or divorce during field assignments. They couldn't be bothered with employee relationships out here, except to prohibit children. How's your new body working out?"

"Great. The odd aches and twitches felt while driving it as an avatar have disappeared. Only problem now is rolling on my tail while asleep, it always wakes me up."

"I'll keep that in mind when Max makes avatars for both of us."

"Doing it together, that's good."

"We are also deciding whether to start a family now, or wait until after we join the Na'vi."

"That's a tough one if you plan to become Na'vi like me. If you have human kids, becoming Na'vi is a problem unless you can hand off the kids to other humans, or stay avatars until the kids grow up." Trudy and Norm don't say anything, and look like they don't want to discuss this issue any further. "What's with the matching flight suits?"

Trudy answers, "Right now I'm the only qualified pilot. So, I'm teaching Norm. He did the flying out here today. He's a quick learner."

"Great idea. You should ask Maggie if any of her people want to fly, and get a course going."

"I'm already putting together a maintenance course for her people. She wants to get the remaining aircraft airworthy again, and that work was always done by SecOps. Have six students lined up for it now. I'll talk to her about flying classes."

Norm giggles, "Trudy's flight school, that's a scary thought." They all laugh together again.

Jake smiles. "Yeah, I remember our first trip with her, dropping down over that massive waterfall. She should leave that part out."

Trudy just shakes her head no with her huge smile.

Jake asks, "How's the survey coming along?"

Norm answers, "Doctors King and Petrokov are taking core samples of the soil inside this tree. Think the rest of the field work is about done."

"Did Max come with you?"

"No, he got called into an emergency in the hospital and couldn't come out with us. He's working there practically around the clock since the mobile hospital was evacuated and the patients moved to Hell's Gate."

"My clan and the clans from the plains will start arriving soon. I'd like Trudy to tell her story to a couple of the leaders from the plains, along with Mo'at and Neytiri. Wish Max was here for that."

Trudy says, "As long as we can leave so we get back before dark. We're expected in time for supper. I can tell Max back home if we can get him somewhere private."

"Can you stay the night, if needed?"

"I can radio in any changes to my flight plan, but that will keep someone on duty until we return. Sleeping in exopacks is no fun. Norm and I have done it, but Izzy hasn't."

"Izzy?"

"Itzach Krazney, our tech genius."

"Oh yeah, I met him. He's ex-military, Israeli special forces, he can handle it."

"Really? Didn't know that. He doesn't say much about himself, except to complain about his legs. We'll have to get into the emergency supplies if an exopack fails. We have two female avatars, driven by Doctors King and Petrokov, and they aren't prepared for camping out."

"I'll get Maytse to watch their avatars, if you need to stay overnight. The survey team is in this tree?"

"Yeah, hold on. We insisted they all carry side arms and knives." Trudy puts her hand on her throat comm unit. "Survey team. Jake is here and coming inside to talk to you. Over."

"Izzy here. I'm in the central core by the spiral ramps at ground level. Will be here for fifteen minutes, at least. Over."

A female voice says, "Jake, huh. He's got a wife. Send in a couple of single Na'vi guys that can show us how to use these pony tails." Another voice is heard in the background yelling, "Don't! Izzy can hear you!"

Trudy smiles big and says, "P-H-Ds, you gotta love them. Curious about everything."

Jake nods in agreement and says, "If they don't drive you crazy first."

Norm makes an innocent looking face. "I resemble those remarks. Good luck, Jake."

"Thanks. I'll need it."

Jake walks towards a glow near the central core deep inside the tree, taking his time to look around the interior for wildlife living there. Without fires or lantern bladders, the interior gets dark not far from the exterior openings. Even in the dim light, Jake can see that many other creatures are using this tree as a home.

Izzy is sitting on a small transport case. He looks up from a screen and says, "Hello, Jake. That pack of direwolves hasn't had me for a meal yet."

"Keep up the good work. How's it going today?"

"We've been through all the huge trees in this valley. Doctor King saved this one for last. She's also doing a complete multi-spectral study of this valley using an autonomous drone. It's still out scanning the valley."

"Yeah, I heard it flying in. My banshee hates it and wants to kill it. I told him it could break his beak, and don't let any other banshee try to kill it. The banshees for my clan should be arriving here shortly."

"Thanks for saving it from being attacked, it would take a lot of work to make a replacement. I'll let Doctor King show you the data from it. She also wants a high-res scan on the interior of this tree, so I'm baby-sitting that drone now. It's autonomous, but there are so many nooks and crannies in this tree, with lots of branches sticking out everywhere, it could easily get snagged. And I'm not climbing up in this monster to recover it, my legs are killing me now."

"Let me know if it does get snagged. My clan will be all over this tree in no time, and somebody will bring it down. How much longer?"

"Should be done in about ten to fifteen minutes."

"Why this tree and not the others?"

"This valley floods all the time, and this tree is the highest above the river. They're looking for signs of flooding inside. Unlike this tree, the other trees have sand and silt floors, so they flood too often to be habitable."

"That jives with what my clan elders remember. The clan has used these trees as a hunting camp for many generations, and hunters usually stay in a dry tree nearest the river. None of them have seen this tree flooded."

"That explains all the fire pits laying around the valley, inside and outside the trees. The good doctors are taking cores inside this tree to see how often it has flooded. Ivanna will process them back in the lab, something about carbon dating the organic layers between the flood layers, if any."

Jake notices the women's voices off in the distance. "I hear them, sounds like they're on their way here."

"I don't hear anything. I've been near too many explosions. Those avatar ears must be really good."

"Yes, they are. Took some time to get used to the senses in this body. My eyesight is really weird, much sharper but colors are different, it's normal for me now."

"Ivanna wants me to drive an avatar, but it will be months until Max can make any."

"I could use you in an avatar to teach close quarters fighting. I'll talk to Max."

"Getting an avatar may be the only way to fix my bum legs."

"Yeah, it worked for me. Let's see if they are listening to us. What is Doctor King's first name?"

"Katy."

Jake turns towards the female avatars and says in a normal voice, "Katy will get a big surprise if she finds a Na'vi guy willing to try out her ponytail. She will be mated to him for life, and there is no divorce."

From the distance comes a loud retort, "What! You're pulling my leg!"

Jake and Izzy laugh. Jake responds, "No, that's the truth."

"Wait until we get there. I want to know more."

"Okay, but we have to talk business before pleasure."

Within minutes the two female avatars appear out of the darkness, carrying a transport case between them. One is dressed like a miner and has well defined musculature, and the other is unathletic and is dressed like Grace's avatar, looking similar to all casually dressed collegians back on Earth. The miner says, "You must be the infamous Jake Sully. Damn, you're the best specimen of avatar male I've seen. I'm Katy King, geologist, and this is Ivanna Petrokov, microbiologist." Katy puts her hand out, followed by Ivanna.

While shaking hands, Jake says, "I'm Jake Sully, avatar driver and now leader of the Omatikaya Clan. Glad to meet you both. I've been living with them for the last three months, and they have whipped me into shape. So, Max sent you out here to look at these trees to help my clan pick our new hometree."

"Max asked for volunteers, and since the injured from the field hospital were moved back to Hell's Gate, we've been orderlies around the clock. Us non-medical avatars were happy for a change of scenery. That, and we have the proper backgrounds to do this task, unlike being orderlies."

"What's your verdict?"

Katy begins in her lecture hall voice. "We've been through all the huge trees in this valley. This tree is the best candidate for your new home. All other trees show signs of flooding on an annual basis or more frequently, and that makes them less than ideal for habitation. This tree has been flooded before, but not as often as the rest. We won't know the periodicity until Ivanna finishes her analysis of the cores in this box."

Ivanna adds, "Before my thesis proposal was accepted, I worked in a lab dating archaeological samples from the thawed regions of Siberia, mainly Denisovan sites. This task is very similar, once Maggie's techs get the equipment set up for me."

Jake nods and says, "The Omatikaya Clan calls the large trees in this valley 'The Sisters,' and has used them as a hunting camp for many generations. The elders have been discussing the floods, but can't decide when this tree was last flooded."

Katy continues, "The downstream end of the valley has a bottleneck caused by numerous landslides. We could blast it open wider or get some heavy machinery in there to dig a better channel, and lessen the flooding. Or, a levee could be made around this tree, either completely encircling the tree or extending back to the bathtub rings visible on the valley wall."

"Bathtub rings?"

"That's a highly technical term for the water marks left on the valley walls and vegetation. If we were outside, I could point them out. Maybe the drone data is ready." She picks up a screen and turns it on. After touching some icons, the screen displays the valley. "Here we go. This will be viewed much better using the 3-D display in the command center, after it gets put back together."

Izzy interrupts, "Max did a number on it with a slash cutter."

Jake is surprised by Izzy's aside. "What did Max do?"

"Someone noticed that in their haste to get the attack launched, SecOps left crates of door guns and ammo out between the hangers. Some of the avatars snuck out there, armed themselves, and climbed up the outside of the building to the command center without being seen. Max, who drove heavy construction equipment before university, fired up a slash cutter and carved a hole into the command center, causing some structural damage and lots of broken windows. The avatars poured in and subdued SecOps while they were sorting out the retreat."

"I knew the avatars took over Hell's Gate, but didn't hear that before."

"Maggie's team has it cleaned up and the walls and roof rebuilt. After they get the windows made and installed, it will be airtight again. Then I can replace the broken electronics and wiring, and Katy can use the 3-D display for you."

Katy holds the screen up so Jake can see the display. "See this tree, this is the one we're in. Across the valley you can see these bands, lighter on the bottom, getting darker up to here, which is the level above all recent floods. That's the bathtub ring. The levee should be at least that high."

"Won't that damage the roots of this tree?"

"The drone has a multi-spectral sensor package. Its ground penetrating radar will show the roots and the sediment layers and anything else down to the bedrock. The levee will have to allow for the roots. The processing for that is still running, but here is a preliminary low-res view." She touches more icons to show the below grade structures. "Here are the tree roots with many fanning out towards the river. You'll have to talk Maggie's engineers, but the roots should not be a problem under a levee. They can work around them during construction."

"I'll keep the levee in mind, and cleaning out the river, but those are not the Na'vi way. Ivanna, when you get your results, let me know, and I'll take it from there. Norm knows how to contact me, he can send your report to me. My clan, along with warriors from the Plains clans, will begin arriving soon. Norm's avatar fought with these clans, and some leaders want to say goodbye to Norm and Trudy before they leave for their homes."

Katy says, "Well, I'm planning to head to the helicopter where I can sit my avatar down, and then break the link. I'll work on the drone data until I'm needed back here to load the helicopter. I'm the muscle out here."

Jake says, "It looks like your avatar spends a lot of time in the gym."

"No, just the mine. My avatar climbs all over the mine, and does a lot of digging and rock moving. Most miners sit on their butts all day, driving machinery. Lately, I've been looking for secondary seams of unobtainium, and have to work on my own on the rock face with a pick and shovel. The obstacle course was intimidating at first, now it's too easy."

"I can load the helicopter, or get help when the clans arrive."

Ivanna says, "Katy, let's take these samples down to the helicopter, and I'll unlink with you after we strap in our avatars."

Katy says, "Not so fast. I have a ton of questions for this big blue guy."

Jake smiles. "I heard my wife's mother talking about the avatars she met at the field hospital."

Katy responds, "Yes, I met Mo'at, talked for a few minutes, and helped her stay the night in the avatar tent."

"You're the one that gave her the plastic cup with her name on it."

"You've seen that. Yeah, I taught her how to brush her teeth the Earth way."

"Mo'at and Neytiri want to meet with all avatars, together and individually, to get started on what is needed to live here with the Na'vi."

"That could take months."

"Yeah, that's what they were discussing. There's some information all avatars should know, and a whole lot more for those who want to join the Na'vi."

"What's with these ponytails?"

"It's the way the Na'vi can connect with other living things. You can connect with any of the sacred plants, and any of certain animals, like direhorses. You can connect with only one banshee, great leonopteryx, thanator, and Na'vi at a time, and those bonds are for life. Once the bond is made with another Na'vi, it cannot be broken, that's why there's no divorce."

"I've tried with several avatars, nothing."

"The Na'vi cannot connect with family members. I remember Max saying all avatars have been made from the same DNA taken from one Na'vi."

"Of course, we're all siblings, or maybe cousins if you count the human DNA contributions we have made to our avatars. Each adult Na'vi gets only one shot at picking a spouse?"

"That's right. Choosing a mate is the most important decision each Na'vi faces in their entire life. They only get one successful try, and they take it very seriously. I doubt you would find any male Na'vi willing to mate with you at first meeting. I've heard some adults take years before choosing someone to mate with."

"What's the process?"

"The most acceptable way for a couple to mate is to choose each other, go to a sacred tree together, and try to make the bond with their pony tails. If Eywa does not approve, they cannot bond, and remain apart forever. If Eywa approves, they bond, and only then they do the deed to seal the bond. The mating affects their bodies, and everyone that knows them will know at first glance that they have become mated for life."

"How is that possible?"

"See these spots?" Jake points to a line of spots on his chest. "Becoming mated changed them. I don't know how it happens, but they did change."

"That's crazy!"

Ivanna asks, "Eywa? You mean their god? That matters?"

"I didn't take Eywa seriously at first, but I asked for Her help with the battle. Much to my surprise, Eywa sent the wild beasts in just when it seemed SecOps had us on the run. From what I've seen, Eywa is very real and is involved with all of Pandora, which the Na'vi call Eywa's Children. Neytiri told me that Eywa must approve of the pairing, or the bond cannot happen."

"That would explain why they have only one god, one language, and so many things in common, unlike the experience of us humans on Earth."

Katy asks, "What about doing the deed without the bond?"

"I don't know, you'll have to ask Mo'at. The bond ties you into the senses of the person or animal you're bonded to. Your experience is so much better with the bond."

Ivanna says, "That makes sense, pardon the pun."

Katy asks, "Didn't you and your wife hook up quickly?"

"Yes. After she saved my life, I spent three months with her, all day every day, learning to become a Na'vi hunter and an adult member of the Omatikaya Clan. I still have a lot to learn, but the timetable Selfridge and Quaritch gave me was just three months. That was enough time for us to realize we were meant for each other."

"That means each avatar that wishes to join the Na'vi will need months of study."

"You can tell the avatars to study the language first. The rest will be done while living with the Na'vi."

"Didn't you record what you learned each day?"

"Well, I tried. I'm not much of a scientist. I fell asleep too many nights while doing my log, and then kind of gave up on trying to get all the details in. Neytiri put me through a lot of PT, dressed like a native, so both of my bodies were exhausted and slept like a baby every night."

"Yeah, I noticed you have gone completely native. No shoes, huh?"

"Barefoot is the only way to move quietly enough to hunt in these parts."

"I'd still wear steel-toed boots in the mine. Too easy to lose some toes or a foot."

"I agree. Haven't heard of any Na'vi working in a mine, especially since they don't have metal tools."

"And I still like toilets instead of those creepy tapirus critters..."

"fwampop"

"… and showers and beds and air conditioning and technology of all kinds."

"Living the Na'vi way is not for everyone from Earth, but give it a try. The simple pleasures are so good, you forget about the complexities of human life."

"Thus spake Toruk Makto." Jake makes a puzzled face. Katy quickly goes on. "Start with the language, huh?"

"Yes, and the plants and animals, those that are useful and those that are harmful. Learn those, and the rest will go quickly, depending on your skills."

Ivanna says, "I think Grace's book is several times the size of the Na'vi language books, and organized by the usual classification hierarchy of kingdom to species, and that doesn't indicate whether a plant is dangerous or useful."

Jake says, "I never saw her book, or used the base library. Neytiri rescued me during my first trip into the forest, on my second day on Pandora. Ask Norm for help, he told me about Grace's book, maybe he knows if there is a book that can help you. The only book I read was the link manual, and that was on Earth the night before I left."

Katy says, "Really, you never studied anything about this place before you got here?"

"No, my twin brother Tommy worked for RDA for three years, and was killed in a hold-up just before he was scheduled to leave Earth. I took his place at the very last minute. Neytiri taught me everything I know about Pandora, after she saved me from a pack of hungry direwolves."

"That must have been intense."

"My time in the Marine Corps got me ready for this."

"That's intimidating as hell!"

Jake just smiles and cocks his head to the side. "Okay, but I went through hunter training. There are many other jobs in the clan, just pick one that you want to do, and then dive in."

"I can do whatever I want?"

"Yes, ..."

Izzy blurts out, "Damn it! Not again!"

Jake asks, "Is there a problem?"

Izzy replies, "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. Almost crashed due to wicked air currents. I've encountered holes in the trunk just above major branches. Doesn't make sense, holes there would weaken the attachment of the branches to the trunks. Makes flying this drone tough, the air currents are so strong and swirling near the holes."

"My clan needs those holes. That's how we get to our banshees when they roost in the canopy. That means you're pretty high up in the trunk."

Katy says, "Can you get a view above the drone."

"Here is the top view. Looks like the spiral core has run out."

"That should be high enough to get a good model. If not, we'll come out and try again. Izzy, go ahead and bring it down, so we can pack up and leave."

"Yes, doctor. Descending to home now."

Jake asks, "What will the model show you?"

Katy answers, "Not much, since I do rocks. There may be evidence of flooding when this tree was much younger. The plant experts will look for that. I think they really want a detailed model to check their theories on how these huge trees grow."

Ivanna says, "I can remember many nights when Grace and a handful of us scientists would watch some beautiful David Attenborough documentaries and later get drunk arguing over what evolutionary forces would lead to the lifeforms here on Pandora, including these trees."

"David who?"

"Sir David Attenborough, English naturalist. He had the good fortune and good sense to film many interesting animals living in his time, before the great die off from global warming took off in earnest. He tried to raise the alarm, but no one was listening. Homo sapiens may be the most intelligent species, but it is also the most stupid."

"I think the Na'vi are way smarter, from what I've seen."

"We humans are the only species known to invent writing. That puts us solidly into first place. I know Grace taught English. Has any Na'vi asked you for more paper and pens?"

"No."

"There is no cultural impetus for them to write anything. Back to Sir David Attenborough. His videos are amazing. After Grace's book became a best seller back home, she and her agent were buried with requests to make similar videos of the plants and animals here on Pandora. She sent back a reply saying she was willing, if they would send her examples of what they wanted. The next ISV that left Earth had complete collections of nature films from Disney and the BBC, thousands of hours altogether, along with nice videos from many other organizations. She made the videos available to everyone on Pandora, and they have been a huge hit. Disney cut a deal with RDA, bypassing Grace, and has a film crew headed out here now that should arrive on the next ISV. With Grace gone, I suppose they will be asking us avatars for help, and maybe the Na'vi, too."

Jake looks troubled. "Grace never said anything to me about that. Norm told me she wrote the book on Pandoran plants."

Ivanna said, "Just talking to her, you would never know that she was a best selling author, about to become a celebrity back on Earth if she had the chance to make those films. Out of all the work she's done here, the school was the only thing that really mattered to her. The book was important early on, but became a distant second after she got the school going. Don't think she wanted to teach at first, but she was the best in speaking and understanding the Na'vi language. She'd never admit it, but I think she was disappointed about not having kids. Her students filled that hole in her heart."

Jake nods, "Yeah, I saw that when she told me about the SecOps attack on the school, when my wife's sister Silwanin was killed. Her students called her Sa'nok, that means Mother."

"I saw that, too. She definitely was mother to her students here. I'm sure she never had that kind of attachment to her grad students back on Earth."

The drone buzzes louder as it drops down and hovers overhead. Izzy stands up, taking the lid off the transport case, and asks, "Jake, would you do the honors?"

"Roger." Jake puts his hands up and grabs the skids on the drone. "Cut power."

Izzy commands it to shut down and says, "Drone is off."

Once the props stop, Jake expertly sets it down in its container. "I'll let you pack it up, I'm too clumsy with these big blue hands."

"Thanks for the help, I'll be just a minute." Izzy drops the screen into the container and starts removing the propellers.

Jake looks to Katy and says, "The Na'vi believe that everyone should do what pleases them the most. Seems pretty obvious, you do your best work when you love what you're doing. I don't know you, do you like to cook or sing or hunt?"

"Anything with rocks?"

"The weapon makers make stone blades, the jewelry makers carve stone beads, and the pottery makers make pots from clay. All of them need new sources of materials after we move into this tree."

"They don't do anything with metals, do they?"

"No, they don't."

Ivanna says, "That's why they're called Neolithic. They have no metals or agriculture. Think there's a theory that metals are not needed before agriculture became commonplace."

Jake adds, "One of the problems I've been thinking about is how we Earthlings can protect the Na'vi. We know too much. Don't know if Eywa will react if we give the Na'vi too much of our knowledge. You will have to fit into a clan, and limit what you bring into it."

"Like my trusty rock pick?"

"One tool probably won't hurt anything, but don't give it away, or make more to pass out to the Na'vi. The Na'vi are surprisingly smart. I'm more concerned about giving away knowledge. Look at all the kids Grace taught to speak English. I wonder what else she taught, and if that will cause problems later."

"Well, it's too late. Our presence has already changed the Na'vi. Eywa never threw lightning bolts at Grace, so don't worry about it."

"Look at how we ruined Earth. I don't want to teach the Na'vi anything that puts them on the same path."

"Life is about change, for better or for worse. Survival of the fittest, always."

"There will be a lot more discussion until this is settled, but we have to respect the Na'vi and their way of life. I insist that we do that. If you don't want to do that, that's okay. Stay in Hell's Gate and don't interact with the Na'vi. Someone needs to reclaim the mine and get the forest growing there again. Also need to clean up the smoke and waste dumps inside the fence."

No one volunteers for the clean up duties. The awkward pause is broken when Norm's voice crackles from the neck band communicators. "Survey team, this is Norm. The drone has landed. Tell Jake pa'li riders are in the valley and headed towards us. Over."

Izzy puts his hand on his neck band and answers, "Roger. We're all together with Jake. We're packing up and on our way to join you outside. Over and out."

Jake picks up the transit case with the core samples. "This is a lot lighter than I thought."

Ivanna says, "The samples are packaged for transport on the Sampson, but we decided to carry it out together just to keep from jostling it too much. It's so dark in here, didn't want to trip."

Jake turns to Izzy and says, "Put that drone on top of this box." While Izzy does that, the women avatars pick up their backpacks and slip them on. "Izzy, you take point."

Katy huffs, "I don't have time to play army. Izzy, give your knapsack to Ivanna." As soon as his pack is in Ivanna's hands, Katy scoops Izzy up like a child with one hand. "Put your arms around my neck, and hold on tight." Even before he is settled in her arms, Katy takes off running towards the light.

Ivanna looks to Jake, who shrugs and says, "Go on, you're next. I'm taking the rear."

Ivanna nods and starts running after Katy.

Jake falls in behind Ivanna and finds her pace is just slow enough to make trailing difficult. At one point, the tip of her tail brushes his leg, causing her to veer off and stop. Jake stops and asks, "Doing okay?"

She drops Izzy's back on the ground, and is bent over, hands on her thighs, breathing heavily. "Yeah. I spend most of my avatar driving time working in the garden. I'm not cut out for all this exercise."

Jake sets the boxes down carefully and unties a leather bag from his knife bandolier. He takes out a roll and hands it to Ivanna.

She straightens up and takes it. Looking at it warily, she asks, "What is this?"

"It's the closest thing the Na'vi have to energy bars. Go on, eat it." He takes another out and eats it in one gulp.

"It looks like some Greek food wrapped in a grape leaf." She nibbles it right in the middle. "Wow! This tastes really good, maybe the best thing I've eaten in my avatar." She breaks it in half, and pops one end in her mouth and carefully chews it.

"It has meat and veggies and fruits and nuts. The cooks make hundreds of these every day based on what food has been collected. I wasn't in Hell's Gate long enough to eat much in my avatar, but I remember it seemed the same as the cafeteria food." He ties the leather pouch back onto his bandolier.

"Decent food like this is enough to make me sign up with the Na'vi. Do they need gardeners?"

"No, they believe that Eywa knows best about growing plants, so there are no gardens. The gatherers know where the plants are growing, the best times to harvest them, and constantly ask the hunters to look for new stands."

"Would making a garden violate any Na'vi laws?"

"I don't know. The chief of one clan said he thought the garden in Hell's Gate was a very bad thing for the plants since Eywa did not put them there."

"You know, most scientists will find it hard to give up their life's work to join the Na'vi. I don't want to do menial work for the rest of my life, and wonder about the microscopic life around me. Many of the organisms I study were found in the garden, that's why I spend my avatar time there, looking for abnormal variations. What is needed is a way for us to become Na'vi and still be able to work in our chosen fields."

"Yeah, but I don't know how to do that. Maybe you and the other avatar drivers can figure that out. Also you need a way to survive when RDA returns in force to restart mining. All avatars in Hell's Gate will be in for a world of hurt, especially if another Quaritch is sent out here to clean house. Ready to go now?" Jake picks up Izzy's pack and sets it on top of the boxes.

Ivanna swallows the last of the roll and nods her head yes. She starts to jog towards the light.

Jake picks up the stack of cargo and jogs after her, keeping his distance as best he can.

Ivanna and Jake stop when they hit the sunshine outside the tree. Trudy is standing nearby, keeping watch over the area. She says, "Welcome back. Katy went around the tree to relieve herself, and Norm and Izzy are boxing up the big drone. The riders are in the other end of the valley and are headed this way."

Ivanna says, "I'll join Katy, that's a good idea before unlinking." She walks off around the tree.

Jake says, "I'll take this stuff down to the chopper. Keep an eye on those two, they're a handful. Bring them straight down when they're done."

Trudy smiles and repeats, "P-H-Ds, you gotta love them."

Jake answers, "Yeah, right." He runs downhill unimpeded, carrying the stack of cargo against his chest.

As Jake approaches the Sampson, Norm looks up and says, "Jake, good. Put that stuff down on a rear seat. This box goes on the floor first. I'll tie everything down once they're all in."

Jake answers, "Roger, on the rear seat." He sets the boxes and backpack down on the seat by the door and walks towards the two humans.

Izzy says, "The drone is packed and ready to go. Norm, help me with the lid."

They pick up the empty half of the transport case, flip it over, and carefully set it down over the base. They put the clamps into position and screw them down to lock the case shut.

Jake asks, "What does that weigh?"

Izzy answers, "On Earth, about three hundred pounds. It's still a two-man carry here on Pandora."

Jake grabs the handles and picks it up. "Less than a hexapede carcass. No sweat." He carries the box to the Sampson and slides it in the floor. He gets out of the way so Norm and Izzy can climb aboard and tie down the boxes. Looking towards the tree, he sees Katy and Ivanna walking down to them, followed by Trudy. Looking down river, he sees a number of Na'vi and pa'li already in the water near the trees in the other end of the valley. Several pa'li with riders are heading this way in single file on the sandy bank.

As the women stop by the Sampson, Katy says, "Looks like your folks are almost here."

Jake answers, "Yes, I'll have to get to work now, getting the area safe for my clan to sleep here. My guess is that the other clans down there have already started to make those areas safe for them and their pa'li." Looking around the survey team, he says, "I want to thank all of you for coming out here and surveying this valley. When your report is ready, pass it on to Norm, and he'll get to me."

Norm nods and says, "Glad to help out. Can't wait to see how your Na'vi clan takes to a new homestead."

Katy adds, "When you get to Hell's Gate again, we'll go to the command center and go over the 3-D models."

Izzy continues, "I should have it back together next week, if Maggie's team stay on schedule."

Katy asks, "Do you want us to meet your people, or should we harness up and unlink?"

Jake answers, "Things will be hectic until all of my clan arrives. You and Ivanna can unlink now. Thanks again for your help."

Katy says, "We'll be back to visit after you settle in."

Ivanna says, "Thanks for asking for the survey. See you soon." She and Katy climb into the back seats and strap in. Trudy checks their harnesses and gives each a "thumb's up" when ready. Soon both avatars are sound asleep.

Izzy says, "It's been a long day, my legs usually don't do this much walking. If you don't mind, I'll stretch out in the cockpit for awhile."

Trudy says, "Go ahead. Stow your pack and keep your exopack on. We have to say goodbye to some friends from the Plains clans before we leave."

Izzy turns to Jake, puts out his hand, and says, "Jake, it's been a pleasure. See you around Hell's Gate soon."

Jake shakes hands, and says, "Thanks for you help today. Hope things work out well for you and Ivanna."

Izzy smiles, "So far, so very good. See ya." He climbs into the cargo hold of the Sampson and enters the cockpit from the rear.

Norm looks through his binoculars at the pa'li and Na'vi heading towards them. "Good. I see Akwey and Za'ki and Mo'at and Neytiri and Wrrtll and Maytse among the first riders. We can have our discussion right away and get out of here before dark."