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.

Chapter 37: Meetings

The intercom blares out, "Administrator Parker Selfridge, are you in your quarters?"

He answers rather huffily, "Yes, I'm squeezed in here like a jack in the box."

"The Captain is on his way to personally escort you to your new quarters. Gather your belongings. Expect him in a few minutes."

"It's about time. I outrank everyone in this ship, and I deserve quarters commensurate with my rank. I'm ready now, I have no belongings. My clothes and golf clubs are still on Pandora."

"Roger, sir, and out."

Minutes later, there is a knock on the door. It opens, and Captain Gustav steps in and says, "Good news, Mister Selfridge, we now have a stateroom open and it has been cleaned and readied for you."

"It's about time. I should have been assigned a room when I arrived."

"You came in on the shuttle full of refugees. The injured were off-loaded first."

"I know, I was there. Even tried to help the injured, but the SecOps goons stopped me. They saw the palace coup Quaritch pulled on me, and made sure I was last off the shuttle."

"As I was about to say, the injured were triaged as they came aboard. The most seriously injured went straight to sickbay. The others went to the open quarters, mainly used by the en-route crew that were in cryo. Those crew had to be removed from cryo to deal with the mechanical issues caused by overcrowding, and they doubled up or found alternative spaces about this ship. Besides this space, you have been given exclusive access to one crew storage hold. It is the biggest available space in the habitable volume on this ship."

"Yeah, but that room has no furniture, other than a chair I dragged in from the wardroom. I thought about sleeping on the floor, but it was too dirty. I tried sleeping in the chair but it was too cold, I woke up shivering. This room has a bed, but it is about the size of a coffin."

"That is as good as it gets when we are in an overcrowded condition. Now that all SecOps personnel are in cryo, some quarters have opened up."

Parker waves his hands and says, "All I want is a room with a bed and toilet and shower and data terminal, where I can smoke a cigar to relax over a glass of scotch and work on my reports. I'm not asking for much. This room is very small, but it would be acceptable if it had the necessary facilities and I could smoke in here." He glares at the Captain with a demanding look on his face.

The Captain diplomatically responds, "This space is part of sick bay, a flexible space for exams, surgical recovery, or isolation, as needed. The facilities in sick bay are shared, and overtaxed because of our overcrowded condition. I am sorry, but that is the best available under present circumstances. No smoking is allowed anywhere in sickbay because of the medicinal gasses present. The ship's doctor put Doctor Ivanna Petrokov in here with her boyfriend. She used her medical skills tirelessly after arriving. Her boyfriend, a SecOps operative who is said to be a technical genius, did not get the chance to show off his technical skills. I heard he made himself useful by transferring medical records from the base and writing scripts to reformat them for import into our system. They decided to return to Hell's Gate, opening this room for your use. They were very happy in here, by all accounts. Let's get moving, I have to get back to the bridge. Follow me, please." The Captain turns and walks away. They pass an examination table holding one female crew member covered in a white sheet except for her face, surrounded by the doctor loading a syringe from a vial and several crew members. The Captain stops and asks the doctor, "How is she doing?" On cue, the woman leaps off the table and covers Parker's head with the sheet. The other crew members grab his arms, and the doctor jabs him with a syringe. As Parker slumps over, going down because of the injection of a strong tranquilizer, the Captain says, "My crew is ready to space you, you insufferable idiot. Fortunately, I have a nice berth in the cryo hold just for you." Looking at the doctor, he says, "Prep him and pack him, keeping him under the whole time. We have heard the last from Mister Parker Selfridge until we dock back home and thaw him out, before throwing him to the RDA wolves."

The laughing crew members drag Selfridge onto the table while the doctor says, "With pleasure, Captain, even though he deserves spacing."

The Captain smiles and replies, "If it wasn't for the paperwork and the endless investigations, I would be tempted. He is well known to the highest circles of RDA. The rumor is that he got his job by golfing with the RDA executives. He is too visible and his demise would not be forgiven. Besides, spacing is too quick and easy. After RDA works him over for this disaster, he will wish he died in the battle with Quaritch. Have someone clean out the storage locker he took over. We can use his stash of scotch and cigars during the going away party for the on-orbit crew before they get into cryo." He turns and walks out of sick bay. He hears the crew members laughing behind him as he continues down the passageway.

Doctor Dmitri walks up to the executive security desk in the main lobby of the RDA Galactic Headquarters complex. He sees a tent-like tunnel running from a door behind the desk to the archway to the executive elevators. He says, "Never seen that before. What's going on?"

The guard scans his badge and says, "Good morning, doctor. We are in a security lock-down this morning. Micro-drones have been detected in the lobby. Do you have any electronics embedded in your body, like a pacemaker or metering pump?"

"Just the usual implanted monitors for the RDA executive health plan."

"Good, I'll update your records. Please put all electronic objects and other personal items on this cart, and your briefcase on the shelf below."

Dmitri slides his briefcase onto the shelf and empties his pockets. "That should do it."

"Thank you for your cooperation, doctor."

"No problem, always glad to help out when security is at stake."

A second guard pushes the cart and says, "This way, sir." Dmitri walks into the tunnel and a third guard closes the door behind him. After about thirty seconds the door on the other end opens into the small area below the archway leading to the executive elevator lobby.

A fourth guard motions him out. "You're clean, and so are you personal items." He pulls the cart out of a separate door and wheels it to Dmitri. He continues while Dmitri retrieves his possessions. "A damping field is active, so your phone will not work. Do not talk to or even acknowledge anyone in the lobby or elevator car, wait until the doors close after you get out of the car upstairs."

"I understand."

"Thank you for your cooperation." The guard buzzes open the door into the waiting room.

Dmitri walks into the crowded lobby. One elevator has a person-sized clear plastic box in front of it, and the rest are blocked off, with guards and technicians swarming about them. There are several groups standing in lines being shepherded by more guards. He is met by yet another guard.

"Are you Doctor Dmitri Mendeleev?"

"Yes, I am." Dmitri holds up his badge.

The guard examines the badge. "Please follow me, doctor." The guard turns and walks to the plastic cube. Dmitri feels all eyes following him, but looks ahead and walks silently behind the guard. The guard stops and says, "Please go through the airlock, this clear box, into the car and wait."

Dmitri steps through the box, opening and closing doors as he goes, and turns around against the back of the elevator car. A disguised door opens across the lobby and a group pours out, escorted by armed guards. They quickly walk one at a time through the airlock and into the elevator. Dmitri smiles at the large man wearing a turban and jeweled antique kirpan who blocks him in, who smiles in return and then turns around. Two armed guards take up places in the corners of the car on either side of Dmitri. All passengers remain quiet the whole time, even after the elevator stops. After the large man exits, the guards wave Dmitri out, and follow him.

Once the doors close, the huge man turns around and says, "Good to see you again, Doctor Dmitri." He puts out his right hand.

Dmitri shakes the huge hand as best he can. "Likewise, good to see you again, Chairman Singh."

"Bill Blakely and Ko Jin are waiting for us inside my secure meeting room. Please follow me, my bodyguards will take us there."

The armed guards quietly escort them through the lobby, the Chairman's office, and into the secure conference room. Blakely and Ko are standing by the refreshment bar drinking breakfast tea, flanked by an administrative assistant and a food service attendant. When the Chairman and Dmitri are safely in the room, the guards quietly retreat, closing the door behind them.

The Chairman says, "Doctor Dmitri, take off your coat and get comfortable. Help yourself to the bar, and if you need something, just ask, and my aides will get it for you."

"I ate before walking here, but a cup of coffee will do nicely." Dmitri takes off his coat and lays it across several chairs against the wall, and then takes a seat at the huge conference table made of Pandoran wood coated in thick, clear plastic.

The attendant turns around, and while pouring a cup, asks, "Do you want any sweetener or creamer?"

"No thanks, I like my coffee plain."

The attendant gets a saucer and places the steaming cup and a spoon on it, and sets it down in front of Dmitri. The Chairman walks to the bar and orders a tall glass of ice water with lemon slices. Bill and Jin take seats next to Dmitri. As the Chairman is handed the glass, he nods, and the aides quietly leave.

The Chairman remains standing and says, "Missus Ko and Mister Blakely have told me many good things about the Pandoran response work you and John Winston have done so far."

"Thank you, Chairman. We're doing what we think is best for RDA."

"Keep up the excellent work. I don't want to know any of your secrets. Outside commentators have suggested taking unobtainium from the floating mountains, or mining the ocean beds, far from Na'vi lands."

"Our analysts say the floating mountains do not contain enough unobtainium to be worth the effort, and the Na'vi do use them. We haven't collected enough data from the ocean floors to identify deposits, and there may be issues with the sea life, particular those larger than nuclear submarines."

"I do know that a significant SecOps force is being assembled, a special forces team that will fight using avatars and their Pandoran animals being raised on Mars, and a large contingent of support personnel, including air and ground warriors and all their paraphernalia."

"Yes, Chairman. SecOps is needed to protect all mines on the land surface. Our biggest challenge is keeping up with their expanding requirements while holding the line with the budget. We intend to reuse the existing ISV fleet as much as we can, working new requirements into the refurbishment efforts. However, a larger class of ISVs may be necessary to handle the cryo cargo from Mars."

"Keep after them, and let Ko and Blakely know where things stand, especially with changes leading to larger ISVs. Changing requirements usually wreck schedules and budgets if not controlled, but you and Mister Winston know that. You are here today for another reason. Mister Winston's office has been alerted to your delay in arriving this morning, but they do not know you are here meeting with us. I know you and JW are very close, and you can tell him about this discussion, but no one else is to know, and do not make any record, personal or otherwise. That also holds for Mister Winston. Understand?"

"Yes, Chairman Singh."

"Mister Winston is lobbying hard for your transfer here to Corporate. That will happen in time, we want to see how your replacements perform before you move here."

"Jerry is working out quite nicely. He has pulled together a team that is quickly coming up to speed without much direction from me or JW."

"That is what I have heard. But that is not why we are here today." The Chairman fishes out a lemon slice with his fingers and eats the flesh off the rind, dropping the rind back into his glass. "The plan calls for a mission commander to successfully restore unobtainium production. Everyone assumed the SecOps commander will also be the mission commander." The Chairman paces in a tight circle. "After much discussion, the consensus is that the military commander should not be the mission commander. It seems the primary reason production was stopped on Pandora is that the administrator, the mission commander, was overruled by the military commander. That can never be allowed to happen again. RDA must send a mission commander that can keep SecOps in line while achieving the mission objectives, and unleashing SecOps only when necessary, implying that the rest of time will be spent keeping SecOps from doing what they do best, making war on everyone and everything, including RDA. It was decided that SecOps will select the military commander, who must agree to being subordinate to the mission commander. After that was settled, there has been much more discussion about possible candidates. As I said, the mission commander must let SecOps do what must be done when they are needed, and be able to keep them in line at all times, especially when they are not needed. The candidate must be able to keep all non-SecOps personnel productive and out of the way of SecOps, and not let SecOps press them into service if things go badly. Most importantly, the mission commander must know your secrets, be willing and able to implement them, and know whether SecOps must be inflicted on Pandora again. The consensus choice for mission command is you, Doctor, if you are willing."

"Me? I'm flattered."

"I don't need an answer right now, you have all the time you need to think it over. I must remain chairman until the current political storm blows itself out. After that, I will retire to work on my personal projects, my country and university, and Mister Winston will take over as chairman. You will be his right-hand man, his assistant, until the fleet leaves for Pandora. Either you or some other mission commander candidate trained by you must be on board."

"I feel that I need to know much more to do that job, mining and military activities, in particular."

"You have several years to prepare, and your PhD proves you are a fast learner. Also, you can take assistants with you having the expertise you need to complement your skills. Being mission commander is a large responsibility, and I'm sure you can do it. SecOps has not complained about Mister Winston, but they have complained about you. For that reason alone, you are the perfect candidate for mission commander."

"JW born and raised in the southern part of the United States, and he retains that smooth quality of a Southern gentleman. On the other hand, I'm a poor orphan from Russia, and have had to fight dirty from an early age. He is what the Americans call a 'good cop,' and I am definitely a 'bad cop.' That is why we are such a good team."

"And I intend to keep you as a team, at least until you leave with the fleet. Mister Winston has a family here, and I do not want to ask him to give up his life to fly to Pandora. On the other hand, you do not have a family, and you have a niece on Pandora. I don't know about your personal plans for the rest of your life, but leading the effort on Pandora will change everything for you."

"Yes, it will. It sounds like a tremendous opportunity and challenge. I find it very appealing. I want to talk this through with JW, but I'm inclined to accept this assignment right now."

"Excellent. Call my office when you are ready and we will meet to discuss your decision, and whatever staff you think you need to accomplish your mission, or how you will select and train someone else to become mission commander. Now, tell me about the process and decisions that will result in the building of a new class of ISVs. I need something new to talk about when I grant interviews to the press New spaceships are much more interesting than the political problems caused by Pandora."

Jerry walks into the diner, and immediately Bob says loudly over the racket from the noon rush, "Jerry! Good to see you again. Come up here and sit right down."

Jerry limps up to the counter as Maggie brings out a coffee cup and sets it down. "Regular as always, sweetie?"

Jerry answers as he sits down, "Definitely high-test today. I'll take my usual Manhattan, too."

She replies, "Coming right up. I'm glad you made it in again." She turns to Bob and says, "One Manhattan, stat," and then steps away.

Bob replies, "I'm on it," as he drops a slab of faux beef on the griddle. Turning to Jerry, he says, "The scuttlebutt is that you've been promoted into the executive ranks, and I thought I lost one of my best customers to the executive dining room."

"It's true, I've been promoted, but I think I'm on double secret probation. I know I can do this job, and they know I can do this job, but I have to prove to them that I can do this job. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, that's why I own and run this diner. I know if I'm doing a good job by seeing how full we get at every meal time. At your level in RDA, I suspect doing a good job is not good enough, you have to win the politics game to get ahead or even to stay in place."

"You must have been an RDA executive in the past."

"No, but I was a line cook for a number of chain restaurants, I know about the corporate world. It's always the same. I saw lousy people go up the ladder because of their glibness, and good people go nowhere because they couldn't sell themselves."

"Well, I wasn't trying to sell myself, I liked what I was doing, but I got pulled up the ladder when the Pandora operation collapsed. I don't like this job as much, but it is a good change of pace and the rewards are better."

"Sounds like Pandora sucked you into a promotion."

"Guess so. If Pandora didn't go to hell, I think everything here would have stayed the way it was. Once Pandora fell apart, the management team over me got tasked to put together the response, and I got the job to take over their duties in the meantime. Regardless of how it turns out, they will move on, and I'll take over permanently."

"So, do you know what happened on Pandora?"

"No, I keep out of that. I have to keep the rest of RDA operational, the space mining going, to keep RDA afloat until Pandora gets back on-line. In time, I may be managing the procurement and outfitting of the response fleet. But what really, truly, happened on Pandora, your guess is as good as mine."

"I've seen the RDA chairman on the news, he's one cool customer. Haven't seen anyone get to him, yet."

"I know many interviewers have tried. Everyone is waiting for him to pull that fancy antique sword out and skewer some pushy journalist. That's one job I don't want."

"He has answers for all questions and conspiracy theories. He's really sharp."

"That's one skill I don't have. If I had that sword, I'd take it out and kill myself to get away from the press. He is amazing."

"Yes, he is. If he knows what happened, he's not spilling the beans."

"That's why I keep away from the investigations. I have enough on my plate now."

"Speaking of plates, your's is almost ready." Bob holds up an empty plate. In a matter of seconds, he puts on it a scoop of mashed potatoes, two slices of bread, the faux meat, ladles gravy over it all, and sets it down in front of Jerry. "Enjoy. This isn't the RDA executive dining room, and I'm glad you are here."

As he cuts up his meal, Jerry replies, "In the executive dining room, the political climbers interrupt me non-stop, and I can escape them here. The food I get there is recorded and reported to my health plan. Here, they can't record what I am eating, or the quantity. My promotion means I'll be getting the implants for the RDA executive health plan. You will be seeing more of me in the future until I get the implants, if I can make the time to get away. I'll still come after getting the implants, when I want to give their doctors something to complain about." With that, Jerry smiles and puts the first forkful into his mouth.

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

Jake says, "Okay, but let me start getting the clan organized first. I need to get to a place where Wrrtll can see me." He runs up the hill to the crest of the bank above the river and heads downstream until he finds an old fire pit overlooking a broad expanse of sand. He stands on the highest stone and waves his arms over his head, and Wrrtll returns the wave. Jake makes another signal with his arms that Wrrtll answers. Soon, two pa'li break from the pack and gallop together along the river. Jake runs down the bank to the downstream end of the beach and waits until the two pa'li stop in front of him. Wrrtll and Maytse jump off and talk briefly with their riders. The young couple turns towards Jake as the two pa'li gallop away.

Wrrtll says, "Leader, thanks for signaling. Our pa'li drivers felt obliged to follow Akwey, but wanted to deliver us as quickly as possible. They need to get back to their clan who are setting up camp at the other end of this valley."

Jake says, "Yeah, Akwey was setting a good pace for covering the little used trails through the forest, but he is really being too cautious in this river valley. I need you two to stay here and collect our clan as they arrive. Mo'at wants to have a ceremony before we move into our new hometree, but there are a couple of problems. Our clan is really spread out in this convoy, it will be awhile until we are back together again. Everyone is riding in from the downstream end, and that is pushing the wildlife up to this end."

Maytse adds, "And our tree already has residents that we need to chase out."

Jake continues, "Yeah, that too. So you two stay on the beach and collect the clan as they arrive. This beach looks good for bathing, so it's a good stopping point for everyone. While cleaning up, have the clan pile up any sharp rocks they find under water. The young children should be kept up on the bank." Jake points at the fire pit area on the bank. "There is an old fire pit up there surrounded with sitting stones. Some older children should take care of the younger children, and the rest should pick up the driftwood laying around and cut firewood out of those brush piles and downed trees. The firewood should be stacked up somewhere, maybe by the fire pit for now. The adults should be put into groups to secure the area. I don't want anyone working alone, we don't know what lives here. Wrrtll, see to it that the warriors and some hunters clear a secure area around the tree and stand watch over it." Wrrtll nods agreement while Jake speaks. "The rest of the hunters should head up teams of adults that check out the inside of the tree until Mo'at is ready for her ceremony."

Wrrtll says, "I'll also get those teams to do a quick check of the levels above and below the ground. The other clans will be sleeping on the ground tonight, but they are all adults. We need to have the youngsters sleeping above ground until we get the family hammocks made and hung."

Jake says, "That's a good idea."

Maytse says, "I'll let the cooks know about the fire pit, they could use it as a temporary kitchen until a better place is ready."

Jake smiles and says, "I know the clan is in good hands with you two. I need to have a quick meeting with Akwey and Za'ki before Mo'at does her ceremony, and that's why I want the clan to stay away from Trudy's helicopter. Thanks in advance for handling this."

Maytse smiles and says, "We want to get our new tree ready as quickly as possible, so we can take our mating time from the clan. I remember Doctor Augustine teaching us the English word 'honeymoon,' and I thought that was such a funny word."

Jake grins in return. "Neytiri and I want our honeymoon, too, but you two are first, unless Mo'at says differently."

Wrrtll says seriously, "We are ready to go at any time, just say the word."

Jake says straight-faced, "I'm sure you are." They both break out laughing.

Maytse shakes her head. "Men!" She walks into the river up to her knees, and begins washing.

The lead group of pa'li pick up their pace and soon stop in front of Jake and Wrrtll. Neytiri bounds off and helps her mother down. Jake looks up at Akwey and says, "Leader, I need to have a quick meeting with you and Za'ki, along with Mo'at and Neytiri. Trudy told me something that has been troubling me, and I want her to tell you herself."

Akwey jumps off the pa'li driven by his son and answers, "Good. I saw the burnt carcass of her gunship, but nobody could find any sign of her, or her remains. Then she appeared in the Well of Souls, after it was evacuated. I hope she can tell us what happened."

"She will, but the details may be upsetting."

Akwey goes to Za'ki and helps her down. She says, "I also have something to tell you, something from the last time I bonded with the sacred tree just before we left there."

Akwey asks, "Where do you want to meet?"

"Up by the gunship."

Akwey says, "Lead on, we'll follow." He puts his arm out, and Za'ki wraps her arm around it. In silence, the five Na'vi walk along the river to the Sampson. As they approach, Norm and Trudy walk to meet them.

Jake says, "I'm sure you remember Norm Spellman and Trudy Chacon. They have decided to become mated since you last saw them."

Za'ki looks at them with a twinkle in her eyes and says, "I remember your greeting in the Well of Souls when Trudy returned unexpectedly. You behaved mated then, from what I could See."

Neytiri laughs and translates the words said by Za'ki to Trudy.

Norm breaks into a broad smile.

Trudy blushes, "You're right. We knew the battle was coming, and that kept us apart, but we're ready now, as soon as we can get someone to perform the ceremony."

Norm translates Trudy's words, and adds, "Jake asked Trudy not to discuss her disappearance, so I'm as curious as you. Let's get started, we have to fly back before it gets dark. I have no idea how long this meeting will take."

Jake looks around and says in Na'vi. "Is everyone ready? If you need a drink or need to relieve yourself, now is the time." No one responds. Jake switches to English. "Guess we're ready. Trudy, tell us what happened after the last missile was launched at you. Go slow, and I'll translate as best I can. Norm, help me translate when I don't get it right."

She answers with a smart, "Yes, sir. As you know, my Sampson was shot up pretty badly. One engine was on fire and I could no longer hold altitude or evade Quaritch in the Dragon. I saw that missile coming right at me. It seemed like I could have reached out and touched it, but then everything changed."

Jake puts his hand up, so Trudy stops. Jake translates her words, and holds his arm out. He stops and nods at her, so she resumes.

"One instant I was in my burning aircraft watching the missile approach me, and the next instant I was somewhere else, with bits and pieces of the cockpit dropping around me, my seat, the handles off of the control sticks, everything that was in reach of the pilot's chair. My chair flipped over backwards, knocking the breathe out of me."

Jake puts his hand up again, and translates. Norm jumps in to add to Jake's description of the helicopter components. Jake looks to her again, so she continues.

"I was staring up at the ceiling of a large room. It was a metal cube a good twenty meters in each dimension."

Norm translates, holding his hands apart to describe the length.

Trudy caries on. "My first concern was the air, I wasn't wearing my exopack." She points to the clear shield over her face. "I took a deep breath, and the air was good enough. It was hot and dry and had a stale, chemical taste, like the antiseptic air in a hospital. The lights in the ceiling were warm and red. The gravity was greater than here or Earth, and it made me feel sluggish. I walked around the room and could find no doors, not even a crack." Once again, Jake holds his hand up. She stops, and Jake and Norm translate.

Jake says, "Okay," and she replies, "Then I heard a synthesized voice that asked me many questions. At first, I had to explain why I was flying against the rest of the aircraft. Then I got many questions about weapons of mass destruction. I said, truthfully, that there were no such weapons here." Jake holds up his hand, translates her words, and says in English, "Norm, I'll let you explain weapons of mass destruction. Try to be brief."

Norm nods and explains in Na'vi, waving his arms. The four native Na'vi all get shocked looks on their faces as they realize the firepower they have seen is small in comparison to these weapons. Jake adds some explanations to reinforce Norm's description, and then says in Na'vi, "This is my big fear. When RDA returns, they may bring such weapons with them. And we will not be able to stop them if they do." After a short break to let that sink in, Jake says in English, "Trudy, go on. Save the best for last."

"I tried to ask questions, but the voice threatened to kill me. I tried one last time, and got a shocking answer. Then I was told to lay down on that huge wooden table, hold my breath, and the next thing I knew, I was back in the Well of Souls, two days after the battle ended. My cheek was still bleeding, so no time passed for me."

Jake puts his hand up and begins translating. Akwey asks a question, and Norm begins a long-winded answer. Most likely it was about the time displacement, an event that has no simple human or Na'vi explanation.

Mo'at interrupts and asks Trudy in English, "You said you received a shocking answer. What was that?"

Trudy replies, "I said, 'You must be Eywa. The Na'vi talk about her all the time.' The voice answered, 'We are not Eywa, we made Eywa.'"

Mo'at translates for Akwey and Za'ki.

Akwey laughs and says, "I wish my wife was here to hear that."

Za'ki has a troubled look on her face. She says slowly, "I have wondered about Eywa. We are all taught about how Eywa arrived here, and I have told that story many times in the ceremony for the first bonding of babies with Eywa, but that does not answer the question about how Eywa's mother came to exist. What if there are many like Eywa, as there are many Na'vi?" She looks at the shocked faces around her. "Yes, I know, it is not right for a tsahìk to question Eywa. I haven't been a tsahìk for most of my life, now that I have become so old, and my mind wanders sometimes." She smiles, and a few others smile with her. "As you know, I was the tsahìk for my clan when my mate, the clan leader, was killed while hunting. I trained our replacement couple, and I became a healer once they took over the clan. Even though I had young children to raise and my duties for the clan, I spent much time bonded to our sacred tree, working my way through the ancestors until I was introduced to the first tsahìk from the time of the First Songs. She normally wouldn't talk with anyone she didn't know when she was alive, but she took pity on me, a widowed tsahìk that wanted to talk directly to Eywa." She chuckles softly. "I wanted to talk to Eywa directly to find out why She would put a tsahìk through the trials I have suffered. She asked why I went through the trouble to track her down to talk to her. I said that Eywa must have talked to the first tsahìk, how else would we know Her name and what She is doing to protect the balance of life here. How can anyone interpret the will of Eywa unless someone really came to know Eywa first? Someone had to learn directly from Eywa, and that had to be the first tsahìk! She just laughed and said Eywa talks to no one, not even her. She said she must have learned about Eywa when she was a child, but doesn't remember her teacher or any details about how she was taught. To this day, Eywa has never spoken directly to me, and I have not found anyone claiming to hear Eywa speaking directly to them." A distressed look comes over her face, but quickly passes. "Now to our time. I asked her about the soft popping sounds from the ball that disappears as quickly as it appears, and a person appearing after a louder pop. She was surprised that we have seen the ball, as they usually appear in places that camouflage them. She said they were called 'the eyes of Eywa' because they are the size and shape of eyeballs. Since they only occur one at a time, the name was shortened to 'the eye of Eywa.' One musician told her that sometimes the pops were like drumbeats, at a very slow but rhythmic rate, not at dancing speed but much slower than crawling speed. She said they occurred more frequently when her clan was dealing with difficult situations, such as disease or other disasters, and were much less frequent when clan life was routine. Another situation that increased visits from the eye of Eywa was when strangers appeared. Often, the louder pop would be heard, and the clan would search for the source, and find one or more strangers. Usually, only one or two strangers were found at a time, and usually they were pre-adolescent children armed only with sharpened sticks or knives made of talons or teeth. She and her mate, the clan leader, would take on the role of parents for these children until other mated pairs in the clan would take responsibility for them. There was one time early in the formation of her clan where disease killed about a quarter of the clan and the survivors were struggling, and many popping sounds occurred, like distant thunder. Two days later a band of sixty four strangers walked up the river into her village, some mated adults with babies and the rest were unrelated children, all wishing to join her clan. She told me these strangers, like all other strangers, knew their names and had some skills, but did not know their parents or birth clan, or anything about their lives before their appearance. She said that Eywa provided these people whenever they were needed, and that was the beginning of the saying 'Eywa provides' that is in use to this day. Visits from the eye of Eywa would increase when the loud pops were heard, and would taper off as the clan absorbed the strangers."

Jake nods his head and asks, "So Eywa keeps an eye on the Na'vi?"

Za'ki replies, "Yes, that is how I See it. We have had many generations of balanced life, and Eywa did not need to watch events closely. With the arrival of the Skypeople, life became out of balance and Her attention is much needed. That is why She chose you to be Toruk Makto, and is sending Her eyes to see what is happening."

Jake says, "I didn't know Eywa had such a surveillance capability, thought the bonding of Na'vi to sacred trees was all Eywa needed."

"I think tsaheylu with sacred trees has been the only way since the time of the First Songs, until now."

Trudy asks, "I made two jumps, out of my Sampson into that metal box, and from there into the Well of Souls, and I don't think I lost any memories along the way. Has that happened before?"

"I don't think so. All others were destined to join the first clan, to bring needed skills and abilities when Eywa thought they were needed. Their lost memories from before their arrivals were of no consequence. I have never heard any stories about Eywa providing Na'vi in this way since the Time of the First Songs."

Norm says, "If some unknown people made Eywa and the major plants and animals here on Pandora, that would answer many questions. There have been many debates over how evolution would result in the life seen on this moon. The leading theory is that everything here was rationally constructed by an advanced civilization, with only the least significant life evolved from lower forms. Even Grace could not connect the evolutionary dots from the simple plants to the most advanced plants. Genetic studies also show unexplained discontinuities. And, ..."

Jake interrupts, "So Trudy's teleporting experience is the first evidence that some advanced civilization made the life on Pandora, including Eywa."

Norm answers, "It appears that is the case, but it is not sufficient to publish. Hard evidence is needed. The questioning of Trudy bothers me, though."

Jake asks, "Why's that?"

Norm replies, "There has been stories of human abductions by space aliens on Earth for medical experiments, and also stories about crop circles, mutilation of animals, and other kinds of unexplained activities. If the beings that made Pandora also visited Earth in the past, maybe they would have technologies to pick her brain directly, instead of verbally asking questions."

Jake nods, "I can see that. Maybe the space aliens that did the medical experiments on Earth were different from those that made Pandoran life and questioned Trudy."

Norm continues, "Yeah, even the first explorers here wondered if the Na'vi had stories that could corroborate the space alien issues seen on Earth. They couldn't agree on how to ask the Na'vi about these stories. I have read the early reports in the RDA Archives that were full of arguments on whether they should imitate space aliens to hide the fact they were new to Pandora, or simply try to be as invisible as possible and not leave any evidence behind, like bodies of mutilated animals, or work openly. They also argued over how many possible kinds of space aliens existed, but couldn't decide on a hard number."

Jake says, "Okay, Norm, that makes my head hurt. When you get back, let the other scientists know what Trudy experienced, and have them look for more evidence of this advanced civilization. You can tell them about Trudy, but skip the connection with Ewya providing new Na'vi. It would be best to leave the Na'vi out of this."

Norm responds, "Will do."

Jake looks to Za'ki, Mo'at, and Neytiri and says, "This sounds like a tsahìk matter, how Ewya came into being. Look into this if you can, and let me know if you find anything. Ask all other tsahìks that can help. Za'ki, you can contact us through the previous leader of the Omatikaya clan, Tsu'tey, using any sacred tree. He can be trusted to pass along messages to any of us. I know the ancestors in the sacred trees normally do not pass messages among the living, but Eywa has made this exception possible. And, no, Eywa did not talk to me. Doctor Grace Augustine told me that Eywa did this to help us deal with the people from Earth."

Za'ki says, "Maybe I should talk to this Doctor Grace Augustine, it sounds like Eywa talks to her."

Jake nods and adds, "She was my leader, and was like a second mother to me. I think she will talk to you, but she told me Eywa speaks to no one, not even Toruk Makto. Tell her about Trudy and the causes of the popping sounds, that will get her interested in helping you."

"Thank you, I will, when I get back home in several days and can use the clan's sacred tree."