When I was lying there in the VA hospital,
with a big hole blown through the middle of my life,
I started having these dreams of flying.
I was free.
Sooner or later, though, you always have to wake up.
In cryo, you don't dream at all.
It doesn't feel like six years.
More like a fifth of tequila and an ass-kicking.
Tommy was the scientist, not me.
He was the one who wanted to get shot light-years out in space
to find the answers.
Are we there yet?
Yeah, we're there, sunshine.
We're there.
It's about your brother.
So, a week before Tommy's gonna ship out,
a guy with a gun ends his journey for the paper in his wallet.
You've been in cryo for five years, nine months and 22 days.
You will be hungry. You will be weak.
If you feel nausea, please use the sacks...
Yeah, Tommy was the scientist.
Me, I'm just another dumb grunt going someplace he's gonna regret.
Up ahead was Pandora.
You grew up hearing about it, but I never figured I'd be going there.
Your brother represented a significant investment.
We'd like to talk to you about taking over his contract.
And since your genome is identical to his, you could step into his shoes,
so to speak.
It'd be a fresh start on a new world.
And the pay is good.
Very good.
-Exo-packs on! Let's go! Exo-packs on! -Exo-packs on! Let's go!
Remember, people, you lose that mask,
you're unconscious in 20 seconds, you're dead in four minutes!
Let's nobody be dead today! Looks very bad on my report.
Hell's Gate tower, this is TAV 1-6 on approach.
Crossing outer marker. Mine is in sight.
One life ends,
another begins.
Harnesses off! Get your packs!
-Put it together, let's go! Let's go! -Harnesses off! One minute!
When that ramp comes down, go directly into the base. Do not stop!
Go straight inside. Wait for my mark!
Go, go, go, go! Get out of there! Keep moving! Let's go, let's go!
There's no such thing as an ex-Marine.
You may be out, but you never lose the attitude.
I told myself l could pass any test a man could pass.
They can fix a spinal, if you got the money,
but not on vet benefits, not in this economy.
Let's go, special case! Do not make me wait for you!
Well, well, ladies.
Look at all this fresh meat!
Back on Earth, these guys were Army dogs, Marines,
fighting for freedom.
Look out, hot rod!
But out here they're just hired guns,
taking the money, working for the company.
Check this out, man.
Meals on wheels.
Oh, man, that is just wrong.
I got two guys free in about 20 minutes!
Got it! Need them!
You're not in Kansas anymore.
You are on Pandora, ladies and gentlemen.
Respect that fact every second of every day.
If there is a hell,
you might want to go there for some R&R after a tour on Pandora.
Out there, beyond that fence,
every living thing that crawls, flies or squats in the mud
wants to kill you and eat your eyes for Jujubes.
We have an indigenous population of humanoids called the Na'vi.
They're fond of arrows dipped in a neurotoxin
that'll stop your heart in one minute.
And they have bones reinforced with naturally occurring carbon fiber.
They are very hard to kill.
As head of security, it is my job to keep you alive.
I will not succeed.
Not with all of you.
If you wish to survive,
you need to cultivate a strong mental attitude.
You've got to obey the rules.
Pandora rules.
Rule number one...
There's nothing like an old-school safety brief
to put your mind at ease.
Excuse me. Excuse me. Jake! You're Jake, right? Tom's brother.
Wow! You look just like him.
Sorry, I'm Norm. Spellman. I went through avatar training with him.
...into the bio-lab.
We're gonna spend a lot of time up here. Hey! How you doing? Norm, avatar driver.
-Hi. -Hey.
Link... Here's the link room right here.
This is where we're connecting to the avatar.
Me and Norm are here to drive
these remotely controlled bodies called avatars.
And they're grown from human DNA mixed with the DNA of the natives.
-Hey. Welcome. -Hey.
-Welcome to Pandora. Good to have you. -Thanks.
Damn! They got big.
Yeah, they fully mature on the flight out.
So the proprioceptive Sims seem to work really well.
Yeah, they've got great muscle tone.
It'll take us a few hours to get them decanted,
but you guys can take them out tomorrow.
There's yours.
Hey. Dr. Norm Spellman.
-Dr. Max Patel. Great to meet you. -Good to meet you, yeah.
Looks like him.
No, it looks like you.
This is your avatar now, Jake.
And the concept is that every driver is matched to his own avatar,
so that their nervous systems are in tune,
or something.
Which is why they offered me the gig, because I can link with Tommy's avatar,
which is insanely expensive.
Is this right? I just say whatever to the video log?
Yeah, we gotta get in the habit of documenting everything.
You know, what we see, what we feel.
-It's all part of the science. -And good science is good observation.
Plus it'll help to keep you sane for the next six years.
All right. Whatever.
So...
Well, here I am,
doing science.
They're coming out!
Attention. Drivers coming out of link.
Oh, God.
Where's the lab coat? Where's the lab coat?
Who's got my goddamn cigarette? Guys! What's wrong with this picture?
-Thank you! -Grace Augustine is a legend.
She's the head of the Avatar Program. She wrote the book,
I mean, literally wrote the book on Pandoran botany.
Well, that's 'cause she likes plants better than people.
Here she is, Cinderella back from the ball.
Grace, I'd like you to meet Norm Spellman and Jake Sully.
Norm. I hear good things about you. How's your Na'vi?
May the All Mother...
...smile upon our first meeting.
Not bad. You sound a little formal.
I studied for five years...
...but there is much to learn.
-Grace? This is Jake Sully. -Ma'am.
Yeah, yeah. I know who you are, and I don't need you. I need your brother.
You know, the PhD who trained for three years for this mission?
He's dead.
I know it's a big inconvenience for everyone.
-How much lab training have you had? -I dissected a frog once.
You see? You see? I mean, they're just pissing on us
without even the courtesy of calling it rain.
-I'm going to Selfridge. -No, Grace,
-I don't think that's a good idea. -No, man, this is such bullshit!
I'm gonna kick his corporate butt.
He has no business sticking his nose in my department.
Here tomorrow, 0800. Try and use big words.
Scorpion Two-Hotel, Hell's Gate tower. You are cleared for south departure.
Hover taxi, Delta runway. Squawk ident.
-You see that? -Yes, sir.
No, you didn't. You were looking at the monitor.
I love this putter, Ronnie! I love this putter.
Parker, you know, I used to think it was benign neglect,
but now I see that you're intentionally screwing me.
Grace, you know, I enjoy our little talks.
I need a researcher. Not some jarhead dropout.
Well, actually, I thought we got lucky with him.
-Lucky? -Yeah.
How is this in any way lucky?
Lucky your guy had a twin brother,
and lucky that brother wasn't some oral hygienist or something.
A Marine we can use.
I'm assigning him to your team as security escort.
The last thing I need is another trigger-happy moron out there!
Look, look, you're supposed to be winning the hearts
and the minds of the natives.
Isn't that the whole point of your little puppet show?
If you look like them and you talk like them,
then they'll start trusting us.
We build them a school, we teach them English,
but after, what, how many years?
Relations with the indigenous are only getting worse.
Yeah, that tends to happen when you use machine guns on them.
Right. Come here.
I can't... I can't...
This is why we're here. Unobtanium.
Because this little gray rock sells for 20 million a kilo.
That's the only reason. It's what pays for the whole party.
It's what pays for your science.
Now, those savages are threatening our whole operation,
we're on the brink of war,
and you're supposed to be finding a diplomatic solution.
So use what you've got, and get me some results.
So, how much link time have you logged?
-About 520 hours. -That's good.
You're in there. You're here. How much have you logged?
Zip. But I read a manual.
Tell me you're joking.
This is cool.
Let's go.
Don't. I got this.
So you just figured you'd come out here,
to the most hostile environment known to man,
with no training of any kind, and see how it went?
What was going through your head?
Maybe I was sick of doctors telling me what I couldn't do.
-Biometrics are good. -Link three is ready.
Keep your arms in, hands in, head down.
Down. Just relax and let your mind go blank.
That shouldn't be hard for you.
Kiss the darkest part of my lily white...
Initiate link.
Run sequence unit three. Go.
Launching.
I have the first congruency.
-That's a gorgeous brain. Nice activity. -Go figure.
Phase-lock 40%.
All right. Going in.
I'm going in in four.
Phase-lock 99%. Link is stable.
He's in. Jake, can you hear me? Can you hear me, Jake?
Pupillary reflex is good.
Pinna response normal. How you feeling, Jake?
Hey, guys.
Welcome to your new body, Jake.
Good!
Yeah, we're gonna take this nice and easy, Jake.
-And touch your thumb to your fingers. -Yeah.
-Thumb to your fingers. -No problem.
That's good. I can see you can remember that one.
-Got it. -Well, if you want to sit up,
-that's fine. -Okay, good. Just take it
nice and slow, Jake. Good. Okay, well, no truncal ataxia, that's good.
Are you feeling lightheaded or dizzy at all? You're wiggling your toes!
-Good. Good, Jake. -That's great.
Distal motor control is good. Good, Jake.
Are you feeling any numbness or pain?
That's great, Jake. Hold on, now.
Take it easy. Don't get ahead of yourself, okay?
There's a few more sensory motor reflex tests we need to run,
-so take it easy. -Wait.
-Jake. -Sit down, Jake.
Jake! Listen to me. Jake!
-I need you to sit down. Jake! -It's okay.
-Buddy, listen to me. -It's all good. I got this.
-Jake, you need to sit down right now. -Guys, get him back on the gurney now.
Listen to me. For your own safety, you need to sit down.
You need time to adjust to the avatar... Whoa! Jake!
-God, Jake, watch your tail. -Yeah!
Sedate! Sedate him! A thousand milligrams of Supitocam! Stat!
Guys! Guys! Whoa! Whoa!
By the numbers.
-Jake. Come on. -Jake! Listen to me.
You're not used to your avatar body.
-This is dangerous. -This is great.
-Jake? Jake, listen to me. -Come on. They're gonna put you out.
-Norm, sit down. -No, no. I gotta get out of these leads.
God damn it! Bring them home!
-Norm! Do not leave control! -You're not ready for it!
-Oh, come on, you ain't got no skills. -So close!
I don't even have to play defense on it.
Hey, guys. Hey.
-It's okay, I'll get him. -Jake, you have to come back!
Jake! Jake! Excuse me.
-Watch it! -Sorry!
Come on!
Jake! We're not supposed to be running!
-Jeez! Sorry. -Watch it!
Hey, Marine!
Damn.
-Grace? -Well, who'd you expect, numbnuts?
Think fast.
Motor control's looking good.
Come on, everybody, quiet down! All right, gang, lights out.
Come on, Louise, chop-chop.
Hey, hey, hey!
Don't play with that, you'll go blind.
That's kind of freaky.
Come on. Scat.
Good night.
Lights out! See you at dinner, kiddies.
Welcome back.
-You okay? You all right? -Yeah, I'm okay.
I'm Trudy. I fly all the science sorties. And this here is my baby.
Hold on a second.
Hey, Wainfleet! Get it done!
-We bounce at zero-nine. -Yeah, I'm on it, capitaine!
Vine strike's still loose.
You guys are packing some heavy gear.
Watch it!
Yeah, that's 'cause we're not the only thing flying around out there.
Or the biggest.
I'm gonna need you on a door gun. I'm a man short.
I thought you'd never ask.
There's your man. See you on the flight line.
You wanted to see me, Colonel?
This low gravity'll make you soft.
You get soft,
Pandora will shit you out dead with zero warning.
I pulled your record, Corporal.
Venezuela, that was some mean bush.
Nothing like this here, though.
You got some heart, kid, showing up in this neighborhood.
I figured it's just another hellhole.
I was First Recon myself.
A few years ahead of you. Well, maybe more than a few.
Three tours Nigeria, not a scratch.
I come out here?
Day one. Think I felt like a shavetail Louie?
Yeah. They could fix me up, if I rotated back.
Yeah, and make me pretty again. But you know what? I kind of like it.
It reminds me every day what's waiting out there.
The Avatar Program is a bad joke. Bunch of limp-dick science majors.
However, it does present an opportunity both timely and unique.
-Clear! -Clear!
A recon gyrene in an avatar body. That's a potent mix.
Give me the goose bumps.
Such a Marine could provide the Intel I need,
right on the ground.
Right in the hostiles' camp.
Look, Sully. I want you to learn these savages from the inside.
I want you to gain their trust.
I need to know how to force their cooperation
or hammer them hard if they won't.
-Am I still with Augustine? -On paper.
Yeah, you walk like one of her science pukes, you quack like one,
but you report to me.
Can you do that for me, son?
Hell, yeah, sir.
Well, all right, then.
Son, I take care of my own.
You get me what I need,
I'll see to it you get your legs back when you rotate home.
Your real legs.
That sounds real good, sir.
-Link's ready! -Phase-lock 40%.
Just keep your mouth shut and let Norm do the talking.
I have five congruencies. Phase-lock 90%.
Link three ready.
All right, I'm going in.
Shut it down. We're gonna stay a while.
-Norm! Your pack. -Pack.
Stay with the ship. One idiot with a gun is enough.
You the man, Doc.
Prolemuris. They're not aggressive.
Relax, Marine. You're making me nervous.
So, how will they know we're here?
I'm sure they're watching us right now.
-Keep moving, Norm. -Keep up, guys!
-And here I go. -Scanning.
Wow! It's that fast?
-Amazing, isn't it? -Yeah.
So, that is signal transduction from this root
to the root of the tree next to it. So, we should take a sample.
Okay. Sample.
You know, it's probably electrical, based on the speed of the reaction.
Norm, you've contaminated the sample with your saliva.
Right.
So, here I go.
Don't shoot. Don't shoot, you'll piss him off.
It's already pissed off.
Jake, that armor's too thick. Trust me.
It's a territorial threat display. Do not run, or he'll charge.
So, what do I do, dance with it?
Just hold your ground.
Yeah? Come on! What you got?
Oh, yeah. Who's bad? That's right.
Yeah, that's what I'm talking about, bitch.
That's right, get your punk ass back to mommy.
Yeah? Yeah, you got nothing. You keep running.
Yeah, and why don't you bring back some of your friends, huh?
Oh, shit.
So what about this one? Run? Don't run? What?
Run! Definitely run!
I'm gonna have to call it, guys.
We're not allowed to run night ops. Colonel's orders.
I'm sorry, Doc, he's just gonna have to hang on till morning.
He won't make it till morning.
I don't have all goddamn night.
Come on! Come on!
Hey, wait. Don't!
Great.
Look, I know you probably don't understand this,
but thank you.
Thank you.
That was pretty impressive.
I would have been screwed if you hadn't come along. It was...
Hey, wait a second. Hey, where you going?
Wait up!
Just... Hey, slow down.
Look, wait up, I just wanted to say thanks for killing those things.
-Damn! -Don't thank.
You don't thank for this.
This is sad. Very sad only.
Okay. Okay. I'm sorry.
Whatever I did, I am sorry.
All this is your fault. They did not need to die.
My fault? They attacked me. How am I the bad guy?
Your fault!
-Your fault! -Easy. Easy.
You're like a baby. Making noise, don't know what to do.
Easy.
Fine. Fine.
If you love your little forest friends,
why not let them just kill my ass?
What's the thinking?
-Why save you? -Yeah. Yeah, why save me?
You have a strong heart.
No fear.
But stupid! Ignorant like a child.
Well, if I'm like a child, then...
Look, maybe you should teach me.
Sky People cannot learn. You do not See.
Well, then teach me how to See.
-No one can teach you to See. -Whoa.
Look, come on, can't we talk?
Say, where'd you learn to speak English? Dr. Augustine's school?
You're like a baby.
I need your help.
You should not be here.
-Okay, take me with you. -No! Go back.
No.
Go back.
No!
What...
What are they?
Seeds of the Sacred Tree.
Very pure spirits.
What was that all about?
Come.
Come!
Where are we going?
Come.
What's your name?
Shit!
Okay.
Calm people, calm.
What are you doing, Tsu'tey?
These demons are forbidden here.
There has been a sign.
This is a matter for the Tsahik.
Bring him.
What's going on?
Wait.
What's happening?
Hey!
Father...
...I see you.
This creature...
...why do you bring him here?
I was going to kill him...
...but there was a sign from Eywa.
I have said...
...no dreamwalker will come here.
What's he saying?
His alien smell fills my nose.
Hey, what's he saying?
My father is deciding whether to kill you.
Your father. It's nice to meet you, sir.
Step back!
I will look at this alien.
That is Mother.
She is Tsahik. The one who interprets the will of Eywa.
Who's Eywa?
What are you called?
Jake Sully.
-Why did you come to us? -I came to learn.
We have tried to teach other Sky People.
It is hard to fill a cup which is already full.
Well, my cup is empty, trust me.
Just ask Dr. Augustine. I'm no scientist.
What are you?
I was a Marine. A...
A warrior of the Jarhead clan.
A warrior!
I could kill him easily!
No!
This is the first warrior dreamwalker...
...we have seen.
We need to learn more about him.
My Daughter...
...you will teach him our way...
...to speak and walk as we do.
Why me? That's not fair...
It is decided. My daughter will teach you our ways.
Learn well, Jakesully.
Then we will see if your insanity can be cured.
Good evening.
Please don't get up.
Excuse me.
Sorry.
Hey, how you doing?
-Jake. Jake! -He's in alpha.
-He's coming out right now. -Jake. Jake!
Come on back, kid. Come on. That's it.
There you go. There you go, there you go.
You're okay. You're okay.
Damn! You were dug in like a tick.
-ls the avatar safe? -Yeah, Doc.
And you are not gonna believe where I am.
The last thing we see is this Marine's ass
disappearing into the brush with this angry thanator coming after him.
-Hey, it's not something you can teach. -That is awesome.
You know, for reasons I cannot fathom,
the Omaticaya have chosen you. God help us all.
"Jarhead clan"?
-And it worked? -Hey, I'm practically family.
They're gonna study me. I have to learn to be one of them.
That's called taking the initiative, son.
-I wish I had 10 more like you. -Look, Sully. Sully.
Just find out what the blue monkeys want.
You know, I mean, we try to give them medicine, education, roads.
But no, no, no, they like mud.
And that wouldn't bother me, it's just that they're...
Hey, can you... Can somebody just... Sector 12.
Okay, go, go, go, stop. Stop...
Rich, stop! That's... Jesus!
Their damn village happens to be resting on the richest unobtanium deposit
within 200 klicks in any direction. I mean, look at all that cheddar!
-Well, who gets them to move? -Guess.
-What if they won't go? -I'm betting that they will.
Okay, okay, okay, okay, hey. Look. Look.
Killing the indigenous looks bad,
but there's one thing that shareholders hate more than bad press,
and that's a bad quarterly statement. I didn't make up the rules.
So just find me a carrot that'll get them to move,
otherwise it's gonna have to be all stick. Okay?
You got three months. That's when the 'dozers get there.
Well, we're wasting time.
I like this guy.
-Guys, right now... -Okay, let's run through them again.
Mo'at. Dragon lady.
-Eytucan. -Eytukan. He's the clan leader.
But she's the spiritual leader. Like a shaman.
Got it.
-T'su'tey. -Tsu'tey.
-He'll be the next clan leader.
-Neytiri. -She'll be the next Tsahik.
They become a mated pair.
-So who's this Eywa? -Who's Eywa?
Only their deity. Their goddess, made up of all living things.
Everything they know!
You'd know this if you had any training whatsoever.
Who's got a date with the chief's daughter?
-Come on. That's... -All right, knock it off, you two.
Let's go. Village life starts early.
Don't do anything unusually stupid.
Easy, boy.
Pale is female.
Okay. Easy, girl.
That is tsaheylu. The bond.
Feel her.
Feel her heartbeat. Her breath.
Feel her strong legs.
You may tell her what to do.
Inside.
For now, say where to go.
Forward!
-You should go away. -No, you'd miss me.
I knew you could speak English.
This alien will learn nothing...
...a rock sees more...
...look at him.
Again.
If you want to hit this thing, it's gonna be complicated.
Your scan doesn't show the internal structure.
There's an outer row of columns.
Real heavy duty. There's a secondary ring here,
and an inner ring. There's a core structure like a spiral.
That's how they move up and down.
We're gonna need accurate scans on every column.
Roger that.
What else can you tell us about the structure?
I'm guessing this secondary ring, that's also load-bearing.
-So where are we going? -Getting out of Dodge.
I'm not about to let Selfridge and Quaritch micro-manage this thing.
There's a mobile link up at Site 26 we can work out of,
way up in the mountains.
The Hallelujah Mountains?
-That's right. -Are you serious?
-Yeah. -Yes!
The legendary floating mountains of Pandora. Heard of them?
We're getting close.
Yeah, look at my instruments.
Yep. We're in the Flux Vortex.
We're VFR from here on.
What's VFR?
Means you gotta see where you're going.
-You can't see anything. -Exactly. Ain't that a bitch?
Oh, my God.
You should see your faces.
Thank you for flying Air Pandora.
Welcome to camp.
-So, this is my bunk. -This stuff is nasty.
-Norm, go under. -All right.
-Grace didn't miss a thing. -Trudy, you'll take the top one.
She knew I was talking to the Colonel.
But I had what she needed, a way back in with the clan,
so she's playing nice.
All right. Jake, hang a left. You'll be in the link at the end.
Unit one. Beulah. She's the least glitchy.
Holy shit!
Do not look in her eye.
Ikran is not horse.
Once tsaheylu is made,
ikran will fly with only one hunter in the whole life.
To become taronyu, hunter,
you must choose your own ikran and he must choose you.
-When? -When you are ready.
Okay. This is video log 12.
Time's 2132.
Do I have to do this now? I really need to get some rack.
No, now. When it's fresh.
Okay, location, shack,
and the days are starting to blur together.
The language is a pain, but, you know,
I figure it's like field-stripping a weapon. Just repetition, repetition.
-Na vi. - "Nari. "
-Nari. - "Narrri"!
Narrri!
Txur ni'ul. Stronger.
Neytiri calls me skxawng. It means moron.
This is a very important part of it.
-Norm 's attitude has improved lately. -I see you. I see you.
But it's not just, "I'm seeing you in front of me,"
it's "l see into you. I See you."
It's good he's back on board, but he thinks I'm a skxawng, too.
"I'm accepting you. I understand you." So you gotta get this, okay?
I gotta run! Okay? Let's go.
My feet are getting tougher. I can run farther every day.
I have to trust my body to know what to do.
OCR, Spellchecked by Ikatic