"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." "They can fix a spinal, if you got the money, but not on vet benefits, not in this economy." "A VA check and 12 bucks will get you a cup of coffee." "I'm what they call... waitlisted." "The Bengal Tiger, extinct for over a century is making a comeback." "These cloned tiger cubs at the Beijing Zoo are the latest of a number of species that have been cloned back into existence in the past five years." "I became a marine for the hardship." "To be hammered on the anvil of life." "I told myself I can pass any test a man can pass." "Jake!" "Jake!" "Jake!" "Jake!" "Jake!" "Let's get it straight, upfront." "I don't want your pity." "You want a fair deal, you're on the wrong planet." "The strong prey on the weak." "That's just the way things are." "And nobody does a damn thing." "Get off!" "Get off of him!" "All I ever wanted in my sorry-ass life was a single thing worth fighting for." "I hope you realized you just lost yourself a customer." "Candy-ass bitch." "If it ain't raining, we ain't training." " It doesn't look like him." " It's him." "You Jake Sully?" "Step off." "You're ruining my good mood." "It's about your brother." "We're looking for Sully, T." "In there." "Jesus, Tommy." "The strong prey on the weak." "A guy with a knife took all Tommy would ever be for the paper in his wallet." "The concern of the suits was touching." "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." "You could do something important." "You can make a difference." "And the pay is good." "Very good." "Tommy was the scientist, not me." "He was the one who wanted to get shot light-years out in space to find the answers." "Me, I was just another dumb grunt getting sent someplace he was gonna regret." "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." "Are we there yet?" "Yeah, we're there, sunshine." "We're there." "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 provided for your convenience." "The staff thanks you in advance." "Up ahead was Pandora." "You grew up hearing about it, but I never figured I'd be going there." "Valkyrie 1-6, copy..." "Valkyrie 1-6, you are clear for de-orbit burn at 2-2-4-niner." "Copy, Venture Star." "Go for de-orbit burn at 2-2-4-niner." " 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." "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." "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 RR 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-Iock 40%." "All right." "Going in." "I'm going in in four." "Phase-Iock 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-Iock 40%." "Just keep your mouth shut and let Norm do the talking." "I have five congruencies." "Phase-Iock 90%." "Link three ready." "All right, I'm going in." "Sturmbeest herd coming up on your right." "Got it!" "Thanks." "Looks like a bull, a dozen cows and some juveniles." "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." "This was our school." "Now it's just... storage." "The kids were so bright." "Eager to learn." "They picked up English faster than I could teach it." "So, we'll take a couple of these Ph monitors and a soil probe." "That little yellow case back there." "The old microscope." "Here." "Oh, yeah." "I love this one." "The stingbats knocked them down." "I keep hoping someone will come back in and read them." "Why don't they come back?" "The Omaticaya..." "learned as much about us as they needed to." "What happened here?" "Are you going to help us with this gear?" "We've got a lot to do." " 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."