arrivals watch raptly as he paces like a panther across the
front of the large cafeteria. He stopsstance wide.
Without his maskwe see that Quaritch’s features are rugged
and handsomeexcept for the SCARwhich runs from scalp to
jaw down one side of his face. On one hip he carries a very
large PISTOL.
QUARITCH
... You are on Pandoraladies and
gentlemen. Respect that fact every second
of every day.
9.
JAKE ROLLS INwatching from the back.
COLONEL QUARITCH raises his hand and points out the window
toward the dark treeline.
QUARITCH
Out beyond that fence every living thing
that crawlsflies or squats in the mud
wants to kill you and eat your eyes for
jujubees.
The room gets very quiet.
QUARITCH
We have an indigenous population of
humanoids here called the Na’vi. They’re
fond of arrows dipped in a neurotoxin
which can stop your heart in one minute.
We operate -- we live -- at a constant
threat condition yellow.
PAN ACROSS the solid faces of minersCat-machine drivers
engineersgeologistsas they take that in.
QUARITCH
As head of securityit’s my job to keep
you alive. I will not succeed --
(pausing for effect)
-- not with all of you. If you wish to
surviveyou need a strong mental
attitudeyou need to follow procedure...
PUSH IN ON JAKEwatching as the briefing continues.
JAKE (V.O.)
Nothing like an old-school safety brief
to put your mind at ease.
CUT TO:
INT. CORRIDOR
People are roaming in both directionslooking for rooms
lugging duffels and cases.
An eager young XENOANTHROPOLOGISTstaggering under an
overpacked duffelruns to catch up to Jake.
NORM
Heyyou’re Jake right? Tom’s brother?
You look just like him.
(off Jake’s wary look)
SorryI’m Norm SpellmanI went through
avatar training with him.
10.
Norm offers his hand and Jake shakes it.
NORM
He was a great guy -- funny. It was a
big shock to all of us.
JAKE
Yeah.
Jake pumps the wheels of his chairrolling on. Norm walks
with him.
NORM
And duh! -- obviously you look like him.
I meanif you weren’t genetically
identicalyou wouldn’t be taking over
his avatar.
JAKE
That’s why I’m here.
NORM
So -- you want to go check it out?
CUT TO:
INT. BIO-LAB - DAY
JAKE AND NORM enter the BIO-LAB -- a large lab complex with
many adjoining rooms.
MAX
Me and Norm were out here to drive these
remotely controlled bodies called
avatars. They’re grown from human DNA
mixed with DNA from the natives here.
A scientist
DOCTOR MAX CULLIMOREis supervising the
uncrating of two SHIPPING CONTAINERS. The nearer has the
sides removedrevealing -- a ceiling-height acrylic TANK.
Norm stops to stareand Jake rolls past him as if drawn by
some unseen forcetoward --
THE AMNIO TANK. There is a FIGURE floating lanquidly inside
which looks like a man. A very largevery
blueman.
Blood circulates through a synthetic UMBILICAL in the
abdomen. As the figure turns in the amniotic fluidwe see
that it has a lemur-like TAIL. The skin is cyan-blue. Long
black hair driftsgraceful as seaweed.
JAKE
Damn. They got big.
11.
NORM
Yeahthey mature on the trip out.
(to Max)
So the proprioceptive sims worked pretty
well.
MAX
Yeahthey’ve got great muscle tone. Give
us a few hoursyou guys can take them
for a spin.
THE FIGURE’S sleeping face turns toward usand the features
are -- despite feline ears and a long feral snout --
definitely JAKE’S.
JAKE
It looks like him.
NORM
Noit looks like
you. This is your
avatar nowJake.
ON JAKEmesmerized as he stares into the tank.
JAKE (V.O.)
The idea is -- every driver is matched to
his own avatar --
STEREOCAM VIDEO SHOT OF JAKE -- facing the cameratalking
directly to the lens. JAKE’S VOICE-OVER up until now has
been part of this VIDEOLOG.
JAKE
-- so their nervous systems are in tune.
Or something. Which is why they offered
me this gigbecause I can link with
Tommy’s avatarwhich was insanely
expensive.
(looking off camera)
Is this right? I just say whatever in
these videologs?
WIDERshowing Norm working nearby with Max.
NORM
Yeah. You just need to get in the habit
of documenting everything -- what you
seewhat you feel -- it’s all part of
the science. Good science starts with
good observation.
12.
JAKE
Right.
(to camera)
Sowhatever. Here I am. Doing science.
(looks around)
Never been in a lab before.
MAX
Log off. It’s time to meet your boss for
the next five years.
He leads Jake and Norm through the short corridor to the --
CUT TO:
INT. LINK ROOM - DUSK
The LINK ROOM contains a dozen PSIONIC LINK UNITSwhich look
like coffins crossed with MRI scanners.
NORM
Grace Augustine is a legend. She's the
head of the Avatar Programand she wrote
the book -- I mean literally wrote the
book -- on Pandoran botany.
MAX
(lowover his shoulder)
That's because she likes plants better
than people.
DR. GRACE AUGUSTINE sits up in her linkstretching and
cracking her neck after a long session. She’s fiftywith a
strong face and fiercely intelligent eyes.
GRACE
(yelling)
Who’s got my goddamn cigarette?!
A TECH scurries to bring it to heralready lit. Around here
they jump when Grace barks.
Grace standsscowlingas JakeNorm and Max approach.
MAX
And here she isCinderella back from the
ball. GraceI’d like you to meet Norm
Spellman and Ja --
GRACE
Norm. I hear good things about you.
How's your Na'vi?
13.
NORM
(Na'visubtitled)
May the All Mother smile upon our first
meeting.
Grace nods approvinglytaking a drag on her cigarette.
GRACE
(subtitled)
Not bad. You sound a little formal.
NORM
(subtitled)
There is still much to learn.
Jake waits while they ignore himchattering in fluent Na’vi.
MAX
UhGracethis is Jake S----
GRACE
(turning to Jake)
YeahyeahI know who you areand I
don’t need you. I need your brother.
(to Max)
You know -- the PhD who trained three
years for this mission.
JAKE
He’s dead. I know it’s a big
inconvenience to everyone.
GRACE
How much lab training have you had? Ever
run a gas chromatograph?
JAKE
No.
GRACE
Any actual lab work at all?
JAKE
High school chemistry. But I ditched.
Grace wheels on Max.
GRACE
You see? You see? They’re pissing on us
without even the courtesy of calling it
rain.
(turning away)
I’m going to Selfridge.
14.
She shoves past Jake.
MAX
Gracethat’s not a good idea.
But she’s already out the door and clomping down the
corridor. Max turns to Jake with a pained look.
MAX
Heretomorrowoh eight hundred. Try to
use big words.
CUT TO:
INT. OPS CENTER - DUSK
It looks like an air-traffic control towerwith lots of
screens and bay windows showing the whole complex.
ADMINISTRATOR PARKER SELFRIDGE takes a ball from a newly
opened case of TITLEISTS and sets it on the floor. Selfridge
is youngcharismaticfocused. Some would say ruthless.
He assumes the stance and lines up his putttoward a
practice cup across the control room floor. He glances up as
Grace strides toward him.
GRACE
ParkerI used to think it was benign
neglectbut now I see you’re
intentionally screwing us.
SELFRIDGE
Grace. You know I enjoy our little
talks.
GRACE
I need a research assistantnot some
jarhead dropout.
Selfridge looks down and hits the ball.
Grace kicks the practice cup asideand the ball rolls past.
Selfridge looks at her with a sigh.
SELFRIDGE
Actuallywe got lucky with him.
GRACE
Lucky? How is this in any way lucky?
As Selfridge saunters over to retrieve the ball --
15.
SELFRIDGE
Well -- lucky your guy had a twin
brotherand lucky the brother wasn’t an
oral hygienist or something. A Marine we
can use. I’m assigning him to your team
as security escort.
GRACE
The last thing I need is another trigger
happy asshole out there!
SELFRIDGE
Lookyou’re supposed to be winning the
hearts and minds of the natives. Isn’t
that the whole point of your little
puppet show? If you look like themif
you talk like themthey’ll trust you?
Selfridge crosses to his officebehind a glass wall nearby.
Grace follows.
SELFRIDGE
But after -- how many years? -- relations
with the indigenous are only getting
worse.
GRACE
That tends to happen when you use machine
guns on them.
On Selfridge’s desk is a magnetic baseand hovering in mid-
airin the invisible fieldis a lump of METALLIC ROCK.
Pure UNOBTANIUM. He grabs it and holds it up between thumb
and forefingerin front of Grace’s eyes.
SELFRIDGE
This is why we’re here. Unobtanium.
Because this little gray rock sells for
twenty million a kilo. No other reason.
This is what pays for the party. And
it’s what pays for your science.
Comprendo?
He places it back in the magnetic field.
SELFRIDGE
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.
CUT TO:
16.
INT. LINK ROOM - DAY
NEXT MORNINGGRACENORM and JAKE approach their link units.
Jake glances through a PRESSURE WINDOW. In an adjoining
chamber (the AMBIENT ROOM) JAKE’S AVATAR lies on a gurney
breathing slowly in PANDORAN AIR. NORM’S AVATAR is on a
second gurney. Both are attended by med techs in exo-masks.
Norm slips into his LINK CHAIRexpertly donning biometric
sensors.
GRACE
How much link time have you logged?
NORM
Five hundred and twenty hours.
Grace looks pointedly at Jake.
JAKE
Like -- an hour.
GRACE
Tell me you’re joking.
Grace opens the hood of Jake’s link unit. Jake starts
hauling himself across from his wheelchair. She reaches to
help him but --
JAKE
Don’t! I got this.
Grace steps backhands raised. He drags himself into the
unit.
GRACE
So you just figured you’d come out here
to the most hostile environment known to
manwith no training of any kindand
see how it went? What was going through
your head?
He meets her eyes with a defiant glare.
JAKE
Maybe I was just tired of doctors telling
me what I couldn’t do.
Grace watches him laboriously pull his inert legs into the
link chair by hand.
17.
Jake settles into the warm fluid gel packs lining the unit.
It seems to enfold him. Grace adjusts his biometric sensors
then lowers the UPPER CLAMSHELL --
GRACE
Relax and let your mind go blank. That
shouldn’t be hard for you.
JAKE
Kiss the darkest part of my lily white --
But the SLAMMING HOOD muffles the rest.
MAX
Initiate link.
The LINK TECH touches some controls.
ON A LARGE MONITOR a 3D SCAN of Jake’s brain appears.
Regions of activity flow with complex shifting colors.
MAX
That’s a gorgeous brain. Nice activity.
GRACE
Go figure.
(walking away)
AlrightI’m going in.
TECH
Phase-lock at forty percent. He’s in
transition.
Max watches a display showing the avatar’s nervous system
aligning with Jake’s -- two ghostly networks of light
merging.
MAX
That’s it. Find your way home.
ECU JAKEinside the link unit. His eyes move under the
lidslike a dreamer in REM sleep as --
INSIDE JAKE’S MIND -- radiant streamers coalesce into a
pulsing TUNNEL OF LIGHT and --
THE SCREEN FLARES WHITE -- ZZZWHAP! -- resolving into an
overexposedout-of-focus image -- two BLURRY FACES wearing
maskslooking down.
ECU JAKE’S AVATAR -- two very intense eyes FILL FRAMEthe
pupils contracting. Golden irises pulse with life.
18.
MAX
He’s in.
TECH
Phase-lock ninety nine percent. The link
is stable.
BlinkingJake slowly sits up on the gurney. He looks down
at his AVATAR BODYtouching his chest with one hand.
MAX
Take it slowJake. We need to check
your motor control. Try touching your
fingertips together --
But Jake isn’t listening. He’s staring at his legs. He
eases them off the gurney and --
HIS BLUE FEET touch the concrete floortaking his weight.
JAKE STANDSfeeling the strength in his legs. His
expression is child-like with wonder.
HIS POV -- looking down at the med techswho seem the size
of children next to his 9’ tall frame.
He sees something like a blue tentacle curl across his arm
and he JERKS AROUND in alarm. HIS TAIL.
As he turns to see itthe tail sweeps instruments off a
table with a crash. Jake laughs and grins at Max.
MED TECH
EasyJakeI need you to sit down --
But Jake takes a stepthen another. The wires to the bio-
monitors pull tautand he yanks them off his chest.
MAX
Jake! Waitwe have to run some tests --
But Jake pushes past the protesting med techstoward the
door and --
EXT. AVATAR COMPOUND - DAY
Jake emergesblinking in the morning sun. He finds himself
in the AVATAR COMPOUND -- a living and training area.
Nearbya couple of AVATARS are playing one-on-one in front
of a (non-regulation height) basketball net. Others go about
their daily activities around the compound.
19.
Jake flexes his legs -- JUMPS -- and lands a little
unsteadilybut his expression is joyful.
He takes a few steps and breaks into a RUN. People are
calling to himsomehwerebut he doesn’t hear them -- he’s
running. RUNNING!
He finds himself in the COMPOUND GARDENand stops amid
neatly tended rows of ALIEN PLANTS. He looks downwiggling
his toes in the warm soil. Then inhales deeply -- revelling
in the alien smells -- earthplantsthe nearby forest. He
looks at his bare footprint in the soil of an alien world.
GRACE (O.S.)
