neural connection is made.
NEYTIRI
Ikran is not horse. Once shahaylu is
made
ikran will fly with only one Hunter
in the whole life.
She climbs smoothly onto the animal’s back.
60.
NEYTIRI
To become taronyu -- Hunter -- you must
choose your own ikran. And he must choose
you.
JAKE
When?
NEYTIRI
When you are ready.
The BANSHEE shivers with anticipation.
NEYTIRI
Heeyaaahh!
Jake ducks as the great wings EXPLODE OPEN and the banshee
DROPS off the branch. It swoops down across the forest
canopybanks hardlets out a CRY and beats its wings in a
power climb.
Completing the bankNeytiri directs the banshee into a close
SWOOPING FLYBYand Jake instinctively ducks.
ON NEYTIRI -- flying in perfect fusion with her winged mount
the rainforest rolling beneath her.
CUT TO:
INT. SHACK - NIGHT/EXT
STEREO VIDEO-LOG IMAGE -- Jake has just switched on the
camera. He looks tired.
JAKE
Do I have to do this? I need some rack.
GRACEbehind himlooks up from her MICROSCOPEscowling.
GRACE
No -- nowwhen it’s fresh.
JAKE
Yeahyeah.
(to camera)
The days are starting to blur together.
The language is a bitchbut I figure
it’s like field-stripping a weapon.
Repetition.
THIS THROWS US INTO A TEACHING MONTAGE:
JAKE AND NEYTIRI kneel together inside Hometree. Neytiri
touches her lips with her fingertips.
61.
JAKE
Seyri.
She touches her noseher earsher eyes in quick sequence.
JAKE
Ontumikyunnari.
NEYTIRI stands next to himcorrecting his position as he
draws a longbow.
BARKING commandsshe SMACKS him on the shoulderthen the
elbowrepositioning him roughly.
JAKE (V.O.)
Neytiri thinks I’m some kind of retard.
HUMAN JAKE emerges from the LINK to see --
TRUDY and NORM caught IN THE ACT on Norm’s bunk. Norm blushes
and Trudy wavespulling the blanket over their heads.
JAKE (V.O.)
Norm’s attitude has improved lately.
NORM works with JAKE at the small table in the SHACK kitchen.
NORM
Thank you?
JAKE
Ireiyo.
Norm comically exaggerates the pronunciation.
NORM
Irrrreiyo. Irrrreiyo. You’ve gotta roll
the Rr-r-r-oll it.
Norm makes Jake repeat the wordgetting more frustrated.
JAKE (V.O.)
It’s good he’s back on boardbut he
thinks I’m a retard too.
TRACKING WITH JAKE’S FEET as he runs over rocksleaping onto
a thick rootrunning on across the rough bark.
JAKE (V.O.)
My feet are getting tougher. I can run
farther every day.
62.
Neytiri leads him along a massive rootand soon they are
running 30 meters above the ground.
He sprints with her through the treestrying to keep up.
She CLIMBS and LEAPS with the ease of a spider monkey.
JAKE (V.O.)
I have to trust my body to know what to
do. With Neytiri it’s learn fast or die.
Neytiri LEAPS off into spacefallingfalling until --
She catches an enormous palm leaf andgripping itallows
its DROOP to slow her fall. She lets goplummetingand
catches another.
JAKE FOLLOWS in a leap of faith. THE CAMERA PLUNGES with
himfrom leaf to leafdown and down in a dizzying kinetic
rush.
He drops down from the last leaflanding next to her on a
game trail. He is exhilarated to still be alive.
Neytiri is surprised -- that he followed. That he lived.
TIGHT ON HUMAN JAKEin the shack. Thinking as he looks at
the pictures of Grace with the laughing kids at the school.
IN THE COMMONS -- AVATAR NORM formally greets MO’AT. The
Matriarch looks on as GRACE kneels to hug children she knows.
Grace’s eyes sparkle as she chats with them in Na’vi.
JAKE (V.O.)
I sweet-talked Mo'at into giving Norm and
Grace a hall pass. Now Grace even makes
me coffee before link every morning.
Grace looks up to see Neytiri approaching. It is an awkward
moment between them. Grace makes the formal gesture of
greeting.
GRACE
(Na’visubtitled)
I See youNeytiri Mo’at’ite.
NEYTIRI
I See youDoctor Grace Augustine.
ANOTHER DAY -- NEYTIRI kneels on a game trailpointing out
the tracks in the mud to Jake. She touches the edges of the
plants around herand sniffs the air.
63.
JAKE (V.O.)
I’m learning to read the trailsthe
tracks at the water-holethe tiniest
scents and sounds.
JAKE AND NEYTIRI watch through a screen of leaves as --
A HERD of hugearmored
STURMBEEST walks through the shallows
of a lake. In the middle of the herdthe babies are
sheltered from predators among their parents' legs.
One of the BULLS trumpetsand a flock of TETRAPTERONS takes
flightan explosion of purple wings.
Jake stares at the strange and wild alien tableau.
ANOTHER PLACE -- NEYTIRI STANDS utterly stillexcept for her
earswhich move with a life of their own. Her eyes are
closed. She speaks very softly to Jake --
NEYTIRI
When you hear nothingyou will hear
everything. When you see nothingyou
will See everything.
JAKE (V.O.)
Sometimes I have no idea what she’s
talking about.
Jake and Neytiri creep quietlystalking a large male
HEXAPEDE -- a six legged deer-like creature.
Jake expertly nocks an arrow and draws his bow as Neytiri
watches. He takes a bead on the hexapede -- tracks it for a
beat with the drawn bowthen RELAXES his arm. Zen archery.
JAKE (V.O.)
It’s been a month and I’m still not
allowed to make a kill. She says the
forest hasn’t given permission.
OMIITED
NEYTIRI and JAKE crawl through the undergrowth. She points
and he parts some leaves to see --
A MOTHER VIPERWOLF bringing meat to her cubswhich frisk
around her legs. She licks their faces.
JAKE (V.O.)
There’s a lot of crap like that. She’s
always going on about the flow of energy--
the spirits of the animals and what not --
64.
VIDEO-LOG IMAGE -- HUMAN JAKE talks into the lens. He’s
changing -- un-shavencheeks hollow. Pale.
JAKE
(smirking)
I just hope this treehugger shit isn’t on
the final.
Visible behind himGrace is hunched over her samples.
GRACE
(without looking up)
This isn’t just about eye-hand
coordination out there. You need to
listen to what she says. Try to see the
forest through their eyes.
JAKE
Excuse me -- this is my video-log here
okay?
NEYTIRI AND JAKE move through the NIGHT FORESTsurrounded by
galaxies of shimmering bioluminescence. They move
gracefullysoundlessly -- two forest spirits.
CU JAKE -- the pupils of his cat eyes dilated. The night
forest floods his brain with its million bio-sources.
NIGHT SHOTfrom overhead -- Jake and Neytiri bow-fishing
from a dugout canoe over huge glowing ANEMONES at the bottom
of a pool.
A large fish swims silhouetted against the pastel glow. ZAP!
Jake drills it. He holds up the fishtriumphantly.
ANOTHER DAY -- Neytiri stands close behind Jakeadjusting
his position as he draws his bow. Only now her hands are
GENTLE as they move on his armshis shoulders.
Aware of her touchJake’s focus is broken. Their eyes meet
and she pulls away quickly.
NIGHT -- they enter a CLEARING filled with chest-high ferns.
Neytiri signals him to move slowly. They approach a creature
on one of the ferns. An uglystick-like LIZARD-THING
perched on a frond. As he approaches --
SNAP! A long spine whips in a circleunfurling a
bioluminescent membrane -- a disk a meter acrossopening
like a Chinese fan. It FLIES OFFa living Frisbee.
THE FAN LIZARD FLOATS across the clearing.
65.
Neytiri plunges among the ferns with a SHARP CRY. An
EXPLOSION OF COLOR as dozens of FAN LIZARDS take flight.
Grinning widelyshe hops around like a little girluntil
they are all flying. And for the first timeshe is
unguarded and joyfultotally herself with him.
INSIDE THE LINK -- Jake’s eyes open in the darkness. He
doesn’t know where he is. He weakly pushes open the lid
blinking at the light.
JAKE (V.O.)
Everything is backwards now. Like out
there is the true worldand in here is
the dream.
TIGHT ON AVATAR JAKE silently drawing his bowhis eyes
focused in intense concentration. A beat -- the arrow flies.
JAKE PULLS the arrow from the twitching body of a hexapede.
He dispatches it with his knife.
He speaks haltinglybut with feelingin Na’vi.
JAKE
(Na’vi)
I See you Brotherand thank you. Your
spirit goes with Eywayour body stays
behind to become part of the People.
NEYTIRI watches with approval.
NEYTIRI
A clean kill. You are ready.
CUT TO:
INT. SHACK - NIGHT
Lying in the linkJake looks exhaustedpalethin. Norm
helps Grace get him to his chair.
GRACE
You’re still losing weight. Here --
She hands him a microwaved burrito. He looks at the now alien
food. Bites into it without enthusiasm.
JAKE
I made a kill today. We ate it. I know
where that meal came from.
66.
GRACE
Other body. You need to take care of
this body.
JAKE
Yeah yeah.
GRACE
JakeI’m serious -- you look like crap.
You’re burning too hard.
Jake takes the cigarette out of her mouth and stubs it out.
JAKE
Get rid of this shitthen you can
lecture me.
GRACE
I’m telling youas your boss and someone
who might even consider being a friend
somedayto take some down time.
JAKE
Not now. Tomorrow we leave for Iknimaya.
GRACE walks past Jakestarts making herself coffee.
GRACE
Yeah -- you’re gonna go ride a banshee.
Or die trying.
JAKE
That’s rightGrace. This is what I’ve
been working for.
GRACE
And this is your check up from the neck
upMarine. You’re getting in way too
deep.
(she turns away)
Trust meI learned the hard way.
Jake scans the pictures tacked up around Grace’s workstation.
JAKE
What did happen at the school?
GRACE looks up from making coffee. Her eyes track across the
pictures of the laughing children. Finally --
67.
GRACE
Neytiri’s sister -- Sylwanin -- stopped
coming to school. She was angry about
the clear-cutting.
GRACE sips her coffeegrimaces at the taste.
GRACE
One dayshe and a couple of other young
hunters came running inall painted up --
they’d set a bulldozer on fire -- I guess
they thought I could protect them.
GRACE’S voice stays oddly CALM as he tells this terrible
storywhile getting MILK out of the refrigerator.
GRACE
The troopers pursued them to the
schoolhouse.
MACRO as she pours the milk -- her hand is SHAKING.
GRACE
They killed Sylwanin in the doorway.
Right in front of Neytiri. Then shot the
others.
(mildly)
I got most of the kids outbefore they
shot me.
JAKE
Jesus.
GRACE
Yeah.
Jake realizes that Grace is on the verge of tears and
desperately trying to hide it.
GRACE
A scientist stays objective -- we can not
be ruled by emotion. But I poured ten
years of my life into that school. They
called me sa’atenuk. Mother.
(turning to him)
That kind of pain reaches back through
the link.
GRACE sits down at the tablelooks intently at Jake.
GRACE
It’s a job. Learn what you can -- but
don’t get attached.
68.
GRACE looks at him with real PAIN in her eyes.
GRACE
It’s not our worldJake. And we can’t
stop what’s coming.
CUT TO:
EXT. MOUNTAIN TRAIL - DAY
TSU’TEY leads three direhorse riders up the trail -- two
TEENAGE HUNTERS and JAKEwho’s riding well enough to keep
up. The horses’ hooves CLOP right next to a sheer drop into a
misty canyon.
JAKE (V.O.)
Iknimaya translates roughly as stairway
to heaven. It’s the test every young
hunter has to pass.
TSU’TEY signals a stop.
UP-SLOPE AHEAD is an astounding formation. Thick vine-like
trees have trapped large FLOATING BOULDERS of UNOBTANIUM in
their gnarled grip.
A hundred meters above them more boulders are WOVEN into the
twisted vine-trunks. This is some sort of freak natural
occurrence -- like the mythical beanstalkgoing up into the
clouds.
There is a THUNDERING ROARlike an artillery barrageand
the ground SHAKES. Jake looks around at --
One of the FLOATING MOUNTAINS grinding against the flank of a
nearby mesa. A huge rockfall is set loose. The mountain is
drifting toward themfilling half the sky.
The Hunters dismount.
JAKE looks up at the beanstalk going into the clouds. He
turns to Tsu’teywho is checking the young hunters’ gear.
JAKE
We doin’ this?
Jake leaps to catch up as Tsu’tey and the hunters swarm up
the base of the beanstalk.
CUT TO:
69.
EXT. BEANSTALK - DAY
200 METERS up the BEANSTALKthe hunters nimbly climb along
the vine-trunks. They clamber over one of the unobtanium
BOULDERS which is lifting this incredible tree.
JAKE looks down -- the massive trunk dwindles to the size of
a licorice stick. A chunk breaks off a boulder as he climbs
over it -- it floats upward.
They reach the upper branches of the beanstalk. Above them
the craggy underbelly of MONS Veritatis looms. Spray from
one of the waterfalls hits them.
Some of the HANGING VINES are brushing over the upper
branches of the beanstalk with a crackling hiss.
One by one the hunters grab onto vines as they pass.
Jake shrugs and leaps to a passing vinehis feet dangling
over nothingness. They climb toward the floating islands
above.
EXT. MONS VERITATIS - DAY
TINY FIGURES cross a causeway of vines connecting a small
island of unobtanium to the main mass of Mons Veritatis.
WIDE SHOT looking down a rock face bigger than Half Dome --
the sheer side of Mons Veritatis.
Banshees circle next to the cliffsflashing in shafts of
sunlight. Waterfalls dissolve into nothingness below.
EXT. GROTTO/BANSHEE ROOKERY - DAY
A waterfall THUNDERS down into the void like a faucet of the
gods. Jake looks down the sheer cliff at the world far below
-- a view from Olympus.
A SHRIEK and the THWAP THWAP of leathery wings -- NEYTIRI’S
BANSHEE swoops in to perch at the edge of the grotto. She
