1: Hello, Sunshine

15.7K 383 203
                                    

You awoke from a dreamless sleep in a small compartment with blue light. You could hear monitors beeping and you tried to focus on something, anything. That's when you focused on a floating water bubble.

Ah, yes. You've been asleep for six years. Didn't feel like it though, more like a deep sleep after a rough day. Growing up, you would've never thought you would get shot lightyears out into space.

Your compartment opened and you realized you were strapped down. You looked around and saw a lot of other compartments with a light blue lighting. Then a random person, a nurse perhaps, came up to you. They were floating above you. "Hello," you said, surprised to have your voice intact.

"Hello, sunshine," she replied, you smiled. She looked at your arm and eyes to make sure you were okay and left.

You have been studying and preparing recently. You were an illustrator and writer and that was what you were here to do. You were one of the best at what you do so you were granted special privileges.

"You've been in cryo for five years, nine months, and 22 days," you heard someone call out. "You will be hungry." Like usual. "You will be weak. If you feel nausea, please use the sacks..."

You wandered over to your locker, trying to work with the low gravity. You opened one that said: (your initial) Eastwood. Not much there.

You had to admit you were nervous yet excited, Pandora was something you grew up hearing about. You had lost your family years ago and left nothing behind on Earth. Pandora was a fresh start.

You were sent down on a plane with scientists. You held on tight to the chair. You were somewhat lazy and hadn't learned too much about Pandora. Your job was to turn what the scientists were learning into a readable piece of information. All before you had just watched the video logs and read notes to do so. You, however, would get a different experience.

You put on your mask and walked out into what looked like a military base. You watched marines jogging about. There were huge trucks with large arrows stuck to the wheels. Probably the Na'vi. They didn't like humans; they had a good reason not to.

You found yourself next to a tall and thin man with brown hair and green eyes. "I'm Y/N Eastwood." you said, sticking out your hand.

"Norman Spellman," he said, shaking your hand. "You can call me Norm."

"It's a pleasure," you smiled.

"Likewise." You decided to stick by him and he made the same decision. You were led to a lunch room and sat down. Then a buff man with a large scar started speaking.

"You're not in Kansas anymore," he said, walking down the middle. "You are on Pandora, ladies and gentlemen. Respect that fact every second of every day. If there is a hell, you might wanna go there for some R&R after a tour on Pandora." He reached the end and turned around. "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."

You looked at Norm and shrugged, it's not like you didn't know. You then noticed a man in a wheelchair and tapped Norm to show him. He nodded and seemed to recognize him.

"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..."

"A little boring, don't you think?" You whispered to Norm. He nodded.

You walked out and Norm rushed to the man on the wheelchair, you trailed behind him. "Excuse me," he said as he pushed through the crowd. "Excuse me. Jake!" We came up behind him. "You're Jake, right? Tom's brother. Wow! You look just like him." The man, Jake, made no reply. "Sorry, I'm Norm. Spellman. I went through avatar training with him." He shook his hand.

"And I'm Y/N Eastwood, I don't know you're brother," you said with a smile. "Pleasure." You shook his hand as well.

Norm talked with him a bit until you reached the bio lab. "We're gonna spend a lot of time up here," he said. He noticed a scientist there. "Hey. How you doing? Norm, avatar driver."

They all said hi. "Here's the link room," he continued. "Where we're connected to the avatar. "

You and Jake's attention was caught by something else. The avatars. They're grown from human DNA mixed with the DNA from the natives. They were large and kept in this blue liquid. The way they were positioned and kept reminded you of a fetus in the womb.

"Hey." you faced a man with a white coat and black, curly hair. He smiled. "Welcome."

"Hi," you replied, shaking his hand.

"Welcome to Pandora. Good to have you." He shook hands with Jake.

"They got big." Jake looked at the avatars curiously.

"Yeah, they fully mature on the flight out," said Norm. "So the proprioceptive sims seem to work really well.

"Yeah, they've got great muscle tone," said the doctor.

"They should be ready soon," you added.

"Correct," he replied. "It'll take us a few hours to get them decanted, but you guys can take them out tomorrow." Your eyes widened and you smiled giddily at Norm. "There's yours," he said to Jake.

You introduced yourself to the doctor, Max Patel, as Jake wheeled over to his avatar. You walked over with him. "Looks like him," said Jake.

You smiled sadly and softly said, "No, it looks like you."

"This is your avatar now, Jake," added Norm. You hooked your arm with Norms and walked over to review some data. You couldn't decipher much on your own so Norm and Max explained.

So from what you understood, every driver was linked to their avatar. That way, the nervous systems are in tune. You were looking at a screen, intensely focused on what Max was saying when you hear, "Is this right? I just say whatever to the video log?" You looked at Jake.

"Yes, whatever comes to mind, anything you can recount is important for the whole process," you answered.

"We gotta get into the habit of documenting everything. It's all part of the science," said Norm and you nodded.

"And good science is good observation," added Max.

"Plus, it'll help keep you sane for the next six years," said Norm. You let out a small laugh. 

Avatar: What if you were there?Where stories live. Discover now