With only a week before the report is due, Jake comes to me again and says, “You have learned enough. It’s time for you to talk with Eywa. I will take you to a sacred grove tonight.”
As I get back from the normal session, I tell Murray and the other techs to prep up for a night session and I take an unexpected break. God! It feels good.
When I get back to my avatar, Jake is waiting with his mount.
“Are you ready?” he asks.
“Not quite,” I say, “My heart is troubled, and I should clear that up before we continue.”
I put my hand on his shoulder, “This is about you, Jake.”
He waits patiently.
“You know this avatar you inhabit is only a first generation model, right?”
He smiles when he hears that. It’s a warm smile, and he puts his hand on my shoulder.
“Thank you for your concern, but I know when I will die.”
“You do?”
“It’s part of being Na’vi. All Na’vi know when they will die, and how. In two years and four months, I will be crushed by a Gazingga as I protect a young child from its charge.”
I think my mouth drops open. Whatever I do, Jake laughs, “Let’s get you to the grove... and thank you for your concern. I think it means you are thinking like a Na’vi now.”
The sacred grove at night is a place of starry, Christmas Tree-like beauty. We meditate for a while, then I touch my hair connector to a grove-tree tendril. I hear Eywa.
It is not a conversation, per se, it is an emotion-to-emotion connection. I get feelings of right and wrong, joy and sadness, destiny and outrage. When the session ends, I have a deep feeling of oneness. I’m now part of the system.