It’s the day before the final report. I’m both happy and distressed. I’m happy because we’ve found so much here. It’s clear to me that this place deserves a lot more attention. But, we still haven’t found a checkbook issue, and that’s why I’m distressed. Worse, if we don’t find one, Selfridge’s plan to come back and rape this place one more time with a smash-and-grab looks feasible, and I’ve now learned enough about Na’vi ways to find that thought deeply hateful.
So, we have our meeting, but it starts tense.
I say, “So, let’s review what we have here:
“We’ve got an ecosystem here that seems virtually unchanging. There is great striving on the part of individuals, but there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of any species striving to improve their position in the system. One example of this is the lack of disease in the flora and fauna, and another is that the Na’vi are not interested in using human technology to improve their lot in life, and yet a third is their deep respect for what they kill.
“Further, this ecosystem seems to be a really odd mix. The plants use a completely different DNA, protein and metabolic system from the animals, and the animal system seems to have too much similarity to Earth animal systems to have happened just by chance.
“We’ve got floating mountains that defy gravity, but are not being held up by some kind of anti-gravity beam -- there is still gravity on the surface of all these mountains.
“We’ve got Unobtainium which is some kind of powerhouse mineral. It’s created by hometrees, deposited under their root structure, and seems to somehow power the floating mountains, and perhaps a lot more--”
Joe interrupts, “Oh, and one more hot tid-bit. It’s perishable. The first samples that were taken to the capital have lost their oomph.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Selfridge was doomed from Day One because Unobtainium loses its extra-special potency in about six months once its taken off Pandora.”
“Ouch! ...for him! Does he know about this, yet?”
“I got it from one of his investors who was about to support him on his return.”
“OK, that adds to the mystery.
“We’ve got a planetary brain that is composed of all the plants, talks to all the animals, and perhaps does climate control.
“...What have we got here, folks?” I hold up my hands in a question.
There is silence, people are thinking.
Then it hits me. I get the “Ah-Hah!”, and I get this big smile on my face, and I say...
“Ah-Hah! Let’s look at the bigger picture: Where are we?”
Jason looks puzzled, “Alpha system?”
“Exactly! The home of a high tech alien race! Now let’s connect the dots: Let’s suppose this moon didn’t end up this way by accident, or by evolution. Suppose it was planned.”
Jason says, “You’re saying that Pandora was built by the Alphas?”
“Built, and built to be self-sustaining.”
Kim lights up and says, “That’s what the Planet Brain does! It keeps Pandora in balance -- keeps it suitable for the plants and animals that live here.”
Joe has his Ah-Hah and says, “The Unobtainium is planetary ATP -- it’s the energy currency for the planet.” there are some quizzical looks at him, so he explains further, “ATP is adenosine triphosphate, the chemical that moves energy around in plant and animal cells in Earth creatures -- it makes life chemistry happen. The hometrees create Unobtainium through some metabolic pathway and deposits it under their root systems. Eywa has some way of harnessing that stored energy for climate control, and mountain floating, and all the other weird things that happen here.”
“Good... good... now why?”
There is more silence. Then Mary says, “Well... it’s an interesting place.”
We all look at her, and the Ah-Hah Moment is deafening.
I say, “My Gosh! This is an amusement planet!
“The Alphas must have had some higher-tech version of the avatars -- perhaps they linked directly into Eywa in some way. They came here, in some fashion, to enjoy experiencing this world.
“That explains the unchanging nature of the place. It explains all the dramatic stuff, and it explains why there is striving, but no evolution, and why it’s been so easy for me to learn to be a Na’vi.”
Larry says, “These people visited the Solar System, liked what they saw, and brought back samples.”
“More than once, I would say, because there are so many epochs mixed together.”
I smiled a big smile again, “Now we have a checkbook item, folks. This world is a museum of Alpha technology and Alpha entertainment. Researching this is something we can sell, and preserving it becomes important. This is a Rosetta Stone for the Alpha culture!
“I think we have accomplished our mission, in spades! What will keep us all busy, and many other people as well, is coming up with further proof of this hypothesis and exploring its ramifications.
I applaud, “Well done! Everyone!” and everyone else joins in.
“OK! Let’s make this pretty, and then we’ll video it in to Governor Tyler.”
-- The End --