[WIP] Connection

[ZenitYerkes]

"Korrtxe!"

Grace sat down; the session was about to begin. The school had been set up as a large studio, with all the tables put against the back wall and on the teacher's, a strange bunch of cables, strings and machinery that was constantly trying to take out the heat it produced itself. Linked to it, a camera and a glass screen showing three black squares and a picture of the school.

Grace was about to open her mouth once again, but Korrtxe finally appeared with his formal dress; wrapped in a leather cloth which covered his upper wrist, full of feathers, bones and other Na'vi decoration. He looked like an Olo'eyktan.

"Do I look good?" said with his particular accent
"You're gorgeous Korrtxe. I'm sure they'll like your costume."

Korrtxe was Grace's best student; the first in making his own texts in English and master human writing and Latin alphabet. In the past weeks he had been reading "King Lear", and even played it with some friends at Hometree, with all the clan crying at the end of it. He said that "Tsakxespír" was a very good human storyteller.

He, as always, brought on his belt a biro and a notebook covered in leather.

"When do we begin the meeting?" he asked, trying not to scratch the horrible itch he had on the left shoulder.
"Soon; in the meanwhile, you can wait here" and she offered him a seat in front of the camera. Korrtxe wondered for the umpteenth time how it was possible that glowing crystal could show himself, like a mirror. He knew about electricity, human tech and informatics; but his instincts made him still refuse to believe that was for real.

Suddenly, the three squares shined at the same time. The picture was not clear, though; superluminal connections are still slow when it comes to connect places separated 4.4 light years of each other. A voice began to speak with some interferences.

"-ight. This is the United Nations ---cretary Sebastian Martín. I will be the moder--or of the meeting conc---ing human --resence on moon Pandora. Please, Pand---, if you can h--- us, introd---e yourself."

Korrtxe felt his heart beating fiercely, trying to escape out of his chest. He breathed deeply.

"I... I am Korrtxe, representative of moon "Pandora" " he never liked the name humans gave to the world on which he lived "I am from the Omaticaya clan. We can hear you clearly, "Earth" ".

"Sorr-, there app---- to be som- ---ferences"

And after some noise and a moment of silence, the three other pictures were clear. The man dressed in a black suit began to talk.

"Pandora, can you hear us now?"

"Clearly, Earth" repeated Korrtxe

"Right. To the rest of representatives, introduce yourselves please"

The protocol was strict.

"Here Lawrence Foreman, sub-secretary of the RDA General Management section and Terran representative of the company" said the man wearing a black coat. He seemed quite old, around 90 years old; although he still showed signs of his young strength and courage something that led him hold the position in which he was now.

The second man felt awkward, yet confident in himself; with his tie bringing out its vivid red over the white shirt." Here Parker Selfridge, manager of the RDA operations on moon Pandora and representative of the company's interests on this place."

The third man, Sebastian, began to look for something on his table, and finally showed a paper to the camera. "We're here because of this document sent by Ms Augustine; who I hope is present with us now"

"I am, Mr Martin" replied Grace, staring at the picture of Selfridge with her big yellow eyes. He answered back with an arrogant gesture.

"The United Nations is worried about the consequences of human activity on Pandora, Mr Selfridge and Mr Foreman; this inform showed the treatment these humanoid beings receive from us. How-"
"Excuse me Mr Martin," interrupted Selfridge " but why is the United Nations involved in this?"
"Because this is an interplanetary issue, Mr Selfridge. I'd rather you didn't interrupt me from now on, please."

Selfridge shut up. Foreman showed indignation.

"We requested further explanations from the affected persons, hence why Mr Korrtxe is with us. If you could, Korrtxe" asked in an almost paternal tone, perhaps excited for being talking with another race, of another planet "we would like you to tell us what is happening on your place"

"Yes, sir" replied the blue young man "I remember when we met the first humans. We helped them build their homes. We protected them for some time. And even learned they language by Mrs Augustine's school. For a moment, we helped them and they helped us -mostly Grace Augustine. But then they began to harm Eywa, sir" at this moment, his voice began to tremble "They began to fill our air with dark smoke, and they began to kill our brothers and sisters. They cut down trees and began to dig on the ground, deeply. For un... unab..."

"Unobtanium?"

"Yes, sir. Thanks" he said, while restraining the angst that run up his throat "Other clans have been affected by these events, sir. Some have been sacked by human warriors, some have disappeared because there are no people left in them" after breathing deeply, he added "What I don't understand, Mr Martín, is how they can kill without any scruple."

"Is this true, Mr Selfridge?"

"Mr Martin, if I were in your place I'd seriously consider with whom I had just been talking with"

Korrtxe and Sebastian seemed surprised.

"Excuse me, I think I don't understand, Mr Selfridge"
"We cannot trust the information given by an irrational animal, sir"

Korrtxe opened his big eyes.

"What?!" he yelled "I am not an animal!"
"Korrtxe is as human as any of us are, Selfridge!" replied Grace violently "They can think, they have their own culture and they can even speak English, for God's sake! You think an animal would do that?"
"My parrot speaks English too, Augustine. That does not prove anything."
"Calm down, calm down!" said Martin when Grace was about to shout at the little skinny man on the screen "Please. It has been proved that these people are sentient species. Their opinion here needs to be taken in count"

RDA 0 - Pandora 2 , that was a shared thought between Selfridge and Grace. He stared at Grace's avatar somewhat sicked: those moving cat ears and enormous eyes, the large tail, and that blue skin,... ew. How could that be in any way "human"?

"Mr Foreman, have you got any thoughts on this matter?"
"I think yes, Mr Martin" the old man shook slightly his head. Korrtxe thought, relieved, that he'd talk wiser. "May I formulate you a question?"
"Of course"
"Can you tell me, please, what's the main sustenance of all the technology available nowadays?"
"I... I don't know, sir" Sebastian was confused.
"Energy, Mr Martin, energy. And tell me, which is the main resource of energy on our planet nowadays?"
"Unobtanium" he admitted
"Isn't it a strange element on Earth?"
"Yes, it is. Where are you going with all this?" impatiently requested him.
"We wouldn't be having this conversation if it wasn't for Pandoran unobtanium. The UN's computers, its lights and all the world's; work thanks to this source of energy." At this moment, Grace's and Korrtxe's faces were pale blue. "I ask, shall we let a group of beings of doubtable capability of reasoning, take away our main source of energy?"

"You don't know what you're talking about, Mr Foreman!" Grace replied. Her blood was boiling; just as Korrtxe's, whose face had been changing as the man spoke, showing a furious expression. "These are real people; we are different physically, yes, but we think in the same ways, and feel identically."
"Mrs Augustine, please, you have to understand that all the energy of mankind is b-"
"Na'vi are part of mankind too!" Korrtxe shouted fiercely "Na'vi deserve to be treated as equals! Why don't you understand this?"

Selfridge opened his big mouth.

"You see Mr Martin? Just like animals"

Korrtxe couldn't help standing up with his knife on his hand. After showing his sharp teeth, he began to hit the screen and the camera, break the cables, the rope that hold the machine suspended in the air. After a short lapse of time, it was nothing but scrap. He breathed, faltered.

"I just ruined it, didn't I?" he finally said. Grace hold him tight in her arms, trying to console the man who was crying for having failed his people.

"Why do they hate us?" he muttered.

This time, all-knowing Grace didn't have an answer.

---

There were still three cameras airing.

"I think we need no further proof, Sebastian" Selfridge said. "And I believe Mr Foreman thinks the same"

They nodded. Sebastian was completely confused. They had a huge need, but could that justify the massacre he heard about? Or was the affected part exaggerating? Who lied?

"Seems like we're between the devil, and the deep blue sea" he tried to smile, but all he got was a grimace. "I need some time, please"
"How much longer will we be waiting for you, Mr Martin?"
"Just ten minutes" he replied
"All right"

Time to decide, whether to condemn Terran or Pandoran people. He had two papers ready to be signed, one allowed the RDA to keep going on his operations; the other had an ban order signed by the governments of Earth affected direct or indirectly by the corporation. It was crystal clear that many considered the RDA a cancer of planet Earth, a cancer that would soon spread out to other places.

But so powerful it was, that nobody dared to make a stand against it.

Sebastian took a cup of coffee and picked a pen. "I know I am making the wrong decision" he thought.

And the paper was sent to the omnipotent, omnipresent RDA.