Chapter Text
Abstract
This report contains the ongoing effort to study and utilize the recent resurrection of a young Na'vi-Avatar hybrid following exposure to the substance amrita. The name "Church" was chosen for this project as a reference to the Stephen King novel Pet Sematary, and we believe it holds value as a quick and easy reminder of the subject's origin during in-team discussion.
For the past three months, Subject Church has been monitored by RDA Sci-Ops for future scientific and military applications, considering whether the subject would be best suited for breeding, dissection, or service as a member of our heavily-depleted 1st Recom Unit. The report provides an analysis of the subject's history, ongoing unit interactions/scientific observations, and the viability of each potential path for optimal resource utilization.
Subject Overview
The subject is an Avatar-Na'vi hybrid, 8 ft 2 in (249 cm), with physically sexed and socially gendered attributes corresponding with those of Na'vi males. It has identified itself as "Neteyam te Suli Tsyeyk’itan," "Neteyam Tskaha," "Neteyam Suli," and "Neteyam Sully," etc.
At fifteen years of age, subject appears to have been conceived before or shortly after the RDA's failed attack on the Omatikaya Tree of Souls. It is the product of an illegitimate union between Omatikaya insurgent leader Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite and the rogue Avatar currently identified as ex-corporal Jake Sully, also known as Toruk Makto.
Church bears some of the more distinguishing features seen in other Avatar-Na'vi hybrids, such as eyebrows or a fifth finger. It does, however, appear to be developing increased musculature similar to that of ex-corporal Sully, rather than the somewhat slimmer builds of Omatikaya Na'vi; more changes can be tracked as the subject enters puberty.
Recombinant Corporal Jake Sully has posited that the subject bears strong physical similarities to its uncle/father Tom Sully. While this seems to be true, it is also worth knowing that statements like these are a sign of Corporal Sully's strong attachment to the subject, which should be taken into account for any decision.
History
"Neteyam te Suli Tsyeyk’itan" is assumed to have fled the Omatikaya, along with other close Sully relatives, in an attempt to evade Recom Squad's pursuit of ex-Corporal Sully. He was later involved in a battle between Metkayina and RDA forces, boarding the RDA's Sea Dragon to rescue some Na'vi juveniles taken captive during the struggle before joining fellow hybrid "Lo'ak te Suli Tsyeyk’itan" in an attempt to extract former insurgent/unit translator Miles Socorro from the ship.
The other hybrid managed to escape safely with Socorro, but our subject was fatally wounded by recombinant Lyle Wainfleet as they fled the ship. Later examination suggests multiple bullet wounds to the torso, inducing fatal internal bleeding before death, although precise details are difficult to pin down.
Mo'at'ite was overhead experiencing significant vocal distress by members of 1st Recom Unit who had attempted to reconvene on the Sea Dragon. The juvenile-recombinant form of Grace Augustine, who was in RDA custody at the time, is also reported as experiencing psychic blowback from the event.
The details of the ensuing struggle are unclear, but after losing their prisoners and most of their members, the serving Unit soldiers managed to regroup on the outskirts of Metkayina territory. At least one of the soldiers, Recombinant Sully, witnessed the locals approach a communal burial ground and dispose of Tsyeyk’itan's corpse according to local rites. For reasons unknown, he chose to approach the area after they had left and extracted the corpse.
At some point, the corpse was exposed to amrita, although how this happened is, again, unclear. It does not appear to have any immediate effects, possibly due to amrita's slow-acting effect on cells. However, Corporal Sully chose to take the body back with him as troops returned to Bridgehead anyway, with the approval of Colonel Quaritch before he collapsed from his injuries.
Once at Bridgehead, the corpse became a point of contention. That it was legally dead for all intents and purposes, and had been so for a distinct period of time, was made a matter of medical record, making it our first opportunity to study a Avatar-Na'vi hybrid in detail. Corporal Sully was insistent on keeping it, and only reluctantly allowed it to be removed for basic examination after threats were made to reduce Colonel Quaritch's medical care.
Preliminary autopsy had barely begun when the former corpse sat up and began displaying aggressive behavior towards the medical team. In the chaos, Corporal Sully was able to enter the room and calm the subject down, relying on his close physical resemblance to the subject's biological father to produce a soothing effect.
The subject seemed briefly stunned before collapsing into Corporal Sully's arms.
Post Resurrection Side Effects
This report has been completed after approximately two months of study regarding Subject Church post-amrita, so larger impacts of amrita resurrection are not known. Future testing on dead humans and purebred Avatars will also be limited until we have a situation of high enough priority.
However, the Sci-Ops team have made some basic assessments about potential amrita side effects in the time we have, in both laboratory and field settings:
- Subject has a high pain tolerance and can take significant damage if need be, especially with Corporal Sully's approval and assistance in sample retrieval.
- Subject is in good health and shows no lingering physical effects from its death. Scarring is minimal, and it seems to have no recollection of the incident (among other things; see below).
- Subject's neural queue has been recorded moving and twitching independently, often seemingly without its notice. Recoms who have touched the queue while in motion have reported receiving a mild electric shock, with the exception of Corporal Sully, who seems capable of interacting with it safely, or is at least benefiting from his own high pain tolerance.
Unlike other body parts like the ears and tail, queue movements seem not to signal emotional movements per se, but rather that the subject is zoning out or entering a not-infrequent dissociation phase, a literal "wandering mind."
- Subject has exhibited severe memory gaps, making extracting information about the Na'vi insurgency extremely difficult, but also making it more likely to follow commands. Recombinant Sully has made attempts to "plug," as it were, these gaps with via the use of the neural link that the Na'vi call "tsaheylu." The results have been a resounding success in terms of obedience and adaptability.
- However, subject still fluently speaks the Na'vi language, and remembers tenets of both Omatikaya and Metkayina culture. Testing on Na'vi fauna and flora using local languages, for both sea and forest life, achieved high scores, while test scores using English frameworks were much lower and often led to frustration/embarrassment, escalating to aggression if not calmed with the assistance of Corporal Sully.
- Subject Church has spoken frequently about hearing nonexistent "music" which will occasionally distract it during conversations or training, or cause it to wander around during free time, sometimes "leading" it into restricted areas. It also claims this music "swells" in moments of sudden danger, allowing it to predict attacks.
Its attempts to describe this "music" are inconclusive, while its efforts to replicate it via humming bear a resemblance to tulkun song, denoting a need for further investigation considering amrita's origin in tulkun brains and potential effects on human users.
Despite extensive tsahelyu use and other forms of discipline, neither Recombinant Sully nor any other member of Recom Unit has managed to find a way to permanently silence the "music". Recombinant Sully claims not to have heard any "music" while in tsaheylu and grows aggravated when questioned about it extensively.
- Subject has displayed levels of hypersexuality that are extremely rare in Na'vi juveniles; see below
- There is not enough data to analyze whether subject will age over time, although it has grown slightly, at a rate normal for males of the species, over a two-month period
1st Recom Unit
Subject Church has been kept in Recombinant quarters since his resurrection, with Corporal Sully claiming family rights as the closest available biological relative. He and Colonel Quaritch have also posited sexual contact as a means of keeping the subject under control, and their efforts have so far been extremely promising.
Subject Church displays a strong eagerness to please here, demonstrating hypersexual traits possibly due to either amrita or a prior inclination to sexual voracity. Primary sexual interactions are with Colonel Quaritch and Corporal Sully, although the subject has also had sexual interaction with Recombinants Zdinarsk and Wainfleet.
Elsewhere, the subject has joined recom training sessions, with moderate success. It has worked well with recombinant soldiers on practice missions and proven an asset in generated obstacle courses such as Fire Run, although it will frequently push itself past necessary limits in its attempt to excel and require chemical boosts like his fellow soldiers.
Subject Church is an accomplished archer, although it has clearly had firearms training and shows skill there as well. It is currently receiving extensive knife training and showing good progress.
Subject has free running/diving skills consistent with the Omatikaya and Metkayina tribes, and close-combat training presumably gained under ex-corporal Sully. It has also been reported to have skills in flying banshees, but its "bonded" banshee's fate is currently unknown and it has not been cleared to claim a new one.
Subject appears reasonably intelligent and appears capable of thinking on its feet in training situations, despite its cognitive issues occasionally causing distraction or disorientation in training. It is able to process and obey RDA orders, with quickest response time coming with orders directly from Recombinant Sully.
Its attempts to enter the military hierarchy are relatively successful--now responds to "Private Sully" without being prompted, but occasionally still interjects aspects of Na'vi culture into military settings, i.e., responding to superiors with Na'vi gestures of respect instead of a salute.
Overall, unit feelings on Subject Church are positive; the unit refers to it in affectionate terms and feel secure seeing it armed, possibly due to sexual contact easing integration. However, Corporal Sully's possessive behavior has led to some in-unit conflict, manifested in his efforts to curb Church's sexual contact with other unit members, although the fighting has since died down enough to reestablish unit cohesion.
Future Use: Vivisection
Subject Church would provide highly valuable scientific insight if vivisected, both regarding Avatar-Na'vi hybrids and into potential internal changes caused by amrita exposure. This may also be necessary if its cognitive defects prove too unmanageable for his current military role.
However, vivisection also means losing a valuable scientific resource before we can study the impacts of amrita over a long period of time, especially since amrita is currently in short supply following the loss of the Sea Dragon, and extra expense will not be appreciated by anyone reading this report.
We also risk the possible loss of unit cohesion considering how Subject Church has integrated into the team, particularly in regards to Corporal Sully, who has also proven possessive towards the subject. It is also important to remember that available recoms are still very low in number, and that this is an all-hands-on-deck situation in terms of asset management.
The loss of unit translator Socorro has already threatened to create a charged emotional atmosphere, and success on future missions requires maintaining psychological balance for all remaining squad members whenever possible. An aggressive removal of Subject Church will offset that balance, and is thus not recommended.
As of now, vivisection provides a viable option that the subject and recom squad are all aware of, and thus will conduct themselves accordingly. We will continue taking scans and taking samples as the subject continues to develop and grow, developing what we believe will be an accurate analysis of potential amrita effects on other users as the substance grows more commercialized.
Vivisection also has merit as an ongoing threat for when the Na'vi insurgency inevitably learns of Subject Church's existence. Thus, the possibility should be kept in reserve until there is tactical viability in utilizing it.
Future Use: Tactical
Practically, Subject Church's cognitive failings do not interfere with its role as a soldier enough to warrant it being excluded from the field, considering the limited number of soldiers we have who can actually survive the Pandoran environment and increased interference from Na'vi forces, particularly in regards to the threat of Dr. Augustine's recombinant.
Extensive remapping via Neuroscanner is liable to do more harm than good, especially considering the subject's already fragile neural capacity. Tshaeylu, thankfully, has proven more successful, and further study of the process will hopefully amplify our push towards the use of organic, rather than mechanical, constructs in interrogation.
Subject Church has shown no sign of using the weapons he has been given access to against its fellow soldiers or superiors, and lapses in duty have been disciplined accordingly. Extensive programming from RDA test managers and Corporal Sully has enabled the subject to take down shooting range images of family members without visible issue.
Furthermore, the psychological impact that Subject Church could have on the enemy in a combat situation is unparalleled, perhaps even exceeding the impact intended with Corporal Sully's creation. It is unlikely that any prior relative or acquaintance will be unable to inflict serious harm on him, especially considering the subject's history.
Nonetheless, the subject's cognitive difficulties will need to be compensated as time goes on, possibly with more extensive tsaheylu remapping. If that continues not to have the desired results, the Neuroscanner might be the only viable option, possibly coming with a need to put vivisection back on the table as well.
However, it is also important to take into account the fact that the subject will never be 100% secure in the field, considering its background. Thus, a tracking chip has been installed on its spine, with detonators capabilities monitored by Recombinant Lieutenant Mansk (the detonators have been concealed from Colonel Quaritch and Corporal Sully for in-unit cohesion).
Future Use: Breeding
Subject has the dual-sex organs manifested in many Na'vi, making it a prime candidate for breeding. There are some risks to a safe pregnancy, considering its youth, but it is also entering an extremely fertile period due to its adolescence and clearly has the sexual capacity to receive insemination.
At the moment it is currently on birth control, but this can be easily revoked and fertility testing has revealed no signs of sterility. However, it will take full gestation to be sure whether an amrita-affected body can safely produce young.
Breeding remains an issue considering the subject's cognitive defects, although evidence suggests that these defects are a result of neurological/damage from the resurrection and thus not a sign of permanent genetic alteration, although lack of pre-death genetic testing makes it impossible to be sure.
If cognitive defects progress, then breeding might in fact be the most viable use of Subject Church. Considering the expense of tube growth, physical breeding is slower, but cheaper, and is a good step towards our long-term establishment of a military presence on this planet.
Corporal Sully has volunteered to inseminate, although considering his technical genetic relationships to the subject and potential deformities via incest, Colonel Quaritch is also a viable candidate. Alternately, insemination from multiple sources would increase the chances for a viable fetus; other Sully hybrids could also be acquired and recruited into the breeding program for maximum efficiency.
However, a breeding program would also necessitate Subject Church's removal from the field, reducing its capacity for psyops regarding the Na'vi insurgency and its more prominent leaders. Thus, breeding programs should be held off until the subject's potential in those areas has been exhausted.
Conclusion
Subject Church has been, despite some difficulties, an extremely fortuitous asset who has the potential to recoup at least some of the cost from the Sea Dragon disaster. Its role in live study of amrita's effects and its viability as a psyops asset should not be underestimated.
However, its cognitive defects and the complexities of its position in 1st recom unit should also not be underestimated. Recom Squad has essentially become a small, fragile biome which must be managed carefully for our own survival, and Subject Church is now inextricably linked to that management.
With official approval, Subject Church will be ready for release into the field. At the moment, it is under the control of an RDA asset and has remained relatively obedient despite significant physical and psychological stressors.
It is our recommendation that, with caveats Subject Church can be a valuable asset to RDA terraforming efforts. However, the final choice will as, always, be left up to Command.
- Eden et al, Sci-Ops/Psych-Ops, Bridgehead City, Pandora, November 2170