Pandora, 5.5 Dash Seven in the Days of Centauri

For generations afterwards, the Na'vi would sing songs of that day. They sang of the Time Walker who shone like the heart of the sun, the legendary Tai'Nandi who brought Eywa back to life. And although the Na'vi did not have the vocabulary needed to explain the complex temporal anomalies exploited on that day, they all understood the gift that the Time Walker had given to Eywa. He hadn't just saved the Na'vi from death, nor had he simply returned Eywa to them. He had restored Eywa back to the way she was before, the way she had been in legend, the way she had been before the War that Never Happened.

Neytiri loved to sing this song to the children of the Omaticayan clan. She loved to watch their faces as she told them how Tai'Nandi had turned back time, how she and Jakesully had watched events undone, had seen lives unlost, had felt the power and the beauty of Eywa resonating across creation as Tai'Nandi brought her back to life.

She sung this song for them now, at the Festival of Time, that festival when the Na'vi gather together to sing the Songs of Never.

"What happened then?" asked the children.

"Tai'Nandi got back into his Tardis, and stepped back into time," said Neytiri.

"And he told the Na'vi that we never had to worry about the RDA again," said Jake. "Because the first thing he was going to do was to go back to Earth and dismantle the RDA."

The humans who had chosen to stay on Pandora cheered at this. Jake had invited them to the festival. This was partly because he hoped that, by joining the festivities, they would better understand the Na'vi, but it was mostly because he knew everyone loved a good party.

"But we must always remember the value of life," Neytiri added, shooting Jake a warning look. "Not just that of the tawtute and Na'vi, but that of every living being in all of creation. Eywa is the Guardian of Life, and we are the guardians of Eywa. That is our responsibility."

"But if Tai'Nandi made it so that all those events never happened, then why is it important to tell them?" asked the children.

Norm scratched his head. "Now there's a fair point," he said. "Why do the Na'vi keep telling stories about things that they themselves admit never happened? You ever work that out, Jake?"

"But they did happen," said Jake. "I remember them. They sort of… happened and then unhappened. The rest of the universe might not know, but we do. That's why we have to sing them, to make sure that they are never forgotten."

"But we were on the planet, too," said Norm. "And none of us humans remember any of this. Why do you remember? What proof do you have that any of this stuff is real?"

"Because…" Jake faltered, and then something clicked in his mind. "Because these events are a part of Eywa," he said. "And we are also a part of Eywa. And it is Eywa who lets us remember."

Jake looked over to Neytiri. Her eyes were shining.

"Yes," she said. "You finally understand."