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[Frumple]

Brain ruminated a bit more on the avatar thing. Let me show you how it'd go down, just with the sort of corporation we've got now.

"More news from the terrible tragedy on Pandora. As you may recall, just last week an accident on a scale so far unseen in the mining expeditions operation struck, causing terribly devastation among both the native population and the <mining company>'s infrastructure. We have just now received the information that sheds light on this terrible occurrence. <Person>?

Thank you, <other person>. Investigators have finally released their findings. What they've found is as sad as it is terrible. As we had known, last week an accident occurred in pandoran orbit, resulting in one of the mining transports being forced to jettison its cargo, an act that ultimately resulted in the destruction of the Na'Vi cultural center <tree name> as well as causing damage to the ongoing mining and research operation stationed on the planet. Investigators have found that it was minute damage caused by a splinter group of particularly beligerant Na'Vi extremists* that forced the cargo hauler to jettison its contents. Experts have come forth and confirmed that, had the hauler's pilot not made his horrifying decision -- at the cost of his own life** -- the damage from the hauler itself losing orbit and crashing could have been exponentially worse -- among other things, the splinter Na'Vi group had somehow damaged part of the engine and power storage, meaning an impact could have turned the hauler into an explosive of a scale unseen in Pandoran history.

Even now, the <mining company> is mobilizing to send humanitarian aid to the native pandoran population and help both in relocation and reconstruction. They have vowed to do everything in their power to make amends to the devastated pandoran people, even in the face of the economic and personal losses they suffered from this tragedy. Back to you, <other person>.

Thank you, <person>. Our hearts go out both to the pandoran people and <mining company>, struggling together through this hard time."

It'd be like the BP oil spill, but with rocks, more immediate loss of life, and just a little bit of proactivity.

... anyway. That'd be the sort of movie I'd actually... well, maybe not quite enjoy, per se, but at least not face palm at. I know the major reason that we usually don't get competent villains is because they'd bloody well win, but still... I could stand a bad-guy wins scenario occasionally. S'much more reasonable than basically lobotomizing your antagonist

*Bonus points, include "led by ecoterroist <whoever the hell that main character was>."
**This part probably being a lie.

[10ebbor10]

1. Pandora - Earth communication is 4.4 lightyears. Except for the Quantum Bit array which costs 4000 dollar / bit to use and transmits a 3 bits/ hour.
2. The only freight shuttles in Pandora's orbits are the Valkyries, of which there are only two. These are also not designed to drop loads mid flight, and are probably incapable of doing so. They are also fusion powered, and therefore even in an impact wouldn't do so much damage. Besides, a shuttle on an incorrect reentry would burn up completly, so one wonders why the the pilot wouldn't do that, if jettisoning the cargo did somehow help)
3. Unobtanium costs 20 million/ kg. They are not going to drop that. (Also, it floats in the flux field, due it's magnetical effects). Besides, shuttle cargo isn't solid enough to make a good drop projectile. (To loose, it would just scatter as a nonharmfull impact)
4. And when should that damage have happened. It's a freakin shuttle, taking of directly from Hells Gate.
5. Due to it's magnetical flux field, the tree of Souls doesn't lie on the normal flight path of the  cargo shuttles.
6. Strange isn't it. That just that place had to be hit, what are the odds.
7. Especially strange that since the place was surrounded by flying mountains, the impact angle would have needed to be steep(not going to happen with a ship trying to get into orbit) or especially dangerous(and wipe out the entire Hallelujah moutains)

And while all of these would be lies, these are points any intelligent person on Pandora will make. When then someone tells them that the Na'vi where gathering a warforce near said cultural place after tensions caused by forcible relocation by RDA forces, all hell is going to break loose.

Not to mention the other articles that would surely follow.

-Own people first. RDA spents thousands to aid extraterrestials while millions live in poverty
-Don't let this happen again. RDA activity on the moon already caused irrepairable damage to local exosystem and indiginous cultures. Project should be shut down immediatly.

Above that, a mass drop is not that easy and why should they bother. The actual plan worked until Cameron threw in a Deus ex Machina. Besides The Valkyrie is not designed to drop cargo mid flight, mass drops are not as easily as they seemed to be, the actual preparation might have taken several days of time they didn't have.  (They got at maximum one week to design an impact pellet, aim it at the tree of souls, come up with an impact trajectory that would not cause it to hit any of the passing mountains, launch the ship and aim.(this is going to take 1-2 days at least)). And what if there are spies on the inside, who would tell the natives before the ship can be launched. Then they might launch a preemptive attack.

[Skyrunner]

But the article sounds plausible. Seems pretty likely many people would go over to that. I don't think people would be poring over the article looking for discrepancies.

And who knows if fusion engines would be dangerous on impact or not? For starters, everything in Pandoraverse explodes when damaged, for some reason. Second, if the fusion reactor contains plasma, the magnetic field containing yhe plasma could break, loosing thousand degree or more plasma by the kilogram into the forest. Cue immense fire.

[MrWillsauce]

One of the many things that bugs me about the Matrix trilogy is why the machines choose humans as their energy source. Surely other animals or even plants (although I doubt plants could survive in the wasteland) would be more efficient for energy farming and much easier to control than humans.

[10ebbor10]

But the article sounds plausible. Seems pretty likely many people would go over to that. I don't think people would be poring over the article looking for discrepancies.

And who knows if fusion engines would be dangerous on impact or not? For starters, everything in Pandoraverse explodes when damaged, for some reason. Second, if the fusion reactor contains plasma, the magnetic field containing yhe plasma could break, loosing thousand degree or more plasma by the kilogram into the forest. Cue immense fire.

The RDA has serious PR issues. The entire Avatar project and such where set up just to please the masses. Then there's the matter of PETA/ greenpeace and a large part of the scientific community opposing the RDA. A compagny whose funding exceeds that of small nations has many enemies. The RDA only got their mining license because of PETA screwing up.

Why take such a huge PR risk and economical risk(mass drops are not to be laughed at) when attacking the Tree of Souls works too. I mean, even with the homefield advantage, and with the RDA navigating difficult terrain the Na'Vi managed to take out, what? Maybe ten scorpions, no more surely.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

1. We see a shuttle exploding in the movie, and that one had several boxes of armed mining explosives in it. It gives a big Bang, but not that dangerous considering it went of within 10 km of the tree and the tree was unharmed.

Second: Fusion plasma is not a thousand degrees. A Million degrees is a bit closer. However, the actual pressure in a fusion reactor is so low that the reactor would implode, not explode. If you were to stand in a fusion reactor today it would feel like a sunny day. (Before you die of radiation/ aphixation of course).
Third: Fusion reactors are notoriously hard to keep going. Damage to the engine would shut it down rather then have it meltdown.
Fourth: The Shuttle wouldn't even reach the ground, so none of this is a problem.

[10ebbor10]

One of the many things that bugs me about the Matrix trilogy is why the machines choose humans as their energy source. Surely other animals or even plants (although I doubt plants could survive in the wasteland) would be more efficient for energy farming and much easier to control than humans.

There are more humans? (Except for small beetles and such) Anyway, I think the matrix breaks the second law of thermodynamics already, so don't matter.

[MrWillsauce]

Yeah I guess everything else seems like minor gripes compared to that point . Those movies will drive any really nitpicky people insane, but they are still fun action flicks.

[Greiger]

Matrix: I always wondered how a ship that uses what I'm guessing is magnetism to hover through tunnel systems, somehow manages to pull up and take flight with enough force to get it above the cloud level on the surface (although barely). 

If those magnetic coils or what not were strong enough to get them that far above the surface (with the top facing coils being completely useless for thrust unlike in a tunnel which probably halves it's total thrust), the things should never, ever, hit a wall of a tunnel no matter how fast they are going.

[DJ]

I would've just bioengineered a superplague to wipe out the Na'vi, and make it look like an accidental transmission of some Earth virus. Of course, for PR there'd be hospitals and research centres and all that stuff set up to supposedly help the Na'vi.

[10ebbor10]

I would've just bioengineered a superplague to wipe out the Na'vi, and make it look like an accidental transmission of some Earth virus. Of course, for PR there'd be hospitals and research centres and all that stuff set up to supposedly help the Na'vi.

Earth science might be good, but they can't bio engineer a virus in 7 days. Not one that has to kill an entire planet of natives anyway.

[DJ]

That's why you make the virus before you set off, or at least en route.

[Kagus]

Again, as pointed out before, they somehow managed to develop a method of genetically engineering a human/Na'Vi hybrid and then creating the cloning equipment required to produce the damn things.  Something tells me that a virus wouldn't be that hard to pull off.

Especially seeing as they have a perfect hybrid DNA staging ground which would allow the bug to mutate and adapt on its own terms before going cross-species.  Damn near wouldn't even need the help of expert geneticists.

[Il Palazzo]

One of the many things that bugs me about the Matrix trilogy is why the machines choose humans as their energy source. Surely other animals or even plants (although I doubt plants could survive in the wasteland) would be more efficient for energy farming and much easier to control than humans.

I like to think that the machines kept humans around for moral reasons, i.e.: "They're our ancestors, dumb fucks that they are we should still keep them around in a zoo or something. Especially that they can't really live in the wild anymore." They gave them a bit of living space that sort of looks like home, and hooked them up to the grid to recover at least some of the costs, because that's the only way to sustain the whole thing in that fucked up world.
It's just the fanatics from the resistance that can't grasp that the energy is not the goal. And since we see the film from the resistance's perspective...

[10ebbor10]

That's why you make the virus before you set off, or at least en route.

But why? The RDA is not evil(Not that evil anyway).  They don't want to screw over the local environement or kill off the local populace. Why would they take such a huge risk for something that won't do them any good. From the RDA's point of view the natives aren't that dangerous . After all the RDA mine and the NA vi populace have been living toghether for a good 30 years, whitout any major problems. It's only recently that the relations had worsened, due to communication mishaps and direct provocation by the RDA.

Spoiler: Extended edition spoiler (click to show/hide)

-The extended edition reveals that the Well of souls was bulldozed on purpose. It wasn't on their normal approach route, they just made a slight diversion to provoke the Na'vi, who reacted with burning the dozers justifying an armed relocation by colonel Quarrith.

-It also reveals an earlier incident, where joung Na'vi burned a dozer, then hid in the School when chased by marines. Grace got most of the children out.

Again, as pointed out before, they somehow managed to develop a method of genetically engineering a human/Na'Vi hybrid and then creating the cloning equipment required to produce the damn things.  Something tells me that a virus wouldn't be that hard to pull off.

Especially seeing as they have a perfect hybrid DNA staging ground which would allow the bug to mutate and adapt on its own terms before going cross-species.  Damn near wouldn't even need the help of expert geneticists.

Then again. There are enough biochemical barriers to prevent a virus from jumping between human and Na'vi. While they are probably perfectly capable of creating a virus, they have no reason to do so.

[DJ]

Why does USA have so many damn nukes even though they don't actually plan to nuke anyone? Gotta be prepared, bro. And you don't have to be Nostradamus to predict that natives could start making trouble for your people that are stripping their land of ridiculously valuable resources.