Boxing Pandora

James Cameron makes interesting choices in projects. And he likes to connect the dots between them - just look at 'The Abyss' and his latest epic 'Avatar' and compare the bioluminescence in both. (The jellyfish-like 'seeds' in 'Avatar' were another reminder.)

The word 'Abyss' brings to mind a deep, dark, mysterious, and dangerous region, which the movie populated with benevolent and angelic aliens. The name 'Pandora' - the moon inhabited by Cameron's aliens in Avatar, conjurs a place filled with mischief and destruction. And indeed the flora and fauna of Pandora are dangerous to humans - even the atmosphere is promptly fatal. But the natives of Pandora are well-adjusted to their world, and in their way as benevolent as the beings in 'The Abyss'.

In both movies the true dangers come from humanity. Maybe that's why some people are experiencing the strong desire to make 'Pandora' real - and suffering when they realize they can't.

As far as I could discern, no one ever had that reaction to 'The Abyss', but then the oceanic deep is a scary place, even with angelic aliens bustling about. Pandora with all it's dangers seems more appealing, as long as you can go as one of the natives.

So, for those who long for that perfectly balanced world, and can't find it here on Earth version 2010, is there a way to box Pandora and bring it home? Can it be made real enough to satisfy those humans who long to escape humanity?

Holodecks, we need you now...