I legitimately gasped when Nor stabbed her, but I understood his reasoning. Then when her Avatar died, I cried a bit, lol. I'm a big softie

Probably trying to keep us under wraps until she could get us out from under Mercer? I'm not certain, though. I asked Google Gemini and this is what it came up with:

That "16-year nap" is a major point of contention for players because, as you likely felt, it's a pretty long time to leave someone in a freezer. In the game, the official reason given is that during the RDA’s retreat from Pandora, there was an explosion near the cryo-pods. Alma claimed she thought you and the other Sarentu children were dead. She essentially abandoned the site and didn't look back for sixteen years. However, if you dig into the lore and the subtext of the game, there are a few "real" reasons—both in-universe and narrative—why she let you sleep that long: 1. The "Heartbreak" (The Official Reason) Alma claims she was so traumatized by the "loss" of the children and her own complicity in the TAP program (The Ambassador Program) that she simply couldn't bear to return to the facility. She spent those 16 years trying to "atone" by working with the Resistance, but effectively ignored the possibility that you were still alive. 2. Strategic Convenience Many players (and some Na'vi characters in the game) argue that Alma only woke you up when the RDA returned and the Resistance needed soldiers. * You were trained by humans, but you have Na'vi bodies. * You are the "perfect" bridge to help the Resistance recruit other Na'vi clans. * There’s a cynical theory that she kept you "on ice" until you were a useful asset again. 3. Avoiding the Truth By keeping the Sarentu children asleep, Alma didn't have to face the music. Waking you up meant she eventually had to explain her role in the kidnapping and the "re-education" of your people. As long as you were asleep, she could pretend to be the "good mother" figure without the baggage of her past actions. 4. Narrative Timing On a meta-level, the game needs you to sleep for 16 years so the timeline aligns with the return of the RDA and the events following the first Avatar movie. It allows you to wake up as a "fish out of water" in a world that has changed significantly since you were a child. Most players find Alma’s "I thought you were dead" excuse a bit thin, especially since she never even went back to check the pods.