Deus Ex

"My vision is augmented."

"Well, since that makes you my new boss, take a long look at Manderley's dead body. Consider that my resignation; I don't have time to write a letter."

"When due process fails us, we really do live in a world of terror."

"You mechs may have copper wiring to reroute your fear of pain, but I've got nerves of steel."

"I never had time to take the Oath of Service to the Coalition. How about this one? I swear not to rest until UNATCO is free of you and the other crooked bureaucrats who have perverted its mission."

"Call me nostalgic, but the nightlife seems to have lost its old charm."

"Some gang-banger, maybe you should think about going back to school."

"Bravery is not a function of firepower."

"Human beings may not be perfect, but a computer program with language synthesis is hardly the answer to the world's problems."

"Every war is the result of a difference of opinion. Maybe the biggest questions can only be answered by the greatest of conflicts."

"What good's an honest soldier if he can be ordered to behave like a terrorist?"

"You've got ten seconds to beat it before I add you to the list of NSF casualties."

"What a shame. [said after NPC Gilbert Renton dies. JC says this even if he caused Renton's death]"

"A forgotten virtue like honesty is worth at least twenty credits."

"I'm not big into books."

"I'm not going to stand here and listen to you badmouth the greatest democracy the world has ever known."

"Do what you think's right, JC. Only listen to your own conscience."

"This isn't a training exercise, JC. Your targets will be human beings. Keep that in mind."

"I'm like the Russian researcher who contracted his own virus. They want to study the way I die."

"One can be too self-sufficient, I'm coming to believe."

"A few bureaucrats in New York can't make good decisions for New Jersey, let alone Paris or a village in China."

"Somehow the notion of unalienable liberty got lost. It's really become a question of what liberties will the state assign to individuals or rather, what liberties we will have the strength to cling to."

"The wealthy have always been the ones to profit from one-world government."

"It's only a matter of time before someone clever and ambitious figures out that the tools of dictatorship have been ready-made by well meaning governments all over the world."

"A word of warning, Agent Denton. This was a simulated experience; real LAMs will not be so forgiving."

"I see you; a thief on the roof. My new satellite link has both infrared and the x-ray spectrum. I see your heart beating. I see you are afraid."

"You are a small, prowling mouse... and dumb like a mouse! You keep coming, like you forget about Agent Navarre. I remember Agent Navarre. I remember for everyone."

"Again they ignore me. Again they think they have a better punishment for a traitor than a shotgun to the head."

"No, I cannot forgive! No... not the killing of Agent Navarre! I will follow you - Denton, I will get you!"

"I am the top agent at UNATCO. It is different now. Mr. Simons said if I defeat you I can have any upgrades I want. That is a gentlemen's agreement."

"No, I wanted orange! It gave me lemon-lime"

"You were just a prototype, Denton, a prototype for me."

"Bet you didn't know your mom and dad tried to protest when we put you in training. They loved their little boy, JC, and that's why they're dead. I'm sending up the man who did the job."

"[if JC kills the man who killed his parents] Barely a scratch. You're a little faster on your feet than your daddy was."

"I will be the one to merge! The one to see and know everything, to rule, to rule everything..."

"What's the rush? Take a look around. This facility is where you were born. I've arranged an appropriate fate for you through the hallway to the north. A poetic death, just a few yards away from where you were created."

"I'm always pleased to see one of my experiments perform so well. You aren't even afraid, are you? We got a lot of things right when we made you Denton, but don't worry -- I know your weaknesses."

"A cure? A cure!? Do you have any idea how easy it will be for me to make a new virus? All I have to do is find a very large prime number and multiply."

"All right. I get the picture. You want a piece of the pie, or you're going to toss the whole pie out the window. Fair enough. You can have anything you want. How about Europe? Your own continent. Just let me complete my preparations..."

"What do you want? Money? You can have VersaLife, the whole damn company. Power? I'll get you on Mead's cabinet! I'm serious, just forget about that last reactor!"

"A moment more, and I will be like nothing you've ever seen; a new life-form, everywhere and nowhere, like air or radiation, redundant, self-replicating, always evolving..."

"Look at you: You're nothing but a little man... a little man still living inside a body. Lose your body and what are you? Nothing! You vanish! You die..."

"Soon I will leave this body and death will have no meaning."

"No! You fool!... Helios will destroy you. I'm the only one who can merge and take control. Wait for ME! I promise you will have a place in the new order..."

"Go ahead! Blow this place sky-high... You might get rid of ME, but you'll take down Aquinas, the power grid, the whole electronic infrastructure - is that what you want?! Are you completely nuts?!"

"No! Don't listen to Everett. He and the Illuminati have been afraid from the beginning, afraid of US, afraid of nano-augmentation. Consider your powers, your strength, your intelligence. You've only had a small taste. Let me finish the project! Let me bring infinite power to the human body! You will not be left behind..."

"I'll make you a deal. Leave now and you will be made comfortable under the new world order."

"Some say concentrated power leads to abuse, but I believe that if an institution has a solid foundation it can survive the narrow aspirations of the people it employs."

"Being a soldier isn't just following orders, it's following those orders in the service of a higher cause. When that cause is betrayed, we're not soldiers anymore, just pieces on a chess board dying for the wrong reason."

"In my day, international peacekeepers were citizens first and soldiers second. You can forget about that extra ammo. I'm only going to give you the multitools; I think you should concentrate more on mission objectives and less on the enemy body count."

"Try to remember: people have rights. Don't just shoot everything that moves."

"A pistol is more than adequate. Hell, I dispatched a whole platoon one time with a pocket knife."

"I guess it's not surprising to find a few crooks in a place protected by security procedures. The shadow of secrecy; it protects indiscriminately."

"Direct intervention is always part of the game. In my day, we were just more civilized about it."

"My unit killed a bunch of Afghans one time, but we weren't proud of it. In fact, our liaison at the UN went to the funeral."

"Let's get one thing straight: we've got our share of crooked bureaucrats -- fact -- but this is still UNATCO, and by and large the people in this building are twenty-four carat gold."

"There's a time and a place for security, but the legislature has to stay vigilant, or there will be abuses."

"[if the player attacks him once] Someone should knock you upside the head a few times, punk. Dismissed."

"Area 51. You heard of it, right?"

"Listen to your brother, JC. Respect his experience. Let's leave it at that."

"What am I? A bum? You think I'm gonna drink anything you find lying around?"

"One thing the Air Force never understood: I'm dependable. No matter what, I'm dependable."

"Oh my God, JC! A bomb!"

"Once the bug bites, you've already lost the patient."

"One must admire a man who can keep a secret, because he has value. What you know more than others makes money, and gives you a measure of power."

"You can't run, Denton. Even if you escape, your killswitch is counting down. You'll be dead in twenty-three hours. Another fifty billion dollars down the drain."

"You take another step forward and here I am again, like your own reflection repeated in a hall of mirrors."

"You will confess, by the way. I don't like to dirty my hands with that sort of thing, but you will confess."

"What an expensive mistake you turned out to be. I've ordered the troops to kill you, because quite frankly I don't have the patience to wait for one of those damn killswitches to work."

"I'm the more advanced model, Denton. It's time for you to retire."

"Remember that NSF prisoner I was interrogating back on Liberty Island? Guess you were bitten by the same bug. There's only one cure, you know, once you've caught the disease..."

"All in all, you weren't a bad experiment. You will be the last prototype we have to discard."

"You can't take me, JC. I've seen your specs."

"The conspiracy is about to begin again, JC, between you and me. Nicolette was wise to bring us together, wise like her mother. The most effective partnerships like Beth's and mine arise from mutual necessity."

"I once knelt in this chapel for communion, with two Rockefellers and a Rothschild. Since the time of the Crusades every leader in finance has prayed for the continued stability of Templar banks, founded on gold."

"You see the need for global organization. Someone has to bring these disparate groups together."

"Know what? Only that the long night is over. The crown of government is tarnished, but that will fade in time. The riots, a fever dream; the plague, a horrible nightmare; and like everything else that's happened such things will only be dimly remembered upon waking to their normal lives. In the end, all sins are forgiven. Even yours."

"You and me, JC. We'll rule the world in secret, with an invisible hand, the way the Illuminati have always ruled."

"There's such a thing as a compassionate conspiracy. We don't need Page's commandos, troopers, crude inventions..."

"We are the Invisible Hand. We are the Illuminati. We come before and after. We are forever. And eventually... eventually we will lead them into the day."

"You can't fight ideas with bullets."

"The more of us you kill, the more secessionism lives on in the hearts of the people."

"Ever wonder why big car corporations pay two percent tax and the guys on the assembly line pay forty?"

"Corporations are so big, you don't even know who you're working for. That's terror. Terror built into the system."

"Do you ever ask what it's all for? The surveillance, the police, the shoot-on-sight laws? Is that freedom?"

"UNATCO teaches teenagers to fight when it still seems like a game, and look at you! You're a killing machine!"

"Who's the scary one, huh? Me or you?"

"Silhouette is not a terrorist group. Our attacks are symbolic and intended to influence the public."

"It's just so fitting that the American Government would destroy the gift of freedom we gave your country 200 years ago and then try to blame it on us."

"When government surveillance and intimidation is called "freedom from terrorism" or "liberation from crime", freedom and liberty have become words without meanings."

"Culture by definition a shared territory of meaning, inspires conflicts far more destructive than any other dispute over territory on the Earth's surface."

"The rhetoric in Washington has done more to defeat liberty than all the armies and police forces in the world."

"This war all around us is being fought over the very meanings of words."

"In order to get our own message before the public, we too have been violent. We have even killed people. But it is the message -- the communication event -- that we target, not a few human beings, or a building, or an historical landmark."

"I now have full access to your systems."

"Observe your motivations for breaking the arbitrary laws of the current government. Do not miss your chance to be one of us and create the new world order."

"You will find no one to help you here. Beth DuClare has been dissected and placed in cryonic storage."

"I am ready. Attack my systems and you will suffer considerable losses."

"A corpse: yes. You feel something. I must know what you are feeling."

"The human being created civilization not because of willingness but of a need to be assimilated into higher orders of structure and meaning."

"God was a dream of good government."

"You will soon have your God, and you will make it with your own hands."

"The need to be observed and understood was once satisfied by God. Now we can implement the same functionality with data-mining algorithms."

"The unplanned organism is a question asked by nature and answered by death. You are a different kind of question, with a different kind of answer."

"Greetings, JC Denton. I have been observing you through this fascinating device in your skull. You have found the proof we needed: the Dragon's Tooth sword, there inside the glass case. If you wish to be my ally, you will retrieve the sword and await my instructions."

"See how easily our technologies turn on us? The more power you think you have, the more quickly it slips from your grasp."

"You, like your brother, are an extraordinary piece of technology. I never pass up the chance to try a new blade, but I fear that at the crucial moment I may lift up my arm to strike and you will twist free of my grasp."

"JC, the net's going... the net's going black! JC! No more infolinks, transmissions of any kind. We'll start again...live in villages...if you receive this... if you survive... then find us! Find us!"

"Ah-ha, a trellis. You could climb onto the roof and avoid the security. Never depend upon weapons and high-tech when there is a simpler solution at hand."

"As long as technology has a global reach, someone will have the world in the palm of his hand. If not Bob Page, then Everett, Dowd..."

"Through with your testosterone fit? There's a pill for that, you know."

"Only in novels do places crumble to dust for no reason, when their spirit is lost."

"Both the Illuminati and MJ-12 believe that the most intelligent or "enlightened" human being will inevitably gain power, ultimately seizing the eye in the pyramid and creating the world for everyone else. Kind of secularized version of Natural Law."

"Secrecy is a matter of life and death for the Illuminati."

"I was a stand-in for the world they never got to take over."

"Some conspiracy, huh? They couldn't even control little Nicolette."

"We are thinking the same thought."

"My new partner, JC Denton. Don't tell me you're going to wear those sunglasses during a night operation."

"I do not expect you to perform as well as Agent Hermann, but the mission will require us to do more than frighten the NSF with our baggy coats that make us look bigger than we really are."

"It was my error to believe that UNATCO's superweapon would appreciate a chance to prove himself."

"Pain is no longer something I can feel."

"All this blood has ruined my chrome."

"[after killing JC] Nine-hundred and ten. I am catching up, Gunther."

"You are not afraid to kill, I am pleased. The last thing I would expect from the brother of Paul."

"I have never had this much difficulty with a trainee in my life."

"I hope you remember this lesson, agent. They have assigned us to be partners, and I will not stop to hold your hand and repeat myself when we are facing a real enemy."

"The order hasn't so much lasted as been continually revived...It's the IDEA that has lasted. The SYSTEM. Or the DESIRE, every thinking person's desire to give the world some decent organization."

"In my opinion, the history of the human race has been one long succession of conspiracies. To deceive ourselves, we call the successful conspiracies "governments"."

"Don't underestimate the allure of a well kept secret. Our organisation lasted from the Crusades to the early 21st century, and our only secret was a technique of meditation, a way of imagining your body dissolving into light."

"All the way down, JC. Get to Page's compound and take him out. Everett and I will join you shortly. We'll bring back the old institutions, the prosperity of the last century, the giddy acquiescence. Trust us, JC. We can put the world back together."

"Just fixed Gunther's knee, in fact. A sticky actuator. So far I feel more like a mechanic than a doctor."

"Gunther went berserk after you escaped, smashed up the cell block pretty bad. I had to sedate him."

"At the sound of your voice, 400 milliamps will discharge into Gunther's midbrain. Poof!"

"If there's a conspiracy, it's at VersaLife; they're the ones making money off the plague."

"Door Girl: I order you to stand in the spotlight and growl at the women like a dog who needs a master."

"Deus Ex game designer [In regard to the lack of the World Trade Center towers in the background skyline of the Liberty Island map] We just said that the towers had been destroyed too. And this was way before 9-11. Years."

"Ivan [Russian sailor at the Lucky Money Club]: I spill my drink!"

"Lucius DeBeers: We should have poisoned Page the first time he forged laboratory data. We don't equivocate about outsiders, do we? Mr. Kennedy mentions a "plot" during a speech at Columbia University, he's out, no discussion, no matter that we got him elected. But a student of ours, an initiate -- oh, heavens, no!"

""If black helicopters were really being used for 'covert' operations, then those responsible are doing a poor job of it." - Joseph Manderley, Midnight Sun Newspaper."

"ICARUS FOUND YOU!!! RUN WHILE YOU CAN!!! [Repeated 9 times in a public news terminal, formatted into a ">" shape]"

""Like two kids shoving each other on the playground, you never expect them to come to blows." - Alistair Brooks about nuclear brinkmanship"

""No man should leave in the universe anything of which he is afraid..." - The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K Chesterton"

""The Templar Knights had once been subject to no king or law; but in the end, they were swallowed by history." - The Red Cross: A History of the Knights Templar by Richard Baigent (Volume Four: Descent into Shadows)"

""Drink more, think less" (Beer advertisement near NSF generator warehouse)"

""The individual may be remembered, but the organization persists and thrives. A single artist, a single general, a single hero or a single villain may all die, but it is impossible to kill a people, a nation, an idea - except when that idea has grown weak and is overpowered by one that is stronger." - The Doctrine of the Mighty by the Majestic Council of the Twelve"

""From: AGrossman//UnderNet.7823.37.908 To: WGibson//VersaLife.980.73.01 Subject: Finally Beat ItI managed to nail Nethack v54.3.1 just a few minutes ago. Made it past the Astral Plane, and _then_ back in time to work through all of history up to Nethack v3.2.3 (this, of course, has been in every version since 48.2), but after that the game jumped a thousand years into the future and I had to build an entire interstellar trading alliance (with only the Amulet of Yendor) before the aliens from the other side of the black holes showed up...took me six months to solve that part of the game, and then I finally won.Check it out: www.nethack.orgI hear v54.3.3 should be out next week.Austin" - Email found in the VersaLife computer network"

""It is better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven." - John Milton, Paradise Lost"

""Yesterday we obeyed kings and bent our necks to emperors. Today we kneel only to truth." - Kahlil Gibran"

""If there were no god, it would be necessary to invent him." - Voltaire"

"Real conspiracies. Severe consequences. Intense action role-playing."

"Trust no one. Question everything.."

"Jay Anthony Franke - J.C. Denton, Paul Denton, Daedalus"

"Cliff Stephens - Bob Page, Ford Schick"

"Tom Hall - Walton Simons, Howard Strong, Morpheus"

"Peter Marquardt - Helios, Icarus"

"John William Galt - Joseph Manderley, Jock, Tracer Tong, Lucius DeBeers"

"Jeff Groteboer - Gunther Hermann"

"Carolyn McCormick - Anna Navarre, Janice Reed, Maggie Chow"

"Sean Hennigan - Jaime Reyes, Juan Lebedev, Morgan Everett, Sam Carter"

"Richard Zangrande Gaubert - Alex Jacobson"

"Randy Tallman - Stanton Dowd"

"Brent Anderson - Harley Filben"

"Khary Payton - JoJo Fine, Smuggler"

"Ellen Locy - Nicolette DuClare, Tiffany Savage"

"Maxence Tilliette - Chad Dumier, Toby Atanwe"

"Ric Spiegel - Gordon Quick, Max Chen"

"Ron Tatar - Gilbert Renton, Joe Greene"

"Deborah Jolly - Sandra Renton"

"I never asked for this. They say they saved me, but I'm not sure saved is the right word."

"If you wanna make enemies, try to change something. The year is 2027. It is a time of great innovation and technological advancement. It is also a time of chaos and conspiracy. I don't even know whose side I'm on."

"Corporations have more power than the government. Everyone's fighting for power. For control."

"The World doesn't care about right or wrong. It's all about power. And right now, none of us have it."

"I want the burn of smoke and nicotine in my lungs. But all I feel is the Sentinel Health System automatically counteracting the damage. Even self-destruction isn't fun anymore."

"[To Zhao Yun Ru] Women never fail to underestimate men."

"I am looking at your bank account, and...you know, Sarif really ought to pay you more..."

"Sorry man, you're not my type."

"Hey! Sarif-Man!"

"Jensen, if you even think about using that CASIE mod on me, I'll hit you."

"And... Thanks, Spy Boy."

"It's not the end of the world, but you can see it from here."

"She's coming Adam. Run."

"Be careful Adam, because everybody lies."

"No loose ends Barrett!"

"Men like us...we never get back the things we love."

"You should have stayed dead Jensen!"

"Well lookie here. We got us a boy scout."

"Tell 'em Barrett sent you straight to hell!"

"You like pineapples boy scout?"

"[If the player enters the women's restroom before the first mission] Oh, and by the way, Jensen? I know you have gone through a lot of physical changes as of late, but you didn't become a woman. Stay out of the ladies restroom."

"Oh goodie. I'll be sure to take notes."

"Stick to kicking down doors and shooting people Jensen, and stop trying to do my job. I guarantee you'll get along better that way."

"Maybe this time you'll actually save people."

"[If the player does a non-lethal or mostly non-lethal run through the first mission] Well if it isn't Mahatma Gandhi himself, come to save us all with his life-preserving presence!"

"[If the player does a lethal or mostly lethal run through the first mission] Well if it isn't Attila the Hun himself, fresh from the killing fields."

"About time! What, did you get stuck in an airduct on the way here?"

"...but please, call me Bob."

"What do you mean, almost?"

"No regrets my dear. As Ariadne told Theseus before he entered the Minotaur's labyrinth: 'Always forward...never left or right.'"

"But this discovery Adam. It's big. Kepler big. Rosetta Stone big... They'll want to know how I found it."

"These people, they're like ghosts. Always in the shadows, always hiding behind lies and proxy soldiers."

"[When referring to the Illuminati] A name won't mean much, they'll use whichever one suits their interests. Sometimes it's the Masons, sometimes the Bilderberg Group. They've had a finger in every corporation, organization, or government initiative that has defined modern society!"

"Some people will be left behind. It's evolution!"

"They cannot stop us. They cannot stop the future."

"The body may heal, but the mind is not always so resilient."

"[When asked about his perceived allegiance to the Illuminati] The Illuminati is just a name to get rich financiers to invest more money."

"These men, they control global interests on a whim!"

"Men never fail to underestimate women."

"I'm disappointed in you, Jensen. I thought we were friends. But then my hacker goes missing, you break into my place of business, half my men end up dead, and you don't even have manners enough to knock when you enter a room."

"[When inquired about Van Bruggen] Never heard of him. What he do? Steal your girl, owe you money?"

"This place isn't called The Hive for nothing. It's got plenty of worker bees coming out of the paneling to stop you."

"[Inscription on memorial in Sarif Industries lobby] They shall not grow old as we who are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. In our hearts and in our minds, their devotion to science will always be remembered. To us, they have found immortality."

"DRB Member: No jacking off with the rocket launcher."

"Chinese civilian: Hey American! Go Yankees!"

"Detroit Civilian: You know who is behind these attacks on Sarif Industries don't you? The same people who faked 9/11."

"[If Jensen has a weapon out.] Detroit Civilian: Get that shit outta my face, 'fore I shove it up yo' ass!"

"Do I trust Mankind to save itself? That's what Eliza was asking. The truth is, I don't know. After everything I've seen, all the fighting, and the chaos around me. I only know what I want to believe: somehow, human decency will triumph. These past few months, I faced many life-threatening situations. I could have given up many times, but my need to know the truth, to uncover the secrets that others were hiding, and to survive, forced me to keep on going. Most of the time, I tried to keep my values in mind, knowing my actions did not have to harm others. I held on to my humanity, resisting the urge to abuse power or resources in order to meet my goals. And in the end, I got the job done. But does this mean I have the right to choose for everyone? No. Because it isn't up to me. It isn't up to Darrow. Sarif, or Taggart, either. Ordinary men and women will have to decide together what course mankind should take. The kind of people who, time and time again, have picked and chosen the future in highly practical ways — slowing change when it's negative, speeding it up when it's good. Can they do it again? I don't know. But I do know I'm not about to let anyone in this station, including myself, stand in their way."

"Do I trust Mankind to save itself? That's what Eliza was asking. The truth is, I don't know. After everything I've seen, all the fighting, and the chaos around me. I only know what I want to believe: somehow, human decency will triumph. These past few months, I faced many life-threatening situations. I could have given up many times, but my need to know the truth, to uncover the secrets that others were hiding, and to survive, forced me to keep on going. Sometimes I considered the effect my actions would have on others, and found solutions that would benefit us all. Other times I did the opposite, abusing power and resources without care, simply to benefit myself. So what does this say about me? Perhaps that I am only human, and looking for a way to survive. Of course, so were Darrow, Sarif, and Taggart. Each of them idealistic men, so caught up in achieving their view of the future they failed to see the chaos they left behind. So now, I'm leaving the future up to ordinary men and women to decide. The kind of people who, time and time again, have picked and chosen the future in highly practical ways — slowing change when it's negative, speeding it up when it's good. Can they do it again? I don't know. But I do know I'm not about to let anyone in this station, including myself, stand in their way."

"Do I trust Mankind to save itself? That's what Eliza was asking. The truth is, I don't know. After everything I've seen, all the fighting, and the chaos around me. I only know what I want to believe: somehow, human decency will triumph. These past few months, I faced many life-threatening situations. I could have given up many times, but my need to know the truth, to uncover the secrets that others were hiding, and to survive, forced me to keep on going. Most of the time, I dealt with obstacles ruthlessly, abusing resources and inflicting suffering before others could do it to me. Detached from my humanity, I may not have done the best thing, but I always got the job done. Thank goodness, I'm not the only one out there. Because the truth is, deciding the future for all of mankind shouldn't be left up to one man. Ordinary men and women will have to decide together what course mankind should take. The kind of people who, time and time again, have picked and chosen the future in highly practical ways — slowing change when it's negative, speeding it up when it's good. Can they do it again? I don't know. But I do know I'm not about to let anyone in this station, including myself, stand in their way."

"Albert Einstein said, 'Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal.' Took me awhile, but I finally see his point. How often have we changed the dream of progress, only to see that dream perverted? More often than not, haven't the machines we built to improve life shattered the lives of millions? And now we want to turn that dream on ourselves, to fundamentally improve who we are. Experience has shown me how dangerous that can be. How many times, in the call of duty, did I almost fall into the trap of taking shortcuts, abusing my abilities or the resources at hand? I resisted, barely at times, because I valued human lives and considerations. But can I truly despise others that fall? Technology offers us strength, strength enables dominance, and dominance paves the way for abuse. Darrow understood this. He knew that using technology to becoming something more than we are risks losing our ability to love, aspire or make moral choices — the very things that make us Human. It also risks giving some men the power to make others what they choose — regardless of the cost to human dignity. The suffering Darrow inflicted is not the end of the world. It is merely the seed for change. And change never comes without pain."

"Albert Einstein said, 'Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal.' Took me awhile, but I finally see his point. How often have we changed the dream of progress, only to see that dream perverted? More often than not, haven't the machines we built to improve life shattered the lives of millions? And now we want to turn that dream on ourselves, to fundamentally improve who we are. Experience has shown me how dangerous that can be. When faced with difficult choices, sometimes I considered human lives and suffering but other times, my own interests were paramount. Did I always do the right thing? Or did the presence of an easy answer lead me astray? Technologies are invented to make our lives easier — not our choices. The problem comes when we forget that. Darrow understood this. He knew that using technology to becoming something more than we are risks losing our ability to love, aspire or make moral choices — the very things that make us Human. It also risks giving some men the power to make others what they choose — regardless of the cost to human dignity. The suffering Darrow inflicted is not the end of the world. It is merely the seed for change. And change never comes without pain."

"Albert Einstein said, 'Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal.' Took me awhile, but I finally see his point. How often have we changed the dream of progress, only to see that dream perverted? More often than not, haven't the machines we built to improve life shattered the lives of millions? And now we want to turn that dream on ourselves, to fundamentally improve who we are. Experience has shown me how dangerous that can be. When facing difficult choices, how often did I take the easiest path, abusing technologies and resources at hand in order to accomplish my goals? If other people needed my help or simply stood in my way, did I not callously and systematically discount them. Technology gave me the power to achieve what I wanted, but I was blind to the suffering I caused. Darrow understood this. He knew that using technology to becoming something more than we are risks losing our ability to love, aspire or make moral choices — the very things that make us Human. It also risks giving some men the power to make others what they choose — regardless of the cost to human dignity. The suffering Darrow inflicted is not the end of the world. It is merely the seed for change. And change never comes without pain."

"Freedom. To those that don't have, it it's more valuable than gold. But where should it start and end? We humans often think we have the right to expand, absorb, convert, or possess anything we need to reach our dreams. But time and time again, hasn't this lead to conflicts with others who essentially believe the same thing? Looking back on the challenges I faced — at the way I often resolved them — I realize morality can become our saving grace. Most of the time, didn't I try to keep my values in mind knowing how my values would affect others? More often than not, I resisted the urge to abuse power and resources simply to reach my goals more swiftly. I managed to hang on to my humanity — but the temptation to ignore it was always there. It's that temptation that so worries Taggart. He's not afraid of freedom. He's afraid of the chaos that erupts when individuals have nothing but morality to constrain them. He wants us to regulate enhancement technologies because he fears all that power without limits, without guide rails to keep us from abusing it. Absolute freedom is no better than chaos. Society needs laws and regulations to protect it. So if the men and women behind Taggart need to work in the shadows, pulling strings to enable us to head in a safe direction, will supporting them be all that bad? If they're as wise as Taggart says, how bad will their leadership be? I just hope they stand by what they say."

"Freedom. To those that don't have, it it's more valuable than gold. But where should it start and end? We humans often think we have the right to expand, absorb, convert, or possess anything we need to reach our dreams. But time and time again, hasn't this lead to conflicts with others who essentially believe the same thing? Morality is supposed to keep us in line but I can't always say it's effective. Looking back at the challenges I faced, sometimes I made an effort to spare lives, to use the tools and resources around me in ways that might benefit all. But not always. Intent on reaching my goals, how often did I waver between adhering to my morals and indulging in self-centered concerns? If I fell was it because I didn't care, or because I lacked the strength to go the extra mile? That's what Taggart is so worried about. He's not afraid of freedom; He's afraid of the chaos that erupts when individuals have nothing but a weak grasp on morality to constrain them. He wants to regulate enhancement technologies because he fears all that power without limits, without guide rails to keep us from abusing it. Absolute freedom is no better than chaos. Society needs laws and regulations to protect it. So if the men and women behind Taggart need to work in the shadows, pulling strings to enable us to head in a safe direction, will supporting them be all that bad? If they're as wise as Taggart says, how bad will their leadership be? I just hope they stand by what they say."

"Freedom. To those that don't have, it it's more valuable than gold. But where should it start and end? We humans often think we have the right to expand, absorb, convert, or possess anything we need to reach our dreams. But time and time again, hasn't this lead to conflicts with others who essentially believe the same thing? How often in my desire to reach a goal, did I put my needs first, ignoring others or causing senseless pain, simply because something stood in my way? Didn't I often act coldly, becoming a destructive force that lost touch with my humanity along the way? I got what I wanted sure, but at what cost to others around me? That's what Taggart is worried about. He's not afraid of freedom; He's afraid of the chaos that erupts when individuals have nothing but a weak grasp on morality to constrain them. He wants to regulate enhancement technologies because he fears all that power without limits, without guide rails to keep us from abusing it. Absolute freedom is no better than chaos. Society needs laws and regulations to protect it. So if the men and women behind Taggart need to work in the shadows, pulling strings to enable us to head in a safe direction, will supporting them be all that bad? If they're as wise as Taggart says, how bad will their leadership be? I just hope they stand by what they say."

"Sarif was right about one thing, it's in our nature to want to rise above our limits. Think about it. we were cold, so we harnessed fire, we were weak so we invented tools. Every time we met an obstacle we used creativity and ingenuity to overcome it. The cycle is inevitable... but will the outcome always be good? I guess that will depend on how we approach it. these past few months I was challenged many times, but more often than not didn't I try to keep morality in mind, knowing that my actions didn't have to harm others. Time and time again, didn't I resist the urge to abuse power and resources simply to achieve my goals more swiftly? In the past we've had to compensate for weaknesses, finding quick solutions that only benefit a few. But what if we never need to feel weak or morally conflicted again? What if the path Sarif wants us to take enables us to hold on to higher values with more stability? One thing is obvious for the first time in history we have a chance to steal fire from the gods. To turn away from it now — to stop pursing a future in which technology and biology combine leading to the promise of a singularity — would mean to deny the very essence of who we are. No doubt the road to get there will be bumpy, hurting some people along the way. But won't achieving the dream be worth it? We can become the gods we've always been striving to be. We might as well get good at it."

"Sarif was right about one thing, it's in our nature to want to rise above our limits. Think about it. we were cold, so we harnessed fire, we were weak so we invented tools. Every time we've met an obstacle, we've used creativity and ingenuity to overcome it. The cycle is inevitable... but will the outcome necessarily be good? Sarif thinks so, but I know how tempting it is to put your own needs in front of others. These past few months I was often tested, and even though I managed to show concern for people on several occasions, I also caused them injury enough. Consumed with a desire to succeed, I found it easy to abuse power and resources, when I wanted to. But perhaps that's just one limit I have yet to overcome. Given time and ingenuity perhaps Man's willingness to improve will turn out to be stronger than any evil his selfishness creates. One thing is obvious for the first time in history we have a chance to steal fire from the gods. To turn away from it now — to stop pursing a future in which technology and biology combine leading to the promise of a singularity — would mean to deny the very essence of who we are. No doubt the road to get there will be bumpy, hurting some people along the way. But won't achieving the dream be worth it? We can become the gods we've always been striving to be. We might as well get good at it."

"Sarif was right about one thing, it's in our nature to want to rise above our limits Think about it. we were cold so we harnessed fire we were weak so we invented tools Every time we met an obstacle we used creativity and ingenuity to overcome it. The cycle is inevitable... but will the outcome always be good? Sarif believed so, but my own experience makes me wonder. These past few months I was tested many times, and too often I chose to inflict suffering when challenged even though I had alternatives. I reacted selfishly, abusing power and resources to accomplish my goals — and I lost my humanity along the way. But perhaps selfishness is the one limit I have yet to overcome. Given time and ingenuity perhaps Man's willingness to improve will turn out to be stronger than any evil we create. One thing is obvious: for the first time in history, we have a chance to steal fire from the gods. To turn away from it now — to stop pursing a future in which technology and biology combine leading to the promise of a singularity — would mean to deny the very essence of who we are. No doubt the road to get there will be bumpy, hurting some people along the way. But won't achieving the dream be worth it? We can become the gods we've always been striving to be. We might as well get good at it."