"Vannevar Bush: No board in this country should sit in judgement of a man because he expressed strong opinions. If you want to try that case, you can try me."

"David Hill: The views I have to express are my own, but I believe that much I have to say will help indicate why most of the scientists in this country would prefer to see Mr. Strauss completely out of the government."

"Harry S. Truman: [to Oppenheimer] You think anyone in Hiroshima or Nagasaki gives a shit who built the bomb? They care who dropped it. I did. Hiroshima isn’t about you."

"George Kistiakowsky: [referring to the Trinity Gadget] A month of my salary against ten bucks says it lights."

"Henry Stimson: [referring to the firebombing of Tokyo] I worry about an America where we do these things and no one protests."

"Phillip Morrison: But how do we justify using this weapon on human beings?"

"Lilli Hornig: It’s no longer the enemy who are the greatest threat to mankind - it’s us. Our work."

"Haakon Chevalier: Robert, you see beyond the world we live in. There’s a price to be paid for that."

"Enrico Fermi: [referring to the hydrogen bomb] It's a weapon of attack with no defensive value."

"Jean Tatlock: Don’t alienate the only people in the world who understand what you do. One day you might need them."

"Opening Text: [Greek Proverb] "Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. For this he was chained to a rock and tortured for eternity.""

"[to Oppenheimer] You’re the great salesman of science. You can convince anyone of anything - even yourself."

"History will judge us, Robert."

"[referring to Los Alamos] Who could think straight in a place like that? Everybody will go crazy."

"In a great number of cases I have seen Dr Oppenheimer act in a way which for me was exceedingly hard to understand. I thoroughly disagreed with him in numerous issues, and his actions, frankly, appeared to me confused and complicated. To this extent, I feel that I would like to see the vital interests of this country in hands which I understand better and therefore trust more."

"[referring to Oppenheimer] I have always assumed, and now assume, that he is loyal to the United States. I believe this, and I shall believe it until I see very conclusive proof to the opposite."

"J. Robert Oppenheimer, sphinx-like guru of the atom. No one knows what you believe! Do you?"

"Would the Japanese surrender if they knew what was coming?"

"You’re a politician now, Robert. You left physics behind many years ago."

"[to Oppenheimer] It’s important you not maintain or renew any questionable associations."

"Dr Oppenheimer, the fact that your security clearance is proving difficult to obtain is not my fault. It’s yours."

"I think one of the wisest things I ever did was when I selected the director of Los Alamos."

"Robert, we’ve given them an ace. It’s for them to play the hand."

"[referring to the Chevalier incident] I’ve seen so many versions of it. I wasn’t confused before, but I’m certainly getting there now."

"[to Edward Condon] You have just the rights that I give you - no more, no less!"

"You’ve served America well, and if this is the reward she has to offer, then perhaps you should turn your back on her."

"[to Oppenheimer] About the only thing you and I share is a disdain for mathematics."

"So here we are, lost in your quantum world of probabilities and needing certainty."

"Why go through all this against a man who’s accomplished what Dr. Oppenheimer has? Look at his record; we have an A-bomb and a whole series of it, and we have a whole series of Super bombs. What more do you want? Mermaids?"

"You drown in ten feet of water or ten thousand, what’s the difference? We can already drown Russia, and they know it."

"An H-bomb would be one thousand times the power of an A-bomb. The only intended target would be the largest cities. It’s a weapon of mass genocide."

"[to Oppenheimer] Take off that ridiculous uniform. You’re a scientist."

"[to Oppenheimer] When you speak, they hear a prophet. When Strauss speaks, they hear themselves...a prophet can’t be wrong. Not once."

"You drop a bomb, it falls on the just and unjust. I don't wish for the culmination for three centuries of physics to be a weapon of mass destruction."