Transhumanism In Media

"Do you see it? When I am dust, this is what they'll point to! My Quadtych! My masterpiece. Go ahead. Don't be afraid. Touch it."

"I believe in no God, no invisible man in the sky. But there is something more powerful than each of us, a combination of our efforts, a Great Chain of industry that unites us. But it is only when we struggle in our own interest that the chain pulls society in the right direction. The chain is too powerful and too mysterious for any government to guide. Any man who tells you different either has his hand in your pocket, or a pistol to your neck."

"Today I had lunch with the Goddess. "Steinman," she said… "I'm here to free you from the tyranny of the commonplace. I'm here to show you a new kind of beauty." I asked her, "What do you mean, goddess?" "Symmetry, dear Steinman. It's time we did something about symmetry...""

"Why do we have two eyes? Is there some law that says we must? Two arms, two legs, two ears, two breasts..."

"My trees! It wasn't you, was it? No... Ryan...! I think I've got a way to save the trees, it's a genetic vector that- Oh, look who I'm talking to... Could you find me a sample of Rosa Gallica for me? Look in the Grotto... I've got to keep working while there's still time..."

"You've brought the Rosa Gallica? Well, what you waiting for? An engraved invitation? Send it through the Pneumo! [when the player does so] Yes, this is perfect... Perfect... [the door to her office opens] Come on up to my office... I'm letting you in now... I think I've got just the thing to put the green back in this forest."

"[when Ryan addresses her over the radio; fearful] Mr. Ryan? [Ryan poisons the air in Langford's office] No... Wait... No! Please! [begins choking] MR. RYAN! [chokes to death]"

"[after cutting communications with Atlas] Ah, that's better. Atlas, Ryan, Atlas, Ryan, duh duh duh, duh duh duh. Time was, you could get something decent on the radio. The artist has a duty to seduce the ear and delight the spirit, so say goodbye to those two blowhards, and hello to an evening with Sander Cohen! Now, I haven't seen a sign of real life down here in months. Let's see if you're just another Johnny-come-lately, or maybe something more delicious."

"[On Protectors/“Big Daddies” and Gatherers/“Little Sisters”] On my walk today I had my first encounter with a pair of them… he, a lumbering palooka in a foul-smelling diving suit, and she, an unwashed moppet in a filthy pink smock. Her pallor was off, green and morbid, and there was a rather unpleasant aspect to her demeanor, as if she were in an altogether different place than the rest of us. …I understand the need for such creatures, I just wish they could make them more presentable."

"Atlas radioed on ahead. Says you were looking for an invite to the fisheries. Nuts, I say. But, if'n you heads up to the wharf master's office and find ol' Peach a Research Camera, maybe I could manage an invite."

"That's three of four...what's that look? You don't like it, do you? I don't need to be judged by you, by anyone! Screw you!! Screw all you fucking Doubters!!! Here's what I say to all of you!!!!"

"I'm sorry for that outburst. You'll have to forgive an old fool his artistic temperament. The birth is so close now. The labor pains can blur the judgment and drive the passions of even the finest spirits."

"You become Big Daddy, it's a one-way street."

"Fontaine scary son of a bitch, but Ryan cheap son of a bitch. You can no reuse protector suit. Take a man, graft skin and organs straight into suit, otherwise suit not work. Ryan say Big Daddy too expensive. Ryan can go suck egg."

"[referring to Brigid Tenenbaum] That’s quite a little monster Fontaine's dug up. When she does speak, which is almost never, her accent is thick and grating. Her hair is filthy and she seems to wear the same mustard-stained jumper day after day. But I've got to hand it to Frank: Tenenbaum is the all-time diamond in the rough. No formal training, no experience... but put her in front of a gene sequence, and she's Mozart at the harpsichord."

"[to Jack, after shooting Splicer near a Little Sister] Stay away from her, or it is you who will be shot next!"

"What is the difference between a Man and a Parasite? A Man builds. A Parasite asks, "Where is my share?" A Man creates. A Parasite says, "What will the neighbors think?" A Man invents. A Parasite says, "Watch out, or you might tread on the toes of God...""

"I will dictate no laws. The Great Chain moves slowly, but with wisdom. It is our impatience that invites in the Parasite of big government. And once you've invited it in, it will never stop feeding on the body of the city."

"Free will is the cornerstone of this city. The thought of sacrificing it is abhorrent. However… we are indeed in a time of war. If Atlas and his bandits have their way, will they not turn us into slaves? And what will become of free will then? Desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Just remember, sonny friend: I smell an ounce of Fontaine on you, and I'll have you in a box! Atlas gives you the vouch, but I ain't turning my eye just on his say so!"

"[as Jack enters Rapture Central Control room] Even in the book of lies, sometimes you find truth. There is indeed a season for all things. And now that I see you flesh-to-flesh and blood-to-blood, I know I cannot raise my hand against you. But know this: you are my greatest disappointment. Does your master hear me? Atlas! You can kill me, but you will never have my city! My strength is not in steel and fire, that is what the parasites will never understand. A season for all things! A time to live, and a time to die. A time to build... And a time TO DESTROY! [suddenly sets core to self-destruct] Come now, my child. There is one final thing to discuss."

"Though my physical defences fall, you'll not defeat me. My strength is not in steel and fire, but in my intellect and will. You hear me, Atlas?! Andrew Ryan offers you nothing but ashes!"

"[casually playing golf in his office as Jack approaches] The assassin has overcome my final defense, and now he's come to murder me. In the end, what separates a man from a slave? Money? Power? No. A man chooses; a slave obeys. You think you have memories: a farm, a family, an airplane, a crash, and then this place. Was there really a family? Did that airplane crash, or was it ? Forced down... Forced down by something less than a man. Something bred to sleepwalk through life until they are activated by a simple phrase, spoken by their kindly master. Was a man sent to kill, or a slave? A man chooses; a slave obeys. Come in. [Ryan's office door opens; Jack approaches] Stop, would you kindly? [Jack obeys] Would you kindly? Powerful phrase. Familiar phrase? [Jack recalls all the times Atlas said "Would you kindly"] Sit, would you kindly? [Jack sits] Stand, would you kindly? [Jack stands, Ryan motioning him up with his club] Run. [Jack runs away from Ryan] Stop! [Jack stops] Turn. [Jack turns to face Ryan] A man chooses; a slave obeys. [hands Jack his golf club] Kill! [Jack strikes Ryan in the head] A man chooses...! [Jack strikes again] A slave obeys! [Jack strikes again; Ryan grabs Jack as he screams in agonizing pain] OBEY!! [Jack lodges the golf club in Ryan's skull; Ryan falls over dead]"

"All roads in Rapture lead to Ryan. The security, the Splicers, the Big Daddies, the Little Sisters: he pumps some kind of chemical scent in the air, pheromones they call it, makes them all dance to his tune."

"[after the player escapes from the Welcome Center] Now you've met Andrew Ryan, the bloody King of Rapture. Now find your way to Emergency Access."

"So far away from your family, from your friends, from everything you ever loved. But, for some reason, you like it here. You feel something you can't quite put your finger on. Think about it for a second, and maybe the word will come to you: Nostalgia."

"To build a city at the bottom of the sea! Insanity. But where else could we be free from the clutching hand of the Parasites? Where else could we build an economy that they would not try to control, a society that they would not try to destroy? It was not impossible to build Rapture at the bottom of the sea. It was impossible to build it anywhere else."

"The wharf rat didn't get himself wet. You got something for me and my crew, or are you just looking to get criticized? You set here a spell. I needs to put on some coffee. Maybe puts on silverware and the like."

"And here's the glorious news: this is just the moment of conception! Out in this place there are three men, all former disciples of mine, all connected by a common thread... Betrayal. Find them, little moth, and immortalize their mortality in my Quadtych. Go. Once they've been sent to their reward, you shall go to yours... and to Ryan."

"Why are you so resistant to the traditional methods of separating a man from his soul? You're not CIA, are you? You belong to Atlas, the one roach I can't seem to exterminate. Don't worry. I just need time to find the proper poison."

"Julie, we made a business deal, you and I, did we not? Money changed hands. Let me read to you from the agreement... Section 3, Subsection 4: 'Ryan Corp maintains exclusive rights to the creation, use, and exploitation of the Lazarus Vector'. [floods Langford's office with poisoned gas] Ownership is civilization, Julie. Without it, we're back in the swamp..."

"A worm looks up and sees the face of God! But look around...it's a regular convention of worms in here. They all had mothers, fathers, people who loved them. They got married, fucked their wives. What makes you think you're any different? I haven't chosen a spot for you on the wall yet. Let me know if you have a preference."

"I came to this place to build the impossible. You came to rob what you could never build. A , gaping at the gates of Rome. Even the air you breathe is sponged from my account. Well, breathe deep ... so later you might remember the taste."

"[to Jack over the radio, after the submarine explodes] You ooze in like an assassin and then you try to sneak out like a thief. You're no CIA spook. Who are you? Why have you come here? There's two ways to deal with a mystery...uncover it, or eliminate it."

"[speaking to Jack over the radio in Arcadia] On the surface, I once bought a forest. The Parasites claimed that the land belonged to God, and demanded that I establish a there. Why? So the rabble could stand slack-jawed under the canopy and pretend that it was paradise earned. When Congress moved to nationalize my forest, I burnt it to the ground. God did not plant the seeds of this Arcadia; I did. [Arcadia fills with poisoned gas]"

"Rapture is coming back to life. Even now, can't you hear the breath returning to her lung? The shops reopening, the schools humming with the thoughts of young minds? My city will live. My city will thrive. And, when that day comes, we'll use your tombstone for paving tiles."

"Good evening, my friends. I hope you are enjoying your celebration; it has been a year of trials for us all. Tonight I wish to remind each of you that Rapture is your city. It was your strength of will that brought you here, and with that strength you shall rebuild. And so, Andrew Ryan offers you a toast. To Rapture, 1959. May it be our finest year."

"I am Andrew Ryan, and I'm here to ask you a question. Is a man not to the sweat of his brow? "No," says the man in Washington, "it belongs to the poor." "No," says the man in the , "it belongs to God." "No," says the man in Moscow, "it belongs to everyone." I rejected those answers; instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose... Rapture. A city where the artist would not fear the censor; where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality; where the great would not be constrained by the small! And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well."

"[upon finding out Jack is in Rapture] So tell me, friend, which one of the bitches sent you? The wolf, or the CIA jackal? Here's the news: Rapture isn't some sunken ship for you to plunder, and Andrew Ryan isn't a giddy socialite who can be slapped around by government muscle. And with that, farewell, or dasvidaniya, whichever you prefer."

"We all make choices, but in the end, our choices make us."

"Plasmids changed everything. They destroyed our bodies, our minds. We couldn't handle it. Best friends butchering one another, babies strangled in cribs. The whole city went to hell."

"A man chooses. A slave obeys."

"[before the player picks up the Incinerate Plasmid] A Parasite wanders the halls. We rebuilt the city, and the doubters send a fly to spoil our ointment. One thousand ADAM to the man or woman who pins its wings."

"A man builds a city at the bottom of the sea. That's a marvel. Another man happens to be on a plane that crash lands on the same city in the middle of the ocean. Why, that sounds more like... A miracle."

"Don't know what I was thinkin'. Never spliced up once the whole time I was down here in this aquarium. Figured it was bad to mix business with pleasure, but whooo! Forget all the nose-candy and floor polish I been wastin' time with! This stuff is the mother's milk!"

"[laughs cruelly] I really wound you up with that wife and child bit: [in Atlas' voice, mockingly;] "Oh, me poor Moira! Ah, me wee baby Patrick!" [laughs again, normal voice;] Maybe one day I'll get me a real family. They play well with the suckers."

"Hah! That might be enough for the working scrubs and the pencil pushers, but I need more, more. I want to splice 'till there ain't nothing left to splice with!"

"Look around you, kid. You think two-bit heroics count for a fig in this pit? You're staring down the puke stain of Ryan's busted dream. You think there's something worth saving down here? Then you deserve to gargle with the rest of these scrubs."

"Now, would you kindly find a or something? Bloody Splicers sealed Johnny in before they... Goddamn Splicers."

"Where you gonna go? Your life? Your family? They're a fairy tale, kid. No more real than something you read about in the Saturday Evening Post. Poor bastard. A motherless freak whipped up in a half-baked science experiment."