Palmer
Joss: I'm not against technology, doctor. I'm against the
men who deify it at the expense of human truth.
S.R. Hadden: First rule in government spending: why build
one when you can have two at twice the price?
Dr. Eleanor Ann Arroway: Mathematics is the only true universal
language.
Theodore Arroway: Small moves, Ellie, small moves.
Dr. Kent Clark: Dr. Arroway will be spending her precious
telescope time listening for... uh... listening for... Dr.
Eleanor Ann Arroway: Little green men.
David Drumlin: Ellie, still waiting for E.T. to call?
Palmer Joss: You could call me a man of the cloth, without
the cloth.
Palmer Joss: We shop at home, we surf the Web, at the same
time we're emptier.
Jay Leno: So there's life on other planets. That's sure
going to change the Miss Universe contest!
[Witnessing a celestial light show up close.] Dr. Eleanor
Ann Arroway: Some celestial event. No-- no words. No words
to describe it. Poetry! They should've sent a poet. So beautiful.
So beautiful... I had no idea.
Alien: You're an interesting species, an interesting mix.
You're capable of such beautiful dreams and such horrible
nightmares. You feel so lost, so cut off, so alone, only
you're not. See, in all our searching, the only thing we've
found that makes the emptiness bearable is each other.
Ellie Arroway: So what's more likely? That a mysterious,
all-powerful God created the universe, and then decided
not to leave a single evidence of his existence? Or that
He simply doesn't exist at all, and that we created Him,
so that we wouldn't have to feel so small and lonely?
[Kent is blind.] Kent Clark: Nice to smell you again, Mr.
Kitz. Kitz: You too.
David Drumlin: I know you must think this is all very unfair.
Maybe that's an understatement. What you don't know is I
agree. I wish the world was a place where fair was the bottom
line, where the kind of idealism you showed at the hearing
was rewarded, not taken advantage of. Unfortunately, we
don't live in that world. Dr. Eleanor Ann Arroway: Funny,
I've always believed that the world is what we make of it.
Dr. Eleanor Ann Arroway: Occam's razor. You ever heard of
it? Palmer: Hack-em's Razor. Sounds like some slasher movie.
Executive: We must confess that your proposal seems less
like science and more like science fiction. Dr. Eleanor
Ann Arroway: Science fiction. You're right, it's crazy.
In fact, it's even worse than that, it's nuts. You wanna
hear something really nutty? I heard of a couple guys who
wanna build something called an airplane, you know you get
people to go in, and fly around like birds, it's ridiculous,
right? And what about breaking the sound barrier, or rockets
to the moon? Atomic energy, or a mission to Mars? Science
fiction, right? Look, all I'm asking is for you to just
have the tiniest bit of vision. You know, to just sit back
for one minute and look at the big picture. To take a chance
on something that just might end up being the most profoundly
impactful moment for humanity, for the history... of history.
Michael Kitz: Your having sent this announcement all over
the world may well constitute a breach of national security.
Dr. Eleanor Ann Arroway: This isn't a person-to-person call.
You can't possibly think that a civilization sending this
kind of message would intend it just for Americans. Michael
Kitz: I'm saying you might have consulted us; obviously,
the contents of this message could be extremely sensitive.
Dr. Eleanor Ann Arroway: You want to classify prime numbers?
Palmer Joss: What are you studying up there? Dr. Eleanor
Ann Arroway: Oh, the usual. Nebulae, quasars, pulsars, stuff
like that. What are you writing? Palmer Joss: The usual.
Nouns, adverbs, adjective here and there.
[Ellie challenges Palmer to prove the existence of God]
Palmer Joss: Did you love your father? Dr. Eleanor Ann Arroway:
What? Palmer Joss: Your dad. Did you love him? Dr. Eleanor
Ann Arroway: Yes, very much. Palmer Joss: Prove it.
Dr. Eleanor Ann Arroway: Dad, do you think there's people
on other planets? Theodore Arroway: I don't know, Sparks.
But I guess I'd say if it is just us... seems like an awful
waste of space.
Palmer Joss: The reason I gave for not voting for you was
a good one, but it wasn't the real one. I didn't vote for
you because I didn't want to lose you.
Palmer Joss: By doing this, you're willing to give your
life, you're willing to die for it. Why? Dr. Eleanor Ann
Arroway: For as long as I can remember, I've been searching
for something, some reason why we're here. What are we doing
here? Who are we? If this is a chance to find out even just
a little part of that answer... I don't know, I think it's
worth a human life. Don't you?
