Great Speeches from SF & Fantasy

[Deleted member]

Someone like Wallace Breen is perfectly designed to make me hate them, I do have to say.

 

[Husky_Khan]

"War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend."

- Faramir from the novel Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

"The enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. You wonder what his name is, where he comes from, and if he really was evil at heart. What lies or threats led him on this long march from home, or he would not rather have stayed there... in peace? War will make corpses of us all."

- Faramir from the movie Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

 

[Kevral]

Killzone 1

"My people. Sons and daughters of Helghan.
For many years, we have been a broken nation. Shunned, oppressed, and conquered by those we sought to escape. 10 years ago, I asked for time, and that time was granted by you. You, the strength in my arm, the holders of my dreams.
Our forefathers embarked on the greatest exodus in the history of all mankind. An exodus for freedom. Helghan became that freedom. Our new world changed our bodies. At first, it weakened us, but in fact, we were growing... stronger. [...]
In the time you have given me, I have rebuilt our nation, I have rebuilt our strength, AND I have rebuilt our pride! Our enemies at home have been reeducated. We have given them new insights into our cause. On this day, we stand united once more. On this day, those driven to divide us will hear our voice! On this day, we shall act as one, and we shall be ignored NO MORE!
...Defenders of the Helghast dream, NOW IS OUR TIME!"

Killzone 2 Intro

"My people... Sons and daughters of Helghan. This much I vow.
The history of these days will be written in blood. By crushing the armies of our enemy, by seizing the weapons they thought to turn against us, we were fighting for our very existence.
But if there are those who would deny us peace; refuse us our rightful place in the universe, then we will unleash such terrible vengeance that generations yet unborn will cry out in anguish! [...]
The enemy may shatter our bodies, but they cannot break our spirit.
Even now they advance on our home world, to seize by force what they cannot claim by right. They cannot imagine what awaits them. WE WILL SMITE THE INVADERS FROM OUR SKIES!
Though they sweep over our lands like the sands of winter; never again will we bow before them; never again endure their oppression; never again endure their tyranny. We will strike without warning and without mercy; fighting as one hand, one heart, one soul. We will shatter their dreams and haunt their nightmares, drenching our ancestors' graves with their blood. And as our last breath tears at their lungs; as we rise again from the ruins of our cities... they will know, Helghan belongs to the Helghast."

 

[Husky_Khan]

On a lighter note, if you are already in one of our designated safe zones, I feel obliged to point out that a more fortunate side-effect of the reactor's destruction is the complete removal of the Combine's reproductive suppression field.

Previously, certain protein chains important to the process of embryonic development were selectively prevented from forming. This is no longer the case. For those so inclined, now would be an excellent time for procreation. Which is to say, in layman's terms, you should give serious consideration to doing your part for the revival of the species. We must make the most of the time we have, as it is by no means certain how much time we have secured ourselves before the Combine attempt to restore their dominion, as they certainly shall.

...

Even so, there is greater reason for hope now than at any time in the past decade.

We have made, in secret, several technological advances which we will do our best to deploy in advance of the Combine's return.

We continue to diligently assemble and train a new generation of scientists and technicians.

For what the Combine fear the most is not any tangible human weapon, but our will, our intellect, our ability to respond selectively and rationally to every terror they turn against us.

We place our firmest hope in the human spirit, even knowing how easily it may be shattered. We have all seen friends and family crushed by the Combine. Some of our neighbors have allowed themselves to be co-opted, and purged of their humanity, by the military machine.

And those who resisted have met a most terrible fate.

Still, I cannot overstate how important it is that we retain our humanity. Only this will allow us to hold together as we must for their inevitable return...and what is certain to be unimaginable retaliation.

And...oh yes, if you missed any part of this message, it will loop repeatedly until there is no point in looping it any longer.

I apologize for any inadvertent errors or omissions. As you can imagine, we have had scarcely time to record, let alone rehearse-

Oh right.

This has been Dr. Isaac Kleiner, formerly of Black Mesa, now simply a citizen, like all of you, of Earth.

Let me just add to all those who can hear me now, as we struggle out of the shadow of our malefactors, welcome back to the light.

 

[Husky_Khan]

Crom, I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember if we were good men or bad. Why we fought, and why we died. All that matters is that today, two stood against many. Valor pleases you, so grant me this one request. Grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, the HELL with you!

 

[What's the sitch?]

Lo there do I see my father; Lo there do I see my mother and my sisters and my brothers; Lo there do I see the line of my people, back to the beginning. Lo, they do call to me, they bid me take my place among them, in the halls of Valhalla, where the brave may live forever.

You can honestly swap or alter just a bit and it fits most religions or belief systems

 

[Husky_Khan]

Best Godzilla speech. Raymond Burr as Steve Martin, a journalist who survived the previous 1954 Godzilla attack and this one!

Nature has a way sometimes of reminding Man of just how small he is. She occasionally throws up terrible offspring's of our pride and carelessness to remind us of how puny we really are in the face of a tornado, an earthquake, or a Godzilla. The reckless ambitions of Man are often dwarfed by their dangerous consequences. For now, Godzilla - that strangely innocent and tragic monster - has gone to earth. Whether he returns or not, or is never again seen by human eyes, the things he has taught us remain.

 

[Deleted member]

Lo there do I see my father; Lo there do I see my mother and my sisters and my brothers; Lo there do I see the line of my people, back to the beginning. Lo, they do call to me, they bid me take my place among them, in the halls of Valhalla, where the brave may live forever.

You can honestly swap or alter just a bit and it fits most religions or belief systems

The Thirteenth Warrior was an underrated film.

 

[Deleted member 88]

"There are thousands of warriors out here. You are only one man!"

"I am only one Jedi."

"You're insane!"

"No. I am Ganner. This threshold is mine. I claim it for my own. Bring on your thousands, one at a time or all in a rush. I don't give a damn. None shall pass."

―Nom Anor and Ganner Rhysode

 

[Duke Nukem]

I like this speech because Irons is absolutely right about democracies.

 

[Husky_Khan]

Malak: Impossible. I... I cannot be beaten, I... I am the Dark Lord of the Sith
Revan: This is the way of the Dark Side Malak, all things end in death.
Malak: Still spouting wisdom of the Jedi I see. Maybe there was more truth in their code then I ever believed. I cannot help but wonder Revan. What would have happened had our positions been reversed? What if fate had decreed I would be captured by the Jedi? Could I have returned to the light, as you did? If you had not led me down the Dark Path in the first place, what destiny would I have found?
Revan: I am sorry I started you on this path, but you chose to continue down it.
Malak: I suppose... I suppose you speak the truth. I must accept responsibility for my fate. I wanted to be Master of the Sith and Ruler of the Galaxy. But that destiny was not mine Revan. It might have been yours perhaps... but never mine. And in the end as the darkness takes me... I am nothing.

As a villain he doesn't stand out too much, but that final exchange of dialogue, gives me sympathy chills in the end. Very impactful and definitely memorable even after all of this time.

 

[Aaron Fox]

(Thankfully Dawn of War 1 and 2 have their scenes with subtitles as standard. )

 

[Bacle]

Do not fuck with Avasarala.

 

[Hlaalu Agent]

Another oldy, but goody for Starcraft. Not exactly a speech, but the final words of a man who only realized the depths of his arrogance when it was already too late.

[Gerald DuGalle dictating a letter meant for his wife]
"Dearest Helena: By now, the news of our defeat has reached the Earth. The creatures we were sent here to tame are un-tamable, and the colonies we were sent to reclaim have proven to be stronger than we anticipated. Whatever you may hear about what has happened out here, know this: Alexei did not die gloriously in battle. I killed him. My pride killed him. And now my pride has consumed me as well. You will never see me again, Helena. Tell our children that I love them, and that their father died in defense of their future. Au revoir."
[commits suicide by revolver]

 

[Bassoe]

Maureen was moving toward the platform. Harvey hesitated, then went with her. What would he say? Men would charge machine guns for a cause. Viva la republic! For King and Country! Duty, Honor, Country! Remember the Alamo! Liberte! Egalitel Fraternite! But nobody had ever gone over the top shouting "A Higher Standard of Living!" or "Hot Showers and Electric Razors!"

And we used to control the lightning!

Sure we can huddle here in our valley. We can stay here and be safe and our kids can grow up herding pigs and shoveling sewage. There's a lot here to be proud of, because it's so much more than what might have been—but is it enough? Is it enough for us to be safe when we leave everybody else out in the cold? You all say how sorry you are to have to turn people away. To have to send people Outside. Well, we've got the chance now. We can make all of Outside, the whole damn San Joaquin Valley, as safe as we are.

Or there's another way. We can stay here, safe as ... as ground squirrels. But if we take the easy way this time, we'll take it next time. And the next, and the next, and in fifty years your kids will hide under the bed when they hear the thunder! The way everybody used to hide from the great thunder gods. Peasants always believe in thunder gods.

And the comet. We know what it was. In ten more years we'd have been able to push the damned thing out of our way! I've been in space. I won't go there again, but your children could! Hell yes! Give us that electric plant and twenty years and we'll be in space again. We know how, and all it takes is power, and that power's right out there, not fifty miles from here, if we've just got guts enough to save it. Think about it. Those are the choices. Go on and be good peasants, safe peasants, superstitious peasants—or have worlds to conquer again. To control the lightning again.

 

[Captain X]

Okay, you guys asked for it.

 

[Husky_Khan]

For all of our Comrades International... there is still one place left not corrupted by Capitalism.



"Commander! You've rained on my glorious parade! For this, I'm sending everything I got at you, but I won't let you have the satisfaction of catching me. I'm escaping to the one place that hasn't been corrupted by capitalism... space!"

 

[Syzygy]

An eloquent orator for someone with only half their mouth.

 

[Bassoe]

It's hard for governments to spend resources on projects that won't have any immediate return. For instance, it is a scientific fact that someday a large object from space will collide with Earth. If the object is large enough, it could destroy all life on our planet. If it is smaller, it might simply destroy human civilization.
A meteor large enough to cause us terrible damage might still be so small that with existing technology, we would not detect it until only a few weeks before impact. Wouldn't it be nice if, when such an object appears, a technological civilization from Earth had had the foresight to set up distant observation stations to detect such an object years before any possible collision?
Wouldn't it be nice if that technological civilization had even installed an automatic system that would obliterate or turn away most such objects without any conscious human intervention? And what if this system were built with such high tolerances that it could last for a hundred thousand years without any further maintenance? That way it could go on protecting the human race even if we stupidly allow ourselves to lose our high technology.
There has been only one civilization, one nation in the history of the human race that could realistically aspire to achieve such early-warning and protection systems to benefit the whole world. And that is the United States of America.
But we're a democracy. That means that it is extremely hard for our government to take expensive actions whose benefits do not come before the next election.
And since we can't predict when we will actually need this system to warn us of or deflect a dangerous meteor, how can the American government justify taxing our people now to pay for a system that may not save the world for a hundred years? Or a thousand?
Yet if we, with our present level of prosperity and technology, do not create such a system, then when an Earth-wrecking object approaches and there is nothing that can be done in time, they will spend the last days of their lives cursing our names, remembering what we could have done, and chose not to.
I will certainly not be president long enough to see such a project to its conclusion. But neither was John F. Kennedy still president, or even alive, when his moon-landing project came to fruition. Yet if he had not begun it, it would not have been achieved. And it was that achievement that laid the groundwork for what we in turn must do.
Oh, and yes—spending money on developing this system will certainly stimulate our present sagging economy, and the benefits of the new technologies will once again spread through the world.
Already, all the people who are smarter than me are readying their criticisms. They will say, "Don't we have enough problems right here on Earth, right now, that we shouldn't waste money on space?"
All I can do is ask those of you who are as dumb as me to remember that this is a project that will someday save the human race. Our children may well bless our names because we just weren't smart enough to know we couldn't or shouldn't do the job.

 

[Captain X]

You know what? TR knew he'd never see the Panama Canal get finished while he was actually President, but he still pushed for it, and very much made it "Roosevelt's Canal" for a long time to come. So it's possible.