31 quotes
Feeling Unheard in a Chaotic World
Inspector Frank Bumstead
No one ever listens to me.
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The Unpredictability of Imprinting and Awakening
Mr. Hand
On occasion the imprinting does not take. They behave erratically when they awaken. We find them wandering like lost children.
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The Paradox of a Compassionate Killer
Inspector Frank Bumstead
So, Husselbeck, what kind of killer do you think stops to save a dying fish?
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Genuine Love Cannot Be Faked
Emma Murdoch
I love you, John. You can't fake something like that.
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The Weight of Memories and Identity
Dr. Daniel P. Schreber
Tonight's requirements are: family photo albums, nine personal diaries, love letters, assorted childhood photographs, ID's and social security cards. These do bring back memories. This one is still warm. What is it? The recollections of a great lover? A catalog of conquests? We will soon find out. You wouldn't appreciate that, would you, Mr. Whatever your name is? Not the sort of conquests you would ever understand. Let's see: a touch of unhappy childhood; ah, a dash of teenage rebellion; and last, but not least, a tragic death in the family.
[examining a sample of memory serum]
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Judging Character: A Clash of Perspectives
Inspector Frank Bumstead
I've met quite a few murderers in the course of my work. Murdoch doesn't strike me as one.
Dr. Daniel P. Schreber
Perhaps you are not accustomed to digging deep enough.
Inspector Frank Bumstead
Well, I do know when someone is lying to me, Doctor.
Dr. Daniel P. Schreber
Forgive me, Inspector, but you are not a clinician. Judging personalities happens to be my business.
Inspector Frank Bumstead
Well, maybe you could give me a few pointers.
Dr. Daniel P. Schreber
Certainly. Let's take you, for instance. You are a fastidious man, driven. Consumed by details. I would say your life is rather lonely.
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Transformation into the Intended Monster
Mr. Hand
You see, I have become the monster you were intended to be.
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The Search for the Human Soul
Dr. Daniel P. Schreber
Weren't you looking for the human soul? That's the purpose of your little zoo, isn't it? That's why you keep changing people and things around every night. Maybe you have finally found what you are looking for, and it's going to bite you on your—
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The Fate of Mr. Quick
Mr. Wall
No more Mr. Quick. Mr. Quick, dead, yes.
Stranger
Poor, poor Mr. Quick.
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Identity and Morality in Dark City
John Murdoch
Maybe I have lost my mind, but whoever I am, I'm still me and I'm not a killer.
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The Creation of a Fabricated City
Mr. Hand
We fashioned this city on stolen memories: different eras, different pasts all rolled into one. Each night, we revise it, refine it, in order to learn.
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Connections in a Shared Past
Emma Murdoch
What brings you here?
Mr. Hand
I met my wife at this place.
Emma Murdoch
It's where I first met my husband.
Mr. Hand
Small world.
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The Struggle of Erasing One's Past
Dr. Daniel P. Schreber
When they first brought us here, they extracted what was in us so they could store the information, remix it like so much paint, and give us back new memories of their choosing. But they still needed an artist to help them. I understood the intricacies of the human mind better than they ever could, so they allowed me to keep my skills as a scientist because they needed them, but they made me delete everything else. Can you imagine what it is like being forced to erase your own past?
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Accountability in Detective Work
Husselbeck
Well, everything Detective Walenski committed to paper should be here, so...
Inspector Frank Bumstead
The only thing that should be committed is Walenski.
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Advice on Interacting with Strangers
Dr. Daniel P. Schreber
Now remember what I told you: Never talk to strangers.
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The Necessity of Action
Mr. Hand
There's work to be done.
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The Absence of Daylight in Dark City
John Murdoch
Daylight. When was the last time you remember seeing it? And I'm not talking about some distant, half-forgotten childhood memory. I mean like yesterday? Last week? When? Can you come up with a single memory? You can't, can you? You know something? I don't think the sun even exists in this place, because I've been up for hours and hours and hours and the night never ends here.
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The Illusion of a Case
Inspector Frank Bumstead
You saw something, didn't you, Eddie? Something to do with the case?
Det. Eddie Walenski
There is no case! There never was! It's all just a big joke! It's a joke!
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Struggling with Identity and Memory Unraveling
Det. Eddie Walenski
See, I've been trying to remember things — clearly remember things from my past — but the more I try to think back, the more it all starts to unravel. None of it seems real. It's like I've just been dreaming this life, and when I finally wake up I'll be somebody else: somebody totally different.
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Permanently Ending Operations
Mr. Book
Shut it down! Shut it down forever!
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Trust and Doubt in Uncertain Times
John Murdoch
What you do seems kind of dangerous right now. I mean, how do you know I'm not the killer?
May
You don't seem like the killer type. Why? You feeling any urges I should know about?
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The Manipulation of Memories and Identity
Det. Eddie Walenski
They steal people's memories, you know? Then they swap them around between us. I've seen them do it! Back and forth, back and forth, until no one knows who they are anymore.
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The Nature of Identity and Memory
Dr. Daniel P. Schreber
First there was darkness. Then came the strangers. They abducted us and brought us here. This city, everyone in it, is their experiment. They mix and match our memories as they see fit, trying to divine what makes us unique. One day, a man might be an inspector; the next, someone entirely different. When they want to study a murderer, for instance, they simply imprint one of their citizens with a new personality — arrange a family for him, friends, an entire history, even a lost wallet. Then they observe the results. Will a man, given the history of a killer, continue in that vein? Or are we, in fact, more than the mere sum of our memories?
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The Nature of Their Existence Revealed
Mr. Hand
You've seen what we are. We use your dead as vessels.
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Reflections on Memory and Haunting Places
Mr. Hand
We're very lucky, when you think about it.
Emma Murdoch
I'm sorry?
Mr. Hand
To be able to revisit those places which have meant so very much to us.
Emma Murdoch
I thought it was more that we were haunted by them.
Mr. Hand
Perhaps. But imagine a life alien to yours, in which your memories were not your own but those shared by every other of your kind. Imagine the torment of such an existence: no experiences to call your own. If it was all you knew, maybe it would be a comfort.
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The Final Phase of the Experiment
Mr. Book
He is powerful, yes — dangerous — but he can also lead us to what we seek: what the doctor calls the soul. It is time for our experiment to move into a final phase.
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Seeking Directions to Shell Beach
John Murdoch
Hey, you happen to know the way to Shell Beach?
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Inspector Bumstead Comments on Investigation Progress
Inspector Frank Bumstead
What's that make so far, Husselbeck? Six hookers in all?
Husselbeck
I believe so, sir.
Inspector Frank Bumstead
Give the man an "A" for effort.
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Planning the Capture of John Murdoch
Mr. Book
Is it done?
Mr. Hand
Oh, yes, Mr. Book. I have John Murdoch in mind.
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The Value of Healthy Paranoia
Inspector Frank Bumstead
Nothing like a little healthy paranoia.
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Strength and Weakness in Dark City
Dr. Daniel P. Schreber
I have a weak heart, you know.
Mr. Hand
Your weakness is not, we think, an affair of the heart.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.