31 quotes
The Necessity of Tenet in the World
Priya
The world needs Tenet.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Assessing Danger from a Distance
Neil
You’re not going back to London to check on Kat, are you?
[to The Protagonist]
The Protagonist
No, it’s far too dangerous.
Neil
Even from afar?
The Protagonist
Even from afar.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Urgent Request for a Key Introduction
Neil
It seems you need an introduction to a prominent Mumbai local on short notice...I'm Neil.
The Protagonist
I need an audience with Sanjay Singh.
Neil
That's not possible.
The Protagonist
Ten minutes tops.
Neil
Time isn't the problem. It's getting out alive that's the problem...Would you take a child hostage? ...A woman?
[Protagonist shakes his head]
The Protagonist
If I had to. I'm not looking to make much noise here.
Neil
Vodka tonic. And a Diet Coke. ...What? You never drink on the job.
[Waiter walks up; Protagonist looks at Neil]
The Protagonist
You're well-informed.
Neil
Well, pays to be in our profession.
The Protagonist
Well, I prefer soda water.
Neil
No, you don't... How's your parachuting?
[Chuckles softly]
The Protagonist
I broke an ankle during basic training...Singh's house isn't tall enough to parachute off of.
Neil
It's bungee-jumpable.
The Protagonist
I don't think "bungee-jumpable" is a word.
Neil
It may not be a word, but it may be our only way out of that place. Or into it, for that matter.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Weaving the Past into the Mission
Neil
See? It’s me in there again, weaving another past in the fabric of this mission.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Lunch Order with Unspoken Formalities
Steward at Restaurant
May I help you, Sir?
The Protagonist
I'm Mr. Crosby's lunch.
Steward at Restaurant
I presume you mean Sir Michael Crosby's Lunch.
The Protagonist
Presume away.
Steward at Restaurant
If you'll follow me.
[leads The Protagonist to Sir Michael's Table]
Sir Michael Crosby
Started without you. Hope you don't mind.
The Protagonist
I'll catch up...'...Same for me, Please.
[points to Sir Michaels Plate and gestures to The Stewart]
Steward at Restaurant
I'll send the waiter.
The Protagonist
No, Just Pass on the Order.
Sir Michael Crosby
I gather you have an interest in a certain Russian national.
The Protagonist
Anglo-Russian. So I have to watch my step.
Sir Michael Crosby
Indeed. He's tapped into the intelligence services. I've warned them he's feeding them rubbish...but they don't seem to care.
The Protagonist
Tell me about him.
Sir Michael Crosby
I assume you're familiar with the Soviet-era secret cities.
The Protagonist
Closed cities, not shown on maps. Built around sensitive industries. Most of them have been opened up and renamed as regular towns.
Sir Michael Crosby
Not the one Sator grew up in. Stalsk-12. In the 70's, it had a population of about 200,000. Thought to be abandoned.
The Protagonist
Abandoned?
Sir Michael Crosby
Some kind of accident. After which it was used for underground tests. Two weeks ago, same day as the Kiev Opera Siege, We Spotted a Detonation in Northern Siberia, Just where Stalsk-12 was. Sator Emerged from this blank spot on the map with ambition and enough money to buy his way into the British establishment.
The Protagonist
Through his Wife?
Sir Michael Crosby
Katherine Barton. Oldest niece of Sir Frederick Barton. She works at Shipley's. Met Sator at an Auction.
The Protagonist
A Happy Marriage?
Sir Michael Crosby
Practically Estranged.
The Protagonist
Well, How do I get to Sator?
Sir Michael Crosby
Well, Through Her, Of Course.
The Protagonist
You may have an inflated idea of my powers of seduction.
Sir Michael Crosby
Hardly. We have an Ace in the Hole.
[shakes his hand; gestures to a Bag near the table]
The Protagonist
You're carrying a Goya in a Harrods Bag.
[picks up bag placed on side of table]
Sir Michael Crosby
It's a Fake by a Spaniard named Arepo. One of the two we've confiscated from an embezzler in Bern.
The Protagonist
What happened to the other one?
Sir Michael Crosby
It turned up at Shipley's. Authenticated by Katherine Barton. Put on Auction. And who do you think bought it?
The Protagonist
Her Husband?
Sir Michael Crosby
Mmm-hmm.
The Protagonist
Does she know it's a forgery?
Sir Michael Crosby
Oh, It's hard to say. Rumor has it that she and Arepo were close.
The Protagonist
Uh-Huh.
Sir Michael Crosby
Look, no offense, But in this world, when someone is claiming to be a billionaire...'...Brooks Brothers won't cut it.
[points at the Protagonist's Suit]
The Protagonist
I'm assuming I'm on a budget.
Sir Michael Crosby
Save the World, Then we'll balance the books. Can I recommend a tailor?
[hands Protagonist his credit card]
The Protagonist
I'll manage. You British don't have a monopoly on snobbery, you know.
Sir Michael Crosby
Well, not a monopoly. More of a controlling interest.
[The Protagonist stands up to leave]
The Protagonist
Could you box that up for me?
Steward at Restaurant
Certainly not.
The Protagonist
Goodbye, Sir Michael.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Self-Discovery and Control in Tenet
The Protagonist
I realized I wasn’t working for you, we’ve both been working for me.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Inverted Time Capsules and Gold Discovery
The Protagonist
What did you find on the gold?
Neil
No franks, no mold marks. Nothing. How?
The Protagonist
Dead drops. He buries his time capsule, transmits the location, then digs it up to collect the inverted materials they sent.
Neil
Seemingly instantaneous. Where's he bury it?
The Protagonist
Some place that won't be discovered for centuries. What did the soil samples show?
Neil
Northern Europe, Asia. Radioactive.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Understanding Security Measures During Lockdown
Neil
All doors are fireproof. Hydraulic closers, simple key and electronic triggers. Surprisingly easy once there's a lockdown.
The Protagonist
Why a lockdown?
Neil
Power switches to fail-safes, sealing the outer doors, but inner doors revert to factory settings...and pickable locks. It's child's play, really.
The Protagonist
Child's play? They're inside airport security. They have to worry about climate control, not armed raids.
Neil
So, how do we get enough firepower through the perimeter to trigger the lockdown procedure?...Back wall of the Freeport?...
The Protagonist
You've got something?
Neil
Not gonna like it.
The Protagonist
You wanna crash a plane?
[After Neil explains his plan off camera to The Protagonist]
Neil
Well, not from the air. Don't be so dramatic. I want to run a jet off the taxiway and breach the rear wall and start a fire.
The Protagonist
Well, how big a plane?
Neil
Well, that part is a little dramatic. This is Mahir. His team will work the plane.
[Walking up to Mahir sitting on a bench]
The Protagonist
There can't be passengers.
Mahir
Norsk Freight...They use the hangar on the west side of the Freeport.
The Protagonist
You want to crash a transport plane? What about the crew?
Mahir
We pop the slides, chuck em off.
The Protagonist
On the move?
Mahir
What's the problem? They'll be fine.
The Protagonist
It seems bold.
Mahir
Bold I'm fine with. I thought you were gonna say nuts.
The Protagonist
And if you get caught?
Mahir
We won’t.
The Protagonist
And if you do?
Mahir
Everyone assumes terrorism, but no one's died so swift extradition then lost in the system. It'll barely make the news.
Neil
Oh...Depends on the size of the explosion.
Mahir
Well...Actually, The gold bars might get some play.
The Protagonist
Gold bars?
Neil
Norsk Freight ships Treasury gold once a month
Mahir
Blow the back. Drop it out on the runway.
Neil
No one will be looking at the building. I can guarantee you.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Weight of Duty and Survival
Fay
We all believe we’d run into the burning building. But until we feel that heat, we can never know. You do.
The Protagonist
I resign.
Fay
You don’t work for us, you’re dead. Your duty transcends national interest. This is about survival.
The Protagonist
Whose?
Fay
Everyone’s. There’s a cold war, cold as ice. To even know its true nature is to lose. This is knowledge divided. All I have for you is a gesture, in combination with a word. “Tenet”. Use it carefully. It’ll open the right doors, but some of the wrong ones, too.
The Protagonist
That’s all they've told you?
Fay
That test you passed? Not everybody does.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Check the Magazine Before Pulling the Trigger
Barbara
Aim it and pull the trigger.
The Protagonist
It's empty.
[checks the magazine]
Barbara
Aim it. Check the magazine.
[The Protagonist aims and fires]
The Protagonist
How?
[The Protagonist checks the magazine which is now no longer empty]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Implications of Inverted Warfare
Barbara
The bullet may not seem like much, but it's a simple machine...Lead bullet, brass casing, gunpowder. If they can invert that, I see no reason they couldn't invert pretty much anything. Even a nuclear weapon can only affect our future...An inverted weapon might be able to affect our past as well. Now that we know what to look for, we're finding more and more inverted material. Remnants of complex objects.
[Opens a drawer of random items that have been inverted]
The Protagonist
What do you think we're seeing?
[Holds hand over one of the items that flies into his palm]
Barbara
The detritus of a coming war.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Call for Attention in Tenet
Neil
Ives! Wait.
[to Ives]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Unseen Impact of Prevented Catastrophes
Neil
We’re the people saving the world from what might’ve been. World would never know what could happen. Even if they did, they wouldn’t care. Because no one cares about the bomb that didn’t go off, only the one that did. It’s the bomb that didn’t go off, the danger no one knew was real; that’s the bomb with the real power to change the world.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Catching Bullets: A Twist on Perception
The Protagonist
Why does it feel so strange?
[points gun at wall and fires multiple times]
Barbara
You're not shooting the bullet, you're catching it.
The Protagonist
Whoa. I've seen this type of ammunition before.
[walks up closer to the wall]
Barbara
In the field?
The Protagonist
I was almost hit.
Barbara
Then you were exceedingly lucky. An inverted bullet passing through your body would be devastating. Not pretty.
The Protagonist
These look like today's.
Barbara
They may have been made today and inverted years from now.
The Protagonist
Where did you get them?
Barbara
Came with the wall. I was assigned it, like all the material I'm studying here.
The Protagonist
Do you have an analysis on the metals?
Barbara
Sure. Why?
The Protagonist
The mixture of the alloys can tell me where they might have been made. Look...I'm not seeing ] here.
[[Armageddon]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Standard Operational Procedure of Deceit
Neil
Lying is the Standard Operational Procedure.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Strategic Discussion on Convoy Security
The Protagonist
Via convoy through downtown, what's the thinking?
Neil
Crowded. Unpredictable traffic patterns. It's almost impossible to plan an ambush.
The Protagonist
They have a point. Is the convoy monitored from the air?
Neil
Tracked by GPS. One wrong turn, in come the cavalry.
The Protagonist
We need big guns. Guns that make the point without being fired. We need a fast car that doesn't look fast. Four heavy vehicles. All different. Bus, coach, 18-wheeler. One of them has to be a fire truck. Most of all, we have to set this up with nothing in the record. Nothing electronic, nothing paper. I don't want Sator ambushing us once we spring the material. His ignorance is our only protection.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Allies in a Twilight World
Contact
Yep?
The Protagonist
We live in a twilight world.
Contact
No friends at dusk...I was told you left the building.
The Protagonist
Even the dead need allies.
Contact
Specifically?
The Protagonist
I need an assist in Mumbai, I need to get to Sanjay Singh.
Contact
Singh? He never leaves his house. And his house is ummm...his house is...
The Protagonist
Yes, it is...I'm looking right at it.
[standing in front of a high rise building where Sanjay Singh lives on the top floor]
Contact
I'll see who's on deck. Bombay Yacht Club in two hours.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Time and Events in Conversation
Neil
What the hell happened here?
The Protagonist
Hasn't happened yet.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Future Connections Across Time
Neil
You have a future in the past. Years ago for me, years from now for you.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Sator's Quest for the Algorithm Explained
Priya
Sator's lifelong mission, financed and guided by the future, has been to find and reassemble the algorithm.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Trust and Uncertainty in a Cold War
Neil
Well, I've seen too much. I'm still alive, which must mean you've decided to trust me.
The Protagonist
Or maybe I lost my edge.
Neil
Edge is still intact.
The Protagonist
There's a cold war.
[chuckles]
Neil
Nuclear?
The Protagonist
Temporal.
Neil
Time travel?
[Laughs]
The Protagonist
No. Technology that can invert an object's entropy.
Neil
You mean reverse chronology. Like Feynman and Wheeler's notion that a positron is an electron moving backwards in time?
The Protagonist
Sure, that's exactly what I meant.
Neil
I have a master's in physics.
The Protagonist
Well, try and keep up.
Neil
The implications of this are...
The Protagonist
...Beyond secret.
Neil
Then why'd you bring me in?
The Protagonist
I thought we'd find a drawing and a couple boxes of bullets.
Neil
Not as surprised as I was.
The Protagonist
I'm going back to Mumbai to get some answers. I'll set you up as a go-between. But remember, to you...it's all about plutonium. Or when we're done, they'll kill you.
Neil
Won't you have to do that anyway?
The Protagonist
I'd rather it be my decision.
Neil
So would I... I think.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Perceptions of Seduction and Reality
The Protagonist
You may have an inflated idea of my powers of seduction.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Navigating Secrets in a High-Stakes World
Barbara
With a high-vis vest and a clipboard, you can get almost anywhere...Almost.
The Protagonist
An obscure Tenet.
Barbara
No small talk. Nothing that might reveal who we are or what we do.
[Barbara leads The Protagonist into a secure room]
The Protagonist
I thought I was here to find out what we do.
Barbara
You're not here for "What", You're here for "How"..."What" is your department and not my business.
The Protagonist
Well, to do what I do, I need some idea of the threat we face.
Barbara
As I understand it, we're trying to prevent World War III.
The Protagonist
Nuclear holocaust?
Barbara
No. Something worse.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Understanding a Language of Time
The Protagonist
Check the radio chatter. I've seen samples of encapsulation in every weapons class. This is not one of them.
[Speaking to Neil after stealing the materials; Opens the case to find an unknown object]
Neil
That's what he's after. ...I can't understand this.
[Sator speaking indistinctly on radio]
The Protagonist
You said you spoke Estonian.
Neil
It's not Estonian...It's backwards.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Acceptance of Fate and Action
Neil
“What's happened’s happened.” Which is an expression of faith in the mechanics of the world. It’s not an excuse to do nothing.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A New Perspective on the World
Priya
You have to start looking at the world in a new way.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Understanding Inverted Time and Entropy
Barbara
One of these bullets is like us, traveling forwards through time...The other one's going backwards...Can you tell which is which?
Barbara
How about now? It's inverted. It's entropy runs backwards. So, to our eyes, its movement is reversed. We think it's a type of inverse radiation triggered by nuclear fission.
[she holds out her hand out and bullet flies from table into her palm]
The Protagonist
You didn't make it?
Barbara
No, we don't know how yet.
The Protagonist
So, where'd it come from?
Barbara
Someone's manufacturing them in the future. They're streaming back at us... Try it.
Barbara
You have to have dropped it.
The Protagonist
How can it move before I touch it?
[places hand over the bullet as if he just dropped it; it flies up into his palm]
Barbara
From your point of view, you caught it...But from the bullet's point of view, you dropped it.
The Protagonist
But cause comes before effect.
Barbara
No, that's just the way we see time.
The Protagonist
Well, what about free will?
Barbara
That bullet wouldn't have moved if you hadn't put your hand there. Either way we run the tape, you made it happen. Don't try to understand it. Feel It.
[plays a recording of the interaction with the bullet both forward and backward]
The Protagonist
Instinct. Got it.
[Bullet begins to move backwards on table from Barbara's fingertips to The Protagonist hands]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Choosing Death in a Dangerous Profession
Andrei Sator
How would you like to die?
The Protagonist
Old.
Andrei Sator
You chose the wrong profession.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Unexpected Assistance in a Critical Moment
The Protagonist
Thought you were inverted.
Neil
Changed gears halfway. Looked like you needed help here.
Ives
Here? We needed help down there. How’d you get that lock open?
[to The Protagonist]
The Protagonist
Wasn’t me. Didn’t your team need you?
[to Neil]
Neil
I’ll get them on the next pass. All right, Ives?
[to Ives]
Ives
Once I’ve caught my breath.
The Protagonist
No one who’s seen this leaves the field.
Ives
All right. We hide it. We end our lives. It’s the only to be sure. As to when, maybe that’s every man’s decision to make for himself.
[divides the Algorithm into three sections and throws each of two to The Protagonist and Neil; lowers his gun]
Neil
You’re not gonna kill us?
[chuckles]
Ives
If I ever find you, I will.
Neil
You won’t look too hard?
Ives
Yes, I will.
[gives The Protagonist one last look and chuckles mirthlessly before walking away]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Trust and Truth in Uncertain Times
The Protagonist
What's happened, happened. I get it now. But it's harder to take things on trust from people speaking half-truths.
Neil
That's not fair.
The Protagonist
You were a part of this before we met. Were you working for Priya?
Neil
No.
The Protagonist
Who recruited you, Neil?
Neil
Can't possibly do you any good to know that right now. When this is over, we're still standing, and you still care, then you can hear my life story, okay?
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Promise Across Time and Friendship
Neil
I'll see you at the beginning, friend!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.