Atlas Shrugged: Part III Page #3

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No amount of force will grant

you access to that motor.

Allow me.

I swear by my life

and my love of it...

that I will never live

for the sake of another man...

nor ask another man

to live for mine.

Not yet.

Everyone has taken that oath

who lives in this valley.

Everyone except you.

Well, that's what I do.

I live for myself,

not for others,

just, unlike you, I don't believe

in abandoning the fight.

Well, we're going to have to see

which one of us is wrong.

Until then, I know you won't say

those words until you mean them...

the way they're intended.

I still don't understand why

you don't use mules, Francisco.

Mules, John? These animals

are not so friendly.

They're just as stubborn

as women.

Frisco, you are wasting an

unconscionable amount of time...

bringing your copper ore

up this way.

You ought to build a rail

line down to the smelter.

I know, but it's

such a difficult job.

Besides, the mine's output

doesn't justify the expense.

That's nonsense. You see

that pass to the east?

- Uh-huh.

- It's an easier grade with softer stone.

It wouldn't take

a lot of curves.

Maybe three miles of rail,

narrow gauge.

- You have a pen and paper?

- Here.

It'll pay for itself

in three years.

Here. Look. I might have to blast a

tunnel here, a few hundred feet or less,

and I'd need a steel trestle to

bring the track across this gorge.

We'd bring it down here.

It's not that difficult, and it would cut

off that last mile of corkscrew turns.

I could have the track laid

in three months.

Oh, what for?

Abandon an entire

transcontinental system...

to build

three miles of railroad.

If you change your mind,

I'll hire you on the spot.

Or Midas can give you a loan

if you want to own it.

No, I can't.

Not yet.

I wish I could just stay here and never know

what my brother is doing to the railroad.

Well, you would hear about it...

every wreck, every explosion,

every broken line.

And eventually, the collapse

of the Taggart Bridge.

That's not going to happen.

Dagny, nobody stays here

by faking reality.

Well, I'll get back

to my job then.

Enjoy your last week, Dagny.

Here's a question for you...

If Taggart Transcontinental

were your own company,

would you hire your brother Jim?

Good God, no. No, I wouldn't

hire him as a track worker.

I mean, he's... he's

completely incompetent.

Then why do Jim and all of his

cronies have so much power?

Why do they?

Because they promote

the idea that it's okay...

to take from one man,

give to another.

Dagny, all of your life,

you've heard people saying...

that we have to help

the less fortunate,

that the measure of virtue is...

Is not what you achieve,

but what you do for others.

You... You've heard them say...

that people have a right to a

living just because they're human.

And that's not the right to earn a

living, that is a right to a living,

which you are required

to provide for them.

Now, do you see

any common themes here?

Need of others paramount,

your needs secondary?

Their philosophy is based on how

much you sacrifice to other people,

not on what you achieve.

That philosophy can't work.

Unless you continue to work

and work and work and work...

and try to overcome all the obstacles

which they have created for you.

And no matter how much

they take from you,

they still count on your

work ethic, your integrity,

your desire to keep producing.

But I... I love what I do.

No, I know.

Yeah, so did John.

Yeah, but he refused

to accept their ideas.

He refused to put

his ability... his motor...

At their disposal.

As long as you continue

to accept it,

they will continue to exploit

your extraordinary abilities.

While Thompson and his cronies

were holed up...

in the Wayne-Falkland Hotel

in New York,

preparing for his big speech

on November 23,

Henry Rearden continued

his search for Dagny Taggart.

John, that's Hank Rearden, one

man you have yet to bring here...

One you wanted for some time.

Maybe Francisco

can convince him.

Maybe.

So, how was the lecture tonight?

Well...

John, what is it?

You've got something

on your mind.

I know you too well, my friend.

Of all of us here,

I know that you're the one

who's given up the most.

I'll be all right, John.

It's time to get Hank.

We're out of chocolate cake.

Oh, you scared me.

What are you doing?

Well, I told you.

I've been watching you.

I couldn't sleep.

My mind's racing. You?

Well, I have a stranger

in my house.

When's the first time

you saw me?

I remember that well.

You were standing on

the Taggart passenger platform.

You were wearing

an evening gown and a shawl,

and if your shawl

had slipped any further down,

you'd have been

standing there naked.

And you belonged there.

Not in some silk-curtained

sitting room, but there.

Among the rails.

Did you see that plane

circling the valley today?

Yes.

That was Hank Rearden.

He's a good man.

Anticipating greater unrest,

the State Science Institute...

began developing crude, but

lethal, crowd-control devices.

As the Unification Board...

remained incapable of clearing the

rockslide blocking the Taggart Tunnel,

cross-country transportation

was now crippled.

So, Dagny...

Have you made your decision?

I think so.

But I'm not sure.

And it's too important

not to be completely certain.

If any of your uncertainty...

is a conflict between

your heart and your mind,

follow your mind.

That wasn't the advice

I was expecting.

Let it go until it's time.

We still have you

with us tonight.

Francisco, you'll be back

in a few months.

November at the latest.

And, John, you're not returning

to New York this time, are you?

I haven't decided yet.

You're not thinking about going

back to that hell, are you?

I am.

But, John, why?

Well, I'll tell you

once I've decided.

But everyone's here except Hank,

and he'll be here soon enough.

And Dagny, if she chooses.

Your job is done. There's nothing

more for you to look for out there.

I know.

When the rails are nationalized,

everything will collapse.

Why risk it?

They are getting serious

about the disappearances.

They suspect something. You, of

all people, shouldn't be there.

The infrastructure's

falling apart.

Just the physical risk of complex

machinery in the hands of blind fools...

You'll be taking a chance

every time you step on a train.

There's been one collision

after another.

Not to mention the weapons the SSI have

been testing to maintain the peace,

as they say.

If I go back,

it won't be for the strike.

It'll be to get the only thing

I want for myself.

There's going to be riots.

Electricity's being rationed.

Food supply chains

are being severed.

In no time at all, there'll be one train

a week, and then one train a month,

and then the Taggart Bridge

will collapse.

No.

No. That won't happen.

Then you've made your decision.

I have.

As long as I am alive, I will not

desert a battle that is mine to fight.

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