Atlas Shrugged II: The Strike Page #2

Nearly ruined my company.

So, tell me why does the SSI

now need 10,000 tons of my

"dangerous, inferior metal"?

You laid a hundred miles of

track along the John Galt Line

that proved them wrong.

You still haven't answered my question.

Why? To what purpose?

Rest assured, Mr. Rearden,

it's in the public interest.

You tell your people

that I will not sell any Rearden Metal

to the State Science Institute

at any time, for any price,

- for any purpose whatsoever.

- Mr. Rearden,

no one has ever refused to sell

strategic material to the government.

It's against the Fair Share Law.

You have to sell it to them.

I'll make it simple for you.

Tell them I won't accept payment.

Now they're welcome to come

down here with their trucks

and their guns and seize

as much metal as they want.

- That would be theft.

- Damn, son.

You're brighter than you look.

One of these days, you're gonna

have to decide which side you're on.

You know, Mr. Rearden, times have changed.

We all have to be flexible.

We can't be tied down

by rigid principles.

Try pouring a ton of steel

without rigid principles.

Dagny.

What is it?

Legal says James has to co-sign

the order to shut down the 93

before we take action.

- I can't find him.

- I don't know where he is, Eddie.

He's the president of the rail road,

even if it is in title only.

He should have been here today.

Shut down the 93.

I'll handle my brother.

Thank you.

Excuse me.

Spread the honey.

Make sure they know who it's from.

Yes sir, Mr. Taggart.

Mr. Taggart wants to send his love

and affection to all of you.

Let's hear it for Mr. Taggart!

- All right, here you go.

- Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Have a good one.

Oh, my God.

You're James Taggart.

- Yes, I am. How did you know?

- What?

Who doesn't know James Taggart?

You built the John Galt Line.

Do you have any idea what

that meant to everybody?

- Here... I mean, if it's OK.

- Please.

They said it couldn't be done,

but you did it.

You defied the expression

"Who is John Galt?"

You just threw it right back at them.

You're my hero.

And now, you're mine.

Hero, that is.

And I don't even know your name.

Cherryl Brooks.

Cherryl Brooks...

have you ever ridden in a limo?

Are you ready, Mr. Halley?

Miss Taggart,

maybe you should take the side door.

It's getting pretty dicey outside.

I'm good, thanks.

Any progress with the motor?

Dr. Stadler wasn't much help.

You showed it to Stadler?

The bastard single-handedly

tried to stop the John Galt Line.

I assume you remember

what we went through.

Of course.

But I need Stadler.

If anyone knows somebody who

can make the motor work, it's him.

Great minds aren't in great

supply these days.

Even artists, musicians...

Richard Halley.

Performed his "Fourth Rhapsody"

and then just disappeared.

Thin air.

No legacy.

They say he destroyed all his compositions

before he ever went to the hall.

I can't imagine just walking

away from everything like that.

Hank, if we lose, there is a time coming

when this won't be possible,

what we're doing.

It wouldn't be possible now

if we hadn't earned it.

Dagny, we won't let the world disappear.

- Mr. Daniels...

- Quentin, please.

Quentin.

Dr. Stadler tells me you're one of

the brightest young engineers he knows.

He's a liar, that guy.

But you probably already know that.

That whole State Science Institute...

it's like a State Institute,

minus the science.

Right.

What do you think of the prototype?

I think it's a working model.

- Three-fifths scale, I don't know.

- Working?

Yeah.

See?

There's scuff marks.

This thing's been on before.

The connectors are scuffed

and there's electrolytic deposition.

Yeah, it works... or it did.

Pretty sure.

What do you want me to do with it?

I want it to function,

and I want to build more.

What do you need?

A hundred years.

In terms of support... money.

I won't accept pay

for my good intentions.

If I need gear or equipment,

I'll send you a request.

Done.

But if I pull it off and make it work,

I'm gonna want to skin you alive.

A painful percentage,

if that's acceptable.

Perfectly.

What about your other projects?

Your obligations to the

Utah Institute of Technology?

The Institute's closed, ma'am.

I pretty much have the run of the place.

- What about security?

- Best there is.

I'm the night watchman.

So what do you want from me, Danagger?

Four thousand tons of Rearden Metal,

formed.

Should be enough to shore up

my mines and stop the cave-ins.

You'll get your metal.

When you need more, you'll get that, too.

Fair Share be damned.

We're walking a thin line here.

Is it worth it?

If I don't get coal, I can't make steel.

If I don't make steel,

Taggart stops moving.

Everything collapses around that.

Hank...

Washington gets wind of this,

we'll both be in trouble.

I want you to know,

I won't cooperate with Mouch

and the rest of those crooks.

I'll go to jail first.

Then we'll go together.

Good to see you, Ken.

Henry.

Henry.

Lillian.

What a surprise.

Lunch for two?

What are you doing here?

James Taggart's wedding is this evening.

Remember?

Yeah, I'm gonna have to pass on that.

You can't pass, Henry.

I'm not going to the biggest event

of the season without my husband.

Well, I don't want to go.

Especially to that.

But you will go, won't you?

Not because you want to,

but because I want you to.

You're not staying here tonight,

Lillian.

I wouldn't dream of it.

Cherryl, you look lovely.

What a beautiful wedding.

There's something

I want you to know, Dagny.

So there won't be any

pretending about it.

I know how Jim has

allowed you to treat him.

How you've claimed credit for

everything that he's accomplished.

What you choose to believe

is your business.

I'm going to protect him from you.

I'm the woman in this family now.

That's quite all right.

I'm the man.

Slug, my oldest and dearest friend.

Francisco, you haven't called me that

since we were kids.

Why are you here?

Don't you remember when you dared

John Galt to come claim the line

that bears his name?

Well, he has.

Who is John Galt?

The question on

everyone's lips these days.

I'm asking you the question, Francisco.

Who or what is John Galt?

Are you John Galt?

Not as you'd think of it.

I don't know what to think.

- Is he even a man?

- Or an idea.

If you knew,

what difference would it make?

I want to know.

I need to know.

If you held the motor of the world

in your hands, what would you do?

Dagny, hi.

I was hoping to run into you.

Here we are.

I'm sure you realize how easily

it could be misconstrued,

you wearing a bracelet my husband

made for me with his precious metal.

It's embarrassing.

- Why don't we pretend we never traded.

- I think I'll keep it.

Another kiss!

A toast.

Here's to my wife, Mrs. James Taggart.

Love does, indeed, conquer all.

Cheers!

Even social and economic barriers.

You know, money cannot buy happiness.

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