Quotes
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Dr. Larry Fleinhardt : What is that old saying: "Applied physicists are from Venus, theoretical physicists..."
Charlie Eppes : "... wonder why it rotates in the opposite direction."
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[the officers bringing Scott down in handcuffs stop in front of Charlie, so they can have a chat]
Scott Reynolds : What do you want?
Charlie Eppes : I'm trying to figure out how you could kill a man, how you could kill a fellow scientist, to steal his work.
Scott Reynolds : Is that why you think I killed Dr. Hoke? For the money?
Charlie Eppes : You weren't jealous of his accomplishments.
Scott Reynolds : His accomplishments... is that what you call them? I grew up in West Oakland. Anyone I grew up with who isn't dead or in prison is flipping burgers or driving a truck. Now it's not too difficult to guess what Dr. Hoke's formula would have said about putting a computer lab in my high school. A computer lab saved my life, and next year it's gonna save somebody else's.
Charlie Eppes : And killing Dr. Hoke accomplishes that? You think it stops there.
Scott Reynolds : In the last century, the Nazis used the theory of eugenics to stop the poor from reproducing. Eventually they justified just killing the sick ones.
Charlie Eppes : You can't compare that to this...
Scott Reynolds : Actually that's a perfect comparison, cause what Jonas was doing was taking away a person's chance at life. It was taking away someone's hope. And I did what I had to do to stop that before it started.
Charlie Eppes : That makes you a murderer.
[They regard each other for a moment]
Scott Reynolds : Don't you ever wonder about your own work?
Charlie Eppes : What about my work.
Scott Reynolds : Well, you consult for the NSA don't you?
[Charlie grits his teeth, noncommittal, but Scott presses on]
Scott Reynolds : Ah, of course you do. So you're gonna tell me that everything you do will be used for good, all the time?
Charlie Eppes : What's your point?
Scott Reynolds : Well, you're asking me how I'm gonna live with myself. Look in the mirror. Ask yourself the same question.
[the officers take Scott away as he and Charlie exchange one final look]
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[Later at CalSci, Charlie is still thinking about his last exchange with Scott, standing in front of chalkboards filled with equations]
Charlie Eppes : Jonas Hoke's last hurdle.
Dr. Larry Fleinhardt : Oh yes, his equation seeking to predict a person's chance at success.
Charlie Eppes : He never got to finish it. I thought maybe I'd give it a shot myself.
Dr. Larry Fleinhardt : Why? To what end. This work is just a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Charlie Eppes : How do you mean?
Dr. Larry Fleinhardt : Well, Charles, if we use numbers to choose who among us gets opportunity, then by definition, those we haven't chose, don't. And that's not science. Well, it's not good science. It's like, every year, college football chooses a national champion, but they use computers to determine which two teams play for the title. And every year, invariably, some team gets left off that believes, well, it could have won the game, on the field, if it had just been given the chance.
Charlie Eppes : I've always believed that it was my duty to develop mathematical tools, and someone else's to use them wisely. Could I have been wrong?
Dr. Larry Fleinhardt : The consequence of our understanding sub-atomic particles was a horrible bomb that transformed the world we live in, and a source of energy, the basis of life-saving techniques, and an indispensable scientific tool. Science - you know, science, not this
[he gestures to the chalkboard of equations]
Dr. Larry Fleinhardt : but real science, is discovery, Charles. Not invention. The truths are there, whether we find them or not.
[Larry heads toward the door]
Dr. Larry Fleinhardt : Listen, I'm going to grab a bite to eat, do you wanna come?
[Charlie sighs and doesn't move to follow, and Larry sighs back at him]
Dr. Larry Fleinhardt : Okay.
Charlie Eppes : Thank you.
[Larry leaves, and Charlie goes back to regarding the chalkboard, deep in thought]
