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Gunzou: We're gonna use three of...our corrosive torpedoes.
Kyohei: You sure? Don't forget there's only eight.
Gunzou: If we don't make it through this...we won't live long enough to regret using them.
Kyohei: Yeah, well...good point.
Gunzou: Iori.
Iori: Huh?
Gunzou: Remember that special souvenir we took from the Hyuga? Time to use it.
Iori: What?! Are you serious?! We haven't even confirmed that it works outside Iona's simulations!
Gunzou: I'm aware of that. Thanks, Iori.
Iori: Ugh, I know that look. It means there's no point arguing.
Kyohei: I tell ya, man. Our captain don't look it...but the guy knows when to roll the dice.
Kyohei: You sure? Don't forget there's only eight.
Gunzou: If we don't make it through this...we won't live long enough to regret using them.
Kyohei: Yeah, well...good point.
Gunzou: Iori.
Iori: Huh?
Gunzou: Remember that special souvenir we took from the Hyuga? Time to use it.
Iori: What?! Are you serious?! We haven't even confirmed that it works outside Iona's simulations!
Gunzou: I'm aware of that. Thanks, Iori.
Iori: Ugh, I know that look. It means there's no point arguing.
Kyohei: I tell ya, man. Our captain don't look it...but the guy knows when to roll the dice.
"However, despite their, ahh, shortcomings... the facts are simple. If the terrorists do release experimental bioweapons, this planet will become a sterile desert. Whereas, with the involvement of the Dirty Pair, there is a chance — a remote possibility — that some people may be left alive. We have to play the odds, gentlemen... God help us."
— Director Goldin, Dirty Pair: Biohazardnote
Vegeta: (watching Goku go Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken) Beerus doesn't understand what sort of technique that is! (cue classic scene from the Saiyan Saga with Goku unleashing Kaioken x4 Kamehameha to overpower Vegeta) The Kaioken does amplify his attacks, at least for awhile. But, it takes a huge toll on him...
Elder Kai: Going Super Saiyan strains his body, too, and I'm sure that so-called "Super Saiyan Blue" is exponentially worse! Adding Kaioken on top of that? It's hard to imagine the damage he's doing to himself. No wonder he didn't use it earlier; he was saving it as a last resort!
Goku: I know it's risky, but there's a big payoff, too! Super Saiyan Blue is about power through extreme control! Combining that with the calming focus of the Kaioken and there's no telling how high I can go!
Elder Kai: Going Super Saiyan strains his body, too, and I'm sure that so-called "Super Saiyan Blue" is exponentially worse! Adding Kaioken on top of that? It's hard to imagine the damage he's doing to himself. No wonder he didn't use it earlier; he was saving it as a last resort!
Goku: I know it's risky, but there's a big payoff, too! Super Saiyan Blue is about power through extreme control! Combining that with the calming focus of the Kaioken and there's no telling how high I can go!
"Fugo uses his Stand only once in a blue moon. He won't use it unless he's really got his back to the wall."
— Abbacchio speaking about Fugo's Purple Haze, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Vento Aureo
Comic Books
General: I don't see how we can avoid employing our Tauruses at this point.
Major: Cruise missiles? On moving targets? Sir, half the city could be destroyed.
General: Yes, major, but by morning, half the city will be destroyed anyway.
Major: Cruise missiles? On moving targets? Sir, half the city could be destroyed.
General: Yes, major, but by morning, half the city will be destroyed anyway.
— B.P.R.D.: The Warning
The Sentry: Against an opponent this powerful... The amount of energy I'd have to expend... if I... lost control, for even a millisecond...
Iron Man: It scares me, too, Robert. Every day I choose between courses of action that could affect millions, even billions of lives. With stakes that high, how dare I decide? But at this point, doing nothing is a decision in and of itself. No matter what you do or don't do, billions could die. You have the responsibility, whether you want it or not. I know you're not ready to hear this, Robert. No sane person ever really is. But it's time to play God.
Iron Man: It scares me, too, Robert. Every day I choose between courses of action that could affect millions, even billions of lives. With stakes that high, how dare I decide? But at this point, doing nothing is a decision in and of itself. No matter what you do or don't do, billions could die. You have the responsibility, whether you want it or not. I know you're not ready to hear this, Robert. No sane person ever really is. But it's time to play God.
Superman: They're... evacuating?
Supergirl: Yes. Something down there's destroying the Moon. Everyone here's about to die... unless you help them. What's the problem, Kal?
Superman: I... I don't want to make things worse.
Supergirl: I don't see how that's remotely possible...
Supergirl: Yes. Something down there's destroying the Moon. Everyone here's about to die... unless you help them. What's the problem, Kal?
Superman: I... I don't want to make things worse.
Supergirl: I don't see how that's remotely possible...
Hill: You got one we haven't called yet? Might be helpful to have a backup plan in case the worst should ever come.
Fury: Nah. If we do our job right, we'll never be in a position of having to call her.
Fury: Nah. If we do our job right, we'll never be in a position of having to call her.
— Captain Marvel Prelude
Bruce Banner: The closest we have come to recreating that formula was the jolly green giant back there. Why would anyone in their right mind invest a nickel in the SSP after what I did to Chelsea Piers, general?
Nick Fury: Because we're living in crazy times, doctor. Crime is becoming super-crime. Terrorism is becoming super-terrorism. Even the fattest, most stupid politician on Capitol Hill realizes that Son of Star Wars is going to be useless against the kind of problems America's really facing out there.
Fan Works
Twilight Sparkle: Pinkamena Diane Pie?
Pinkie Pie: Yes Twilight?
Twilight Sparkle: You know all those things I normally ask you not to do? Do them.
Pinkie Pie: Yes Twilight?
Twilight Sparkle: You know all those things I normally ask you not to do? Do them.
— The MLP Loops, Loop 50.11 (upon encountering a Nineteen Eighty-Four-variant loop)
Buffy: And this is...what?
Giles: I do believe I know. I’m not quite sure I’m comfortable with it. At all.
Supergirl: (nodding) These are our two last lines of defense. This is a Phantom Zone ray. Just worry about the white button. If you touch that, whatever you point this at will be instantly banished to the Zone. This one I’ve set to burn out its power element just two minutes after activation. That should prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. If all else fails, use this on Zol-Am. I don’t want him back in the Zone. I don’t know if he can infect other inmates there with vampirism, and I don’t want to find out. If I don’t have to.
Buffy: Yeah. One vamp with powers to change the course of mighty graveyards is all we need for now. And what’s in this little box?
Supergirl: (grasping her wrist) Don’t.
Giles: I know what is in there. Kryptonite.
Buffy: Kryptonite? You’re serious?
Supergirl: What do you think? If even the Zone projector fails, you have to use this against Zol-Am. It must be in close proximity to him for several minutes to kill him. If it gets knocked too far away, or he manages to fly off, or lead gets between it and him... he can recover. Also, don’t expect him to be too pleased.
Buffy: We can’t use that against him while you’re around.
Supergirl: Buffy. You’ll only use this as a last resort. But if that happens, you will use it whatever the circumstances.
Buffy: But...
Supergirl: Whatever the circumstances. Am I clear?
Giles: I do believe I know. I’m not quite sure I’m comfortable with it. At all.
Supergirl: (nodding) These are our two last lines of defense. This is a Phantom Zone ray. Just worry about the white button. If you touch that, whatever you point this at will be instantly banished to the Zone. This one I’ve set to burn out its power element just two minutes after activation. That should prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. If all else fails, use this on Zol-Am. I don’t want him back in the Zone. I don’t know if he can infect other inmates there with vampirism, and I don’t want to find out. If I don’t have to.
Buffy: Yeah. One vamp with powers to change the course of mighty graveyards is all we need for now. And what’s in this little box?
Supergirl: (grasping her wrist) Don’t.
Giles: I know what is in there. Kryptonite.
Buffy: Kryptonite? You’re serious?
Supergirl: What do you think? If even the Zone projector fails, you have to use this against Zol-Am. It must be in close proximity to him for several minutes to kill him. If it gets knocked too far away, or he manages to fly off, or lead gets between it and him... he can recover. Also, don’t expect him to be too pleased.
Buffy: We can’t use that against him while you’re around.
Supergirl: Buffy. You’ll only use this as a last resort. But if that happens, you will use it whatever the circumstances.
Buffy: But...
Supergirl: Whatever the circumstances. Am I clear?
Kyril: You have seen me, haven't you?
Celestine: Yes. I have seen you in my nightmares. A stranger in grey, responsible for unimaginable bloodshed. But despite this, I knew I had need of whatever power you hold to save my kingdom.
Claudia: Your Holiness... Surely you do not mean to say that we need this man?
Celestine: Yes. I have seen you in my nightmares. A stranger in grey, responsible for unimaginable bloodshed. But despite this, I knew I had need of whatever power you hold to save my kingdom.
Claudia: Your Holiness... Surely you do not mean to say that we need this man?
Film — Animated
I didn't wanna do this! I swore I'd never do this! But I'm hypnotized by how these pages flip 'cause I refuse to have my power stripped! A potion? A spell? A summon? A curse? Anything to make that light reverse! To this book I don't wanna be tethered, but desperate times call for desperate measures!
— King Magnifico, Wish (2023), "This Is The Thanks I Get?"
Film — Live-Action
Bruce Banner: So, this all seems... horrible.
Natasha Romanov: I've seen worse.
Banner: Sorry.
Natasha: No, we could... use a little worse.
Natasha Romanov: I've seen worse.
Banner: Sorry.
Natasha: No, we could... use a little worse.
Well, for one thing, I'm not Asgardian. And for another, we have a Hulk! (Thanos proceeds to defeat Hulk in five seconds.)
— Loki to Thanos, Avengers: Infinity War
Tony Stark: Cap and I fell out hard. We're not on speaking terms.
Bruce Banner: Tony, listen to me: Thor's gone. Thanos is coming. It doesn't matter who you're talking to or not.
Bruce Banner: Tony, listen to me: Thor's gone. Thanos is coming. It doesn't matter who you're talking to or not.
For emergencies only, okay?
— Carol Danvers, to Nick Fury, about when to use the upgraded pager she's just given him, Captain Marvel (2019)
Bruce Wayne: I knew the mob wouldn't go down without a fight, but this is different. They crossed the line.
Alfred Pennyworth: You crossed the line first, sir. You squeezed them, you hammered them to the point of desperation. And in their desperation they turned to a man they didn't fully understand.
Alfred Pennyworth: You crossed the line first, sir. You squeezed them, you hammered them to the point of desperation. And in their desperation they turned to a man they didn't fully understand.
Bruce Wayne: That bandit, in the forest in Burma, did you catch him?
Alfred Pennyworth: Yes.
Bruce Wayne: How?
Alfred Pennyworth: We burned the forest down.
Alfred Pennyworth: Yes.
Bruce Wayne: How?
Alfred Pennyworth: We burned the forest down.
Batman: Beautiful, isn't it?
Lucius Fox: Beautiful... unethical... dangerous. You've turned every cellphone in Gotham into a microphone.
Batman: And a high-frequency generator-receiver.
Lucius Fox: You took my sonar concept and applied it to every phone in the city. With half the city feeding you sonar, you can image all of Gotham. This is wrong.
Batman: I've got to find this man, Lucius.
Lucius Fox: At what cost?
Lucius Fox: Beautiful... unethical... dangerous. You've turned every cellphone in Gotham into a microphone.
Batman: And a high-frequency generator-receiver.
Lucius Fox: You took my sonar concept and applied it to every phone in the city. With half the city feeding you sonar, you can image all of Gotham. This is wrong.
Batman: I've got to find this man, Lucius.
Lucius Fox: At what cost?
Stenz: This alpha predator of yours, doctor, do you really think he has a chance?
Serizawa: The arrogance of man is thinking nature is in our control... and not the other way around. Let them fight.
Serizawa: The arrogance of man is thinking nature is in our control... and not the other way around. Let them fight.
Komuro: You're going to wake up Godzilla?... It's too dangerous. What if he destroys the world?
Gordon: There is no world left to be destroyed.
Gordon: There is no world left to be destroyed.
Defense Secretary Nimziki: I spoke with the Joint Chiefs when they arrived at NORAD. They agree we must launch a counteroffensive with a full nuclear strike.
President Whitmore: Over American soil? You're saying at this point we should sacrifice more innocent American civilians. Is that right?
Defense Secretary Nimziki: Sir, if we don't strike soon, there may not be much of an America left to defend.
President Whitmore: Over American soil? You're saying at this point we should sacrifice more innocent American civilians. Is that right?
Defense Secretary Nimziki: Sir, if we don't strike soon, there may not be much of an America left to defend.
"May our children forgive us."
— President Whitmore, after eventually agreeing to the above course of action, Independence Day
"That's it. I'm getting the bazooka."
— Stu, Kick-Ass
"This was just the beginning. We needed a new weapon. The world came together, pooling its resources and throwing aside old rivalries for the sake of the greater good. To fight monsters, we created monsters of our own. The Jaeger program was born."
—Raleigh Becket, Pacific Rim
"Finally found something worse than me, huh?"
— Riddick, Pitch Black
Spock: In your travels, did you ever encounter a man named Khan?
Spock Prime: As you know, I have made a vow never to give you information that could potentially alter your destiny. Your path is yours to walk, and yours alone. (Beat) ...that being said, Khan Noonien Singh is the most dangerous adversary the Enterprise ever faced. He is brilliant, ruthless, and he will not hesitate to kill every single one of you.
Spock Prime: As you know, I have made a vow never to give you information that could potentially alter your destiny. Your path is yours to walk, and yours alone. (Beat) ...that being said, Khan Noonien Singh is the most dangerous adversary the Enterprise ever faced. He is brilliant, ruthless, and he will not hesitate to kill every single one of you.
Deadshot: You gonna fight with us?
El Diablo: What if I lose control?
Deadshot: Then maybe we'll have a chance.
El Diablo: What if I lose control?
Deadshot: Then maybe we'll have a chance.
"You must be truly desperate to come to me for help."
— Loki, Thor: The Dark World
Literature
"Nothing they've tried so far has worked — and when your back's to the wall, scorched earth is not exactly unprecedented military doctrine. A tactical airburst over Manhattan might be the only way to contain this thing. Probably won't be enough, granted, but if all else fails it's worth a shot."
— Alcatraz, Crysis: Legion
Alexander: If something that can do this has moved into the Galway Woods and we don't find it before it has a chance to become entrenched, or worse, to breed, we're going to see a lot more deaths.
Jonathan: If that happens... it's entirely possible that we might reach the point where calling the Covenant to come in and burn the area would be our only option.
Jonathan: If that happens... it's entirely possible that we might reach the point where calling the Covenant to come in and burn the area would be our only option.
— InCryptid, "Halfway Through the Wood"note
Krandus: There is one... an activation key kept apart from the others. A... contingency. Is one monster not enough, Shadea?
Shadea: Sometimes you need a monster to fight a monster.
Shadea: Sometimes you need a monster to fight a monster.
— The Traitor God, by Cameron Johnston
"And what of the Unthinkable, eh? What price have you paid for that business?'
Doughty's voice was level, quite serious. "We bear any burdens in defense of freedom."
"Not the best of your American notions, perhaps. Tsyganov speared a chunk of fish from the can with a three-tined fork. "To deliberately contact an utterly alien entity from the abyss between universes... an ultradimensional demigod whose very geometry is, as it were, an affront to sanity... that Creature of nameless eons and inconceivable dimensions..." Tsyganov patted his bearded lips with a napkin. "That hideous Radiance that bubbles and blasphemes at the center of all infinity-"
"You're being sentimental," Doughty said. "We must recall the historical circumstances in which the decision was made to develop the Azathoth Bomb. Giant Japanese Majins and Gojiras crashing through Asia. Vast squadrons of Nazi juggernauts blitzkrieging Europe... and their undersea leviathans preying on shipping..."
Doughty's voice was level, quite serious. "We bear any burdens in defense of freedom."
"Not the best of your American notions, perhaps. Tsyganov speared a chunk of fish from the can with a three-tined fork. "To deliberately contact an utterly alien entity from the abyss between universes... an ultradimensional demigod whose very geometry is, as it were, an affront to sanity... that Creature of nameless eons and inconceivable dimensions..." Tsyganov patted his bearded lips with a napkin. "That hideous Radiance that bubbles and blasphemes at the center of all infinity-"
"You're being sentimental," Doughty said. "We must recall the historical circumstances in which the decision was made to develop the Azathoth Bomb. Giant Japanese Majins and Gojiras crashing through Asia. Vast squadrons of Nazi juggernauts blitzkrieging Europe... and their undersea leviathans preying on shipping..."
— The Unthinkable, by Bruce Sterling
Live-Action TV
Lyta Alexander: You know the Vorlons used telepaths as weapons during the Shadow War, but what no one stopped to consider was that, in a war, you have a certain number of small weapons, a certain number of medium size weapons, and one or two big ones. The kind of weapons you drop when you're out of small weapons, and the medium weapons, and you've got nothing left to use.
Michael Garibldi: Someone like that would be the telepathic equivalent of a thermonuclear device. A doomsday weapon.
Lyta Alexander (eyes glowing): Pleased to meet you, Mr. Garibaldi.
Michael Garibldi: Someone like that would be the telepathic equivalent of a thermonuclear device. A doomsday weapon.
Lyta Alexander (eyes glowing): Pleased to meet you, Mr. Garibaldi.
"It's fascinating, you know that? You've created a problem so big, the solution is to detonate an atomic bomb."
— General Mansfield, Eureka
The Doctor: Only one thing I can think of. Nuclear option. Nuclear option that might backfire.
Captain Jack Harkness: If it's what I think you're thinking, you'd better stop thinking it, right now. Way too big a risk.
Yaz: How big a risk?
Captain Jack Harkness: Planet-threatening!
The Doctor: Got any better ideas? 'Cause now is your moment. I'm all ears.
[Jack goes silent]
The Doctor: Exactly.
Captain Jack Harkness: If it's what I think you're thinking, you'd better stop thinking it, right now. Way too big a risk.
Yaz: How big a risk?
Captain Jack Harkness: Planet-threatening!
The Doctor: Got any better ideas? 'Cause now is your moment. I'm all ears.
[Jack goes silent]
The Doctor: Exactly.
General Hidayat: Ibu Ratna, we brought you here to help us keep this from spreading. We need a vaccine or a medicine.
Dr. Ratna: I have spent my life studying these things. So please listen carefully. There is no medicine. There is no vaccine.
Hidayat: So what do we do?
Ratna: ...Bomb. Start bombing. Bomb this city and everyone in it.
Hidayat: [stares at her in mute horror]
Ratna: [wiping away tears] Excuse me, if someone could please drive me home? I would like to be with my family.
Dr. Ratna: I have spent my life studying these things. So please listen carefully. There is no medicine. There is no vaccine.
Hidayat: So what do we do?
Ratna: ...Bomb. Start bombing. Bomb this city and everyone in it.
Hidayat: [stares at her in mute horror]
Ratna: [wiping away tears] Excuse me, if someone could please drive me home? I would like to be with my family.
"The whole planet was flamed to get rid of me!"
— Epideme virus, Red Dwarf
Capt. James Kirk: When you jettisoned the fuel and ignited it, you knew there was virtually no chance of it being seen, yet you did it anyhow. That would seem to me to be an act of desperation.
Spock: Quite correct, captain.
Kirk: Now we all know, and I'm sure the doctor would agree with me, that desperation is a highly emotional state of mind. How does your well-known logic explain that?
Spock: Quite simply, Captain. I examined the problem from all angles, and it was plainly hopeless. Logic informed me that under the circumstances, the only possible action would have to be one of desperation.
Spock: Quite correct, captain.
Kirk: Now we all know, and I'm sure the doctor would agree with me, that desperation is a highly emotional state of mind. How does your well-known logic explain that?
Spock: Quite simply, Captain. I examined the problem from all angles, and it was plainly hopeless. Logic informed me that under the circumstances, the only possible action would have to be one of desperation.
Sisko: We're going to mine the entrance to the wormhole. Prevent the Dominion from bringing any more reinforcements to Cardassia.
Odo: If we try to stop those convoys, it may very well start a war.
Sisko: Maybe so. But one thing's for certain: we're losing the peace. Which means a war could be our only hope.
Odo: If we try to stop those convoys, it may very well start a war.
Sisko: Maybe so. But one thing's for certain: we're losing the peace. Which means a war could be our only hope.
Tabletop Games
CODE: RAGNAROK
OPERATIONS BUDGET: UNLIMITED
PERMISSIBLE WEAPONS: UNLIMITED
PERMISSIBLE CASUALTIES:
LOCAL INHABITANTS: 100%
ASSOCIATE PERSONNEL: 100%
ENLIGHTENED OPERATIVES: 100%
OPERATIONS BUDGET: UNLIMITED
PERMISSIBLE WEAPONS: UNLIMITED
PERMISSIBLE CASUALTIES:
LOCAL INHABITANTS: 100%
ASSOCIATE PERSONNEL: 100%
ENLIGHTENED OPERATIVES: 100%
— Time of Thin Blood, the Technocracy's "Code Ragnarok"
"You would have me weigh the continued existence of this planet against the lives of those who defend it? Idiocy! Order them to advance. All of them."
— General Karrus, Warhammer 40,000
"As the war continues, Kindred elders adopt more desperate and destructive tactics. Their terrorist attacks kill hundreds of mortals, then thousands as they try to cripple and cow the nations that hunt them. From toxic chemical spills to arson to massive bombings conducted by mesmerized dupes, they try every vile assault they can imagine. Each new atrocity stiffens government and public resolve to destroy the Kindred menace... but the vast wealth and erratic powers of the elders slowly tear civilization apart nonetheless. Gradually, the elders' goal drifts from frightening humanity into leaving them alone, to imposing a new Dark Age."
— Vampire: The Masquerade - Gehenna
Video Games
"You wanna put out an oil fire, sir, you set off a bigger explosion right next to it. Sucks away the oxygen. Snuffs the flame. [...] We've got a pretty big fire. We're going to need a huge bang..."
— John Price, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
"So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again."
— Corrax Entry 7:17, Doom (2016)
"They are rage, brutal and without mercy. But you... You will be worse. Rip and tear, until it is done."
"We have arrived, and it is now that we perform our charge. In fealty of the God-Emperor, our undying lord, and by the grace of the Golden Throne, I declare Exterminatus on the Imperial world of Typhon Primaris. I hereby sign the death warrant of an entire world, and consign a million souls to oblivion. May Imperial justice account in all balance. The Emperor protects."
— Inquisitorial Fleet Admiral, Dawn of War II: Retribution
Commander Shepard: Do you think it's risky? Building something like this when we don't even know what it does?
Admiral Hackett: To be honest, the thing scares the hell out of me. But the Reapers have forced our hand.
Admiral Hackett: To be honest, the thing scares the hell out of me. But the Reapers have forced our hand.
— Mass Effect 3, regarding the Crucible
"Staggering financial costs were disregarded in the common effort to create something, anything, that could stop the Reapers."
— Codex, Mass Effect 3
Stephen: We're infected. It's killed all the birds and now it's in us. It's trying to leave the valley any way it can. The quarantine is not enough: you've got to remove the carriers; you've got to cut off it's energy source, it's food.
Clive: I've already told you, Stephen, I'm not going to order an air strike-
Stephen: You have to! Now it knows we're onto it, it's going to keep on spreading as fast as it can.
Clive: The quarantine and blackout will hold it in check; they've cut all the phones out of the valley, so it's only you communicating out now-
Stephen: Weren't you listening? It's figured out ways around it - radio waves, something! All the lines are cut but the phones are working anyway! You've done all the right things, but it's not enough: you've got to stop it before it adapts again.
Clive: Stephen... my... my family... m-my wife and kids...
Stephen: You know perfectly well what you've got to do.
Clive: I can't do it. Don't ask me to do it... you're asking me to sign their death warrant - my own family!
Stephen: Dammit, don't you think I'm aware of that? I'll still be here when you drop the fucking stuff! Don't you lecture me about sacrifice, you spineless little shit! If you're so full of ideas, you come here and try dealing with it! (Beat) Tell them the time when we had a choice is over. Tell them to do it. You've got to do it, now.
Clive: I've already told you, Stephen, I'm not going to order an air strike-
Stephen: You have to! Now it knows we're onto it, it's going to keep on spreading as fast as it can.
Clive: The quarantine and blackout will hold it in check; they've cut all the phones out of the valley, so it's only you communicating out now-
Stephen: Weren't you listening? It's figured out ways around it - radio waves, something! All the lines are cut but the phones are working anyway! You've done all the right things, but it's not enough: you've got to stop it before it adapts again.
Clive: Stephen... my... my family... m-my wife and kids...
Stephen: You know perfectly well what you've got to do.
Clive: I can't do it. Don't ask me to do it... you're asking me to sign their death warrant - my own family!
Stephen: Dammit, don't you think I'm aware of that? I'll still be here when you drop the fucking stuff! Don't you lecture me about sacrifice, you spineless little shit! If you're so full of ideas, you come here and try dealing with it! (Beat) Tell them the time when we had a choice is over. Tell them to do it. You've got to do it, now.
Elizabet: This isn't a glitch. It's a catastrophe.
Ted: Fully aware. It's bad.
Elizabet: Bad? It's not 'bad', Ted, it's apocalyptic! You've built a line of killer robots—
Ted: Peacekeepers!
Elizabet: —that consume biomass as fuel—
Ted: In emergencies—
Elizabet: —and you made them capable of self-replication!
Ted: Limited. Self-manufacture, controlled!
Elizabet: Not anymore. The glitch severed chain of command. The only nation this swarm answers to now is itself. Everything else is just food! And at the rate it's replicating Ted, it will strip the Earth bare in fifteen months! We're not talking fall of civilization, we're talking extinction!
Ted: I get it Lis! So, how do I stop it while it's contained?
Elizabet: It's not contained! It can't be!
Ted: You know what I mean!
Elizabet: Right. Before the truth gets out, you mean.
Ted: Fully aware. It's bad.
Elizabet: Bad? It's not 'bad', Ted, it's apocalyptic! You've built a line of killer robots—
Ted: Peacekeepers!
Elizabet: —that consume biomass as fuel—
Ted: In emergencies—
Elizabet: —and you made them capable of self-replication!
Ted: Limited. Self-manufacture, controlled!
Elizabet: Not anymore. The glitch severed chain of command. The only nation this swarm answers to now is itself. Everything else is just food! And at the rate it's replicating Ted, it will strip the Earth bare in fifteen months! We're not talking fall of civilization, we're talking extinction!
Ted: I get it Lis! So, how do I stop it while it's contained?
Elizabet: It's not contained! It can't be!
Ted: You know what I mean!
Elizabet: Right. Before the truth gets out, you mean.
This is a SUBTLE ASSETS IMPERATIVE (NO HUMAN REVIEW) (NO AI-COM REVIEW) (secure/ABHOR).
Stand by for CRITERIA:
Under CARRHAE (WHITE or BLACK)
If SECURITY STATE is EGYPTIAN
If event rank is TEILHARD: TRAUMATIC CONTEXT or SKYSHOCK: OUTSIDE CONTEXT
If VOLUSPA is ACTIVE and in FAILURE [[synapse to FENRIR::SURTR]]
If YUGA is ACTIVE and in SUNDOWN
If AI-COM has granted PERMISSIVE POTENTIATION to outboard resilient instances
If a CIVILIZATION KILL EVENT is underway [[all flexions]]
If tactical morality is built at MIDNIGHT
Stand by for DECISION POINT:
If available ISR and WARWATCH indicates imminent [O] departure
>then [O] departure compromises human/neohuman survival and epoch strategy
Stand by for ABHORRENT IMPERATIVE:
Activate LOKI CROWN
Perform deniable authorization: full caedometric and noetic release
Prevent [O] departure by any means available
Stand by for effect assessment criteria:
Coerce pseudoaltruistic [O] defensive action.
Defer civilization kill.
Stand by for CRITERIA:
Under CARRHAE (WHITE or BLACK)
If SECURITY STATE is EGYPTIAN
If event rank is TEILHARD: TRAUMATIC CONTEXT or SKYSHOCK: OUTSIDE CONTEXT
If VOLUSPA is ACTIVE and in FAILURE [[synapse to FENRIR::SURTR]]
If YUGA is ACTIVE and in SUNDOWN
If AI-COM has granted PERMISSIVE POTENTIATION to outboard resilient instances
If a CIVILIZATION KILL EVENT is underway [[all flexions]]
If tactical morality is built at MIDNIGHT
Stand by for DECISION POINT:
If available ISR and WARWATCH indicates imminent [O] departure
>then [O] departure compromises human/neohuman survival and epoch strategy
Stand by for ABHORRENT IMPERATIVE:
Activate LOKI CROWN
Perform deniable authorization: full caedometric and noetic release
Prevent [O] departure by any means available
Stand by for effect assessment criteria:
Coerce pseudoaltruistic [O] defensive action.
Defer civilization kill.
—Ghost Fragment: Rasputin 5, Destiny note
A colossal armed planetoid. The AI would not normally consider even the entire Milky Way galaxy worth the attention of a mothership, but the Spire-Human alliance appears to have caused... concern.
— Mothership description, AI War: Fleet Command
Boy, you guys have no idea how hard it is to hold back with that one. I'm nooot a huge fan of using it, but I mean...you didn't give me much choice.
— Kevin Graham, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd
N: Matthew, raise your fists. I will grant you the sword's power. Transfer it to your "Fists of the End".
A: That light...!
Rex: No way!
N: Drive it in! RELEASE THE POWER OF OUROBOROS!
A: That light...!
Rex: No way!
N: Drive it in! RELEASE THE POWER OF OUROBOROS!
If Jak reaches a certain rage threshold, he can choose to transform into Dark Jak, and wreck havoc for a short time. This "mode" is terribly exhausting, and Jak always comes out of it damaged, with only one hit point left, so he must learn to use it wisely.
— The Japanese cover text to Jak II: Renegade, referencing a scrapped mechanic.
Webcomics
Carmen: Now... Floyd, it's time for you to learn a spell that may get you out of this mess.
Floyd: Um, Carmen? You said that me casting spells was a bad idea!
Carmen: It is, but you two being eaten is marginally worse.
Floyd: Um, Carmen? You said that me casting spells was a bad idea!
Carmen: It is, but you two being eaten is marginally worse.
— Floyd
Thor: But... you're helping us [fight your own daughter].
Loki: Yeah, 'cause the opportunity to stop the [Vicious Cycle] forever dropped in our lap! It's the sort of thing you change plans for!
Loki: Yeah, 'cause the opportunity to stop the [Vicious Cycle] forever dropped in our lap! It's the sort of thing you change plans for!
Web Original
"So the good news is that Godzilla's back. The bad news is GODZILLA'S BACK."
— Cinemassacre, Godzillathon #18
In the first battle Godzilla blows his head off and fucking fries that bastard!
So now that they got Ghidorah taken care of, the only problem is getting rid of Godzilla too, and the only thing that can stop him is Ghidorah so hey, it's like they fucked themselves!
THE PROBLEM IS REVERSED!
So now that they got Ghidorah taken care of, the only problem is getting rid of Godzilla too, and the only thing that can stop him is Ghidorah so hey, it's like they fucked themselves!
THE PROBLEM IS REVERSED!
— Cinemassacre, Godzillathon #18
I don't give a damn about your committee or its opinions on my work. Have you forgotten, Sir, that we were at war? A fight with an alien race for the very survival of our species? I feel I must remind you that it is an undeniable, and may I say a fundamental quality of man, that when faced with extinction, every alternative is preferable.
— The Director of Project Freelancer, Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction
Weaver: You're going to kill people, kill bystanders, on a gamble.
Phir Sē: What chances would you give this gamble?
Weaver: One in three?
Phir Sē: One in three. That is... perhaps unfair. No matter. If I'm wrong, we lose this city. If I'm right, we kill Behemoth. I would take those odds, Weaver. I would take them, I would watch this city be wiped from the earth, knowing that people I am fond of would die. I live in a civilian guise most days, waiting until I have a task from those more powerful than I. I would perhaps be killing the butcher I talk to every day when I walk to the store for food. I would kill the widow who lives next door to me, her child, if they have not evacuated. I have mentioned my daughter, much like you in her abundance of faith in people. I will take this gamble and perhaps kill those people in the process. I will kill those people who can make me smile and feel more human than I am, I will grieve their deaths, and then I will take that gamble again. Because one city, however grand, is worth that chance.
Phir Sē: What chances would you give this gamble?
Weaver: One in three?
Phir Sē: One in three. That is... perhaps unfair. No matter. If I'm wrong, we lose this city. If I'm right, we kill Behemoth. I would take those odds, Weaver. I would take them, I would watch this city be wiped from the earth, knowing that people I am fond of would die. I live in a civilian guise most days, waiting until I have a task from those more powerful than I. I would perhaps be killing the butcher I talk to every day when I walk to the store for food. I would kill the widow who lives next door to me, her child, if they have not evacuated. I have mentioned my daughter, much like you in her abundance of faith in people. I will take this gamble and perhaps kill those people in the process. I will kill those people who can make me smile and feel more human than I am, I will grieve their deaths, and then I will take that gamble again. Because one city, however grand, is worth that chance.
— Worm, "Crushed 24.4
"
"Integra: Fuck it, dropping the formalities. Alucard! ...Go for a walk.
Alucard: (long exhalation) When hope is gone, undo this lock... and send me forth, on a moonlit walk... Release Restraint Level... Zero.
Alucard: (long exhalation) When hope is gone, undo this lock... and send me forth, on a moonlit walk... Release Restraint Level... Zero.
Heikel: Isn't that note one of the Nails that pierced Christ's body?
Yumi: Hai.
Heinkel: From the "Don't Fuck With This" armory?!
Yumi: Haaaiii.
Heinkel: Where we keep the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Ark of the Covenant, and the actual Body of Christ?!
Yumi: Haaaaaiiiiii.
Yumi: Hai.
Heinkel: From the "Don't Fuck With This" armory?!
Yumi: Haaaiii.
Heinkel: Where we keep the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Ark of the Covenant, and the actual Body of Christ?!
Yumi: Haaaaaiiiiii.
Decker: After enough back-and-forth about what their options are [...] plus the risk of collateral damage even if they do or don't attack, the Prime Minister finally makes the decision to mobilize the Self-Defense Forces in an attempt to take it down
Reporter: This makes it Japan's first military action since World War II. When asked for justification, the Prime Minister referenced the terminology of Article 76.
Decker: He then pointed out the window and said "giant fucking monster destroying the country!"
Reporter: This makes it Japan's first military action since World War II. When asked for justification, the Prime Minister referenced the terminology of Article 76.
Decker: He then pointed out the window and said "giant fucking monster destroying the country!"
—Decker Shado, Review of Shin Godzilla
Any containment breach of SCP-100000-J can only be counteracted by activation of all seven of the O5 council's instant supermassive black hole generators. This will result in an XK-class end-of-the-world scenario, but failure to do so will allow SCP-100000-J to cause an █K-class "Dance of a Thousand [DATA EXPUNGED]" scenario.
Western Animation
"I'm thinking I shouldn't use those powers if I can help it. I don't know how else to describe it, but using them feels... bad."
— Anne Boonchuy, Amphibia, "The New Normal"
Well, old Mr. Johnson had troubles of his own.
Still the yellow cat wouldn't leave his home!
Steps were needed to remove the little curse.
The old man knew it couldn't get any worse.
Still the yellow cat wouldn't leave his home!
Steps were needed to remove the little curse.
The old man knew it couldn't get any worse.
— Alternate verse of "The Cat Came Back" from the Canadian animated short film, sung just as Mr. Johnson is about to blow up his house with piles upon piles of dynamite. Then it got worse.
Scrooge: Unleash...the Unstoppa-Bomb.
Gyro: The Moonlanders, um, already found that. And stopped it.
Scrooge: What? Er, all right then! Activate...the Doomsday Ray.
Gyro: That was, like, the first thing they took out.
Scrooge: ...Okay... I swore I'd never have to initiate our worst weapon...
Gyro: And you never will, because they destroyed that too. This was a very well-planned invasion.
Gyro: The Moonlanders, um, already found that. And stopped it.
Scrooge: What? Er, all right then! Activate...the Doomsday Ray.
Gyro: That was, like, the first thing they took out.
Scrooge: ...Okay... I swore I'd never have to initiate our worst weapon...
Gyro: And you never will, because they destroyed that too. This was a very well-planned invasion.
— Ducktales 2017, "Moonvasion!"
Omni-Man: You must be desperate. I beat this thing already.
(Hail Mary roars)
Cecil: Sure, but we removed its pain center and juiced it up with every drug, enhancement, and upgrade we had. Plus all that really pissed it off, and it blames you. Good luck.
Green Arrow: Still got your quantum arrow?
Speedy: Yeah. But you said-
Green Arrow: This is an emergency!
Speedy: Yeah. But you said-
Green Arrow: This is an emergency!
— Justice League Unlimited, "Patriot Act"
"So... You must really be in trouble if you came all the way down here to see me."
— Zaheer, The Legend of Korra
"Okay, you're frozen, untransformed, Eiffel Towers are spreading around Paris, and I'm the one with the Lucky Charm. So! Tikki unleashed the power herself. Which kwamis never do because of the devastating consequences that has. The situation must be desperate, otherwise they never would have done this!"
—Marinette, Miraculous Ladybug, "Deflagration (The Kwamis' Choice -- Part 2)"
Prowl: You're not suggesting that we unleash an uncontrollable Sari on Omega Supreme, are you? (For context, Omega Supreme is under Megatron's control at this point.)
Optimus Prime: I'm hoping we won't have to!
Optimus Prime: I'm hoping we won't have to!
Brock Rumlow: Ma'am. The last resort has arrived.
Jane Foster: Woah, woah. "Last resort" sounds very final.
Jane Foster: Woah, woah. "Last resort" sounds very final.
—Brock Rumlow and Jane Foster on Captain Marvel's pager to stop Party Thor's party, What If…? (2021), "What If... Thor Were an Only Child?"
"So... just how desperate are we?"
— Zatara and Kid Flash, respectively, looking at the helmet of Dr. Fate from a world where every child has disappeared and one where every adult has disappeared, "Misplaced", Young Justice (2010)
Real Life
"Desperate times call for desperate measures."
— Proverb
"If Hitler invaded Hell I would make at least a favourable reference to the devil in the House of Commons."
—Sir Winston Churchill
"[R]emember that, in a thioacetone situation, fogging the area with brown nitrogen oxide fumes will actually improve the air."
—Derek Lowe, "Things I Won't Work With: Thioacetone"
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