History Quotes / PersonOfInterest

->''I always liked you, Hersh. Even after you killed me.''

->''Since we started this, things have changed. We've changed. But the mission, our purpose, has always been constant: to save lives. If that's changed somehow, if we're in a place now where The Machine is asking us to commit murder... that's a place I can't go. I'm afraid this is where I get off.''

->''The Machine and I couldn't save the world. We had to settle for protecting the seven people who might be able to take it back, so we gave Samaritan a blind spot: seven key servers, that hard-codes it to ignore seven carefully crafted new identities. When the whole world is watched, filed, indexed, numbered, the only way to disappear is to appear, hiding our true identities inside a seemingly ordinary life. You're not a free man anymore, Harold. You're just a number. We have to become these people now, and if we don't, they'll find us, and they'll kill us. I'm sorry, Harold. I know it's not enough. A lot of people are gonna die, people who might've been able to help. Everything is changing. I don't know if it'll get better, but it's going to get worse. But The Machine asked me to tell you something before we part. You once told John the whole point of Pandora's Box is that once you've opened it, you can't close it again. She wanted me to remind you of how this story ends. When everything is over, when the worst has happened, there's still one thing left in Pandora's Box: hope.''

->''You don't {{take over the world}} with gaudy displays of violence. Real control is surgical. Invisible. It interferes only when necessary. No one will question [[AIIsACrapShoot Samaritan]] because no one will ever know when it has acted. Samaritan has watched this world for a year. It settled on a list of [[DeadlyEuphemism corrections]]. Corrections that were long overdue. Most of humanity is docile, pliant. It's only ever a few hundred people who create all of the problems. Samaritan has identified them: The disruptors, the outliers who have problem with authority. And then there's the disloyal, the grit in the gears. Thank you for leading us directly to them, we couldn't have done it without you, [[spoiler:Control]]. Men have gazed at the stars for millennia, and wondered whether there was a deity up there silently directing their fates. Today, for the first time, they'll be right, and the world will be...an undeniably better place.''

->''Hello. If you're hearing this, you're probably already dead. Did we win? Did we lose? I-I don't know. I'm not even sure I know what victory would mean anymore. We lost you, I thought we couldn't lose any more. I had no idea. But either way, if you're hearing this, know one thing: It's over. So let me tell you what we did to fight back.''

->''If you can hear this, you're alone. The only thing left of us is the sound of my voice. I don't know if any of us made it. Did we win? Did we lose? I don't know. I'm not even sure I know what victory would mean anymore. But either way, it's over. So let me tell you who we were. Let me tell you who you are...and how we fought back.''

->''I was talking about my rules. I have lived by those rules for so long. Believed in them for so long. Believed that if you played by the right rules eventually you would win. But I was wrong, wasn't I? And now all the people I cared about are dead. Or will be dead soon enough. And we will be gone without a trace. So now I have to decide. Decide whether to let my friends die. To let hope die. To let the world be ground under your heel all because I played by my rules. I'm trying to decide. I'm going to kill you. But I need to decide how far I'm willing to go. How many of my own rules I'm willing to break to get it done.''

->''"The numbers never stop coming, Mr. Reese."''
-->--'''Harold Finch'''

-->--'''John Reese'''

-->-- '''John Reese'''

->''"Everyone is relevant to someone."''
-->--'''Nathan Ingram'''

-->--'''Harold Finch'''

-->--'''John Reese'''

->''"In the end we're all alone, and no one's coming to save you."''
-->-- '''John Reese'''

->''"If you really need a mystery, I recommend the human heart."''
-->--'''Harold Finch'''

-->--'''Harold Finch'''

-->--'''Carl Elias'''

->''"I looked for an 'I'm-sorry-I-got-you-shot' card, but they were all out."''
-->--'''Joss Carter'''

-->--'''Root'''

-->--'''Harold Finch''' explaining the value of pi to a math class, "2-Pi-R"

-->--'''Harold Finch''' to a suicidal young man, "2-Pi-R"

-->--'''Root'''

->''"We help people out of difficult situations, even situations of their own design."''
-->--'''Harold Finch'''

-->--'''Harold Finch'''

-->--'''Sameen Shaw'''

->''"Trust in me. I am always watching."''
-->--'''The Machine'''

->''"We have free will, and with that comes great responsibility. And sometimes great loss."''
-->--'''Harold Finch'''

-->--'''Sameen Shaw'''

-->--"/"

->''Since we started this, things have changed. We've changed. But the mission, our purpose, has always been constant: to save lives. If that's changed somehow, if we're in a place now where the Machine is asking us to commit murder... that's a place I can't go. I'm afraid this is where I get off.''
-->--'''Harold Finch''', "Death Benefit"

->''The Machine and I couldn't save the world. We had to settle for protecting the seven people who might be able to take it back, so we gave Samaritan a blind spot: seven key servers, that hard-codes it to ignore seven carefully crafted new identities. When the whole world is watched, filed, indexed, numbered, the only way to disappear is to appear, hiding our true identities inside a seemingly ordinary life. You're not a free man anymore, Harold. You're just a number. We have to become these people now, and if we don't, they'll find us, and they'll kill us. I'm sorry, Harold. I know it's not enough. A lot of people are gonna die, people who might've been able to help. Everything is changing. I don't know if it'll get better, but it's going to get worse. But the Machine asked me to tell you something before we part. You once told John the whole point of Pandora's Box is that once you've opened it, you can't close it again. She wanted me to remind you of how this story ends. When everything is over, when the worst has happened, there's still one thing left in Pandora's Box: hope.''
-->--'''Root''', "Deus Ex Machina"

->''You don't TakeOverTheWorld with gaudy displays of violence. Real control is surgical. Invisible. It interferes only when necessary. No one will question [[AIIsACrapShoot Samaritan]] because no one will ever know when it's active. Samaritan has watched this world for a year. It settled on a list of [[DeadlyEuphemism corrections]]. Corrections that were long overdue. Most of humanity is docile, pliant. It's only ever a few hundred people who create all of the problems. Samaritan has identified them: The disruptors, the outliers who have problem with authority. And then there's the disloyal, the grit in the gears. Thank you for leading us directly to them, we couldn't have done it without you, [[spoiler:Control]]. Men have gazed at the stars for millenia, and wondered whether there's a deity up there silently directing their fates. Today, for the first time, they'll be right and the world will be...an undeniably better place.''
-->--'''Greer''', "YHWH"

-->--'''[[spoiler:The Machine, using Root's voice]]''', OpeningNarration of "B.S.O.D."

-->--'''Finch''', declaring war on Samaritan, "The Day The World Went Away."

-->--'''[[spoiler:The Machine]]''', closing narration of [[GrandFinale "Return 0"]]

-->--'''Harold Finch''', explaining the value of pi to a math class.

-->--'''Harold Finch''', to a suicidal young man.

-->--'''Harold Finch'''

-->--'''Root'''

-->--'''Greer'''

-->--'''[[spoiler:The Machine using Root's voice]]''' ''(Season 5 trailer)''

-->--'''[[spoiler:The Machine using Root's voice]]''' ''(OpeningNarration of "B.S.O.D.")''

-->'''Finch''', ''(declaring war on Samaritan, in "The Day The World Went Away.")''

-->--'''Root''' ''(Season 5 trailer)''

-->--'''[[spoiler:The Machine]]''' ''(OpeningNarration of "B.S.O.D.")''

-->--'''Root''' ''(OpeningNarration of "B.S.O.D.")''

-->--'''Root''' ''(OpeningNarration of "B.S.O.D.")''

->''"If you really need a mystery, I suggest the human heart."''

->''"I looked for a I'm-sorry-I-got-you-shot card, but they were all out."''

->''"I always liked you, Hersh. Even after you killed me."''

->'''Root''': How badly did you have to break [The Machine] to make it care about people so much?\\
'''Harold Finch''': That didn't break it, it's what made it work. It was only after I taught The Machine that people mattered that it could begin to be able to help them. I'd like to do the same thing for you, if you'll let me.

->''"Since we started this, things have changed. We've changed. But the mission, our purpose, has always been constant: to save lives. If that's changed somehow, if we're in a place now where the Machine is asking us to commit murder... that's a place I can't go. I'm afraid this is where I get off."''

->''"The Machine and I couldn't save the world. We had to settle for protecting the seven people who might be able to take it back, so we gave Samaritan a blind spot: seven key servers, that hard-codes it to ignore seven carefully crafted new identities. When the whole world is watched, filed, indexed, numbered, the only way to disappear is to appear, hiding our true identities inside a seemingly ordinary life. You're not a free man anymore, Harold. You're just a number. We have to become these people now, and if we don't, they'll find us, and they'll kill us. I'm sorry, Harold. I know it's not enough. A lot of people are gonna die, people who might've been able to help. Everything is changing. I don't know if it'll get better, but it's going to get worse. But the Machine asked me to tell you something before we part. You once told John the whole point of Pandora's Box is that once you've opened it, you can't close it again. She wanted me to remind you of how this story ends. When everything is over, when the worst has happened, there's still one thing left in Pandora's Box: hope."''

->''"You don't TakeOverTheWorld with gaudy displays of violence. Real control is surgical. Invisible. It interferes only when necessary. No one will question [[AIIsACrapShoot Samaritan]] because no one will ever know when it's active. Samaritan has watched this world for a year. It settled on a list of [[DeadlyEuphemism corrections]]. Corrections that were long overdue. Most of humanity is docile, pliant. It's only ever a few hundred people who create all of the problems. Samaritan has identified them: The disruptors, the outliers who have problem with authority. And then there's the disloyal, the grit in the gears. Thank you for leading us directly to them, we couldn't have done it without you, [[spoiler:Control]]. Men have gazed at the stars for millenia, and wondered whether there's a deity up there silently directing their fates. Today, for the first time, they'll be right and the world will be...an undeniably better place."''

->''"Hello, if your hearing this, there probably already dead. Did we win, did we lose? I don't know, I'm not even sure I know what victory would mean anymore. We lost you, I thought we couldn't lose any more. I had no idea. But either way if your hearing this know one thing. It's over. So let me tell you what we did to fight back.''"
-->--'''Root'''

-->--'''Mr. Finch'''

-->--'''Finch'''

-->--'''Elias'''

-->--'''Shaw'''

-->--'''Shaw'''

->'''Root''':''"How badly did you have to break [The Machine] to make it care about people so much?"''
->'''Harold Finch''': ''"I didn't break it, it's what made it work. It was only after I taught The Machine that people mattered that it could begin to be able to help them. I'd like to do the same thing for you, if you'll let me."''

-->'''--Harold Finch'''

->''"You don't TakeOverTheWorld with gaudy displays of violence. Real control is surgical. Invisible. It interferes only when necessary. No one will question [[AIIsACrapShoot Samaritan]] because no one will ever know when it's active. Samaritan has watched this world for a year, and it settled on a list of [[DeadlyEuphemism corrections]]. Corrections that were long overdue. Most of humanity is docile. Compliant. It's only ever a few hundred people who create all of the problems. Samaritan has identified them: The disruptors, the outliers who have problem with authority. And then there's the disloyal, the grit in the gears. Thank you for leading us directly to them, we couldn't have done it without you, Control. Men have gazed at the stars for Millenia, and wondered whether there's a deity up there silently directing their fates. Today, for the first time, they'll be right and the world will be...an undeniably better place."''

-->--''Root''

-->''"Hello, if your hearing this, there probably already dead. Did we win, did we lose? I don't know, I'm not even sure I know what victory would mean anymore. We lost you, I thought we couldn't lose any more. I had no idea. But either way if your hearing this know one thing. It's over. So let me tell you what we did to fight back.''"
-->''"Root''"

-->--'''Greer'''

-->--'''Root'''

-->--Harold Finch

->''"This was never about winning, it’s just about surviving. The Machine and I couldn’t save the world - we had to settle for protecting these 7 people who might be able to take it back, so we gave Samaritan a blind spot: 7 key servers that hard codes to ignore 7 carefully crafted new identities. When the whole world is watched, filed, indexed, numbered, the only way to disappear is to appear: hiding our true identity inside a seemingly ordinary life. You are not a free man any more, Harold. You are just a number. We have to become these people now, and if we don’t, they will find us and they will kill us. Sorry, Harold. I know it’s not enough. A lot of people are gonna die. People who might have been able to help. Everything is changing. I don’t know if it will ever get better but it is going to get worse. But The Machine asked me to tell you something before we part - you once told John the whole point of Pandora’s Box is that once you opened it, you can’t close it again. She wanted me to remind you how this story ends: when everything is over, when the worst has happened, there is still one thing left in Pandora’s Box: HOPE."''

-->--'''Finch'''

->''"Only the paranoid survive."''

->''"This was never about winning, it’s just about surviving. The Machine and I couldn’t save the world; we had to settle for protecting these 7 people who might be able to take it back so we gave Samaritan a blind spot: 7 key servers that hard codes to ignore 7 carefully crafted new identities. When the whole world is watched, filed, indexed, numbered, the only way to disappear is to appear: hiding our true identity inside a seemingly ordinary life. You are not a free man any more, Harold. You are just a number. We have to become these people now, and if we don’t, they will find us and they will kill us. Sorry, Harold. I know it’s not enough. A lot of people are gonna die. People who might have been able to help. Everything is changing. I don’t know if it will ever get better but it is going to get worse. But The Machine asked me to tell you something before we part - you once told John the whole point of Pandora’s Box is that once you opened it, you can’t close it again. She wanted me to remind you how this story ends: when everything is over, when the worst has happened, there is still one thing left in Pandora’s Box: HOPE."''

->''"This was never about winning, it’s just about surviving. The Machine and I couldn’t save the world, we had to settle for protecting these 7 people who might be able to take it back so we gave Samaritan a blind spot: 7 key servers that hard codes to ignore 7 carefully crafted new identities. When the whole world is watched, filed, indexed, numbered, the only way to disappear is to appear: hiding our true identity inside a seemingly ordinary life. You are not a free man any more, Harold. You are just a number. We have to become these people now, and if we don’t, they will find us and they will kill us. Sorry Harold. I know it’s not enough. A lot of people are gonna die. People who might have been able to help. Everything is changing. I don’t know if it will ever get better but it is going to get worse. But The Machine asked me to tell you something before we part - you once told John the whole point of Pandora’s Box is that once you opened it, you can’t close it again. She wanted me to remind you how this story ends: when everything is over, when the worst has happened, there is still one thing left in Pandora’s Box: HOPE."''

->'''Harold Finch''': ''"I didn't break it, it's what made it work. It was only after I taught The Machine that people mattered that it could begin to be able to help them. I'd like to do the same thing for you, if you'll let me."''

-->--'''Harold Finch'', to a suicidal young man.

->''"Your mistakes, like mine, are a part of who you are now. You can't move on from that. believe me, I've made a sizable number. But...sometimes your mistakes can surprise you. My biggest mistake, for instance, brought me here. At exactly this moment when you might need some help."''

->'''Harold Finch''': ''"I didn't break it, it's what made it work. It was only after I taught The Machine that people mattered that it could begin to be able to help them. I'd like to do the same thing for you, if you'll let me."

->''"If they don't want you to get inside, they ought to build it better."''

->''"Everyone is relevant to someone."''
-->--'''Nathan Ingram'''

-->'''Harold Finch'''

-->'''Nathan Ingram'''

-->'''Root'''

-->'''Harold Finch''', explaining the value of pi to a math class.

-->'''Shaw'''

-->'''Harold Finch'''

-->-- '''John Reese'''

-->--'''Mr. Finch'''