Atlas Shrugged II: The Strike (2012) Movie Script
Who is John Galt?
Who is John Galt?
"A device that draws static electricity
from the atmosphere
and converts it to usable power,
harvesting limitless energy
without fossil fuels."
We wouldn't need centralized power.
It would end the global
depression in a year. Maybe less.
Imagine, Miss Taggart!
I do, every day.
Get that.
You say you and Henry Rearden
found it in an abandoned car factory?
Yes. In the laboratory of the
Twentieth Century Motor Company.
- Who holds the patent?
- None was ever filed.
You could file for it.
I don't want to claim credit
for something I didn't create.
I just want it to work.
You're a person of uncommon
character these days.
There seems to be an element missing,
a converter, transformer...
I'm not sure.
It might only exist in the mind
of the inventor. If you could find...
But you haven't found him,
or you wouldn't have called me.
I know your distaste for my work
at the State Science Institute.
With no evidence, you declare
Rearden Metal unsafe,
just to keep me from
building the John Galt Line.
But you built it anyway.
Magnificent.
I was wrong, I know that now.
- There was enormous political pressure.
- Dr. Stadler,
can you think of anyone
who could have conceived of this?
A scientist, an engineer...
maybe ten years ago?
Someone this brilliant would
surely have caught my attention.
Can you think of anyone now,
anyone left who could bring it to life?
Finding a great mind has been
increasingly difficult
since the disappearances.
We've lost many of
the best and brightest.
I could take the device
to the State Science Institute.
There are still some resources...
Of course not.
That would be the worst thing.
Miss Taggart, I'd offer
to make an attempt myself,
but I'm not the person you need.
How are you so sure?
I haven't disappeared.
My plans, please.
Miss Taggart.
Quentin Daniels, please.
Yes, Quentin...
- Dagny!
- Eddie.
The 93 route is officially in deficit.
We'll amortize the losses
across the whole system.
We've been doing that,
but the fact is...
We need the Colorado run.
It's always been
the core of the rail road.
While the Fair Share Law dictates that
companies must supply goods equally
to all customers, businesses continue
to close their doors due to a shortage
of raw materials.
Government appointee Wesley Mouch
insists it's only a temporary setback.
Meanwhile in other news, predictably...
Where are they, Eddie?
- Who?
- Anyone who could make a difference.
I'm sitting next to her.
Ellis Wyatt was more dedicated to his
work than anyone I have ever known.
The man figured out how
to squeeze oil from stone,
and he just walks away?
Not before setting fire to his own
shale field and storage facilities.
It was a message.
A lesson.
You know why it's still burning?
Because anyone bright enough
to put it out is gone, too.
It's as if some destroyer
is sweeping up everybody
who could dig us out of this mess.
Who is John Galt?
I dislike that expression immensely.
...efforts dumping
retardants on Wyatt's Torch
in the Colorado Rockies.
Ellis Wyatt, still missing,
gave what was essentially
a slap in the face
to the government and the
Fair Share Law by posting
a sign at the base of the
burning flame that read:
"I am leaving it as I found it.
Take over. It's yours."
By enforcing the Fair
Share Law, prosperity and equality
will finally reach
every corner of this nation.
No longer will the greed of a
few wealthy businessmen outweigh
the needs of the public at large.
Pull up the 93.
Yes, Miss Taggart.
Who is John Galt?
Mitchum, if you can't answer
that question, don't ask.
I'm sorry, Miss Taggart.
When you started the John Galt Line
I just assumed you liked that expression.
- The 93, Dave.
- Yes. Yes.
Ninety-three. Freight.
Terminates in Hammondsville, Colorado.
Was running three times weekly,
down to twice, now twice a month.
Load?
Well, we cut the
coal hopper cars in half,
but we're still pulling
But that's not my fault.
Since Ellis Wyatt disappeared.
Stockton Coal was making
up the tonnage for a while,
- but we lost that contract.
- And we won't get it back.
Andrew Stockton hasn't been
heard from in weeks.
The government took
over the plant under Fair Share
and hasn't produced a lump of coal.
No coal, no contract.
No contract, no load.
No load, no line.
This rail road doesn't
function as a charity, Eddie.
Kill the 93.
You heard her.
Henry Rearden is a hero.
He's an innovator.
He's a job creator.
It's better. It's cheaper metal.
It's more creative.
This is Capitalism 101.
And the Fair Share Law,
more big government,
it's gonna result in failure.
It's gonna result
- in a lack of competition.
- No, but you want more people
in the marketplace. And especially
when you see the price of gas,
when you see the price of goods
in America today,
you understand.
You want people who are workin' hard...
Wait a second. This is neither
a free market nor a fair market.
This guy's sole competition...
no competition at all, right?
He's created a metal that's stronger,
that's lighter, that's cheaper...
All new orders.
- South Texas Freespan, 24 tons...
- Bridge truss.
That's the one.
Griffin Derrick, Louisiana, 19 tons.
Crane arms. Just put them
in the hold file by date, OK?
Danagger Coal, Pennsylvania,
wants to increase their order,
but according to Fair Share,
we can't sell them any more.
I'll deal with Ken Danagger myself.
And the order from the
State Science Institute?
Just put that one right at the bottom.
But Fair Share gives
the government priority.
We'll process them
in the order received.
- What could be more fair than that?
- Yes sir, Mr. Rearden.
And Leonard Small
from the State Science Institute is
still waiting for you in the boardroom.
Got it.
- Hank Rearden.
- It's me.
I had to shut down the 93 run.
My great-grandfather drove the
first spike into that rail himself.
Just like you and I did
on the John Galt Line.
- Sorry, Dagny.
- It wasn't paying.
But it was his baby.
Nostalgia's expensive these days.
Hey, remember the inn
at Cold Spring Harbor?
Of course.
I have a meeting in the city tomorrow.
We could go there, just take a break.
You need it.
- We need it.
- I'll see you tomorrow.
Mr. Rearden... Mr. Small.
Mr. Rearden, an honor to meet you.
Don't you have a home?
- Sir?
- Well, you've been camped out
in my boardroom, rent free.
Please understand that it's my job.
It's the job you chose.
I've just never met a looter with your
kind of dedication and endurance.
- I'm not a looter.
- No?
So, you're not here to take something
from me you didn't earn yourself?
You can't just reject a government
order for your materials.
- Why can't I?
- It's an Essential Needs project.
Essential to whom?
It's... it's very important.
It's for the State Science Institute.
Well, the State Science Institute
declared Rearden Metal unfit.
They did so very publicly.
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.
Truer words were never spoken.
We're no longer chasing
the almighty dollar.
Our ideals are higher than profit.
Instead of the aristocracy
of money, we have...
The aristocracy of pull.
I mean, now, it's about influence.
But you knew that already.
What I know is that you
need to learn some manners.
If you ever doubted that money was the
root of all evil, there's your proof.
So, you think that money
is the root of all evil.
Have you ever asked yourself
"What's the root of money?"
Money is a tool that allows us
to trade with one another.
Your goods for mine.
Your efforts for mine.
The keystone of civilization.
Having money is not
the measure of a man.
What matters is how he got it.
If he produced it by creating value,
then his money is a token of honor.
Look who's talking about honor.
But if he's taken it from those
who produce, then there is no honor.
Then you're simply a looter.
Senor d'Anconia, we all know that
money is made by the strong
at the expense of the weak.
What kind of strength
are you talking about?
The power to create value?
Or the ability to manipulate,
to extort money in back room deals,
- to exercise pull?
- All right... just leave.
Hey.
When money ceases to be the tool
by which men deal with one another,
then men become the tools of men.
Blood, whips, chains or dollars.
Take your choice.
There is no other.
And your time is running out.
D'Anconia...
...I wanna speak to you.
Mr. Rearden, to whom
do you think I was speaking?
Tell me, do you own any
d'Anconia Global Commodities stock?
- No.
- Good.
Most everyone else in this room does,
and they deserve to.
What are you talking about?
There was a fire at the d'Anconia
ore docks in Valparaiso...
...tomorrow morning.
In unrelated events,
the d'Anconia mines were
buried under rock slides.
That's tomorrow, too.
Why would you do that?
Money is the root of all evil.
So I just got tired of being evil.
I took her to the station myself.
I had no right to
bring her into our world.
Good morning, Henry.
Aren't you gonna say anything?
When was the last time you
spent the night in this room?
When was the last time
you spent a night with me?
Is it your little girl
from the office, is it Gwen?
Or is it a Cherryl, something
you picked up out of the gutter?
Lillian, drop it.
- I am your wife.
- We can solve that simply enough.
You have her all over you.
Get out.
You're a hypocrite, Henry.
You're just another lying, cheating
husband who can't keep his pants zipped.
You're entitled to that.
I'm ready to give you a divorce. Get out.
You'll "give" me?
You can't buy your way out of this.
I knew you wanted a divorce
six months into our marriage.
Then why do you stay?
Because you're screwing some whore,
I have to give up my home,
my name, my position? Never.
Ever.
I'm very good at keeping up appearances.
I'll help you do the same.
I don't know who you think you are.
I am Mrs. Henry Rearden.
I'm the person who knows what you are...
...a common, ordinary man who thinks
he doesn't owe anybody anything.
And you're wrong.
You're a mole, Henry, who crawled up
out of a hole in the ground.
You owe me.
You owe everybody.
As the market opened,
stock of d'Anconia Global Commodities
tumbled 82 percent on reports
that disasters in Chile
and elsewhere around the world
have crippled the company's ability
to mine and deliver resources.
Eyewitness accounts describe
devastation so extensive,
it's unlikely the 200-year-old company
will ever recover.
Luckily, no casualties were reported.
Calls to company President Francisco
d'Anconia were not returned
and Global Commodities officials
have declined comment.
What an inspiring sight!
The most valuable metal operation
in the country, maybe the world.
You didn't think so when your
agency tried to shut me down.
Well, times change, Mr. Rearden.
Situations change.
But people like you
don't change, Dr. Ferris.
And my position hasn't changed.
He should have told you.
I will not sell my metal to
the State Science Institute.
In light of recent events,
I'd say your position is untenable.
What events?
Your transfer of 4,000 tons
of Rearden Metal to Ken Danagger,
in clear violation
of the Fair Share mandate.
- We're done here.
- Not yet.
It's very simple now.
You deliver our order,
accept our generous compensation,
and you and Danagger don't
spend the next ten years in prison.
You seem pretty happy
I violated one of your new laws.
That's what laws are for, Mr. Rearden.
If the right people don't break them,
they're of no use whatsoever.
By the way, young Mr. Small will be
staying on in a supervisory capacity.
To ensure that working
conditions meet the standards
- required of a government contractor.
- He has a job to do.
He has to do what you tell him.
I don't.
I can find my own way out, thank you.
And Leonard stays.
Well, that went about as well as
could be expected, don't you think?
The Justice Department has just handed
down indictments against Henry Rearden,
billionaire manufacturer
of Rearden Metal,
and Kenneth Danagger, the nation's
largest remaining producer of coal.
Both men face up to ten years in prison
for flagrant violation
of the Fair Share Law.
Eddie, I'm wheels down in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh?
I need to know where
Ken Danagger stands.
I want him to know he's not alone.
Excuse me, but I had
an 11:00 with Mr. Danagger.
I know, Miss Taggart, I'm sorry.
He asked not to be disturbed.
He's been in there
with someone for a while.
- Who?
- I actually don't know the gentleman.
He didn't have an appointment,
but Mr. Danagger
seemed to be expecting him so...
Miss Taggart... He won't be
much longer I'm sure!
Dagny!
I'm sorry, Ken, I thought...
No, no. Forgive me, Dagny.
I'm sure I made you wait.
So good to see you.
You, too.
So... they've handed down the indictments
against you and Hank Rearden.
It's a knee-slapper.
You could go to prison for a decade.
Who is John Galt, right?
Mr. Danagger... Ken...
you told me you love your work.
I do.
Are you quitting?
It's a fine balance we have.
You depend on my coal for power...
...and to fill your hoppers.
Hank uses my coal to make his steel.
And we use his steel to shore up
my mines and lay your rail.
It's perfect.
Natural.
- Trading value for value.
- Everybody wins.
Until something we can't control
poisons that balance.
- Then what do we do?
- I fight.
I fought for every chunk of coal
I've ever pulled out of the ground.
And now, I can't set my price.
I can't decide who to sell to.
The government takes what they want
and taxes what they leave behind.
All I'm doing is feeding the beast
that's trying to destroy me.
You're just going to
let them have your coal?
It's not important.
You're welcome to it.
Take as much as you can haul away.
Dagny, you keep up the good fight,
just as long as you feel you need to.
I've only got one thing left
worth fighting for.
What's that?
This.
Francisco.
Soon, they'll have watchers
watching the watchers.
When will it end?
When will you end it?
That the line you used on Ken Danagger?
Me?
No.
I had nothing to do with that.
What about your mines?
You had something to do with that.
You know, copper's getting
a little hard to come by.
And now, losing Ken Danagger
and his coal...
If Ken Danagger had enough,
it's not for me to judge.
I'll just have to work a little harder.
Harder?
Even your metal has its limits.
I don't know my limit, d'Anconia.
I guess I don't much care to find it.
But I won't be stopped.
Thanks, Gwen.
Why do you stay in business?
- To make money.
- Yes. To make money.
By creating a product that
nobody ever dreamed of.
And how's that working out for you?
It's getting tougher.
Did you want to see your metal
and your wealth
used by looters who think it's your duty
to produce, and theirs to consume?
Moochers who think they owe you nothing?
No wealth, no recognition, no respect?
Is that what you wanted?
I'd blow up my mills first.
Then why don't you, Mr. Rearden?
That time and those people are upon you.
If you saw Atlas, the giant who
holds the world on his shoulders,
with blood running down his chest...
...knees buckling, arms trembling,
but still trying to hold up the world
with the last of his strength,
what would you tell him to do?
I don't know.
What would you tell him?
To shrug.
Foreman!
It's the low grade ore!
The vents are clogged!
Purge the gas to the other vessel
or the whole furnace is gonna go!
Put a perimeter around it!
Contain it!
Contain it right there.
Fill in the gap!
Fill in the gap right there!
Go!
Move it! Move it!
Go, go, go, go!
Shut it down as soon as possible!
Weren't you just suggesting
that I blow this place up myself?
I was raised in foundries like this.
I was caught up in the moment.
Come and work with me for a while,
right here in the mills.
No more damn questions, then?
I already got my answer, Mr. Rearden.
I'll be about an hour.
Hello?
Hello?
Miss Taggart, you're here.
Come in, come in.
Can I get you anything?
- Show me.
- OK, now don't freak out
and don't touch anything.
Touch it.
You told me not to touch...
- It's cold.
- Huge input, low yield.
Inefficient at the quantum level.
There's something missing.
It's not all here.
How long?
Maybe a week.
Maybe a thousand lifetimes.
Or a thousand great minds.
You're it, Quentin.
Or maybe a shortcut.
Find the mind that created this thing.
Henry Rearden, you are charged,
along with Kenneth Danagger,
in absentia...
...with one count of violation
of Article 64 of the Fair Share Law.
Specifically, the illegal
sale and transfer of 4,000 tons
of strategic material
known as "Rearden Metal"
to Kenneth Danagger and Danagger Coal.
How do you plead, sir?
I do not recognize
this court's right to try me,
nor do I recognize
any of my actions as a crime.
Mr. Rearden, you will have to
enter a plea before this court.
Simply refusing to
obey the law is not a defense.
If you believe you may seize my
property simply because you need it,
well then, so does any burglar.
The only difference is a
burglar doesn't ask my permission.
Sir, I will remind you
the punishment this court
might impose on you is severe.
Go ahead.
Impose it.
If you sentence me to jail,
send armed men to get me.
I will not volunteer to go.
If you fine me,
you'll have to seize my assets.
I will not volunteer to pay.
If you feel you have the
right to use force against me,
then show it for what it is...
bring guns.
Sir, we have no intention
of pointing guns
and seizing your property.
Then why are we here?
Mr. Rearden, you are misrepresenting
the letter and the intent
of the Fair Share Law.
It is based on the highest principle,
the principle of the public good.
As defined by those who would
dictate and regulate our behavior
in our homes and our businesses,
stealing their power from our liberty.
Gallery will come to order!
Mr. Rearden, you wouldn't
want it misunderstood
that you work for nothing
but your own profit?
Indeed. I want it understood clearly.
I do not recognize the good of others
as a justification for my existence.
If their fair share demands
that I get nothing for my labors,
that it requires me
to be a victim, then I say...
...public good be damned.
I'll have no part of it.
And how does that benefit
your fellow man?
I do not owe you an answer, but I
could tell you in a hundred ways.
Thousands of jobs, billions in revenue,
fueling our economy
despite your efforts to destroy
the very foundation of our existence.
And I believe most of my fellow men
would say the same if they had a voice.
Another outburst
and I will clear the court.
Putting this son of a bitch
in jail is suicide.
- The SSI will never get their metal.
- No, we need an example, not a martyr.
We can't set a precedent here,
not with this man.
Mr. Rearden, on your behalf, the court
has entered a plea of "no contest,"
and this panel has found you guilty.
You are hereby sentenced to ten years
in prison and a fine of $50 million.
Sentencing of Kenneth Danagger
will be withheld
pending his appearance before this body.
Now, Mr. Rearden,
taking into consideration
your distinguished achievements,
your contributions to society and
your full cooperation in this matter,
your sentence is suspended.
This court is now adjourned.
Do you realize what you've done?
Dodged a bullet.
You've given the people a voice.
You said what was
already on everyone's mind.
You won.
Hank, we won.
Dagny...
...you can't win a battle
that never ends.
Look at this world.
How can such small people
do so much damage?
We're so close to having something
they won't be able to fight.
Even if your motor is
everything you think it'll be,
- they will try like hell to stop you.
- They might.
They can't stop the world.
Dagny... what if you never find
the man who created the motor?
What if you can't make it all work?
I make things work.
Hank, you make things work.
- Yes.
- That's what people like us do.
And they know that.
And they hate it because
it threatens them.
But it won't scare them away.
With all the businesses that have
failed, we simply cannot continue
to service the few remaining customers
we have without raising rates.
Jim, we from Washington and
Wesley Mouch would like you
to table the idea of
raising rates at this time.
I merely mentioned it
to round out the picture.
Maybe you can use your pull with
Mr. Mouch to get us a concession here.
I'll have a word with him.
You're one of Wesley's closest friends.
But he won't hesitate to sacrifice
his personal interests
if they conflict with the public good.
Right.
Of course.
We're glad that you're on board.
We feel the first order of business
is to make the rail workers happy.
The unions make a lot of noise,
but I don't think we have
to take them too seriously.
Wesley Mouch takes them very seriously.
So do I.
The unions represent
millions of votes, Jim.
And votes that your money can't buy.
Taggart Transcontinental has got to set
an example by reaching out to labor.
Set the precedent for other companies.
You'll be helping Wesley a great deal.
As Chairman of the Board, I have
to point out that freezing rates
and paying higher wages will only
push our company deeper into the red.
Bob's right. We should be looking
for ways to save money, not spend it.
It's simple, guys.
Just trim the fat off the brisket.
Shut down the routes that aren't paying.
- A bold idea.
- Where do you suggest we start?
The John Galt Line was
a dumb mistake to begin with.
Now with Ellis Wyatt gone, it's nothing
more than a goddamn bridge to nowhere.
We could use the Rearden Metal
to replace the damaged rails
- along the profit-making lines.
- Now you're talking.
Dagny, would you like
to weigh in on this?
No.
But you're the C.O.O.
You run the rail road.
Do I?
You must have an opinion, Miss Taggart.
What do you propose?
I don't propose.
You're dodging your
responsibility here, Dagny.
I am not going to say the words
that make me the murderer.
It's your policies that
killed the John Galt Line.
It's your interference
that is killing this rail road.
You're the assassins.
Mr. Chairman, I propose we
dismantle the John Galt Line.
All in favor?
Aye.
Opposed?
Motion carries.
We built something fantastic, didn't we?
Yes, we did.
I thought it would stand
for a thousand years.
It would've.
Do you need more time?
No.
Why drag it out?
Lillian.
I see you're slumming it again.
Hard times, you know.
Don't spend all of Henry's money
on the truffle mousse pt.
I can only try.
Your husband's performance in court,
some very powerful people
found it... disagreeable.
Disagreeable?
You wouldn't know the half of it.
Word is spreading around.
He's headed for real trouble
unless he learns to not be so...
...vocally anti-social.
I see.
You would like me
to put a muzzle on him.
Well, for both of our sakes, yes.
Your position, your money...
it's all on the line.
Try not to seem so desperate, James.
It's unbecoming.
- What are you afraid of losing?
- Everything.
They have made it my responsibility
to get him to cooperate.
You don't understand
the power they have.
You haven't mentioned
what I stand to gain from this.
Influence in very high circles.
You'll never stand in anyone's shadow.
Not even Hank Rearden's.
Henry's weakness is that
he thinks he's not vulnerable.
We have to prove him wrong.
I think we have the tools to do that.
The Unification Board
is authorized to enforce
compliance through penalties...
that include, but are not limited to:
fines, seizure of assets,
nationalization of property,
and imprisonment,
for so long as an emergency lasts.
We wanted all of you,
our core group, to hear it first.
We need you all on board.
It's obvious that drastic
measures have to be taken.
You can count on me, Wesley.
I think everyone here agrees
that capitalism doesn't work,
not without government as a partner.
- A caretaker, really.
- Exactly.
Your businesses are failing.
Your unions are suffering.
We need to hold the line
on this erosion,
freeze things in place until public
confidence has been restored.
Now, there will be some howling...
sticklers for the Constitution,
clingers to the old ways, those types.
- And the loose cannons.
- Like Henry Rearden.
Rearden is a threat to civil order
and the public good.
There is no room in recovery
for a free thinker like Rearden.
Rearden will not be a problem.
Mr. Mouch, put me on screen.
If this isn't a state of emergency,
I don't know what is.
The immense greed of a few
has pushed us to the precipice.
I recommend that we implement
Directive 10-289 immediately.
For the public good.
In the name of the general welfare,
to protect the security
of our fellow citizens,
it is decreed for the duration of the
national emergency that the statutes
of Directive 10-289
shall remain in effect.
All employees and wage
earners of any kind shall henceforth
be attached to their current jobs
and may not be discharged
or quit said employment.
All industrial
and manufacturing entities
shall henceforth remain in operation
and owners of said
establishments shall not quit,
retire, sell,
or transfer their business.
All copyrights and patents
pertaining to any invention,
formula, or process shall be
transferred to the federal government
by means of Gift Certificates
signed by the present owners
of said copyrights and patents.
No new devices, inventions,
products or goods of any nature
are to be created or manufactured
and the Office of Patents & Copyrights
is hereby suspended.
Every company or sole
proprietor shall henceforth produce
the same quantity of goods,
or provide the same services
as in the Basic Year... the year
just ended. No more or no less.
Every citizen, regardless
of income, shall henceforth spend
the same amount of money
as in the Basic Year.
All wages, prices,
dividends and other forms of income
are hereby frozen at present figures.
Directive 10-289 shall
be administered and enforced
by the Unification Board,
whose decisions will be final.
It's all happening so fast.
You knew about this?
I have appointed current Director of
Economic Development, Wesley Mouch,
as Recovery Czar
to help us through
these desperate times.
Fellow Americans,
with the stroke of a pen,
the home of life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness
has been altered forever.
Dr. Ferris.
Come to shut me down completely?
No. Not at all.
That wouldn't serve anyone.
Under Directive 10-289,
private intellectual assets
become the property of the government.
Since tonight is the deadline,
at midnight,
I'm here as a convenience for you.
All you have to do is sign
this Gift Certificate...
...entrusting your patents
to the Unification Board.
So, you're here to steal the
process for Rearden Metal.
Steal? No. It'll be made
available to all manufacturers.
And to make people aware that
you no longer hold a monopoly,
the name will be changed...
to Miracle Metal.
Catchy.
All you have to do is
sign right there at the bottom.
Sir, I'm not gonna sign that paper.
I'm not gonna say that it's OK
for you to take my patents away from me.
Well, I do have... some other
documents here as well.
I don't imagine you'll suffer much,
since your wife already knows.
Of course, I can't say the same
for Miss Taggart.
One of the most respected
businesswomen in the nation.
Spotless reputation,
a source of inspiration to
young girls all across the country.
I can't even look at this.
You might not want to see this either.
In an unexpected move sure to
usher in a new dawn of cooperation
between industry and government,
billionaire steel magnate Henry Rearden
has thrown his full support
behind Directive 10-289.
Rearden, inventor of Rearden Metal,
has signed Gift Certificates
transferring his patents
to the government
in the interest of fairness
and a rapid recovery
from the worst economic
recession on record.
Dagny.
Dagny?
Dagny!
What the hell you doing?
What's wrong?
Everything.
You did this.
Directive 10-289.
You and your government creeps.
It's what the country needs right now.
I'm part of the solution.
Tell me. How does it feel
to be the last one standing?
Better than crawling around on the
ground with the rest of the snakes.
I won't be a slave
and I won't be a slave driver.
I quit.
Tell that to your cronies.
Dagny, you can't quit.
It's against the directive.
- I'm going to my family cabin.
- Hold all your calls?
Hold everything, Eddie.
Don't contact me about the rail road.
I'm done.
- Rearden.
- It's me.
I don't know what they did to you, Hank.
I hate that they had the power to do it.
We're all facing difficult
choices these days.
Well, maybe you can live
with this directive. I can't.
It burns me.
Don't let it. I told you,
it's not gonna stop.
I want to see you.
Not right now.
Not for a while.
I need a break from everything.
OK.
I can understand now what would
make someone just check out.
That's what I'm doing.
Checking out.
Eddie will know where I am.
Look, I don't care what the grounds are,
I don't care how many judges
you've gotta buy,
I want Lillian out of my life.
Do you understand?
Get me a divorce. I have got to
be free of this... completely free.
This is ridiculous!
Mr. Taggart, who do I consult
with if there are any issues?
Just deal with it.
What kind of issues?
Well, I have some frozen trains.
I can't detour them because
of the split rails and repairs...
Look, I haven't found anyone to
replace Dagny yet. I don't know.
- How long have you been here?
- Almost eight months.
That's plenty of time.
You're promoted.
Congratulations.
Chief Operating Officer...
- What's your name?
- Mitchum.
Mitchum.
Carry on.
Me?
And for the record, there's
no pay increase due to 10-289.
Anybody know why Westbound 22
is behind schedule?
No.
Thank you.
Kip, why check your watch?
I don't even need a sundial
to tell you that we're as late
as yesterday's apologies.
Well, I can tell you this:
If I'm late for my campaign
stop in San Francisco, I swear,
I'll make it a priority
to nationalize this rail road.
History shows us it's the only way
to make them run on time.
Good goddamn.
Oh, my God.
Kip, are you OK?
Yeah, I'm fine.
OK, we've got a damaged
engine outside of Winston.
- Alert all local east-west traffic.
- Got it.
Taggart 22 Intermountain, this is
Taggart Command. Come in, over.
- What the hell happened?
- The engine's got a fractured bogie.
Has a what?
- It's the undercarriage, sir.
- How long before you fix it?
Well, the engine only weighs
about 560,000 pounds.
If you'd like to hold up one end,
I'll crawl underneath,
fix it myself, we'll be off in a jiff.
Little smart ass.
Taggart here.
Goddamn it, Jim. This is
a hell of a way to run a rail road.
I'm stuck out here in the middle
of frosty ass nowhere.
Now I've got an engagement
in San Francisco
and all I'm getting from
your people is double-talk.
And just so you know, your pay-offs
are not gonna buy you out of this one.
- Kip, take it easy now...
- Easy?
Easy for me to throw
you in the grease with Mouch
if I don't make my fund-raiser.
Now get this:
You get on the horn and you
get my ass out of here, pronto.
What the hell is happening, Mitchum?
I never got a call in the middle of the
night when Dagny was running things.
The 22 has a disabled locomotive
just outside the Taggart Tunnel.
Yeah, I know that.
What are you doing to get them moving?
Well, the station chief won't answer,
and nobody down the line
is willing to take responsibility.
And I'm certainly not,
I can tell you that.
Don't we have another
locomotive that we can use?
I don't have a diesel
within a hundred miles.
But there is an old coal-burner
about four miles out.
Can it pull the train?
It should.
They use it for rail-yard towing but...
...I mean, good luck finding a driver.
Do whatever you have to do to get
Kip Chalmers through that tunnel
and off that mountain.
Sir, they say that you can't run a
smoker through an eight mile passage.
I don't care how you do it.
Just get something done.
If you don't, tomorrow morning,
I'm not gonna have a rail road.
And you're not gonna have a job.
I found a retired engineer
that's willing to drive it.
Really? Thank God somebody
made a decision to do something.
All right, come on back.
Keep it coming!
Yep, yep... Come on now!
Come on!
All right, slow it down a little bit.
All right, that's good!
Ladies and gentlemen,
it is now safe to return to your seats.
Would you please re-board
the train at this time.
I repeat, it is now safe
to return to your seats.
Please re-board the train.
Thank you.
You see?
It pays to know people.
Obviously my demands have been met.
We'll get through the tunnel
and it'll be downhill from there.
To pull.
When you've got it, you've got it.
Eastbound Army Freight Special,
The 22 should be clear by the time
they reach the tunnel. Right?
You know what?
Hold the Army Special.
You can't hold it. That's a government
train. It's better hold off the 22.
I can't.
It's a smoker on a 15 percent grade.
He'll slide all the way back
to Kansas if I stop him now.
Well, there's always prayer.
We'll be out of this
tunnel in no time, I assure you.
- Ladies and gentlemen...
- What's happening?
- ...please remain seated.
- It's all right, Laura.
- Kip, I'm scared!
- It's all right. Just calm down.
I can't be calm,
I need to know what's going on!
Just calm... everybody calm down!
Laura, calm down!
Power will be restored shortly.
There is no need for concern.
It's important that you remain seated...
- Laura, come here!
- ...and remain calm.
Laura!
Laura!
Laura get back here!
Laura!
Switch the Army Special
to the roll out, now!
You got it!
Oh, my God.
Slug!
How did you know I was here?
Do you remember... when we
were children in these woods?
When we were exploring the world
and everything in it,
and you were always asking
"why this" and "how that" and...
- And you'd say, "Let's find out."
- Exactly.
And now, I've found you.
You never did grow up, did you?
Looks like neither of us did.
Can't tell you how
pleased I am that you walked away
from Taggart Transcontinental.
Look at you.
I haven't changed.
That's where you're wrong.
You've stopped playing into their hands.
How?
They were counting on you
to keep working.
Ignore it.
There's no future there.
There's no future for the rail road.
Why are you here, Francisco?
I thought you'd be off somewhere,
putting the pieces
of your business back together.
Why would I?
It was all my doing.
You blew up your own mines.
Don't.
What?
We lost the 22 Transmountain Express
and the whole Taggart Tunnel.
- Casualties?
- Not sure yet.
At least 200 on our side.
The Army Special, five troop cars,
maybe another 200.
What are they doing about it?
Not much.
Don't let James screw up
anything else until I get there.
Dagny, don't go back.
Hey!
I'm trying to save you...
You're not trying to save a damn thing.
In what could be the nation's
worst ever rail disaster,
a Transcontinental train and another,
still unidentified, train
have collided in the world famous
Taggart Tunnel in southern Colorado.
Though there is no official
casualty count,
there are no reports of survivors.
Who is John Galt?
- Eddie.
- Dagny, thank God!
I'm glad you're back from vacation.
You need to take some
responsibility around here.
We need all of our
best people on this right now.
Start with Central Region.
Get me Ryan on the line first.
Ryan's a no-show.
- Then get me Knowland.
- Gone.
- Andrews?
- Gone.
McGuire?
Do we have any of
our quality people left?
You're looking at 'em.
How long until they
get that tunnel open?
- I didn't...
- That's all right.
We need a go-around, Eddie.
Get me the old rail maps.
The ones we used before 1950.
All right.
OK, the Taggart Tunnel
is closed for now.
We'll open the old grade... here.
We haven't run heavy trains
on those tracks in years.
Put high rail trucks and hand
crews in front of every train.
Better safe than sorry,
but better moving than not.
Everything with wheels rolls.
I'm going to Colorado.
If I have to dig open that
tunnel with a soup spoon
we are going to open that route.
Dagny, you need to be here.
You mean you need me to do your job.
Well... what do we tell the press?
Mr. Mouch.
Just when I thought there wasn't a
problem in the world I didn't have.
Miss Taggart, we're all very
appreciative that you cut short
your temporary leave of absence.
I just want you to know you'll
have the government's full support.
If the government had stayed
out of the way to begin with,
we wouldn't have
hundreds of people dead.
It's lamentable.
I understand that you're upset,
it's upsetting to everyone.
Your rail road links this nation
together. The public relies on it.
That's why I'm willing to grant you
Special Government Exceptions
to Directive 10-289
in order to bring this crisis
to a speedy resolution.
I ignore you altogether,
and you stay out of my way.
I knew we could count
on your full cooperation.
Tell them to hold the Comet.
Your plane's being fueled as we speak.
Hold the Comet, reserve my car.
I'm the face of
Taggart Transcontinental.
I'm taking the train.
Hello?
Are you ready, Mr. Daniels?
- Are you the only one still working?
- I don't know. Could be.
- But I've got my job to do.
- Any idea what the problem is?
Seems like an E-C-U malfunction.
Any idea how long it'll take to fix it?
Could be two hours.
Could be a few days.
Hey, you're Dagny Taggart.
Depends.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
That's a great, I'd say.
Gee, you're a legend.
This is an honor. Thank you for my job.
I'm... I'm Jeff Allen. Trackman.
Taggart Transcontinental.
Where'd you get the hat, Jeff Allen?
Yeah, well.
Those were great days... for a while.
What happened at
Twentieth Century Motor Company?
Who is John Galt?
I wish I knew who started
that expression.
That, that might've been me.
What?
Well, me, or somebody else
who worked at the plant
back in Starnesville, Wisconsin.
He used to work there.
What happened there?
Well, Mr. Starnes passed and his heirs
took over. They wasn't worth a lick.
They had this big plan about
how they were gonna run the place,
and we were all gonna belong
to each other, like a big family.
And the idea was that everybody
would work to best of his ability,
but be paid according to his needs.
That's when John Galt stood up
and said he'd have no part of it.
How would they know
whose needs came first?
Now that is the rub, isn't it?
Yeah.
It fell apart pretty quick.
The best workers had to work harder
and the needy got needier.
Worker turned against worker.
What happened to John Galt?
You know, nobody knew too
much about him, really.
I just remember, when he walked out
he swore that he was gonna...
...he was gonna put an end to
the whole thing once and for all.
"I will stop the motor of the world."
I mean, what kind of thing is
that to say, really, but...?
I'll tell you something,
ever since that day,
every time I saw the lights go out
and some factory close...
...I thought about that man.
I thought, maybe that's him...
...doing what he said...
...stopping the motor of the world.
May I please borrow your truck?
What's to borrow?
It's your truck.
- Thanks.
- Yep.
- Quentin!
- Taggart, hello.
You asked me find the person
who created the motor?
- I think I have the answer.
- Really?
That's great.
Actually, I was just about to call you.
- Tell me you've made progress.
- I did, I really did.
That's not the... thing that...
I guess that's everything.
See, I can't work for you anymore.
I have to resign.
That's fine, Quentin.
I respect that.
Let's talk about this in person,
face to face.
Honestly, there's nothing you
can say to make me change my mind.
Don't move. Don't do anything.
I'll be there in a few hours.
You'll be too late.
Excuse me...
I'd like to rent that antique.
I'm sorry, it's not for rent.
Is it for sale?
Everything's for sale.
Eddie, I'm flying to Utah.
- Utah?
- Long story.
I'll double back to Colorado
after I've met with Quentin Daniels.
Sounds good.
Jeff Allen.
Double his salary... triple it.
And get him a new truck ASAP.
I stole his.
- I'll see you soon, Eddie.
- Done.
Afton tower, this is Whiskey-Papa
Four-Zero-Niner, requesting permission
to land.
Whiskey-Papa,
Four-Zero-Niner, this is Afton tower,
you're clear to land.
Use runway 2-4 right.
Departing aircraft 2-4 left.
Oh, no.
Come on.
Pull, baby, pull.
Who is John Galt?
Don't move, Miss Taggart.
You're hurt.
You know me?
Of course.
For many years.
Who are you?
I am John Galt.
Who is John Galt?
"A device that draws static electricity
from the atmosphere
and converts it to usable power,
harvesting limitless energy
without fossil fuels."
We wouldn't need centralized power.
It would end the global
depression in a year. Maybe less.
Imagine, Miss Taggart!
I do, every day.
Get that.
You say you and Henry Rearden
found it in an abandoned car factory?
Yes. In the laboratory of the
Twentieth Century Motor Company.
- Who holds the patent?
- None was ever filed.
You could file for it.
I don't want to claim credit
for something I didn't create.
I just want it to work.
You're a person of uncommon
character these days.
There seems to be an element missing,
a converter, transformer...
I'm not sure.
It might only exist in the mind
of the inventor. If you could find...
But you haven't found him,
or you wouldn't have called me.
I know your distaste for my work
at the State Science Institute.
With no evidence, you declare
Rearden Metal unsafe,
just to keep me from
building the John Galt Line.
But you built it anyway.
Magnificent.
I was wrong, I know that now.
- There was enormous political pressure.
- Dr. Stadler,
can you think of anyone
who could have conceived of this?
A scientist, an engineer...
maybe ten years ago?
Someone this brilliant would
surely have caught my attention.
Can you think of anyone now,
anyone left who could bring it to life?
Finding a great mind has been
increasingly difficult
since the disappearances.
We've lost many of
the best and brightest.
I could take the device
to the State Science Institute.
There are still some resources...
Of course not.
That would be the worst thing.
Miss Taggart, I'd offer
to make an attempt myself,
but I'm not the person you need.
How are you so sure?
I haven't disappeared.
My plans, please.
Miss Taggart.
Quentin Daniels, please.
Yes, Quentin...
- Dagny!
- Eddie.
The 93 route is officially in deficit.
We'll amortize the losses
across the whole system.
We've been doing that,
but the fact is...
We need the Colorado run.
It's always been
the core of the rail road.
While the Fair Share Law dictates that
companies must supply goods equally
to all customers, businesses continue
to close their doors due to a shortage
of raw materials.
Government appointee Wesley Mouch
insists it's only a temporary setback.
Meanwhile in other news, predictably...
Where are they, Eddie?
- Who?
- Anyone who could make a difference.
I'm sitting next to her.
Ellis Wyatt was more dedicated to his
work than anyone I have ever known.
The man figured out how
to squeeze oil from stone,
and he just walks away?
Not before setting fire to his own
shale field and storage facilities.
It was a message.
A lesson.
You know why it's still burning?
Because anyone bright enough
to put it out is gone, too.
It's as if some destroyer
is sweeping up everybody
who could dig us out of this mess.
Who is John Galt?
I dislike that expression immensely.
...efforts dumping
retardants on Wyatt's Torch
in the Colorado Rockies.
Ellis Wyatt, still missing,
gave what was essentially
a slap in the face
to the government and the
Fair Share Law by posting
a sign at the base of the
burning flame that read:
"I am leaving it as I found it.
Take over. It's yours."
By enforcing the Fair
Share Law, prosperity and equality
will finally reach
every corner of this nation.
No longer will the greed of a
few wealthy businessmen outweigh
the needs of the public at large.
Pull up the 93.
Yes, Miss Taggart.
Who is John Galt?
Mitchum, if you can't answer
that question, don't ask.
I'm sorry, Miss Taggart.
When you started the John Galt Line
I just assumed you liked that expression.
- The 93, Dave.
- Yes. Yes.
Ninety-three. Freight.
Terminates in Hammondsville, Colorado.
Was running three times weekly,
down to twice, now twice a month.
Load?
Well, we cut the
coal hopper cars in half,
but we're still pulling
But that's not my fault.
Since Ellis Wyatt disappeared.
Stockton Coal was making
up the tonnage for a while,
- but we lost that contract.
- And we won't get it back.
Andrew Stockton hasn't been
heard from in weeks.
The government took
over the plant under Fair Share
and hasn't produced a lump of coal.
No coal, no contract.
No contract, no load.
No load, no line.
This rail road doesn't
function as a charity, Eddie.
Kill the 93.
You heard her.
Henry Rearden is a hero.
He's an innovator.
He's a job creator.
It's better. It's cheaper metal.
It's more creative.
This is Capitalism 101.
And the Fair Share Law,
more big government,
it's gonna result in failure.
It's gonna result
- in a lack of competition.
- No, but you want more people
in the marketplace. And especially
when you see the price of gas,
when you see the price of goods
in America today,
you understand.
You want people who are workin' hard...
Wait a second. This is neither
a free market nor a fair market.
This guy's sole competition...
no competition at all, right?
He's created a metal that's stronger,
that's lighter, that's cheaper...
All new orders.
- South Texas Freespan, 24 tons...
- Bridge truss.
That's the one.
Griffin Derrick, Louisiana, 19 tons.
Crane arms. Just put them
in the hold file by date, OK?
Danagger Coal, Pennsylvania,
wants to increase their order,
but according to Fair Share,
we can't sell them any more.
I'll deal with Ken Danagger myself.
And the order from the
State Science Institute?
Just put that one right at the bottom.
But Fair Share gives
the government priority.
We'll process them
in the order received.
- What could be more fair than that?
- Yes sir, Mr. Rearden.
And Leonard Small
from the State Science Institute is
still waiting for you in the boardroom.
Got it.
- Hank Rearden.
- It's me.
I had to shut down the 93 run.
My great-grandfather drove the
first spike into that rail himself.
Just like you and I did
on the John Galt Line.
- Sorry, Dagny.
- It wasn't paying.
But it was his baby.
Nostalgia's expensive these days.
Hey, remember the inn
at Cold Spring Harbor?
Of course.
I have a meeting in the city tomorrow.
We could go there, just take a break.
You need it.
- We need it.
- I'll see you tomorrow.
Mr. Rearden... Mr. Small.
Mr. Rearden, an honor to meet you.
Don't you have a home?
- Sir?
- Well, you've been camped out
in my boardroom, rent free.
Please understand that it's my job.
It's the job you chose.
I've just never met a looter with your
kind of dedication and endurance.
- I'm not a looter.
- No?
So, you're not here to take something
from me you didn't earn yourself?
You can't just reject a government
order for your materials.
- Why can't I?
- It's an Essential Needs project.
Essential to whom?
It's... it's very important.
It's for the State Science Institute.
Well, the State Science Institute
declared Rearden Metal unfit.
They did so very publicly.
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.
Truer words were never spoken.
We're no longer chasing
the almighty dollar.
Our ideals are higher than profit.
Instead of the aristocracy
of money, we have...
The aristocracy of pull.
I mean, now, it's about influence.
But you knew that already.
What I know is that you
need to learn some manners.
If you ever doubted that money was the
root of all evil, there's your proof.
So, you think that money
is the root of all evil.
Have you ever asked yourself
"What's the root of money?"
Money is a tool that allows us
to trade with one another.
Your goods for mine.
Your efforts for mine.
The keystone of civilization.
Having money is not
the measure of a man.
What matters is how he got it.
If he produced it by creating value,
then his money is a token of honor.
Look who's talking about honor.
But if he's taken it from those
who produce, then there is no honor.
Then you're simply a looter.
Senor d'Anconia, we all know that
money is made by the strong
at the expense of the weak.
What kind of strength
are you talking about?
The power to create value?
Or the ability to manipulate,
to extort money in back room deals,
- to exercise pull?
- All right... just leave.
Hey.
When money ceases to be the tool
by which men deal with one another,
then men become the tools of men.
Blood, whips, chains or dollars.
Take your choice.
There is no other.
And your time is running out.
D'Anconia...
...I wanna speak to you.
Mr. Rearden, to whom
do you think I was speaking?
Tell me, do you own any
d'Anconia Global Commodities stock?
- No.
- Good.
Most everyone else in this room does,
and they deserve to.
What are you talking about?
There was a fire at the d'Anconia
ore docks in Valparaiso...
...tomorrow morning.
In unrelated events,
the d'Anconia mines were
buried under rock slides.
That's tomorrow, too.
Why would you do that?
Money is the root of all evil.
So I just got tired of being evil.
I took her to the station myself.
I had no right to
bring her into our world.
Good morning, Henry.
Aren't you gonna say anything?
When was the last time you
spent the night in this room?
When was the last time
you spent a night with me?
Is it your little girl
from the office, is it Gwen?
Or is it a Cherryl, something
you picked up out of the gutter?
Lillian, drop it.
- I am your wife.
- We can solve that simply enough.
You have her all over you.
Get out.
You're a hypocrite, Henry.
You're just another lying, cheating
husband who can't keep his pants zipped.
You're entitled to that.
I'm ready to give you a divorce. Get out.
You'll "give" me?
You can't buy your way out of this.
I knew you wanted a divorce
six months into our marriage.
Then why do you stay?
Because you're screwing some whore,
I have to give up my home,
my name, my position? Never.
Ever.
I'm very good at keeping up appearances.
I'll help you do the same.
I don't know who you think you are.
I am Mrs. Henry Rearden.
I'm the person who knows what you are...
...a common, ordinary man who thinks
he doesn't owe anybody anything.
And you're wrong.
You're a mole, Henry, who crawled up
out of a hole in the ground.
You owe me.
You owe everybody.
As the market opened,
stock of d'Anconia Global Commodities
tumbled 82 percent on reports
that disasters in Chile
and elsewhere around the world
have crippled the company's ability
to mine and deliver resources.
Eyewitness accounts describe
devastation so extensive,
it's unlikely the 200-year-old company
will ever recover.
Luckily, no casualties were reported.
Calls to company President Francisco
d'Anconia were not returned
and Global Commodities officials
have declined comment.
What an inspiring sight!
The most valuable metal operation
in the country, maybe the world.
You didn't think so when your
agency tried to shut me down.
Well, times change, Mr. Rearden.
Situations change.
But people like you
don't change, Dr. Ferris.
And my position hasn't changed.
He should have told you.
I will not sell my metal to
the State Science Institute.
In light of recent events,
I'd say your position is untenable.
What events?
Your transfer of 4,000 tons
of Rearden Metal to Ken Danagger,
in clear violation
of the Fair Share mandate.
- We're done here.
- Not yet.
It's very simple now.
You deliver our order,
accept our generous compensation,
and you and Danagger don't
spend the next ten years in prison.
You seem pretty happy
I violated one of your new laws.
That's what laws are for, Mr. Rearden.
If the right people don't break them,
they're of no use whatsoever.
By the way, young Mr. Small will be
staying on in a supervisory capacity.
To ensure that working
conditions meet the standards
- required of a government contractor.
- He has a job to do.
He has to do what you tell him.
I don't.
I can find my own way out, thank you.
And Leonard stays.
Well, that went about as well as
could be expected, don't you think?
The Justice Department has just handed
down indictments against Henry Rearden,
billionaire manufacturer
of Rearden Metal,
and Kenneth Danagger, the nation's
largest remaining producer of coal.
Both men face up to ten years in prison
for flagrant violation
of the Fair Share Law.
Eddie, I'm wheels down in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh?
I need to know where
Ken Danagger stands.
I want him to know he's not alone.
Excuse me, but I had
an 11:00 with Mr. Danagger.
I know, Miss Taggart, I'm sorry.
He asked not to be disturbed.
He's been in there
with someone for a while.
- Who?
- I actually don't know the gentleman.
He didn't have an appointment,
but Mr. Danagger
seemed to be expecting him so...
Miss Taggart... He won't be
much longer I'm sure!
Dagny!
I'm sorry, Ken, I thought...
No, no. Forgive me, Dagny.
I'm sure I made you wait.
So good to see you.
You, too.
So... they've handed down the indictments
against you and Hank Rearden.
It's a knee-slapper.
You could go to prison for a decade.
Who is John Galt, right?
Mr. Danagger... Ken...
you told me you love your work.
I do.
Are you quitting?
It's a fine balance we have.
You depend on my coal for power...
...and to fill your hoppers.
Hank uses my coal to make his steel.
And we use his steel to shore up
my mines and lay your rail.
It's perfect.
Natural.
- Trading value for value.
- Everybody wins.
Until something we can't control
poisons that balance.
- Then what do we do?
- I fight.
I fought for every chunk of coal
I've ever pulled out of the ground.
And now, I can't set my price.
I can't decide who to sell to.
The government takes what they want
and taxes what they leave behind.
All I'm doing is feeding the beast
that's trying to destroy me.
You're just going to
let them have your coal?
It's not important.
You're welcome to it.
Take as much as you can haul away.
Dagny, you keep up the good fight,
just as long as you feel you need to.
I've only got one thing left
worth fighting for.
What's that?
This.
Francisco.
Soon, they'll have watchers
watching the watchers.
When will it end?
When will you end it?
That the line you used on Ken Danagger?
Me?
No.
I had nothing to do with that.
What about your mines?
You had something to do with that.
You know, copper's getting
a little hard to come by.
And now, losing Ken Danagger
and his coal...
If Ken Danagger had enough,
it's not for me to judge.
I'll just have to work a little harder.
Harder?
Even your metal has its limits.
I don't know my limit, d'Anconia.
I guess I don't much care to find it.
But I won't be stopped.
Thanks, Gwen.
Why do you stay in business?
- To make money.
- Yes. To make money.
By creating a product that
nobody ever dreamed of.
And how's that working out for you?
It's getting tougher.
Did you want to see your metal
and your wealth
used by looters who think it's your duty
to produce, and theirs to consume?
Moochers who think they owe you nothing?
No wealth, no recognition, no respect?
Is that what you wanted?
I'd blow up my mills first.
Then why don't you, Mr. Rearden?
That time and those people are upon you.
If you saw Atlas, the giant who
holds the world on his shoulders,
with blood running down his chest...
...knees buckling, arms trembling,
but still trying to hold up the world
with the last of his strength,
what would you tell him to do?
I don't know.
What would you tell him?
To shrug.
Foreman!
It's the low grade ore!
The vents are clogged!
Purge the gas to the other vessel
or the whole furnace is gonna go!
Put a perimeter around it!
Contain it!
Contain it right there.
Fill in the gap!
Fill in the gap right there!
Go!
Move it! Move it!
Go, go, go, go!
Shut it down as soon as possible!
Weren't you just suggesting
that I blow this place up myself?
I was raised in foundries like this.
I was caught up in the moment.
Come and work with me for a while,
right here in the mills.
No more damn questions, then?
I already got my answer, Mr. Rearden.
I'll be about an hour.
Hello?
Hello?
Miss Taggart, you're here.
Come in, come in.
Can I get you anything?
- Show me.
- OK, now don't freak out
and don't touch anything.
Touch it.
You told me not to touch...
- It's cold.
- Huge input, low yield.
Inefficient at the quantum level.
There's something missing.
It's not all here.
How long?
Maybe a week.
Maybe a thousand lifetimes.
Or a thousand great minds.
You're it, Quentin.
Or maybe a shortcut.
Find the mind that created this thing.
Henry Rearden, you are charged,
along with Kenneth Danagger,
in absentia...
...with one count of violation
of Article 64 of the Fair Share Law.
Specifically, the illegal
sale and transfer of 4,000 tons
of strategic material
known as "Rearden Metal"
to Kenneth Danagger and Danagger Coal.
How do you plead, sir?
I do not recognize
this court's right to try me,
nor do I recognize
any of my actions as a crime.
Mr. Rearden, you will have to
enter a plea before this court.
Simply refusing to
obey the law is not a defense.
If you believe you may seize my
property simply because you need it,
well then, so does any burglar.
The only difference is a
burglar doesn't ask my permission.
Sir, I will remind you
the punishment this court
might impose on you is severe.
Go ahead.
Impose it.
If you sentence me to jail,
send armed men to get me.
I will not volunteer to go.
If you fine me,
you'll have to seize my assets.
I will not volunteer to pay.
If you feel you have the
right to use force against me,
then show it for what it is...
bring guns.
Sir, we have no intention
of pointing guns
and seizing your property.
Then why are we here?
Mr. Rearden, you are misrepresenting
the letter and the intent
of the Fair Share Law.
It is based on the highest principle,
the principle of the public good.
As defined by those who would
dictate and regulate our behavior
in our homes and our businesses,
stealing their power from our liberty.
Gallery will come to order!
Mr. Rearden, you wouldn't
want it misunderstood
that you work for nothing
but your own profit?
Indeed. I want it understood clearly.
I do not recognize the good of others
as a justification for my existence.
If their fair share demands
that I get nothing for my labors,
that it requires me
to be a victim, then I say...
...public good be damned.
I'll have no part of it.
And how does that benefit
your fellow man?
I do not owe you an answer, but I
could tell you in a hundred ways.
Thousands of jobs, billions in revenue,
fueling our economy
despite your efforts to destroy
the very foundation of our existence.
And I believe most of my fellow men
would say the same if they had a voice.
Another outburst
and I will clear the court.
Putting this son of a bitch
in jail is suicide.
- The SSI will never get their metal.
- No, we need an example, not a martyr.
We can't set a precedent here,
not with this man.
Mr. Rearden, on your behalf, the court
has entered a plea of "no contest,"
and this panel has found you guilty.
You are hereby sentenced to ten years
in prison and a fine of $50 million.
Sentencing of Kenneth Danagger
will be withheld
pending his appearance before this body.
Now, Mr. Rearden,
taking into consideration
your distinguished achievements,
your contributions to society and
your full cooperation in this matter,
your sentence is suspended.
This court is now adjourned.
Do you realize what you've done?
Dodged a bullet.
You've given the people a voice.
You said what was
already on everyone's mind.
You won.
Hank, we won.
Dagny...
...you can't win a battle
that never ends.
Look at this world.
How can such small people
do so much damage?
We're so close to having something
they won't be able to fight.
Even if your motor is
everything you think it'll be,
- they will try like hell to stop you.
- They might.
They can't stop the world.
Dagny... what if you never find
the man who created the motor?
What if you can't make it all work?
I make things work.
Hank, you make things work.
- Yes.
- That's what people like us do.
And they know that.
And they hate it because
it threatens them.
But it won't scare them away.
With all the businesses that have
failed, we simply cannot continue
to service the few remaining customers
we have without raising rates.
Jim, we from Washington and
Wesley Mouch would like you
to table the idea of
raising rates at this time.
I merely mentioned it
to round out the picture.
Maybe you can use your pull with
Mr. Mouch to get us a concession here.
I'll have a word with him.
You're one of Wesley's closest friends.
But he won't hesitate to sacrifice
his personal interests
if they conflict with the public good.
Right.
Of course.
We're glad that you're on board.
We feel the first order of business
is to make the rail workers happy.
The unions make a lot of noise,
but I don't think we have
to take them too seriously.
Wesley Mouch takes them very seriously.
So do I.
The unions represent
millions of votes, Jim.
And votes that your money can't buy.
Taggart Transcontinental has got to set
an example by reaching out to labor.
Set the precedent for other companies.
You'll be helping Wesley a great deal.
As Chairman of the Board, I have
to point out that freezing rates
and paying higher wages will only
push our company deeper into the red.
Bob's right. We should be looking
for ways to save money, not spend it.
It's simple, guys.
Just trim the fat off the brisket.
Shut down the routes that aren't paying.
- A bold idea.
- Where do you suggest we start?
The John Galt Line was
a dumb mistake to begin with.
Now with Ellis Wyatt gone, it's nothing
more than a goddamn bridge to nowhere.
We could use the Rearden Metal
to replace the damaged rails
- along the profit-making lines.
- Now you're talking.
Dagny, would you like
to weigh in on this?
No.
But you're the C.O.O.
You run the rail road.
Do I?
You must have an opinion, Miss Taggart.
What do you propose?
I don't propose.
You're dodging your
responsibility here, Dagny.
I am not going to say the words
that make me the murderer.
It's your policies that
killed the John Galt Line.
It's your interference
that is killing this rail road.
You're the assassins.
Mr. Chairman, I propose we
dismantle the John Galt Line.
All in favor?
Aye.
Opposed?
Motion carries.
We built something fantastic, didn't we?
Yes, we did.
I thought it would stand
for a thousand years.
It would've.
Do you need more time?
No.
Why drag it out?
Lillian.
I see you're slumming it again.
Hard times, you know.
Don't spend all of Henry's money
on the truffle mousse pt.
I can only try.
Your husband's performance in court,
some very powerful people
found it... disagreeable.
Disagreeable?
You wouldn't know the half of it.
Word is spreading around.
He's headed for real trouble
unless he learns to not be so...
...vocally anti-social.
I see.
You would like me
to put a muzzle on him.
Well, for both of our sakes, yes.
Your position, your money...
it's all on the line.
Try not to seem so desperate, James.
It's unbecoming.
- What are you afraid of losing?
- Everything.
They have made it my responsibility
to get him to cooperate.
You don't understand
the power they have.
You haven't mentioned
what I stand to gain from this.
Influence in very high circles.
You'll never stand in anyone's shadow.
Not even Hank Rearden's.
Henry's weakness is that
he thinks he's not vulnerable.
We have to prove him wrong.
I think we have the tools to do that.
The Unification Board
is authorized to enforce
compliance through penalties...
that include, but are not limited to:
fines, seizure of assets,
nationalization of property,
and imprisonment,
for so long as an emergency lasts.
We wanted all of you,
our core group, to hear it first.
We need you all on board.
It's obvious that drastic
measures have to be taken.
You can count on me, Wesley.
I think everyone here agrees
that capitalism doesn't work,
not without government as a partner.
- A caretaker, really.
- Exactly.
Your businesses are failing.
Your unions are suffering.
We need to hold the line
on this erosion,
freeze things in place until public
confidence has been restored.
Now, there will be some howling...
sticklers for the Constitution,
clingers to the old ways, those types.
- And the loose cannons.
- Like Henry Rearden.
Rearden is a threat to civil order
and the public good.
There is no room in recovery
for a free thinker like Rearden.
Rearden will not be a problem.
Mr. Mouch, put me on screen.
If this isn't a state of emergency,
I don't know what is.
The immense greed of a few
has pushed us to the precipice.
I recommend that we implement
Directive 10-289 immediately.
For the public good.
In the name of the general welfare,
to protect the security
of our fellow citizens,
it is decreed for the duration of the
national emergency that the statutes
of Directive 10-289
shall remain in effect.
All employees and wage
earners of any kind shall henceforth
be attached to their current jobs
and may not be discharged
or quit said employment.
All industrial
and manufacturing entities
shall henceforth remain in operation
and owners of said
establishments shall not quit,
retire, sell,
or transfer their business.
All copyrights and patents
pertaining to any invention,
formula, or process shall be
transferred to the federal government
by means of Gift Certificates
signed by the present owners
of said copyrights and patents.
No new devices, inventions,
products or goods of any nature
are to be created or manufactured
and the Office of Patents & Copyrights
is hereby suspended.
Every company or sole
proprietor shall henceforth produce
the same quantity of goods,
or provide the same services
as in the Basic Year... the year
just ended. No more or no less.
Every citizen, regardless
of income, shall henceforth spend
the same amount of money
as in the Basic Year.
All wages, prices,
dividends and other forms of income
are hereby frozen at present figures.
Directive 10-289 shall
be administered and enforced
by the Unification Board,
whose decisions will be final.
It's all happening so fast.
You knew about this?
I have appointed current Director of
Economic Development, Wesley Mouch,
as Recovery Czar
to help us through
these desperate times.
Fellow Americans,
with the stroke of a pen,
the home of life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness
has been altered forever.
Dr. Ferris.
Come to shut me down completely?
No. Not at all.
That wouldn't serve anyone.
Under Directive 10-289,
private intellectual assets
become the property of the government.
Since tonight is the deadline,
at midnight,
I'm here as a convenience for you.
All you have to do is sign
this Gift Certificate...
...entrusting your patents
to the Unification Board.
So, you're here to steal the
process for Rearden Metal.
Steal? No. It'll be made
available to all manufacturers.
And to make people aware that
you no longer hold a monopoly,
the name will be changed...
to Miracle Metal.
Catchy.
All you have to do is
sign right there at the bottom.
Sir, I'm not gonna sign that paper.
I'm not gonna say that it's OK
for you to take my patents away from me.
Well, I do have... some other
documents here as well.
I don't imagine you'll suffer much,
since your wife already knows.
Of course, I can't say the same
for Miss Taggart.
One of the most respected
businesswomen in the nation.
Spotless reputation,
a source of inspiration to
young girls all across the country.
I can't even look at this.
You might not want to see this either.
In an unexpected move sure to
usher in a new dawn of cooperation
between industry and government,
billionaire steel magnate Henry Rearden
has thrown his full support
behind Directive 10-289.
Rearden, inventor of Rearden Metal,
has signed Gift Certificates
transferring his patents
to the government
in the interest of fairness
and a rapid recovery
from the worst economic
recession on record.
Dagny.
Dagny?
Dagny!
What the hell you doing?
What's wrong?
Everything.
You did this.
Directive 10-289.
You and your government creeps.
It's what the country needs right now.
I'm part of the solution.
Tell me. How does it feel
to be the last one standing?
Better than crawling around on the
ground with the rest of the snakes.
I won't be a slave
and I won't be a slave driver.
I quit.
Tell that to your cronies.
Dagny, you can't quit.
It's against the directive.
- I'm going to my family cabin.
- Hold all your calls?
Hold everything, Eddie.
Don't contact me about the rail road.
I'm done.
- Rearden.
- It's me.
I don't know what they did to you, Hank.
I hate that they had the power to do it.
We're all facing difficult
choices these days.
Well, maybe you can live
with this directive. I can't.
It burns me.
Don't let it. I told you,
it's not gonna stop.
I want to see you.
Not right now.
Not for a while.
I need a break from everything.
OK.
I can understand now what would
make someone just check out.
That's what I'm doing.
Checking out.
Eddie will know where I am.
Look, I don't care what the grounds are,
I don't care how many judges
you've gotta buy,
I want Lillian out of my life.
Do you understand?
Get me a divorce. I have got to
be free of this... completely free.
This is ridiculous!
Mr. Taggart, who do I consult
with if there are any issues?
Just deal with it.
What kind of issues?
Well, I have some frozen trains.
I can't detour them because
of the split rails and repairs...
Look, I haven't found anyone to
replace Dagny yet. I don't know.
- How long have you been here?
- Almost eight months.
That's plenty of time.
You're promoted.
Congratulations.
Chief Operating Officer...
- What's your name?
- Mitchum.
Mitchum.
Carry on.
Me?
And for the record, there's
no pay increase due to 10-289.
Anybody know why Westbound 22
is behind schedule?
No.
Thank you.
Kip, why check your watch?
I don't even need a sundial
to tell you that we're as late
as yesterday's apologies.
Well, I can tell you this:
If I'm late for my campaign
stop in San Francisco, I swear,
I'll make it a priority
to nationalize this rail road.
History shows us it's the only way
to make them run on time.
Good goddamn.
Oh, my God.
Kip, are you OK?
Yeah, I'm fine.
OK, we've got a damaged
engine outside of Winston.
- Alert all local east-west traffic.
- Got it.
Taggart 22 Intermountain, this is
Taggart Command. Come in, over.
- What the hell happened?
- The engine's got a fractured bogie.
Has a what?
- It's the undercarriage, sir.
- How long before you fix it?
Well, the engine only weighs
about 560,000 pounds.
If you'd like to hold up one end,
I'll crawl underneath,
fix it myself, we'll be off in a jiff.
Little smart ass.
Taggart here.
Goddamn it, Jim. This is
a hell of a way to run a rail road.
I'm stuck out here in the middle
of frosty ass nowhere.
Now I've got an engagement
in San Francisco
and all I'm getting from
your people is double-talk.
And just so you know, your pay-offs
are not gonna buy you out of this one.
- Kip, take it easy now...
- Easy?
Easy for me to throw
you in the grease with Mouch
if I don't make my fund-raiser.
Now get this:
You get on the horn and you
get my ass out of here, pronto.
What the hell is happening, Mitchum?
I never got a call in the middle of the
night when Dagny was running things.
The 22 has a disabled locomotive
just outside the Taggart Tunnel.
Yeah, I know that.
What are you doing to get them moving?
Well, the station chief won't answer,
and nobody down the line
is willing to take responsibility.
And I'm certainly not,
I can tell you that.
Don't we have another
locomotive that we can use?
I don't have a diesel
within a hundred miles.
But there is an old coal-burner
about four miles out.
Can it pull the train?
It should.
They use it for rail-yard towing but...
...I mean, good luck finding a driver.
Do whatever you have to do to get
Kip Chalmers through that tunnel
and off that mountain.
Sir, they say that you can't run a
smoker through an eight mile passage.
I don't care how you do it.
Just get something done.
If you don't, tomorrow morning,
I'm not gonna have a rail road.
And you're not gonna have a job.
I found a retired engineer
that's willing to drive it.
Really? Thank God somebody
made a decision to do something.
All right, come on back.
Keep it coming!
Yep, yep... Come on now!
Come on!
All right, slow it down a little bit.
All right, that's good!
Ladies and gentlemen,
it is now safe to return to your seats.
Would you please re-board
the train at this time.
I repeat, it is now safe
to return to your seats.
Please re-board the train.
Thank you.
You see?
It pays to know people.
Obviously my demands have been met.
We'll get through the tunnel
and it'll be downhill from there.
To pull.
When you've got it, you've got it.
Eastbound Army Freight Special,
The 22 should be clear by the time
they reach the tunnel. Right?
You know what?
Hold the Army Special.
You can't hold it. That's a government
train. It's better hold off the 22.
I can't.
It's a smoker on a 15 percent grade.
He'll slide all the way back
to Kansas if I stop him now.
Well, there's always prayer.
We'll be out of this
tunnel in no time, I assure you.
- Ladies and gentlemen...
- What's happening?
- ...please remain seated.
- It's all right, Laura.
- Kip, I'm scared!
- It's all right. Just calm down.
I can't be calm,
I need to know what's going on!
Just calm... everybody calm down!
Laura, calm down!
Power will be restored shortly.
There is no need for concern.
It's important that you remain seated...
- Laura, come here!
- ...and remain calm.
Laura!
Laura!
Laura get back here!
Laura!
Switch the Army Special
to the roll out, now!
You got it!
Oh, my God.
Slug!
How did you know I was here?
Do you remember... when we
were children in these woods?
When we were exploring the world
and everything in it,
and you were always asking
"why this" and "how that" and...
- And you'd say, "Let's find out."
- Exactly.
And now, I've found you.
You never did grow up, did you?
Looks like neither of us did.
Can't tell you how
pleased I am that you walked away
from Taggart Transcontinental.
Look at you.
I haven't changed.
That's where you're wrong.
You've stopped playing into their hands.
How?
They were counting on you
to keep working.
Ignore it.
There's no future there.
There's no future for the rail road.
Why are you here, Francisco?
I thought you'd be off somewhere,
putting the pieces
of your business back together.
Why would I?
It was all my doing.
You blew up your own mines.
Don't.
What?
We lost the 22 Transmountain Express
and the whole Taggart Tunnel.
- Casualties?
- Not sure yet.
At least 200 on our side.
The Army Special, five troop cars,
maybe another 200.
What are they doing about it?
Not much.
Don't let James screw up
anything else until I get there.
Dagny, don't go back.
Hey!
I'm trying to save you...
You're not trying to save a damn thing.
In what could be the nation's
worst ever rail disaster,
a Transcontinental train and another,
still unidentified, train
have collided in the world famous
Taggart Tunnel in southern Colorado.
Though there is no official
casualty count,
there are no reports of survivors.
Who is John Galt?
- Eddie.
- Dagny, thank God!
I'm glad you're back from vacation.
You need to take some
responsibility around here.
We need all of our
best people on this right now.
Start with Central Region.
Get me Ryan on the line first.
Ryan's a no-show.
- Then get me Knowland.
- Gone.
- Andrews?
- Gone.
McGuire?
Do we have any of
our quality people left?
You're looking at 'em.
How long until they
get that tunnel open?
- I didn't...
- That's all right.
We need a go-around, Eddie.
Get me the old rail maps.
The ones we used before 1950.
All right.
OK, the Taggart Tunnel
is closed for now.
We'll open the old grade... here.
We haven't run heavy trains
on those tracks in years.
Put high rail trucks and hand
crews in front of every train.
Better safe than sorry,
but better moving than not.
Everything with wheels rolls.
I'm going to Colorado.
If I have to dig open that
tunnel with a soup spoon
we are going to open that route.
Dagny, you need to be here.
You mean you need me to do your job.
Well... what do we tell the press?
Mr. Mouch.
Just when I thought there wasn't a
problem in the world I didn't have.
Miss Taggart, we're all very
appreciative that you cut short
your temporary leave of absence.
I just want you to know you'll
have the government's full support.
If the government had stayed
out of the way to begin with,
we wouldn't have
hundreds of people dead.
It's lamentable.
I understand that you're upset,
it's upsetting to everyone.
Your rail road links this nation
together. The public relies on it.
That's why I'm willing to grant you
Special Government Exceptions
to Directive 10-289
in order to bring this crisis
to a speedy resolution.
I ignore you altogether,
and you stay out of my way.
I knew we could count
on your full cooperation.
Tell them to hold the Comet.
Your plane's being fueled as we speak.
Hold the Comet, reserve my car.
I'm the face of
Taggart Transcontinental.
I'm taking the train.
Hello?
Are you ready, Mr. Daniels?
- Are you the only one still working?
- I don't know. Could be.
- But I've got my job to do.
- Any idea what the problem is?
Seems like an E-C-U malfunction.
Any idea how long it'll take to fix it?
Could be two hours.
Could be a few days.
Hey, you're Dagny Taggart.
Depends.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
That's a great, I'd say.
Gee, you're a legend.
This is an honor. Thank you for my job.
I'm... I'm Jeff Allen. Trackman.
Taggart Transcontinental.
Where'd you get the hat, Jeff Allen?
Yeah, well.
Those were great days... for a while.
What happened at
Twentieth Century Motor Company?
Who is John Galt?
I wish I knew who started
that expression.
That, that might've been me.
What?
Well, me, or somebody else
who worked at the plant
back in Starnesville, Wisconsin.
He used to work there.
What happened there?
Well, Mr. Starnes passed and his heirs
took over. They wasn't worth a lick.
They had this big plan about
how they were gonna run the place,
and we were all gonna belong
to each other, like a big family.
And the idea was that everybody
would work to best of his ability,
but be paid according to his needs.
That's when John Galt stood up
and said he'd have no part of it.
How would they know
whose needs came first?
Now that is the rub, isn't it?
Yeah.
It fell apart pretty quick.
The best workers had to work harder
and the needy got needier.
Worker turned against worker.
What happened to John Galt?
You know, nobody knew too
much about him, really.
I just remember, when he walked out
he swore that he was gonna...
...he was gonna put an end to
the whole thing once and for all.
"I will stop the motor of the world."
I mean, what kind of thing is
that to say, really, but...?
I'll tell you something,
ever since that day,
every time I saw the lights go out
and some factory close...
...I thought about that man.
I thought, maybe that's him...
...doing what he said...
...stopping the motor of the world.
May I please borrow your truck?
What's to borrow?
It's your truck.
- Thanks.
- Yep.
- Quentin!
- Taggart, hello.
You asked me find the person
who created the motor?
- I think I have the answer.
- Really?
That's great.
Actually, I was just about to call you.
- Tell me you've made progress.
- I did, I really did.
That's not the... thing that...
I guess that's everything.
See, I can't work for you anymore.
I have to resign.
That's fine, Quentin.
I respect that.
Let's talk about this in person,
face to face.
Honestly, there's nothing you
can say to make me change my mind.
Don't move. Don't do anything.
I'll be there in a few hours.
You'll be too late.
Excuse me...
I'd like to rent that antique.
I'm sorry, it's not for rent.
Is it for sale?
Everything's for sale.
Eddie, I'm flying to Utah.
- Utah?
- Long story.
I'll double back to Colorado
after I've met with Quentin Daniels.
Sounds good.
Jeff Allen.
Double his salary... triple it.
And get him a new truck ASAP.
I stole his.
- I'll see you soon, Eddie.
- Done.
Afton tower, this is Whiskey-Papa
Four-Zero-Niner, requesting permission
to land.
Whiskey-Papa,
Four-Zero-Niner, this is Afton tower,
you're clear to land.
Use runway 2-4 right.
Departing aircraft 2-4 left.
Oh, no.
Come on.
Pull, baby, pull.
Who is John Galt?
Don't move, Miss Taggart.
You're hurt.
You know me?
Of course.
For many years.
Who are you?
I am John Galt.