[John Smith has browbeaten Joe Blake over the failure of his Canon City mission]
John SmithDo you know why you failed? You are one component in a complex machine that only works if every part does exactly what it's supposed to do in sync with the whole. Now, if you decide, without knowing what the other components are doing, to simply go your own way, eventually that machine is going to break down. Don't ever disobey a direct order from me again, Joe.
[John Smith eulogizes Dr Adler]
John Smith
Orator Hanley did ask me to say a few words. [clears throat] On the subject of Gerry's professional diligence. Uh...but I decided to go another way. When I sat down to think about what I wanted to say about Gerry Adler, I realized it all came down to one thing. The family. Gerry... Gerry was a family man. And I don't just mean his intense pride in his two fine boys and his beautiful wife. Nor am I talking about the fact that, through his work as a doctor, he... He came to be a part of all of our families. No, What I mean is that a man is only ever as strong as the people around him: the community he serves and the family he is sworn to protect. Whatever strength he has, he draws from them. And for them, he must be prepared to give everything. His life for his blood... Or else... Or else everything he has done has been for nothing. He is nothing. Now, if you'll please stand and join me in singing "Der gute Kamerad."
[Juliana chances upon John Smith at a clifftop just outside the Poconos portal base]
John Smith
[sees Juliana] There you are. We've seen things... you and me. Other worlds. Other lives. We, we have that in common. It's unbearable. To be able to look through that door and glimpse all the people you could have been. And to know that out of all of them, this is the one you became. [commits suicide]
[Over breakfast, John Smith talks to Thomas about a certain bully in school and why Thomas is studying at the table]
John Smith
Why do you want to succeed, son? Why do you want to do well in school?
To make my family proud. To bring honor to my school. To serve my country.
John
Your goals are directed outward. A boy like Randolph wants only to gratify himself. This is the path to moral decay. The decadence ruined this country before the war. You will grow to be a useful member of society. You will make our nation stronger. Randolph will not, whatever his test score.
LLawrence
We wipe them out, yet they keep coming back like lice.
John Smith
Lice don't assassinate Nazi officers.
Smith
It may reassure you to liken terrorists to insects, but they inflicted great damage on us today. Never underestimate them.
[John Smith talks to Joe Blake about his latest call to Juliana Crain]
John Smith
You think she knows more about the film than she's saying?
Yes. Absolutely. Sorry. She just said it was different, sir. Different to the others.
Smith
What's your feeling, Joe? Do you think that she can get to it on her own, using her contacts there?
Smith
Perhaps you're going to have to help her. You're going on another trip, Joe, and you'd better hope you find that film. You call in every day. Tell me everyone you meet, every little detail, everything. No omissions, no mistakes. I noticed yesterday you were very good with my little girls. Is that because of... Buddy? [Blake is quiet at the other end of the line] Heil Hitler, hmm?
[John Smith talks to Dr Adler at his office over Thomas' latest consultation]
ADr Adler
Um... this, um... this won't be easy for you to hear. Thomas didn't just pull a muscle wrestling, Obergruppenführer. He had a tremor.
John Smith
A tremor?
AAdler
I wish I could tell you that it was just growing pains, but your son has a serious disease. Landouzy-Dejerine syndrome. The symptoms, vague at first, are loss of coordination, weakness in the arms, difficulty hearing...
Smith
That's... That's nonsense. My son is the picture of health.
AAdler
I'm afraid he isn't. Within months, perhaps a year, there will be paralysis.
Smith
That's a mistake, doctor. You're making a mistake.
AAdler
I would never tell you this were I not certain. He scored 10 out of 10 on the indicators in the Brandt-Sievers nerve test.
Smith
Okay. So what's the... What's the treatment?
AAdler
Obergruppenführer, we're talking about a Class A congenital disorder. There is no treatment.
Smith
What do you mean, there is no treatment? No, I'm not accepting that, no. There's got to be some other tests you can run. I want a second opinion.
AAdler
You have the option, but you should be aware that if he is submitted to others for examination, this becomes an institutional issue.
Smith
Oh, I see.
AAdler
Yes, of course. By virtue of your position, I feel what must be done can be done in the kinder setting of your home. I will hold your son's file outside the system, give you the time you need. As for, uh, medical assistance... [opens case] a syringe and an ampule of an effective combination: morphine, scopolamine, and Prussic acid. Absolutely painless. If you like, I can show you how to locate a vein in the back of the hand.
[Reinhard Heydrich and his adjutant trap John Smith at a log cabin]
[as he prepares coffee] What is the power of the films? Do you know why the Führer prizes them so highly?
John Smith
You'd have to address any questions on that subject to the Führer himself.
The Führer is a spent force, John. We both know that. I don't believe for a second that sharing the land of your birth with the Japanese sits well with you.
Smith
I'm sure the Führer has his reasons.
Loyalty is an overrated virtue, John, championed by the bovine, dignified by the weak to justify their weakness. It's certainly not worthy of you.
Smith
Neither is betrayal.
Ultimately, John, we owe our hearts and our minds not to any one man but to an idea, and that idea is under threat. It is up to the best of us to step forward now as both the Führer and nature demands. The strong must overcome the weak.
[Helen Smith introduces Juliana Crain/Julia Mills to her apartment]
It's cute, isn't it? You're lucky to get one of the singles. Most of the other girls have to share an apartment.
JCJuliana Crain/Julia Mills
Other girls?
SSmith
This is a dormitory for single women. Would you like tea? I made some.
MMills
Yes. Thanks. That's very kind.
MMills
How many other girls live here?
SSmith
Uh, there's space for 20 or 30, but I'm not sure how many are here now. Oh. We've thrown some things into the closet for you. There wasn't much time, so I hope they fit. And you'll find some make-up in the bathroom.
MMills
Wow. This is so much more than I could have hoped for.
SSmith
Well, it's hard work to... Once you get settled, you'll be expected to join some of the neighborhood committees and the Nazi Women's League. But first you have to pass the ACT.
SSmith
The Auxiliary Citizenship Test. That gives you the right to stay in the Reich permanently. You must be exhausted after everything you've been through.
SSmith
Why don't you come by the house tomorrow? Say, 10:00. We can have coffee and get to know each other.
SSmith
Okay. We're at 5026 Roxboro. I have left a tuna casserole in the fridge for you. But there's a grocer over on von Braun Street if you need anything else. You'll find 50 marks and some change in the desk drawer there.
MMills
You thought of everything. I don't know what to say.
SSmith
Well, that's just it. You don't have to say anything.... See, now you're some place where good people actually look out for one another. I'll see you tomorrow.
MMills
Thanks. [as Helen goes for the door] Wait. What about the key?
SSmith
Oh, there isn't one. No one locks their doors around here.
[Thomas Smith guides Juliana Crain/Julia Mills with reviewing for the Auxiliary Citizenship Test]
The ACT is made of three parts: Reading, writing, and civics.
Okay. I got two out of three.
SSmith
Straight to civics, then. First question: From where does justice derive?
SSmith
Yes, but more specifically.
SSmith
Very good. Justice is a divine right guaranteed for all and determined by the Führer, from whom all justice derives. [tries to drink milk but is visibly shaken]
SSmith
Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Next question is about American exterminations before the Reich.
SSmith
Didn't they ever teach you about the Indians?
[John Smith sees Helen looking distressed]
You know I spent the whole afternoon with Alice.
John Smith
Yeah, you said. She must be... devastated.
She is. She's devastated. John, I'm going to ask you a question, and I need for you to tell me the truth.
John
Helen. Don't.
[realizes from the tone] John, what have you done?
John
Don't ask me any more.
John
Look at me. All you need to know is everything I do... everything... I do it for the family, to keep our children safe.
For the family? Our son is ill. I knew that there was something.
John
Gerry was going to report him.
But that is no reason for you to...
John
There's no cure. There's no cure.
[Helen Smith is uneasy over Thomas being called up for a Hitler Youth trip to South America]
He's not going, John. I will not allow it. I stop breathing the moment Thomas walks out that front door, and I only start again when he is back home.
John Smith
You want to let him go to South America? Helen...
He will be found out, and you know what that means.
John
Okay. Sit down. Helen, sit down, please. We are going to let him go. Thomas will fly to Buenos Aires, all right? And from there, he's going to travel to meet the others on his expedition, but he's not going to make the rendezvous because, somewhere in the foothills of the Andes, he's going to be kidnapped by Semites.
John
Now, this is going to look like, to the rest of the world, a terrorist act on a high-profile target, but Thomas, he's going to be okay. He'll be safe.
John
He could live for decades, Helen. This way, he's going to be comfortable. He's going to be safe. No one's going to be able to reach him.
John
Because I will personally spearhead the search for him and for his kidnappers. Now, you, of course, will be bereft, as will I, and publicly we'll never give up trying to bring our son home. But ultimately, Helen...we will fail. Now, if you have any questions, you have to ask me now... because, I'm afraid, once you've left this room, we must never talk about this again.
Will I ever see him again?
John
Maybe, one day. When and if it is safe. It's the only way, Helen.
The Man in the High Castle · 124 quotes
