predicting stock prices isn't the same as predicting world events. i hope there isn't a war, or even a skirmish for that matter. because veidt enterprises has some exciting plans, plans that will, pardon the cliche, truly make this world a better place. my team of engineers and scientists have been working with dr. manhattan himself on synthesizing a new, cheap form of energy which will eliminate the worlds reliance on fossil fuels with no toxic emissions. this energy could power cars, aircrafts, stadiums--there are no limitations--
--but i talk too much. will you mind pausing the interview a moment, doug? a good friend of mine is here. doug roth leaves. adrian hugs dan, despite the sweat.
dan--it's been far too long.
rorschach. he paid me a visit too.
rorschach's a sociopath suffering through nostalgia. i revealed my identity to the public as soon as the keene act was passed. if an old enemy wanted me dead it would have been done already. adrian notices the news on one of his tv projectors. something about pakistan putting troops along the indian border. adrian turns up the volume, looking grim.
no, there are other things in the world i'm far more concerned about. on the wall: the tv projector shows an image of two pakistani soldiers on patrol.
what are you saying, comedian? blake, now in his forties, smokes a cigar, feet on the table, a flask in hand. the paper in his hand reads: "arab leaders call dr. manhattan: 'america's weapon of satan."'
bureaucracies can be effective with the right leadership--
it doesn't take a genius to see that the world has problems.
my display .
doug, that `s enough.
we need to stop this now. adrian and the press agent hurry on stage, security following.
as the sponsor of this program i demand all cameras off! his plea is futile, of course. a reporter breaks through, gets in dr. manhattan's face.
everyone back off! don't you understand? he's the only thing preventing the world from chaos!
i know. i'm meeting the toy people, yes?
all the old villains are dead.
i suppose the threat of war has that effect. across the way, dan enters the building, intercepts adrian.
dan, i'm sorry, this is a bad time.
jon's departure is terrible. not only for what's happening in the world now, but for what could have happened. the energy project he and i were working on--it's dead now .
are you still preoccupied with the ramblings of that lunatic? i really don't have time for this, dan.
wait, he's got a poison capsule! he jams his fingers into the assassin's mouth when dan arrives.
don't bite down, you scum! i want to know who sent you! the assassin's eyes bulge
i want to know who's behind this! the assassin chokes and dies. adrian drops him, unanswered. he looks over at dan, frustrated.
please. right now, i'm not concerned with this so-called mask-killer, i'm concerned with the mass killer called war, or have you not heard. on ! a wall sized mirror turns into a tv:
nothing we do will bring jon back! but i think you know that already. and breaking rorschach out of prison certainly isn't the answer.
i'm leaving, dan. and i suggest you both do the same. adrian pulls on a thick winter coat and heads upstairs.
antarctica. it takes dan a moment to realize adrian is serious. by then, adrian's halfway into the helicopter.
good luck, dan. he says it sincerely. dan watches the helicopter fly off.
by all means, eric.
i certainly hope so. the group applauds. then they sip their champagne. all except for adrian the group goes around congratulating each other, when suddenly the head scientist collapses, choking. the others surround him, trying to help-- --when one by one they each start collapsing themselves-- poisoned by the champagne. adrian regards them all, writhing on the floor, and leaves.
see this painting? alexander the great. before his conquest of phoenicia, he struck north for gordium, where the world's greatest puzzle waited. a great knot, impossible to untie. for a young man determined to rule the world, it was a challenge he couldn't resist. so he sliced it in two with his sword. lateral thinking, you see. suddenly the lynx stands, growls.
what is it, girl? he hits the remote--the tv screens switch to multiple views of dan and rorschach, heading toward karnak.
ah. it's all right, girl. everything's all right.
really, getting even this far is an admirable effort, given their limitations. of course the ice they're skating on is slippery and thinner than it looks. let's hope they don't overstep themselves. on the monitors, dan takes a laser torch to the door.
let's hope they know when to stop.
mind your manners.
now. what can i do for you?
yes.
what we always intended--to improve the world. as adrian speaks, rorschach sneaks up behind him, with a fork. he tries to stab adrian in the back, but adrian effortlessly dodges the blow, grabs rorschach's mask, twists it, then knees him in the gut. rorschach drops to the floor. adrian starts walking out of the hall. dan helps rorschach up and they follow.
i never intended to kill the comedian-- that was an accident. part of his duties as a government operative was to keep track of all former masked heroes, make sure there was no rocking of the boat. he must have liked rorschach because he allowed him to continue to exist. i had thought that the comedian might be incompetent, but he disproved that hypothesis when he discovered what was really going on. here in karnak--no easy task. even my staff was unaware--i made sure to keep each department separate.
the comedian was appalled by my plan, but still, he understood the scope of what i was trying to accomplish. frankly, i never thought he'd actually talk. but by the time he visited poor moloch, he was cracking badly. so i had to kill him.
after blake, i neutralized jon--a plan nearly a decade in the works after analyzing confidential psychological profiles which predicted his withdrawal from human existence. by then, rorschach's mask theory, 'though erroneous, needed to be addressed, so i faked my own assassination--
i suppose i'd have to be fast enough to catch the bullet then, wouldn't i? adrian smiles enigmatically.
after apprehending my own assassin, i shoved a cyanide capsule in his mouth, disposing of him, and soon after that, the journalist doug roth, tying up all the loose ends if you will. then i knew nothing stood in the way of my triumph.
i'm firing a beam of concentrated energy, synthesized from dr. manhattan himself, into the hearts of nine key regions around the globe, crossing all traditional politics and ideologies;
paris, tehran, kashmir, beijing, taiwan, pyongyang, london, jerusalem, new york-- destroying approximately three million people.
i understand your disbelief, dan. when i began the plan ten years ago, my moral safeguards gave me pause at the necessary sacrifice. see, the comedian was correct. what we were doing with the watchmen was pointless--the savage nature of humankind would inevitably lead to the end of the world. so in order to save the world, i had to trick it--to frighten the world towards salvation with history's greatest practical joke.
when? dan, my dear friend, i am the smartest man in the world--do you seriously think i'd explain my master stroke if there remained even the slightest chance of you affecting it's outcome?
don't you understand? i've ended the war-- i've ended all wars. because of their fear of ion, i've forced the world into everlasting peace.
i wasn't playing god. just dr. manhattan. suddenly there's a loud beeping in the hall. the lynx growls. adrian switches the monitors to the security cameras which show ion and laurie materialize in the snow.
speak of the devil.
forgive me, girl. jon enters the corridor with the lynx; adrian flicks a switch. the lynx' fur stands on end as energy crackles between the metal walls. the lynx howls.
you know, i really wasn't sure that would work.
oh dan. grow up. adrian exits as dan helps the winded laurie to her feet. together, rorschach, dan and laurie follow him back to:
yes. yes, you could say that. adrian goes back to his wall of screens, watching the news reports. we hear sound bites and images: "india and pakistan immediately call for truce," "china stands down," "us withdraws forces," "israel agrees on cease fire." tears stand in adrian's eyes. he raises his fists in triumph.
i did it. i did it! i've saved earth from hell. next, i will elevate her to the vaulting stature of heaven.
no? will you expose me, undoing the peace so many have just died for? morally, you're in checkmate, just like the comedian was. jon examines the many screens, taking it all in.
jon, i'd hoped to talk to you. i've made myself feel every death, see every innocent face i've murdered to save humanity--you understand, don't you?
what's on your mind, dan?
really. you want to kill me?
that doesn't sound like you, dan. that sounds more like rorschach.
only you're not rorschach, are you now? how do you expect to succeed where he failed?
i have to say, i've always thought your choice of an owl was quite juvenile.
i . don't regret my actions. i know in my heart . i did the right thing.