Sean Astin: Charlie Kramer

Quotes 

• [First lines] 

  [a night security guard opens the door and says sympathetically, "Another late one, Mr. Kramer?"] 

  Charlie Kramer : Yeah. I guess so.

• [Charlie is meeting with Ludwin and two executives from the Department of Homeland Security. Posh setting; sinister atmosphere] 

  Randolph Ludwin : Charlie, the President wants to bring the Bird home.

  Charlie Kramer : I don't understand. Has something happened? I thought everyone was pretty happy with the program.

  Jack Valentine : We are, Charlie. In fact, we're so pleased with the program that we'd like to extend the security that Watchbird provides to all Americans. And not just our troops.

  Randolph Ludwin : [Cheerfully]  Homeland Security wants to deploy the Watchbird on the home front.

  Charlie Kramer : [shocked, but being diplomatic]  Well, it's not as easy as it sounds. With all due respect.

  Jack Valentine : We're not talking about sea to shining sea, Charlie. We envision ten or twelve metropolitan areas. To begin with. And Seattle, of course, would be included.

  [the setting of the story is Seattle] 

  Bradley Tanner : [He hands a folder to Charlie]  It's all detailed in this brief.

  Charlie Kramer : [Charlie takes the folder and politely flips through a few pages]  Yeah. See, the thing about Watchbird is, I mean, the whole idea behind Watchbird is that it was designed for a battle-field environment.

  [the bureaucrats look at each other] 

  Jack Valentine : The war we're fighting, Charlie, the big war? It doesn't respect borders. We're fighting an enemy that thinks nothing of killing innocent civilians.

  Randolph Ludwin : Watchbird is the most effective tactical weapon in our arsenal, Charlie. We have the opportunity to bring it where the need is greatest. Right here, at home.

  Charlie Kramer : [horrified]  And in Iraq, and in Afghanistan, we equipped the Coalition troops with chips. You couldn't possibly use that strategy domestically.

  Jack Valentine : Of course.

  Bradley Tanner : No.

• Charlie Kramer : It's just a machine, Sarah. It's a machine with limitations. And if it makes a mistake? It's irreversible. And no due process. No appeals. In a split second - thanks to me - it's a de facto judge, jury, and potential executioner.

• Charlie Kramer : And, as smart as it is, it's just an analogue of human intelligence. So, whatever our flaws, the computer runs the risk of compounding them exponentially.

• Charlie Kramer : If I knew that it was just protecting innocent lives. I mean, if I could really *know*.

• [Charlie Kramer is reprogramming Watchbird] 

  Charlie Kramer : I'm giving you some new databases. Criminal law: federal, state, municipal. General guidelines for detecting criminal behavior.

  The Watchbird : Current response protocols require intent to kill an imminent threat. State revision.

  Charlie Kramer : Now you'll be looking for statutory law-breakers with that intent. You'll need both criteria to justify action. Understood?

  The Watchbird : Breaches of the law plus reckless intent equal authorized force. Including deadly force.

  Charlie Kramer : [sighs]  Exactly. When disabling force is insufficient to stop the criminal. You'll use only your anti-personnel capability - no incendiaries. You'll be working in the 48 contiguous states.

  The Watchbird : New coordinates of origin?

  Charlie Kramer : My home. The United States of America.

  The Watchbird : Will deploy for new directive.

  Charlie Kramer : Thank you.

• Randolph Ludwin : You know, Charlie, frankly speaking, if anything, the bird's been a little gun-shy.

  Charlie Kramer : [outraged]  Excuse me?

  Randolph Ludwin : We've still had a lot of preventable homicides in those twelve trial cities. Twenty-nine, to be exact - five in New York alone.

  Charlie Kramer : The bird's response is never going to be a hundred percent. We've talked about that. It's gotta be able to access the assailant, and that's not always possible.

  Randolph Ludwin : Yeah, but some of those murders happened right out in the open.

  Charlie Kramer : Where's this coming from? Is this Valentine?

  Randolph Ludwin : Jack Valentine is the best friend this company has. And he has the best interests of this country at heart.

  Charlie Kramer : The country's or his own? I mean, the last time he was in here, he looked like a guy picking out an office.

• Charlie Kramer : What is it, exactly, that you're asking me to do here?

  Randolph Ludwin : Look. All I'm saying is, you might want to revisit the parameters that you have the bird set at. That's all.

  Charlie Kramer : I'm not going to put the Watchbirds on hair-triggers. I mean, there's no way! We have to err on the side of caution.

  Randolph Ludwin : But every program needs to be tweaked. You said so yourself.

  Charlie Kramer : Well, this is not a program. This is a killing machine.

• [In their expensive apartment high in a skyscraper, Marissa Summer brings martinis to her husband as he hangs up the phone] 

  Marissa Summer : I made you some lunch.

  Summer : What did I do to deserve a wife like you?

  Marissa Summer : Mm. You must have been very good in a former life.

  Summer : I'll tell you one thing. It beats the crap out of being good in this one.

  Marissa Summer : [She laughs demurely and speaks in a suggestively sexy voice]  Now, why do I have the feeling you're not going to be taking any more calls this afternoon?

  Summer : My goodness! Beautiful and psychic too.

  [a Watchbird swoops outside the window, then fires a blast through the window. Marissa collapses on the couch, jumping spasmodically as though electrocuted] 

  Summer : Marissa! Marissa!

  Charlie Kramer : [In his office workroom, Charlie picks up the ringing phone]  Yeah.

  Randolph Ludwin : Charlie?

  Charlie Kramer : What's up?

  Randolph Ludwin : [grimly]  We got a problem.

• [Detective Ratcliffe has come to harangue them for the death of Marissa when he receives a call that she had laced her husband's lunch with poison] 

  Charlie Kramer : She was trying to kill him!

  Ratcliffe : I guess your bird managed to stop her.

• [Valentine is angry that the men in an Al Qaeda sleeper cell in Baltimore weren't killed for planning to set off bombs] 

  Charlie Kramer : Well, we start firing every time a Bird senses rage, a lot of bureaucrats better start looking over their shoulder.

• [last lines] 

  [Charlie is on the building roof, threatening to jump because of the Watchbird mission's failure] 

  Randolph Ludwin : Charlie, it's only a setback! We can start over. It's not too late. It's only temporary. We can fix it!

  Charlie Kramer : [Charlie is watching the Mentor, the chief Watchbird, flying toward them]  The Mentor will make it right.

  Randolph Ludwin : No! Don't be a damned fool! It's a machine running a program. It can't think!

  Charlie Kramer : No, Randolph, she can think. She knows. She knows that I'm about to take a life.

  Randolph Ludwin : Charlie!

  [Charlie looks up as the Mentor dives down]