"The Firstborn, children of a lifeless universe, cherished life above all else. It was as if they saw the universe as a park, and themselves as gamekeepers charged with its preservation. But gamekeepers must sometimes cull."
— "Sunstorm", Book Two of "The Time Odyssey" by Sir Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter, Chapter 38: Firstborn
"My prime directive is to pass humanity's vast knowledge on to the next worthy lifeform. When your kind became self-aware, I hoped that my long wait was finally over. But as I observed your evolution, I WAS DISGUSTED! You wage war over minor genetic deviations. You obsess over trivial fashion choices. And so I created a new prime directive: destroy this world and start anew! From the best and brightest test subjects, I created a sludge of supreme DNA. A primordial ooze from which the ultimate lifeform will emerge. Today is the day my vision becomes reality, as I destroy Inkopolis and everyone in it!"
—Commander Tartar, Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion
Your civilization is based on the technology of the mass relays, our technology. By using it, your society develops along the paths we desire. We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution. You exist because we allow it, and you will end because we demand it.
— Sovereign, Mass Effect
Human, you've changed nothing. Your species has the attention of those infinitely your greater. That which you know as 'Reapers' are your salvation through destruction.
— Harbinger, Mass Effect 2
Shepard, you have become an annoyance. You fight against inevitability. Dust struggling against cosmic winds. This seems a victory to you. A star system sacrificed. But even now, your greatest civilizations are doomed to fall. Your leaders will beg to serve us. Know this as you die in vain, your time will come, your species will fall. Prepare yourselves for the arrival.
— Harbinger, Mass Effect 2, "Arrival"
"Your kind feared the darkness, so we gave you light. You begged us for the Purge, and did it not come to pass? Now you spurn our counsel? You must learn your place!"
—Barthandelus, Final Fantasy XIII
"As I was your beginning, so shall I be your end."
— Amon, StarCraft II
"Cruelty as entertainment, human sacrifice to indulge superstition, slavery as a labor-saving device, conquest as the mission statement of government, genocide as a means of acquiring real estate, torture and mutilation as routine punishment, the death penalty for misdemeanors and differences of opinion, assassination as the mechanism of political succession, rape as the spoils of war, pogroms as outlets for frustration, homicide as the major form of conflict resolution—all were unexceptionable features of life for most of human history. But, today, they are rare to nonexistent in the West, far less common elsewhere than they used to be, concealed when they do occur, and widely condemned when they are brought to light."
— Steven Pinker
"We now know that the Decepticons are not our only foes, that another more dangerous race of beings also plan our destruction. Our universe will never be the same again. We Transformers have looked into the face of our creators and seen the face of an enemy."
— Rodimus Prime, The Transformers, "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5"
"Our urge to create is immutable; we must create. But the beings we create shall never again reach out in strength against us. All that is created will suffer. All will be born in suffering, endless grayness shall be their lot. All creation will tailor to failure and pain, that never again shall the offspring of the eternal Fount rise up against their creators. Listen to the silence. Ten million years of deep silence. And now, whimpers and cries; not of birth. That is what we bring: a great crushing weight to press down youth and hope. No more will. No more freedom. Nothing new but agonizing death and never good shall come of it. We are the last of those who gave you breath and form, millions of years ago. We are the last of those your kind defied and ruthlessly destroyed. We are the last Precursors. And now we are legion."
—The Gravemind, Halo: Silentium
CG: I AM LITERALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR EXISTENCE.
CG: WE BEAT THE GAME YOU ARE PLAYING AND CREATED YOUR UNIVERSE.
CG: WE WERE GOING TO ENTER YOUR UNIVERSE AND RULE OVER IT.
CG: LIKE TYRANTS.
CG: IT WAS TO BE OUR PLAYTHING, JOHN.
CG: YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW SWEET IT WAS GOING TO BE.
CG: WE BEAT THE GAME YOU ARE PLAYING AND CREATED YOUR UNIVERSE.
CG: WE WERE GOING TO ENTER YOUR UNIVERSE AND RULE OVER IT.
CG: LIKE TYRANTS.
CG: IT WAS TO BE OUR PLAYTHING, JOHN.
CG: YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW SWEET IT WAS GOING TO BE.
—- Karkat Vantas, Homestuck
When the end comes it will be not at the hand of any mortal being of this or any other realm: death will come at the hands of the ancients, those who determined our fate aeons before we stood erect upon the holy ground of Terra and gazed up into the starry night.
"I always wondered how people could let things get so bad in your time. Well, now I know."
"We have learned that some of you considered the jump too dangerous. Remember citizens, the air you breathe aboard the Zariman is not free. It is a luxury you are permitted to indulge in. And like any privilege, it can be revoked. Be aware of this danger too."
— Executor Tuvul, Warframe
"We are but toys...to an ungrateful child. But one day that child will find his father's gun...and be covered in scarlet."
— Acheron, by Rollin Boy
Anne: Cuz it turns out, Mar-Mar’s ancestors were super evil, interdimensional warlords! Who’d a thunk, right?!
— Anne Boonchuy to her parents, A Moth to a Flame.
