Warhammer 40,000
"A hundred thousand worlds, ten hundred thousand wars. There is no escape, no respite, no hope for victory. Across the galaxy there is only war."
—
"There is a tower in the Emperor's palace called the Tower of Heroes, a black tower that rises into the sky like a spike. At the summit of that tower hangs the Bell of Lost Souls. It is an ancient thing, massive as a building and adorned with dark runes, its peal like the scream of an anguished god. It is tolled but once when a great hero of the Imperium dies. Its wailing moan of grief lasts long and reaches the ears of millions, and its tones penetrate the unifying ether of humanity, turning the thoughts of countless billions towards mankind's loss."
—
"Too much blood has been spilled over the centuries for there to be peace between us. As they mistrust and fear mankind, we revile and hate them. No matter how many we destroy, yet more heretofore unknown aliens appear. As this galaxy wheels toward its final, fateful cataclysm, we are doomed to die - our hands locked around each other's throats and squeezing the life out of each other as the universe dies!"
—
"From the palaces of Holy Terra, the High Lords of the Imperium watch as their domain crumbles. Armies and fleets fight on with the valor of heroes, calling out for reinforcements that do not exist. In shattered cathedrals on a million worlds, Imperial citizens pray with the desperation of the damned, begging their immortal emperor for a salvation they shall never see. As the lines of battle come ever closer to Terra, the light of the Emperor fades and darkness drowns all."
—
"Trillions of soldiers march to battle on worlds uncounted. Thousands upon thousands of warships scour the vastness of space in a futile attempt to impose man's will upon the fathomless void. And such it has been for ten thousand years, who can guess what tales of unimaginable valor are there to be told? Of depthless faith, of selfless sacrifice and unshakable duty? Those who have died in the Emperor's service are said to outnumber the stars themselves, the Emperor, it is said, knows the name of every single faithful servant, but who can guess the mind of divinity? And for the living, entire worlds have been made into monuments of remembrance, and yet for every hero commemorated, a million martyrs die unmourned and unremembered."
—
"Each city ruined, each planet burned brings the Imperium a little closer to dissolution. In a empire of a million worlds, how much can one truly matter? Enough to defend each one against the infernal host, enough to bring down Exterminatus upon those who bend knee and bow before the dark ones. A Black Crusade may come crashing forth from the Eye only once in a thousand years, but the damage it inflicts can never be undone."
—
"In the grim darkness of the grimdark future, there is only grim darkness, dark grimness, and STALEMATE."
— /tg/
""The Imperium is like a man hanging from a cliff with one arm and without the strength to pull himself back up. He could use his other hand to hold on just a little longer, but he's busy using it to give the finger to all the bastards watching him dangle."
— /tg/
"Victory. That is what the preachers cry from the spires of their temples. What commanders tell the soldiers in their service. The Indomitus Crusade meets with triumph after triumph. Day by day, we tear Imperium Nihilus from the Despoiler's grip. And though we are beset on all sides, with each battle we drive back the mutant, the heretic, the alien. As I speak these words, our forces engage the remnants of Leviathan. Reclaiming lost worlds, atoning for old shames. A crusade to cleanse the stars, taking the fight to the enemy. We routed the Tyranids at Baal. We broke their hive fleet. Soon, their foulness will be but a memory. That is what the preachers say. Belief will not save us. Lies will not protect us. But it is our hope that will damn us. In the spires and the slums, our people sing of victory. Victory, as the galaxy burns. Victory, as the Imperium rots around us. Victory, as humanity rages against the dying of the light. Victory..."
— Roboute Guilliman
Other Fiction
"The humans, I think, knew they were doomed. But where another race would surrender to despair, the humans fought back with even greater strength. They made the Minbari fight for every inch of space. In my life, I have never seen anything like it. They would weep, they would pray, they would say goodbye to their loved ones and then throw themselves without fear or hesitation at the very face of death itself. Never surrendering. No one who saw them fighting against the inevitable could help but be moved to tears by their courage... their stubborn nobility. When they ran out of ships, they used guns. When they ran out of guns, they used knives and sticks and bare hands. They were magnificent. I only hope, that when it is my time, I may die with half as much dignity as I saw in their eyes at the end. They did this for two years. They never ran out of courage. But in the end... they ran out of time."
— Londo Mollari, Babylon 5: In the Beginning
"What began as a conflict over the transfer of consciousness from flesh to machine escalated into a war which has decimated a million worlds. The Core and the Arm have all but exhausted the resources of a galaxy in their struggle for domination. Both sides now crippled beyond repair, the remnants of their armies continue to battle on ravaged planets, their hatred fuelled by over four thousand years of total war. This is a fight to the death. For each side, the only acceptable outcome is the complete elimination of the other."
"Two hundred million zombies. Who can even visualize that type of number, let alone combat it?... For the first time in history, we faced an enemy that was actively waging total war. They had no limits of endurance. They would never negotiate, never surrender. They would fight until the very end because, unlike us, every single one of them, every second of every day, was devoted to consuming all life on Earth. That's the enemy that waited for us beyond the Rockies. That's the kind of war we had to fight."
— General Travis D'Ambrosia, World War Z
"Death came to the planet Ishark in the two hundred and eighth year of the Final War and the one hundred and sixty-seventh year of Operation Ragnarok. It came aboard the surviving ships of the XLIII Corps of the Republic, which had once been the XLIII Corps of the Star Union, and before that the XLIII Corps of the Confederacy, which had once been the Concordiat of Man. But whatever the government's name, the ships were the same, for there was no one left to build new ones. There was no one left to build anything, for the Melconian Empire and its allies and the Concordiat and its allies had murdered one another.
[...]
There was no tomorrow for either commander, and even if they could have had one, they might have turned their backs upon it. The Human and Melconian races had hurt one another too savagely, the blood hunger possessed them both, and neither side's com officers could raise a single friendly planet. The Humans had nowhere to return to even if they lived; the Melconians were defending their last inhabited world; and even the warships' A.I.s were caught up in the blood lust. The fleets lunged at one another, neither worried about preserving itself, each seeking only to destroy the other, and both succeeded."
[...]
There was no tomorrow for either commander, and even if they could have had one, they might have turned their backs upon it. The Human and Melconian races had hurt one another too savagely, the blood hunger possessed them both, and neither side's com officers could raise a single friendly planet. The Humans had nowhere to return to even if they lived; the Melconians were defending their last inhabited world; and even the warships' A.I.s were caught up in the blood lust. The fleets lunged at one another, neither worried about preserving itself, each seeking only to destroy the other, and both succeeded."
— Bolo: A Time to Kill
"Captain's report February 4th, 2531. Five years, five long years. That's how long it took us to get Harvest back...At first it was going well. Then setback after setback...Loss after loss...Made what was going to be a quick and decisive win...Into five years of Hell...Of course that's all Harvest is today...It's hell down there...But it's ours again."
— Captain James Cutter, Halo Wars
"'It can't be hopeless.' Two nights ago half a dozen men and I crouched around a campfire, trying to stay warm, and one of them said those words. [...] Tonight I sit by a campfire fifty miles northwest, remembering the way he screamed this morning when four thrall surrounded him, knocked the sword from his good hand, and hacked him to pieces."
— Myth
"What are we going to do after we lose this war, sir?"
"Prepare for the next one, son."
"Prepare for the next one, son."
Himekawa: Now, when the war is going our way...
Honda: Now, when victory is at hand...
Himekawa: Feel the joy of shouting out in victory as a commander!
Honda: C'mon, let's all be there together!
Honda and Himekawa: The EDF can't wait to see what you can do!
[Beat]
Honda: ...I can't, I really can't! I can't keep lying!
Himekawa: C'mon, what's wrong, Honda?
Honda: What's wrong?! Something's wrong with headquarters, that's what! How long are they going to keep this up?!
Himekawa: Honda, we'll pretend we didn't hear that-
Honda: I've lived it! I know! WE'RE GOING TO LOSE THIS WAR!
Honda: Now, when victory is at hand...
Himekawa: Feel the joy of shouting out in victory as a commander!
Honda: C'mon, let's all be there together!
Honda and Himekawa: The EDF can't wait to see what you can do!
[Beat]
Honda: ...I can't, I really can't! I can't keep lying!
Himekawa: C'mon, what's wrong, Honda?
Honda: What's wrong?! Something's wrong with headquarters, that's what! How long are they going to keep this up?!
Himekawa: Honda, we'll pretend we didn't hear that-
Honda: I've lived it! I know! WE'RE GOING TO LOSE THIS WAR!
Time Lord: All of [the Visionary's] prophecies say the same. That this is the last day of the Time War. That Gallifrey falls. We die today.
The Partisan: Perhaps it's time. This is only the furthest edge of the Time War, but at its heart, millions die every second, lost in bloodlust and insanity, with time itself resurrecting them to find new ways of dying. Over and over again. A travesty of life. Isn't it better to end it at last?
President Rassilon: Thank you for your opinion. [disintegrates her] I! WILL NOT! DIE! DO YOU HEAR ME?
The Partisan: Perhaps it's time. This is only the furthest edge of the Time War, but at its heart, millions die every second, lost in bloodlust and insanity, with time itself resurrecting them to find new ways of dying. Over and over again. A travesty of life. Isn't it better to end it at last?
President Rassilon: Thank you for your opinion. [disintegrates her] I! WILL NOT! DIE! DO YOU HEAR ME?
Garrus: More dead than injured. Eighty-five percent killed in action. We'll need a morgue soon; not a lot of flesh wounds when you're fighting Reapers.
Shepard: Casualties are that high?
Garrus: Our front line units are being wiped out whole platoons at a time. A single Reaper can destroy nine or ten of them in one attack.
Shepard: That's not war... it's slaughter.
Garrus: They're called Reapers for a reason, and these guys found out why.
Shepard: Casualties are that high?
Garrus: Our front line units are being wiped out whole platoons at a time. A single Reaper can destroy nine or ten of them in one attack.
Shepard: That's not war... it's slaughter.
Garrus: They're called Reapers for a reason, and these guys found out why.
Velanna: Is it true the dwarves are dwindling? The darkspawn always at the gates of Orzammar, threatening to overwhelm you?
Oghren: Yes, and yes. It's only a matter 'a time.
Velanna: We elves are few in number, and every one of us is precious. But you? You isolate your casteless, forbid them from bearing weapons. And you saw what happened in Kal'Hirol.
Oghren: Yeah, well, the noble caste has a stick up its collective butt. A stick called "tradition".
Oghren: Yes, and yes. It's only a matter 'a time.
Velanna: We elves are few in number, and every one of us is precious. But you? You isolate your casteless, forbid them from bearing weapons. And you saw what happened in Kal'Hirol.
Oghren: Yeah, well, the noble caste has a stick up its collective butt. A stick called "tradition".
"We're fighting a war that's already over. All this mayhem? It isn't some plucky underground resistance movement. It's an extinction burst."
— Harold Finch, Person of Interest, "The Day the World Went Away"
Ashi: What can we do?
Jack: Nothing.
Ashi: What? What do you mean nothing? We have to do something!
Jack: I've fought Aku for ages. I've seen countless innocents die. I've lived this nightmare for what seems like an eternity. There is no way to defeat him. There is no hope. No way out.
Jack: Nothing.
Ashi: What? What do you mean nothing? We have to do something!
Jack: I've fought Aku for ages. I've seen countless innocents die. I've lived this nightmare for what seems like an eternity. There is no way to defeat him. There is no hope. No way out.
Admiral Cornwell: What is it you want? More territory? Conditional surrender? You haven't made any demands! How does this war end!?
L'Rell: It doesn't. Klingons have tasted your blood. Conquer us, or we will never relent.
L'Rell: It doesn't. Klingons have tasted your blood. Conquer us, or we will never relent.
"You are persistent, I'll grant you that, captain. But I'm afraid dogged determination isn't enough to change the reality of your situation. Time is definitely not on your side. The Dominion shipyards are working at one hundred percent capacity — yours are still being rebuilt. The Dominion is breeding legions of Jem'Hadar soldiers every day — you're experiencing a manpower shortage. But more important, the Dominion is resolved to win the war, no matter what the cost — and you and I both know the Federation has already put out peace feelers. Now I ask you, Captain — in all candor — if you were in my position, which side would you choose?"
— Senator Vreenak, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, "In the Pale Moonlight"
Various scenarios for the Doomsday Battle had been concocted during two centuries of space strategy, but in the minds of strategists, the enemy had always been big. Humanity would meet the main part of the mighty Trisolaran force on a space battlefield, with each warship a fortress of death the size of a small city. They had imagined every form of weapons and tactics the enemy could possibly possess, the most terrifying of which involved the Trisolaran Fleet launching an attack using antimatter weapons, and obliterating a stellar-class battleship with antimatter the size of a rifle bullet.
But now the combined fleet had to face facts: Their only enemy was a tiny probe, one drop of water out of the enormous ocean of Trisolaran strength, and this probe attacked using one of the oldest and most primitive tactics known to human navies: ramming.
But now the combined fleet had to face facts: Their only enemy was a tiny probe, one drop of water out of the enormous ocean of Trisolaran strength, and this probe attacked using one of the oldest and most primitive tactics known to human navies: ramming.
"I wonder if deep down, each person knows we're already dead. I wonder if only one, sick primordial instinct keeps marching us forward aimlessly. Every rational thought tells us it's over. Every vile, deceptive, chemical, emotion tells us it isn't."
— Rakka
The fallen leaves tell a story.
The great Elden Ring was shattered.
In our home, across the fog, the Lands Between.
Now, Queen Marika the Eternal is nowhere to be found,
and in the Night of the Black Knives, Godwyn the Golden was the first to perish.
Soon, Marika's offspring, demigods all, claimed the shards of the Elden Ring.
The mad taint of their newfound strength triggered the Shattering.
A war from which no lord arose.
A war leading to abandonment by the Greater Will.
The great Elden Ring was shattered.
In our home, across the fog, the Lands Between.
Now, Queen Marika the Eternal is nowhere to be found,
and in the Night of the Black Knives, Godwyn the Golden was the first to perish.
Soon, Marika's offspring, demigods all, claimed the shards of the Elden Ring.
The mad taint of their newfound strength triggered the Shattering.
A war from which no lord arose.
A war leading to abandonment by the Greater Will.
