Atlas Shrugged EXECUTIVE Summary, Chapter 5

atlas4Adolescent Francisco d’Anaconia: I’ll hit you when you make a joke I don’t like!

Adolescent Dagny Taggert: You’re so dreamy when you hit me! Let’s boink!

Younger Francisco: I will act like a jerk. You’re not ready to know why.

Younger Dagny: OK! Let’s boink!

Present Day Francisco: I play marbles very well. I also defrauded the Mexican government out of millions, and built shoddy, substandard buildings and roads in violation of both contract and law. Because of my double-dealing, American companies have lost hundreds of millions of dollars.

Kit Bradley: You know, that’s illegal. It’s the kind of thing that has FEC regulators and/or the FBI knocking on your door, and the Mexican government calling our government to ask for extradition because of the massive fraud. And you’re Argentine, which in 1950 had no treaties with the US, whereas we have had extradition with Mexico for over a century. So, y’know, I mean, the only reason why the US government wouldn’t extradite you, Frisco, is because they wanted to put you in jail, themselves!

Ayn Rand: Shut up! It’s ROMANTIC REALISM!

Kit: But, Ayn! C’mon! You do shit like Francisco does, people come for you! You want the government to be both communist and ineffectual! You can’t expect anyone to believe an actual commie government would let this stand! If the country really is becoming like the USSR, they’d just send guys with guns to break down the door and haul him off to a kangaroo court before dragging him in back and putting a bullet in him! You lived through the Russian Revolution! You know that they are quick to resort to lawless force!

Ayn: La, la, la, I can’t hear you.

Present Day Dagny: C’mon, Frisco, even I see that this isn’t right. It is literally the core of my philosophy that you hold to your contracts and promises!

Present Day Francisco: There are some people that doesn’t apply to.

Kit: WAITASEC. You sabotage deals, and then blame “the system” for not working, when you’re working to make sure it doesn’t work? That’s not the system breaking down, Francisco, that’s you breaking the system. Totally different. And on the basis of what you’ve broken not working, you’re saying it’s okay to do it, again? THIS MAKES NO SENSE.

Ayn: La, la, la.

Present Day Dagny: Francisco, tell me what’s going on!

Present Day Francisco: You’re not ready to know. Who is John Galt?

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