Zefram Cochrane's commencement address

Zefram Cochrane's commencement address was a given at Princeton University by Cochrane himself to the graduating class of 2064. In it, he had spoken about the events surrounding his first warp flight in Bozeman, Montana a year prior. He explained how a group of cybernetic creatures from the future came to try to prevent the flight from happening but were stopped by a group of Humans, who also came from the future. Cochrane's tale was met with skepticism due to his tendency toward imaginative stories and frequent intoxication and Cochrane himself would recant the story some years later.
Having previously read the address as a child, Captain Jonathan Archer would recall the speech during an encounter with similar beings in 2153, suggesting they may have been one and the same. ()
== Cochrane's commencement address ==
: Members of the graduating class of Princeton, I salute you!
: Each of you, through your studies here at Princeton, will in your careers find your own unique way to distinguish yourselves in your chosen fields. I know of no greater reason to feel confident that the next generation, and the one after that, will find this world to be a better place.
: And yet we must make sure to avoid the potential pitfalls of blind faith in technology. Most of you know of the events of April 2063, of the flight of the warp ship Phoenix, and of the doors it opened for all of Humanity. But history has a funny habit of recording only what it wants to remember, and it sometimes forgets what really happened.
: You see, on that very same day, I came face to face with a group of cybernetic creatures from the future. On the surface, they appeared to be the pinnacle of advanced technology. They used an amazing array of cybernetic implants to make them better, stronger, and faster. But their hive mentality was pure evil. Not only did they try to stop my test flight, but there is no doubt in my mind that their ultimate goal was to enslave the Human race.
: I wish I could say that we fought them off, but it was only the intervention of a starship from the future that stopped their sinister plans. Unbeknownst to us all, a battle in the skies over Bozeman, Montana, saved us all from the threat of technology out of control.
: So I say to you, the graduating class of Princeton, as you go boldly into the future, to take seriously the responsibility in which society has entrusted you through this great institution of learning.
Category:Earth literature