Dr. Cassandra Railly:  Hey , we need to come up with a game plan for when we find Leland Goines .
James Cole: We find him , I kill him . That 's it .
Dr. Cassandra Railly: No ! No , you ca n't just walk in there and murder someone .
James Cole: _ 1 _ for 7 billion ? That math works for me .
Dr. Cassandra Railly: That might not solve the problem . Whatever this guy 's done to create this plague might already be under way . No , let 's say you stop him , how will you know if the future is changed ?
James Cole: Oh , we 'll know . I 'll be erased .
Dr. Cassandra Railly: You mean you 'll ... You 're gon na die ?
James Cole: No , it 's ... It 's not death . It 's something else . It 's ... this me will never have been from that moment forward . It 's complicated . It 's okay - I knew this was a one - way trip coming in .
Dr. Cassandra Railly: And then what about the future ?
James Cole: It 'll be rewritten into something better . Plague will never have happened . My time will be gone . Trust me , there 's nothing there worth saving .