A brother... a twin. You were Fallon... the whole time? No. We were both Fallon. And we...

[Borden shoots Angier in the waist, picking up the red rubber ball, when the two reveal their prestige to one another] Robert Angier: A brother... a twin. You were Fallon... the whole time? Alfred Borden: No. We were both Fallon. And we were both Borden. Robert Angier: [panting] Were you - were you the one who went into the box or the one who came back out? Alfred Borden: We took turns. The trick is where we would swap. [we see the flashback of both twins performing The Transported Man] Robert Angier: [breathing heavily] Cutter knew. Cutter knew. But I told him it was too simple, too easy. Alfred Borden: No... simple, maybe, but not easy. There's nothing easy about two men sharing one life. [we see the flashback showing one of the twins cutting the other twins' fingers off] Robert Angier: Wh-What about Olivia? And your wife? Alfred Borden: We each loved one of them. [we see the flashback of both lovers] Alfred Borden: I loved Sarah. He loved Olivia. We each had half a full life, really, which was enough for us. Just... but not for them. You see, sacrifice, Robert - that's the price of a good trick. But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you? Robert Angier: [labored breathing] I've - I've made sacrifices. [wheezing] Robert Angier: Yes. Alfred Borden: It takes nothing to steal another man's work. Robert Angier: It takes everything. [we see the flashback of Angier killing the clone of himself while doing The Real Transported Man trick] Robert Angier: It took courage... it took courage to climb into that machine every night... not knowing... if I'd be the man in the box... or the prestige. Do you want - want to see. What it cost me? Y-you didn't see where you are, did you? Look. Look Alfred Borden: Look here... you went halfway around the world. You spent a fortune. You did terrible things... really terrible things, Robert. And all for nothing. Robert Angier: For nothing? Alfred Borden: Yeah. Robert Angier: You never understood... why we did this? The audience knows the truth - the world is simple... and miserable... solid all the way through. But if you could fool them, even for a second, then you can make them wonder. And then you... then you got to see something very special. You really don't know? It was... it was the look on their faces. [Angier wheezes and exhales, collapsing dead, and Borden walks out of the theatre alone]

You were Fallon. - The whole time? - No. We were both Fallon. We were both Borden. Were you the one who went into the box? Or the one who came back out? We took turns. The trick is where we would swap. Cutter knew. Cutter knew. But I told him it was too simple, too easy. No. Simple, maybe, but not easy. There's nothing easy about two men sharing one life. I don't understand, how it can be bleeding again? Wha... What about Olivia and your wife? We each loved one of them. I loved Sarah. He loved Olivia. We each had half of a full life, really, which was enough for us... ...just. But not for them. See, sacrifice, Robert, that's the price of a good trick. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you? [GROANING] I've... I've made sacrifices. - No. - Yes. It takes nothing to steal another man's work. Yeah, it takes everything. No, no, wait, I'm not... [GUNSHOT] It took courage. It took courage to climb into that machine every night, not knowing... ...if I'd be the man in the box... ...or in the prestige. Do you want to see... ...what it cost me? You didn't see where you are, did you? Look. Look. I don't care. You went halfway around the world. You spent a fortune. You did terrible things. Really terrible things, Robert. And all for nothing. For nothing? [BORDEN] Yeah. You never understood... ...why we did this. The audience knows the truth. The world is simple. It's miserable. Solid... Solid all the way through. But if you could fool them, even for a second... ...then you could make them wonder. And then you... Then you got to see something very special. You really don't know. It was... ...it was the look on their faces. [INHALES DEEPLY]