JOR-EL [OVER CRYSTAL]: My son...
...you do not remember me.
I am Jor-El.
I'm your father.
By now, you will have reached your 18th year...
...as it is measured on Earth.
By that reckoning, I will have been dead...
...for many thousands of your years.
The knowledge that I have...
...matters physical and historic...
...I've given you fully on your voyage to your new home.
These are important matters, to be sure, but still matters of mere fact.
There are questions to be asked.
And it is time for you to do so.
Here in this...
This Fortress of Solitude...
...we shall try to find the answers together.
How does a good man live? What is virtue?
When does a man's obligation to those around him exceed his obligation to himself?
And these are not simple questions.
Even on Krypton...
...there is no precise science which provides us with the answers.
I can only tell you what I myself believe.
And to this end I've tried to anticipate your questions...
...in the order of their importance to you.
So, my son...
...speak.
Who am I?
Your name is Kal-El.
You are the only survivor of the planet Krypton.
Even though you've been raised as a human being...
...you are not one of them.
You have great powers...
...only some of which you have as yet discovered.
Come with me now, my son...
...as we break through the bonds of your earthly confinement.
Traveling through time and space in the six known dimensions.
Your powers will far exceed those of mortal men.
It is forbidden for you to interfere with human history.
Rather, let your leadership stir others to.
In this next year, we shall examine the human heart.
It is more fragile than your own.
For the past two years--
As we pass through the flaming turmoil which is the edge of your own galaxy...
...we'll enter the realm of the red Krypton sun...
...source of your strength and nourishment...
...cause of our eventual destruction.
The planet Krypton, my son.
Your home, as it was.
This year, we shall examine the various concepts of immortality...
...and their basis in actual fact.
The total accumulation of all knowledge, spanning the 28 known galaxies...
...is embedded in the crystals which I have sent along with you.
Study them well, my son...
...and learn from them. We've reasoned out logical judgments.
By the time you return to the confines of your galaxy...
...12 of your years will have passed.
For this reason, among others, I have chosen Earth for you.
It is now time for you to rejoin your new world...
...and to serve its collective humanity.
Live as one of them, Kal-El...
...to discover where your strength and your power are needed.
Always hold in your heart the pride of your special heritage.
They can be a great people, Kal-El. They wish to be.
They only lack the light to show the way.
For this reason above all, their capacity for good...
...I have sent them you...
...my only son.