After saving Deckard, Roy delivers what has become the film's most iconic line:
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain. Time to die.
It's even more beautiful in the film, with Rutger Hauer (who, according to various sources, rewrote the original, more typically sci-fi speech) dragging everything he can from each word, taking a minute to just say the whole thing. Apart from being an awe-inspiring moment that creates more wonder than CGI representations of these locations ever could, it's the moment when it's made clear that Roy has actually been at the end of his four year lifespan throughout the film. We've chalked up his near-insanity as a central part of his character, but so much of it (sticking a nail through his hand to keep him alert, crushing Tyrell's skull out of anger) stem from his knowledge of his impending doom. So Roy isn't an all-out psycho, rather someone simply trying to survive. But why, after manipulating humans with little remorse does he suddenly save the man mere moments ago he was trying to kill? Roy states to Deckard "quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave" but as his life is almost at an end why should someone else get safety from fear? The clue is the message of his speech - when he dies all his incredible memories will be lost. Memories form a central theme to film and here Roy passing on his brief account to Deckard is a way to conserve his legacy. Giving them to Deckard, who, despite their differences, is now viewed by Roy as an equal brings us to what has become a dominating part of the film's legacy.
