1. A STRANGE CASE
OF LEMMY CAUTIONCopy !req
2. Sometimes realityCopy !req
3. can be too complex
to be conveyed by the spoken word.Copy !req
4. Legend re-moulds it into a formCopy !req
5. that can be spread
all across the world.Copy !req
6. It was 24.17 Oceanic Time when
I reached the suburbs of Alphaville.Copy !req
7. SILENCE LOGIC
SAFETY PRUDENCECopy !req
8. - Sir?
- My newspaper reserved me a room.Copy !req
9. - Mr...?
- Ivan Johnson. Figaro-Pravda.Copy !req
10. Room 344.
Have you registered with Civil Control?Copy !req
11. You have to, even if you're only
here for the festival. Room 344.Copy !req
12. Your suitcase, sir?Copy !req
13. Second floor, please.Copy !req
14. Room 344. Sir?Copy !req
15. - Clear off.
- This way, sir.Copy !req
16. Your suitcase, sir.Copy !req
17. Are you tired, sir?Copy !req
18. Would you like to sleep, sir?Copy !req
19. This way, sir.Copy !req
20. If you're tired, you can rest, sir.Copy !req
21. Your room is there, sir.Copy !req
22. The bedroom is through here, sir.Copy !req
23. - What are you up to now?
- I'm just checking there's a Bible.Copy !req
24. - Do you believe?
- Yes, of course.Copy !req
25. I'll put the tranquillizers
in the bathroom.Copy !req
26. I'm fine, thanks. Don't mention it.Copy !req
27. - Are you having a bath, sir?
- Yes, I need to think.Copy !req
28. I'll help you, sir.Copy !req
29. Your tie, sir?Copy !req
30. - What is it now?
- I could take a bath with you.Copy !req
31. Look, sweetie,
I'm big enough to find my own ladies.Copy !req
32. Clear off now.Copy !req
33. Talk nicely to the ladies, Mr Johnson.Copy !req
34. Shit! What now?Copy !req
35. - Don't you fancy this one?
- How about your sister, sir?Copy !req
36. - I'm getting rusty.
- What, sir?Copy !req
37. - What is this? Are you on drugs?
- No, this is normal, sir.Copy !req
38. Everything weird is "normal"
in this damn town! Sit on that chair.Copy !req
39. Her name was Beatrice. She told me
she was a level-three seductress.Copy !req
40. I was struck by the sadness
and hardness in her face.Copy !req
41. Something was definitely awry
in this galaxy's capital.Copy !req
42. Hold that up.Copy !req
43. - Not bad for a Guadalcanal veteran.
- Just what I was thinking.Copy !req
44. Go and try your act on someone else...
because it's not working on me.Copy !req
45. - Mr Johnson?
- What?Copy !req
46. Miss Natacha Von Braun
to see you.Copy !req
47. Just a moment, please.Copy !req
48. I'll be down in five minutes.Copy !req
49. - She's just gone up.
- OK, thanks.Copy !req
50. Got a light?Copy !req
51. I came 6,000 miles to give it to you.Copy !req
52. - My name is Natacha Von Braun.
- Yes, I know.Copy !req
53. How do you know?Copy !req
54. - You are Miss Von Braun?
- Yes, and I'm fine. Don't mention it.Copy !req
55. You're from the Outer Countries,
Mr Johnson?Copy !req
56. Is everything OK here?Copy !req
57. I have orders to be at your service
while you are in Alphaville.Copy !req
58. - Who gave you these orders?
- The authorities of course.Copy !req
59. - Did you come for the festival?
- Which festival?Copy !req
60. The big festival. That's why people
from the Outer Countries generally come.Copy !req
61. - You really should've come earlier.
- Why?Copy !req
62. Because the festival is almost over.
There won't be another for years.Copy !req
63. Is that so?Copy !req
64. Yes, Mr Johnson.Copy !req
65. But this evening there will be
a reception and gala performance.Copy !req
66. It will be huge.Copy !req
67. It's in one of the ministry buildings.
I'm going.Copy !req
68. - Come along if you like.
- All right.Copy !req
69. What time? Because...
there's something I must do first.Copy !req
70. - You're going to Civil Control?
- No. What's that?Copy !req
71. Don't forget to go.Copy !req
72. - We can meet after you've been.
- I'll go tomorrow.Copy !req
73. - I'm meeting... a friend.
- I have work to do too.Copy !req
74. I'll leave an address to find me.Copy !req
75. We'll meet there and go together.Copy !req
76. - See you in an hour or two.
- See you later.Copy !req
77. I'll come down with you.Copy !req
78. What are the Outer Countries like?Copy !req
79. - You've never been?
- No.Copy !req
80. When I was a child,
my father used to tell me about them.Copy !req
81. Now it's forbidden to think of them.Copy !req
82. Are you often told
to accompany strangers?Copy !req
83. - It's my job.
- That must be nice sometimes.Copy !req
84. Why?Copy !req
85. No one's ever propositioned you?
No one's fallen in love with you?Copy !req
86. In love? What does that mean?Copy !req
87. - There's something I'd like to know.
- Yes, Mr Johnson?Copy !req
88. - What kind of fool do you take me for?
- Let go of me.Copy !req
89. - Answer me.
- I don't know what you mean.Copy !req
90. Look, princess, I haven't a clue
what you're on about either.Copy !req
91. That's always how it is.
You never understand anything.Copy !req
92. That's always how it is.Copy !req
93. You never understand anything
and in the end, it kills you.Copy !req
94. - Which way are you going?
- 12, Enrico Fermi Street.Copy !req
95. It's just after Boulevard Heisenberg,
near Mathematics Park.Copy !req
96. I have my car, I can give you a lift.
I'll get the keys.Copy !req
97. Don't you want me to proposition you?Copy !req
98. - What?
- You still don't know what I mean?Copy !req
99. Her smile and pointed little teethCopy !req
100. reminded me of the vampire films they
used to show in old picture houses.Copy !req
101. I am a level-two programmer.Copy !req
102. Natacha is a name from the past.Copy !req
103. Yes, but all we have in life
is the present.Copy !req
104. No one has lived in the past
and no one will live in the future.Copy !req
105. Well, thanks for the lift.Copy !req
106. My pleasure. I'm only doing my job.Copy !req
107. - Is it much further?
- Karl?Copy !req
108. - We have to cross the North zone.
- What's the population of Alphaville?Copy !req
109. Don't forget to go to Civil Control.Copy !req
110. - What do you do for a living?
- I work.Copy !req
111. For a newspaper.Copy !req
112. Is Professor Von Braun your father?
I have to do an article on him.Copy !req
113. - Could you arrange me an interview?
- I don't know... I've never seen him.Copy !req
114. - I'll ask.
- I'll get out now.Copy !req
115. - Here?
- Yes. Love changed my mind.Copy !req
116. You've got the address
of where we're meeting up?Copy !req
117. - Yes. Tell him to stop.
- Karl?Copy !req
118. Telecommunications?Copy !req
119. I'd like to make a call.Copy !req
120. - Galaxy or local call?
- Local call.Copy !req
121. Booth number two.Copy !req
122. - Do you know who this man is?
- Of course, I'm not stupid!Copy !req
123. "At the end of Galata Bridge
is the Red Star..."Copy !req
124. My place, my place!Copy !req
125. "It bears no comparisonCopy !req
126. to our splendid
galactic corridorsCopy !req
127. glittering with luxuryCopy !req
128. and with lights.Copy !req
129. It is merely a vast labyrinth,
tall and narrow..."Copy !req
130. - Is this Red Star Hotel?
- Yes, I'm fine. Don't mention it.Copy !req
131. - Is Mr Dickson here?
- Yes.Copy !req
132. - He's out.
- I'll wait for him.Copy !req
133. - Got any money, sir?
- Clear off!Copy !req
134. Sit down, sir, if you are tired.Copy !req
135. "I wanted to see it again.Copy !req
136. And I saw the tomb
of Duke Montpensier.Copy !req
137. The statue of the prince
was sculpted by Pradier.Copy !req
138. The prince is dressed inCopy !req
139. it is one
of his last masterpieces."Copy !req
140. Henry!Copy !req
141. Henry!Copy !req
142. It's me.Copy !req
143. We've got a lot to talk about.Copy !req
144. - Where is my key!
- My money, Mr Dickson!Copy !req
145. - My key!
- His key!Copy !req
146. - And a beer.
- And a beer!Copy !req
147. And me?Copy !req
148. Will you hurry up and commit suicide?Copy !req
149. We need your room
for our cousin from the South.Copy !req
150. You're from the Outer Countries,
aren't you?Copy !req
151. Why did he ask
if you were going to commit suicide?Copy !req
152. Quite a few...Copy !req
153. Quite a few people... do it.Copy !req
154. They can't adapt to this place.
It's...Copy !req
155. It's the method invented
by the ChineseCopy !req
156. about 30 years ago in Peking.Copy !req
157. They are masters of dissuasion.Copy !req
158. What about those who can't adapt
and don't commit suicide?Copy !req
159. The others?
They're executed by the authorities.Copy !req
160. They can hide.
But there aren't many left.Copy !req
161. Is Dick Tracy dead?
What about Flash Gordon?Copy !req
162. Why didn't we ever
hear from any of you?Copy !req
163. Forgive me. You know how things are.Copy !req
164. Alpha 60 - what's that?Copy !req
165. The super-computer companies
used years ago.Copy !req
166. - Don't you remember?
- In New York, IBM...Copy !req
167. And Olivetti, General Electric, Tokyo.Copy !req
168. - And?
- Alpha 60 is 150 lights years ahead.Copy !req
169. I see. People have become slaves
to probability.Copy !req
170. Alphaville is their ideal place -
it's a technological society,Copy !req
171. like the ant or termite world.Copy !req
172. - I don't understand.
- Probably about 150 light years ago...Copy !req
173. - 1507?
- 150, 100...Copy !req
174. There were artists in the ant world.Copy !req
175. Yes, artists, novelistsCopy !req
176. musicians, painters...Copy !req
177. Today, there is nothing.Copy !req
178. Nothing, just like here.Copy !req
179. Did Professor Von Braun see to that?Copy !req
180. He just obeys the orders of logic.Copy !req
181. - Then why didn't you kill him?
- Why?Copy !req
182. Why? What does "why" mean?Copy !req
183. Why?Copy !req
184. - I forget.
- Do you know his daughter Natacha?Copy !req
185. Who is she really?Copy !req
186. He was the man we sent to Los Alamos.Copy !req
187. That wasn't his name.Copy !req
188. That wasn't his name back then!Copy !req
189. Listen, Henry,
let's get out of here together.Copy !req
190. You'll get better.
But first, you must...Copy !req
191. It's my sordid little secret...Copy !req
192. Come in, Madame la Marquise.Copy !req
193. My cloak, Madame Recamier.Copy !req
194. Thank you, Madame Pompadour.Copy !req
195. Madame Bovary.
Marie Antoinette.Copy !req
196. Madame Lafayette.Copy !req
197. Lemmy, conscience,Copy !req
198. conscience make Alpha 60 destroy itself.Copy !req
199. Tenderness, tendernessCopy !req
200. save those who weep.Copy !req
201. Lemmy...Copy !req
202. Yes, Lemmy, yes, that's it.Copy !req
203. 14, Ray of Light Avenue.Copy !req
204. Institute of General Semantics.
Do you know it?Copy !req
205. Should I go through
the North or South zone?Copy !req
206. - What's the difference?
- There's snow in the north.Copy !req
207. And sun in the south.Copy !req
208. I'm journeying into darkness anyhow,
so I really don't care.Copy !req
209. It was my first night in Alphaville.Copy !req
210. But I felt like
I'd been there for centuries.Copy !req
211. I'm fine, thanks. Don't mention it.Copy !req
212. - What department?
- Programming and memory.Copy !req
213. The Central Memory
was given its nameCopy !req
214. because of
the fundamental role it playsCopy !req
215. in the organisation
of logic in Alpha 60.Copy !req
216. No one has ever lived in the past.Copy !req
217. No one will ever live in the future.Copy !req
218. The present is the form of all life.Copy !req
219. It is a possessionCopy !req
220. that no force
can take away from us.Copy !req
221. Time is like a circleCopy !req
222. spinning innately.Copy !req
223. The declining arc is the past.Copy !req
224. And the inclining arc is the future.Copy !req
225. That's all there is to say.Copy !req
226. Unless words change their meaningsCopy !req
227. and meanings change their words.Copy !req
228. Doesn't it make senseCopy !req
229. that someone who generally livesCopy !req
230. in a state of sufferingCopy !req
231. needs a different sort of religionCopy !req
232. to someone who generally livesCopy !req
233. in a state of well-being?Copy !req
234. Before us, there was nothing here.Copy !req
235. No one.Copy !req
236. We are totally alone here.Copy !req
237. We are unique.Copy !req
238. Wretchedly unique.Copy !req
239. The meaning of wordsCopy !req
240. and of expressions
is no longer understood.Copy !req
241. An isolated word,
or an isolated detail in a drawingCopy !req
242. can be understood.Copy !req
243. But the meaning of the wholeCopy !req
244. is lost.Copy !req
245. Once we know the number oneCopy !req
246. we think we know the number twoCopy !req
247. because one plus one equals two.Copy !req
248. We forget that firstCopy !req
249. we must know the meaning of plus.Copy !req
250. The acts of manCopy !req
251. through the centuriesCopy !req
252. will graduallyCopy !req
253. logically destroy them.Copy !req
254. I, Alpha 60,Copy !req
255. I am merely the logical means
of this destruction.Copy !req
256. - Good evening, comrade.
- Good evening, comrade.Copy !req
257. I thought I'd never see you again.Copy !req
258. - Shall we go?
- I'll get the keys.Copy !req
259. I left because I didn't understand
a word he was saying.Copy !req
260. It's very simple.
This evening, we learntCopy !req
261. that life and death
lie within the same circle.Copy !req
262. - Are you afraid of death?
- Of course not. Why?Copy !req
263. We took the tangent
to the central area.Copy !req
264. While the radio
spouted traffic newsCopy !req
265. Natacha talked to me
with the voice of a pretty sphinx.Copy !req
266. Pretty sphinx...Copy !req
267. Usually, there are
foreign ambassadors there.Copy !req
268. Or neighbourhood delegations.Copy !req
269. Why does everyone look
so sad and miserable?Copy !req
270. You ask too many questions.Copy !req
271. Because there is
an electricity shortage.Copy !req
272. Whether it be
in the so-called capitalist worldCopy !req
273. or the communist worldCopy !req
274. there is no evil intentCopy !req
275. to subjugate menCopy !req
276. through power of indoctrinationCopy !req
277. or of finance.Copy !req
278. There is simply a natural ambitionCopy !req
279. in any organisation
to plan its activities.Copy !req
280. In short,
we minimise any unknown factors.Copy !req
281. You shouldn't call this dump Alphaville.
It's Zeroville.Copy !req
282. - What are we seeing?
- I don't know, a Light and Sound thing.Copy !req
283. - Where is everyone?
- It's already started.Copy !req
284. Come on, we're late.Copy !req
285. It's already started.Copy !req
286. - Don't they electrocute them now?
- You know the 17th plan was a flop.Copy !req
287. I told you so.Copy !req
288. Stay there.Copy !req
289. - Introduce me.
- I told you to stay there.Copy !req
290. There are very important people here.Copy !req
291. - Can I take photos?
- I'll ask.Copy !req
292. Yes!Copy !req
293. - What have they done?
- They've been condemned to death.Copy !req
294. Only men?Copy !req
295. There are usually 50 men
to one woman executed.Copy !req
296. - But what have they done?
- They behaved illogically.Copy !req
297. isn't that a crime
in the Outer Countries?Copy !req
298. I know him.
When his wife died, he wept.Copy !req
299. - Was he condemned for that?
- Naturally.Copy !req
300. One need only advance to live!
Go straight towards all that you love.Copy !req
301. Listen to me, normal ones!
We see a truth that you no longer see.Copy !req
302. A truth that says
the essence of man is love and faith,Copy !req
303. courage and tenderness,
generosity and sacrifice.Copy !req
304. Everything else is an obstacle put up
by your blind progress and ignorance!Copy !req
305. One day...Copy !req
306. Excuse me, Professor
I need to talk to you.Copy !req
307. - I don't talk to reporters.
- I'm not a reporter.Copy !req
308. Is there somewhere quiet we can talk?Copy !req
309. - Good day, sir.
- Mr Nosferatu...Copy !req
310. That man no longer exists.Copy !req
311. - Are you crying?
- No, because that's forbidden.Copy !req
312. Occupied... occupied...Copy !req
313. Free.Copy !req
314. Sit there
and answer when you're spoken to.Copy !req
315. - I've done nothing.
- All newcomers are interviewed.Copy !req
316. Alpha 5.Copy !req
317. What is your name?Copy !req
318. Ivan Johnson.Copy !req
319. Where were you born?Copy !req
320. In New York.Copy !req
321. How old are you?Copy !req
322. I don't know, 457?Copy !req
323. What kind of car do you drive?Copy !req
324. Ford Galaxy.Copy !req
325. What do you love most of all?Copy !req
326. Gold and women.Copy !req
327. What are you doing in Alphaville?Copy !req
328. An article for Figaro-Pravda.Copy !req
329. You seem to be afraid.Copy !req
330. I'm not afraid.
At least, not in the way you think.Copy !req
331. Besides, you wouldn't understand.Copy !req
332. Rest assured that my decisionsCopy !req
333. always keep in mindCopy !req
334. the ultimate good.Copy !req
335. I shall now ask you
some test questionsCopy !req
336. as a security measure.Copy !req
337. - Go ahead.
- You are from the Outer Countries.Copy !req
338. What did you feelCopy !req
339. as you travelled
through galactic space?Copy !req
340. The silence of infinite space...
frightened me.Copy !req
341. What is the privilege of the dead?Copy !req
342. To die no more.Copy !req
343. Do you know
what turns darkness into light?Copy !req
344. Poetry.Copy !req
345. What is your religion?Copy !req
346. I believe in the spontaneity
of our conscience.Copy !req
347. Do you draw any distinctionCopy !req
348. between the mysterious
principles of knowledgeCopy !req
349. and those of love?Copy !req
350. I do not believe
there is any mystery in love.Copy !req
351. You are not telling the truth.Copy !req
352. I don't understand.Copy !req
353. You are hiding something.Copy !req
354. I may have good reason to lie,Copy !req
355. but how do you distinguish
between a lie and the truth?Copy !req
356. You are hiding something.Copy !req
357. But I don't know exactly what yet.Copy !req
358. So, for the time being, you are free.Copy !req
359. I would like you to goCopy !req
360. to our control centre.Copy !req
361. Come with me.Copy !req
362. Occupied.Copy !req
363. Free.Copy !req
364. Occupied, free.Copy !req
365. - Where are we going?
- To see the chief engineer.Copy !req
366. Through here.Copy !req
367. Look, it's dawning.Copy !req
368. Come in!Copy !req
369. Sit down.Copy !req
370. It's quite an event.Copy !req
371. Yes, we've spent three years
Looking for Grand Omega Minus.Copy !req
372. - So, Mr Johnson.
- Yes?Copy !req
373. - What do you think of Alphaville?
- It's not bad. If I knew where I was.Copy !req
374. You are in the centre of Alphaville.
In Alpha 60.Copy !req
375. Alpha 60's task
is to calculate and predict the resultsCopy !req
376. that Alphaville
will subsequently be following.Copy !req
377. Why?Copy !req
378. Never say "why" Mr Johnson,
only "because".Copy !req
379. In the lives of both
the individual and the nation,Copy !req
380. everything is cause and effect.Copy !req
381. The famous theory
of Professor Leonard Nosferatu.Copy !req
382. Leonard Nosferatu no longer exits.Copy !req
383. He was expelled
from the Outer Countries in 1964.Copy !req
384. - Today, we have Professor Von Braun.
- Yes, I remember now.Copy !req
385. He was sent to a small town
in the desert to work on his invention.Copy !req
386. He was exiled, you mean. Today, the
Outer Countries are kicking themselvesCopy !req
387. and they want him back.
They keep sending spies here.Copy !req
388. Perhaps you are one of those spies?Copy !req
389. You know I am not
because I am a free man.Copy !req
390. Your reply is meaningless.
We know nothing.Copy !req
391. We record, we calculate
and we draw conclusions.Copy !req
392. An hour ago, you were questionedCopy !req
393. by one of the 1.4 billion nerve centres
that form Alpha 60.Copy !req
394. Your answers were difficult,
sometimes impossible, to register.Copy !req
395. So you are
of above average intelligence.Copy !req
396. On the one hand,
we need highly intelligent people.Copy !req
397. On the other hand,
we see them as dangerous.Copy !req
398. What are you going to do with me?Copy !req
399. Our present orders
are to show you Alpha 60.Copy !req
400. And who issued these orders?
Professor Von Braun?Copy !req
401. Certainly not.
An order is a logical conclusion.Copy !req
402. You shouldn't be afraid of logic.
That's all.Copy !req
403. - What is it?
- The circuit elements...Copy !req
404. - Of 183 Grand Omega...
- Are malfunctioning.Copy !req
405. - The computing or memory elements?
- The memory elements.Copy !req
406. Let's go. - Mr Johnson,
Professor Heckel and Jeckel.Copy !req
407. - I'm fine, thanks. Don't mention it.
- Let's go.Copy !req
408. I'd like to know exactly
what Grand Omega Minus is.Copy !req
409. Our 17th electricity plan
is not working.Copy !req
410. Sooner or later, the Outer Countries
will declare war on us.Copy !req
411. - So, we've decided to invade them.
- Led by Professor Von Braun.Copy !req
412. Grand Omega Minus
will bring victory to anti-matter.Copy !req
413. The ideal scenario.Copy !req
414. We may need men like you to indicate
weak points in the Outer Countries.Copy !req
415. Your tendencyCopy !req
416. to dwell on the past
could be useful to us.Copy !req
417. We send brain-washed agitators
to other galaxies.Copy !req
418. Strikes, revolutions,
family quarrels, student revolts...Copy !req
419. That's us - Grand Omega Minus.Copy !req
420. - Where are we going?
- To the unseen part of Omega 60.Copy !req
421. You think more
about what has passedCopy !req
422. than about what is to come.Copy !req
423. - Your camera looks old.
- I don't like new technology.Copy !req
424. Professor Jeckel asked me
why I shot the man in my bathroomCopy !req
425. since it was just
a psychological test.Copy !req
426. I told him
I'm too old to waste time talking,Copy !req
427. so I just shoot.
It's my only defence against fatality.Copy !req
428. - What is this place?
- The Central Integration Station.Copy !req
429. Alpha 60 sets itself problems here.Copy !req
430. No man can understand them
for the references are too complex.Copy !req
431. What sort of problems?Copy !req
432. Train schedules,
movement of people and goods,Copy !req
433. electricity distribution,
suppression of crime, war operations.Copy !req
434. Element number seven
has stopped working.Copy !req
435. - What is it?
- War with the Outer Countries.Copy !req
436. A simple instructionCopy !req
437. is usually not enoughCopy !req
438. to bring about the executionCopy !req
439. of a task by Alpha... 60.Copy !req
440. Do not believe it is ICopy !req
441. that initiates this destructionCopy !req
442. nor the scientistsCopy !req
443. who have embraced my plan.Copy !req
444. Ordinary menCopy !req
445. are not worthyCopy !req
446. of the position
they hold in the world.Copy !req
447. When we analyse their pastCopy !req
448. we are automatically ledCopy !req
449. to this conclusion.Copy !req
450. Therefore they should be destroyedCopy !req
451. that is, they should be transformed.Copy !req
452. I didn't need a drawing
to help me grasp this.Copy !req
453. In just a few years,
under Von Braun and his assistants,Copy !req
454. Alphaville had developed
at a furious rate,Copy !req
455. guided by the electronic brains
that developed themselvesCopy !req
456. by creating problems beyond
the grasp of the human mind.Copy !req
457. Outsiders were assimilated
as they came in,Copy !req
458. Swedes, Germans
and Americans in particular.Copy !req
459. Those that refused to conform
were simply killed.Copy !req
460. I went to the execution theatre.Copy !req
461. Usually, people were sat
in the theatreCopy !req
462. and electrocuted in their seats
during a performance.Copy !req
463. They were then emptied into rubbish
bins to make way for the next batch.Copy !req
464. If there was any hope
of salvaging an individualCopy !req
465. he was sent to an H.L.M. -
a Hospice for Long-term Maladies,Copy !req
466. where he would quickly recover
on a diet of mechanics and propaganda.Copy !req
467. I felt my existence here was becoming
the dim and distorted reflectionCopy !req
468. of a terrible destiny.Copy !req
469. To escape, I had only one option.Copy !req
470. It would not be logicalCopy !req
471. to prevent superior beingsCopy !req
472. from invading
the other galaxies.Copy !req
473. - Are you going up?
- No, I'm going to polish my shoes!Copy !req
474. This way, sir.Copy !req
475. Are you tired, sir?Copy !req
476. Do you want to sleep, sir?Copy !req
477. Yes, sleep. Maybe dream too.Copy !req
478. What exactly are you?Copy !req
479. I'm a level-three seductress.Copy !req
480. Has your friend gone?Copy !req
481. - Who? Beatrice?
- I don't know. A blonde with long legs.Copy !req
482. She works in flats in the suburbs.Copy !req
483. We all just fill in here.Copy !req
484. Have you heard much
about the Outer Countries?Copy !req
485. No, nothing.Copy !req
486. - Clear off.
- Why?Copy !req
487. If anyone asks, say you don't know.Copy !req
488. I'm fine, thanks. Don't mention it.Copy !req
489. If it isn't the little princess.Copy !req
490. I was ordered not to come but...
I wanted to see you again.Copy !req
491. I didn't!Copy !req
492. Since you're here,
order me some breakfast.Copy !req
493. - I'm fine, thanks. Don't mention it.
- Me too.Copy !req
494. - Natacha?
- Yes...Copy !req
495. Lower your head.Copy !req
496. - What is it?
- Nothing... Just a thought.Copy !req
497. What about my breakfast?Copy !req
498. - I'd like to order breakfast.
- What is your number?Copy !req
499. I don't know.
They didn't give me one at Alpha 60.Copy !req
500. Not your control number,
your room number.Copy !req
501. 344.Copy !req
502. Heard of this book?Copy !req
503. Capital Of Sorrow. No.Copy !req
504. Some words are underlined.Copy !req
505. "We live in the oblivion
of our metamorphoses.Copy !req
506. But that echo
that runs all through the dayCopy !req
507. that echo, beyond time,
anguish or intimacy, keeps asking,Copy !req
508. are we near to
or far away from our conscience?"Copy !req
509. I don't understand all the words.Copy !req
510. "Conscience."Copy !req
511. And this? "Death in conversation."Copy !req
512. And that?Copy !req
513. "Your eyes have returned
from an arbitrary countyCopy !req
514. where no one has even known
the meaning of a glance".Copy !req
515. - You really don't know what it is?
- It reminds me of something.Copy !req
516. But I don't know what.Copy !req
517. NAKEDNESS OF TRUTH
Despair is wingless, As is love,Copy !req
518. Faceless, Voiceless, Motionless...Copy !req
519. And this. "Dying of not dying."Copy !req
520. And this. "To be caught in a trap".
And this. "Men who change."Copy !req
521. Have you never heard
of a secret message, Miss Von Braun?Copy !req
522. - A secret message?
- Don't you know what a secret is?Copy !req
523. Yes. There are planning secrets,
atomic secrets, memory secrets...Copy !req
524. What are you looking for?
This place is driving me mad!Copy !req
525. - I want to look for it in the Bible.
- What?Copy !req
526. Are you stupid?
The word that I'm looking for.Copy !req
527. Where is it?
There should be one in every room.Copy !req
528. I'm starting to feel frightened.
Since you've been hereCopy !req
529. I don't understand
anything anymore.Copy !req
530. I think I'm beginning to understand.Copy !req
531. "Conscience."Copy !req
532. It's not in there.Copy !req
533. Clear off!Copy !req
534. Not there.Copy !req
535. So nobody here knows
what it means any more.Copy !req
536. The word "conscience."Copy !req
537. Too bad.Copy !req
538. - One lump or two?
- Two.Copy !req
539. It isn't a Bible, it's a dictionary.Copy !req
540. So isn't it the same as that
in the Outer Countries?Copy !req
541. Answer my question first -
what is it for?Copy !req
542. Almost every day words disappear
because they are forbidden.Copy !req
543. So sometimes, to replace them,Copy !req
544. they put in new words
that represent new ideas.Copy !req
545. Over the past two or three months,Copy !req
546. some words
I was very fond of disappeared.Copy !req
547. Which words? I'd like to know.Copy !req
548. Robin redbreast, weep.Copy !req
549. Autumn light.Copy !req
550. Tenderness too.Copy !req
551. Mr. Johnson?
When I'm with you, I'm afraid.Copy !req
552. They ordered me
not to see you anymore.Copy !req
553. Who did?
The Alpha 60 engineers?Copy !req
554. What are you afraid of?Copy !req
555. I'm afraid because I know this word
without ever having seen it or read it.Copy !req
556. - What word?
- "Le conscience."Copy !req
557. - La conscience.
- La? Conscience...Copy !req
558. - You've been to the Outer Countries?
- No.Copy !req
559. - Are you sure?
- Yes.Copy !req
560. - You're lying.
- Why are you being unkind to me?Copy !req
561. I thought you weren't meant
to say "why", only "because."Copy !req
562. - Did I say "why"?
- Yes.Copy !req
563. And if enemy ears are listening,
they've heard too.Copy !req
564. Well, then I was careless.Copy !req
565. Because it is forbidden.Copy !req
566. But maybe not for outsiders like you.Copy !req
567. - When did I say "why"?
- First, one more question.Copy !req
568. - Where were you born?
- Here, in Alphaville.Copy !req
569. You're lying again. You might not
realise it, but you are lying.Copy !req
570. I have to know the truth.
Where were you born?Copy !req
571. I've told you - here.Copy !req
572. In Alphaville.Copy !req
573. No, you were born in Tokyo.
The Land of the Rising Sun.Copy !req
574. Go on, say it.Copy !req
575. In Tokyo, the Land of the Rising Sun.Copy !req
576. Or in Florence perhaps.Copy !req
577. Try and remember, Natacha, where?Copy !req
578. Where...? I don't know.Copy !req
579. Where the sky is as blue
as the South Seas.Copy !req
580. In Florence, where the sky
is as blue as the South Seas.Copy !req
581. - Or maybe New York.
- New York...Copy !req
582. Where winter... Broadway...
glitters like snow on a fur coat.Copy !req
583. So, you do know the Outer Countries.Copy !req
584. Your father was banished
from New York in '64.Copy !req
585. He brought you here,
which means you are not from here.Copy !req
586. I know what this book is.
When we arrived from New York,Copy !req
587. there was a man with us
who wrote things like this.Copy !req
588. I don't know what happened to him.
Here, they live in the forbidden zones.Copy !req
589. And end up killing themselves.
I know Alpha 60 sometimes uses them.Copy !req
590. Civil Control... Why?Copy !req
591. Because they write things
no one can understand.Copy !req
592. I get it now.
It used to be called poetry.Copy !req
593. They think it holds secrets,
but there's nothing in it really.Copy !req
594. When Control has an hour or two
to spare, it records things like that.Copy !req
595. It classifies and registers them.
As always, you never know.Copy !req
596. - They could turn out to be useful.
- Absolutely. They are very organised.Copy !req
597. I'd like to go
to the Outer Countries with you.Copy !req
598. But I'm afraid.Copy !req
599. Since I met you,
I no longer feel normal.Copy !req
600. - When exactly did I say "why"?
- Why?Copy !req
601. Because... You know very well.Copy !req
602. - No, I don't know.
- When exactly?Copy !req
603. - Tell me.
- Often. Last night, in the hallway...Copy !req
604. You're lying now.Copy !req
605. - When I said I was in love with you.
- In love? What does that mean?Copy !req
606. - This.
- No, I know what that is.Copy !req
607. - It's sensuality.
- No.Copy !req
608. Sensuality is a consequence of,
and cannot exist without, love.Copy !req
609. So, what is love?Copy !req
610. Your voice, your eyesCopy !req
611. your hands, your lips.Copy !req
612. Our silence, our words.Copy !req
613. Light that fades away
light that comes back.Copy !req
614. One smile for the two of us.Copy !req
615. Out of my need for knowledge,
I watched night create dayCopy !req
616. where we remained unchanged.Copy !req
617. Oh, beloved of all
and beloved of one.Copy !req
618. Your lips made
a silent promise to be happy.Copy !req
619. "Move away, away," says hatred.Copy !req
620. "Come closer, closer," says love.Copy !req
621. Our caresses lead us
from our childhood.Copy !req
622. I am seeing a clearer image
of the human form.Copy !req
623. Like lovers talking,
the heart has but one mouth.Copy !req
624. Everything is haphazard.
All words are spontaneous.Copy !req
625. Feelings drift.
Men roam the city.Copy !req
626. Glances, words.
And I love you.Copy !req
627. Everything moves.Copy !req
628. One need only advance to liveCopy !req
629. to go straight ahead
towards all that you love.Copy !req
630. I was moving towards you. I was
moving perpetually into the light.Copy !req
631. When you smile,
you become a part of me.Copy !req
632. The rays of your arms
pierce the mist.Copy !req
633. What will the chief engineer use me for?Copy !req
634. As an inter-galactic double agent.Copy !req
635. - So, what Mr Heckel said was true.
- What?Copy !req
636. You send out spies
to destroy the rest of the world.Copy !req
637. Naturally. We learn that at school.Copy !req
638. Are you going to betray me?Copy !req
639. Can't you speak?
Or don't you want to?Copy !req
640. Can we communicate with
the Outer Countries from the hotel?Copy !req
641. Just ask for the Galaxy Network.
I'll do it.Copy !req
642. With the Outer CountriesCopy !req
643. the telecommunication service
has been down for several days.Copy !req
644. - What are you talking about?
- An atomic bomb on Alphaville.Copy !req
645. I'll explain later, sweetheart.
Let's go!Copy !req
646. I need the professor.
Where does he live?Copy !req
647. Come with us.Copy !req
648. - To Civil Control.
- Absolutely.Copy !req
649. When he doubles over, grab him!Copy !req
650. Miss, story number 842.Copy !req
651. One day, a little man
went into a cafe in the North zone.Copy !req
652. He said,
"I'd like a nice hot and sweet coffee."Copy !req
653. Then he added, "But I'm not paying
because I'm not afraid of anyone."Copy !req
654. He drank his coffee.Copy !req
655. He left.Copy !req
656. He drank his coffee
and he left without paying.Copy !req
657. The owner didn't say anything
because he didn't want any trouble.Copy !req
658. But the man kept coming back,
so the owner said, "I've had it!"Copy !req
659. "I'll get one of the big guys to
beat him up if he does this again!"Copy !req
660. Sure enough, the fourth time
the little man came back and said:Copy !req
661. "I'd like a nice hot and sweet coffee."Copy !req
662. The big guy said,
"So, you're not afraid of anyone?"Copy !req
663. "No," said the little man.
"Me neither," said the big guy.Copy !req
664. "So," said the little man,
"Two nice hot and sweet coffees."Copy !req
665. - Go on.
- See you outside Civil Control.Copy !req
666. Last night, you told a lie.Copy !req
667. You arranged Dixon's death.
Why?Copy !req
668. Your name may be written as
Ivan JohnsonCopy !req
669. but it is pronounced
Lemmy CautionCopy !req
670. Secret AgentCopy !req
671. Number 003Copy !req
672. from the Outer Countries.Copy !req
673. You are a security threat
to Alphaville.Copy !req
674. I refuse to become
what you refer to as "normal".Copy !req
675. What you refer to as "mutants"Copy !req
676. are part of a race
superior to ordinary menCopy !req
677. that we have
almost entirely wiped out.Copy !req
678. That's impossible.
You cannot wipe out a whole race.Copy !req
679. My calculations
will see that failure is impossible.Copy !req
680. I shall fight
so that failure is possible.Copy !req
681. All my plans will be successful.Copy !req
682. Don't count on it. I have secret too.Copy !req
683. What is your secret?Copy !req
684. Tell me, Mr Caution.Copy !req
685. Something that never changes,
by day, or by night.Copy !req
686. The past represents its future.Copy !req
687. It goes forth in a straight line,
yet it ends by coming full circle.Copy !req
688. - I do not know what it could be.
- I am not going to tell you.Copy !req
689. Several of my circuits
are trying to solve your riddle.Copy !req
690. I'll get there.Copy !req
691. If you do,
at the same time, you'll destroy it.Copy !req
692. For you will have become
my equal, my brother.Copy !req
693. Those who have not
been born do not cryCopy !req
694. and have no regrets.Copy !req
695. It is therefore logical
to sentence you to death.Copy !req
696. Go to hell with your logic!Copy !req
697. My judgement is fairCopy !req
698. and I operate the universal good.Copy !req
699. If you think you can drive us out
of the other galaxies, think again.Copy !req
700. You cannot get out.Copy !req
701. - The door is blocked.
- We'll see about that.Copy !req
702. Where does Professor Von Braun live?Copy !req
703. The Central Palace in the South zone,Copy !req
704. behind the raw materials station.Copy !req
705. Don't move.Copy !req
706. Now I know you'll keep your word.Copy !req
707. Out! No journalists!Copy !req
708. Ever noticed that "journalist"
starts with a "J", like "justice"?Copy !req
709. Go and tell that to your boss.Copy !req
710. - What can I do for you, Mr Caution?
- News travels fast round here.Copy !req
711. Yes, because we are entering
the Civilisation of Light.Copy !req
712. Around 180,000 per second.Copy !req
713. I'm going back to the Outer Countries.Copy !req
714. - Come with me.
- Stay with us, Mr Caution.Copy !req
715. Soon, when the war is over, we'll put
you in control of another galaxy.Copy !req
716. You'll have gold. You'll have women.Copy !req
717. Mr Caution, we are working
on a science so amazingCopy !req
718. that atomic control
by the Russians and AmericansCopy !req
719. 30 years ago will seem pathetic.Copy !req
720. You oppose my moral
and supernatural sense of vocationCopy !req
721. with a simple
physical and mental existenceCopy !req
722. easily controlled by technicians.Copy !req
723. Your ideas are strange.Copy !req
724. Back in the Age of Ideas, your ideas
would've been deemed sublime.Copy !req
725. Look at yourself.
Men like you will soon be extinct.Copy !req
726. You will become worse than dead.Copy !req
727. - You will become a legend.
- Yes, I am afraid of death.Copy !req
728. But for a humble secret agent,
it's an everyday thing, like whiskey.Copy !req
729. And I've been drinking all my life.Copy !req
730. You still don't want to see
the Outer Countries, Professor?Copy !req
731. Goodbye, Mr Caution.Copy !req
732. Such people will be bad examples
to those who see the world as a stage,Copy !req
733. upon which the power of technology
plays the leading role.Copy !req
734. I was running along a straight line,
like Dixon's Greek labyrinthCopy !req
735. in which philosophers, and even
a secret agent, get disorientated.Copy !req
736. In many respectsCopy !req
737. your reactions
and your way of thinkingCopy !req
738. differ from the current norms.Copy !req
739. The people of Alphaville
are not normal. They are mutants.Copy !req
740. Do you accept our proposal?Copy !req
741. Answer silently.Copy !req
742. Yes or no?Copy !req
743. I will never betray
the Outer Countries.Copy !req
744. The present is terrifying
because it is irreversibleCopy !req
745. and because it is cast in iron.Copy !req
746. Time is the substance
of which I am made.Copy !req
747. Time is a river
that carries me along.Copy !req
748. But I am time.Copy !req
749. It is a tiger tearing me apart.
But I am the tiger.Copy !req
750. Look at us. There's your answer.Copy !req
751. We are happiness
and that is where we are heading.Copy !req
752. Unfortunately for us,
the world is real.Copy !req
753. And me, unfortunately for meCopy !req
754. I am me - Alpha 60.Copy !req
755. Hurry, Natacha!Copy !req
756. Think of the word "love".Copy !req
757. Not all the people of Alphaville died,
but they were all affected.Copy !req
758. Those who were not asphyxiated
by the lack of light,Copy !req
759. scurried around madly like ants.Copy !req
760. It was 23.15 Oceanic TimeCopy !req
761. when Natacha and I left Alphaville
via the ring road.Copy !req
762. Driving all night
through intersidereal space,Copy !req
763. we would be home by the next day.Copy !req
764. Don't look back.Copy !req
765. - Do you think they're all dead?
- No, not yet.Copy !req
766. They may even recover
and Alphaville will be a happy town,Copy !req
767. like Florence, Angouleme, or Tokyo.Copy !req
768. Don't look back.Copy !req
769. - Was I asleep long?
- No, only a moment.Copy !req
770. Where are we? In the Outer Countries?Copy !req
771. No, not yet.Copy !req
772. You're looking at me oddly.Copy !req
773. It's as if you're waiting
for me to say something.Copy !req
774. I don't know what to say.
I don't know the words.Copy !req
775. I was never taught them.Copy !req
776. - Help me.
- I can't, princess.Copy !req
777. You have to get there by yourself
to be saved.Copy !req
778. If you can't, then you're as lost
as the dead souls of Alphaville.Copy !req
779. love...Copy !req
780. you.Copy !req
781. I love you.Copy !req