Sometimes, reality is too complex
for oral communication
But legend embodies it in a form
which enables it to spread all over the world
It was 24.17, Oceanic Time
when I approached the suburbs of Alphaville
Silence. Logic. Security. Prudence
My paper reserved a room for me:
-You are? -lvan Johnson
-Which paper? -Figaro-Pravda
Room 344. Have you registered at Residents Control?
You must, even if you're a Festival visitor
Your bag, sir
-Please, sir. -Nothing. Get lost
This way, sir
You're tired, sir?
You wish to sleep, sir?
It's this way, sir
If you're tired, you can rest, sir
Here it is, sir
The bedroom's here, sir
-What are you looking for now? -I'm checking if the Bible's here
-Everyone has one. -Do you believe that?
Yes, of course
I'll leave you the tranquillizers in the bathroom
I'm very well. Thank you so very much
-Are you going to take a bath, sir? -Yes, I must reflect
I'll help you, sir
And your tie, sir
-Now what? -I'll take a bath with you, sir, if you like
Listen, doll, I'm a big boy
I can find dames all alone
Now get lost
Be polite to the ladies, Mr. Johnson
Shit. Now what?
This kid doesn't please you?
And your sister, sir?
-I'm getting out of shape. -What sir?
What's going on here? Are you on drugs or what?
No, it's normal, sir
All things weird are normal in this whore of cities
Sit in that chair
Her name was Beatrice
She said she was a seductress, third class
I was struck by the sadness and durability of her face
Something's not in orbit in the capital of this Galaxy
Hold this up
Not bad for a veteran of Guadalcanal
Just what I was thinking about you
Go play your games with someone else
I've heard it before
Y es? Mr. Johnson
Miss Natasha Vonbraun calls for you
Just a moment, please
Leonard Von Braun, inventor of the death ray
bring back alive, or liquidate
Tell her to wait, I'll be down in 5 minutes
She's on her way up
Henry Dickson, Agent X21, 12, Enrico Fermi, Alphaville
Got a light?
I've traveled 9,000 kilometers to give it to you
-I'm Natasha Vonbraun. -Yes, I know
How do you know?
You are Miss Vonbraun
Yes, I'm very well, thank you so very much
You come from the Outlands, Mr. Johnson?
-Everything to your satisfaction? -Yes
I've been ordered to stay in your service
during your stay in Alphaville
Who ordered you?
The authorities, of course
You came for the festival, Mr. Johnson?
Which festival?
The big one; that's why people from the Outlands come
-ln my opinion, it's silly you did not. -Why?
The festival's nearly over; No more until next year
You don't say
Y es, Mr Johnson
But this evening, there's a gala reception
Very big
At a ministry. I'm going; come if you like
O.K.
What time? I must attend to something else first
You must go to Residents Control registration?
No. What's that?
You mustn't forget to go there, Mr Johnson. We can meet afterwards
No, I'll go there tomorrow. First I must meet a friend
Me too, I've work to do
I'll give you the address where I'll be
Call for me and we'll go together
O.K. In an hour or two
All right, see you later, Mr. Johnson
I'll go down with you, miss
Mr. Johnson, what's it like in the Outlands?
You've never been?
No, but my father told me about them when I was little
Now it's forbidden to think about them
Are you often ordered to stay with strangers?
-Yes, it's my job. -Sometimes, it must be nice
-Why? -You never have love affairs?
-What? -Has no one ever fallen in love with you?
In love? What's that?
There's one thing I'd like to know, miss
-Yes, Mr. Johnson. -You've finished taking me
-for an ass, or are you beginning? -Let go of me
But answer me
I don't understand, what are you talking about?
Realize, Princess. I don't know what you're talking about either
It's always like that. You never understand anything
Y es, it's always like that. You never understand anything
And one night, you end it in death
-Which way are you going? -12, Enrico Fermi
That's after Heisenberg Boulevard, not far from Mathematical Park
I have a car, I can give you a lift, if you wish. -O.K.
I'll get the keys
-You don't want me to court you? -What?
You really don't know what it means?
Her smile and her small, pointed teeth
reminded me of the old vampire films
the sort they used to show at cinerama museums
I'm a programmer, second class
Natasha's a name from the past
Y es, but in life, one can only know the present
No one's lived in the past, or will live in the future
Thanks for the lift, anyway
It's a pleasure to do my job, Mr. Johnson
It's much farther?
You know we must cross the North Zone, Miss
What's the population of Alphaville?
Don't forget, you must go to Residents Control
Yes
What exactly do you do for a living?
I work
for a newspaper
Professor Vonbraun is your father?
It's vital that I write about him; Could you arrange a meeting?
I don't know. I've never seen him. I'll ask
Finally, I leave you
-Here? -I've changed my mind
You have the address?
Yes. Tell him to stop
Telecommunication
I'd like to telecommunicate
-Galaxy or local call? -Local
Cabin 2
Miss, do you know that man?
Of course I know him. Don't be stupid
At the end of Galata Bridge
one finds the Red Star. My place
You can't compare it
to our splendid galactic corridors
all a-glitter with luxury and light
It's only a vast labyrinth, tall, cramped
Is this the Red Star Hotel?
Y es, it is, thank you
-ls Mr. Dickson in? -He's out
Fine, I'll wait
You have money, sir?
You can have a seat, sir, if you're tired
I wanted to see it again
the tomb of the Duc de Montpensier
The reclining statue of the Prince
is the work of Pradier
The Prince wears the costume of
Henry, it's me!
We've got plenty to talk about
-Where's my key? -Where's my money, Mr. Dickson?
-My key. -His key
And a beer
And me?
Why don't you hurry up and commit suicide?
We need the room for our cousin from the south
You come from the Outlands?
Why did he ask if you'd commit suicide?
There's quite a few...
There's quite a few who do
One can't adapt to this place
It's the method the Chinese invented
about thirty years ago in Pekingville
Dissuasion is their strong point
What about those who won't adapt, or commit suicide?
-Those... they're executed. -Y es, the authorities
But one can hide, you know. There aren't many left
Dick Tracy, is he dead?
And Guy Leclair?
Why didn't we hear from them, or from you, Henry?
I'm sorry. These things happen
And what's Alpha 60?
A giant computer, like they used to have in big business
Nueva York... lBM...
Olivetti... General Electric... Tokyorama...
Alpha 60 is one hundred and fifty light years more powerful
I see. People have become slaves of probabilities
Their ideal here, in Alphaville
is a technocracy, like that of termites and ants
I don't understand
Probably one hundred and fifty light years ago
One hundred and fifty, two hundred
there were artists in the ant society
Artists, novelists, musicians, painters
Today, no more
Nothing. Like here
Has Professor Vonbraun organized it all?
He obeys logical orders
Then why didn't you kill him?
"Why"... what does that word mean? I forgot...
You know his daughter, Natasha? Who is she really?
It was him they sent to Los Alamos
His name wasn't that then
Answer! That wasn't his name in those days
Listen, Henry
We'll get out together; you'll be O.K. But first you must...
It's a terrible secret, but...
Come in, Madame la Marquise
My coat, Madame Recamier
Thank you, Madame Pompadour
Madame Bovary, Marie Antoinette
Madame Lafayette
Madame, it's love
I'll say it in Russian
So young and me
Lemmy... conscience...
Alpha 60... make... self destruct...
Tenderness...
Save those who weep
Yes, yes, that's it
The Capital of Pain
14, Light Radiation. lnstitute of General Semantics
You know where it is?
You prefer I pass through the North Zone or the South?
What's the difference?
There's snow in the North
and sun in the South
Anyway, it's my journey to the end of the night
So, it doesn't matter
It was my first night in Alphaville
but it seemed to me that centuries had passed
I'm very well, thank you so very much
Miss Natasha Vonbraun
-Which section? -Programming and memory
The Central Memory...
...is thus named...
...because of the primordial role...
...that it plays...
...in the logic-organization within Alpha 60
But no one has lived in the past...
...and no one will live in the future
The present is the form of all life
This quality...
...cannot be changed by any means
Time is like a circle...
...which turns endlessly
The descending arc is the past
The arc that climbs is the future
Everything has been said...
...provided words do not change their meanings...
...and meanings their words
Is it not obvious that someone...
...who customarily lives...
...in a state of suffering...
...requires a different sort of religion...
...from a person habitually in a state of well-being?
Before us, nothing existed here
No one
We are totally alone here
We are unique, dreadfully unique
The meaning of words...
...and of expressions, is no longer grasped
An isolated word, or a detail of a design...
...can be understood
But the meaning of the whole escapes
Once we know the number one...
...we believe that we know the number two...
...because one plus one equals two
We forget that first...
...we must know the meaning of plus
I'm going
The acts of men...
...carried over...
...from past centuries...
...will gradually...
...destroy them...
...logically...
l, Alpha 60...
...am merely the logical means of this destruction
Good night, Comrade
I thought I'd never see you again
-Shall we go? -I'll get the keys
I left because I couldn't understand a word he was saying
But it's very simple
We learnt this evening
that death and life
are found within the same circle
-Are you afraid of death? -Of course not. Why?
We took the tangent to the center districts
Traffic bulletins on the radio...
...as Natasha spoke to me in her pretty sphinx voice
Pretty sphinx...
Foreign ambassadors usually attend
or delegations from the districts
Why does everyone look so sad, somber?
You ask too many questions
Because they lack electricity
The essence...
...of the so-called capitalist word...
...or the communist world...
...is not an evil volition...
...to subject their people by the power of indoctrination...
...or the power of finance...
...but simply...
...the natural ambition...
...of any organization...
...to plan all its actions
In a word, to minimize unknown quantities
This dump of yours isn't Alphaville, it's Zeroville
-What are we going to see? -I don't know, light and sound
-Where is everyone? -I believe; it's already begun
Hurry. We're late
It's already begun
Don't they electrocute them any more?
Darling, you know the provisions of 17th Plan took a plunge
You see, I told you so
Stay here
-lntroduce me. -I told you to stay there
we're with very important people
-Can I take a photo? -I'll ask
Yes
-What have they done? -They've been condemned
Only men?
There's usually a ratio of fifty men executed to one woman
But what have they done?
They behaved illogically
lsn't that a crime in the Outlands?
Say, I know him. He wept when his wife died
He was condemned for that?
Evidently
We must advance to live
Aim straight for those you love
Listen to me, normals
We see the truth you no longer see
The truth is that the essence of man is love and faith
courage, tenderness, generosity and sacrifice
The rest is the obstacle created
by the progress of your blind ignorance
One day...
Sorry, Professor, but I must speak with you
I never speak to journalists
I'm not a journalist Can't we talk somewhere quieter?
-Goodbye, sir. -Mr. Nosferatu
That man no longer exists
Are you crying?
No, because it's forbidden
Occupied
Free
Sit there and answer when you're spoken to
I haven't done anything
Newcomers must be interrogated
Alpha 5
What is your name?
Where were you born?
Nueva York
How old are you?
I don't know... 45
What make is your car?
What do you love above all?
Gold and women
What are you doing in Alphaville?
An article for Figaro-Pravda
You seem afraid
I'm not afraid... not the way you think
Anyway, you wouldn't understand
Rest assured that my decisions...
...always have in view...
...the ultimate good
I shall now...
...ask you some test questions...
...as a security measure
No, go ahead
You have come from the Outlands
What were your feelings...
...when you passed through galactic space?
The silence of infinite space
appalled me
What is the privilege of the dead?
To die no more
Do you know what illuminates the night?
Poetry
What is your religion?
I believe in the inspirations of conscience
Do you make any distinction...
...between the mysterious principles...
...of knowledge...
...and those of love?
In my opinion, in love there is no mystery
You are not telling the truth
I don't understand
You are hiding certain things
I admit I might have reasons to lie
but how can you differentiate between lies and truth?
You are hiding certain things...
...but I do not know yet what they are
For the time being, you are free
I should like you to visit...
...the Control Complex
Come with me, Mr. Johnson
-Where are we going? -To the Chief Engineer
Ah, the day breaks
Sit down, Mr Johnson
A momentous occasion
Y es, we spent three years looking for Grand Omega Minus
Well, Mr. Johnson...
How do you find Alphaville?
Not bad, if I knew where I was
You are in the center of Alphaville, inside Alpha 60
The task of Alpha 60 is to calculate and project
the results which Alphaville will subsequently enjoy
Why?
No one ever says "why"; one says "because"
In the life of individuals, as in the life of nations
all is linked, all is consequence
That's the famous theory of Professor Leonard Nosferatu
Leonard Nosferatu no longer exists, Mr. Johnson
The Outlands expelled him in 1964
Today there is only Professor Vonbraun
I remember. He was sent to a village in the desert
to perfect his invention
He was exiled, you mean
Now the Outlands wring their hands, wishing him back
They flood us with spies. Perhaps you are a spy, Mr. Johnson
You know I'm only a free man
A meaningless reply. We know nothing
We record, calculate, draw conclusions
An hour ago, one of Alpha 60's
1.4 billion nerve centres questioned you
Your replies were difficult and sometimes impossible to codify
We deduce an above-average intelligence
We are sometimes in mortal need of superior intelligences
At other times we have a no less mortal distrust of them
So what will you do with me?
For the moment, we're ordered to show you Alpha 60
Who ordered you? Professor Vonbraun?
Absolutely not
An order is a logical conclusion
One must not be afraid of logic. Simply that. Period
The circuit elements... of 183 Omega Minus... malfunction
Calculating or memory elements?
Memory
Professors Eckel and Jeckel
I'm very well, thank you, pleased to meet you
Me too
I'd like to know what Grand Omega Minus is
Our 17th electricity plan is inadequate
Sooner or later, the Outlands will declare war on us
Therefore, we decided to invade them
Directed by Professor Vonbraun, Omega Minus will be
victorious over anti-matter
I see, it's ideal
We can perhaps use men like you
to tell us the weak points of the Outlands
Your tendency to dwell in the past...
...could be useful to us
We send those properly brain-washed to provoke the other galaxies
the strikes, revolutions, family rows, student revolts
That's us: Grand Omega Minus
-Where now? -The invisible part of Alpha 60
You think more of what has been...
...than of what will be
It's old, your camera
The technical... I don't believe in it
Y es, of course
Jeckel asked why I shot the individual in my bathroom...
...when the whole thing was just a psycho-test
I replied, because I'm too old to argue. So I shoot
It's my only weapon against fatality
-What's this? -Central lnterrogation Station
Here Alpha 60 sets itself problems
The forms and references used by Alpha 60
are too complex for human understanding
What sort of problems?
Train and airplane departures... movement of people and goods
electricity distribution... crime suppression... war operations
Element Seven, Malfunction
What's happening?
It's war with the Outlands
A simple instruction...
...is usually insufficient...
...to put into...
...execution...
...a task set by Alpha 60
Do not think...
...that it is l...
...who initiate this destruction...
...nor the scientists...
...who have accepted my plan
Ordinary men...
...are unworthy...
...of the positions they hold...
...in the world
Analysis of their past...
...automatically leads one...
...to this conclusion
Therefore...
...they must be destroyed
That is to say: transformed
I don't need anyone to draw it for me
During these years, under the direction...
...of Vonbraun and his assistants...
...Alphaville had developed by leaps and bounds...
...guided by electronic brains that developed themselves...
...by conceiving problems...
...that the human imagination couldn't grasp
Foreigners were gradually assimilated...
...especially the Swedes, Germans and Americans
The others, the unassimilatables were purely and simply killed
I walked through the threaten of executions
Usually, we would seat them in a room...
...and electrocute them in their chairs as they watched a show
Then we'd dump them into huge rubbish bins...
...and the theater was ready for the next batch
If an individual showed hope of reclamation...
...he was sent to a chronic illness hospital where...
...mechanical and propagandistic treatments soon cured him
I felt that my existence here...
...was becoming a distorted, twilight memory...
...and without a doubt, a terrible destiny
I was left only one solution
It would not be logical...
...to prevent...
...superior beings...
...from attacking...
...the other galaxies
344
Put in one token
Thank you
Going up, sir?
-No, I'll shine my shoes. -Please, sir
-This man has the key. -This way, sir
You're tired, sir?
You'd like to sleep, sir?
Y es, to sleep: perchance to dream
What are you exactly?
I'm a seductress, third class
Has your colleague gone?
Who? Beatrice?
I don't know; a blonde with long legs
She's working in the peripheral flats
We're only replacements
Ever heard of the Outlands?
Never
-Get out of here! -Why?
If anyone asks, say you don't know
I'm very well, thank you so very much
If it isn't the little princess
I was forbidden to come, but I wanted to see you again
Not me!
Since you're here, order breakfast for me
Yes, sir
Pardon, I'm very well, thank you so very much
Me too
Bow your head
What is it?
Nothing. Just a thought
What about my breakfast?
I want to tele-order breakfast
What is your number?
You have a number?
They didn't give me one at Alpha 60
Not your control number, your room number
344
Ever heard of this book?
"The Capital of Pain"
Some words are underlined
We live in the void of metamorphoses
But the echo that runs throughout the day...
...that echo beyond time, anguish or caress...
Are we near to our conscience, or far from it?
These are words I don't understand
Conscience...
And this: death in conversation
And this?
Your eyes have returned from a despotic land...
...where no one has known the meaning of a glance
You've really no idea what this is?
It reminds me of something
I don't know what
Naked truth
I know it well
Despair has no wings, nor does love
No face, they don't speak
I don't look at them, I don't speak to them
But I am as alive as my love and despair...
And this: Dying is not dying
And this: The beguiler beguiler
This: Men who change
Never heard of secret messages, Miss Vonbraun?
A secret message?
Don't you know what a secret is?
Y es. Secrets of planning, atomic secrets, secrets of memory
Now what are you looking for? This town is driving me nuts!
I'm looking for a Bible, to see if it's in it
Are you a complete idiot? The word I'm looking for, obviously...
Where is it? There's always one for every room
I'm becoming afraid
Since you've come, I no longer understand what is happening
Me, I think I'm beginning to understand
Here it is
"Conscience"... it's not in it
I'm very well, thank you
It's no longer there.
So no one here
knows the meaning of the word conscience any more
Too bad
1 sugar or 2?
2
That's not a Bible, it's a dictionary
lsn't it the same in the Outlands, Mr. Johnson?
Answer me now, what's it for?
Nearly every day words disappear, because they are forbidden
They are replaced by new words expressing new ideas
In the last two or three months
some words I was very fond of disappeared
Which words? I'm interested
Redbreast, weeping
autumn light
tenderness too
When I'm with you I'm afraid
They ordered me not to see you again
Who? The Alpha 60 engineers?
-Y es. -What are you afraid of?
I'm afraid because I know that word
without ever having seen it or read it
-Which word? -Le conscience
La conscience
-You've never been to the Outlands? -No
Are you sure?
Yes
You're lying
Why are you cross with me?
I believe you mustn't say "why" but "because"
I said "why"?
And if enemy ears are listening, they heard you, too
Well, then, I was careless, because it's forbidden
Perhaps it's all right for you to use it
When did I say "why"?
Another question first: where were you born?
Here in Alphaville
Another lie. Perhaps you don't know, but you're lying
I must know the truth: where were you born?
Here. I told you
No, in Tokyorama
the Land of the Rising Sun
Go on, say it
In Tokyorama, in the Land of the Rising Sun
Or in Florence, perhaps... where
try to remember it for yourself, Natasha. Where?
Where? I don't know
Where the sky's as blue as the South Seas
Florence, where the sky's as blue as the South Seas
Or in Nueva York
Where the winter... Broadway
glitters in the snow like a fur coat
You see, you do know the Outlands
Your father was chased from Nueva York in '64
He brought you here, so you are not from here
I know what this book is
A man who came with us from Nueva York, he wrote these books
I don't know what became of him
They live in the forbidden quarters here; they commit suicide
I know that Alpha 60 uses them sometimes
It controls them. How come?
Because they write incomprehensible things
Now I know: it used to be called poetry
It's believed to be secrets, but really it's nothing
When Control has an hour or so free it codifies such stuff
Like everything else, one never knows
It can always prove useful
Absolutely. We're highly organized
I'd like to leave with you for the Outlands
But I'm afraid
Now that I've seen you I'm no longer normal
When did I say "why"?
Why?
Because... you know very well, Mr. Johnson
No, I don't
At which moment? Tell me
Quite often. Last night in the corridor, for instance
This time you're lying
When I said I was falling in love with you
In love? What's that?
This
No, I know what that is: it's sensuality
No, sensuality is a consequence
It cannot exist without love
So what is love, then?
Your voice, your eyes...
...your hands, your lips...
Our silences, our words...
Light that goes...
...light that returns
A single smile between us
In quest of knowledge, I watched night create day...
...while we seemed unchanged
O beloved of all, beloved of one alone...
...your mouth silently promised to be happy
Away, away, says hate; Closer, closer, says love
A caress leads us from our infancy
lncreasingly I see the human form...
...as a lovers' dialogue
The heart has but one mouth
Everything by chance
All words without thought
Sentiments adrift
Men roam the city
A glance, a word
Because I love you
Everything moves
We must advance to live
Aim straight ahead toward those you love
I went toward you, endlessly toward the light
If you smile, it enfolds me all the better
The rays of your arms pierce the mist
Capital of Sorrow
I must know how the chief engineer will use me
As an inter-galaxy double agent, I think
-So it's true what Eckel said. -What?
You send spies to sabotage the rest of the world
Of course, you learn that in school
Are you going to betray me?
You can't talk or don't you want to
Can I communicate with the Outlands from this hotel?
Just ask for Galaxy Service. You want me to do it?
The Outlands...
I want to telecommunicate
...telecommunications are suspended for some days
-What were you going to say? -An atomic attack on Alphaville
I'll explain later, Princess, but now let's get out of here
We must find the Professor... where does he live?
-Come with us! -Where?
-Residents Control. -No kidding
When he doubles up, get him
Story 842, Miss
One day a tiny man entered a North Zone cafe
and said, "l want a cup of very hot, sweet coffee..."
adding: "l shan't pay, because I fear no one"
He drank his coffee
He left
He drank his coffee and didn't pay
The cafe owner said nothing, he was afraid of a scandal
But when the tiny man repeated the trick a few times
the cafe owner said: "I've had it, I'll get a tough guy
to beat up this tiny man if he comes back"
So, on the fourth day
when the tiny man said, "l want a cup of very hot, sweet coffee..."
the tough guy goes to him and says:
"So you're afraid of no one?"
"That's right"
"Well, neither am l"
"Well", says the tiny man, "Make that two cups of coffee
very hot and sweet."
Meet you outside Residents Control
You'll stay here, Miss Vonbraun
Last night you lied
You organized Dickson's death. Why?
Your name may be spelled...
...lvan Johnson...
...but it is pronounced Lemmy Caution...
...secret agent...
...number zero zero three...
...of the Outlands
You are a menace to the security of Alphaville
I refuse to become what you call normal
Those you call mutants...
...form a race superior...
...to ordinary men...
...whom we have almost eliminated
Unthinkable
An entire race cannot be destroyed
I shall calculate...
...so that failure...
...is impossible
I shall fight so that failure is possible
Everything that I project shall be accomplished
Don't be so sure; I have a secret, too
What is your secret? Tell me, Mr. Caution
Something which never changes, day or night
The past represents its future, it advances in a straight line
yet it ends by coming full circle
I cannot trace it
I won't tell you
Several of my circuits...
...are looking for the solution to your riddle
I will find it
If you find it, you will destroy yourself simultaneously
because you will become my kin, my brother
Those who are not born, do not weep...
...and do not regret
Thus it is logical to condemn you to death
Fuck yourself with your logic
My judgement is just...
...and I am working for the universal good
If you plan to drive us from the other galaxies, you'll fail
You will not leave; the exit is blocked
We'll see
Professor Vonbraun - do you know where he lives?
Central Palace, South Zone, behind Raw Materials Station
Let's go
Don't budge
That way I'm sure you will keep your word
Out! Out! No journalists!
You know "journalist" and "justice" both begin with the same letter?
Tell your boss
What can I do for you, Mister Caution?
News travels fast here
Because we're very rapidly entering Light Civilization
At about 300.000 kilometers per second
I'm returning to the Outlands. Come with me
Stay with us, Mister Caution
When the war's over I'll put you in charge of another galaxy
You will have gold and women
We are mastering a science so fantastic
that the old American and Russian control of atomic force
will seem pathetic
I see
You oppose my moral, even supernatural, sense of vocation
with a simple physical and mental existence
easily controllable by technicians
Your ideas are strange, Mr. Caution
Some years ago, in the Age of ldeas
yours would have been called sublime ideas
Look at yourself. Men of your type will soon be extinct
You'll become something worse than dead
You'll become a legend, Mr. Caution
Y es, I'm afraid of death
but for a humble secret agent that's a fact of life, like whisky
And I've drunk that all my life
You never want to see the Outlands again, Professor?
Goodbye, Mister Caution
Such people will serve as terrible examples to those...
...who see the world as theater...
...when technical power and its triumph...
...is the only act in their repertoire
I was running a straight line...
...which, like Dickson's Greek labyrinth...
...and philosophers were lost, as a secret agent was too
In many respects...
...your reactions and your modes of thought...
...differ...
...from present normality
The inhabitants of Alphaville are not normal
They are the product of mutation
Do you accept our proposal?
Answer silently...
...with yes or no
I'll never betray the Outlands
The present is terrifying...
...because it is irreversible, and because it is of iron
Time is the substance of which I am made
Time is a river which carries me along
But I am time
It's a tiger, tearing me apart; but I'm the tiger
Look at her and me, there's your answer
We're happiness, and we're heading towards it
It is our misfortune that the world is reality
And l...
...it is my misfortune that I am myself, Alpha 60
Natasha, quick...
...think of the word love
Here
Not all the inhabitants died, but all were stricken
Those not asphyxiated by the absence of light...
...circled crazily, like ants
It was 23.15, Oceanic Time...
...when Natasha and I left Alphaville by the peripheral roads
A night drive across intersidereal space, and we'd be home
Don't look back
-Do you think they're all dead? -Not yet
They may recover, and Alphaville will be happy, like Florence
Like Angouleme-city, like Tokyorama
You can't go back
-Have I slept for long? -No, the space of an instant
Where are we? In the Outlands?
Not yet
You're looking at me with an odd face
You're waiting for me to say something
I don't know what to say
They're words I don't know
I wasn't taught them
Help me
lmpossible, Princess. You must get there yourself
Then you'll be saved. If you don't
you're as lost as the dead of Alphaville
l
you
love
I love you