A STRANGE CASE OF LEMMY CAUTION
Sometimes reality
can be too complex to be conveyed by the spoken word.
Legend remoulds it into a form
that can be spread all across the world.
It was 24. 17 Oceanic Time when I reached the suburbs of Alphaville.
SILENCE LOGIC SAFETY PRUDENCE
- Sir'? - My newspaper reserved me a room.
- Mr...'? - Ivan Johnson. Figaro-Pravda.
Room 344. Have you registered with Civil Control?
You have to, even if you're only here for the festival. Room 344.
Your suitcase, sir?
Second floor, please.
Room 344. Sir?
- Clear off. - This way, sir.
Your suitcase, sir.
Are you tired, sir?
Would you like to sleep, sir?
This way, sir.
If you're tired, you can rest, sir.
Your room is there, sir.
The bedroom is through here, sir.
- What are you up to now? - I'm just checking there's a Bible.
- Do you believe? - Yes, of course.
I'll put the tranquillisers in the bathroom.
I'm fine, thanks. Don't mention it.
- Are you having a bath, sir'? - Yes, I need to think.
I'll help you, sir.
Your tie, sir?
- What is it now? - I could take a bath with you.
Look, sweetie, I'm big enough to find my own ladies.
Clear off now.
Talk nicely to the ladies, Mr Johnson.
Damn it! What now?
- Don't you fancy this one? - How about your sister, sir?
- I'm getting rusty. - What, sir'?
- What is this'? Are you on drugs'? - No, this is normal, sir.
Everything weird is "normal" in this damn town! Sit on that chair.
Her name was Beatrice. She told me she was a level-three seductress.
I was struck by the sadness and hardness in her face.
Something was definitely awry in this galaxy's capital.
Hold that up.
- Not bad for a Guadalcanal veteran. - Just what I was thinking.
Go and try your act on someone else... because it's not working on me.
- Mr Johnson? - What?
Miss Natacha Von Braun to see you.
Just a moment, please.
I'll be down in five minutes.
- She's just gone up. - OK, thanks.
Got a light?
I came 6,000 miles to give it to you.
- My name is Natacha Von Braun. - Yes, I know.
How do you know?
- You are Miss Von Braun? - Yes, and I'm fine. Don't mention it.
You're from the Outer Countries, Mr Johnson?
Is everything OK here?
I have orders to be at your service while you are in Alphaville.
- Who gave you these orders? - The authorities of course.
- Did you come for the festival? - Which festival?
The big festival. That's why people from the Outer Countries generally come.
- You really should've come earlier. - Why?
Because the festival is almost over. There won't be another for years.
Is that so?
Yes, Mr Johnson.
But this evening there will be a reception and gala performance.
It will be huge.
It's in one of ministry buildings. I'm going.
- Come along if you like. - All right.
What time'? Because... there's something I must do first.
- You're going to Civil Control? - No. What's that?
Don't forget to go.
- We can meet after you've been. - I'll go tomorrow.
- I'm meeting... a friend. - I have work to do too.
I'll leave an address to find me.
We'll meet there and go together.
- See you in an hour or two. - See you later.
I'll come down with you.
What are the Outer Countries like?
- You've never been? - No.
When I was a child, my father used to tell me about them.
Now it's forbidden to think of them.
Are you often told to accompany strangers?
- It's my job. - That must be nice sometimes.
Why?
No-one's ever propositioned you? No-one's fallen in love with you?
In love? What does that mean?
- There's something I'd like to know. - Yes, Mr Johnson?
- What kind of fool do you take me for? - Let go of me.
- Answer me. - I don't know what you mean.
Look, princess, I haven't a clue what you're on about either.
That's always how it is. You never understand anything.
That's always how it is.
You never understand anything and in the end, it kills you.
- Which way are you going? - 12, Enrico Fermi Street.
It's just after Boulevard Heisenberg, near Mathematics Park.
I have my car, I can give you a lift. I'll get the keys.
Don't you want me to proposition you?
- What? - You still don't know what I mean?
Her smile and pointed little teeth
reminded me of the vampire films they used to show in old picture houses.
I am a level-two programmer.
Natacha is a name from the past.
Yes, but all we have in life is the present.
No-one has lived in the past and no-one will live in the future.
Well, thanks for the lift.
My pleasure. I'm only doing my job.
- Is it much further'? - Karl?
- We have to cross the North zone. - What's the population ofAlphaville?
Don't forget to go to Civil Control.
- What do you do for a living? - I work.
For a newspaper.
Is Professor Von Braun your father'? I have to do an article on him.
- Could you arrange me an interview? - I don't know... I've never seen him.
- I'll ask. - I'll get out now.
- Here? - Yes. I've changed my mind.
You've got the address of where we're meeting up?
- Yes. Tell him to stop. - Karl?
Telecommunications?
I'd like to make a call.
- Galaxy or local call? - Local call.
Booth number two.
- Do you know who this man is? - Of course, I'm not stupid!
"At the end of Galata Bridge is the Red Star..."
My place, my place!
"It bears no comparison
to our splendid galactic corridors
glittering with luxury
and with lights.
It is merely a vast labyrinth, tall and narrow..."
- Is this Red Star Hotel'? - Yes, I'm fine. Don't mention it.
- Is Mr Dickson here'? - Yes.
- He's out. - I'll wait for him.
- Got any money, sir'? - Clear off!
Sit down, sir, if you are tired.
"I wanted to see it again.
And I saw the tomb of Duke Montpensier.
The statue of the prince was sculpted by Pradier.
The prince is dressed in
it is one of his last masterpieces."
Henry!
It's me.
We've got a lot to talk about.
- Where is my key! - My money, Mr Dickson!
- My key! - Hi8 key!
- And a beer. - And a beer!
And me?
Will you hurry up and commit suicide?
We need your room for our cousin from the South.
You're from the Outer Countries, aren't you?
Why did he ask if you were going to commit suicide?
Quite a few...
Quite a few people... do it.
They can't adapt to this place. It's...
It's the method invented by the Chinese
about 3O years ago in Peking.
They are masters of dissuasion.
What about those who can't adapt and don't commit suicide?
The others? They're executed by the authorities.
They can hide. But there aren't many left.
Is Dick Tracy dead? What about Flash Gordon?
Why didn't we ever hear from any of you?
Forgive me. You know how things are.
Alpha 60 - what's that'?
The super-computer companies used years ago.
- Don't you remember? - In New York, IBM...
And Olivetti, General Electric, Tokyo.
- And? - Alpha 60 is 150 lights years ahead.
I see. People have become slaves to probability.
Alphaville is their ideal place - it's a technological society,
like the ant or termite world.
- I don't understand. - Probably about 150 light years ago...
- 150? -150, 100...
There were artists in the ant world.
Yes, artists, novelists
musicians, painters...
Today, there is nothing.
Nothing, just like here.
Did Professor Von Braun see to that?
He just obeys the orders of logic.
- Then why didn't you kill him? - Why?
Why? What does "why" mean?
Why?
- I forget. - Do you know his daughter Natacha?
Who is she really?
He was the man we sent to Los Alamos.
That wasn't his name.
That wasn't his name back then!
Listen, Henry, let's get out of here together.
You'll get better. But first, you must...
It's my sordid little secret...
Come in, Madame la Marquise.
My cloak, Madame Recamier.
Thank you, Madame Pompadour.
Madame Bovary. Marie Antoinette.
Madame Lafayette.
Lemmy, conscience,
conscience make Alpha 60 destroy itself.
Tenderness, tenderness
save those who weep.
Lemmy...
Yes, Lemmy, yes, that's it.
14, Ray of Light Avenue.
Institute of General Semantics. Do you know it?
Should I go through the North or South zone?
- What's the difference? - There's snow in the north.
And sun in the south.
I'm journeying into darkness anyhow, so I really don't care.
It was my first night in Alpha ville.
But I felt like I'd been there for centuries.
I'm fine, thanks. Don't mention it.
- What department? - Programming and memory.
The Central Memory was given its name
because of the fundamental role it plays
in the organisation of logic in Alpha 60.
No-one has ever lived in the past.
No-one will ever live in the future.
The present is the form of all life.
It is a possession
that no force can take away from us.
Time is like a circle
spinning infinitely.
The declining arc is the past.
And the inclining arc is the future.
That's all there is to say.
Unless words change their meanings
and meanings change their words.
Doesn't it make sense
that someone who generally lives
in a state of suffering
needs a different son' of religion
to someone who generally lives
in a state of well-being?
Before us, there was nothing here.
No-one.
We are totally alone here.
We are unique.
Wretchedly unique.
The meaning of words
and of expressions is no longer understood.
An isolated word, or an isolated detail in a drawing
can be understood.
But the meaning of the whole
is lost.
Once we know the number one
we think we know the number two
because one plus one equals two.
We forget that first
we must know the meaning of plus.
The acts of man
through the centuries
will gradually
logically destroy them.
1, Alpha so
I am merely the logical means of this destruction.
- Good evening, comrade. - Good evening, comrade.
I thought I'd never see you again.
- Shall we go? - I'll get the keys.
I left because I didn't understand a word he was saying.
It's very simple. This evening, we learnt
that life and death lie within the same circle.
- Are you afraid of death? - Of course not. Why?
We took the tangent to the central area.
While the radio spouted traffic news
Natacha talked to me with the voice of a pretty sphinx.
Pretty sphinx...
Usually, there are foreign ambassadors there.
Or neighbourhood delegations.
Why does everyone look so sad and miserable?
You ask too many questions.
Because there is an electricity shortage.
Whether it be in the so-called capitalist world
or the communist world
there is no evil intent
to subjugate men
through power of indoctrination
or of finance.
There is simply a natural ambition
in any organisation to plan its activities.
In short, we minimise any unknown factors.
You shouldn't call this dump Alphaville. It's Zeroville.
- What are we seeing? - I don't know, a Light and Sound thing.
- Where is everyone? - It's already started.
Come on, we're late.
It's already started.
- Don't they electrocute them now? - You know the 17th plan was a flop.
I told you so.
Stay there.
- Introduce me. - I told you to stay there.
There are very important people here.
- Can I take photos? - I'll ask.
Yes!
- What have they done? - They've been condemned to death.
Only men?
There are usually 50 men to one woman executed.
- But what have they done? - They behaved illogically.
Isn't that a crime in the Outer Countries?
I know him. When his wife died, he wept.
- Was he condemned for that'? - Naturally.
One need only advance to live! Go straight towards all that you love.
Listen to me, normal ones! We see a truth that you no longer see.
A truth that says the essence of man is love and faith,
courage and tenderness, generosity and sacrifice.
Everything else is an obstacle put up by your blind progress and ignorance!
One day...
Excuse me, Professor, I need to talk to you.
- I don't talk to reporters. - I'm not a reporter.
Is there somewhere quiet we can talk'?
- Good day, sir. - Mr Nosferatu...
That man no longer exists.
- Are you crying? - No, because that's forbidden.
Occupied... occupied...
Free.
Sit there and answer when you're spoken to.
- I've done nothing. - All newcomers are interviewed.
Alpha 5.
What is your name?
Ivan Johnson.
Where were you born?
In New York.
How old are you?
I don't know, 45?
What kind of car do you drive?
Ford Galaxy.
What do you love most of all?
Gold and women.
What are you doing in Alpha ville?
An article for Figaro-Pravda.
You seem to be afraid.
I'm not afraid. At least, not in the way you think.
Besides, you wouldn't understand.
Rest assured that my decisions
always keep in mind
the ultimate good.
I shall now ask you some test questions
as a security measure.
- Go ahead. - You are from the Outer Countries.
What did you feel
as you travelled through galactic space?
The silence of infinite space... frightened me.
What is the privilege of the dead?
To die no more.
Do you know what turns darkness into light?
Poetry.
What is your religion?
I believe in the spontaneity of our conscience.
Do you draw any distinction
between the mysterious principles of knowledge
and those of love?
I do not believe there is any mystery in love.
You are not telling the truth.
I don't understand.
You are hiding something.
I may have good reason to lie,
but how do you distinguish between a lie and the truth'?
You are hiding something.
But I don't know exactly what yet.
So, for the time being, you are free.
I would like you to go
to our control centre.
Come with me.
Occupied.
Free.
Occupied, free.
- Where are we going? - To see the chief engineer.
Through here.
Look, it's dawning.
Come in!
Sit down.
It's quite an event.
Yes, we've spent three years looking for Grand Omega Minus.
- So, Mr Johnson. - Yes?
- What do you think of Alphaville? - It's not bad. lfl knew where I was.
You are in the centre ofAlphaville. In Alpha 60.
Alpha 60's task is to calculate and predict the results
that Alphaville will subsequently be following.
Why?
Never say "why" Mr Johnson, only "because".
In the lives of both the individual and the nation,
everything is cause and effect.
The famous theory of Professor Leonard Nosferatu.
Leonard Nosferatu no longer exits.
He was expelled from the Outer Countries in 1964.
- Today, we have Professor Von Braun. - Yes, I remember now.
He was sent to a small town in the desert to work on his invention.
He was exiled, you mean. Today, the Outer Countries are kicking themselves
and they want him back. They keep sending spies here.
Perhaps you are one of those spies?
You know I am not because I am a free man.
Your reply is meaningless. We know nothing.
We record, we calculate and we draw conclusions.
An hour ago, you were questioned
by one of the 1.4 billion nerve centres that form Alpha 60.
Your answers were difficult, sometimes impossible, to register
so you are of above average intelligence.
On the one hand, we need highly intelligent people.
On the other hand, we see them as dangerous.
What are you going to do with me?
Our present orders are to show you Alpha 60.
And who issued these orders'? Professor Von Braun?
Certainly not. An order is a logical conclusion.
You shouldn't be afraid of logic. That's all.
- What is it? - The circuit elements...
- Of 183 Grand Omega... - Are malfunctioning.
- The computing or memory elements? - The memory elements.
Let's go. - Mr Johnson, Professor Heckel and Jeckel.
- I'm fine, thanks. Don't mention it. - Let's go.
I'd like to know exactly what Grand Omega Minus is.
Our 17th electricity plan is not working.
Sooner or later, the Outer Countries will declare war on us.
- So, we've decided to invade them. - Led by Professor Von Braun.
Grand Omega Minus will bring victory to anti-matter.
The ideal scenario.
We may need men like you to indicate weak points in the Outer Countries.
Your tendency
to dwell on the past could be useful to us.
We send brain-washed agitators to other galaxies.
Strikes, revolutions, family quarrels, student revolts...
That's us - Grand Omega Minus.
- Where are we going? - To the unseen part of Omega 60.
You think more about what has passed
than about what is to come.
- Your camera looks old. - I don't like new technology.
Professor Jeckel asked me why I shot the man in my bathroom
since it was just a psychological test.
I told him I'm too old to waste time talking,
so I just shoot. It's my only defence against fatality.
- What is this place? - The Central Integration Station.
Alpha 6O sets itself problems here.
No man can understand them for the references are too complex.
What sort of problems?
Train schedules, movement of people and goods,
electricity distribution, suppression of crime, war operations.
Element number seven has stopped working.
- What is it? - War with the Outer Countries.
A simple instruction
is usually not enough
to bring about the execution
of a task by Alpha... 60.
Do not believe it is I
that initiates this destruction
nor the scientists
who have embraced by plan.
Ordinary men
are not worthy
of the position they hold in the world.
When we analyse their past
we are automatically lead
to this conclusion.
Therefore they should be destroyed
that is, they should be transformed.
I didn't need a drawing to help me grasp this.
In just a few years, under Von Braun and his assistants,
Alpha ville had developed at a furious rate,
guided by the electronic brains that developed themselves
by creating problems beyond the grasp of the human mind.
Outsiders were assimilated as they came in,
Swedes, Germans and Americans in particular.
Those that refused to conform were simply killed.
I went to the execution theatre.
Usually, people were sat in the theatre
and electrocuted in their seats during a performance.
They were then emptied into rubbish bins to make way for the next batch.
If there was any hope of salvaging an individual
he was sent to an H. L. M. - a Hospice for Long-term Maladies,
where he would quickly recover on a diet of mechanics and propaganda.
I felt my existence here was becoming the dim and distorted reflection
of a terrible destiny.
To escape, I had only one option.
It would not be logical
to prevent superior beings
from invading the other galaxies.
- Are you going up'? - No, I'm going to polish my shoes!
This way, sir.
Are you tired, sir?
Do you want to sleep, sir?
Yes, sleep. Maybe dream too.
What exactly are you'?
I'm a level-three seductress.
Has your friend gone'?
- Who'? Beatrice? - I don't know. A blonde with long legs.
She works in flats in the suburbs.
We all just fill in here.
Have you heard much about the Outer Countries?
No, nothing.
- Clear off. - Why'?
If anyone asks, say you don't know.
I'm fine, thanks. Don't mention it.
If it isn't the little princess.
I was ordered not to come but... I wanted to see you again.
I didn't!
Since you're here, order me some breakfast.
- I'm fine, thanks. Don't mention it. - Me too.
- Natasha'? - Yes...
Lower your head.
- What is it? - Nothing... Just a thought.
What about my breakfast?
- I'd like to order breakfast. - What is your number?
I don't know. They didn't give me one at Alpha 60.
Not your control number, your room number.
344.
Heard of this book?
Capital Of Sorrow. No.
Some words are underlined.
"We live in the oblivion of our metamorphoses.
But that echo that runs all through the day
that echo, beyond time, anguish or intimacy, keeps asking,
are we near to or far away from our conscience?"
I don't understand all the words.
"Conscience."
And this? "Death in conversation."
And that?
"Your eyes have returned from an arbitrary country
where no-one has even known the meaning of a glance".
- You really don't know what it is? - It reminds me of something.
But I don't know what.
NAKEDNESS OF TRUTH Despair is wingless, As is love,
Faceless, Voiceless, Motionless...
And this. "Dying of not dying."
And this. "To be caught in a trap". And this. "Men who change."
Have you never heard of a secret message, Miss Von Braun?
- A secret message? - Don't you know what a secret is?
Yes. There are planning secrets, atomic secrets, memory secrets...
What are you looking for? This place is driving me mad!
- I want to look for it in the Bible. - What?
Are you stupid? The word that I'm looking for.
Where is it? There should be one in every room.
I'm starting to feel frightened. Since you've been here
I don't understand anything any more.
I think I'm beginning to understand.
"Conscience."
It's not in there.
Clear off!
Not there.
So nobody here knows what it means any more.
The word "conscience."
Too bad.
- One lump or two? - Two.
It isn't a Bible, it's a dictionary.
So isn't it the same as that in the Outer Countries?
Answer my question first - what is it for'?
Almost every day words disappear because they are forbidden.
So sometimes, to replace them,
they put in new words that represent new ideas.
Over the past two or three months,
some words I was very fond of disappeared.
Which words? I'd like to know.
Robin red breast, weep.
Autumn light.
Tenderness too.
Mr. Johnson? When I'm with you, I'm afraid.
They ordered me not to see you any more.
Who did? The Alpha 60 engineers?
What are you afraid of?
I'm afraid because I know this word without ever having seen it or read it.
- What word'? - "Le conscience."
- La conscience. - La? Conscience...
- You've been to the Outer Countries? - No.
- Are you sure? - Yes.
- You're lying. - Why are you being unkind to me?
I thought you weren't meant to say "why", only "because."
- Did I say "why"? - Yes.
And if enemy ears are listening, they've heard too.
Well, then I was careless.
Because it is forbidden.
But maybe not for outsiders like you.
- When did I say "why"? - First, one more question.
- Where were you born? - Here, in Alphaville.
You're lying again. You might not realise it, but you are lying.
I have to know the truth. Where were you born?
I've told you - here.
In Alphaville.
No, you were born in Tokyo. The Land of the Rising Sun.
Go on, say it.
In Tokyo, the Land of the Rising Sun.
Or in Florence perhaps.
Try and remember, Natacha, where'?
Where...? I don't know.
Where the sky is as blue as the South Seas.
In Florence, where the sky is as blue as the South Seas.
- Or maybe New York. - New York...
Where winter... Broadway... glitters like snow on a fur coat.
So, you do know the Outer Countries.
Your father was banished from New York in '64.
He brought you here, which means you are not from here.
I know what this book is. When we arrived from New York,
there was a man with us who wrote things like this.
I don't know what happened to him. Here, they live in the forbidden zones.
And end up killing themselves. I know Alpha 60 sometimes uses them.
Civil Control... Why?
Because they write things no-one can understand.
I get it now. It used to be called poetry.
They think it holds secrets, but there's nothing in it really.
When Control has an hour or two to spare, it records things like that.
It classifies and registers them. As always, you never know.
- They could turn out to be useful. - Absolutely. They are very organised.
I'd like to go to the Outer Countries with you.
But I'm afraid.
Since I met you, I no longer feel normal.
- When exactly did I say "why"? - Why?
Because... You know very well.
- No, I don't know. - When exactly?
- Tell me. - Often. Last night, in the hallway...
You're lying now.
- When I said I was in love with you. - In love? What does that mean?
- This. - No, I know what that is.
- It's sensuality. - No.
Sensuality is a consequence of, and cannot exist without, love.
So, what is love?
Your voice, your eyes
your hands, your lips.
Our silence, our words.
Light that fades away light that comes back.
One smile for the two of us.
Out of my need for knowledge, I watched night create day
while we remained unchanged.
Oh, beloved of all and beloved of one.
Your lips made a silent promise to be happy.
"Move away, away, "says hatred.
"Come closer, closer, " says love.
Our caresses lead us from our childhood.
I am seeing a clearer image of the human form.
Like /overs talking, the heart has but one mouth.
Everything is haphazard. All words are spontaneous.
Feelings drift. Men roam the city.
Glances, words. And I love you.
Everything moves.
One need only advance to live
to go straight ahead towards all that you love.
I was moving towards you. I was moving perpetually into the light.
When you smile, you become a part of me.
The rays of your arms pierce the mist.
What will the chief engineer use me for?
As an inter-galactic double agent.
- So, what Mr Heckel said was true. - What?
You send out spies to destroy the rest of the world.
Naturally. We learn that at school.
Are you going to betray me?
Can't you speak? Or don't you want to?
Can we communicate with the Outer Countries from the hotel?
Just ask for the Galaxy Network. I'll do it.
With the Outer Countries
the telecommunication service has been down for several days.
- What are you talking about'? - An atomic bomb on Alphaville.
I'll explain later, sweetheart. Let's go!
I need the professor. Where does he live?
Come with us.
- To Civil Control. - Absolutely.
When he doubles over, grab him!
Miss, story number 842.
One day, a little man went into a cafe in the North zone.
He said, "I'd like a nice hot and sweet coffee."
Then he added, "But I'm not paying because I'm not afraid of anyone."
He drank his coffee.
He left.
He drank his coffee and he left without paying.
The owner didn't say anything because he didn't want any trouble.
But the man kept coming back, so the owner said, "I've had it!"
"I'll get one of the big guys to beat him up if he does this again!"
Sure enough, the fourth time the little man came back and said:
"I'd like a nice hot and sweet coffee."
The big guy said, "So, you're not afraid of anyone?"
"No," said the little man. "Me neither," said the big guy.
"So," said the little man, "Two nice hot and sweet coffees."
- Go on. - See you outside Civil Control.
Last night, you told a lie.
You arranged Dixon's death. Why'?
Your name may be written as Ivan Johnson
but it is pronounced Lemmy Caution
Secret Agent
Number 003
from the Outer Countries.
You are a security threat to Alpha ville.
I refuse to become what you refer to as "normal".
What you refer to as "mutants"
are pan' of a race superior to ordinary men
that we have almost entirely wiped out.
That's impossible. You cannot wipe out a whole race.
My calculations will see that failure is impossible.
I shall fight so that failure is possible.
All my plans will be successful.
Don't count on it. I have secret too.
What is your secret?
Tell me, Mr Caution.
Something that never changes, by day, or by night.
The past represents its future.
It goes forth in a straight line, yet it ends by coming full circle.
- I do not know what it could be. - I am not going to tell you.
Several of my circuits are trying to solve your riddle.
I'll get there.
If you do, at the same time, you'll destroy it.
For you will have become my equal, my brother.
Those who have not been born do not cry
and have no regrets.
It is therefore logical to sentence you to death.
Go to hell with your logic!
My judgment is fair
and I operate the universal good.
If you think you can drive us out of the other galaxies, think again.
You cannot get out.
- The door is blocked. - We'll see about that.
Where does Professor Von Braun live'?
The Central Palace in the South zone,
behind the raw materials station.
Don't move.
Now I know you'll keep your word.
Out! No journalists!
Ever noticed that "journalist" starts with a like "justice"?
Go and tell that to your boss.
- What can I do for you, Mr Caution? - News travels fast round here.
Yes, because we are entering the Civilisation of Light.
Around 180,000 per second.
I'm going back to the Outer Countries.
- Come with me. - Stay with us, Mr Caution.
Soon, when the war is over, we'll put you in control of another galaxy.
You'll have gold. You'll have women.
Mr Caution, we are working on a science so amazing
that atomic control by the Russians and Americans
30 years ago will seem pathetic.
You oppose my moral and supernatural sense of vocation
with a simple physical and mental existence
easily controlled by technicians.
Your ideas are strange.
Back in the Age of Ideas, your ideas would've been deemed sublime.
Look at yourself. Men like you will soon be extinct.
You will become worse than dead.
- You will become a legend. - Yes, I am afraid of death.
But for a humble secret agent, it's an everyday thing, like whiskey.
And I've been drinking all my life.
You still don't want to see the Outer Countries, Professor?
Goodbye, Mr Caution.
Such people will be bad examples to those who see the world as a stage,
upon which the power of technology plays the leading role.
I was running along a straight line, like Dixon's Greek labyrinth
in which philosophers, and even a secret agent, get disorientated.
In many respects
your reactions and your way of thinking
differ from the current norms.
The people of Alphaville are not normal. They are mutants.
Do you accept our proposal?
Answer silently.
Yes or no?
I will never betray the Outer Countries.
The present is terrifying because it is irreversible
and because it is cast in iron.
Time is the substance of which I am made.
Time is a river that carries me along.
But I am time.
It is a tiger tearing me apart. But I am the tiger.
Look at us. There's your answer.
We are happiness and that is where we are heading.
Unfortunately for us, the world is real.
And me, unfortunately for me
I am me - Alpha 60.
Hurry, Natacha!
Think of the word "love".
Not all the people of Alpha ville died, but they were all afflicted.
Those who were not asphyxiated by the lack of light,
scurried around madly like ants.
It was 23. 15 Oceanic Time
when Natacha and I leftAIphavi/Ie via the ring road.
Driving all night through intersidereal space,
we would be home by the next day.
Don't look back.
- Do you think they're all dead'? - No, not yet.
They may even recover and Alphaville will be a happy town,
like Florence, Angouleme, or Tokyo.
Don't look back.
- Was I asleep along? - No, only a moment.
Where are we? In the Outer Countries?
No, not yet.
You're looking at me oddly.
It's as if you're waiting for me to say something.
I don't know what to say. I don't know the words.
I was never taught them.
- Help me. - I can't, princess.
You have to get there by yourself to be saved.
If you can't, then you're as lost as the dead souls ofAlphaville.
I
Love
VOu.
I love you.