Alphaville Page #2

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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 OK. But first you must...

It's a terrible secret, but...

Come in, Madame la Marquise.

My coat, Madame Rcamier.

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.

Institute 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...

I, 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 world...

...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.

- Introduce 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.

Isn'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...

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.

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.

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