Lemmy Caution

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Sometimes ...reality is too complex for oral communicationBut legend embodies it in a form which enables it to spread all over the worldScene:AlphavilleIt was 24.17 Oceanic Time ...when I approached the suburbs of Alphaville[Sign:]Silence. Logic. Security. Prudence.Scene:HotelJohnson:My paper reserved a room for me: Ivan Johnson-Which paper?-Figaro-PravdaClerk: Room 344. Have you registered at Residents’ Control?You must, even if you’re a Festival visitorJohnson: Clear off!Seductress: You’re tired, sir?You’d like to sleep, sir?If you’re tired, you can rest, sir.The bedroom’s here[Johnson checks the walls]Seductress: I’m checking if the Bible’s here-Do you believe in all that?-Of course.Seductress: I’ll put the tranquilizers in the bathroomI’m very well, thank you, you’re welcomeSeductress: -Will you take a bath?-Yes, I must think.I’ll help you, sirI’ll take your tie, sirJohnson: Now what?Seductress: I’ll bathe you, if you like, sirJohnson: I’m a big boy, sweetie; I can find my own damesClear off![Spy concealed in bathroom:] Be polite to the ladies, Mister JohnsonJohnson: Bloody hell, now what?Spy: Don’t you fancy this kid?Johnson: How about your sister, Mister?[Johnson kills spy]I’m getting rustyWhat’s the game? Are you on narcotics?Seductress: No, it’s just normalJohnson: Everything weird is "normal" in this holeSit in that chair[Johnson takes photograph of Seductress]Her name was BeatriceShe said she was a Seductress, Third ClassI was struck by her sad, yet hard, faceSomething’s not in orbit in the capital of this GalaxyJohnson: Hold this up[Johnson shoots a hole through each breast in a Vargas painting in magazine]Johnson: Not bad for a veteran of GuadalcanalSeductress: Just what I was thinking about youJohnson: Go play your record elsewhere; I’ve heard it beforeYes?[Voice:] Mister JohnsonMiss Natasha Vonbraun......has called for youJohnson: Just a moment[photo on bed: Leonard Vonbraun; bring back alive, or liquidate]Johnson: Tell her I’ll come down[Voice:] She’s on her way up[photo on bed: Henry Dickson. Agent X21. 12, Enrico Fermi. Alphaville.]Natasha: Got a light?Johnson: I’ve traveled 9,000 kilometers to give it to youNatasha: I’m Natasha VonbraunJohnson: Yes, I knowNatasha: How do you know?Johnson: Miss Vonbraun?Natasha: Yes, I’m very well, thank you, you’re welcomeYou’ve come from the Lands Without?Johnson: YesNatasha: Everything to your satisfaction?Johnson: YesNatasha: I’ve been ordered to remain at your service during your stayJohnson: Who ordered you?Natasha: The authorities, of courseAre you here for the Festival?Johnson: Which Festival?Natasha: The big one; that’s what people from the Lands Without come forIt was silly not to have come earlierThe Festival’s nearly over; it’s the last till next yearJohnson: You don’t sayNatasha: Yes, Mister JohnsonBut this evening there is a Reception-Gala PerformanceVery bigAt a ministry. I’m going; come if you likeJohnson: What time? I must attend to something else firstNatasha: Residents’ Control registration?Johnson: No. What’s that?Natasha: You mustn’t forget to go there. We can meet afterwardsJohnson: I’ll go there tomorrow. First I must meet a friendNatasha: I’ve work, tooI’ll tell you where I’ll beCall for me and we’ll go on togetherSee you in an hour or twoJohnson: See you thenI’ll go down with youNatasha: Mister Johnson, what’s it like in the Lands Without?Johnson: Haven’t you been there?Natasha: No, but my father told me about them when I was littleNow it’s forbidden to think about themJohnson: Are you often ordered to spend your time with strangers?Natasha: Yes, it’s my jobJohnson: How nice for you. Aren’t you ever propositioned?Natasha: What?Johnson: Has no one ever fallen in love with you?Natasha: In love? What’s that?Johnson: There’s one thing I’d like to knowNatasha: Yes, Mister Johnson?Johnson: Just how big of a fool do you take me for?Answer meNatasha: I can’t understand what you’re talking aboutJohnson: Check, Princess! I can’t make head or tail of what you’re talking aboutThat’s how it is, you never understand anythingYes, that’s always how it is; you never understand anythingUntil one fine day you die of itScene:Hotel LobbyNatasha: Which way are you going?Johnson: 12, Enrico FermiNear Heisenberg Boulevard, near Mathematical ParkNatasha: I can give you a liftI’ll get the keysI’m very well, thank you, you’re welcomeJohnson: You don’t want me to flirt with you?Natasha: What?Johnson: You really don’t know what it means?[nods yes]Her smile and her small pointed teeth......reminded me of an old vampire film......the sort they used to show at cinerama museums[car drives away]Natasha: I’m a Programmer, Second ClassJohnson: Natasha’s a name from the pastNatasha: Yes, but......the present is all one can know in lifeNo one’s lived in the past, or will live in the futureJohnson: Thanks for the lift, anywayNatasha: It’s a pleasure to do my job, Mister JohnsonJohnson: Is it much farther?[Driver:] You know we must cross the north zone, Miss?Johnson: What’s the population?Natasha: Don’t forget, you must go to Residents’ ControlWhat exactly do you do for a living?Johnson: I workFor a newspaperProfessor Vonbraun, is he your father?It’s vital that I write about him; can you arrange an interview?Natasha: I don’t know. I’ve never seen him. I’ll ask.Johnson: I’ll get out here-Here?-I’ve changed my mindNatasha: You noted where to meet me?Johnson: Yes. Tell him to stopNatasha: StopScene:LobbyJohnson: TelecommunicationI’d like to telecommunicate-Galaxy or local call?-Local-Do you know that man?[Johnson points to portrait of Prof. Vonbraun on wall]-Of course, I’m not stupidScene:Hotel[Man reading:]At the end of Galata Bridge......that’s where the Red Star Hotel isIt bears no comparison......to our splendid galactic corridors...[Another man sitting on floor eats out of a box while rubbing thigh of woman]...all a-glitter with luxury and lightIt is a labyrinth of tall, cramped...Johnson: Is this the Red Star Hotel?Manager: Yes, I’m very well...-Is Mister Dickson in?-He’s outJohnson: I’ll waitSeductress: Have you money, sir?You can wait here, sir, if you’re tiredI wanted to see it again......and I saw the tomb of the Duc de MontpensierThe reclining statue of the Prince......is the work of PradierJohnson: Henry!Henry, it’s me!We’ve got plenty to talk aboutDickson: -Where’s my key-Where’s my rent, Mister Dickson?[Johnson hands Dickson a stack of bills, Dickson lays a bill in front of hotel manager]Manager: His key... and a beer[Seductress brings Dickson his key and a beer]Seductress: And me?Manager: Why don’t you hurry up and commit suicide?We need the room for a cousin from the South[Johnson and Dickson ascend stairs.]Dickson: You come from the Lands Without?Johnson: Why did he ask if you’d commit suicide?Dickson: There’s quite a few...There’s quite a few who doCan’t manage to adapt to this placeIt’s the method the Chinese invented......about thirty years ago in PekingvilleDissuasion is their strong pointJohnson: What about those who won’t adapt, or commit suicide?Dickson: Those... they’re executedBut one can hide, you know. There aren’t many leftJohnson: Dick Tracy, is he dead?[Dickson nods yes]And Guy Léclair?[Dickson nods yes]Why didn’t we hear from them, or from you, Henry?Dickson: I’m sorry. These things happenJohnson: And what’s Alpha 60?Dickson: A giant computer, like they used to have in big businessJohnson: Nueva York... IBM...Dickson: Olivciti... General Electric... General Tokyorama...Alpha 60 is one hundred and fifty light years more powerfulJohnson: I see. People have become slaves to probabilitiesDickson: Their ideal here, in Alphaville......is a technocracy, like that of termites and antsJohnson: I don’t understandDickson: Probably one hundred and fifty light years ago...One hundred and fifty, two hundred......there were artists in the ant societyArtists, novelists, musicians, painters...Today, nothing at allNothing, like hereJohnson: Has Professor Vonbraun organized it all?Dickson: He just obeys logical ordersJohnson: Then why didn’t you kill him?Dickson: "Why" ... what does that word mean?Johnson: You know his daughter, Natasha? Who is she really?It was him they sent to Los AlamosHis name wasn’t that thenAnswer! That wasn’t his name in those daysWe’ll get out together; you’ll be O.K. But first you must...[knock at door]Dickson: It’s a terrible secret, but...Enter, Madame la MarquiseMy cloak, Madame RécamierThank you, Madame PompadourMadame Bovary, Marie Antoinette......Madame La Fayette[Madame and Dickson frolic on bed][Dickson spontaneously starts to choke]Seductress: You’re greatDarling you’re wonderfulDickson: I love you! I love...[Dickson gasps in pain, then collapses & slides off bed]Lemmy... conscience...Alpha 60... make... self-destruct...Tenderness...Save those who weep[Dickson points to object under pillow, then dies]Scene:TaxiJohnson: The Capital of Pain14. Light Radiation. Institute of General SemanticsDo you know it?Driver: Which way? Through the North Zone, or the South?Johnson: What’s the difference?Driver: There’s snow in the North......and sun in the SouthJohnson: Anyway, it’s my Journey to the End of the NightIt was my first night in Alphaville......but it seemed to me that centuries had passedDriver: I’m very well, thank you, you’re welcome[Johnson enters lobby]Johnson: Natasha VonbraunClerk: -Which section?-Programming and memory[clerk waves Johnson up stairs where a lecture is being delivered]The Central Memory......is thus named......because of the primordial rôle......that it plays......in the logic-organization of Alpha 60But no one has lived in the past......and no one will live in the futureThe present is the form of all lifeThis quality......cannot be changed by any meansTime is like a circle......which is endlessly describedThe declining arc......is the pastThe inclining arc is the futureEverything has been said......provided words do not change their meanings...and meanings their wordsIs it not obvious that someone......who customarily live...in a state of suffering......requires a different sort of religion......from a person habitually living in a state of well-being?Before us, nothing existed hereNo oneWe are totally alone hereWe are unique, dreadfully uniqueThe meaning of words......and of expressions, is no longer graspedAn isolated word, or a detail of a design......can be understoodBut the meaning of the whole escapesOnce we know the number one......we believe that we know the number two......because one plus one equals twoWe forget that first......we must know the meaning of plusJohnson: I’m goingThe acts of men......carried over from past centuries......will gradually......destroy them logicallyI, Alpha 60......am merely the logical means of this destruction[Natasha descends stairs]Natasha: I thought you had gone for good[Johnson takes photograph of Natasha]Natasha: Shall we go?I’ll get the keysJohnson: I left because I couldn’t understand a word he was sayingNatasha: But it’s very simpleWe learned this evening......that death and life are found within the same circleJohnson; -Are you afraid of death?-Of course not. Why?We took the tangent......to the centre segmentsTraffic bulletins on the radio......as Natasha talked to me in her pretty sphinx voicePretty sphinx...Pretty sphinx...Pretty sphinx...Pretty sphinx...Natasha: Foreign ambassadors usually attend......or delegations from the districtsJohnson: Why does everyone look so miserable?Natasha: You ask too many questionsBecause they lack electricity[Voice:]The essence......of the so-called capitalist world......or the communist world...[sign: MINISTERE DE LA DISSUASION Police]...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 actionsScene:TheaterNatasha: In other words, to minimize unknown quantitiesJohnson: This dump of yours isn’t Alphaville, it’s ZerovilleWhat’s the show?Natasha: Son et Lumière, I supposeWhere is everyone?Attendant: It’s already begunNatasha: Hurry, we’re lateAttendant: It’s already begunScene:Elevator[Johnson shoots two photos of woman with white gown and number tattooed on forehead]Scene:Natasha: Don’t they electrocute them anymore?Attendant: Darling, you know the Seventeenth Plan took a plunge[Man with machine gun steps away from edge of pool into which a body falls][Four female swimmers dive into pool in sequence in pursuit of floating body][Audience claps as Natasha kisses cheek of her father]Johnson: Introduce meNatasha: I told you to stay there; we’re among very important peopleJohnson: -May I take a photograph?-I’ll ask[Natasha walks over to man in suit & hat who kisses her raised hand]Natasha: Yes[Johnson takes several more photos, including one of Professor Vonbraun]Johnson: -What have they done?Man to left: -They’ve been condemned-Only men?Man to right: There’s usually a ratio of fifty men to one woman executedJohnson: But what have they done?Man to left: They behaved illogicallyNatasha: Isn’t that a crime in the Lands Without?He wept when his wife died[Man in white shirt approaches pool]Johnson: He was condemned for that?Natasha: Of courseMan in white: Only advance!Aim straight for those you love![Gunfire, man in white shirt falls into pool, two swimmers dive in to retrieve body][Audience claps, one of the swimmers performs acrobatics in water][Another man stands at end of diving board]Victim: 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 sacrificeThe rest is the monolith created by your blindly ignorant progress[gunfire, as man yells "One day!" swimmers dive into pool][Leaving the show Johnson pushes Professor Vonbraun away from guards into an elevator]Johnson: Sorry, Professor, but I must have a word with youProfessor: I never give interviewsJohnson: I’m not really a reporter. Can’t we talk somewhere quieter?Professor Nosferatu...[Johnson is apprehended as they leave the elevator]Professor: That man no longer exists[Johnson is dragged back into elevator and beaten back & forth by two guards. Elevator doors open]Guard: Are you crying?Natasha: No, because it’s forbiddenScene:Hallway leading to interrogation rooms[Voice:]OccupiedOccupiedOccupiedOccupiedFreeAttendant: Sit there and answer when you’re spoken toJohnson: I haven’t done anythingAttendant: Newcomers must be interrogatedAlpha 5: Alpha 5What is your name?Johnson: Ivan JohnsonAlpha 5: Where were you born?Johnson: Nueva YorkAlpha 5: How old are you?Johnson: I don’t know... forty-fiveAlpha 5: What make and model is your car?Johnson: Ford GalaxyAlpha 5: What do you love above all?Johnson: Money and womenAlpha 5: What are you doing in Alphaville?Johnson: An article for Figaro-PravdaAlpha 5: You seem to be afraidJohnson: I’m not afraid... not the way you thinkAnyway, you wouldn’t understandAlpha 5: Rest assured that my decisions......always have in view......the ultimate goodI shall now.....ask you some test questions......as a control measureYou have come from the Lands WithoutWhat were your feelings......when you passed through galactic space?Johnson: The silence of infinite space appalled meAlpha 5: What is the privilege of the dead?Johnson: To die no moreAlpha 5: Do you know what illuminates the night?Johnson: PoetryAlpha 5: What is your religion?Johnson: I believe in the inspirations of conscienceAlpha 5: Do you make any distinction......between the mystery......of the laws of knowledge......and the laws of love?Johnson: In my opinion, there is no mystery of loveAlpha 5: You are not telling the truthJohnson: I don’t understandAlpha 5: You are hiding certain thingsJohnson: I admit I might have reasons to lie......but how can you differentiate between lies and truth?Alpha 5: You are hiding certain things......but I do not yet know what they areFor the time being, you are freeI should like you to visit......the Control ComplexFreeOccupiedFreeFreeOccupiedJohnson: -Where are we going?-To the Chief EngineerOccupiedOccupiedOccupiedFreeOccupiedOccupiedOccupied Ah, Le Jour se LèveScene:Conference Room[Chief Engineer pats calf of woman standing on table and she jumps off]Engineer: A momentous occasionGuard: Yes, we spent three years looking for Grand Omega MinusEngineer: Well, Mister Johnson...How do you find Alphaville?Johnson: Not bad, if I knew where I wasEngineer: You are in the centre of Alphaville, inside Alpha 60The task of Alpha 60 is to calculate and project......the results which Alphaville will subsequently enjoyJohnson: Why?Engineer: No one ever says "why"; one says "because"In the life of individuals, as in the life of nations......everything is cause and effectJohnson: That’s the notorious theory of Professor Leonard NosferatuEngineer: Leonard Nosferatu......no longer exists, Mister JohnsonThe Lands Without expelled him in 1964Today there is only Professor VonbraunJohnson: I remember. He was sent to a town in the desert......to perfect his inventionEngineer: He was exiled, you meanNow the Lands Without wring their hands, wishing him backThey flood us with spies. Perhaps you are a spy, Mister JohnsonJohnson: You know I’m not, since I’m a free manEngineer: [blinks] A meaningless replyWe know nothing. We record, calculate, draw conclusionsAn hour ago......one of Alpha 60’s 1.4 billion nerve centres questioned youYour replies were difficult and sometimes impossible to codifyWe deduce an above-average intelligenceWe are sometimes in mortal need of superior intelligencesAt other times we have a no less mortal distrust of themJohnson: So, what will you do with me?Engineer: For the moment, we’re ordered to show you Alpha 60Johnson: Who ordered you? Professor Vonbraun?Engineer: Absolutely notAn order is a logical conclusionOne must not be afraid of logic. Simply that. Full stopWhat is it?Man: The circuit elements... of 183 Omega Minus... malfunctionEngineer: Calculating or memory elements?Man: Memory elementsEngineer: Professors Heckle and JeckelProf. Heckle: I’m very well, thank you, you’re welcomeJohnson: I’d like to know what Grand Omega Minus isEngineer: Our Seventeenth Electricity Plan is inadequateSooner or later the Lands Without will declare war on usTherefore, it has been decided to invade themDirected by Professor Vonbraun......Omega Minus will be the victory......of anti-matterJohnson: A great ideal!Men like you could advise us of the weak points in the Lands Without[Voice:]Your tendency to dwell in the past......could be useful to usEngineer: We send brain-washed people to the other galaxies......to forment strikes, revolutions, family rows, student revoltsThat’s us: Grand Omega Minus[Walk past model of nude female in illuminated caseJohnson: -Where now?-The invisible part of Alpha 60[Voice:]You think more of what has been......than of what will beAssistant: An obsolete cameraJohnson: I’m old-fashionedJeckel asked why I shot the man in my bathroom......when the whole thing was just a psycho-testI replied that I’m too old to argue, I shoot firstIt’s my only weapon against fatality[Inside computer room]Johnson: -What’s this?Engineer: -Central Interrogation StationHere Alpha 60 sets itself problemsThe forms and references are too complex for human understandingJohnson: What sort of problems?Assistant: Train and aeroplane timetables... movement of people and goods......electricity networking... crime suppression... war operations[Voice:]Element Seven. Malfunction.Johnson: What’s happened?Engineer: It’s war with the Lands Without[Voice:]A simple instruction......is usually insufficient......to put into execution......a task set by Alpha 60Do not think that it is I......who initiates this destruction......nor the scientists......who have accepted my planOrdinary men......are unworthy......of the positions they hold in the worldAnalysis of their past......automatically leads one......to this conclusionTherefore......they must be destroyedThat is to say: transformed[Voice:]I don’t need anyone to draw it for meDirected by Vonbraun and his assistants......Alphaville has developed by leaps and bounds......guided by electronic brains that developed themselves......by posing and solving problems......beyond human comprehensionForeigners had been assimilated if possible......which was easiest with the Swedes, Germans and AmericansThe unassimilatables were purely and simply killedScene: Empty seats in a theaterThe usual method was to seat them in a theater I saw......and electrocute them as they watched the showThe bodies were then tipped into huge rubbish bins......and the theater was ready for the next batchIf an individual showed hope of reclamation......he was sent to a chronic illness hospital......here mechanical and propagandistic treatments soon cured himI felt that my existence here......was becoming a distorted, twilight memory......of an awesome destinyThere was only one solution[Voice:]It would not be logical......to prevent superior beings......from attacking......the other galaxiesScene:Fancy hotelBellboy: Going up, sir?Johnson: No, I’ll shine my shoes[Johnson walks up stairs using carpeting on stairs to shine shoes]Seductress: You’re tired, sir?You’d like to sleep, sir?Johnson: Yes, to sleep: perchance to dreamWhat are you?Seductress: I’m a Seductress, Third ClassJohnson: Has your colleague gone?Seductress: Who? Beatrice?Johnson: I don’t know; a blond with long legsSeductress: She’s working in the suburban flatsWe’re all replacementsJohnson: Ever heard of the Lands Without?Seductress: Never[Johnson reaches for Seductress to see the number branded on her neck]Johnson: -Clear off!-Why?[Johnson bends over to examine calf of Seductress]Johnson: If anyone asks, say you don’t knowSeductress: I’m very well, thank you, you’re welcomeScene:Hotel room from first sceneNatasha: Mister Johnson?Johnson: If it isn’t the little princessNatasha: I was forbidden to come, but I so wanted to see you againJohnson: I pass!As you’re here, order breakfast for meNatasha: I’m very well, thank you, you’re welcomeJohnson: Natasha?Natasha: Yes?Johnson: Bow your head[number "508" appears on the back of Natasha’s neck]Natasha: What is it?Johnson: Nothing, just a thoughtWhat about my breakfast?Natasha: I want to tele-order breakfast[Voice:] What is your number?Natasha: What is your number?Johnson: They didn’t give me one at Alpha 60Natasha: Not your control number, your room numberJohnson: Ever heard of this book?Natasha: "The Capital of Pain". NoJohnson: Some words are underlinedNatasha: We live in the void of metamorphosesBut the echo that runs through 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 understandConscience...Johnson: Death in conversationAnd thatNatasha: Your eyes have returned from a despotic land......where no one has known the meaning of a glanceJohnson: You’ve really no idea what this is?Natasha: It reminds me of somethingI don’t know whatThe naked truthI know it wellDespair is wingless, so is love...I am as alive as my love and despair...[Johnson grabs book from Natasha]Johnson: And this: Dying is not dyingAnd this: The beguiler beguiledThis: Men who changeNever heard of secret messages, Miss Vonbraun?Natasha: A secret message?Johnson: Don’t you know what a secret is?Natasha: Yes. Planning secrets, atomic secrets, memory secretsJohnson: Now what are you looking for?This dump is driving me nuts!Natasha: I’m looking for a Bible, to see if it’s in itJohnson: What?Natasha: The word I’m looking for, of course.Are you stupid?Where is it? There’s always one per person.I’m becoming afraidSince you’ve come, I no longer understand what is happeningJohnson: Me, I think I’m beginning to understand[a knock, and breakfast is wheeled into the room by a hotel worker]Natasha: I’ve found it"Conscience"... it’s not in itWorker: I’m very well, thank you, you’re welcomeNatasha: "Conscience"...Not in the new one, eitherSo no one here......knows the meaning of the word conscience any moreNever mindSugar?Johnson: This is a dictionary, not a BibleNatasha: Isn’t it the same in the Lands Without?Johnson: Now tell me, what’s it for?Natasha: Nearly every day words disappear, because they are forbiddenThey are replaced by new words expressing new ideasIn the last two or three months......some words I was very fond of has disappearedJohnson: Which words? I am interested[Johnson opens notebook: Make Alpha 60 self-destruct]Natasha: Redbreast, weeping...Save those who weep...autumn light...Tenderness...tenderness, tooMister JohnsonJohnson: YesNatasha: When I’m with you I’m afraidThey’ve ordered me not to see you againJohnson: Who? The Alpha 60 engineers?Natasha: YesJohnson: What are you afraid of?Natasha: I’m afraid because I know that word......without ever having seen it or read it-Which word?-Le conscienceJohnson: La conscienceNatasha: La... ...conscienceJohnson: You’ve never been to the Lands Without?Are you sure?You’re lyingNatasha: Why are you cross with me?Johnson: Aren’t you supposed to say "because", not "why"?Natasha: I said "why"?Johnson: YesAnd if enemy ears are listening, they heard you, tooNatasha: Well, then, I was careless, because it’s forbiddenPerhaps it’s all right for you to use itWhen did I say "why"?Johnson: Another question first: where were you born?Natasha: Here, in AlphavilleJohnson: Another lie. Perhaps you’re unaware of it, but you’re lyingI must know the truth: where were you born?Natasha: Here, I told youIn AlphavilleJohnson: No, in Tokyoama......the Land of the Rising SunGo on, say itNatasha: In Tokyoama, in the Land of the Rising SunJohnson: Or in Florence, perhapsOr... try to remember it for yourself, NatashaNatasha: I don’t knowJohnson: Where the sky’s as blue as the South SeasNatasha: Florence, where the sky’s as blue as the South SeasJohnson: Or in Nueva YorkNatasha: Nueva YorkWhere the winter, Broadway......a glitter in a snow fur coatJohnson: You see, you do know the Lands WithoutYour father was banished from Nueva York in ‘64He brought you here, so you don’t belong hereNatasha: I know what this book isA man who came with us from Nueva York, he wrote such booksI don’t know what became of himThey live in the forbidden quarters here; they commit suicideI know that Alpha 60 uses them sometimesJohnson: How come?Natasha: Because they write incomprehensible thingsNow I know: it used to be called poetryIt seems to hold secrets, but really it’s emptyWhen Control has an hour or so free......it codifies such stuffLike everything else, one never knowsJohnson: It might prove usefulNatasha: Absolutely. We’re highly organizedI’d like to go with you to the Lands WithoutBut I’m afraidI’m no longer normalWhen did I say "why"?Johnson: Why?Natasha: Because... you know very well, Mister JohnsonNo, I don’tAt which moment?Johnson: Last night in the corridor, for instanceNatasha: Now it’s you who is lyingJohnson: No, when I talked about falling in loveNatasha: In love? What’s that?[Johnson walks around Natasha]Johnson: ThisNatasha: No, I know what that is: it’s sensualityJohnson: No, sensuality flows from itIt cannot exist without loveNatasha: So what is love, then?[Natasha’s voice:]Your voice, your eyes......your hands, your lips...Our silences, our words...Light that goes......light that returnsA single smile between us bothIn quest of knowledge......I watched night create day......while we seemed unchangedO beloved of all, beloved of one alone......your mouth silently promised to be happyAway, away, says hate; never, never, says loveA caress leads us from our childhoodIncreasingly I see the human form......as a lover’s dialogueThe heart has but one mouthEverything ordered by chanceAll words without aforethoughtSentiments adriftMen roam the cityA glance, a wordBecause I love youEverything movesTo live, only advance!Aim straight for those you loveI went towards you, endlessly towards the lightIf you smile, it is to enfold me all the betterThe rays of your arms pierce the mistJohnson: How will the chief engineer use me?Natasha: As an inter-galaxy double agent, I thinkJohnson: So it’s true what Heckle saidYou send spies to sabotage the rest of the worldNatasha: Of course; we learn that at schoolJohnson: Are you going to betray me?[Johnson places his hand around Natasha’s throat and she nods "yes"]You can’t talk? Or don’t you mean to?[She shakes her head "no"]Can I telecommunicate with Lands Without from this hotel?Natasha: Just ask for Galaxy Service[Voice:]To Lands Without......telecommunications are suspended for some daysNatasha: What did you want?Johnson: An atomic attack on AlphavilleI’ll explain later, Princess, but now let’s scram[Four agents appear, two from the bathroom and two from the hallway]-Come with us!-Where?Agent: Residents’ Control. When he doubles up, get him...Story 842, MissNatasha: One day a tiny man entered a North Zone café......and ordered a cup of very hot, sweet coffee......adding, "I shan’t pay, because I’m afraid of no one"He drank his coffeeHe leftHe didn’t pay for his coffeeFor the sake of peace, the café owner said nothingBut when the tiny man repeated the trick three times......the café owner decided to get a tough to sort him outSo, on the fourth day......when the tiny man called for his cup of coffee......the tough lumbered up to him and said:"So you’re afraid of no one?""That’s right""Well, neither am I""Make that two cups of coffee", called the man[Johnson begins laughing hysterically]Meet you outside Residents’ ControlYou’ll stay here, Miss VonbraunScene:Interrogation room[Voice:]Alpha 60: Last night you liedJohnson: You organized Dickson’s death. Why?Alpha 60: Your name may be spelled......Ivan Johnson......but it is pronounced Lemmy Caution......Secret Agent...[Johnson shakes head "no"]...Number zero zero three...[Johnson shakes head "yes"]...of the Lands WithoutYou are a threat to the security of AlphavilleJohnson: I refuse to become what you call normalThose you call mutants......form a race superior......to ordinary men......who we have almost eliminatedUnthinkableAn entire race cannot be destroyedI shall calculate so that failure is impossibleI shall fight so that failure is impossibleEverything that I project shall be accomplishedDon’t count on it; I have a secret, tooWhat is your secret? Tell me, Mister CautionSomething which never changes, day or nightThe past represents its future, it advances in a straight line......yet it ends by coming full circleI cannot trace what it isI won’t tell youSeveral of my circuits......are looking for the solution to your riddleI will find itIf you find it, you will destroy yourself simultaneously......because you will become my kin, my brotherThose who are not born, do not weep......and do not regretThus it is logical to condemn you to deathStuff yourself with your logicMy judgment is just......and I am working for the universal goodIf you plan to drive us from the other galaxies, you’ll failYou will not leave; the exit is blockedWe’ll see[Johnson crashes through door, firing. Kills man in stairway][Natasha is brought into the building but resists the agents as they struggle to get her into the lobby][Johnson avoids the agents, and Natasha, and asks a Driver:]Professor Vonbraun -- do you know where he lives?Alpha 60: Central Palace, South Zone, behind Raw Materials StationLet’s go[Johnson gets in pointing a gun in the driver’s neck][Driver parks]Don’t move[Johnson shots driver]That way I’m sure you will keep your word[Professor Vonbraun is followed by a team of engineers through basement hallways][Johnson follows and takes a photo]Assistant: No reporters!Johnson: Reporter and Revenger both begin with R! Tell your boss![Johnson follows Vonbraun up a flight of stairs]Professor: What can I do for you, Mister Caution?Johnson: News travels fast hereProfessor: Because we’re very rapidly entering Light CivilizationJohnson: I’m returning to the Lands Without. Come with meProfessor: Stay with us, Mister CautionWhen the war’s over I’ll put you in charge of another galaxyYou will have money and womenWe are mastering a science so fantastic......that the old American and Russian atomics will see patheticJohnson: I seeYou oppose my moral, even supernatural, sense of vocation......with a simple physical and mental existence......easily controllable by technicians[Lights flash on several control panels]Professor: Your ideas are strangeSome years ago, in the Age of Ideas, yours would have been thought sublimeLook at yourself. Men of your type will soon be extinctYou’ll be something worse than deadYou’ll become a legendJohnson: Yes, I’m afraid of death......but for a humble secret agent that’s a fact of life, like whiskyAnd I’ve drunk that all my life[Johnson reveals a gun]You never want to see the Lands Without again?Professor: Good-bye, Mister Caution[Shot]Such people will serve as terrible examples......to those who want to play the world......when technical power is the only act in their repertoire[Walking across balcony Johnson is fired upon from below by a policeman]I was running a straight line which, like Dickson’s Greek labyrinth......and its baffled philosophers, could disorientate a secret agent[Johnson returns to the hallways of interrogation where men and women move along disoriented with the walls as their only means of guidance][Alpha 60:]In many respects......your reactions and your modes of thought......differ......from present normality[Johnson:]The inhabitants of Alphaville are not normalThey are products of mutationDo you accept our proposal?Answer silently......with yes or no[Johnson gets into a car; a tall man in a black suit leans against the hood]I’ll never betray the Lands Without[Johnson engages the agent, knocks him down and drives over his head in an escape from the parking garage][Johnson is pursued by two cars as he drives toward the North][Voice:]The present is terrifying......because it is irreversible......and because it has a will of ironTime is the substance of which I am made[Johnson searches interrogation rooms as men stumble down the hall. A woman stands motionless against wall]Time is a river which carries me alongBut I am timeIt’s a tiger, tearing me apart; but I am the tiger[Johnson finds Natasha in an interrogation room]Johnson: Look at her and me, there’s your replyWe’re happiness, and we’re heading towards itAlpha 60: It is our misfortune that the world is realityAnd I......it is my misfortune that I am myself, Alpha 60[Natasha is dazed and helped by Johnson down the hall]Johnson: Natasha, think of the word love[She regains her balance and they continue to escape][In the lobby Natasha is still dazed. Johnson carries her to the parking garage]Not all the inhabitants died, but they were all strickenThose not asphyxiated by the absence of light......sped about crazily, like antsIt was 23.15, Oceanic Time......when Natasha and I left Alphaville by the ring roadA night drive across intersidereal space, and we’d be homeJohnson: Don’t look backNatasha: Do you think they’re all dead?Johnson: Not yetThey may recover, and Alphaville will be happy, like FlorenceLike Angoulême City, like TokyoramaNatasha: Have I slept for long?Johnson: No, just the span of a momentNatasha: Where are we? In the Lands Without?Johnson: Not yetNatasha: You’re looking at me very strangelyJohnson: YesNatasha: You’re waiting for me to say something to youJohnson: YesNatasha: I don’t know what to sayThey’re words I don’t knowI wasn’t taught themHelp meJohnson: Impossible, Princess. Help yourself, then you’ll be savedIf you don’t, you’re as lost as the dead of AlphavilleNatasha: IloveyouI love youThe End* * *