Natasha: 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 forbidden

They are replaced by new words expressing new ideas

In the last two or three months...

...some words I was very fond of have disappeared

Johnson: Which words? I am interested

[Johnson opens notebook: Make Alpha 60 self-destruct]

Natasha: Redbreast, weeping...

Save those who weep

...autumn light...

Tenderness

...tenderness, too

Mister Johnson

Johnson: Yes

Natasha: When I’m with you I’m afraid

They’ve ordered me not to see you again

Johnson: Who? The Alpha 60 engineers?

Natasha: Yes

Johnson: 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 conscience

Johnson: La conscience

Natasha: La... ...conscience

Johnson: You’ve never been to the Lands Without?

Are you sure?

You’re lying

Natasha: Why are you cross with me?

Johnson: Aren’t you supposed to say "because", not "why"?

Natasha: I said "why"?

Johnson: Yes

And if enemy ears are listening, they heard you, too

Natasha: Well, then, I was careless, because it’s forbidden

Perhaps it’s all right for you to use it

When did I say "why"?

Johnson: Another question first: where were you born?

Natasha: Here, in Alphaville

Johnson: Another lie. Perhaps you’re unaware of it, but you’re lying

I must know the truth: where were you born?

Natasha: Here, I told you

In Alphaville

Johnson: No, in Tokyorama...

...the Land of the Rising Sun

Go on, say it

Natasha: In Tokyorama, in the Land of the Rising Sun

Johnson: Or in Florence, perhaps

Or... try to remember it for yourself, Natasha

Natasha: I don’t know

Johnson: Where the sky’s as blue as the South Seas

Natasha: Florence, where the sky’s as blue as the South Seas

Johnson: Or in Nueva York

Natasha: Nueva York

Where the winter, Broadway...

...a glitter in a snow fur coat

Johnson: You see, you do know the Lands Without

Your father was banished from Nueva York in ‘64

He brought you here, so you don’t belong here

Natasha: I know what this book is

A man who came with us from Nueva York, he wrote such 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

Johnson: How come?

Natasha: Because they write incomprehensible things

Now I know: it used to be called poetry

It seems to hold secrets, but really it’s empty

When Control has an hour or so free...

...it codifies such stuff

Like everything else, one never knows

Johnson: It might prove useful

Natasha: Absolutely. We’re highly organized

I’d like to go with you to the Lands Without

But I’m afraid

I’m no longer normal

When did I say "why"?

Johnson: Why?

Natasha: Because... you know very well, Mister Johnson

No, I don’t

At which moment?

Johnson: Last night in the corridor, for instance

Natasha: Now it’s you who is lying

Johnson: No, when I talked about falling in love

Natasha: In love? What’s that?

[Johnson walks around Natasha]

Johnson: This

Natasha: No, I know what that is: it’s sensuality

Johnson: No, sensuality flows from it

It cannot exist without love

Natasha: 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 returns

A single smile between us both

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; never, never, says love

A caress leads us from our childhood

Increasingly I see the human form...

...as a lover’s dialogue

The heart has but one mouth

Everything ordered by chance

All words without a forethought

Sentiments adrift

Men roam the city

A glance, a word

Because I love you

Everything moves

To live, only advance!

Aim straight for those you love

I went towards you, endlessly towards the light

If you smile, it is to enfold me all the better

The rays of your arms pierce the mist

Johnson: How will the chief engineer use me?

Natasha: As an inter-galaxy double agent, I think

Johnson: So it’s true what Haeckel said

You send spies to sabotage the rest of the world

Natasha: Of course; we learn that at school

Johnson: 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 days

Natasha: What did you want?

Johnson: An atomic attack on Alphaville

I’ll explain later, Princess, but now let’s scram.

-jlg