





                                  Le Patriarche


                     The first world - In the quest of a God


                             Florent (Warly) Villard


                        September, 2002 - September, 2003











Version: 0.7.5 - September, 21st, 2004 - 1

Copyright 2002,2003,2004,2005 Florent Villard










Remerciements
-------------



I dedicate this book to M. Yves Gueniffey, these writings would maybe never have
      started without him; 

Manu and Zborg for their comments and       critics; 

Fabrice, Guillaume, Aline, Virginie and Peggy for their       numerous spellchecks
and comments; 

Anne, Pascal, Nathalie, Hlne, Samuel, Nicolas,       Emmanuel and AltGr for proofreading,
correcting and feedback; 

Titi, Fred, Amandine, Nanar, Tocman and Poulpy for proofreading; 

my friends, Amaury and Vanessa, and especially Daouda for       discussing with me;


Thorpe, for all the information he provided me with; 

all the mothers that have also read me, including mine; 

Thomas
------



A midsummer night
-----------------



 Thomas was coming home, exhausted as he always is after any workday, but more than
usual . Something was worrying  him. He opened the door without even taking his keys
out, he knew it wasn't locked. He put his jacket on the sofa in the living-room,
undid his shoulder strap and laid his gun down on the kitchen counter. He rested
ont it for a while, giving himself a breather. In a few minutes, he knew, his mother
that probably saw him entering his house -she lived next door- would ring at the
door. 

 He headed for the bedroom. He found her there, lying on the floor, with her arm
leaning still on the bed. He bent near her, observed her slit throat, her so white
face, the pool of blood around her head. He huddled on her and started to cry. He
took her in his arms to feel her warmth, but she was dead for hours. 

 He got up and called 911... A few seconds later, the doorbell rang, he opened the
door. 

- Good evening mum, come in, something horrible happened. 

Christine, Thomas' mother, had a burst of panic when she saw her son's shirt, blood-covered.


- Jesus Christ ! Thomas, you're covered with blood, are you hurt ? Let's call...


- It's not mine, mum, it's Seth's. I called 911, they'll be here any minute now.


- Oh, my god ! Is it serious ? Can I see her ? 

Thomas held his mother in his arms to calm her down.

- You'd rather not, mum. She's dead, her carotide has been cut. 

His mother shut her eyes with disgust and snuggle up in her son's arms. 

- Jesus, Jesus ! Why? She was so nice, so pretty! My god ! Poor Seth... She was so
nice... 

Thomas held his mother in his arms, speechless, holding his tears back. 

- But Tom, who did that ? Can't I see her ? 

She put her hand before her mouth as she would like to prevent her to throw up. They
stayed like that for five minutes, Thomas trying to calm his mother down. 

- I don't know mum, I don't know who did it... 

His mother step back, wiping her tears away, and she looked in his eyes and caught
his arms. 

- Tom, you have to find, you have to.

Thomas answered without much conviction.

- Yes, mum. I'll find out, that's my job. Come back home now, don't stay here, the
police are coming. 

Thomas took his mother back, she staggered on a few steps, and he headed towards
the unmarked police car parked next to his own. Three guys came out of it, one of
them was wearing a police uniform. They waved to Thomas. 

- Thomas, it's ugly as they say. The ambulance shouldn't be long now, even though
you told us it was too late.  Until then, we'll inspect your house. I'd like you
to meet Philip, he's a local cop, but you may already know him.  He lives by a few
blocks, so we took him up. Anyway, I think we'll get in charge of the case, it's
not everyday that the "SRPJ" arrive first on a crime scene ! 

The two men greeted each other, Thomas already had business with him in the past.
 The other policemen, Stphane et Jean-Luc, in plain clothes, were some of Thomas'
collegues. 

- The locals will be here soon. They'll lock all that up, but still we can inspect.
 Let's go. You know you'll be, but as we spent the whole day together, there shouldn't
be any problem.  Anyhow, you'd rather not come in the house with us, what d'you think
? 

Thomas cut him up.

- You're right, follow me. Let me just show you the way.

They entered the house with him.

- I stayed in this room for a moment before walking in the bedroom, I might have
moved or touched things, I don't know if I can list them, though it will come back
to me if any fingerprints show up. 

- At what time did we drop you off ? Wasn't it around seven ?

- I must have came in around ten past seven, more or less.  I stayed in this room
for a while, you know, just to lay my stuff down and rest a bit. 

- Did you notice anything suspicious ?

- No, nothing. Then, I entered the bedroom.

Thomas showed them the way, while he stayed in the main room.  They looked at the
body still lying on the floor, in turns. 

- I found her there, like that. I couldn't help holding her in my arms, even though
I knew I had better not touched her at all. 

Stphane put his hand on Thomas' shoulder.

- I understand, Thomas. One can't blame you for that but in this case, you'll have
to give me your shirt.  You know, to check out the blood stains... 

- No problem. Can you get me another one in the bedroom closet, please ? 

- Ok...

Stphane came back a few seconds later with a new shirt and put aside the one Thomas
wore. 

- When did you call us ?

- Right away, around seven and a half. 

They heard sirens and car noises in the background. Thomas put the clean shirt on.


- Seb, go and see if it's the ambulance. Only allow a doctor to pass through, maybe
there's still hope.  Otherwise, we won't move anything for the fingerprint process
and all. 

- OK, I'm on it.

The youngest of the men obeyed.

- Do you have any idea of who could have done this ?

Thomas waited a few seconds.

- No...

Jean-Luc came back, followed by the forensic expert.

- Good evening, I'm Doctor Paul grenne, where's the victim?

- Over there, follow me. Here you are, try to touch the least things possible.  I'm
afraid it may be too late to do anything. 

Thomas went closer, he bit his lips. The doctor went round the bed and kneel down
near the victim. He noted the injury at the neck, took the pulse at the wrist just
in case, looked to the pupil with a small light. 

- It has been at least two or three hours she died. There is nothing left to do.


The doctor stood up looking the body for a few moments, he sighed, then looked sadly
at the policemen. Thomas seemed surprised. He moved back a little, walked into the
main room, he put his hands in his hair and rub his nape, raising his head. He sighed,
as he would like to support this shock, and then turned silently to Stphane while
he agreed to the doctor's conclusion. 

- Unfortunately that was what I feared, that's our turn now, then. 

Some other sirens sounded.

- Here is the police, it is time ! So, I gonna take your statement about the murder,
I guess there is not doubt about it. 

- Indeed, that's not a common suicide method, and given the body position, yes, there
is no doubt. 

- Alright, let's go out, Jean-Luc you can start taking pictures waiting for the inspector
to come. 

An other car arrived while the doctor, the policeman and Thomas went out. A few minutes
later five more policemen were busy marking the restricted area all around the house
and the yard. 

Thomas observed silently, he gave a glance at his mother's house. She was watching
the scene through the window, holding the curtain with her hands. Thomas felt like
to cry. He looked away when Stphane, the policeman who was in charge of the case
until then, talked to him. 

- We will have to question her.

- Yes, I know.

- Did she see something ?

- No... Well I do not think so.

Thomas seemed to hesitate for a moment, and finally headed toward his mother's house.
His colleague asked him what he wanted to do : 

- Where are you going?

- I am going to interrogate my mother, it must be done, anyway. 

- Yes, but you'd better not, as long as you are not cleared, it will be invalid,
I'd rather do it. 

Thomas went back, embarrassed.

- Yes, OK... You must be right.

One more siren was heard.

- Do you warn the public prosecutor.

- Yes, he told me he is coming.

- Hey, here's the chief.

A car, a big black car, advanced slowly into the yard, already overstuffed. The driver
did not even care about parking correctly. A fifty-year old man got out of the car,
and, when he saw Thomas and his colleague, leaded to them with hurry. 

- Let's throw all these cars away! We can't move! The public prosecutor is coming,
he needs room to park! 

He looked around, then took a handkerchief and wipe his sweat forehead. He turned
again to Thomas and Stphane. 

- Are you the only ones?

Stphane answered before Thomas.

- Seb, well, Jean-Luc, is inside, I called Serge and Jacques, they'll be here in
twenty minutes from now. 

- So, what happened? I've been told that was a murder, is this it? 

- We just dropped Thomas off, I was with Jean-Luc, that's why we were here in less
than five minutes. What's most plausible is that Seth caught a thief in the act,
and it has badly turned out. 

The superintendent did not wait anymore information and commanded them both: 

- Well, make the cars leave and buckle the street.

- OK.

Stphane complied.

- Thomas, I'm not gonna lie to you, you'll be suspected. 

- Yes, I know sir.

- OK, aside from that, what do we have?

Thomas explained to the superintended how he found the body, and the doctor's conclusion.
Meanwhile, Thomas' mother came closer. When he noticed her, Thomas introduced her
to the superintended. His mother's house was only thirty meters away from his own.
Taking advantage of an house available on his parents' ground, an old outhouse, formerly
the servants' one, then fall into abeyance, and finally restored and rented by Thomas'
parents, until he settled in. He never had the courage to leave, although he had
always craved for, and even more for the last three years after this father's death,
which made his mother more and more present. 

- Good evening, Madam, sorry for the inconvenience, but you are likely to be bothered
for the next few days. 

Thomas' mother approached and grab his son's arm, as she would like to protect herself.


- Yes, yes, but don't worry, this is not important beside this tragedy. 

Another car entered the courtyard. The superintendent interrupted Thomas'mother when
he saw him. 

- Ah! The prosecutor! I'm going. 

The superintendent leaded rapidly toward the new car which did its best to park between
the ambulance and an other car, avoiding the car of the superintendent parked just
in the very middle of the place. Meanwhile Thomas'mother press her son's arm and
question him :

- They have found something? God, do they know who is the murderer?

A sudden shiver ran through all Thomas'body, he answered, irritated

- Mum, mun, please, calm down. A long time will be needed to find the murderer, if
we find him, you know, that is not so easy!

- But! With all their electronic devices, the fingerprints... Was she raped?

- No! Well I ain't know... Autopsy will say that.

Thomas had just rejected the idea as if just imagining it made him feel uncomfortable.
He staid quiet.

- Oh God, this is dreadful... Do you want to come in the house?

He yearned when he saw the policemen busy setting up the wrappers, trampling without
care on his mother's flower and vegetable plants. For a short moment he felt like
sending all of them packing, to shout to them because of their lack of attention,
then he retracted, this had no importance, Seth was dead. He looked at his mother,
she was waiting for an answer, tiring him, already, toward her house. He released
his arm :

- No, I prefer not to, I will be suspected, too.

Her mother walk back, surprised:

- Suspected! But you are from the police!

- Yes mum, but this is the process, it's normal, we cannot eliminated any possibility.

His mother looked at the policemen, indignant.

- My Goodness!

Thomas turn toward her:

- They will question you, too, you will have to answer theirs questions. However
you had your lunch with your friend Rosie today, right? At what time did you come
back?

His mother stopped daydreaming, she just noticed too that the policemen were carelessly
walking on her flower plants. But she also thought that, after all, this was meaningless.
She looked at Thomas:

- Yes, I was at Rosie's place, I came back around 6pm, not a long time before you
arrived, actually. I did not even ring at your door, you usually come back later,
and you said me that Seth was in holidays; I do not thought she would be there. Why
was it, anyway?

Thomas didn't want to talk about that.

- She came back yesterday evening, sooner than expected.

- Do you think she had any trouble during her holidays? And why didn't you go together?
Where was she?

Thomas knew the discussion would irremediably lead to this polemic topic between
her mother and him:

- I don't know. In the Alps, If I remember correctly.

- Honestly! Not even knowing where his girlfriend is going! My God, if by chance
you were gone with her, but why?... It was the same in November, when she had been
alone to the R island, what a...

Thomas interrupted his mother, irritated.

- Mum, we are not going to talk about that again, so be it, she wanted to be alone,
what could I do about that? Well, whatever, you did not see anything, is that right?

His mother regretted to have irritated him, she well knew that he didn't like to
talk about that, but she just did not understand him. She did not understand young
people any more, she was thinking:

- No... Now that we need them this is bad luck the Martins were in vacations, usually
she is always spying through the window, it would have been useful this time.

Thomas was going to ask her to go back to her house, but he finally retracted and
daydreamed to something else when he saw the hearse arriving. His mother was still
talking to him:

- The Piranoccis neither, by the way, both of them are working, but, well, just in
case, it costs nothing asking them.

Thomas stepped back into the conversation, without really taking care of it, it has
been so much time he has been having false conversations with his mother.

- And the Simons?

- Simons? Noooo... Except if the murderer came from the backyard, but with the hedge
the Simons can't see anything, honestly they could cut it a bit more often... No
if somebody has see something, it must be Miss Marin or Miss Louis, they always walked
in the neighbourhood. But never before 6 or 7pm this days, likely too late, anyway,
the weather is far too hot sooner in the day. Well, you know, they were likely just
sleeping both of them when the crime happened.

Thomas placed his hand on his mother's shoulder:

- Well, I gonna see what is happening, go back, you warn me if anybody talk to you
about something suspect; but be careful not to talk about that too much, even if
you hear some new things, this just creates rumors and suddenly everybody knows who
is the murderer and has seen everything.

- Yes, OK, but will you sleep now that you house is blocked? You do not want to come
in at home?

- No, it's OK, well, I'll see, I'll came back late, anyway. Well, I must go. See
you Mum.

Thomas went to Stphane who was taking notes with Jean-Luc. He gave them some clue
about the neighbours, from his mother speech. He talked about Miss Martin and Miss
Louis. Jean-Luc did not lost any time and he went to question the neighbours, even
if the odds that they could have seen anything were quite low. Thomas, who was a
suspect, should go in a police custody. They decided to met Jean-Luc at the police
station at 9 pm, to write the Thomas' statement and gather all their clues.

The prosecutor finally came to greet Thomas. He first offered hist condolence to
Thomas, but could not help not asking him some questions.

- Do you know if she had any relatives, friends, that we can warn?

Thomas was ill-at-ease in front of this man much older than him, much more respected
than him.

- No, she was an orphan, and from what she told me, her nurse passed over.

The prosecutor seemed suprised:

- But, she has no friends, no family?

- She was very discret about her life, I believe that she had an aunt on the R Island,
some acquaintances in the Alps, in Nancy, maybe Grenoble, but I can't give you any
names.

- Did she work? For how long have you been knowing her?

- No, she didn't work. We were living together for nearly 4 years.

- And she did not introduce you to any friends in four years?

- Well, no, she has always been very reserved.

Thomas showed some nervousness signs, the prosecutor felt them.

- I see, well, I do not disturb you more, whatever the investigation will take care
of all that. The security branch should call me when they find something.

The prosecutor greeted Thomas and left him to join the superintendent. Thomas left
ten minutes later with Sthphane to go to the Versailles Police Station, his working
place.

Jean-Luc confirmed that the neighbours went home late and didn't see anything, of
course, as well as Miss Marin and Miss Louis, who did not go out befor 7 pm with
such a heat. Thomas'deposition was fast, as he was, for the whole day, from 9 am
to 7 pm, with Stphane, and that, if the forensic expert expectations were correct,
would exonerate him completely. However Thomas stayed more than tow hours in police
custody, but this was mainly an opportunity for the three policemen to check the
few elements they knew about the Seth timetable. She had gone back to Paris the eve
after two weeks of vacations in the Alps, Thomas did not know where precisely, and
he saw her for the last time in the morning, she was sleeping when he left his home.
She seemed very tired lastly. He repeated what he said to the prosecutor, that he
didn't know any Seth's relatives or friends ; the ones who know her would discover
her murder in the next day newspapers.

Thomas, Stphane and Jean-Luc did not wait for the last prosecutor's call nor the
superintendent's one, they preferred to leave and try to come early to the office
the next morning. Thomas could not sleep at his home, so Stphane offered him to
stay at his apartment, Thomas will go to his mother's house the next days, but for
the short night left, the flat of Stphane inside Versailles would be more convenient.
Thomas did not sleep this night, or not more than a few tens of minutes. He could
not move on the small sofa, and he was sleeping on his belly usually. Moreover his
burn was hurting him too much. What would he do? Would he be doing the investigation?
Would he be authorized to do it? Maybe that would be better if he could do it, alter
all... He cried, for a long time, so much than his eyes were burning him on the morning,
when this blasted Sthphane's alarm clock finally decided to ring.

He had slept in the lounge, he waited that Stphane arrived to get up. Just one coffee,
two coffees, he was not hungry. Stphane borrowed him some underwear and a shirt.
He dressed up in the bathroom, not that he did not feel comfortable being nude in
front of Stphane, but he must cured his burn, and hide it

Ten minutes were enough for Stphane to go to the Police Station. Stphane rarely
got up before 7.30am, but usually he was at the office at 8am. 8am this was too early
for Thomas, but he wondered if it would have more early or late, or just the echoes
of an endless life...

The superintendent arrived early as well.

- I suppose you want to take care of the investigation?

Thomas hesitated for a moment. He looked nowhere for a few seconds, surprised that
the superintendent ask him so directly, then he looked his chief comfortably seated
behind his perfectly cleaned and ordered desk.

- Yes. Yes... This is better like that.

- If you can find rapidly an assassin and put him in jail, I would be graceful.

- Yes, boss, of course, I will do my best.

"An assassin", as if any one would fit, as if the only important thing would be what
people believe, and that no one really care about the truth... Thomas stood up and
leaved the office without any salute to his boss. He went to the coffee machine,
but ten in a row would not be enough to help Thomas having any clue this morning.
He was sharing his office with Stphane and ric. ric was on holidays.

- You could bring me one!

Stphane spoke to Thomas joking, Thomas did not even notice it and answered without
conviction :

- Sorry, I am a bit preoccupied

- I understand. Are you in charge of the investigation?

- Yes.

- Do you really thing this is a good idea?

- I have no clue.

- I'll help you anyway, but if you find it too hard just ask me. You can take some
days off maybe, so that I can clear the ground.

- No, thank you, it's ok, but in case I will not hesitate.

Stphane went to take a coffee, Thomas leaned against his desk, without removing
all the stuffs which nearly fall down, sustaining his arm to sip his coffee watching
through the window. He was lost, lost. He didn't want to do the investigation, he
knew that, but did he have the choice? He wanted to forget, forget everything. But
what on earth was he going to find?

- Does he give you the data from the security branch?

He didn't even heard Sphane coming back. He turned round and put down his coffee,
which was far too hot, between the keyboard of his computer, which should have already
receive at least twenty coffees, it loved that, repeated Thomas each times, and the
pile of papers, cards, scribbled notebooks, which were delimiting the few available
square centimeters of his desk. He seated down and look to Stphane :

- No, does he have them?

Stphane walked round his desk, which was to the right of the Thomas's one, and a
bit smaller, he had been added afterward, but far more well-ordered.

- If I remember correctly he said to me yesterday that they did not have found anything,
but that they should have the complete files this morning.

But they had not. Nothing, nothing at all. The security branch did not find anything.
Name, fingerprints, or pictures did not give anything. Seth has no address, no birthday,
has never worked anywhere. Seth Imah was not known, was not French, nor European,
and, as they would discover two days later, did not exist in any country of Interpol,
not with that name, at least. But the searches based on the pictures, which lasted
more, would not give anything neither.

Rest
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Investigation
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le de R
---------



He didn't drive so fast. After all being in the police didn't give him all the rights,
and he didn't have any mission order nor written paper to justify this trip. His
itinerary was scheduling four hours and forty minutes for the trip, he would arrived
in four hours and thirty minutes. Once he crossed the le de R bridge, he wanted
to go up to the extremity of the island, but it took him nearly one hour to drive
the thirty kilometers up to the Whales light-house, where he arrived soon after 6pm.

He would have imagined this island far smaller than that, he would have thought not
more than two or three kilometers. Without any map he spend more than two hours just
to eliminate two out of twenty-one suspected persons. Full of resentment he decided
to look for an hotel. He had to go into three hotels before he was able to find a
free room, in Ars-en-R ; he took this opportunity to show the Seth faces and ask
if somebody had seen her, but all their answers were the same, they had all seen
hundreds of people who looked like Seth, but definitively not to the point to be
really sure to have seen her more than one year before! However, Thomas knew that
no one could forget Seth, and anyone who had seen her would keep her as the perfect
figure for Beauty for the rest of his live. But Thomas knew that there were so many
seasonal workers in these hotels, how could he figure out who could have seen her,
and maybe she even did not stop in any hotels... Sometimes he was wondering if she
could not stay days without sleeping, without eating, sometimes he had even wondered
if Seth was not a Goddess, Athna with a human form, as the many times she helped
Ulysses...

Saturday nigh in Ars-en-R, he had his diner in the hotel own restaurant. It was
quite crowded, even if this was the last Sunday of August. He didn't know clearly
when the student would go back to school after the summer holidays. He didn't really
care. He didn't want to have any children. He never did, and even less since he had
met Seth, and wanted to keep her for himself only. However she never talked about
children or weddings. In a way that situation was quite comfortable, even if he had
been a little embittered because she never talked about a more official union with
him, as she never really attached to him, as she never really wanted just a place
to rest and just live peacefully her secret life. Her secret life... What had she
done during this four years... And him? What did he do, blinded by his love for her,
what did he just let happened, without even noticing it?...

One more bad night, will she follow him anywhere? He slept from 11pm to 1am, then
turn and turn again, up to curl himself up in a foetal position where he pressed
his leg with all his strength against his burn to expel all the evil... He cried,
again, as nearly every nights, and finally fell asleep, exhausted, around 6am. Noise
in the neighbour room awakened him and as he didn't close the shutter, he couldn't
fall asleep again, nor convince himself to wake up and close them. Sunday, 31st,
2003, 9:35am. He yearned and finally waked up, took a rapid shower and left without
taking any breakfast.







































































































































































































































































































































































































Dreams
------



















































































































Murder
------



































































































































































































































































Thodore
--------































































































































































































































































































































































































Ylraw
-----
































































































































































































































































































































Free
----























































































































































































































Ylraw
-----



Holydays
--------
























































































































The Universe Stone
------------------


























































































































































































































































































































































































Visit
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David
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Margareth
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Viper
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Deborah
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Balad
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Night
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Departure
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Mexico
------
























































































































































































Sydney
------











































































Thomas
------



Gap
---













































































































































