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One minute of silence texts written by Tiphaine Samoyault
Martine
Martine maybe it’ll happen to us / they’re all there like nothing was going on / I’m nervous / yes I am / we should get danger money / even though I never take planes, they do, but I really think we’re totally done for / they don’t seem to think that but I wouldn’t rate our society very highly, you wonder why people have children, you work yourself to death to raise them and then they get killed by maniacs, that’s what happens, thank you very much / I don’t know what Nathalie thinks, she has no children, anyway, so they won’t be killed by maniacs and that’s what I think, we do live in a society of madmen / if you keep on wanting to control everybody you pay for it, right, Mister Ratier? right, Mister Boudier? Justine must be Emilie’s age, no children either, too young, when I was her age, how old was I when Julien was born, twenty-two / madmen killing each other, crazy fools with their planes, you can’t be safe anywhere, I don’t know about them / Christophe and Romain look a bit shocked all the same, especially Romain, Christophe never says anything, you have to pull the words out of his mouth, Nathalie has a ready tongue, no children, killed by madmen, crazy fools with their planes
Aline the sky belongs to everyone / maybe it’ll rain, already autumn, always gray in Paris, white with dark trails, planes transformed into flying bombs / they stand out on a background of city and sky / sky in a state of alert / firemen’s trucks / sirens not completely blotted out by the voice of newscasters looking for the fourth plane / gray sky today, like something menacing is hiding behind it / flying bombs are like weird storms / the worst terrorist attack ever in American history, birds speeding by, I’m scared of planes, I tremble every time I hear one, the impression that it’s right near / the sky doesn’t belong to God anymore, what God could He be, their God? die for God in the blue sky, it was a beautiful Tuesday in New York / the worst terrorist attack in their history, sky with firemen in a state of alert, really disturbing, disappear into a slit in the sky no, white falls on me / who is hiding behind it? / sirens, sky in a state of alert, how many firemen died in the Towers? I can no longer hear the newscasters’ voices
François Oléron
here goes one full minute, I’d better not / and Clarisse who’s in New York / start laughing / like at Gilles’ funeral, I couldn’t stop / fucking out of place. That guy’s trying to look meditative, like someone he knew died over there, should never have left France, suburban home and shared apartment at Palavas-les-Flots / New York, Christophe has only seen it in the movies / wants to looks good / doesn’t even know what a hundred-floor skyscraper is / shit the view from up there was quite something, wasn’t such a nice day / view from the plane / what could those guys have been thinking when they went through the skyscraper like butter, as simply as that, like in a movie, bam! / stupid woman sniffing next to me / then the fire and it crumbles to the ground, bam! / better than today, than when I was there, they really pulled it off / it’s Martine, I’m sure / maybe one or two on an organized trip, didn’t have time to see anything, in transit and off they go, a quick tour through the Rockies, and the Grand Canyon seen from the bus / I was there, now you won’t be able to go there, like it never existed, New York, in the movies, like non it never existed
Karine Philip, Bernard I don’t know their surnames, Véra, Mohammed Atta, difficult to remember the others’ names, Samir something, Samir Al something, Mister Barolin, Anne-France, Samir Jarrah I think, the others even more difficult, Rémi, shit, looks like he’s ready to go to war, Al Mawi or Shehhi or Zaoui, Mohammed Atta is easier to remember, Atta, attack, stays in your mind, won’t be forgotten, Nathalie, who’s next to her? I can’t remember his name, Mohammed Atta, not many Arabs in this company, next, I guess, there’s Romain, Anne-France who I’m sure is racist, she doesn’t like me much / top student, handsome face in the photo at Hamburg / ate pizza the night before, knew he was going to die, that takes some beating / Romain and the guy next to him, what’s his name again? why can’t I remember, he must not like Arabs either / Mohammed Atta / I would’ve eaten a pizza too / heroes even if it’s horrible / it takes some nerve / Antoine Atta, Antoine Ratier, D day, walk away, he’s also on the attack, Franck Boudier, I call him Boubou, Justine, Justice Justine, as stiff as justice
Philip midday, just midday / what time is it in the States with the time difference? / Franck Boudier has a great tie today / red with white polka dots, I have no idea how many he has, tons, all different colors, blue, white, red, one for every day of the week, all those different-colored ties. what’s Franck Boudier thinking? about this? is everyone thinking about this? / I’d like to be in his head / I have to concentrate / I like him, his nose moves a bit, sure, he must be thinking about it, should I feel more concerned than the others / I keep on telling them that the English are different, we’re not the masters / wouldn’t mind working with her / in his place / in her hair / I’m concentrating / her mouth / really beautiful / we’ve seen so many images / think about something else / wind in her hair, on her mouth, looks like she’s closing her eyes, wind, hair caressing her cheek, around her neck, the little red bag that matches Boudier’s tie, not bad! / make her laugh / there must have been women like her in the World Trade Center / nice as pie / dead maybe or wounded / really pretty / red, it’s still midday / profit from the occasion and have lunch with her / how will we know when it’s over / ask her as soon as it’s over
Bernard should have taken the plane / silence, a turn of the head, silence making the uprising rumors more perceptible / I hear the city coming up to us / quite relieved actually not to have taken the plane this morning / three days ago, don’t think about it next time you take a plane / three days ago they were sitting comfortably in their plane, newspaper, coffee, air hostesses like any other day, would you like something to drink? I'll have a rest, what’s left of the night / a flag waving over there, would you like anything? / right into the skyscraper / rather relieved not to have taken the plane / dead on impact? or before, a hostess’s smile, all of a sudden grave / understood something in what remained of the night / the tower looks so high now, and fragile / things missing, but maybe they asked for it / how do you feel five minutes before dying, seven-league boots, falling bodies, madness, we’re going to die, maybe not, hijacked with hostages, glad not to work in a tower / would you like anything? / choose to jump, the speed with which it collapses afterwards, die jumping out a window or cop it inside, run like a madman
Véra Good speech, Barolin! it’s true that we could have been there instead of them / they were there by chance, or not there, not there yet / the alarm clock didn’t go off / the air hostess in front of the Mont Saint-Odile, alarm clock didn’t go off / she was crying on TV / people still crying on TV yesterday / this won’t be a ball / just managed to escape / this will last a while, the airline companies will go broke, no way will there be more negotiations with American Airlines / Jesus, Aline looks nervous / I'll have to choose northern companies like KLM and SAS / all the work will land on me as usual / Aeroflot’s not sure enough, forget the Arab companies, nobody will want them, as soon as a bearded guy goes to the toilet everyone will flip out / he said solutions will be found but I don’t see how / I hope we won’t talk about that / what will I do with Pierre tonight / find your own solutions, Barolin, it’s not my job / I hope we won’t talk about that / at least there’s no TV, it’s starting to bug the shit out of me / champagne? / the boss doesn’t seem too worried / if I were in his or Antoine’s place / no, really, champagne would be too much, right now, champagne
Gildas Barolin just about the first time I’ve ever had to do something like this / they all came, right, should I stop after one minute exactly? / I should have asked Antoine to make a speech, he would have done that well / ten seconds eleven and twelve and thirteen and fourteen and Clarisse who’s in New York, must have been scared stiff / she’s strong, not in the same area / fifty thousand people inside / forgot to ask her if she managed to meet Humphrey Jones / twenty-six and twenty-seven and twenty-eight and / how many businesses were in there? / will they all come to my retirement party / Justine surely will. François? Karine? the whole team? / celebrate with dignity, maybe in a restaurant / Clarisse / or here but it’s not warm enough for the terrace / November / think about it / I’ll have made it to the end / meditating to the end / it must be at least forty-five now I’ll signal them / call back Clarisse who must be blocked / won’t be back for a while / ask Anne-France about it later / move to the country / fifty-five and / they also made it to the end / it’s time to go / I’ll have to give them a sign, don’t need to look at my watch, just move my hand
Anne-France Sourdille
don’t give him the pleasure of looking at him, still why did he stick himself right in front of me the asshole, with his creased pants, always trying to draw attention to himself, in his stupid suit / too long / he didn’t look so proud the other day when I told him a few plain truths / well cut all the same / he tries to look concerned, as if he really is / I’d be surprized if such a selfish bastard thought about all those dead people / he only thinks of himself after everything I’ve done for him / and the little idiot next to him, sure she’ll get her hands on him / he doesn’t know what danger is / I put my family in danger, he risked nothing / fed up with this job / they’re incompetent and think they’re the best / no, he really didn’t look too proud when I said : you’re incapable of loving anyone / now he looks contrite / really fed up with this job, incapable of loving anyone but himself / maybe I should leave at the same time as Gildas Barolin, it wouldn’t be the first time / anyway I don’t see what the future will hold, no one will want to travel after this, we’re all better off at home, that’s for sure, we’re much better off at home
Rémi Ready, Aline? for a whole minute? you’d think we’re at a football match when the national anthem is sung, goddammit, ready to defend the country of freedom? piercing eyes / should have been a fighter pilot in another life, liberty equality sauerkraut, oh look, there’s Oléron on display, weird expression on his face, is he going to a funeral or what? he’ll probably start sobbing in a few seconds, the face of circumstance, how fucking depressing! he really looks like he’s going to cry / I don’t believe it! / let’s get out of here / at least Karine is pleasant to look at, who knows what’s in her hat, probably thinking about Oléron, ever since she’s been around, Anne-France is touchy, jealous / the English guy, might have family in America, doesn’t show anything, English discretion, English complexion, English tea, fair play old man, you can put them where I think right now, those “circuits to order” / who’ll be killed first, him or me? / funny, I hadn’t noticed that Bernard had changed his glasses, combed his hair with a fork or what, he was supposed to take a plane this morning / lord, he looks pretty shitty
Nathalie think about it for a minute when that’s all we’ve been doing, since Tuesday, I don’t see the point / a French flag there / all those American flags, apparently they’re all out of stock / that flag / even there, I am seeing the plane / it disappeared, flew through my head, each image that comes to mind has a plane flying through it / Bernard / we haven’t stopped thinking about it and now we have to think it over for a minute, we're allowed not to think of something else / I better not forget to / where is the fourth plane? they said / they would have liked more / Philip / for once something is actually happening / I didn’t believe it at first / the plane flying through Philip isn’t coming through, it’s happening right in front of me, so thinking about it for a minute, it’s longer than a minute / I must not forget to get those June accounts out for Clarisse / the worst, people jumping out of the windows, you could see them, the ten meter diving board, but that one was much higher / I hear stomachs making noises / Karine / I’m getting hungry too / it’s too horrible, I think I’d do that too, fire is atrocious / I’d prefer / anything but fire / throw myself out the window
Christophe I should have stayed downstairs, we’re quite a picture here, how stupid, this minute of silence, we’re all here like sheep / Karine is trying to look serious because she’s standing next to Oléron, I don’t know what business they have together, we don’t know anything downstairs, wonder why Barolin signed a fixed-term contract for her, as if there weren’t enough of us here, the last to come in always have the best deal, always the same people traveling, Philip, Bernard who was supposed to have taken a plane today, he doesn’t look so comfortable, tense, me too, where was he going? what the hell are we doing here? how long will this little comedy last? I should have stayed downstairs / felt that it wasn’t the thing to do, they’re doing it all over France, you have no choice / Karine will probably go on a trip with Oléron / last to arrive, first to leave / must have a boyfriend she met on the beach last summer, the first time I saw her, her hair was blond like straw / stiff straw, blond, changes color like she changes boyfriends, now it’s red, not bad, with black clothes, not auburn, flaming red, suits her
Romain gray veins like tiny cracks, I never noticed that the floor was pink, certain skies in early morning / regular veins like little crevices / divide the world into zones, a checkboard / a refuge / take shelter, we’ll have to take shelter in the pattern of the floor / rough / what can be done with those images the ground there pink, a screen, the fire. Defense system, fiction, no way out, a limit has been crossed / totally fascinating / not possible to say so, but really fascinating / need to see those images all the time, see the images of the plane over and over again it’s coming you wonder what it’s doing and wham! into the second skyscraper, unbelievable / screens all over the place, difficult to tear yourself away / regular pattern on the floor / what can you invent after that? / Mars Attacks, Independence Day? the images of the first plane, the guy who managed to get them! / makes fiction impossible / both real and not real / smoke / to be there among those people running around everywhere / must be real / difficult to say aloud but absolutely fascinating. High art, high, high art
Antoine Ratier play security / no traveling this week, will have to cancel events / risk / entire world in shock, we’ll have to react, there’s no other choice. Wouldn’t like to be in Bush’s shoes / no stature on TV, you can tell immediately / he must regret those votes in Florida now / something’s made a sudden turn / democracy on one side, fanaticism on the other / do something both symbolic and capable of stopping this / our freedom depends on it / north-south the new world war / we’re already there, not far off / restrict freedom, control certain people / no choice really / lots of businesses out in the street, especially the small and medium-sized ones, it’s going to be difficult / stock exchange closed for the first time, when was the last time? maybe in ‘29 / this agency won’t be a piece of cake, Barolin is leaving at the right moment / how can we respond? it’s a war and it’s not a war / the Americans really did help us during the war, now they are the ones who need help / they’re vulnerable too, are discovering it, we can’t let it happen / otherwise Democracy itself is gonna crumble with the Twin Towers
Franck Boudier innocent victims, employees like us, like Philip, like Bernard, Véra, even Mister Barolin, directors too, Morgan Stanley, Cantor Fitzgerald, innocent victims, victims of those madmen, whatever you say, they’re different, we shouldn’t trust them / the Middle Ages, the law of the jungle / less civilized / you can’t say that / pretty technological, however, with their aeronautical pirouettes, right in the bull’s eye / they really did pull it off / misunderstood civilization, at its worst / innocent victims / life doesn’t count for those madmen, not even their own, wich goes to show / they think they’ll go to heaven, but if hell exists, it’s surely for them. We’ll have to strike back straight away or they’ll do it again, even in Paris, with all the riffraff here / worldwide network, they’re everywhere, in the metro, they were there for the terrorist attacks in ‘86 and at the Saint-Michel station, thousands of innocent victims, children becoming orphans / one girl in the newspaper had just had a baby / strike back straight away, the Americans have the means to nip it in the bud
Justine how nice but I’m cold, it’s windy, I should have worn pants, luckily it won’t last too long / I would have been better wearing pants / good thing I took my bag folder, wouldn’t want people to notice / you can’t complain when you think of all those people, it’s horrible they lost their friends their colleagues their office their computers / no more work, no more office / wind’s going up Air France’s pants, I mean Anne-France, she looks quaint in her bell bottoms I could never wear anything like that, they look warm but the wind must go through them, underneath, her shoes match with the floor, terrific! / difficult to think on command / I keep on thinking about it and when it’s an order I think of bullshit, pretty stupid of me / if Anne-France weren’t here I’d wouldn’t feel so uncomfortable / I feel like everyone’s staring at me / don’t look up / Véra’s shoes are really great / she’s always so elegant / I couldn’t walk in them / wouldn’t have been able to run down sixty flights of stairs at top speed, stuck somewhere while it was collapsing / no, manage to get out, run down the stairs, shouting, all black, the Tower crumbling at your feet
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