La maison des hommes vivants

In a trembling hand he begins a frantic journal on 1 January 1909, aware that he will die in two days. He claims to be a centenarian without proof, his body ravaged by an inexplicable, sudden aging that leaves him feverish, weak, and terrified. Rather than a personal confession, his writing is a desperate testament, urging anyone who finds it to believe his warning about a hidden danger that threatens all humankind.

The narrative quickly shifts to a cryptic military correspondence received on 21 December 1908, linking the writer to a colonel and a vice‑admiral stationed in Toulon. The letter hints at a secret project or operation that may have unleashed the strange affliction now crippling the narrator. As he documents the bureaucratic details and his own deteriorating condition, the tone oscillates between frantic urgency and eerie calm, inviting listeners to piece together the puzzle before the clock runs out.