The Seventh Function of Language

“Language is not innocent. It is a weapon.”

Prologue

The novel opens with the mysterious death of renowned literary theorist Roland Barthes in 1980, shortly after being struck by a laundry van in Paris. The official explanation is an accident, but rumors of foul play persist. Police detective Jacques Bayard is assigned to investigate, though he knows little about the world of semiotics and academia.

Part One: Paris

Bayard teams up with Simon Herzog, a young lecturer in semiotics, to navigate the complex intellectual circles Barthes inhabited. They uncover that Barthes may have possessed a secret document detailing the “seventh function of language”—a mythical, powerful rhetorical technique rumored to grant extraordinary persuasive abilities. Their investigation leads them through Parisian salons, academic conferences, and underground political meetings.

Part Two: Bologna

The search for the document takes Bayard and Herzog to Bologna, Italy, where a clandestine gathering of linguists, spies, and political operatives unfolds. They encounter figures like Michel Foucault, Umberto Eco, and Julia Kristeva, all of whom may have motives to control the seventh function. A violent confrontation erupts, revealing deeper conspiracies.

Part Three: Ithaca

The trail leads to Cornell University in the U.S., where the final pieces of the puzzle come together. Herzog deciphers cryptic clues left by Barthes, while Bayard confronts the brutal realities of power and language. The truth about the seventh function—and Barthes’s death—is more dangerous than either imagined.

Epilogue

In a twist, the narrative shifts perspective, revealing hidden agendas and unresolved mysteries. The seventh function’s existence remains ambiguous, but its potential to manipulate reality lingers. The novel closes with a meditation on the power of words and the blurred line between theory and violence.

Key Ideas

• The power of language as a tool for manipulation and control.
• The intersection of academia, politics, and espionage.
• Postmodern critique of semiotics and literary theory.
• Blurring the line between fiction and historical figures.
• Conspiracy and the quest for hidden knowledge.