How Olive Oil Became Essential to Daily Life Across the Ancient World | Boring History

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Tonight, my tired friends, we 
begin with one of History's. 

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Quieter Essentials something 
small familiar and easily 

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overlooked for thousands of 
years, olive oil, touched daily 

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life, in simple ways passed from
hand to hand in kitchens 

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workshops and lamp lit rooms 
shaping routines that held 

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entire civilizations together. 
If you enjoy these, slow 

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comforting Journeys through 
history. 

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You can like the video, 
subscribe, and let me know where

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you're listening from, and what 
time it is. 

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Now, dim the lights. 
Turn on a fan for some white 

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noises usual, and let the night 
take over peaceful. 

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Welcome to tonight's journey 
through one of history's. 

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Most understated Treasures for 
the next hour, you'll discover 

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how a single golden liquid 
transformed kitchens illuminated

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cities, healed bodies and 
connected Distant, Shores 

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across, thousands of years. 
Now please imagine if you will 

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and that comfy purple mattress 
that so snuggly and cozy that 

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your standing in a Grove that 
predates written language, the 

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trees are around you twist 
Skyward with bark as null as 

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braided rope. 
The trunks wide enough that 

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you'd need three people. 
Linking hands to encircle the 

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oldest ones. 
These olive trees have witnessed

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Empires rise and crumble their 
Roots drinking from the same 

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Limestone soil for a thousand 
years or more. 

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The leaves catch off afternoon 
light with a peculiar Shimmer 

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silver underneath. 
Gray, green on top creating a 

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rustling canopy. 
That sounds like distant 

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rainfall even on windless days. 
Your fingers brush against bark,

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that feels like cooled, lava, 
all ridges and valleys Frozen 

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mid-flow. 
Tree doesn't grow straight, it 

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spirals corkscrews and splits 
into multiple trunks that we 

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join higher up as if the wood 
itself can't decide which 

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direction leads to sunlight, 
some branches look dead. 

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And you notice the small green 
shoots emerging from what 

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appeared to be Driftwood, olive 
trees. 

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You've learned refused to die. 
Easily cut one down to a stump 

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and it sends up New Growth 
within Seasons. 

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Set fire to an entire Grove and 
The Roots. 

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Wait, patiently underground. 
Ready to sprout? 

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Again, when conditions improve, 
The fruit hanging before you 

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looks nothing, like the glossy 
black olives in jars. 

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These are small hard green. 
Things about the size of a large

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marble with a waxy coating that 
repels morning dew. 

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You pick one and bite down 
without thinking then 

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immediately regret it. 
The bitterness floods, your 

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mouth, like you've licked a 
battery, a chemical Tang, so 

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intense it makes your jaw. 
Ache. 

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You spit it out quickly 
understanding. 

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Now, why these olives need 
processing need time and need 

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human intervention to become 
edible raw, olives contain All 

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European a compounds. 
So bitter it serves as the trees

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defense mechanism against 
animals who might otherwise 

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Devour the fruit before seeds 
can spread around you. 

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Other Harvesters work with the 
patients of people who have 

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performed this task since 
childhood And older woman's wide

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Nets beneath a particularly 
heavy laden, tree securing, the 

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corners with stones. 
So wind won't disturb them. 

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Two young people carry wooden 
ladders warns, Smooth by Decades

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of hands positioning them 
carefully against branches, as 

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thick as their torsos. 
There's minimal talking, 

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everyone knows their role in 
this Harvest that's been 

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repeated the same way for 
Generations, stretching back 

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before anyone bothered recording
such things. 

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The traditional Harvest happens 
in late Autumn when the olives 

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transition from green to purple 
to Black, though, your village, 

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prefers picking them young and 
green, this timing effects, the 

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oils flavor. 
Earlier Harvest produce oil with

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more bitterness and pepper and 
later Harvest brings sweetness 

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and buttery notes. 
You watch as someone uses a hand

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rake to comb through branches. 
Encouraging olives to drop into 

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Nets below without damaging the 
wood. 

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The sound of fruit hitting 
fabric creates a gentle. 

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Percussion hundreds of small 
impacts that blend into white 

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noise after a while a few trees 
over. 

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Someone has climbed High into 
the canopy visible, only a 

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shifting branches, and the 
occasional glimpse of a tunic 

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olives rain down in small 
clusters bouncing off Nets and 

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rolling towards the edges where 
children wait together escapees.

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The kids compete to see who can 
collect the most Strays turning 

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tedious labor into a game. 
The way children always manage 

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their laughter carries across 
the Grove breaking the 

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meditative silence for a moment.
Before being absorbed back into 

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the rustle of silver. 
Leafs, you bend to help gather 

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olives from a full net. 
Scooping handfuls into a woven 

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basket. 
That smells of Earth and 

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previous harvests. each Olive 
feels cool and firm with a 

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weight that belies its size, the
basket grows heavy quickly, all 

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of wood is dense, and even the 
fruit carries substantial Mass, 

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Your back reminds you of its 
presence. 

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As you Hoist, the full basket 
and carry it toward collection 

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carts, waiting at the Grove's 
Edge. 

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The path between trees is worn 
Smooth by countless feet 

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walking. 
This exact route Autumn after 

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Autumn carrying baskets, just 
like yours at the collection. 

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Point baskets, get emptied into 
larger containers, creating 

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small, Avalanches of green 
purple fruit that click against 

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would like hail on a roof. 
Someone tallies the Harvest in 

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marks on a clay tablet, tracking
which families contributed which

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amounts the accounting matters 
less than you'd expect most of 

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the oil will be pressed and 
shared communally anywhere with 

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extra jars. 
Going to families who 

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contributed the most labor, it's
an Economy based on effort 

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rather than ownership on 
Collective understanding rather 

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than written contracts. 
The Grove extends farther than 

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you can see from ground level 
100 of trees. 

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Marching up hillsides to Rocky 
and steep for grain. 

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Crops this is the olives gift. 
To Mediterranean people's it 

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thrives where we can barley fail
asking only for Limestone soil. 

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Hot dry Summers and Mild wet 
Winters. 

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The trees need almost no care 
once established. 

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No irrigation no fertilizer. 
Minimal pruning. 

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They simply exist producing 
fruit year after year with a 

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reliability that sustained 
civilizations through droughts 

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that would have killed any other
crop. 

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The sunset approaches the 
harvesting slows people roll up 

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nets secure, ladders and cover 
collection baskets with fabric 

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to protect them from due and 
opportunistic birds tomorrow 

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you'll begin the pressing. 
But tonight the olives will rest

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and so will you walking home 
through dimming light, you 

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notice how the silver underside 
of olive leaves seem to Glow 

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faintly catching the last race 
of sun and holding them a moment

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longer than other trees. 
It's a small magic, this 

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luminescence, but appropriate 
for a tree, whose fruit will 

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eventually become lighted 
itself. 

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The pressing room smells of 
crushed vegetation and stone 

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dust with undertones of 
fermentation that aren't 

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unpleasant. 
Once you adjust your standing 

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before a millstone larger than a
wagon wheel, watching it rotates

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slowly around a vertical axis, 
while a donkey pods and circles 

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connected to the stone by a worn
wooden beam. 

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The donkey knows this work. 
Intimately, requiring, no 

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guidance. 
Placing each hoof with a 

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careful. 
Precision of someone who's 

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traced this exact Circle 
thousands of times its eyes. 

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Hold that distance, look 
animals, develop when performing

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tasks that require presence but 
not attentions. 

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Beneath the Rolling Stone. 
Olives gradually transformed 

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from Individual fruits into a 
purple brown Pace. 

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The millstone doesn't Crush so 
much as grind. 

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Its weight sufficient to break 
down flesh and Pitt together 

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into a thick mixture that 
releases the first hints of oil.

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You can see it glistening on the
stone surface, catching light 

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from oil, lamps hung around the 
room. 

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The pace collects in a stone 
base and carved smooth over. 

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Centuries of use its surface 
stained dark from countless. 

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Pressings someone adds a new 
basket of Olives to the Mills 

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Edge, where the stone will, 
eventually reach them and pull 

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them into its grinding path. 
The Edition. 

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Barely interrupts the Rhythm, 
the donkey continues, its 

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circuit the stone continues, its
rotation and the paste grows 

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deeper in the collection. 
Basin watching the process 

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induces a kind of Trance the 
circular motion, the steady 

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progress and the gradual 
transformation happening at a 

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pace that defeats impatience. 
This isn't work, you can Rush. 

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Oil extraction requires time to 
do its work properly when the 

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paste reaches sufficient 
consistency. 

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Something judged by eye and 
texture of measurement workers, 

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scoop it into woven bags made 
from Esparto, grass or hemp. 

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These bags, get stacked 
carefully. 

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On a pressing platform 
alternating with a round. 

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Wooden discs that distribute 
pressure evenly You help 

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position the bags. 
Feeling the pace. 

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Cool moisture seep through the 
weaving, leaving your hands, 

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slick, the pace smells vegetable
and Alive. 

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Nothing like the refined oil, 
you'll eventually pour into 

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storage jars. 
The Press itself, dominates the 

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room, a massive wooden screw 
carved from a single beam 

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operated by a long lever that 
extends out like a ship's boom. 

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The screws threads are hand-cut 
showing the Erica marks of the 

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ads. 
That shape them four people take

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positions along the lever 
preparing to walk the circle 

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that will drive the screw 
downward into the Stacked bags. 

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Someone gives a signal and 
everyone pushes leaning their 

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weight into wood Smooth by 
countless Palms, the screw 

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descends slowly grudgingly 
protesting with creeks that Echo

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off stone walls. 
As pressure builds the first oil

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emerges it seeps through the 
bag. 

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Weaving runs down the sides of 
the discs and collects in a 

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shallow, trough carved into the 
pressing platform. 

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The liquid catches lamp light 
and throws it back transformed. 

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No longer white light, but 
something golden viscous and 

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alive. 
This first pressing produces the

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finest oil cold extracted 
without heat carrying the full 

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complexity of the fruit. 
You watch it accumulate with the

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satisfaction of witnessing 
creation. 

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Raw material becoming treasure 
through nothing but pressure and

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patience the workers. 
Continue pushing walking their 

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circle around the Press adding 
their strength to the screws 

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mechanical advantage. 
The more oil flows, the more the

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bags flattened and the paste 
inside compresses into dense. 

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So layers eventually the flow 
Slows To occasional drops. 

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Each one for forming at the 
bags. 

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Lowest point swelling, then 
falling to join its predecessors

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in the collection. 
Trough When drops become rare 

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enough to count individually, 
the pressing stops, the bags, 

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get removed. 
And the compressed paste inside 

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is now formed into hard cakes. 
These pressed cakes still 

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contain oil but extracting it 
requires different methods. 

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Some producers, add hot water 
and press again, creating a 

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lower grade oil suitable for 
lamps rather than tables others,

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save the cakes as fuel. 
They burn slowly and steadily 

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perfect for heating bath water 
or firing Pottery Kilns. 

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Nothing goes to waste in the 
economy where olives, represent 

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months of Labor, transformed 
into liquid value. 

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You helped transfer the freshly 
pressed oil from the collection 

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in to settling vessels wide clay
containers where the oil will 

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separate from residual water and
plant particles. 

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The settling takes days gravity 
doing slow, work. 

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That can't be hurried. 
Oil floats naturally above water

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creating a distinct boundary. 
You can see even in Lamplight. 

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Finest oil, Rises to the top. 
Clear and golden below it. 

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A layer of Cloudy oil mixed with
plant particles. 

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Below that the vegetable water 
called a mocha is still useful 

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for various purposes but is no 
longer food. 

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The pressing room maintains a 
temperature cooler than outside 

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taking advantage of thick stone 
walls, and minimal Windows heat 

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damages oil encouraging around 
city and destroying the delicate

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compounds that give good oil. 
Its character. 

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The workers here, understand 
chemistry without knowing its 

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name, using observation and 
tradition to guide processes 

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that modern science has only 
recently explained They know 

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that green olives pressed early 
yield spicy oil. 

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They know that damaged fruit 
creates off flavors. 

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They know that metal containers 
corrupt, The Taste while clay 

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preserves it. 
A large jar in the corner holds 

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oil from early oppressing, its 
surface covered with the layer 

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of natural settlement that 
protects the liquid beneath from

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oxidation. 
Someone dips a small clay cup 

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into the clear oil below the 
sediment layer. 

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Then offers it to you, you taste
it. 

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Carefully first the fruit, then 
the pepper at the back of your 

232
00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:57,600
throat, then a bitterness that 
somehow Pleasant all of it 

233
00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:00,700
balanced in a way that makes you
understand why people are valued

234
00:13:00,700 --> 00:13:02,500
this substance for thousands of 
years. 

235
00:13:02,500 --> 00:13:07,300
It tastes like the Grove like 
sunlight on Silver leaves like 

236
00:13:07,300 --> 00:13:11,600
patient, labor rewarded. 
As the days pressing concludes 

237
00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:14,900
workers clean tools with hot 
water and coarse cloths 

238
00:13:14,900 --> 00:13:17,400
scrubbing away. 
Paste residue before it can 

239
00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:20,800
Harden, the millstone gets a 
final rotation with nothing 

240
00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:22,900
beneath it clearing away, 
remaining debris. 

241
00:13:22,900 --> 00:13:27,900
The donkey is unhitched led to 
water and feed its work done 

242
00:13:27,900 --> 00:13:31,500
until tomorrow brings another 
rotation of the same wheel, the 

243
00:13:31,500 --> 00:13:35,100
same Circle, the same 
transformation of fruit into 

244
00:13:35,100 --> 00:13:37,300
gold. 
You leave the pressing room with

245
00:13:37,300 --> 00:13:40,400
hands that smell of olives. 
A scent that will linger for 

246
00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:44,200
days, no matter how many times 
you wash your kitchen measures, 

247
00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:48,400
perhaps 12 feet square, the 
floor of packed Earth, warn 

248
00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:52,300
smooth as River Stones sunlight 
enters, through a single window 

249
00:13:52,300 --> 00:13:55,300
covered with an oil cloth that 
glows Amber when backlit. 

250
00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:59,400
The rooms heart is a half built 
from stacked stone. 

251
00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:03,100
Its surface blackened by Decades
of cooking fires. 

252
00:14:03,100 --> 00:14:05,900
Next to the Hearth. 
It's row of storage vessels. 

253
00:14:05,900 --> 00:14:09,700
Each taller than a child, their 
clay surfaces cool. 

254
00:14:09,700 --> 00:14:13,400
Despite the warm after noon, one
of these jars holds olive oil, 

255
00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:17,500
perhaps 40 liters pressed last 
Autumn sealed with a clay 

256
00:14:17,500 --> 00:14:20,300
stopper and wax to keep air from
spoiling its contents. 

257
00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:25,100
Tip, the large jar, carefully 
letting oil flow into a smaller 

258
00:14:25,100 --> 00:14:27,600
vessel. 
That's easier to handle the oil 

259
00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:31,000
moves, more slowly than water 
with a thickness that makes it 

260
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:34,600
want to cling to surfaces. 
It catches light as it, pours 

261
00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:38,800
transforming from Golden to 
Amber to almost green depending 

262
00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:41,600
on the angle. 
This oil will flavor tonight's 

263
00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:43,700
meal and tomorrow's and the day 
after that. 

264
00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:48,300
Constant presence and cooking is
fundamental as fire itself 

265
00:14:48,300 --> 00:14:53,200
without it, your Cuisine would 
lose half its identity becoming 

266
00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:55,800
something unrecognizable to 
anyone raised on the 

267
00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:58,700
Mediterranean Shore's on a 
wooden cutting board. 

268
00:14:58,700 --> 00:15:02,400
You arrange vegetables for 
tonight's meal leeks, onions, 

269
00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:06,300
some early greens and lentils 
that have been soaking since 

270
00:15:06,300 --> 00:15:09,000
morning the knife in your hand 
is bronze. 

271
00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:12,200
Its Edge, requiring regular 
sharpening but holding a 

272
00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:15,000
keenness that iron tools. 
Will later struggle to match. 

273
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:18,900
You chop the leeks in to rounds 
and onions into rough chunks. 

274
00:15:18,900 --> 00:15:21,800
Working with the Casual 
efficiency of someone who's 

275
00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:25,900
prepared thousands of meals. 
Each piece falls into a clay 

276
00:15:25,900 --> 00:15:29,000
Bowl already slicked. 
With all of oil, the vegetables,

277
00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:32,100
beginning their transformation. 
Even before heater arrives. 

278
00:15:32,100 --> 00:15:37,000
The cooking pot is ceramic, it's
inside surface darkened by use, 

279
00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,800
but still sound free of cracks, 
that would let liquid seep 

280
00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:44,800
through you pour olive oil into 
the pot, first enough to coat, 

281
00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:48,000
the bottom generously, perhaps a
quarter cup by modern 

282
00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:51,300
measurements, though, you judge 
by, I and habit, rather than 

283
00:15:51,300 --> 00:15:55,100
precise amounts the oil spreads 
across the pots, interior 

284
00:15:55,100 --> 00:15:59,100
finding every curve and 
depression, creating a golden 

285
00:15:59,100 --> 00:16:02,900
pool that will prevent food from
sticking and contribute, its own

286
00:16:02,900 --> 00:16:06,500
flavor to whatever Cooks within 
coals from the mornings fire, 

287
00:16:06,500 --> 00:16:10,000
still glow, red beneath white 
ash, you brush away, the Ash 

288
00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:12,500
with a bundle of straw exposing 
the heat. 

289
00:16:12,500 --> 00:16:16,800
Then position, the pot carefully
over the hottest section, the 

290
00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:20,000
oil begins warming immediately, 
it surfaced developing the 

291
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:23,800
faintest Shimmer as convection, 
currents move through it, you 

292
00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:26,700
test the temperature by dropping
a small piece of onion into the 

293
00:16:26,700 --> 00:16:29,100
oil. 
It should Sizzle gently without 

294
00:16:29,100 --> 00:16:31,700
immediately Browning creating a 
sustained. 

295
00:16:31,700 --> 00:16:33,100
Hiss. 
That tells you the heat is 

296
00:16:33,100 --> 00:16:37,000
right, the vegetables go in next
tumbling from Bold to pot with 

297
00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:39,300
sounds that satisfy on some 
Primal level. 

298
00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:43,700
The hiss of moisture meeting hot
oil, the crackle is sugars, 

299
00:16:43,700 --> 00:16:47,300
begin to caramelize and the 
aromatic steam that rises to 

300
00:16:47,300 --> 00:16:50,600
fill the kitchen with promise, 
you stir with a wooden spoon 

301
00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:54,600
worn Smooth by years of use its 
handle permanently stained with 

302
00:16:54,608 --> 00:16:56,100
oil. 
That's seeped into the wood 

303
00:16:56,100 --> 00:16:58,800
grain. 
The vegetable soften gradually, 

304
00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:02,900
the colors intensifying rather 
than fading all of oil 

305
00:17:02,900 --> 00:17:05,900
preserving, the bright greens 
and deep purples in ways that 

306
00:17:05,900 --> 00:17:09,900
water-based cooking never could 
a small Jug on the Shelf holds 

307
00:17:09,900 --> 00:17:11,599
oil reserve for finishing 
dishes. 

308
00:17:11,599 --> 00:17:14,900
The finest pressing kept 
separate for drizzling, over 

309
00:17:14,900 --> 00:17:18,599
food, just before serving. 
This oil never sees heat 

310
00:17:18,599 --> 00:17:21,099
preserving all the delicate 
compounds. 

311
00:17:21,099 --> 00:17:24,000
That make it special, you'll use
it to night to dress. 

312
00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:27,400
Lentils, after they finish 
cooking adding a final layer of 

313
00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:30,800
flavor that heat treated oil 
can't provide the difference 

314
00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:33,700
between cooking oil and 
finishing oil matters enormously

315
00:17:33,700 --> 00:17:37,400
though, it explaining exactly 
why requires vocabulary, your 

316
00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:40,500
culture hasn't yet developed. 
While the vegetables cook, you 

317
00:17:40,500 --> 00:17:44,300
prepare flatbread dough flour, 
water, a pinch of salt and olive

318
00:17:44,300 --> 00:17:47,500
oil work together until the 
mixture stops sticking to your 

319
00:17:47,508 --> 00:17:49,800
hands. 
The oil makes the dough more 

320
00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:53,100
forgiving easier to handle and 
less likely to tear when you 

321
00:17:53,100 --> 00:17:55,900
stretch it thin. 
You let it rest while the 

322
00:17:55,900 --> 00:17:59,500
lentils simmer the doe 
developing texture Through Time,

323
00:17:59,500 --> 00:18:03,200
rather than effort later, you'll
form it into circles, cooking 

324
00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:05,600
them directly on a hot stone at 
the hearths edge. 

325
00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:09,000
Brushing each finished bread 
with olive oil to keep it soft 

326
00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:12,000
in the corner. 
A smaller jar holds olive oil, 

327
00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:16,400
infused with herbs rosemary, 
thyme and bay leaves submerged 

328
00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:19,600
in oil for weeks until their 
Essences permeate. 

329
00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:22,800
The liquid you use this for 
special occasions but even 

330
00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:25,800
ordinary days might see it 
appear if meals feel to plain 

331
00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:29,800
the herbs, add complexity yes 
but more importantly they 

332
00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:33,100
preserve the oils freshness 
their natural antibacterial 

333
00:18:33,100 --> 00:18:35,800
properties. 
Extending shelf life in ways 

334
00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:39,100
that seem almost magical. 
You understand this works 

335
00:18:39,100 --> 00:18:42,600
without knowing why Following 
practices handed down through 

336
00:18:42,600 --> 00:18:45,200
generations of cooks who 
discovered through trial and 

337
00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:46,900
error. 
What science will later, 

338
00:18:46,900 --> 00:18:49,800
explain. 
The lentils need another edition

339
00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:53,700
of oil, Midway through cooking, 
not for flavor this time but to 

340
00:18:53,700 --> 00:18:57,100
prevent them from foaming over, 
A thin stream poured across the 

341
00:18:57,100 --> 00:19:00,700
pots surface calms, the bubbling
immediately, the oil spreading 

342
00:19:00,700 --> 00:19:03,200
to trap and collapse foam before
it can escape. 

343
00:19:04,100 --> 00:19:06,600
This trick works. 
So reliably you barely think 

344
00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:09,100
about it anymore. 
Just as you barely think about 

345
00:19:09,100 --> 00:19:11,400
breathing olive, oil isn't an 
ingredient. 

346
00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:13,800
You had to cooking. 
It's the media within which 

347
00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:16,300
cooking happens as essential as 
the pot itself. 

348
00:19:17,300 --> 00:19:20,000
His evening deepens, you like 
lamps throughout the house. 

349
00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:23,000
These are simple. 
Clay vessels with a spout for 

350
00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:24,700
the wick. 
And a hole for pouring fuel. 

351
00:19:24,700 --> 00:19:27,500
Olive oil fills each lamp the 
same oil. 

352
00:19:27,500 --> 00:19:30,900
You cook with though, perhaps an
older pressing or a lower grade,

353
00:19:30,900 --> 00:19:32,600
that's developed a slight 
bitterness. 

354
00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:36,100
The Wicks are twisted flax 
trimmed regularly to prevent 

355
00:19:36,100 --> 00:19:38,400
smoking. 
You like them one by one 

356
00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:42,300
watching small Flames appear and
settle into steady burning the 

357
00:19:42,300 --> 00:19:44,300
light. 
They cast is warmer than later. 

358
00:19:44,300 --> 00:19:48,100
Petroleum products will provide 
with a slight golden quality 

359
00:19:48,100 --> 00:19:52,600
that makes skin look healthier 
and food more appetizing The 

360
00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:56,600
meal finishes cooking as full 
Darkness arrives, you Ladle. 

361
00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:59,800
Lentils into shallow bowls 
vegetables into a communal dish 

362
00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:04,200
and bread onto a wooden board. 
Final touch that. 

363
00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:07,000
Reserved finishing oil gets 
drizzled over everything with a 

364
00:20:07,008 --> 00:20:10,600
practiced hand. 
Creating glossy pools that sink 

365
00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:14,500
slowly into the hot food. 
The aroma is extraordinary all 

366
00:20:14,500 --> 00:20:17,800
the meals elements unified by 
the single ingredient that's 

367
00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:19,900
touched. 
Every component from raw to 

368
00:20:19,900 --> 00:20:22,800
finished. 
You eat with bread, torn by hand

369
00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:25,600
using pieces to scoop up lentils
and vegetables. 

370
00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:29,200
The breads oil brush surface, 
making each bite Rich enough to 

371
00:20:29,208 --> 00:20:32,200
satisfy without overwhelming, 
after the meal. 

372
00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:35,400
You save the oil that remains in
serving dishes, pouring it back 

373
00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:37,400
into storage rather than 
discarding it. 

374
00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:41,400
This oil is taken on flavors 
from the food, it touched making

375
00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:44,400
it perfect for tomorrow's 
cooking where those flavors will

376
00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:47,700
contribute to new dishes. 
Nothing goes to waste and a 

377
00:20:47,700 --> 00:20:49,900
household where olive oil 
represents stored, labor, 

378
00:20:49,900 --> 00:20:52,900
stored, sunlight and stored 
wealth. 

379
00:20:52,900 --> 00:20:56,000
In his most fungible form the 
jars in your kitchen. 

380
00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,600
Hold more than food. 
They hold security. 

381
00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:02,700
Knowing that, even if grain 
harvest fail, these Sealed 

382
00:21:02,700 --> 00:21:04,600
vessels. 
Contain enough calories to see 

383
00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:08,200
your family through lean months.
You're walking through the city 

384
00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:11,700
after Sunset navigating streets.
That would be treacherous 

385
00:21:11,700 --> 00:21:15,400
without illumination. 
Light spills from every window 

386
00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:18,800
and doorway each building 
contributing its share to the 

387
00:21:18,808 --> 00:21:21,600
collective effort of holding 
Darkness at Bay. 

388
00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:25,700
The primary source of all this 
light hangs from brackets, sits 

389
00:21:25,700 --> 00:21:29,200
and niches. 
And rests on Ledges thousands of

390
00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:32,600
small clay lamps. 
Each burning olive oil with a 

391
00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:34,500
steadiness that candles were 
later. 

392
00:21:34,500 --> 00:21:37,100
Struggle to match. 
The Flames are surprisingly 

393
00:21:37,100 --> 00:21:40,700
bright numerous enough that you 
can read inscriptions on public 

394
00:21:40,700 --> 00:21:45,100
buildings, recognize faces from 
20 feet away and avoid. 

395
00:21:45,100 --> 00:21:48,800
Stepping in things better left 
unmentioned, the city's Main 

396
00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:51,800
Street features, elaborate lamps
Downs, taller than a person 

397
00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:55,700
designed to illuminate public 
spaces, where citizens, gather 

398
00:21:55,700 --> 00:21:59,300
off to Daylight ends. 
These stands hold multiple lamps

399
00:21:59,300 --> 00:22:02,100
range in tears, creating islands
of brightness. 

400
00:22:02,100 --> 00:22:05,500
That push back Shadows. 
Someone maintains these lamps 

401
00:22:05,500 --> 00:22:09,700
refilling, oil trimming Wix and 
ensuring Flames, don't fail 

402
00:22:09,700 --> 00:22:12,100
during the night hours when 
their absence would be most 

403
00:22:12,100 --> 00:22:15,200
keenly felt. 
A public service is important as

404
00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:18,900
maintaining Wells or repairing 
roads paid for by wealthy 

405
00:22:18,900 --> 00:22:22,300
citizens who understand that 
dark streets, discourage, commas

406
00:22:22,300 --> 00:22:25,800
and encourage crimes. 
You pass a merchant shop where 

407
00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:29,300
Lamplight streams through an 
open doorway revealing customers

408
00:22:29,300 --> 00:22:33,700
examining Goods despite the late
hour, the shops interior blazes 

409
00:22:33,700 --> 00:22:36,500
with perhaps 20 laps positioned 
throughout the space. 

410
00:22:36,500 --> 00:22:39,500
On counters hanging from the 
ceiling. 

411
00:22:39,500 --> 00:22:42,500
Tucked into Corners, to 
eliminate all Shadows, this 

412
00:22:42,500 --> 00:22:46,600
abundance of light represents 
significant expense with all of 

413
00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:48,800
oil consumed by the literature 
each night. 

414
00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:52,200
But the merchant considers it 
essential customers. 

415
00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:54,700
Won't buy what? 
They can't properly, see, and 

416
00:22:54,700 --> 00:22:57,700
the extended hours more than 
compensate for the fuel costs. 

417
00:22:58,700 --> 00:23:02,100
Temple ahead uses light as an 
element of religious experience.

418
00:23:02,100 --> 00:23:05,900
With hundreds of lamps oranged 
to create specific effects 

419
00:23:05,900 --> 00:23:08,600
Flames. 
Reflect off polished marble 

420
00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:12,800
multiply and bronze mirrors, and
cast Shadows of columns, that 

421
00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:15,400
seemed to dance as air. 
Currents make the Flames, 

422
00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:19,000
flicker the priest, understand 
lighting design, intuitively 

423
00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:22,300
positioning lamps to emphasize 
Divine statues. 

424
00:23:22,300 --> 00:23:25,600
While leaving other areas in 
mysterious dimness, the 

425
00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:28,500
interplay of the light and 
Shadow transformed architecture 

426
00:23:28,500 --> 00:23:32,000
into theater. 
Making the Sacred Space feel 

427
00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:35,700
separate from the mundane World 
outside at a corner you noticed 

428
00:23:35,700 --> 00:23:38,000
someone refilling Street lamps 
from a large jug. 

429
00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:42,200
Moving from bracket to bracket 
with practice efficiency, The 

430
00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:45,300
Lamplighter pours oil through a 
small funnel careful. 

431
00:23:45,300 --> 00:23:49,500
Not to spill or overfill knowing
exactly how much each lamp needs

432
00:23:49,500 --> 00:23:52,400
to burn through the night. 
When one lamp shows a weak 

433
00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:55,500
flame, The Lamplighter adjusts 
the wick pulling, it slightly 

434
00:23:55,500 --> 00:23:58,500
higher to draw more oil, 
increasing brightness. 

435
00:23:58,500 --> 00:24:01,100
This work continues every 
evening. 

436
00:24:01,100 --> 00:24:06,300
A routine as regular sunrise in 
the city, never returns to the 

437
00:24:06,300 --> 00:24:10,000
vulnerability of total darkness.
You turn down a residential 

438
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:12,600
street, where light is more 
modest but still present. 

439
00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:16,100
Each household maintains at 
least one lamp visible from the 

440
00:24:16,100 --> 00:24:18,600
street. 
A contribution to Collective 

441
00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:22,000
safety, that custom demands even
from the poorest families. 

442
00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:25,900
Some windows show, the Warm Glow
of multiple lamps insides 

443
00:24:25,900 --> 00:24:28,800
suggesting households wealthy 
enough for evening activities, 

444
00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:32,500
Beyond sleep. 
Others displaying single Flames,

445
00:24:32,500 --> 00:24:36,600
sufficient for basic tasks, but 
leaving much of the interior in 

446
00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:39,400
darkness, you can map the 
neighborhood's, economic 

447
00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:43,500
geography by counting visible, 
Flame's a Tavon ahead, spills 

448
00:24:43,500 --> 00:24:47,300
light and sound in the street. 
Its doorway bright as midday 

449
00:24:47,300 --> 00:24:51,300
inside lamps, hang from every 
available beam clustered, so 

450
00:24:51,300 --> 00:24:54,700
densely that individual Flames 
blend into General brilliant's 

451
00:24:55,100 --> 00:24:57,600
The Tavern keeper. 
Understands that Darkness 

452
00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:02,200
encourages sleep, while light 
encourages spending, So the oil 

453
00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:07,100
flows freely, the Wicks burn 
tall and customers, linger hours

454
00:25:07,100 --> 00:25:09,100
passed, what they originally 
intended. 

455
00:25:09,100 --> 00:25:13,000
This calculated generosity with 
lighting cost less than the 

456
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:17,900
additional Wine and Food sales. 
It generates Downside Ali, you 

457
00:25:17,900 --> 00:25:21,500
glimpse a different kind of 
flame, the blue, tinged burn of 

458
00:25:21,500 --> 00:25:25,200
a lamp fueled by something other
than pure olive oil, lower 

459
00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:28,500
grade, pressings vegetable 
water, with residual, oil 

460
00:25:28,500 --> 00:25:31,600
content and even fish oil in 
coastal cities. 

461
00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:35,300
All these find their way into 
lamps when pure olive oils cost 

462
00:25:35,300 --> 00:25:38,400
exceed, someone's budget the 
resulting Flames. 

463
00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:42,400
Burned dirty producing more 
smoke and less light, but still 

464
00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:44,500
push back. 
Darkness more effectively than 

465
00:25:44,500 --> 00:25:48,700
the no light at all. 
You can judge household finances

466
00:25:48,700 --> 00:25:52,400
by the quality of flame visible 
through Windows, a bathhouse, 

467
00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:56,100
complex ahead glows, like a 
Beacon Light streaming from high

468
00:25:56,100 --> 00:25:59,400
windows, were steam clouds the 
glass inside. 

469
00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:02,000
Hundreds of lamps, maintain 
illumination, even in the 

470
00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:05,300
bathing rooms where moisture and
heat create challenges for 

471
00:26:05,300 --> 00:26:09,000
maintaining Flames, special 
lamps with protective covers. 

472
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:13,100
Keep water from drowning Wix 
while ventilation systems draw. 

473
00:26:13,100 --> 00:26:15,600
Smoke away before it can 
accumulate enough to bother 

474
00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:19,200
bathers, the bathhouse 
advertises its luxury partly 

475
00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:22,000
through this properly. 
Get use of light if they can 

476
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,800
afford to illuminate even the 
changing rooms brilliantly, 

477
00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:27,800
clearly they spare, no expense 
elsewhere. 

478
00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:32,000
You reach your destination, a 
friend's apartment on the third 

479
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,200
floor of an insular. 
The building stairwell is dark 

480
00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:38,800
except for a single lamp on each
Landing, just enough to prevent 

481
00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:41,700
Falls, but requiring careful 
attention to where you place 

482
00:26:41,700 --> 00:26:44,400
your feet. 
This minimal lighting represents

483
00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:47,800
a calculated economy. 
The building's landlord provides

484
00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:50,900
enough oil for safety, but 
nothing more residents who want 

485
00:26:50,900 --> 00:26:54,100
brighter, stairwells bring their
own lamps, carrying them up and 

486
00:26:54,100 --> 00:26:56,300
down, like the portable light 
sources that they are. 

487
00:26:57,200 --> 00:27:00,300
Inside your friend's apartment, 
several lamps, create a 

488
00:27:00,308 --> 00:27:03,100
comfortable glow. 
That makes the small space feel 

489
00:27:03,100 --> 00:27:06,200
welcoming the lamp. 
Sit on a shelf specifically 

490
00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:08,700
designed for them. 
Positioned to illuminate the 

491
00:27:08,700 --> 00:27:10,400
room without risk of being 
knocked over. 

492
00:27:11,300 --> 00:27:15,200
Wix are trimmed short to prevent
smoking and Flames are adjusted 

493
00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:16,900
to provide light without wasting
oil. 

494
00:27:16,900 --> 00:27:19,900
Your friend demonstrates a 
technique for making oil. 

495
00:27:19,900 --> 00:27:24,000
Last longer adding water to the 
lamps base, creating a layer 

496
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:27,500
beneath the oil, that the wick 
can't reach as the oil burns 

497
00:27:27,500 --> 00:27:29,900
down. 
It eventually sits a top water 

498
00:27:29,900 --> 00:27:32,900
and the Wix stops drawing fuel 
precisely. 

499
00:27:32,900 --> 00:27:35,200
When the oil is exhausted 
preventing waste. 

500
00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:38,700
Notice how the Lamplight makes 
everything look slightly golden 

501
00:27:38,700 --> 00:27:43,600
skin tones, warmer food, more 
appetizing and the rooms warned 

502
00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:46,900
Furniture more presentable. 
This is all of oils gift to be 

503
00:27:46,908 --> 00:27:50,300
on Mira illumination. 
It transforms Vision itself, 

504
00:27:50,300 --> 00:27:54,500
making the Night World gentler 
than daylight ever appears 

505
00:27:54,500 --> 00:27:58,900
Modern Electric Light will later
strip away this warmth replacing

506
00:27:58,900 --> 00:28:02,500
it with harsh neutrality, that 
claims to show things as they 

507
00:28:02,500 --> 00:28:05,200
really are. 
But people raise by all of oil 

508
00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:08,400
Flames know. 
The truth reality has always 

509
00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:11,100
been golden at the edges. 
Warm in the shadows. 

510
00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:15,700
And software Darkness and Light 
Meat as you eventually leave and

511
00:28:15,700 --> 00:28:18,900
walk home, the city's lights, 
create a constellation at ground

512
00:28:18,900 --> 00:28:22,300
level each flame a small star 
burning olive oil. 

513
00:28:22,300 --> 00:28:25,000
Instead of hydrogen the 
collective brightness is 

514
00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:27,900
sufficient that you can see 
clouds reflecting the glow. 

515
00:28:27,900 --> 00:28:31,700
The night sky above the city, 
subtly lighter than the rural 

516
00:28:31,700 --> 00:28:35,100
Darkness beyond the walls. 
This artificial day extends, 

517
00:28:35,100 --> 00:28:39,100
human activity hours passed what
nature intended and all of it 

518
00:28:39,100 --> 00:28:43,400
runs on olives on Groves and 
presses and jars of gold and 

519
00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:46,500
fuel that makes civilization 
possible after Sunset. 

520
00:28:46,500 --> 00:28:49,500
Your watching a physician 
prepare for treatment in a room 

521
00:28:49,500 --> 00:28:53,200
that smells of herbs and heated 
olive oil, The Physician works 

522
00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:56,900
at a table covered with small 
ceramic vessels each containing 

523
00:28:56,900 --> 00:29:00,200
different preparations some pure
oil others. 

524
00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:02,700
Infused with plant materials 
whose properties have been 

525
00:29:02,708 --> 00:29:06,800
observed and catalogued through 
generations of practice the 

526
00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:09,300
doctors hands move with the 
confidence of someone who's 

527
00:29:09,300 --> 00:29:13,100
performed these preparations. 
Thousands of Times measuring by.

528
00:29:13,100 --> 00:29:17,100
I adjusting proportions based on
factors that have more to do 

529
00:29:17,100 --> 00:29:20,100
with intuition than formula. 
A patient sits nearby. 

530
00:29:20,100 --> 00:29:24,700
An older man, with joint pain 
that worsens each winter, The 

531
00:29:24,700 --> 00:29:28,100
Physician warms olive oil in a 
shallow bronze pan, held over a 

532
00:29:28,100 --> 00:29:31,600
small Brazier monitoring 
temperature by testing drops on 

533
00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:34,900
the back of one hand, when the 
oil reaches the right warmth, 

534
00:29:34,900 --> 00:29:37,400
hot enough to fill therapeutic, 
but not burning. 

535
00:29:38,100 --> 00:29:41,400
The Physician applies it to the 
patient's knees, working the oil

536
00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:44,100
into the skin with firm circular
motions. 

537
00:29:44,100 --> 00:29:48,000
The patient's expression shifts 
from discomfort to relief as 

538
00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:52,600
warmth penetrates into joints. 
The oil carrying heat deeper 

539
00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:55,800
than it would penetrate alone. 
The massage continues for, 

540
00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:59,400
perhaps, 20 minutes, the 
Physicians hands never pausing, 

541
00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:03,300
maintaining constant contact 
with skin that gradually pink 

542
00:30:03,300 --> 00:30:06,800
from increased blood flow. 
More oil gets added as the first

543
00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:08,700
application of absorbs into the 
skin. 

544
00:30:08,700 --> 00:30:12,800
The physician using far more 
than you'd expect believe that 

545
00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:15,900
generous amounts work better 
than conservative applications. 

546
00:30:15,900 --> 00:30:17,800
The excess does not bother 
anyone. 

547
00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:21,500
What doesn't absorb will be 
white and the oil will be 

548
00:30:21,500 --> 00:30:23,600
transferred to cloths. 
That will later be used for 

549
00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:27,000
other purposes. 
Nothing goes to waste on the 

550
00:30:27,008 --> 00:30:28,800
table. 
Another preparation weights 

551
00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:31,500
olive oil, infused with 
chamomile lavender, and 

552
00:30:31,500 --> 00:30:33,800
something else. 
You don't recognize the 

553
00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:36,400
physician explains that this 
mixture helps with sleep 

554
00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:39,500
troubles, the herbs properties 
carried into the body, through 

555
00:30:39,500 --> 00:30:43,400
skin absorption, your skeptical 
about herbs, affecting sleep 

556
00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:46,500
through topical application, but
the physician insists that 

557
00:30:46,500 --> 00:30:48,500
patients report better rest 
after evening. 

558
00:30:48,500 --> 00:30:51,900
Massages, with this particular 
blend, Whether it works through 

559
00:30:51,900 --> 00:30:54,900
absorption or simply because 
warm oil massage, relaxes 

560
00:30:54,900 --> 00:30:58,400
people, the results seems 
consistent enough to justify the

561
00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:01,000
preparations. 
Existence, a younger woman 

562
00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:05,100
arrives with a skin condition. 
Patches of dry flaking skin on 

563
00:31:05,100 --> 00:31:08,900
her arms that itch constantly. 
The Physician examines the 

564
00:31:08,900 --> 00:31:12,700
affected areas then reaches for 
a jar of olive oil, mixed with 

565
00:31:12,700 --> 00:31:16,300
beeswax and something that 
smells faintly of pine, this 

566
00:31:16,300 --> 00:31:19,100
preparation has the consistency 
of soft butter. 

567
00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,100
Spreading easily but staying 
where it's applied, rather than 

568
00:31:23,100 --> 00:31:25,700
running off skin. 
The Physician applies it 

569
00:31:25,700 --> 00:31:29,000
generously to the affected 
areas, explaining that the oil, 

570
00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:32,400
softens the skin, while the wax 
creates a barrier that prevents 

571
00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:35,200
moisture loss. 
The pine component collected as 

572
00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:37,800
resin. 
From local trees, helps reduce 

573
00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:40,700
inflammation through mechanisms.
The Physician doesn't fully 

574
00:31:40,700 --> 00:31:44,300
understand, but as observed 
countless times, you watch The 

575
00:31:44,300 --> 00:31:47,000
Physician, prepare a wound 
dressing for someone who burned 

576
00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:51,100
their hand in a cooking fire. 
Clean cloth gets soaked in olive

577
00:31:51,100 --> 00:31:54,100
oil and then wrapped around the 
injury after cleaning the oil. 

578
00:31:54,100 --> 00:31:58,000
Soaked bandage keeps air from 
reaching the burn skin, reducing

579
00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:00,800
pain and preventing the wound 
from drying into hard. 

580
00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:02,800
Scabs that might crack and 
reopen. 

581
00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:05,500
The Physician changes, the 
dressing daily. 

582
00:32:05,500 --> 00:32:09,200
Each time applying fresh oil 
maintaining the wound in a moist

583
00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:12,300
environment that promotes 
healing modern medicine, will 

584
00:32:12,300 --> 00:32:15,600
eventually prove this treatment 
effective though, the Physicians

585
00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:18,300
great great grandchildren won't 
live long enough to see that 

586
00:32:18,300 --> 00:32:22,400
validation in the corner, large 
storage jars, hold olive oil, 

587
00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:26,500
reserves specifically for 
medical use not necessarily the 

588
00:32:26,500 --> 00:32:30,800
finest pressing but clean oil 
from healthy fruit free of the 

589
00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:33,000
rancidity. 
That develops and poorly stored 

590
00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:37,100
supplies, The Physician checks, 
the stores regularly ensuring 

591
00:32:37,100 --> 00:32:39,800
sufficient quantity, to handle, 
the regular stream of patients. 

592
00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:42,500
Who arrive seeking treatment for
ailments? 

593
00:32:42,500 --> 00:32:46,000
Ranging from minor skin. 
Irritations to serious injuries 

594
00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:50,400
during epidemic years oil 
consumption in Is dramatically 

595
00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:53,600
as the physician treats more 
patience than usual, applying 

596
00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:56,200
oil. 
To Fever hot skin mixing it with

597
00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:59,800
medicines that need a carrier 
base and using it to prevent bed

598
00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:04,200
sores in patients too, weak to 
move a shelf, holds specialized 

599
00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:08,000
tools bronze instruments for 
scraping oil from skin after 

600
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:12,500
massages, small cups for mixing 
preparations, mortars for 

601
00:33:12,500 --> 00:33:16,200
grinding herbs, that will be 
infused into oil and delicate 

602
00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:18,900
measuring spoons. 
That allow precise dosing when 

603
00:33:18,900 --> 00:33:22,400
patients need specific amounts 
of medicated preparations. 

604
00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:26,300
Each tool shows the wearer of 
regular use bronzer Services 

605
00:33:26,300 --> 00:33:30,400
Polished by countless cleaning 
and ceramic mortars stained from

606
00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:33,700
hundreds of different herb. 
Mixtures, this is a working 

607
00:33:33,700 --> 00:33:37,400
space, not decorative. 
Every item is present because it

608
00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:41,000
serves a practical purpose. 
The Physician prepares an oil 

609
00:33:41,008 --> 00:33:44,400
mixture for you to take home. 
Explaining its use for minor 

610
00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:48,000
cuts and scrapes. 
The base is pure olive oil with 

611
00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:50,500
small amounts of crushed garlic 
for its antibacterial 

612
00:33:50,500 --> 00:33:53,600
properties, and honey for wound 
sealing. 

613
00:33:53,600 --> 00:33:58,100
The mix just smells pungent but 
not unpleasant and the physician

614
00:33:58,100 --> 00:34:00,000
assures. 
You it prevents the festering 

615
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:02,500
that turns minor injuries into 
serious problems. 

616
00:34:02,500 --> 00:34:04,700
You'll use it. 
Whenever someone in your 

617
00:34:04,700 --> 00:34:07,900
household suffers a cut, 
applying it twice daily until 

618
00:34:07,900 --> 00:34:10,500
healing completes. 
The preparation will last 

619
00:34:10,500 --> 00:34:12,900
months. 
If stored properly, the olive 

620
00:34:12,900 --> 00:34:15,900
oil preventing bacterial growth 
in the honey, garlic mixture 

621
00:34:15,900 --> 00:34:19,000
through mechanisms. 
Nobody will understand for 

622
00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:21,500
another 2000 years before 
leaving. 

623
00:34:21,500 --> 00:34:25,600
You notice the Physicians own 
hands, smooth, Supple, and 

624
00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:27,900
showing none of the roughness. 
You'd expect from someone who 

625
00:34:27,900 --> 00:34:30,100
works. 
Constantly, The Physician 

626
00:34:30,100 --> 00:34:34,100
catches your glance and holds up
both hands demonstrating skin, 

627
00:34:34,100 --> 00:34:35,900
that seems younger than the face
of it. 

628
00:34:36,699 --> 00:34:40,500
The secret is simple. 
Constant contact with olive oil 

629
00:34:40,500 --> 00:34:43,500
hands soaking in it. 
Daily through the work of 

630
00:34:43,500 --> 00:34:46,600
treating others. 
The oil penetrate so deeply and 

631
00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:50,400
so regularly that The Physician 
Skin maintains flexibility, that

632
00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:52,199
people decades. 
Young might envy. 

633
00:34:52,199 --> 00:34:56,699
It's not occupational benefit 
unintended, but welcome, that 

634
00:34:56,699 --> 00:34:59,500
makes the Physicians hands 
themselves in avertisment for 

635
00:34:59,500 --> 00:35:03,000
oils properties. 
You head to the public baths 

636
00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:05,000
next. 
A routine that says as much 

637
00:35:05,008 --> 00:35:08,400
about social connection as 
hygiene, the bath complex is 

638
00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:10,800
entrance area smells powerfully 
of olive oil. 

639
00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:14,700
The scent intensified by heat 
and humidity drifting from the 

640
00:35:14,700 --> 00:35:18,200
bathing rooms Beyond attendance.
Stand, ready with bronze, 

641
00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:21,500
implements and ceramic vessels 
prepared to perform the scraping

642
00:35:21,500 --> 00:35:23,400
ritual. 
That's become Central to bathing

643
00:35:23,400 --> 00:35:25,600
culture. 
You pass through to the changing

644
00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:28,100
room, storing clothes in a cubby
while trying to remember which 

645
00:35:28,100 --> 00:35:32,300
number your belongings occupy. 
The warm room comes first with a

646
00:35:32,308 --> 00:35:34,700
temperature comfortable enough 
to begin sweating without 

647
00:35:34,700 --> 00:35:37,700
shocking the system. 
An attendant approaches with a 

648
00:35:37,700 --> 00:35:40,700
ceramic vessel of olive oil 
offering to perform the full 

649
00:35:40,700 --> 00:35:43,700
cleansing ritual, you agree. 
And the attendant begins 

650
00:35:43,700 --> 00:35:45,600
applying oil generously across 
your skin. 

651
00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:50,000
Arms legs back chest using 
enough that it runs in small 

652
00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:52,100
rivulets before being spread 
more evenly. 

653
00:35:52,100 --> 00:35:56,100
The oil sits on skin without 
immediately absorbing creating a

654
00:35:56,100 --> 00:35:57,900
slick barrier between you and 
the world. 

655
00:35:57,900 --> 00:36:01,200
The warm rooms heat increases 
your Skin's temperature. 

656
00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:05,000
Gradually opening pause and 
encouraging perspiration. 

657
00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:08,700
That mixes with the olive oil 
coating your body after perhaps 

658
00:36:08,700 --> 00:36:13,200
15 minutes, when sweaters, began
flowing, freely, the attendant 

659
00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:17,400
returns with astral, a curved 
bronze Blade with a handle. 

660
00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:21,600
Designed specifically for 
scraping oil and dirt from skin.

661
00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:25,200
The scraping process looks 
violent but feel surprisingly 

662
00:36:25,200 --> 00:36:28,500
Pleasant the blade removing oil 
dead. 

663
00:36:28,500 --> 00:36:32,400
Skin cells sweat. 
And accumulated Grime in long 

664
00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:34,200
strokes that leave Clean Skin 
behind. 

665
00:36:34,200 --> 00:36:37,800
You watch the mixture of oil and
remove material collect at the 

666
00:36:37,808 --> 00:36:40,300
struggles. 
Edge forming a gray brown 

667
00:36:40,300 --> 00:36:42,400
substance. 
That's promptly wiped onto a 

668
00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:45,000
cloth. 
After each pass the attendant 

669
00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:47,100
Works. 
Methodically covering every 

670
00:36:47,100 --> 00:36:50,600
accessible area, occasionally, 
adding more oil, where skin 

671
00:36:50,600 --> 00:36:54,500
seems dry the scraping removes 
far more than you expected 

672
00:36:54,500 --> 00:36:57,500
revealing skin. 
That looks brighter, feels 

673
00:36:57,500 --> 00:36:59,900
smoother and seems to Glow with 
health. 

674
00:36:59,900 --> 00:37:03,000
That wasn't visible before. 
This is cleaning through oil, 

675
00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:07,500
paradoxically using fat, to 
remove fat relying on olive 

676
00:37:07,500 --> 00:37:10,800
oils, ability to dissolve the 
oils and grime that water alone 

677
00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:14,700
can't touch after the scraping 
completes a rinse with clean 

678
00:37:14,700 --> 00:37:17,700
water removes. 
Any remaining oil though, some 

679
00:37:17,700 --> 00:37:21,500
inevitably stays absorbed into 
skin providing moisturizing 

680
00:37:21,500 --> 00:37:23,900
benefits. 
That will last for days, you 

681
00:37:23,900 --> 00:37:26,800
move through the progressively 
hotter rooms, then to the cold 

682
00:37:26,800 --> 00:37:30,000
plunge, the temperature shot, 
closing pause, that the warm 

683
00:37:30,300 --> 00:37:32,300
Rooms opened throughout the 
process. 

684
00:37:32,300 --> 00:37:37,100
Olive oil remains present in 
lamps, providing light in the 

685
00:37:37,100 --> 00:37:40,100
massage oil and attendant offers
for an additional fee. 

686
00:37:40,100 --> 00:37:43,600
And in the preparation, people 
apply to their hair to maintain 

687
00:37:43,600 --> 00:37:46,600
shine and manageability leaving 
the bars. 

688
00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:49,200
Your skin feels different than 
when you arrived. 

689
00:37:49,900 --> 00:37:52,900
Softer cleaner and somehow More 
Alive. 

690
00:37:52,900 --> 00:37:56,100
The olive oil treatment has 
removed layers of dead cells, 

691
00:37:56,100 --> 00:38:00,000
stimulated circulation, and 
moisturized deeply enough that 

692
00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:02,100
you won't need any additional 
treatment for days. 

693
00:38:02,100 --> 00:38:05,700
This bathing ritual, practice, 
by millions across the Empire. 

694
00:38:05,700 --> 00:38:09,400
Represent. 
Olive oils role in daily life, A

695
00:38:09,400 --> 00:38:12,300
role so fundamental that 
imagining bathing without it 

696
00:38:12,300 --> 00:38:15,500
seems impossible. 
Future Generations will use soap

697
00:38:15,500 --> 00:38:17,900
and will shower under running 
water, but they'll lose 

698
00:38:17,908 --> 00:38:20,900
something in the process, the 
ritual, intimacy with oil, 

699
00:38:20,900 --> 00:38:24,200
that's made skin care. 
A meditative practice, rather 

700
00:38:24,200 --> 00:38:28,100
than a rushed necessity, your 
standing on a dock where cargo 

701
00:38:28,100 --> 00:38:31,900
ships arrive from distant ports.
Their holds filled with trade 

702
00:38:31,900 --> 00:38:34,800
goods that represent the 
economic life, blood of Maritime

703
00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:39,000
Commerce, among the crates and 
bundles, one type of container 

704
00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:43,400
dominates the amphora a clay 
vessel designed specifically for

705
00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:47,100
transporting olive oil across 
Seas these and fourie stand 

706
00:38:47,100 --> 00:38:50,600
taller than a child with pointed
bottoms that make them useless 

707
00:38:50,600 --> 00:38:54,900
for setting on flat surfaces but
perfect for securing and ship 

708
00:38:54,900 --> 00:38:58,700
holds their shape has evolved 
over centuries toward maximum 

709
00:38:58,700 --> 00:39:03,100
efficiency holding approximately
25 liters while remaining light 

710
00:39:03,100 --> 00:39:06,600
enough for a single person to 
carry when full longshoreman 

711
00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:10,400
work in teams, moving out. 
From ship to Doc, using 

712
00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:12,300
techniques that minimize 
breakage. 

713
00:39:13,100 --> 00:39:17,600
One worker positions himself in 
the ship's holding amp 3, to a 

714
00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:21,000
second worker standing at the 
rail, who passes them to a third

715
00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:23,700
on the dock, the amphi, never 
touched ground during the 

716
00:39:23,700 --> 00:39:26,900
transfer always held by someone 
or leaning against something. 

717
00:39:26,900 --> 00:39:29,800
They're pointed bottoms making 
them tip immediately. 

718
00:39:29,800 --> 00:39:34,300
If released this instability is 
intentional, it forces careful. 

719
00:39:34,300 --> 00:39:37,500
Handling reducing the Casual 
roughness, that breaks 

720
00:39:37,500 --> 00:39:42,200
containers and Spills valuable 
contents each and four are best 

721
00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:45,200
stamps pressed into. 
Its clay handles before firing 

722
00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:47,900
marks. 
Identifying the producer, the 

723
00:39:47,900 --> 00:39:51,100
origin estate, and sometimes 
even the specific year of 

724
00:39:51,100 --> 00:39:56,000
pressing, he stamps as quality 
guarantees, reputation's 

725
00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:59,000
distilled into small symbols 
that buyers learn to recognize 

726
00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:04,000
and For us, stamped with certain
marks commands premium prices 

727
00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:07,500
because everyone knows those 
producers Harvest early press 

728
00:40:07,500 --> 00:40:12,300
carefully and store properly. 
Other stamps indicate bulk oil 

729
00:40:12,300 --> 00:40:15,200
suitable for lamps or soap 
making rather than direct 

730
00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:19,400
consumption entire system relies
on reputation because there's no

731
00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:23,700
way to test oil quality before 
purchasing except by trusting 

732
00:40:23,700 --> 00:40:27,500
the stamps, You watch a merchant
examining amp for a just 

733
00:40:27,500 --> 00:40:30,300
unloaded from a ship that 
arrived from somewhere in 

734
00:40:30,300 --> 00:40:32,900
Greece. 
The merchant inspects seals on 

735
00:40:32,908 --> 00:40:35,500
each vessel ensuring they 
haven't been broken during 

736
00:40:35,500 --> 00:40:39,000
transport checking for cracks in
the clay that might indicate 

737
00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:42,600
spoilage from seawater 
infiltration, one and four are 

738
00:40:42,600 --> 00:40:45,900
shows a small crack near the 
bottom and the merchant sets it 

739
00:40:45,900 --> 00:40:49,000
aside for immediate use knowing 
it won't survive further, 

740
00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:53,700
transport, or extended storage, 
the oil inside remains good, but

741
00:40:53,700 --> 00:40:56,800
the container has become a 
liability rather than an asset. 

742
00:40:57,700 --> 00:41:00,600
Prices fluctuate, based on 
information that flows through 

743
00:41:00,600 --> 00:41:04,200
the same shipping Lane's as the 
oil itself, would arrives that 

744
00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:08,000
the Harvest in one region an 
immediately and for their area 

745
00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:11,300
become more valuable. 
News of bumper crops elsewhere, 

746
00:41:11,300 --> 00:41:13,700
suppresses prices for oil from 
successful. 

747
00:41:13,700 --> 00:41:17,700
Region's pirates, captured a 
convoy last month and the lost 

748
00:41:17,700 --> 00:41:21,200
cargo creates temporary scarcity
that drives up values. 

749
00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:25,000
This price instability means 
Merchants who can store oil 

750
00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:29,000
safely through lean periods. 
Make fortunes by selling when 

751
00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:32,100
Supply Titans in a warehouse 
behind the docks. 

752
00:41:32,100 --> 00:41:35,400
Thousands of amphi. 
Stand in organized rows, each 

753
00:41:35,400 --> 00:41:39,100
marked with information about 
contents, origin, and arrival 

754
00:41:39,100 --> 00:41:42,400
date the warehouse keeper 
maintains careful records 

755
00:41:42,400 --> 00:41:45,600
knowing exactly. 
Which oils are aging well and 

756
00:41:45,600 --> 00:41:47,500
which should be sold quickly 
before they turned. 

757
00:41:49,100 --> 00:41:52,300
Some oils improve with time, 
developing complexity, that 

758
00:41:52,300 --> 00:41:56,100
young pressing lacks others Peak
immediately and declined 

759
00:41:56,100 --> 00:41:58,500
steadily. 
The warehouse Keepers expertise 

760
00:41:58,500 --> 00:42:01,600
lies in understanding these 
differences in knowing which 

761
00:42:01,600 --> 00:42:05,500
amphi to hold and which to 
liquidate you follow a convoy of

762
00:42:05,508 --> 00:42:08,500
carts loaded with them for a 
heading Inland, from the port. 

763
00:42:09,100 --> 00:42:12,600
The carts move slowly drivers 
careful to avoid jolts, that 

764
00:42:12,600 --> 00:42:16,000
might crack clay vessels. 
The road itself is surprisingly 

765
00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:19,000
smooth, maintaining trade routes
benefits everyone. 

766
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:22,500
So communities along major 
roads, dedicate substantial 

767
00:42:22,500 --> 00:42:26,100
resources to repairs and 
improvements without good roads.

768
00:42:26,100 --> 00:42:29,300
And for a transport becomes 
prohibitively expensive due to 

769
00:42:29,300 --> 00:42:32,800
breakage so Road, quality 
directly affects olive oil 

770
00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:37,200
prices in Inland markets, At a 
weigh station, You observe the 

771
00:42:37,200 --> 00:42:40,300
careful process of unloading and
free for overnight storage. 

772
00:42:40,300 --> 00:42:44,000
Each vessel gets checked for 
leaks then positioned upright in

773
00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:48,000
Sanford boxes that hold them 
steady, the sand, absorbs any 

774
00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:50,900
seepage while providing 
cushioning against accidental 

775
00:42:50,900 --> 00:42:54,300
impacts this attention to detail
throughout the supply chain 

776
00:42:54,300 --> 00:42:56,500
represents the difference 
between profitable and 

777
00:42:56,500 --> 00:43:00,200
unprofitable trade Oil that 
reaches markets and good 

778
00:43:00,200 --> 00:43:04,300
conditions sells well oil that 
arrives, rancid or leaked away 

779
00:43:04,300 --> 00:43:08,000
represents pure loss, a merchant
your traveling, with explains 

780
00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:11,900
the economics, an emperor of 
Premium oil, cost them 40, 

781
00:43:11,900 --> 00:43:15,200
denarii at the port. 
Transport inland will cost 

782
00:43:15,200 --> 00:43:19,200
another 10 if they reach the 
destination city without losses.

783
00:43:19,200 --> 00:43:24,500
They can sell for 70, denarii a 
healthy but not excessive profit

784
00:43:24,500 --> 00:43:27,400
that rewards the risk and effort
of moving goods from coast to 

785
00:43:27,400 --> 00:43:29,900
Interior. 
But if half the amphi break 

786
00:43:29,900 --> 00:43:33,400
during transport, the profitable
Venture becomes a disaster. 

787
00:43:34,400 --> 00:43:37,900
This calculation drives every 
decision about which roads to 

788
00:43:37,900 --> 00:43:42,300
take how fast to travel and how 
much to pay for Quality carts 

789
00:43:42,300 --> 00:43:45,600
and experienced drivers. 
You pass a broken amp for by the

790
00:43:45,600 --> 00:43:48,300
roadside its contents long. 
Since soaked into the Earth 

791
00:43:48,300 --> 00:43:52,400
leaving only Pottery shards and 
a dark stained the merchant 

792
00:43:52,400 --> 00:43:53,900
points to it. 
As a cautionary tale. 

793
00:43:53,900 --> 00:43:57,500
Someone tried to save money with
cheaper containers or fast to 

794
00:43:57,500 --> 00:43:58,700
travel. 
And this is the result. 

795
00:43:58,700 --> 00:44:02,200
The broken arm for a likely 
represented, someone's profit 

796
00:44:02,200 --> 00:44:05,600
margin for an entire shipment, 
the Lost enough to make the 

797
00:44:05,600 --> 00:44:09,200
difference between success and 
failure for a small Merchants 

798
00:44:09,200 --> 00:44:12,300
yearly Ventures. 
Had a market in an inland City. 

799
00:44:12,300 --> 00:44:16,200
You watch the final step of the 
journey and four, a being opened

800
00:44:16,200 --> 00:44:18,600
for the first time. 
Since sealing months, early at 

801
00:44:18,600 --> 00:44:22,500
Mediterranean Coastal, Estates a
merchant breaks, the wax, seal 

802
00:44:22,500 --> 00:44:26,000
carefully then extracts the 
place stopper, immediately 

803
00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:28,200
smelling the contents to verify 
quality. 

804
00:44:29,200 --> 00:44:32,400
Good oil, smells fruity and 
fresh despite its Journey. 

805
00:44:32,400 --> 00:44:36,300
Poor oil reeks of rancidity, of 
oxidation. 

806
00:44:36,300 --> 00:44:39,000
That's turned fats into 
compounds that tastes as bad as 

807
00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:42,000
they smell. 
The merchants knows determines 

808
00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:44,800
whether an amphora is contents 
will be sold as food grade oil 

809
00:44:44,800 --> 00:44:49,000
or diverted to Industrial uses 
some amphi contain oil. 

810
00:44:49,000 --> 00:44:52,800
That's traveled unbelievable 
distances from Groves in North 

811
00:44:52,800 --> 00:44:56,500
Africa, from States in Spain. 
And from Ireland, in the 

812
00:44:56,500 --> 00:44:59,000
Eastern, Mediterranean each 
Ampharos. 

813
00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:01,700
Stamped tells a story of climate
and soil and production, 

814
00:45:01,700 --> 00:45:05,300
methods, specific to its origin.
The diversity of available, in 

815
00:45:05,300 --> 00:45:08,000
large City Markets would have 
been unimaginable, a few 

816
00:45:08,008 --> 00:45:11,300
Generations early. 
Before Maritime trade, networks 

817
00:45:11,300 --> 00:45:14,900
integrated, Olive producing 
regions in to a single economy. 

818
00:45:14,900 --> 00:45:18,600
Now, you can taste oil from a 
dozen different regions in a 

819
00:45:18,600 --> 00:45:21,500
single afternoon. 
Comparing flavors that reflect 

820
00:45:21,500 --> 00:45:25,700
are as distinctly as wines will 
later demonstrate the merchant 

821
00:45:25,700 --> 00:45:28,300
who opened the amphi offers 
taste to potential buyers 

822
00:45:28,300 --> 00:45:31,000
pouring small amounts in clay 
cups. 

823
00:45:31,800 --> 00:45:34,700
People taste thoughtfully 
letting the oil coat, their 

824
00:45:34,700 --> 00:45:37,100
mouths paying attention to the 
finish. 

825
00:45:37,100 --> 00:45:41,000
And after taste, some spit after
tasting, saving their appetite 

826
00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:45,000
for food rather than consuming 
oil directly others swallow, 

827
00:45:45,000 --> 00:45:48,200
appreciating oils that are good 
enough to enjoy By The Spoonful,

828
00:45:48,200 --> 00:45:52,500
the tasting process resembles 
later, wine, cultures formality,

829
00:45:53,300 --> 00:45:56,100
With its own vocabulary for 
describing qualities that 

830
00:45:56,100 --> 00:45:58,400
separate. 
Excellent from merely adequate. 

831
00:45:58,400 --> 00:46:01,100
You purchase an amphora of oil 
from somewhere. 

832
00:46:01,100 --> 00:46:04,300
You've never visited trusting 
the stamps and the merchants 

833
00:46:04,300 --> 00:46:06,900
reputation. 
The pointed bottom means, you'll

834
00:46:06,900 --> 00:46:10,200
need to find a stand to hold it.
Upright in your home or sync it 

835
00:46:10,200 --> 00:46:13,900
into sand in a storage room or 
lay it on its side in a rack 

836
00:46:13,900 --> 00:46:16,800
designed for that purpose. 
The awkward shape that may 

837
00:46:16,800 --> 00:46:20,400
transport efficient now becomes 
your problem, a puzzle to solve 

838
00:46:20,400 --> 00:46:23,700
before you can access the 
contents but once solved this 

839
00:46:23,700 --> 00:46:26,600
and four will provide oil for 
your household for weeks or 

840
00:46:26,600 --> 00:46:29,700
months. 
Connection to distant Groves and

841
00:46:29,700 --> 00:46:33,800
foreign hands that press these 
olives, seal this container and 

842
00:46:33,800 --> 00:46:37,400
sent it off on a journey that 
ends in your home, your standing

843
00:46:37,400 --> 00:46:40,400
in a temple where olive oils 
rolled transcends practical, 

844
00:46:40,400 --> 00:46:43,200
utility entering the realm of 
the Sacred. 

845
00:46:43,200 --> 00:46:48,000
Yes, smells of burning oil from 
dozens of lamps that also a 

846
00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:50,600
fragrant oils prepared, 
specifically, for religious 

847
00:46:50,600 --> 00:46:54,000
purposes. 
Olive oil infused with myrrh, 

848
00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:57,300
frankincense speaker nard and 
other precious substances. 

849
00:46:57,300 --> 00:47:02,700
That transform it from cooking 
fat to Holy ointment a priest 

850
00:47:02,700 --> 00:47:05,300
prepares for evening. 
Rituals checking the Eternal 

851
00:47:05,300 --> 00:47:09,500
Flame still burn that oil 
reserves remain, sufficient and 

852
00:47:09,500 --> 00:47:12,000
that the sacred objects. 
Requiring anointing have 

853
00:47:12,000 --> 00:47:13,900
received their regular 
applications. 

854
00:47:13,900 --> 00:47:17,100
The Eternal Flame occupies, the 
Temple's Central position 

855
00:47:17,100 --> 00:47:21,400
burning in a special lamp that's
never allowed to extinguish this

856
00:47:21,400 --> 00:47:24,700
lamp holds the finest. 
Olive oil changed daily to 

857
00:47:24,700 --> 00:47:27,900
ensure Purity. 
Tended by priests whose primary 

858
00:47:27,900 --> 00:47:31,400
duty is maintaining its Flame. 
The theological, implications 

859
00:47:31,400 --> 00:47:36,100
Run, Deep light itself, 
represents divine presence and 

860
00:47:36,100 --> 00:47:40,000
olive oil fuels that presents. 
Making it a medium through which

861
00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:42,000
the sacred enters the physical 
world. 

862
00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:45,800
When priests light lamps from 
the Eternal Flame, they're not 

863
00:47:45,800 --> 00:47:49,000
just providing illumination. 
But propagating, Holiness, 

864
00:47:49,000 --> 00:47:54,200
Through Fire fed by blessed oil.
A ceremony begins as a family 

865
00:47:54,200 --> 00:47:56,200
arrives with their infant for 
dedication. 

866
00:47:56,200 --> 00:48:00,100
Rituals the priest brings out a 
small golden vessel containing 

867
00:48:00,100 --> 00:48:02,900
anointing oil. 
Olive oil blessed through 

868
00:48:02,900 --> 00:48:06,300
prayers and mixed with aromatic 
compounds worth more per ounce 

869
00:48:06,300 --> 00:48:09,500
than gold using a thumb. 
The priest marks, the infant 

870
00:48:09,500 --> 00:48:13,000
forehead with these small, Cross
of oil, speaking words, that 

871
00:48:13,000 --> 00:48:15,900
connect this child to 
generations of ancestors who 

872
00:48:15,900 --> 00:48:20,000
received identical marks, the 
oil sits visibly on the Infant 

873
00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:22,300
skin. 
Slowly absorbing carrying with 

874
00:48:22,300 --> 00:48:25,700
it whatever properties. 
The blessing supposedly and 

875
00:48:25,700 --> 00:48:29,500
parted you watch as the priest, 
anoints other objects, a new 

876
00:48:29,500 --> 00:48:32,100
altar cloth a restored section 
of Temple wall. 

877
00:48:32,100 --> 00:48:36,300
And a bronze Shield, dedicated 
by a successful, General each 

878
00:48:36,300 --> 00:48:39,500
receives all applied with 
specific prayers, the liquid 

879
00:48:39,500 --> 00:48:41,800
itself becoming a vehicle for 
making common things. 

880
00:48:41,800 --> 00:48:44,900
Holy the oil doesn't change 
physically from this treatment, 

881
00:48:44,900 --> 00:48:47,700
but in every one's 
understanding, it changes 

882
00:48:47,700 --> 00:48:52,100
essentially becoming something 
more than pressed Olive even. 

883
00:48:52,300 --> 00:48:56,400
While remaining exactly that 
this dual nature simultaneously 

884
00:48:56,400 --> 00:49:00,400
mundane and sacred makes olive 
oil uniquely suited for 

885
00:49:00,400 --> 00:49:03,500
religious purposes. 
In a preparation room, you see 

886
00:49:03,500 --> 00:49:05,200
the process of making sacred 
oil. 

887
00:49:05,200 --> 00:49:09,400
The base, is pure olive oil from
the first pressing chosen for 

888
00:49:09,400 --> 00:49:12,000
Quality that reflects the 
importance of its intended. 

889
00:49:12,000 --> 00:49:16,500
Use to this base, priesthood 
ground, cinnamon, cassia myrr, 

890
00:49:16,500 --> 00:49:19,900
and other aromatic plants, 
mixing carefully, while reciting

891
00:49:19,900 --> 00:49:22,200
prayers meant to infuse. 
The blend with spiritual 

892
00:49:22,200 --> 00:49:24,600
properties. 
The resulting oil, smells 

893
00:49:24,600 --> 00:49:27,800
overwhelming complex, unlike 
anything used in daily life, 

894
00:49:27,800 --> 00:49:32,500
it's cost per liter would feed a
family for months, making lavish

895
00:49:32,500 --> 00:49:36,300
use of it, a genuine sacrifice 
resources, directed toward 

896
00:49:36,300 --> 00:49:38,700
Divine purposes, rather than 
human Comfort. 

897
00:49:38,700 --> 00:49:43,000
A storage room, holds them for a
sacred oil sealed and marked 

898
00:49:43,000 --> 00:49:46,000
with symbols indicating their 
consecrated statistics. 

899
00:49:46,000 --> 00:49:49,800
These oils are never used for 
cooking or lamps or any mundane 

900
00:49:49,800 --> 00:49:53,400
purpose to do. 
So would be blasphemy a mixing 

901
00:49:53,400 --> 00:49:55,300
of categories that must remain 
separate. 

902
00:49:56,100 --> 00:49:59,600
Yet they're still olive oil, 
chemically identical to what 

903
00:49:59,600 --> 00:50:01,200
Phil's kitchen jars throughout 
the city. 

904
00:50:01,200 --> 00:50:04,700
The difference exists entirely 
in human intention and social 

905
00:50:04,700 --> 00:50:07,000
agreement. 
No, test could distinguish 

906
00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:10,900
sacred from profane oil. 
This fact bothers no one. 

907
00:50:10,900 --> 00:50:15,100
The distinction feels as real as
the oil itself during a wedding 

908
00:50:15,100 --> 00:50:18,100
ceremony, you watch the priest 
to use oil, to bless the couple 

909
00:50:18,100 --> 00:50:20,600
marking their hands with 
fragrant oil. 

910
00:50:20,600 --> 00:50:24,000
While pronouncing them joined, 
the oils presence in this 

911
00:50:24,000 --> 00:50:27,900
ceremony isn't decorative, it 
represents Prosperity Divine, 

912
00:50:27,900 --> 00:50:31,400
favor, and the hope that their 
Union will prove as fruitful as 

913
00:50:31,400 --> 00:50:35,600
olive trees and as enduring as 
Groves that outlive the humans, 

914
00:50:35,600 --> 00:50:38,000
who plant them later, the couple
will take home. 

915
00:50:38,000 --> 00:50:41,200
A small vessel of blessed oil, 
keeping it in their household, 

916
00:50:41,200 --> 00:50:44,900
as protection and a reminder of 
vows spoken before, Witnesses 

917
00:50:44,900 --> 00:50:49,200
human, and divine, a funeral 
procession arrives and olive oil

918
00:50:49,200 --> 00:50:51,100
plays, yet another role in this 
transition. 

919
00:50:52,000 --> 00:50:55,200
The body has been Anointed with 
oil as part of preparation for 

920
00:50:55,200 --> 00:50:59,700
burial, the oil preserving the 
flesh while symbolizing care and

921
00:50:59,700 --> 00:51:03,400
respect for the deceased. 
Oil soaked, cloths wrap the body

922
00:51:03,400 --> 00:51:06,500
maintaining moisture and 
preventing The Accelerated 

923
00:51:06,500 --> 00:51:10,100
decomposition that would occur 
in dry are some of these oils 

924
00:51:10,100 --> 00:51:13,200
are expensive with family. 
Spending significant portions of

925
00:51:13,200 --> 00:51:16,200
their savings to ensure proper 
treatment of their dead. 

926
00:51:16,200 --> 00:51:20,000
The smell of aromatic oils mixed
with human death creates an 

927
00:51:20,000 --> 00:51:23,500
odor, both Pleasant and 
disturbing Beauty, and Decay 

928
00:51:23,500 --> 00:51:27,200
into mingled in a private room, 
the priest teachers, and assist 

929
00:51:27,200 --> 00:51:30,600
yet, how to make sacred oils 
explaining proportions and 

930
00:51:30,600 --> 00:51:32,300
prayers. 
That must accompany the work 

931
00:51:32,300 --> 00:51:36,100
this knowledge passes through 
oral tradition, mastered to 

932
00:51:36,100 --> 00:51:39,900
Stewart, creating lineages of 
Specialists, who understand both

933
00:51:39,900 --> 00:51:43,600
the Practical chemistry and 
ritual requirements of sacred 

934
00:51:43,600 --> 00:51:46,200
oil production. 
The initiate watches carefully, 

935
00:51:46,200 --> 00:51:50,300
memorizing not just what the 
priest does but how the specific

936
00:51:50,300 --> 00:51:54,200
gestures and words that Hostly 
transform mixing into blessing 

937
00:51:54,200 --> 00:51:56,700
years from now. 
This initiate will teach another

938
00:51:56,700 --> 00:52:01,000
and the traditional continue 
olive oil, linking Generations 

939
00:52:01,000 --> 00:52:03,000
through unbroken chains of 
practice. 

940
00:52:03,000 --> 00:52:07,200
You notice how much olive oil. 
The temple consumes hundreds of 

941
00:52:07,208 --> 00:52:10,900
liters monthly just for lamps, 
dozens more for anointing and 

942
00:52:10,900 --> 00:52:14,100
blessing and special reserves 
for major ceremonies. 

943
00:52:14,100 --> 00:52:17,600
Maintaining this consumption 
requires dedicated Olive. 

944
00:52:17,600 --> 00:52:20,900
Groves Estates that exists 
solely to supply religious 

945
00:52:20,900 --> 00:52:24,000
institutions. 
The sacred Groves are managed, 

946
00:52:24,000 --> 00:52:27,700
no differently than commercial 
ones, they're pruned harvested 

947
00:52:27,700 --> 00:52:31,600
and pressed using identical 
methods yet their oil goes 

948
00:52:31,600 --> 00:52:34,600
directly to Temples, never 
entering normal Commerce, 

949
00:52:34,600 --> 00:52:38,700
creating a parallel economy of 
divine provision that mirrors. 

950
00:52:38,700 --> 00:52:42,200
But never touches the secular 
oil trade as evening prayers 

951
00:52:42,200 --> 00:52:47,700
conclude pre-second lamps. 
Each flame representing a 

952
00:52:47,708 --> 00:52:51,700
prayer, a hope and a connection 
between worshiper and divine. 

953
00:52:52,400 --> 00:52:57,000
Practice creates a constellation
of small lights. 100s of flames,

954
00:52:57,000 --> 00:52:59,900
burning olive oil while people 
kneel or stand in prayer. 

955
00:52:59,900 --> 00:53:04,100
The visual effect is powerful 
Darkness pushed back by 

956
00:53:04,100 --> 00:53:07,600
Collective effort each lamp and 
individual contribution to 

957
00:53:07,600 --> 00:53:10,300
communal brightness. 
Without olive oil. 

958
00:53:10,300 --> 00:53:13,400
This display would be impossible
without olive Groves. 

959
00:53:13,400 --> 00:53:16,100
These temples would stand dark 
and silent. 

960
00:53:16,900 --> 00:53:19,600
Walking home through Darkness 
held at Bay by oil. 

961
00:53:19,600 --> 00:53:23,100
Lamps lining the streets. 
You reflect on how completely 

962
00:53:23,100 --> 00:53:26,300
olive oil has woven itself into 
every aspect of life. 

963
00:53:26,300 --> 00:53:30,300
It lights, your path, flavors 
your food, heals your injuries 

964
00:53:30,300 --> 00:53:34,200
cleanses, your body connects 
distant regions through trade 

965
00:53:34,200 --> 00:53:37,000
and links you to the Divine 
through sacred rituals. 

966
00:53:37,000 --> 00:53:41,300
No, other substance touches so 
many domains serves so many 

967
00:53:41,300 --> 00:53:45,400
purposes and proved so essential
while remaining so humble. 

968
00:53:46,100 --> 00:53:49,500
The Olive Tree itself seems 
unremarkable, gnarled 

969
00:53:49,500 --> 00:53:53,900
slow-growing and demanding 
little yet from its fruit flows 

970
00:53:53,900 --> 00:53:56,800
civilizations, golden thread, 
Binding Together. 

971
00:53:56,800 --> 00:53:59,800
All the separate elements that 
make human life more than mere 

972
00:53:59,800 --> 00:54:02,100
survival. 
You're standing in a Grove 

973
00:54:02,100 --> 00:54:04,400
that's witnessed the rise and 
fall of entire civilizations. 

974
00:54:04,400 --> 00:54:09,600
Its oldest trees planted so long
ago that no records document 

975
00:54:09,600 --> 00:54:12,500
their Origins. 
These ancient olives have felt 

976
00:54:12,500 --> 00:54:14,800
the footsteps of people who 
spoke languages. 

977
00:54:14,800 --> 00:54:18,700
Now lost, who worshiped Gods 
whose names, nobody remembers 

978
00:54:18,700 --> 00:54:22,500
and who built cities that have 
eroded back in to the hillside 

979
00:54:22,500 --> 00:54:25,600
they want. 
Crowned, the trees remain still 

980
00:54:25,600 --> 00:54:28,400
producing fruit in different to 
the human dramas that have 

981
00:54:28,400 --> 00:54:31,100
played out beneath their 
branches, an archaeologist 

982
00:54:31,100 --> 00:54:34,100
working nearby explains that 
Olive pits found in local 

983
00:54:34,100 --> 00:54:37,000
excavation date back 8,000 
years. 

984
00:54:37,000 --> 00:54:40,200
Meaning people have been 
harvesting these hillsides since

985
00:54:40,200 --> 00:54:45,000
before Pottery before metal 
tools and before writing the 

986
00:54:45,000 --> 00:54:47,700
relationship between Humans and 
olives here, predates 

987
00:54:47,700 --> 00:54:52,200
civilization itself existing in 
some form through every year of 

988
00:54:52,200 --> 00:54:56,200
human development, from stone 
tools to satellite imagery The 

989
00:54:56,200 --> 00:54:59,100
Groves you're standing in, might
not be that ancient, but they 

990
00:54:59,100 --> 00:55:02,300
descend from those first 
cultivated trees in an unbroken 

991
00:55:02,300 --> 00:55:06,900
chain of propagation that spans 
hundreds of generations, you run

992
00:55:06,900 --> 00:55:09,600
your hand along bark. 
That feels like frozen time, 

993
00:55:09,600 --> 00:55:13,500
ridges and valleys recording 
Decades of growth in patterns as

994
00:55:13,500 --> 00:55:17,200
unique as fingerprints. 
This particular tree is old 

995
00:55:17,200 --> 00:55:20,000
enough, that three people 
linking hands couldn't encircle 

996
00:55:20,000 --> 00:55:22,300
its trunk. 
Its Hollow interior could 

997
00:55:22,300 --> 00:55:23,600
shelter. 
Several children during 

998
00:55:23,600 --> 00:55:28,000
rainstorms yet, it produces 
fruit as reliably as trees a 

999
00:55:28,000 --> 00:55:31,900
tenth its age, olive trees don't
age like other plants, they 

1000
00:55:31,900 --> 00:55:35,500
don't gradually weaken and die 
but simply grow thicker more 

1001
00:55:35,500 --> 00:55:38,200
gnarled and more impossible 
looking while maintaining 

1002
00:55:38,200 --> 00:55:41,500
Vitality, that seems to 
contradict everything you 

1003
00:55:41,500 --> 00:55:44,600
understand about mortality the 
archaeologists points out 

1004
00:55:44,600 --> 00:55:47,000
ancient stone. 
Terraces built to prevent soil 

1005
00:55:47,000 --> 00:55:50,500
erosion, their construction. 
So solid they still function 

1006
00:55:50,500 --> 00:55:53,300
centuries after the civilization
that built them vanished. 

1007
00:55:53,800 --> 00:55:57,400
These Terraces create level 
planting areas on slope to steep

1008
00:55:57,400 --> 00:56:01,300
for agriculture catching 
rainwater and preserving topsoil

1009
00:56:01,300 --> 00:56:03,900
that would otherwise wash away 
during winter storms. 

1010
00:56:03,900 --> 00:56:07,000
The labor involved in building 
them was enormous. 

1011
00:56:07,000 --> 00:56:11,500
Thousands of hours moving Stones
leveling ground and creating the

1012
00:56:11,500 --> 00:56:13,800
infrastructure necessary for 
Olive cultivation. 

1013
00:56:13,800 --> 00:56:16,900
In challenging terrain, yet the 
investment proved worth. 

1014
00:56:16,900 --> 00:56:20,000
While over time frames that 
dwarf, human life spans. 

1015
00:56:20,000 --> 00:56:24,400
You notice evidence of ancient 
pressing operations, circular 

1016
00:56:24,400 --> 00:56:27,100
depression's carved into 
Bedrock, where Millstone once 

1017
00:56:27,100 --> 00:56:31,000
turned channels, that guided 
oil, from pressing platforms to 

1018
00:56:31,000 --> 00:56:34,300
collection vessels and anchoring
points for press beams. 

1019
00:56:34,300 --> 00:56:37,700
These installations function for
Generations before being 

1020
00:56:37,700 --> 00:56:40,200
abandoned, when he economic 
conditions, shifted or 

1021
00:56:40,200 --> 00:56:43,900
population's declined, Now 
they're covered with moss and 

1022
00:56:43,908 --> 00:56:47,800
leaves slowly eroding. 
Their purpose obvious only to 

1023
00:56:47,800 --> 00:56:51,500
trained observers The Groves, 
they served continue producing 

1024
00:56:51,500 --> 00:56:54,500
indifferent to whether humans 
still press their fruit or leave

1025
00:56:54,500 --> 00:56:58,100
it to fall and wrote climate 
patterns, recorded in ice cores 

1026
00:56:58,100 --> 00:57:00,900
and Lake sediments reveal. 
That this region has experienced

1027
00:57:00,900 --> 00:57:02,900
dramatic changes. 
During the olive Groves. 

1028
00:57:02,900 --> 00:57:06,500
Existence periods of extreme 
drought should have killed these

1029
00:57:06,500 --> 00:57:09,800
trees yet. 
Somehow they endured their deep 

1030
00:57:09,800 --> 00:57:12,200
roots finding moisture. 
Other plants, could not access 

1031
00:57:12,200 --> 00:57:15,800
Invasion. 
Swept through repeatedly, armies

1032
00:57:15,800 --> 00:57:19,800
burning farms and slaughtering 
populations but olive trees 

1033
00:57:19,800 --> 00:57:22,700
survived because their nearly 
impossible to kill completely. 

1034
00:57:22,700 --> 00:57:27,200
Even if trunk and branches 
burned to Ash Root, Send up New 

1035
00:57:27,200 --> 00:57:29,600
Growth rebuilding from below 
ground. 

1036
00:57:29,600 --> 00:57:33,800
With patients, that makes human 
urgency seem absurd an ancient 

1037
00:57:33,800 --> 00:57:36,900
Olive Tree nearby shows, clear, 
signs of having been cut down 

1038
00:57:36,900 --> 00:57:40,700
then regrowing from the stump 
creating multiple new trunks 

1039
00:57:40,700 --> 00:57:44,700
that fuse together over time. 
Practice of coppicing olives for

1040
00:57:44,700 --> 00:57:48,000
wood, while preserving their 
root systems allowed Farmers to 

1041
00:57:48,000 --> 00:57:51,000
harvest the trees themselves 
without ending production. 

1042
00:57:51,000 --> 00:57:54,800
The regrown trunks might take 20
years to begin bearing fruit 

1043
00:57:54,800 --> 00:57:58,000
again, but in the olives 
timeline, 20 years is nothing 

1044
00:57:58,000 --> 00:58:01,600
barely worth noticing. 
This one tree is probably been 

1045
00:58:01,600 --> 00:58:04,800
cut and regrown five or six 
times over its existence. 

1046
00:58:04,800 --> 00:58:07,700
Each cycle producing Decades of 
firewood. 

1047
00:58:07,700 --> 00:58:11,900
While the roots waited patiently
for their chance to rebuild, you

1048
00:58:11,900 --> 00:58:14,800
sit beneath a massive Olive and 
try to imagine the lives its 

1049
00:58:14,800 --> 00:58:19,700
witnessed People of sat exactly 
here for centuries seeking shade

1050
00:58:19,700 --> 00:58:22,900
from Mediterranean heat. 
Perhaps eating olives, from this

1051
00:58:22,900 --> 00:58:27,500
very tree children, have climbed
its branches lovers of carved 

1052
00:58:27,500 --> 00:58:30,500
initials into bark that later 
grew over and obscured their 

1053
00:58:30,508 --> 00:58:34,400
declaration's battles. 
May have raged nearby while the 

1054
00:58:34,400 --> 00:58:37,900
tree simply continued its slow 
cycle of flowering and fruiting 

1055
00:58:37,900 --> 00:58:41,800
in different to human violence. 
The tree is probably lived 

1056
00:58:41,800 --> 00:58:45,500
through famines plagues Golden 
Ages, Dark Ages conquests and 

1057
00:58:45,508 --> 00:58:49,000
liberation's all world doing 
nothing but being a tree. 

1058
00:58:49,000 --> 00:58:52,600
The archaeologists mentioned the
olive trees can affectively live

1059
00:58:52,600 --> 00:58:56,500
forever through a process of 
continuous renewal As the 

1060
00:58:56,500 --> 00:58:59,800
central trunk ages and Hollows, 
the tree, sends up new shoots 

1061
00:58:59,800 --> 00:59:02,500
from its base. 
These shoots eventually become 

1062
00:59:02,500 --> 00:59:04,300
new trunks. 
While the old one gradually 

1063
00:59:04,300 --> 00:59:07,700
crumbles away. 
The root system remains unbroken

1064
00:59:07,700 --> 00:59:11,300
through this process, meaning 
the trees identity persists, 

1065
00:59:11,300 --> 00:59:14,600
even though none of its above 
ground Parts, might be original.

1066
00:59:14,600 --> 00:59:17,000
Some of the Groves in this 
region may have been 

1067
00:59:17,000 --> 00:59:19,700
continuously alive. 
Since before humans began 

1068
00:59:19,700 --> 00:59:22,900
writing down history. 
Modern threats to these ancient 

1069
00:59:22,900 --> 00:59:25,300
Groves come not from the climate
or diseases. 

1070
00:59:25,300 --> 00:59:28,800
That have always challenged, all
of cultivation but from economic

1071
00:59:28,800 --> 00:59:31,600
changes that make old trees less
valuable than the land. 

1072
00:59:31,600 --> 00:59:35,100
They occupy you've heard of 
developers cutting down thousand

1073
00:59:35,100 --> 00:59:38,600
year old olives to build 
resource the ancient Grove's 

1074
00:59:38,600 --> 00:59:42,500
being replaced by crops that 
produce faster Returns the trees

1075
00:59:42,500 --> 00:59:45,100
that survived every historical 
catastrophe. 

1076
00:59:45,100 --> 00:59:49,300
Now face chainsaws Guided by 
spreadsheets showing that quick,

1077
00:59:49,300 --> 00:59:53,000
profits from destruction exceed,
the patient income from 

1078
00:59:53,000 --> 00:59:57,300
preservation yet some Groves 
remain protected recognized as 

1079
00:59:57,300 --> 01:00:00,400
cultural heritage as important 
as ancient buildings or 

1080
01:00:00,400 --> 01:00:03,700
archaeological sites. 
These protected Groves are 

1081
01:00:03,700 --> 01:00:06,900
maintained using traditional 
methods Pressed with equipment 

1082
01:00:06,900 --> 01:00:10,100
that would be familiar to 
Farmers from centuries past and 

1083
01:00:10,100 --> 01:00:13,200
producing oil marketed 
specifically as coming from 

1084
01:00:13,200 --> 01:00:16,100
ancient trees. 
Whether the oil actually tastes 

1085
01:00:16,100 --> 01:00:19,700
different is debatable but 
customers pay premium prices for

1086
01:00:19,700 --> 01:00:22,800
the connection to history for 
fruit from trees that they're 

1087
01:00:22,800 --> 01:00:23,700
great. 
Great great. 

1088
01:00:23,700 --> 01:00:26,700
Great grandparents might have 
harvested walking through these 

1089
01:00:26,700 --> 01:00:30,000
Groves as afternoon like creates
dramatic contrasts between 

1090
01:00:30,000 --> 01:00:31,800
illuminated leaves and Deep 
Shadows. 

1091
01:00:31,800 --> 01:00:36,100
You feel a strange temporal 
vertigo, everything around you 

1092
01:00:36,100 --> 01:00:38,600
looks timeless. 
It can be a scene from any 

1093
01:00:38,600 --> 01:00:43,100
Century in the past 2000 years. 
The trees have not changed, the 

1094
01:00:43,100 --> 01:00:46,700
hillside have not changed. 
If you squint slightly, you can 

1095
01:00:46,700 --> 01:00:50,700
imagine yourself in any era, the
present, just another moment in 

1096
01:00:50,700 --> 01:00:54,800
an endless chain of harvests and
pressings that extends Beyond 

1097
01:00:54,800 --> 01:00:58,700
memory in both directions, the 
ocular evidence scattered 

1098
01:00:58,700 --> 01:01:01,600
throughout these hillsides tells
a story of continuous use 

1099
01:01:01,600 --> 01:01:05,300
despite political chaos. 
When one Empire collapsed and 

1100
01:01:05,300 --> 01:01:08,700
the population Fled within a 
generational, two new people 

1101
01:01:08,700 --> 01:01:12,100
arrived and resumed, harvesting 
the Grove's olive trees 

1102
01:01:12,100 --> 01:01:15,600
themselves served as a track to 
their presence advertising. 

1103
01:01:15,600 --> 01:01:19,300
That this land could support 
human communities abandoned, a 

1104
01:01:19,300 --> 01:01:22,700
grain field and within a year, 
it reverts to Wild grasses, but 

1105
01:01:22,700 --> 01:01:25,700
abandoned and Olive Grove and 
decades later, it's still there.

1106
01:01:26,500 --> 01:01:30,100
Still producing, still waiting 
for humans to return and resume 

1107
01:01:30,100 --> 01:01:32,600
the partnership. 
You collect a few olives from 

1108
01:01:32,600 --> 01:01:34,400
the ground examining them 
closely. 

1109
01:01:34,400 --> 01:01:37,800
They're the same size and shape 
as the preserved olives 

1110
01:01:37,800 --> 01:01:40,100
archaeologists find in ancient 
shipwrecks. 

1111
01:01:40,100 --> 01:01:43,900
And as the olives depicted in 
frescoes and mosaics from 

1112
01:01:43,900 --> 01:01:48,200
civilizations, that no longer 
exists, the genetic diversity 

1113
01:01:48,200 --> 01:01:51,800
and modern Olive cultivars is 
surprisingly narrow suggesting 

1114
01:01:51,800 --> 01:01:54,900
that most productive trees, 
descend from relatively few 

1115
01:01:54,900 --> 01:01:57,800
ancient parents that 
demonstrated Superior 

1116
01:01:57,800 --> 01:02:00,600
characteristics. 
The olive oil holding might be 

1117
01:02:00,600 --> 01:02:03,000
genetically, nearly identical to
olives that fed. 

1118
01:02:03,000 --> 01:02:06,400
Romans soldiers, Greek, 
philosophers, and Egyptian 

1119
01:02:06,400 --> 01:02:09,800
Traders all the way back to 
whoever first noticed that these

1120
01:02:09,800 --> 01:02:13,500
bitter fruits became delicious 
after proper processing, your 

1121
01:02:13,500 --> 01:02:16,500
standing in a modern 
Supermarket, looking at a shelf 

1122
01:02:16,500 --> 01:02:18,900
displaying dozens of olive oil 
varieties. 

1123
01:02:18,900 --> 01:02:23,900
Each bottle promising, superior 
quality, health benefits, or 

1124
01:02:23,900 --> 01:02:26,300
authentic tradition. 
The bottles are clear. 

1125
01:02:26,500 --> 01:02:29,600
Glass or dark green, some with 
elaborate labels depicting 

1126
01:02:29,600 --> 01:02:33,400
Mediterranean scenes. 
Others with minimalist designs 

1127
01:02:33,400 --> 01:02:37,400
suggesting sophistication Behind
These modern presentations lies 

1128
01:02:37,400 --> 01:02:40,400
the same substance that's 
flavored human civilization for 

1129
01:02:40,400 --> 01:02:43,400
millennia. 
Now, reduced to Consumer Choice 

1130
01:02:43,400 --> 01:02:47,000
among competing Brands, you pick
up a bottle, labeled extra 

1131
01:02:47,000 --> 01:02:50,200
virgin reading the fine print, 
that explains what this 

1132
01:02:50,200 --> 01:02:54,200
designation means. 
The oil inside was cold pressed 

1133
01:02:54,200 --> 01:02:58,000
without heat or chemicals from 
olives harvested at optimal 

1134
01:02:58,000 --> 01:03:02,000
ripeness and processed, within 
hours of picking these 

1135
01:03:02,000 --> 01:03:04,100
requirements. 
Echo practices, develop 

1136
01:03:04,100 --> 01:03:07,400
thousands of years ago when 
presses learned through trial 

1137
01:03:07,400 --> 01:03:10,700
and error, that speed care and 
temperature control, produce 

1138
01:03:10,700 --> 01:03:14,700
Superior oil, the terminology is
modern but the principles are 

1139
01:03:14,700 --> 01:03:18,300
ancient linking, your kitchen to
those of people who live before 

1140
01:03:18,300 --> 01:03:21,800
philosophy or democracy existed 
the price range across. 

1141
01:03:21,800 --> 01:03:25,600
This shelf, is staggering some 
bottles cost as much per liter 

1142
01:03:25,600 --> 01:03:28,400
as an ancient worker earned. 
In a week, While others are 

1143
01:03:28,400 --> 01:03:31,800
cheap enough that oil has become
just another commodity, this 

1144
01:03:31,800 --> 01:03:35,500
democratization represents both 
Triumph and loss. 

1145
01:03:36,500 --> 01:03:39,200
More people can afford olive oil
than ever before in history. 

1146
01:03:39,200 --> 01:03:42,600
But the intimate relationship 
between consumers and producers,

1147
01:03:42,600 --> 01:03:45,200
has been severed. 
You don't know which growth 

1148
01:03:45,200 --> 01:03:49,200
produced this soil, whose hand, 
harvested these olives, or how 

1149
01:03:49,200 --> 01:03:52,100
many generations, their family 
has been pressing fruit from the

1150
01:03:52,100 --> 01:03:55,500
specific trees. 
A cooking show plays on a screen

1151
01:03:55,500 --> 01:03:58,600
near the checkout. 
Chef drizzling olive oil over 

1152
01:03:58,600 --> 01:04:01,500
vegetables while explaining how 
it's healthier than butter or 

1153
01:04:01,500 --> 01:04:04,100
other fats. 
The health claims are accurate 

1154
01:04:04,100 --> 01:04:07,900
olive, oil does contain 
monounsaturated fats that 

1155
01:04:07,900 --> 01:04:12,000
improve cardiovascular health 
antioxidants, that protect cells

1156
01:04:12,000 --> 01:04:15,400
and compounds that reduce 
inflammation, but ancient 

1157
01:04:15,400 --> 01:04:18,200
peoples who built their Cuisines
around olive oil knew. 

1158
01:04:18,200 --> 01:04:21,400
None of this using it not 
because it was healthy but 

1159
01:04:21,400 --> 01:04:24,800
because it was available 
delicious and versatile. 

1160
01:04:24,800 --> 01:04:28,100
They stumbled into good health, 
through culinary tradition. 

1161
01:04:28,100 --> 01:04:31,700
Their bodies benefiting from 
choices made for entirely 

1162
01:04:31,700 --> 01:04:35,800
different reasons. 
You notice organic options oil 

1163
01:04:35,800 --> 01:04:39,000
from olives grown without 
synthetic, pesticides, or 

1164
01:04:39,000 --> 01:04:41,600
fertilizers. 
This marketing implies that 

1165
01:04:41,600 --> 01:04:43,300
non-organic methods are 
standard. 

1166
01:04:43,300 --> 01:04:47,200
Now representing, a fundamental 
shift from traditional Olive 

1167
01:04:47,200 --> 01:04:50,200
cultivation, that use no 
chemicals because they didn't 

1168
01:04:50,200 --> 01:04:52,500
exist. 
The modern or gallic movement, 

1169
01:04:52,500 --> 01:04:56,100
is actually a return to ancient 
practices charging premium 

1170
01:04:56,100 --> 01:04:58,200
prices for what was once 
Universal. 

1171
01:04:58,200 --> 01:05:01,600
The irony seems lost on most 
Shoppers filling their carts 

1172
01:05:01,600 --> 01:05:04,000
without considering the 
historical Arc that brought 

1173
01:05:04,000 --> 01:05:08,500
these bottles to the Shell. 
At home, you drizzle oil over a 

1174
01:05:08,500 --> 01:05:11,200
salad, the action. 
So casual that you don't pause 

1175
01:05:11,200 --> 01:05:14,400
to think about it yet. 
This simple gesture connects you

1176
01:05:14,400 --> 01:05:17,200
to every cook throughout history
who performed the same motion. 

1177
01:05:18,200 --> 01:05:20,500
The oil catches light streaming 
through your window. 

1178
01:05:20,500 --> 01:05:24,300
Exactly as it caught lamp light 
in ancient kitchens. 

1179
01:05:24,300 --> 01:05:27,800
It Coats the vegetables. 
With the same golden Sheen that 

1180
01:05:27,808 --> 01:05:30,000
made food. 
Look appetizing to people whose 

1181
01:05:30,000 --> 01:05:33,300
names, nobody remembers the 
chemistry of fat, interacting 

1182
01:05:33,300 --> 01:05:35,100
with plants cells hasn't 
changed. 

1183
01:05:35,100 --> 01:05:38,900
Meaning the salad tastes similar
to versions eaten 2000 years 

1184
01:05:38,900 --> 01:05:41,400
ago. 
Your bathroom contains olive oil

1185
01:05:41,400 --> 01:05:45,200
based soaps and cosmetics 
products marketed as natural 

1186
01:05:45,200 --> 01:05:47,100
alternatives to synthetic 
options. 

1187
01:05:47,100 --> 01:05:50,900
Soap itself was invented partly 
to replace the oil scraping 

1188
01:05:50,900 --> 01:05:53,100
method used in ancient baths 
yet. 

1189
01:05:53,100 --> 01:05:56,100
Now, olive oil soap represents a
return to more authentic 

1190
01:05:56,100 --> 01:05:58,700
cleansing. 
The circular motion of hygiene 

1191
01:05:58,700 --> 01:06:02,000
history, suggests that human 
needs are remain constant while 

1192
01:06:02,000 --> 01:06:06,100
Technologies cycle between 
complexity and simplicity, each 

1193
01:06:06,100 --> 01:06:08,800
generation rediscovering 
benefits that previous 

1194
01:06:08,800 --> 01:06:12,900
generations took for granted. 
You like to can handle petroleum

1195
01:06:12,900 --> 01:06:16,700
wax with a cotton wick, creating
a flame without olive oil for 

1196
01:06:16,700 --> 01:06:20,300
the first time in human. 
Tree candles existed in ancient 

1197
01:06:20,300 --> 01:06:22,300
times. 
But oil, lamps, provided most 

1198
01:06:22,300 --> 01:06:25,900
illumination making olive oil, 
the primary medium through which

1199
01:06:25,900 --> 01:06:30,000
people pushed back Darkness, the
shift from oil to candles to 

1200
01:06:30,000 --> 01:06:34,100
gas, to electricity represents 
increasing separation between 

1201
01:06:34,100 --> 01:06:37,700
light and its fuel source. 
Ancient peoples understood 

1202
01:06:37,700 --> 01:06:39,900
exactly what burned when they 
lit lamps. 

1203
01:06:39,900 --> 01:06:43,100
You flip a switch without 
thinking about the coal or 

1204
01:06:43,100 --> 01:06:47,300
natural gas, or nuclear reaction
generating your electricity a 

1205
01:06:47,300 --> 01:06:50,000
Mediterranean restaurant. 
Nearby advertisers authentic 

1206
01:06:50,000 --> 01:06:53,000
Cuisine. 
Its menu featuring dishes built 

1207
01:06:53,000 --> 01:06:55,500
around olive oil in ways that 
would be familiar to ancient 

1208
01:06:55,500 --> 01:06:57,900
diners. 
The ingredients are identical, 

1209
01:06:57,900 --> 01:07:00,600
the cooking methods unchanged in
Essentials. 

1210
01:07:00,600 --> 01:07:03,100
Yet the context is completely 
different. 

1211
01:07:04,100 --> 01:07:06,800
Ancient people ate these Foods 
because they were local and 

1212
01:07:06,800 --> 01:07:09,900
available not because they were 
exotic or healthy. 

1213
01:07:09,900 --> 01:07:13,900
The restaurant charges premium 
prices for authenticity that 

1214
01:07:13,900 --> 01:07:16,700
used to be called what we have. 
Transforming. 

1215
01:07:16,700 --> 01:07:18,700
The necessity into luxury 
through distance. 

1216
01:07:19,700 --> 01:07:22,400
Temporal distance separating us 
from when these Foods were 

1217
01:07:22,400 --> 01:07:25,200
ordinary. 
You read about olive oil, fraud 

1218
01:07:25,200 --> 01:07:29,100
about bottles labeled Italian or
Greek containing oil from North 

1219
01:07:29,100 --> 01:07:33,800
Africa or Spain, and about extra
virgin designations applied to 

1220
01:07:33,808 --> 01:07:36,600
oil, that doesn't meet technical
requirements. 

1221
01:07:36,600 --> 01:07:39,600
These deceptions Echo ancient 
problems. 

1222
01:07:39,600 --> 01:07:43,300
Merchants of always, been 
tempted to dilute expensive oil,

1223
01:07:43,300 --> 01:07:47,300
with cheaper, alternatives to 
misrepresent Origins, and to 

1224
01:07:47,300 --> 01:07:50,400
sell last year's rancid oil. 
As this year's fresh pressing, 

1225
01:07:50,400 --> 01:07:53,500
the amphora stamps that 
guaranteed quality in ancient 

1226
01:07:53,500 --> 01:07:57,000
markets were responses to fraud 
that still exists. 

1227
01:07:57,700 --> 01:08:01,100
Human nature, remaining constant
across Millennia, a news 

1228
01:08:01,100 --> 01:08:03,800
article, discusses, how climate 
change threatens traditional 

1229
01:08:03,800 --> 01:08:07,400
Olive growing regions and how 
Rising temperatures and changing

1230
01:08:07,400 --> 01:08:10,600
rainfall patterns, might shift 
production to areas. 

1231
01:08:10,600 --> 01:08:13,600
That previously couldn't support
Olive's, the trees themselves 

1232
01:08:13,600 --> 01:08:17,100
can adapt, they've survived 
climate changes throughout 

1233
01:08:17,100 --> 01:08:20,399
history, but the cultural 
connection between specific 

1234
01:08:20,399 --> 01:08:24,500
regions and Olive cultivation, 
might break what happens to 

1235
01:08:24,500 --> 01:08:28,100
Greek or Spanish or Italian 
identity of Olives? 

1236
01:08:28,100 --> 01:08:31,399
No longer Thrive there. 
Can tradition persist when the 

1237
01:08:31,408 --> 01:08:35,399
material basis for traditional 
disappears, you notice how olive

1238
01:08:35,399 --> 01:08:37,100
oil has become shorthand for 
healthy. 

1239
01:08:37,100 --> 01:08:41,700
Eating the Mediterranean diet 
and lifestyle choices associated

1240
01:08:41,700 --> 01:08:46,600
with longevity and well-being. 
This Association isn't wrong but

1241
01:08:46,600 --> 01:08:50,000
it's incomplete ancient. 
People who consumed olive oil, 

1242
01:08:50,000 --> 01:08:53,800
daily also died young from 
infections and injuries, modern 

1243
01:08:53,800 --> 01:08:57,300
medicine prevents easily. 
The oil didn't make them healthy

1244
01:08:57,300 --> 01:09:00,700
in any comprehensive sense. 
They simply lacked Alternatives.

1245
01:09:00,700 --> 01:09:04,399
We take for granted separating 
olive oils, actual benefits from

1246
01:09:04,399 --> 01:09:07,399
romanticized, versions of 
Mediterranean life requires 

1247
01:09:07,399 --> 01:09:10,700
care, that marketing, 
departments, rarely provide in 

1248
01:09:10,700 --> 01:09:13,100
your pantry. 
A bottle of olive oil sits next 

1249
01:09:13,100 --> 01:09:15,800
to vegetable oil, canola oil, 
and coconut oil. 

1250
01:09:15,800 --> 01:09:18,200
Each suited for different 
purposes. 

1251
01:09:18,200 --> 01:09:22,000
Different heat tolerances and 
different flavor profiles. 

1252
01:09:22,000 --> 01:09:25,399
This abundant would astonish 
ancient Cooks who used olive oil

1253
01:09:25,399 --> 01:09:28,000
for everything because it was 
the only fat they had in 

1254
01:09:28,000 --> 01:09:30,800
quantity. 
Modern cooking specialization 

1255
01:09:30,800 --> 01:09:33,100
this oil for sauteing that one 
for baking. 

1256
01:09:33,100 --> 01:09:37,800
Another for salads represents 
both sophistication and loss 

1257
01:09:37,800 --> 01:09:41,300
we've gained options, but 
sacrifice the intimate knowledge

1258
01:09:41,300 --> 01:09:44,500
that comes from using a single 
ingredient in every possible. 

1259
01:09:44,500 --> 01:09:46,899
Way. 
You cook dinner using olive oil,

1260
01:09:46,899 --> 01:09:50,300
clean up with all of oil soap 
and moisturize your hands. 

1261
01:09:50,300 --> 01:09:53,399
With olive oil lotion. 
All while electric lights 

1262
01:09:53,399 --> 01:09:57,200
eliminate, any need for oil 
lamps Oil persists in Modern 

1263
01:09:57,200 --> 01:10:01,300
Life, but its role is narrowed 
from essential to optional, from

1264
01:10:01,300 --> 01:10:04,000
Universal. 
To particular, you could survive

1265
01:10:04,000 --> 01:10:07,300
comfortably without it 
substituting other fats, and 

1266
01:10:07,300 --> 01:10:10,100
cooking other products for 
cleaning, and moisturizing, and 

1267
01:10:10,100 --> 01:10:13,900
other sources for illumination. 
This optionality represents, the

1268
01:10:13,900 --> 01:10:17,100
fundamental difference between 
your relationship with olive oil

1269
01:10:17,100 --> 01:10:21,000
and that of people for whom it 
was a replaceable yet walking 

1270
01:10:21,000 --> 01:10:23,900
through the supermarket or 
cooking dinner, you 

1271
01:10:23,900 --> 01:10:25,700
occasionally, feel a strange, 
temporal connection. 

1272
01:10:26,700 --> 01:10:29,400
A sense that your performing 
actions that link you to an 

1273
01:10:29,400 --> 01:10:31,400
unbroken chain of human 
activity. 

1274
01:10:31,400 --> 01:10:35,800
Stretching Back to Before 
recorded history, when you 

1275
01:10:35,800 --> 01:10:39,000
drizzle, all of oil over food, 
you're doing exactly what 

1276
01:10:39,000 --> 01:10:41,400
countless humans have done in 
the same way for the same 

1277
01:10:41,400 --> 01:10:44,200
reasons. 
The bottle is different, the 

1278
01:10:44,200 --> 01:10:47,500
kitchen is different and the 
context is different, but the 

1279
01:10:47,500 --> 01:10:50,800
action itself is unchanged in 
this small gesture. 

1280
01:10:50,800 --> 01:10:53,000
You briefly touch the Deep 
passed. 

1281
01:10:53,600 --> 01:10:56,100
Performing a ritual. 
So ancient that its Origins 

1282
01:10:56,100 --> 01:10:59,500
predate, the concept of ritual 
itself, the olive trees in 

1283
01:10:59,500 --> 01:11:01,800
distant Groves, continue their 
patient work. 

1284
01:11:01,800 --> 01:11:06,300
Flowering each spring fruiting 
each Autumn and producing the 

1285
01:11:06,300 --> 01:11:10,100
same golden liquid that fueled 
civilizations now studied only 

1286
01:11:10,100 --> 01:11:13,100
by archeologists? 
Some of those trees might be the

1287
01:11:13,100 --> 01:11:15,800
direct descendants. 
Literally through route, 

1288
01:11:15,800 --> 01:11:19,400
propagation of trees, that 
witnessed events recorded in 

1289
01:11:19,400 --> 01:11:21,400
history. 
As you've read, they connect 

1290
01:11:21,400 --> 01:11:25,500
past to present, through living 
continuity, biology preserving, 

1291
01:11:25,500 --> 01:11:30,100
what human memory cannot As long
as those trees survive as long 

1292
01:11:30,100 --> 01:11:33,900
as someone Harvest their fruit 
and presses into all the ancient

1293
01:11:33,900 --> 01:11:38,000
world isn't entirely lost. if 
flows forward year-by-year 

1294
01:11:38,000 --> 01:11:42,600
Harvest by Harvest, a golden 
thread that refuses to break, 

1295
01:11:47,200 --> 01:11:50,200
Picture yourself standing at the
edge of a vast Frozen plane 

1296
01:11:50,200 --> 01:11:52,400
somewhere in. 
What will one day be called 

1297
01:11:52,400 --> 01:11:56,100
Siberia? 
The year as a proximately 15,000

1298
01:11:56,100 --> 01:11:58,800
BC, though. 
Calendars won't exist for 

1299
01:11:58,800 --> 01:12:01,800
thousands of years yet. 
The landscape stretches 

1300
01:12:01,800 --> 01:12:05,800
endlessly before you a rolling 
expanse, of tundra, grass, 

1301
01:12:05,800 --> 01:12:10,600
patches of snow and Scattered 
stands of Hardy pine trees. 

1302
01:12:10,600 --> 01:12:12,700
That somehow survived the brutal
cold. 

1303
01:12:13,600 --> 01:12:16,400
The air bites that you're 
exposed skin with a sharpness 

1304
01:12:16,400 --> 01:12:20,200
that makes your eyes water. 
And when you exhale, your breath

1305
01:12:20,200 --> 01:12:24,000
crystallizes, instantly into 
tiny, ice particles, that drift 

1306
01:12:24,000 --> 01:12:27,700
away like mixture Stars. 
This is the place to see people 

1307
01:12:27,700 --> 01:12:30,500
the great ice age that is 
gripped. 

1308
01:12:30,500 --> 01:12:34,700
The Earth for millennia Massive.
Glaciers some more than a mile, 

1309
01:12:34,700 --> 01:12:38,100
thick cover much of the northern
hemisphere. but you're not 

1310
01:12:38,108 --> 01:12:42,100
standing on Ice, you're in one 
of the Refuge zones, the areas 

1311
01:12:42,100 --> 01:12:45,400
between the glaciers, where life
clings stubbornly to existence, 

1312
01:12:46,500 --> 01:12:50,300
Sun, hangs low on the horizon. 
Even at midday casting 

1313
01:12:50,300 --> 01:12:52,400
everything, in a peculiar amber 
light. 

1314
01:12:52,400 --> 01:12:55,400
That makes the snow Sparkle like
scattered diamonds. 

1315
01:12:56,200 --> 01:12:59,300
Clothing is a Masterwork of 
survival technology though. 

1316
01:12:59,300 --> 01:13:00,400
You wouldn't think of it that 
way? 

1317
01:13:00,400 --> 01:13:04,500
Your wrapped in carefully 
prepared, animal hides reindeer 

1318
01:13:04,500 --> 01:13:07,600
primarily with the fur turned 
inward for warmth. 

1319
01:13:07,600 --> 01:13:11,800
Your boots are stuffed with 
dried grass for insulation and 

1320
01:13:11,800 --> 01:13:14,200
your hands are covered in 
mittens made from the winter 

1321
01:13:14,200 --> 01:13:18,200
coat of a woolly mammoth calf. 
Every piece of clothing 

1322
01:13:18,200 --> 01:13:24,200
represents hours of work. 
Scraping and sowing with needles

1323
01:13:24,200 --> 01:13:28,300
made from bird bones and thread 
made from animal sinew around 

1324
01:13:28,300 --> 01:13:31,600
you the Ice Age megafauna go 
about their business with the 

1325
01:13:31,600 --> 01:13:34,200
Casual indifference of creatures
who've never learned to fear 

1326
01:13:34,200 --> 01:13:37,800
humans. 
A small herd of woolly, mammoths

1327
01:13:37,800 --> 01:13:42,000
moves slowly across the plain 
about half a mile away, their 

1328
01:13:42,000 --> 01:13:45,100
Shaggy rust colored coat, 
swaying with each ponderous 

1329
01:13:45,100 --> 01:13:47,100
step. 
Their smaller than modern 

1330
01:13:47,100 --> 01:13:50,500
elephants, actually only about 
nine feet tall at the shoulder 

1331
01:13:50,500 --> 01:13:55,500
but they're enormous curved 
tusks some reaching 16 feet in 

1332
01:13:55,508 --> 01:13:57,700
length. 
Make them look like creatures 

1333
01:13:57,700 --> 01:14:01,000
from a fever dream, The 
Matriarch uses her trunk to 

1334
01:14:01,000 --> 01:14:05,200
sweep away snow exposing the 
dried grass beneath and the 

1335
01:14:05,208 --> 01:14:08,000
others follow. 
Her lead creating a scattered 

1336
01:14:08,000 --> 01:14:10,800
pattern of feeding spots. 
Across the white expanse. 

1337
01:14:10,800 --> 01:14:13,300
Further out, you spot, a woolly 
rhinoceros. 

1338
01:14:13,300 --> 01:14:17,400
It's too horns, catching the low
sunlight It's a solitary 

1339
01:14:17,400 --> 01:14:19,700
creature. 
This one methodically working 

1340
01:14:19,700 --> 01:14:23,100
its way of cross the tundra in 
search of the Woody shrubs it 

1341
01:14:23,100 --> 01:14:27,600
prefers its wool. 
Hangs in ragged strips not a 

1342
01:14:27,608 --> 01:14:30,900
sign of poor health but simply 
the normal appearance of an 

1343
01:14:30,900 --> 01:14:33,800
animal whose coat has evolved to
survive temperatures that would 

1344
01:14:33,800 --> 01:14:38,300
kill most modern mammals within 
hours heard of Step by the 

1345
01:14:38,300 --> 01:14:42,200
ancestors of modern American 
Bison, but larger with horns 

1346
01:14:42,200 --> 01:14:45,400
spanning six feet across grazes 
in the middle distance. 

1347
01:14:46,300 --> 01:14:49,300
The darker than the snow around 
them, their breath creating 

1348
01:14:49,300 --> 01:14:52,600
small clouds that hang in the 
still cold air. 

1349
01:14:53,700 --> 01:14:56,800
One of them paused at the ground
breaking through the snow crust,

1350
01:14:56,800 --> 01:15:00,300
to reach the vegetation below 
and the sound carries clearly 

1351
01:15:00,300 --> 01:15:04,700
across the Frozen landscape. 
Sharp crack followed by the 

1352
01:15:04,700 --> 01:15:08,100
softer sound of ice crystals 
falling but it's not the 

1353
01:15:08,100 --> 01:15:10,100
megafauna that you're watching. 
Most carefully. 

1354
01:15:10,100 --> 01:15:13,100
It's the Wolves. 
They're everywhere in this 

1355
01:15:13,100 --> 01:15:15,700
landscape, though? 
You have to know how to look for

1356
01:15:15,700 --> 01:15:18,600
them. 
Unlike the megafauna Wolves of 

1357
01:15:18,600 --> 01:15:20,400
learn to be cautious around 
humans. 

1358
01:15:20,400 --> 01:15:22,400
They're Not Afraid. 
Exactly. 

1359
01:15:22,400 --> 01:15:26,800
Not yet but they're careful. 
You spot one. 

1360
01:15:26,800 --> 01:15:30,700
Now about 300 yards away sitting
on a small rise. 

1361
01:15:30,700 --> 01:15:35,100
It's watching the mammoth heard 
with professional interests, but

1362
01:15:35,100 --> 01:15:38,200
you noticed that it occasionally
glances in your direction too. 

1363
01:15:39,000 --> 01:15:42,300
It's coat is longer and thicker 
than the Wolves of a warmer 

1364
01:15:42,300 --> 01:15:46,400
climates a magnificent blend of 
grey black and white, that makes

1365
01:15:46,400 --> 01:15:50,100
it nearly invisible against the 
mixed landscape of snow and bare

1366
01:15:50,100 --> 01:15:52,700
ground. 
These Ice Age walls are slightly

1367
01:15:52,700 --> 01:15:54,600
larger than their modern 
descendants will be. 

1368
01:15:55,500 --> 01:15:59,100
More robust build for bringing 
down prey that outweighs them by

1369
01:15:59,100 --> 01:16:02,700
thousands of pounds. 
This particular wolf, probably 

1370
01:16:02,700 --> 01:16:06,800
weighs around 120 pounds with 
massive Jaws, capable of 

1371
01:16:06,808 --> 01:16:09,800
crushing bone. 
It's Amber eyes Miss, nothing 

1372
01:16:09,800 --> 01:16:13,200
constantly scanning the 
environment for opportunity or 

1373
01:16:13,200 --> 01:16:15,600
danger. 
You're part of a small band 

1374
01:16:15,600 --> 01:16:19,700
about 25 people ranging from 
infants to Elders in their 

1375
01:16:19,700 --> 01:16:23,600
forties that might sound young 
for an elder but in this world 

1376
01:16:23,600 --> 01:16:26,800
reaching 40 is an achievement 
worthy of respect. 

1377
01:16:27,700 --> 01:16:30,200
Your people have been following 
the reindeer herds for weeks now

1378
01:16:30,200 --> 01:16:34,200
and you've set up a temporary 
camp in a sheltered area where a

1379
01:16:34,200 --> 01:16:36,400
rocky outcrop provides some 
protection from the wind. 

1380
01:16:36,400 --> 01:16:39,800
The campus itself is a 
collection of sturdy structures,

1381
01:16:39,800 --> 01:16:44,500
not quite tents, not quite huts.
You've created them by setting 

1382
01:16:44,500 --> 01:16:48,700
up Frameworks of Mammoth bones 
and tusks then covering these 

1383
01:16:48,700 --> 01:16:50,800
Frameworks with layers of animal
hides. 

1384
01:16:51,600 --> 01:16:55,100
The largest structure. 
The communal dwelling uses the 

1385
01:16:55,100 --> 01:16:57,300
skull of a mammoth as part of 
its entrance. 

1386
01:16:58,000 --> 01:17:01,200
Inside the temperature is 
bearable, not warm, but 

1387
01:17:01,200 --> 01:17:03,900
survivable. 
Thanks to a carefully maintained

1388
01:17:03,900 --> 01:17:07,100
fire at the center. 
The smoke is escapes through a 

1389
01:17:07,100 --> 01:17:10,300
gap at the top and the highs are
arranged so that the wind 

1390
01:17:10,300 --> 01:17:13,800
doesn't blow directly inside. 
Your band is preparing for a 

1391
01:17:13,808 --> 01:17:17,400
hunt though. 
Preparing might be too formal a 

1392
01:17:17,400 --> 01:17:19,900
word. 
It's more like a slow practice 

1393
01:17:19,900 --> 01:17:22,300
Gathering of the necessary tools
and people. 

1394
01:17:23,100 --> 01:17:25,100
Several Hunters are checking 
their Spears. 

1395
01:17:25,100 --> 01:17:27,600
Not the throwing Spears that 
will be invented later. 

1396
01:17:27,600 --> 01:17:32,100
But heavy thrusting Spears with 
fire hardened wooden tips or for

1397
01:17:32,100 --> 01:17:35,100
the lucky few precious stone 
points that were traded from 

1398
01:17:35,100 --> 01:17:36,800
another band. 
Two summers ago. 

1399
01:17:36,800 --> 01:17:39,700
One of your cousins is working 
on a new ATL. 

1400
01:17:40,700 --> 01:17:43,100
Spear thrower, that will 
multiply the force behind a 

1401
01:17:43,100 --> 01:17:45,000
throne spear. 
It's new technology. 

1402
01:17:45,000 --> 01:17:48,600
This atlatl having been 
invented, just a few Generations

1403
01:17:48,600 --> 01:17:51,200
back. 
The older Hunters were skeptical

1404
01:17:51,200 --> 01:17:55,700
at first but the young people of
proven its worth Your cousin is 

1405
01:17:55,700 --> 01:17:57,700
shaping the wood with a piece of
sharp Flint. 

1406
01:17:57,700 --> 01:18:00,900
Occasionally pausing to cite 
along its length. 

1407
01:18:00,900 --> 01:18:04,600
Checking for straightness. 
Target today is not the 

1408
01:18:04,600 --> 01:18:08,300
mammoths, the two dangerous, and
two large, requiring more 

1409
01:18:08,300 --> 01:18:11,100
planning, and more Hunters than 
your band, can spare right now. 

1410
01:18:11,100 --> 01:18:15,300
Instead, your hoping to Ambush a
reindeer that strayed from its 

1411
01:18:15,300 --> 01:18:19,600
herd, He spotted one yesterday, 
a young buck, that seems to have

1412
01:18:19,600 --> 01:18:20,800
injured. 
Its legs slightly. 

1413
01:18:21,600 --> 01:18:25,800
In the harsh mathematics of Ice 
Age survival, that slight injury

1414
01:18:25,800 --> 01:18:27,900
marks it as your best chance for
success. 

1415
01:18:27,900 --> 01:18:31,600
But as you move out with the 
hunting party, you notice 

1416
01:18:31,600 --> 01:18:34,500
something unusual. 
There are more wolves around the

1417
01:18:34,500 --> 01:18:36,800
normal. 
They're keeping their distance, 

1418
01:18:36,800 --> 01:18:38,400
but they are definitely 
watching. 

1419
01:18:39,300 --> 01:18:42,800
Count at least six of them 
scattered across the landscape 

1420
01:18:42,800 --> 01:18:44,600
in positions. 
That suggests, they're not 

1421
01:18:44,600 --> 01:18:48,300
together, not a pack but 
individual wolves or small 

1422
01:18:48,300 --> 01:18:50,900
family groups. 
Each pursuing their own Survival

1423
01:18:50,900 --> 01:18:53,700
strategy, one wolf in 
particular, catches your 

1424
01:18:53,700 --> 01:18:56,100
attention, it's smaller than the
others. 

1425
01:18:56,100 --> 01:18:58,800
With a slightly reddish tint to 
its grey coat. 

1426
01:18:59,700 --> 01:19:02,800
Unlike the other wolves which 
are carefully maintaining their 

1427
01:19:02,800 --> 01:19:05,900
distance. 
This one seems less concerned 

1428
01:19:05,900 --> 01:19:07,800
with the usual safety, 
protocols. 

1429
01:19:08,600 --> 01:19:12,700
It may be 200 yards away. 
Sitting calmly on its haunches, 

1430
01:19:12,700 --> 01:19:16,200
watching your hunting party with
an expression that almost looks 

1431
01:19:16,200 --> 01:19:19,600
curious, rather than cautious, 
you've seen wolves. 

1432
01:19:19,600 --> 01:19:23,200
Follow hunting parties before. 
It's not uncommon, They've 

1433
01:19:23,200 --> 01:19:26,000
learned that human Hunters 
sometimes, leave behind scraps, 

1434
01:19:26,000 --> 01:19:30,900
a gut pile, bones and piece of 
hide to damage to be useful. 

1435
01:19:31,900 --> 01:19:35,500
In a world where every calorie 
counts where a harsh, winter can

1436
01:19:35,500 --> 01:19:38,000
mean the difference between 
survival and starvation. 

1437
01:19:39,000 --> 01:19:42,100
Those scraps represent 
opportunity, but this feels 

1438
01:19:42,100 --> 01:19:45,300
different somehow this will 
isn't just following a careful 

1439
01:19:45,300 --> 01:19:49,100
distance. 
It's observing learning the 

1440
01:19:49,100 --> 01:19:52,200
hunter itself unfolds in the 
Timeless pattern of predator and

1441
01:19:52,208 --> 01:19:55,100
prey. 
Your party spreads out moving 

1442
01:19:55,100 --> 01:19:57,800
slowly up wind toward where the 
injured reindeer was. 

1443
01:19:57,800 --> 01:20:03,000
Last seen the snow muffles your 
footsteps and you've rubbed your

1444
01:20:03,000 --> 01:20:05,700
cells with the leaves of 
aromatic plants to mask your 

1445
01:20:05,700 --> 01:20:10,100
human scent, the cold air helps 
too scent doesn't carry as well.

1446
01:20:10,108 --> 01:20:13,800
In extreme cold you spot. 
The reindeer browsing in a small

1447
01:20:13,800 --> 01:20:17,500
Hollow using its broad Hooves to
dig through the snow to reach 

1448
01:20:17,500 --> 01:20:20,800
the Loken beneath. 
His injured leg is indeed 

1449
01:20:20,800 --> 01:20:22,900
causing problems. 
You can see it. 

1450
01:20:22,900 --> 01:20:26,400
Favoring the other three legs. 
Shifting, its weight constantly.

1451
01:20:28,000 --> 01:20:30,300
From a distance. 
It might not seem like much of 

1452
01:20:30,300 --> 01:20:33,700
an impairment, but you know, 
from experience that this slight

1453
01:20:33,700 --> 01:20:36,000
imbalance will slow it to escape
just enough. 

1454
01:20:36,000 --> 01:20:39,200
The hunters move into position 
with practice deficiency. 

1455
01:20:39,200 --> 01:20:43,800
No, words are spoken. 
Everyone knows their role two 

1456
01:20:43,800 --> 01:20:46,600
hunters will drive the reindeer 
toward a narrow passage between 

1457
01:20:46,600 --> 01:20:50,900
two large boulders. 
Three others, including you are 

1458
01:20:50,900 --> 01:20:54,700
positioned at that passage 
Spears ready, the drive Begins 

1459
01:20:54,700 --> 01:20:58,300
the reindeers head snaps up and 
for a moment, it freezes trying 

1460
01:20:58,300 --> 01:21:02,800
to identify the threat, then it 
bolts, moving with the fluid 

1461
01:21:02,800 --> 01:21:05,400
Grace, that makes these animals 
so difficult to hunt. 

1462
01:21:06,300 --> 01:21:10,000
But injured leg betrays. 
Its slightly just a tiny hitch 

1463
01:21:10,000 --> 01:21:13,200
in its stride and the path of 
least resistance leads. 

1464
01:21:13,200 --> 01:21:15,300
It exactly where the hunters 
knew it would go. 

1465
01:21:16,100 --> 01:21:17,700
Toward the gap between the 
boulders. 

1466
01:21:17,700 --> 01:21:20,100
Your muscles tense as it 
approaches. 

1467
01:21:20,100 --> 01:21:25,300
Timing is everything too early 
and it will Dodge too late and 

1468
01:21:25,300 --> 01:21:28,900
it will be passed. 
You The reindeer enters the Gap 

1469
01:21:28,900 --> 01:21:32,200
and in that moment of 
constriction, three Spears 

1470
01:21:32,200 --> 01:21:36,900
thrust forward simultaneously. 
At least two find their Mark in 

1471
01:21:36,900 --> 01:21:41,100
the animal, stumbles then Falls.
There's no celebrating the 

1472
01:21:41,100 --> 01:21:44,100
workers only begun. 
Within minutes, the animal is 

1473
01:21:44,100 --> 01:21:47,600
being efficiently, processed. 
The hide is carefully removed, 

1474
01:21:47,600 --> 01:21:50,500
it will be needed for clothing 
or shelter repairs. 

1475
01:21:51,400 --> 01:21:55,000
The meat is butchered into 
manageable pieces, the bones and

1476
01:21:55,000 --> 01:21:57,700
antlers are set aside. 
They have a dozen uses. 

1477
01:21:57,700 --> 01:22:01,400
Even the sinews are carefully 
extracted for making cordage and

1478
01:22:01,408 --> 01:22:04,600
thread and throughout this 
entire process, you're aware of 

1479
01:22:04,608 --> 01:22:07,100
the Wolves watching. 
The reddish gray. 

1480
01:22:07,100 --> 01:22:10,700
One has crept closer. 
Now may be 150 yards away. 

1481
01:22:11,500 --> 01:22:15,100
It sits perfectly still but you 
can see its nostrils, flaring 

1482
01:22:15,100 --> 01:22:19,200
centering, the fresh Blood on 
the cold air when your party is 

1483
01:22:19,200 --> 01:22:22,400
ready to head back to Camp 
carrying the butchered reindeer.

1484
01:22:22,400 --> 01:22:26,100
You notice something The reddish
gray wolf hasn't left. 

1485
01:22:26,100 --> 01:22:29,500
Its following maintaining that 
same distance. 

1486
01:22:29,500 --> 01:22:33,300
Its eyes fixed knot on the meat,
you're carrying, but on the gut 

1487
01:22:33,300 --> 01:22:37,500
pile, you've left behind the 
stomach intestines and other 

1488
01:22:37,500 --> 01:22:39,900
organs that are too much trouble
to carry back. 

1489
01:22:39,900 --> 01:22:43,600
As soon as your parties about 50
yards away, the wolf trots down 

1490
01:22:43,600 --> 01:22:46,400
to the gut pile. 
But in stead of the frenzied 

1491
01:22:46,400 --> 01:22:49,900
feeding you might expect at each
quickly and efficiently then 

1492
01:22:49,900 --> 01:22:53,300
Retreats again. 
It's being careful but less 

1493
01:22:53,300 --> 01:22:56,600
careful than the other walls who
have an approach to all despite 

1494
01:22:56,600 --> 01:23:00,800
easy meal that night in the 
communal dwelling with the fire 

1495
01:23:00,800 --> 01:23:02,800
crackling and the wind howling 
outside. 

1496
01:23:03,800 --> 01:23:06,900
You think about that wolf? 
There was something different 

1497
01:23:06,900 --> 01:23:09,900
about it. 
A quality can't quite name. 

1498
01:23:09,900 --> 01:23:13,600
Not tameless. 
Exactly more like a willingness 

1499
01:23:13,600 --> 01:23:16,100
to cross the usual boundaries 
between species. 

1500
01:23:16,100 --> 01:23:19,700
You don't know it yet but you've
just witnessed something 

1501
01:23:19,700 --> 01:23:22,700
extraordinary. 
You've seen one of the first 

1502
01:23:22,700 --> 01:23:25,500
Tiny Steps in a relationship 
that will spare millennia. 

1503
01:23:26,200 --> 01:23:30,300
That wolf with its slightly 
reduced caution and it's 

1504
01:23:30,300 --> 01:23:34,200
observant nature is on the very 
edge of something entirely new, 

1505
01:23:34,200 --> 01:23:38,500
not just for wolves, but for the
entire trajectory of human and 

1506
01:23:38,500 --> 01:23:41,700
animal life on Earth outside in 
the darkness, beyond the 

1507
01:23:41,708 --> 01:23:44,400
firelight, the wolf circle's, 
the camp at a respectful 

1508
01:23:44,400 --> 01:23:48,600
distance, it can smell the 
cooking meat can hear the human 

1509
01:23:48,600 --> 01:23:51,500
voices and consent the warmth of
the fire. 

1510
01:23:52,500 --> 01:23:56,100
And unlike every other wolf in 
the region, instead of moving on

1511
01:23:56,100 --> 01:24:00,000
to find its own prey, it settles
down in the snow about 100 yards

1512
01:24:00,000 --> 01:24:02,500
from the camp. 
It doesn't know why it's staying

1513
01:24:02,500 --> 01:24:06,800
Instinct mixed with curiosity 
perhaps, Or maybe just the 

1514
01:24:06,800 --> 01:24:10,200
simple calculus of survival, 
these humans mean food. 

1515
01:24:10,200 --> 01:24:14,600
And in the harsh mathematics of 
the Ice Age, any reliable source

1516
01:24:14,600 --> 01:24:16,400
of calories is worth a slight 
risk. 

1517
01:24:16,400 --> 01:24:19,700
The Moon Rises over the Frozen 
landscape Illuminating. 

1518
01:24:19,700 --> 01:24:21,300
A world. 
That is both beautiful and 

1519
01:24:21,300 --> 01:24:24,200
brutal. 
And in that world, a small 

1520
01:24:24,208 --> 01:24:27,300
change has begun. 
So, subtle, that no one could 

1521
01:24:27,300 --> 01:24:29,400
possibly recognize its 
significant. 

1522
01:24:30,300 --> 01:24:32,300
A wolf sits watching a human 
Camp. 

1523
01:24:32,300 --> 01:24:36,800
An inside that camp, a humanise 
awake thinking about wolf King 

1524
01:24:36,800 --> 01:24:39,800
the reddish gray wolf, becomes 
something of a fixture over the 

1525
01:24:39,800 --> 01:24:43,300
following days though, fixture 
implies more permanent than his 

1526
01:24:43,300 --> 01:24:46,100
really accurate. 
It's more like a recurring 

1527
01:24:46,100 --> 01:24:49,900
character in your daily life. 
Peering near the camp at dawn 

1528
01:24:49,900 --> 01:24:53,800
following hunting parties at a 
distance, materializing around, 

1529
01:24:53,800 --> 01:24:57,200
butchering site. 
He start to recognize it not 

1530
01:24:57,200 --> 01:24:59,400
just by its coloring, but By Its
Behavior. 

1531
01:25:00,500 --> 01:25:03,300
While other wolves that scavenge
from Human kills Dart, in 

1532
01:25:03,300 --> 01:25:04,800
nervously. 
Snatch. 

1533
01:25:04,800 --> 01:25:08,600
What they can and flea. 
This one moves with a peculiar 

1534
01:25:08,600 --> 01:25:11,300
confidence, you're not the only 
one who's noticed. 

1535
01:25:12,100 --> 01:25:16,200
One evening as your band gathers
around the fire, your aunt a 

1536
01:25:16,200 --> 01:25:20,000
woman of about 35 who survival 
skills, have earned her enormous

1537
01:25:20,000 --> 01:25:24,300
respect in the band. 
Mentions the wolf casually while

1538
01:25:24,300 --> 01:25:27,200
working a piece of reindeer hide
with a stone scraper. 

1539
01:25:27,200 --> 01:25:29,200
The red one was at the 
butchering site. 

1540
01:25:29,200 --> 01:25:32,200
Again she says a hands never 
pausing in their rhythmic 

1541
01:25:32,200 --> 01:25:36,800
scraping motion closer than 
before maybe 70 Paces, your 

1542
01:25:36,800 --> 01:25:40,200
uncle sharpening, a spear Point 
grunts acknowledgment, good 

1543
01:25:40,200 --> 01:25:43,700
thing or bad thing neither just 
a thing. 

1544
01:25:44,700 --> 01:25:47,200
You aren't holds the hide up to 
the firelight checking her 

1545
01:25:47,200 --> 01:25:50,200
progress. 
It's not aggressive, never 

1546
01:25:50,200 --> 01:25:54,800
approaches the kills and till 
we're well away just interested.

1547
01:25:54,800 --> 01:25:58,500
This is a typical example of how
your people discuss the natural 

1548
01:25:58,500 --> 01:26:02,700
world matter-of-factly without a
tributing too much meaning but 

1549
01:26:02,700 --> 01:26:06,000
also without dismissing 
observations Every piece of 

1550
01:26:06,000 --> 01:26:08,800
information about animal 
behavior, might someday prove 

1551
01:26:08,800 --> 01:26:10,800
useful. 
So it's worth noting and 

1552
01:26:10,800 --> 01:26:13,100
remembering two weeks passed, 
then three. 

1553
01:26:14,300 --> 01:26:17,900
The Deep cold of winter begins 
its slow grudging transition 

1554
01:26:17,900 --> 01:26:20,000
towards something slightly less 
brutal. 

1555
01:26:20,800 --> 01:26:24,500
The sun's Arc across the sky 
grows incrementally longer each 

1556
01:26:24,500 --> 01:26:27,100
day. 
The change is subtle enough that

1557
01:26:27,100 --> 01:26:30,300
you might not notice it day to 
day, but over weeks it's 

1558
01:26:30,300 --> 01:26:32,800
unmistakable. 
Your band has remained in the 

1559
01:26:32,808 --> 01:26:36,000
same general area. 
The hunting has been decent the 

1560
01:26:36,000 --> 01:26:37,500
sheltered spot. 
You've chosen off as good 

1561
01:26:37,500 --> 01:26:40,600
protection from the wind and 
through all of this the reddish 

1562
01:26:40,600 --> 01:26:44,200
gray wolf remains part of the 
landscape you start to notice 

1563
01:26:44,200 --> 01:26:48,100
patterns The wolf appears most 
reliably in the early morning 

1564
01:26:48,100 --> 01:26:51,500
shortly after Dawn and in the 
evening around dusk. 

1565
01:26:52,500 --> 01:26:55,700
During the brightest part of the
day is usually nowhere to be 

1566
01:26:55,700 --> 01:27:00,400
seen off Hunting its own prey. 
Presumably But in those liminal 

1567
01:27:00,400 --> 01:27:03,600
times, when the light is soft 
and the world, feels suspended 

1568
01:27:03,600 --> 01:27:05,500
between day and night. 
There it is. 

1569
01:27:05,500 --> 01:27:08,900
One morning, you're awake early 
than usual city outside the 

1570
01:27:08,900 --> 01:27:11,500
communal dwelling, and watching 
the sky, like in the east. 

1571
01:27:12,400 --> 01:27:15,600
The temperature is brutally 
cold, the kind of cold that 

1572
01:27:15,600 --> 01:27:17,900
makes the inside of your 
nostrils stick together when you

1573
01:27:17,900 --> 01:27:21,600
breathe in, but the air is 
perfectly still and Stillness 

1574
01:27:21,600 --> 01:27:25,200
makes cold more bearable. 
Everything is touched with frost

1575
01:27:25,200 --> 01:27:29,700
each blade of grass, each Stone 
outlined in crystal in white, 

1576
01:27:29,700 --> 01:27:34,000
you see the wolf emerge from 
behind a distant, outcrops 200 

1577
01:27:34,000 --> 01:27:36,900
yards away. 
It's moving in that efficient 

1578
01:27:36,900 --> 01:27:40,400
ground covering Trot that wolves
used to travel long distances. 

1579
01:27:40,400 --> 01:27:44,900
Its breath creating rhythmic 
puffs of vapor in the Frigidaire

1580
01:27:44,900 --> 01:27:49,500
then it stops sits and looks 
directly at your camp for 

1581
01:27:49,500 --> 01:27:52,700
several long minutes. 
Nothing happens the wolf sits, 

1582
01:27:52,700 --> 01:27:56,500
you sit. 
The sky continues its slow, 

1583
01:27:56,500 --> 01:27:59,800
brightening from deep blue to 
lighter Shades, the hint at the 

1584
01:27:59,808 --> 01:28:03,900
eventual arrival of the sun, 
then acting on an Impulse, you 

1585
01:28:03,900 --> 01:28:07,300
don't fully understand. 
You toss a small piece of dry to

1586
01:28:07,300 --> 01:28:08,800
meet in the wolf's general 
direction. 

1587
01:28:08,800 --> 01:28:11,900
Not close to the wolf, you throw
it. 

1588
01:28:11,900 --> 01:28:15,000
Maybe 30 yards out from where 
you're sitting leaving at about 

1589
01:28:15,000 --> 01:28:18,600
170 yards from the wolf. 
It's more of a gesture than 

1590
01:28:18,600 --> 01:28:22,600
anything else and acknowledgment
of the wolf's presence, the wolf

1591
01:28:22,600 --> 01:28:25,300
watches, the meat Arc, through 
the air and land in the snow. 

1592
01:28:25,300 --> 01:28:27,900
It doesn't move for long 
minutes. 

1593
01:28:27,900 --> 01:28:31,400
It simply sits their eyes, 
moving between you and the meat,

1594
01:28:31,400 --> 01:28:34,200
then. 
So smoothly that you almost 

1595
01:28:34,200 --> 01:28:37,800
missed the transition. 
It stands trots to the meat, 

1596
01:28:37,800 --> 01:28:42,200
picks it up, and Retreats to its
original distance before lying 

1597
01:28:42,200 --> 01:28:44,900
down to eat it. 
Something about this interaction

1598
01:28:44,900 --> 01:28:48,000
feels significant. 
So, you couldn't explain why. 

1599
01:28:48,800 --> 01:28:50,900
It wasn't fear that made the 
wolf Retreat. 

1600
01:28:50,900 --> 01:28:54,300
It moved too calmly for that. 
It was more like an 

1601
01:28:54,300 --> 01:28:57,800
acknowledgment of boundaries a 
mutual understanding of 

1602
01:28:57,800 --> 01:29:01,900
appropriate distances, over the 
following weeks, this becomes an

1603
01:29:01,900 --> 01:29:05,200
occasional ritual, not every 
morning and not with any regular

1604
01:29:05,200 --> 01:29:07,700
schedule. 
But sometimes when you're up 

1605
01:29:07,700 --> 01:29:10,100
early, in the wolf appears, 
you'll toss it to scrap. 

1606
01:29:11,500 --> 01:29:13,300
The wolf begins to anticipate 
this. 

1607
01:29:13,300 --> 01:29:18,000
You notice that when it sees you
sitting outside at dawn, it sits

1608
01:29:18,000 --> 01:29:21,900
at a particular distance, no 
longer 200 yards, but more like 

1609
01:29:21,900 --> 01:29:26,700
150 and waits to see if you'll 
throw anything not consciously, 

1610
01:29:26,700 --> 01:29:29,700
trying to tame the wolf that 
word doesn't even exist. 

1611
01:29:29,700 --> 01:29:32,800
In your vocabulary, you'll 
simply engaging in a kind of 

1612
01:29:32,808 --> 01:29:36,600
pragmatic Exchange. 
The wolf cleaned up scraps that 

1613
01:29:36,600 --> 01:29:40,300
would otherwise attract less 
desirable scavengers hyenas. 

1614
01:29:40,300 --> 01:29:43,700
For instance, which are not only
more dangerous but at all so 

1615
01:29:43,700 --> 01:29:46,500
much less Pleasant to have 
around in return. 

1616
01:29:46,500 --> 01:29:51,200
The wolf gets easy meals, it's a
transaction that benefits both 

1617
01:29:51,200 --> 01:29:54,000
parties but something else is 
happening, too, though. 

1618
01:29:54,000 --> 01:29:56,200
It's so gradual that you barely 
notice it. 

1619
01:29:57,200 --> 01:29:59,900
The wolf is becoming part of 
your mental landscape. 

1620
01:29:59,900 --> 01:30:02,900
Part of the expected patterns of
daily life. 

1621
01:30:03,800 --> 01:30:06,800
When you wake up, now you find 
yourself wondering if the wolf 

1622
01:30:06,800 --> 01:30:09,900
will be there. 
When you're out hunting and you 

1623
01:30:09,900 --> 01:30:13,600
spot it following at a distance 
you feel a tiny flicker of 

1624
01:30:13,608 --> 01:30:16,200
recognition. 
Not quite pleasure. 

1625
01:30:17,000 --> 01:30:18,400
But something like 
acknowledgment. 

1626
01:30:19,900 --> 01:30:23,900
Hello again, the feeling seems 
to say you're still here one day

1627
01:30:23,900 --> 01:30:26,800
during a Hunting Expedition. 
Something unusual happens. 

1628
01:30:26,800 --> 01:30:29,700
Your party is tracking a small 
herd of horses. 

1629
01:30:29,700 --> 01:30:34,600
I say horses stocky, and robust 
with thick coats that make them 

1630
01:30:34,600 --> 01:30:36,400
look almost barely like in the 
dim light. 

1631
01:30:37,400 --> 01:30:41,000
Tracking has been difficult. 
The horses are wearing the wind 

1632
01:30:41,000 --> 01:30:43,500
keeps shifting and twice. 
You've gotten closer only to 

1633
01:30:43,500 --> 01:30:46,100
have them bolted. 
At the last moment you're taking

1634
01:30:46,100 --> 01:30:48,700
a brief rest. 
Assessing the situation when you

1635
01:30:48,700 --> 01:30:51,500
notice the reddish gray wolf of 
about 100 yards away. 

1636
01:30:52,400 --> 01:30:55,100
Is not looking at you though. 
Is looking in the same 

1637
01:30:55,100 --> 01:30:57,900
direction, you've been heading 
toward where the horses should 

1638
01:30:57,900 --> 01:31:01,800
be, then the wolf to something 
extraordinary, it moves forward 

1639
01:31:01,800 --> 01:31:05,000
about 50 yards. 
Stops looks back at you then 

1640
01:31:05,000 --> 01:31:08,300
looks forward again. 
The gestures so clear that it 

1641
01:31:08,300 --> 01:31:11,500
almost comical this way there, 
this way. 

1642
01:31:11,500 --> 01:31:15,600
Now it's entirely possible that 
the wolf was simply pursuing its

1643
01:31:15,600 --> 01:31:18,300
own agenda. 
That the apparent communication 

1644
01:31:18,300 --> 01:31:22,400
was pure coincidence. but you've
survived to adulthood in the Ice

1645
01:31:22,400 --> 01:31:25,300
Age by paying attention to 
environmental cues and this 

1646
01:31:25,300 --> 01:31:29,600
feels like a cue you signal to 
the other hunters and the party 

1647
01:31:29,600 --> 01:31:32,100
adjusts, its course, slightly 
moving more. 

1648
01:31:32,100 --> 01:31:36,100
In the direction, the wolf 
indicated. 50 minutes later you 

1649
01:31:36,100 --> 01:31:39,900
find the horses in a small 
Hollow perfectly positioned for 

1650
01:31:39,900 --> 01:31:42,800
an ambush. 
The Hunt is successful and 

1651
01:31:42,800 --> 01:31:44,800
afterward. 
You make sure to leave in a 

1652
01:31:44,800 --> 01:31:46,600
specially generous portion of 
the gut pile. 

1653
01:31:46,600 --> 01:31:49,600
The wolf as usual, weights until
you're well away before 

1654
01:31:49,600 --> 01:31:53,100
approaching, but you notice that
before it starts eating, it 

1655
01:31:53,100 --> 01:31:56,700
looks towards where your party 
is heading holds that gaze for a

1656
01:31:56,700 --> 01:31:59,200
moment, then begins its meal 
again. 

1657
01:31:59,200 --> 01:32:02,300
You could dismiss this as 
meaningless wolves. 

1658
01:32:02,300 --> 01:32:05,800
Look in all directions 
frequently, but your starting to

1659
01:32:05,800 --> 01:32:08,300
suspect that something more 
complex is happening. 

1660
01:32:08,300 --> 01:32:11,900
The wolf isn't just Scavenging 
from your kills anymore. 

1661
01:32:11,900 --> 01:32:16,600
It's participating in its own 
way, in the hunting process word

1662
01:32:16,600 --> 01:32:18,800
of the wolf begins to spread 
within your band. 

1663
01:32:19,700 --> 01:32:23,700
Children are fascinated by it. 
They've been warned to keep 

1664
01:32:23,708 --> 01:32:25,200
their distance. 
It is. 

1665
01:32:25,200 --> 01:32:28,900
After all, still a wild Predator
perfectly capable of dangerous 

1666
01:32:28,900 --> 01:32:32,900
Behavior But they watch it from 
the safety of the camp and 

1667
01:32:32,900 --> 01:32:36,700
they've given it a name of sorts
a specific sound that they used 

1668
01:32:36,700 --> 01:32:39,700
to refer to it, something 
between a whistle and a Yip 

1669
01:32:39,700 --> 01:32:42,000
that's meant to approximate a 
wolf's vocalization. 

1670
01:32:42,000 --> 01:32:45,700
One of the children. 
A girl of about seven has become

1671
01:32:45,700 --> 01:32:47,700
particularly interested in the 
wolf. 

1672
01:32:48,500 --> 01:32:51,900
She's the one who most reliably 
spots at each day who points out

1673
01:32:51,900 --> 01:32:55,500
its location to anyone who 
listen, who saves little scraps 

1674
01:32:55,500 --> 01:32:58,700
from a meals to toss out toward 
where the wolf typically sits. 

1675
01:32:59,400 --> 01:33:02,400
her mother allows this partly 
because it keeps the child 

1676
01:33:02,400 --> 01:33:06,900
engaged in Camp activities and 
partly because, well, the wolf 

1677
01:33:06,900 --> 01:33:10,900
doesn't seem to pose any actual 
threat months pass the season 

1678
01:33:10,900 --> 01:33:15,200
continues, its slow wheel 
towards Spring The days grow 

1679
01:33:15,200 --> 01:33:18,300
longer. 
The snow begins to develop a 

1680
01:33:18,300 --> 01:33:22,000
different texture becoming 
wetter heavier, and more 

1681
01:33:22,000 --> 01:33:25,500
cristaline. 
The mammoth start moving North 

1682
01:33:25,500 --> 01:33:28,700
following the retreating edge of
the glaciers toward their summer

1683
01:33:28,700 --> 01:33:31,700
feeding grounds. 
The reindeer herds grow 

1684
01:33:31,700 --> 01:33:34,500
wrestlers preparing for their 
own migrations. 

1685
01:33:34,500 --> 01:33:38,000
Your band must decide whether to
follow the herds or to stay in 

1686
01:33:38,000 --> 01:33:40,600
this region and switch to 
hunting the animals. 

1687
01:33:40,600 --> 01:33:44,300
That remain year-round bison, 
horses and the occasional 

1688
01:33:44,300 --> 01:33:47,500
Mammoth that bucks, the 
migration Trend in the end. 

1689
01:33:47,500 --> 01:33:50,800
The decision is made to stay. 
The camp is good. 

1690
01:33:50,800 --> 01:33:54,600
The hunting has been reliable 
and the effort required to pack 

1691
01:33:54,600 --> 01:33:56,300
everything and move is 
significant. 

1692
01:33:56,300 --> 01:34:00,300
The reddish gray wolf stays too.
This surprises, you slightly 

1693
01:34:01,300 --> 01:34:03,800
you'd assume the wolf was 
following the human ban because 

1694
01:34:03,800 --> 01:34:07,100
humans meant food and that if 
the major game herds moved on 

1695
01:34:07,100 --> 01:34:10,700
the wolf would follow them. 
But it doesn't it remains in the

1696
01:34:10,708 --> 01:34:14,700
area, hunting, its own prey. 
You occasionally, see it taking 

1697
01:34:14,700 --> 01:34:16,500
down rabbits with impressive, 
efficiency. 

1698
01:34:17,600 --> 01:34:20,400
And continuing its habit of 
appearing near the camp at dawn 

1699
01:34:20,400 --> 01:34:24,300
and dusk the distance between 
wolves and humans continues to 

1700
01:34:24,300 --> 01:34:28,400
shrink incrementally. 
Not in any dramatic way, not on 

1701
01:34:28,400 --> 01:34:31,800
any single Leap Forward. 
But in tiny adjustments that 

1702
01:34:31,800 --> 01:34:35,800
accumulate over time The wolf 
now sits about 100 yards from 

1703
01:34:35,800 --> 01:34:40,700
camp in stead of 150. 
When someone tosses it food, it 

1704
01:34:40,700 --> 01:34:44,400
no longer Retreats as far before
eating When it follows hunting 

1705
01:34:44,400 --> 01:34:49,900
parties, the Gap is perhaps 75 
yards and 100 one warm afternoon

1706
01:34:49,900 --> 01:34:53,300
genuinely warm. 
Maybe even reaching 40 degrees 

1707
01:34:53,300 --> 01:34:55,900
Fahrenheit, which feels like 
summer after The Long Winter. 

1708
01:34:56,800 --> 01:34:58,700
You're working on repairing your
boots outside. 

1709
01:34:58,700 --> 01:35:02,100
The communal dwelling. 
The wolf is lying in its usual. 

1710
01:35:02,100 --> 01:35:06,500
Spot about 90 yards away. 
Apparently drowsing in the Sun a

1711
01:35:06,500 --> 01:35:08,400
raven land nearby looking for 
scraps. 

1712
01:35:08,400 --> 01:35:10,700
It hops close to where you're 
working. 

1713
01:35:10,700 --> 01:35:13,800
Boulders Ravens all these are 
cocking its head to examine you 

1714
01:35:13,800 --> 01:35:16,100
with one bright eye, you ignore 
it. 

1715
01:35:16,800 --> 01:35:20,200
Ravens are harmless mostly if 
occasionally annoying in their 

1716
01:35:20,200 --> 01:35:23,700
persistence, then you notice the
wolf is watching The Raven with 

1717
01:35:23,708 --> 01:35:27,500
focused intensity. 
The wolf Rises to its feet 

1718
01:35:27,500 --> 01:35:31,500
stretches in a very dog, like 
manner, then trots toward the 

1719
01:35:31,500 --> 01:35:35,800
camp, not directly toward you, 
but on an angle that will bring 

1720
01:35:35,800 --> 01:35:38,900
it near the Raven, The Raven 
seeing the wolf approached, 

1721
01:35:38,900 --> 01:35:43,100
squawks and dignity and flaps 
away the wolf watches it go. 

1722
01:35:43,108 --> 01:35:46,600
Then in stead of retreating to 
his usual spot, lies down, maybe

1723
01:35:46,600 --> 01:35:49,800
70 yards from where your city, 
the message seems clear. 

1724
01:35:49,800 --> 01:35:52,600
The Raven was bothering you so I
chased it off. 

1725
01:35:53,400 --> 01:35:56,000
Now we're a bit closer to them 
before but that's okay because I

1726
01:35:56,000 --> 01:35:58,800
just did you a favor. 
Again, you could argue that this

1727
01:35:58,800 --> 01:36:02,800
is anthropomorphization reading 
human motivations in animal 

1728
01:36:02,800 --> 01:36:05,400
behavior. 
But whether or not your 

1729
01:36:05,400 --> 01:36:08,200
interpretation is accurate, the 
effect is the same, the 

1730
01:36:08,200 --> 01:36:11,500
boundaries between human and 
wolf of shifted again, just 

1731
01:36:11,500 --> 01:36:15,900
slightly, just enough to notice 
that night lying in the communal

1732
01:36:15,900 --> 01:36:18,500
dwelling and listening to the 
sounds of the band settling in 

1733
01:36:18,500 --> 01:36:21,600
for sleep. 
You think about the wolf How 

1734
01:36:21,600 --> 01:36:25,400
long has this been going on now?
Six months seven. 

1735
01:36:26,400 --> 01:36:29,300
Long enough that it's strange to
remember, a time when the wolf 

1736
01:36:29,300 --> 01:36:32,200
wasn't part of the daily 
routine, you don't know that 

1737
01:36:32,200 --> 01:36:34,500
what your witnessing is, the 
beginning of domestication. 

1738
01:36:35,200 --> 01:36:37,900
You have no framework for 
understanding that concept. 

1739
01:36:37,900 --> 01:36:41,800
No way to imagine that this wild
Predators great. 

1740
01:36:41,800 --> 01:36:44,900
Great grandchildren will be so 
thoroughly changed. 

1741
01:36:44,900 --> 01:36:48,700
That they'll sit obediently at 
human commands, will guard human

1742
01:36:48,700 --> 01:36:52,500
Holmes and will work alongside 
humans in a 1000 different ways.

1743
01:36:52,500 --> 01:36:56,700
All, you know, is that somewhere
out in the darkness about 90 

1744
01:36:56,700 --> 01:36:59,300
yards from where your lying, a 
wolf is curled up in the snow 

1745
01:36:59,300 --> 01:37:02,200
sleeping. 
For reasons you can't fully 

1746
01:37:02,200 --> 01:37:05,700
articulate, this knowledge feels
comforting rather than 

1747
01:37:05,700 --> 01:37:09,500
threatening spring arrives. 
Not with a bang but with a slow 

1748
01:37:09,500 --> 01:37:13,700
soggy Whisperer Snow doesn't so 
much melt as gradually, 

1749
01:37:13,700 --> 01:37:17,600
surrendered to Mud, creating a 
landscape of startling, 

1750
01:37:17,600 --> 01:37:20,700
messiness, where everything was 
white and pristine. 

1751
01:37:20,700 --> 01:37:25,200
Now, everything is brown and wet
The rivers and streams. 

1752
01:37:25,200 --> 01:37:28,800
Frozen solid for months, begin 
to crack and groan. 

1753
01:37:28,800 --> 01:37:31,500
Their ice breaking into huge 
chunks. 

1754
01:37:31,500 --> 01:37:34,500
That pile up against the banks 
with sounds like distant 

1755
01:37:34,500 --> 01:37:36,600
Thunder. 
The world becomes louder. 

1756
01:37:37,600 --> 01:37:41,100
Birds returned from their winter
grounds to the South filling the

1757
01:37:41,108 --> 01:37:44,700
air with calls and songs. 
The small mammals that spent 

1758
01:37:44,700 --> 01:37:48,100
winter underground emerge 
blinking in the bright sunlight.

1759
01:37:48,700 --> 01:37:52,800
Everything is waking up shaking 
off the top of winter and 

1760
01:37:52,800 --> 01:37:56,600
resuming the Urgent business of 
survival and reproduction, the 

1761
01:37:56,600 --> 01:37:58,600
reddish gray wolf disappears for
several weeks. 

1762
01:37:58,600 --> 01:38:01,600
And you find yourself surprised 
by how much you miss its 

1763
01:38:01,600 --> 01:38:04,300
presence. 
The camp feels less complete 

1764
01:38:04,300 --> 01:38:08,100
somehow, as if a regular element
of daily life has been removed. 

1765
01:38:09,100 --> 01:38:11,800
He catch yourself looking for 
the wolf at dawn in the evening 

1766
01:38:11,800 --> 01:38:14,000
and during hunts. 
Where is it? 

1767
01:38:14,000 --> 01:38:17,500
Is it all right? 
Has it moved on to follow some 

1768
01:38:17,500 --> 01:38:21,700
other band of humans or return 
to a fully wild existence there 

1769
01:38:21,700 --> 01:38:24,200
more morning as your carrying 
water from the stream back to 

1770
01:38:24,200 --> 01:38:27,400
Camp, you see it? 
The wolf is sitting in his usual

1771
01:38:27,400 --> 01:38:30,500
spot. 
Well, the spotted occupied two 

1772
01:38:30,500 --> 01:38:34,800
months ago about 100 yards from 
the camp But there's something 

1773
01:38:34,800 --> 01:38:36,800
different. 
The wolf looks thinner. 

1774
01:38:36,800 --> 01:38:41,100
It's coat rougher. 
And as you watch it, stands and 

1775
01:38:41,100 --> 01:38:44,100
stretches. 
And you see the elongated teats 

1776
01:38:44,100 --> 01:38:46,900
of a nursing mother, huh? 
So that's where you've been. 

1777
01:38:46,900 --> 01:38:50,600
You think of having puppies, the
wolf doesn't approach closer. 

1778
01:38:50,600 --> 01:38:54,200
It seems wary than before more 
careful about maintaining 

1779
01:38:54,200 --> 01:38:57,800
distance. 
This makes perfect sense a 

1780
01:38:57,800 --> 01:39:01,100
mother with dependent young has 
every reason to be cautious. 

1781
01:39:01,100 --> 01:39:05,400
You respect this new boundary 
making no attempt to approach 

1782
01:39:05,400 --> 01:39:08,600
simply acknowledging. 
The wolf's return with a tossed 

1783
01:39:08,600 --> 01:39:11,700
piece of dried meat over the 
following weeks, the wolf's 

1784
01:39:11,700 --> 01:39:14,800
visits become a regular, 
sometimes it appears at dawn 

1785
01:39:14,800 --> 01:39:18,200
sometimes, not sometimes it 
follows the hunting parties, 

1786
01:39:18,200 --> 01:39:21,400
sometimes, it's nowhere to be 
seen for days at a time. 

1787
01:39:21,400 --> 01:39:24,500
You understand that it's 
dividing its time between its 

1788
01:39:24,500 --> 01:39:28,300
den, wherever that is, and the 
Scavenging opportunities at the 

1789
01:39:28,300 --> 01:39:30,800
human Camp. 
Then one extraordinary morning 

1790
01:39:30,800 --> 01:39:33,500
the wolf appears at its usual 
spot and its not alone. 

1791
01:39:33,500 --> 01:39:37,100
He count three puppies though 
there might be more back at the 

1792
01:39:37,108 --> 01:39:39,500
den. 
They're perhaps six or seven 

1793
01:39:39,500 --> 01:39:43,100
weeks old passed the helpless 
infant stage but still clearly 

1794
01:39:43,100 --> 01:39:46,900
young with oversized Paws and 
ears that seem too big for their

1795
01:39:46,900 --> 01:39:49,600
heads. 
Their coats are fluffier than 

1796
01:39:49,600 --> 01:39:52,100
their mothers. 
Giving them a roly poly 

1797
01:39:52,100 --> 01:39:53,800
appearance. 
That's almost comically cute. 

1798
01:39:53,800 --> 01:39:57,200
The mother wolf sits at her 
usual distance, but the puppies 

1799
01:39:57,200 --> 01:40:00,600
not yet Having learned 
appropriate caution immediately.

1800
01:40:00,600 --> 01:40:03,700
Begin to explore. 
One of them spots, something 

1801
01:40:03,700 --> 01:40:08,100
interesting, probably just an 
unusual Rock and pounces on it 

1802
01:40:08,100 --> 01:40:13,100
with exaggerated intensity. 
Another tackles its sibling and 

1803
01:40:13,100 --> 01:40:17,000
they tumble together in a blur 
of Grey fur and wagging tails. 

1804
01:40:17,000 --> 01:40:19,600
The entire human camps stops to 
watch. 

1805
01:40:19,600 --> 01:40:23,400
Even the most pragmatic adults, 
find themselves smiling at the 

1806
01:40:23,400 --> 01:40:25,900
puppies. 
Antics the children are in 

1807
01:40:25,900 --> 01:40:29,600
trance sitting at the edge of 
camp and watching with barely 

1808
01:40:29,600 --> 01:40:32,900
contained excitement. 
One puppy Boulder or more 

1809
01:40:32,900 --> 01:40:35,000
Curious than its siblings 
begins. 

1810
01:40:35,000 --> 01:40:38,000
Wandering toward the camp. 
The mother wolf immediately 

1811
01:40:38,000 --> 01:40:41,600
gives a sharp bark and the puppy
freezes then Retreats but the 

1812
01:40:41,600 --> 01:40:44,300
message is clear. 
The puppy was interested in the 

1813
01:40:44,300 --> 01:40:46,800
camp. 
Curious about the strange two 

1814
01:40:46,800 --> 01:40:49,800
legged creatures, the seven year
old girl, who has been most 

1815
01:40:49,800 --> 01:40:51,800
interested in the wolf. 
Looks at her mother with 

1816
01:40:51,800 --> 01:40:54,100
pleading eyes. 
Can I give them food? 

1817
01:40:54,100 --> 01:40:57,200
Her? 
Mother considers this In the Ice

1818
01:40:57,200 --> 01:41:00,700
Age where survival is, never 
guaranteed wasting food on. 

1819
01:41:00,700 --> 01:41:04,700
Wild animals is generally not a 
smart strategy but these are not

1820
01:41:04,708 --> 01:41:07,700
normal times and this is not a 
normal situation. 

1821
01:41:09,300 --> 01:41:13,300
Finally, she nods. 
Small pieces, don't go any 

1822
01:41:13,300 --> 01:41:15,500
closer. 
Let them come to you if they 

1823
01:41:15,508 --> 01:41:18,000
want to. 
The girl takes a piece of dried 

1824
01:41:18,000 --> 01:41:20,600
meat. 
Breaks it into smaller bits and 

1825
01:41:20,600 --> 01:41:23,500
tosses them about halfway 
between the camp and where the 

1826
01:41:23,500 --> 01:41:26,900
wolf family sits. 
The puppies, watch the meat Arc 

1827
01:41:26,900 --> 01:41:28,600
through the air with intense 
Focus. 

1828
01:41:29,400 --> 01:41:33,100
As soon as the piece is land, 
they bound forward will caution 

1829
01:41:33,100 --> 01:41:36,400
forgotten in their enthusiasm, 
the mother wolf tenses, but 

1830
01:41:36,400 --> 01:41:38,900
doesn't call them back. 
She's watching carefully 

1831
01:41:38,900 --> 01:41:42,000
assessing the situation. 
Is this dangerous? 

1832
01:41:43,000 --> 01:41:46,200
Other humans a threat, the 
puppies, reach the meat and 

1833
01:41:46,200 --> 01:41:47,800
immediately begins squabbling 
over. 

1834
01:41:47,800 --> 01:41:51,400
It play fighting and growling 
with all the ferocity their 

1835
01:41:51,400 --> 01:41:53,800
Young Voices can muster which 
isn't much. 

1836
01:41:53,800 --> 01:41:57,900
They sound like tiny squeaky 
toys rather than Fierce and 

1837
01:41:57,900 --> 01:42:01,200
predators one puppy, having 
secured a piece of meat larger 

1838
01:42:01,200 --> 01:42:04,500
than it can easily eat, tries to
drag it back toward its mother, 

1839
01:42:04,500 --> 01:42:08,800
but the meat is larger than 
anticipated and the puppy keeps 

1840
01:42:08,800 --> 01:42:12,500
tripping over it, somersaulting 
in the mud and generally making 

1841
01:42:12,500 --> 01:42:16,500
a spectacle of its self. 
Humans watching can't help but 

1842
01:42:16,500 --> 01:42:20,300
laugh quiet. 
Laughs not wanting to start all 

1843
01:42:20,300 --> 01:42:23,400
the animals but genuine 
Amusement nonetheless, the 

1844
01:42:23,400 --> 01:42:25,900
mother wolf watches all of this 
with what's seems like resigned 

1845
01:42:25,900 --> 01:42:28,400
patients. 
Welcome to Parenthood. 

1846
01:42:28,400 --> 01:42:32,300
Her expression seems to say 
they're idiots but they're my 

1847
01:42:32,300 --> 01:42:34,100
idiots. 
This becomes a new pattern. 

1848
01:42:35,000 --> 01:42:38,500
Every few days, the wolf family 
appears near Camp, the puppies 

1849
01:42:38,500 --> 01:42:40,700
are gradually learning 
appropriate caution from their 

1850
01:42:40,700 --> 01:42:44,300
mother but their Natural 
Curiosity frequently overrides. 

1851
01:42:44,300 --> 01:42:47,100
Their developing survival 
instincts there endlessly, 

1852
01:42:47,100 --> 01:42:49,900
entertaining, tumbling and 
playing and investigating 

1853
01:42:49,900 --> 01:42:52,000
everything with the Boundless 
Energy of the young. 

1854
01:42:52,000 --> 01:42:55,300
The boldest puppy. 
You start to recognize it by 

1855
01:42:55,300 --> 01:42:59,500
distinctive marking, a white 
patch on its chest begins 

1856
01:42:59,500 --> 01:43:01,300
approaching closer than its 
siblings. 

1857
01:43:02,100 --> 01:43:05,400
It doesn't come all the way to 
the camp but it gets perhaps 50 

1858
01:43:05,400 --> 01:43:08,700
yards away. close enough that 
you can see its individual 

1859
01:43:08,700 --> 01:43:12,400
whiskers and the bright Amber of
its eyes one after noon, you're 

1860
01:43:12,400 --> 01:43:15,100
working on fashioning, a new 
spear shaft sitting outside, the

1861
01:43:15,100 --> 01:43:18,700
communal dwelling, The wolf 
family is in the usual spot. 

1862
01:43:18,700 --> 01:43:22,100
The puppy is napping in a furry 
pile, while their mother keeps 

1863
01:43:22,100 --> 01:43:26,100
watch The Bold puppy wakes up, 
looks around spots. 

1864
01:43:26,100 --> 01:43:29,700
You and begins walking towards 
the camp, the mother notices 

1865
01:43:29,700 --> 01:43:31,400
immediately and gives a warning 
bark. 

1866
01:43:32,200 --> 01:43:35,600
The puppy stops looks back at 
his mother and then looks at 

1867
01:43:35,600 --> 01:43:38,200
you. 
You can almost see the decision 

1868
01:43:38,200 --> 01:43:39,900
making process happening in his 
young. 

1869
01:43:39,900 --> 01:43:44,500
Brain mother says stop. 
That human looks interesting. 

1870
01:43:45,200 --> 01:43:49,800
But mother says stop, but the 
puppy compromises by lying down 

1871
01:43:49,800 --> 01:43:53,000
about 60 yards away. 
Still closer than its mother 

1872
01:43:53,000 --> 01:43:55,200
would prefer but not actively 
disobeying. 

1873
01:43:55,900 --> 01:43:59,200
It watches you with intense 
Focus as you work on the spear 

1874
01:43:59,200 --> 01:44:02,900
shaft apparently fascinated, by 
the repetitive motions of your 

1875
01:44:02,900 --> 01:44:05,900
hands shaping, the wood, you 
decided to test something 

1876
01:44:05,900 --> 01:44:09,500
without making any sudden, 
movements you toss a small piece

1877
01:44:09,500 --> 01:44:12,300
of meat toward the puppy. 
Not all the way to it. 

1878
01:44:12,300 --> 01:44:16,500
But about halfway between you 
the puppies head, snaps toward 

1879
01:44:16,500 --> 01:44:20,000
the meat, it looks at the meat 
then at its mother. 

1880
01:44:20,000 --> 01:44:24,300
Then at you the mother wolf 
gives another warning bark but 

1881
01:44:24,300 --> 01:44:26,000
the puppy is already made it to 
decision. 

1882
01:44:26,000 --> 01:44:30,300
It's slinks forward, barely low 
to the ground moving carefully 

1883
01:44:30,300 --> 01:44:33,600
and snatches the meat. 
But instead of retreating all 

1884
01:44:33,600 --> 01:44:36,800
the way back to its mother, it 
only goes about 20 yards away 

1885
01:44:36,800 --> 01:44:41,100
before laying down to eat the 
boundary, just shifted again, 70

1886
01:44:41,100 --> 01:44:43,800
yards, became 60 yards which 
became 40 yards. 

1887
01:44:43,800 --> 01:44:48,700
You don't push it further 
Patience is essential here, not 

1888
01:44:48,700 --> 01:44:50,900
because you're consciously 
trying to tame this animal. 

1889
01:44:50,900 --> 01:44:55,100
But because you understand 
instinctively, that rushing will

1890
01:44:55,100 --> 01:44:58,300
ruin whatever understanding is 
developing the summer 

1891
01:44:58,300 --> 01:45:00,600
progresses. 
The puppies grow rapidly. 

1892
01:45:00,600 --> 01:45:04,200
There are oversized features 
gradually becoming proportional 

1893
01:45:04,800 --> 01:45:07,900
The learning to hunt. 
Accompanying their mother on 

1894
01:45:07,900 --> 01:45:11,000
Expeditions though. 
They're still comically bad at 

1895
01:45:11,000 --> 01:45:13,000
it. 
You occasionally, see them 

1896
01:45:13,000 --> 01:45:16,600
trying to catch rabbits bounding
through the grass with enormous,

1897
01:45:16,600 --> 01:45:21,300
enthusiasm and zero technique 
sending their prey fleeing long 

1898
01:45:21,300 --> 01:45:24,200
before they get anywhere. 
Close the Bold puppy with the 

1899
01:45:24,200 --> 01:45:27,500
white chest patch continues to 
be the most adventurous. 

1900
01:45:28,400 --> 01:45:32,200
It's now regularly coming within
40 yards of the camp close 

1901
01:45:32,200 --> 01:45:34,300
enough that the children can 
toss it treats without much 

1902
01:45:34,300 --> 01:45:36,700
effort. 
It hasn't yet allowed anyone to 

1903
01:45:36,708 --> 01:45:40,000
touch it, but there's a clear 
sense that it might someday. 

1904
01:45:40,000 --> 01:45:41,700
If the approach were made 
carefully enough. 

1905
01:45:41,700 --> 01:45:45,200
The other two puppies are more 
cautious, maintaining the 

1906
01:45:45,200 --> 01:45:46,800
distance. 
Their mother seems to prefer, 

1907
01:45:46,800 --> 01:45:50,800
they'll take to tossed food but 
they're not as interested in the

1908
01:45:50,800 --> 01:45:54,300
humans themselves their 
following the traditional wolf 

1909
01:45:54,300 --> 01:45:57,800
path, benefiting from Human 
proximity but maintaining their 

1910
01:45:57,800 --> 01:46:00,800
wild Independents, but the Bold 
one is different. 

1911
01:46:00,800 --> 01:46:05,200
It's crossing a threshold moving
into territory, that no Wolff 

1912
01:46:05,200 --> 01:46:07,900
has previously occupied not 
quite wild. 

1913
01:46:07,900 --> 01:46:12,700
Not quite tame, but something in
between a hybrid State that's 

1914
01:46:12,700 --> 01:46:16,500
being invented in real time. 
One evening as the sun sets and 

1915
01:46:16,500 --> 01:46:19,900
paints the sky and shades of 
orange and pink your city 

1916
01:46:19,908 --> 01:46:24,000
outside watching the day end. 
The Bold puppy is laying about 

1917
01:46:24,000 --> 01:46:27,700
30 yards away. 
Also watching the sunset or 

1918
01:46:27,700 --> 01:46:30,700
possibly just resting. 
The other members of the wolf 

1919
01:46:30,700 --> 01:46:34,600
family of moved off to hunt but 
this puppy has chosen to stay 

1920
01:46:34,600 --> 01:46:36,600
near the human camp for a long 
time. 

1921
01:46:36,600 --> 01:46:41,000
Neither of you moves, You're 
simply sharing the space, two 

1922
01:46:41,000 --> 01:46:44,900
different species, both watching
the same sky turn from day to 

1923
01:46:44,900 --> 01:46:47,000
night. 
It's a moment of perfect 

1924
01:46:47,000 --> 01:46:51,200
peaceful coexistence not 
dramatic, not particularly 

1925
01:46:51,200 --> 01:46:54,900
significant on its own, but part
of a larger pattern that slowly 

1926
01:46:54,900 --> 01:46:58,200
quietly rewriting the rules of 
how different species can relate

1927
01:46:58,200 --> 01:47:00,700
to each other. 
A shooting star streaks across 

1928
01:47:00,700 --> 01:47:04,400
the sky bright and brief. 
The puppies ears perk up. 

1929
01:47:04,400 --> 01:47:07,400
As if it heard something though,
of course, the star makes no 

1930
01:47:07,400 --> 01:47:09,900
sound. 
You find yourself wandering, 

1931
01:47:09,900 --> 01:47:13,900
what the puppy thinks of the sky
of the stars of this strange 

1932
01:47:13,900 --> 01:47:16,100
world? 
It's been born into, you'll 

1933
01:47:16,100 --> 01:47:18,600
never know. 
Of course, the puppies internal 

1934
01:47:18,600 --> 01:47:22,200
life remains a mystery. 
But in this moment, that doesn't

1935
01:47:22,200 --> 01:47:25,100
seem to matter. 
What matters is the simple fact 

1936
01:47:25,100 --> 01:47:28,800
of shared space. 
Shared time and shared 

1937
01:47:28,800 --> 01:47:31,900
existence, the stars come out 
one by one. 

1938
01:47:31,900 --> 01:47:33,900
Filling the sky with their 
Ancient Light. 

1939
01:47:34,700 --> 01:47:39,100
Somewhere in the darkness, a 
mammoth Trumpets, the sound 

1940
01:47:39,100 --> 01:47:41,300
carrying for miles across the 
still air. 

1941
01:47:42,100 --> 01:47:44,900
A puppy's ears swivel toward the
sound but it doesn't move from 

1942
01:47:44,900 --> 01:47:46,700
its spot. 
Neither do you. 

1943
01:47:46,700 --> 01:47:50,000
You sit together human and 
almost dog as the night deepens 

1944
01:47:50,000 --> 01:47:53,500
around you, the Bold puppy which
you've started thinking of as 

1945
01:47:53,500 --> 01:47:56,500
white chest reaches. 
Adolescence with all the 

1946
01:47:56,500 --> 01:48:00,900
awkwardness that implies its 
paws temporarily too large for 

1947
01:48:00,900 --> 01:48:04,700
its body, give it a clumsy, 
gait, it's voices, changing 

1948
01:48:04,700 --> 01:48:09,400
producing, sometimes a puppy 
yet, sometimes an adult bark and

1949
01:48:09,400 --> 01:48:11,600
occasionally an embarrassing 
crack between the two. 

1950
01:48:12,500 --> 01:48:15,500
It goes through a phase where it
seems to trip over its own feet 

1951
01:48:15,500 --> 01:48:19,100
at least once per day, usually 
while trying to impress, the 

1952
01:48:19,100 --> 01:48:23,100
watching humans, with some feet 
of athletic prowess, white chest

1953
01:48:23,100 --> 01:48:26,600
is now about seven months old 
and something remarkable as 

1954
01:48:26,600 --> 01:48:29,400
happened. 
The distance between the puppy 

1955
01:48:29,400 --> 01:48:33,700
and the nearest humans as shrunk
to about 20 yards Some mornings 

1956
01:48:33,700 --> 01:48:37,000
white chest is waiting near the 
camp when people emerge from 

1957
01:48:37,000 --> 01:48:40,600
their dwellings tail. 
Whacking in greeting that tail. 

1958
01:48:40,600 --> 01:48:44,800
Whacking is itself noteworthy. 
Adult walls, do wag their tails 

1959
01:48:44,800 --> 01:48:47,500
but usually only in specific 
social contexts with other 

1960
01:48:47,500 --> 01:48:52,000
walls. white chest wags, its 
tail at humans constantly when 

1961
01:48:52,000 --> 01:48:55,700
it sees people, when it's given 
food and when someone simply 

1962
01:48:55,700 --> 01:48:59,600
looks in its direction, it's as 
if the puppy is repurposed a 

1963
01:48:59,600 --> 01:49:03,200
wolf to Wolf social signal for 
Wolf to human communication, the

1964
01:49:03,200 --> 01:49:06,200
other two puppies from that 
litter are still around but have

1965
01:49:06,200 --> 01:49:09,300
remained more, traditionally 
wolf-like They scavenge from 

1966
01:49:09,308 --> 01:49:12,400
Human kills. 
They tolerate human proximity at

1967
01:49:12,400 --> 01:49:15,900
reasonable distances, but they 
show no interest in closer 

1968
01:49:15,900 --> 01:49:18,700
interaction. 
They're becoming normal wolves 

1969
01:49:18,700 --> 01:49:22,400
following the ancient patterns 
of their species, but white 

1970
01:49:22,400 --> 01:49:25,500
chests becoming something else 
entirely one breakthrough 

1971
01:49:25,500 --> 01:49:29,100
morning the seven year old girl.
Her name in the sound, your 

1972
01:49:29,100 --> 01:49:32,400
language uses is something that 
roughly translates to Bright, 

1973
01:49:32,400 --> 01:49:36,100
one approaches closer to white 
chest than anyone has dared 

1974
01:49:36,100 --> 01:49:38,300
before. 
She is holding a particularly 

1975
01:49:38,300 --> 01:49:42,000
nice piece of smoked meat and 
she is making soft encouraging 

1976
01:49:42,000 --> 01:49:45,700
sounds like chest watches her 
approached with intense Focus, 

1977
01:49:45,700 --> 01:49:50,300
every muscle is tents, ready to 
flee of necessary but the puppy 

1978
01:49:50,300 --> 01:49:54,100
doesn't flee when bright one 
gets within about 10 yards, she 

1979
01:49:54,100 --> 01:49:57,600
stops kneels down to make 
herself less threatening and 

1980
01:49:57,600 --> 01:50:00,400
extend her hand with the meat 
for long moments. 

1981
01:50:00,400 --> 01:50:05,100
Nothing happens then moving 
slowly hesitantly white chest 

1982
01:50:05,100 --> 01:50:08,000
approaches one. 
Step two steps three. 

1983
01:50:08,900 --> 01:50:10,500
The puppy is now close enough 
that bright. 

1984
01:50:10,500 --> 01:50:12,000
One could touch it if she 
reached out. 

1985
01:50:12,000 --> 01:50:16,400
White chest stretches, its neck 
forward, still keeping its body 

1986
01:50:16,400 --> 01:50:18,300
at a safe distance ready to 
bolt. 

1987
01:50:18,900 --> 01:50:21,300
Its nose Twitches, scenting the 
meat. 

1988
01:50:22,100 --> 01:50:26,200
Then in one quick motion, it 
snatches the meat from Bright 

1989
01:50:26,200 --> 01:50:29,600
ones hand and Retreats about 
five yards but here's the 

1990
01:50:29,600 --> 01:50:32,500
remarkable part. 
In stead of running all the way 

1991
01:50:32,508 --> 01:50:35,800
back to the safe distance, white
chest lies down right there. 

1992
01:50:35,800 --> 01:50:39,100
Five yards away and eats the 
meat while watching bright one 

1993
01:50:39,100 --> 01:50:42,300
with an expression that seems 
almost friendly bright. 

1994
01:50:42,300 --> 01:50:46,200
One is beaming. 
She stays kneeling, not moving, 

1995
01:50:46,200 --> 01:50:48,600
not trying to push the boundary 
any further. 

1996
01:50:49,500 --> 01:50:53,100
She just watches as white chest 
finishes, the meat licks, its 

1997
01:50:53,100 --> 01:50:56,600
chops thoroughly, and then in a 
gesture, that makes bright one 

1998
01:50:56,600 --> 01:51:00,300
glass with delight yours and 
stretches out for a nap. 

1999
01:51:00,300 --> 01:51:01,800
Right there. 
Five yards from Human. 

2000
01:51:02,700 --> 01:51:04,600
Words, spreads quickly through 
the camp. 

2001
01:51:05,400 --> 01:51:07,200
People emerge from their 
dwellings to see this 

2002
01:51:07,200 --> 01:51:12,000
extraordinary sight. 
A wolf nearly full grown now 

2003
01:51:12,000 --> 01:51:15,700
sleeping peacefully within easy 
Spear of a human settlement. 

2004
01:51:15,700 --> 01:51:20,200
Over the following weeks, white 
chest becomes Bolder, the puppy 

2005
01:51:20,200 --> 01:51:22,700
starts following bright one 
around when she does her daily 

2006
01:51:22,700 --> 01:51:26,900
tasks collecting firewood, 
hauling water, and helping 

2007
01:51:26,900 --> 01:51:29,800
prepare hides. 
It's not always closed. 

2008
01:51:29,800 --> 01:51:33,900
Sometimes, it's 20 yards behind 
sometimes 30, but it's clearly 

2009
01:51:33,900 --> 01:51:37,400
following clearly choosing to be
near this particular human. 

2010
01:51:37,400 --> 01:51:41,000
The relationship develops, what 
you might call reciprocity, 

2011
01:51:41,000 --> 01:51:43,200
though, you have no word for 
this concept. 

2012
01:51:44,500 --> 01:51:46,500
Right. 
One shares food with white chest

2013
01:51:46,500 --> 01:51:51,600
and white chest provides 
companionship and increasingly a

2014
01:51:51,600 --> 01:51:55,800
kind of early warning system. 
The puppies ears are sharp 

2015
01:51:55,800 --> 01:51:59,500
within human ears and its nose 
is infinitely, more sensitive. 

2016
01:52:01,100 --> 01:52:04,100
When white chests attention 
suddenly focuses on something 

2017
01:52:04,100 --> 01:52:06,500
distant? 
People have learned to pay 

2018
01:52:06,500 --> 01:52:09,300
attention. 
More than once the puppies 

2019
01:52:09,300 --> 01:52:11,600
alertness as giving warning of 
approaching animals. 

2020
01:52:11,600 --> 01:52:16,200
Sometimes dangerous, predators 
sometimes potential prey one 

2021
01:52:16,200 --> 01:52:18,800
after noon. 
White chest is lying near where 

2022
01:52:18,800 --> 01:52:21,000
bright one is working on 
scraping hide. 

2023
01:52:21,700 --> 01:52:25,500
The puppy's head suddenly lifts 
ears, pricked forward, and body 

2024
01:52:25,500 --> 01:52:28,700
tensed. 
It's staring intently toward a 

2025
01:52:28,700 --> 01:52:30,700
rocky outcrop about 200 yards 
away. 

2026
01:52:30,700 --> 01:52:33,700
Bright one follows the puppies 
gaze but sees nothing. 

2027
01:52:34,400 --> 01:52:36,900
Still, she's learned to trust 
white chess census. 

2028
01:52:37,700 --> 01:52:40,600
She called out a warning to the 
camp and within seconds, several

2029
01:52:40,600 --> 01:52:43,300
adults emerge with spears for 
several minutes. 

2030
01:52:43,300 --> 01:52:47,000
Nothing happened. 
Then a Cave Bear a massive 

2031
01:52:47,000 --> 01:52:49,900
creature easily. 
Nine feet tall if it stood on 

2032
01:52:49,900 --> 01:52:53,200
its hind legs with a disposition
that makes modern Grizzly. 

2033
01:52:53,200 --> 01:52:56,200
Seemed friendly emerges from 
behind the rocks. 

2034
01:52:57,000 --> 01:53:00,300
It's not approaching the camp 
just passing through the area 

2035
01:53:00,300 --> 01:53:02,800
but Cave, Bears and notoriously 
unpredictable. 

2036
01:53:03,800 --> 01:53:06,900
Having warning of its presence 
is the difference between safety

2037
01:53:06,900 --> 01:53:09,400
and disaster. 
The bear passes without 

2038
01:53:09,400 --> 01:53:12,500
incident. 
Humans gratitude toward white 

2039
01:53:12,500 --> 01:53:16,300
chest, is genuine. 
Extra meteor shared that evening

2040
01:53:16,300 --> 01:53:20,000
and the puppy for the first time
is allowed to sleep. 

2041
01:53:20,000 --> 01:53:23,800
Just outside the entrance to the
communal dwelling rather than at

2042
01:53:23,800 --> 01:53:27,600
its usual more distant spot, 
white chest isn't the only young

2043
01:53:27,600 --> 01:53:31,300
wolf showing interest in humans.
as your band moves through its 

2044
01:53:31,300 --> 01:53:35,200
seasonal rounds, never string 
too far from the court territory

2045
01:53:35,200 --> 01:53:39,600
but shifting locations as 
resources dictate You notice 

2046
01:53:39,608 --> 01:53:44,000
other Wolves at different sites.
Particularly younger ones that 

2047
01:53:44,000 --> 01:53:46,800
display varying levels of 
boldness around humans. 

2048
01:53:46,800 --> 01:53:50,800
Some are like white chest, 
actively seeking proximity 

2049
01:53:50,800 --> 01:53:52,600
others are somewhere in the 
middle. 

2050
01:53:52,600 --> 01:53:55,800
Not avoiding humans, but not 
seeking them out either. 

2051
01:53:56,900 --> 01:54:00,500
It's as if there's a spectrum of
personality types and the wolves

2052
01:54:00,500 --> 01:54:03,000
on the boulder, end of that 
Spectrum, other ones who keep 

2053
01:54:03,000 --> 01:54:06,600
gravitating toward human cams. 
You're beginning to suspect 

2054
01:54:06,600 --> 01:54:08,300
though. 
You have no framework to 

2055
01:54:08,300 --> 01:54:11,300
articulate this, that some kind 
of selection is happening. 

2056
01:54:11,300 --> 01:54:15,300
The boldest walls, get the most 
access to easy food from Human 

2057
01:54:15,300 --> 01:54:18,000
scraps. 
The boldest walls of the ones 

2058
01:54:18,000 --> 01:54:20,800
learning to cooperate, however, 
Loosely with human hunting 

2059
01:54:20,800 --> 01:54:24,800
activities, the boldest wools 
are the ones of surviving best 

2060
01:54:24,800 --> 01:54:27,700
near human settlements. 
And when these bold walls 

2061
01:54:27,700 --> 01:54:31,000
eventually mate as white chest 
will in another year or so, 

2062
01:54:31,000 --> 01:54:34,300
they're likely produce offspring
that inherit this tendency 

2063
01:54:34,300 --> 01:54:39,400
toward boldness, Generation by 
Generation The Wolves, most 

2064
01:54:39,400 --> 01:54:42,400
comfortable around, humans are 
the ones most likely to thrive. 

2065
01:54:42,400 --> 01:54:45,200
In this new ecological niche. 
That humans provide. 

2066
01:54:45,200 --> 01:54:48,800
Meanwhile, the Shire more, 
traditionally wolf like 

2067
01:54:48,800 --> 01:54:52,600
individuals continue to do fine 
in the vast Wilderness away from

2068
01:54:52,600 --> 01:54:55,600
human settlements. 
They're not being replaced or 

2069
01:54:55,600 --> 01:54:58,800
driven out, it's just that two. 
Populations are slowly. 

2070
01:54:58,800 --> 01:55:03,300
Diverging one remaining purely 
wolf one beginning, the long 

2071
01:55:03,300 --> 01:55:06,600
journey toward becoming 
something else, white chest 

2072
01:55:06,600 --> 01:55:09,400
reaches full. 
Adulthood About a year and a 

2073
01:55:09,400 --> 01:55:12,100
half old now. 
The puppy awkwardness is gone 

2074
01:55:12,100 --> 01:55:15,700
replaced by the lean efficiency 
of a mature predator. 

2075
01:55:16,800 --> 01:55:19,200
White chest now weighs about 75 
pounds. 

2076
01:55:20,300 --> 01:55:22,100
Smaller than its mother but 
still formidable. 

2077
01:55:23,000 --> 01:55:25,700
And while the wolf is clearly 
bonded, with bright one and the 

2078
01:55:25,700 --> 01:55:29,100
rest of the band, it's not tame 
in any conventional sense. 

2079
01:55:29,100 --> 01:55:33,300
It still hunts its own prey, it 
still maintains some distance, 

2080
01:55:33,300 --> 01:55:36,700
it still makes its own decisions
about when to be near the camp 

2081
01:55:36,700 --> 01:55:39,700
and when to disappear into the 
Wilderness for days at a time, 

2082
01:55:39,708 --> 01:55:44,200
but something fundamental has 
changed when white chest returns

2083
01:55:44,200 --> 01:55:47,400
from these Wilderness, 
excursions it greets, the humans

2084
01:55:47,400 --> 01:55:52,200
a specialty bright one with 
obvious, pleasure tail, wagging,

2085
01:55:52,200 --> 01:55:56,200
and body wiggling. 
In a dance of joy. when the band

2086
01:55:56,200 --> 01:56:02,200
moves Camp, white chest follows,
without hesitation, When sit by 

2087
01:56:02,200 --> 01:56:05,900
the fire in the evening white 
chest lies nearby, close enough 

2088
01:56:05,900 --> 01:56:09,100
to be touched, those still wary 
of Southern movements. 

2089
01:56:09,100 --> 01:56:11,700
One evening after successful 
hunt. 

2090
01:56:11,700 --> 01:56:15,100
The band is in good spirits, 
there's meter plenty. 

2091
01:56:15,100 --> 01:56:17,500
And someone has found a wild 
berry bush. 

2092
01:56:17,500 --> 01:56:19,800
Still holding fruit. 
Despite the late nests of the 

2093
01:56:19,808 --> 01:56:22,300
season. 
The children are playing a game 

2094
01:56:22,300 --> 01:56:25,800
that involves running around the
camps perimeter and white chest 

2095
01:56:25,800 --> 01:56:28,900
joins in running, alongside them
with obvious enjoyment. 

2096
01:56:28,900 --> 01:56:32,000
The adults watch this with 
Expressions, ranging from 

2097
01:56:32,000 --> 01:56:35,000
amazement to Amusement to 
something approaching unease. 

2098
01:56:35,700 --> 01:56:38,400
This is unprecedented wild 
predators. 

2099
01:56:38,400 --> 01:56:43,000
Don't play with human children 
but here undeniably is a wolf 

2100
01:56:43,000 --> 01:56:46,800
doing exactly that. 
Carefully without using its 

2101
01:56:46,800 --> 01:56:49,500
teeth. 
Even in play fighting adjusting 

2102
01:56:49,500 --> 01:56:53,200
its strength, to accommodate the
smaller weaker, humans, bright 

2103
01:56:53,200 --> 01:56:55,600
ones, mother watches, her 
daughter and white chess playing

2104
01:56:55,600 --> 01:56:58,900
together and she has a thought 
that she'll later try to express

2105
01:56:58,900 --> 01:57:01,600
to her partner though. 
The language doesn't quite have 

2106
01:57:01,600 --> 01:57:05,700
the words for it yet. something 
like, we're watching something 

2107
01:57:05,700 --> 01:57:10,200
new being born, not just this 
wolf, but the idea of wolves and

2108
01:57:10,200 --> 01:57:14,000
humans together, what we're 
seeing isn't just unusual. 

2109
01:57:14,000 --> 01:57:16,800
It's never happened before. 
In all of history. 

2110
01:57:16,800 --> 01:57:19,900
She's right though. 
She doesn't know how right. 

2111
01:57:20,800 --> 01:57:23,300
She doesn't know that tens of 
thousands of years in the future

2112
01:57:23,300 --> 01:57:26,200
humans will live alongside 
millions of descendants of 

2113
01:57:26,200 --> 01:57:29,500
wolves like white chairs. 
She doesn't know that these 

2114
01:57:29,500 --> 01:57:31,600
descendants will come and 
bewildering variety. 

2115
01:57:32,600 --> 01:57:37,000
Tiny ones that fit in a pocket. 
Huge ones that stand taller than

2116
01:57:37,000 --> 01:57:40,600
wolves ever did. 
Some bred for hunting, some for 

2117
01:57:40,600 --> 01:57:43,000
guarding, and some simply for 
companionship. 

2118
01:57:43,900 --> 01:57:46,400
She doesn't know that. 
Humans will develop complex, 

2119
01:57:46,400 --> 01:57:49,900
emotional bonds, with these 
animals, treating them as family

2120
01:57:49,900 --> 01:57:53,600
members morning their deaths and
celebrating their lives. 

2121
01:57:53,600 --> 01:57:57,200
All she knows is that right now.
In this moment, her daughter is 

2122
01:57:57,200 --> 01:58:00,800
playing with a wolf and both of 
them are clearly absolutely 

2123
01:58:00,800 --> 01:58:04,000
happy. 
The fire crackles the Stars 

2124
01:58:04,000 --> 01:58:07,300
wheel overhead in their Eternal 
patterns, a cool breeze. 

2125
01:58:07,300 --> 01:58:11,100
Brings the scent of the distant 
Pine's and in this small corner 

2126
01:58:11,100 --> 01:58:14,700
of the vast Ice Age world. 
Something impossible has become 

2127
01:58:14,700 --> 01:58:18,400
possible like chess stops 
running sits down to catch. 

2128
01:58:18,400 --> 01:58:21,600
Its breath and bright. 
One in pulsive reaches out to 

2129
01:58:21,600 --> 01:58:22,900
touch the top of the wolf's 
head. 

2130
01:58:23,900 --> 01:58:28,100
White chest goes very still, 
this is the first time, a human 

2131
01:58:28,100 --> 01:58:31,700
has directly touched it. 
For a moment, the outcome could 

2132
01:58:31,700 --> 01:58:35,300
go either way, then white chest 
leans in to the touch just 

2133
01:58:35,300 --> 01:58:38,100
slightly and bright. 
One begins, gently scratching 

2134
01:58:38,100 --> 01:58:41,800
behind the wolf's white chest 
size, closing, contentment. 

2135
01:58:42,600 --> 01:58:46,400
One back leg starts, twitching 
and voluntarily the way dog's 

2136
01:58:46,400 --> 01:58:48,000
legs will twitch. 
When you find just the right 

2137
01:58:48,008 --> 01:58:51,300
spot, the bridge between species
has been crossed. 

2138
01:58:51,300 --> 01:58:55,400
There's no going back. 
Now, three years of past since 

2139
01:58:55,400 --> 01:58:57,300
white chest. 
First ventured close to the 

2140
01:58:57,300 --> 01:59:00,700
human Camp as a bold puppy. 
The wolf though. 

2141
01:59:00,700 --> 01:59:02,800
Increasingly it seems incorrect 
to call it. 

2142
01:59:02,800 --> 01:59:07,200
Simply a wolf is now a mature 
adult fully integrated into the 

2143
01:59:07,200 --> 01:59:11,000
daily life of your band. 
White chest has become for lack 

2144
01:59:11,000 --> 01:59:13,500
of a better term. 
And member of the family, the 

2145
01:59:13,500 --> 01:59:17,100
wolf's daily routine mirrors. 
The human's own rhythms white 

2146
01:59:17,100 --> 01:59:20,800
chest sleeps near the camp 
entrance at night often beside 

2147
01:59:20,800 --> 01:59:24,400
bright, one sleeping area. 
In the morning, the wolf 

2148
01:59:24,400 --> 01:59:26,300
accompanies, whoever goes to 
fetch water. 

2149
01:59:26,300 --> 01:59:30,100
Trotting alongside them 
investigating, interesting 

2150
01:59:30,100 --> 01:59:33,200
smells and occasionally pausing 
to Mark territory. 

2151
01:59:34,700 --> 01:59:38,100
During the day, white chest off,
often, joined hunting parties 

2152
01:59:38,100 --> 01:59:41,100
and this is where the 
relationship has evolved into 

2153
01:59:41,100 --> 01:59:44,900
something truly remarkable white
chest as learned to actively 

2154
01:59:44,900 --> 01:59:46,300
participate. 
In Hunts. 

2155
01:59:46,300 --> 01:59:49,200
The wolf understands somehow 
what the humans are trying to 

2156
01:59:49,200 --> 01:59:51,600
do. 
When the hunting party is 

2157
01:59:51,600 --> 01:59:55,400
stalking prey, white chest 
remains silent and stays down 

2158
01:59:55,400 --> 01:59:59,300
wind When it's time to drive 
game, toward waiting Hunters, 

2159
01:59:59,300 --> 02:00:03,600
white chest helps with the drive
barking and lunging to push the 

2160
02:00:03,600 --> 02:00:08,200
animals in the right direction. 
And critically white chest has 

2161
02:00:08,200 --> 02:00:11,000
learned to wait for its share of
the kill rather than trying to 

2162
02:00:11,008 --> 02:00:14,200
claim it immediately. 
This cooperation isn't perfect. 

2163
02:00:15,200 --> 02:00:18,700
White chest is still a predator 
with predator, instincts and 

2164
02:00:18,700 --> 02:00:21,100
occasionally those instincts 
override training. 

2165
02:00:22,000 --> 02:00:24,900
Once during a particularly 
exciting, Chase of a wounded 

2166
02:00:24,900 --> 02:00:29,200
bison, white chest became over 
eager, and darted into early 

2167
02:00:29,200 --> 02:00:31,300
nearly getting trampled for the 
trouble. 

2168
02:00:32,100 --> 02:00:33,600
The wolf learned from this 
mistake. 

2169
02:00:34,500 --> 02:00:38,800
Painfully limping for several 
days afterwards, but learned 

2170
02:00:38,800 --> 02:00:42,600
nonetheless the human hunting 
success rate has noticeably 

2171
02:00:42,600 --> 02:00:44,700
improved with white chest 
participation. 

2172
02:00:45,600 --> 02:00:48,900
The wolf Superior senses, help 
locate prey, that humanized 

2173
02:00:48,900 --> 02:00:52,800
would miss. white chest 
presents, make some prey animals

2174
02:00:52,800 --> 02:00:56,300
nervous, causing them to move in
ways that make them easier for 

2175
02:00:56,300 --> 02:00:59,600
human Hunters to predict And 
occasionally when hunting 

2176
02:00:59,600 --> 02:01:03,500
smaller game like rabbits or 
foxes white chest makes kills 

2177
02:01:03,500 --> 02:01:06,700
entirely independently and 
shares them with the band, 

2178
02:01:06,700 --> 02:01:10,600
particularly with bright one. 
But it's not just practical 

2179
02:01:10,600 --> 02:01:12,200
benefits that Define this 
relationship. 

2180
02:01:12,200 --> 02:01:16,600
There's genuine affection here, 
genuine companionship. 

2181
02:01:17,500 --> 02:01:19,400
Bright one. 
Now, approaching 11 years old, 

2182
02:01:19,400 --> 02:01:23,500
has formed a bond with white 
chest that goes beyond utility. 

2183
02:01:24,200 --> 02:01:28,800
The wolf is a constant 
companion, her Playmate and her 

2184
02:01:28,800 --> 02:01:33,300
confidant. 
When bright one is sad and life.

2185
02:01:33,300 --> 02:01:35,400
In the Ice. 
Age provides plenty of reasons 

2186
02:01:35,400 --> 02:01:38,300
for sadness. 
White chest, seems to sense it 

2187
02:01:38,300 --> 02:01:43,200
pressing close offering physical
Comfort, one, particularly hard,

2188
02:01:43,200 --> 02:01:48,500
winter food, becomes scarce, the
band stored supplies run low and

2189
02:01:48,500 --> 02:01:51,300
several difficult weeks passed 
where everyone is hungry. 

2190
02:01:51,300 --> 02:01:55,800
Most of the time, During this 
period, white chest continues to

2191
02:01:55,800 --> 02:01:57,900
hunt independently and brings 
back. 

2192
02:01:57,900 --> 02:02:03,200
Small game, Rabbits Birds. 
Even once a fox and leaves this 

2193
02:02:03,200 --> 02:02:06,800
food near Brighton sleeping 
area, the wolf is choosing to 

2194
02:02:06,800 --> 02:02:11,200
share food with a human even 
when food is scarce, This 

2195
02:02:11,200 --> 02:02:15,500
behavior is so unusual. 
So contrary to normal Predator 

2196
02:02:15,500 --> 02:02:19,500
behavior, that it cements white 
chest status within the band. 

2197
02:02:20,500 --> 02:02:22,000
This is not just a useful 
animal. 

2198
02:02:22,000 --> 02:02:25,800
This is family, white chest, 
isn't the only wolf showing this

2199
02:02:25,800 --> 02:02:28,000
new pattern of behavior over 
these. 

2200
02:02:28,000 --> 02:02:30,200
Three years. 
Several other young wolves, have

2201
02:02:30,200 --> 02:02:32,200
attached themselves to the band 
though. 

2202
02:02:32,200 --> 02:02:36,400
Nana's completely as white 
chest. there's a larger Shaggy, 

2203
02:02:36,400 --> 02:02:39,800
a wolf that the hunters called 
gray shoulder, Primarily 

2204
02:02:39,800 --> 02:02:43,000
accompanies hunting parties but 
keeps more distance than white 

2205
02:02:43,000 --> 02:02:46,000
chest does? 
There's a younger female with 

2206
02:02:46,000 --> 02:02:49,900
unusual pale coloring light 
coat, who seems most interested 

2207
02:02:49,900 --> 02:02:53,000
in staying near the camp, and 
getting handouts showing little 

2208
02:02:53,000 --> 02:02:56,100
interest in hunting, these 
different wolves display, 

2209
02:02:56,100 --> 02:02:59,700
different personality, traits 
different preferences, and 

2210
02:02:59,700 --> 02:03:02,400
different degrees of integration
with human society. 

2211
02:03:03,300 --> 02:03:06,400
It's becoming clear that not all
wolves, who associate with 

2212
02:03:06,400 --> 02:03:09,400
humans do. 
So in the same way, some are 

2213
02:03:09,400 --> 02:03:12,700
primarily interested in food. 
Some seem to Crave 

2214
02:03:12,700 --> 02:03:16,400
companionship, some appear to 
enjoy the Co-operative hunting. 

2215
02:03:17,200 --> 02:03:20,800
Each wolf is an individual, with
its own motivations and 

2216
02:03:20,800 --> 02:03:23,600
temperament gray shoulder. 
For instance, is all business, 

2217
02:03:23,600 --> 02:03:27,300
the wolf shows up when their 
hunting to be done participates,

2218
02:03:27,300 --> 02:03:30,500
efficiently takes its share of 
the kill and then often 

2219
02:03:30,500 --> 02:03:34,300
disappears for days of time, 
there's no tail whacking know 

2220
02:03:34,300 --> 02:03:36,900
playing with children and no 
sleeping near the camp. 

2221
02:03:37,900 --> 02:03:41,300
But great shoulders reliable. 
When the hunting party sets out,

2222
02:03:41,300 --> 02:03:44,000
they can usually count on great 
shoulder appearing, within a few

2223
02:03:44,000 --> 02:03:48,300
hours ready to work like coat. 
Conversely seems to have no 

2224
02:03:48,300 --> 02:03:52,400
interest in hunting whatsoever, 
This wolf has perfected, the art

2225
02:03:52,400 --> 02:03:56,700
of looking pathetic, sitting at 
the edge of camp with big sad 

2226
02:03:56,700 --> 02:03:59,200
eyes until someone takes pity 
and tosses. 

2227
02:03:59,200 --> 02:04:02,400
It food. 
Like coat is gentle enough that 

2228
02:04:02,400 --> 02:04:05,900
even the smallest children can 
approach it safely and the Wolf 

2229
02:04:05,900 --> 02:04:08,300
seems to enjoy being petted and 
fussed over. 

2230
02:04:09,100 --> 02:04:13,800
If wolves could purr like coat 
would purr constantly the 

2231
02:04:13,800 --> 02:04:16,700
variety in these walls behaviors
is teaching your band something 

2232
02:04:16,700 --> 02:04:19,500
important. 
These animals are not all the 

2233
02:04:19,500 --> 02:04:23,000
same, they have personalities 
preferences and individual 

2234
02:04:23,000 --> 02:04:27,100
quirks. this seems obvious now 
but it's actually a significant 

2235
02:04:27,100 --> 02:04:30,400
shift in thinking Previously, 
wolves were viewed as a 

2236
02:04:30,400 --> 02:04:33,900
category, dangerous, predators 
to be avoided or killed. 

2237
02:04:35,100 --> 02:04:37,200
Now, they're being seen as 
individuals. 

2238
02:04:37,200 --> 02:04:40,100
This one is friendly. 
That one is shy. 

2239
02:04:40,100 --> 02:04:43,500
This one is a good Hunter, and 
that one is lazy. 

2240
02:04:43,500 --> 02:04:47,100
But sweet natured. 
One spring, white chest 

2241
02:04:47,100 --> 02:04:49,900
disappears for several weeks at 
first. 

2242
02:04:49,900 --> 02:04:51,900
No one is particularly 
concerned. 

2243
02:04:51,900 --> 02:04:54,800
The wolf is always come and gone
as it pleased. 

2244
02:04:55,600 --> 02:04:59,000
But as the days stretch into 
weeks bright one becomes 

2245
02:04:59,000 --> 02:05:01,900
increasingly worried. 
Here's something happened to 

2246
02:05:01,900 --> 02:05:05,300
white chest. 
As the wolf been injured killed 

2247
02:05:05,300 --> 02:05:08,300
by a larger predator or fallen 
through thin ice. 

2248
02:05:08,300 --> 02:05:12,400
Then one morning white chest 
returns and its immediately 

2249
02:05:12,400 --> 02:05:13,400
obvious. 
What's been happening? 

2250
02:05:14,300 --> 02:05:17,800
the wolf is accompanied by four 
puppies, about six weeks, old 

2251
02:05:17,800 --> 02:05:21,500
tumbling and playing and 
exploring everything with that 

2252
02:05:21,500 --> 02:05:25,400
particular, Fearless curiosity 
of the very young, the band is 

2253
02:05:25,408 --> 02:05:28,300
astonished White chest has 
reproduced. 

2254
02:05:28,300 --> 02:05:30,300
Of course it has, that's what 
animals do. 

2255
02:05:30,300 --> 02:05:33,900
But has chosen to bring its 
Offspring to the human Camp 

2256
02:05:33,900 --> 02:05:37,500
rather than keeping them safely.
Hidden in a dense somewhere far 

2257
02:05:37,500 --> 02:05:40,100
away. 
This decision speaks volumes 

2258
02:05:40,100 --> 02:05:42,400
about how white chest views the 
relationship with humans. 

2259
02:05:43,300 --> 02:05:45,700
The camp isn't just a food 
source or a casual Association. 

2260
02:05:45,700 --> 02:05:48,000
It's home. 
It's packed. 

2261
02:05:48,000 --> 02:05:51,000
It's the place where white chest
wants to raise its young. 

2262
02:05:51,000 --> 02:05:54,600
The puppies are a mixture of 
traits, two of them. 

2263
02:05:54,600 --> 02:05:58,300
Look, almost exactly like 
traditional wolves with typical 

2264
02:05:58,300 --> 02:06:02,700
coloring and build but one puppy
is smaller with softer features 

2265
02:06:02,700 --> 02:06:05,500
and a coat that slightly curly 
of the normal. 

2266
02:06:06,500 --> 02:06:10,600
And one puppy has distinctive 
markings, a white tip tail and a

2267
02:06:10,600 --> 02:06:13,700
blaze of white down its face. 
That make it look quite 

2268
02:06:13,700 --> 02:06:17,200
different from any wolf you've 
ever seen these puppies have 

2269
02:06:17,200 --> 02:06:19,600
never experienced the wild the 
way their parent did. 

2270
02:06:20,300 --> 02:06:22,900
From their earliest memories, 
humans are simply part of the 

2271
02:06:22,900 --> 02:06:25,500
landscape. 
No more frightening than trees 

2272
02:06:25,500 --> 02:06:28,100
or rocks. 
They approach people with no 

2273
02:06:28,100 --> 02:06:32,000
hesitation investigate 
everything, fearlessly and 

2274
02:06:32,000 --> 02:06:34,900
quickly, work out, that humans 
are an excellent source of food 

2275
02:06:34,900 --> 02:06:38,600
and entertainment. 
Bright one is Enchanted She 

2276
02:06:38,600 --> 02:06:41,600
spent hours playing with the 
puppies, teaching, them simple 

2277
02:06:41,600 --> 02:06:43,800
games and getting them 
accustomed to being handled. 

2278
02:06:44,900 --> 02:06:48,700
One puppy in particular, the 
small one with the curly coat 

2279
02:06:48,700 --> 02:06:52,600
becomes especially attached to 
Bright one following her 

2280
02:06:52,600 --> 02:06:56,200
everywhere sleeping curled 
against her at night, the band 

2281
02:06:56,200 --> 02:06:59,700
decides to call this puppy, curl
for obvious reasons, and curl 

2282
02:06:59,700 --> 02:07:02,600
represents something even more 
significant than white chested. 

2283
02:07:03,400 --> 02:07:06,700
White chest was a wild wolf that
chose to associate with humans. 

2284
02:07:06,700 --> 02:07:10,000
Curl is being raised from birth 
as part of a human family. 

2285
02:07:11,100 --> 02:07:14,800
Curl will never know, a purely 
wild existence curl is in 

2286
02:07:14,800 --> 02:07:18,300
essence, the first truly 
domestic dog, even though that 

2287
02:07:18,300 --> 02:07:20,000
word won't exist for thousands 
of years. 

2288
02:07:20,000 --> 02:07:23,100
Yet, as curl gross, the 
difference is from a traditional

2289
02:07:23,100 --> 02:07:27,200
wolf, become more pronounced. 
Curl is smaller than a full wolf

2290
02:07:27,200 --> 02:07:29,800
with shorter legs and a more 
rounded skull. 

2291
02:07:29,800 --> 02:07:32,700
Curlsys don't stand up quite as 
a rectally. 

2292
02:07:33,400 --> 02:07:36,900
Coastal curls over its back in a
way that would be considered a 

2293
02:07:36,900 --> 02:07:40,500
fault in a wolf, but is somehow 
Charming in this context and 

2294
02:07:40,500 --> 02:07:43,300
curls, temperament is gentler 
and more tractable than any 

2295
02:07:43,300 --> 02:07:45,400
Wolf's curl. 
Never goes through the 

2296
02:07:45,400 --> 02:07:48,400
Adolescent period of testing 
boundaries, and asserting 

2297
02:07:48,400 --> 02:07:50,500
Independence that wolves 
typically experience. 

2298
02:07:51,700 --> 02:07:55,300
Curl simply accepts, human 
authority as natural, and right?

2299
02:07:56,300 --> 02:08:02,200
When bright one gives curl a 
command sit, stay calm, curler 

2300
02:08:02,200 --> 02:08:05,800
Bays with eager enthusiasm. 
Not because curl fears 

2301
02:08:05,800 --> 02:08:09,000
punishment but because pleasing 
bright one is curls. 

2302
02:08:09,000 --> 02:08:13,000
Primary motivation in life. 
This eager to please quality is 

2303
02:08:13,000 --> 02:08:16,300
something new Under the Sun. 
Wolves can be trained to an 

2304
02:08:16,300 --> 02:08:20,300
extent but their cooperation 
always feels like a negotiation 

2305
02:08:20,300 --> 02:08:24,600
a transaction. 
Curls, obedience feels more like

2306
02:08:24,600 --> 02:08:27,200
devotion. 
It's the key difference between 

2307
02:08:27,200 --> 02:08:30,100
attained wolf and a truly 
domestic dog. 

2308
02:08:30,100 --> 02:08:33,200
Other puppies, from White 
chests, litter show, varying 

2309
02:08:33,200 --> 02:08:37,000
degrees of this new temperament.
One is almost indistinguishable 

2310
02:08:37,000 --> 02:08:40,600
from a wild wolf eventually 
leaving the band to live in 

2311
02:08:40,600 --> 02:08:43,800
dependently. 
Two are intermediate friendly 

2312
02:08:43,800 --> 02:08:46,800
with humans but retaining 
significant in dependence. 

2313
02:08:46,800 --> 02:08:49,600
But curl is fully completely 
domestic. 

2314
02:08:49,600 --> 02:08:54,100
The band begins to see the 
possibilities. if wolves can be 

2315
02:08:54,108 --> 02:08:57,400
raised to be this Cooperative, 
this helpful, this 

2316
02:08:57,400 --> 02:09:00,900
companionable, then, perhaps 
this relationship could be 

2317
02:09:00,900 --> 02:09:04,700
deliberately cultivated Perhaps 
when white chest or one of the 

2318
02:09:04,708 --> 02:09:07,500
other wolves has another litter,
the band could keep the 

2319
02:09:07,500 --> 02:09:09,800
friendliest puppies and 
encourage them to mate with 

2320
02:09:09,800 --> 02:09:12,600
other friendly wolves. 
This thought represents the 

2321
02:09:12,600 --> 02:09:14,300
beginning of conscience 
selection. 

2322
02:09:15,100 --> 02:09:18,000
Not just accepting wolves that 
happen to be bold enough to 

2323
02:09:18,000 --> 02:09:22,100
approach humans, but actively 
choosing which walls to keep and

2324
02:09:22,100 --> 02:09:26,600
breed based on desirable traits.
It's the shift from passive 

2325
02:09:26,600 --> 02:09:30,200
acceptance of a phenomenon to 
active participation in shaping 

2326
02:09:30,200 --> 02:09:31,800
it. 
You don't know that your 

2327
02:09:31,800 --> 02:09:35,600
inventing animal husbandry You 
don't know that the same process

2328
02:09:35,600 --> 02:09:37,600
will eventually be applied to 
Wild sheep. 

2329
02:09:37,600 --> 02:09:42,200
Wild, cattle, and wild horses. 
Transforming them all into 

2330
02:09:42,200 --> 02:09:45,700
domestic animals, you don't even
really know that what you're 

2331
02:09:45,700 --> 02:09:48,600
doing is revolutionary. 
You just know that having curl 

2332
02:09:48,600 --> 02:09:51,700
around makes life better. 
The puppy is cheerful 

2333
02:09:51,700 --> 02:09:56,800
affectionate helpful in its 
small ways and brings Joy to the

2334
02:09:56,800 --> 02:10:00,200
entire band. 
When you're working on a 

2335
02:10:00,200 --> 02:10:03,800
difficult task and getting 
frustrated, coal seems to sense 

2336
02:10:03,800 --> 02:10:07,900
it and comes over tail. 
Wagging inviting you to take a 

2337
02:10:07,908 --> 02:10:11,500
break and play. 
When the camp is quiet and 

2338
02:10:11,500 --> 02:10:14,700
everyone is feeling the weight 
of survival, constant demands 

2339
02:10:14,700 --> 02:10:18,500
curled, as something silly. 
Chasing its own tail. 

2340
02:10:18,500 --> 02:10:22,500
Play bowing to a shadow barking 
at a butterfly and makes 

2341
02:10:22,500 --> 02:10:26,300
everyone laugh. 
Life in the ice ages hard, it's 

2342
02:10:26,300 --> 02:10:28,000
dangerous. 
It's unpredictable. 

2343
02:10:29,200 --> 02:10:32,200
But with a curly coated, little 
dog curled up against you at 

2344
02:10:32,208 --> 02:10:36,300
night, with a wolf dog, bringing
you fresh killed, rabbits the 

2345
02:10:36,300 --> 02:10:39,500
gentle pale wolf accepting 
scratches from your children. 

2346
02:10:39,500 --> 02:10:43,500
Some of that hardness feels a 
bit more bearable, the sun sets 

2347
02:10:43,500 --> 02:10:46,100
over the tundra, painting 
everything in shades of gold and

2348
02:10:46,100 --> 02:10:48,700
Amber. 
Like chess sits on a rise near 

2349
02:10:48,700 --> 02:10:50,500
the camps. 
Silhouetted against the sky. 

2350
02:10:50,500 --> 02:10:55,100
Looking out over the landscape. 
Curl sits beside his parents 

2351
02:10:55,100 --> 02:10:57,800
attempting to match the adults 
digging a fight Poe's. 

2352
02:10:57,800 --> 02:11:00,400
But somewhat undermining, the 
effect by occasionally, 

2353
02:11:00,400 --> 02:11:02,100
scratching vigorously at his 
ear. 

2354
02:11:02,100 --> 02:11:05,100
You watched them from the camp 
and you feel something that 

2355
02:11:05,100 --> 02:11:07,400
might be the Ice Age equivalent 
of contentment. 

2356
02:11:08,400 --> 02:11:12,700
Things changed slowly in the 
world, the seasons cycle, the 

2357
02:11:12,700 --> 02:11:16,600
herds, migrate life continues 
in, its ancient patterns. 

2358
02:11:16,600 --> 02:11:21,200
But here in this small detail of
wolf dogs in peaceful near a 

2359
02:11:21,200 --> 02:11:24,100
human Camp. 
Something genuinely new as 

2360
02:11:24,100 --> 02:11:28,400
happening, The future is being 
born one, wagging tail at a 

2361
02:11:28,408 --> 02:11:32,200
time. 10 years have passed since
white chest first approached. 

2362
02:11:32,200 --> 02:11:35,900
The camp as a bold puppy and the
landscape of human wolf 

2363
02:11:35,900 --> 02:11:38,700
relationships as transformed in 
ways that would have seemed 

2364
02:11:38,700 --> 02:11:42,200
impossible back then. 
Your band now lives alongside 

2365
02:11:42,200 --> 02:11:46,400
not one or two wolf dogs, but an
entire community of them perhaps

2366
02:11:46,400 --> 02:11:50,500
15 in total ranging from very 
wolf-like individuals who 

2367
02:11:50,500 --> 02:11:53,700
maintain significant 
Independence to animals. 

2368
02:11:53,700 --> 02:11:57,600
Like curls Offspring, who are so
thoroughly integrated into human

2369
02:11:57,600 --> 02:12:01,100
society that calling them wolves
feels completely wrong. 

2370
02:12:01,100 --> 02:12:03,800
The terminologies becoming a 
problem actually. 

2371
02:12:04,600 --> 02:12:07,100
You need to distinguish between 
the animals that live with you 

2372
02:12:07,100 --> 02:12:09,600
and the wild wolves that still 
roam the tundra. 

2373
02:12:10,700 --> 02:12:13,700
The word your band has settled 
on for the domesticated ones. 

2374
02:12:13,700 --> 02:12:17,900
Roughly translates to hand fed 
ones, or possibly chosen ones 

2375
02:12:17,900 --> 02:12:21,500
depending on context it's 
clunky, but it serves its 

2376
02:12:21,500 --> 02:12:24,200
purpose. 
White chest is now elderly by 

2377
02:12:24,200 --> 02:12:28,400
wolf, standards approaching, 11 
years old with a graying muzzle 

2378
02:12:28,400 --> 02:12:31,400
and stiff movements that speak 
to arthritis in the hips. 

2379
02:12:32,100 --> 02:12:35,600
The wolf no longer a company's 
hunting parties spending most 

2380
02:12:35,600 --> 02:12:37,900
days, sleeping near the camps 
warmest spots. 

2381
02:12:38,900 --> 02:12:42,500
The white chest remains deeply 
beloved respected as the 

2382
02:12:42,500 --> 02:12:44,200
founding member of this new 
relationship. 

2383
02:12:45,200 --> 02:12:48,900
The younger wolfdogs treat white
chest with clear, deference and 

2384
02:12:48,900 --> 02:12:52,000
bright one. 
Now, a woman of 21 with Children

2385
02:12:52,000 --> 02:12:54,900
of her own, still sits beside 
the old wolf in the evening 

2386
02:12:54,900 --> 02:12:58,800
stroking, its graying, fur, and 
talking softly, the wolf dogs 

2387
02:12:58,800 --> 02:13:01,500
have become essential to the 
band, survival strategy. 

2388
02:13:01,500 --> 02:13:06,100
Their contributions are multiple
and significant in hunting. 

2389
02:13:06,100 --> 02:13:09,700
A well-trained wolf, dog can be 
worth two human Hunters. 

2390
02:13:10,600 --> 02:13:13,800
The animals can run down prey, 
that would Escape humans and can

2391
02:13:13,800 --> 02:13:16,800
track wounded animals through 
terrain to difficult for people 

2392
02:13:16,800 --> 02:13:20,200
to navigate and can hold a 
cornered animal, and the hunters

2393
02:13:20,200 --> 02:13:23,800
arrive, but the wolf dogs 
provide benefits Beyond hunting.

2394
02:13:23,800 --> 02:13:28,100
They serve as an alarm system 
alerting the camp to approaching

2395
02:13:28,100 --> 02:13:33,200
Predators or rival human bands. 
They keep scavengers like hyenas

2396
02:13:33,200 --> 02:13:37,400
and foxes away from stored food.
They provide warmth on cold 

2397
02:13:37,400 --> 02:13:40,300
nights, several wolf, dogs 
sleeping in the communal 

2398
02:13:40,300 --> 02:13:42,100
dwelling. 
Raise the temperature notice of 

2399
02:13:42,108 --> 02:13:44,900
lis, and perhaps most 
importantly in the harsh 

2400
02:13:44,900 --> 02:13:48,300
calculus of Ice Age survival, 
they provide psychological 

2401
02:13:48,300 --> 02:13:51,500
comfort. 
Having these animals around 

2402
02:13:51,500 --> 02:13:55,200
makes people feel safer and less
alone in a vast and often 

2403
02:13:55,200 --> 02:13:58,100
hostile landscape. 
The different wolf dogs have 

2404
02:13:58,100 --> 02:14:01,200
found different roles within the
human Community playing to their

2405
02:14:01,208 --> 02:14:05,200
individual strengths. 
Their Scout, a lean fast, 

2406
02:14:05,200 --> 02:14:08,800
female, who excels, ranging 
ahead of traveling groups, alert

2407
02:14:08,800 --> 02:14:12,500
for danger. 
There's Guardian a massive male 

2408
02:14:12,500 --> 02:14:14,800
with a protective temperament 
who has appointed himself 

2409
02:14:14,800 --> 02:14:19,100
defender of the children. 
Even the smallest child can 

2410
02:14:19,100 --> 02:14:21,800
toddler around camps safely with
Guardian following like a 

2411
02:14:21,800 --> 02:14:25,800
patient furry shadow. 
Then there's Hunter descended 

2412
02:14:25,800 --> 02:14:29,000
from Gray shoulder, who was 
inherited its ancestors. 

2413
02:14:29,000 --> 02:14:32,800
No Nonsense approach to hunting.
Hunter has little interest in 

2414
02:14:32,800 --> 02:14:36,300
being petted or playing games, 
but when the hunting party goes 

2415
02:14:36,300 --> 02:14:42,400
out, Hunter is all business. 
Fishnet tireless and remarkably 

2416
02:14:42,400 --> 02:14:46,400
skilled at anticipating where 
prey animals will run some wolf.

2417
02:14:46,400 --> 02:14:51,000
Dogs have discovered entirely 
unexpected roles warmth a female

2418
02:14:51,000 --> 02:14:53,400
with unusually. 
Thick fur, has somehow worked 

2419
02:14:53,400 --> 02:14:57,000
out that if she lies down near 
someone who's sick her body heat

2420
02:14:57,000 --> 02:14:59,800
helps them feel better. 
She's become the band. 

2421
02:14:59,800 --> 02:15:03,700
Unofficial nurse spending her 
time with anyone who's ill or 

2422
02:15:03,700 --> 02:15:07,200
injured, providing comfort. 
And warmth that may have real 

2423
02:15:07,200 --> 02:15:10,400
therapeutic value. 
The breeding of these animals is

2424
02:15:10,400 --> 02:15:14,100
becoming more deliberate with 
each generation. when a female 

2425
02:15:14,108 --> 02:15:17,600
wolf dog comes into heat, the 
band pays attention to which 

2426
02:15:17,600 --> 02:15:21,200
males she's interested in and 
may actively encourage or 

2427
02:15:21,200 --> 02:15:25,200
discourage certain pairings The 
friendliest animals are 

2428
02:15:25,200 --> 02:15:26,500
encouraged to breed with each 
other. 

2429
02:15:26,500 --> 02:15:30,900
The best hunters appeared with 
other good Hunters animals with 

2430
02:15:30,900 --> 02:15:33,700
health problems or poor. 
Temperaments are discouraged 

2431
02:15:33,700 --> 02:15:37,000
from breeding though. 
This is done humanely, they're 

2432
02:15:37,000 --> 02:15:39,700
simply watched carefully and 
potential mates are kept 

2433
02:15:39,700 --> 02:15:41,200
separate during the critical 
times. 

2434
02:15:41,200 --> 02:15:44,200
This selective breeding is 
already producing visible 

2435
02:15:44,200 --> 02:15:47,200
results. 
The wolf dogs of curls lineage 

2436
02:15:47,200 --> 02:15:50,800
are consistently smaller than 
full wolves with shortest. 

2437
02:15:50,800 --> 02:15:53,500
Snouts. 
Smaller teeth and more variable 

2438
02:15:53,500 --> 02:15:57,100
coat colors. 
One recently to produced a puppy

2439
02:15:57,100 --> 02:16:00,200
with floppy ears, ears that 
never fully stood. 

2440
02:16:00,200 --> 02:16:04,000
A direct instead hanging down in
a way that would be a severe 

2441
02:16:04,000 --> 02:16:07,600
disadvantage for a wild wolf, 
but his million Dearing in a 

2442
02:16:07,600 --> 02:16:11,000
domestic animal. 
Another littering included a 

2443
02:16:11,000 --> 02:16:15,000
puppy with a coat pattern, never
seen in wild, wolves black with 

2444
02:16:15,000 --> 02:16:18,300
symmetrical, White markings on 
the chest and Paws, these 

2445
02:16:18,300 --> 02:16:21,100
physical changes are accompanied
by behavioral ones. 

2446
02:16:21,100 --> 02:16:25,000
The newest generation of wolf. 
Dogs is even more trackable than

2447
02:16:25,000 --> 02:16:28,900
their parents more eager to 
please and more attuned to human

2448
02:16:28,900 --> 02:16:32,400
communication. 
A human can point and these 

2449
02:16:32,400 --> 02:16:34,799
animals will look where the 
human is pointing. 

2450
02:16:35,600 --> 02:16:38,600
A cognitive skill that wolves 
rarely demonstrate, but that 

2451
02:16:38,600 --> 02:16:41,200
these hand-fed ones have 
developed to a remarkable 

2452
02:16:41,200 --> 02:16:44,100
degree. 
One of Brighton's children, a 

2453
02:16:44,100 --> 02:16:47,700
boy of about seven has formed a 
particularly close bond with a 

2454
02:16:47,700 --> 02:16:51,600
young wolf dog named Swift. 
The two are inseparable and 

2455
02:16:51,600 --> 02:16:55,000
their relationship demonstrates.
Just how far this human animal 

2456
02:16:55,000 --> 02:16:58,600
partnership has evolved. 
Swift sleeps, with the boy, 

2457
02:16:58,600 --> 02:17:02,799
plays with him constantly, and 
seems to understand the child's 

2458
02:17:02,799 --> 02:17:07,200
moods and needs with uncanny 
accuracy. when the boy is sad, 

2459
02:17:07,200 --> 02:17:12,299
Swift offers Comfort when the 
boys excited Swift matches that 

2460
02:17:12,299 --> 02:17:16,700
excitement When the boy wanders 
too far from Camp, swiftly, 

2461
02:17:16,700 --> 02:17:20,799
heard him back using the same 
techniques with ancestors, used 

2462
02:17:20,799 --> 02:17:23,500
for herding prey. 
This level of interspecies, 

2463
02:17:23,500 --> 02:17:26,299
communication would have seen 
magical to your band just to 

2464
02:17:26,299 --> 02:17:29,299
generation ago. 
Now it simply normal. 

2465
02:17:30,100 --> 02:17:33,100
Of course, the wolf dogs 
understand pointing, of course, 

2466
02:17:33,100 --> 02:17:36,299
they respond to voice commands. 
Of course, they integrates 

2467
02:17:36,299 --> 02:17:38,600
seamlessly into human social 
structures. 

2468
02:17:38,600 --> 02:17:41,299
What else would they do? 
The wolf dogs. 

2469
02:17:41,299 --> 02:17:44,100
Have even begun to adopt human 
sleeping patterns to some 

2470
02:17:44,100 --> 02:17:47,299
degree. 
Wild wolves are most active at 

2471
02:17:47,299 --> 02:17:50,200
dawn and dusk resting during the
midday and midnight hours. 

2472
02:17:51,100 --> 02:17:53,500
But the hand fed ones, 
increasingly match human 

2473
02:17:53,500 --> 02:17:57,700
activity patterns awake. 
When humans are awake sleeping, 

2474
02:17:57,700 --> 02:18:01,200
when humans sleep, There are 
adapting, not just to living 

2475
02:18:01,200 --> 02:18:03,500
near humans, but to living as 
humans. 

2476
02:18:03,500 --> 02:18:08,400
Do one spring, arrival band, not
hostile exactly, but competing 

2477
02:18:08,400 --> 02:18:11,799
for the same resources camps 
about two days travel from your 

2478
02:18:11,799 --> 02:18:15,500
territory. 
Negotiations attempts, both 

2479
02:18:15,500 --> 02:18:18,799
bands, need access to the river 
for fishing and the best fishing

2480
02:18:18,799 --> 02:18:20,600
spots. 
Can't support both groups 

2481
02:18:20,600 --> 02:18:24,700
simultaneously, your band has an
advantage, the Rival, ban lacks 

2482
02:18:24,700 --> 02:18:28,600
the wolf dogs. 
In the Rival band sees, guardian

2483
02:18:28,600 --> 02:18:31,299
and Hunter and the others. 
When they see how these animals 

2484
02:18:31,299 --> 02:18:34,600
are respond to human commands, 
how they coordinate with human 

2485
02:18:34,600 --> 02:18:37,100
Hunters, the balance of power 
shifts. 

2486
02:18:37,900 --> 02:18:41,100
A band with wolf dogs, is simply
more familiar than a band 

2487
02:18:41,108 --> 02:18:43,900
without them. 
The Rival bands, leader proposes

2488
02:18:43,900 --> 02:18:47,799
a solution, they'll concede the 
best fishing spots in exchange 

2489
02:18:47,799 --> 02:18:52,000
for two wolf dog, puppies, from 
the next litter, It's the first 

2490
02:18:52,000 --> 02:18:53,700
time. 
Wolfdogs have been traded. 

2491
02:18:54,700 --> 02:18:57,400
First time they've been 
recognized as having concrete 

2492
02:18:57,400 --> 02:19:01,600
value that can be exchanged. 
Your band agrees though their 

2493
02:19:01,600 --> 02:19:03,900
significant debate about which 
puppies to give away. 

2494
02:19:04,700 --> 02:19:06,600
Should you give them inferior 
puppies? 

2495
02:19:06,600 --> 02:19:10,700
The less friendly less trainable
ones, or would that be 

2496
02:19:10,700 --> 02:19:14,000
dishonorable? 
Eventually a compromises 

2497
02:19:14,000 --> 02:19:16,100
reached. 
You'll give them two good 

2498
02:19:16,100 --> 02:19:21,600
puppies from good lineages but 
not the very best The Rival band

2499
02:19:21,600 --> 02:19:25,100
leaves satisfied and when 
breeding season arrives, your 

2500
02:19:25,100 --> 02:19:27,799
band carefully, selects two 
puppies that are friendly and 

2501
02:19:27,799 --> 02:19:30,700
healthy. 
But not exceptional, this trade 

2502
02:19:30,700 --> 02:19:34,600
opens, a new chapter within a 
few years of the bands in the 

2503
02:19:34,600 --> 02:19:36,400
region are also keeping wolf 
dogs. 

2504
02:19:37,000 --> 02:19:40,000
The animal spread across the 
landscape moving from band to 

2505
02:19:40,000 --> 02:19:41,799
band through trade and 
gift-giving. 

2506
02:19:42,600 --> 02:19:46,000
And with each trade, with each 
new home, the wolfdogs adapt 

2507
02:19:46,000 --> 02:19:49,400
further to Human Society. 
But something has been lost, 

2508
02:19:49,400 --> 02:19:52,100
too. 
The earliest wolf dogs like 

2509
02:19:52,100 --> 02:19:56,800
white chest retained significant
and dependents, still capable of

2510
02:19:56,800 --> 02:19:58,500
surviving in the wild if 
necessary. 

2511
02:19:59,500 --> 02:20:01,300
The newer Generations are losing
this. 

2512
02:20:02,300 --> 02:20:05,700
So, adapted to human society 
that they would struggle to 

2513
02:20:05,700 --> 02:20:09,600
survive alone. 
They've become dependent, not in

2514
02:20:09,600 --> 02:20:12,700
a week or pity of people way. 
But simply as a fact of their 

2515
02:20:12,700 --> 02:20:16,100
evolution, they've traded 
Independence for partnership 

2516
02:20:16,100 --> 02:20:19,400
Wilderness for home. 
Is this good or bad? 

2517
02:20:20,400 --> 02:20:23,100
The question doesn't really 
occur to anyone in your band. 

2518
02:20:23,100 --> 02:20:25,100
This is simply how things are 
developing. 

2519
02:20:25,900 --> 02:20:30,100
The wolf dogs are happy, they 
play they form bonds and they 

2520
02:20:30,100 --> 02:20:33,800
seem to enjoy their lives. 
The humans are happy, life is 

2521
02:20:33,800 --> 02:20:37,300
easier and more secure with 
Wolfdog Partners, what else 

2522
02:20:37,308 --> 02:20:40,200
matters. 
White chest dies, one cold 

2523
02:20:40,200 --> 02:20:42,700
winter morning, simply failing 
to wake up. 

2524
02:20:43,800 --> 02:20:47,400
Death is a constant companion in
the Ice Age and the band has 

2525
02:20:47,400 --> 02:20:49,100
developed rituals for dealing 
with it. 

2526
02:20:50,000 --> 02:20:53,000
White chest body is placed on a 
rise, overlooking, the camp 

2527
02:20:53,000 --> 02:20:57,700
position to face the Sunrise. 
It's a mark of respect, given to

2528
02:20:57,700 --> 02:21:01,000
honored band members. 
Now extended to this animal, who

2529
02:21:01,000 --> 02:21:05,000
helped create something entirely
New Bright ones, sits beside the

2530
02:21:05,000 --> 02:21:08,600
body for a long time, crying 
openly. she is mourning, not 

2531
02:21:08,600 --> 02:21:12,200
just an animal, but a friend, a 
companion whose been part of her

2532
02:21:12,200 --> 02:21:16,300
entire life from childhood into 
adulthood The other wolf, dog 

2533
02:21:16,300 --> 02:21:18,700
seemed to understand that 
something significant has 

2534
02:21:18,700 --> 02:21:21,200
happened. 
They approach white chest, body 

2535
02:21:21,200 --> 02:21:24,800
cautiously sniffed carefully and
several of them in midlo, 

2536
02:21:24,800 --> 02:21:28,400
mournful howls that evening 
gathered around, the fire. 

2537
02:21:28,400 --> 02:21:30,400
The band tell stories about 
white chest. 

2538
02:21:31,100 --> 02:21:33,800
How the wolf first approached 
the camp as a bold puppy. 

2539
02:21:33,800 --> 02:21:37,700
How it learned to hunt 
cooperatively with humans, how 

2540
02:21:37,700 --> 02:21:40,700
it brought its own puppies to be
raised alongside human children.

2541
02:21:41,600 --> 02:21:45,200
The story serve multiple 
purposes honoring the dead 

2542
02:21:45,200 --> 02:21:48,800
passing knowledge to younger 
generations, and processing 

2543
02:21:48,800 --> 02:21:52,400
grief through narrative one of 
the elders, speaking slowly, and

2544
02:21:52,400 --> 02:21:54,800
thoughtfully says something that
resonates with everyone. 

2545
02:21:55,700 --> 02:21:59,500
White chest changed the world, 
not the whole world may be, but 

2546
02:21:59,500 --> 02:22:02,500
our world, our lives are 
different because of that one 

2547
02:22:02,500 --> 02:22:06,600
Brave, curious wolf. 
It's a simple eulogy but it's 

2548
02:22:06,600 --> 02:22:11,000
also profoundly true. 
One individual animal acting on 

2549
02:22:11,000 --> 02:22:15,000
Instinct toward boldness and 
curiosity initiated, a 

2550
02:22:15,000 --> 02:22:18,000
relationship that has 
transformed an entire human band

2551
02:22:18,000 --> 02:22:20,300
way of life. 
The wolf dogs, who remain 

2552
02:22:20,300 --> 02:22:22,800
continue the partnership white 
chest began. 

2553
02:22:22,800 --> 02:22:26,200
They hunt they guard and they 
provide companionship and 

2554
02:22:26,200 --> 02:22:28,800
warmth. 
And in the spring, new puppies, 

2555
02:22:28,800 --> 02:22:32,400
aboard smaller friendlier, and 
more variable in appearance than

2556
02:22:32,400 --> 02:22:36,100
their wild ancestors. 
The transformation continues 

2557
02:22:36,100 --> 02:22:40,600
Generation by generation. 
Moving steadily away from Wolf 

2558
02:22:40,600 --> 02:22:45,200
and towards something new in the
distance, a wild wolf howls, one

2559
02:22:45,200 --> 02:22:48,500
of white chest contemporaries, 
perhaps or a descendant of the 

2560
02:22:48,500 --> 02:22:52,900
walls who chose to remain Wild. 
The sound is beautiful and Eerie

2561
02:22:52,900 --> 02:22:57,400
echoing across the tundra. 
Under the Stars, Guardian lying 

2562
02:22:57,400 --> 02:22:59,800
near the fire lifts his head and
howls in response. 

2563
02:23:00,800 --> 02:23:04,900
But Guardians, howl is different
from the wild Wolf's shorter 

2564
02:23:04,900 --> 02:23:08,800
less sustained and mixed with 
what almost sounds like a bark, 

2565
02:23:08,800 --> 02:23:13,300
two species, once one to Futures
diverging. 

2566
02:23:14,000 --> 02:23:17,700
And somewhere in that Divergence
in that space between wild and 

2567
02:23:17,700 --> 02:23:20,300
domestic between Independence 
and partnership. 

2568
02:23:20,300 --> 02:23:24,800
Something precious has been 
created, the fire crackles, the 

2569
02:23:24,800 --> 02:23:28,700
Stars wheel overhead and the 
next generation of wolf dogs 

2570
02:23:28,700 --> 02:23:32,900
sleeps peacefully, dreaming 
whatever wolfdogs dream in a 

2571
02:23:32,900 --> 02:23:36,400
world that their ancestors 
courage, helped create 50 years 

2572
02:23:36,400 --> 02:23:39,800
of pass since white chest first 
approached, that camp your 

2573
02:23:39,800 --> 02:23:41,700
bands. 
Descendants of moved to new 

2574
02:23:41,700 --> 02:23:44,200
territories. 
Following the slowly shifting 

2575
02:23:44,200 --> 02:23:47,500
climate as the Ice Age begins, 
its long gradual retreat. 

2576
02:23:49,000 --> 02:23:52,900
The massive Glaciers are melting
in perceptively slowly creating 

2577
02:23:52,900 --> 02:23:56,600
new Rivers, new latex, new 
opportunities for human 

2578
02:23:56,600 --> 02:23:59,000
habitation and wherever humans 
go. 

2579
02:23:59,000 --> 02:24:03,000
The wolfdogs go with the 
relationship between humans and 

2580
02:24:03,000 --> 02:24:06,500
these Proto dogs has become so 
normalized that it's difficult 

2581
02:24:06,500 --> 02:24:08,500
to remember a time when it 
didn't exist. 

2582
02:24:09,400 --> 02:24:13,400
Every human band in the region. 
Now has wolfdogs, they've become

2583
02:24:13,400 --> 02:24:15,600
as essential to human survival, 
as fire. 

2584
02:24:15,600 --> 02:24:20,300
As tools as language itself. 
The wolf dogs have continued to 

2585
02:24:20,300 --> 02:24:23,000
diversify some bands. 
Prefer larger. 

2586
02:24:23,000 --> 02:24:25,500
More wolf-like animals for 
hunting large game. 

2587
02:24:25,500 --> 02:24:28,400
Other bands, favored smaller 
friendlier animals. 

2588
02:24:28,400 --> 02:24:31,000
Better suited to life in 
increasingly settled 

2589
02:24:31,000 --> 02:24:33,600
communities. 
Some bands have wolf dogs that 

2590
02:24:33,600 --> 02:24:36,200
specializing guarding stored 
food from pests. 

2591
02:24:37,000 --> 02:24:40,100
Others have animals trained to 
help Drive fish into Nets during

2592
02:24:40,100 --> 02:24:42,100
seasonal. 
Salmon runs this 

2593
02:24:42,100 --> 02:24:44,300
diversification, is the 
beginning of what will 

2594
02:24:44,300 --> 02:24:47,000
eventually become distinct 
breeds though? 

2595
02:24:47,000 --> 02:24:48,900
That concept is far in the 
future. 

2596
02:24:50,300 --> 02:24:52,700
For now it's simply practical 
adaptation. 

2597
02:24:53,500 --> 02:24:56,800
Different human communities, 
have different needs and their 

2598
02:24:56,800 --> 02:24:59,800
unconsciously selecting for the 
traits that serve those needs 

2599
02:24:59,800 --> 02:25:02,000
best. 
One, particularly interesting 

2600
02:25:02,000 --> 02:25:05,200
development is happening in 
coastal communities, where 

2601
02:25:05,200 --> 02:25:07,800
humans are beginning to exploit 
Marine Resources, more 

2602
02:25:07,800 --> 02:25:11,100
systematically. 
The wolfdogs in these 

2603
02:25:11,100 --> 02:25:12,900
communities have learned to be 
fish. 

2604
02:25:13,600 --> 02:25:17,700
Something wild wolves rarely do 
some of even learned to help 

2605
02:25:17,700 --> 02:25:20,600
with fishing diving into shallow
water to drive. 

2606
02:25:20,600 --> 02:25:24,200
Fish toward waiting Nets or even
catching fish independently, 

2607
02:25:24,200 --> 02:25:27,100
these Coastal wolf. 
Dogs are developing slightly 

2608
02:25:27,100 --> 02:25:29,600
different. 
Physical characteristics, more 

2609
02:25:29,600 --> 02:25:32,600
webbing between their toes and 
slightly oily, a coats that 

2610
02:25:32,600 --> 02:25:36,000
shared water better, They're 
adapting to their environment 

2611
02:25:36,000 --> 02:25:39,800
within just a few Generations, 
demonstrating the remarkable, 

2612
02:25:39,800 --> 02:25:43,100
plasticity of the wolf dog 
genome under selective pressure.

2613
02:25:43,100 --> 02:25:46,800
Meanwhile, in the interior 
regions, where big game hunting,

2614
02:25:46,800 --> 02:25:50,500
Remains the primary survival 
strategy, the wolf dogs remain, 

2615
02:25:50,500 --> 02:25:54,200
larger and more wolf-like. 
These animals need to strengthen

2616
02:25:54,200 --> 02:25:57,700
endurance to help bring down 
mammoths bison, and other 

2617
02:25:57,700 --> 02:26:00,200
megafauna. 
But even these hunting 

2618
02:26:00,200 --> 02:26:03,200
Specialists are more tractable 
than their wild ancestors. 

2619
02:26:03,200 --> 02:26:06,900
More responsive to human 
Direction and more integrated 

2620
02:26:06,900 --> 02:26:10,900
into human social structures, 
the trade and wolfdogs has 

2621
02:26:10,900 --> 02:26:13,600
become extinct. 
Price down animals might be 

2622
02:26:13,608 --> 02:26:17,900
traded across territory spanning
hundreds of miles a particularly

2623
02:26:17,900 --> 02:26:18,900
good. 
Hunting dog. 

2624
02:26:18,900 --> 02:26:23,500
Might be exchanged for tools for
Furs or access to prime hunting 

2625
02:26:23,500 --> 02:26:26,500
grounds. 
Female wolf dogs in heat are 

2626
02:26:26,500 --> 02:26:29,700
sometimes taken long distance. 
To be bred with males from other

2627
02:26:29,700 --> 02:26:33,700
lineages, preventing inbreeding 
and introducing new genetic 

2628
02:26:33,700 --> 02:26:36,400
variation. 
This trade, has unexpected 

2629
02:26:36,400 --> 02:26:38,900
benefits. 
It creates connections between 

2630
02:26:38,900 --> 02:26:43,000
human bands facilitating. 
The exchange of knowledge tools 

2631
02:26:43,000 --> 02:26:46,400
and genetic material, both dog 
and human. 

2632
02:26:47,500 --> 02:26:50,600
Bands that might previously have
been Rivals, find common ground 

2633
02:26:50,600 --> 02:26:52,400
in their shared interest in wolf
dogs. 

2634
02:26:53,200 --> 02:26:56,500
A man from one band might travel
to another specifically to 

2635
02:26:56,500 --> 02:26:58,500
breed. 
His female wolf, dog with a male

2636
02:26:58,500 --> 02:27:02,000
known for its hunting prowess. 
And during that visit trade 

2637
02:27:02,000 --> 02:27:05,800
other Goods, share stories and 
perhaps even arranged marriages 

2638
02:27:05,800 --> 02:27:09,000
between the bands. 
The wolf dogs are becoming a 

2639
02:27:09,000 --> 02:27:12,500
form of social glue binding 
human communities together 

2640
02:27:12,500 --> 02:27:16,600
across vast distances, but the 
relationship isn't uniformly, 

2641
02:27:16,600 --> 02:27:19,500
positive. 
Some bands, reject the wolfdogs 

2642
02:27:19,500 --> 02:27:22,800
entirely seeing them as an 
unnecessary, burden in terms of 

2643
02:27:22,800 --> 02:27:26,000
food, resources. 
These bands continue the old 

2644
02:27:26,000 --> 02:27:30,400
ways hunting without animal 
assistance, and they do fine. 

2645
02:27:30,400 --> 02:27:34,300
Humans are adaptable enough to 
thrive with or without canine 

2646
02:27:34,300 --> 02:27:36,600
Partners. 
There are all so occasional 

2647
02:27:36,600 --> 02:27:39,800
problems, a wolfdog, might 
revert to more wild Behavior. 

2648
02:27:39,800 --> 02:27:43,900
Attacking livestock as humans, 
begin tentative experiments with

2649
02:27:43,900 --> 02:27:47,100
keeping other animals captive or
even biting humans. 

2650
02:27:47,800 --> 02:27:51,300
These incidents are handled Case
by case, but they serve as 

2651
02:27:51,300 --> 02:27:54,400
reminders that these animals are
still close to their Wild Roots,

2652
02:27:54,400 --> 02:27:57,400
still capable of unpredictable 
Behavior. 

2653
02:27:57,400 --> 02:28:01,600
One particularly tragic incident
involves a wolfdog that during a

2654
02:28:01,600 --> 02:28:03,100
harsh winter. 
With severe food. 

2655
02:28:03,100 --> 02:28:07,200
Shortages kills and eats a human
infant left momentarily. 

2656
02:28:07,200 --> 02:28:11,700
Unattended, The Wolfdog is 
immediately killed and their 

2657
02:28:11,700 --> 02:28:13,900
serious discussion in the band 
about whether the entire 

2658
02:28:13,900 --> 02:28:16,700
experiment with keeping these 
animals is worth the risk. 

2659
02:28:16,700 --> 02:28:20,700
But ultimately the decision is 
made to continue the benefits. 

2660
02:28:20,700 --> 02:28:23,100
Outweigh the risks. 
As long as everyone remains 

2661
02:28:23,100 --> 02:28:25,600
Vigilant and realistic about 
what these animals are. 

2662
02:28:26,400 --> 02:28:28,800
Near the fully wild nor fully 
tame. 

2663
02:28:28,800 --> 02:28:32,900
But something in between that 
requires constant awareness as 

2664
02:28:32,900 --> 02:28:35,400
Generations. 
Pass the wolf dogs become more 

2665
02:28:35,400 --> 02:28:37,500
and more distinct from their 
wild ancestors. 

2666
02:28:37,500 --> 02:28:42,500
The physical changes accumulate 
smaller teeth, shorter snouts 

2667
02:28:42,500 --> 02:28:46,000
and more variable coat colors 
and patterns floppy. 

2668
02:28:46,000 --> 02:28:49,900
Ears appear in multiple lineages
curled, Tails, become common. 

2669
02:28:50,800 --> 02:28:54,700
Some wolf dogs, develop spotted 
coats, or unusual color patterns

2670
02:28:54,700 --> 02:28:58,400
or even long silky fur that 
would be impractical for wild 

2671
02:28:58,400 --> 02:29:01,600
wolves but his prized by humans 
for its appearance. 

2672
02:29:01,600 --> 02:29:04,500
The behavioral changes are even 
more pronounced. 

2673
02:29:04,500 --> 02:29:08,500
The newest generation of wolf. 
Dogs are born with a NATO, 

2674
02:29:08,500 --> 02:29:12,500
understanding of human social 
cues, they instinctively defer 

2675
02:29:12,500 --> 02:29:16,100
to human authority. 
If forms strong emotional bonds 

2676
02:29:16,100 --> 02:29:20,100
with human families showing 
distress when separated and joy.

2677
02:29:20,100 --> 02:29:23,600
When reunited, they've become 
emotionally domesticated. 

2678
02:29:23,600 --> 02:29:27,200
In a way that goes beyond me a 
training, scientists far in the 

2679
02:29:27,200 --> 02:29:30,800
future will identify this as a 
change in the wolf dog, Gino 

2680
02:29:30,800 --> 02:29:33,500
related to stress, hormones, and
social bonding. 

2681
02:29:34,600 --> 02:29:38,100
Specific genetic variations that
make these animals, less fearful

2682
02:29:38,100 --> 02:29:40,800
of humans. 
More tolerant of close contact 

2683
02:29:40,800 --> 02:29:44,400
and more capable of reading, 
human emotions and intentions. 

2684
02:29:45,200 --> 02:29:48,000
But your band only knows that 
the puppies, born now are 

2685
02:29:48,000 --> 02:29:51,400
somehow sweeter friendlier. 
And more lovable than their 

2686
02:29:51,400 --> 02:29:54,800
ancestors were the wolf dogs. 
Have even begun to participate 

2687
02:29:54,800 --> 02:29:58,600
in human spiritual life. when 
the band performs rituals 

2688
02:29:58,600 --> 02:30:02,700
thanking the spirits of hunted 
animals celebrating successful 

2689
02:30:02,700 --> 02:30:07,500
births, Mourning the Dead, the 
wolf, dogs are present treated 

2690
02:30:07,500 --> 02:30:09,900
as participants rather than mere
Witnesses. 

2691
02:30:10,900 --> 02:30:13,400
Some bands are beginning to 
develop stories about how the 

2692
02:30:13,400 --> 02:30:15,300
first wolf dog came to live with
humans. 

2693
02:30:15,300 --> 02:30:20,200
Mythologizing white chests to 
send us into legendary figures. 

2694
02:30:20,200 --> 02:30:22,200
Who Bridge the worlds of human 
and animal. 

2695
02:30:22,200 --> 02:30:26,600
One story told around, countless
fires across the generations, go

2696
02:30:26,600 --> 02:30:29,500
something like this. 
In the ancient time. 

2697
02:30:29,500 --> 02:30:33,500
Wolves and humans, were enemies 
killing each other for food and 

2698
02:30:33,500 --> 02:30:38,000
territory. but one wise wolf saw
that humans had fire and tools 

2699
02:30:38,000 --> 02:30:42,000
things walls could never have 
and one, why is human saw that 

2700
02:30:42,008 --> 02:30:44,900
wolves had sharp sentences and 
Cooperative hunting skills that 

2701
02:30:44,900 --> 02:30:49,900
humans lacked These two wolf and
human met in a neutral place and

2702
02:30:49,900 --> 02:30:53,800
made an agreement. 
Share with us, your fires of the

2703
02:30:53,800 --> 02:30:56,800
wolf and we'll share with you 
our hunting skill. 

2704
02:30:57,400 --> 02:31:00,300
And from that day, forward, 
wolves and humans have been 

2705
02:31:00,300 --> 02:31:02,900
Partners. 
Each making the other stronger, 

2706
02:31:02,900 --> 02:31:07,000
it's a myth not history but like
all good myths. 

2707
02:31:07,000 --> 02:31:11,500
It contains a kernel of Truth. 
The relationship between humans 

2708
02:31:11,500 --> 02:31:15,100
and wolf, dogs is indeed a form 
of partnership, a mutual 

2709
02:31:15,100 --> 02:31:18,600
exchange of benefits that 
enhances both species chances of

2710
02:31:18,600 --> 02:31:23,500
survival as the Ice Age slowly. 
Wanes as the climate warms and 

2711
02:31:23,500 --> 02:31:26,000
the megaphone. 
Begin to decline, human 

2712
02:31:26,000 --> 02:31:29,800
societies are changing too. 
People are beginning to stay in 

2713
02:31:29,800 --> 02:31:32,200
the same place. 
As for longer periods, building 

2714
02:31:32,200 --> 02:31:34,400
more substantial shelters and 
storing food. 

2715
02:31:34,400 --> 02:31:38,100
More systematically the shift 
from fully nomadic to semi 

2716
02:31:38,100 --> 02:31:41,300
settled, existence is beginning.
And the wolfdogs are part of 

2717
02:31:41,308 --> 02:31:44,300
this transition in settled 
camps, with stored, food 

2718
02:31:44,300 --> 02:31:48,400
wolfdogs proven valuable as 
guards preventing raids by 

2719
02:31:48,400 --> 02:31:50,400
predators and rival human 
groups. 

2720
02:31:51,100 --> 02:31:55,200
The alert to approaching danger 
defend territory and provide a 

2721
02:31:55,200 --> 02:31:57,400
sense of security that allows 
humans to sleep. 

2722
02:31:57,400 --> 02:32:00,400
More soundly at night. 
The wolf dogs are also helping 

2723
02:32:00,400 --> 02:32:04,700
with an entirely new human 
activity, managing other Proto 

2724
02:32:04,700 --> 02:32:08,200
domestic animals as humans. 
Begin keeping captured young 

2725
02:32:08,200 --> 02:32:11,300
megafauna, not quite farming 
them yet, but moving in that 

2726
02:32:11,300 --> 02:32:15,100
direction, the wolf dogs help 
control these animals using 

2727
02:32:15,100 --> 02:32:18,500
their herding instincts to keep 
young mammoths or bison from 

2728
02:32:18,500 --> 02:32:21,100
wandering off. 
This herding Behavior will 

2729
02:32:21,100 --> 02:32:23,500
eventually become one of the 
most important functions of 

2730
02:32:23,500 --> 02:32:26,400
domestic dogs. 
But for now it's a happy 

2731
02:32:26,400 --> 02:32:29,500
accident. 
The wolf dog's natural, prey 

2732
02:32:29,500 --> 02:32:32,900
heard in stinks being, 
redirected toward a new purpose 

2733
02:32:32,900 --> 02:32:36,400
thous of miles away in different
parts of the world. 

2734
02:32:36,400 --> 02:32:38,800
Similar processes are occurring 
independently. 

2735
02:32:40,100 --> 02:32:43,000
Wolves near human settlements in
what will become Europe? 

2736
02:32:43,000 --> 02:32:46,100
A beginning, their own journey 
toward domestication. 

2737
02:32:46,900 --> 02:32:49,100
Wolves in East, Asia are 
developing their own 

2738
02:32:49,100 --> 02:32:51,100
relationships with human 
communities. 

2739
02:32:51,900 --> 02:32:55,000
Processes isn't uniform, but the
pattern is recognizable. 

2740
02:32:55,900 --> 02:32:57,900
Wherever humans and wolves 
coexist. 

2741
02:32:57,900 --> 02:33:01,600
Some wolves are discovering the 
advantages of cooperation over 

2742
02:33:01,600 --> 02:33:04,500
competition, these 
geographically separated, 

2743
02:33:04,500 --> 02:33:07,300
population of Proto dogs, will 
eventually, give rise to 

2744
02:33:07,300 --> 02:33:09,600
different. 
Lineages different regional 

2745
02:33:09,600 --> 02:33:13,200
types that reflect both the 
local wolf population's and the 

2746
02:33:13,200 --> 02:33:15,700
specific needs of local human 
communities. 

2747
02:33:16,500 --> 02:33:20,400
But all of them share the same 
fundamental transformation from 

2748
02:33:20,400 --> 02:33:22,700
Wild Predator to domestic 
partner. 

2749
02:33:22,700 --> 02:33:26,400
You don't know any of this. 
Of course your world is limited 

2750
02:33:26,400 --> 02:33:29,300
to your band your territory and 
your direct experience. 

2751
02:33:29,300 --> 02:33:32,000
But your great. 
Great grandchildren's 

2752
02:33:32,000 --> 02:33:35,000
descendants will spread across 
continents and they'll bring 

2753
02:33:35,000 --> 02:33:38,700
their wolf dogs with them. 
When humans eventually cross the

2754
02:33:38,700 --> 02:33:42,400
land bridge from Asia to the 
Americas wolf dogs will be among

2755
02:33:42,400 --> 02:33:45,700
the first domesticated animals 
to reach the new world. 

2756
02:33:46,600 --> 02:33:49,700
When humans develop boats 
capable of Crossing open, ocean 

2757
02:33:49,700 --> 02:33:53,600
wolf, dogs will be in those 
boats heading to islands and new

2758
02:33:53,600 --> 02:33:56,000
continents. 
The partnership that began with 

2759
02:33:56,000 --> 02:34:00,800
one curious wolf and one willing
to experiment, human band has 

2760
02:34:00,800 --> 02:34:03,700
become a global phenomenon that 
will persist for millennia. 

2761
02:34:04,600 --> 02:34:08,100
Long after the mammoths and 
woolly rhinos and giant sloths 

2762
02:34:08,100 --> 02:34:11,800
have gone extinct long after the
ice age, as faded into 

2763
02:34:11,800 --> 02:34:15,200
geological history, this 
relationship will endure your 

2764
02:34:15,200 --> 02:34:17,100
bands. 
Current generation of wolf dogs.

2765
02:34:17,100 --> 02:34:19,000
Include a young female named 
Echo. 

2766
02:34:19,000 --> 02:34:22,800
Descended from curls, lineage 
through multiple Generations. 

2767
02:34:22,800 --> 02:34:29,400
Echo is small barely 60 pounds 
with a curly coat floppy ears 

2768
02:34:29,400 --> 02:34:32,400
and a tale that curl. 
So tightly at almost makes a 

2769
02:34:32,400 --> 02:34:35,900
full circle. 
Echoes temperament is gentle and

2770
02:34:35,908 --> 02:34:39,000
playful of animal, has become 
particularly attached to the 

2771
02:34:39,000 --> 02:34:42,800
band's children serving as an 
unofficial guardian and Playmate

2772
02:34:42,800 --> 02:34:46,700
one, warm summer evening as the 
sun sets over a landscape. 

2773
02:34:46,700 --> 02:34:49,700
That's noticeably Greener and 
less harsh than the tundra of 

2774
02:34:49,700 --> 02:34:53,000
your ancestors time. 
Echo lies surrounded by 

2775
02:34:53,000 --> 02:34:55,500
children. 
Their petting, the Wolfdog, 

2776
02:34:55,500 --> 02:34:59,100
telling stories and laughing at 
Echoes clownish attempts to 

2777
02:34:59,108 --> 02:35:02,700
catch moths that flutter around 
the fire and Elder watches, this

2778
02:35:02,700 --> 02:35:05,800
scene with satisfaction. 
This elder is the great. 

2779
02:35:05,800 --> 02:35:09,900
Great grandchild of bright one, 
carrier of stories passed down 

2780
02:35:09,900 --> 02:35:14,100
through multiple Generations. 
The Elder remembers the tales of

2781
02:35:14,108 --> 02:35:18,500
white chest of curl of the early
days when having a wolf dog near

2782
02:35:18,500 --> 02:35:21,500
the camp was strange. 
And frightening how to imagine 

2783
02:35:21,500 --> 02:35:23,600
being afraid of them now elder 
sister. 

2784
02:35:23,600 --> 02:35:27,100
No one in particular speaking 
softly enough, not to disturb 

2785
02:35:27,100 --> 02:35:30,400
the children's play and other 
adult sitting nearby, laughs, 

2786
02:35:30,400 --> 02:35:33,200
quietly, hard to imagine living 
without them. 

2787
02:35:33,200 --> 02:35:36,100
What did our ancestors do 
without wolfdogs? 

2788
02:35:36,100 --> 02:35:39,000
How did they hunt? 
How did they feel safe at night?

2789
02:35:39,000 --> 02:35:42,400
It's a good question. 
The answer, of course, is that 

2790
02:35:42,400 --> 02:35:45,200
human survive for hundreds of 
thousands of years without 

2791
02:35:45,200 --> 02:35:48,200
canine partners. 
But now that the partnership 

2792
02:35:48,200 --> 02:35:51,200
exists. 
It's difficult to imagine going 

2793
02:35:51,200 --> 02:35:53,800
back. 
The relationship has become so 

2794
02:35:53,800 --> 02:35:57,300
integral to human society. 
That its absence would be felt 

2795
02:35:57,300 --> 02:36:00,300
like the loss of a limb Echo 
tired from playing with the 

2796
02:36:00,300 --> 02:36:02,800
children. 
Finally, settles down resting 

2797
02:36:02,800 --> 02:36:06,800
its head on a child's lap. 
The child Strokes Echoes curly, 

2798
02:36:06,800 --> 02:36:10,400
fur and the wolf, dogs eyes 
drift closed in contentment 

2799
02:36:10,400 --> 02:36:14,300
somewhere in the darkness beyond
the firelight a wild wolf howls.

2800
02:36:15,000 --> 02:36:18,600
Echoes ears perk up and the wolf
dog, lift his head briefly, but 

2801
02:36:18,600 --> 02:36:22,400
there's no answering how no urge
to run off and join that wild 

2802
02:36:22,400 --> 02:36:25,600
song. 
Echoes world is here with these 

2803
02:36:25,600 --> 02:36:28,500
humans by this fire after a 
moment. 

2804
02:36:28,500 --> 02:36:31,800
Echo, settles back down content 
with its chosen place in the 

2805
02:36:31,800 --> 02:36:34,900
world. 
The stars come out the same 

2806
02:36:34,900 --> 02:36:37,500
stars that Sean on white, chest,
and bright one. 

2807
02:36:37,500 --> 02:36:42,500
All those Generations ago Fire 
crackles and Pops, children's 

2808
02:36:42,500 --> 02:36:44,500
voices. 
Mixed with adult laughed after 

2809
02:36:44,500 --> 02:36:48,200
and beneath it all the steady 
rhythm of echo's breathing, as 

2810
02:36:48,200 --> 02:36:52,000
the wolf dog sleeps. 
In this moment peaceful and 

2811
02:36:52,000 --> 02:36:55,700
ordinary yet profound. 
You can see the future taking 

2812
02:36:55,700 --> 02:36:58,300
shape. 
These children growing up with 

2813
02:36:58,300 --> 02:37:01,000
Echo, will never know a world 
without wolf dogs. 

2814
02:37:01,600 --> 02:37:05,000
Their children won't either nor 
their children's children for 

2815
02:37:05,000 --> 02:37:09,000
hundreds of generations. 
To come what began as one Wolf's

2816
02:37:09,000 --> 02:37:11,000
curiosity. 
And one humans willingness to 

2817
02:37:11,000 --> 02:37:13,000
share has become something 
timeless. 

2818
02:37:13,700 --> 02:37:17,600
A partnership that will Outlast 
Empires survived the collapse of

2819
02:37:17,608 --> 02:37:21,600
civilizations and endure through
changes in human society. 

2820
02:37:21,600 --> 02:37:23,700
That would be unrecognizable to 
you. 

2821
02:37:23,700 --> 02:37:26,600
The wolf dogs will be there when
humans build their first 

2822
02:37:26,600 --> 02:37:29,200
permanent Villages. 
They'll be there when humans 

2823
02:37:29,200 --> 02:37:32,400
develop agriculture when they 
domesticate other animals. 

2824
02:37:32,400 --> 02:37:36,100
And when they create the first 
cities, they'll pull sleds 

2825
02:37:36,100 --> 02:37:40,500
across Frozen waste heard sheep 
across Mountain sides, guard, 

2826
02:37:40,500 --> 02:37:44,300
palaces and warm the laps of 
Emperors and peasants alike. 

2827
02:37:44,300 --> 02:37:48,600
They'll change, of course, 
they'll dive into forms. 

2828
02:37:48,600 --> 02:37:51,700
That would seem impossible, tiny
dogs that fit in a pocket. 

2829
02:37:51,700 --> 02:37:55,900
Giant dogs larger than wolves 
ever were dogs with pushed in 

2830
02:37:55,900 --> 02:37:59,500
phases dogs with legs. 
So short, they can barely run 

2831
02:37:59,500 --> 02:38:03,200
and dogs bred for every 
conceivable purpose from hunting

2832
02:38:03,200 --> 02:38:05,800
rats, to guarding temples to 
Simply being beautiful. 

2833
02:38:05,800 --> 02:38:09,300
But underneath all those changes
underneath all, that diversity, 

2834
02:38:09,300 --> 02:38:12,700
they'll still carry the same 
essential nature that Echo 

2835
02:38:12,700 --> 02:38:16,400
demonstrates tonight. 
Loyalty, affection. 

2836
02:38:16,400 --> 02:38:19,900
And the deep-rooted desire to be
part of a human family. 

2837
02:38:19,900 --> 02:38:24,300
The fire burns, low people begin
heading to their sleeping areas.

2838
02:38:25,000 --> 02:38:29,100
Echo Rises shakes vigorously and
follows the children to the 

2839
02:38:29,108 --> 02:38:32,700
shelter where they sleep. 
The Wolfdog settles down among 

2840
02:38:32,700 --> 02:38:36,100
them and within moments, three 
children are using Echo as a 

2841
02:38:36,100 --> 02:38:38,800
pillow outside. 
The summer night is mild and 

2842
02:38:38,800 --> 02:38:42,600
clear. tomorrow will bring new 
challenges, new work and new 

2843
02:38:42,600 --> 02:38:47,900
adventures but to night there's 
just this Humans and wolf dogs 

2844
02:38:47,900 --> 02:38:52,300
sleeping peacefully together 
Partners in the Grand Adventure 

2845
02:38:52,300 --> 02:38:55,800
of survival. 
The Stars wheel slowly overhead 

2846
02:38:56,500 --> 02:38:59,800
The Moon Rises casting 
Silverlight across a world that 

2847
02:38:59,800 --> 02:39:02,500
has changed profoundly. 
Even though, most of those 

2848
02:39:02,500 --> 02:39:06,600
changes are too subtle to see 
day-to-day But they're there 

2849
02:39:06,608 --> 02:39:12,900
accumulating genetic shifts 
behavioral adaptations and the 

2850
02:39:12,908 --> 02:39:16,400
slow but inexorable 
transformation of wolf into dog.

2851
02:39:16,400 --> 02:39:20,500
And in the morning, when the Sun
rises Echo will be among the 

2852
02:39:20,500 --> 02:39:25,000
first to wake, Tail already, 
wagging ready to greet the new 

2853
02:39:25,000 --> 02:39:27,300
day. 
Alongside the humans who have 

2854
02:39:27,300 --> 02:39:29,800
become in every meaningful 
sense. 

2855
02:39:29,800 --> 02:39:33,600
Echoes pack. 
The story that began 15,000 

2856
02:39:33,600 --> 02:39:36,800
years ago with a reddish gray, 
wolf watching a human Camp 

2857
02:39:36,800 --> 02:39:41,400
continues generation after 
generation changing slowly but 

2858
02:39:41,400 --> 02:39:45,100
never ending a partnership. 
That is enriched both species 

2859
02:39:45,100 --> 02:39:47,700
beyond measure and that more 
than anything else. 

2860
02:39:47,700 --> 02:39:50,900
Is the Legacy. 
Not just that humans tamed 

2861
02:39:50,900 --> 02:39:54,800
wolves but that together humans 
and wolves created something 

2862
02:39:54,800 --> 02:39:58,000
entirely new. 
A relationship of mutual 

2863
02:39:58,000 --> 02:40:01,400
benefit, Mutual affection, and 
mutual transformation. 

2864
02:40:01,400 --> 02:40:05,200
That is persisted across 
Millennia and will continue long

2865
02:40:05,200 --> 02:40:13,600
into whatever future awaits. 
Imagine if you will the realm of

2866
02:40:13,600 --> 02:40:16,400
Asgard on a winter morning, when
the world feels wrapped in 

2867
02:40:16,400 --> 02:40:20,300
Cotton wool, the gold and Halls 
of the Gods stand silent. 

2868
02:40:20,300 --> 02:40:24,000
There was reflecting the pale 
light of a son that never quite 

2869
02:40:24,000 --> 02:40:27,400
seems to warm the air. 
This is the kind of Stillness 

2870
02:40:27,400 --> 02:40:29,800
that makes you hold your breath 
without realizing it. 

2871
02:40:30,500 --> 02:40:34,100
The sort of piece that Whispers 
of its own fragility in these 

2872
02:40:34,100 --> 02:40:37,700
days before the great prophecy 
took root in every Divine heart,

2873
02:40:37,700 --> 02:40:40,900
the gods went about their 
business with a confidence that 

2874
02:40:40,900 --> 02:40:43,200
now seems almost Charming in its
innocence. 

2875
02:40:44,100 --> 02:40:48,200
Odin sat upon his high seat, 
watching the nine, worlds, with 

2876
02:40:48,200 --> 02:40:54,800
eyes that saw everything except 
perhaps What mattered most Thor 

2877
02:40:54,800 --> 02:40:57,500
practiced with his hammer, in 
the courtyard, each swing 

2878
02:40:57,500 --> 02:41:00,800
sending Tremors through the 
ground that the other gods had 

2879
02:41:00,800 --> 02:41:03,300
learned to ignore like familiar 
background noise. 

2880
02:41:04,200 --> 02:41:07,400
Frey attended, her cats and 
contemplated Beauty and all its 

2881
02:41:07,400 --> 02:41:11,100
forms from the delicate Frost 
patterns on window glass to the 

2882
02:41:11,100 --> 02:41:14,700
terrible Elegance of a 
well-crafted sword life in 

2883
02:41:14,700 --> 02:41:17,500
Asgard followed rhythms as old 
as the world tree itself. 

2884
02:41:18,400 --> 02:41:21,900
Feasts rolled into councils. 
Councils dissolved into hunts 

2885
02:41:21,900 --> 02:41:24,300
and hunts gave away to more 
Feasts. 

2886
02:41:25,000 --> 02:41:28,700
The Mead flowed like rivers and 
laughed after echoed through 

2887
02:41:28,700 --> 02:41:31,800
Halls built to last. 
Until the end of days, though. 

2888
02:41:31,800 --> 02:41:33,800
None of them truly believe those
days would ever come. 

2889
02:41:34,500 --> 02:41:38,500
Ending with things that happened
to Mortals to the brief lives of

2890
02:41:38,500 --> 02:41:42,100
humans who flickered and faded 
like candle flames in a drafty 

2891
02:41:42,100 --> 02:41:44,500
room. 
Gods were supposed to be 

2892
02:41:44,500 --> 02:41:48,000
different but even in those 
peaceful times, there were signs

2893
02:41:48,000 --> 02:41:51,800
if you knew how to read them. 
The norns, those three ancient 

2894
02:41:51,800 --> 02:41:56,100
sisters, who wove, the fate of 
Gods and Men alike worked, their

2895
02:41:56,100 --> 02:41:58,800
Loom with Expressions that 
suggested, they knew something 

2896
02:41:58,800 --> 02:42:02,600
everyone else had missed. 
Their fingers move through 

2897
02:42:02,600 --> 02:42:05,900
threads of past present and 
future with a speed. 

2898
02:42:05,900 --> 02:42:09,000
That spoke of urgency though 
they never rushed. 

2899
02:42:10,400 --> 02:42:12,800
Rushing implied. 
There was still time to make a 

2900
02:42:12,800 --> 02:42:16,500
difference and the norns new 
beta than anyone that some 

2901
02:42:16,500 --> 02:42:18,400
things were already written in 
the Deep structure of the 

2902
02:42:18,408 --> 02:42:21,900
universe itself. 
The Ravens who can and moon in 

2903
02:42:21,900 --> 02:42:25,100
returned each evening to whisper
their findings into Odin's ears.

2904
02:42:25,700 --> 02:42:28,500
Thought and memory they were 
called and between them, they 

2905
02:42:28,500 --> 02:42:30,800
saw everything that happened 
under the sky. 

2906
02:42:32,200 --> 02:42:35,500
But lately, their reports and 
taken on a quality that Odin 

2907
02:42:35,500 --> 02:42:37,100
didn't care to examine to 
closely. 

2908
02:42:38,000 --> 02:42:41,600
Attention a sense of gathering 
momentum towards something 

2909
02:42:41,600 --> 02:42:44,500
inevitable. 
He would not and thank them. 

2910
02:42:44,500 --> 02:42:47,900
Then pour another cup of Mead 
and try to focus on problems. 

2911
02:42:47,900 --> 02:42:52,400
That seemed more immediate and 
therefore more solvable down in 

2912
02:42:52,400 --> 02:42:55,300
midgard, the realm of humans. 
Life continued with its own 

2913
02:42:55,300 --> 02:42:58,500
particular rhythms. 
Farmers planted and harvested 

2914
02:42:58,500 --> 02:43:02,700
Warriors fought and feasted and 
everyone told stories around 

2915
02:43:02,700 --> 02:43:06,500
fires on cold nights. 
Many of these stories concerned 

2916
02:43:06,500 --> 02:43:09,700
the gods naturally because 
humans have always found comfort

2917
02:43:09,700 --> 02:43:10,900
in believing that their 
struggles. 

2918
02:43:10,900 --> 02:43:15,000
Mirror, larger Cosmic patterns 
They spoke of Odin's wisdom, 

2919
02:43:15,000 --> 02:43:20,700
Thor's strength, freya's Beauty.
And yes even of Loki Loki 

2920
02:43:20,700 --> 02:43:23,600
though, those stories were 
always told with a mixture of 

2921
02:43:23,600 --> 02:43:27,700
amusement and unease occupied A 
peculiar position in the Divine 

2922
02:43:27,700 --> 02:43:30,600
hierarchy. 
He was counted among the easier 

2923
02:43:30,600 --> 02:43:33,300
Gods yet. 
Everyone knew he was actually a 

2924
02:43:33,300 --> 02:43:35,900
giant by birth. 
One of the joton who was 

2925
02:43:35,900 --> 02:43:37,300
supposed to be enemies of the 
Gods. 

2926
02:43:38,200 --> 02:43:41,200
It was the kind of complicated 
family situation that makes 

2927
02:43:41,200 --> 02:43:43,900
modern Thanksgiving dinners look
simple by comparison. 

2928
02:43:45,300 --> 02:43:48,200
Odin had made him a blood 
brother in some ancient ceremony

2929
02:43:48,200 --> 02:43:52,200
that no one quite remembered the
details of any more binding them

2930
02:43:52,200 --> 02:43:54,900
together with Oaths that even 
Gods could not break without 

2931
02:43:54,900 --> 02:43:57,500
consequences in those quiet 
days. 

2932
02:43:57,500 --> 02:43:59,600
Before the prophecy became 
impossible to ignore. 

2933
02:43:59,600 --> 02:44:03,600
I moved through Asgard like a 
cat in a house where it knows, 

2934
02:44:03,600 --> 02:44:07,100
it's not entirely welcome, but 
tolerated for his usefulness and

2935
02:44:07,100 --> 02:44:09,900
dealing with mice. 
He was clever. 

2936
02:44:10,700 --> 02:44:14,400
Perhaps two clever as the other 
God sometimes muttered when they

2937
02:44:14,400 --> 02:44:17,600
thought he couldn't hear. 
His solutions to problems. 

2938
02:44:17,600 --> 02:44:21,900
Often created new problems like 
a home repair job, that fixes 

2939
02:44:21,900 --> 02:44:24,700
the leak that somehow damages 
the foundation. 

2940
02:44:25,700 --> 02:44:28,200
Yet time. 
And again, when the gods found 

2941
02:44:28,200 --> 02:44:31,900
themselves and truly impossible 
situations, it was they who 

2942
02:44:31,900 --> 02:44:35,200
turned to because, sometimes you
need someone willing to think in

2943
02:44:35,200 --> 02:44:37,300
directions that would never 
occur to the properly. 

2944
02:44:37,300 --> 02:44:40,800
Moral mind, he was beautiful in 
the way that dangerous things 

2945
02:44:40,800 --> 02:44:43,900
often are. 
Sharp featured with eyes that 

2946
02:44:43,900 --> 02:44:46,000
suggested. 
He was always three steps ahead 

2947
02:44:46,000 --> 02:44:48,200
in a conversation. 
You didn't know you were having 

2948
02:44:48,900 --> 02:44:52,200
his smile had edges to it and 
his laughter could sound like 

2949
02:44:52,200 --> 02:44:54,900
either Delight or mockery 
depending on how you happen to 

2950
02:44:54,900 --> 02:44:58,800
be feeling that day. 
The gods never entirely trusted 

2951
02:44:58,800 --> 02:45:02,800
him but they never entirely 
distrusted him either, which was

2952
02:45:02,800 --> 02:45:04,800
exactly the balance. 
He seemed to prefer. 

2953
02:45:05,800 --> 02:45:08,800
Trust was a cage, distrust was 
Exile. 

2954
02:45:08,800 --> 02:45:12,100
But this liminal space between 
the two offered freedom of A 

2955
02:45:12,108 --> 02:45:14,400
Sort during this period of 
Stillness. 

2956
02:45:15,500 --> 02:45:19,400
I would often wander Beyond as 
God's golden walls out into the 

2957
02:45:19,400 --> 02:45:22,400
Wild Spaces where the world's 
brushed against each other like 

2958
02:45:22,400 --> 02:45:25,100
pages in a book not quite 
properly closed. 

2959
02:45:26,400 --> 02:45:29,900
He said he was exploring 
learning the secrets of creation

2960
02:45:29,900 --> 02:45:33,000
that the more respectable gods 
were too dignified to seek out 

2961
02:45:33,000 --> 02:45:35,900
themselves. 
In fact, that was even true in 

2962
02:45:35,900 --> 02:45:39,900
its own way. 
Exploration can take many forms 

2963
02:45:39,900 --> 02:45:43,100
and not all of them, involve 
maps and careful notes. 

2964
02:45:43,100 --> 02:45:46,000
The other gods probably should 
have paid more attention to 

2965
02:45:46,000 --> 02:45:49,600
these wanderings. 
But Asgard was comfortable, Mead

2966
02:45:49,600 --> 02:45:52,800
was plentiful and it's always 
easier to assume that tomorrow 

2967
02:45:52,800 --> 02:45:56,000
will be much like today 
especially when today is 

2968
02:45:56,000 --> 02:45:58,500
Pleasant enough. 
They assumed, she would always 

2969
02:45:58,500 --> 02:46:01,200
be. 
Sometimes helpful sometimes 

2970
02:46:01,200 --> 02:46:05,700
annoying but ultimately one of 
them Bound by the same rules and

2971
02:46:05,700 --> 02:46:08,100
expectations that governed all 
their lives. 

2972
02:46:08,100 --> 02:46:12,500
They were right about the first 
part would always be Where they 

2973
02:46:12,508 --> 02:46:14,900
went wrong was in assuming that 
meant anything like 

2974
02:46:14,900 --> 02:46:19,100
predictability or safety beyond 
the walls of Asgard Beyond, even

2975
02:46:19,100 --> 02:46:23,300
the relatively tamed wildness of
midgard, Leyte and high, the 

2976
02:46:23,300 --> 02:46:27,100
realm of the Giants. 
This was not a place where God's

2977
02:46:27,100 --> 02:46:31,200
typically vacationed, the Giants
were older than the gods 

2978
02:46:31,200 --> 02:46:34,900
themselves by some accounts and 
they remembered every slight, 

2979
02:46:34,900 --> 02:46:39,000
every battle, every drop of 
blood spilled in the Eternal 

2980
02:46:39,000 --> 02:46:40,900
conflict between Order and 
Chaos. 

2981
02:46:42,100 --> 02:46:46,400
Your ternheim was a landscape of
contractions icefields that 

2982
02:46:46,400 --> 02:46:49,300
burned with cold. 
So intense it felt like fire 

2983
02:46:49,300 --> 02:46:52,200
mountains. 
That seem to shift when you 

2984
02:46:52,200 --> 02:46:56,100
weren't looking directly at them
and forests where the trees had 

2985
02:46:56,100 --> 02:46:58,100
witnessed the birth of the 
world's and remained 

2986
02:46:58,100 --> 02:47:01,400
unimpressed, it was to this 
unwelcoming realm that he found 

2987
02:47:01,400 --> 02:47:03,500
himself drawn pulled by 
something. 

2988
02:47:03,500 --> 02:47:05,800
He couldn't quite name and 
wouldn't have admitted if he 

2989
02:47:05,800 --> 02:47:09,700
could Maybe it was boredom with 
asgard's golden Perfection, 

2990
02:47:09,700 --> 02:47:11,700
where everything was always 
beautiful. 

2991
02:47:11,700 --> 02:47:15,200
And therefore in its way 
monotonous Maybe it was a 

2992
02:47:15,200 --> 02:47:18,000
longing for the wild magic, that
the giant still practiced. 

2993
02:47:18,000 --> 02:47:21,600
The old chaos that had existed 
before the gods, imposed their 

2994
02:47:21,608 --> 02:47:24,600
orderly structures on creation. 
Or maybe. 

2995
02:47:24,600 --> 02:47:28,200
And this is what he would never 
have confessed to Odin or any of

2996
02:47:28,200 --> 02:47:30,800
the others. 
It was a desire to be somewhere.

2997
02:47:30,800 --> 02:47:33,100
He didn't have to constantly 
perform the role of the 

2998
02:47:33,100 --> 02:47:36,500
trickster where he could simply 
be in jotunheim. 

2999
02:47:36,500 --> 02:47:39,000
He met anger border the 
giantess. 

3000
02:47:39,600 --> 02:47:42,200
Her name meant, she who brings 
grief, which should have been 

3001
02:47:42,200 --> 02:47:45,600
his first warning, but intrigued
him the way danger. 

3002
02:47:45,600 --> 02:47:48,700
Always intrigued him. 
She was not beautiful by the 

3003
02:47:48,700 --> 02:47:52,600
standards of Asgard where Beauty
meant gold and hair and perfect 

3004
02:47:52,600 --> 02:47:55,400
features that never showed the 
weight of years or experience. 

3005
02:47:56,700 --> 02:47:59,400
Anger, bodas Beauty was of a 
different sort entirely. 

3006
02:48:00,100 --> 02:48:04,200
The beauty of a winter storm of 
ancient stone of things that 

3007
02:48:04,200 --> 02:48:07,600
endure, not through Perfection. 
But through sheer uncompromising

3008
02:48:07,600 --> 02:48:11,300
existence, she lived alone in a 
part of your turn here, where 

3009
02:48:11,300 --> 02:48:14,600
even other Giants rarely 
ventured in a haul from the 

3010
02:48:14,600 --> 02:48:17,500
bones of some creature that had 
died when the world was young. 

3011
02:48:18,400 --> 02:48:20,800
It should have been Grim but 
somehow it wasn't. 

3012
02:48:21,600 --> 02:48:24,500
She had made it comfortable in 
her own way with Furs that 

3013
02:48:24,508 --> 02:48:27,700
actually provided warmth and a 
fire that burned with colors. 

3014
02:48:27,700 --> 02:48:30,900
I had never seen in asgard's 
carefully tended hearts. 

3015
02:48:31,900 --> 02:48:35,300
The first time he visited, he 
told himself, he was gathering 

3016
02:48:35,300 --> 02:48:38,800
information, learning giant 
secrets that might prove useful 

3017
02:48:38,800 --> 02:48:41,300
to the god. 
Someday the second visit was 

3018
02:48:41,300 --> 02:48:45,200
harder to justify by the third. 
He had stopped trying anchor. 

3019
02:48:45,200 --> 02:48:47,200
Boda saw through him. 
Immediately of course. 

3020
02:48:48,100 --> 02:48:50,900
She saw the performance, he put 
on for everyone else and 

3021
02:48:50,900 --> 02:48:54,200
underneath it, she saw something
that she had even half forgotten

3022
02:48:54,200 --> 02:48:57,600
was there. 
A person who was tired of always

3023
02:48:57,600 --> 02:49:01,500
being clever, always having the 
perfect response and always 

3024
02:49:01,500 --> 02:49:03,300
playing the role that everyone 
expected. 

3025
02:49:04,300 --> 02:49:07,500
With her, he could occasionally 
be quiet with her. 

3026
02:49:07,500 --> 02:49:11,700
He could admit uncertainly. 
With her he discovered that not 

3027
02:49:11,700 --> 02:49:15,100
every moment needed to be filled
with words or tricks or 

3028
02:49:15,100 --> 02:49:18,400
carefully, calculated moves, and
some Invisible game. 

3029
02:49:18,400 --> 02:49:22,500
This relationship was by any 
reasonable standard, a 

3030
02:49:22,500 --> 02:49:27,000
catastrophically bad idea? 
Was bound by oath to the gods, 

3031
02:49:27,000 --> 02:49:32,100
Bound by his peculiar position 
as both Insider and Outsider in 

3032
02:49:32,100 --> 02:49:36,600
asgard's hierarchy. 
Hanger Boda was a giant one of 

3033
02:49:36,608 --> 02:49:40,800
the ancient enemies and her very
name suggested that she carried 

3034
02:49:40,800 --> 02:49:43,600
Doom in her wake, like a cloak. 
Nothing good. 

3035
02:49:43,600 --> 02:49:46,900
Could come from this Union. 
Anyone with sense could have 

3036
02:49:46,900 --> 02:49:50,400
told them that but census never 
been the primary motivator of 

3037
02:49:50,408 --> 02:49:53,700
those who fall into, whatever 
you want to call the thing that 

3038
02:49:53,700 --> 02:49:57,600
grew between them. 
Love is too simple, a word and 

3039
02:49:57,600 --> 02:49:59,400
too complicated at the same 
time. 

3040
02:50:00,300 --> 02:50:04,000
Call it recognition, perhaps the
way, two people who have always 

3041
02:50:04,000 --> 02:50:06,800
been slightly out of step with 
everyone around them might 

3042
02:50:06,800 --> 02:50:10,400
recognize that quality in each 
other and feel something like 

3043
02:50:10,400 --> 02:50:13,600
relief time in yot and high 
moved differently than in 

3044
02:50:13,600 --> 02:50:16,500
Asgard. 
Days could stretch or compress 

3045
02:50:16,500 --> 02:50:20,200
and Seasons followed rules that 
would have given meteorologist 

3046
02:50:20,200 --> 02:50:23,600
nervous breakdowns. 
During one of these temporally 

3047
02:50:23,600 --> 02:50:26,500
ambiguous periods anger. 
Boda discovered, she was 

3048
02:50:26,500 --> 02:50:29,400
pregnant. 
Not with one child, but with 

3049
02:50:29,400 --> 02:50:32,600
three because apparently even 
reproduction couldnt be 

3050
02:50:32,600 --> 02:50:35,200
straightforward when I was 
involved, this should have been 

3051
02:50:35,200 --> 02:50:38,000
the moment when he returned to 
Asgard resumed. 

3052
02:50:38,000 --> 02:50:41,800
His proper role and pretended 
this entire episode had never 

3053
02:50:41,800 --> 02:50:44,500
happened. 
The gods were skilled at 

3054
02:50:44,500 --> 02:50:48,300
ignoring uncomfortable truths 
and one more gods in discretion 

3055
02:50:48,300 --> 02:50:50,900
could have been added to a list 
that was already impressively 

3056
02:50:50,900 --> 02:50:53,300
long. 
But something kept him in your 

3057
02:50:53,308 --> 02:50:57,000
tunheim through anger borders. 
Pregnancy watching her belly 

3058
02:50:57,000 --> 02:51:00,800
swell with new life feeling. 
Something he couldn't quite name

3059
02:51:00,800 --> 02:51:04,000
and didn't entirely trust. 
Perhaps it was fear of what was 

3060
02:51:04,000 --> 02:51:06,600
coming. 
Perhaps it was fascination with 

3061
02:51:06,600 --> 02:51:10,400
the sheer Audacity Of creating 
life when your own existence 

3062
02:51:10,400 --> 02:51:15,000
felt so uncertain. 
Or perhaps and this is the most 

3063
02:51:15,000 --> 02:51:18,400
generous interpretation. 
It was a genuine desire to be 

3064
02:51:18,400 --> 02:51:21,900
present for the birth of his 
children, to be something other 

3065
02:51:21,900 --> 02:51:25,200
than the trickster. 
For once to be simply a father 

3066
02:51:25,200 --> 02:51:28,000
to beings, who might not yet 
know enough to be disappointed 

3067
02:51:28,000 --> 02:51:29,500
in him. 
The births. 

3068
02:51:29,500 --> 02:51:32,100
When they came were, like, 
nothing in the usual order of 

3069
02:51:32,100 --> 02:51:34,500
things. 
The first child came into the 

3070
02:51:34,500 --> 02:51:36,800
world as winter deepened, over 
your High. 

3071
02:51:36,800 --> 02:51:41,000
When the cold pressed down, like
a physical weight and the Stars 

3072
02:51:41,000 --> 02:51:45,000
seemed close enough to touch 
Anger Boda labored in her Hall 

3073
02:51:45,000 --> 02:51:48,200
of bone and fur and discovered 
that all his cleverness was 

3074
02:51:48,200 --> 02:51:51,600
useless in the face of this most
ancient ordinary of processes. 

3075
02:51:52,500 --> 02:51:56,300
He could do nothing but wait and
waiting had never been something

3076
02:51:56,300 --> 02:52:00,300
he excelled at when the baby 
finally emerged wrapped in caul 

3077
02:52:00,300 --> 02:52:03,800
and blood and possibility. 
He looked down at his firstborn 

3078
02:52:03,800 --> 02:52:07,400
son and felt his heart constrict
in a way that should have been 

3079
02:52:07,408 --> 02:52:10,900
impossible for someone who 
prided himself on emotional 

3080
02:52:10,900 --> 02:52:16,200
detachment. 
Child was perfect. small and 

3081
02:52:16,200 --> 02:52:20,700
helpless in the whale, newborns 
are With tiny fists, that 

3082
02:52:20,700 --> 02:52:24,000
clenched and unclenched. 
As if already learning to hold 

3083
02:52:24,000 --> 02:52:26,400
on to things in a world that 
would try to take everything 

3084
02:52:26,400 --> 02:52:29,700
away. 
They named him fenrir fenrir. 

3085
02:52:29,700 --> 02:52:31,900
And in the beginning, he was 
simply a baby. 

3086
02:52:32,600 --> 02:52:36,400
He cried when he was hungry, 
slept when he was tired and 

3087
02:52:36,400 --> 02:52:40,300
regarded the world with a solemn
curiosity of all new, arrivals 

3088
02:52:40,300 --> 02:52:42,600
trying to understand the strange
Place. 

3089
02:52:42,600 --> 02:52:45,500
They've landed in. 
But even from the start there 

3090
02:52:45,500 --> 02:52:47,300
were signs for those who knew 
how to read them. 

3091
02:52:47,300 --> 02:52:50,900
His eyes were too knowing for an
infant's, his grip on your 

3092
02:52:50,900 --> 02:52:52,500
finger stronger than it should 
have been. 

3093
02:52:52,500 --> 02:52:55,900
And when he looked at you, it 
felt like being assessed by 

3094
02:52:55,900 --> 02:52:57,900
something that was already 
deciding, whether you were 

3095
02:52:57,908 --> 02:53:02,300
friend or food, he grew faster 
than any normal child, his baby 

3096
02:53:02,300 --> 02:53:06,600
fat melting away within weeks to
reveal, lean muscle, and a coat 

3097
02:53:06,600 --> 02:53:09,300
of fur that shouldn't have 
emerged for months if he'd been 

3098
02:53:09,308 --> 02:53:12,100
a normal wolf, which he very 
clearly wasn't. 

3099
02:53:12,900 --> 02:53:15,400
By the time fenrir was, what 
should have been three months 

3100
02:53:15,400 --> 02:53:18,000
old? 
He was the size of a large dog. 

3101
02:53:18,000 --> 02:53:22,900
And by six months, he was larger
than any wolf that had ever run 

3102
02:53:22,900 --> 02:53:24,900
through the forests of any 
world. 

3103
02:53:25,800 --> 02:53:30,300
His teeth when he yawned were 
already the size of daggers and 

3104
02:53:30,300 --> 02:53:33,500
his howls echoed across yacht 
and him and ways that made even 

3105
02:53:33,500 --> 02:53:37,500
Giants, pause in their work and 
looked toward the Horizon with 

3106
02:53:37,500 --> 02:53:40,200
expressions of unease. 
But here's what you need to 

3107
02:53:40,200 --> 02:53:43,500
understand. 
Despite all this fenrir was 

3108
02:53:43,500 --> 02:53:47,800
still just a child. 
He wanted to play to be petted 

3109
02:53:47,800 --> 02:53:50,800
and curl up next to his mother 
and listen to her voice. 

3110
02:53:50,800 --> 02:53:54,300
She told him stories about the 
world before his birth. 

3111
02:53:55,200 --> 02:53:57,700
He was gentle with the smaller 
creatures that lived around 

3112
02:53:57,700 --> 02:54:01,900
anger Boulders Hall and once I 
watched him spend an entire 

3113
02:54:01,900 --> 02:54:04,700
afternoon carefully, not 
squashing a mouse that had 

3114
02:54:04,700 --> 02:54:08,600
wandered into his paws. 
The wolf child's tale would wag 

3115
02:54:08,600 --> 02:54:12,100
when either parent, came near 
and his greatest joy seemed to 

3116
02:54:12,108 --> 02:54:14,100
be the simple moments of Family 
togetherness. 

3117
02:54:14,100 --> 02:54:18,300
This second birth came, only 
months later the time in your 

3118
02:54:18,300 --> 02:54:20,600
high made such measurements 
almost meaningless. 

3119
02:54:21,600 --> 02:54:25,200
This child emerged, even more 
impossible than the first and 

3120
02:54:25,200 --> 02:54:27,500
when anger border laid him 
against her chest for the first 

3121
02:54:27,500 --> 02:54:29,800
time. 
She looked up at him with eyes 

3122
02:54:29,800 --> 02:54:33,400
that held equal parts, love and 
Terror Yeoman gandur. 

3123
02:54:33,400 --> 02:54:36,500
They named him. 
The world's serpent, though. 

3124
02:54:36,500 --> 02:54:39,400
He started out small enough to 
fit in cupped Palms. 

3125
02:54:39,400 --> 02:54:42,100
He was beautiful in the way that
reptiles can be. 

3126
02:54:42,100 --> 02:54:46,500
Beautiful perfectly designed for
his purpose with scales that 

3127
02:54:46,500 --> 02:54:49,900
caught the light like Opals and 
eyes that were older than 

3128
02:54:49,900 --> 02:54:54,500
anything had a right to be. 
Unlike fenrir who was warm and 

3129
02:54:54,500 --> 02:54:57,100
mammalian in his affections 
German. 

3130
02:54:57,100 --> 02:55:01,700
Gun Dua was cool to the touch 
contemplative with a Stillness, 

3131
02:55:01,700 --> 02:55:05,700
that suggested depths beneath, 
depths he grew even faster than 

3132
02:55:05,700 --> 02:55:09,400
his brother, his body length, 
and coils that soon filled the 

3133
02:55:09,400 --> 02:55:12,400
hall and then Spilled Out side, 
wrapping around the foundation, 

3134
02:55:12,400 --> 02:55:17,400
like a living boundary marker. 
Within a year or what passed for

3135
02:55:17,400 --> 02:55:20,100
a year. 
He was longer than any snake or 

3136
02:55:20,100 --> 02:55:24,300
dragon in mythology his body 
stretching so far that you could

3137
02:55:24,300 --> 02:55:27,200
see the beginning but never 
quite follow him to his end. 

3138
02:55:28,300 --> 02:55:31,800
He moved like water when he 
wanted to with a Grace that 

3139
02:55:31,800 --> 02:55:35,800
made, you forget how utterly 
alien he was, and when he was 

3140
02:55:35,800 --> 02:55:40,100
still, he might mistake him for 
a peculiar rock formation, until

3141
02:55:40,100 --> 02:55:42,700
one of those opal. 
Eyes opened to regard you, with 

3142
02:55:42,708 --> 02:55:47,900
cool interest in play like 
fenrir did, but he had his own 

3143
02:55:47,900 --> 02:55:51,300
way of showing affection, he 
would rest his massive head on 

3144
02:55:51,300 --> 02:55:55,000
anger, Border's lap, as she sat 
by the fire, his breath slow, 

3145
02:55:55,000 --> 02:55:58,700
and even radiating, a sense of 
peace that seemed to spread 

3146
02:55:58,700 --> 02:56:02,000
through the entire Hall. 
He liked it when she would Trace

3147
02:56:02,000 --> 02:56:06,000
patterns on his scales and tell 
him stories, not the grand sagas

3148
02:56:06,000 --> 02:56:10,400
of gods and heroes, but smaller 
choir to tales about observation

3149
02:56:10,400 --> 02:56:13,700
and patience. 
And the Long View that serpents 

3150
02:56:13,700 --> 02:56:17,600
naturally, understood the third 
child came last and her birth 

3151
02:56:17,600 --> 02:56:21,100
was the strangest of all the 
labor was long and difficult. 

3152
02:56:21,100 --> 02:56:24,300
And there were moments when I 
wondered if Anglo would survive 

3153
02:56:24,300 --> 02:56:27,200
it. 
But finally, the baby emerged, 

3154
02:56:27,200 --> 02:56:30,900
and when they cleaned her and 
raped her and Furs, they saw 

3155
02:56:30,900 --> 02:56:34,200
that she was split perfectly 
down the middle, one side living

3156
02:56:34,200 --> 02:56:36,200
and lovely. 
The other side, showing the 

3157
02:56:36,200 --> 02:56:40,100
marks of death and Decay usually
only came after a life had 

3158
02:56:40,100 --> 02:56:41,900
ended. 
They named her hell. 

3159
02:56:41,900 --> 02:56:45,000
And she was perhaps the most 
remarkable of all the children 

3160
02:56:45,000 --> 02:56:46,500
though. 
The least obviously. 

3161
02:56:46,500 --> 02:56:50,500
Monstrous Her living side was as
beautiful as her mother was 

3162
02:56:50,500 --> 02:56:54,000
beautiful. 
Strong featured, and fears with 

3163
02:56:54,000 --> 02:56:56,600
eyes that saw straight through 
pretense to the truth 

3164
02:56:56,600 --> 02:56:59,600
underneath. 
Her death touch side was not 

3165
02:56:59,600 --> 02:57:04,100
grotesque in the way you might 
imagine but rather peaceful like

3166
02:57:04,100 --> 02:57:08,300
a person sleeping deeply with 
skin, the color of old parchment

3167
02:57:08,300 --> 02:57:11,900
and an eye that saw into Realms.
No living person. 

3168
02:57:11,900 --> 02:57:14,100
Should perceive unlike her 
brothers. 

3169
02:57:14,100 --> 02:57:16,700
Hell grew at a normal Pace, 
though. 

3170
02:57:16,700 --> 02:57:18,500
What was normal about anything 
concerning? 

3171
02:57:18,500 --> 02:57:22,500
This family was debatable. but 
she aged like a human child 

3172
02:57:22,500 --> 02:57:26,400
would, which meant she stayed 
small and vulnerable far longer 

3173
02:57:26,400 --> 02:57:31,800
than fenrir or This seemed to 
bring out protective instincts 

3174
02:57:31,800 --> 02:57:34,300
and her brothers that you 
wouldn't expect from being who 

3175
02:57:34,300 --> 02:57:38,500
were already becoming Legends 
even in their infancy. fenrir 

3176
02:57:38,500 --> 02:57:41,500
would curl his enormous body 
around her when she slept, 

3177
02:57:42,200 --> 02:57:46,900
Providing warmth and security. 
Human door would create living 

3178
02:57:46,900 --> 02:57:49,900
walls with his coils. 
Keeping anything potentially 

3179
02:57:49,900 --> 02:57:53,500
dangerous away from his sister 
for a short time and it was 

3180
02:57:53,500 --> 02:57:56,200
heartbreakingly short. 
They were simply a family, 

3181
02:57:56,200 --> 02:58:00,200
unconventional, certainly 
Impossible by any reasonable 

3182
02:58:00,200 --> 02:58:04,200
standard. 
But a family nonetheless finding

3183
02:58:04,200 --> 02:58:06,600
joy, in each other's company in 
a halt at the edge of 

3184
02:58:06,608 --> 02:58:09,800
civilization, where the rules 
that governed everyone else's 

3185
02:58:09,800 --> 02:58:11,400
lives. 
Didn't quite seem to apply 

3186
02:58:11,400 --> 02:58:13,900
hanger. 
Boda would sit by the fire in 

3187
02:58:13,900 --> 02:58:16,500
the evenings. 
Helen her lap while fenrir 

3188
02:58:16,500 --> 02:58:19,500
sprawled nearby and human 
gandur, coiled around them all 

3189
02:58:19,500 --> 02:58:23,100
like a living Fortress. 
Would tell stories he was always

3190
02:58:23,100 --> 02:58:25,800
good with stories. 
And for those moments, he could 

3191
02:58:25,800 --> 02:58:29,200
almost forget that this couldn't
last that the world beyond their

3192
02:58:29,200 --> 02:58:32,600
Hall was watching and worrying 
and preparing to take action. 

3193
02:58:32,600 --> 02:58:36,100
But she had always been too 
clever not to know the truth and

3194
02:58:36,100 --> 02:58:40,000
anger Boda was too wise to 
pretend otherwise These children

3195
02:58:40,000 --> 02:58:44,600
however beloved however innocent
in the cells were prophecy made 

3196
02:58:44,600 --> 02:58:47,400
flesh. 
They're very existence, was a 

3197
02:58:47,400 --> 02:58:51,200
threat to the order of things 
and order a specially. 

3198
02:58:51,200 --> 02:58:53,800
Divine order has never been kind
to threats. 

3199
02:58:53,800 --> 02:58:56,700
The gods learned about the 
children, the way Gods always 

3200
02:58:56,700 --> 02:58:59,600
learn about things, they'd 
prefer not to know through 

3201
02:58:59,600 --> 02:59:02,900
Ravens and rumors through 
prophecies that emerged in 

3202
02:59:02,900 --> 02:59:06,400
dreams, through the Norms 
weaving with Expressions, That 

3203
02:59:06,400 --> 02:59:08,100
Grew Grimmer with each passing 
day. 

3204
02:59:09,400 --> 02:59:11,800
At first, the news was met with 
disbelief. 

3205
02:59:12,600 --> 02:59:16,200
Had gotten himself into awkward 
situations before but this 

3206
02:59:16,200 --> 02:59:20,500
seemed excessive even for him. 
Three children, each more 

3207
02:59:20,500 --> 02:59:24,200
impossible than the last born of
a union that should never have 

3208
02:59:24,200 --> 02:59:27,300
happened in the first place, 
then the disbelief turned to 

3209
02:59:27,300 --> 02:59:30,600
concern and concern ripened into
fear. 

3210
02:59:31,500 --> 02:59:35,100
Because prophecy has began to 
surface old predictions that 

3211
02:59:35,100 --> 02:59:37,500
suddenly made new and terrible 
sense. 

3212
02:59:38,300 --> 02:59:40,200
The wolf who would Devour the 
Sun? 

3213
02:59:41,000 --> 02:59:43,100
The serpent, who would poison 
the sky? 

3214
02:59:43,100 --> 02:59:46,800
The maiden, who would receive 
the dead when the final battle 

3215
02:59:46,800 --> 02:59:50,000
came. 
These were just children, they 

3216
02:59:50,000 --> 02:59:54,500
were ending four and breathe. 
Walking proof that Ragnarok 

3217
02:59:54,500 --> 02:59:59,900
Ragnarok was not some distant 
theoretical event, but an 

3218
02:59:59,900 --> 03:00:02,600
approaching reality with baby 
teeth and scales. 

3219
03:00:02,600 --> 03:00:06,800
Odin called a council, which was
never a good sign when God's 

3220
03:00:06,800 --> 03:00:08,600
gather formerly to discuss 
problems. 

3221
03:00:08,600 --> 03:00:12,100
It usually means someone's life 
is about to get significantly 

3222
03:00:12,100 --> 03:00:14,800
worse. 
Thor, argued for immediate 

3223
03:00:14,800 --> 03:00:18,000
action, because Thor solution to
most problems involved, hitting 

3224
03:00:18,000 --> 03:00:20,300
them with his hammer until they 
stopped being problems. 

3225
03:00:21,000 --> 03:00:24,200
Freya Council compassion 
suggesting that children, 

3226
03:00:24,200 --> 03:00:26,400
shouldn't be punished for 
prophecies about things they 

3227
03:00:26,400 --> 03:00:28,500
hadn't done yet. 
Tyr. 

3228
03:00:28,500 --> 03:00:32,400
The God of Justice pointed out 
the justice and prevention made 

3229
03:00:32,400 --> 03:00:35,100
uncomfortable. 
Bedfellows and perhaps this was 

3230
03:00:35,100 --> 03:00:38,700
a situation where they needed to
choose which principle mattered 

3231
03:00:38,700 --> 03:00:42,700
more they sent for him and he 
came reluctantly leaving his 

3232
03:00:42,700 --> 03:00:44,700
family. 
In jotunheim with promises, he 

3233
03:00:44,700 --> 03:00:48,200
must have known. 
Even then he couldn't keep in 

3234
03:00:48,200 --> 03:00:50,500
asgard's. 
Great Hall with all the gods 

3235
03:00:50,500 --> 03:00:54,100
assembled in judgment. 
He faced questions, he had no 

3236
03:00:54,100 --> 03:00:57,800
good answers for Yes. 
The children existed. 

3237
03:00:58,500 --> 03:01:02,400
Yes, they were growing powerful.
Yes, he supposed the prophecies 

3238
03:01:02,400 --> 03:01:06,000
might apply to them though. 
Prophecies were notoriously open

3239
03:01:06,000 --> 03:01:08,800
to interpretation. 
And perhaps everyone was 

3240
03:01:08,800 --> 03:01:11,600
overreacting. 
This argument went about as well

3241
03:01:11,600 --> 03:01:14,100
as you'd expect when you're 
trying to convince people that 

3242
03:01:14,100 --> 03:01:17,300
their existential Terror. 
Might be premature Odin 

3243
03:01:17,300 --> 03:01:19,700
pronounced judgment with the 
weight of someone who had 

3244
03:01:19,700 --> 03:01:22,600
foreseen this moment and hated 
every part of it. 

3245
03:01:23,500 --> 03:01:27,700
The children could not remain in
High free and growing stronger. 

3246
03:01:27,700 --> 03:01:32,000
They had to be separated 
contained and placed where they 

3247
03:01:32,000 --> 03:01:36,300
could not fulfill the prophecies
that everyone now agreed, hung 

3248
03:01:36,300 --> 03:01:40,800
over them like storm clouds over
a picnic. it was for the good of

3249
03:01:40,808 --> 03:01:45,500
all the worlds out and said and 
maybe he even believed it Gods 

3250
03:01:45,500 --> 03:01:47,100
are very good at convincing 
themselves. 

3251
03:01:47,100 --> 03:01:48,900
That terrible things are 
necessary. 

3252
03:01:48,900 --> 03:01:52,600
The separation happened on a 
gray morning when the sky seemed

3253
03:01:52,600 --> 03:01:54,300
to reflect the mood of everyone 
involved. 

3254
03:01:55,100 --> 03:01:59,200
Gods came to jotunheim, enforce 
not quite an army, but not quite

3255
03:01:59,200 --> 03:02:03,000
not an army, either led by Odin 
himself because some orders 

3256
03:02:03,000 --> 03:02:06,200
can't be delegated without 
seeming cowardly anger. 

3257
03:02:06,200 --> 03:02:09,100
Buddha fought them. 
Of course, she was a giant Heist

3258
03:02:09,100 --> 03:02:11,700
and a mother, which made her 
approximately as dangerous as 

3259
03:02:11,700 --> 03:02:14,600
anything in creation when 
protecting her children. 

3260
03:02:15,600 --> 03:02:18,800
But there were many gods and 
only one of her and they had 

3261
03:02:18,800 --> 03:02:21,600
come prepared with bindings and 
spells and the kind of 

3262
03:02:21,600 --> 03:02:25,300
overwhelming force that leaves 
no room for defiance to matter. 

3263
03:02:25,300 --> 03:02:28,700
Then rear fought too though. 
He was still young enough that 

3264
03:02:28,700 --> 03:02:31,300
fighting mostly meant by biting 
and Howling and trying to 

3265
03:02:31,300 --> 03:02:33,800
position himself between his 
family in the Invaders. 

3266
03:02:34,600 --> 03:02:37,500
He managed to bloody a few minor
Gods before they got magical 

3267
03:02:37,500 --> 03:02:40,700
chains, around him chains. 
That wouldn't have held a normal

3268
03:02:40,700 --> 03:02:43,700
wolf for more than moments. 
But that had been forged 

3269
03:02:43,700 --> 03:02:48,500
specifically for him, woven with
magic and prophecy and the kind 

3270
03:02:48,500 --> 03:02:51,300
of desperate Ingenuity that 
comes from Fear. 

3271
03:02:52,400 --> 03:02:56,900
Even bound, fenrir struggled his
eyes, finding his mothers across

3272
03:02:56,900 --> 03:03:00,500
the chaos, seeing something in 
her expression that broke what 

3273
03:03:00,500 --> 03:03:04,100
remained of his puppy heart. 
They took him first dragging him

3274
03:03:04,100 --> 03:03:06,100
away. 
Still bound, still fighting 

3275
03:03:06,100 --> 03:03:10,000
howling, and a voice, that 
carried across all of jotunheim 

3276
03:03:10,000 --> 03:03:13,200
and made, even the Giants, Paws 
in whatever they were doing to 

3277
03:03:13,200 --> 03:03:16,300
listen. 
And remember, The gods brought 

3278
03:03:16,300 --> 03:03:19,800
him to a place called Ling. 
V an island in the middle of a 

3279
03:03:19,800 --> 03:03:22,400
lake called amphi near where 
Waters. 

3280
03:03:22,400 --> 03:03:25,600
So dark, it looked like liquid 
night laughter Shores that 

3281
03:03:25,600 --> 03:03:29,200
nothing living visited. 
There they chained him with 

3282
03:03:29,200 --> 03:03:33,300
bonds called Glide near. 
Thinner, silk and strong as the 

3283
03:03:33,300 --> 03:03:36,200
roots of mountains made from 
impossible things. 

3284
03:03:37,200 --> 03:03:41,300
The sound of a cat's footfall, 
the beard of a woman, the roots 

3285
03:03:41,300 --> 03:03:46,000
of a mountain, the sinews of a 
bear, the breadth of a fish and 

3286
03:03:46,000 --> 03:03:49,500
the spittle of a bird fenrir 
would live there on that Lonely 

3287
03:03:49,500 --> 03:03:52,700
Island bound and isolated 
growing larger and more bitter 

3288
03:03:52,700 --> 03:03:55,400
as the years passed. 
The gods told themselves. 

3289
03:03:55,400 --> 03:03:58,000
This was Mercy. 
They could have killed him after

3290
03:03:58,000 --> 03:04:00,100
all. 
They told themselves, he would 

3291
03:04:00,100 --> 03:04:02,500
be well cared for that. 
Someone would bring him food and

3292
03:04:02,500 --> 03:04:05,400
water. 
What they didn't tell themselves

3293
03:04:05,400 --> 03:04:07,700
was what it might do. 
To a social creature to live 

3294
03:04:07,700 --> 03:04:12,300
entirely alone without touch or 
companionship with nothing but 

3295
03:04:12,300 --> 03:04:17,500
chains and prophecy for company.
Your mungan Dior they handled it

3296
03:04:17,500 --> 03:04:21,100
differently though. 
No more kindly The serpent had 

3297
03:04:21,100 --> 03:04:24,500
grown so large that transporting
him anywhere seemed impossible. 

3298
03:04:24,500 --> 03:04:27,200
So, in Stead, they threw him 
into the sea. 

3299
03:04:27,200 --> 03:04:30,900
Cast him from The Cliffs of 
Asgard down into the Waters of 

3300
03:04:30,900 --> 03:04:33,500
midgard, like something, broken 
being tossed away. 

3301
03:04:34,500 --> 03:04:38,200
He fell through clouds and are 
that never felt anything like 

3302
03:04:38,200 --> 03:04:41,800
him, pass through before, and 
hit the ocean with an impact 

3303
03:04:41,800 --> 03:04:45,500
that created waves, that reached
Shores, hundreds of miles away 

3304
03:04:45,500 --> 03:04:50,000
the serpents sank into the cold 
deep where sunlight had never 

3305
03:04:50,000 --> 03:04:53,300
quite figured out how to reach 
and there he continued to grow. 

3306
03:04:53,300 --> 03:04:57,700
He grew until his body and 
circled all of midgard grew, 

3307
03:04:57,700 --> 03:05:01,500
until he held his own tail, in 
his mouth, in an endless loop of

3308
03:05:01,500 --> 03:05:04,500
scale and muscle and patient 
rage. 

3309
03:05:05,400 --> 03:05:08,300
Sailors would sometimes Glimpse 
him When Storms turned the sea 

3310
03:05:08,300 --> 03:05:11,600
transparent for brief moments. 
They would tell stories about 

3311
03:05:11,600 --> 03:05:15,200
the world serpent who waited in 
the depths for a day when the 

3312
03:05:15,208 --> 03:05:18,200
prophecies would finally come 
true and he could rise to meet 

3313
03:05:18,200 --> 03:05:20,800
them. 
She took last and packed her 

3314
03:05:20,800 --> 03:05:25,200
fate was strangest of all. 
She was still a child small and 

3315
03:05:25,200 --> 03:05:28,700
frightened clutching at anger, 
Boda skirts as the gods 

3316
03:05:28,700 --> 03:05:32,300
deliberated, what to do with a 
girl who was half alive and half

3317
03:05:32,300 --> 03:05:36,100
dead and entirely too close to 
the Mysteries that separated one

3318
03:05:36,100 --> 03:05:39,200
state from the other. 
Odin looked at her for a long 

3319
03:05:39,208 --> 03:05:43,200
time his one I seeing things 
that others couldn't seeing 

3320
03:05:43,200 --> 03:05:47,200
possibilities and problems and 
prophecies yet Unwritten finally

3321
03:05:47,200 --> 03:05:50,500
he made his decision. she would 
not be imprisoned like her 

3322
03:05:50,500 --> 03:05:54,500
brother, or Exile like the other
Instead, she would be given a 

3323
03:05:54,500 --> 03:05:57,800
realm to rule. 
Niplheim, the realm of the Dead.

3324
03:05:57,800 --> 03:06:01,100
Where those who died of illness 
or old age, would come to rest. 

3325
03:06:02,100 --> 03:06:05,800
It sounded like a gift the way 
Odin presented it like they were

3326
03:06:05,808 --> 03:06:09,000
giving her purpose an authority 
beyond what any child her age 

3327
03:06:09,000 --> 03:06:12,600
should expect. 
A hell was already wise Beyond 

3328
03:06:12,600 --> 03:06:15,800
her years Splitters, she was 
between life and death. 

3329
03:06:16,600 --> 03:06:18,400
And she understood what they 
were really doing. 

3330
03:06:19,300 --> 03:06:22,200
Isolating her from the living 
placing her. 

3331
03:06:22,200 --> 03:06:25,400
Where her strange nature would 
be appropriate in keeping her 

3332
03:06:25,400 --> 03:06:28,400
contained through responsibility
rather than chains. 

3333
03:06:28,400 --> 03:06:31,600
She went with without fighting 
because what would fighting have

3334
03:06:31,600 --> 03:06:35,800
accomplished She looked back 
once at her mother and anger 

3335
03:06:35,800 --> 03:06:37,800
bodus saw in. 
That, look, all the future. 

3336
03:06:37,800 --> 03:06:39,900
Hell would have without her 
family around her. 

3337
03:06:39,900 --> 03:06:43,400
All the centuries of ruling over
the dead while being neither, 

3338
03:06:43,400 --> 03:06:45,300
quite living or quite dead 
herself. 

3339
03:06:45,300 --> 03:06:48,800
And all the loneliness that 
awaited in those gray Halls 

3340
03:06:48,800 --> 03:06:51,200
beneath the Earth watched all of
this happened. 

3341
03:06:51,900 --> 03:06:56,100
Bound by his oath to Odin unable
to intervene without breaking 

3342
03:06:56,100 --> 03:07:00,500
bonds, that held the very fabric
of divine Society together. his 

3343
03:07:00,500 --> 03:07:04,600
children were taken scattered to
Wind and Sea and underworld 

3344
03:07:04,600 --> 03:07:08,000
separated from each other and 
from the family that loved them,

3345
03:07:08,000 --> 03:07:11,800
despite every prophecy that said
they shouldn't and he stood 

3346
03:07:11,800 --> 03:07:13,900
there in his golden Halls of 
Asgard. 

3347
03:07:14,600 --> 03:07:18,100
Still technically one of the 
Gods still technically honored 

3348
03:07:18,100 --> 03:07:21,900
and respected and felt something
inside him cracking ways that 

3349
03:07:21,900 --> 03:07:25,200
would have consequences. 
No one could yet imagine hanger 

3350
03:07:25,200 --> 03:07:26,900
Abode. 
They left alone in her Hall of 

3351
03:07:26,908 --> 03:07:29,000
Bones because what more could 
they take from her? 

3352
03:07:29,700 --> 03:07:32,500
She sat by her fire, which 
should always burn with strange 

3353
03:07:32,500 --> 03:07:35,700
colors, and she wept tears that 
froze before they hit the 

3354
03:07:35,700 --> 03:07:38,400
ground. 
The gods had taken her children,

3355
03:07:38,400 --> 03:07:42,900
the prophecies remained. 
somewhere in the fabric of Fate 

3356
03:07:42,900 --> 03:07:47,700
itself, something shifted like a
lock tumbling into place like a 

3357
03:07:47,700 --> 03:07:51,600
story finally finding its proper
tragic shape after the 

3358
03:07:51,600 --> 03:07:55,200
separation Asgard tried to 
return to its previous rhythm of

3359
03:07:55,200 --> 03:07:59,700
Feasts and hunts and comfortable
certainly but something had 

3360
03:07:59,700 --> 03:08:03,100
changed in the golden Halls. 
Attention that wouldn't quite 

3361
03:08:03,100 --> 03:08:05,400
dissipate like Morning, Mist 
under sunlight. 

3362
03:08:06,100 --> 03:08:09,300
The gods are done what they 
thought necessary and they tried

3363
03:08:09,300 --> 03:08:12,400
very hard to convince themselves
this meant, they had prevented 

3364
03:08:12,400 --> 03:08:15,000
disaster. 
They were very good at 

3365
03:08:15,000 --> 03:08:18,900
self-deception when they needed 
to be, it's practically a 

3366
03:08:18,900 --> 03:08:22,800
requirement for divine status 
but the norns continue weaving 

3367
03:08:22,800 --> 03:08:26,800
and their expressions never 
softened and in the world treat 

3368
03:08:26,800 --> 03:08:30,400
yourself which connected, all 
the Realms in its vast structure

3369
03:08:30,400 --> 03:08:33,500
of trunk and branch and root. 
There was a sense of 

3370
03:08:33,500 --> 03:08:36,700
anticipation as if the tree that
held everything. 

3371
03:08:36,700 --> 03:08:40,800
Together was bracing itself for 
what would inevitably come the 

3372
03:08:40,800 --> 03:08:44,500
prophecies about Ragnarok? 
Were older than most of the Gods

3373
03:08:44,500 --> 03:08:47,400
themselves. 
They spoke of a final battle 

3374
03:08:47,400 --> 03:08:49,900
when everything that held the 
world's together, would come 

3375
03:08:49,900 --> 03:08:52,500
apart, like a tapestry pulled 
its threads. 

3376
03:08:53,500 --> 03:08:56,700
Fire and Ice would meet the dead
would rise. 

3377
03:08:57,600 --> 03:09:01,000
Bonds, that held monsters would 
snap and the carefully 

3378
03:09:01,000 --> 03:09:03,600
maintained order that the gods 
had spent ages. 

3379
03:09:03,600 --> 03:09:06,300
Building would collapse into 
chaos and violence. 

3380
03:09:07,600 --> 03:09:10,600
It was the Norse version of the 
apocalypse and what made it 

3381
03:09:10,600 --> 03:09:13,000
particularly unsettling. 
Was it specificity? 

3382
03:09:14,000 --> 03:09:15,800
This wasn't vague religious 
speculation. 

3383
03:09:15,800 --> 03:09:19,600
It was a detailed roadmap of 
exactly how everything would 

3384
03:09:19,600 --> 03:09:21,900
end. 
The wolf would break his chains 

3385
03:09:21,900 --> 03:09:25,000
on that day. 
Fenrir grown massive with 

3386
03:09:25,000 --> 03:09:28,500
isolation and rage, which shake 
off the bonds of gleap near like

3387
03:09:28,500 --> 03:09:30,800
they were spider silk and run 
free. 

3388
03:09:30,800 --> 03:09:34,200
For the first time since his 
imprisonment He would chase the 

3389
03:09:34,208 --> 03:09:38,700
sun across the sky, and this 
time, there would be no Escape 

3390
03:09:38,700 --> 03:09:41,300
for that bright. 
Orb, that had risen Faithfully 

3391
03:09:41,300 --> 03:09:44,700
every morning. 
Since the dawn of time, the wolf

3392
03:09:44,700 --> 03:09:48,200
would swallow the sun and the 
world would fall into darkness. 

3393
03:09:48,200 --> 03:09:52,300
That no torch could penetrate, 
the serpent would rise from the 

3394
03:09:52,308 --> 03:09:55,700
ocean depths. 
Your Munga having grown. 

3395
03:09:55,700 --> 03:09:57,600
So large that he literally 
encompassed. 

3396
03:09:57,600 --> 03:10:01,400
The world would release his own 
tail from his mouth and surged 

3397
03:10:01,400 --> 03:10:04,500
upwards through Waters, that had
contained him for so long. 

3398
03:10:05,600 --> 03:10:07,200
He would spew Venom that would 
poison. 

3399
03:10:07,200 --> 03:10:10,700
The very are creating a toxic 
fog that would spread across all

3400
03:10:10,700 --> 03:10:15,400
the lands. the sky itself would 
turn green with his poison and 

3401
03:10:15,400 --> 03:10:18,800
things would die simply from 
breathing, the dead would March 

3402
03:10:18,800 --> 03:10:23,300
under Hills command From 
niflheim that gray realm beneath

3403
03:10:23,300 --> 03:10:26,500
the Earth would come an army of 
those who had passed from the 

3404
03:10:26,500 --> 03:10:29,700
world of the living. 
Not the Glorious Dead, who dwelt

3405
03:10:29,700 --> 03:10:32,100
in Valhalla, but the ordinary 
dead. 

3406
03:10:32,100 --> 03:10:35,600
Those who had died in their beds
of age or sickness. 

3407
03:10:35,600 --> 03:10:40,000
Those who had never held weapons
or sought battle, they would 

3408
03:10:40,000 --> 03:10:43,200
rise at hell's coal because even
the boundary between life and 

3409
03:10:43,200 --> 03:10:46,200
death would fail. 
When Ragnarok came on that day, 

3410
03:10:46,200 --> 03:10:48,100
he would break free from a 
punishment. 

3411
03:10:48,100 --> 03:10:51,300
The gods would later impose on 
him for his role in another 

3412
03:10:51,300 --> 03:10:54,600
God's death. 
He would be bound in a cave with

3413
03:10:54,600 --> 03:10:58,500
Venom dripping onto his face, 
free eternity, or at least until

3414
03:10:58,500 --> 03:11:02,300
the end of everything whichever 
came first as it turned out, 

3415
03:11:03,500 --> 03:11:07,600
When Ragnarok began those bonds,
two would snap and he would lead

3416
03:11:07,600 --> 03:11:10,400
an army of Giants against the 
gods who had once called him 

3417
03:11:10,400 --> 03:11:13,200
friend. 
Fighting alongside the children,

3418
03:11:13,200 --> 03:11:16,300
they had taken from him, the 
prophecies described the battle 

3419
03:11:16,300 --> 03:11:19,200
in detail which would have been 
impressive if it weren't. 

3420
03:11:19,200 --> 03:11:23,600
So utterly depressing Thor would
face your mungan door in their 

3421
03:11:23,600 --> 03:11:27,000
final confrontation and though 
the Thunder God would manage to 

3422
03:11:27,000 --> 03:11:30,100
kill the serpent. 
He would only take nine steps 

3423
03:11:30,100 --> 03:11:32,600
before the Venom finally killed 
him in turn. 

3424
03:11:33,400 --> 03:11:37,500
Odin would face then rear in 
single combat and the Wolf would

3425
03:11:37,500 --> 03:11:40,500
do what he'd been prophesied to 
do since before he was born. 

3426
03:11:41,400 --> 03:11:45,400
He would Devour the old father, 
swallowing the king of the Gods 

3427
03:11:45,400 --> 03:11:49,200
as Darkness swallowed, the Sun, 
the fires of muspelheim, would 

3428
03:11:49,200 --> 03:11:52,900
consume what remained burning 
through all the worlds like a 

3429
03:11:52,900 --> 03:11:56,400
fever that couldn't be broken. 
The world tree itself would burn

3430
03:11:56,400 --> 03:12:00,600
and when it finally fell nothing
would remain but a waste of Ash 

3431
03:12:00,600 --> 03:12:04,600
and regret it was by any 
standard a deeply unpleasant set

3432
03:12:04,600 --> 03:12:07,800
of predictions and the gods 
spent considerable time and 

3433
03:12:07,800 --> 03:12:10,600
energy trying to figure out if 
there was any way around them. 

3434
03:12:10,600 --> 03:12:13,800
This is where things got 
philosophically, interesting. 

3435
03:12:13,800 --> 03:12:17,900
If you cared about such things 
which most of the Gods didn't 

3436
03:12:17,900 --> 03:12:20,400
because philosophy had never 
stopped anyone from getting 

3437
03:12:20,400 --> 03:12:23,300
eaten by a wolf or poisoned by a
serpent. 

3438
03:12:24,100 --> 03:12:27,900
The problem was this by taking 
action to prevent the prophecies

3439
03:12:27,900 --> 03:12:31,100
were the gods actually ensuring 
they came true. 

3440
03:12:32,100 --> 03:12:35,400
If they hadn't imprisoned 
fenrir, would he have any reason

3441
03:12:35,400 --> 03:12:37,300
to hate them enough to devour 
Odin? 

3442
03:12:37,300 --> 03:12:40,600
If they hadn't thrown your 
mundane into the sea? 

3443
03:12:40,600 --> 03:12:43,400
Would he have grown large enough
to threaten the world? 

3444
03:12:44,300 --> 03:12:46,500
If they hadn't given hell 
dominion over the dead. 

3445
03:12:46,500 --> 03:12:50,600
Would you have an army to raise 
when the final battle came and 

3446
03:12:50,600 --> 03:12:53,700
if they hadn't taken his 
children away, would he have any

3447
03:12:53,700 --> 03:12:55,800
motivation to lead Giants 
against them when the world 

3448
03:12:55,800 --> 03:12:58,100
ended? 
But it was too late now for such

3449
03:12:58,100 --> 03:13:00,700
questions. 
The children were separated 

3450
03:13:00,700 --> 03:13:04,300
growing in their isolation and 
with each passing year, they 

3451
03:13:04,300 --> 03:13:06,900
were becoming less like the 
innocent beings they had been 

3452
03:13:06,900 --> 03:13:10,300
and more like the monsters, the 
prophecies required them to be. 

3453
03:13:10,300 --> 03:13:14,500
It was like a self-fulfilling 
prophecy speedrun and everyone 

3454
03:13:14,500 --> 03:13:16,800
was trapped in roles. 
They couldn't escape even if 

3455
03:13:16,800 --> 03:13:19,100
they wanted to. 
You might wonder what the 

3456
03:13:19,100 --> 03:13:21,100
children themselves thought 
about all this. 

3457
03:13:21,900 --> 03:13:24,800
Whether they had any choice in 
the matter, whether they might 

3458
03:13:24,800 --> 03:13:26,700
have chosen differently if given
the option. 

3459
03:13:27,600 --> 03:13:29,600
But prophecy doesn't care much 
about choice. 

3460
03:13:30,500 --> 03:13:32,100
That's the terrible thing about 
it. 

3461
03:13:32,100 --> 03:13:35,600
The aspect that makes it 
fundamentally unfair in ways 

3462
03:13:35,600 --> 03:13:39,800
that even Gods couldn't quite 
address The future was already 

3463
03:13:39,800 --> 03:13:42,200
written. 
All of them could do was move 

3464
03:13:42,200 --> 03:13:44,900
toward it, like actors hitting 
their marks in a play. 

3465
03:13:44,900 --> 03:13:48,400
Whose ending had been determined
before the first line was spoken

3466
03:13:48,400 --> 03:13:52,000
then rear loan on his Island, 
grew large and bitter. 

3467
03:13:52,800 --> 03:13:56,600
He had loved his family once had
been gentle with that mouths and

3468
03:13:56,600 --> 03:13:59,400
had wagged his tail. 
When his father came home, that 

3469
03:13:59,400 --> 03:14:01,400
isolation is poison of its own 
sort. 

3470
03:14:01,400 --> 03:14:04,700
And Chains, leave marks that go 
deeper than flesh. 

3471
03:14:05,700 --> 03:14:08,400
He thought about Prophecy in the
long hours of his imprisonment 

3472
03:14:08,400 --> 03:14:11,200
and about the role everyone 
assumed he would play. 

3473
03:14:12,200 --> 03:14:14,300
And perhaps part of him began to
think. 

3474
03:14:15,000 --> 03:14:17,000
If everyone believes, I'm a 
monster. 

3475
03:14:17,000 --> 03:14:21,100
If they've treated me like a 
monster since I was a child, if 

3476
03:14:21,100 --> 03:14:23,400
they've imprisoned me for 
crimes, I haven't committed yet.

3477
03:14:23,400 --> 03:14:27,600
Well, maybe when the chains 
finally break, I'll give them 

3478
03:14:27,600 --> 03:14:31,700
exactly the monster. 
They expected human gon do a 

3479
03:14:31,700 --> 03:14:33,500
circled. 
The world in his endless loop 

3480
03:14:33,500 --> 03:14:36,100
growing larger with each passing
century. 

3481
03:14:37,000 --> 03:14:39,400
Patient. 
In the way that only truly cold 

3482
03:14:39,400 --> 03:14:40,900
blooded creatures can be 
patient. 

3483
03:14:42,200 --> 03:14:46,000
He remembered his mother's Hall 
remembered his sister small hand

3484
03:14:46,000 --> 03:14:48,600
touching his scales and 
remembered his brothers 

3485
03:14:48,600 --> 03:14:52,900
protective warmth. 
He remembered and he waited and 

3486
03:14:52,900 --> 03:14:55,500
his waiting had the quality of 
something inevitable. 

3487
03:14:55,500 --> 03:15:01,300
Not eager exactly but ready. 
When the time came, he would 

3488
03:15:01,300 --> 03:15:04,900
rise. 
The prophecy said, so, and for a

3489
03:15:04,908 --> 03:15:08,500
being who had been cast into the
ocean like garbage, there was 

3490
03:15:08,500 --> 03:15:09,600
something almost comforting 
about. 

3491
03:15:09,600 --> 03:15:13,300
Certainly, even if that 
certainly was about Universal 

3492
03:15:13,300 --> 03:15:17,000
destruction, hell in her gray, 
Hall's, learn, the art of ruling

3493
03:15:17,000 --> 03:15:20,200
the dead and it changed her in 
ways that would have concerned. 

3494
03:15:20,200 --> 03:15:23,200
Anyone who cared enough to visit
which no one did. 

3495
03:15:23,900 --> 03:15:27,100
The living were afraid of death 
and the dead were much for 

3496
03:15:27,100 --> 03:15:30,400
conversation. 
She existed between states, 

3497
03:15:30,400 --> 03:15:33,500
governing a realm where nothing 
ever really changed. 

3498
03:15:33,500 --> 03:15:36,700
Whether there was no joy but 
also no suffering. 

3499
03:15:36,700 --> 03:15:40,300
Just an endless grey 
continuation that wasn't quite 

3500
03:15:40,300 --> 03:15:43,300
anything at all. 
She thought of her mother 

3501
03:15:43,308 --> 03:15:47,100
sometimes and wondered if anger,
Boda still lived in her Hall of 

3502
03:15:47,100 --> 03:15:50,500
bones in jotunheim. 
She thought of her brothers and 

3503
03:15:50,500 --> 03:15:54,000
wondered if they remembered her 
or if time and isolation had 

3504
03:15:54,000 --> 03:15:57,800
erased, even those memories. 
Mostly though, she prepared. 

3505
03:15:58,800 --> 03:16:01,900
Because the prophecy said the 
dead would March and hell at 

3506
03:16:01,900 --> 03:16:04,700
learned, that being prepared was
the only form of control of 

3507
03:16:04,700 --> 03:16:08,000
available to her time passed in 
the nine worlds, the way it 

3508
03:16:08,000 --> 03:16:10,800
always does. 
Steadily in differently like 

3509
03:16:10,800 --> 03:16:15,800
water wearing away, Stone years,
became decade's decades 

3510
03:16:15,800 --> 03:16:19,200
stretched into centuries and the
gods group comfortable with 

3511
03:16:19,200 --> 03:16:21,400
their solutions, to the problem 
of Prophecy. 

3512
03:16:22,200 --> 03:16:26,200
Fenrir was bound, your mungu was
in the sea. 

3513
03:16:26,200 --> 03:16:30,800
Hell presided over the dead and 
Ragnarok remained firmly in the 

3514
03:16:30,800 --> 03:16:34,900
category of future problems will
worry about later except the 

3515
03:16:34,900 --> 03:16:38,600
Norms kept weaving and their 
thread was running out the signs

3516
03:16:38,600 --> 03:16:43,500
began subtly the way ending's 
often do Winters grew longer and

3517
03:16:43,500 --> 03:16:46,800
harsher stretching beyond their 
traditional boundaries until 

3518
03:16:46,800 --> 03:16:50,300
spring seemed like a memory 
rather than something that would

3519
03:16:50,300 --> 03:16:53,900
actually return. 
The Norse called it, thimble 

3520
03:16:53,900 --> 03:16:57,000
winter. 
A great winter, three years of 

3521
03:16:57,000 --> 03:17:01,100
cold with no summer between them
where snow fell even in, what 

3522
03:17:01,100 --> 03:17:03,900
should have been the warmest 
months and the sun seemed to 

3523
03:17:03,900 --> 03:17:07,100
have forgotten how to provide 
warmth even when it appeared in 

3524
03:17:07,100 --> 03:17:10,600
midgard, humans huddled around 
fires and watched their supplies

3525
03:17:10,600 --> 03:17:13,400
dwindle wandering. 
What they had done to anger the 

3526
03:17:13,400 --> 03:17:15,500
gods. 
They didn't know that the gods 

3527
03:17:15,500 --> 03:17:18,200
had nothing to do with it. 
That this was simply the 

3528
03:17:18,200 --> 03:17:22,000
universe preparing itself for 
transition way a body Shivers 

3529
03:17:22,000 --> 03:17:26,700
before a fever breaks crops 
fail, animals disappeared into 

3530
03:17:26,700 --> 03:17:30,200
forests and didn't return 
families turned on each other as

3531
03:17:30,200 --> 03:17:33,700
resources became scarce and the 
social bonds that held 

3532
03:17:33,700 --> 03:17:36,400
communities together. 
Began to fray like old rope 

3533
03:17:36,400 --> 03:17:40,200
under too much strain, wolves 
appeared in unusual numbers more

3534
03:17:40,200 --> 03:17:43,100
than anyone could remember 
seeing and they were bold in 

3535
03:17:43,100 --> 03:17:47,000
ways that normal wolves never 
were They came close to Villages

3536
03:17:47,000 --> 03:17:51,300
watching with eyes that seem to 
understand too much as if they 

3537
03:17:51,300 --> 03:17:54,700
were waiting for something. some
people swore they could hear 

3538
03:17:54,700 --> 03:17:58,600
howling in the distance every 
night a sound that came from no 

3539
03:17:58,600 --> 03:18:03,800
direction and every direction at
once, Call that their own dogs 

3540
03:18:03,800 --> 03:18:07,000
would answer with whimpers of 
fear, rather than challenge. 

3541
03:18:07,000 --> 03:18:11,000
The ocean grew Restless in ways 
that confused even experienced 

3542
03:18:11,000 --> 03:18:14,800
Sailors waves rose without wind 
to drive them and the water 

3543
03:18:14,800 --> 03:18:18,100
itself seemed to be shifting. 
Moving with patterns that 

3544
03:18:18,100 --> 03:18:21,800
suggested something massive was 
stirring in depths no human had 

3545
03:18:21,800 --> 03:18:24,000
ever plumbed. 
Ships. 

3546
03:18:24,000 --> 03:18:25,700
That ventured too far from 
Shore. 

3547
03:18:25,700 --> 03:18:30,400
Sometimes reported seeing coils 
breaking the surface coils too. 

3548
03:18:30,400 --> 03:18:33,700
Large to belong to any known 
creature covered in scales. 

3549
03:18:33,700 --> 03:18:36,100
That caught the Dying Light like
disease. 

3550
03:18:36,100 --> 03:18:39,600
Jewels initial Haim held the 
change before. 

3551
03:18:39,600 --> 03:18:42,900
Anyone else, the dead who came 
to her realm arrived with 

3552
03:18:42,908 --> 03:18:46,800
stories of the world of falling 
apart of chaos, spreading like 

3553
03:18:46,800 --> 03:18:50,400
infection through societies that
had seemed stable for 

3554
03:18:50,400 --> 03:18:55,400
Generations She stood in her 
Hall of Grace Stone and felt the

3555
03:18:55,400 --> 03:18:59,100
boundaries between her realm and
the world above thining 

3556
03:18:59,100 --> 03:19:03,200
weakening and becoming permeable
in ways they had never been 

3557
03:19:03,200 --> 03:19:05,500
before. 
It would be easy. 

3558
03:19:05,500 --> 03:19:09,000
Now to send the dead back up 
into the light easy to March, 

3559
03:19:09,000 --> 03:19:12,200
them across the boundary, that 
had always seemed so absolute. 

3560
03:19:12,200 --> 03:19:15,700
She thought of her brothers whom
she hadn't seen since childhood 

3561
03:19:15,700 --> 03:19:19,500
and wondered. 
If they felt it too, this sense 

3562
03:19:19,500 --> 03:19:22,000
of something approaching the 
story. 

3563
03:19:22,000 --> 03:19:25,700
Finally, moving towards its 
climax, after an impossibly long

3564
03:19:25,700 --> 03:19:29,500
middle section on the island of 
Ling Vie, fenrir felt the bonds 

3565
03:19:29,500 --> 03:19:31,000
that held him beginning to 
weaken. 

3566
03:19:31,600 --> 03:19:34,200
Light near that thin ribbon that
had held him for. 

3567
03:19:34,200 --> 03:19:38,500
So, long was starting to stretch
in ways, it never had before, it

3568
03:19:38,500 --> 03:19:41,500
was still strong, the magic 
woven into, it was old and 

3569
03:19:41,500 --> 03:19:44,900
Powerful. 
But even old magic eventually 

3570
03:19:44,900 --> 03:19:46,800
wears down under constant 
pressure. 

3571
03:19:47,600 --> 03:19:50,200
He had been pulling against 
these bonds every day for 

3572
03:19:50,200 --> 03:19:56,300
centuries and now, finally, he 
could feel them responding feel 

3573
03:19:56,300 --> 03:19:59,200
the giving them that suggested 
Freedom might actually be 

3574
03:19:59,200 --> 03:20:01,900
possible. 
He lifted his massive head, and 

3575
03:20:01,900 --> 03:20:05,700
howled, a sound that carried 
across water, and land through 

3576
03:20:05,700 --> 03:20:09,600
Realms and dimensions reaching 
ears that had been waiting to 

3577
03:20:09,600 --> 03:20:13,200
hear it. 
It was a howl of anticipation of

3578
03:20:13,200 --> 03:20:15,500
Rage that had been building for 
so long. 

3579
03:20:15,500 --> 03:20:18,300
It had become something almost 
pure and of something else, too.

3580
03:20:18,300 --> 03:20:21,700
A kind of terrible Joy at 
finally being able to move 

3581
03:20:21,700 --> 03:20:24,000
toward the desks near. 
Everyone had always said, was 

3582
03:20:24,000 --> 03:20:28,800
his in the ocean door, released 
his tail from his mouth for the 

3583
03:20:28,808 --> 03:20:31,200
first time since he'd been large
enough to catch it? 

3584
03:20:32,000 --> 03:20:35,700
The world serpent on coiled. 
And as he did, the Seas began to

3585
03:20:35,700 --> 03:20:38,400
rise. 
Tsunamis formed spontaneously, 

3586
03:20:38,400 --> 03:20:42,400
rushing towards Shores, that had
no warning and no time to 

3587
03:20:42,400 --> 03:20:46,400
prepare The Serpent's massive 
body created currents that 

3588
03:20:46,408 --> 03:20:49,300
disrupted weather patterns 
across the entire world. 

3589
03:20:49,300 --> 03:20:54,400
And when he finally surfaced 
truly surfaced bringing his full

3590
03:20:54,400 --> 03:20:58,200
length up where sky and cement 
Sailors, who saw him went mad 

3591
03:20:58,200 --> 03:21:00,200
from, the sheer impossibility of
his size. 

3592
03:21:00,200 --> 03:21:04,300
He rose toward Asgard toward the
home of the Gods who were thrown

3593
03:21:04,300 --> 03:21:08,300
him away and as he rose, Venom 
dripped from fangs the size of 

3594
03:21:08,300 --> 03:21:13,300
towers. where it fell into the 
water fish died instantly and 

3595
03:21:13,300 --> 03:21:18,700
floated to the surface in vast 
carpets of silver death where it

3596
03:21:18,700 --> 03:21:23,000
touched land vegetation as if 
winter at compressed itself into

3597
03:21:23,000 --> 03:21:27,400
single devastating moments, The 
air itself began to Taste of 

3598
03:21:27,400 --> 03:21:32,800
Poison metallic and wrong, 
making every breath a risk in 

3599
03:21:32,800 --> 03:21:35,300
Asgard, the gods finally. 
Had to acknowledge what? 

3600
03:21:35,300 --> 03:21:38,900
They'd been trying to ignore for
months or years or centuries. 

3601
03:21:39,600 --> 03:21:41,900
Depending on how you measured 
Divine denial. 

3602
03:21:42,800 --> 03:21:45,800
The prophecy wasn't something, 
they had prevented or postponed.

3603
03:21:45,800 --> 03:21:50,300
It was here. 
Now inevitable as gravity or 

3604
03:21:50,300 --> 03:21:53,400
grief. 
Heimdall, The Watchmen of the 

3605
03:21:53,400 --> 03:21:57,200
Gods, lifted the Galant to his 
lips and blue sending out a 

3606
03:21:57,200 --> 03:21:59,100
sound. 
That reached every corner of 

3607
03:21:59,100 --> 03:22:04,300
every realm, a warning, a call 
to arms, and an admission that 

3608
03:22:04,300 --> 03:22:06,400
everything they tried to prevent
was happening. 

3609
03:22:06,400 --> 03:22:09,600
Anyway, Odin sat on his throne 
and felt something. 

3610
03:22:09,600 --> 03:22:14,900
He hadn't felt in ages. 
Genuine fear, not the mild 

3611
03:22:14,900 --> 03:22:18,200
concern that a company is minor 
problems that the Deep 

3612
03:22:18,200 --> 03:22:21,000
existential Terror of knowing 
that your own end is 

3613
03:22:21,000 --> 03:22:22,900
approaching. 
And there's nothing left to do 

3614
03:22:22,900 --> 03:22:25,100
but meet it with whatever 
dignity you can muster. 

3615
03:22:26,100 --> 03:22:29,400
He had seen this moment in his 
vision's, countless times and 

3616
03:22:29,400 --> 03:22:32,100
played it out in his mind, 
trying to find some way to 

3617
03:22:32,100 --> 03:22:34,700
change the outcome and he had 
failed. 

3618
03:22:34,700 --> 03:22:39,600
All his wisdom, all his 
sacrifice is, he had a nice and 

3619
03:22:39,600 --> 03:22:42,800
knowledge and hung himself from 
the world tree for nine days, to

3620
03:22:42,800 --> 03:22:46,500
learn the runes. and of it had 
been enough to change what was 

3621
03:22:46,500 --> 03:22:50,200
coming Thor stood in the 
courtyard of Asgard the older in

3622
03:22:50,208 --> 03:22:54,700
his hand and for once he wasn't 
confident He was Brave certainly

3623
03:22:54,700 --> 03:22:58,200
and he would fight because 
fighting was what he did, but 

3624
03:22:58,200 --> 03:23:01,300
even Thor could sense that this 
was different from every battle 

3625
03:23:01,300 --> 03:23:04,200
lead ever fought before. 
This wasn't about winning. 

3626
03:23:04,200 --> 03:23:07,200
This was about meeting your fate
head-on because there was 

3627
03:23:07,200 --> 03:23:10,900
literally no other option 
available. fires of muspelheim, 

3628
03:23:10,900 --> 03:23:14,800
that realm of primordial flame 
that existed at the edge of 

3629
03:23:14,808 --> 03:23:19,800
creation, began to spread The 
fire giant Serta, who had been 

3630
03:23:19,808 --> 03:23:23,600
waiting since the beginning of 
time for this exact moment, LED 

3631
03:23:23,600 --> 03:23:26,900
his forces across the Rainbow 
Bridge by Frost and the 

3632
03:23:26,900 --> 03:23:29,900
Beautiful art that connected 
Asgard to the other Realms 

3633
03:23:29,900 --> 03:23:33,500
burned under their feet. 
Collapsing into nothing like a 

3634
03:23:33,500 --> 03:23:37,200
dream at morning, from 
jotunheim, the frost giant 

3635
03:23:37,200 --> 03:23:41,300
ancient enemies of the Gods 
marching in formation that 

3636
03:23:41,300 --> 03:23:44,300
suggested this had been planned 
for longer than anyone wanted to

3637
03:23:44,300 --> 03:23:46,600
contemplate. 
They had waited through 

3638
03:23:46,600 --> 03:23:49,800
centuries of uneasy peace and 
now the waiting was over. 

3639
03:23:51,200 --> 03:23:54,700
They came across the broken 
remains of by Frost climbing 

3640
03:23:54,700 --> 03:23:57,700
through spaces between worlds 
that should have been impossible

3641
03:23:57,700 --> 03:24:02,600
driven by old hatreds and older 
promises and from a cave, where 

3642
03:24:02,600 --> 03:24:05,000
he'd been bound as punishment 
for crimes that seemed almost 

3643
03:24:05,000 --> 03:24:06,800
Petty. 
Now, in comparison to what was 

3644
03:24:06,800 --> 03:24:10,600
happening, he emerged, The 
Bindings that had held him 

3645
03:24:10,600 --> 03:24:14,200
snapped like dead Vines and he 
stood in the light for the first

3646
03:24:14,200 --> 03:24:16,800
time in years, that had felt 
like eternities. 

3647
03:24:17,500 --> 03:24:19,200
His wife had stayed with him 
through it. 

3648
03:24:19,200 --> 03:24:22,300
All catching the Venom that 
would have dripped onto his face

3649
03:24:22,300 --> 03:24:26,300
in a bowl emptying it when it 
grew full and returning to catch

3650
03:24:26,300 --> 03:24:29,200
more. 
Now, she stood beside him as he 

3651
03:24:29,200 --> 03:24:32,800
looked toward Asgard toward the 
realm that had once included him

3652
03:24:32,800 --> 03:24:36,300
and then cast him out. 
And his expression was 

3653
03:24:36,300 --> 03:24:40,200
unreadable, he thought of his 
children scattered across the 

3654
03:24:40,200 --> 03:24:43,600
nine worlds, for filming 
prophecies, that might never 

3655
03:24:43,600 --> 03:24:46,500
have come true. 
If the gods had simply left them

3656
03:24:46,500 --> 03:24:50,800
alone, He thought of anger 
Bodega, probably still alone in 

3657
03:24:50,800 --> 03:24:54,300
her haul in your turn, High 
having lost everything to fear 

3658
03:24:54,300 --> 03:24:57,400
and prophecy. 
He thought of all the times he 

3659
03:24:57,400 --> 03:25:01,400
tried to fit in with the gods to
be accepted as one of them, only

3660
03:25:01,400 --> 03:25:05,700
to be reminded again, and again,
that he was other different not 

3661
03:25:05,700 --> 03:25:08,800
quite trustworthy. 
And then he began walking toward

3662
03:25:08,800 --> 03:25:12,000
the final battle because 
prophecy pulled him forward like

3663
03:25:12,000 --> 03:25:14,200
a current. 
And because sometimes being a 

3664
03:25:14,200 --> 03:25:18,500
father that means honoring your 
children, even when she when 

3665
03:25:18,500 --> 03:25:20,800
everyone else has turned them 
into monsters. 

3666
03:25:20,800 --> 03:25:23,700
The armies met on a plane called
vigrid. 

3667
03:25:24,400 --> 03:25:28,100
A vast empty, space that existed
for no other purpose than to 

3668
03:25:28,100 --> 03:25:31,900
hold the ending of all things. 
On one side, stood the gods and 

3669
03:25:31,900 --> 03:25:35,800
the einherjar those Warriors who
had died gloriously in battle 

3670
03:25:35,808 --> 03:25:39,000
and spent their afterlife 
training in Valhalla for exactly

3671
03:25:39,000 --> 03:25:42,100
this moment. 
They were Brave and skilled and 

3672
03:25:42,100 --> 03:25:45,300
utterly doomed. 
But they formed ranks anyway 

3673
03:25:45,300 --> 03:25:48,500
because what else do you do when
the world is ending except stand

3674
03:25:48,500 --> 03:25:51,200
in the place where you're 
supposed to stand on the other 

3675
03:25:51,200 --> 03:25:53,100
side? 
Stood everyone and everything 

3676
03:25:53,100 --> 03:25:56,400
else. 
Giants of frost and fire, the 

3677
03:25:56,400 --> 03:26:00,300
dead raised from hell's realm 
Monster's freed from their 

3678
03:26:00,300 --> 03:26:03,100
prisons. 
And beings that had crawled out 

3679
03:26:03,100 --> 03:26:06,300
from the spaces between worlds 
where even Gods didn't like to 

3680
03:26:06,300 --> 03:26:09,700
look too closely. 
And somewhere in that massive 

3681
03:26:09,700 --> 03:26:14,400
chaos and old hatred three 
figures stood out fenrir finally

3682
03:26:14,400 --> 03:26:19,300
free larger than mountains with 
further seemed to absorb a light

3683
03:26:19,300 --> 03:26:23,100
rather than reflect it. 
His mouth hung open wide enough 

3684
03:26:23,100 --> 03:26:27,800
to stretch from Earth to Sky and
in his eyes was the accumulated 

3685
03:26:27,800 --> 03:26:32,100
Rage of centuries of 
imprisonment door coiled at the 

3686
03:26:32,108 --> 03:26:34,900
edge of the battlefield. 
So large that he seemed less 

3687
03:26:34,900 --> 03:26:37,500
like a creature and more like a 
feature of the landscape itself.

3688
03:26:38,700 --> 03:26:42,300
His Venom creating a toxic fog 
that drifted across the plane, 

3689
03:26:42,300 --> 03:26:46,300
and made everything it touched 
wither and Hell smaller than her

3690
03:26:46,300 --> 03:26:49,300
brothers leading an army of the 
Dead with an expression. 

3691
03:26:49,300 --> 03:26:50,800
That was neither cruel, nor 
kind. 

3692
03:26:50,800 --> 03:26:54,700
But simply determined a ruler 
doing what she had always known.

3693
03:26:54,700 --> 03:26:57,900
She would have to do when this 
day, finally came the battle 

3694
03:26:57,900 --> 03:27:01,700
when it began was everything. 
The prophecies had promised and 

3695
03:27:01,700 --> 03:27:06,600
worse Thor, charged, German 
Gunder with mjolnir raised high 

3696
03:27:06,600 --> 03:27:09,600
and their Collision sent. 
Shockwaves that cracked the 

3697
03:27:09,600 --> 03:27:14,300
Earth and shattered the sky. 
They had fought before in dreams

3698
03:27:14,300 --> 03:27:17,600
and visions. 
But this was real and final, 

3699
03:27:17,600 --> 03:27:21,600
each blow, carrying the weight 
of Destiny and determination. 

3700
03:27:22,700 --> 03:27:26,300
Thunder Gods, Hammer struck 
scales that had never known 

3701
03:27:26,300 --> 03:27:31,500
vulnerability and the serpent 
fangs drove toward flesh, that 

3702
03:27:31,500 --> 03:27:36,000
had always been too strong to 
pierce Odin face fenrir and all 

3703
03:27:36,000 --> 03:27:39,300
his wisdom met nothing against 
the simple fact of the wolf's 

3704
03:27:39,300 --> 03:27:42,100
hunger. 
Not hunger for food, but for 

3705
03:27:42,100 --> 03:27:46,600
justice for recognition for all 
the years stolen from him. 

3706
03:27:47,900 --> 03:27:51,900
The wolf charged and owed in 
Fort with spear and spell and 

3707
03:27:51,900 --> 03:27:54,800
desperate courage. 
But the prophecy was very 

3708
03:27:54,800 --> 03:27:57,700
specific about how this 
encounter would end and 

3709
03:27:57,700 --> 03:28:00,500
prophecy. 
It turned out was stronger than 

3710
03:28:00,500 --> 03:28:03,000
any weapon across the 
battlefield. 

3711
03:28:03,000 --> 03:28:08,700
God's fell giant fell Warriors 
from Valhalla fell, and the dead

3712
03:28:08,700 --> 03:28:12,500
raised from hell's realm fell. 
Again, returning to the Oblivion

3713
03:28:12,500 --> 03:28:15,100
they briefly left. 
FaceTime doll. 

3714
03:28:15,100 --> 03:28:18,500
The Watchmen who had first 
spotted him sneaking into Asgard

3715
03:28:18,500 --> 03:28:21,600
all those ages ago and they 
killed each other in a mutual 

3716
03:28:21,600 --> 03:28:23,700
Annihilation. 
That felt somehow appropriate 

3717
03:28:23,700 --> 03:28:27,500
for two beings who had always 
been defined by their opposition

3718
03:28:27,500 --> 03:28:31,000
to each other. 
Fires spread certain as blade, 

3719
03:28:31,000 --> 03:28:33,800
cut through reality itself, and 
everything. 

3720
03:28:33,800 --> 03:28:36,800
It touched burned with flames, 
that couldn't be quenched 

3721
03:28:36,800 --> 03:28:40,000
because they were burning the 
concept of things rather than 

3722
03:28:40,000 --> 03:28:45,000
just their physical forms, the 
world tree igles, which had 

3723
03:28:45,000 --> 03:28:47,500
stood since the beginning and 
connected all the Realms and its

3724
03:28:47,500 --> 03:28:51,600
vast structure began to burn. 
And as it burned, the world's 

3725
03:28:51,600 --> 03:28:56,000
themselves started to come 
apart, Thor struck, Yuan Dura, 

3726
03:28:56,000 --> 03:28:58,500
final blow, and the serpent 
died. 

3727
03:28:58,500 --> 03:29:01,900
His massive body collapsing 
across the battlefield like a 

3728
03:29:01,900 --> 03:29:04,300
mountain range, suddenly 
deciding to lie down. 

3729
03:29:05,700 --> 03:29:08,700
But the Venom in those last 
moments, pour out in quantities.

3730
03:29:08,700 --> 03:29:12,000
That even Thor's legendary 
Constitution, couldn't withstand

3731
03:29:13,100 --> 03:29:15,400
The Thunder. 
God took nine steps away from 

3732
03:29:15,400 --> 03:29:17,800
his dead enemy and then he too 
fell. 

3733
03:29:17,800 --> 03:29:22,100
Poisoned Beyond even Divine 
Healing fenrir devoured, Odin. 

3734
03:29:22,100 --> 03:29:25,000
And then Odin's, son. 
Vida, in a moment of grief 

3735
03:29:25,000 --> 03:29:28,200
driven, Fury drove a blade, 
through the wolf's heart. 

3736
03:29:29,200 --> 03:29:33,100
The great Beast fell and in his 
last moments perhaps he thought 

3737
03:29:33,100 --> 03:29:36,700
of his mother's Hall. 
Playing with his siblings of a 

3738
03:29:36,700 --> 03:29:39,100
time before prophecy. 
Had determined that he would be 

3739
03:29:39,100 --> 03:29:43,200
a monster or perhaps he thought 
nothing at all and simply went 

3740
03:29:43,200 --> 03:29:46,600
into the darkness that all 
creatures even prophesied. 

3741
03:29:46,600 --> 03:29:51,000
Ones must finally face the fire 
consumed, everything that 

3742
03:29:51,000 --> 03:29:56,500
remained gods and Giants, Heroes
and monsters all the elaborate 

3743
03:29:56,500 --> 03:29:59,300
structures of meaning and 
purpose that had held the nine 

3744
03:29:59,300 --> 03:30:03,000
worlds together. 
All of it burned till there was 

3745
03:30:03,000 --> 03:30:08,100
nothing left but Ash and silents
and the memory of things that 

3746
03:30:08,100 --> 03:30:11,500
would never be a game. 
It was by any measure a 

3747
03:30:11,500 --> 03:30:13,000
thoroughly successful 
apocalypse. 

3748
03:30:13,000 --> 03:30:15,900
The prophecy had been fulfilled 
in every detail. 

3749
03:30:16,800 --> 03:30:20,300
The ending had come exactly. 
As predicted everything that the

3750
03:30:20,300 --> 03:30:22,100
gods had tried to prevent had 
happened. 

3751
03:30:22,100 --> 03:30:26,500
Anyway, right on schedule, like 
a train that arrives, precisely,

3752
03:30:26,500 --> 03:30:30,100
when the timetable says it will,
regardless of how desperately 

3753
03:30:30,100 --> 03:30:33,600
you wish it would be delayed. 
And then, in the silence after 

3754
03:30:33,600 --> 03:30:35,300
everything had ended something 
new began. 

3755
03:30:35,300 --> 03:30:38,200
Here's something the prophecies 
didn't emphasize though. 

3756
03:30:38,200 --> 03:30:41,300
It was always there. 
If you read carefully Ragnarok, 

3757
03:30:41,300 --> 03:30:45,600
wasn't just an ending. 
It was also a clearing away a 

3758
03:30:45,600 --> 03:30:48,000
burning off of Old growth to 
make room for what would come 

3759
03:30:48,000 --> 03:30:50,900
after. 
The Norse understood something 

3760
03:30:50,900 --> 03:30:53,400
that many apocalyptic 
Traditions, forgot. 

3761
03:30:54,100 --> 03:30:57,500
That destruction and creation 
are two sides of the same 

3762
03:30:57,500 --> 03:31:01,500
process like breathing in and 
breathing out the fires 

3763
03:31:01,500 --> 03:31:05,000
eventually burn themselves out 
because even magical Flames, run

3764
03:31:05,000 --> 03:31:07,000
out of fuel when they've 
consumed everything. 

3765
03:31:07,000 --> 03:31:11,000
Combustible. 
Venom dissipated its potency 

3766
03:31:11,000 --> 03:31:13,000
fading once. 
There was nothing left to 

3767
03:31:13,000 --> 03:31:16,000
poison. 
The darkness that had swallowed 

3768
03:31:16,000 --> 03:31:20,100
the sun began slowly to thin 
from beneath the waves that had 

3769
03:31:20,100 --> 03:31:23,700
drowned so much of the old 
world, new land began to emerge.

3770
03:31:23,700 --> 03:31:29,700
It Rose slowly incrementally 
like bread rising in an oven or 

3771
03:31:29,700 --> 03:31:31,900
like hope returning to people 
who had an up on it. 

3772
03:31:32,700 --> 03:31:34,800
This land was different from 
what had been before. 

3773
03:31:35,800 --> 03:31:40,000
Softer somehow more gentle. 
As if the Earth itself had 

3774
03:31:40,000 --> 03:31:42,400
learned something from watching,
everything burn, and decided to 

3775
03:31:42,400 --> 03:31:46,000
try a different approach, the 
sun, which fenrir had swallowed 

3776
03:31:46,000 --> 03:31:51,100
was gone. but the sun had a 
daughter and she emerged into 

3777
03:31:51,100 --> 03:31:55,700
the new Sky tentatively like a 
child stepping into a room where

3778
03:31:55,700 --> 03:31:59,000
something terrible had happened 
and isn't sure if it's safe yet,

3779
03:31:59,900 --> 03:32:04,000
Her light was gentler than her 
mother's had been less harsh. 

3780
03:32:04,700 --> 03:32:07,400
The kind of sunlight that makes 
you want to lie in grass and 

3781
03:32:07,400 --> 03:32:09,600
watch clouds rather than 
accomplish anything, 

3782
03:32:09,600 --> 03:32:12,700
particularly ambitious. 
And here's where the story gets 

3783
03:32:12,700 --> 03:32:16,400
interesting, where it stops 
being about ending's and starts 

3784
03:32:16,400 --> 03:32:19,700
being about the peculiar 
resilience of existence itself. 

3785
03:32:20,900 --> 03:32:25,200
Not all the gods died at 
Ragnarok, some survived the 

3786
03:32:25,200 --> 03:32:27,400
younger ones. 
Mostly the ones who've been 

3787
03:32:27,408 --> 03:32:31,300
smart enough to hide rather than
fight or lucky enough to be in 

3788
03:32:31,300 --> 03:32:33,100
the right place when the fires 
came through. 

3789
03:32:34,600 --> 03:32:38,200
Vidar and valleys of Odin 
emerged from wherever they 

3790
03:32:38,200 --> 03:32:41,200
sheltered to see a world. 
That was utterly changed from 

3791
03:32:41,200 --> 03:32:44,700
the one they'd known. 
Modi and magni thaws. 

3792
03:32:44,700 --> 03:32:48,000
Suns found their father's Hammer
lying in the ash where nothing 

3793
03:32:48,000 --> 03:32:50,700
should have survived. 
And they lifted it together, 

3794
03:32:50,700 --> 03:32:54,200
because neither was quite strong
enough alone, these survivors 

3795
03:32:54,200 --> 03:32:56,600
looked at the new land with 
mixed feelings. 

3796
03:32:57,200 --> 03:33:01,000
Relief at being alive. 
Certainly grief for everyone who

3797
03:33:01,000 --> 03:33:03,700
hadn't made it. 
But also something else. 

3798
03:33:04,600 --> 03:33:08,400
A sense of possibility of 
freedom from the old prophecies 

3799
03:33:08,400 --> 03:33:11,700
and old patterns that had bound 
everyone into roles, they 

3800
03:33:11,700 --> 03:33:16,100
couldn't escape. 
The great story had ended, which

3801
03:33:16,100 --> 03:33:19,600
meant new stories could begin 
stories that weren't already 

3802
03:33:19,600 --> 03:33:21,400
written in the weaving of the 
Norms. 

3803
03:33:21,400 --> 03:33:24,800
Two humans survived as well. 
Having hidden themselves in the 

3804
03:33:24,800 --> 03:33:27,500
trunk of a Victory Field during 
the worst of the destruction 

3805
03:33:27,500 --> 03:33:30,500
sheltered by the tree even as it
burned. 

3806
03:33:31,400 --> 03:33:35,100
Their names were lift and lift 
Tressa, which meant life. 

3807
03:33:35,100 --> 03:33:38,700
And eager for life. 
And they emerged into the new 

3808
03:33:38,700 --> 03:33:41,000
world hungry and frightened but 
alive. 

3809
03:33:41,800 --> 03:33:44,200
Which was more than could be 
said, for most of creation. 

3810
03:33:44,200 --> 03:33:47,600
They found that the new Earth 
grew food without needing to be 

3811
03:33:47,600 --> 03:33:52,000
planted, that water, was clean 
and plentiful, and that the 

3812
03:33:52,000 --> 03:33:55,900
harsh requirements of survival, 
that had dominated the old world

3813
03:33:55,900 --> 03:33:58,900
didn't apply here with the same 
cruel intensity. 

3814
03:34:00,300 --> 03:34:03,300
It was as if the universe had 
decided to be kind of this time 

3815
03:34:03,308 --> 03:34:06,600
around to give life a better 
chance than it, had received 

3816
03:34:06,600 --> 03:34:10,600
before the surviving gods and 
the surviving humans met on a 

3817
03:34:10,600 --> 03:34:13,600
Green Field where as guarded 
once stood and they looked at 

3818
03:34:13,600 --> 03:34:16,700
each other, with none of the old
hierarchies or expectations in 

3819
03:34:16,700 --> 03:34:19,300
place. 
The gods weren't quite Gods 

3820
03:34:19,300 --> 03:34:22,900
anymore, not in the old sense, 
not with all their power and 

3821
03:34:22,900 --> 03:34:26,100
certainty. 
Humans weren't quite the same 

3822
03:34:26,100 --> 03:34:29,200
humans who had huddled in fear 
before Divine judgment. 

3823
03:34:30,100 --> 03:34:32,900
They were all survivors now, all
trying to figure out what came 

3824
03:34:32,900 --> 03:34:35,400
next in a world where the old 
rules have been burned away. 

3825
03:34:35,400 --> 03:34:39,600
They talked actually talked 
rather than the gods proclaiming

3826
03:34:39,600 --> 03:34:43,600
and humans obeying, they shared 
the food that grew wild and 

3827
03:34:43,600 --> 03:34:47,000
plentiful in this newer. 
They told stories about what had

3828
03:34:47,000 --> 03:34:50,400
been lost, not trying to 
resurrect it, but honoring it 

3829
03:34:50,400 --> 03:34:52,500
the way you want to memory 
acknowledging. 

3830
03:34:52,500 --> 03:34:56,200
That it mattered even though it 
was gone and in their talking a 

3831
03:34:56,200 --> 03:34:58,400
question emerged, that no one 
wanted to ask, but the 

3832
03:34:58,400 --> 03:35:01,900
eventually had to be voiced What
about s's children? 

3833
03:35:01,900 --> 03:35:05,000
Because here's the thing about 
prophecy once. 

3834
03:35:05,000 --> 03:35:09,500
It's fulfilled it over. 
Fenrir had devoured. 

3835
03:35:09,500 --> 03:35:12,800
Odin. 
Exactly as predicted human Dior 

3836
03:35:12,800 --> 03:35:15,300
had risen and poisoned the sky 
right on schedule. 

3837
03:35:16,100 --> 03:35:19,400
Helen commanded the dead 
Ragnarok just as foretold. 

3838
03:35:20,200 --> 03:35:22,600
They had done everything that 
prophecy required of them 

3839
03:35:22,600 --> 03:35:25,500
playing their parts in the 
ending of all things with 

3840
03:35:25,500 --> 03:35:28,400
devastating accuracy. 
So what happened to them? 

3841
03:35:28,400 --> 03:35:32,900
Now fenrir was dead. 
Killed by vidar's blade and his 

3842
03:35:32,900 --> 03:35:34,900
body had burned with everything 
else. 

3843
03:35:35,900 --> 03:35:39,300
But in the new world in the 
forest That Grew without anyone,

3844
03:35:39,300 --> 03:35:43,800
planting them wolves ran free, 
and sometimes when you looked at

3845
03:35:43,800 --> 03:35:47,100
them carefully, you'd see eyes 
that seemed more knowing than 

3846
03:35:47,100 --> 03:35:48,100
animal eyes. 
Should be. 

3847
03:35:49,000 --> 03:35:51,200
Consciousness. 
That suggested something more 

3848
03:35:51,200 --> 03:35:55,100
than simple Beast. perhaps 
fennel lived on in his children,

3849
03:35:55,100 --> 03:36:00,500
or perhaps the idea of fenrir 
Freedom from chains, recognition

3850
03:36:00,500 --> 03:36:04,500
after isolation had become part 
of the new world's fabric human 

3851
03:36:04,500 --> 03:36:08,500
gandas body had been too large 
to burn completely and his bones

3852
03:36:08,500 --> 03:36:10,900
formed, new mountain ranges in 
the fresh Earth. 

3853
03:36:11,700 --> 03:36:14,200
Creating geography where none 
had existed before? 

3854
03:36:15,300 --> 03:36:18,800
his Venom had soaked into the 
ground, but instead of poisoning

3855
03:36:18,800 --> 03:36:22,900
it, it somehow enriched the 
soil, making things grow with 

3856
03:36:22,900 --> 03:36:27,300
unusual, vigor, Sailors on the 
new seasons reported seeing 

3857
03:36:27,300 --> 03:36:31,200
serpents, sometimes much smaller
than the world, serpent had 

3858
03:36:31,200 --> 03:36:34,800
been, but with the same opal 
scales and the same patient 

3859
03:36:34,800 --> 03:36:38,600
knowing gays, Perhaps the 
serpent had survived in some 

3860
03:36:38,600 --> 03:36:42,200
diminished form, or perhaps his 
Essence, a divided into 

3861
03:36:42,200 --> 03:36:46,700
countless smaller versions of 
himself, no single one, large 

3862
03:36:46,700 --> 03:36:49,500
enough to threaten the world, 
but all of them, carrying his 

3863
03:36:49,500 --> 03:36:52,400
memory forward. 
Hell was the most mysterious 

3864
03:36:52,400 --> 03:36:56,100
case. her Realm of the Dead had 
been emptied, when the dead 

3865
03:36:56,100 --> 03:37:00,100
marched at Ragnarok and niffler 
heme itself had been transformed

3866
03:37:00,100 --> 03:37:04,100
by the fires and the renewal 
Some said she still existed 

3867
03:37:04,100 --> 03:37:07,600
somewhere still ruling over, 
whatever remained of death, in 

3868
03:37:07,600 --> 03:37:10,800
this new world where everything 
seemed brighter and More Alive. 

3869
03:37:11,700 --> 03:37:15,000
Others said she had been 
released from her duty free 

3870
03:37:15,000 --> 03:37:19,400
finally, to be simply herself 
rather than the goddess of the 

3871
03:37:19,400 --> 03:37:22,800
Dead living somewhere in the new
lands under a name. 

3872
03:37:22,808 --> 03:37:26,300
No one would recognize. 
But sometimes in the evening 

3873
03:37:26,300 --> 03:37:29,400
when the sun's daughter was 
setting and the world fell into 

3874
03:37:29,400 --> 03:37:31,900
that peculiar Twilight between 
day and night. 

3875
03:37:32,700 --> 03:37:36,300
People would see a figure 
walking alone half in light and 

3876
03:37:36,300 --> 03:37:40,500
half in Shadow half seemingly 
alive and half seemingly 

3877
03:37:40,500 --> 03:37:44,700
something else. the figure never
approached anyone never spoke 

3878
03:37:44,700 --> 03:37:48,500
and just walked through the new 
world observing it with an 

3879
03:37:48,500 --> 03:37:52,600
expression that suggested both 
familiarity and wonder Like 

3880
03:37:52,600 --> 03:37:55,300
someone returning to a place, 
they lived in childhood and 

3881
03:37:55,300 --> 03:37:59,200
finding it both changed and 
somehow the same as fate was 

3882
03:37:59,200 --> 03:38:02,800
equally unclear. 
He had died in his battle with 

3883
03:38:02,800 --> 03:38:06,500
Heimdall but death in the old 
world, didn't necessarily mean 

3884
03:38:06,500 --> 03:38:10,000
death in the new. some claimed 
to see him in the faces of 

3885
03:38:10,000 --> 03:38:13,500
tricksters, and shapeshifters in
the clever solutions to 

3886
03:38:13,500 --> 03:38:16,700
Impossible problems and in the 
laughter that erupts when 

3887
03:38:16,708 --> 03:38:21,600
someone manages to find humor in
Desperate situations, perhaps, 

3888
03:38:21,600 --> 03:38:25,300
he too had survived in some 
form, or perhaps the idea of him

3889
03:38:25,300 --> 03:38:30,300
change, complexity the refusal 
to fit neatly into expected 

3890
03:38:30,300 --> 03:38:34,500
categories, had become part of 
the new world's Foundation anger

3891
03:38:34,500 --> 03:38:37,000
border who had lost everything, 
when the gods, took her 

3892
03:38:37,000 --> 03:38:40,000
children, who lived alone in her
haul, through all the years of 

3893
03:38:40,000 --> 03:38:43,600
waiting and prophecy, No one 
knew what had happened to her. 

3894
03:38:44,500 --> 03:38:48,500
Your had been transformed like 
everywhere else and her Hall of 

3895
03:38:48,508 --> 03:38:53,000
Bones was probably gone burned 
or transformed or simply 

3896
03:38:53,000 --> 03:38:58,000
reclaimed by whatever wild magic
now shaped the realms. but 

3897
03:38:58,000 --> 03:39:02,000
sometimes in Wild places where 
the New Order hadn't quite taken

3898
03:39:02,000 --> 03:39:06,600
hold Travelers reported meeting 
a giant test, who asked a news 

3899
03:39:06,600 --> 03:39:10,200
of three children describing 
them as they had been in infancy

3900
03:39:10,200 --> 03:39:14,400
rather than as the legendary 
beings they'd become Those who 

3901
03:39:14,400 --> 03:39:17,800
encountered her said, she seemed
simultaneously grieving and at 

3902
03:39:17,800 --> 03:39:20,400
peace? 
As if she'd finally accepted a 

3903
03:39:20,400 --> 03:39:22,500
loss that had defined her 
existence for so long. 

3904
03:39:22,500 --> 03:39:25,500
The survivors built new 
settlements in the new world, 

3905
03:39:25,500 --> 03:39:27,700
but they built them differently 
this time. 

3906
03:39:28,500 --> 03:39:31,700
Instead of the great halls and 
elaborate hierarchies of the old

3907
03:39:31,700 --> 03:39:36,100
world, they created communities 
that were smaller more flexible 

3908
03:39:36,100 --> 03:39:39,000
and more focused on cooperation 
than competition. 

3909
03:39:40,000 --> 03:39:42,800
They remembered how the old 
order had ended and decided to 

3910
03:39:42,800 --> 03:39:45,800
try something else. 
Something that didn't require 

3911
03:39:45,800 --> 03:39:48,500
prophecies about destruction to 
keep everyone. 

3912
03:39:48,500 --> 03:39:52,100
Moving forward, the gods who 
survived didn't try to recreate 

3913
03:39:52,100 --> 03:39:56,400
Asgard, what would be the point,
the old Asgard had been on 

3914
03:39:56,400 --> 03:40:00,200
certainty that no longer existed
on the assumption that divine 

3915
03:40:00,200 --> 03:40:02,200
order was Superior to all other 
possibilities. 

3916
03:40:03,300 --> 03:40:05,900
The new Gods. 
If you could even call them that

3917
03:40:05,900 --> 03:40:09,400
anymore, lived among the humans 
contributing what they could, 

3918
03:40:09,400 --> 03:40:11,400
but not claiming authority over 
everything. 

3919
03:40:12,500 --> 03:40:16,300
It was a more modest approach to
Divinity but also perhaps a more

3920
03:40:16,300 --> 03:40:20,300
honest, one magic, still existed
in the new world but it was 

3921
03:40:20,300 --> 03:40:23,700
gentler and more integrated into
daily life rather than being 

3922
03:40:23,700 --> 03:40:26,900
something rare and dramatic that
only Heroes and gods could 

3923
03:40:26,900 --> 03:40:30,200
access. 
Children learned small spells 

3924
03:40:30,200 --> 03:40:33,800
alongside their letters useful 
magic for growing things or 

3925
03:40:33,800 --> 03:40:36,200
finding lost items or comforting
fears. 

3926
03:40:36,200 --> 03:40:40,300
It was Democratic magic 
accessible to anyone willing to 

3927
03:40:40,300 --> 03:40:43,500
learn and it changed the 
fundamental nature of what was 

3928
03:40:43,500 --> 03:40:45,800
possible. 
The new world had problems. 

3929
03:40:45,800 --> 03:40:50,500
Of course, existence always does
But they were different problems

3930
03:40:50,500 --> 03:40:52,500
smaller in scale more 
manageable. 

3931
03:40:53,200 --> 03:40:54,800
There were no prophecies hanging
over. 

3932
03:40:54,800 --> 03:40:58,300
Everyone's heads, no sense that 
everything was building toward 

3933
03:40:58,300 --> 03:41:01,900
inevitable catastrophe. 
People could make mistakes 

3934
03:41:01,900 --> 03:41:04,000
without it leading to Universal 
destruction. 

3935
03:41:04,900 --> 03:41:06,800
Gods could be wrong without its 
shattering. 

3936
03:41:06,800 --> 03:41:11,200
The foundations of reality. 
It was uncertain in ways, the 

3937
03:41:11,200 --> 03:41:14,600
old world had never been, but 
that uncertainty also meant 

3938
03:41:14,600 --> 03:41:19,300
Freedom meant possibility and 
meant that tomorrow didn't have 

3939
03:41:19,300 --> 03:41:21,700
to be just like today unless you
chose to make it. 

3940
03:41:21,700 --> 03:41:25,200
So as the first generation of 
the new world grew old and 

3941
03:41:25,200 --> 03:41:27,300
prepared to pass on their 
memories to their children. 

3942
03:41:27,300 --> 03:41:30,100
They told stories about what had
been lost. 

3943
03:41:30,100 --> 03:41:34,900
They spoke of great halls and 
mighty gods of prophecies and 

3944
03:41:34,900 --> 03:41:38,600
battles of monsters. 
Who were also children, who had 

3945
03:41:38,600 --> 03:41:42,400
never been given a fair chance. 
They told these stories not to 

3946
03:41:42,400 --> 03:41:44,700
make their descendants long for 
what had been. 

3947
03:41:44,700 --> 03:41:47,500
But to help them understand how 
they'd arrived at where they 

3948
03:41:47,508 --> 03:41:51,100
were to honor the cost of 
renewal to remember that 

3949
03:41:51,100 --> 03:41:54,900
creation requires destruction, 
that new growth needs old things

3950
03:41:54,900 --> 03:41:58,600
to burn away first. 
And sometimes on particularly 

3951
03:41:58,600 --> 03:42:01,800
quiet nights when the wind 
carried voices from far away, 

3952
03:42:01,800 --> 03:42:04,800
people thought they could hear 
three sounds. 

3953
03:42:04,800 --> 03:42:08,400
A wolf howling somewhere in the 
distant forests. 

3954
03:42:09,000 --> 03:42:13,600
A serpent hiss from Deep beneath
the waves and quiet footsteps of

3955
03:42:13,600 --> 03:42:15,000
someone. 
Walking alone through the 

3956
03:42:15,000 --> 03:42:17,700
Twilight. 
Observing the new world with 

3957
03:42:17,700 --> 03:42:20,100
eyes that had seen both life and
death. 

3958
03:42:20,900 --> 03:42:24,500
And found wisdom in the space 
between the prophecy of Ragnarok

3959
03:42:24,500 --> 03:42:28,100
had come true exactly. 
As foretold, the world had 

3960
03:42:28,100 --> 03:42:32,000
ended, and then because ending's
are never quite as final as they

3961
03:42:32,000 --> 03:42:35,000
seem the world had begun again, 
different. 

3962
03:42:35,000 --> 03:42:39,300
But, somehow familiar carrying 
forward the best of what had 

3963
03:42:39,300 --> 03:42:41,100
been while leaving behind the 
worst. 

3964
03:42:41,900 --> 03:42:44,700
It was in its own way. 
The happiest ending possible for

3965
03:42:44,700 --> 03:42:48,000
a story about apocalypse, not 
because nothing was lost. 

3966
03:42:48,000 --> 03:42:51,400
But because what came after made
the Lost means, something other 

3967
03:42:51,400 --> 03:42:55,500
than simple tragedy, as you lie 
here in your own warm bed in a 

3968
03:42:55,508 --> 03:42:58,400
world that hasn't ended and 
probably won't anytime soon. 

3969
03:42:58,400 --> 03:43:01,800
You might think about the 
strange comfort of the Old Norse

3970
03:43:01,800 --> 03:43:04,200
myths. 
They didn't promise that 

3971
03:43:04,200 --> 03:43:05,700
everything would be fine 
forever. 

3972
03:43:05,700 --> 03:43:09,300
They didn't pretend that holding
onto the past was possible, or 

3973
03:43:09,300 --> 03:43:12,600
even desirable they look 
straight at the reality that all

3974
03:43:12,600 --> 03:43:17,300
things, end gods, and worlds, 
Empires and certainties, even 

3975
03:43:17,300 --> 03:43:19,500
the stories we tell ourselves 
about Who We Are. 

3976
03:43:20,300 --> 03:43:22,400
And they found a way to make 
peace with that. 

3977
03:43:22,400 --> 03:43:26,400
Truth Ragnarok wasn't really 
about a battle or a wolf, or a 

3978
03:43:26,400 --> 03:43:29,500
serpent. 
It was about change about the 

3979
03:43:29,500 --> 03:43:32,000
way old orders eventually 
collapse under their own 

3980
03:43:32,000 --> 03:43:35,400
contradictions and about how 
attempts to prevent change 

3981
03:43:35,400 --> 03:43:37,900
often. 
The very catastrophes, they're 

3982
03:43:37,900 --> 03:43:41,600
trying to avoid The gods took 
away our children to prevent a 

3983
03:43:41,600 --> 03:43:44,700
prophecy and in doing. 
So they guaranteed that prophecy

3984
03:43:44,700 --> 03:43:47,400
would come true. 
They created the monster's. 

3985
03:43:47,400 --> 03:43:50,100
They feared by treating innocent
children, as if they were 

3986
03:43:50,100 --> 03:43:53,900
already monstrous. 
A story doesn't end there, which

3987
03:43:53,900 --> 03:43:56,100
is perhaps its most important 
lesson. 

3988
03:43:56,900 --> 03:43:59,100
After the destruction came 
something new. 

3989
03:43:59,100 --> 03:44:02,700
Something that incorporated 
lessons from what had failed 

3990
03:44:02,700 --> 03:44:05,400
while trying approaches that had
never been attempted before. 

3991
03:44:06,500 --> 03:44:09,400
The new world wasn't perfect. 
The stories, make that clear. 

3992
03:44:10,200 --> 03:44:13,900
But it was possible in ways the 
old world had stopped being you 

3993
03:44:13,900 --> 03:44:17,200
live in your own time of change.
Where old certainly is a 

3994
03:44:17,200 --> 03:44:19,900
crumbling a new possibilities 
are emerging in ways that can 

3995
03:44:19,900 --> 03:44:25,000
feel both exciting and 
terrifying The Norse who told 

3996
03:44:25,008 --> 03:44:28,300
these stories would have 
understood your anxiety, your 

3997
03:44:28,300 --> 03:44:30,700
sense of being caught between 
what was and what might be. 

3998
03:44:31,600 --> 03:44:34,100
They would have told you, that 
this is how transitional always 

3999
03:44:34,100 --> 03:44:36,200
feels that the pause between one
world. 

4000
03:44:36,200 --> 03:44:38,800
And the next is always 
uncomfortable and that 

4001
03:44:38,800 --> 03:44:41,500
discomfort is not a sign, you're
doing something wrong, but 

4002
03:44:41,500 --> 03:44:44,500
simply a sign that you're alive 
during interesting times. 

4003
03:44:44,500 --> 03:44:47,400
They might also have told you 
that trying to hold onto the 

4004
03:44:47,400 --> 03:44:51,100
past too tightly trying to 
prevent change through force or 

4005
03:44:51,100 --> 03:44:53,400
fear. 
Usually, just makes the eventual

4006
03:44:53,400 --> 03:44:55,900
transformation more violent when
it finally comes. 

4007
03:44:57,100 --> 03:44:59,900
That the children we Exile out 
of fear of what they might 

4008
03:44:59,900 --> 03:45:05,000
become often do become exactly 
what we feared, not because it 

4009
03:45:05,000 --> 03:45:07,700
was inevitable. 
But because isolation and chains

4010
03:45:07,700 --> 03:45:11,700
create rage, that wouldn't have 
existed otherwise and they would

4011
03:45:11,700 --> 03:45:14,100
have assured you that even after
Everything Burns. 

4012
03:45:14,100 --> 03:45:17,400
Even after the prophecies come 
true in the world, you knew ends

4013
03:45:17,400 --> 03:45:22,200
life finds a Way Forward. 
Not back to what was that's 

4014
03:45:22,200 --> 03:45:24,900
never possible. 
But towards something new that 

4015
03:45:24,900 --> 03:45:27,800
carries the memory of what came 
before while also being 

4016
03:45:27,800 --> 03:45:30,300
genuinely different genuinely 
fresh. 

4017
03:45:30,900 --> 03:45:32,800
And genuinely alive with 
possibility. 

4018
03:45:32,800 --> 03:45:37,500
So rest easy in your comfortable
bed in your warm room in your 

4019
03:45:37,500 --> 03:45:40,700
continuing world. 
The wolves are just wolves 

4020
03:45:40,700 --> 03:45:43,400
tonight. 
The serpents are safely, small 

4021
03:45:43,400 --> 03:45:47,300
and far away, and death remains 
in its proper place rather than 

4022
03:45:47,300 --> 03:45:51,200
walking among the living. 
Tomorrow will come as it always 

4023
03:45:51,200 --> 03:45:53,200
does. 
And it will bring its own 

4024
03:45:53,208 --> 03:45:56,900
challenges and changes, its own 
small endings, and New 

4025
03:45:56,900 --> 03:46:01,900
Beginnings, but for now, in this
moment, you can simply be still.

4026
03:46:02,800 --> 03:46:05,200
You can let go of the days 
worries and the future's 

4027
03:46:05,200 --> 03:46:09,700
uncertainties, you can breathe 
slowly and deeply feeling your 

4028
03:46:09,700 --> 03:46:13,000
body, sinking into the mattress.
Feeling sleep. 

4029
03:46:13,000 --> 03:46:16,500
Begin to gather at the edge of 
your Consciousness like a gentle

4030
03:46:16,500 --> 03:46:19,300
tide coming in. 
Of sea of Ragnarok. 

4031
03:46:19,300 --> 03:46:21,500
Came true. 
And the world was remade. 

4032
03:46:22,500 --> 03:46:25,100
But that's not your story to 
night to night. 

4033
03:46:25,100 --> 03:46:29,100
Your story is simply about rest 
about letting Consciousness Fade

4034
03:46:29,100 --> 03:46:32,700
Into dreams about trusting that 
you'll wake again to a world 

4035
03:46:32,700 --> 03:46:35,900
that's still here. 
Still turning still full of 

4036
03:46:35,908 --> 03:46:38,700
possibilities. 
You haven't imagined yet sleep. 

4037
03:46:38,700 --> 03:46:43,100
Well, Dream of new worlds, 
growing from old ashes of 

4038
03:46:43,100 --> 03:46:47,300
children, who are loved rather 
than feared of chains breaking 

4039
03:46:47,300 --> 03:46:51,200
not into violence, but into 
freedom of endings that are 

4040
03:46:51,200 --> 03:46:54,000
really beginning wearing a 
particularly dramatic costume. 

4041
03:46:54,000 --> 03:46:56,600
And when you wake tomorrow, 
you'll find the world. 

4042
03:46:56,600 --> 03:47:00,400
Still here waiting for whatever 
story you choose to add to its 

4043
03:47:00,400 --> 03:47:04,000
ongoing narrative. 
A narrative that like all the 

4044
03:47:04,000 --> 03:47:06,000
best stories is still being 
written. 

4045
03:47:06,000 --> 03:47:09,900
Still being reimagined, still 
discovering what it might become

4046
03:47:14,100 --> 03:47:18,400
Imagine New England in late 
February, 1717 back, when Boston

4047
03:47:18,400 --> 03:47:21,100
was still a collection of wooden
buildings, huddled around a 

4048
03:47:21,108 --> 03:47:25,100
harbor and the entire population
of Massachusetts numbered fewer 

4049
03:47:25,100 --> 03:47:28,300
people that a modern Suburban 
shopping mall on a Saturday 

4050
03:47:28,300 --> 03:47:31,200
afternoon. 
You're living in a world by 

4051
03:47:31,200 --> 03:47:34,400
candles and warmed by 
fireplaces, where your 

4052
03:47:34,400 --> 03:47:37,300
entertainment options consist of
reading the same books. 

4053
03:47:37,300 --> 03:47:40,800
You've read 20 times, doing 
needlework until your fingers 

4054
03:47:40,800 --> 03:47:44,600
cram or staring out the window 
and wondering of spring will 

4055
03:47:44,600 --> 03:47:47,600
ever arrive. 
Colonial New England as had a 

4056
03:47:47,608 --> 03:47:51,600
complicated relationship with 
winter on one hand, they chose 

4057
03:47:51,600 --> 03:47:54,700
to live in a place where Winter 
lasted roughly from October to 

4058
03:47:54,700 --> 03:47:57,000
May. 
So clearly they weren't entirely

4059
03:47:57,000 --> 03:48:00,300
opposed to cold weather. 
On the other hand, their Diaries

4060
03:48:00,300 --> 03:48:03,300
and letters from this period 
read, like extended complaints 

4061
03:48:03,300 --> 03:48:06,200
to allow landlord, who refuses 
to fix the heating. 

4062
03:48:07,200 --> 03:48:11,400
Winter was something you endured
prepared for obsessively and 

4063
03:48:11,400 --> 03:48:14,000
then complained about with the 
satisfaction of someone who's 

4064
03:48:14,000 --> 03:48:19,100
earned the right to grumble. 
By late February, 1717 most new 

4065
03:48:19,100 --> 03:48:21,200
englanders thought they'd 
already survived the worst of 

4066
03:48:21,200 --> 03:48:24,200
winter. 
February and colonial times was 

4067
03:48:24,200 --> 03:48:27,700
what we'd call late winter. 
Snow was old and crusty. 

4068
03:48:27,700 --> 03:48:32,200
The firewood pile was getting 
concerningly low, and everyone 

4069
03:48:32,200 --> 03:48:34,800
was starting to think longingly 
about mud season. 

4070
03:48:35,600 --> 03:48:38,200
Which tells you something about 
how tired they were of snow? 

4071
03:48:39,000 --> 03:48:42,200
Children had already had months 
of what passed for snow days 

4072
03:48:42,200 --> 03:48:44,100
though. 
In their case, it meant more 

4073
03:48:44,100 --> 03:48:46,000
chores rather than sleeping in 
and hot chocolate. 

4074
03:48:47,600 --> 03:48:51,600
The typical Colonial household 
in 1717 Was preparing for early 

4075
03:48:51,600 --> 03:48:54,900
spring, with the optimism of 
people who really should have 

4076
03:48:54,900 --> 03:48:57,400
known better. 
You'd be checking your seed 

4077
03:48:57,400 --> 03:49:01,000
stores planning your guardian, 
and perhaps doing some early 

4078
03:49:01,000 --> 03:49:04,500
Maple sugaring. 
If the weather cooperated, Your 

4079
03:49:04,500 --> 03:49:06,900
house. 
Let's be honest about Colonial 

4080
03:49:06,900 --> 03:49:11,300
architecture was essentially a 
wooden box with a fireplace some

4081
03:49:11,300 --> 03:49:15,300
small windows that let in drafts
more effectively than light and 

4082
03:49:15,300 --> 03:49:17,900
enough gaps in the walls that 
you could almost see your breath

4083
03:49:17,900 --> 03:49:20,100
in doors on particularly cold 
mornings. 

4084
03:49:21,000 --> 03:49:24,400
Daily life, revolved around 
staying warm and fed, which took

4085
03:49:24,400 --> 03:49:28,400
approximately all your waking 
hours. your morning began Before

4086
03:49:28,400 --> 03:49:31,600
Dawn when someone had to revive 
the banked fire from the night 

4087
03:49:31,600 --> 03:49:35,800
before a process that involved 
poking at barely glowing coals 

4088
03:49:35,800 --> 03:49:39,200
and praying they'd cooperate 
Water had to be fetched from the

4089
03:49:39,200 --> 03:49:41,600
well assuming it wasn't frozen 
solid. 

4090
03:49:42,200 --> 03:49:46,000
Breakfast needed, cooking 
animals needed tending, and all 

4091
03:49:46,000 --> 03:49:48,700
of this happened in the dark 
because the sun had the courtesy

4092
03:49:48,700 --> 03:49:50,800
to arrived fashionably late in 
winter. 

4093
03:49:51,700 --> 03:49:54,900
Women spent their days in an 
endless cycle of cooking 

4094
03:49:54,900 --> 03:49:58,700
spinning weaving sowing and 
trying to keep children from 

4095
03:49:58,700 --> 03:50:01,600
either burning themselves on the
fireplace or dying of boredom. 

4096
03:50:02,800 --> 03:50:06,600
Men worked out side when the 
weather permitted doing repairs 

4097
03:50:06,600 --> 03:50:09,000
chopping wood and checking on 
livestock. 

4098
03:50:09,000 --> 03:50:11,400
That had the good sense to look 
miserable about the whole 

4099
03:50:11,400 --> 03:50:15,500
situation. 
Everyone, regardless of age, or 

4100
03:50:15,500 --> 03:50:18,900
gender spent a significant 
portion of their day, simply 

4101
03:50:18,900 --> 03:50:20,400
trying to stay warm enough to 
function. 

4102
03:50:21,200 --> 03:50:23,800
The landscape itself in late 
February was what we might 

4103
03:50:23,800 --> 03:50:27,500
charitably call tired. 
Snow, that had fallen into 

4104
03:50:27,500 --> 03:50:29,300
December was now grey and 
crusty. 

4105
03:50:30,100 --> 03:50:33,100
Pop marked with soot from 
chimneys and various other 

4106
03:50:33,100 --> 03:50:36,100
evidence of human habitation 
that we won't detail before bed 

4107
03:50:36,100 --> 03:50:39,300
time. 
The forest was skeletal black 

4108
03:50:39,300 --> 03:50:43,900
lines against gray skies and the
ocean was a cold dark presence 

4109
03:50:43,900 --> 03:50:47,500
that occasionally reminded 
everyone of its existence by 

4110
03:50:47,500 --> 03:50:50,300
freezing at the edges. 
But there was a rhythm to this 

4111
03:50:50,300 --> 03:50:53,400
life that modern people might 
find almost appealing in its 

4112
03:50:53,400 --> 03:50:55,700
simplicity. 
You know what needed doing, 

4113
03:50:55,700 --> 03:50:58,900
because it was the same thing 
that needed doing yesterday and 

4114
03:50:58,900 --> 03:51:01,900
would need doing tomorrow. 
Your neighbor's were facing 

4115
03:51:01,900 --> 03:51:05,500
identical challenges, which 
created a sense of community 

4116
03:51:05,500 --> 03:51:09,400
born from shared suffering. 
When the sun set, which happened

4117
03:51:09,400 --> 03:51:12,200
to pressingly early, you 
gathered around the fire with 

4118
03:51:12,200 --> 03:51:14,800
your family, and whoever else 
was staying the night and you 

4119
03:51:14,800 --> 03:51:17,400
made the best of it. 
Late February weather in. 

4120
03:51:17,400 --> 03:51:19,100
New England has always been 
unpredictable. 

4121
03:51:19,100 --> 03:51:23,600
A meteorological coin. 
Flip between maybe spring is 

4122
03:51:23,600 --> 03:51:26,600
coming and surprise. 
He is more winter. 

4123
03:51:27,800 --> 03:51:29,800
Colonists. 
Watch the sky with the intense 

4124
03:51:29,800 --> 03:51:33,200
of people whose lives depended 
on where the prediction which 

4125
03:51:33,200 --> 03:51:35,900
they did. 
A storm could mean being trapped

4126
03:51:35,900 --> 03:51:39,900
in doors for days. 
Unable to work, unable to travel

4127
03:51:39,900 --> 03:51:42,900
and possibly running, 
dangerously low on supplies. 

4128
03:51:43,700 --> 03:51:46,200
The Barns and outbuildings were 
stocked with hay for the animals

4129
03:51:46,200 --> 03:51:49,200
though, by late February, those 
supplies were running low. 

4130
03:51:49,200 --> 03:51:51,900
And the hay that remained was 
probably not the highest 

4131
03:51:51,900 --> 03:51:55,600
quality. 
Cows horses, and pigs and 

4132
03:51:55,600 --> 03:51:58,900
chickens. 
All depended on human care to 

4133
03:51:58,900 --> 03:52:01,600
survive the winter and all 
complained about their 

4134
03:52:01,600 --> 03:52:05,400
circumstances in their own ways.
The chickens probably had the 

4135
03:52:05,400 --> 03:52:08,300
most complain about actually, 
since they'd stopped, laying 

4136
03:52:08,300 --> 03:52:11,300
eggs weeks ago, and we're just 
eating resources while providing

4137
03:52:11,300 --> 03:52:13,300
nothing. 
But the occasional egg that felt

4138
03:52:13,300 --> 03:52:16,400
like winning the lottery. 
Your route seller would be 

4139
03:52:16,400 --> 03:52:18,100
carefully. 
Organized with the remaining 

4140
03:52:18,100 --> 03:52:22,000
stores of preserved, food 
apples, getting soft by the day 

4141
03:52:22,000 --> 03:52:25,300
root vegetables. 
Beginning to sprout, barrels of 

4142
03:52:25,300 --> 03:52:29,500
salted meat, Crocs of butter 
preserved, under salt and 

4143
03:52:29,500 --> 03:52:31,800
whatever else you'd managed to 
preserve from last year's 

4144
03:52:31,800 --> 03:52:34,500
Harvest. 
Every meal required a 

4145
03:52:34,500 --> 03:52:38,000
calculation. 
Is this worth using now, or 

4146
03:52:38,000 --> 03:52:42,200
should we save it for later? 
How much later what if spring 

4147
03:52:42,200 --> 03:52:43,700
doesn't come from another six 
weeks? 

4148
03:52:44,800 --> 03:52:47,700
Social fabric of Colonial. 
New England was Titanic by 

4149
03:52:47,700 --> 03:52:50,700
necessity. 
Your nearest neighbor might be a

4150
03:52:50,700 --> 03:52:52,500
quarter mile away. 
But you knew their business 

4151
03:52:52,500 --> 03:52:55,600
almost as well as your own, 
because survival often depended 

4152
03:52:55,600 --> 03:53:00,000
on cooperation, If someone's 
Barn caught fire, everyone came 

4153
03:53:00,000 --> 03:53:02,700
to help if a family, ran short 
of food. 

4154
03:53:02,700 --> 03:53:04,200
Neighbors shared what they 
could. 

4155
03:53:04,200 --> 03:53:07,800
If someone got sick or injured, 
the community rallied around 

4156
03:53:07,800 --> 03:53:11,900
them, because there was no other
option. religious life provided 

4157
03:53:11,900 --> 03:53:15,100
structure and community in ways 
that modern people might find 

4158
03:53:15,100 --> 03:53:18,500
either comforting or suffocating
depending on their perspective, 

4159
03:53:19,700 --> 03:53:23,300
Sunday meeting at the church was
mandatory. but legally and 

4160
03:53:23,300 --> 03:53:27,400
socially, you sat in an unheated
building for hours listening to 

4161
03:53:27,400 --> 03:53:31,500
sermons that were theologically 
complex and often focused on sin

4162
03:53:31,500 --> 03:53:35,400
and Redemption with an intensity
that made Game of Thrones seem 

4163
03:53:35,400 --> 03:53:38,400
like hearted But church was also
where you saw. 

4164
03:53:38,400 --> 03:53:42,400
Everyone heard news from other 
towns and felt part of something

4165
03:53:42,400 --> 03:53:45,100
larger than your individual 
struggle to stay alive through 

4166
03:53:45,100 --> 03:53:49,200
winter. 
Children in 1717 had childhoods,

4167
03:53:49,200 --> 03:53:51,600
that would seem impossibly harsh
by modern standards. 

4168
03:53:52,600 --> 03:53:55,800
They worked from the time. 
They could walk learned to read 

4169
03:53:55,800 --> 03:53:59,700
using the Bible and whatever few
books, the family owned and had 

4170
03:53:59,700 --> 03:54:02,000
responsibilities. 
That included genuinely 

4171
03:54:02,000 --> 03:54:05,600
dangerous tasks, like managing 
fires and handling large 

4172
03:54:05,600 --> 03:54:08,800
animals. 
But they were still children. 

4173
03:54:09,600 --> 03:54:13,600
They played when they could 
created games from nothing and 

4174
03:54:13,600 --> 03:54:17,800
found joy in Simple Pleasures 
like a successful sled ride, all

4175
03:54:17,800 --> 03:54:20,700
the discovery of icicles in 
interesting shapes. 

4176
03:54:21,700 --> 03:54:24,700
The elderly held a respected 
position in colonial society, 

4177
03:54:24,700 --> 03:54:27,400
partly? 
Because surviving to old age was

4178
03:54:27,400 --> 03:54:31,700
an achievement in itself. 
If you made it to 60 or 70, 

4179
03:54:31,700 --> 03:54:36,200
You'd Survive diseases 
accidents, harsh weather, and 

4180
03:54:36,200 --> 03:54:38,900
periodic conflicts with 
indigenous, peoples, or other 

4181
03:54:38,900 --> 03:54:42,100
Colonial powers. 
Your experience and knowledge 

4182
03:54:42,100 --> 03:54:45,600
were valuable resources and 
you're often consulted on 

4183
03:54:45,600 --> 03:54:48,100
everything from where the 
prediction to medical treatment 

4184
03:54:48,100 --> 03:54:50,800
whether or not you actually knew
what you were talking about. 

4185
03:54:52,100 --> 03:54:56,400
February 1717 progressed, 
towards its end, new englanders 

4186
03:54:56,400 --> 03:54:58,400
had no idea. 
They were standing at the edge 

4187
03:54:58,400 --> 03:55:01,100
of one of the most remarkable 
weather events in American 

4188
03:55:01,100 --> 03:55:03,800
history. 
They went about their routines 

4189
03:55:03,800 --> 03:55:06,700
complained about the cold with 
the dedication of people who 

4190
03:55:06,700 --> 03:55:09,800
took complaining, seriously 
looked forward to march, with 

4191
03:55:09,800 --> 03:55:12,200
the hope that it might bring 
slightly less terrible weather. 

4192
03:55:13,400 --> 03:55:15,100
The sky that late February 
showed. 

4193
03:55:15,100 --> 03:55:18,500
No particular warning signs that
we know of Colonial weather 

4194
03:55:18,500 --> 03:55:21,800
prediction was based on 
folklore, careful, observation 

4195
03:55:21,800 --> 03:55:25,300
of animal behavior and a general
sense of what the sky looked 

4196
03:55:25,300 --> 03:55:28,800
like before trouble arrived. 
If your bones ached, more than 

4197
03:55:28,800 --> 03:55:31,500
usual rain or snow was probably 
coming. 

4198
03:55:32,400 --> 03:55:35,100
If the chicken is acted strange,
though. 

4199
03:55:35,100 --> 03:55:37,900
Defining strange, for chickens 
is admittedly difficult. 

4200
03:55:37,900 --> 03:55:41,700
Weather might be changing. 
If the sunset looked 

4201
03:55:41,700 --> 03:55:45,300
particularly Vivid, make sure 
you had extra firewood handy. 

4202
03:55:46,100 --> 03:55:48,700
But nothing in anyone's 
experience prepared them for 

4203
03:55:48,700 --> 03:55:51,800
what was about to happen. 
New englanders were tough and 

4204
03:55:51,800 --> 03:55:55,300
resourceful and had survived 
plenty of harsh Winters. 

4205
03:55:55,300 --> 03:55:57,800
They'd seen big snowstorms 
before. 

4206
03:55:58,600 --> 03:56:00,600
They thought they knew what 
winter could throw at them. 

4207
03:56:00,600 --> 03:56:03,500
They were about to discover 
they'd been underestimating 

4208
03:56:03,500 --> 03:56:06,100
Winters. 
Ambitions picture yourself in 

4209
03:56:06,100 --> 03:56:11,900
your Colonial home on February 
27th. 1717 You wait before Dawn 

4210
03:56:11,900 --> 03:56:14,800
as usual to coax the fire back 
to life. 

4211
03:56:15,600 --> 03:56:18,400
The house is cold enough that 
you can see your breath, which 

4212
03:56:18,400 --> 03:56:21,200
is so normal. 
You barely notice any more you 

4213
03:56:21,200 --> 03:56:24,700
pull on your warmest clothes and
in colonial times this meant 

4214
03:56:24,700 --> 03:56:28,100
layers of wool linen and leather
that made you look like a 

4215
03:56:28,100 --> 03:56:32,200
medieval Knight made a fabric 
and begin the days endless round

4216
03:56:32,200 --> 03:56:35,400
of chores. 
But something feels different 

4217
03:56:35,400 --> 03:56:38,400
this morning. 
The ass that peculiar waiting 

4218
03:56:38,400 --> 03:56:42,100
gets before a significant storm.
Pressure that makes your ears 

4219
03:56:42,100 --> 03:56:44,800
feel slightly odd and gives the 
world a muted quality. 

4220
03:56:45,700 --> 03:56:48,600
The wind which has been a 
constant companion all winter 

4221
03:56:48,600 --> 03:56:52,400
has gone still in a way that 
feels less peaceful and more 

4222
03:56:52,400 --> 03:56:56,600
like nature holding its breath. 
By midday the first flakes. 

4223
03:56:56,600 --> 03:56:59,700
Began to fall. 
Nothing dramatic, initially just

4224
03:56:59,700 --> 03:57:02,300
a gentle dusting. 
That looks almost pretty against

4225
03:57:02,300 --> 03:57:04,800
the gray sky. 
You've seen this hundreds of 

4226
03:57:04,808 --> 03:57:08,900
times before snow in February is
about a surprise as finding out 

4227
03:57:08,900 --> 03:57:12,300
water is wet. 
You note it, make sure you have 

4228
03:57:12,300 --> 03:57:15,100
enough firewood, close to the 
house and continue with your 

4229
03:57:15,100 --> 03:57:18,000
day. 
But the snow doesn't stop. 

4230
03:57:18,800 --> 03:57:22,400
Our after-hour continues with a 
steadiness that begins to seem 

4231
03:57:22,400 --> 03:57:25,900
almost purposeful. 
I evening, you've got several 

4232
03:57:25,900 --> 03:57:29,400
inches of fresh accumulation and
the snow is still falling with 

4233
03:57:29,400 --> 03:57:33,600
no sign of letting up. 
You Bank the Firefly before bed.

4234
03:57:33,600 --> 03:57:37,200
Make sure everyone is under 
enough blanket and think that 

4235
03:57:37,200 --> 03:57:38,900
tomorrow, you'll need to do some
shoveling. 

4236
03:57:39,900 --> 03:57:42,900
When you wake the next morning, 
your first clue that something 

4237
03:57:42,900 --> 03:57:45,700
unusual is happening comes from 
the quality of light in the 

4238
03:57:45,700 --> 03:57:48,200
house. 
It's too bright for Dawn. 

4239
03:57:48,200 --> 03:57:51,800
A strange defused glow, that 
seems to come from everywhere 

4240
03:57:51,800 --> 03:57:56,300
and nowhere When you finally 
manage to open your door and 

4241
03:57:56,300 --> 03:57:59,300
this takes effort pushing 
against resistance that 

4242
03:57:59,300 --> 03:58:02,000
shouldn't be there. 
You discover why? 

4243
03:58:02,900 --> 03:58:06,400
The snow has piled against your 
door in drifts that reach past 

4244
03:58:06,400 --> 03:58:09,000
your knees. 
The world outside has been 

4245
03:58:09,008 --> 03:58:11,900
transformed into an alien 
landscape of white. 

4246
03:58:12,700 --> 03:58:16,400
Where Familiar shapes have 
become strange, rounded, lumps, 

4247
03:58:16,400 --> 03:58:20,000
and the Horizon has disappeared 
into a curtain of falling snow. 

4248
03:58:20,900 --> 03:58:24,400
The storm that started 
yesterday, hasn't stopped if 

4249
03:58:24,400 --> 03:58:27,800
anything. 
It's intensified This is the 

4250
03:58:27,800 --> 03:58:30,500
beginning of what contemporary 
accounts would call the great 

4251
03:58:30,500 --> 03:58:34,900
snow of 1717, though, people 
living through, it probably had 

4252
03:58:34,900 --> 03:58:39,200
other less polite names for it. 
What new englanders couldn't 

4253
03:58:39,200 --> 03:58:41,300
have known was that they were 
experiencing something 

4254
03:58:41,300 --> 03:58:43,500
meteorologically. 
Extraordinary. 

4255
03:58:44,400 --> 03:58:48,100
Serious of four, massive storms,
that would arrive in waves, over

4256
03:58:48,100 --> 03:58:51,900
the next three weeks each adding
to accumulation that were 

4257
03:58:51,900 --> 03:58:56,100
already unprecedented. 
Snow fell with a relentlessness 

4258
03:58:56,100 --> 03:58:57,900
that began to feel almost 
personal. 

4259
03:58:58,900 --> 03:59:02,000
Not in violent gusts and 
dramatic blizzard conditions 

4260
03:59:02,000 --> 03:59:05,300
though there were certainly 
periods of that but with a 

4261
03:59:05,300 --> 03:59:10,200
steady implacable determination.
It was as if the sky decided 

4262
03:59:10,200 --> 03:59:12,800
that New England needed a really
thorough covering and wasn't 

4263
03:59:12,800 --> 03:59:14,600
going to stop until the job was 
done properly. 

4264
03:59:15,500 --> 03:59:18,300
You can imagine the progression 
of reactions among Colonial 

4265
03:59:18,300 --> 03:59:20,900
families. 
Day one. 

4266
03:59:21,800 --> 03:59:26,000
Well, this is a significant 
snowfall day two. 

4267
03:59:26,000 --> 03:59:31,700
This is quite unusual day three.
This is becoming concerning. 

4268
03:59:32,500 --> 03:59:35,600
Day four. 
This is absolutely unprecedented

4269
03:59:35,600 --> 03:59:39,000
and possibly the end of the 
world day 5. 

4270
03:59:39,000 --> 03:59:42,600
If I have to spend one more day 
trapped in this house with these

4271
03:59:42,600 --> 03:59:44,600
people, I'm going to lose my 
mind. 

4272
03:59:45,800 --> 03:59:49,100
A practical challenges began 
immediately, your daily routine,

4273
03:59:49,100 --> 03:59:52,600
which was already demanding 
suddenly required three times as

4274
03:59:52,600 --> 03:59:55,700
much effort. 
Every trip to the barn to feed 

4275
03:59:55,700 --> 03:59:57,700
animals. 
Meant waiting through snow, that

4276
03:59:57,700 --> 04:00:01,000
reached your thighs, then higher
than eventually to your chest. 

4277
04:00:02,100 --> 04:00:04,600
Paths that you shovel one day 
were filled in by the next 

4278
04:00:04,600 --> 04:00:07,100
morning. 
The livestock trapped in their 

4279
04:00:07,100 --> 04:00:10,400
shelters needed constant 
attention to prevent them from 

4280
04:00:10,400 --> 04:00:12,200
panicking or Worse. 
Freezing. 

4281
04:00:13,000 --> 04:00:15,900
Firewood, which, you'd carefully
stacked within easy. 

4282
04:00:15,900 --> 04:00:19,800
Reach of the house became buried
under drifts Taking it out, was 

4283
04:00:19,800 --> 04:00:23,400
exhausting work in the best of 
time's doing it while snow 

4284
04:00:23,400 --> 04:00:26,100
continued to fall and wind 
created drift. 

4285
04:00:26,100 --> 04:00:28,200
That seemed to appear out of 
nowhere else. 

4286
04:00:28,200 --> 04:00:31,800
Like some kind of very cold, 
very tiring, meditation on 

4287
04:00:31,800 --> 04:00:35,000
futility. 
Yet it had to be done because 

4288
04:00:35,000 --> 04:00:37,300
Without fire. 
Your family would freeze. 

4289
04:00:38,100 --> 04:00:42,200
The mathematics of survival 
became starkly simple, dig or 

4290
04:00:42,200 --> 04:00:44,900
die. 
The psychological impact of 

4291
04:00:44,900 --> 04:00:47,700
being trapped indoors during an 
endless, snowstorm is something 

4292
04:00:47,700 --> 04:00:51,300
modern people with heated, 
homes, electricity and streaming

4293
04:00:51,300 --> 04:00:54,200
services. 
Can barely imagine You're 

4294
04:00:54,200 --> 04:00:57,200
confined to a space, roughly the
size of a modern living room and

4295
04:00:57,200 --> 04:00:59,900
kitchen combined with your 
entire family. 

4296
04:00:59,900 --> 04:01:04,100
With no entertainment Beyond 
conversation, hand work and 

4297
04:01:04,100 --> 04:01:08,300
staring at the fire. 
The wall seem to close in small 

4298
04:01:08,300 --> 04:01:11,900
irritations, become major 
grievance, is that thing your 

4299
04:01:11,900 --> 04:01:14,900
spouse does when they chew which
you've tolerated for years? 

4300
04:01:14,900 --> 04:01:17,900
Suddenly becomes unbearable 
children. 

4301
04:01:17,900 --> 04:01:20,800
Blessed them, handled 
confinement with all the grace 

4302
04:01:20,800 --> 04:01:23,300
and patience that children have 
possessed throughout human 

4303
04:01:23,300 --> 04:01:25,900
history, which is to say none at
all. 

4304
04:01:26,600 --> 04:01:30,200
They were restless bored 
fighting with siblings and 

4305
04:01:30,200 --> 04:01:33,200
asking approximately every 10 
minutes when they could go 

4306
04:01:33,200 --> 04:01:36,100
outside. 
Parents responded with the 

4307
04:01:36,100 --> 04:01:39,300
Timeless patients of people who 
were also losing their minds, 

4308
04:01:39,300 --> 04:01:43,100
but had to pretend, they weren't
because civilization depended on

4309
04:01:43,100 --> 04:01:47,800
maintaining standards. 
Storms Came In Waves, each 

4310
04:01:47,800 --> 04:01:50,600
separated by just enough time 
for people to think. 

4311
04:01:50,600 --> 04:01:54,900
Maybe it was over only to watch 
the sky darken again and the 

4312
04:01:54,900 --> 04:01:58,500
snow resume. 
Contemporary accounts described 

4313
04:01:58,500 --> 04:02:02,400
the snow as coming in for great 
storms, over the course of about

4314
04:02:02,400 --> 04:02:05,100
three weeks. 
But the distinction between 

4315
04:02:05,100 --> 04:02:08,500
separate storms, probably felt 
academic, when you were living 

4316
04:02:08,500 --> 04:02:11,400
through what seemed like, one 
continuous Siege by winter. 

4317
04:02:12,700 --> 04:02:14,800
Between storms. 
The sun, might break through 

4318
04:02:14,800 --> 04:02:16,900
Illuminating a transformed 
landscape. 

4319
04:02:16,900 --> 04:02:21,500
Everything familiar had been 
reshaped by snow in to strange 

4320
04:02:21,500 --> 04:02:24,900
flowing forms. 
Fences disappeared entirely 

4321
04:02:24,900 --> 04:02:28,900
under drifts trees, bent under 
the weight of snow, and their 

4322
04:02:28,900 --> 04:02:31,700
branches touch the ground, 
creating natural tunnels. 

4323
04:02:32,800 --> 04:02:36,100
Houses all, but vanished. 
With only their chimneys 

4324
04:02:36,100 --> 04:02:39,200
protruding above the white 
expanse, like Stone fingers, 

4325
04:02:39,200 --> 04:02:42,800
reaching for the sky. 
The drifts were what made this 

4326
04:02:42,800 --> 04:02:47,300
snowfall truly extraordinary. 
Windhurst, sculpted the snow in 

4327
04:02:47,300 --> 04:02:52,000
to formation that defied logic. 
10 feet, deep in some places 

4328
04:02:52,000 --> 04:02:55,900
bare, ground in others, and 
waves and curves that looked 

4329
04:02:55,900 --> 04:02:59,400
like a frozen ocean. 
You could walk across the top of

4330
04:02:59,400 --> 04:03:02,500
some drifts while syncing to 
your armpits in others, just a 

4331
04:03:02,500 --> 04:03:05,300
few feet away. 
The surface would sometimes 

4332
04:03:05,300 --> 04:03:08,500
support your weight and 
sometimes not, and there was no 

4333
04:03:08,500 --> 04:03:12,100
reliable way to tell which would
happen until you tested it. 

4334
04:03:12,700 --> 04:03:16,700
animals suffered terribly during
these storms cows trapped in 

4335
04:03:16,700 --> 04:03:20,400
Barnes needed constant care to 
prevent them from overheating in

4336
04:03:20,400 --> 04:03:23,700
their confined space while 
simultaneously ensuring they 

4337
04:03:23,700 --> 04:03:27,300
didn't freeze Chicken stopped 
laying entirely, and seemed, 

4338
04:03:27,300 --> 04:03:28,800
personally, a fronted by the 
weather. 

4339
04:03:28,800 --> 04:03:32,000
As if someone had promised them 
spring and then welched on the 

4340
04:03:32,000 --> 04:03:36,000
deal, Horses. 
Not usually stoic about whether 

4341
04:03:36,000 --> 04:03:39,800
showed clear signs of distress 
at being confined for days on 

4342
04:03:39,800 --> 04:03:42,800
end, wild animals, fared, even 
worse. 

4343
04:03:42,800 --> 04:03:47,300
Dear Trapped By snow too. 
Deep to navigate either starved 

4344
04:03:47,300 --> 04:03:50,500
or became easy prey for wolves 
and other predators that could 

4345
04:03:50,500 --> 04:03:52,100
travel on top of the Cross did 
Snow. 

4346
04:03:53,100 --> 04:03:56,700
Birds that hadn't migrated found
food scarce and shelter hard to 

4347
04:03:56,708 --> 04:04:00,500
come by. 
Forest went silent in a way that

4348
04:04:00,500 --> 04:04:05,100
was eerie. no Birdsong, no 
rustling of small animals, just 

4349
04:04:05,100 --> 04:04:08,900
the whisper of falling snow and 
the occasional crack of a branch

4350
04:04:08,900 --> 04:04:12,500
breaking under accumulated 
weight, The harbor in Boston, 

4351
04:04:12,500 --> 04:04:14,800
froze. 
Solid something that happened 

4352
04:04:14,800 --> 04:04:16,700
occasionally, but always felt 
ominous. 

4353
04:04:17,400 --> 04:04:21,000
Ships were trapped in ice, their
masts visible above the white 

4354
04:04:21,000 --> 04:04:24,900
expanse, like a bear Forest. 
The ice was thick enough to walk

4355
04:04:24,900 --> 04:04:28,200
on their only the foolhardy or 
desperate tried it. 

4356
04:04:28,900 --> 04:04:32,500
The ocean that vast presence, 
that defined so much of New 

4357
04:04:32,500 --> 04:04:36,000
England, life temporarily became
just another snowfield. 

4358
04:04:36,800 --> 04:04:39,600
Food stores that had seemed 
adequate in January began to 

4359
04:04:39,600 --> 04:04:41,900
look, alarmingly. 
Insufficient by mid-march. 

4360
04:04:42,700 --> 04:04:45,300
You were burning through 
firewood fast and planned 

4361
04:04:45,300 --> 04:04:47,600
because you needed to keep the 
fire going constantly. 

4362
04:04:48,500 --> 04:04:51,400
Animals were eating hay at their
normal rate, but the hay was 

4363
04:04:51,400 --> 04:04:54,800
getting harder to reach. 
Every meal required, careful, 

4364
04:04:54,800 --> 04:04:58,200
calculation, and families began 
to worry about what would happen

4365
04:04:58,200 --> 04:05:01,900
if the snow didn't stop soon. 
Yet, there was also a strange 

4366
04:05:01,900 --> 04:05:05,400
Beauty to it all on clear nights
between storms. 

4367
04:05:05,400 --> 04:05:09,500
The Moonlight on endless snow 
created illuminessence that 

4368
04:05:09,500 --> 04:05:14,000
turned the world into something 
magical Silence was profound. 

4369
04:05:14,000 --> 04:05:18,500
No wagon wheels on roads. 
No church bells carrying from 

4370
04:05:18,500 --> 04:05:21,000
distant towns. 
Just a hush. 

4371
04:05:21,000 --> 04:05:23,500
So completed almost rang in your
ears. 

4372
04:05:25,000 --> 04:05:29,300
The Stars seem brighter somehow 
as if the snow reflected light 

4373
04:05:29,300 --> 04:05:32,500
back to the sky. 
Some people found the 

4374
04:05:32,500 --> 04:05:35,500
experience. 
Almost meditative forced, as the

4375
04:05:35,500 --> 04:05:38,000
were to slow down and exist in 
the immediate moment. 

4376
04:05:38,900 --> 04:05:42,800
There were no trips to town, no 
visits with neighbors and no 

4377
04:05:42,800 --> 04:05:45,600
church meetings. 
Life contracted to the 

4378
04:05:45,600 --> 04:05:50,100
essentials, keep the fire 
burning feed your family, care 

4379
04:05:50,100 --> 04:05:54,600
for your animals and wait. 
In a world normally filled with 

4380
04:05:54,600 --> 04:05:57,000
constant labor and social 
obligations. 

4381
04:05:57,000 --> 04:06:01,000
This enforced, pause had an odd 
appeal at least for the first 

4382
04:06:01,000 --> 04:06:04,200
week or so. 
But as the snow continued as 

4383
04:06:04,200 --> 04:06:08,200
drift screw higher and Supply's 
grew lower as the novelty wore 

4384
04:06:08,200 --> 04:06:11,800
off and the reality of the 
situation set in that initial 

4385
04:06:11,800 --> 04:06:14,900
sense of wonder gave way to 
something close to anxiety. 

4386
04:06:16,200 --> 04:06:19,300
This wasn't just a big snowstorm
anymore, this was something 

4387
04:06:19,300 --> 04:06:21,800
different. 
Something that was rewriting. 

4388
04:06:21,800 --> 04:06:23,600
What new englanders thought 
possible? 

4389
04:06:24,300 --> 04:06:26,400
The snow had been falling for 
over two weeks. 

4390
04:06:26,400 --> 04:06:31,600
The drifts in some places were 
measuring 15, 18 or even 20 feet

4391
04:06:31,600 --> 04:06:34,000
deep. 
Houses were buried to their 

4392
04:06:34,000 --> 04:06:36,900
second stories and the snow was 
still falling. 

4393
04:06:37,800 --> 04:06:40,700
By the time, March arrived. 
New England had been transformed

4394
04:06:40,700 --> 04:06:44,300
into an alien landscape. 
That bore little resemblance, to

4395
04:06:44,300 --> 04:06:48,700
the world, colonists had known 
Imagine stepping out your door 

4396
04:06:48,700 --> 04:06:52,900
assuming you could open it. 
And finding yourself standing on

4397
04:06:52,900 --> 04:06:54,500
top of what used to be your 
roof. 

4398
04:06:55,300 --> 04:06:57,500
This wasn't an exaggeration for 
many families. 

4399
04:06:57,500 --> 04:07:02,400
The snow had piled so high that 
Second Story windows were at 

4400
04:07:02,400 --> 04:07:05,500
ground level and chimneys 
required constant attention, to 

4401
04:07:05,500 --> 04:07:07,300
prevent them, from being 
completely buried. 

4402
04:07:08,000 --> 04:07:11,400
Daily life had become a series 
of adaptations to absurd 

4403
04:07:11,400 --> 04:07:14,500
circumstances. 
You didn't walk anywhere you 

4404
04:07:14,500 --> 04:07:18,200
turn on old, Families, created 
networks of passages through the

4405
04:07:18,200 --> 04:07:22,400
snow connecting their houses to 
Barnes Wells and wood piles. 

4406
04:07:23,200 --> 04:07:25,000
These tunnels were engineering 
projects. 

4407
04:07:25,000 --> 04:07:28,400
Worthy of miners. 
Required constant maintenance as

4408
04:07:28,400 --> 04:07:32,300
snow shifted and settled. some 
colonists described their 

4409
04:07:32,300 --> 04:07:35,500
tunnels collapsing while they 
were in the leading to panic to 

4410
04:07:35,500 --> 04:07:38,600
digging at a new found 
appreciation for open space is 

4411
04:07:39,300 --> 04:07:42,600
The tunnels created a strange, 
new architecture of necessity. 

4412
04:07:43,400 --> 04:07:45,500
You descend from your door into 
a passage. 

4413
04:07:45,500 --> 04:07:48,800
Whose walls were compressed. 
Snow dimly lit by whatever 

4414
04:07:48,800 --> 04:07:53,500
sunlight penetrated from above. 
The tunnel would Branch One 

4415
04:07:53,500 --> 04:07:56,800
Direction to the barn and 
another, to the well, and a 

4416
04:07:56,800 --> 04:07:59,900
third to the wood pile. 
Walking through these passages 

4417
04:07:59,900 --> 04:08:04,100
felt like being a very cold mole
and the disorientation of being 

4418
04:08:04,100 --> 04:08:07,400
surrounded by snow on all sides.
Took some getting used to 

4419
04:08:08,400 --> 04:08:10,200
feeding animals became an 
expedition. 

4420
04:08:10,200 --> 04:08:14,500
You'd suit up in every piece of 
warm clothing, you owned grab, 

4421
04:08:14,500 --> 04:08:18,400
whatever tools you needed like a
lantern and descend into your 

4422
04:08:18,400 --> 04:08:21,800
tunnel system. 
The trip to the barn that 

4423
04:08:21,800 --> 04:08:24,500
normally took 30 seconds now 
took 15 minutes. 

4424
04:08:25,400 --> 04:08:28,000
Once there you'd need to deal 
with animals that were restless 

4425
04:08:28,000 --> 04:08:30,900
from confinement. 
Nervous from the strange, 

4426
04:08:30,900 --> 04:08:34,900
muffled quality of sound through
snow and generally unhappy about

4427
04:08:34,900 --> 04:08:38,200
this circumstances. 
Getting water was perhaps the 

4428
04:08:38,208 --> 04:08:41,800
most challenging daily tasks. 
Wells that weren't buried. 

4429
04:08:41,800 --> 04:08:45,000
Had to be accessed through 
tunnels and Hauling water back 

4430
04:08:45,000 --> 04:08:48,200
through narrow passages, while 
trying not to spill was an 

4431
04:08:48,200 --> 04:08:50,000
exercise in patience and 
balance. 

4432
04:08:50,900 --> 04:08:54,200
Some families resorted to 
Melting snow, which sounds 

4433
04:08:54,200 --> 04:08:57,100
simple Until you realize how 
much snow you need to melt to 

4434
04:08:57,100 --> 04:09:00,900
get a usable amount of water and
how much firewood that requires 

4435
04:09:00,900 --> 04:09:03,800
and how your firewood Supply is 
already stretched thin. 

4436
04:09:04,700 --> 04:09:07,400
Food preparation became creative
out of necessity. 

4437
04:09:07,400 --> 04:09:11,400
Your variety had been limited 
before the storms now. 

4438
04:09:11,400 --> 04:09:15,400
It was approaching monotonous, 
root vegetables, salted meat, 

4439
04:09:15,400 --> 04:09:18,100
dried beans, and perhaps some 
preserved fruit. 

4440
04:09:18,100 --> 04:09:21,800
If you were lucky, Every meal 
was a variation on the theme of 

4441
04:09:21,800 --> 04:09:24,300
things that can be boiled or 
roasted near the fire. 

4442
04:09:25,100 --> 04:09:27,400
The bright spot was that, at 
least you didn't have to worry 

4443
04:09:27,400 --> 04:09:31,000
about food spoiling, you could 
just stick it in a snowbank, 

4444
04:09:31,000 --> 04:09:33,500
which was basically a giant 
natural freezer that covered 

4445
04:09:33,500 --> 04:09:37,100
everything you owned. children's
education, such as it was 

4446
04:09:37,100 --> 04:09:41,000
continued, sporadically parents,
who could read would work with 

4447
04:09:41,000 --> 04:09:44,900
their children on basic literacy
and arithmetic using the Bible 

4448
04:09:44,900 --> 04:09:49,500
almanacs and whatever other 
books the family owned But 

4449
04:09:49,500 --> 04:09:54,300
concentration was difficult when
everyone was cold irritable and 

4450
04:09:54,300 --> 04:09:57,500
worried about their increasingly
precarious situation. 

4451
04:09:58,500 --> 04:10:01,900
Lessons often devolved into 
storytelling which at least 

4452
04:10:01,900 --> 04:10:04,800
passed the time and didn't 
require anyone to sit still and 

4453
04:10:04,800 --> 04:10:08,300
focus. 
The cycle strain of prolonged 

4454
04:10:08,300 --> 04:10:10,700
confinement. 
Manifested in various ways. 

4455
04:10:11,700 --> 04:10:15,600
Some people became withdrawn and
quiet staring into the fire for 

4456
04:10:15,600 --> 04:10:18,800
hours, others became manic in 
their activity. 

4457
04:10:18,800 --> 04:10:22,000
Finding endless small tasks to 
occupy themselves. 

4458
04:10:22,900 --> 04:10:26,200
Family dynamics that had been 
stable for years suddenly became

4459
04:10:26,200 --> 04:10:29,000
fraught. 
The colonial period didn't have 

4460
04:10:29,000 --> 04:10:32,600
therapists or self-help books. 
So people just had to cope using

4461
04:10:32,600 --> 04:10:35,600
prayer alcohol or sheer 
stubbornness. 

4462
04:10:36,300 --> 04:10:39,600
Interestingly, the forced 
isolation seemed to reduce 

4463
04:10:39,600 --> 04:10:43,900
religious attendance anxieties. 
Getting to church was physically

4464
04:10:43,900 --> 04:10:46,700
impossible for most families, 
which meant missing services 

4465
04:10:46,700 --> 04:10:50,100
without any guilt. 
The Puritan ministers, who 

4466
04:10:50,100 --> 04:10:53,700
usually took a dim view of 
absence were, presumably too 

4467
04:10:53,700 --> 04:10:56,600
busy dealing with their own snow
related problems to worry, much 

4468
04:10:56,600 --> 04:11:00,500
about who wasn't showing up. it 
was possibly the first time in 

4469
04:11:00,500 --> 04:11:03,400
Colonial New England history 
that you could skip church 

4470
04:11:03,400 --> 04:11:06,700
without social consequences 
neighbors, who could see each 

4471
04:11:06,700 --> 04:11:09,600
other's chimneys through the 
snow often, the only indication 

4472
04:11:09,600 --> 04:11:13,100
that other humans were nearby 
developed signaling systems 

4473
04:11:13,800 --> 04:11:16,000
Smoke patterns could convey 
basic information. 

4474
04:11:16,000 --> 04:11:20,600
We're okay, we need help. 
And does anyone have any spare 

4475
04:11:20,600 --> 04:11:22,600
handles? 
Because we're running out and 

4476
04:11:22,600 --> 04:11:24,900
staring into darkness for 12 
hours. 

4477
04:11:24,900 --> 04:11:28,500
A night is making a strange. 
These smoke signals were 

4478
04:11:28,500 --> 04:11:31,700
probably not terribly 
sophisticated but they provided 

4479
04:11:31,700 --> 04:11:34,400
reassurance that you want 
completely alone in the white 

4480
04:11:34,400 --> 04:11:37,700
wilderness. 
The males such as it existed in 

4481
04:11:37,700 --> 04:11:41,900
1717 completely stopped. 
There were no postal workers 

4482
04:11:41,900 --> 04:11:44,800
Brave or foolish enough to 
attempt delivery through 20 

4483
04:11:44,800 --> 04:11:47,200
foot. 
Snow drifts this meant that 

4484
04:11:47,200 --> 04:11:51,000
communities became isolated, not
just physically, but also 

4485
04:11:51,000 --> 04:11:54,900
informationally You had no idea 
what was happening in the next 

4486
04:11:54,900 --> 04:11:57,400
town. 
Let alone in Boston or other 

4487
04:11:57,400 --> 04:12:00,800
major settlements. 
For all you knew you were the 

4488
04:12:00,800 --> 04:12:04,200
only people left alive and the 
rest of New England had been 

4489
04:12:04,200 --> 04:12:07,700
consumed by snow. 
Animals developed their own 

4490
04:12:07,700 --> 04:12:12,300
coping strategies chickens 
trapped in coops established new

4491
04:12:12,300 --> 04:12:15,200
packing orders based on who 
could commandeer the warmest 

4492
04:12:15,200 --> 04:12:18,000
spots. 
Cows adapted to their 

4493
04:12:18,000 --> 04:12:21,800
confinement with bovine. 
Stoicism though their milk 

4494
04:12:21,800 --> 04:12:25,400
production dropped 
significantly. horses seem to 

4495
04:12:25,408 --> 04:12:28,800
understand the gravity of the 
situation and became unusually 

4496
04:12:28,800 --> 04:12:32,400
cooperative, perhaps sensing 
that everyone needed to work 

4497
04:12:32,400 --> 04:12:35,600
together to survive. 
The few people who are tempted 

4498
04:12:35,600 --> 04:12:38,200
travel During the period left 
accounts that sound like 

4499
04:12:38,200 --> 04:12:41,200
expeditions to the Arctic. 
One man. 

4500
04:12:41,200 --> 04:12:42,900
Described walking to his 
neighbor's house. 

4501
04:12:42,900 --> 04:12:45,200
A journey of perhaps a quarter 
mile. 

4502
04:12:45,200 --> 04:12:49,300
That took him three hours. 
He had to navigate drifts. 

4503
04:12:49,800 --> 04:12:53,100
Break through crusted snow 
backtrack when he encountered 

4504
04:12:53,100 --> 04:12:56,300
impossible, barriers and 
generally experienced an 

4505
04:12:56,300 --> 04:12:58,200
adventure worthy of a polar 
Explorer. 

4506
04:12:59,200 --> 04:13:02,400
His neighbor apparently 
surprised to see anyone greeted 

4507
04:13:02,400 --> 04:13:04,700
him like he'd returned from a 
Voyage to the Moon. 

4508
04:13:05,500 --> 04:13:08,600
Some enterprising colonists 
discovered that the hard-packed 

4509
04:13:08,600 --> 04:13:11,600
surface of, the drifts could 
support considerable weight. 

4510
04:13:11,600 --> 04:13:15,400
If approached correctly, You 
could walk on top of snow that 

4511
04:13:15,400 --> 04:13:17,600
in other spots would swallow you
completely. 

4512
04:13:18,500 --> 04:13:21,200
This led to a strange, new form 
of travel where you'd move 

4513
04:13:21,200 --> 04:13:25,100
cautiously across the surface 
testing each step moving like 

4514
04:13:25,100 --> 04:13:30,100
someone walking on thin ice 
because in essence you were the 

4515
04:13:30,100 --> 04:13:34,900
technique required practice, 
patience and acceptance that 

4516
04:13:34,900 --> 04:13:37,200
you'd occasionally fall through 
and need to be pulled out. 

4517
04:13:38,300 --> 04:13:42,300
The soundscape of Life under the
drifts was distinctive normal 

4518
04:13:42,300 --> 04:13:44,600
outdoor. 
Sounds were muffled, by the snow

4519
04:13:44,600 --> 04:13:48,600
creating an Airy quiet, broken 
only by the occasional crack of 

4520
04:13:48,600 --> 04:13:52,800
breaking branches, the muffled 
blowing of cattle or the scrape 

4521
04:13:52,800 --> 04:13:55,900
of shovels as people fought to 
maintain their tunnel systems, 

4522
04:13:56,800 --> 04:14:01,400
Inside home's, every sound 
seemed Amplified the pop of the 

4523
04:14:01,400 --> 04:14:03,600
fire. 
The creek of floorboards and the

4524
04:14:03,600 --> 04:14:07,300
breathing of family members, 
Some people found the quiet. 

4525
04:14:07,300 --> 04:14:09,900
Soothing others founded 
oppressive. 

4526
04:14:10,700 --> 04:14:12,500
Lighting became a precious 
commodity. 

4527
04:14:13,400 --> 04:14:16,700
Candles, which were already 
expensive and time-consuming to 

4528
04:14:16,700 --> 04:14:20,400
make burndown steadily while the
snow showed no signs of 

4529
04:14:20,400 --> 04:14:22,900
stopping. 
Families, rationed like 

4530
04:14:22,900 --> 04:14:27,000
carefully often going to bed 
shortly after Sunset to conserve

4531
04:14:27,000 --> 04:14:28,700
candles for when they were truly
necessary. 

4532
04:14:29,900 --> 04:14:33,500
Evenings were spent in 
semi-darkness with perhaps one 

4533
04:14:33,500 --> 04:14:37,500
candle or the firelight to see 
by creating Shadows that dance 

4534
04:14:37,500 --> 04:14:40,600
on walls and made familiar rooms
seemed strange. 

4535
04:14:41,300 --> 04:14:44,900
The creativity of desperate 
people manifested in unexpected 

4536
04:14:44,900 --> 04:14:47,900
ways. 
Some families organized, indoor 

4537
04:14:47,900 --> 04:14:51,700
festivals to maintain morale. 
Singing storytelling, craft 

4538
04:14:51,700 --> 04:14:56,100
anything, to break the monotony.
Children created elaborate games

4539
04:14:56,100 --> 04:14:59,800
using household objects. 
Adults told stories from memory,

4540
04:14:59,800 --> 04:15:03,500
embellishing with each retelling
until they became local Legends.

4541
04:15:04,400 --> 04:15:07,500
One family, reportedly performed
an entire week's worth of 

4542
04:15:07,508 --> 04:15:10,900
evening entertainments using 
nothing, but shadow puppets and 

4543
04:15:10,900 --> 04:15:14,000
engineering. 
Health concerns, added another 

4544
04:15:14,000 --> 04:15:17,500
layer of anxiety. 
If someone got sick or injured 

4545
04:15:17,500 --> 04:15:20,000
during the snowstorm, there was 
no way to fetch a doctor. 

4546
04:15:20,000 --> 04:15:23,800
No way to get help from 
Neighbors and no options except 

4547
04:15:23,800 --> 04:15:26,800
to deal with it yourself, using 
whatever folk remedies and 

4548
04:15:26,800 --> 04:15:31,100
herbal knowledge, you possessed 
every Cog made parents nervous, 

4549
04:15:31,100 --> 04:15:35,300
every complained of feeling 
unwell triggered calculations 

4550
04:15:35,300 --> 04:15:38,600
about supplies of medicinal 
herbs and whether the situation 

4551
04:15:38,600 --> 04:15:42,200
might become serious, 
Surprisingly, the death rate 

4552
04:15:42,200 --> 04:15:45,600
during the Great snow, at least 
among humans was relatively low.

4553
04:15:46,300 --> 04:15:49,800
New englanders were tough 
resourceful and experienced in 

4554
04:15:49,800 --> 04:15:53,100
dealing with harsh conditions. 
They knew how to rational food 

4555
04:15:53,100 --> 04:15:56,600
maintain heat of efficiently and
keep themselves occupied during 

4556
04:15:56,600 --> 04:16:00,100
long periods of confinement. 
The bigger casualties were 

4557
04:16:00,100 --> 04:16:03,900
livestock, particularly those in
less dirty shelters or within 

4558
04:16:03,900 --> 04:16:07,400
adequate food stores. 
As March progressed and the snow

4559
04:16:07,400 --> 04:16:10,400
finally stopped falling. 
Colonists began to reckon with 

4560
04:16:10,408 --> 04:16:12,000
the full extent of what had 
happened. 

4561
04:16:13,100 --> 04:16:16,500
The accumulation in most places 
measured between 10 and 20 feet 

4562
04:16:16,500 --> 04:16:21,700
with drifts and exposed areas, 
reaching 25 feet or more Houses 

4563
04:16:21,700 --> 04:16:26,000
were buried, roads cease to 
exist as recognizable features. 

4564
04:16:26,000 --> 04:16:29,300
The landscape looked like 
someone had taken a giant, white

4565
04:16:29,300 --> 04:16:31,700
blanket and just dropped it over
everything. 

4566
04:16:31,700 --> 04:16:35,800
Smoothing out all the familiar 
Contours into alien curves and 

4567
04:16:35,800 --> 04:16:39,100
slopes The silence. 
When the snow stopped was 

4568
04:16:39,100 --> 04:16:42,300
somehow more profound than the 
silence during the storms. 

4569
04:16:43,000 --> 04:16:45,100
For weeks. 
There had been at least the soft

4570
04:16:45,100 --> 04:16:48,200
Whisper of falling flakes in the
occasional gust of wind. 

4571
04:16:48,200 --> 04:16:53,100
Now, there was nothing the world
held its breath waiting to see 

4572
04:16:53,100 --> 04:16:56,800
what would happen next. 
Birds that had survived began to

4573
04:16:56,800 --> 04:17:01,300
tentatively explore their calls.
Sounding impossibly loud in the 

4574
04:17:01,300 --> 04:17:04,800
Stillness. 
Son emerged from behind clouds 

4575
04:17:04,800 --> 04:17:08,800
making the snow surface Sparkle.
So brightly it hurt to look at 

4576
04:17:08,808 --> 04:17:12,300
directly. 
When the snow finally stopped 

4577
04:17:12,300 --> 04:17:15,600
falling in mid-march new 
englanders faced a new problem, 

4578
04:17:15,600 --> 04:17:18,700
they were living under 
approximately 20 feet of Frozen 

4579
04:17:18,700 --> 04:17:22,100
water that showed no immediate 
interest in going anywhere. 

4580
04:17:23,100 --> 04:17:26,800
bring in New England, typically 
involves a gradual Thor with 

4581
04:17:26,800 --> 04:17:30,400
melting during the day and 
refreezing at night, a slow 

4582
04:17:30,400 --> 04:17:34,300
transition from Winter to Mud 
seas and But the great snow 

4583
04:17:34,300 --> 04:17:38,200
wasn't interested in following 
typical patterns, the sheer 

4584
04:17:38,200 --> 04:17:40,900
volume of snow created, its own 
microclimate. 

4585
04:17:41,700 --> 04:17:43,600
Even as temperatures Rose above 
freezing. 

4586
04:17:43,600 --> 04:17:48,100
During the day, the vast mass of
snow stayed cold reflecting 

4587
04:17:48,100 --> 04:17:50,500
sunlight and keeping air 
temperatures lower than they 

4588
04:17:50,500 --> 04:17:54,200
might otherwise be it was like 
living inside a massive Ice Cube

4589
04:17:54,200 --> 04:17:58,000
that was very slowly warming 
from the outside in The process 

4590
04:17:58,000 --> 04:18:00,000
of melting. 
This much snow would take weeks 

4591
04:18:00,000 --> 04:18:03,300
possibly months and would create
its own set of challenges. 

4592
04:18:04,400 --> 04:18:07,300
Initial attempts at clearing 
paths were almost comically 

4593
04:18:07,300 --> 04:18:10,900
futile. 
You shovel for hours creating a 

4594
04:18:10,900 --> 04:18:13,900
narrow passage that represented 
significant effort and 

4595
04:18:13,900 --> 04:18:16,200
exhaustion. 
Only to realize you'd made a 

4596
04:18:16,200 --> 04:18:19,200
barely visible dent in drifts 
that stretched in every 

4597
04:18:19,200 --> 04:18:21,900
direction. 
It was like trying to empty a 

4598
04:18:21,900 --> 04:18:24,800
lake with a teacup. 
Some colonists gave up on 

4599
04:18:24,800 --> 04:18:27,300
clearing entirely and just 
focused on maintaining their 

4600
04:18:27,300 --> 04:18:30,000
tunnel systems. 
Figuring the snow would melt 

4601
04:18:30,000 --> 04:18:32,000
eventually, and there was no 
point in fighting it. 

4602
04:18:32,900 --> 04:18:35,200
But isolation was becoming a 
serious problem. 

4603
04:18:35,200 --> 04:18:38,700
Communities have been cut off 
from each other for over three 

4604
04:18:38,700 --> 04:18:42,900
weeks, Food Supplies were 
running, critically low firewood

4605
04:18:42,900 --> 04:18:45,900
that had seemed adequate in 
February, was nearly exhausted. 

4606
04:18:46,700 --> 04:18:50,800
People needed to reconnect 
needed to trade goods and needed

4607
04:18:50,800 --> 04:18:53,000
to know if the rest of the world
still existed. 

4608
04:18:53,800 --> 04:18:57,700
This necessity drove remarkable 
efforts to create pathways 

4609
04:18:57,700 --> 04:19:00,700
through the snow. 
The solution that emerged was 

4610
04:19:00,700 --> 04:19:03,200
essentially a combination of 
tunneling and tramping. 

4611
04:19:03,900 --> 04:19:06,500
Groups of men would work 
together to create packed down 

4612
04:19:06,500 --> 04:19:10,000
Trails walking the same path. 
Repeatedly until it was 

4613
04:19:10,000 --> 04:19:12,000
compressed enough to support 
regular traffic. 

4614
04:19:13,000 --> 04:19:16,700
It was exhausting work. 
Imagine hiking through deep snow

4615
04:19:16,700 --> 04:19:21,700
for hours, while carrying tools,
but gradually slowly paths, 

4616
04:19:21,700 --> 04:19:24,100
began to connect neighboring, 
farms, and eventually linked to 

4617
04:19:24,108 --> 04:19:27,200
main roads. 
These early Pathways were more 

4618
04:19:27,200 --> 04:19:30,600
like trenches than roads. 
You'd walk along the bottom of a

4619
04:19:30,600 --> 04:19:34,700
corridor whose walls with snow. 
Sometimes 15 feet high on either

4620
04:19:34,700 --> 04:19:38,600
side, unable to see anything, 
but the sky above and the path 

4621
04:19:38,600 --> 04:19:41,400
ahead. 
It was disorienting and slightly

4622
04:19:41,400 --> 04:19:44,700
claustrophobic, but it was 
better than complete isolation. 

4623
04:19:46,000 --> 04:19:48,700
Travelers met in these trenches 
with the relief of survivors. 

4624
04:19:48,700 --> 04:19:50,600
Finding other humans after a 
disaster. 

4625
04:19:51,600 --> 04:19:54,400
It's changing news and supplies 
and reassurances that they 

4626
04:19:54,400 --> 04:19:58,000
weren't alone. 
Boston being a port city with 

4627
04:19:58,000 --> 04:20:01,400
more resources and Manpower 
organized more, systematic 

4628
04:20:01,400 --> 04:20:05,000
clearing efforts, Teams of 
workers attack the snow with a 

4629
04:20:05,008 --> 04:20:07,500
determination. 
Born of economic necessity. 

4630
04:20:08,500 --> 04:20:12,300
The city's Commerce depended, on
ship traffic and ships. 

4631
04:20:12,300 --> 04:20:14,800
Couldn't move while the harbor 
was frozen and streets were 

4632
04:20:14,800 --> 04:20:18,100
impossible. 
The work was brutal shoveling 

4633
04:20:18,100 --> 04:20:21,600
snow all day in conditions, that
range from barely tolerable to 

4634
04:20:21,600 --> 04:20:25,400
actively hostile. 
But wages were good by Colonial,

4635
04:20:25,400 --> 04:20:28,900
standards and Desperation made 
many willing to take on the 

4636
04:20:28,908 --> 04:20:32,000
task. 
Clearing efforts, in Boston, 

4637
04:20:32,000 --> 04:20:34,700
created mountains of snow that 
had to go somewhere. 

4638
04:20:35,600 --> 04:20:38,800
Without modern snow removal 
equipment, the only option was 

4639
04:20:38,800 --> 04:20:42,300
to pile it up. 
These artificial Hills of plowed

4640
04:20:42,300 --> 04:20:46,800
snow grew taller than buildings,
creating a strange new cityscape

4641
04:20:46,800 --> 04:20:49,000
where snow mountains loomed over
streets. 

4642
04:20:49,900 --> 04:20:52,800
Children found these mountains 
irresistible for sledding, 

4643
04:20:52,800 --> 04:20:55,700
despite parental warnings about 
the dangers. 

4644
04:20:56,600 --> 04:20:59,500
Some of these snow piles would 
remain visible well in to Summer

4645
04:20:59,500 --> 04:21:03,600
slowly shrinking but stubbornly 
refusing to disappear entirely. 

4646
04:21:04,600 --> 04:21:07,500
Rural areas, relied more on 
nature, to do the work? 

4647
04:21:08,200 --> 04:21:11,500
As temperatures gradually warmed
the snow began to settle and 

4648
04:21:11,500 --> 04:21:15,200
compress under its own weight. 
Paths that had been impossible 

4649
04:21:15,200 --> 04:21:19,200
slowly became navigable as the 
surface hardened and lowered. 

4650
04:21:20,000 --> 04:21:22,800
It was still difficult travel. 
You'd think to your knees or 

4651
04:21:22,800 --> 04:21:26,300
thighs with regularity. 
But it was at least possible to 

4652
04:21:26,300 --> 04:21:28,300
move around your property and 
reach nearby. 

4653
04:21:28,300 --> 04:21:30,900
Neighbors. 
The livestock situation was 

4654
04:21:30,900 --> 04:21:34,700
becoming critical animals that 
had survived this long needed, 

4655
04:21:34,700 --> 04:21:37,700
fresh air exercise and grazing 
as soon as possible. 

4656
04:21:38,600 --> 04:21:42,000
But releasing them into deep 
snow risk losing them in drifts 

4657
04:21:42,000 --> 04:21:44,900
or having them injure themselves
trying to navigate impossible 

4658
04:21:44,900 --> 04:21:47,800
Terrain. 
Farmers had to create in closed 

4659
04:21:47,800 --> 04:21:51,700
areas near Barnes where snow was
compressed enough for animals to

4660
04:21:51,700 --> 04:21:54,700
move safely. 
Horses and oxen were 

4661
04:21:54,700 --> 04:21:57,600
particularly valuable and 
received the most careful 

4662
04:21:57,600 --> 04:22:00,600
attention while chickens were 
basically left to fend for 

4663
04:22:00,608 --> 04:22:04,200
themselves which they did with 
their usual combination of luck 

4664
04:22:04,200 --> 04:22:07,700
and spite. 
As communication, resumed 

4665
04:22:07,700 --> 04:22:11,200
people, discovered that the 
great snow had affected, all of 

4666
04:22:11,200 --> 04:22:13,300
New England with varying degrees
of severity. 

4667
04:22:14,600 --> 04:22:18,300
Some coastal areas had received 
less accumulation while Inland 

4668
04:22:18,300 --> 04:22:21,400
regions and higher elevations, 
were buried even deeper than 

4669
04:22:21,400 --> 04:22:24,500
most places. 
Stories began to circulate, 

4670
04:22:24,500 --> 04:22:29,000
Tales of whole house, is being 
lost until spring of Travelers. 

4671
04:22:29,000 --> 04:22:32,600
Who perished attempting to cross
impossible, distances of 

4672
04:22:32,600 --> 04:22:35,400
Creative, Solutions to 
unprecedented problems. 

4673
04:22:36,200 --> 04:22:38,800
One story that made the rounds 
involved, a family, whose 

4674
04:22:38,800 --> 04:22:41,500
chimney became so packed with 
snow that smoke could not 

4675
04:22:41,500 --> 04:22:44,000
Escape. 
Rather than suffocate the 

4676
04:22:44,000 --> 04:22:47,800
carefully, extinguish their fire
and spent several days in bitter

4677
04:22:47,800 --> 04:22:50,500
cold while working to clear the 
chimney from inside. 

4678
04:22:51,700 --> 04:22:55,200
When they finally succeeded and 
relit the fire, the sudden draft

4679
04:22:55,200 --> 04:22:59,000
nearly blew the roof off. 
Family survived the house 

4680
04:22:59,000 --> 04:23:02,800
survived and they became local 
celebrities for their ordeal. 

4681
04:23:03,500 --> 04:23:06,400
Another account described a man 
who'd been visiting Neighbors, 

4682
04:23:06,400 --> 04:23:08,100
when the worst of the storms 
hit. 

4683
04:23:08,800 --> 04:23:11,800
Unable to return home. 
He was trapped for nearly three 

4684
04:23:11,800 --> 04:23:14,800
weeks. 
His wife assuming he'd taken 

4685
04:23:14,800 --> 04:23:17,600
shelter, somewhere wasn't 
particularly worried until he 

4686
04:23:17,600 --> 04:23:21,100
finally made it back half 
starved and with a beard that 

4687
04:23:21,100 --> 04:23:26,100
had grown wild. she reportedly 
greeted him with relief, then 

4688
04:23:26,100 --> 04:23:29,200
immediately put him to work on 
clearing their paths because 

4689
04:23:29,200 --> 04:23:32,900
priorities The gradual 
reconnection of communities 

4690
04:23:32,900 --> 04:23:35,300
brought news, both good and 
troubling. 

4691
04:23:36,000 --> 04:23:38,300
The death toll while lower than 
might be expected. 

4692
04:23:38,300 --> 04:23:41,500
Given the severity of the storms
was still significant. 

4693
04:23:42,500 --> 04:23:46,300
Mostly elderly people who 
couldn't handle the cold a few 

4694
04:23:46,300 --> 04:23:49,700
Travelers caught between 
destinations and some children 

4695
04:23:49,700 --> 04:23:53,100
who wandered from safety. 
Livestock losses were 

4696
04:23:53,100 --> 04:23:55,800
substantial. 
Estimates suggested that 

4697
04:23:55,800 --> 04:24:00,700
hundreds of cattle sheep and 
other animals had died from cold

4698
04:24:00,700 --> 04:24:05,500
starvation or injuries sustained
in panic to escape their 

4699
04:24:05,500 --> 04:24:07,800
shelters. 
But there was also remarkable 

4700
04:24:07,800 --> 04:24:11,000
news of resilience and survival.
Families. 

4701
04:24:11,000 --> 04:24:12,800
Who had been certain, they 
wouldn't make it through. 

4702
04:24:12,800 --> 04:24:17,000
Had found ways to endure. 
communities that had seemed on 

4703
04:24:17,008 --> 04:24:20,300
the brink of Crisis discovered, 
they had more resources and 

4704
04:24:20,300 --> 04:24:24,800
creativity than they'd realized 
Shared experience of surviving 

4705
04:24:24,800 --> 04:24:28,100
something unprecedented. 
Created bonds between neighbors 

4706
04:24:28,100 --> 04:24:32,300
that would last for Generations.
religious leaders, interpreted 

4707
04:24:32,300 --> 04:24:35,200
the great snow, according to 
their theological Frameworks, 

4708
04:24:36,000 --> 04:24:37,700
Some saw it as Divine 
punishment. 

4709
04:24:37,700 --> 04:24:40,900
For Colonial sins, though. 
There was considerable debate 

4710
04:24:40,900 --> 04:24:44,200
about which specific sins had 
angered God enough to Warrant 20

4711
04:24:44,200 --> 04:24:47,300
feet of snow. 
Others viewed as a test of 

4712
04:24:47,300 --> 04:24:49,500
faith. 
A trial that would strengthen 

4713
04:24:49,500 --> 04:24:53,600
the community's relationship 
with the divine. a few practical

4714
04:24:53,600 --> 04:24:57,000
minded, ministers suggested, it 
was simply weather and perhaps 

4715
04:24:57,000 --> 04:24:59,700
they should focus on helping 
each other rather than debating 

4716
04:24:59,700 --> 04:25:03,800
its spiritual significant As 
March gave way to April, the 

4717
04:25:03,800 --> 04:25:06,800
pace of melting accelerated 
warmer temperatures. 

4718
04:25:06,800 --> 04:25:09,500
And longer days. 
Finally began to make a visible 

4719
04:25:09,500 --> 04:25:13,700
dent in the snow accumulation. 
Roofs emerged from under their 

4720
04:25:13,700 --> 04:25:17,700
white Birdman fence is 
reappeared trees that had been 

4721
04:25:17,700 --> 04:25:21,200
bent doubles slowly straightened
as their load of snow melted. 

4722
04:25:22,000 --> 04:25:25,300
The landscape began to remember 
its original shape though. 

4723
04:25:25,300 --> 04:25:28,300
It would be weaks before it. 
Fully returned to normal the 

4724
04:25:28,300 --> 04:25:30,400
melting created its own set of 
problems. 

4725
04:25:30,400 --> 04:25:33,900
All that snow had to go 
somewhere and where it went was 

4726
04:25:33,900 --> 04:25:39,200
everywhere. rivers and streams 
swelled to flood stage roads 

4727
04:25:39,200 --> 04:25:43,500
turned into muddy rivers 
basements flooded The spring 

4728
04:25:43,500 --> 04:25:47,400
runoff, typically a manageable 
annual event became a deluge 

4729
04:25:47,400 --> 04:25:51,000
that overwhelmed normal drainage
and created temporary lakes in 

4730
04:25:51,000 --> 04:25:54,200
low-lying areas. 
It was like watching winter 

4731
04:25:54,200 --> 04:25:57,800
turned directly into a very wet,
very muddy version of spring, 

4732
04:25:57,800 --> 04:26:02,100
skipping all the pleasant parts.
But with the melting came hope 

4733
04:26:02,100 --> 04:26:06,000
every day, the world looked a 
little more familiar every day 

4734
04:26:06,000 --> 04:26:09,500
travel became a little easier 
every day, brought them closer 

4735
04:26:09,500 --> 04:26:12,500
to the farming season when they 
could begin to recover from 

4736
04:26:12,500 --> 04:26:15,400
Winter's assault. 
Garden's could be planned 

4737
04:26:15,400 --> 04:26:20,700
animals, could graze a normal 
life could resume, The first 

4738
04:26:20,700 --> 04:26:25,800
flowers to emerge crocuses and 
snowdrops, ironically became 

4739
04:26:25,800 --> 04:26:29,000
objects of Celebration 
disproportionate to their size 

4740
04:26:29,000 --> 04:26:32,200
or beauty. 
After months of nothing but 

4741
04:26:32,200 --> 04:26:36,400
white and gray and brown the 
sight of actual color in the 

4742
04:26:36,400 --> 04:26:39,200
landscape. 
Like a miracle children, brought

4743
04:26:39,200 --> 04:26:42,700
handfuls of early flowers to 
their mothers who placed them in

4744
04:26:42,700 --> 04:26:44,500
whatever containers could hold 
water. 

4745
04:26:44,500 --> 04:26:46,700
Treating them like Precious 
Treasures. 

4746
04:26:47,600 --> 04:26:49,800
Birds returned in force and 
their songs. 

4747
04:26:49,800 --> 04:26:52,300
Seemed louder and more 
enthusiastic than anyone 

4748
04:26:52,300 --> 04:26:55,100
remembered. 
Or perhaps it was just that 

4749
04:26:55,100 --> 04:26:59,300
after weeks of muffled, silenced
under snow, any sound felt 

4750
04:26:59,300 --> 04:27:01,900
remarkable. 
The geese flying overhead in 

4751
04:27:01,900 --> 04:27:04,000
their V. 
Formations the robins hunting 

4752
04:27:04,000 --> 04:27:08,100
for worms in newly exposed soil.
The Hawks circling above looking

4753
04:27:08,100 --> 04:27:11,700
for prey, all of its signal that
the world was returning to its 

4754
04:27:11,700 --> 04:27:16,100
normal rhythms. 
A spring truly arrived and life 

4755
04:27:16,100 --> 04:27:19,000
returned to something 
approaching normal, new 

4756
04:27:19,000 --> 04:27:22,200
englanders began to reckon with 
what the great snow had done to 

4757
04:27:22,200 --> 04:27:25,500
their world. 
The physical impact of obvious 

4758
04:27:25,500 --> 04:27:30,900
damage to buildings, lost 
livestock and depleted supplies.

4759
04:27:31,900 --> 04:27:34,500
That the psychological and 
social impacts would resonate 

4760
04:27:34,500 --> 04:27:37,500
for much longer. 
The great snow became the 

4761
04:27:37,500 --> 04:27:40,500
defining event against which all
other weather was measured for 

4762
04:27:40,500 --> 04:27:43,200
Generations. 
Grandparents would tell their 

4763
04:27:43,200 --> 04:27:45,500
grandchildren about the winter. 
When the snow reached, the 

4764
04:27:45,500 --> 04:27:48,700
Second Story windows, and the 
children would roll their eyes. 

4765
04:27:48,700 --> 04:27:51,700
The way children always do when 
elderly relative start talking 

4766
04:27:51,700 --> 04:27:53,700
about how much harder things 
were in their day. 

4767
04:27:54,900 --> 04:27:58,500
Except in this case, the elderly
relatives were actually telling 

4768
04:27:58,500 --> 04:28:01,300
the truth, even if they 
embellished the details with 

4769
04:28:01,300 --> 04:28:05,400
each retelling. 
Diaries and letters from 1717 

4770
04:28:05,400 --> 04:28:08,800
provide glimpses into how people
process their experience. 

4771
04:28:09,500 --> 04:28:13,000
Cotton Mather, the famous 
Puritan Minister wrote 

4772
04:28:13,000 --> 04:28:16,500
extensively about the storms 
interpreting them through a 

4773
04:28:16,500 --> 04:28:19,000
religious lens while also 
providing detailed 

4774
04:28:19,000 --> 04:28:23,200
meteorological observations. 
His accounts described snow 

4775
04:28:23,200 --> 04:28:27,500
depths drift patterns, and the 
challenges of daily life with 

4776
04:28:27,500 --> 04:28:30,400
the Precision of someone who 
understood this was historically

4777
04:28:30,400 --> 04:28:34,200
significant. other written 
records are more personal and 

4778
04:28:34,200 --> 04:28:37,700
immediate one woman wrote about 
the strange intimacy of being 

4779
04:28:37,700 --> 04:28:41,000
confined with her family for 
weeks, how they learned things 

4780
04:28:41,000 --> 04:28:44,000
about each other that years of 
normal life had never revealed 

4781
04:28:44,900 --> 04:28:48,000
Another described the terror of 
hearing, the roof Creek, under 

4782
04:28:48,000 --> 04:28:52,100
the weight of snow wondering, if
each Creek might be the one that

4783
04:28:52,100 --> 04:28:54,900
preceded collapse. 
A farmer. 

4784
04:28:54,908 --> 04:28:58,100
Catalogued his livestock losses 
with the resignation of someone 

4785
04:28:58,100 --> 04:29:01,600
who understood that survival, 
sometimes meant accepting 

4786
04:29:01,600 --> 04:29:05,600
things, you could not control. 
The economic impact of the great

4787
04:29:05,600 --> 04:29:07,600
snow rippled through New, 
England for months. 

4788
04:29:08,600 --> 04:29:12,200
Spring planting was delayed 
which meant smaller harvests in 

4789
04:29:12,200 --> 04:29:15,000
the fall lost livestock had to 
be replaced. 

4790
04:29:15,000 --> 04:29:18,300
A significant expense for 
families whose margins were 

4791
04:29:18,300 --> 04:29:21,300
already thin. 
Buildings, needed repairs, 

4792
04:29:21,300 --> 04:29:23,200
Gardens. 
That have been carefully 

4793
04:29:23,200 --> 04:29:26,800
established over years were 
damaged or destroyed and needed 

4794
04:29:26,800 --> 04:29:31,300
to be started from scratch. 
The snow had essentially reset 

4795
04:29:31,300 --> 04:29:35,000
progress for many families. 
Forcing them to rebuild what had

4796
04:29:35,000 --> 04:29:37,400
been lost. 
But there were unexpected 

4797
04:29:37,400 --> 04:29:41,100
benefits as well. the Deep 
snowpack meant exceptional, 

4798
04:29:41,100 --> 04:29:44,900
water availability through the 
summer Wells, that sometimes ran

4799
04:29:44,900 --> 04:29:48,800
low stayed full Streams that 
occasionally dried up kept 

4800
04:29:48,800 --> 04:29:51,100
flowing. 
The moisture in the soil 

4801
04:29:51,100 --> 04:29:54,500
produced crops that despite the 
late start grew with unusual 

4802
04:29:54,500 --> 04:29:58,200
Vigor nature, having delivered 
an unprecedented winter. 

4803
04:29:58,200 --> 04:30:02,200
Apparently decided to compensate
with an uncommonly productive 

4804
04:30:02,200 --> 04:30:05,100
growing season. 
The shared experience of 

4805
04:30:05,100 --> 04:30:08,800
surviving the great snow created
social bonds that transcended 

4806
04:30:08,800 --> 04:30:12,000
previous divisions. 
Disputes between neighbors, 

4807
04:30:12,000 --> 04:30:14,800
seemed Petty and light of what 
everyone had endured together. 

4808
04:30:15,500 --> 04:30:18,600
Communities that have been 
fractious, found new Unity. 

4809
04:30:19,400 --> 04:30:22,700
People who had survived the same
ordeal developed a kinship came 

4810
04:30:22,700 --> 04:30:26,500
from understanding what it meant
to face nature at its most 

4811
04:30:26,500 --> 04:30:28,800
imposing and come through the 
other side. 

4812
04:30:29,700 --> 04:30:32,200
Children who lived through the 
great snow would carry its 

4813
04:30:32,200 --> 04:30:33,700
memory for the rest of their 
lives. 

4814
04:30:34,400 --> 04:30:36,700
For them. 
It became the dividing line 

4815
04:30:36,700 --> 04:30:40,600
between before and after the 
event that marked their 

4816
04:30:40,600 --> 04:30:43,300
transition from childhood. 
Innocence to an understanding 

4817
04:30:43,300 --> 04:30:46,000
that the world could be both 
beautiful and dangerous. 

4818
04:30:47,000 --> 04:30:50,300
Some would develop a lifelong, 
weariness of winter always 

4819
04:30:50,300 --> 04:30:54,000
preparing more than necessary. 
Always worried that another such

4820
04:30:54,000 --> 04:30:57,700
storm might arrive Others, would
remember it with a strange 

4821
04:30:57,700 --> 04:31:01,400
Nostalgia recalling. 
The adventure and excitement of 

4822
04:31:01,400 --> 04:31:03,200
living through something 
extraordinary. 

4823
04:31:04,300 --> 04:31:07,000
The physical evidence of the 
great snow lasted, surprisingly 

4824
04:31:07,000 --> 04:31:09,900
long. 
Those massive piles of plowed 

4825
04:31:09,900 --> 04:31:12,400
snow in Boston, melted slowly 
through the summer. 

4826
04:31:13,200 --> 04:31:16,800
Creating muddy pools that became
unofficial swimming holes for 

4827
04:31:16,800 --> 04:31:18,700
children and nuisance is for 
everyone else. 

4828
04:31:19,800 --> 04:31:23,200
Some snow remained in deep 
shaded valleys well into June. 

4829
04:31:23,900 --> 04:31:26,900
Stubborn patches of winter 
refusing to admit that spring 

4830
04:31:26,900 --> 04:31:29,800
had won trees. 
That had been damaged by the way

4831
04:31:29,800 --> 04:31:33,600
of snow boss cars. 
Visible for years afterward Bent

4832
04:31:33,600 --> 04:31:37,700
trunks, missing branches and 
growth patterns that marked 

4833
04:31:37,700 --> 04:31:39,200
where they'd been broken and 
healed. 

4834
04:31:40,200 --> 04:31:43,200
Architecture changed subtly in 
response to the great snow. 

4835
04:31:43,200 --> 04:31:47,000
New buildings were constructed 
with steeper roofs to shed snow 

4836
04:31:47,000 --> 04:31:50,200
more effectively. 
Bonds were reinforced with 

4837
04:31:50,200 --> 04:31:53,300
additional supports storage. 
Buildings were designed with 

4838
04:31:53,300 --> 04:31:55,900
better access during High snow 
conditions. 

4839
04:31:56,600 --> 04:31:59,600
These weren't dramatic changes 
but they reflected a 

4840
04:31:59,600 --> 04:32:02,300
recalibration of what new 
englanders understood winter 

4841
04:32:02,300 --> 04:32:04,500
could do. 
They had been reminded that 

4842
04:32:04,500 --> 04:32:07,800
nature could exceed their 
expectations and they adjusted 

4843
04:32:07,800 --> 04:32:12,000
their plans accordingly. 
The great snow entered folklore,

4844
04:32:12,000 --> 04:32:15,800
almost immediately stories, 
began to circulate, the probably

4845
04:32:15,800 --> 04:32:19,100
had some basis and truth but 
grew more elaborate with each 

4846
04:32:19,100 --> 04:32:21,800
telling. 
Tales of people walking over 

4847
04:32:21,800 --> 04:32:23,700
houses without realizing they 
were there. 

4848
04:32:24,700 --> 04:32:27,800
Counts of deer being found 
Frozen in standing positions 

4849
04:32:27,800 --> 04:32:32,900
preserved in ice, like statues. 
Stories of tunnels collapsing 

4850
04:32:32,900 --> 04:32:36,800
and miraculous rescues of 
supplies running out just as a 

4851
04:32:36,800 --> 04:32:41,000
Thor allowed resupply of proper 
denture, intervention's that 

4852
04:32:41,000 --> 04:32:45,200
save families from disaster. 
Some stories focused on human 

4853
04:32:45,200 --> 04:32:47,400
Ingenuity and creativity under 
pressure. 

4854
04:32:48,300 --> 04:32:52,000
The man who fashioned snowshoes 
from barrel staves and managed 

4855
04:32:52,000 --> 04:32:55,700
to walk across drifts that 
swallowed everyone else A family

4856
04:32:55,700 --> 04:32:58,300
that rational their food. 
So carefully they ended the 

4857
04:32:58,300 --> 04:33:02,200
ordeal with supplies to spare. 
The woman who kept her family 

4858
04:33:02,200 --> 04:33:06,099
spirits up through the darkest 
days with nothing but stories 

4859
04:33:06,099 --> 04:33:09,099
and songs. 
These Tales celebrated, the 

4860
04:33:09,099 --> 04:33:12,000
resilience and resourcefulness 
that had allowed the community 

4861
04:33:12,000 --> 04:33:15,000
to survive. 
Other stories had a darker tone 

4862
04:33:15,000 --> 04:33:17,700
acknowledging, the losses, and 
the moments of despair. 

4863
04:33:19,099 --> 04:33:22,700
Traveler was found Frozen 
halfway between settlements his 

4864
04:33:22,700 --> 04:33:27,400
final thoughts, unknown. 
The elderly couple who simply 

4865
04:33:27,400 --> 04:33:30,599
didn't have the strength to 
endure another month of cold and

4866
04:33:30,599 --> 04:33:33,800
hardship. 
The animals that died despite 

4867
04:33:33,800 --> 04:33:37,099
their owners best efforts. 
These stories served as 

4868
04:33:37,099 --> 04:33:41,000
reminders that survival had come
at a cost and that luck played 

4869
04:33:41,000 --> 04:33:43,599
as much a role as preparation or
strength. 

4870
04:33:43,599 --> 04:33:47,500
The great snow also entered 
religious discourse in ways that

4871
04:33:47,500 --> 04:33:49,900
reflected the theological debate
of the era. 

4872
04:33:50,700 --> 04:33:53,500
Some ministers used it as 
evidence, of divine displeasure,

4873
04:33:53,500 --> 04:33:57,400
pointing to specific sins, they 
believed to triggered God's 

4874
04:33:57,400 --> 04:34:00,300
judgment. 
Others saw it as a test at the 

4875
04:34:00,300 --> 04:34:03,500
community had passed everdance 
of their faith and 

4876
04:34:03,500 --> 04:34:06,000
righteousness. 
Still others, argued. 

4877
04:34:06,000 --> 04:34:11,400
It was simply whether remarkable
natural and attributing moral 

4878
04:34:11,400 --> 04:34:14,500
significance to meteorology was 
perhaps missing the point. 

4879
04:34:15,500 --> 04:34:18,500
These debates, probably mattered
less to the average colonist 

4880
04:34:18,500 --> 04:34:21,200
than the Practical question of 
whether they're chickens would 

4881
04:34:21,200 --> 04:34:24,200
start laying again. 
Scientific observation in the 

4882
04:34:24,207 --> 04:34:28,000
early 18th century was informal 
and often mixed with folklore. 

4883
04:34:28,000 --> 04:34:31,300
But the great snow prompted, 
some genuine attempts to 

4884
04:34:31,300 --> 04:34:34,900
understand what had happened. 
People compared experiences, 

4885
04:34:34,900 --> 04:34:38,700
trying to establish patterns in 
snowfall and drift formation. 

4886
04:34:38,700 --> 04:34:43,000
They noticed that certain areas 
consistently received more or 

4887
04:34:43,000 --> 04:34:46,400
less know that wind patterns, 
created, predictable drift 

4888
04:34:46,400 --> 04:34:50,099
locations and that temperature 
fluctuations influence snow 

4889
04:34:50,099 --> 04:34:53,700
quality. 
This informal meteorology wooden

4890
04:34:53,700 --> 04:34:57,099
impress modern scientists. 
But it represented colonists 

4891
04:34:57,099 --> 04:34:59,700
trying to make sense of their 
world through observation and 

4892
04:34:59,700 --> 04:35:03,300
reason. 
The great snows Legacy extended 

4893
04:35:03,300 --> 04:35:06,300
Beyond New England. 
News of the extraordinary 

4894
04:35:06,300 --> 04:35:10,599
Winters bred to other colonies 
and eventually to England where 

4895
04:35:10,599 --> 04:35:13,700
it was received with a mixed of 
sympathy and skepticism. 

4896
04:35:15,000 --> 04:35:18,900
English readers accustomed to 
milder Winters struggled to 

4897
04:35:18,900 --> 04:35:22,900
imagine 20 ft of snow. 
Some assumed the accounts were 

4898
04:35:22,900 --> 04:35:26,500
exaggerated, surely the 
colonists were embellishing for 

4899
04:35:26,500 --> 04:35:30,300
effect. 
This skepticism frustrated new 

4900
04:35:30,300 --> 04:35:33,900
englanders who knew exactly how 
extraordinary their experience 

4901
04:35:33,900 --> 04:35:36,400
had been and resented having it 
questioned by people. 

4902
04:35:36,400 --> 04:35:41,000
Who'd never seen snow that deep.
In the decades that followed the

4903
04:35:41,000 --> 04:35:44,700
great snow became a benchmark. 
Other harsh Winters were 

4904
04:35:44,700 --> 04:35:51,200
compared to it and found wanting
bad but not 1717 bad became a 

4905
04:35:51,200 --> 04:35:54,500
common refrain. 
The event established a ceiling 

4906
04:35:54,500 --> 04:35:57,599
for what winter could do. 
A worst case scenario that 

4907
04:35:57,599 --> 04:36:01,900
seemed unlikely to be repeated 
and In Deed while New England 

4908
04:36:01,900 --> 04:36:05,300
has experienced many harsh 
Winters since 1717. 

4909
04:36:05,300 --> 04:36:09,500
None have quite matched that 
remarkable season when the sky 

4910
04:36:09,500 --> 04:36:11,599
opened and didn't closed for 
nearly a month. 

4911
04:36:12,599 --> 04:36:16,200
As you sit here in your climate,
controlled Comfort, the warm 

4912
04:36:16,200 --> 04:36:19,900
drink and a soft blanket. 
It's worth reflecting on what 

4913
04:36:19,900 --> 04:36:24,099
the great snow can teach us 
about resilience community and 

4914
04:36:24,099 --> 04:36:25,700
the human relationship with 
nature. 

4915
04:36:27,200 --> 04:36:29,000
We're separated from those 
Colonial. 

4916
04:36:29,000 --> 04:36:31,300
New englanders by over three 
centuries. 

4917
04:36:31,300 --> 04:36:36,000
Countless technological advances
and such dramatic changes in 

4918
04:36:36,000 --> 04:36:38,400
daily life. 
That they'd barely recognize our

4919
04:36:38,400 --> 04:36:41,599
world. 
Yet their experience speaks to 

4920
04:36:41,599 --> 04:36:44,800
something Timeless about how 
people cope with circumstances 

4921
04:36:44,800 --> 04:36:49,099
beyond their control. 
The colonists of 1717 didn't 

4922
04:36:49,099 --> 04:36:52,099
have weather forecasting, 
climate control, instant 

4923
04:36:52,099 --> 04:36:54,900
communication or any of the 
Technologies, we can consider 

4924
04:36:54,900 --> 04:36:56,599
essential for dealing with harsh
weather. 

4925
04:36:57,400 --> 04:37:00,500
What they had was knowledge 
passed down through generations,

4926
04:37:00,500 --> 04:37:04,000
strong Community bonds, a 
remarkable tolerance for 

4927
04:37:04,000 --> 04:37:06,200
discomfort. 
And an understanding that 

4928
04:37:06,200 --> 04:37:10,400
survival sometimes meant simply 
enduring When faced with 

4929
04:37:10,400 --> 04:37:14,300
unprecedented circumstances, 
they adapted improvised and 

4930
04:37:14,300 --> 04:37:16,500
supported each other through the
crisis. 

4931
04:37:17,300 --> 04:37:20,000
There's something almost 
enviable about the Simplicity of

4932
04:37:20,000 --> 04:37:22,900
their challenges. 
Not enviable in the sense that 

4933
04:37:22,900 --> 04:37:25,900
we'd want to experience what 
they did spending weeks. 

4934
04:37:25,900 --> 04:37:28,200
Trapped in a cold house within 
adequate food. 

4935
04:37:28,200 --> 04:37:31,599
While buried under 20 feet of 
snow sounds terrible. 

4936
04:37:31,599 --> 04:37:35,300
No matter how you frame it but 
then viable in its directness 

4937
04:37:36,400 --> 04:37:40,099
The problems were clear. 
Stay warm, stay fed, keep 

4938
04:37:40,099 --> 04:37:42,300
animals alive and wait for 
spring. 

4939
04:37:43,700 --> 04:37:46,200
The solutions while difficult 
were equally clear. 

4940
04:37:47,000 --> 04:37:50,300
There was no ambiguity about 
what needed doing Modern Life. 

4941
04:37:50,300 --> 04:37:53,800
Rarely offers, such clarity. 
I'll challenges are often 

4942
04:37:53,800 --> 04:37:56,900
abstract long-term and difficult
to Define precisely. 

4943
04:37:58,200 --> 04:38:02,700
Climate change, economic 
uncertainty social division. 

4944
04:38:03,300 --> 04:38:07,000
These are the storms we face now
and they don't have the simple 

4945
04:38:07,000 --> 04:38:11,500
directness of too much snow. 
We can't tunnel through them or 

4946
04:38:11,500 --> 04:38:15,000
wait for them to melt. the 
colonists who survived the great

4947
04:38:15,000 --> 04:38:17,700
snow had the advantage of 
knowing their ordeal had a 

4948
04:38:17,707 --> 04:38:21,599
definite endpoint eventually 
spring would arrive and the snow

4949
04:38:21,599 --> 04:38:25,800
would melt They just had to last
until then, but perhaps we can 

4950
04:38:25,800 --> 04:38:28,099
learn something from how they 
approach their crisis. 

4951
04:38:28,700 --> 04:38:31,400
They didn't waste energy 
complaining about the Injustice 

4952
04:38:31,400 --> 04:38:35,099
of their situation or debating. 
Whether the snow was really that

4953
04:38:35,099 --> 04:38:38,400
deep or speculating about 
whether better leadership could 

4954
04:38:38,400 --> 04:38:41,900
have prevented it. 
They accepted the reality they 

4955
04:38:41,900 --> 04:38:45,700
faced and focused on what they 
could control their own actions,

4956
04:38:45,700 --> 04:38:49,200
their families welfare, and 
their neighbor's needs. there's 

4957
04:38:49,200 --> 04:38:52,700
wisdom in that Acceptance in 
choosing to work with reality 

4958
04:38:52,700 --> 04:38:56,800
rather than arguing with it The 
community bond strengthened, by 

4959
04:38:56,800 --> 04:39:00,500
the great snow offer another 
list and modern society often, 

4960
04:39:00,500 --> 04:39:03,700
prioritizes individual 
achievement and self-sufficiency

4961
04:39:03,700 --> 04:39:06,900
in ways that Colonial new 
englanders, would find both 

4962
04:39:06,900 --> 04:39:10,099
bizarre and dangerous. 
They understood that survival 

4963
04:39:10,099 --> 04:39:13,000
depended on community on 
neighbors, helping each other 

4964
04:39:13,000 --> 04:39:15,900
and on sharing resources and 
knowledge and labor. 

4965
04:39:16,700 --> 04:39:20,300
The great snow reinforced these 
bonds by making their importance

4966
04:39:20,300 --> 04:39:23,300
undeniable. 
You survived, not just through 

4967
04:39:23,300 --> 04:39:26,599
your own efforts, but through 
the web of relationships that 

4968
04:39:26,599 --> 04:39:29,800
connected you to others. 
We've built a world where such 

4969
04:39:29,800 --> 04:39:33,700
interdependence is less visible.
Your heat comes from distant 

4970
04:39:33,700 --> 04:39:37,300
power plants or gas lines. 
Your food comes from industrial 

4971
04:39:37,300 --> 04:39:39,600
Farms, hundreds or thousands of 
miles away. 

4972
04:39:39,600 --> 04:39:43,200
Your water arrives through 
underground pipes from treatment

4973
04:39:43,200 --> 04:39:46,900
facilities, you've never seen 
this system is remarkably 

4974
04:39:46,900 --> 04:39:51,000
efficient, but it obscures the 
reality that we're just as 

4975
04:39:51,000 --> 04:39:55,300
dependent on others as those 
Colonial families were We've 

4976
04:39:55,300 --> 04:39:58,800
just outsourced that dependence 
to systems so large and complex 

4977
04:39:58,800 --> 04:40:00,900
that we forget their there until
they fail. 

4978
04:40:01,700 --> 04:40:04,500
The great snow also reminds us 
of Nature's power and 

4979
04:40:04,500 --> 04:40:07,100
indifference. 
The storms didn't care about 

4980
04:40:07,100 --> 04:40:09,200
human plans or needs or 
survival. 

4981
04:40:09,900 --> 04:40:13,200
They weren't punishment or tests
or lessons, they will. 

4982
04:40:13,200 --> 04:40:17,000
Whether operating according to 
atmospheric physics, that has no

4983
04:40:17,000 --> 04:40:20,200
concern for whether humans, find
the results convenient. 

4984
04:40:21,400 --> 04:40:24,300
Colonial new englanders. 
Understood this at a visceral 

4985
04:40:24,300 --> 04:40:26,400
level that modern people often 
don't. 

4986
04:40:27,300 --> 04:40:30,800
They lived much closer to 
Nature's raw power and had fewer

4987
04:40:30,800 --> 04:40:33,100
buffers between themselves and 
its effects. 

4988
04:40:33,900 --> 04:40:37,600
Our technology has given us 
unprecedented ability to predict

4989
04:40:37,600 --> 04:40:41,400
prepare for and protect 
ourselves from natural events. 

4990
04:40:42,200 --> 04:40:45,800
We have weather satellites, 
climate models building codes, 

4991
04:40:45,800 --> 04:40:49,600
emergency services and 
infrastructure designed to 

4992
04:40:49,600 --> 04:40:53,300
handle extreme conditions. 
These are real advantages that 

4993
04:40:53,300 --> 04:40:57,100
save countless lives. 
But they can also create an 

4994
04:40:57,100 --> 04:40:59,000
illusion of control that doesn't
match reality. 

4995
04:41:00,000 --> 04:41:03,300
Nature retains the ability to 
overwhelm our preparations as 

4996
04:41:03,300 --> 04:41:07,500
hurricanes floods wildfires. 
And yes, occasionally severe. 

4997
04:41:07,500 --> 04:41:09,500
Winter storms, continue to 
demonstrate. 

4998
04:41:10,900 --> 04:41:13,400
There's also something to be 
said about the pace of Life, the

4999
04:41:13,400 --> 04:41:17,800
great snow in forced For weeks 
Collins had nothing to do but 

5000
04:41:17,800 --> 04:41:21,600
exists with their families, 
maintain basic necessities, and 

5001
04:41:21,600 --> 04:41:24,000
wait. 
No, rushing to appointments 

5002
04:41:24,000 --> 04:41:29,200
know, checking device's know, 
consuming media, no busy work. 

5003
04:41:29,200 --> 04:41:30,800
That creates the illusion of 
productivity. 

5004
04:41:32,100 --> 04:41:35,400
Just being in the most 
fundamental sense. 

5005
04:41:36,400 --> 04:41:40,100
Many people who have experienced
similar Force, slowing, whether 

5006
04:41:40,100 --> 04:41:43,400
through illness isolation or 
circumstance. 

5007
04:41:44,300 --> 04:41:48,900
Report that while difficult it 
provided unexpected insights and

5008
04:41:48,900 --> 04:41:53,000
a recalibration of priorities, 
the stories that emerge from the

5009
04:41:53,000 --> 04:41:56,100
great snow highlight Humanities 
need to make meaning from 

5010
04:41:56,100 --> 04:41:58,900
experience. 
People didn't just survive the 

5011
04:41:58,900 --> 04:42:02,300
storms, they needed to 
understand them to fit them into

5012
04:42:02,300 --> 04:42:04,300
narratives that made sense of 
their world. 

5013
04:42:05,400 --> 04:42:09,100
Some narratives were religious 
others, practical and still 

5014
04:42:09,100 --> 04:42:11,700
others focused on human heroism 
or failure. 

5015
04:42:12,400 --> 04:42:15,000
What matters isn't which 
interpretation was correct. 

5016
04:42:16,100 --> 04:42:18,800
But the creating these stories 
helped people process their 

5017
04:42:18,800 --> 04:42:23,300
experience and pass its lessons 
to Future Generations in our own

5018
04:42:23,300 --> 04:42:26,500
era of Rapid change and 
uncertainty were creating 

5019
04:42:26,500 --> 04:42:29,100
similar stories to make sense of
our experiences. 

5020
04:42:29,100 --> 04:42:32,700
We argue about their meaning, 
their implications and their 

5021
04:42:32,700 --> 04:42:35,000
lessons. 
Like those Colonial new 

5022
04:42:35,000 --> 04:42:38,100
englanders were trying to 
understand events that exceed, 

5023
04:42:38,100 --> 04:42:40,000
our previous Frameworks for 
comprehension. 

5024
04:42:40,800 --> 04:42:42,800
There are arguments about 
whether the great snow was 

5025
04:42:42,800 --> 04:42:44,500
divine judgment or natural 
weather. 

5026
04:42:44,500 --> 04:42:48,400
Mirror are debate about current 
challenges, we're all just 

5027
04:42:48,400 --> 04:42:51,100
trying to make sense of things 
that don't fit comfortably into 

5028
04:42:51,100 --> 04:42:54,800
our existing understanding. 
The great Snows of ventral end 

5029
04:42:54,800 --> 04:42:56,800
offers perhaps the most 
important lesson. 

5030
04:42:57,500 --> 04:43:01,800
Hard times do end. 
Spring did arrive the snow. 

5031
04:43:01,800 --> 04:43:05,700
Did melt life did return to 
normal or at least to a new 

5032
04:43:05,708 --> 04:43:09,400
normal shape by the Xperience. 
For people in the midst of 

5033
04:43:09,400 --> 04:43:11,100
Crisis, this can be hard to 
believe. 

5034
04:43:12,000 --> 04:43:14,800
When you're trapped under 20 
feet of snow with dwindling 

5035
04:43:14,800 --> 04:43:16,600
supplies and no certain end 
date. 

5036
04:43:16,600 --> 04:43:18,800
It's difficult to maintain 
faith. 

5037
04:43:18,800 --> 04:43:20,900
That better days are coming but 
they came. 

5038
04:43:20,900 --> 04:43:25,000
Anyway, as they generally do, 
this isn't empty optimism or 

5039
04:43:25,000 --> 04:43:28,700
toxic positivity. 
It's simply an observation based

5040
04:43:28,700 --> 04:43:31,900
on history. 
Humans are remarkably good at 

5041
04:43:31,900 --> 04:43:35,300
surviving difficult 
circumstances, adapting to new 

5042
04:43:35,300 --> 04:43:38,000
realities and rebuilding after 
disasters. 

5043
04:43:39,200 --> 04:43:41,800
We've done it. 
Countless times in countless 

5044
04:43:41,800 --> 04:43:44,400
places. 
Facing challenges that seemed 

5045
04:43:44,400 --> 04:43:48,000
insurmountable and they were 
surmounted The colonists who 

5046
04:43:48,000 --> 04:43:50,600
survived the great snow didn't 
have any special abilities, 

5047
04:43:50,600 --> 04:43:53,200
relax. 
They were ordinary people who 

5048
04:43:53,200 --> 04:43:56,200
found themselves in 
extraordinary circumstances and 

5049
04:43:56,200 --> 04:43:59,300
did what needed doing until the 
circumstances changed. 

5050
04:44:00,300 --> 04:44:02,700
As we come to the end of our 
journey through that remarkable 

5051
04:44:02,700 --> 04:44:05,500
winter. 
It's time to settle deeper into 

5052
04:44:05,500 --> 04:44:08,700
your comfortable spot. 
And let the story find its 

5053
04:44:08,700 --> 04:44:14,600
resting place in your mind. 
The great snow of 1717 happened 

5054
04:44:14,600 --> 04:44:18,100
over three centuries ago. 
But it's lessons remain as 

5055
04:44:18,100 --> 04:44:22,800
relevant as fresh snowfall. 
Those Colonial families living 

5056
04:44:22,800 --> 04:44:25,600
through week, after week of 
isolation and uncertainty. 

5057
04:44:26,500 --> 04:44:29,000
Probably didn't feel 
particularly heroic. 

5058
04:44:29,000 --> 04:44:34,300
They felt cold tired, worried, 
and thoroughly sick of being 

5059
04:44:34,300 --> 04:44:38,000
trapped indoors with the same 
people, eating the same food and

5060
04:44:38,000 --> 04:44:42,300
having the same conversations. 
Heroism like most important 

5061
04:44:42,300 --> 04:44:46,500
human qualities is usually just 
ordinary people doing what needs

5062
04:44:46,500 --> 04:44:48,800
doing without much. 
Thought about how it looks to 

5063
04:44:48,800 --> 04:44:51,600
others or history. 
The physical evidence of the 

5064
04:44:51,600 --> 04:44:53,500
great snow has long since melted
away. 

5065
04:44:54,300 --> 04:44:57,500
The drifts that seemed permanent
proved as temporary as all snow,

5066
04:44:57,500 --> 04:45:01,200
eventually must be. 
The damage was repaired the 

5067
04:45:01,200 --> 04:45:05,200
losses mourned and moved past 
and the extraordinary slowly 

5068
04:45:05,200 --> 04:45:07,800
absorbed into ordinary life's 
continuing flow. 

5069
04:45:09,000 --> 04:45:12,800
What remains are the stories 
passed down and reshaped with 

5070
04:45:12,800 --> 04:45:15,600
each generation and the quiet 
knowledge? 

5071
04:45:15,600 --> 04:45:18,300
That humans can endure a 
Marketplace difficult 

5072
04:45:18,300 --> 04:45:22,900
circumstances when necessary. 
Tonight, as you drift towards 

5073
04:45:22,900 --> 04:45:26,400
sleeping, your warm bed, you 
might spare a thought for those 

5074
04:45:26,400 --> 04:45:29,900
Colonial families huddled around
their fires, waiting for a 

5075
04:45:29,900 --> 04:45:32,300
winter. 
That seemed endless to finally 

5076
04:45:32,300 --> 04:45:37,600
release its grip. they made it 
through spring arrived, life 

5077
04:45:37,600 --> 04:45:42,100
continued, the snow despite its 
overwhelming presence was 

5078
04:45:42,100 --> 04:45:45,100
ultimately just whether and 
whether always changes 

5079
04:45:45,100 --> 04:45:48,800
eventually, There's comfort in 
that persistence. 

5080
04:45:48,800 --> 04:45:52,900
In the knowledge that difficult 
times pass and seasons change 

5081
04:45:52,900 --> 04:45:57,900
and life finds ways to continue.
The great snow was exceptional, 

5082
04:45:57,900 --> 04:46:02,100
but what's truly remarkable is 
how people lived through it, not

5083
04:46:02,100 --> 04:46:05,000
through any special magic or 
Supernatural intervention. 

5084
04:46:05,000 --> 04:46:09,100
But through the ordinary magic 
of human resilience community 

5085
04:46:09,100 --> 04:46:13,600
support and simple, stubborn 
refusal to give up Sleep. 

5086
04:46:13,600 --> 04:46:16,700
Well knowing that whatever 
storms we face in our own lives.

5087
04:46:16,700 --> 04:46:19,800
Spring does eventually arrived 
the snow does melt. 

5088
04:46:19,800 --> 04:46:23,000
The world does return to green 
and growth and warmth. 

5089
04:46:23,700 --> 04:46:26,800
And the stories we tell about 
how we survived become part of 

5090
04:46:26,800 --> 04:46:30,200
the, continuous human narrative 
that stretches from these 

5091
04:46:30,200 --> 04:46:33,800
Colonial families to us. 
And from us to whoever will 

5092
04:46:33,800 --> 04:46:37,900
listen to these tales in 
centuries to come The great snow

5093
04:46:37,900 --> 04:46:40,600
of 1717 is waiting for you in 
dreams. 

5094
04:46:40,600 --> 04:46:45,200
If you want to visit all that 
white silence, all that Force 

5095
04:46:45,200 --> 04:46:49,100
Stillness, all those small human
moments of survival and 

5096
04:46:49,100 --> 04:46:52,700
community in endurance. 
But you're experiencing it from 

5097
04:46:52,700 --> 04:46:56,500
the warm side of History, which 
is exactly where you should be. 

5098
04:46:56,500 --> 04:47:02,000
Rest, easy, tomorrow will come 
as it always does bringing 

5099
04:47:02,000 --> 04:47:05,700
whatever weather it brings And 
if you wait to find snow outside

5100
04:47:05,700 --> 04:47:09,200
your own window, you can smile 
knowing it probably won't reach 

5101
04:47:09,200 --> 04:47:11,400
the Second Story. 
Probably. 

5102
04:47:18,100 --> 04:47:21,400
Jan Antoinette, poisson destined
to become the immortal. 

5103
04:47:21,400 --> 04:47:24,100
Madame de pompadour arrived in a
Paris. 

5104
04:47:24,100 --> 04:47:25,600
That was both glittering and 
precarious. 

5105
04:47:25,600 --> 04:47:30,900
Born on December the 29th 1721, 
she occupied a curious, social 

5106
04:47:30,900 --> 04:47:35,500
limbo, her father, Fran drifted 
in and out of business success. 

5107
04:47:35,500 --> 04:47:38,900
While her mother, Louise 
Madeline De La Motte cultivated 

5108
04:47:38,900 --> 04:47:42,900
ties among bankers and courtiers
rumors insinuated that Jan's 

5109
04:47:42,900 --> 04:47:46,700
true, father might be a wealthy 
financier the normal torn him, 

5110
04:47:46,700 --> 04:47:51,400
Whispers, aside from infancy, 
she received an education, far 

5111
04:47:51,400 --> 04:47:54,300
above what most middle-class 
girls could dream of learning, 

5112
04:47:54,300 --> 04:47:58,200
not only to read and write, but 
also to dance, sing and 

5113
04:47:58,200 --> 04:48:00,700
appreciate the subtlety of wit 
skills. 

5114
04:48:00,700 --> 04:48:02,100
That would later, proven 
valuable. 

5115
04:48:02,700 --> 04:48:05,200
Her mother, cherished, a 
prophecy from a fortune teller, 

5116
04:48:05,200 --> 04:48:07,300
who claimed Jan would someday 
rule. 

5117
04:48:07,300 --> 04:48:11,200
The heart of a king store, this 
prophecy, half ingest, guided 

5118
04:48:11,200 --> 04:48:14,400
her mother's Ambitions. 
She introduced Jan to private 

5119
04:48:14,400 --> 04:48:18,300
tutors, who immersed, the girl 
in the nuances of theater music 

5120
04:48:18,300 --> 04:48:21,200
and the refined manners of 
Parisian salons. 

5121
04:48:22,000 --> 04:48:25,100
The child became Adept at 
reciting verses Buy Racine or 

5122
04:48:25,100 --> 04:48:28,200
playing, harpsichord preludes. 
People teased that she might 

5123
04:48:28,200 --> 04:48:30,100
become a minor actress in the 
city's. 

5124
04:48:30,100 --> 04:48:35,500
Comedic troops, instead fate had
something grander in store, At 

5125
04:48:35,500 --> 04:48:38,100
age, 9 Gene was placed briefly 
in the Earthly. 

5126
04:48:38,100 --> 04:48:41,200
In Convent to polish her moral 
upbringing though, the real 

5127
04:48:41,200 --> 04:48:43,900
impetus behind this stage was to
Shield her from a smallpox 

5128
04:48:43,900 --> 04:48:47,400
outbreak. 
There in a stark room with stone

5129
04:48:47,400 --> 04:48:50,000
floors. 
She first confronted the gulf 

5130
04:48:50,000 --> 04:48:53,100
between the cheer of drawing 
room society and The Bleak 

5131
04:48:53,100 --> 04:48:54,700
realities of illness and 
mortality. 

5132
04:48:55,800 --> 04:48:59,200
She survived with her health 
intact returning to secular 

5133
04:48:59,200 --> 04:49:02,300
fossil Life With A Renewed sense
of carpe diem. 

5134
04:49:03,100 --> 04:49:06,000
Her mother's Circle at not 
diminished on the contrary. 

5135
04:49:06,000 --> 04:49:09,600
They believe Jean's brush with 
potential tragedy, demanded that

5136
04:49:09,600 --> 04:49:12,000
she enjoyed the world's 
Pleasures with heightened. 

5137
04:49:12,000 --> 04:49:15,500
Urgently By adolescence, she 
graced. 

5138
04:49:15,500 --> 04:49:19,900
The occasional soiree. 
Her presence glowed, large 

5139
04:49:19,900 --> 04:49:24,100
expressive eyes. 
A lively intelligence and a 

5140
04:49:24,100 --> 04:49:25,500
measured confidence that the 
lied. 

5141
04:49:25,500 --> 04:49:28,000
Her youth one had to be careful 
though. 

5142
04:49:28,000 --> 04:49:30,500
Ambition in a woman could be 
ridiculed or scorned. 

5143
04:49:31,200 --> 04:49:34,900
So Jan, cultivated an outward, 
modesty letting her Talent 

5144
04:49:34,900 --> 04:49:39,200
speaks Softly. 
Through the Dynamics of paris's,

5145
04:49:39,200 --> 04:49:41,800
Hope Bourgeois Gatherings. 
She eventually met Charles 

5146
04:49:41,800 --> 04:49:46,800
Gilmour, Dettol, a relative of 
her rumored Patron, father, this

5147
04:49:46,800 --> 04:49:49,200
connection sparked talk of a 
suitable marriage. 

5148
04:49:50,000 --> 04:49:52,100
The match appealed to her 
mother, who hoped it would 

5149
04:49:52,100 --> 04:49:56,100
secure Jan's future? 
For her part Jean sauron's, a 

5150
04:49:56,100 --> 04:49:57,800
kind soul if not a blazing 
passion. 

5151
04:49:58,600 --> 04:50:02,000
The Union in 1741 launched her 
into a comfortable life of 

5152
04:50:02,000 --> 04:50:05,300
reception and Mild amusements on
their estate near Paris. 

5153
04:50:05,300 --> 04:50:09,500
Yet, the city's gravitational 
pull was strong, genre received 

5154
04:50:09,500 --> 04:50:12,200
numerous invitations to select 
aristocratic cells. 

5155
04:50:12,200 --> 04:50:16,500
As people quickly notice herot 
in conversation, she did not shy

5156
04:50:16,500 --> 04:50:20,300
it from discussing art or drama.
From gently critiquing certain 

5157
04:50:20,300 --> 04:50:24,200
aspects of courtly extravagance,
that slight dash of candle 

5158
04:50:24,200 --> 04:50:27,000
balanced by charm. 
Distinguished her from the 

5159
04:50:27,000 --> 04:50:30,700
endless, parade of stiff 
self-conscious, ladies within 

5160
04:50:30,700 --> 04:50:35,500
months word spread, there is a 
Madam detour whose presence of 

5161
04:50:35,500 --> 04:50:39,500
any Gathering. 
The contest of 4K introduced her

5162
04:50:39,500 --> 04:50:43,000
to more exclusive circles 
culminating in an opportunity to

5163
04:50:43,000 --> 04:50:47,700
attend a masked ball at 
Versailles in 1745 celebrating 

5164
04:50:47,700 --> 04:50:51,400
the marriage of the dofa. 
There among a crush of masked 

5165
04:50:51,400 --> 04:50:54,600
revelers she caught the eye of 
King Louis of the 15. 

5166
04:50:55,400 --> 04:50:59,000
The king reticent by nature 
found in her, a refreshing 

5167
04:50:59,000 --> 04:51:02,600
mixture of Grace and Candor. 
While elaborate intrigues world 

5168
04:51:02,600 --> 04:51:05,000
around him. 
This newcomer radiated 

5169
04:51:05,000 --> 04:51:08,200
sincerity, their brief 
conversation that evening was 

5170
04:51:08,200 --> 04:51:10,400
filled with an electricity that 
neither of them. 

5171
04:51:10,400 --> 04:51:14,300
Could forget Court Watchers 
speculated, but none predicted 

5172
04:51:14,300 --> 04:51:15,800
how swift the next moves would 
be. 

5173
04:51:16,700 --> 04:51:18,900
Madame, Dettol was no naive made
in. 

5174
04:51:18,900 --> 04:51:22,100
She recognized the risk of 
courting Royal attention. 

5175
04:51:22,100 --> 04:51:26,700
The previous Royal favorite, The
Duchess to Chateau had. 

5176
04:51:26,700 --> 04:51:29,600
Recently died leaving an 
emotional Gap, in the King's 

5177
04:51:29,600 --> 04:51:33,100
life, Yet stepping into that 
void threatened Scandal, 

5178
04:51:33,100 --> 04:51:35,900
especially for a woman not of 
noble birth. 

5179
04:51:36,800 --> 04:51:40,800
Still from behind her. 
Modulated Smiles, Jean sense, 

5180
04:51:40,800 --> 04:51:43,300
Destiny aligning. 
The prophecy. 

5181
04:51:43,300 --> 04:51:46,200
Her mother wants whispered 
returned to mine, she would rule

5182
04:51:46,200 --> 04:51:49,700
the heart of a king. 
She recognized that in a rigidly

5183
04:51:49,700 --> 04:51:53,600
stratified Society, becoming the
king's Confidant, might be her 

5184
04:51:53,600 --> 04:51:58,600
only path to real influence. 
By the years end, a plan was set

5185
04:51:58,600 --> 04:52:00,400
in motion. 
The Kings Valley. 

5186
04:52:00,400 --> 04:52:04,100
Discreetly arranged, a meeting 
under the veil of secrecy, they 

5187
04:52:04,100 --> 04:52:07,100
exchanged letters. 
Her husband, outraged found 

5188
04:52:07,100 --> 04:52:10,000
himself powerless, the monarchy,
overshadowed personal protest. 

5189
04:52:10,800 --> 04:52:14,500
In March 1745. 
Louis the 15th arranged for her 

5190
04:52:14,500 --> 04:52:16,200
to be presented at court 
formerly. 

5191
04:52:16,200 --> 04:52:19,900
The once lower Bourgeois Janelle
twin was granted to title 

5192
04:52:19,900 --> 04:52:23,900
Marquis De pompadour. 
It was a moment of metamorphosis

5193
04:52:23,900 --> 04:52:27,100
the fatherless child, the teased
girl, who studied the great 

5194
04:52:27,100 --> 04:52:30,300
playwrights now, stepped onto 
the grand stage of Versailles. 

5195
04:52:30,300 --> 04:52:33,500
The next decade would see her 
orchestrate art, patronage 

5196
04:52:33,500 --> 04:52:36,600
political alliances and shape 
the monarchies image. 

5197
04:52:37,200 --> 04:52:41,700
Yet behind the Gilded stereos a 
swirl of jealousy rumor and 

5198
04:52:41,700 --> 04:52:45,000
heartbreak would dog. 
Her steps for now though, she 

5199
04:52:45,000 --> 04:52:47,500
embraced her new name. 
Madame, de pompadour and 

5200
04:52:47,500 --> 04:52:50,700
prepared to navigate, the 
Labyrinth of Royal favour in 

5201
04:52:50,700 --> 04:52:54,400
1745 when Jan Antoinette poisson
made her debut. 

5202
04:52:54,400 --> 04:52:58,200
As the newly minted Marquis De 
pompadour at Versailles, the 

5203
04:52:58,200 --> 04:53:00,400
Gilded corridors were filled 
with admiration. 

5204
04:53:00,400 --> 04:53:04,700
She became the first Bourgeois 
to receive open recognition from

5205
04:53:04,700 --> 04:53:08,900
a French King elegant, but not 
aristocratic her every move Drew

5206
04:53:08,900 --> 04:53:11,600
scrutiny. 
Enemies whispered that she had 

5207
04:53:11,600 --> 04:53:14,700
been witched Louis. 
The 15th others, admired, her 

5208
04:53:14,700 --> 04:53:17,700
graceful bearing praising her 
Flawless manners, and a 

5209
04:53:17,700 --> 04:53:20,200
cultivated charm that 
overshadowed even established 

5210
04:53:20,200 --> 04:53:22,800
duchesses. 
The king himself, displayed 

5211
04:53:22,800 --> 04:53:25,800
uncharacteristic devotion 
summoning her for private 

5212
04:53:25,800 --> 04:53:29,500
suppers parading her at formal 
events and awarding her lavish 

5213
04:53:29,500 --> 04:53:32,400
apartments. 
In the palace, Versailles was a 

5214
04:53:32,400 --> 04:53:35,600
realm of Illusions behind 
mirrored halls and Polished 

5215
04:53:35,600 --> 04:53:39,700
marbles like Cutthroat rivalries
the courtiers ephemeral in their

5216
04:53:39,700 --> 04:53:43,200
silks and powdered wigs circled,
Madame, de pompadour, like 

5217
04:53:43,200 --> 04:53:46,900
vultures summited flattery, 
showering, her with compliments 

5218
04:53:46,900 --> 04:53:49,500
in hopes of winning her 
intercession with the King, 

5219
04:53:49,500 --> 04:53:52,300
others. 
Plotted to throw her fearing, 

5220
04:53:52,300 --> 04:53:55,300
that her influence might reshape
politics among these. 

5221
04:53:55,300 --> 04:53:57,100
Conspirators was the dolphin 
Circle. 

5222
04:53:57,100 --> 04:54:00,600
Along with older aristocratic 
families, who scorned a mere 

5223
04:54:00,608 --> 04:54:03,000
commoner. 
Overshadowing them yet. 

5224
04:54:03,000 --> 04:54:06,600
Madame de pompadour remained 
unfazed, she had honed her 

5225
04:54:06,600 --> 04:54:09,200
social instincts in the 
Bourgeois salons and her 

5226
04:54:09,200 --> 04:54:11,200
intellect soared Beyond mere 
Cookie Tree. 

5227
04:54:11,200 --> 04:54:14,800
She recognized that the surest 
path to security was to make 

5228
04:54:14,808 --> 04:54:18,300
herself indispensable to Louis, 
the 15th, not merely as a bed 

5229
04:54:18,300 --> 04:54:21,700
fellow, but as a confidant, 
Counselor and orchestrator of 

5230
04:54:21,700 --> 04:54:24,400
cultural life. 
She said about renovating her 

5231
04:54:24,400 --> 04:54:27,400
living quarters, pointing them 
with Sumptuous tapestries, 

5232
04:54:27,400 --> 04:54:30,300
elegant, furniture and curated 
artworks. 

5233
04:54:30,300 --> 04:54:32,400
The effort wasn't me a 
self-indulgence. 

5234
04:54:33,200 --> 04:54:36,600
It mirrored her ambition to make
Versailles a beacon of refined 

5235
04:54:36,600 --> 04:54:39,100
taste. 
She championed the Rococo 

5236
04:54:39,100 --> 04:54:41,200
aesthetic. 
Style that favored. 

5237
04:54:41,200 --> 04:54:46,500
Playful curves, pastel Hughes 
and Whimsical motifs under her 

5238
04:54:46,500 --> 04:54:49,900
patronage artists like Boucher 
and Van Loo gained commission's 

5239
04:54:49,900 --> 04:54:53,800
for witty lighthearted paintings
Horseland from the several 

5240
04:54:53,800 --> 04:54:56,800
Factory which she helped develop
became a symbol of French 

5241
04:54:56,800 --> 04:54:58,800
craftsmanship prized across 
Europe. 

5242
04:54:59,900 --> 04:55:02,900
Synergy of her aesthetic sense 
with the monarchies resources, 

5243
04:55:02,900 --> 04:55:06,200
birthstone are in which the 
French Court style reigned 

5244
04:55:06,200 --> 04:55:09,700
Supreme among Europe's Elite. 
But Madame, de pompadour, did 

5245
04:55:09,700 --> 04:55:12,800
not confine herself to the Arts.
She also recognized the 

5246
04:55:12,800 --> 04:55:16,000
intricacies of diplomacy. 
France teetered between 

5247
04:55:16,000 --> 04:55:19,100
alliances with Spain Austria. 
Another Powers. 

5248
04:55:19,100 --> 04:55:22,000
Meanwhile rival, Britain loomed 
across the channel. 

5249
04:55:22,000 --> 04:55:24,800
It's Navy, menacing, French, 
Colonial interests. 

5250
04:55:24,800 --> 04:55:28,400
Louis the 15th though. 
Well, intentioned often avoided 

5251
04:55:28,400 --> 04:55:31,400
direct policy making retreating 
to hunting or private 

5252
04:55:31,400 --> 04:55:33,500
amusements. 
Pompadour stepped into that 

5253
04:55:33,500 --> 04:55:36,100
vacuum forging ties with 
ministers and ambassadors. 

5254
04:55:36,100 --> 04:55:39,500
She guided the choice of the 
foreign minister favored, 

5255
04:55:39,500 --> 04:55:43,200
certain generals and mediated 
tensions at home critics 

5256
04:55:43,200 --> 04:55:45,100
scorned. 
The idea of a woman controlling 

5257
04:55:45,100 --> 04:55:48,400
foreign policy, she brushed 
aside their original focusing on

5258
04:55:48,400 --> 04:55:50,300
forging alliances that might 
bring stability. 

5259
04:55:51,200 --> 04:55:55,800
The 1756 diplomatic Revolution, 
aligning France with Austria 

5260
04:55:55,800 --> 04:55:59,400
bore her fingerprints. 
Although the subsequent Seven 

5261
04:55:59,400 --> 04:56:02,400
Years War turned disastrous for 
France, one cannot dismiss her 

5262
04:56:02,400 --> 04:56:04,700
attempt to recalibrate alliances
in a fracturing Europe. 

5263
04:56:05,400 --> 04:56:08,000
As mistress. 
She also faced the vulnerability

5264
04:56:08,000 --> 04:56:09,500
that her bedroom role might 
wane. 

5265
04:56:10,200 --> 04:56:12,200
Louis the 15th known for a 
roving. 

5266
04:56:12,200 --> 04:56:14,900
I could have set her aside once 
novelty faded. 

5267
04:56:15,500 --> 04:56:18,100
She addressed that possibility 
head on by establishing a deeper

5268
04:56:18,100 --> 04:56:20,900
emotional bond with him. 
She cultivated a warm 

5269
04:56:20,900 --> 04:56:23,200
companionship shared 
intellectual Pursuits. 

5270
04:56:23,200 --> 04:56:27,100
And even managed his anxiety or 
indecision in state matters, 

5271
04:56:27,100 --> 04:56:31,100
aware that physical intimacy 
might receive she pivoted to 

5272
04:56:31,100 --> 04:56:34,600
become his loyal friend advising
on matters, ranging from 

5273
04:56:34,600 --> 04:56:36,600
building projects to Royal 
ceremonies. 

5274
04:56:37,500 --> 04:56:40,400
Over time, though, the Romantic 
spark diminished. 

5275
04:56:41,100 --> 04:56:42,600
The emotional closeness, 
lingard. 

5276
04:56:43,400 --> 04:56:47,100
If gossips circulated that her 
sexual influence at ended, she 

5277
04:56:47,100 --> 04:56:51,200
retained the king's trust in her
place as a fixture at a quart. 

5278
04:56:52,100 --> 04:56:55,800
Amid the courts swirling 
intrigues, pompadours championed

5279
04:56:55,800 --> 04:56:59,000
philosophers and writers 
Voltaire previously. 

5280
04:56:59,000 --> 04:57:03,300
Scorned at Versailles found in 
her rare Ally, she admired his 

5281
04:57:03,308 --> 04:57:06,100
wit and the cautious about 
Herbert Lee challenging the 

5282
04:57:06,100 --> 04:57:08,700
church or censorship she quietly
facilitated. 

5283
04:57:08,700 --> 04:57:12,500
His projects did Rose and 
cyclopedic a compendium that 

5284
04:57:12,500 --> 04:57:15,900
threatened the old guard with 
new ideas also benefited in 

5285
04:57:15,900 --> 04:57:19,400
directly from her protective 
Stars She believed that the 

5286
04:57:19,400 --> 04:57:21,900
monarchy could remain stable 
while fostering Progressive, 

5287
04:57:21,900 --> 04:57:26,100
thought an irony, perhaps, given
that future, revolutionaries 

5288
04:57:26,100 --> 04:57:29,100
Drew on such Enlightenment Works
to question Royal Authority. 

5289
04:57:29,800 --> 04:57:33,700
For her part pompadours or no 
contradiction, she wanted a 

5290
04:57:33,700 --> 04:57:36,000
monarchy Polished by reason and 
aesthetic Brilliance. 

5291
04:57:36,000 --> 04:57:38,900
Not a stagnant Relic in the 
shadows health. 

5292
04:57:38,900 --> 04:57:42,400
Concerns began plaguing her, she
suffered from bouts of illness, 

5293
04:57:42,400 --> 04:57:46,400
like the exacerbated, by stress.
The palace doctors incompetent 

5294
04:57:46,400 --> 04:57:49,600
by the modern standards offered 
only bleeding or tonics. 

5295
04:57:49,600 --> 04:57:53,200
She pressed on orchestrating 
plays hosting literary salons 

5296
04:57:53,200 --> 04:57:55,300
and continuing to counsel the 
king. 

5297
04:57:56,400 --> 04:58:00,100
The year, 1757 brought a narrow 
brush with death for Louie the 

5298
04:58:00,100 --> 04:58:02,200
15th. 
Which consisted of an 

5299
04:58:02,200 --> 04:58:05,300
assassination attempt by 
Damian's, which rattled the 

5300
04:58:05,300 --> 04:58:09,100
monarchy. 
Pompadours unwavering presents 

5301
04:58:09,100 --> 04:58:11,700
urging Carmen and punishing 
conspirators. 

5302
04:58:11,700 --> 04:58:15,400
Further solidified, her position
She had become more than a 

5303
04:58:15,400 --> 04:58:18,900
mistress or a decorative figure.
She was the monarchies anchor of

5304
04:58:18,900 --> 04:58:22,100
continuity, bridging personal 
comfort for the king and the 

5305
04:58:22,100 --> 04:58:26,100
broader cultural identity of the
era despite swirling rumor and 

5306
04:58:26,100 --> 04:58:28,900
envy. 
She pressed on aware that her 

5307
04:58:28,900 --> 04:58:31,500
star might dim at any moment. 
But determined to leave a 

5308
04:58:31,508 --> 04:58:33,800
luminous mark on France's 
cultural and political 

5309
04:58:33,800 --> 04:58:38,100
landscape. 
As the 1750s advanced Madame de 

5310
04:58:38,100 --> 04:58:40,400
pompadours Role in Versailles 
crystallized. 

5311
04:58:40,400 --> 04:58:44,200
She reigned as an unmatched 
patroness of the Arts, ensuring 

5312
04:58:44,200 --> 04:58:47,100
that the palace no longer served
solely as a symbol of absolute 

5313
04:58:47,100 --> 04:58:49,600
monarchy. 
But also as a stage for Creative

5314
04:58:49,600 --> 04:58:53,300
brilliance, She championed 
painters like Francois Boucher, 

5315
04:58:53,300 --> 04:58:56,500
whose pastoral scenes and 
playful mythologies, perfectly 

5316
04:58:56,500 --> 04:58:58,700
suited. 
The Rocco style pompadour adored

5317
04:58:58,700 --> 04:59:02,100
through her influence. 
Tapestry, workshops in Bove and 

5318
04:59:02,100 --> 04:59:05,600
goblins reached New, Heights, 
weaving, dream-like Landscapes. 

5319
04:59:05,600 --> 04:59:09,100
That graced Royal salons yet, 
her Artistry extended Beyond 

5320
04:59:09,100 --> 04:59:11,600
commission's. 
She personally oversaw, color 

5321
04:59:11,600 --> 04:59:15,300
schemes, interior, decorations, 
and table settings for State. 

5322
04:59:15,300 --> 04:59:19,100
Banquets In an age, when women's
influence was often restricted 

5323
04:59:19,100 --> 04:59:21,900
to the domestic sphere, 
pompadour turned domestic 

5324
04:59:21,900 --> 04:59:24,000
Aesthetics into a grand cultural
statement. 

5325
04:59:25,000 --> 04:59:27,100
Simultaneously. 
She strengthened ties with 

5326
04:59:27,100 --> 04:59:31,300
intellectuals a secret exchanges
of letters with Voltaire stand 

5327
04:59:31,300 --> 04:59:34,200
out though she never fully 
endorsed his more radical 

5328
04:59:34,200 --> 04:59:37,700
critiques of religion or 
monarchy She appreciated his wit

5329
04:59:37,700 --> 04:59:40,300
and recognized the advantage of 
having a famous pain on her 

5330
04:59:40,300 --> 04:59:42,500
side. 
The philosopher invade her 

5331
04:59:42,508 --> 04:59:45,500
proximity to power while she 
admired his intellectual 

5332
04:59:45,500 --> 04:59:48,600
boldness. 
Tail say she even facilitated 

5333
04:59:48,600 --> 04:59:51,000
voltaire's appointment as 
historiographer to Louis the 

5334
04:59:51,000 --> 04:59:54,200
15th, though. 
Discreetly them all to avoid, 

5335
04:59:54,200 --> 04:59:57,200
conservatives accusing her of 
promoting subversive ideas. 

5336
04:59:58,000 --> 05:00:00,300
She treadmill carefully when 
dealing with diderot. 

5337
05:00:01,300 --> 05:00:04,000
The encyclopedie tested the 
monarchy's tolerance so 

5338
05:00:04,000 --> 05:00:06,700
pompadour approached its 
controversies with caution 

5339
05:00:06,700 --> 05:00:09,000
ensuring that while sensors 
barked. 

5340
05:00:09,000 --> 05:00:12,700
They rarely bit too deep. 
She saw France's future in a 

5341
05:00:12,700 --> 05:00:16,200
delicate balance in lightened 
thinking, might modernize the 

5342
05:00:16,200 --> 05:00:19,500
monarchy, but unbridled 
criticism could incite 

5343
05:00:19,500 --> 05:00:21,800
Rebellion. 
Her relationship with the King 

5344
05:00:21,800 --> 05:00:25,300
evolved in tandem the early 
romantic further had called 

5345
05:00:25,300 --> 05:00:27,700
replaced by an affectionate 
friendship. 

5346
05:00:28,500 --> 05:00:30,000
Some courtiers quite quietly 
mocked that. 

5347
05:00:30,000 --> 05:00:33,800
She no longer shared the Royal 
bed but had become headmistress 

5348
05:00:33,800 --> 05:00:36,100
of culture. 
Others believed she retained 

5349
05:00:36,100 --> 05:00:40,200
intangible, intimacy beyond the 
Physical Realm, that anchored 

5350
05:00:40,200 --> 05:00:43,400
the king's Trust. 
She became the caretaker of his 

5351
05:00:43,400 --> 05:00:46,600
emotional well-being, scheduled 
amusements to like his 

5352
05:00:46,600 --> 05:00:49,500
melancholic moods. 
She also shielded him from 

5353
05:00:49,500 --> 05:00:52,700
certain Noble's, who stoked 
Conflict for personal gain. 

5354
05:00:53,500 --> 05:00:57,000
If the king found more fleeting 
conquests Madame, de pompadour, 

5355
05:00:57,000 --> 05:01:00,600
rarely intervene focusing on 
preserving her unique Bond. 

5356
05:01:01,500 --> 05:01:05,100
She possessed a surprising 
Serenity, underpinned by the 

5357
05:01:05,100 --> 05:01:09,500
conviction that her Mastery of 
conversation taste and sincerity

5358
05:01:09,500 --> 05:01:13,000
kept her indispensable. 
However, the Seven Years War 

5359
05:01:13,000 --> 05:01:17,800
erupting in 1756 tested her 
position, the war, pitted 

5360
05:01:17,800 --> 05:01:21,100
France, against Britain Prussia,
and other shifting alliances 

5361
05:01:21,100 --> 05:01:25,100
many pointed at her, for the 
Diplomatic Revolution alliances 

5362
05:01:25,100 --> 05:01:26,700
that had France supporting 
Austria. 

5363
05:01:26,700 --> 05:01:30,500
The wars initial campaigns went 
poorly for France specialty 

5364
05:01:30,500 --> 05:01:34,200
overseas, where British Fleet 
seized French colonies at home, 

5365
05:01:34,200 --> 05:01:38,000
taxes sword to fund failing 
armies and the populist, grew 

5366
05:01:38,000 --> 05:01:42,700
restive rival, courts pinned, 
blame on pompadour, accusing her

5367
05:01:42,700 --> 05:01:47,900
of amateur in Grand strategy, 
pamphleteers circulated, nasty, 

5368
05:01:47,900 --> 05:01:51,600
caricatures, depicting her in 
throwing puppet strings while 

5369
05:01:51,600 --> 05:01:55,400
generals countdown. 
She responded calmly urging the 

5370
05:01:55,408 --> 05:01:58,200
king to replace incompetent 
ministers and reorganized, 

5371
05:01:58,200 --> 05:02:01,200
Finance finances. 
But morale was low, the 

5372
05:02:01,200 --> 05:02:04,000
humiliation on the battlefield 
tarnished, both the monarchies 

5373
05:02:04,000 --> 05:02:08,300
image and her own In this 
crisis, she allied with the Duke

5374
05:02:08,300 --> 05:02:12,300
Deshler a capable Statesman, who
shared her vision of stabilizing

5375
05:02:12,300 --> 05:02:15,600
foreign policy together. 
They reformed, the Navy tried to

5376
05:02:15,600 --> 05:02:17,700
unify command and pursued new 
loans. 

5377
05:02:17,700 --> 05:02:21,200
The results took time these 
measures slowed, the Hemorrhage 

5378
05:02:21,200 --> 05:02:23,600
of French fortunes. 
Meanwhile, she commissioned 

5379
05:02:23,600 --> 05:02:26,600
elaborate stage entertainments 
within Versailles to make a 

5380
05:02:26,600 --> 05:02:30,800
veneer of opulence, hoping that 
even as the war, raged the court

5381
05:02:30,800 --> 05:02:33,300
sense of refinement, Might 
soothe the Kings anxieties. 

5382
05:02:34,000 --> 05:02:37,200
Critics referred to her. 
As frivolous yet she steadfastly

5383
05:02:37,200 --> 05:02:39,900
maintained that if the monarchy 
seemed to crumble from within 

5384
05:02:39,900 --> 05:02:42,400
the entire nation could become 
disheartened. 

5385
05:02:43,200 --> 05:02:45,700
Rumors swirled that she 
occasionally wept in private, at

5386
05:02:45,700 --> 05:02:49,000
the walls mounting casualties 
feeling guilt for the Diplomatic

5387
05:02:49,000 --> 05:02:50,500
shifts. 
That had set off the conflicts 

5388
05:02:50,500 --> 05:02:53,400
chain of events. 
Others, insisted her tears were 

5389
05:02:53,400 --> 05:02:55,100
for the loss of her own 
political clout. 

5390
05:02:55,900 --> 05:02:59,300
The truth likely combined these 
facets as a woman possessing 

5391
05:02:59,300 --> 05:03:00,900
more influence than many 
Statesmen. 

5392
05:03:00,900 --> 05:03:03,000
She carried a heavy burden of 
accountability. 

5393
05:03:03,000 --> 05:03:07,400
Nonetheless, she pressed on with
unwavering composure, greeting 

5394
05:03:07,400 --> 05:03:09,800
ambassadors. 
Politely offering them, the best

5395
05:03:09,800 --> 05:03:13,400
French wines and deflecting 
barbs about lost battles with 

5396
05:03:13,400 --> 05:03:16,200
the impeccable politeness of a 
Hostess who would not let Gloom 

5397
05:03:16,200 --> 05:03:19,500
overshadow, the monarchies 
Majesty, all the while her 

5398
05:03:19,500 --> 05:03:23,700
health parade, she suffered from
frequent migraines, respiratory 

5399
05:03:23,700 --> 05:03:26,400
infections, and perhaps, the 
early signs of tuberculosis, 

5400
05:03:26,400 --> 05:03:30,700
their size is damp corridors and
unpredictable weather, hardly 

5401
05:03:30,700 --> 05:03:33,000
helped Get to preserve Her 
Image. 

5402
05:03:33,000 --> 05:03:36,600
She rarely admitted weakness 
continuing to preside over 

5403
05:03:36,600 --> 05:03:38,900
official, Gatherings, and 
Sumptuous gowns. 

5404
05:03:38,900 --> 05:03:43,200
A faint smile on her lips. 
She confided in a small circle 

5405
05:03:43,200 --> 05:03:47,100
noting that though her body felt
battered her spirit remained. 

5406
05:03:47,100 --> 05:03:50,500
Fiery, she was no naive on 
Juneau she recognized that if 

5407
05:03:50,500 --> 05:03:53,200
her health collapsed, her 
enemies would swoop in 

5408
05:03:53,200 --> 05:03:56,200
reconfiguring the monarchy 
circle of favorites. 

5409
05:03:56,800 --> 05:04:00,000
She needed to maintain her 
integrity at least in public to 

5410
05:04:00,000 --> 05:04:02,100
prevent the flame of her 
Ambitions from fading. 

5411
05:04:02,800 --> 05:04:06,400
As the war continued into the 
early 1760s, the reputation of 

5412
05:04:06,400 --> 05:04:09,800
Madame de pompadour began to 
fade due to her numerous defeats

5413
05:04:09,800 --> 05:04:14,000
many corners of Vesey whispered 
that the monarchy needed 

5414
05:04:14,000 --> 05:04:16,700
scapegoat for the lost battles 
and distant lands. 

5415
05:04:16,700 --> 05:04:20,300
Like the humiliation in India, 
and Canada, and who better to 

5416
05:04:20,300 --> 05:04:23,100
blame than the Bourgeois turned 
State's woman. 

5417
05:04:24,100 --> 05:04:27,400
King Louis. 
The 15th had grown more taciturn

5418
05:04:27,400 --> 05:04:31,000
burdened by Gloom as reports 
from the front lines, showcased 

5419
05:04:31,000 --> 05:04:34,100
it Fiasco. 
After Fiasco pompadour though 

5420
05:04:34,100 --> 05:04:36,300
refused to retreat Into 
Obscurity. 

5421
05:04:36,300 --> 05:04:38,500
She believed her cultural 
Legacy. 

5422
05:04:38,500 --> 05:04:42,000
If not have foreign policies 
like yet Salvage, her name in 

5423
05:04:42,000 --> 05:04:45,800
history, She threw herself into 
Grand architectural projects. 

5424
05:04:45,800 --> 05:04:49,100
The petty Trianon. 
For instance, took shape as a 

5425
05:04:49,100 --> 05:04:50,600
small Chateau in the palace's 
grounds. 

5426
05:04:50,600 --> 05:04:55,700
Officially, it was an expression
of refined tastes an embodiment 

5427
05:04:55,700 --> 05:04:59,200
of the new neoclassical style. 
That was edging out Rococo. 

5428
05:04:59,200 --> 05:05:03,100
Flamboyance Pompadour championed
this shift, instructing 

5429
05:05:03,100 --> 05:05:07,000
Architects to favor, Clarity 
proportion and a gentle 

5430
05:05:07,000 --> 05:05:10,300
grandeur. 
She oversaw Landscaping ensuring

5431
05:05:10,300 --> 05:05:12,700
the gardens offered a tranquil 
Retreat, from Versailles, 

5432
05:05:12,700 --> 05:05:15,900
stifling pump. 
There's some courtiers mocked 

5433
05:05:15,900 --> 05:05:18,800
the expense emitter draining 
War, she defended it as 

5434
05:05:18,800 --> 05:05:20,700
fostering National Artistry and 
craftsmanship. 

5435
05:05:20,700 --> 05:05:25,500
Indeed her unwavering support 
for several porcelain tapestry 

5436
05:05:25,500 --> 05:05:28,600
Weavers and furniture makers 
kept them afloat, despite 

5437
05:05:28,600 --> 05:05:32,200
war-induced Financial crises 
these actions, ironically 

5438
05:05:32,200 --> 05:05:35,100
preserved, France's Global 
reputation for luxury goods. 

5439
05:05:35,100 --> 05:05:39,900
Even as military fortunes waned,
a more private Pastime was her 

5440
05:05:39,900 --> 05:05:41,400
encouragement of scientific 
curiosity. 

5441
05:05:41,400 --> 05:05:44,900
She facilitated Gatherings where
mathematicians and natural 

5442
05:05:44,900 --> 05:05:48,300
philosophers demonstrated the 
latest theories on electricity 

5443
05:05:48,300 --> 05:05:52,900
or the Cosmos on rare nights. 
The king himself might wander in

5444
05:05:52,900 --> 05:05:56,200
feigning mild interest while she
asked pointed questions about 

5445
05:05:56,200 --> 05:05:58,500
planetary, orbits or 
experimental Contraptions. 

5446
05:05:58,500 --> 05:06:02,000
If some at court, founded absurd
for a mistress to delve into 

5447
05:06:02,000 --> 05:06:04,200
science. 
She responded with An Elegant 

5448
05:06:04,200 --> 05:06:07,600
Beauty. 
She believed encompassed 

5449
05:06:07,600 --> 05:06:10,300
knowledge too though. 
Never an Enlightenment radical. 

5450
05:06:10,300 --> 05:06:12,200
She saw. 
No harm in letting conversation 

5451
05:06:12,200 --> 05:06:15,600
roam Beyond strict Orthodoxy. 
Provided it didn't undermine 

5452
05:06:15,600 --> 05:06:18,300
monarchy or faith. 
At her private dinners. 

5453
05:06:18,300 --> 05:06:20,300
One might overhear discussion of
Newton. 

5454
05:06:20,300 --> 05:06:23,700
Echoes of voltaire's praise for 
Newtonian physics and 

5455
05:06:23,700 --> 05:06:26,900
speculations about whether the 
cosmos reflected God's Grandeur 

5456
05:06:26,900 --> 05:06:30,400
or reasons and Supremacy. 
Despite this glow of 

5457
05:06:30,400 --> 05:06:34,600
intellectual patronage. 
The war pounded on culminating 

5458
05:06:34,600 --> 05:06:38,700
in the Treaty of Paris 1763, 
which sealed France's losses, 

5459
05:06:38,700 --> 05:06:42,600
overseas, the Kings. 
Morale sank further as did 

5460
05:06:42,600 --> 05:06:46,000
public opinion of the monarchy, 
exchequer offers had been gutted

5461
05:06:46,000 --> 05:06:48,200
complicating. 
The monarchy's ability to 

5462
05:06:48,200 --> 05:06:52,700
placate unrest at home. 
The Marquis faced renewed calls 

5463
05:06:52,700 --> 05:06:55,400
from influential dukes and 
princes to step aside. 

5464
05:06:56,200 --> 05:06:59,300
But each time Louis the 15th 
reaffirmed, her presence. 

5465
05:07:00,400 --> 05:07:03,200
Telling critics quietly that her
loyalty and Council were more 

5466
05:07:03,200 --> 05:07:06,700
precious than ephemeral 
scapegoats even so her influence

5467
05:07:06,700 --> 05:07:10,200
on Foreigner Economic Policy 
receded somewhat. seeding space 

5468
05:07:10,200 --> 05:07:14,200
to minister like the Duke de she
recognized that sometimes 

5469
05:07:14,200 --> 05:07:16,900
stepping back could preserve her
position in a monarchy grown 

5470
05:07:16,900 --> 05:07:19,800
suspicious of overreach. 
Her personal life. 

5471
05:07:19,800 --> 05:07:22,500
Took a bitter, sweet turn as 
well while she and Louie. 

5472
05:07:22,500 --> 05:07:25,500
The 15th, parted physically, 
there are emotional bond in 

5473
05:07:25,500 --> 05:07:28,500
endured she oversaw some 
discreet, new favorite for the 

5474
05:07:28,508 --> 05:07:30,300
king. 
Ensuring they remained 

5475
05:07:30,300 --> 05:07:32,700
overshadowed by her shield and 
emotional role. 

5476
05:07:32,700 --> 05:07:37,000
This Arrangement caused outward 
Scandal like a mistress who 

5477
05:07:37,008 --> 05:07:40,100
arranged lesser Mistresses for 
the king to her. 

5478
05:07:40,100 --> 05:07:42,500
It was a strategy to maintain 
Unity. 

5479
05:07:42,500 --> 05:07:45,100
She avoided Illusions about 
romance. 

5480
05:07:45,100 --> 05:07:48,600
She valued the monarchy 
stability, her safety, and the 

5481
05:07:48,600 --> 05:07:52,000
Kings contentment. 
Courteous who smelled hypocrisy 

5482
05:07:52,000 --> 05:07:54,600
could do little. 
But whisper, Meanwhile, 

5483
05:07:54,600 --> 05:07:59,200
exhaustion nordid her, her 
health demands sword, she sought

5484
05:07:59,200 --> 05:08:03,500
cures in Mineral baths. 
So, fresh country air or quacken

5485
05:08:03,500 --> 05:08:06,400
that times. 
She coughed blood, a dire sign. 

5486
05:08:06,400 --> 05:08:09,900
Doctors pleaded with her to 
relinquish intense Court duties,

5487
05:08:09,900 --> 05:08:13,100
she demurred worried. 
The vacuum might invite her 

5488
05:08:13,100 --> 05:08:16,600
enemies to Corner the King on 
good days, she could host a 

5489
05:08:16,600 --> 05:08:19,800
modest dinner, entertaining 
ambassadors with Ryan anecdotes 

5490
05:08:19,800 --> 05:08:22,400
about cultural Trifles on 
terrible days. 

5491
05:08:22,400 --> 05:08:27,400
She lay bedridden instructing, 
maids to deliver urgent messages

5492
05:08:27,400 --> 05:08:31,100
to or from the king's cabinet 
rumors circulated that she might

5493
05:08:31,100 --> 05:08:34,400
not outlive the decade. 
Some courtiers rejoice in that 

5494
05:08:34,400 --> 05:08:38,900
possibility. 
One morning in 1764 she traveled

5495
05:08:38,900 --> 05:08:40,500
to Paris from medical 
consultation. 

5496
05:08:41,300 --> 05:08:44,600
A city, a buzz with new 
philosophic clubs, briefly 

5497
05:08:44,600 --> 05:08:47,800
reminded her of simpler times 
long before she was mad at 

5498
05:08:47,800 --> 05:08:49,700
pompadour, when she was just 
genetically. 

5499
05:08:49,700 --> 05:08:54,300
And by the capitals vibrancy 
Nostalgia, mingled with anxiety 

5500
05:08:54,300 --> 05:08:58,900
about her fate, the doctors 
diagnosis was grim and vanced 

5501
05:08:58,900 --> 05:09:02,100
pulmonary disease. 
She still resolved to return to 

5502
05:09:02,100 --> 05:09:05,500
their SI determined not to show 
Mortal Frailty in front of her 

5503
05:09:05,500 --> 05:09:07,900
detractors. 
The monarchy demanded, the 

5504
05:09:07,900 --> 05:09:12,900
facade of unchanging Grace. 
In April 1764, her condition, 

5505
05:09:12,900 --> 05:09:17,100
deteriorated sharply her final 
days, saw her writing letters to

5506
05:09:17,100 --> 05:09:19,800
Loyal friends. 
Expressing regret, not for her 

5507
05:09:19,800 --> 05:09:22,700
climb, but for the Heartbreak 
inflicted and the walls 

5508
05:09:22,700 --> 05:09:26,100
tragedies, the king 
uncharacteristically, emotional 

5509
05:09:26,100 --> 05:09:29,100
visited her. 
Bedside offering Comfort on 

5510
05:09:29,100 --> 05:09:32,900
April 15th. 1764 Madame de 
pompadour died, at the age of 

5511
05:09:32,900 --> 05:09:36,400
42, the courts immediate 
response was a wave of mixed 

5512
05:09:36,400 --> 05:09:39,000
sentiment. 
Some courtiers were relieved 

5513
05:09:39,000 --> 05:09:41,100
others stunned at the end of an 
era. 

5514
05:09:41,100 --> 05:09:45,000
The king famously stoic watched 
her coffee in liver side in the 

5515
05:09:45,008 --> 05:09:48,000
rain reportedly muttering every 
day. 

5516
05:09:48,000 --> 05:09:52,400
I lose a friend, the mistress 
who had soared from bourjois to 

5517
05:09:52,400 --> 05:09:56,500
the Apex of courtly power. 
Now belong to history, leaving 

5518
05:09:56,500 --> 05:10:00,100
behind a legacy of cultural 
Revival overshadowed, by a 

5519
05:10:00,100 --> 05:10:04,000
disastrous War though ephemeral 
in Mortal form her. 

5520
05:10:04,000 --> 05:10:06,900
Imprint on France's art 
diplomacy and monarchical 

5521
05:10:06,900 --> 05:10:09,500
identity resonated long after 
her final breath. 

5522
05:10:10,300 --> 05:10:12,800
The news of the death of Madame 
de pompadour swept, through 

5523
05:10:12,800 --> 05:10:16,600
France's chattering classes, a 
casket left side quietly, 

5524
05:10:16,600 --> 05:10:18,700
without the state honors, some 
believe. 

5525
05:10:18,700 --> 05:10:22,400
She deserved signifying, the 
monarchies official reluctant to

5526
05:10:22,400 --> 05:10:25,900
over celebrate. 
A mistress Yet Beyond The Palace

5527
05:10:25,900 --> 05:10:30,700
Gates, a more nuanced reaction 
emerged, The Artisans of several

5528
05:10:30,700 --> 05:10:34,000
porcelain laid wreaths in her 
memory recalling that her 

5529
05:10:34,000 --> 05:10:37,000
patronage had elevated their 
craft to Global renown. 

5530
05:10:37,600 --> 05:10:40,200
Playwrights in paris's bustling 
theaters acknowledged her 

5531
05:10:40,200 --> 05:10:42,900
crucial role in supporting 
comedic and dramatic Works, 

5532
05:10:42,900 --> 05:10:46,700
especially those by authors who 
previously found no foothold at 

5533
05:10:46,700 --> 05:10:49,200
court. 
The city's literacy debated, 

5534
05:10:49,200 --> 05:10:52,300
whether she'd been a subversive 
Ally of Enlightenment, or 

5535
05:10:52,300 --> 05:10:54,900
merely, an opportunist, who 
shielded radical writers from 

5536
05:10:54,900 --> 05:10:57,900
Duck Creek censorship. 
In the Years following her 

5537
05:10:57,900 --> 05:11:01,500
passing, a swirl of Memoirs and 
Diaries from caught inside as 

5538
05:11:01,500 --> 05:11:03,300
added complexities to her 
portrait. 

5539
05:11:04,100 --> 05:11:08,300
Some like the digestive branca 
insisted pompadour was cunning, 

5540
05:11:08,300 --> 05:11:12,000
but never malicious referencing 
times when she mediated petty 

5541
05:11:12,000 --> 05:11:13,800
feuds and sought to reduce Court
punishments. 

5542
05:11:13,800 --> 05:11:17,600
Others, such as the Commodore 
Jensen portrayed her as 

5543
05:11:17,600 --> 05:11:21,200
manipulative, citing how she 
influenced Louis the 15th to 

5544
05:11:21,200 --> 05:11:24,900
ostracize certain ministers, the
truth, likely encompassed both 

5545
05:11:24,900 --> 05:11:27,500
dimensions. 
A woman forging alliances to 

5546
05:11:27,500 --> 05:11:31,000
survive in elaborate for power 
occasionally stupid to Intrigue 

5547
05:11:31,000 --> 05:11:35,800
but also championing genuine. 
Reforms posthumously Voltaire 

5548
05:11:35,800 --> 05:11:37,500
Pender measured eulogy calling 
her. 

5549
05:11:37,500 --> 05:11:40,700
The Luminaire who strove to 
lighten the Gloom of a 

5550
05:11:40,700 --> 05:11:43,400
fractious. 
Monarchy he didn't shy from 

5551
05:11:43,400 --> 05:11:46,300
acknowledging her mistakes, 
particularly in foreign policy 

5552
05:11:46,300 --> 05:11:48,900
yet lorded. 
Her role in fueling the Arts. 

5553
05:11:48,900 --> 05:11:52,100
This balanced tribute resonated 
with the segment of the 

5554
05:11:52,100 --> 05:11:55,100
population that recognized how 
precarious her place at courted.

5555
05:11:55,100 --> 05:11:58,800
Bean pinned between satisfying, 
a king's ephemeral desires and 

5556
05:11:58,800 --> 05:12:01,100
wielding real influence in a 
male-dominated. 

5557
05:12:01,100 --> 05:12:03,700
Sphere. 
In an Epoch dismissive of 

5558
05:12:03,700 --> 05:12:06,500
women's public roles. 
Her achievements were singular. 

5559
05:12:07,200 --> 05:12:09,800
Over the subsequent decade. 
The monarchy at Advanced under 

5560
05:12:09,800 --> 05:12:12,000
new favorite and alliance's 
Louis. 

5561
05:12:12,000 --> 05:12:15,800
The 15th though he took other 
Mistresses never found the same 

5562
05:12:15,800 --> 05:12:17,200
Confidant. 
Dynamic. 

5563
05:12:18,000 --> 05:12:20,900
Madame du Barry. 
For instance, faced more direct 

5564
05:12:20,900 --> 05:12:24,200
contempt from the old 
aristocracy lacking pompadours, 

5565
05:12:24,200 --> 05:12:28,400
cultivated veneer pompadours 
circle of loyal, ministers, like

5566
05:12:28,400 --> 05:12:31,000
the Duke de schwarzel, tried to 
salvage. 

5567
05:12:31,000 --> 05:12:33,500
What they could from The 
Diplomatic fiascos of the Seven 

5568
05:12:33,500 --> 05:12:36,200
Years War. 
A few smaller successes in 

5569
05:12:36,200 --> 05:12:39,300
overseas, negotiations carried 
an echo of her strategic vision.

5570
05:12:40,300 --> 05:12:43,400
Yet the monarchy standing with 
the populace remained tarnished.

5571
05:12:44,000 --> 05:12:46,000
The costly War had battered 
finances. 

5572
05:12:46,900 --> 05:12:50,100
Sowing seeds for deep unrest. 
That would erupt decades later. 

5573
05:12:51,100 --> 05:12:54,500
As Time wore on Madame, de 
pompadours memory became 

5574
05:12:54,500 --> 05:12:57,100
entangled with criticisms of the
Asian regime. 

5575
05:12:57,800 --> 05:13:00,100
Revolutionary pamphlets in the 
late 1780s. 

5576
05:13:00,100 --> 05:13:02,600
Brandished her name, as a symbol
of courtly access. 

5577
05:13:02,600 --> 05:13:06,300
They painted her as one who 
indulgently rearranged finances 

5578
05:13:06,300 --> 05:13:10,100
for personal luxuries, she 
symbolized to the moral 

5579
05:13:10,100 --> 05:13:11,900
corruption. 
That allowed a monarchy to 

5580
05:13:11,900 --> 05:13:14,900
Lavish wealth on a labor at 
Pleasures while peasants 

5581
05:13:14,900 --> 05:13:18,100
starved. 
The new ones that she was also a

5582
05:13:18,100 --> 05:13:20,800
champion of Arts that she tried 
to moderate The monarchy's. 

5583
05:13:20,800 --> 05:13:24,500
Stumbling often got lost in the 
further of revolutionary by the 

5584
05:13:24,508 --> 05:13:28,100
1790s, anything associated with,
the monarchy was suspect. 

5585
05:13:28,100 --> 05:13:30,200
And her carefully, curated 
style. 

5586
05:13:30,200 --> 05:13:34,000
Recoco, extravagant became an 
emblem of the out of touch 

5587
05:13:34,000 --> 05:13:37,100
aristocrat. 
Yet ironically some 

5588
05:13:37,100 --> 05:13:39,800
revolutionaries who rummage 
through confiscated palaces, 

5589
05:13:39,800 --> 05:13:43,200
discovered references to her 
philanthropic gestures, she had 

5590
05:13:43,200 --> 05:13:47,300
quietly funded orphanages, 
assisted certain Scholars or 

5591
05:13:47,300 --> 05:13:50,500
patronized hospitals, these acts
showcased were a good gesture. 

5592
05:13:51,200 --> 05:13:54,000
Though overshadowed by the 
general wave of anti-royalists 

5593
05:13:54,000 --> 05:13:56,300
sentiment. 
By the 19th century. 

5594
05:13:56,300 --> 05:13:59,000
A wave of new historians 
Revisited, her story. 

5595
05:13:59,700 --> 05:14:02,700
Portraying her less as a 
villain, and more as a 

5596
05:14:02,700 --> 05:14:04,800
reflection of monarchy's last 
attempts to remain relevant. 

5597
05:14:05,700 --> 05:14:07,400
They cited her patronage as 
crucial. 

5598
05:14:07,400 --> 05:14:10,700
In forging, a golden age of 
decorative Arts, recognized in 

5599
05:14:10,700 --> 05:14:14,400
international, the Sevier 
porcelain brand by their then 

5600
05:14:14,400 --> 05:14:17,000
globally cherished was 
inextricably linked to her 

5601
05:14:17,000 --> 05:14:20,700
impetus. 
Cultural memory, thus sea sword.

5602
05:14:20,700 --> 05:14:24,400
Biographers in the Victorian era
in thrall by the romance of 

5603
05:14:24,400 --> 05:14:27,800
Royal courts depicted her. 
As a tragic figure, the 

5604
05:14:27,800 --> 05:14:31,300
beautiful mistress overshadowed 
by War in ill health, valiantly 

5605
05:14:31,300 --> 05:14:32,900
saving off the monarchies 
declined. 

5606
05:14:32,900 --> 05:14:36,600
They relish dramatic details of 
her, elaborate Fashions, her 

5607
05:14:36,600 --> 05:14:40,200
signature pastel dresses, floral
motifs and the pompadour 

5608
05:14:40,200 --> 05:14:42,600
hairstyle. 
The ironically endured in 

5609
05:14:42,600 --> 05:14:46,800
hairdressing law critics, from 
more austere backgrounds in her 

5610
05:14:46,800 --> 05:14:50,000
and tangling France. 
In Alliance is that backfired 

5611
05:14:50,000 --> 05:14:53,700
20th century scholarship with 
its punctual for analyzing 

5612
05:14:53,700 --> 05:14:57,700
female comedy. 
Agency has re-evaluated her as a

5613
05:14:57,700 --> 05:15:01,400
political actor, who leverage 
the era's, constraints to carve 

5614
05:15:01,400 --> 05:15:05,300
out real influence. 
Albeit over shadowed by system, 

5615
05:15:05,300 --> 05:15:07,400
not designed to respect or 
credit her fully. 

5616
05:15:08,100 --> 05:15:11,600
In present day travelers to SCI 
often asked about Madame de 

5617
05:15:11,600 --> 05:15:13,500
pompadour. 
Tour guides highlight the 

5618
05:15:13,500 --> 05:15:16,700
surviving Decor. 
She influenced certain pastel 

5619
05:15:16,700 --> 05:15:18,800
lacquered rooms or delicate 
vases. 

5620
05:15:18,800 --> 05:15:21,800
They mentioned how she nurtured 
the Rococo Styles. 

5621
05:15:21,800 --> 05:15:23,900
Final. 
Flourish Bridging the Brock 

5622
05:15:23,900 --> 05:15:27,300
opulence of early years with 
subtle playful Elegance. 

5623
05:15:28,300 --> 05:15:30,700
Museums occasionally Mount 
exhibits on her, cultural 

5624
05:15:30,700 --> 05:15:34,700
patronage her face captured in 
portraits by artists like 

5625
05:15:34,700 --> 05:15:38,200
Boucher exudes, a gentle 
confidence that transcends 

5626
05:15:38,200 --> 05:15:41,200
centuries for admirers of 18th 
century history. 

5627
05:15:41,200 --> 05:15:44,700
She stands as a figure who in 
the swirl of monarchies 

5628
05:15:44,700 --> 05:15:48,200
extravagance and looming, social
tension found a way to channel 

5629
05:15:48,200 --> 05:15:51,200
her intellect and Artistry, 
imprinting a distinctive 

5630
05:15:51,200 --> 05:15:52,700
feminine mark on French 
heritage. 

5631
05:15:53,600 --> 05:15:56,100
As modern historians. 
Re-examine Madden de pompados 

5632
05:15:56,100 --> 05:15:59,400
life, they continued to discover
layers on mentioned in popular 

5633
05:15:59,400 --> 05:16:01,700
accounts. 
Her personal correspondence, 

5634
05:16:01,700 --> 05:16:04,700
scattered across archives, in 
Paris, and provincial Chateau 

5635
05:16:04,700 --> 05:16:06,500
reveals. 
A woman who wrestled with 

5636
05:16:06,500 --> 05:16:09,500
theological questions. 
Contrary to the jaded depiction 

5637
05:16:09,500 --> 05:16:12,900
of her as purely secular. 
She wrote to a confidant about 

5638
05:16:12,900 --> 05:16:15,300
the tension between the pomp of 
Versailles and a spiritual 

5639
05:16:15,300 --> 05:16:19,700
yearning, confessing a sense of 
guilt at times but also belief 

5640
05:16:19,700 --> 05:16:22,700
that God might call individuals 
to serve in worldly spheres. 

5641
05:16:23,500 --> 05:16:26,300
This spiritual Dimension, 
complicates stereotypes that she

5642
05:16:26,300 --> 05:16:28,300
was solely driven by ambition or
vanity. 

5643
05:16:29,000 --> 05:16:32,000
Moreover Diaries from Palace 
servants shed light on her daily

5644
05:16:32,000 --> 05:16:34,800
routines. 
She Rose early to handle letters

5645
05:16:34,800 --> 05:16:36,900
from provincial officials or 
meet with Artisans about 

5646
05:16:36,900 --> 05:16:39,400
furniture designs by 
mid-morning. 

5647
05:16:39,400 --> 05:16:43,300
She might be advising the King 
on which courtiers to promote by

5648
05:16:43,300 --> 05:16:45,400
afternoon. 
She oversaw rehearsals of 

5649
05:16:45,408 --> 05:16:48,900
comedic plays or small operas a 
respite for the war weary 

5650
05:16:48,900 --> 05:16:51,600
monarchy in the evening. 
Private dinners with the King, 

5651
05:16:51,600 --> 05:16:55,300
wreath, in the flicker of candle
at chandeliers allowed, her to 

5652
05:16:55,300 --> 05:16:57,000
glean insights into his 
anxieties. 

5653
05:16:57,000 --> 05:17:00,700
She balanced each role with 
remarkable stamina, though, 

5654
05:17:00,700 --> 05:17:04,200
migraines and palpitations. 
Often tormented her A newly, 

5655
05:17:04,200 --> 05:17:06,500
discovered note from her lady, 
in waiting described. 

5656
05:17:06,500 --> 05:17:11,000
How after hosting a lavish ball 
pompadour, would retire behind 

5657
05:17:11,000 --> 05:17:14,900
closed doors, pressing cold 
cloths, to her forehead, tears 

5658
05:17:14,900 --> 05:17:18,200
of pain, slipping quietly as she
resolved, not to betrayed 

5659
05:17:18,200 --> 05:17:21,000
weakness the following day in 
addressing her romantically 

5660
05:17:21,000 --> 05:17:24,400
Azan, it's easy to assume her. 
Life was consumed by the king's 

5661
05:17:24,400 --> 05:17:26,900
attention yet, subtle 
references. 

5662
05:17:26,900 --> 05:17:29,600
Suggest you want Harbord 
affections for an unnamed Court 

5663
05:17:29,600 --> 05:17:32,300
musician. 
Exchanging whispered confidence 

5664
05:17:32,300 --> 05:17:36,400
is in corridor alcoves Realizing
the danger in such a dalliance. 

5665
05:17:36,400 --> 05:17:39,000
She ended it swiftly to avoid 
Scandal. 

5666
05:17:39,000 --> 05:17:42,100
Leaving behind a clue to her 
capacity for self-denial. 

5667
05:17:42,800 --> 05:17:46,400
another rumored flame was a 
philosopher, she corresponded 

5668
05:17:46,400 --> 05:17:50,100
with under a pseudonym, whether 
that was purely intellectual or 

5669
05:17:50,100 --> 05:17:54,000
tinged with romance remains 
debated, The overriding truth is

5670
05:17:54,000 --> 05:17:57,100
that she recognized that 
enthralling the king required 

5671
05:17:57,100 --> 05:17:59,900
keeping secrets she had to 
preserve the monarchies 

5672
05:17:59,900 --> 05:18:02,100
Illusions. 
Even if that meant sacrificing 

5673
05:18:02,100 --> 05:18:05,400
personal longing. 
Her sense of strategy and coping

5674
05:18:05,400 --> 05:18:07,700
with the backstabbing 
environment remains striking. 

5675
05:18:08,400 --> 05:18:12,500
She carefully placed allies in 
minor roles a Guard Captain, a 

5676
05:18:12,500 --> 05:18:16,400
Chamberlain, a bishop so that 
vital threads of Palace life, 

5677
05:18:16,400 --> 05:18:19,600
LED back to her. 
If a plot surface, she'd hear 

5678
05:18:19,600 --> 05:18:22,500
rumors early enough to steer the
king away or Quail conspirators,

5679
05:18:22,500 --> 05:18:27,000
she likewise practice generosity
to those in need awarding small,

5680
05:18:27,000 --> 05:18:29,700
pensions to older, courtiers or 
assisting impoverished, 

5681
05:18:29,700 --> 05:18:32,700
Aristocrats with dowries. 
This generosity wasn't purely 

5682
05:18:32,700 --> 05:18:34,700
altruistic. 
It fostered, an environment, 

5683
05:18:34,700 --> 05:18:37,900
where indebted Souls recognized 
her, as a pillar of stability 

5684
05:18:37,900 --> 05:18:41,700
for many at court. 
She assumed the role of a quiet,

5685
05:18:41,700 --> 05:18:45,100
caretaker serving as a bridge 
between a distant monarchy, and 

5686
05:18:45,108 --> 05:18:48,400
every day crisis, in an era 
lacking official welfare. 

5687
05:18:48,400 --> 05:18:52,400
Her patronage served as an 
informal safety, net, the deeply

5688
05:18:52,400 --> 05:18:54,000
personal dimension of her 
existence. 

5689
05:18:54,000 --> 05:18:57,500
Was her unwavering Devotion to 
her daughter, Alexander Green 

5690
05:18:57,500 --> 05:19:00,000
born before her. 
Ascendancy of Versailles. 

5691
05:19:00,000 --> 05:19:03,300
The child well-being weighed 
heavily on pompadours mine. 

5692
05:19:04,100 --> 05:19:06,700
Alexandrian was placed in a 
Convent for education. 

5693
05:19:07,400 --> 05:19:09,000
Occasionally visiting the 
palace. 

5694
05:19:09,800 --> 05:19:13,900
Inn 1754. 
Alexandrine died unexpectedly of

5695
05:19:13,900 --> 05:19:17,500
peritonitis the Heartbreak 
shattered, pompadour who wept in

5696
05:19:17,500 --> 05:19:20,800
consolid for days nearly 
refusing to appear in public. 

5697
05:19:21,600 --> 05:19:26,200
The king not known for empathy 
attempted constellation, but her

5698
05:19:26,200 --> 05:19:28,200
grief. 
Lingard, some historians. 

5699
05:19:28,200 --> 05:19:31,200
Pinpoint this tragedy as a pivot
in their relationship. 

5700
05:19:31,200 --> 05:19:34,200
Transforming her from a radiant 
figure, to one more 

5701
05:19:34,200 --> 05:19:38,800
introspective channeling energy,
into cultural projects, She 

5702
05:19:38,800 --> 05:19:41,700
seldom spoke of alexandrine 
publicly but references to 

5703
05:19:41,700 --> 05:19:45,200
monologue Perdue in her letters,
allude to that, maternal sorrow 

5704
05:19:45,200 --> 05:19:49,000
Beneath The Gold Lace for sad. 
As the monarchy stumbled from 

5705
05:19:49,000 --> 05:19:51,800
the Warfare goes Madame de. 
Pompadours composure, 

5706
05:19:51,800 --> 05:19:54,000
ironically, stabilized, the 
king's morale. 

5707
05:19:54,000 --> 05:19:57,900
She orchestrated an unspoken 
Serenity within the palace walls

5708
05:19:57,900 --> 05:20:02,100
and showing that the presence of
Music gentle laughed after and 

5709
05:20:02,100 --> 05:20:05,200
well, executed ceremonies 
shielded Louis the 15th from 

5710
05:20:05,200 --> 05:20:09,400
Gloom though critics called her 
the minister of Pleasures, a 

5711
05:20:09,400 --> 05:20:12,000
more profound look reveals her 
role as a caretaker for the 

5712
05:20:12,000 --> 05:20:15,500
monarchies emotional climate. 
That intangible labor, often 

5713
05:20:15,500 --> 05:20:18,600
relegated to women. 
Ensure that even in failing 

5714
05:20:18,600 --> 05:20:22,700
Wars, the monarchy projected 
continuity without her, the king

5715
05:20:22,700 --> 05:20:25,500
might of succumb to paralyzing 
despair on neglected governments

5716
05:20:25,500 --> 05:20:28,300
entirely. 
She in effect became the 

5717
05:20:28,300 --> 05:20:31,900
monarchies emotional pivot. 
When contemporary readers gauge 

5718
05:20:31,900 --> 05:20:35,500
her significance, they must 
weigh the paradoxes a Bourgeois 

5719
05:20:35,500 --> 05:20:38,000
woman who championed 
aristocratic extravagance. 

5720
05:20:38,000 --> 05:20:42,100
A mistress who reconfigured 
diplomatic ties and an aesthetic

5721
05:20:42,100 --> 05:20:44,900
who contended, with the 
brutality of War, she was not 

5722
05:20:44,900 --> 05:20:47,700
without faults, certain 
decisions, sparked conflict. 

5723
05:20:47,700 --> 05:20:50,700
And her loyalty to the monarchy 
overshadowed empathy for the 

5724
05:20:50,700 --> 05:20:53,700
broader populace yet. 
One can see in her a formidable 

5725
05:20:53,700 --> 05:20:56,200
intelligence, navigating 
male-dominated, politics 

5726
05:20:56,200 --> 05:20:59,700
championing, creativity and 
forging a personal brand that 

5727
05:20:59,700 --> 05:21:03,400
outlived her mortal years that 
blend of contradictory traits 

5728
05:21:03,400 --> 05:21:06,000
and answer as a figure to 
complex for simple. 

5729
05:21:06,000 --> 05:21:09,400
Judgments a testament to the 
nuanced roles, women could 

5730
05:21:09,400 --> 05:21:12,100
occupy in a kingdom perched, 
precariously, on the brink of 

5731
05:21:12,100 --> 05:21:14,300
his historical transformation 
today. 

5732
05:21:14,300 --> 05:21:18,400
Madame de pompadour endures as 
an emblem of 18th century 

5733
05:21:18,400 --> 05:21:22,300
Elegance overshadowed, yet also 
illuminated by the monarchies of

5734
05:21:22,308 --> 05:21:26,500
eventual collapse in 1789. 
She died decades before the 

5735
05:21:26,500 --> 05:21:29,400
French Revolution erupted, which
is surprising to some. 

5736
05:21:29,400 --> 05:21:32,600
But her story offers a lens into
the monarchy's Illusions and the

5737
05:21:32,600 --> 05:21:36,200
flickers of modern sensibility 
stirring, beneath them, the 

5738
05:21:36,200 --> 05:21:39,300
Rococo style, she popularized 
with its playful curves, and 

5739
05:21:39,308 --> 05:21:43,300
pastel palette. 
Might seem superficial, but it 

5740
05:21:43,300 --> 05:21:45,800
signaled, a shift away from the 
heavy formality of earlier. 

5741
05:21:45,800 --> 05:21:49,300
Baroque in championing 
intangible, Pursuits like music,

5742
05:21:49,300 --> 05:21:51,700
painting and philosophical 
discussion. 

5743
05:21:51,700 --> 05:21:55,600
She partially laid a cultural 
groundwork that ironically 

5744
05:21:55,600 --> 05:21:58,300
helped spread ideas that later 
questions. 

5745
05:21:58,300 --> 05:22:01,000
The monarchies absolute basis in
the centuries. 

5746
05:22:01,000 --> 05:22:03,900
After her demise her name popped
up in unexpected places 

5747
05:22:03,900 --> 05:22:07,700
industrial producers of 
porcelain invoked, pompadour 

5748
05:22:07,700 --> 05:22:09,900
pink, or pompadour blue for 
delicate. 

5749
05:22:09,900 --> 05:22:12,900
Tableware dressmakers 
resurrected the pompadour 

5750
05:22:12,900 --> 05:22:16,100
hairstyle, in various 
reinterpretations, some tall and

5751
05:22:16,108 --> 05:22:19,700
powdered others, more subtle, 
but referencing that Flair she 

5752
05:22:19,700 --> 05:22:23,500
had for graceful display. 
Literary authors from Balzac and

5753
05:22:23,500 --> 05:22:25,600
Nancy. 
Mitford explored her biography, 

5754
05:22:25,600 --> 05:22:30,200
each spinning Vantage points. 
Was she a cunning manipulator or

5755
05:22:30,200 --> 05:22:32,300
a gentle care for an indecisive 
King? 

5756
05:22:33,100 --> 05:22:36,500
tourists wandering verse I can 
still Glimpse spaces, she wants 

5757
05:22:36,500 --> 05:22:40,000
inhabited, the private 
apartments for the gardens, all 

5758
05:22:40,000 --> 05:22:43,300
the opera house she influenced 
Guides were count how she wants 

5759
05:22:43,300 --> 05:22:45,200
staged private theatricals 
there. 

5760
05:22:45,900 --> 05:22:49,800
Starring as comedic heroines. 
Coaxing, the king from his Stony

5761
05:22:49,800 --> 05:22:54,000
reticence, the wallpapers and 
color schemes faintly preserved,

5762
05:22:54,000 --> 05:22:58,400
reflect that pastel Whimsy. 
Her official portrait by Boucher

5763
05:22:58,400 --> 05:23:01,400
stands in the Wallace 
collection, in London, capturing

5764
05:23:01,400 --> 05:23:04,600
her with a book in hand, 
emphasizing her intellectual 

5765
05:23:04,600 --> 05:23:07,400
bent. 
Observers note the calm in her 

5766
05:23:07,408 --> 05:23:10,800
eyes, a subtle Pride, that 
defies the ephemeral nature of 

5767
05:23:10,800 --> 05:23:12,800
her courtly, status. 
Modern. 

5768
05:23:12,800 --> 05:23:14,600
Feminism appraises her 
differently. 

5769
05:23:14,600 --> 05:23:17,700
She was no activist for women's 
equality by presence. 

5770
05:23:17,700 --> 05:23:20,600
Standards yet she challenged 
conventional boundaries. 

5771
05:23:20,600 --> 05:23:23,600
She effectively shaped policies 
behind the scenes. 

5772
05:23:23,600 --> 05:23:26,800
Overshadowing, many male, 
courtiers, whose official titles

5773
05:23:26,800 --> 05:23:30,500
dwarfed, her own She minted 
alliance's with philosophers to 

5774
05:23:30,500 --> 05:23:32,900
protect free expression from 
Draconian sentences. 

5775
05:23:33,700 --> 05:23:37,900
She finds to expansions in Fine 
Arts and Manufacturing forging. 

5776
05:23:37,900 --> 05:23:39,700
A Synergy between monarchy and 
commerce. 

5777
05:23:40,500 --> 05:23:43,500
While she did not up in the 
patriarchal structure, a 

5778
05:23:43,500 --> 05:23:46,700
survival hinged on a peeing. 
It her example reveals how a 

5779
05:23:46,700 --> 05:23:49,800
determined intelligent woman 
could carve a realm of influence

5780
05:23:50,800 --> 05:23:53,300
In that sense, she both 
reaffirmed and quietly 

5781
05:23:53,300 --> 05:23:56,300
subverted. 
The patriarchal monarchy Her 

5782
05:23:56,300 --> 05:23:59,600
ephemeral Presence overshadowed 
by new favorites after her 

5783
05:23:59,600 --> 05:24:01,700
death. 
Underscores, the monarchies 

5784
05:24:01,700 --> 05:24:05,600
insatiable appetite for novelty 
yet, none repeated the unique. 

5785
05:24:05,600 --> 05:24:08,900
Blend of artistry diplomacy and 
emotional guardianship. 

5786
05:24:08,900 --> 05:24:11,200
She brought for a fleeting 
period. 

5787
05:24:11,200 --> 05:24:15,700
She had a near ministerial role 
in shaping foreign alliances a 

5788
05:24:15,700 --> 05:24:18,000
stance that no subsequent 
mistress or consort fully 

5789
05:24:18,000 --> 05:24:21,700
replicated under Louis the 15th.
By the time of the Revolutionary

5790
05:24:21,700 --> 05:24:25,400
upsurge that entire system, the 
monarchy it's falling courtiers.

5791
05:24:25,400 --> 05:24:30,400
Its cycle of Mr. Aires face 
condemnation The memory of 

5792
05:24:30,400 --> 05:24:32,600
Madame de pompadour, both 
revered and reviled. 

5793
05:24:32,600 --> 05:24:35,500
Became part of the propaganda 
asked, Arnold describing an 

5794
05:24:35,500 --> 05:24:38,600
outdated regime. 
Her Radiance self-assurance in 

5795
05:24:38,600 --> 05:24:41,800
official portraits, served as 
evidence of aristocratic 

5796
05:24:41,800 --> 05:24:45,000
decadence, ironically, ignoring 
the fact that she held from the 

5797
05:24:45,000 --> 05:24:47,500
bourgeoisie For the average 
person. 

5798
05:24:47,500 --> 05:24:49,100
Age. 
Stumbling upon her story. 

5799
05:24:49,100 --> 05:24:51,800
The immediate reaction might 
revolve around the gossip. 

5800
05:24:51,800 --> 05:24:56,300
A mistress of Versailles, the 
icon of style, But deeper 

5801
05:24:56,300 --> 05:24:59,100
reflection on covers a figure. 
Bridging, bold, intelligence 

5802
05:24:59,100 --> 05:25:02,700
aesthetic, Brilliance and 
pragmatic survival in a quart. 

5803
05:25:02,700 --> 05:25:06,200
Bent on devouring, the naive. 
She was that in probable 

5804
05:25:06,200 --> 05:25:09,900
cultural prime minister as some 
labeled her forging a space in a

5805
05:25:09,900 --> 05:25:13,700
male dominated environment. 
If at times she contributed to 

5806
05:25:13,700 --> 05:25:17,100
misguided policies or neglected 
the plight of the lower classes 

5807
05:25:17,100 --> 05:25:20,500
such failings aligned with the 
monarchy's broader blind spots 

5808
05:25:20,500 --> 05:25:25,000
in that sense her story reflects
systemic complexities rather 

5809
05:25:25,000 --> 05:25:28,300
than personal ones alone. 
But her narrative might evoke 

5810
05:25:28,300 --> 05:25:31,000
parallels with the art of 
balance and professional demands

5811
05:25:31,000 --> 05:25:35,500
personal identity and the swirl 
of public scrutiny that go way 

5812
05:25:35,500 --> 05:25:36,600
deeper than we all might 
imagine. 

5813
05:25:37,500 --> 05:25:41,000
She found ways to harness her 
adversity, lack of birth rank 

5814
05:25:41,000 --> 05:25:43,500
suspicion from Aristocrats to 
shape. 

5815
05:25:43,500 --> 05:25:47,300
A remarkable trajectory whether 
we judge her kindly or harshly, 

5816
05:25:47,300 --> 05:25:50,500
she embodied the precarious 
dance of pleasing the powerful, 

5817
05:25:50,500 --> 05:25:54,200
while forging, something new, a 
Synergy of intellectual, tastes 

5818
05:25:54,200 --> 05:25:58,700
refined pleasures and aesthetic 
transformation, that left France

5819
05:25:58,700 --> 05:26:02,000
are rely change. 
Her adversaries wrote pamphlets,

5820
05:26:02,000 --> 05:26:05,500
proclaiming her ephemeral. 
But ionically she remains a 

5821
05:26:05,500 --> 05:26:08,700
Hallmark of that era, 
overshadowing some Royals and 

5822
05:26:08,700 --> 05:26:12,500
cultural memory. 
Ultimately, Madame de pompadours

5823
05:26:12,500 --> 05:26:16,500
life under scores a universal 
theme in an environment, where 

5824
05:26:16,500 --> 05:26:20,100
official power rests with men 
and individual with vision 

5825
05:26:20,100 --> 05:26:24,400
resilience and strategic cunning
can mold in age or be it at 

5826
05:26:24,400 --> 05:26:27,400
personal cost. 
She gave French culture, a final

5827
05:26:27,400 --> 05:26:31,700
Rococo Bloom before the wave of 
neoclassicism and eventually 

5828
05:26:31,700 --> 05:26:35,300
Revolution. 
Her touches on diplomacy and 

5829
05:26:35,300 --> 05:26:38,600
arts overshadowed, though they 
might have been by War and 

5830
05:26:38,600 --> 05:26:40,500
scandal. 
Continue to invite 

5831
05:26:40,500 --> 05:26:44,100
reexamination. 
And so for those who seek Nuance

5832
05:26:44,100 --> 05:26:47,200
in history, her story remains a 
captivating Chronicle of 

5833
05:26:47,208 --> 05:26:52,400
ambition Grace heartbreak and a 
legacy that resonates long after

5834
05:26:52,400 --> 05:26:55,400
her heart ceased to beat within 
Versailles, gilded Labyrinth, 

5835
05:27:02,200 --> 05:27:04,200
Picture this, you're about to 
witness. 

5836
05:27:04,200 --> 05:27:07,700
One of history is most famous 
days except nobody that morning 

5837
05:27:07,700 --> 05:27:13,200
knew it was going to be famous. 
July. 4th 1776 started like most

5838
05:27:13,200 --> 05:27:17,500
summer days in Philadelphia 
sticky humid and full of men in 

5839
05:27:17,500 --> 05:27:19,000
wigs, complaining about the 
weather. 

5840
05:27:20,000 --> 05:27:22,400
The kind of morning where your 
shirt sticks to your back before

5841
05:27:22,400 --> 05:27:25,200
you've even had your coffee. 
Though back then it was more 

5842
05:27:25,200 --> 05:27:27,200
like lukewarm tea and stale 
bread. 

5843
05:27:27,200 --> 05:27:30,500
You'd find yourself walking 
through a city, that smell like 

5844
05:27:30,500 --> 05:27:33,600
horses chamber pots, and the 
occasional whiff of something 

5845
05:27:33,600 --> 05:27:36,200
that might charitably be called 
Colonial cooking. 

5846
05:27:37,100 --> 05:27:40,900
Philadelphia in 1776 wasn't 
exactly the City of Brotherly 

5847
05:27:40,900 --> 05:27:44,100
Love, we know today, it was more
like the City of Brotherly 

5848
05:27:44,100 --> 05:27:46,600
pleased, don't dump your garbage
in the street in front of my 

5849
05:27:46,600 --> 05:27:49,100
house. 
But inside the Pennsylvania 

5850
05:27:49,100 --> 05:27:52,800
state house, something 
extraordinary was brewing and it

5851
05:27:52,808 --> 05:27:57,100
wasn't just the tension. 56 men 
from 13 colonies had been 

5852
05:27:57,108 --> 05:28:00,000
gathering for weeks arguing 
about something that would have 

5853
05:28:00,000 --> 05:28:02,400
gotten them hanged just for 
thinking about it a few years 

5854
05:28:02,400 --> 05:28:04,700
earlier. 
They wanted to tell them the 

5855
05:28:04,700 --> 05:28:07,400
most powerful Empire in the 
world to take a long walk off a 

5856
05:28:07,408 --> 05:28:10,100
short pier. 
Now, you might imagine this 

5857
05:28:10,100 --> 05:28:13,100
momentous day began with 
dramatic speeches and stirring 

5858
05:28:13,100 --> 05:28:16,000
music, but the reality was much 
more mundane. 

5859
05:28:16,800 --> 05:28:19,500
Most of the delegates, probably 
woke up with the 18th century 

5860
05:28:19,500 --> 05:28:22,800
equivalent of a hangover, not 
from alcohol necessarily, but 

5861
05:28:22,800 --> 05:28:26,400
from weeks of heated, debate, 
poor sleep on lumpy mattresses 

5862
05:28:26,400 --> 05:28:29,100
and the constant worry that they
were either about to make 

5863
05:28:29,100 --> 05:28:31,000
history or become history 
themselves. 

5864
05:28:31,000 --> 05:28:35,000
The morning started with the 
usual, Colonial breakfast maybe 

5865
05:28:35,000 --> 05:28:38,900
some cornmeal mush if you were 
lucky, The delegates shuffled 

5866
05:28:38,900 --> 05:28:41,200
into the state house. 
Like any group of middle-aged 

5867
05:28:41,200 --> 05:28:43,300
men heading to a particularly 
important meeting. 

5868
05:28:44,200 --> 05:28:47,200
Except this meeting was about 
treason, which does tend to 

5869
05:28:47,208 --> 05:28:50,500
focus the Mind wonderfully. 
You'd notice that nobody was 

5870
05:28:50,500 --> 05:28:53,800
wearing red, white, and blue, 
yet that would come later 

5871
05:28:53,800 --> 05:28:57,700
instead. 
You'd see a lot of brown beige 

5872
05:28:57,700 --> 05:29:01,000
and that peculiar shade of green
that seemed to be popular, with 

5873
05:29:01,000 --> 05:29:03,500
men, who spent their time 
writing strongly worded, letters

5874
05:29:03,500 --> 05:29:07,400
to King's These were not the 
marble statues, we often see in 

5875
05:29:07,400 --> 05:29:10,800
museums these were real 
individuals grappling with real 

5876
05:29:10,800 --> 05:29:14,400
issues such as John Adams, he 
was already establishing a 

5877
05:29:14,400 --> 05:29:16,500
reputation for his lack of 
diplomatic skills. 

5878
05:29:17,700 --> 05:29:20,800
The funny thing about July 4th 
is that it almost wasn't July 

5879
05:29:20,800 --> 05:29:23,700
4th at all. 
The Continental Congress had 

5880
05:29:23,700 --> 05:29:27,100
actually voted for Independence,
on July 2nd, and John Adams was 

5881
05:29:27,100 --> 05:29:29,800
convinced that this would be the
day Americans would celebrate 

5882
05:29:29,800 --> 05:29:33,300
forever. he was so confident 
about this that he wrote to his 

5883
05:29:33,300 --> 05:29:36,600
wife, Abigail predicting that 
July 2nd would be celebrated 

5884
05:29:36,600 --> 05:29:40,900
with Pomp and parade with shows 
Games, sports guns, Bells, 

5885
05:29:40,900 --> 05:29:45,400
bonfires and illuminations Poor 
John Adams he was off by exactly

5886
05:29:45,400 --> 05:29:48,000
two days, which in the grand 
scheme of history is pretty 

5887
05:29:48,000 --> 05:29:49,700
good. 
But in the world of national 

5888
05:29:49,700 --> 05:29:52,400
holidays, it's like showing up 
to your birthday party on the 

5889
05:29:52,400 --> 05:29:54,700
wrong day. 
The weather that morning was 

5890
05:29:54,700 --> 05:29:59,100
typical for Philadelphia in 
early July hot muggy and the 

5891
05:29:59,100 --> 05:30:01,900
kind of humid that makes you 
wonder why anyone thought it was

5892
05:30:01,900 --> 05:30:03,700
a good idea to build a city in a
swamp? 

5893
05:30:04,600 --> 05:30:07,400
Even before the day officially 
began the delegates were already

5894
05:30:07,400 --> 05:30:09,300
perspiring through their wool 
coats. 

5895
05:30:10,000 --> 05:30:12,400
You can almost picture them 
Fanning themselves with whatever

5896
05:30:12,400 --> 05:30:15,600
papers they had handy. 
Probably, including some early 

5897
05:30:15,600 --> 05:30:19,200
drafts of what would become the 
Declaration of Independence as 

5898
05:30:19,200 --> 05:30:22,000
the morning progressed, you'd 
sense the weight of what was 

5899
05:30:22,000 --> 05:30:24,600
about to happen. 
These men were just having a 

5900
05:30:24,600 --> 05:30:27,400
heated town hall meeting. 
They were about to sign what 

5901
05:30:27,400 --> 05:30:29,800
amounted to their death 
warrants, if things went badly. 

5902
05:30:31,100 --> 05:30:33,800
King, George III, not known for 
a sense of humor. 

5903
05:30:33,800 --> 05:30:36,800
About rebellious colonists, 
imposed the death penalty for 

5904
05:30:36,800 --> 05:30:39,300
treason. 
Nobody had remembered to bring 

5905
05:30:39,300 --> 05:30:41,800
the fireworks. 
Setting the stage for a day that

5906
05:30:41,808 --> 05:30:44,300
would echo through centuries by 
mid-morning. 

5907
05:30:44,300 --> 05:30:47,100
You'd find yourself in the midst
of what might be history is most

5908
05:30:47,100 --> 05:30:50,700
consequential editing session. 
Imagine trying to Wordsmith your

5909
05:30:50,700 --> 05:30:53,000
way out of being subjects of the
British Empire. 

5910
05:30:53,900 --> 05:30:56,400
It's like writing the world's 
most important resignation 

5911
05:30:56,400 --> 05:30:59,200
letter except your boss has 
canons. 

5912
05:31:00,700 --> 05:31:03,500
The Declaration of Independence.
You know, today wasn't just 

5913
05:31:03,500 --> 05:31:06,800
magically perfect on July 4th, 
it had been through more 

5914
05:31:06,800 --> 05:31:09,800
revisions than a college 
student's term paper and Thomas 

5915
05:31:09,800 --> 05:31:11,600
Jefferson. 
The primary author was getting 

5916
05:31:11,600 --> 05:31:13,700
increasingly. 
Frustrated with all the changes.

5917
05:31:13,700 --> 05:31:16,800
You would observe him sitting 
there like Lee tapping, his 

5918
05:31:16,800 --> 05:31:20,300
fingers on the table as his 
meticulously crafted phrases 

5919
05:31:20,300 --> 05:31:24,300
were chopped up rearranged and 
sometimes completely discarded. 

5920
05:31:25,800 --> 05:31:30,100
Jefferson had originally about 
1,800 words, but by the time 

5921
05:31:30,100 --> 05:31:33,400
everyone got done with their 
edits suggestions and helpful 

5922
05:31:33,400 --> 05:31:36,600
rewrites, it was down to about 
1,300 words. 

5923
05:31:36,600 --> 05:31:40,900
That's roughly a 30% cut, which 
would make any write a wince. 

5924
05:31:40,900 --> 05:31:42,900
It's like cooking, a perfect 
souffle. 

5925
05:31:42,900 --> 05:31:45,500
Only to have everyone in the 
kitchen, suggest improvements 

5926
05:31:45,500 --> 05:31:47,500
until your left with scrambled 
eggs. 

5927
05:31:48,900 --> 05:31:51,400
One of the biggest arguments 
that morning was about slavery. 

5928
05:31:51,400 --> 05:31:54,300
Jefferson had included. 
A passage condemning King. 

5929
05:31:54,308 --> 05:31:57,800
George, the third for the slave 
trade calling it piratical 

5930
05:31:57,800 --> 05:32:00,300
Warfare and cruel war against 
human nature. 

5931
05:32:00,300 --> 05:32:04,100
It was a bold statement 
especially coming from a man who

5932
05:32:04,100 --> 05:32:07,400
owned slaves himself. 
However, the delegates from 

5933
05:32:07,400 --> 05:32:09,300
South Carolina and Georgia 
protested. 

5934
05:32:09,300 --> 05:32:12,800
So loudly that their complaints 
could likely be heard from a 

5935
05:32:12,800 --> 05:32:15,900
distance of three blocks. 
They weren't about to sign 

5936
05:32:15,900 --> 05:32:18,200
anything that might interfere 
with their economic interests, 

5937
05:32:18,200 --> 05:32:21,200
even if it meant keeping a 
glaring contradiction in their 

5938
05:32:21,200 --> 05:32:25,300
Declaration of Human Rights. 
Everyone was aware of the irony 

5939
05:32:25,300 --> 05:32:27,400
here. 
They were declaring. 

5940
05:32:27,400 --> 05:32:31,000
That all men are created equal 
while simultaneously refusing to

5941
05:32:31,000 --> 05:32:34,400
address the fact that about 20% 
of the colonial population was 

5942
05:32:34,400 --> 05:32:36,900
enslaved. 
It's like to clearing your house

5943
05:32:36,900 --> 05:32:39,400
and democracy while keeping some
family members locked in the 

5944
05:32:39,400 --> 05:32:42,000
basement. 
Despite the start cognitive 

5945
05:32:42,000 --> 05:32:45,500
dissonance, they chose to defer 
solving this particular issue to

5946
05:32:45,500 --> 05:32:48,300
Future Generations. 
You'd notice that the delegates 

5947
05:32:48,300 --> 05:32:51,300
were getting Twitchy as the 
morning war on every time. 

5948
05:32:51,300 --> 05:32:54,500
Someone walked past the Windows 
heads would turn Though, those 

5949
05:32:54,500 --> 05:32:57,600
British soldiers was that the 
sound of ships in the harbor. 

5950
05:32:57,600 --> 05:33:01,300
The paranoia was understandable.
They were literally in the 

5951
05:33:01,300 --> 05:33:04,300
middle of committing trees and 
the penalty for failure was 

5952
05:33:04,300 --> 05:33:06,800
considerably worse than a 
negative performance review. 

5953
05:33:07,600 --> 05:33:10,200
John Hancock, the president of 
the Continental Congress 

5954
05:33:10,200 --> 05:33:14,500
attempted to maintain everyone's
Focus, but the task proved to be

5955
05:33:14,508 --> 05:33:17,600
a challenging one. 
The situation, resembled a herd 

5956
05:33:17,600 --> 05:33:20,900
of cats, wearing wigs, lawyers 
and landowners dressed in wigs, 

5957
05:33:20,900 --> 05:33:23,700
held strong views on the use of 
commas and semicolons. 

5958
05:33:23,700 --> 05:33:27,600
You'd watch grown men argue for 
20 minutes about whether to use 

5959
05:33:27,600 --> 05:33:29,800
unalienable or inalienable 
rights. 

5960
05:33:29,800 --> 05:33:32,800
Apparently unaware, that they 
were making the same point. 

5961
05:33:32,800 --> 05:33:36,300
Either way, the heat was 
becoming unbearable Philadelphia

5962
05:33:36,300 --> 05:33:39,600
in July is, nobody's idea of 
pleasant and the state house 

5963
05:33:39,600 --> 05:33:41,100
didn't exactly have air 
conditioning. 

5964
05:33:41,100 --> 05:33:44,600
The windows were open, but that 
just meant more flies and the 

5965
05:33:44,600 --> 05:33:47,300
occasional horse-drawn cart. 
Clattering bite, interrupt 

5966
05:33:47,300 --> 05:33:50,700
important discussions about 
natural rights and the pursuit 

5967
05:33:50,700 --> 05:33:55,400
of happiness Benjamin Franklin. 
The oldest delegate at 70 was 

5968
05:33:55,400 --> 05:33:58,800
probably the only one enjoying 
himself his ability to find 

5969
05:33:58,800 --> 05:34:01,800
humor in even the most serious 
situations made watching a group

5970
05:34:01,800 --> 05:34:03,800
of younger men argue about 
punctuation. 

5971
05:34:03,800 --> 05:34:08,000
While committing trees and 
delightful experience, you'd see

5972
05:34:08,000 --> 05:34:10,100
him, occasionally, make a dry 
comment that would either 

5973
05:34:10,100 --> 05:34:13,800
diffuse tension or accidentally 
worse it depending on how 

5974
05:34:13,800 --> 05:34:18,000
stressed everyone was feeling. 
The morning was rapidly passing,

5975
05:34:18,000 --> 05:34:21,700
and they had yet to finalize the
document. some delegates, 

5976
05:34:21,700 --> 05:34:24,500
wondered if they'd ever finish, 
or if they'd still be arguing 

5977
05:34:24,500 --> 05:34:28,000
Overcomers when the British army
came to arrest them, Pressure 

5978
05:34:28,000 --> 05:34:30,300
was mounting and not just from 
the weather. 

5979
05:34:30,300 --> 05:34:32,900
They didn't know they were 
making something that would 

5980
05:34:32,900 --> 05:34:34,400
outlive them in their 
descendants. 

5981
05:34:34,400 --> 05:34:36,900
They were just trying to get 
through the day without getting 

5982
05:34:36,900 --> 05:34:40,500
hanged as the afternoon heat 
settled over Philadelphia like a

5983
05:34:40,500 --> 05:34:43,600
wool blanket soaked in soup, 
you'd find yourself, witnessing 

5984
05:34:43,600 --> 05:34:47,800
something remarkable, 56, men, 
trying to work up the courage to

5985
05:34:47,800 --> 05:34:50,300
sign, what was essentially a 
fancy suicide note. 

5986
05:34:51,100 --> 05:34:52,900
The Declaration was finally 
ready. 

5987
05:34:52,900 --> 05:34:55,900
But now came the hard part 
actually, committing to it. 

5988
05:34:57,200 --> 05:34:59,400
The scene inside the state house
was becoming increasingly 

5989
05:34:59,400 --> 05:35:03,800
surreal with each passing out. 
These were action heroes or 

5990
05:35:03,800 --> 05:35:06,100
mythical figures. 
They were mostly middle-aged 

5991
05:35:06,100 --> 05:35:09,000
businessmen lawyers and 
landowners who were sweating 

5992
05:35:09,000 --> 05:35:12,600
through their Formal Wear while 
contemplating trees and you'd 

5993
05:35:12,600 --> 05:35:15,000
see them fidgeting with their 
quill pens, adjusting their 

5994
05:35:15,000 --> 05:35:17,100
wigs. 
And probably wondering if it was

5995
05:35:17,100 --> 05:35:19,500
too late to claim, they were 
just visiting Philadelphia for 

5996
05:35:19,500 --> 05:35:22,100
the cheese. 
Steaks Despite his attempt to 

5997
05:35:22,100 --> 05:35:25,600
project confidence, John hancox 
nervousness was evident. 

5998
05:35:26,300 --> 05:35:29,600
When the time came to sign, he 
famously wrote his name large 

5999
05:35:29,600 --> 05:35:32,400
enough that King George can read
it without his spectacles. 

6000
05:35:33,300 --> 05:35:36,200
It was a wonderful line, but 
you'd notice his hand was 

6001
05:35:36,200 --> 05:35:38,400
probably shaking, just a little 
bit as he wrote it. 

6002
05:35:39,400 --> 05:35:42,400
Making jokes about the king. 
While committing treason is the 

6003
05:35:42,408 --> 05:35:45,400
18th century equivalent of 
whistling past the graveyard. 

6004
05:35:46,600 --> 05:35:49,000
The afternoon brought a parade 
of delegates to the signing 

6005
05:35:49,000 --> 05:35:51,300
table. 
Each one probably having a small

6006
05:35:51,300 --> 05:35:54,300
internal crisis as they 
approached you'd watch them. 

6007
05:35:54,300 --> 05:35:58,100
Take the quill pause for just a 
moment too long then sign their 

6008
05:35:58,100 --> 05:36:02,100
names with varying degrees of 
flourish Some signed boldly 

6009
05:36:02,100 --> 05:36:04,200
others barely managed to 
scribble. 

6010
05:36:04,200 --> 05:36:07,000
A few looked like they were 
signing their death warrants, 

6011
05:36:07,000 --> 05:36:10,500
which lets be honest. 
They probably were Charles 

6012
05:36:10,500 --> 05:36:12,900
Carroll of Maryland was 
particularly nervous because he 

6013
05:36:12,900 --> 05:36:15,900
was the only Catholic signer and
catholic's weren't exactly 

6014
05:36:15,900 --> 05:36:20,100
popular in 1776 America. 
When someone pointed out that 

6015
05:36:20,100 --> 05:36:22,900
there were other Charles carols 
in Maryland, he went back and 

6016
05:36:22,900 --> 05:36:24,600
added of Carolton to his 
signature. 

6017
05:36:25,500 --> 05:36:27,900
It's like adding your middle 
name to make sure you get credit

6018
05:36:27,900 --> 05:36:31,200
for your trees and or blame 
depending on how things went. 

6019
05:36:32,600 --> 05:36:34,000
The humidity was making 
everyone. 

6020
05:36:34,000 --> 05:36:37,400
Cranky wigs, were wilting 
clothes were sticking and the 

6021
05:36:37,400 --> 05:36:40,300
smell of 56 stressed. 
Men in Wool coats was becoming 

6022
05:36:40,300 --> 05:36:42,600
noticeable. 
You'd see them Fanning 

6023
05:36:42,600 --> 05:36:45,100
themselves with whatever papers 
they could find probably 

6024
05:36:45,100 --> 05:36:47,300
including some copies of the 
Declaration itself. 

6025
05:36:47,300 --> 05:36:50,600
The irony of using your 
revolutionary document as a 

6026
05:36:50,600 --> 05:36:52,700
personal cooling device wasn't 
lost on. 

6027
05:36:52,700 --> 05:36:56,200
Anyone Benjamin Franklin was 
still managing to find humor in 

6028
05:36:56,208 --> 05:36:58,900
the situation. 
When someone mentioned that they

6029
05:36:58,900 --> 05:37:02,500
must hang together Franklin. 
Reportedly, quipped most 

6030
05:37:02,500 --> 05:37:05,300
assuredly or we shall all hang 
separately. 

6031
05:37:06,200 --> 05:37:09,400
It was funny but also true which
is the worst kind of humor. 

6032
05:37:09,400 --> 05:37:11,400
When you're trying to stay 
optimistic about not getting 

6033
05:37:11,400 --> 05:37:14,200
executed. 
Some delegates were experiencing

6034
05:37:14,200 --> 05:37:17,500
lingering doubts, you'd notice 
hushed, conversations, and 

6035
05:37:17,500 --> 05:37:20,600
Corners delegates, stepping 
outside for fresh air and the 

6036
05:37:20,600 --> 05:37:22,900
occasional nervous laugh. 
That was a little too loud. 

6037
05:37:22,900 --> 05:37:25,300
The weight of what they were 
doing was sinking in. 

6038
05:37:25,300 --> 05:37:27,500
They weren't just making a 
political statement. 

6039
05:37:27,500 --> 05:37:30,400
They were essentially declaring 
war on the most powerful 

6040
05:37:30,400 --> 05:37:33,900
military in the world. 
The afternoon stretched on and 

6041
05:37:33,900 --> 05:37:36,200
you'd realize that this 
momentous day was actually 

6042
05:37:36,200 --> 05:37:39,700
pretty tedious. 
History rarely happened in neat,

6043
05:37:39,700 --> 05:37:43,000
dramatic packages. 
Instead it's usually a bunch of 

6044
05:37:43,008 --> 05:37:46,400
people in uncomfortable clothes,
making difficult decisions in 

6045
05:37:46,400 --> 05:37:49,200
bad weather while worrying about
whether they're making a 

6046
05:37:49,200 --> 05:37:52,300
terrible mistake. 
What made it even more Awkward 

6047
05:37:52,300 --> 05:37:54,500
was that they couldn't really 
celebrate yet? 

6048
05:37:55,900 --> 05:37:57,700
Signing. 
The Declaration was one thing 

6049
05:37:57,700 --> 05:38:00,100
but actually winning 
Independence was going to 

6050
05:38:00,100 --> 05:38:02,600
require a war that many of them.
Weren't sure they could win. 

6051
05:38:02,600 --> 05:38:05,800
It's like throwing a going away 
party when you're not sure. 

6052
05:38:05,800 --> 05:38:10,000
You're actually going anywhere. 
As the afternoon wore on, you'd 

6053
05:38:10,000 --> 05:38:12,700
sent the growing realization 
that there was no turning back 

6054
05:38:12,700 --> 05:38:14,900
now. 
They'd crossed their Rubicon 

6055
05:38:14,900 --> 05:38:18,600
burned, their Bridges and any 
other metaphor were committed. 

6056
05:38:18,600 --> 05:38:22,000
Now, whether we like it or not, 
they had made their decision and

6057
05:38:22,000 --> 05:38:25,100
were fully committed to the 
journey as evening settled over 

6058
05:38:25,100 --> 05:38:27,900
Philadelphia, like a slightly 
cooler, but still uncomfortable 

6059
05:38:27,900 --> 05:38:31,200
blanket. 
You'd find yourself watching 56 

6060
05:38:31,200 --> 05:38:33,700
men, trying to figure out what 
to do next. 

6061
05:38:34,600 --> 05:38:37,900
They just signed the Declaration
of Independence but there was no

6062
05:38:37,900 --> 05:38:40,600
manual for what to do. 
After, you've committed treason 

6063
05:38:40,600 --> 05:38:43,800
a practical guide. 
The immediate question was 

6064
05:38:43,800 --> 05:38:46,600
surprisingly practical. 
How do you tell people what 

6065
05:38:46,600 --> 05:38:50,700
you've just done? 
This was 1776 not 2024. 

6066
05:38:50,700 --> 05:38:55,300
There was no Twitter, No CNN, no
way to instantly Broadcast News.

6067
05:38:55,300 --> 05:38:59,000
They'd have to rely on Riders on
Horseback which was like trying 

6068
05:38:59,000 --> 05:39:00,600
to go viral using carrier 
pigeons. 

6069
05:39:01,700 --> 05:39:04,800
The news would spread at roughly
the speed of a horse with 

6070
05:39:04,800 --> 05:39:07,300
excellent stamina, weather 
permitting. 

6071
05:39:08,300 --> 05:39:11,000
You'd notice the delegates were 
experiencing what we might Now 

6072
05:39:11,000 --> 05:39:14,500
call buyers remorse. 
Except instead of regretting a 

6073
05:39:14,500 --> 05:39:16,700
purchase they were 
second-guessing whether they 

6074
05:39:16,700 --> 05:39:19,400
just doomed themselves to a 
particularly unpleasant death 

6075
05:39:20,200 --> 05:39:23,600
John Adams was pacing around, 
probably wondering if he should 

6076
05:39:23,600 --> 05:39:26,800
have stuck to being a lawyer, at
least when you lose a court 

6077
05:39:26,800 --> 05:39:29,800
case, the worst that happens is 
your client gets upset. 

6078
05:39:29,800 --> 05:39:33,700
Not hanged. 
The evening brought a strange 

6079
05:39:33,700 --> 05:39:36,800
mix of relief and Terror. 
They felt a sense of relief as 

6080
05:39:36,800 --> 05:39:39,300
they had successfully conveyed. 
Their opinions about King 

6081
05:39:39,300 --> 05:39:41,300
George, the third's taxes and 
tea policies. 

6082
05:39:42,200 --> 05:39:44,600
They felt Terror because they 
had just informed the king of 

6083
05:39:44,600 --> 05:39:47,400
England about their opinions on 
his taxes and tea policies, 

6084
05:39:47,400 --> 05:39:50,300
knowing he commanded the world's
most powerful navy. 

6085
05:39:51,400 --> 05:39:53,900
Benjamin Franklin was still the 
calmest person in the room, 

6086
05:39:53,900 --> 05:39:57,700
probably because at 70 he'd 
already lived longer than most 

6087
05:39:57,700 --> 05:40:01,800
people could expect to in 1776. 
He was treating the whole thing 

6088
05:40:01,800 --> 05:40:05,700
like an intriguing experiment 
which it was accepted 

6089
05:40:05,700 --> 05:40:07,400
experiments. 
Usually don't end with the 

6090
05:40:07,400 --> 05:40:10,300
participants getting executed. 
If the results aren't favorable,

6091
05:40:10,300 --> 05:40:14,000
the Practical concerns were 
starting to hit home, how do you

6092
05:40:14,000 --> 05:40:15,800
fight a war against the British 
Empire? 

6093
05:40:15,800 --> 05:40:18,700
When your army consists mostly 
of farmers with hunting rifles? 

6094
05:40:18,700 --> 05:40:22,400
What strategies can be employed 
to find out to Revolution in the

6095
05:40:22,400 --> 05:40:25,700
absence of a treasury. what 
steps do you take to establish a

6096
05:40:25,700 --> 05:40:27,800
government after having 
dismissed, the only form of 

6097
05:40:27,800 --> 05:40:30,700
governance you have ever 
experienced These work 

6098
05:40:30,700 --> 05:40:33,400
theoretical questions anymore. 
They were Monday morning 

6099
05:40:33,400 --> 05:40:34,900
problems. 
That needed solving. 

6100
05:40:35,600 --> 05:40:38,000
You'd see small groups of 
delegates clustering together. 

6101
05:40:38,000 --> 05:40:40,200
Probably trying to figure out 
their next steps. 

6102
05:40:41,000 --> 05:40:44,000
Some were discussing military 
strategy, others were worried 

6103
05:40:44,000 --> 05:40:46,900
about their families and a few 
were probably wondering if it 

6104
05:40:46,900 --> 05:40:49,700
was too late to claim, they were
just visiting Philadelphia and 

6105
05:40:49,700 --> 05:40:51,700
had accidentally signed the 
wrong document. 

6106
05:40:53,000 --> 05:40:55,000
The food situation was becoming 
another issue. 

6107
05:40:55,000 --> 05:40:59,200
Philadelphia in July was hot 
humid and not exactly known for 

6108
05:40:59,200 --> 05:41:01,200
its fine. 
Dining the delegates were 

6109
05:41:01,200 --> 05:41:03,900
probably eating whatever they 
could find bread cheese. 

6110
05:41:03,900 --> 05:41:06,900
May be some questionable meat 
that had been sitting out too 

6111
05:41:06,900 --> 05:41:09,700
long in the heat. 
Revolutionary, Cuisine wasn't 

6112
05:41:09,700 --> 05:41:11,500
exactly a priority. 
When you were trying to 

6113
05:41:11,500 --> 05:41:15,500
overthrow a government, as 
Darkness fell, you'd notice that

6114
05:41:15,500 --> 05:41:18,100
the celebratory mood was mixed 
with genuine anxiety. 

6115
05:41:19,100 --> 05:41:22,600
They'd done something 
unprecedented created a new 

6116
05:41:22,600 --> 05:41:26,000
nation with words on paper, but 
words on paper, don't stop 

6117
05:41:26,000 --> 05:41:28,300
Canon's and the British had 
plenty. 

6118
05:41:28,300 --> 05:41:31,200
The gap between declaring 
independence and actually 

6119
05:41:31,200 --> 05:41:34,000
achieving it was looking rather 
large and intimidating. 

6120
05:41:35,200 --> 05:41:37,500
Some delegates were already 
thinking about how to explain 

6121
05:41:37,500 --> 05:41:40,700
the circumstance to their wives,
honey, I'm home. 

6122
05:41:40,700 --> 05:41:44,200
And by the way I've just 
committed treason isn't exactly 

6123
05:41:44,200 --> 05:41:47,000
the kind of conversation. 
You plan for the domestic 

6124
05:41:47,000 --> 05:41:50,000
implications of Revolution were 
probably just starting to sink 

6125
05:41:50,000 --> 05:41:52,900
in. 
The evening was also bringing 

6126
05:41:52,900 --> 05:41:55,000
practical concerns about 
security. 

6127
05:41:55,700 --> 05:41:59,000
Should they post guards? 
Were their British spies in 

6128
05:41:59,000 --> 05:42:01,800
Philadelphia? 
When did King George learn about

6129
05:42:01,800 --> 05:42:03,500
this? 
And when did he take action? 

6130
05:42:04,900 --> 05:42:07,800
The paranoia was probably 
Justified but it wasn't making 

6131
05:42:07,800 --> 05:42:12,300
anyone more comfortable. 
You'd realize that July 4th 1776

6132
05:42:12,300 --> 05:42:15,700
was ending not with fireworks 
and celebration but with a group

6133
05:42:15,700 --> 05:42:18,700
of exhausted very worried men 
trying to figure out how to 

6134
05:42:18,700 --> 05:42:22,500
survive what they just started. 
They lit fuse but nobody was 

6135
05:42:22,500 --> 05:42:26,100
quite sure how long it was or 
what exactly would explode when 

6136
05:42:26,100 --> 05:42:29,000
it reached the end. 
Now as Philadelphia passes in to

6137
05:42:29,000 --> 05:42:31,700
the night you might find 
yourself in the midst of what 

6138
05:42:31,700 --> 05:42:34,200
could be considered history is 
most consequential case of 

6139
05:42:34,200 --> 05:42:36,600
insomnia, similar to your 
situation. 

6140
05:42:37,900 --> 05:42:40,100
The delegates were not exactly 
sleeping peacefully after 

6141
05:42:40,100 --> 05:42:42,100
signing, what amounted to their 
death warranty. 

6142
05:42:42,100 --> 05:42:45,200
You'd imagine them tossing and 
turning on their lumpy Colonial 

6143
05:42:45,200 --> 05:42:47,800
mattresses wandering. 
If they just made the biggest 

6144
05:42:47,800 --> 05:42:51,300
mistake of their lives. 
The Philadelphia were buzzing 

6145
05:42:51,300 --> 05:42:54,400
with nervous, energy, you'd see 
clusters of delegates nursing 

6146
05:42:54,400 --> 05:42:57,700
ails and trying to convince each
other and the themselves that 

6147
05:42:57,700 --> 05:43:01,100
they done the right thing. 
The conversation was probably 

6148
05:43:01,100 --> 05:43:03,700
went something like we showed 
them, didn't we? 

6149
05:43:04,600 --> 05:43:07,600
This was likely followed by long
pauses and nervous sips of 

6150
05:43:07,600 --> 05:43:10,800
whatever Colonial beer passed 
for alcohol in 1776. 

6151
05:43:11,900 --> 05:43:15,300
John Adams was probably lying 
awake, mentally composing, 

6152
05:43:15,300 --> 05:43:19,200
letters to his wife, Abigail 
trying to explain, how he'd gone

6153
05:43:19,200 --> 05:43:22,700
from being a respected lawyer to
a wanted traitor in the span of 

6154
05:43:22,708 --> 05:43:25,800
a single day. 
The letter writing was good 

6155
05:43:25,800 --> 05:43:29,500
practice because if things went 
badly, his final correspondence,

6156
05:43:29,500 --> 05:43:31,200
might be coming from a prison 
cell. 

6157
05:43:31,200 --> 05:43:34,400
You'd notice that the reality of
what they've done was slowly 

6158
05:43:34,400 --> 05:43:37,700
sinking in they'd essentially 
declared war on the most 

6159
05:43:37,700 --> 05:43:40,800
powerful Empire in the world, 
and their army, consisted of 

6160
05:43:40,800 --> 05:43:43,500
whoever, George Washington could
round up and convinced to fight.

6161
05:43:44,400 --> 05:43:46,700
Like challenging, the high 
school football team to a game 

6162
05:43:46,708 --> 05:43:49,100
when your team consists of the 
chess club and a few 

6163
05:43:49,108 --> 05:43:51,600
enthusiastic but uncoordinated 
volunteers. 

6164
05:43:52,400 --> 05:43:54,900
The night brought practical 
issues, they probably hadn't 

6165
05:43:54,900 --> 05:43:57,700
thought of in the afternoon. 
How do you run a country when 

6166
05:43:57,700 --> 05:44:00,700
you've never ran one before? 
How do you collect taxes when 

6167
05:44:00,700 --> 05:44:01,900
you've just rebelled against 
them? 

6168
05:44:01,900 --> 05:44:05,200
How do you create a military 
when most of your experience 

6169
05:44:05,200 --> 05:44:07,800
with Warfare comes from fighting
Native Americans and the 

6170
05:44:07,808 --> 05:44:11,500
occasional border dispute? 
Benjamin Franklin was probably 

6171
05:44:11,500 --> 05:44:14,900
the only one getting any sleep 
but even he was likely wondering

6172
05:44:14,900 --> 05:44:17,800
if his diplomatic skills would 
be enough to convince France to 

6173
05:44:17,800 --> 05:44:20,900
help them fight the British. 
Please help us fight your 

6174
05:44:20,900 --> 05:44:24,900
traditional enemy even though we
have no money, no real army and 

6175
05:44:24,900 --> 05:44:26,800
no guarantee we won't lose 
spectacularly. 

6176
05:44:28,300 --> 05:44:31,500
The weather wasn't helping 
anyone's mood Philadelphia in 

6177
05:44:31,500 --> 05:44:34,500
July is humid enough to make you
question your life choices even 

6178
05:44:34,500 --> 05:44:37,200
under normal circumstances. 
And these weren't normal 

6179
05:44:37,200 --> 05:44:39,800
circumstances. 
You'd picture the delegates 

6180
05:44:39,800 --> 05:44:42,800
lying in their beds sweating 
through their nightshirts 

6181
05:44:42,800 --> 05:44:46,400
listening to every sound outside
and wondering if it might be 

6182
05:44:46,400 --> 05:44:48,100
British soldiers coming to 
arrest them. 

6183
05:44:48,900 --> 05:44:51,200
Some of the delegates were 
likely experiencing what we 

6184
05:44:51,200 --> 05:44:52,900
would now refer to as a panic 
attack. 

6185
05:44:52,900 --> 05:44:56,900
Thomas, Jefferson the primary 
author of the Declaration was 

6186
05:44:56,900 --> 05:45:00,300
likely, second-guessing every 
word, he'd written Did he make 

6187
05:45:00,300 --> 05:45:03,000
the case strongly enough? 
Did he make it too strong? 

6188
05:45:03,000 --> 05:45:05,400
Should he have included more 
about taxation? 

6189
05:45:05,400 --> 05:45:08,100
Should he have included less 
about natural rights? 

6190
05:45:08,100 --> 05:45:11,700
The perfectionist within him was
likely experiencing a great deal

6191
05:45:11,700 --> 05:45:14,500
of regret. 
The night also brought the 

6192
05:45:14,500 --> 05:45:17,300
sobering realization that they 
just made themselves. 

6193
05:45:17,300 --> 05:45:21,000
The Most Wanted men in America 
King George, the third wasn't 

6194
05:45:21,000 --> 05:45:22,500
going to respond to their 
declaration. 

6195
05:45:22,500 --> 05:45:25,900
With a polite note saying, we 
understand your concerns and 

6196
05:45:25,900 --> 05:45:28,400
will take them under advisement 
King George. 

6197
05:45:28,400 --> 05:45:32,100
The third was prepared to 
respond with ships soldiers and 

6198
05:45:32,100 --> 05:45:34,400
a strong desire to set an 
example for Colonial 

6199
05:45:34,400 --> 05:45:37,800
troublemakers, you'd sense that 
the delegates were starting to 

6200
05:45:37,808 --> 05:45:40,100
understand the difference 
between theory and practice 

6201
05:45:40,100 --> 05:45:43,200
sitting around discussing 
natural rights and the social 

6202
05:45:43,200 --> 05:45:45,200
contract in abstract, terms is 
one thing. 

6203
05:45:45,200 --> 05:45:49,000
It's another thing entirely to 
stake your life, your fortune 

6204
05:45:49,000 --> 05:45:52,300
and your sacred Honor on these 
principles especially when 

6205
05:45:52,300 --> 05:45:54,500
sacred Honor doesn't stop 
bullets. 

6206
05:45:55,900 --> 05:45:58,100
The night was also bringing 
questions about leadership. 

6207
05:45:59,000 --> 05:46:02,000
Despite their recent Declaration
of Independence, they lacked a 

6208
05:46:02,000 --> 05:46:05,300
president, a cabinet and a 
well-defined chain of command. 

6209
05:46:06,200 --> 05:46:07,500
George Washington was off, 
somewhere. 

6210
05:46:07,500 --> 05:46:11,100
Trying to build an army, but 
armies need supplies food, and 

6211
05:46:11,100 --> 05:46:13,900
ammunition, none of which were 
in abundant Supply. 

6212
05:46:14,800 --> 05:46:19,200
As the night wore on, you'd 
realize that July 4th 1776 was 

6213
05:46:19,200 --> 05:46:21,300
ending. 
Not with Triumph but with 

6214
05:46:21,308 --> 05:46:24,300
uncertainly. 
They had embarked on a journey 

6215
05:46:24,300 --> 05:46:26,800
that could lead to either 
Freedom or The Gallows and 

6216
05:46:26,800 --> 05:46:28,700
nobody was entirely sure, which 
way it would go. 

6217
05:46:28,700 --> 05:46:32,300
Dawn, broke over Philadelphia on
July 5th, like a hangover. 

6218
05:46:32,300 --> 05:46:36,300
After a particularly unwise 
night of decision-making, you'd 

6219
05:46:36,300 --> 05:46:37,800
find yourself witnessing the 
morning. 

6220
05:46:37,800 --> 05:46:40,400
After one of History's. 
Biggest what have we done 

6221
05:46:40,400 --> 05:46:43,800
moments? 
The delegates were waking up to 

6222
05:46:43,800 --> 05:46:46,600
the reality that they just 
committed treason and coffee 

6223
05:46:46,600 --> 05:46:48,300
wasn't going to make this 
problem go away. 

6224
05:46:49,200 --> 05:46:51,800
The first priority was to print 
and distribute copies of the 

6225
05:46:51,800 --> 05:46:55,200
Declaration. 
This event was before King cos 

6226
05:46:55,200 --> 05:46:57,200
so they had to rely on John 
Dunlop. 

6227
05:46:57,200 --> 05:46:59,800
A local printer, who probably 
had no idea. 

6228
05:46:59,800 --> 05:47:01,700
He was about to become a 
footnote in his history. 

6229
05:47:02,400 --> 05:47:05,800
You'd watch him setting type by 
hand letter by letter, creating 

6230
05:47:05,800 --> 05:47:08,900
what would become known as the 
Dunlap broadside the first 

6231
05:47:08,900 --> 05:47:11,200
printed copies of the 
Declaration of Independence. 

6232
05:47:12,000 --> 05:47:15,300
The printing process was 
painstakingly slow each letter 

6233
05:47:15,300 --> 05:47:17,800
required individual placement 
and errors. 

6234
05:47:17,800 --> 05:47:21,200
Necessitated a fresh start. 
It's like trying to send a tweet

6235
05:47:21,200 --> 05:47:24,900
accept each character takes five
minutes to type and if you make 

6236
05:47:24,900 --> 05:47:29,000
a typo you have to start the 
entire message over Dunlap was 

6237
05:47:29,000 --> 05:47:31,400
probably wondering why these 
particular customers seem so 

6238
05:47:31,400 --> 05:47:32,900
anxious about their printing 
job. 

6239
05:47:32,900 --> 05:47:35,700
Meanwhile, the delegates were 
dealing with the Practical 

6240
05:47:35,700 --> 05:47:38,800
implications of their decision. 
How do you communicate to your 

6241
05:47:38,808 --> 05:47:41,300
business partners that you've 
initiated a conflict with your 

6242
05:47:41,300 --> 05:47:44,500
largest trading partner? 
How do you inform your creditors

6243
05:47:44,500 --> 05:47:47,000
that the currency they 
anticipate receiving payment in 

6244
05:47:47,000 --> 05:47:51,000
may not endure for much longer? 
The economic ramifications of 

6245
05:47:51,000 --> 05:47:52,800
the Revolution were beginning to
surface. 

6246
05:47:52,800 --> 05:47:56,000
You'd notice that the mood in 
Philadelphia was shifting from 

6247
05:47:56,000 --> 05:47:58,200
revolutionary further to 
practical anxiety. 

6248
05:47:59,300 --> 05:48:01,900
The townspeople were beginning 
to hear rumors about what had 

6249
05:48:01,900 --> 05:48:04,300
happened in the state house and 
reactions were mixed. 

6250
05:48:05,100 --> 05:48:06,900
Some were excited about 
independence. 

6251
05:48:06,900 --> 05:48:10,900
Others were scared of war and 
many were confused about how it 

6252
05:48:10,900 --> 05:48:13,800
would affect their lives. 
The news was spreading slowly 

6253
05:48:13,800 --> 05:48:17,400
through the city carried by word
of mouth and the occasional 

6254
05:48:17,400 --> 05:48:20,900
printed broadside. 
You'd see small groups of people

6255
05:48:20,900 --> 05:48:23,200
gathering on street corners. 
Discussing what? 

6256
05:48:23,200 --> 05:48:25,400
They'd heard and trying to 
figure out what it all meant. 

6257
05:48:26,500 --> 05:48:29,300
The reactions range from 
enthusiastic support to complete

6258
05:48:29,300 --> 05:48:32,000
Panic with most people falling 
somewhere in between. 

6259
05:48:33,000 --> 05:48:35,400
The delegates were also starting
to worry about their families. 

6260
05:48:35,400 --> 05:48:38,700
Having your name on a document, 
declaring independence from 

6261
05:48:38,700 --> 05:48:42,100
Britain was fine in theory, but 
in practice, it made you a 

6262
05:48:42,108 --> 05:48:44,700
Target. 
British loyalists were going to 

6263
05:48:44,708 --> 05:48:47,100
be pleased about this 
development and Colonial. 

6264
05:48:47,100 --> 05:48:49,500
Justice wasn't exactly known for
its gentle. 

6265
05:48:49,500 --> 05:48:52,300
Treatment of political 
dissidents, Benjamin Franklin 

6266
05:48:52,300 --> 05:48:55,100
was likely the busiest person. 
In Philadelphia that morning, 

6267
05:48:55,100 --> 05:48:58,600
attempting to determine the best
way to inform potential allies 

6268
05:48:58,600 --> 05:49:00,900
in Europe. 
The Americans were going to need

6269
05:49:00,900 --> 05:49:03,200
friends and they were going to 
need them fast. 

6270
05:49:03,200 --> 05:49:05,900
The Diplomatic challenges were 
enormous. 

6271
05:49:05,900 --> 05:49:08,600
How do you convince other 
countries to support a 

6272
05:49:08,600 --> 05:49:10,300
revolution? 
That might fail spectacularly. 

6273
05:49:11,500 --> 05:49:14,200
You'd realize that July 5th was 
when the real work began, 

6274
05:49:14,200 --> 05:49:17,500
declaring independence was the 
easy part compared to actually 

6275
05:49:17,500 --> 05:49:21,300
achieving it, they needed to 
build an army established, a 

6276
05:49:21,300 --> 05:49:25,100
government created Treasury and 
somehow managed to fight off the

6277
05:49:25,100 --> 05:49:28,400
British Empire all while making 
it up as they went along. 

6278
05:49:29,200 --> 05:49:31,700
The morning, brought the first 
practical test of their new 

6279
05:49:31,700 --> 05:49:34,200
Independence. 
How do you govern a country? 

6280
05:49:34,200 --> 05:49:35,900
That doesn't officially exist, 
yet? 

6281
05:49:36,600 --> 05:49:38,600
They were in the awkward 
position of having declared 

6282
05:49:38,600 --> 05:49:41,600
themselves free from British 
rule without having established,

6283
05:49:41,600 --> 05:49:43,400
what would replace it? 
It. 

6284
05:49:43,408 --> 05:49:45,600
It's like quitting your job 
before you found a new one, 

6285
05:49:45,600 --> 05:49:47,800
except the stakes were 
considerably higher. 

6286
05:49:48,800 --> 05:49:51,700
The weather was still hot and 
humid, which wasn't helping 

6287
05:49:51,700 --> 05:49:54,700
anyone's mood. 
You'd see the delegates sweating

6288
05:49:54,700 --> 05:49:58,300
through their Formal Wear trying
to look dignified while dealing 

6289
05:49:58,300 --> 05:50:01,500
with the growing realization 
that they just take on the most 

6290
05:50:01,500 --> 05:50:04,000
powerful Empire in the world 
with little more than good 

6291
05:50:04,000 --> 05:50:06,000
intentions and a strongly worded
letter. 

6292
05:50:07,000 --> 05:50:09,200
The American Revolution began on
July 5th. 

6293
05:50:09,200 --> 05:50:13,100
When the next steps were decided
not when the Declaration was 

6294
05:50:13,100 --> 05:50:14,900
signed. 
As you look back on that 

6295
05:50:14,900 --> 05:50:18,800
sweltering July day in 1776. 
You'd realize that what happened

6296
05:50:18,800 --> 05:50:21,200
in Philadelphia wasn't just The 
Birth of a Nation. 

6297
05:50:21,200 --> 05:50:25,100
It was the moment when a group 
of flawed frightened and very 

6298
05:50:25,100 --> 05:50:28,200
human people, decided to bet 
everything on an idea. 

6299
05:50:29,000 --> 05:50:32,000
The concept of self-governance, 
the consent of the governed as 

6300
05:50:32,000 --> 05:50:35,200
the source of government power 
and the necessity of risking all

6301
05:50:35,200 --> 05:50:38,100
for a better future all 
resonated with this idea. 

6302
05:50:39,000 --> 05:50:43,600
The funny thing about July 4th 
1776 is that nobody? 

6303
05:50:43,600 --> 05:50:46,100
That day knew they were 
creating, what would become the 

6304
05:50:46,100 --> 05:50:47,500
most powerful nation in the 
world? 

6305
05:50:48,400 --> 05:50:50,900
They were just trying to survive
the next few months without 

6306
05:50:50,900 --> 05:50:53,800
getting hanged. 
The Declaration of Independence 

6307
05:50:53,800 --> 05:50:56,300
wasn't written by demigods or 
marble statues. 

6308
05:50:56,300 --> 05:50:59,800
It was written by middle-aged 
men in wigs who were sweating 

6309
05:50:59,800 --> 05:51:02,800
through their wool coats and 
arguing about commas. 

6310
05:51:03,600 --> 05:51:06,200
What makes their story? 
So remarkable isn't that they 

6311
05:51:06,200 --> 05:51:09,800
were perfect. 
They weren't they compromised on

6312
05:51:09,800 --> 05:51:12,200
slavery. 
They argued about everything and

6313
05:51:12,200 --> 05:51:15,500
they were terrified of failing. 
What makes them remarkable is 

6314
05:51:15,500 --> 05:51:19,200
that they did it anyway, despite
the lack of certain tea, they 

6315
05:51:19,200 --> 05:51:21,300
bravely took a risk that 
transformed the world. 

6316
05:51:22,400 --> 05:51:26,400
The real magic of July 4th, 1776
wasn't in the document itself. 

6317
05:51:26,400 --> 05:51:31,300
It was in the decision to take 
that leap. 56 men decided that 

6318
05:51:31,300 --> 05:51:34,000
the risk of failure was worth 
the chance of creating something

6319
05:51:34,000 --> 05:51:38,000
unprecedented. 
They staked their lives fortunes

6320
05:51:38,000 --> 05:51:41,300
and sacred Honor on the belief 
that individuals could surpass 

6321
05:51:41,300 --> 05:51:44,300
Kings and subjects. 
You'd understand that the 

6322
05:51:44,300 --> 05:51:46,400
America they created wasn't the 
America. 

6323
05:51:46,400 --> 05:51:49,200
We know today. 
They couldn't have imagined a 

6324
05:51:49,200 --> 05:51:52,200
country that would span from 
coast to coast land on the moon,

6325
05:51:52,200 --> 05:51:54,100
or become a Haven for 
immigrants. 

6326
05:51:54,100 --> 05:51:57,000
They were just trying to create 
a place where people could live 

6327
05:51:57,000 --> 05:51:59,400
free from tyranny and make their
own choices. 

6328
05:52:00,400 --> 05:52:03,200
The irony lies in the fact that 
the founding fathers would 

6329
05:52:03,200 --> 05:52:06,200
likely be astonished by the 
results of their bold decision. 

6330
05:52:07,100 --> 05:52:08,900
They were dealing with 13 
colonies. 

6331
05:52:08,900 --> 05:52:10,100
Hugging. 
The Eastern Seaboard. 

6332
05:52:10,100 --> 05:52:13,600
Not a continental superpower. 
They were worried about 

6333
05:52:13,600 --> 05:52:16,900
convincing people to join their 
cause not about being a global 

6334
05:52:16,900 --> 05:52:18,900
leader. 
They were just trying to make it

6335
05:52:18,900 --> 05:52:22,300
through the next day. 
But that's what makes July 4th. 

6336
05:52:22,300 --> 05:52:28,500
1776, so inspiring It reminds us
that big changes often start 

6337
05:52:28,500 --> 05:52:31,100
with small groups of people who 
decided to take a risk. 

6338
05:52:32,000 --> 05:52:34,800
The Declaration of Independence.
Wasn't the result of a perfect 

6339
05:52:34,800 --> 05:52:37,400
plan. 
It was the result of imperfect 

6340
05:52:37,400 --> 05:52:40,900
people who decided to try 
something better as you drift 

6341
05:52:40,900 --> 05:52:42,700
off to sleep. 
Thinking about that long ago. 

6342
05:52:42,700 --> 05:52:47,500
Summer day, you'd realize that 
the real lesson of July 4th 1776

6343
05:52:47,500 --> 05:52:50,300
isn't about the greatness of the
founding fathers. 

6344
05:52:50,300 --> 05:52:53,800
It's about the power of ordinary
people to do extraordinary 

6345
05:52:53,800 --> 05:52:56,400
things when they decided to take
a leap of faith. 

6346
05:52:57,300 --> 05:53:00,400
He gave us not just a country, 
but an example of what's 

6347
05:53:00,400 --> 05:53:02,600
possible. 
When people decide to risk 

6348
05:53:02,600 --> 05:53:06,500
everything for something better.
The men who signed the 

6349
05:53:06,500 --> 05:53:08,900
Declaration of Independence 
weren't Heroes, when they woke 

6350
05:53:08,900 --> 05:53:11,000
up that morning, they became 
Heroes. 

6351
05:53:11,000 --> 05:53:12,500
By the time, they went to sleep 
that night. 

6352
05:53:13,300 --> 05:53:15,600
And that's a reminder that 
heroism isn't about being 

6353
05:53:15,600 --> 05:53:18,100
perfect or Fearless. 
It's about doing the right 

6354
05:53:18,100 --> 05:53:20,600
thing. 
Even when you're scared, unsure 

6355
05:53:20,600 --> 05:53:23,800
and the consequences of failure 
are too terrible to contemplate.

6356
05:53:24,700 --> 05:53:27,900
Good night. 
Remember every Great Leap, 

6357
05:53:27,900 --> 05:53:30,400
Forward began with someone 
willing to take the first step 

6358
05:53:30,400 --> 05:53:32,600
even when they couldn't see 
where it would lead. 

6359
05:53:32,600 --> 05:53:36,800
This is akin to the sweaty 
nervous men in Philadelphia who 

6360
05:53:36,800 --> 05:53:40,100
transformed the world with just 
words on paper and The Bravery 

6361
05:53:40,100 --> 05:53:41,100
to sign their names.