Hi everyone. I'm Josh, and this is The Emerald,

currents and trends through a mythic lens.

The podcast where we explore an ever-changing world and our lives in it

through the lens of myth, story, and imagination.

The Emerald.

All that's happening on this green jewel in space. I was 13 years old on a quick visit to France with my parents before we were to head to India for the year.

It was at the Saint-Tre-Pompidou in Paris, the famous modern art museum, kind of a strange building, lots of pipes sticking out

everywhere, and a big red escalator down the side. It was a long time ago, and truthfully,

I don't remember any of the art I saw that day. I remember it was overcast, low gray clouds,

and of course I remember the mesmerists' eyes.

The French love their street artists, and there were several outside of the museum,

performing in front of large crowds of onlookers.

I don't remember what the other ones were doing, because there was one who was definitely the star attraction, the mesmerist. He had this stare, these round eyes, white all around the iris,

and he'd fix his gaze on a volunteer, and within a few seconds the volunteer would freeze.

He'd whisper a suggestion in their ear, and pretty soon that person was on all fours

barking like a dog or taking off their pants in front of the entire crowd.

He could seemingly make people do whatever he wanted just by staring at them.

I have no idea if the mesmerist I saw that day was a con man,

or if the people clucking like chickens or taking their pants off were pre-arranged.

I tend to doubt it.

There was something about the way the people froze, the way it took over their

entire body. It would have been difficult to fake that physicality. It was almost as if they had

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