Now I already understood in my own "reality" that plants are sentient and telepathic, as all plant lovers know who talk to their plants. But that plants could LEARN to recognize between true and artificial human intent came as a thunderbolt! Among all this astonishment I came across the concept of the "learning curve" which ultimately was to play THE feature role in the development of remote viewing. But Backster was moving on. "Do you think you could influence some kind of metal or chemical?" "I don't know how to influence anything. But I could try." So for several weeks I went to the Times Square lab to try to zap metals and chemicals -and the march of what I was unknowingly being sucked into moved into October, 1971. Chapter 7 SEPTEMBER, 1971 FEEDBACK AND SUBLIMINAL PERCEPTION Before Cleve and I could really get to work trying to zap metals and gasses, I had a serious bout with the flu. At the time I attributed this to the shock of the "new reality" I had experienced -- that plants, of all things could intellectually distinguish between real and pretended intentions.