The Seeker

By Steven Kotler

In 1968, Michael Backes was thirteen years old and not feeling very well. His muscle coordination seemed off. Plus, he’d been dizzy for a few days, his peripheral vision kept disappearing, and that ringing in his ears just wouldn’t quit. Then came the pain, an excruciating explosion in his head. Followed by nausea, vomiting, and a weird pins-and-needles sensation that started in his leg—which first went completely numb and then refused to respond to his commands—and moved to his arm, his shoulder, and finally his face. His lips stopped working, his tongue felt like a dead fish. Suddenly, Backes went mute. He was terrified…