I was invited by artist Agnieszka Kurant to partake in her project Future Anterior. Kurant asked a clairvoyant Krzysztof Jackowski to predict what is going to happen in the future. Ten journalists from New York wrote articles based on Jackowski's predictions. My contribution is about being the first person to be teleported.
The world and Lisa Rovner have had only a few days to reflect on her invisible "giant leap" across the Atlantic. Neither can quite comprehend the ultimate meaning of the dramatic event that took place on February 10th, 2066.
A day of unparalleled uncertainty, marked by breathless suspense, culminated in the majestic event of Lisa Rovner disappearing and instantaneously reappearing on the other side of the Atlantic. In her words, "Fiction has truly become reality."
A number of nations have already issued stamps commemorating the 87 year old woman who teleported herself last Friday from a laboratory in Sealand to a black 1972 Dodge Charger parked in upstate New York.
In an interview with NY Times correspondent Nan Bread, Mrs. Rovner, shares her experience with us from Ouarzazate, Morocco where she likes to spend quiet time in the desert reflecting, against the few still standing film sets, of what used to be known as the Hollywood of Morocco.
Can you tell us about the experience? I understand you sang yourself off? How did it start, how did it feel? Were you scared?
I sang, 'I love you,' and then I just lost it. It started sooner and was a lot stronger than I had expected. I was singing and focusing on my peak experience and the aqua marine light when my normal physical perceptions dissolved. My ears started to ring and I started to float off. I think physically I was still in the chair but I was long gone, on a kind of mountain surrounded by clouds. And the clouds, they talked to me...I was acutely aware of a certain electrical buzzing that fluctuated in synch with my visual perception, but I could not tell if my eyes were open or shut, although initially I had the feeling that they were darting back and forth, from side to side. Feelings and sensations built up in intensity very quickly, a matter of seconds: I can remember this feeling of building intensity up to a point, and when it felt like all of my blood had turned to concrete, then I was no longer there. Not in my body, nor in time. I was completely referenceless, there was no way for my consciousness to limit or gauge the stimuli my being was barraged with. It scared the hell out of me. I was screaming, 'Fuck! You killed yourself!' I repeated this several times out loud. Then, the entire universe imploded through my consciousness. There was no distance, no possibility of examining the experience. It was simply the most intense experience possible...
When I could see again, there was this echo of thoughts in my head. Imagine, in that moment, I beheld every thought that was going on everywhere in the universe. I've never been hit so hard. A definite plus plus plus. (Laughs)
What did you feel when you reclaimed time and space?
A fast-rising sense of excitement and wonder... With an undertone of "Now you've done it," dominated by a sense of, "WOW, This Is IT! Fiction has truly become reality!!!"
All of us watching you on real TV heard you say: "Turn off the lights" when you appeared in the Dodge Charger. Why "Turn off the lights?"
I have no idea really.... Perhaps it was the continuation of the thought I was having before I disconnected. The aqua marine light could have felt blinding...
And you know, although teleportation is nearly instantaneous, the psychic may be disorientated upon arrival at the new location...
Why teleport yourself to the Dodge Charger?
Sentimental reasons... My late husband gave it to me...
What prompted your interest in teleportation? Can you tell us about how you initially got involved in the project? I understand you have been actively involved in the research for over 50 years?
Life is so strange...
In my late twenties, I was striving to make ends meet as a private detective... I survived as a high-class prostitute. I'd spend so many lonely hours, lost, searching for meaning... I felt trapped in a life that was not my dream. I remember wanting nothing more than to be teleported out of that life....
At night I'd dream that somebody loved me, I actually felt his arms around me. I'd wake up alone and think "Just another false alarm". I was listening to Morrissey a lot at the time... I'm not sure you know who he is...
Of course I know who he is...
That's nice to hear... He was very important to my generation. He comforted us. He taught us we were not alone...
Anyways, I was always superstitious and there was this saying, "unlucky at cards, lucky in love".
I thought maybe the inverse would be true so I decided to play the lottery. And I won! The big jackpot! That's when I started to believe in fiction... (Laughs)
I spent a year wondering the world with friends and family and all sort of strange things were happening all around me... Paranormal things.
I was in China for the 2008 Olympics and there was this kid, he was bending spoons with his mind... Seeing this kid sparked my interest in psychokinesis...
I started researching psychokinesis for fun really and quickly became enthralled in the subject... I thought why not use this money for research?
So I got in touch with some existing organizations and with the help of Doctor Dieter Fly, we put a team together, and started the foundation.
I decided to buy Sealand, again for the fun of it, and that's where we set up shop. Originally I was there to document everything. I remember thinking "Reality remains ambiguous until it is experienced." So I started training....
What next?
The rest is history, in the soon to be history books...
Last question, where will you go next?
I'm hoping for heaven...(laughs) My husband's there, waiting for me...