This may be way off but here's what I think: Jamf paid Slothrop's parents (by paying for Slothrop's expensive Harvard education) so that he could experiment on the infant Tyrone. Jamf was also one of the people who had the patent of Imipolex G and I think somehow he injected it into Slothrop or something like that. I guess some conditioning may have been involved, but somehow it seems that Slothrop and the rockets containing Imipolex G have some sort of connection that is almost spiritual in that there is no physical connection (other than that they both have Imipolex G in them). I'm not sure whether that means that Slothrop predicts the fall of the rockets or if he actually causes them to fall there, though. Hopefully we get more specific information as the book continues...

I can't remember where in the book it is, but I'm pretty sure that at some point, Slothrop distinctly recognizes the smell of Imipolex G. Perhaps one of the reflexes he was conditioned to?

I totally agree with you U 235! I noticed that passage also, (when he recognizes the scent) and alarms went off in my head! I was not sure if he somehow was able to almost, imagine the smell and make it real (you know how you just know something, even when you think you have never experienced it before?) or if he was conditioned with it. I thought it really added another dimension to that whole Imipolex G discussion in the book. Hmmm, and another layer to Slothrop.

I didn't really think about that when I read the passage, but I found it again and I agree, also! The part about the smell is from the bottom of 289 to 290. The line "Once something was done to him, in a room, while he lay helpless..." makes me wonder: Is it possible that Slothrop remembers what happened to him as an infant but subconsciously chooses to block it from his memory or does he simply not remember because it happened so long ago?

On the topic of Impolex G...I can't seem to find the page, but isn't there a part where someone puts on a suit made of Impolex G and experiences heightened sexual sensations? This must have a connection to Slothrop's erections. Does this mean that Slothrop was exposed to Impolex G through touch? Injections or smell seem probable too, though. Hmm...

It seems reasonable that Slothrop doesn't remember his conditioning simply because he was an infant, but there could definitely be some repression going on, too. He seems to recall things as the story goes on, as if his unconscious is pushing past the boundaries of his conscious self.

This may be VERY far fetched, but I was watching Sex and The City, and Charlotte's husband has an impotence problem, so she shows him an article about a hydraulic implant for the penis. As soon as I saw this I though of Slothrop and how he seems to get hardons not just from girls, but from information about the rocket. Also Slothrop's seems unable to understand why he is getting random hardons. Then we read the section about Greta (It was Greta right?) who put on the Imipolex and felt instantly sexual. To be more specific than him being injected with it or exposed to it, perhaps his penis is partially made of it? Just a thought.

Perhaps. After all, there is clearly something in Slothrop's penis that Pointsman wants. Remember what they did to Marvy when he was dressed in the pig suit? Perhaps Slothrop's penis/ testicles are implanted with something. Wouldn't that be interesting?