A PIECE OF BLUE SKY

508 Pages·2021·1.99 MB·English

A PIECE OF BLUE SKY -- SCIENTOLOGY,
DIANETICS & L. RON HUBBARD EXPOSED

by Jon Atack

PREFACE

Several years ago, when I began making inquiries into the life and times
of L. Ron Hubbard, almost the first name that was mentioned to me was
that of Jon Atack. Subsequently it was a name that would crop up time
and time again. Almost anyone who knew anything about Hubbard
invariably suggested that I should talk to Jon Atack.

Of course by then I had talked to Jon and discovered him to be one of
the world's foremost unofficial archivists of the Church of Scientology.
In the loft of his house in East Grinstead, he had collected literally
thousands of documents, letters, pamphlets, books and pictures, all of it
indexed and cross-referenced on computer. For anyone interested in the
history and development of Scientology, it is a treasure trove of reliable
information on a subject positively riddled with deeply unreliable
information. At some time in the future, the Atack archive will be
lodged with an academic institution in order that it will be forever
available to future researchers.

Jon was extremely generous with his time, knowledge and help while I
was working on my biography of Hubbard and I am therefore delighted
to write this brief preface to his own much more comprehensive and
wide-ranging book. It is, in essence, a distillation of his extraordinary
attic archive and thus provides the reader with a dispassionate,
thoroughly documented account of how Scientology was created and
nourished by a struggling science-fiction writer, how it grew into a
worldwide organization and how it has managed to dominate (and
damage) so many thousands of lives.

Because this book recounts the stark truth about Scientology, it is certain
to provoke the ferocious hostility of practicing Scientologists around the

world. Anyone who dares to publicly criticize the Church of Scientology
or its founder is liable to be villified and hounded through the courts, as I
can personally testify. (Although it is a mystery to me that
Scientologists continue to believe that their founder was a man with
the highest regard for the truth, whereas the records consistently
indicate that he was a charlatan and a congenital liar.)

Jon Atack is a former member of the Church of Scientology and I have
no doubt that he will be attacked as a turncoat and traitor seeking to
cause damage to his former church. All I can say is that over the months
and years of our association I never doubted that his motives were
decent and honest; I never felt for a moment that he was spurred by
malice or any unworthy desire to settle old scores.

It is my firm conviction that Jon began to assemble his archive because
he had become aware that he had been fed untruths for years and he
simply wanted the truth to be known about the antecedents and antics of
his former church and its founder. It is for this reason that he willingly
cooperated with me when I was writing my book, never offering
opinions or information without comprehensive documentation to back
it up.

Jon Atack believes that people have the right to know the truth about
Scientology. That belief is the laudable genesis of this book.

RUSSELL MILLER
Author of Bare-Faced Messiah

WHAT IS SCIENTOLOGY?

"Scientology is both immoral and socially obnoxious... it is corrupt,
sinister and dangerous. It is corrupt because it is based upon lies and
deceit and has as its real objective money and power for Mr. Hubbard,
his wife and those close to him at the top. It is sinister because it
indulges in infamous practices both to its adherents who do not toe the
line unquestioningly and to those who criticize or oppose it. It is

dangerous because it is out to capture people, especially children and
impressionable young people, and indoctrinate and brainwash them so
that they become the unquestioning captives and tools of the cult,
withdrawn from ordinary thought, living and relationships with others."

- Justice LATEY, ruling in the High Court in London in 1984

"As soon as one's convictions become unshakeable, evidence ceases to
be relevant -- except as a means to convert the unbelievers. Factual
inaccuracies ... are excusable in the light of the Higher Truth."

- P.H. HOEBENS

Scientology is among the oldest, largest, richest, and most powerful of
contemporary cults. The "Church" of Scientology, first incorporated in
1953, claims to have seven million members, and reserves of a thousand
million dollars. There are nearly 200 Scientology "Missions" and
"Churches" spread across the globe.

During the 1970's, cults became big business and big news. Yet in the
welter of books published about these "new religious movements," there
has been no real history of Scientology. This is rather surprising,
because the history of Scientology is at turns outrageous, hilarious and
sinister. Accurate information about Scientology is scarce because the
cult is both secretive and highly committed to silencing its critics.

A few sociologists have argued that involvement in any cult is usually
short-lived and sometimes beneficial. However, after four years of
research, including interviews with over a thousand former cult
members, researchers Conway and Siegelman came to very different
conclusions about Scientology: "The reports we have seen and heard
in the course of our research ... are replete with allegations of
psychological devastation, economic exploitation, and personal and
legal harassment of former members and journalists who speak out
against the cult…" 1 Making a comparison with the tens of other cults

in their study, they said: "Scientology's may be the most debilitating
set of rituals of any cult in America." 2

Scientology, a peculiar force in our society, escapes tidy definition. The
"Church" of Scientology claims religious status; yet at times Scientology
represents itself as a psychotherapy, a set of business techniques, an
educational system for children or a drug rehabilitation program.
Officers of the Church belong to the largely landbound "Sea
Organization," and wear pseudo-Naval uniforms, complete with
campaign ribbons, colored lanyards, and badges of rank, giving
Scientology a paramilitary air. Although Scientology has no teachings
about God, Scientologists sometimes don the garb of Christian ministers.
The teachings of Scientology are held out not only as scientifically
proven, but also as scriptural, and therefore beyond question.
Scientology was also the first cult to establish itself as a
multinational business with marketing, public relations, legal and
even intelligence departments.

Scientology is also unusual because it is not an extension of a
particular traditional religion. It is a complex and apparently
complete set of beliefs, techniques and rituals assembled by one
man: L. Ron Hubbard. During the 36 years between the publication of
his first psychotherapeutic text and his death in 1986, Hubbard
constructed what appears to be one of the most elaborate belief systems
of all time. The sheer volume of material daunts most investigators.
Several thousand Hubbard lectures were tape-recorded, and his books,
pamphlets and directives run to tens of thousands of pages.

In 1984, judges in England and America condemned both Hubbard and
Scientology. Justice Latey, in a child custody case in London, said:
"Deprival of property, injury by any means, trickery, suing, lying or
destruction have been pursued [by the Scientologists] throughout
and to this day with the fullest vigour," and further: "Mr. Hubbard
is a charlatan and worse as are his wife Mary Sue Hubbard... and
the clique at the top privy to the Cult's activities."

In America, dismissing a case brought against a former member by the
Scientologists, Judge Breckenridge said: "In addition to violating and
abusing its own members' civil rights, the organization over the
years ... has harassed and abused those persons not within the
Church whom it perceives as enemies. The organization clearly is
schizophrenic and paranoid, and this bizarre combination seems to
be a reflection of its founder LRH [L. Ron Hubbard]. The evidence
portrays a man who has been virtually a pathological liar when it
comes to his history, background and achievements. The writings
and documents in evidence additionally reflect his egoism, greed,
avarice, lust for power, and vindictiveness and aggressiveness
against persons perceived by him to be disloyal or hostile."

The evidence cited by Judge Breckenridge consisted of some 10,000
pages of material forming part of Hubbard's personal archive, including
his teenage diaries, a black magic ceremony called the "Blood Ritual,"
and hundreds of personal letters to and from his three wives. Some of
these documents were read into the record, and others released as
exhibits. The picture they reveal is very different from Hubbard's
representations about his life.

Nevertheless, Hubbard's personal history is one of the great adventure
stories of the 20th century. A penny-a-word science-fiction writer who
created an immense and dedicated organization to act out his grandiose
ideas on a global scale, Hubbard commanded the devotion of his
followers, who revere him as the greatest man who has ever lived. At the
height of his power, Hubbard controlled a personal intelligence network
which successfully infiltrated newspapers, medical and psychiatric
associations throughout the world, and even a number of United States
government agencies. Eleven of Hubbard's subordinates, including his
wife, received prison sentences for their part in these criminal activities.

There is also something tantalizing in the psychotherapeutic techniques
which are at the core of Scientology. Cult devotees are sometimes seen
as adolescent, half-witted zombies easily coerced into joining an

enslaving group because of their inadequacy. But Scientology has
attracted medical doctors, lawyers, space scientists and graduates of the
finest universities in the world. One British and two Danish Members of
Parliament once belonged to Scientology. Even psychologists,
psychiatrists and sociologists have been enthusiastic practitioners of
Hubbard's techniques. And such people have often parted with immense
sums of money to pay for Scientology counselling which can cost as
much as $1,000 per hour.

Hubbard's ideas have inspired many imitators, and several
contemporary "psycho-technologies" and New Age movements
derive from Scientology (est, eckancar and co-counselling, for
example).

Any assessment of Scientology is further complicated because it has
demonstrably been the target of harassment. A Tax Court judge admitted
in a ruling that the IRS had investigated Scientologists solely because
they were Scientologists. Governments have panicked and over-reacted:
for example, for several years in three Australian states the very practice
of Scientology was an imprisonable offence.

The secret inner workings of Scientology have long been zealously
guarded, but in 1982, two years after Hubbard disappeared into complete
seclusion, a purge began and the Church began to disintegrate. Hundreds
of long-term Scientologists, many of whom had held important positions
within the Church, were excommunicated and expelled. They were
placed under the interdict of "Disconnection," whereby other
Scientologists were prohibited from communicating with them in any
way. At a rally in San Francisco, young members of the new
management harangued and threatened executives of Scientology's
franchised "Missions." While the newly created International Finance
Dictator spoke, his scowling, black-shirted International Finance Police
patrolled the aisles. Huge amounts of money were demanded from the
Mission Holders. In the following weeks, Scientology's Finance Police

swooped down on the Missions collecting millions of dollars and almost
bankrupting the entire network.

Hubbard had styled himself the "Commodore" of his "Sea
Organization," and by 1982, the new leaders, some still in their teens,
were members of the "Commodore's Messenger Organization." Many of
these youngsters had been raised in Scientology, separated from their
parents, originally working as Hubbard's personal servants.

Anonymous letters describing incredible events circulated among
Scientologists. We read about Gilman Hot Springs, a 500 acre estate in
south California, surrounded by high fences, patrolled by brownshirted
guards, and protected by an elaborate and expensive security system. We
heard accounts of bizarre punishments meted out at this supposedly
secret headquarters. A group of senior Church executives had been
put on a program where they ran around a tree in near desert
conditions for twelve hours a day, for weeks on end. Some
Scientologists gave accounts of their treatment at the hands of the
International Finance Police, where they had been abused verbally and
physically, sometimes signing over huge amounts of money before
coming to their senses.

During this reign of terror, thousands of Scientologists left the Church,
believing that Hubbard was either dead or under the control of the
Messengers. These new "Independent" practitioners of Scientology were
subjected to prolonged and extensive harassment and litigation. Private
Investigators followed important defectors, sometimes around the
clock for months. The Church widely distributed scandal sheets
packed with fabricated libels concerning defectors.

The essential question which plagued Scientologists who had left the
Church was whether Hubbard knew what was happening. By the time
Hubbard's death was announced in January 1986, many Scientologists
believed his body had been deep-frozen for several years. Others
believed he was still alive, that the coroner had been bribed, and that his
death had been staged to escape the net of the Criminal Investigation

Branch of the Internal Revenue Service, which was investigating the
transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars of Church funds into
Hubbard's personal accounts.

As part of its campaign to stem the tide of defectors, Scientology
brought law suits against several former members. In return,
multimillion dollar counter-suits were filed against Scientology. In 1986,
a Los Angeles jury awarded $30 million in damages to a former Church
member. On the last day of 1986, a group of over 400 former members
initiated a billion dollar suit against the Church.

Former highly-placed Hubbard aides broke silence for the first time. The
documentary evidence referred to by Judge Breckenridge pierced the
self-created fantasy of Hubbard's past. The sinister reality beneath the
smiling mask of the Church of Scientology was at last revealed.

_______________

FOOTNOTES

1. Snapping, Conway and Siegelman, p. 161.

2. "Information Disease," Conway and Siegelman, Science Digest,
January 1982.

PART ONE: INSIDE SCIENTOLOGY 1974-1983

This is useful knowledge. With it the blind again see, the lame walk,
the ill recover, the insane become sane and the sane become saner.
By its use the thousand abilities Man has sought to recover become
his once more.

L. Ron HUBBARD, Scientology: A History of Man, 1952

CHAPTER ONE: My Beginnings

It was 1974 and I was nineteen. I had just returned to England after a
disastrous tour of the South of France only to find that my girlfriend,
with whom I had been living for over a year, had been sleeping with one
of my friends and was going to live with him in New Zealand.

A few weeks later while alone at a friend's house, I found a copy of
Hubbard's book Science of Survival. After reading 200 pages, I was
hooked.

I was impressed by Hubbard's insistence that his "Dianetics" was
not dependent on faith, but was completely scientific. The book
began with an impressive array of graphs purportedly depicting
increases in IQ and betterment of personality through Dianetics,
which appeared to have undergone extensive testing.

Dianetics claimed to be an extension of Freudian therapy. By re-
experiencing unconfronted traumas it was allegedly possible to
unravel the deep-seated stimulus-response patterns which ruin
people's lives. Hubbard departed from Freud by denying that sexual
repressions were basic to human aberration. He promised a new and
balanced emotional outlook through the application of Dianetics.

It seemed that Dianetics had been absorbed by Scientology. Science of
Survival contained an out-dated list of Scientology Churches. Eventually
I found a phone number for the "Birmingham Mission of the Church of
Scientology." After a few minutes of conversation, the receptionist
insisted that I take a train immediately. About three hours later, after a
complicated journey, I arrived at the "Mission." It was over a launderette
in Moseley village, at that time the dowdy home of the Birmingham
hippy community.

The receptionist sat behind an old desk at the head of the steep stairs. It
was just after six in the evening, and the rest of the Mission staff had
gone home to take a break before returning for the evening session. The
receptionist was in her early twenties, and had abandoned a career in
teaching to become a full-time Scientologist. She was cheerful and self-