OT VIII (Operating Thetan Level 8) is the highest current auditing level in Scientology. OT VIII is known as "The Truth Revealed" and was first released to select high-ranking public Scientologists in 1988, two years after the death of Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard. OT VIII is only delivered to members of the Church of Scientology in one place — aboard the organization's private cruise ship, the Freewinds.
Contents
"This Solo-audited level addresses the primary cause of amnesia on the whole track and lets one see the truth of his own existence. This is the first actual OT level and brings about a resurgence of power and native abilities for the being himself. This may be done at the Flag Ship Service Organization only."Versions of OT VIII
Various outlines purporting to describe New OT VIII have been provided by ex-members who have completed the course, such as Ariane Jackson and Michael Pattinson. Jackson has described the course as having two parts: a preparatory e-meter drill, followed by a review of Scientology: A History of Man and an examination of previously identified past lives to find out which ones are false. According to Pattinson, the course included an affirmation from L. Ron Hubbard that "now he [Pattinson] knew who he wasn't, and was interested in finding out who he was."
"Original" (Fishman) version
In August 1995, Arnie Lerma posted the Fishman papers on the Internet. The posting contained disputed portions of OT VIII, including an exercise for communicating with animals and plants, and a passage depicting Jesus Christ as a "lover of young boys and men ... given to uncontrollable bursts of temper and hatred."
In OT VIII, dated 1980, Hubbard explains the document is intended for circulation only after his death. Its purpose is to explain the untold story of Hubbard's life's work. Hubbard explains that the reader has "undoubtedly heard pieces of data over the years that hinted at the greater untold reality of my mission here on Earth" but "the story was never written, nor spoken... It is only now that I feel it safe to release the information".
Hubbard mentions the Book of Revelation and its prophecy of a time when "an arch-enemy of Christ, referred to as the Antichrist, will reign". According to Hubbard, the "Antichrist represents the forces of Lucifer". Hubbard writes "My mission could be said to fulfill the Biblical promise represented by this brief Antichrist period."
Church of Scientology lawyers have asserted that the OT VIII documents posted by Lerma are fake, however during the copyright battle over Lerma’s web pages, the Church of Scientology's attorney Kendrick Moxon identified the “Antichrist” document as copyrighted material. George White, a public Scientologist who had received OT VIII in the summer of 1988, also asserts the document is authentic (and states that the course cost him $28,000 at the time). Frank Oliver, a former operative with Scientology's Office of Special Affairs, reports having discovered the document in the church's archives. Lawrence Wollersheim, a notable defector, claims they are genuine: "Two sets of defectors, at different times in different parts of the world, came out with those documents," he says. "I've been working with defectors for fifteen years. I have never dealt with anyone as afraid of having their identity revealed as the people who came out and verified those documents." Jesse Prince, former second-in-command of Scientology's Religious Technology Center, reports that OTVIII was revised after early participants were "horribly upset" by the content.
"Revised" (Wikileaks) version
On March 24, 2008, Wikileaks placed what it claimed was a complete set of OT levels on their site, including a version of OT VIII not previously publicly available. The Church of Scientology threatened legal action if the files were not removed, arguing that posting this information on the Wikileaks website was clear violation of copyright. Wikileaks did not remove the documents and said the threat of legal action verified that the documents were authentic.