Marty Rathbun has been emphatic in stating that there are no OT levels above OT VIII. He "knows" this for two reasons. First, Pat Broeker claimed, during his original power struggle with David Miscavige, that he had access to the LRH notes on the upper OT levels, and was using this as a vehicle to hold sway over Miscavige. Marty subsequently engaged in three forcible searches of places where Pat Broeker might have hidden such notes, and found nothing. Second, Marty questioned Ron's last auditor, who said that Ron had "nothing intelligible" to say about any levels of OT beyond OT VIII.

This claim by Marty has always rankled me, as I remember statements to the contrary, made by LRH or posted on copies of the Bridge as far back as 1976, when I got into Scientology. I have just found the original reference on this, and am posting the relevant passage here.

There are perhaps 15 levels above OT VII* fully developed but existing only in unissued note form, pending more people's full attainment of OT VI and VII.

The above is from HCOB 30 July 1973 Scientology, Current State of the Subject and Materials. I would encourage anyone to find a copy of that HCOB and read it in full. It contains additional information on nutrition, the medical and psychiatric fields, etc.

Marty has doubtless read the above reference. And yet he's contradicting what LRH says there. This can only mean one (or all) of three things. First, that Ron was flat out lying to us, reason unknown. Two, that someone else inserted this passage in the above HCOB without LRH's knowledge. While this is possible, it should be noted that 1973 was before David Miscavige had attained the full measure of his power. During that period, Ron was aboard the flagship Apollo, delivering lectures on the Flag Executive Briefing Course (FEBC) and handling international management. And it's a mystery why anyone would insert such a claim in an LRH issue anyway. There wouldn't seem to be much point in it at that time in Scientology. Three, Marty, for reasons we can only guess at, wishes to deny whatever benefits might accrue from those upper OT levels to the Independent Field and Scientologists in general.

Regardless of the reasons for Marty's claim, the following is clear. Ron says one thing and Marty directly contradicts him. The question for the reader is, who should you believe? The answer is up to you, but if you believe LRH, it's worth considering what exactly Marty's motivation is in making such a flat, contradictory claim.

* Historical note: At the time of this issue, OT VI and VII were the highest OT levels available. And they were not the Solo NOTs material. They were the "original" OT levels, before the development of NOTs.