Editing Operating Thetan (section)

=== OT VIII: Truth Revealed ===
{{Main|OT VIII}}
{{quote frame|align=right|width=25%|text=Many who had spent decades and hundreds of thousands of dollars to reach the pinnacle of the scientology Bridge were so disgusted when they finally got there that it was the last thing they did in scientology.{{r|rinder|page=126}}|author=Mike Rinder}}

OT VIII is the highest level in Scientology, and is only offered  aboard the ''[[Freewinds]]'' ship.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/03/world/scientology-cruise-ship/index.html|title = Here's what happens on Scientology's cruise ship, the Freewinds. It sounds pretty intense|website = [[CNN]]|date = 3 May 2019 |first=Daniel |last=Burke}}</ref> It supposedly reveals "the ultimate secret of Hubbard's teachings".{{r|urban2017|page=19}}

The original version of OT VIII was released in 1988 and was authored by Hubbard himself, while a second "revised" version was released in 1991 by an unnamed editor. Both versions were released after [[L. Ron Hubbard]]'s death. The original contains a Doomsday Prophecy that the [[Galactic Confederacy]] will return soon and telepathically enslave the universe but Hubbard wrote that he will [[Reincarnation|return after his death]] and in a [[Messiah]]-like role "halt a series of events designed to make happy slaves of us all".<ref name="fishmanotviii">{{multiref2 |1=[[Fishman Affidavit]]. US District Court, Central District of California. Fishman Case No 91-6426 HLH (Tx). |2={{cite web |url=https://www.spaink.net/fishman/ot8b.html |first=L. Ron |last=Hubbard |author-link=L. Ron Hubbard |title=HCOB 5 May 1980 I, OT VIII Series I : Confidential : Student Briefing (Fishman Exhibit, OT VIII) |date=5 May 1980 |via=[[Karin Spaink]]}} |3={{cite web |url=https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Fishman/Declaration/ot8b.html |title=Alternative link |via=[[David S. Touretzky]]}} }}</ref> Early participants in this version balked at it and the church subsequently revised it into its current form. The church initially stated the original version found in the [[Fishman Affidavit]] is a forgery but later admitted it was copyrighted by the church thus establishing authenticity. The revised version they currently use also has an editor's note that states "it is not the original".<ref>{{Cite web|title=UP THE BRIDGE: We finally reach 'OT 8' — but was its first version really a hoax? |website=[[The Underground Bunker]]|url=https://tonyortega.org/2014/06/24/up-the-bridge-we-finally-reach-ot-8-but-was-its-first-version-really-a-hoax/|access-date=2021-06-13 |first=Tony |last=Ortega |author-link=Tony Ortega}}</ref>

The revised version is completely redacted from the original and states "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."

According to interviews performed by [[Mike Rinder]], Scientologists have described OT VIII as "less than overwhelming".{{r|rinder|page=126}}