Introduction

In early August, 1995, an electronic version of the document known as the Fishman Declaration became widely available on the Internet. Because this court record contained information jealously guarded by Scientology© organizations, it became the immediate focus of a great deal of interest and controversy.

This information consisted of course materials written by L. Ron Hubbard for a program to transform an individual into a Being with super-human powers, known as an Operating Thetan, or OT. A multitude of people have obtained copies of this material, because of the controversy it has engendered, and the number of very important related issues that have been raised.

However, to a person who has not been trained in the communications technology of Scientology© , L. Ron Hubbard's style of writing may seem poorly structured, tedious, repetitive, and generally unpleasant to read. As a result, many persons who have obtained copies have found themselves unable to persevere through the entire material.

I have created this summary and analysis of the OT materials to aid precisely those persons who feel it is important to keep apprised of the issues in this controversy, but have found the OT materials themselves too burdensome. I have restructured much of the material for content, rather than process. I have eliminated a large amount of redundant and uninteresting material. And, finally, I have rewritten the material in a style which I hope is more conducive to casual reading.

My hope for this Summary and Analysis is that unindoctrinated readers will be able to get a grasp of all the salient content of the OT materials, and will thus be able to arrive at a more informed opinion of relevant controversies.

I welcome any comments or suggestions for future editions. I request that any excerpts of this work be attributed, and retain the copyright notice. Thank you for your cooperation.