In The Seventies by Miles Barry;

Author:Miles, Barry;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Profile Books
Published: 2011-03-18T04:00:00+00:00

9 1972

a condition of treason

In 1972, when I was seeing a lot of Bill in London, he was doing quite a few experiments with photography – a continuation of the superimpositions and collages he did in Tangier in the mid-sixties – and continuing his experiments with Scientology techniques. Both of these were frequent subjects of discussion over drinks and dinner. He had been working on Scientology e-meter routines with John MacMasters, the neat, silver-haired Englishman of a certain age who helped Hubbard found the Church of Scientology, and who was the world’s first clear. Clears are those who have completed the first level of Scientology processing. An auditor reads out a series of long questionnaires while the student holds the terminals of an e-meter – a galvanometer which measures the change in the electrical resistance of the skin caused by emotional stress. If a question gets a reading then it is explored over and over until it results in a floating needle. When all of the questions are dealt with, the student is then ‘clear’. Clears were numbered chronologically, beginning with MacMasters.

He and Hubbard had since fallen out and John was being subjected to harassment by Hubbard’s organisation. I often ran into MacMasters at Bill’s apartment as he frequently came over in the afternoon to assist Bill with his scientology auditing while I was working on Bill’s archives. One time he told us that he woke up one morning lying on the floor of his bedroom, covered in marks and bruises. He claimed that this was the result of a psychic attack by the Sea Org. (It couldn’t have been a physical attack as Sea Org is a Scientology abbreviation for Sea Organisation, which at that time was moored off Casablanca protecting Hubbard’s yacht.) ‘If only I had been there to save you with my karate, my dear,’ sympathised Bill. Bill was practising karate but had a few problems with it. The instruction book said that he should obtain an ironing board to practise chops on but he bought a metal one from Fortnum and Mason instead of the wooden one required and bruised his hand.

Bill described his experiences at the Scientology World headquarters in Saint Hill, East Grinstead, where he took an advanced course. He was almost caught snooping round Hubbard’s house armed with a camera; he had been intending to claim he was a plumber if caught. ‘I sat there in Saint Hill and I didn’t tell them the biggest withhold of all, that was, “I hate your guts, you pink sons of bitches.” One of the auditors caught me in the closet and he said, “Have you had any bad thoughts about Mary Sue Hubbard?” He said, “I’m getting a strong reading.”

‘Boy, that was made to get a reading! So I said I was jealous because she was so good looking and he said, “You’re getting a floating needle.”’ William gave a big grin. ‘I don’t know what that was supposed to mean, whether that was in sympathy or what!.

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