Bare-Faced Messiah (PDF) - Apologetics Index

Despite the continuing restrictions on personal liberty, life on board improved somewhat after the
Apollo left the Mediterranean. The 'heavy ethics' were eased - there was no more overboarding, for
example - and the Commodore's demeanour was markedly sunnier. 'He'd often take a stroll along
the promenade deck and stop to talk to people,' said Urquhart. 'He normally wore a white silk shirt
with a gold lanyard, a cravat and naval cap with lots of scrambled egg on the peak and you could
always see him in the centre of the crowd that gathered round him whenever he stopped to talk. But
there was still a lot of tension on board and the very real possibility that somebody would make a
mistake that would cause a flap. Someone might upset a harbourmaster, or say the wrong thing in
answer to a question, or let slip something about Scientology. Some shit was going to hit the fan
every day, you could count on it.'
No attempt was made on board ship to maintain the myth that Hubbard was no longer in charge of
Scientology. Between forty and fifty feet of telex messages arrived every day from Scientology offices
around the world and he received weekly reports detailing every org's statistics and income. Money
was, without question, one of the Commodore's primary interests, although he liked to profess a
lofty disregard for such matters as financial gain. Loyal members of the Sea Org, who were paid
$10 a week, believed the Commodore drew less than they did, because that is what he told them.
The reality was that Hubbard was receiving $15,000 a week from church funds through the
Hubbard Explorational Company and that huge sums of money were being creamed from 'deskdrawer'
corporations and salted away in secret bank accounts in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
When one of these accounts had to be closed in 1970, $1 million in cash was transferred on board
the Apollo.[7]
There was also a considerable disparity between the way the Hubbards lived on the ship and the
conditions endured by everyone else. Most of the crew lived in cramped, smelly, roach-infested
dormitories fitted with bunks in three tiers that left little room for personal possessions. Hubbard
and Mary Sue each had their own state-rooms in addition to a suite on the promenade deck
comprising an auditing-room, office, an elegant saloon and a wood-panelled dining-room, all offlimits
to students and crew. Hubbard had a personal steward, as did Mary Sue and the Hubbard
children, who all had their own cabins. Meals for the Commodore and his family were cooked in a
separate galley by their personal chef, using ingredients brought by couriers from the United
States.
When Mike Goldstein, an anthropology major from the University of Colorado, was sent out to join
the Sea Org, he was pressed into service as a courier. 'I was briefed in Los Angeles and drilled on
my shore story. It was all made to seem very mysterious and cloak and dagger. It was scary. I was
warned to follow my instructions to the letter and given a box to take out with me to the ship. I was to
say it contained company papers of the Operation and Transport Corporation. Going through the
security control in Los Angeles airport, the box set the buzzer off. I nearly died. They opened it up
and discovered it contained Hubbard's underpants, tied in a bag with metal clips.
'When I got to New York I found I was expected to courier something else - fourteen boxes which
had to be maintained at a certain temperature. No one would tell me what was in them, only that it
was vital they arrived intact at the ship. In London I had to change planes. Transferring from one
terminal to another with these fourteen boxes was murder. I arrived in Madrid and was taken by Sea
Org members to an apartment, where the boxes were put in refrigeration. Next day I caught a plane
for Casablanca, only to discover the ship had moved on further south to Safi. By then I was
completely paranoid about the boxes, terrified that the heat would get to whatever was in them. I got
them wrapped up and found a bus to take me to Safi, where I finally arrived at the ship and handed
over the boxes. I was wondering what the hell was in them, but I didn't find out until later. I was
carrying fourteen boxes of frozen shrimps for the Hubbard family.'[8]