[religious brainwash] The Total Freedom Trap Scientology, Dianetics and L. Ron Hubbard #4/27

Factually, it took Hubbard several years to make even a precarious living from his writing. He wrote under such stirring pen names as Rene Lafayette, Tom Esterbrook, Kurt von Rachen, Captain B.A. Northrup, and Winchester Remington Colt.

Under the name Legionnaire 148, Hubbard concocted "true" stories about his supposed exploits in the French Foreign Legion, but mainly he churned out adventure stories for the cheap "pulp" magazines.

He contributed to many such magazines, including Thrilling Adventures, The Phantom Detectiveand Smashing Novels Magazine, eventually turning to science-fiction and writing chiefly for Astounding Science Fiction. His pulp stories include "The Carnival of Death", "King of the Gunmen" and "Man-Killers of the Air". By the time he created Dianetics, in 1950, he was writing imaginative, if rather unstylish, science-fiction, and exploring ideas which he would later incorporate into Scientology.

THE WAR YEARS

Hubbard's eyesight had prevented his admission to the U.S. Naval Academy, prior to his enrolment at University. In 1941, he was accepted into the Navy Reserve after receiving a waiver for his inadequate vision.

Many outlandish claims were made by Hubbard about his achievements while in the U.S. Navy. For instance, he bragged that he had been the first returned casualty from the Far East. In fact, he was shipped to Australia in December 1941, and he sufficiently antagonised his superiors to be returned to the U.S. after only a few months. After his return, in March 1942, Hubbard was posted as a mail censor in New York.

The Scientologists have boasted that Hubbard "rose to command a squadron".

Factually, he oversaw the refitting of two small vessels in U.S. harbours. His second such command was withdrawn after a cruise down the west coast. During the course of this journey, Hubbard managed to involve a number of craft in a 55-hour battle against what he believed to be two Japanese submarines.