Hi Pierre,
Good to see you posting here. I've attempted to contact you via the address on your website, but email goes unanswered.
Just a comment on the above. LRH mentions OT VIII several times in the Class VIII course tapes, which means it was in development as early as 1968.
haiqu
Starting around 1969, and for roughly ten years, OT 8 was displayed at the top of Grade Chart. It was the final OT level. The top OT level.
It was described on the Grade Chart as (from memory), "Knowing and willing cause over matter, energy, space, time, form and life, subjective and objective."
In the late 1970s, Hubbard announced the "release" of OT 8, and that there were "perhaps 15 levels above OT 8." (Meaning "OT 23") This gave Scientologists the good news that OT 8 was soon to be made available, but the bad news that it was not the ultimate level after all (was not as earlier described on the Grade Chart), BUT since Scientologists always love more OT levels (especially if they're numbered), this was regarded as welcome news.
Shortly after this, the announcement was made that there was a NEW OT 8, and that OT 8 was no longer the top level (which people, by now, had accepted anyway), but that OT 8 was the FIRST OT level.
Standard bait and switch.
There are still people who crave their Sea Org era "Bridge" and desperately desire the OT 8 they saw at the top of the Grade Chart all through the 1970s.