"CST" is Scientology's secretive mountain base near Los Angeles that includes an underground vault and may even be home to the exiled wife of its leader.
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In short, Scientologists believe that "thetans" cling to human souls and are the cause of psychological issues. They say that thetans were spread over the universe in the fallout of an intergalactic war caused by an alien dictator named Xenu.
Scientologists believe in a form of therapy called "auditing" that uses an electro-magnetic "e-reader" to revisit past memories. They reject traditional psychotherapy in favour of their own form of therapy.
CST stands for "Church of Spiritual Technology" and is the high-tech wing of the religion that spends its time archiving Hubbard's works in underground vaults designed to withstand a nuclear war. CST base is just one location where Hubbard's works are stored on steel plates underground.
Now, a drone pilot has flown a drone with a high-definition camera directly about CST base, capturing on film the facility, the entrance to its vault, and also the building that Shelly Miscavige may be living in. Here's our walkthrough of the video:
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First of all, here's the full flyover video:
The base is very well-hidden and tricky to spot.
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As the drone comes over the hill, you start to see a bit more of CST.
It's difficult to see from the road because the treeline hides the main part of the base. Thankfully the drone has no such problem.
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On the left is "Qual," which Ortega says is the qualifications division, a sort of classroom. There's a log cabin for executives, and an administration office.
Here's the most important part of the base. The vault (left) is where copies of L. Ron Hubbard's works are stored in underground vaults on etched steel plates. They're designed to survive a nuclear attack.
Ortega explains the vaults here. The other two buildings are used to prepare works and archive materials.
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The lifts down the vault are on the left of this still, with a combined garage and lodging building in the centre, and a mess hall on the right.
Scientology keeps a series of large houses on its bases in case its founder L. Ron Hubbard comes back to life. The buildings are kept tidy but nobody lives there.
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Scientologists don't believe that Hubbard died. Instead they claim he chose to shed his body to continue his research.
Ortega says the top building here is the base's commanding officer's home, and the bottom building may be home to Shelly Miscavige, the wife of Scientology leader David Miscavige.
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Miscavige's wife hasn't been seen in public since 2007. There have been several missing people inquiries filed with the police, but the LAPD say she's definitely still alive.
Multiple former Scientology members say Miscavige lives at CST, and her husband sends gift to her to that base. Ortega spoke to a former member who identified the building in the drone flyover as possibly belonging to Miscavige.
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