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his job. February had been a very busy month. As we shall see in the next chapter, 1976 proved to be a very busy year. In October, Hubbard suffered a tragic blow. Back in 1959 his son Nibs had left Scientology. From that time, Hubbard had pinned his dynastic dream upon Quentin, his oldest son by Mary Sue.He had frequently announced that Quentin would succeed him as the leader of
214 ThE SEA ORGANIZATION 1966--1976
Scientology. At the end of October 1976, Quentin was found, comatose, in a parked car in Las Vegas with the engine still running. Quentin was rushed to a hospital where he died two weeks later, without regaining consciousness. He was not identified until several days after his death. Although no precise cause of death was determined, Quentin had certainly suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning. He was twenty-two years old. Quentin had tried to measure up to his father's expectations--he was one of the few top-grade Class Twelve Auditorsrebut he did not share his father's temperament. By all accounts he was far too gentle to govern Scientology, or indeed to govern anything. All he wanted was to fly airplanes, and he often pleaded with his father to allow him to leave the Sea Org and do just that. He had disappeared several times in an attempt to escape. There was also an aspect of his nature which could never be reconciled with his father's philosophy: Quentin was a homosexual. There is little doubt that his death was self-inflicted, as he had attempted suicide before.'' Mary Sue broke down and wailed when she heard the news. She later tried to persuade friends that her son had died from encephalitis. Quentin's father's response was cold-blooded, he was furious that his son had let him down. There was an immediate cover-up. Documents were stolen from the coroner's office and taken to Hubbard. In accordance with Hubbard's policy regarding bad news, Scientologists were not told about Quentin's death. Some who found out were told he had been murdered.