                           Linda Kane

You are Linda Kane, a parapsychological
researcher.  You were born in Basque Woods
Connecticut, and went to High School with
Emily Breezewood the daughter of Congressman
Robert Breezewood.  It turned out that you and
she had a lot of the same interests.  It was the
early seventies and you turned on to seances,
ectoplasm, TM, and men.  You had your first
Ouija Board together, and you got laid for the
first time on the same double date.  You were
both very wild back then, and you have both
calmed down some. 

You and Emily ended up at the same school,
Mary Washington in Fredericksburg VA.  It was
a very popular girls school, which is to say it
was a hellhole of drinking and partying.  During
the summer Emily's father got you jobs with a
PAC in D.C., and you took night courses at
George Washington University.  
That's where Emily met Matthew Allen Carter. 
He was what most people might call a looney,
but you became rather fond of him...convinced
that behind that deranged and somewhat violent
exterior, there was an enlightened and somewhat
deranged interior.  

Then Emily went off and married him...which
wasn't so bad, but of course she misunderstood
Matthew a little bit and caused the poor man's
mental condition to deteriorate.  You remained
on good terms with Matthew, and with Grant
Cochran, a writer he collaborated with.  The
fact is that you had kind of been interested in
him yourself but...

You got Matthew his first appearance on
television, on Panorama in 1979.  You managed
to talk him out of strangling Jackson Bain a local
host on Metromedia television.  Later in 1982,
you arranged an appearance on "Good Morning
America," but Matthew declined to get up that
early in the morning.  

You would like to see Grant and Matthew back
on decent terms...they have quarreled lately over
some work they collaborated on.  You also
wouldn't mind seeing Emily and Matthew back
together, if only Emily could understand how
sensitive he is.  Or perhaps you are more the
woman that Matthew needs.  You would never
have tried to steal him...you are just too nice. 
But now?  

You haven't seen Emily much these past few
years.  She has sort of "sold out" in your book,
though with her family you suppose it was
inevitable.  You would like to see her revive her
interests in idealistic things like the
transmigration of souls, and TM.

Also, you would like to see Matthew's
reputation proved once and for all.  The man
has a penchant for self sabotage, like the Good
Morning America fiasco.  If you could just get
him to do something really impressive, then
keep him calm enough to write it down, you
could be rather popular yourself, like the folks
who wrote Seth Speaks, or that Castenada
fellow.  You have been working very hard to
help him.  After his divorce, his agent Karyn
Seidmann, who was a good friend of Emily,
refused to talk to him.  He asked you to
intervene and you did.  You explained that
sometimes Emily gets kind of high strung like
the time in school when you all...never mind. 
At any rate, you assured her that there were two
sides to the story.

Seeing Matthew back on good terms with Karyn
was great.  Now if you could only make the rest
of the world get along.  You have found out
some really wonderful news from Karyn, which
you already told Margot and Matthew, though
you haven't told anyone else.  You know they
both keep secrets, and you were so pleased. 
They really do like Grant.  Karyn told you that
Roger Drake, Grant's publisher had told her that
Grant was going to be offered a movie deal for
his book Trinity, worth millions of dollars.  You
can hardly wait.  It is so wonderful when
success comes to people you know!  

Unfortunately, you are also afraid something
terrible might happen.  Recently, while you
were doing some trance-work with Matthew, he
had a vision of Grant in a coffin, dead.  He
cautioned you not to tell anyone, lest you disturb
the cosmic balance, but you couldn't help
yourself.  You typed out the message "Be
careful, you may die soon!" on a peice of paper,
and mailed it to Grant.  You immediately felt
guilty, but what harm can one little warning do?

Fortunately, there are other things occupying
your mind at the moment.  You have had to
work hard to keep your position at the Institute
for Parapsychological Research, which is run out
of the top floor of a NW DC Chinese Carry-out. 
A little attention from Professor Pierce wouldn't
hurt.  He is always saying he is sympathetic to
parapsychology, but that he has not seen any
proof.  Maybe something will happen to change
his mind.  Matthew has been helpful in taking
calls when you have to be away at your other
job.  You and he have a relationship...well more
an understanding really.  You understand
Matthew very well and know just what he needs.

You have a little business on the side that keeps
you in enough money to run your institute.  You
deliver packages for Mike Ballistas.  He has told
you that the packages contain bribes for certain
trade affairs.  You realize it is not quite legal,
but you also realize that it is not terribly
significant.  What are mundane affairs for you? 
And if you didn't get the money, then you could
not continue your work.  

The funniest thing is that one of the people you
deliver packages to is Margot.  You can't tell
her who they come from of course.  You tell her
they are from a man you don't know.  It makes
you giggle sometimes.  Politics is so silly.

You do feel terrible about Gary though.  You
haven't kept up with him very well, since he
was really Margot's friend, but yesterday you
talked to Sarah who said that he was completely
ruined financially by the stock market crash. 
nearly a million in debt.  She was making noises
about needing a passport and you told her you
really couldn't help.  You asked if she was
going to skip the country, and she said that she
was just going to take a vacation to unwind after
the disaster, and get ready for job-hunting, but
you wonder if you should tell Gary.  

You need to tell Margot, and a few other of
Gary's close friends, so that they will be
sympathetic, though you don't want to embarass
him. 

School: You attended Columbia Prep from
1970-73.  You know Margot Matthews, Emily
Breezewood, Sarah Lamont, and Toni Randall-
Smith from there.  

Afterwards you went to Mary Washington with
Emily, and Sarah.  During the summers of `74
and `75 you and Emily took night classes at
GW.  From there you know Gary Morant, Grant
Cochran, Avery Carson, Mike Ballistis, and
Matthew Allen Carter.
THE OTHERS

What they know about you:

Linda Kane:  Parapsychological researcher for
the Institute for Parapsychological Studies, 1567
23rd St. NW.  Graduate of Columbia Prep, and
Mary Washington College.  M.A. Barnard. 
Kane is a literary agent for Matthew Allen
Carter and is rumored to be his lover.  

PEOPLE YOU KNOW WELL:

Mike Ballistas:  an old connection from college
days.  You are so glad he has become
successful.  You occasionally deliver bribes for
him, which is technically illegal ...but...

A wealthy international consultant with
impressive offices downtown.  Ballistas has
numerous prominent government contacts, and
is generally known to be an influential
businessman.  He donated heavily to the Reagan
Campaign.

Emily Breezewood: you are so sorry that things
did not work out between Emily and Matthew. 
You knew they wouldn't.  You love Emily, but
she does exaggerate so. 

A college friend of Grant Cochran, and a prep-
school friend of Margot Matthews, Emily is the
daughter of Senator Breezewood of Connecticut,
a very powerful senior U.S. Legislator.  Emily
was married to Matthew Allen Carter, and
divorced him, in a particularly messy case
during which Mr. Carter was represented by
Gary Morant.  They are reported to be on barely
civil speaking terms now.  Emily is living with
Mike Ballistis.

Matthew Allen Carter:  Matthew, your current
"relationship" you have known for years.  He
is very strange, but obviously terribly talented.

A well known mystic, Carter is associated with
decadence, drugs, and bizarre mysticism.  It is
unclear where his money comes from, though he
is known to be at least moderately wealthy, and
eccentric.  

M.A Carter provides spiritual consultation to
some of Washington's most prominent social
figures.  He has appeared on several area talk
shows, notably Panorama in July 1979 where he
was involved in an altercation, and declined to
appear on Good Morning America in August of
1982 on the topic "Senators who follow the
Horoscopes."  He has assisted Federal
authorities as a consultant on "Cult Related
Cases", and appeared before a Senate
Subcommittee Special Hearing in 1983 to
discuss "Cult Phenomena and Crime."

Grant Cochran:  has just landed a movie deal
worth millions, though that is a secret you have
only told three people.

Grant Cochran is a horror writer whose early
work brought him wealth and recognition.  His
first acclaimed work was a collection of short
stories in 1977 entitled Look Ma, No Hands! 
Grant achieved a more limited success with The
Sickness in John Harrol, 1977; The Collection,
1979; but his mainstream horror novels  Dark
Symbols,1980; and Trinity, 1982; were
extremely successful.  His Lovecraftian fantasy-
horror The Sightless King, 1984 was universally
panned.  Grant also wrote the screenplay for the
1981 film The Blinding. Numerous short stories
including The Metallic Taste of Blood Omni,
Feb 1982.

Grant's work has tended more towards the
occult and fantasy side than Stephen King, and
his success has been less marked, but his early
novels were commercially successful.  Born
1955 to a wealthy Virginia family, Grant
graduated from George Washington University
in DC in 1975, aged twenty.  Writer and
playboy, known to have inherited some money
from parent's death in 1974. He is widely
rumored to have been hospitalized recently for
rehabilitation.

Leda Deerden: You met Leda through Karyn
Seidmann.  She is very enlightened for an
unenlightened person.  

A New York author, or visual artist, guest of
Grant's Publisher.  Ms. Deerden is known for
her terra cotta figures, which are widely sold in
gift shops in the Village, and her work at the
42nd Street Gallery, but is a newcomer to the
writing field.  Her first project is projected to be
a collaboration with Grant Cochran.

Jeffrey Saxon: is so brilliant.  He is the BEST
writer on occult subjects.  You wish Matthew
would be clear headed like him.

A noted Parapsychology/Occult writer and
Astrologer, author of Health Signs, Astrology for
You, and Psychic Defense, and several other
successful books published in paperback. 
Jeffrey is rumored to be practically the only
person in New York who does not suffer from
an incapacitating drug addiction.

Karyn Seidmann: Told you about Grant's new
deal. A New-York literary agent, Seidmann is
not well known in literary circles, though there
are some dark rumors about her past, including
a lawsuit.  Seidmann handles small time occult
authors, and until recently her biggest literary
success was Jeffrey Saxon, the popular occultist
and astrologer.

OTHER PEOPLE:

Anthony Blaine:  A New York writer
considered a protege of Grant Cochran, Blaine
is handled by Jonathan Drake, the same
publisher as Cochran.  It was rumored that
Blaine and Cochran had a very serious argument
while appearing together at a promotional
convention after the publication of Sightless
King.  Blaine is best known for his Fantasy-
Horror novel Wunderking, and his most recent
work The Dinner Guest.  

Avery Carson: used to be the campus dealer at
GWU.  He stayed close friends with Margot,
and they went into legitimate business and
worked for the government in Sweden.  

Avery attended George Washington University
and has many acquaintances from that period,
and immediately afterward.  Avery met most of
Grant's circle of friends in the seventies while
they were working in Washington after
graduation.  Mr. Carson occupied a position in
the staff of the late Darrington Ripley, U.S.
Ambassador to Sweden.  Currently employed by
the State Department, Avery Carson is rumored
to actually work for the Company, or No-such-
agency.

Thomas Cochran:  Grant's failure of a brother. 
Thomas dropped out of school, and was deeply
involved in drugs.  He narrowly avoided jail on
larceny charges.  He lost his share of the family
wealth, and is currently employed by his brother
as a handyman. 

Jonathan Drake: Publisher of Grant Cochran,
Drake is Editor of Horror at Electra publishing,
a division of Robert W. Thormond and Sons,
Inc., one of the nations largest publishing
houses.  Despite the failure of Cochran's latest
novel, Drake is reported to be successful and on
the rise.  He handles many other writers
including Anthony Blaine, and is also in charge
of titles under the smaller, but profitable Medea
imprintaur, for occult paperbacks, which
includes the works of Jeffrey Saxon.

Sarah Lamont: Sarah Lamont is an old Prep-
school and College friend of Margot Matthews,
Linda Kane, Emily Breezewood and others. 
Sarah went to work for Gary Morant as a
paralegal, and is now his chief secretary.  

Margot Matthews: A dear old friend, who you
do not see enough of.  Margot was a friend of
Grant Cochran, and several other attendees in
college, but went on to become a prominent
Washington socialite who rose out of the ranks
of minor political followers due to her
connections with the late U.S. ambassador to
Sweden Mr. Darrington Ripley.  Margot is
giving this party in honor of Grant Cochran's
birthday.

Margot is currently employed by the Department
of State, where she is rumored to the mistress of
a powerful political appointee.  She was
mentioned in People magazine shortly after the
inaugural ball, and her fortunes have definitely
been on the rise with the Reagan government. 

Gary Morant:  Washington Attorney. 
Graduated from George Washington University
in 1974, GW Law in 1978.  Formed Morant and
Steele with Harlan Steel in 1980.  Known for
handling some of the messiest and most
prominent divorce and lawsuit cases in the
Washington social spectrum.  Morant is a rising
star in the social constellation of Washington,
and is Grant Cochran's attorney, and is currently
representing him in all of his sordid legal
affairs. 

Mort Nicholson: a well known private
detective.  Nicholson has worked for Gary
Morant, and was a research reference for the
character of Detective George Panopalous in
Grant Cochran's Trinity.

Roger Pierce: a Professor/practitioner of
Psychology at George Washington University. 
Young but promising, for several years his 400
level course on Personality Disorders has been
considered the "most fun" class in the entire
psych department.  Many of Dr. Pierce's
associates consider him to be "that strung out
quack", Dr. Pierce considers himself a
"perceptually enhanced alternative practitioner." 
It is obvious that Dr. Pierce either has
something on the University, or has tenure.

"Psychological disorders can be not only
instructive, but entertaining as well..."
(American Psychiatric Yearbook, 1980).  

Tony Randall-Smith:  Olympic Equestrian
Medalist, winning two Silver and one Bronze
medal at Los Angeles in 1984.  Native of
McLean Virginia, the child of a former
ambassador to England.  Personally acquainted
with Princess Margaret, has appeared in Sports
Illustrated, and network television.  Currently
holds American and European Championships in
several categories of jumps.  Professional status
has been called into question, but intends to
compete in 1988.  

Oliver Stewart:  A comic-book author and
illustrator for Universal Comics, a major
competitor of Marvel and D.C. 
Oliver responsible for the satirical Captain
Flapjack miniseries, but is best known for his
work with Blood Hound, a revitalized 1960's
Superhero, and with Revenant, a dark-horror
miniseries.  Stewart handled a graphic-novel
adaptation of Grant Cochran's Sightless King,
which was somewhat more successful than the
actual novel.  Oliver is a New Yorker, but has
maintained a friendship with horror writer Grant
Cochran, and has come down with some of his
other New York acquaintances to make his
birthday an interesting affair.

Craig Webber: An acquaintance of Margot
Matthews, Mr. Webber is a well-to-do local
business consultant, rumored to have
connections to smuggling and the underworld. 
Webber is said to be a business partner of Avery
Carson.
