Character overview: “Professor” Glenn Karter
History:
Glenn Karter was born in Virginia only a few years before it became part of the reborn Confederate States of America. Of middle-class origins, he made friends easily and by this mid-twenties had connections in several mid-Atlantic corporate entities and government bureaus. Showing an uncanny sense of timing, he frequently showed up in the right places at the right times to help out a friend or two, and by the 2050s he was moderately wealthy and even better connected.
By 2060, Karter’s Global Security Services Corporation began to make a name for itself. A smaller corp, it resisted every takeover bid by the megacorps; including, it’s said, several shadow-based attempts. Part mercenary unit, part philanthropic organization, part high-end R&D think tank, the GSSC often seems to be around when something bizarre’s going down. Karter is often there in person for the fireworks, and loves it.
His aliases when he’s working the streets to his own ends have included Professor K, Grinner, and Jack Mega. His employees often privately refer to Karter as Himself.
Personality:
Karter is good-humored, humble, and fairly quiet unless provoked, when his anger can blind like a flare grenade. He has an unfortunate habit of explaining a situation with obscure references and chains of logic no one else can follow.
Appearance:
Karter stands about six feet tall, and has a generally skinny build with a slight swivel-chair paunch he’s always trying to lose. He has shaggy sandy-brown hair, grey eyes, and usually wears a neatly trimmed beard and mustache. Karter is fond of vaguely paramilitary clothing, with styles and emblems that make him look like an officer in a military organization that never existed.
Favorite weapon:
When involved in a run, Karter’s often seen wearing a fencing rapier which may be infused with orichalcum, which is odd as he has no known magical abilities that the arcane metal would aid. When he desires a ranged weapon, there’s usually a prototype GSSC ionized plasma pistol on his hip, which can be tuned to deliver the non-lethal damage he prefers.
Quirks:
Karter absolutely refuses to watch an episode of any of the seventeen incarnations of Star Trek, and will leave the room if any are shown in his presence.
Rumors:
Researching Karter’s past brings up contradictions about various cities where he was born, his exact date of birth, and his precise climb to wealth and power. There is at least a small group of conspiracy theorists who believe that Karter’s past is completely manufactured, and that he’s an advance scout for an alien invasion. If this theory is mentioned to Karter, he will gleefully attest to its accuracy.
Karter may have a double to do some of his more shadowy work; some say he’s been seen in two far-separated areas of Seattle at the same time.
