The Carmichael-Sterling Group

## The Organization

The Carmichael-Sterling Group is based in Seattle, but has opened a subsidiary in Nevada (Carmichael-Sterling Nevada). It recently has begun purchasing property in Las Vegas. While characters, locations, and plot points from *The Long Way Down, Redemption Song,* and *The Living Ends* continue throughout the series, most of the story of Carmichael-Sterling is found in the first three books of the Daniel Faust series.

## Related Characters

### Meadow Brand

Meadow Brand works as the HR Director at Carmichael-Sterling. Meadow is more of a mercenary then the rest of the known employees at Carmichael-Sterling. She is a self-admitted sociopath and animates wooden mannequins to fight. She frequently shapes them to look like another person, allowing her to impersonate them.

### Lauren Carmichael

Lauren Carmichael is the CEO of Carmichael-Sterling. She believes she alone can usher in and rule a new world based on an archeological discovery she made while in college with Dr. Emmanuel Planck. During their research into an ancient temple in Nepal, Carmichael chose to enter alone, for her own research. There she found a tunnel to another world, and the Smoke Faced Men. These beings told her she needed to open the Etruscan Box to save the world.

### Dr. Noah Clark

Dr. Clark is a specialist in Occult Biochemistry and former employee of Auser Biomedical where he helped develop Viridithol. He is charismatic and has used his touch and pharmaceuticals to manipulate those around him.

### Detective Carl Holt

Detective Carl Holt worked Homicide for the Las Vegas Police Department. He helped Carmichael-Sterling cover up crimes, including murder, because they made sure he was addicted to Caitlin's touch. As a succubus, she could make him need her and the Group could threaten his access if he didn't toe the line.

### Artie Kaufman

Artie Kaufman directed and acted in porn movies that focused on the degradation and humiliation of women under the name Daddy Warbucks. He used sympathetic magic to prevent any of his stars from leaving, no matter how he treated them. Stacy Punkow was the first one of these stars that he killed.

### Sheldon Kaufman

Sheldon Kaufman works at the Carmichael-Sterling Group as the director of finance. A sorcerer, he claims to use a technique he learned in China which he calls the "Forsaken Hand" style.

### Dr. Francis Nedry

An older man with black hair and puffy lips. He wears thick, highly reflective eyeglasses, which he uses to his advantage to move through reflective surfaces.. He's an expert in quantum sorcery and was instrumental in work on Viridithol research.

### Dr. Bob Payton

Dr. Bob Payton was part of the trio of sorcerer scientists that worked at Auser Biomedical to develop Viridithol. He specializes in Warding and Containment.

### Dr. Eugene Planck

Dr. Eugene Planck is Lauren Carmichael's former mentor and lover. He lead the excavation in Nepal, where she discovered the temple. She put a gesh on him to prevent him from speaking, writing, or communicating about what he saw at the dig.

### Tony Vance

Tony Vance is a world-famous architect working for Carmichael-Sterling to design and build The Enclave.

## Related Organizations

### Auser Biomedical

Auser Biomedical employed Dr. Nedry, Dr. Clark, and Dr. Payton. They developed a fertility drug called Viridthol. While most of the company was legitimate, their research using samples from "Eden" was used in the drug development process. The drug mutated and harmed both the fetuses and woman who were given the drug.

### The Smoke-Faced Men

The Smoke-Faced Men were found by Dr. Bob Payton in a world of silence. Payton described it as a place that was the antithesis of life. Once the tunnel was opened he was able to bring two of them and some samples to earth. The Smoke-Faced Men act as antimatter to Eden. His plan was to have them stop any efforts to enter Eden.

## Related Locations

### Eden

The "Garden of Eden" is the name the scientists at Auser Biomedical gave to the world they found at the end of the tunnels. The tunnels are filled with mutated plants. When they reached the end they found an overgrown world. Lying in a field is a burned twenty foot long sword. The plants grew everywhere, combining flesh and plants. A sample of the overabundant life, or cancer, was used to make Viridithol.

### The Enclave

The Enclave is a planned resort hotel and casino the Carmichael-Sterling group is building in Las Vegas.

### The Tunnels

The first tunnel to another world was found in Mexico, in a tomb that was carved in symbols pre-dating known history. This is the tunnel Auser Biomedical initially used, and how they found Eden. Next the found an identical in the Swiss Alps. Both were filled with mutated, overabundant plant life. The final one was found by Lauren Carmichael on an archeological dig in Nepal.