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Background
Spectral Eliminators originally had
six
full-time personnel:
-
Dr. Peter Brinkman (the unofficial
leader of the group)
-
Dr. Raymond Sitz
-
Dr. Igor Spanner
-
Mr. Winston Ayless
-
Miss Janice Brookney (the company's
secretary)
-
Mr. Louis Tollman (the company's
lawyer and accountant)
Over the years the original crew has
moved into more managerial and research activities, and day-to-day
operations are handled by several teams who travel throughout the world.
Ironically, the company has adopted
the spirit of a deceased gourmand as a kind of mascot. The rather
portly fellow (nicknamed "Slim") by the crew often accompanies the
Spectral Eliminator teams on their operations.
Drs. Brinkman, Sitz and Spanner
founded Spectral Eliminators shortly after losing their positions as
instructors at a local university. They based their operations on
a handful of inventions patented by Drs. Sitz and Spanner: the spectral
detector (a very sensitive etherometer), the spectral snare (an
electro-magnetic device designed to trap etheric beings), the
electro-magnetic wand (a handheld device used to herd etheric beings),
and the spectral prison (a dimension-walk device that opens onto the
Astral Dimension). The crew originally travelled to most of their
operations aboard a specially-built horseless carriage, which they
christened the Ectoplasmic Chariot. Over the years they've added a
number of other vehicles, including flyers.
Mr. Ayless was hired off the street
when it became apparent the trio of doctors had more work than they
could handle.
Initially, the group achieved
notoriety and not a little wealth by trapping and imprisoning the
spirits of the dearly departed (the dead who inhabit the ether but who,
through dint of will, can interact with the physical world). This
has made them somewhat unpopular among the after-lifers. However,
of late, the phantasmal four have branched out into other paranormal
venues, having battled
vampires, lycanthropes, and the Great Old Ones
themselves. They have begun to ascertain the existence of the
Wizards' War, but have yet to choose a side.
In their initial operations the
Spectral Eliminators found themselves up against a minion of the Great
Old Ones. Quick action on their parts destroyed the threat (and a
good portion of a city block). In 1889, the crew also faced off
against an undead Sorcerer and quickly put paid to his schemes.
Such operations have drawn the attention of both Britain's
Torchwood
Institute and select members of the Miskatonic University (Arkham,
Mass.) faculty.
Since then, the crew and their new
teams have travelled the
world, capturing and imprisoning paranormal creatures wherever they find
them. |
