Harper Forester is a former prison convict involved in the Project Flatline experiments that resulted in him turning into a Spirit. He serves as "lieutenant" of sorts to fellow Flatliner Uriah Bishop by heading two fronts for Bishop's Missionary Works of the Holy Ghost: the drug rehabilitation program First Step and the cult-like matchmaking Aphrodite Society.
Forester, prior to his incarceration, was a mob accountant. He took out two federal officers and paralyzed a third in a shoot-out when he went under arrest for his crimes. His violent way of resisting arrest landed him in the death-row wing of the Marion Federal Penitentiary. His intelligence made him both loved and hated; it was ultimately what got him into Project Flatline when a couple of prison guards who feared his smarts "volunteered" him.
After leaving his body with the rest of the Flatliners, Forester decided that Bishop's idea was crazy enough to work. He offered himself forth to Bishop, who promptly realized his talents and gave him the two branches he works with. Forester runs First Step with the direct help of project director Dr. Sarah Franks, but uses more "etherial" means when it comes to Aphrodite Society founder John Star.
- Orpheus, Orpheus: Shades of Gray
, p. 76-78