Female, Caucasian, aged 30

Petite, though not waif-thin, she can pass as a student at the U rather than the prof. that she is. She's generally quiet, and if dragged into conversation, she'll try to direct it away from anything personal and towards the safe subject of her archeology work. She's not unattractive, but is shy and decidedly bookish.

Karen has seen 'ghosts' since early childhood and it's shaped much of who she is. She has 3 siblings, though has little contact with them beyond the occasional holiday get-together; she is the oldest. Her elderly mother lives near her in an assisted-living complex, and Karen is quite close to her. Her father passed away several years ago.

Karen was born in Detroit, and raised in suburban Detroit. When she was young, her parents dismissed her 'imaginary friends' as a childhood "phase" that would pass. But as she got older and the 'phase' persisted, her parents got her "help". When therapy alone didn't solve the problem (and when she was able to describe the dead grandparents whom she'd never met to an alarming degree of accuracy--including mannerisms that she couldn't have gotten from old photos!), she went into the psych. ward at the hospital. It was at this time that she came to the notice of SAVE. The organization (such as it was) began to keep track of her, though she didn't know it. She spent a couple years there (about age 14-15), until she learned all the 'right answers' and was declared competent and released to her family. Unfortunately, this disturbance of her otherwise relatively normal adolescence left her shy and reserved, and she retreated into books.

She excelled at school, though she had few friends and took part in none of the usual extracurricular activities, and she went on to undergrad studies at MSU. She discovered a love for archeology, and devoted most of her energies to making a place for herself in that academic world. She did her grad. work at U of M, working through summer breaks in order to get her PhD by the time she was 25. In the past several years, she's made a name for herself in the study of Native American archeology, and is in a tenure-track position in the Department of Archeology at Wayne State University.

At the same time, Karen still had the haunting knowledge that there were many things in the world that it seemed only she saw--the things she'd learned to not talk about. Whenever the opportunity to research these things presented itself (more often lately, since she's earned her tenure), she would grasp it, explaining to anyone that asked that it was "just some obscure reference" she needed to track down. When her research repeatedly led her to files 'flagged' by SAVE, she was finally contacted, and brought into the fold. She's begun to learn a few of the things an envoy needs to survive; but, more important to her, she's learned that she's not the only one who sees the Unknown, and she's learning how to control the knowledge and talents she has. Father Andrew gave Karen a crucifix to provide protection, and she wears it at all times.

Karen is represented by Jennifer Morrison. She has the right feel--not really forceful, but smarter than she seems, and kind of unsure in social situations--and the right look--younger than her age and attractive but not drop dead gorgeous.