| abstract | - The Aphrodite Society is a small pigment cult that is, unknowingly, part of a much larger one: the Missionary Works of the Holy Ghost. Like other Missionary divisions, it is headed by a Flatliner, in this case Harper Forester. Of the divisions, the Aphrodite Society is the one that most resembles the classic cult stereotype. The Society preys on the lost and abandoned by promising companionship and spiritual connections in exchange for servitude. The cult indulges heavily in sex and drugs, the main of which one is pigment, of course. It considers the pleasures of the flesh part of understanding what it calls the "experiences of life". Also emphasized is an obsession with the supernatural; because of the influence of pigment, more is sought from what cult members have dubbed "the underworld" than any so-called higher plain. The man supposedly in charge is John Star; a heavy believer in the supernatural and a pigment user himself, he is manipulated by Forester, who appears before him in the guise of a higher power. He uses his Horrors to perform "miracles" for the skeptical cult members and to remind Star who is ultimately in charge. Forester himself uses the cult as a screening process for sensitives, which usually end up directly in Uriah Bishop's hands by being sent to the Missionary Works. He also uses the cultists as bodies for Skinriding lackeys to do their dirty work, or as a reward for a job well done.
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