Dr. Richard F. Kestner is a leading scientist in cyborg and nanotechnology, whose expertise makes him a trusted consultant for Olympus administration and ESWAT regarding cyborg personnel treatment, despite underlying concerns about his professional background.

His past includes work at Poseidon's Halcon Laboratories, collaborating with Professor Elizabeth H. Xander on mind control research. After Poseidon terminated the project fatally, Kestner reactivated Xander as the central AI controlling the Halcon mainframe. Driven by a desire to eliminate free will and impose a unified global consciousness under his control, he sought revenge against Poseidon.

To damage Poseidon's reputation, Kestner used nanomachines to seize control of several company cyborgs, orchestrating terrorist attacks. His primary scheme exploited a peace summit's satellite redirection over Olympus. He implanted a virus in the satellites' backup systems to commandeer them.

As part of this operation, he implanted nanomachines in the injured cyborg Briareos, using him to crash the primary satellite system and activate the infected backups. Kestner then utilized the backup satellites to manipulate individuals wearing Connexus devices, inciting mass riots to purge non-conformers. After revealing his motives and methods to Briareos, he committed suicide to avoid capture by ESWAT and frame Briareos for his actions.

Kestner maintained a jovial and unassuming demeanor, effectively masking his true intentions. Knowledge of his involvement in the controversial Halcon Project would have compromised his reputation and the trust placed in him by Olympus authorities.