Porter Moore

— Porter explaining himself

**Porter Moore** is a character in The Smoke Room. He is the librarian for the library adjacent to Echo's city hall and covertly operates as an information broker. Beckett is his twin brother.

## Appearance

Porter is a Gila lizard with green eyes and black and orange scales. He wears a checkered gray suit with a green vest and a high-collared white undershirt, accented with a bolo tie. He also wears round silver spectacles. Porter has a prominent tail with black spikes near its base, and small orange and black ridges on top of his head.

## Personality

Porter is savvy and shrewd. He is keenly aware of the value of every secret he trades, and is unwilling to give out information without first receiving something in return. He values discretion and keeps his intentions well-guarded but is also very expressive and even playfully cheerful, especially in contrast to his stoic brother.

Porter's end goals and motives are unclear, but he appears interested amassing power and influence in Echo. According to his brother Beckett, Porter is willing to use underhanded strategies and go to great lengths to serve his ambitions.

## Story

Porter's twin brother Beckett works as a foreman for CSCG in Danicka Mine. They were once very close, but five years prior to the story Beckett cut off contact with Porter and the two have not spoken since. According to Beckett, this is because of the callous behavior that Porter demonstrated while running against their cousin Amos for a job at town hall. In the midst of the election, Porter leaked genealogical records showing that several men on Amos' side of the family had developed Huntington's Disease, an inherited degenerative condition with no cure. Facing an imminent physical and cognitive decline, Amos lost the support of the town council and was deemed unfit for office, then shortly afterward committed suicide once his symptoms began to develop. Porter won the position but lost the respect of his brother, who was disgusted by the brazen display of ambition and holds Porter responsible for Amos' death.

At some point Porter began serving as the librarian in Echo's municipal library, and has used the position to facilitate his lucrative trade in secrets. He is extremely well-connected to many influential figures in town, and is notably a member of the local historical society along with Cordelia Hendricks and Holly and Dahlia Byrnes. He has attracted a reputation for being involved with the occult, but his actual beliefs about the supernatural are not yet clear.

### Nikolai's Route

Chang directs Samuel to ask Porter for help to ensure that Nik and Yao are always assigned to the same shifts in the mine as Sam, so the three can protect one another and plot their heist. Chang also asks Sam to pass on a message to Porter: that his estranged brother Beckett is apologetic and misses him. Sam sneaks into the library after closing and Porter threatens to call the sheriff on him, but the message about Beckett piques Porter's interest and he grants Sam's request for an information trade.

Porter reveals that Sam has captured the affection of James Hendricks III, the co-owner of the mine. He suggests that Sam use James' lust as leverage to request specific shifts for Nik and Yao, plus for a few other unaffiliated coworkers to obfuscate the truth of who Sam's friends really are. In exchange for this simple solution, Porter asks Sam to give him the name of one of the companions he is trying to stay close to in the mine.

Later, Sam may speak to Beckett and learn his reasons for disowning Porter, including the story of Amos' death. Porter's has not yet shared his own perspective on these events, however.

Shortly after the unionized miners go on strike, Sam is given an envelope by Miranda, the secretary for the CSCG mining company and something of a mole for the union, and is instructed to deliver it to Porter. Sam peeks at the letter inside and learns that the National Guard has been summoned by mine management to break the strike, with violence if needed, and will arrive the following morning. When he meets with Porter, Sam realizes that this valuable intel puts him in a position to negotiate, and he may choose to rethink the name he gave to Porter earlier in the route. The consequences of this decision are currently unknown.

Upon reading the letter Porter is obviously delighted, and exclaims that the news could 'change everything.' He begins packing his things in a hurry, and when Sam asks where he is going Porter mentions that he cannot waste any time because the timeliness of the information he has received is essential to its value. He ushers Sam out of the library, locks the door behind him, and then leaves through another exit.

### William's Route

If William chooses to visit the library in the evening while investigating the attack on Cliff and the murder of Huxley Greene, Porter makes himself known after Will's conversation with James. Porter laments the fact that he and Will don't yet have an intel-sharing relationship and divulges that James routinely sleeps with prostitutes at The Hip, including one who is deeply loyal to him and will actively leak information to James to hinder Will's investigation. Porter offers to reveal her identity to Will for a price, but Will is uninterested in paying or giving up any of his own valuable secrets and Porter relents. Later, William can deduce that Ethel is most likely who Porter was implicating.

### Murdoch's Route

Although he does not yet appear, Porter is mentioned several times. He is revealed to be one of three people to whom Holly Byrnes has entrusted a sealed envelope of blackmail photos that show her fiancé Jim and brother Murdoch having sex. As one of Holly's 'trusted confidants,' Porter is instructed not to open the envelope unless Jim tries to call off the upcoming wedding, but it is not yet known if Porter has complied with this, or whether he even intends to cooperate with Holly's plan at all.

## Relationships

### Beckett

Porter and Beckett are twin brothers but have not been on speaking terms for five years. Beckett considers Porter culpable for the death of their cousin Amos, who committed suicide shortly after Porter destroyed his political prospects by publicizing his high risk for Huntington's Disease. Porter may be hoping to end their estrangement, since he appears to react with interest when Sam claims to relay a message of apology from Beckett.

### Holly

Holly refers to Porter as a friend and one of her oldest confidants, though their relationship has not been explored onscreen as of yet. The two are both members of the historical society and discuss the paranormal on the regular. Holly evidently trusts Porter enough to give him physical evidence of confidential information for safekeeping.

### Miranda

On Nik's route, Miranda shows that she is apparently accustomed to sending Porter sensitive information she overhears from the mine's bosses. It is unclear whether this is out of loyalty to his goals, or if she simply considers Porter's services valuable and leaks intel to obtain payment or something else in return.

## Gallery

Artwork of Porter and Beckett arguing posted alongside the August 10, 2021 build of The Smoke Room.Concept art for Porter and Beckett drawn by Shtarfish.Concept art of Beckett and Porter drawn by Shtarfish.
## Trivia

* Porter and his twin brother Beckett are ancestors of the Echo characters Flynn Moore and Mayor Moore.
* The text boxes for Porter and Beckett are the exact same color, befitting their status as seemingly identical twins.