Tex Murphy

Tex Murphy is a hard-boiled cynical PI. Tex is a member of the portion of the population born without any genetic defects making him a normal human (a "Norm").

He is an avid fan of the classic film noir films of Humphrey Bogart. As such, he does his work in the style of archetypal film noir detectives such as Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe. He has remarkable skills of observation (always punctuated with humorous internal monologues); when examining objects or features, he hardly ever misses an important or unusual detail. However, he is also occasionally a bit clumsy and naive which gets him into trouble from time to time, as does his sarcastic wit.

He is honest and generally a good-natured fellow who suffers from a bad back, a little too much alcohol (Bourbon...neat, preferred) and a few too many blows to the head.

## Early life

His father was a security guard and wanted Tex to follow his footsteps; his mother had her heart set to make him an optometrist. His mother taught him to play cribbage right after teaching him how to use the toilet.

Tex belonged to a family with at least 4 brothers and sisters. Their grandfather Audie Murphy used to give them a soap-on-a-rope as a Christmas gift every year. He also gave Tex his guitar, bearing an autograph by Richie Havens.

While he was 5 years old, his babysitter would allow him watching *The Maltese Falcon*. Although the plot did not stick in his head, figures of PIs, fedoras, trench-coats, cigarettes and bourbon were captivating for him. Having a soft spot for paper books, he grew up reading The Hardy Boys, then moved onto Sherlock Holmes. While all other kids were logged onto Sesame Street Interactive, Tex was reading Hammett and Chandler.

He grew up near Lake Medina where he would remember skipping stones across.

He played riding Striper, a mechanical zebra, dressed up as a cowboy. During a summer electric storm, a lightning hit the transformer and Tex was hurled on the roof and opened a hole. From then on his siblings named him 'Tex' although they would not tell him why.It is likely because the hole that formed was in the shape of the state of Texas.

His first pet was Barky. He also had a cat, Fuzzy, but was killed while Tex was playing with a Missile Robot toy. When his grandpa started wearing Huggies, Tex used to switch mechanical teeth for his real dentures.

He attended Sternwood Junior High. In High School he was the best third-string punter in the state and won an athletic supporter trophy. In his seventh grade sculpting class his Gumby figures took third place

He passed horrid teenage years, when techno-rap was all the rage. He probably became a Boy Scout, and he was trained in firestarting technings.

## Later life

He spent a few years in college. At State U. he hated the "Intro to Cryonics" class but managed to pull a C+. He graduated from University of Investigation of Utah in 2032, and got his investigator's license.

He then worked for the district attorney's office. He thought he was insubordinate and cast him out of the job. He made several part-time jobs before being discovered by Colonel Dobbs, who became Tex's mentor in the gumshoe business. He worked for Dobbs Investigative Services in 2033-36.. In 2027-2028, the two would have a falling out as the young, naïve Tex had a hard time understanding his mentor's sometimes unethical methods and reported him to the authorities, resulting in a temporary suspension of Dobbs' licence. Tex was kicked out and had to live like a bum. The two would not reconcile until Under a Killing Moon, in which by that time Tex has already understood his mentor´s methodology.

Eventually he opens his Private Investigator's business out of his apartment at the Ritz Hotel on Chandler Avenue in Old San Francisco "among the mutants and the destitute" where several businesses and friends reside, including his love interest, the mysteriously mutated newspaper stand owner Chelsee Bando. Aside from wishing for a respectable, not to mention high-paying, client all he'd like to do is earn her love and respect if he can just refrain from placing his admittedly not too bad smelling foot in his mouth.

He met his wife and client Sylvia Linsky while investigating the death of her father. A few years later they divorced as Sylvia proved to be a very good customer of the plumber and Rudy, the upholstery guy (although she argued that she was saving Tex money). Tex went through hell, becoming an alcoholic, and converting his office to a dance studio to cope with the small income.

## Trivia

* The Under a Killing Moon novelization mentions that his sign is Taurus but in his heart of hearts he is a Sagittarius. However in Tex Murphy and the Tesla Effect his given birthday corresponds to Pisces.
* He drinks bourbon and smokes Lucky Strikes. He lights them with a Zippo.
* His preferred reading material falls between Spider-man and the back of a Cheerios box.
* When in literature, his favorite kind is the one which starts with *There once was a man from Nantucket...*.
* When reading a newspaper he prefers the sports section, comics page, horoscope, and maybe the crossword puzzle.
* He never liked contemporary music, such as techno-rap. Country music is not his bag either. He listens to Nat King Cole, Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Cole's smooth voice has the effect of two Lortabs and a bottle of Jack Daniel's.
* He has a "thing" with batteries, opening devices and salvaging them, keeping spares in his pockets. He used to think it was normal until a couple months of therapy made him realize it is aberrant behavior. He still does it though.

## References

1. ↑ American Information Database/fax in Overseer
2. ↑ Tesla Effect Novel, chapter 7
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Under a Killing Moon novelization
4. ↑ The Pandora Directive intro
5. ↑ Martian Memorandum, when exmining the stones near the Mayan pyramid
6. ↑ He mentions it when examining a locker in Roswell Air Force Base
7. ↑ The Pandora Directive
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 *Under a Killing Moon: The Official Strategy Guide*
9. ↑ American Infomration Database in Overseer