Smoke

Smoke is a psychologist and a Stranger with illusion abilities.

The Early Years
Born a year after World War I, Peter had a turbulent childhood. His father, a veteran of the war, did his best to move his son and wife out of the chaotic and crumbling Ottoman Empire to the United Kingdom. Landing them a place in a small, one bedroom home in the London borough of Hackney. The first few years of Peter's life were anything other than comfortable and enjoyable. Young Peter displayed his curious and inquisitive nature, learning to speak rather early and put it to full use, driving his parents up the wall with questions.

In 1923, Peter entered the education system through the efforts of his father, something that was rather rare for an immigrant boy in Hackney. Proving himself to be a prodigy among five year olds, he felt out of place with his fellow classmates. As the years went on, he began to adjust, always seeming to be a step ahead of his peers. Combined with his natural intellect, interest in education and his foreign roots, he was often the butt of many jokes. However, he endured these hardships, setting his eyes set on the future.

Peter's school life was going relatively smoothly, but his parents were another matter. Their marriage was crumbling, both parties contributing to abuse and fights. Their distaste for one another became great, but they shared a love for their child, the only thing holding their turbulent relationship together. Mother and father attempted to create the illusion of a stable household for the sake of their son, but it was only a matter of time before he noticed. His own natural curiosity caused him to allow the ruse to continue, observing his parents act around eachother. He found the way they acted fascinating.

Halcyon Years
In 1936, Peter jumped at the chance to travel to the USA when he was offered a scholarship to attend what would one day become UCLA where he studied Behavioural Psychology for the coming years. It was during this time he met Abigail Andrews, and eventually began a relationship with her.

While studying, he became fascinated with members of the Nazi movement in Germany, the likes of August Miete and Firehawk among them. As his nature dictated, he began to publish works about the effects of demagouges and folk devils on a nation. His interest turned to returning frontline soldiers and even POWs, interviewing and almost interrogating them at points. Among the people Peter talked with were the Frontliners (minus a few members), if incredibly briefly, where he gathered their views on the war and the enemy. While he attempted to pry something regarding Firehawk from them, he failed to get much of anything. This interest remains with him to this day, but has taken a back seat.

He eventually moved on in life, graduating and then earning his Doctorate in Behavioral Psychology. In 1946, he married Abigail Andrews.

The Slaughterhouse
1950, four years after his marriage to Abigail, and with a child on the way, Peter had finally found a job that seemed to almost call out to him, as a Prison Psychiatrist at Slaughter Country Penitentiary.

The move from LA to Missisipi put some strain on the married couple, but the promise of a comfy living allowed them to get over it. Indeed, when they arrived they had a large house, four bedrooms and space to spare. While the local community was suspicious of the pair when they arrived, they became friendly with time.

However, the work took Peter off guard. He had studied and trained himself to deal with the people who he may encounter within the walls of a prison, but actually encountering them was another matter all together. The first few weeks were an uphill treck for Peter, coming home drained and near depressed each night. It was easy to adjust to the community, but the prisoners were a different world.

Over the next few months, Peter had become a regular face to the prisoners, and they had began to ease around him. Peter himself had finally began to get a flow with his work, learning much from the first few months of talks and sessions. A thing he had learned was that a handful of the prisoners were escapees at some point, always found wandering the surrounding swamp without the sanity they left with. Peter pushed for these prisoners to moved to hospitals rather than prisons and succeeded, cutting down the numbers in the prison by a large chunk.

Peter went onto establish a meditation club for the inmates, something they apprently did need. Attitudes among the inmates took a positive turn and those who needed medication got it.