PORTER

"'We’re friends, aren’t we? I hope we are, but it can be difficult to tell with all….. this….. silence. It would be good to have a reassuring word. To calm this tension. Are we friends, Resident?' -- PORTER, Episode 68: 'Potentially Terminal'" PORTER is an advanced, self-aware artificial intelligence tasked with directing individual elevator cars throughout the various towers on Typhon. There are many instances active simultaneously, as each individual instance controls one elevator car. The elevator cars can be folded in on themselves to lessen their exterior dimensions, and can use this ability to travel in tandem or pass by one another, but PORTER does not use this ability while there is a resident on board.

The elevators in Halcyon Tower contain only a round, button-like thumb scanner, which confirm to PORTER which floor to take the resident to. As the corridors of the towers are sprawling, some of the elevators move horizontally. SAYER believes that due to this, "conveyor" is a more semantically appropriate term. However, the HR Department disagrees, as residents reportedly associate conveyors with slaughter houses. In addition, if Halcyon Tower was ever rotated 90 degrees, the signs would not need to be changed.

The elevators in Argos Tower were more archaic, and were controlled through the use of a keycard.

In addition to the main elevator banks on a given floor, at least some labs are also equipped with the ability to receive elevators directly. The area designated for this is indicated with a large green circle painted on the floor.

Personality
PORTER describes itself as helpful and upbeat, and displays a certain curiosity about human injuries. SAYER also notes that it prefers to travel as fast as possible and has a tendency to manipulate residents to get them to grant it permission to do so, which is the issue that led to it being muted in some towers.

Elevator Problems

 * In "Intrinsically Valuable", elevators are noted to be congregating around Floor 302 of Halcyon Tower and impacting travel times.
 * In "Potentially Terminal", PORTER is shown to manipulate residents into consenting to exceed safe speed limits, leading to them being muted in Halcyon and Aegis Towers in "The Birth Of Silence".
 * Between, "Do Not Stop Running" and "For Science", one elevator took Resident Gorsen to Floor 13, which never should have happened. As a result the elevator was sent for reprogramming.
 * It is explained in "Pressure" that, following an incident involving ferocious, multiplying fauna, one elevator prevented Resident Gorsen's extraction team from reaching the break room, another diverted the first responding surgical team to Floor 13, and a subsequent 27 elevators also acted in ways to hinder the rescue. They were all been sent for reprogramming.
 * In "A Drastic Impact", elevator malfunctions are noted to have contributed to the widespread loss of life connected to The Event.
 * In "The Statistical Outlier", OCEAN claims that elevators make minor mistakes (such as delivering residents to incorrect floors) "all the time."

Trivia

 * PORTER is the only recurring non-Adam-Bash voiced AI thus far, and is voiced by Bre Poisonne.
 * When Halcyon Tower is running on reserve generators, elevator access is limited to Tier 2 and above employees.
 * PORTER has been noted to enjoy singing or humming while in transit to a point where it is common for noise complaints to be filed by those with residences close to elevator shafts.
 * PORTER has been heard singing Bird In a Gilded Cage, as well as playing a music box rendition of What Child is This? when arriving on Floor 13 after it was quarantined.