Other Good Characters

The majority of the population of Mainframe, especially given the destruction of most of the sprites in Dot Matrix's father's failed experiment, are binomes. These are working-class computer generated images that do much of the physical tasks such as "number crunching, word processing, spreading sheets and paint graphics," as well as serving as members of the police and military, and teaching professions. They are less advance than sprites, having bodies in the shape of ones and zeroes. Appearing a bit more primitive are the numbers that are in the shape of their particular name and are color coded (5 - blue/purple, 7 - gray, 8 - orange/gray, and 9 light green with big eyes and teeth). The simplicity of their design does not mean they have less rights or respect (at least by the good guys in Mainframe), and some have or had important roles, such as Old Man Pearson (runs a data dump but used to be Codemaster Talon and subject of his own episode), Special CGI agents Fax Modem and Data Nully, and Miss Brodie who teaches Enzo.

A couple binomes are worthy of special notice. Captain (Gavin) Capacitor aka The Crimson Binome was a software pirate, who with his crew (including Princess Bula, not that smart, but has a big heart to match her oversized body, and accountant Christopher) was a menace to Mainframe and the net in "Captain Capacitor" until Dot shows him that crime is not profitable. He and his crew of the Saucy Mare become a big help to Matrix and company when they have to get back to Mainframe, and the Captain is willing to risk his profits and ship for something more important than money, that is friendship (a value the show prizes). At the other extreme, is Cyrus, who is willing to turn against his fellow binomes and Dot Matrix for a place at Megabyte's side, though he loses out at the end. Getting a second chance at villainy by helping with the propaganda campaign against Enzo, Cyrus gets a chance to redeem (and believe in) himself by helping to beat a game. Unfortunately, Megabyte was able to capture him, and his means of escaping including helping Scully get through the firewall. This would prove fatal as well as showing that his survival instinct could prove dangerous to Mainframe in the future.

As noted, there are not many sprites in Mainframe, though in Al's diner we spy a few (including Stripe and Rasta Mon), as well as meeting some in Matrix's travels. A sprite is an advanced computer generated image that is assigned a function, such as data sprites, guardians, and search engines (e.g. Maxine). It would be interesting to know if any tried to fight their role or wanted to take an alternate route, since it does sound a tad bit limiting and unliberated. If the Reboot universe is really inhabited by individuals much like us in many ways, our flaws and desire for freedom of choice should be part of the mix. At any rate, the main sprites are of course our heroes, as well as a few others such as Turbo, the head guardian with a keytool named Copeland (medical technician sprites that look like him work on Glitch Bob when he was entombed in the black stuff), and Ray Tracer. As an aside, "Where No Sprite Has Gone Before" introduces a higher computer life form, Spectrals, who appear to be pure energy, as well as some superhero sprite types (along with Captain Kirk reject Robert Cursor). Sprites that are deleted become nulls, worm like creatures, who suck up energy, such as Nibbles that appears to be Megabyte and Hexidecimal's father..

Ray Tracer aka the Surfer is a "second generation" search engine, a Class M, who can form portals in the Net (must be impressive if Matrix is amazed, even while he is jealous of someone he sees as competitor for AndrAIa). He surfs the net with his surfboard (or Baud, thus his name -- "surfing the net" using a certain "baud" speed; ray tracing is a type of computer imaging), which The Surfer (sometimes spelled "surfr") is closely connected to as shown by the fact he is harmed when it is hit. Ray is actually part of his surfboard, as shown by his ability to reside inside it. He is a pleasant sort (with an Australian accent supplied by Mel Gibson's brother) and likes the ladies -- AndrAIa's presence guides his decision to help the crew get home (with some danger to himself), where he hooks up with Mouse, the one sprite who can take his dangerous lifestyle.

There are a few other good residents of Mainframe that do not fall into the category of binome, number, or sprite. There is Cecil, Dot's Diner prim and proper maitre'd, who is not to be called a waiter! Nonetheless, perhaps the most notable other would be the uncomparable Mike the TV, a living television set that is soooo annoying that his remote ran away from him (can't really blame it). If the television is the "idiot box," Mike is clearly a good representative for it, constantly regurgitating mindless drivel, be it commercials, news, talk shows, or whatever random thought comes to his mind. He does have a good heart, and showed that he could be useful in "Wizard, Warriors, and a Word From Our Sponsor." On the other hand, it was him (on hand to snap her out of her trance) that ultimately led the web creature to burst from Hexadecimal's looking glass and wreck its havoc. Of the many supporting roles that flesh out the Reboot universe for us, and make it more interesting and fun, Mike is definitely one of the more notable, if ultimately not that supportive. :)

"Slow food doesn't come fast, that's why it's slow" --Al's Waiter
"Al!? "What?!"

"Why is everybody avoiding him?" "Because Seven ate Nine!" --Toque

"Slices, dices, cuts/copies/pastes; it even formats Julienne fries", "$99.99.99"
"It's Bucket 'o Nothing! Surprise your friends, amaze your family, annoy perfect strangers!"
"That'll be Hexadecimal. She's mad." ... "Know her! I used to live with her. (Not in the biblical sense, mind you.)" --Mike

"By George, I think we bought it" "Again, sir?" --Binky and Sir

"I'd like to be alone - Bob and I go way back." -- Turbo

"How many times do I have to say it...if you have the urge to vomit, DON'T." --Maxine

"this is my digital domain, if you want to survive the Web, you better do as I say." -- Ray Tracer

"Let's show these brigands what it means to lock swords with the crew of the Saucy Mare! Open fire!" --Capacitor

"Everyone has to be some place. I like it right here." -- Ray Tracer

Credits: Thanks to all those whose web sites provided me with both links and information to help me create this page. The picture is from a Fleer trading card, which also helped a bit with some of the information as well.