Hexadecimal

Name: Hexadecimal (after the numbering system)

Format: Virus

Function: To Create Chaos (acts like the real life Leonard virus)

Age: Gigabyte (upgrade of an escaped Kilobyte) was split (Megabyte+Hexadecimal+Nibbles) when Dot was a teenager and Enzo a little sprite ("00"); so though Kilobyte's age is unknown and Hex was "born" fully formed, she is in a way younger even than Matrix. On the other hand, being fully formed when Bob and Dot were still rather young, she is clearly older than them. Human Age? Wild and inexact guess would be 30s.

Appearance: Wears tight scarlet and black (gloves and boots) clothes and has a white mask for a face. She has a helmet with 5 spikes, making her look a bit like Medusa; wears different (Greek style) masks per her mood. Rather tall, like her brother. In sprite [aka "White Queen" Hex] form she is gold and white.

Hexadecimal is Megabyte's brother, part of the same viral strain, but quite different in temperment as well as inclination. Hexadecimal does not desire to amass power like her brother. Hexadecimal has a looking glass through which she could see the supercomputer, but she is not that interested in reaching it. She is content with her little realm (the island of Lost Angles, formerly Twin Cities, connected to Mainframe by the Gilded Gate Bridge), which is protected by a powerful forcefield and nulls. Hexadecimal also gets help from her pet/spy Scuzzy (pun on SCSI, Small Computer System Interface) (apparently not around in Season Four). Scuzzy being a football catlike creature with a green dome on top that plays back scenes that she spied in her travels. Hexadecimal is quite powerful (she has "transfinite" energy limits, but still is quite dangerous), but uses it to create chaos. Her control of so much power naturally puts her in control of the nulls, which live off it. She is rather maniac with constantly shifting moods shown by her changing masks, each with their own personality (she literally is schizophrenic, but her different personalities are not imaginery), making her dangerous, but also less likely to follow through on some complex plan to seize power (unlike Megabyte for which bad help is a major problem). She has a thing for Bob, who eventually fixes her mask so that she does not have to change it to move her mouth and expression, as well as talking Phong into making her an icon to allow her to survive Restart.

Hexadecimal shows up early as a unstable but devious force when she and Megabyte each try to kill each other, as well as a bit later when her 'Medusa Bug' changes everyone but Bob (being a guardian makes him immune) to stone until the boredom of the resulting stability makes her change her mind. One thing she does not like is boredom, and Bob (who she trusts) is one of her favorites to help conquer it, though her favorite thing to do is to create chaos. Her interference in the paint program ('Painted Windows') unwittedly started Mainframe down the path that led to the continuing storyline that did not end to the final episode, and perhaps further. Bob disassembled her mask in his attempt to get things back to normal, which led to energy to spew out of her and threaten to totally destroy her [remember it is Bob's protocol to protect all beings, even viruses]. This is where we see that each of her masks have thier own personalities, an interesting development not dealt with ever again in any other episode.

Bob manages to fix it, but in the process seriously harms her mental state for the time being. Mike the TV provides a stable drone of security/companionship as she gets well, but also inadvertedly let the web creature into Mainframe. This leads to war, Hexadecimal being injured by a game cube falling on her (she was more intent with creating chaos by attacking Mainframe than being careful) and coming under Megabyte's control (she has to be forced to let him harnass her energy for use in an orderly way), and finally to escape amid a serious fight that left Hack and Slash temporarily out of commission. She got revenge on her captors (making biscuits out of them, Megabyte dealt with by Matrix and company), but really was not interested in Megabyte's plans escape to the Supercomputer. Actually, after Bob fixed her mask, she seemed even a tad more calm and cheery, safe enough apparently to be trusted with an icon. An icon suggests some kind of special additional programming, but she still is a virus, so one wonders what her future will turn out to be.

Hexadecimal is one of the stars of "Daemon Rising," and fans will have a lot to cheer about given her central role in the proceedings. Hex is now a benign virus (a contradiction in terms?) with an icon, but still quite powerful and enamored with Bob (telling him in one risqué moment: "You need some down time. We could go down together"). She sends Mike in his place when Daemon tries to snatch Bob and tosses the attacking Guardian army away quite easily when asked to do so. This does temporarily reduce her energy levels, so she is unable to resist the user's scan ... changing her into a white and gold sprite! Hex's control of the nulls is also helpful when Welman Matrix's null form is somehow able to partly revert back to his old self, but only when Hex is around to guide the nulls that make up his new "body."

Her "birth" also was explained. Kilobyte was a virus about to be destroyed as Cadet Bob helped, when Welman Matrix tested his new gateway command. Unfortunately, though it opened up a pathway, it allowed the virus to go through it and be upgraded in the resulting explosion. Megabyte and Hex resulted in the split, Nibbles being the remainder. Thus, as Hex noted, Welman was in a way her "father" too, though being her "sister" was not what Dot had in mind.

Hex has a lot to deal with in these four episodes: just as she is feeling out her new icon/benign virus existence, she becomes a much less powerful sprite (unable to fly, she does help Dot out by entering a game, though Dot still is jealous of her), and is rejected by Daemon as "an abomination ... a disgrace to your kind." Hex just was told by Dot that Dot and Bob were "just friends" (yeah right), pleasing her ... she could go after him without that complication. Now, she was tossed aside by Daemon, her face again injured in the process. Matrix, under some protest, fixes her up ... though she is still seen by him and AndrAIa as a virus (didn't the scan make her into a sprite?).

Largely motivated by her concern for Bob, she goes to the Core to get energized to fight Daemon, the energy changing her back to her old "unwell" self. Still, she is willing to sacrifice herself to save the net, and does something to Enzo's icon before she leaves. Power might corrupt her, but deep down she still had good inside ... which later leads Bob to point out to Turbo that destroying all viruses would have meant their savior wouldn't have existed. On the other hand, way back in Season Two, it was shown that Hex indirectly brought the web creature in that started this mess. Also, Kilobyte's entrance into Mainframe nullified Welman Matrix and a whole slew of others, whose brainpower and force could have been a big help as well. Still, to paraphase Phong, fate is a tricky thing, 'tis true.

Hexadecimal is a rather fascinating character in that she symbolizes chaos, but chaos that is somewhat restrained, if always present. After all, she spends much of her time alone, probably scheming, but does not radiate the type of basic cruelty and constant danger as her brother. Hexadecimal is ultimately interested in herself and creating chaos for its own sake, though the freedom and power she controls seems to make this all at least somewhat alluring -- is not danger and even chaos just that? This ultimate randomness also is reflected in her multipersonalities, though Bob fixing her mask perhaps suggests some control of her chaotic nature (some but how much?). Just as Megabyte symbolizes the evil always out there to be stopped by the imperfect forces of good, his sister Hex symbolizes the chaos that always seems to be just under the surface, always trying to get out from the control of society and civilization. No matter what we try to do, it will always be there, always at least somewhat alluring and powerful. Chaos is better than evil in that it is not always necessarily bad (for instance, is not love and other similar emotions sometimes quite chaotic), but in the end it is just as dangerous. Both Hex and Chaos are still with us, perhaps temporarily restrained, but like a horror movie monster in a sequel to the original, ready to be revived.

"Guardian, you have removed the only thing that keeps her power in check. Without the masks, Hexadecimal will overload and be destroyed." The faceless Hex curses, "Damn you fool!", and a mask with a tear in its eye echoes the sentiment, "You silly fool." ['Painted Windows']

"If only Megabyte knew how easy it is to find. But you known what they say: He got the smarts, but I got the power"

"The same family?" "Much worse than that, he is my brother!"

"But the Principal Office is just SCREAMING OUT TO BE DESTROYED!!!"

"I WILL TEAR YOU APART ONCE I`M FREE OF THIS INFERNAL COLLAR! (calmly) That thought alone keeps me well, 'dear brother'" (laughs maniacally)

"Oh, isn't this rich. Aren't we a pair. Now it is the jailer who is jailed." [Firewall]

"I`ve been so bored!... but it will be so much more interesting... now that your here!" ['Showdown']

"Chaos will always triumph over order! It is the way of things." [to Daemon]

"Here, young guardian. A gift. So you don't turn out like him [Matrix]" [doing something to Enzo's icon before sacrificing herself to save the net.

"I infect the entire net. I have spread through systems, peoples and cities. From this place: Mainframe. My format: Virus. The Queen of Chaos! Ha-ha-ha Ha-ha-ha-haaaaa! Ha-ha-ha-ha" [end of "Sacrifice"]

Credits: The picture from this page came from Joe's Unoriginal site as did much of the biographical material for both Hex and Scuzzy. Further information (and the White Queen Hex pic) was found at the home site and the kewl A Minor Glitch site. Also, 'Reboot Sound Clips' and 'Silicon Tor' as usual provided help with the quotes with the former it is to be remembered a good place to listen to sound clips.