Characters

Pavi is a middle kid from a small family. She likes to find ways to stand out and has always insisted on doing things her own way. When her younger brother Danny took up the violin, Pavi took up the electric bass. When her older sister Lakshmi went to study electrical engineering, Pavi tried to learn on her own by taking apart the toaster. These interests collided when she took apart her bass amp, doubled the power, and turned the amp up to 11. Needless to say it was more like an explosion to oneʼs ear than music!

This incident (#23 in the family log) really sums up Pavi: she tends to get a good idea and charge into it without fully thinking through the consequences. In fact, thatʼs how Pavi first met The Digits. When Ray Ray and Gorgolax crash landed in her backyard, it was all due to Paviʼs smarts and resourcefulness that she was able to fix their ship before they were detected—but it was her impulsive side that made her gun the engine and leave her home behind.

Born on the war-mongering planet of XHCHCHCHXXXLL (it would be impossible to pronounce with a puny human tongue), Gorgolax was groomed to be the next Archduke of Planet Conquering. But Gorgolax was never much interested in practicing his grand pronouncements, irrational demands and fist shaking (all essential skills for an Archduke). Heʼd much rather be playing music. So on the eve of his coronation, he ran away and formed The Digits. He still hasnʼt quite gotten out of his Planet Conquering personality and will occasionally make grand pronouncements, or threaten utter destruction when things donʼt go his way.

Ray Ray is an experimental model of a popular home appliance. He was built with a personality chip that sparked his creativity and taught him how to write his own songs instead of just playing songs of others. The company that made him thought this would be terrible for business and sent him to the scrap heap where he was rescued by Gorgolax mere minutes before being smelted. This near brush with destruction made Ray-Ray a very cautious person who never likes to stick his neck out. His personality programming is helpful, but shy. He never wants to rock the boat. If he knew how dangerous it was for The Digits to cross Doomfinger heʼd probably never leave the ship!

Doomfinger Records is a family business. Started centuries ago by Calvwin Doomfinger the Dyspeptic, the label has grown into a multi-skillion dollar corporation headed by the 7th Generation Doomfinger: Marvwell. Marvwell doesn't care about music. He doesn't care about learning. He only cares about one thing: money. The bands he picks are terrible, but profitable, and he doesn't understand why anyone would ever want to make anything new instead of getting everything from the exalted tastes of the Doomfinger Corporation.

When Doomfinger went searching for a band to put his evil “make people stupider” plan in place, he couldnʼt find the perfect fit. So instead of scouring the galaxy for a band that would do exactly what he told them, he grew them in a vat. Thus was the origin of Chad and Becky: The Galaxy Twins! (donʼt forget the exclamation point).

Chad and Becky are clones of clones, grown in a vat from lifelike plant material, the duo were created from the ground-up, as though by committee, to be the most popular bland in the world. You ever get the feeling that the popular kids really donʼt know anything except how to be popular? Thatʼs Chad and Becky. The only thing they really know is how to do things to make people like them, and how to say “thank you (insert name of planet here)! Good night!”

So, if Chad and Becky can’t play instruments, how do they have a band? Who plays the music while they pose and preen? Who auto-tunes their voices? That odious task belongs to the Roadiebot 3000. A boxy, creaky old robot that carries the gear, plays the backing tracks, and occasionally intervenes to keep the Twins from swallowing a lightbulb or tripping over a painted line.

Roadiebot has toured with some of the greatest bands in the Galaxy: Braxaconulous; Rocket John and the Breaking Atmo’s; Oingbo Boingo. Celebrity doesn’t impress him, but he lives for the rock ‘n roll lifestyle. Roadiebot’s circuits are of the vacuum tube and analog variety. He’s prone to mental lapses, and physical malfunctions, but despite all this, he’s art is the roadie’s art.