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The Main Characters
Vance Lee
The main character of the story.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: He's always wanted to be a dark and brooding badass. Well... he's always gotten what he wanted.
- Break the Cutie: Apparently what happens later on in the story, turning him all dark and broody.
- Break the Haughty: He starts the story being spoiled and used to getting what he wants while using hacking for luxury. As the story goes on, he starts to see the atrocities committed by the government and ends up being affected by this, leading to him becoming cynical.
- I Just Want to Be Badass: He thinks of himself as a badass when he's really a Loser Protagonist. And then Character Development happens.
- Loser Protagonist: He's a college student with an Internet addiction and a hopeless bachelor in love with anime girls and real life girls out of his league. Of course, this will change soon enough...
- Lovable Sex Maniac: He's shamelessly into hot girls and tries hitting on them. The story kicks off with him using his hacking skills to become Robin's roommate at his new college and Frey buys him a dakimakura (or a "waifu pillow") to tease him.
- Mundane Utility: He's a skilled hacker and is able to do things like bypass government censors and pose a new identity, but he only uses his hacking skills for luxury, like watching dirty videos or hitting on girls. His Character Development is him realizing he should use his hacking skills to good use instead of screwing around.
Frey
- Troll: He's basically pulling Vance by the nose. It also creeps up in the art
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Robin Soloviev
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Redhead, but still.
- Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: She has bright green eyes and ginger hair.
- The Stoic: Has yet to show any emotion.
Stuxent University
Jenice "Jen" Ansari
A sophomore art student by day, an insurgent known as the Cheshire Writer by night.
- Ambiguously Brown: Ansari is an Arabic surname.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: In Chapter 1 Part 7, her birthday is listed as May 15th, 1993.
Cocoa
Jen's roommate and a classmate of Vance.
- Nice Girl: She's an environmentalist and humanitarian, and also volunteers at the local homeless shelter.
Manasvi/"Mana"
Professor Floyd
A politics professor. Though he's forced to teach the government's curriculum, it doesn't stop him from working on underground projects from within the system.
The Solar Eye
Leo
Eva
The secretary at the Solar Eye.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: She comes from a prominent family, so her connections helped her to get her position.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: She bribed her way to the top.
- Sleeping Their Way to the Top: ...and used sex to get what she wanted too.
- We ARE Struggling Together: She worked comfortably under her original boss, but Leo changes things.
Vox Populi
Allie
An investigative journalist for the underground paper, Vox Populi.
- Pink Is Feminine: She has hot pink streaks in her hair.
E-Waste Slum
Toby
A savant boy who lives in the slums with his best friend and dog, Artemis. An aspiring hacker, he salvages disposed electronics and steals wifi.
- A Boy And His Dog: He and Artemis are a boy and a dog.
Others
Alex Lee
Nadezha
Frey's mother. Nearly twenty years ago, she was a part of a student protest and a failed protest. Ever since, she's been a political prisoner.
- Good Parents: Side art suggests that she was this to Frey before she was arrested.
- Ironic Name: Nadezha was the name of Vladimir Lenin's wife.
- Meaningful Name: In Slavic languages, her name means "hope".
- Missing Mom: To Frey.
Team Backattack
A rogue hacker group.
- Boxed Crook: The group were originally
Chaotic Neutral hackers until they were arrested by the authorities. They were reorganized by Leo into a group of state-affiliated hackers whose freedom is conditional on tracking down Frey. - Two Guys and a Girl: Backattack consists of Jay, a former chemical engineering student; Michael, the youngest member and an internet troll; and Mel, the only girl in the group and the operator of a large botnet.
