History Literature / RexNihilo

* AwesomeMcCoolname: REX. NIHILO. It also happens to be an alias.

->''"[[Franchise/StarWars The early thirty-first century was a dark time in the galaxy, as the oppressive regime known as the Galactic Malarchy threatened to snuff out the last remaining embers of freedom far out on the southern end of the Perseus Arm. Only a ragtag bunch of rebels stood between the Malarchy and total galactic domination. These brave heroes risked everything to preserve the dream of a galaxy comprised of an informal association of relatively free planets.]] This is not the story of those heroes."''

* BigDamnVillains: The Galactic Malarchy wind up assisting Rex and Sasha no less than three times in ''Aye, Robot'' and begrudgingly have to [[spoiler:absolve them of all their past crimes against their government for helping defeat the Space Apostles.]] This trope is firmly subverted by [[spoiler:Hookbeard]] in the same book.

* FunWithAcronyms: Loads of them. All inexplicably in English. Sasha's name actually stands for Self-Arresting near-Sentient Heuristic Android.

* DarthVaderClone: Heinous Vlaak is a parody of one of these. Even with his feathered headdress and tacky cape that is made out of [[FurAndLoathing Ewok]] fur, he's an imposing and cruel MalevolentMaskedMan. That said, he has an incredibly shrill voice in place of Vader's typical BadassBaritone and the ominous heavy breathing of the Dark Lord of the Sith is substituted to Vlaak having outright asthma.

* PerpetualPoverty: Rex's scams net him millions of credits, but he can't seem to keep a good hold on his money. RealityEnsues when Sasha begins to become suspicious of how this is possible as even someone as hedonistic as Rex can't possibly spend away so much wealth in such short amounts of time. [[spoiler:It soon transpires that the Space Apostles have been stealing from them for years, forcing the duo to take insane risks to get themselves out of debt only to have them embezzled over and over again by their.]]

* ShroudedInMyth: Enforced by Rex himself as he loads the various data networks with false information about his appearance, character, and history to make himself harder to gather intel against (one of the most prominent results of looking up his name is a subpar DrinkOrder).

->''"[[Film/StarWars The early thirty-first century was a dark time in the galaxy, as the oppressive regime known as the Galactic Malarchy threatened to snuff out the last remaining embers of freedom far out on the southern end of the Perseus Arm. Only a ragtag bunch of rebels stood between the Malarchy and total galactic domination. These brave heroes risked everything to preserve the dream of a galaxy comprised of an informal association of relatively free planets.]] This is not the story of those heroes."''

* BiggerBad: [[spoiler:The Space Apostles]] for the first three books although they are technically neutralised in the second (the third one written is a prequel).

* CannotTellALie: Sasha is incapable of ''deceiving'' the person she is talking to. She could still trick those around her by telling Rex a lie that he knows to be a lie [[ConsummateLiar (therefore, unlike those surrounding them, he is not personally deceived) and has other ways of getting around the basic "truth" parts of her programming such as uttering false statements out loud to no one in particular to be interpreted as they would see fit or by uttering two factual, but unrelated sentences to foster a false association between the two.]] Most characters of modest to high intelligence in the setting are aware that her kind of robot is capable of such obfuscation and take her word as seriously as they do Rex's (as in, not very). This reputation comes with its own pros and cons. People prefer to confer with Rex when asking Sasha directly would oust her master's current schemes and they pointedly don't believe her [[CryWolf when she does get in the mood to be straightforward with the facts.]]

* BigDamnVillains: The Galactic Malarchy wind up assisting Rex and Sasha no less than three times in ''Aya, Robot'' and begrudgingly have to [[spoiler:absolve them of all their past crimes against their government for helping defeat the Space Apostles.]] This trope is firmly subverted by [[spoiler:Hookbeard]] in the same book.

He's a LovableRogue with a sassy sidekick who traverses the stars in search of treasure. Rough around the edges, he is nonetheless a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold hero at heart]] who can always be counted on to do the right thing and perhaps even save the universe with righteousness he claims not to possess. Rex Nihilo is that man. Except forget everything past that first sentence, because he is in fact a crass, manipulative, incorrigible rube who is so obsessed with self-enrichment, that he puts a bigger premium on it than self-preservation. He is a "legendary space merchant", more infamous than mythical, and he's quite possibly one of the most dangerous men in any galaxy unlucky enough to have him in its general vicinity.

The planet has its share of dark, if rote, secrets however, and someone has to pay for them. And Rex is going to use every last one of his wits, embroiling himself in an intergalactic war that will put him in conflict with falsetto fascistic enforcers, big-boned princesses, space missionaries, and world-ending technologies to ensure...that he isn't that someone.

* LickedByTheDog: Despite taking pains to constantly take note of Rex's recklessness, greed, and villainy, Sasha believes him to be competent, clever, and pleasant enough to have around that he vouches for his continued [[spoiler:freedom to act as a Space Apostle agent after getting her memories back at the end of the first book; when she could have easily recommended he be "retired" (read: lobotomised) and replaced with a new partner for her to gather funds of Schufnaasik Six City.]] She is also offered to [[spoiler:leave him and work for the much more sane and cautious pepper like the rest of her would-be crewmates]] at the denouement of ''Aye, Robot'', but stays on with him by her own volition so they can enjoy (and exploit) their [[spoiler:newfound freedom from the Space Apostles]] together.

* TheSecretOfLongPorkPies: Subverted with [[spoiler:Ubiqorp's original SLOP]] which tasted absolutely disgusting and it's implied that their [[spoiler:new plant-based SLOP]] tastes similarly bad precisely because it tries to mimic the original's flavour.

* ISurrenderSuckers: How BILL the MASHER gets people close enough for him to crush their skulls, claiming that he is unarmed and is willing to come quietly should his pursuers approach him.

* ShipperOnDeck: BILL eventually becomes this for Sasha and Rex by the end of ''Out of the Soylent Planet'', comparing them to Ingrid Bergman and her husband Victor Laszlo from [[Film/Casablanca]] respectively.

* DefectorFromDecadence: [[TheParagonAlwaysRebels While he was the one who founded the Space Apostles,]] decades of self-reflection caused Ort Felsich to [[spoiler:denounce his original plan to forcibly make everyone in the galaxy happy with a mind control array]] as he came to believe that happiness as an end goal is meaningless and that it's only worth something if it's a side effect or working towards a goal or purpose.

* AlwaysNight: Combined with EndlessDaytime, an observational facility was positioned on a planet that revolved around a cooling supernova. The planet's rotation

* ShroudedInMyth: Enforced by Rex himself as he loads the various data networks with false information about his appearance, character, and history to make himself harder to gather intel against.

* ShipTease: Whether it's AMatchMadeInStockholm or out of benign admiration for his gonzo strengths, Sasha is very loyal to and fond of Rex; foregoing several opportunities that would allow her to easily ditch him with no consequence, violently protesting against the idea of being sold to more reasonable and saner owners, and expressing jealousy whenever he takes a liking to robotic beings who aren't her. Many of the abuses and insults Rex tends to throw her way are implied to be side effects of his [[spoiler:Acquisition Agent conditioning]] and he is otherwise friendly and kind to her most of the time.

* EvilOldFolks: The Malarchian Primate, the leader of the Galactic Malarchy, is a short, grey-skinned, ancient, three-toothed old-man who can make even Vlaak cower in fear. He's also surprisingly sensible and verges on AffablyEvil.

* WhatIsThisThingCalledLove: Discussed between Sasha and fellow robot BILL during ''Out of the Soylent Planet'' whereupon they debate whether it is a compulsive force (like programming) or borne from a conscious decision.

* WhatIsThisThingCalledLove: Discussed between Sasha and fellow robot BILL during ''Out of the Soylent Planet'' whereupon they debate whether it is a compulsive force (like programming) or borne from a conscious decision.

* VillainProtagonist: Rex is not a good guy. Not in the slightest. And Sasha, for as much as she likes to think of herself as a reasonable synthetic being, enjoys torturing people just a little too much to escape this label.