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The Level 2 Kids
In General
The three main characters of the story, they are a set of children from the long since extinct human race who live aboard a space-station.
- Ambiguous Gender: Having been raised by an alien species with no concept of gender binary, they all dress the same and use they/them pronouns. The only known exception is Iris, who is transgender.
- Go Mad from the Isolation: Downplayed; while they are kept physically isolated from each other they do have an instant messaging system that allows them to communicate with each other. Xaveria reveals that this was the explicit purpose of their experiment; see how humans develop in a relatively isolated and controlled environment.
- Only One Name: As they don't have families or any human culture to raise them they each have only one name, which they chose for themselves.
- Last of Their Kind: Humanity for all intents and purposes is extinct, never having achieved manned space flight beyond their own moon before wiping themselves out and rendering Earth an "uninhabitable mudball." Although the reveal of the Level 3 & Level 1 kids shows that they aren't the only three humans left.
Tye
Our main POV character, an Ambiguously Brown human child who is sick to death of being cooped up on the station.
- Ambiguously Brown: As mentioned above, Tye doesn't really seem to fall into a definitive racial background, unlike Z or Iris.
- Heroic BSoD: Falls further and further down the slope of one after Dr. Xaveria gets killed, and it only gets worse when Dr. Zehra (the only one who'd been especially nice to them) goes apeshit upon discovering that Xaveria is dead and they were forced to tear out her Brain/Computer Interface to escape to Level 1.
- You Can't Go Home Again: Especially after Space Pirates kill one of your doctors and make it very clear they'd have killed you too if given the chance.
Iris
One of Tye's close friends, Iris is a white girl who is selected to go on a "field trip" to outer space at the beginning of the story.
- Ambiguous Situation: We still don't know what she was selected to leave the station for, although Xaveria's off-hand mentioning of "graduation" might imply she's moved up to another level of the station, or to another one entirely.
- Made slightly less ambiguous on Page 1599; she appears to be on another Compie station, confined to a sealed tube and wired into it in some fashion while being presided over by another Compie doctor.
- Cute Bookworm: Researches human culture, gender and sexuality, astronomy, and space travel, presenting her findings to her friends with adorable enthusiasm. One of the childhood pictures of her on the cast page shows her deep in a book entitled "Astrophysics, Gender, and You."
- Implied Love Interest: For Tye, given that her unexpected field trip away from the station kickstarts a big portion of the plot and Tye is dedicated to finding out where she went.
Z
Another of Tye's friends, Z is a young black child with vitiligo and a knack for wiring and computers. They're also something of a rabble-rouser.
- Ambiguous Gender: Like most characters, and while appearing mostly masculine they still identify with non-gender specific pronouns.
- Black and Nerdy: Black with vitiligo, and are an exceptionally skilled technician and computer scientist.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": They're very annoyed when Tye accidentally calls them by their original name, as they find it extremely embarrassing.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Inverted, as it's their given name that they're ashamed of, to the point that they hacked into the station's systems to change their name on the local IM system. Their actual name is Cheese, which they foolishly gave themself when they were very young and have regretted ever since.
- Heroic BSoD: The shock of tearing out Xaveria's Brain/Computer Interface combined with the Level 1 kids being too boisterous for them to handle really starts to get to them.
- One-Letter Name: It's one that they chose for themselves; it's unknown if it's pronounced "Zee" or "Zed".
- Playful Hacker: They have developed hacking skills in secret, and used these skills... to change their instant messaging screen name.
Other Kids
7
A sixteen year-old with powerful psychic powers kept in isolation by the doctors in an unknown but presumably secure location. They care deeply about Tye, Z, and Iris, considering them their best friends... which would surprise the three of them, as they've never met Seven.
- Astral Projection: They can astral project out of their body, and in fact spends most of their time out of their body with Tye, Z, and Iris. They can see and hear perfectly well while projecting, but no one can see or hear them, and they can't communicate with anyone or make them aware of their presence.
- Character Tics: They tug at their shirt when they're anxious, which is often.
- Hates Being Alone: Seven can't stand being alone, which is made sadder by their only positive human contact being via astral projection, none of the people they consider friends even knowing they exist. They apparently dealt with their isolation (not even having a positive relationship with their doctor or having a computer to contact other people with) by latching onto the other humans they could sense, with the last humans (Tye and Z) leaving to a place Seven couldn't sense them finally leaving them utterly alone and causing them to have a violent panic attack.
- Nervous Wreck: They're constantly extremely anxious and fearful, quite possibly because of their isolation and Nine's coldness towards them.
- You Are Number 6: Their name is a one-digit number, indicating that unlike the rest of the kids they either didn't or weren't allowed to chose their own name.
The Doctors
In General
Aliens of the Compie race, they manage the station and take care of/analyze the children kept on board. Why they're doing this, and who their mysterious director is, are mysterious as of now.
- Alien Abduction: Subverted; initially it appears this way, but the truth is that they've been caring for these kids since infancy due to the Earth and the rest of humanity being long dead.
- Alien Blood: When they blush it shows up purple, and as shown when Triss punches straight through Dr. Xaveria, they have dark purple blood.
- Aliens Speaking English: They're either this trope or operating under Translation Convention since the kids probably don't know English.
- The Alliance: The Compie seem to have on with the Notauri, which the station invaders cheerfully violate.
- Ambiguous Gender: They're either this or a One-Gender Race, as they use non-gender specific pronouns but use 'she' when referring to somebody they have a close relationship with.
- Brain/Computer Interface: Combined with Wetware CPU, the Compie seem to have these as a standard piece of equipment. They take the form of white headbands built into their foreheads. And although they can be removed with some difficulty, the process would no doubt kill the Compie in question since the circuitry for the bands goes well into their frontal lobes.
- Black Eyes of Evil: More morally ambiguous than anything, but all Compie have black sclera and white irises.
- Big, Thin, Short Trio: Drs. Xaveria and Zehra form a two-person version of this, with Xaveria as the Tall and Zehra as the Big and Short
- Lizard Folk: They have distinctly reptilian features such as thick tails and sharp teeth.
Dr. Xaveria
One of Tye's doctors, they're in charge of Tye's physical and emotional well-being as well as their development of skills and hobbies.
- Ambiguously Gay: If such a concept even exists among the Compie, but Xaveria does seem to have some feelings for Dr. Zehra which Zehra seems to return if their massive Freak Out on finding out what happened to them is any indication.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Despite their conflict, Xaveria does seem to care for Tye more than just caretaker and subject. The first thing Xaveria does after finding Tye is give them a big hug and say how relieved they are that Tye's okay.
- Dies Wide Open: After getting three holes punched through their torso, they fall to the ground with a blank fish-eyed stare.
- Due to the Dead: Z respectfully shuts their eyes after they die before pulling out their Brain/Computer Interface.
- The Stoic: Xaveria is very button-down and by the book, a trait which grates on Tye's nerves. Although once the experiment is compromised they drop the facade and show that they care very deeply about Tye and the other subjects aboard the station.
- The Worf Effect: They're easily the most straight-laced of the Doctors and takes their duties very seriously. They're also the first to bite it when Triss punches three holes through their chest.
Dr. Zehra
Tye's other caretaker, they're in charge of making sure that Tye is properly fed while also giving them a sympathetic ear.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Considering that they'd been by far the friendliest of the Compie doctors up until that point, their fury at Tye after learning about Dr. Xaveria's death is rather scary.
- Big Fun: They're distinctly chubbier than the other Doctors, who tend to sport rakishly thin builds.
- Genki Girl: Though they technically have No Biological Sex, they're bubbly and sweet to Tye and does what they can to alleviate Tye's boredom and cabin fever. Which makes their massive Freak Out after finding out what Tye and Z did with Xaveria's body all the more jarring.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Goes absolutely apeshit on Tye after discovering what happened to Xaveria and that Tye and Z basically looted Xaveria's corpse.
Dr. Qurti
Iris' caretaker. Whose name is pronounced like QWERTY.
- Drinking on Duty: Nodded at on page 397
when Tye finds a bottle of Juice under Qurti's desk. - Good Parents: Iris has it pretty good, or at least compared to Tye and Z's relationships with their doctors.
- Hidden Eyes: While you can see Dr. Qurti's eyes, their half-dark facial markings imply this trope.
- Horse of a Different Color: Their skin tone is noticeably bluer than Xaveria or Zehra.
- The Mistress: Considering Xaveria's complicated relationship with Zehra, this is possibly implied on page 420, which depicts Qurti and Xaveria drinking together.
- Out of Focus: Not given as much focus as Drs. Xaveria or Zehra, mostly due to Iris' field trip giving no reason for them to show up.
Dr. 9
Seven's 'caretaker', and the first human doctor seen in the comic. They're a stern adult who is either albino or white, and notably has a level of clearance higher than any of the main trio's doctors.
- Exhausted Eye Bags: This seems to be a common trait for humans associated with level 3.
- Jerkass: They put absolutely no effort into putting Seven at ease, impatiently throwing their food onto the ground in front of them and ignoring their distress when they try to tell them that the station is under attack and their friends are in trouble.
- The Stoic: Their expression never changes, and they show no emotion or concern even as the station is being attacked by pirates.
- You Are Number 6: Like Seven, their name is simply a single-digit number, implying that they either didn't or weren't allowed to chose their own.
Pirates
Triss
A large, fearsome Notauri pirate who attacks the research station that houses the kids. She's ruthless and powerful fighter, and isn't afraid to kill those who get in her way.
- The Brute: Scree directly calls her one, saying that killing is the only thing Triss is good at.
- Dark Action Girl: Triss is the largest, strongest, and most quick to kill of the pirates. Being an alien, who knows what gender even means to her.
- Handicapped Badass: She's missing her left arm, but it doesn't slow her down or stop her from killing everyone in her path.
- Horned Humanoid: She has large, downward-curving bison-like horns. One is white, one is black (and might be a prosthetic).
- Power Fist: Her weapon is spiked brass knuckles, allowing her to rip apart people with a punch.
- Unholy Matrimony: She's in a romantic and openly affection relationship with Red, another member of the pirate crew.
Scree
A small, bug-like S'klik pirate who is part of the pirate crew attacking the research station. She is familiar with Compie technology, and destroys the telepads on the station.
- Insectoid Alien: She's got a red, segmented exoskeleton and six segmented limbs with claw-like fingers, large, bulging yellow eyes, and antenna-like spikes on her head.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: She has six limbs like an insect, with four of them functioning as arms.
- Pet the Dog: Gives Seven her coat to wipe their face after they start crying, and wraps it around their shoulders for them when they just look at her in utter confusion. She shows them more kindness than their own doctor, despite being a pirate under orders to take them to Red.
- Slasher Smile: Gives Tye a wide, terrifying grin when she notices them after destroying the telepad. Fortunately, an automatically closing door separates them immediately afterwards.
Red
The mysterious third member of the pirate crew. As Red's only appearance has been via communication with Triss, Red's gender or even species is unknown for a good portion of the comic.
- Ambiguous Gender: Red is the only character that the creators have refused to even confirm the pronouns of, saying that Red is "too mysterious". None of the other characters used pronouns in reference to Red until after Red orders Scree to bring Seven in for a 'chat'.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Red is pretty much the only character that swears (and swears often) in the comic, even if the curses themselves aren't particularly intense.
- Unholy Matrimony: Red is in a relationship with fellow pirate Triss, and she is open in her affection.
- The Voice: Red has talked with Triss and Scree via her hand-held communicator, but hasn't appeared onscreen.
