Kathy's 25 years old, a grad student in Purdue's Department of Physics, and a TA for a 100-level undergraduate course. Her IQ, however, puts her in good stead in a wide range of fields, including astronomy, genetics, electronics, and (most notably) robotics. Time not spent teaching, grading, or hanging out with Ed is devoted to tinkering with Bot, her mechanical offspring. Kathy's favorite flowers are daffodils, her favorite musician is Enya, and (like Ed) she turns to grinning putty in the face of a romantic gesture.

Personality-wise, she keeps a fairly even keel, save for the odd argument with her roommate, spat with Bot, or occasional secret infatuation with a good-looking acquaintance.

Writer, artist, musician, and, though he sometimes can't quite see how, Kathy's boyfriend. Despite being her exact opposite in interests (a right-brainer instead of a left), he winds up spending most of his time writing in her room, eating with her at the Union, or relaxing with her in the park.

Ed teaches freshman composition and is working on a degree in creative writing. (Hence his outfit of tee-shirt, necklace, and open-toed sandals.) His office in Heavilon Hall is impassable for the sea of papers, and his apartment looks like -- well, something pretty nasty. When he's not with Kathy, Ed reads fiction (in a couple strips he's holding books by Chuck Wachtel), downs espressos at local coffee shops, and vegetates in front of his TV.

Bot's a sarcastic, smart-talking 'droid build around an Apple Macintosh. He despises anything that's Windows-based and is contemptuous of all biological life, with the exception of his creator, Kathy. He enjoys good movies (like "Terminator"), good cigars, and establishing his intellectual superiority over goofy, carbon-based yutzes. Rumor has it he's romantically involved with one of PUCC's SuperSPARC 1000s.

Dawn's tied into things in two ways: she's Ed's officemate in Heavilon Hall, and Kathy's roommate in Young Grad House. She gets along with them both, but resents Bot (a third resident in a room designed for two). Dawn is athletic, and enjoys hiking, biking, swimming, and playing softball.