Back near the dawn of time, from 1977 to 1981, I wrote three series concerning a software superhero called The Hexadecimal Kid. The first 2 series appeared in Computer Weekly; the third was published in Practical Computing.
The first 2 series have disappeared almost without trace, but I have yellowing typescripts produced on a manual typewriter (wasn't computing wonderful in those days?) which I have scanned in and re-edited to produce the 'authorized versions' below.
You can find a copy of the third series at
John Shadbolt's Vintage Computers site as it appeared in the magazine. But if you scroll further down this page, you can read the definitive unexpurgated edition!
If Hex ever sallies forth for a fourth time (from the grave! -- but Hollywood wouldn't let that stand in their way) you will read his adventures here first. Sadly I suspect that merchandizing opportunities will be limited. ;-(
Tale 1 : THE HEXADECIMAL KID AND HIS FAITHFUL DOG ASCII.
[First appeared in Computer Weekly, 1978.]
Bit 1 : The Bit between his Teeth [pdf here]
Bit 2 : A Two Bit Outlaw [pdf here]
Bit 3 : A Bit of Luck [pdf here]
Bit 4 : A Bit Worse [pdf here]
Bit 5 : A Bit More [pdf here]
Bit 6 : Not a Bit of It [pdf here]
Bit 7 : A Bit Too Late [pdf here]
Bit 8 : A Little Bit Better [pdf here]
Bit 9 : A Bit Too Far [pdf here]
Bit 10 : Bits and Pieces [pdf here]
Bit 11 : Bit by Bit [pdf here]
Bit 12 : They Bit Off more than they Could Chew [pdf here]
Bit 13 : Doing their Bit [pdf here]
Bit 14 : Bit, Bitter, Bitterness [pdf here]
Bit 15 : The Sign Bit [pdf here]
Bit 16 : The Parity Bit [pdf here]
^ Head of Tale
Intermezzo.
Tale 2 : ASCII THROUGH THE LOGIC GATE.
[First appeared in Computer Weekly, 1978-1979.]
Block 0 : The Header Block [pdf here]
Block 1 : Label Records are Standard [pdf here]
Block 2 : A Mental Block [pdf here]
Block 3 : The Inter-Block Gap [pdf here]
Block 4 : His Head on the Chopping Block [pdf here]
Block 5 : Love Is Just a Block Away [pdf here]
Block 6 : Round the Block [pdf here]
Block 7 : The Blocking Factor [pdf here]
Block 8 : Block Mode Transfer [pdf here]
Block 9 : Roadblock [pdf here]
Block 10 : Block Contains 2 Characters [pdf here]
Block 11 : Physical Block [pdf here]
Block 12 : Logical Block [pdf here]
Block 13 : Block Structure [pdf here]
Block 14 : Blocked Up [pdf here]
Block 15 : Jailhouse Block [pdf here]
Block 16 : Rock Around the Block [pdf here]
Block 17 : Obloquy [pdf here]
Block 18 : Unblocked [pdf here]
Block 19 : Communist Bloc [pdf here]
Block 20 : Blockhead [pdf here]
Block 21 : A Stumbling Block [pdf here]
Block 22 : A Block of Ice [pdf here]
Block 23 : A Chip Off the Old Block [pdf here]
Block 24 : Block of Ages [pdf here]
Block 25 : Chock-a-Block [pdf here]
Block 26 : En Bloc [pdf here]
Block 27 : Block CAPITALS [pdf here]
Block 28 : Ivory Tower Block [pdf here]
Block 29 : Blockade Running [pdf here]
Block 30 : Building Blocks [pdf here]
Block 31 : Blockbuster [pdf here]
Block 32 : Trailer Block [pdf here]
^ Head of Tale
Tale 3 : SON OF HEXADECIMAL KID.
[First appeared in Practical Computing, 1980-1981.]
Page 0 : The Base Page [pdf here]
Page 1 : Front Page News [pdf here]
Page 2 : Virtual Paging [pdf here]
Page 3 : Page Boy [pdf here]
Page 4 : Turning the Page [pdf here]
Page 5 : Page Thrashing [pdf here]
Page 6 : Page Feed [pdf here]
Page 7 : Page Replacement [pdf here]
Page 8 : Radio Paging [pdf here]
Page 9 : Off the Page [pdf here]
Page 10 : Pageantry [pdf here]
Page 11 : Page by Page [pdf here]
Page 12 : Full Page Spread [pdf here]
Page 13 : Page Boundary [pdf here]
Page 14 : Page Proof [pdf here]
Page 15 : A Page and a Half [pdf here]
Page 16 : Torn Page [pdf here]
^ Head of Tale
Incidentally (despite what those clever folks at google may think) I still hold the copyright to these stories; so if you're thinking of doing something with them other than reading them or making personal copies, kindly check with me first. Thanks.