Star Hawkins - Fictional Character Biography

Fictional Character Biography

Star Hawkins is a down-at-heel private investigator living in New City, Earth in the 21st Century. He is first shown in 2079, with a robot receptionist, cleaner and general dogsbody, Ilda (Robot F2324), bought from the 'Super-Secretary Robot Factory'. Because Star is always short of money, Ilda is regularly pawned (although Star always promises that was the last time). Although a sharp detective with athletic skills, it is normally Ilda who exhibits the intelligence and power to solve the crime or is critical to defeating the 'zips' (criminals) with low-powered telepathic ability - 'standard equipment in all models the year of Ilda's manufacture', or other robot powers.

His first known case comes when he is paid to hunt for a Martian who had been paid to go into hiding to avoid being a witness over the ownership of a jewel mine, which he solves on his own. However, for his next cases it is Ilda who accidentally cracks a betting and forgery scam, and uncovers a robot theft scam when pawned once again, then steps in and takes the next job when Star is injured while fighting the Metal Men of Andromeda. Eventually Star's reputation gets work from the National Science Center, Earth's law-enforcement agency, although it does not solve his perennial money problems.

Star Hawkins cases often have a humorous edge to them - once Ilda accidentally cleans the wrong apartment (in 2079 everyone has an identical apartment with the same furniture and accessories in the same place) and breaks up an alien invasion plan being plotted in the flat above 'terrible danger - apartment upstairs - alien invasion' . She diagnoses a robot criminal as mad because he literally 'has a screw loose', falls in love with a robot that is part of an alien invasion plan, and attempts a film career (as Scarlet O'Toole in 'Gone With the Rust' - with a robot that looks like Cary Grant), although she was only being duped for her information on Star.

Ilda cracks another case when, jealous of Star's attention to a stunning blonde, accidentally discovers an interplanetary spy ring, although her 'Intuition Tubes' were wrong for once - the blonde was not one of the gang but an undercover agent for the government who had infiltrated them. Shortly afterwards Ilda gets a massive electric shock which scrambles her circuits into thinking she's the criminal 'The Slinker From Saturn'. They come up against one group of space terrorists, the 'League of Five Planets', more than once; thwarting a plan to steal security codes and attack Earth's outer planetary bases and then defeating them again in their last ever case more than fifteen years later.

On three occasions, by blind luck Star Hawkins and Ilda become catalysts for significant changes to robot rights. Ilda is saved from being scrapped, having reached the end of her robot model's life, reprieved by the Government in recognition of her usefulness in crime solving. Both her and Star receive a Medal of Valor and incidentally save all other robots of her model from the obsolescence law. Star and Ilda are also instrumental in changing apartheid-style rules when solving a case in a resort hotel in the asteroid belt. Prior to this case, robots were classed as servants and not allowed in hotels but forced to stay outside. After Ilda smuggles herself into the hotel and Star and her prevent a crime, the law is repealed. Their third piece of legal history comes when Star retires and all robots are given their freedom and the right to 'life-pairing' because of Ilda's heroism.

Star Hawkins retires in 2092, after defeating the 'League of Five Planets' again and earning 250 million credits reward. He marries Stella Sterling, a girl he had been guarding during this last case, and a descendant of Prof. Miller Sterling, the creator of Automan; while Ilda marries Automan. They open the 'Hawkins-Sterling Academy of Robot Detection', and Automan and Ilda become Head of Faculty, training robots as private detectives.

At some stage after this Star is transported back to the 20th Century, although how and why is unknown. Eventually he takes up living on 'Hardcore Station', a corrupt commercial satellite station with a population of several million in a free space zone between a number of trading civilisations. Now a tragic figure, he lives near the Stardocks 'just an old man watching ships take off and land' . Star has lost his private investigator license, is down on his luck again and a drunk - Captain Comet is his only known friend. Nobody is sure who or what he was, Comet describes him as '... more than a bit crazy, always claiming he was from the future whenever he got drunk' . Ilda hangs broken in his room like a puppet; although Comet offers to help fix her, Star won't because 'we'd never be able to get the ol' gal the way she was - and the Star Hawkins she knew is ancient history. Wouldn't want her to see me ... like ...' . Star Hawkins is murdered shortly afterwards by a rogue telepath.