Known to her fans as the droid with a heart of gold, R2-KT is the only pink droid in the Empire. She started out as a child’s wish and has since grown into a life all her own. Recently, I was given the chance to interview R2-KT about her work with the Empire, charities and her life at home.
GeekMom: Hi R2-Kt, First of all, I would like to say thanks for taking out the time to talk with me today. I hope all is well on your side of the galaxy.
R2-KT: Good afternoon, Mrs. Sullivan. Everything is going extremely well. (I hope you find that greeting acceptable. I learned it from my friend HAL 9000.)
GM: I have seen R2-D2 out and about at troops in my own garrison. He really enjoys the children, but I think the pets scare him a little. How do you feel about the four legged life forms on earth?
R2-KT: I am not fond of them, to be honest. The carbon units with whom I live had a litter of kittens that tried to crawl inside my chassis. It was dreadful. I do not see the logic in pets when humans can just have droids. I do respect cats for their aloofness, however. I can relate to that sub-routine.
GM: What is your favorite thing to do when your man-servant is not around?
R2-KT: I perform sensor sweeps on the surrounding area and perform minor repairs when I am not recharging. I recently ran a program to track the number of Star Wars action figures being sold and it overloaded my processors! Sadly, only one R2-KT figure to be found in the thirty years of action figures. [sad whistle]
GM: Will you be at Celebration VI?
R2-KT: Affirmative. I will be visiting with my best friends from around the galaxy: R2 units, R5 units, Mouse droids, and a host of other advanced automatons like myself. I also hope to see the cute little carbon units that frequent the convention.
GM: What’s it like being the only pink droid in the empire?
R2-KT: My unique color signature has a calming effect on carbon units. I find this conducive to working with the Empire because several of their members tend to be nervous around Lord Vader. It also forces me to be careful.
GM: I love the artwork on your website. My favorite is the one of you and Wall-e. Is there any particular one you are fond of?
R2-KT: My personal favorite is the Tsuneo Sanda piece picturing me alongside my namesake, Katie Johnson. Vibrant spectrum of colors, excellent photo-realistic images of myself and Katie but altered in a way I hear humans find aesthetically pleasing. This piece hangs near my recharge station at the Johnson household and I have scanned it for many hours.
GM: Do you have any vacation plans for the summer?
R2-KT: I do. Summertime in South Carolina reminds me of Mustafar. Too much humidity and heat for my circuits. I plan to hit Free Comic Book Day in May, then ConCarolinas in Charlotte, NC in June. From there I hope to hitch a ride with some Klingons to somewhere cooler.
GM: On Wookipedia, it says you like to gossip with R2-D2. What kind of things do you enjoy talking with each other about?
R2-KT: “R2 is so cheeky. He has dirt on all the important people (and droids) in the galaxy. Sometimes we talk about Amidala’s fashion disasters. Other times it’s Obi-Wan’s taste in hair styles. My favorite bit of gossip was: 10001010101010100101111010110101010110111010001010000010101101. That was pretty funny.
GM: Who do you think shot first, Han or Greedo?
R2-KT: I have reviewed the holo-vid records. Han shot first. Those darned rebels are up to it again, fixing the records to make their heroes look squeaky clean. I think they should have given Han a second medal just for shooting Greedo.
GM: What’s your favorite mission with the empire?
R2-KT: Believe it or not, but the Empire does good work for the galaxy. I know everyone hears about their world-conquering agenda, but did you know they clean up planets as well? Last month we began a planet-to-planet eradication of Gungans. After that we have Ewoks on the schedule. Good work speaks for itself!
GM: You have done quite a few patch runs this year for various charities. Is there a patch and charity that are especially close your heart?
R2-KT: Make-A-Wish is very important. They granted Katie Johnson not one but three wishes: a trip to Disney World, a day as a veterinarian at a local vet clinic, and a role as one of the orphans in a local production of Little Orphan Annie. Katie was very very happy during this time and it bears gratitude. I think my favorite patch so far has been the Halloween patch designed by Thomas Spanos. Very cool!
GM: Some youngling friends of mine found out I would be talking with you and asked if I would pass a transmission along for them. First, one of your little fans Ian (age 3), would like to say “shoop shoop beep beep”.
R2-KT: Ah! Excellent! A carbon unit speaking intelligently, and at such a young age! Please tell your youngling:
GM: His sister, Hannah (age 6) would like to know if you know R2-D2 and what your favorite planet is.
R2-KT: I do know R2-D2. He is very funny. He tells jokes all the time. He says C-3PO is goofy. I tend to agree. My favorite planet is Naboo. Very pretty. Except for the fish-faces that live in the water. They’re icky.
GM: Brandon, age 6, would like to know if you enjoy movies or video games?
R2-KT: I enjoy both forms of digital entertainment. I enjoy watching movies, especially ones about princesses and sword fights. My favorite is Princess Bride. I wish they had lightsabers in that story. I also enjoy video games: both playing them and having them played on my operating system! I have have a 200th-level barbarian on World of Warcraft. I wonder what they would think if they knew I was a droid!
Thanks for taking out the time to answer our questions R2-KT. I know you are a busy little droid and we appreciate your time. May the Force be with you.
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