C++ :: Capture Incoming Serial Data And Store It Into Array For Controlling Functions

How to capture incoming serial data and store it into an array for controlling functions. But I am now working with a radio module that receives incoming data and stores it into a uint_8t.

From there in the basic sketch that the radio library came with it is printed in the serial terminal like this:

uint8_t buf[RF22_MAX_MESSAGE_LEN];
uint8_t len = sizeof(buf);
if (rf22.waitAvailableTimeout(500)) {
// Should be a message for us now
if (rf22.recv(buf, &len)) {
Serial.print("got reply: ");
Serial.println((char*)buf);

I have read a lot of tutorials on pointers, and I am just having a very hard time grasping how to extract data out of one. I realize this is char and not integers. The goal is to transmit five integers in a digital state of either 1 or 0, and then store them in the receiving side and control 5 outputs based on the status of those 5 bits. This is proving to be quite confusing for me though as I cannot seem to grasp how to control the pointer logic.