Raoul Am

Raoul Am (ラウール・アム, Raūru Amu) was a Blondy who served as a lead scientist and biotechnology specialist on Amoi. He was also Iason Mink’s closest friend.

    Raoul’s furniture was Ray, and his pets were Mimea and later Elisha.

His name was romanized as Raoul Hamm in some published translations.

## Description

Raoul was a handsome Blondy who dressed himself in simple, yet stylish and distinctive clothes. His cold, severe eyes and serious and rational demeanor emanated a sense of authority wherever he went, and even other Blondies often deferred to him when it came to anything that fell under his field.

    He was a no-nonsense man, completely disinterested in playing political and societal games, and unlike most of his peers, while curious, never welcomed any drama. He viewed social butterflies the likes of Gideon with a sort of arrogant disdain and felt his time and intellect could be better used in his lab.

The only things that really seem to excite and interest Raoul were related to the advancement of science, or anything noteworthy within the field.

In the known worlds, there was no better scientist and nanosurgeon than Raoul.

## Scientist

> There is no place for God in bioethics.
>
>

According to Raoul, the mysteries of life were no longer the province of God. He preferred that which could be scientifically proven. As the biotechnology specialist without peer, he was branded by various Commonwealth provincial religious leaders as a mad scientist. A scientist who feared no god and knew no taboos, dilemmas, or remorse, only the pride and spectacular achievements of a pursuer of ideals.

As a result, diseases once called incurable had been cured or even eradicated. All of humanity benefited in some way, but the chasm between religion and science had only deepened.

In Raoul’s opinion, if he really was a mad scientist, then at least he wasn't as bad as those who led their fellow man astray in the name of God. While Raoul was not one to pick fights heedlessly, this one mattered and needed to be answered in full.

Tanagura's refusal to believe in any ideology through sheer might of its control of life was undeniable. To spare nothing in the pursuit of the secrets of the universe was a matter of fact to the Blondies. It was nothing for the likes of Raoul to descend on a world dying under a viral pandemic and bring the full might of the technology of Tanagura to bear. To the dying, no doubt Raoul was truly divine.

That Raoul's motives were entirely devoid of compassion was meaningless to consider. Raoul's science rendered religion futile.

There was no promise of an afterlife, no reliance on the uncertainties of faith, only unshakable conviction in the might of technology. That medical technology was also utilized to its fullest extent in Eos to keep pets healthy and beautiful. To those who are diseased and can do nothing but wait for death, it is no wonder Raoul looked like a true saviour.

Even if they decry his medical practice as nothing more than locally sourced human experimentation, to those that are dying, such arguments are irrelevant. Raoul understood this very well. Not everyone who was dying could be saved, but people shouldn’t have to die needlessly. This mindset was more convincing than any promise of an afterlife and “salvation of the soul” a religious leader can offer.

Tangible results, rather than political bargaining.

There was no promise of an afterlife, no reliance on the uncertainties of faith, only unshakable conviction in the might of technology. That medical technology was also utilized to its fullest extent in Eos to keep pets healthy and beautiful.

On the flip side, much of his research dealt with mind tampering. Whether it's rewinding and reading memories, including those of deceased people, or deleting and replacing them, he had no qualms with it. Mindwiping a person and replacing their personality with someone else's or simply making them into a mindless doll that will obey any command was a matter of routine and convenience.

Raoul’s main place of operation was the Keeler lab where he conducted his experiments. This is also where some pets and furniture were sent for disposal, to serve as his test subjects, among other things.

## The Mimea Incident

Mimea was Raoul’s Academy-bred pet. She was the product of his own breeding efforts and as such, he had high standards for who he was going to mate her with. He had several options in mind, but settled for Jena, a pet with exceptionally good genes.

However, unbeknownst to him, Mimea unexpectedly developed an interest in Riki. When the rumors of their rendezvous reached him, he confronted his pet, and she readily admitted to the affair.

This, naturally, became a big scandal in Eos. The onlookers were curious about any indications of a growing antagonism between Iason and Raoul. Curious about how the business between their respective pets would be handled.

Contrary to expectations, no drama ensued and the matters were handled privately. Riki's mismanagement was recognized for what it was, apologies were rumored to have been made to Raoul, and that was the end of it. The appropriate punishment had been delivered.

As far as Raoul was concerned, a ready bow of the head was the best he could hope for—aside from a lot of cover-up. The result wasn't the swamp of carnage that everybody had expected. There was no satisfying reveal of secrets to the public.

In private however, Raoul chastised Iason for ruining the plans he had for Mimea, but their friendship remained unaffected.

## **Friendship with Iason Mink**

Raoul was Iason’s closest friend and they often spent time together outside of official business. They were known to go out for lunch together, play pool and even visit each other’s offices for a chat.

They could talk frankly to each other, breaching even the most personal matters. However, since Iason brought Riki to Eos, it seems most of their conversations were centered around this.

> I can't stand to see trash make you look like a fool.
>
>

Raoul spared no criticism when it came to Iason’s decision to keep Riki as a pet. Aside from Riki’s influence on other pets, Raoul’s main concern was Iason’s reputation. Even though Iason himself seemed to care little for it and for the gossip that spread around him, Raoul couldn’t stand for it.

He repeatedly tried to make Iason see reason and get rid of Riki. Once he realised that wouldn’t happen, he tried to suggest things that would mitigate the rumors, such as asking Iason to send Riki to mating parties instead of keeping him for himself.

But time and time again, Iason refused to listen and the situation around him became more and more outrageous. Raoul could still remember every detail of the Daryl incident, and no doubt the thing with Mimea was at the back of his mind too.

More than his devil-may-care attitude, it was Iason's twisting of Pet Law for his own purposes that unsettled Raoul. His fear that his friend would eventually do something to provoke the wrath of Jupiter itself was real, and he knew that he would be the one asked to tamper with Iason’s brain. Something he admitted to Iason he would refuse to do.

Raoul was the only person to whom Iason admitted his feelings for Riki, a testament to their camaraderie no doubt. But this confession left Raoul speechless. It wasn’t something he would readily accept, but the more time passed, the more the bond between the two became apparent to Raoul who initially dismissed it. It was clear that something was going on with Iason that was beyond his ability to understand. The fact that the flawless product of reason and intelligence, a Blondy, would have all his logic and self-control smashed to nothing because of a slum mongrel. It was inconceivable. A disgrace. As far as Raoul was concerned, Iason's mind was a greater puzzle than all the hidden secrets of the cosmos.

> Wake up already Iason, for your vices to reach this far is no laughing matter.
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He never accepted Riki, not only as Iason’s pet, but as whatever he really meant to Iason, however seeing as there was no changing Iason’s mind, there wasn’t anything left for him to do.

As seen in the 1992 OVA.As seen in the 1992 OVA.

## **Reaction to Riki in Eos**

Raoul’s view of Riki had been unfavourable since the very beginning. A slum mongrel, untrained, with no imprinting and conditioning, had no business in Eos, let alone as a Blondy’s pet.

But rather than his dislike being personal, it seemed Raoul was mostly upset at the results of Riki’s presence. Like other Blondies, Raoul too had been curious at first, but then that curiosity turned to wariness.

It was undeniable that Riki had an impact on his environment, most of all on Iason, who seemed to have bitten off more than he could chew and somehow fell under the spell of this creature.

The pets had been thoroughly shaken up by him as well, which ended up a mess Raoul had to deal with. Even a passing remark from Riki could double his influence on the other pets. If that happened, all those with weak immune systems would succumb. After Riki’s performance at his first debut, the trauma he induced among the pets caused a plague of psychosomatic illnesses. Some of the male pets have also been showing undue territoriality and aggression towards him. Raoul termed it "pheromone-triggered aggression," a chemically induced biophysical chain reaction.

When Riki was “disposed of” the first time, Raoul breathed a sigh of relief. But that relief was short lived when he started hearing rumors of Riki being sighted in Ceres. Riki had become the first pet to taste freedom in this way, and subsequently, the first pet ever to return to Eos.

As far as Raoul was concerned, this business with the returner was a scandal without precedence. It was madness.

The first time Iason had brought Riki to Eos was certainly a shock to the status quo. But this time, things were different and much more dangerous. The physically and mentally immature pets were being exposed to the dangerous sexuality cast off by the vicious Riki. It was like exposing them to radiation.

To the eyes of those elites who had known Riki previously, this was a remarkable turn of events. Once known as "vulgar and insubordinate," Riki now showed a newly found maturity. In Eos, where young pets were cycled through on an endless loop, this change in Riki was an utter astonishment.

Raoul, seeing Riki again after a year and a half, also found himself looking at the mongrel long and hard. Riki's existence dealt a crushing blow to what the elites considered common sense. Riki was a hand grenade thrown into a glittering but boring scene of tranquility.

The results of removing the pet ring and giving him a breather were truly staggering. If Raoul thought so, the other Blondies certainly did as well. *A mature adult is a human being.* As simple as that seemed, it had never occurred to the residents of Eos.

In Eos, common sense had dictated that pets must not be adults. They were simply indicators of social class, merely disposable goods. Pursuing the next new thing was the only real excitement in Eos.

But Riki's existence had aroused in them the possibility that doing so was *not* the only way. Riki had shattered the very linchpin of reason in Eos. It wasn't just the merry-go-round of obtaining one new pet after another that could keep the buzz alive.

Riki had plunged a red-hot dagger through the perspective of the elites and the supposed allure of the never-aging body—beyond maturity and immaturity, beyond aging, decay, and degeneration.

Four and a half years before he'd been an unbroken cur, a sideshow exhibition at a carnival. Now, he was different.

Raoul certainly realised that Riki was more than they’d all assumed. Stubborn and bull-headed to the extreme, even knowing the negative consequences of his futile actions, he wasn’t deterred. Such tenaciously deviant behavior placed Riki well beyond the limits of Raoul's understanding. No matter what, Riki wouldn't fawn. He'd hold his own, obstinate to the end. More than a trait of the slum mongrel, Raoul had begun to gather, this was a manifestation of Riki's pride. It would not crumble despite being steeped in a poisonous pet miasma.

But Raoul’s solution to all the troubles Riki caused was simple. If not dispose of him entirely, then at least mindwipe him and install another, more amiable personality. Something which he wasn’t allowed to do despite the many opportunities that arose.

## **Raoul and Katze**

> Katze will be a hard act to follow
>
>

Even though Iason sparing Katze and putting him to work on the Black Market was seen as something of a scandal at the time, it was clear that the reasons for that were rooted in Katze’s own indisputable competence.

Seeing the results, Raoul could only agree that Iason showed good foresight with this decision. An opinion he didn’t share with regards to Iason’s choices that concerned Riki.

He did show some concern that Katze might act in a manner similar to Daryl once Riki is put in his charge, and release the mongrel, but it didn’t take much for Iason to convince him of Katze’s absolute loyalty.

Raoul also knew that out of everyone, it was Katze who truly was the one closest to Iason.

> Iason thought that highly of you, to place you in his trust.
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>

When Iason disappeared, following Guy to Dana Burn, Raoul turned to the only other person he thought would know more than him. Iason’s actions in public were known to all Blondies, but Raoul knew that only Katze had insight in Iason’s private life. He was right, and it was from him that Raoul learned of Iason’s fate. Both men knew what needed to be done and Raoul didn’t need to question Katze’s loyalty to Iason Mink’s name.

## **Gallery**

Raoul Am, as seen in the 1992 OVA.Concept Art - Raoul AmTokuma Shoten edition (2009-10) – Saichi NagatoRaoul Am, as seen in the 2012 anime series.Raoul Am, as seen in the 2012 anime series.852946 mathia Ai no Kusabi Elites Blondies.jpg