Background
Blaise Pascal was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, writer, and Catholic theologian.
He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. Pascal's earliest mathematical work was on conic sections; he wrote a significant treatise on the subject of projective geometry at the age of 16. He later corresponded with Pierre de Fermat on probability theory, strongly influencing the development of modern economics and social science. In 1642, while still a teenager, he started some pioneering work on calculating machines (called Pascal's calculators and later Pascalines), establishing him as one of the first two inventors of the mechanical calculator.
Like his contemporary René Descartes, Pascal was also a pioneer in the natural and applied sciences. Pascal wrote in defense of the scientific method and produced several controversial results. He made important contributions to the study of fluids, and clarified the concepts of pressure and vacuum by generalising the work of Evangelista Torricelli. Following Torricelli and Galileo Galilei, he rebutted the likes of Aristotle and Descartes who insisted that nature abhors a vacuum in 1647.
In 1646, he and his sister Jacqueline identified with the religious movement within Catholicism known by its detractors as Jansenism. Following a religious experience in late 1654, he began writing influential works on philosophy and theology. His two most famous works date from this period: the
Lettres provinciales and the
Pensées, the former set in the conflict between Jansenists and Jesuits. The latter contains Pascal's Wager, known in the original as the Discourse on the Machine, a probabilistic argument for God's existence. In that year, he also wrote an important treatise on the arithmetical triangle. Between 1658 and 1659, he wrote on the cycloid and its use in calculating the volume of solids.
Throughout his life, Pascal was in frail health, especially after the age of 18; he died just two months after his 39th birthday.
Character
Likes: Miracles, dancing
Dislikes: This ship of fools
Talent: Mental math, picking lottery numbers
Introverted and active. A "troubled prodigy"-type Alter Servant born from the possibility where "Blaise Pascal was purged of all bodily infirmities during his night of fire". That said, it seems "Amos"'s cat attributes haven't decreased; they've merely been shuffled around.
Blaise Pascal's life was marked by two things of outstanding value: his genius, and his suffering. Naturally, if the nature of the latter changes, then so will Blaise Pascal's life. Freed from the restraints of his sickly body, Pascal's relationship with his loved ones was reversed, and the task of caring for his relations when they fell ill and eventually died while he stayed behind became his burden to bear.
Although "Amos" has no desire to live up to people's expectations of Blaise Pascal (least of all in appearance), that isn't to say that he is entirely without prospects. He currently places his rational and intuitive faculties in the service of carrying on the original Pascal's dream: to make people see God. "Amos" has considerably more experience in this field than the Blaise Pascal in the Assassin class, but the means by which he accomplishes his mission is largely the same: go on contradicting men until they understand that they are monsters beyond understanding; pare away at their options until all that is left is Forward or Backward, Yes or No, Life or Death.
Relationships
Master
The sort of Servant who goes beyond mere service and seeks to effect a profound change in his Master's way of life. Rather than give a thorough explanation of where certain things went wrong, "Amos" prefers to handle blunders with action. Combined with his personal vocation, he gives off the impression of "a man who takes off his friend's rose-colored glasses so they can see the red flags".
"Amos" generally conducts himself like an Archer-class Servant, performing reconnaissance and combat operations at long distances. Due to the change in his personal circumstances, he is the kind of person who watches over others from a distance. Masters can measure the level of trust "Amos" has in them by gauging how long he leaves them alone, and also by how often he spouts uncharacteristically-sentimental nonsense like
"No matter what, I shall definitely return to your side, Maître".
Much like "Louis", "Amos" has no real wish for the Holy Grail, save to destroy it. Regardless of whether it is the genuine article or not, he thinks that allowing an omnipotent wish-granter to fall into the hands of a monster that changes its mind more often than its clothes is the surest path to ruin.
Blaise Pascal
"Louis is here too, I see... Maître
, please do take care of him. Though he is loath to speak of it, he is truthfully quite reliant on other people, and fares very poorly when left alone. Me? Well, you could say we are polar opposites in that regard."
Hans Christian Andersen
"Monsieur Andersen's stories are excellent to be sure, but as expected, our personal compatibility is quite low. While we are of one mind regarding the question of human nature, his faithfulness as a scribe-- his pride as an author-- prevents him from recommending an answer."
Sen no Rikyu
"To achieve enlightenment, one must leave behind all preconceptions like sandals at the threshold, and dive headfirst into the mysterious and profound blackness of the tea room for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. --This is all well and good, but something feels... not quite right. For example, what happens after the ceremony of the ouabi-cha
is over?"
Voyager
"Going on a journey with no set destination is no different from being lost. Rather than le Petit Prince
, isn't that golden-haired child more like young Jeannot?"
Martha
"Miracles are like mathematical proofs; they convince only the mind. This is why the resurrection of the dead-- as witnessed by our own Madame Martha-- is the central dogma of Christianity: it is a miracle that moves both the mind and the heart. --What's that look for, Maître
? Don't tell me there's no one who has already passed on you would wish to see one more time."
Edmond Dantès
"Oh, isn't that the famed Comte de Monte-Cristo
? His figure reminds of someone I know. This man, too, was imprisoned on false charges, but unlike our friend le Comte
, he did not bother to uncover the truth nor struggle against his incarceration, and walked towards the guillotine as meekly as a lamb to the slaughter. --Come to think of it, this poor soul may be familiar to you as well, Maître.
His name is 'Humanity'."