Dr. Ban, a human scientist from La Metal, was once wed to Queen Promethium and fathered Maetel and Emeraldas. Tasked with preserving life as their artificial sun dimmed, he pioneered machine bodies under Promethium’s command, inadvertently founding the Machine Empire. This advancement triggered widespread mechanization, robbing converts of emotions and humanity.

Following an assassination attempt by rival scientist Hardgear, Dr. Ban’s dying consciousness fused with Promethium’s mechanical form, heightening her intellect but erasing her compassion. Later separated, his consciousness inhabited a black pendant carried by Maetel, enabling communication and data storage. Temporarily housed in a robotic cat until its demise, the pendant became his enduring vessel.

Guilt-ridden over the Empire’s atrocities, Dr. Ban orchestrated its downfall. He directed Maetel to recruit Tetsuro Hoshino, testing the boy’s capacity to liberate enslaved humans before triggering the Great Mother Planet’s annihilation via the pendant’s stored energy. Despite remorse, he urged Maetel to prioritize their mission, dismissing her qualms about manipulation.

His bond with Maetel contrasted with estrangement from Emeraldas. Historical archives hint at a possible link to Hajime Amamori—associate of Yayoi Yukino, Promethium’s human predecessor—though the nature of their connection remains ambiguous.

Expanded narratives reveal Dr. Ban’s initial resistance to full mechanization, backing his daughters’ revolt against Hardgear while clashing with Promethium, who twisted his research into a tool of control. His abandoned technologies later fueled resistance efforts.

Dr. Ban’s legacy straddles creation and destruction of the Machine Empire, reflecting science’s moral gray zones. His consciousness lingered with Maetel post-cataclysm, a spectral presence pursuing redemption through her continued odyssey.