Rai #14 Review: Evil Programs Make Bad Fathers

Rai #14 continues the secret history of Father and Rai, this time with a female version of Rai who is every bit as manipulated as her brothers.

Rai #14
Written by Matt Kindt
Art by Cafu
Published by Valiant Entertainment

Rai #14 doesn’t go on sale until June 22, so beware of spoilers below!

David Mack cover

Valiant’s summer event, 4001 A.D., has continued the fight between Father, the cruel artificial intelligence running the orbiting satellite New Japan, and Rai, his rebellious son who wants to protect the humans under Father’s control. While that story plays out in the main miniseries, Rai’s own title will be looking at previous significant interactions between Father and earlier versions of Rai. Last issue saw the first Rai, a childlike builder meant to inspire humanity but doomed to fall to their xenophobia.

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This week, Matt Kindt checks in on Sai, a female iteration of Rai, as she goes through the final days of her century of service to Father. In contrast to the builder or one of the more militant roles of Father’s ambassador, Sai chooses to serve more of a shepherd role, gently guiding the groups of humans on New Japan as they struggle with life under the rule of self-aware coding. As prosperous Japanese get so bored they turn to mass suicide, Sai can talk them off ledges. She also wants to keep idle humans from using helper androids for target practice. But Father would prefer these people be… aggressively quarantined. So Sai ends her run with the rebellion our current Rai has shown for twelve issues of his own book.

Cover by Andres Guinaldo

The gun violence against minorities in this book is hard to read in the week following the massacre at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, and I would advise fans go in with a thorough assessment of their comfort level in seeing this kind of thing. It’s not a key piece to understanding the conflict in 4001 A.D., and it’s not saying anything new for readers of the Rai series thus far.

But maybe it’s something we need this month.

Because Sai is doomed. She’s up against more than she can handle, and this is a prequel. We know she’s going to lose. But for this queer reader, I needed to see her try. I need to see the helpers, the people who protect and support and, yes, shepherd us to safer places. It doesn’t break my heart to see her on the wrong end of the final splash page – I understand that, I know how it feels. This week, I am grateful for the hero who is willing to go through this with us.

Sai’s journey is shown with the heart and care that Matt Kindt has been giving to all of the intricate heritage of New Japan’s greatest protector. It may lack the spectacle of the main event, what with giant robots and dragon cities and Clayton Crain’s digital paintings. But it’s a warm, thoughtful observation on humanity and the difficulties in caring for a species so bent on self-destruction. Highly recommended.

The Bottom Line: Rai #14 is a rich addition to the 4001 A.D. event and a welcome shot of compassion as we mourn this month.

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