A Miracle of Science: Difference between revisions

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{{quote| ''"When you're a recovering mad scientist, you're always afraid you'll lose control and wake up some morning with a half-built time machine in the living room and a plan to go back in time and pants [[Hitler]]."''}}
{{quote| ''"When you're a recovering mad scientist, you're always afraid you'll lose control and wake up some morning with a half-built time machine in the living room and a plan to go back in time and pants [[Hitler]]."''}}


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'''''[http://www.project-apollo.net/mos/ A Miracle of Science]''''' is a [[Mohs Scale of Science Fiction Hardness/World of Phlebotinum|science fiction]] [[Web Comic]] written by Jon Kilgannon and drawn by Mark Sachs. It ran from 2002 to 2007 and was set [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future|in the year 2148]], when humanity has spread across the solar system from Venus to Ganymede, and robotics and artificial intelligence are well developed, advanced sciences. Also of note is the science of memetics, which can be used to treat (or cause) psychological issues. Of key importance in the story is one specific meme, [[Science-Related Memetic Disorder]] (or, more colloquially, [[Mad Scientist|mad science]]).

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''[http://www.project-apollo.net/mos/ A Miracle of Science]'' is a [[Mohs Scale of Science Fiction Hardness/World of Phlebotinum|science fiction]] [[Web Comic]] written by Jon Kilgannon and drawn by Mark Sachs. It ran from 2002 to 2007 and was set [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future|in the year 2148]], when humanity has spread across the solar system from Venus to Ganymede, and robotics and artificial intelligence are well developed, advanced sciences. Also of note is the science of memetics, which can be used to treat (or cause) psychological issues. Of key importance in the story is one specific meme, [[Science-Related Memetic Disorder]] (or, more colloquially, [[Mad Scientist|mad science]]).


Key characters include Benjamin Prester, a field agent of the Vorstellen Police, a law-enforcement agency specializing in SRMD; Caprice Quevillion, a Martian forensic psychiatrist assigned as his partner; and Virgil Haas, the [[Mad Scientist]] they attempt to capture. The story opens not long after Mars, a [[Crystal Spires and Togas|utopian]] [[Hive Mind|group intelligence]], has ended a century of self-imposed isolation.
Key characters include Benjamin Prester, a field agent of the Vorstellen Police, a law-enforcement agency specializing in SRMD; Caprice Quevillion, a Martian forensic psychiatrist assigned as his partner; and Virgil Haas, the [[Mad Scientist]] they attempt to capture. The story opens not long after Mars, a [[Crystal Spires and Togas|utopian]] [[Hive Mind|group intelligence]], has ended a century of self-imposed isolation.
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Given its Mad Scientist motif, one should expect that a significant number of tropes appear as important plot points in the comic. In fact, given the science of memetics, the characters themselves use tropes (common examples being the [[Chase Scene]] and the [[Denouement]]) as psychological aids when dealing with mad scientists.
Given its Mad Scientist motif, one should expect that a significant number of tropes appear as important plot points in the comic. In fact, given the science of memetics, the characters themselves use tropes (common examples being the [[Chase Scene]] and the [[Denouement]]) as psychological aids when dealing with mad scientists.


Kilgannon and Sachs went on to collaborate on a second webcomic, titled [[Afterlife Blues]].
Kilgannon and Sachs went on to collaborate on a second webcomic, titled ''[[Afterlife Blues]]''.

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{{tropenamer}}
== This webcomic provided the name of: ==
* [[Science-Related Memetic Disorder]]: The name of the mad science disease.
* [[Science-Related Memetic Disorder]]: The name of the mad science disease.


{{tropelist}}
== And examples of: ==
* [[Absent Aliens]]: Mars' version of SETI turns up with lots of aliens... {{spoiler|but they're all dead. By at least a thousand years. "You've got to love existential angst on a planetary level..."}}
* [[Absent Aliens]]: Mars' version of SETI turns up with lots of aliens... {{spoiler|but they're all dead. By at least a thousand years. "You've got to love existential angst on a planetary level..."}}
* [[Anti-Villain]]: Yes, Virgil Haas is a [[Mad Scientist]]. Yes, he wants to take over the world. But he'd rather not kill anyone to do it. Like {{spoiler|the crews of the civilian ships with which he could have rammed the first ''Qin''.}}
* [[Anti-Villain]]: Yes, Virgil Haas is a [[Mad Scientist]]. Yes, he wants to take over the world. But he'd rather not kill anyone to do it. Like {{spoiler|the crews of the civilian ships with which he could have rammed the first ''Qin''.}}
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* [[Badass Boast]] "Oh come on! I've plunged down from orbit on ''wings of fire''... so don't ''even'' think ''you'' can scare me!" Benjamin has a longer version of this boast as well.
* [[Badass Boast]] "Oh come on! I've plunged down from orbit on ''wings of fire''... so don't ''even'' think ''you'' can scare me!" Benjamin has a longer version of this boast as well.
* [[Badass Longcoat]]: Benjamin wears one most of the time.
* [[Badass Longcoat]]: Benjamin wears one most of the time.
* <s>[[Batman Can Breathe in Space|Batman]]</s> Caprice [[Batman Can Breathe in Space|Can Breathe In Space]], thanks to Martian technology being [[Sufficiently Advanced]] to keep a pocket of air around her wherever she goes.
* [[Batman Can Breathe in Space|<s>Batman</s> Caprice Can Breathe In Space]], thanks to Martian technology being [[Sufficiently Advanced]] to keep a pocket of air around her wherever she goes.
* [[Big Guy, Little Guy]]: Dryden and Chaucer, respectively, are a robotic version and thus able to take the trope to new heights.: Chaucer is the size and shape of a hamster ball; Dryden is several times bigger than a human.
* [[Big Guy, Little Guy]]: Dryden and Chaucer, respectively, are a robotic version and thus able to take the trope to new heights.: Chaucer is the size and shape of a hamster ball; Dryden is several times bigger than a human.
* [[Black Eyes of Evil]]: Minus the "evil" part. See the [[Voice of the Legion]] entry below.
* [[Black Eyes of Evil]]: Minus the "evil" part. See the [[Voice of the Legion]] entry below.
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* [[Genki Girl]]: Wei Quevillion, as the protagonists comment on [http://www.project-apollo.net/mos/mos166.html this page].
* [[Genki Girl]]: Wei Quevillion, as the protagonists comment on [http://www.project-apollo.net/mos/mos166.html this page].
* [[Genius Bruiser]]: The Pindars, which [http://www.project-apollo.net/mos/mos393.html gets on Chaucer's nerves at one point]:
* [[Genius Bruiser]]: The Pindars, which [http://www.project-apollo.net/mos/mos393.html gets on Chaucer's nerves at one point]:
{{quote| '''Chaucer''': Rrrg! I told Doctor Haas he shouldn't make you Pindars so smart.<br />
{{quote| '''Chaucer''': Rrrg! I told Doctor Haas he shouldn't make you Pindars so smart.
'''Pindar-Two''': I'm going to take that as a compliment. }}
'''Pindar-Two''': I'm going to take that as a compliment. }}
* [[Genius Loci]]: The Martian people form a collective consciousness.
* [[Genius Loci]]: The Martian people form a collective consciousness.
{{quote| '''Caprice''': Mars likes you.<br />
{{quote| '''Caprice''': Mars likes you.
'''Benjamin''': That's like saying "''Brazil'' has decided you're ''cute''." }}
'''Benjamin''': That's like saying "''Brazil'' has decided you're ''cute''." }}
* [[Genre Savvy]]: The entire science of memetics relies on this. {{spoiler|The Vorstellen Police catches mad scientists by knowing exactly how they will react to certain situations.}}
* [[Genre Savvy]]: The entire science of memetics relies on this. {{spoiler|The Vorstellen Police catches mad scientists by knowing exactly how they will react to certain situations.}}
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/A_Miracle_of_Science"