Divide by Zero: Difference between revisions
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The characters did something so incredibly ''wrong'' that reality itself couldn't handle it. Could be the result of a [[Time Paradox]], the result of a [[Yin-Yang Clash]], or an [[Unstoppable Force Meets Immovable Object|unstoppable force meeting an immovable object]], or the risk behind the [[Forbidden Chekhov's Gun]].
To divide a number by zero is the one thing elementary math teachers tell you<ref>Sometimes, an elementary math teacher will insist that division by zero gives zero. They are wrong, although 0/0 ''is'' different than any other 0-division case.</ref> that you [[Lies to Children|simply cannot do]] (but as usual, Real Life is more complicated than elementary school; see [[Divide by Zero/Trivia|the Trivia section]]). It led to a joke on [[Image Board|image boards]] <ref>
Compare [[Awesomeness Is Volatile]], where [[Chuck Norris]] [[Chuck Norris Facts|can divide by zero]].
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* In the third arc of ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro ni]]'', Beatrice says she'll use [[Language of Truth|red text]] to {{spoiler|deny the existence of witches}}. This results in a paradox which appears to destroy the entire Meta-World. {{spoiler|It ends up all being just a trick, though.}}
* In ''[[The End of Evangelion]]'', this is what happens when two all-powerful Eldritch Abominations, Adam and Lilith, are combined with each other. One of the [[Bridge Bunnies]] says something along the lines of (I forget exactly) "Their energy levels are converging on an infinite zero." when the Adam / Lilith merger begins to break the universe. [[Gainax Ending|That would make a lot of sense actually.]]
** In mathematics "a zero" is another name for an input to an equation that would make the output zero (such as x=2 for y=2x-4). Ironically infinity would be a zero for (y=1/x) - that is,
* [[Time Crash|Something very close to this]] happens in ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]''. If you make a wish with indefinite duration (as opposed to instant wishes like "heal someone's crippled hand" or "save someone from the brink of death"), your wish is somehow tied to the passage of time. {{spoiler|Homura's}} wish to save someone already dead turned her life into a [[Groundhog Day Loop]], although she could control when she went back.
** In the finale, {{spoiler|Madoka}} pulls an even more audacious one. {{spoiler|Backed by the enormous amounts of karma Homura's time-loops have built up, she wishes to personally destroy every Witch, past, present and future - including hers. Cue Ultimate Madoka one-shotting her own evil future self and leaving the normal flow of time.}}
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== Film ==
* In ''[[Dogma]]'' the one universal constant is that God is infallible. Proving Him/Her wrong would result in a
* [[Forbidden Chekhov's Gun|Crossing the streams]] in ''[[Ghostbusters]]'' would result in "all life as you know it stopping instantaneously" and would cause "every molecule in your body to explode at the speed of light." Fortunately, the [[Big Bad]] was already screwing with reality in the end so it turned out to be the one time it was the right thing to do.
** It helped that all instances of the streams being crossed happened within the ghost zone, where the physics are skewed so the result isn't the same as if it was done in the real world.
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== Literature ==
* Nell uses an actual and deliberate divide by zero in [[The Diamond Age]] to break one of the Primer's simulations.
* This is slowly happening to ''[[The Dark Tower]]'' multiverse as "thinnies"
* Parodied in the [[Discworld]] novels, where one of Hex's quirky error messages is "Divide by Cucumber Error". Also, "Please reinstall universe and reboot."
** And let's not forget the effect of the first Glass Clock in ''[[Discworld/Thief of Time|Thief of Time]]'', which [[Time Crash|shattered the whole of recorded history]]. The History Monks just about managed to patch it back together again, leaving behind only a couple of [[Plot Hole|plot holes]].
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** {{spoiler|And, again, a Sorceress ''must'' bequeath her power to someone else before dying. [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|Defeating Ultimecia]] forces her to give her powers to Edea before time unfreezes, creating a [[Stable Time Loop]] with a possible [[Ontological Paradox]].}}
* In ''[[Iji]]'', there is a secret device called the Null Driver, and when used, It causes the game to glitch out, and also destroys all enemies on screen. It disappears once you exit the game, as do the glitches.
* Dividing by Zero is what allows a [[Time Paradox]] to occur in the [[Legacy of Kain]] timeline: Because the past is essentially immutable and [[You Already Changed the Past|everything moves in a linear timeline]], the only way to subvert that timeline is to introduce two instances of the same entity from different points in history to one-
* ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 3'' is a [[Prequel]] to the series. If you kill a character who is still alive in the future, you'll be yelled at by your (future!) commander because you created a [[Time Paradox]].
* The Unrepeatable Bug, an enemy in ''[[Superhero League of Hoboken]]'', can divide by zero to cause moderate damage to an opponent. The text notes that the victim "didn't avert his/her eyes in time".
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* In the mythology of ''[[Suikoden]]'', Sword (a being that could destroy anything) and Shield (an indestructible being) got into a fight. When Sword struck Shield, both shattered into 27 pieces, the True Runes. And the Big Bang.
* In a bit of a [[Stealth Pun]] example, bosses and enemies in the ''[[Mega Man Zero]]'' games explode after being [[Incredibly Lame Pun|divided by Zero]] via Z-Saber slashing. Very likely unintentional, but funny nonetheless.
** [[media:
* ''A known [[Fly FF]]'' bug: [http://flyff-forum.gpotato.com/viewtopic.php?f=843&t=2751209&sid=83aa6db0c82d59de31e697c1900cc190 Dividing by Zero will crash the game].
* [[The Elder Scrolls]] calls such events "Dragon Breaks", where the god of time, known by many names and guises, but most prominently as a dragon god "Akatosh", is tampered with.
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* This is the spectacular effect of using the Pandora's Box in ''[[Shadow Madness]]''.
* In the [[Backstory]] of ''[[Lusternia]]'', a conflict between the cities of Hallifax and Gaudiguch had the [[Arch Enemy|fierce enemies]] breaking out their resident [[Doomsday Device|superweapons]] to decimate the other. Unfortunately, the two opposing elements did not react well together. The resultant cataclysm [[Brown Note|psychically devastated]] every living entity on the ''planet'', and sealed both cities in a different dimension for over ''five hundred years''.
* In ''[[Gran Turismo]] 3'', if you pop a wheelie with a properly-tuned Escudo, you can reach the speed of 2,147,483,647
* While it doesn't actually take place in ''[[Portal 2]]'', some dialog plays with it.
{{quote|'''Cave Johnson:''' This next test may involve trace amounts of time travel. So, word of advice, if you meet yourself on the testing track, don't make eye contract. Lab boys tell me that'll wipe out time. Entirely. Forward and backward.}}
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** [[Epileptic Trees|OF COURSE, THAT'S IT!!! ZERO IS SO BADASS BECAUSE HE DIVIDES HIS ENEMIES BY CHUCK NORRIS USING HIS SWORD!!!]]
* [http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-225 SCP-225] is an illustration of the classic "[[Yin-Yang Clash|unstoppable force vs. immovable object]]" paradox. The [[SCP Foundation]] is concerned about the possible consequences of the two objects colliding. They believe that if the objects annihilate each other, they would release at minimum power equivalent to a ''gigatons'' strong nuclear explosion. The possible result if they ''don't'' destroy each other on impact is apparently ''even worse'' -- ''planetary evacuation'' wouldn't be enough to save the human race.
* In ''[[Fine Structure]]'' this is sometimes done intentionally to attract the attention of the Imprisoning God, which stamps down hard on such violations. However, one particular event -- {{spoiler|dropping the immortal Anne Poole into a black hole}}
* In the [[Things of Interest|Ed stories]], Ed briefly accessing the Root Layer causes a Class X-3 [[Apocalypse How]] on the Andromeda galaxy.
* The time paradox version happens at the end of the [[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series|Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series]] version of the crossover movie - [[The Ditz|Jaden]] tells Yugi what happens at the end of his series, causing an explosion, and when it clears they're all in an endless white void.
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