I Cannot Self-Terminate: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"[[Trope Namer|I cannot self-terminate.]] '''You''' must lower me into the steel."''|'''The T-800 cyborg''', ''[[Terminator]] 2: Judgment Day''}}

In a series set in [[Jidai Geki]], this trope may appear when a [[Samurai]] character commits ''[[Seppuku]]''—ritual -- ritual suicide -- tosuicide—to redeem himself. Traditionally, a person committing seppuku, after disemboweling himself, was allowed to have a "second" (kaishakunin) behead him before the pain would destroy his composure. (Itto Oogami's original position in ''[[Lone Wolf and Cub]]'' was as an official "second" for the Shogunate.) Sometimes, the "second" will volunteer for the job, as a token of respect for a friend or [[Worthy Opponent]].

* In the Tournament arc of ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'', {{spoiler|Yuusuke faces three [[Brainwashed and Crazy]] fighters who have beaten up Kuwabara brutally. Upset at Kuwabara being injured for trying to [["I Know You Are're in There Somewhere" Fight|de-brainwash them]], he angrily asks them if they're heartless or what... and he sees them crying [[Tears of Blood]], stopping their attacks and begging him to kill them so they're free of their conditioning. Luckily, Genkai manages to bring them fully back to their senses without killing them.}}

* In ''[[Baccano!]]'', this is the ostensible reason immortals were given the ability to "devour" others. It took at least a few <s> minutes</s> seconds before they realized they could use it to murder each other, though at least two immortals ({{spoiler|Maiza and Sylvie}}) have considered asking Firo to end their lives this way.

* A similar example to the above occurs in ''[[Lucifer (Comic Bookcomics)|Lucifer]]''. Due to a promise she broke as a temple maiden, a Babylonian woman is punished with immortality; as a particular condition of the immortality, every day for the last four thousand years has featured her miscarrying her fetus. She ends up seeking out a bargaining chip for Lucifer, who revokes the immortality and watches as she blows away to dust.

* ''[[2000 AD|2000 AD's]]''{{'}}s ''[[Rogue Trooper]]'' encounters a subverted version of this trope. Having thought that he was the last remaining super-soldier, he is amazed to find a much older prototype living as a hermit on the poison-choked planet Rogue roams. The old man says he is waiting to die and that he feels like nature is going to take its course very soon. When enemy troops approach, Rogue's friends - personality-chips of fallen comrades embedded in his helmet and gun -- votegun—vote to leave the old man to his fate. Rogue declines -- thedeclines—the old man wants to die with ''dignity'' -- and—and his already impressive abilities are ramped up to eleven in order to massacre the enemy patrol and give the old man something Rogue hopes to have himself one day.

* A story arc of ''[[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|Fantastic Four]]'' has the Thing, being possessed by Dr. Doom, put the Torch in a death hold. Doom is laughing that the only way to stop him is to kill him--thathim—that is to say, kill Ben. Ben manages to wrest just enough control to tearfully tell Reed to do it. For once, Reed gets stuck in a situation where he can't [[Take a Third Option]].

* ''[[Dawn of the Dead (2004 film)|Dawn of the Dead]]'' remake has {{spoiler|Tucker}}, being devoured alive by zombies, pleading CJ to shoot him.

* ''[[The Descent (Filmfilm)|The Descent]]''. After being {{spoiler|accidentally stabbed by Juno, Beth gets Sarah to kill her, rather than die slowly and painfully or be ripped apart by the Crawlers.}}

{{quote| '''River Tam''': Put a bullet to me. Bullet in the brain pan. Squish.}}

* The protagonist in the 1986 horror/comedy ''House'' is troubled by memories of Vietnam, and especially his own failure to carry out a [[Mercy Kill]] when a trap-snared friend invoked this trope. Sure enough, {{spoiler|the source of the haunting is the ex-friend's ghost, out to for revenge because he'd been captured by the enemy and tortured for weeks.}}

* In ''[[Callahan's Crosstime Saloon|Callahans Crosstime Saloon]]'', Michael Finn was sent by an alien force to determine whether Earth is so dangerous that it needs to be destroyed; however, he's decided (after an evening at Callahan's) that he likes us [[Puny Earthlings]]. Should he fail to report in, they will assume we destroyed him and stay well clear of us -- butus—but it's impossible for him to ''intentionally'' fail to report, as long as he's properly functioning. When he gives his name as Michael Finn, Callahan the bartender takes the hint and [[Slipping a Mickey|slips him a "mickey"]], which renders him unconscious during the assigned reporting period. (Also of note here is that Michael himself refers to his mission as a "geas.")

* At the end of [[Terry Pratchett]]'s [[Discworld]] novel ''[[Discworld/The Fifth Elephant|The Fifth Elephant]]'', Angua's (a werewolf) {{spoiler|brother (the main villain of the novel) goes batshit insane after his plans are foiled and goes on a rampage. When he is dead she makes Captain Carrot promise to kill her if she ended up in a similar state.}}

** Also, in another Discworld novel ''[[Discworld/A Hat Full of Sky|A Hat Full of Sky]]'', {{spoiler|The Hiver}} cannot die {{spoiler|because it literally does not know how. However, it does know that it wants it, and Tiffany helps it find the gate to Death and the next world.}}

** One of the creepier parts of ''[[Discworld/Guards Guards|Guards! Guards!]]'' is a brief passage from the perspective of the Master of Assassins. He reflects on how {{spoiler|[[This Is Your Brain on Evil|Wonse]]}} mouthed "Help me" to him, and that as far as he can see, there's only one kind of "help" he's qualified to give...

* Self-preservation is [[Isaac Asimov]]'s [["Three Laws "-Compliant|third law of robotics]], making it the third-most-important moral imperative for a robot. Unfortunately for the robot, it's overridden by one and two, so a robot can kill itself if ''ordered'' to do so.

* In William King's [[Warhammer 4000040,000]] [[Space Wolf]] novel ''Ragnar's Claw'', when they go through the plague-stricken city, they walk through the dead, and the half-dead, many of whom plead for death. Gul kills one, but looks at the number of them and goes on with the rest.

* In [[Graham McNeill]]'s [[Warhammer 4000040,000]] [[Ultramarines (novel)|Ultramarines]] novel ''Nightbringer'', when Uriel finds a victim of [[Cold-Blooded Torture|torture]] still alive, he is capable of mouthing ''Kill me. . . .''

* In Lee Lightner's [[Warhammer 4000040,000]] [[Space Wolf]] novel ''Wolf's Honour'', on the [[Shadowland|shadow planet]], they find [[Garden of Evil|crops that have human faces]] and beg for release. What is worse, the Space Wolves can not burn them, though they wish to. The Inquisitor explains that they stem from the [[Blood Magic|sacrifices]] used to make this duplicate planet.

* In [[Lois McMaster Bujold]]'s [[Chalion]] novel ''The Hallowed Hunt'', {{spoiler|Wencel kin Horseriver}} is perfectly capable of killing his current body -- toobody—too bad his soul and consciousness will simply jump to the body of his next living heir, devouring that individual's mind in the process. Actually ''dying'' requires two other people and a lot of magical oomph. His plan to arrange just that is, it turns out, his primary goal.

** Specifically, he was going to reveal his [[Bishie Sparkle|Bishie Sparkles]]s to the city, somehow revealing the existence of vampires and forcing the Volturi to kill him.

{{quote| '''Hargrove:''' Mr. O'Claire, put down the knife.<br />

'''Billy:''' Shoot me! Please? Stop me!<br />

'''Hargrove:''' Drop the knife and no one needs to shoot anybody.<br />

'''Billy:''' You don't understand. It's the only way.<br />

'''Clint:''' (through Billy) Don't listen to this coward!<br />

'''Billy:''' I can't take this anymore!<br />

'''Clint:''' Shut up!<br />

* In [[Larry Niven]]'s novel ''[[Ring WorldRingworld|The Ringworld Engineers]]'', Teela Brown {{spoiler|has become a Protector whose descendant-protecting instincts are paradoxically making her try to stop the main characters from saving the Ringworld. She is, however, just rational enough to}} provoke the main characters into killing her so they can get on with the job.

{{quote| ''"He told me what he was going to do to me!" she panted. "Kill me! Kill me with your sword before he bursts the door!"''}}

{{quote| ''Ali! I feel their pull upon me now! Your cry and the grip of your fingers brought me back, but I am going fast. My soul clings to my body, but its hold weakens. Quick--kill me, before they can trap my soul for ever!''}}

* In ''[[Gone (novel)]]'', {{spoiler|Hunter, who is being slowly eaten by parasitic wasps, begs Sam to kill him.}}

* The humanoid Cylons on ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined(2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'' are forbidden from committing suicide by their religion (although at least two have successfully self-terminated by putting themselves in close proximity to explosives); given the overall tone of the series, it is perhaps not surprising that this has led to ''multiple'' instances of Cylons begging someone else to pull the trigger on them. This appears to be purely a psychological effect rather than something hardwired into them - Brother Cavil, the one Cylon who doesn't believe in the Cylon god, is shot by the underground resistance on New Caprica in the third season, and, upon coming back sometime later, casually mentions that he had to cut his jugular vein open with a shell casing to kill himself. And he does it again in the final episode as well, {{spoiler|shooting himself in the head after Tyrol makes resurrection impossible by killing another one of the Final Five.}} "Frak!" * bang*

{{quote| '''Prisoner''': Kill me you savages, you heathens cover are you devils, kill me! '''''NOW!!!''''' Ashadu an l? il?ha illall?h! (beat) Kill me please. I beg of you.}}

* In ''[[Maddigans Quest|Maddigan's Quest]]'', Timon begs Garland to shoot him after narrowly avoiding a trip over the [[Moral Event Horizon]], explaining that next time he's asked to kill someone, he won't be able to stop himself. Boomer approves of the idea, but the answer's ultimately a no.

* Mitchell, in ''[[Being Human (UK)]]'', ''begs'' his best friend George to stake his heart before his [[Horror Hunger]] makes him kill anyone else. After they introduce the next season's [[Big Bad]] by way of him threatening to kill George if Mitchell doesn't leave with him (and help him commit further horrible crimes), George does it. Of course, [[Contractual Immortality|he'll probably be back]]...

* In the ''[[Criminal Minds]]'' episode "Reckoner," a judge suffering from terminal cancer hires a [[Career Killers|hitman]] to carry out a series of [[Vigilante Execution|Vigilante Executions]]s on people he considered [[Karma Houdini|Karma Houdinis]]s (mostly for crimes against children), culminating in the man who killed the judge's wife while driving drunk. After the last criminal is killed, he admits to the BAU that there is still one more name on his hit list...and is promptly shot dead by the hitman.

{{quote| ''If I wait, this could die''<br />

''[If] I wane, this could die''<br />

{{quote| "Kill me."<br />

"I can't!"<br />

"Kill me."<br />

"I love you!"<br />

* Dwarfs in ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' are an interesting example, in that their culture allows for death to atone for a terrible shame or failure, but is strictly opposed to killing oneself- according to some sources, dwarfs are mentally incapable of suicide. Instead, a suicidal Dwarf becomes a ''Troll Slayer'', which mostly entails dyeing their hair and beard, cutting it into a mohawk, and going out to [[Death Seeker|find something really nasty to kill them in battle]]. And since Dwarfs are similarly opposed to throwing a fight, the more successful (or ''un''successful, depending on how you look at it) Slayers are fearsome warriors indeed.

* The Sisters Repentia from ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' are similar to the Trollslayers. They are made up of Sororitas who have somehow shamed themselves and seek redemption through death in battle. They are essentially naked women toting [[BFS|gigantic]] [[Chainsaw Good|chainsaw swords]] whose only purpose is to charge the nearest enemy and cut it to pieces.

* General Pepper in ''[[Star Fox (series)|Star FoxFOX]] Assault''. The Aparoids have taken over his ship and threaten to take over himself as well. During the fight, he keeps asking to be killed before that happens. Subverted in that Peppy dives in to soften the ships fall and Pepper survives in the end. Also later in the game, {{spoiler|Peppy sacrifices the infested Great Fox to break through a defensive shield}}.

* In an astonishing example of loyalty, {{spoiler|Asgard [[Suicide by Cop|battles your party]] after he saves them from [[The Man Behind the Man|Beatrice]], just so he can get around his self-preservation programming and follow his masters to hell}} in ''[[Wild ArmsARMs 3]]''.

* In ''[[Killer 7Killer7]]'', {{spoiler|Ulmeyda publically challenges the titular assassins to kill him. When they reach him, he reveals that he's terrified at the thought of becoming a Heaven's Smile and called on them to kill him in case he becomes one. He promptly does when the Army intervenes, and his Heaven's Smile form is the [[Boss Battle]] of the chapter.}}

* In ''[[BioshockBioShock (series)]]'', {{spoiler|Andrew Ryan uses the compulsive phrase "Would you kindly..." to force the main character to kill him with a golf club, ending his life on his own terms.}}

* In ''[[BioshockBioShock (series)]] 2'',{{spoiler|Gilbert Alexander, a scientist who worked for Andrew Ryan, knowing what he will become, leaves behind pre-mutation audio logs, asking whoever finds them to kill him. When the player finds him, however, "Alex the Great," now mutated and trapped in in a containment tube, begs the player to spare his life. This troper is still not sure which choice is the right one.}}

** A variation on this trope appears in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater]]'', in which {{spoiler|The Boss is under orders to sacrifice herself for the sake of a cover-up, allowing herself to be taken out by Naked Snake so that the US and USSR will not engage in nuclear war. She is not allowed to kill herself, and she cannot tell Snake the truth about her mission. It speaks volumes about her strength of character that she does not angst about this in the slightest; in fact, she seems ''glad'' that Snake is the one to finally finish her.}}

* One [http://www.game-ism.com/2008/04/04/still-alive-shes-free/ theory] states that [[Portal (series)|GLaDOS]] puts Chell though hell because of this trope, in order to give Chell motivation to kill [[G La DOSGLaDOS]].

* In ''[[Planescape: Torment]]'' you come across a woman who is dying of a painful illness but whose race has a taboo against suicide, and who requests that Dak'kon (a priestpriest—sort -- sort of -- ofof—of that same race) end her suffering. You can use this as an opportunity to [[Video Game Cruelty Potential|psychologically torture him]].

* Interestingly, while Seppuku is frowned upon now, there is still a large cultural mindset in Japan towards self-punishment for dishonor. Although it doesn't usually reach [[I Cannot Self-Terminate]] levels, it can result in an odd (for Westerners) predeliction towards redemption.

{{quote| "How's this for tomorrow's headline? [[Incredibly Lame Pun|French Fries]]!"}}