Made of Phlebotinum: Difference between revisions

Some [[The Verse|settings]] ''have'' [[Phlebotinum]]. It helps [[Screw theNew Rules Ias Havethe Plot Demands|move along the plot]], [[Hand Wave]] various characters' [[Willing Suspension of Disbelief|improbable]] powers, and conveniently get the [[Heroes]] [[Teleporters and Transporters|from point A to point B quickly]]. It can let you just say [[A Wizard Did It]].

The main dividing line between a world that simply has a lot of Phlebotinum and one that's '''made of the stuff''' is this litmus test: if you took away the Phlebotinum, would your world still exist in any meaningful sense, or would it more or less just [[The End of the World as We Know It|collapse]]? If it would, your world is just plain '''Made Ofof Phlebotinum'''.

There is actually a great deal of evidence that ''[[Real Life]]'' is thus: when you develop a potent capability to the point that there are few side effects, you start using it for everything imaginable. When we learned to harness electricity easily, the only things weren't 100% electrical were the things that we used to generate electricity. When computers became advanced enough, we started carrying them around with us. Litmus Test? If you took away computers, it'd '''re-create [[The Great Depression]]'''. If you took away electricity, '''''ninety percent of the world would die within a decade'''''.

** The ''[[The Science of Discworld]]'' books go on to give the Phlebotinum a name: narrativium, which (together with chelonium and elephantigen) in fact makes the formation of flat worlds on board giant turtles and elephants not only natural, but ''inevitable''. Too bad [[Real Life|Roundworld]] lacks these ''perfectly normal elements'' and had to concoct some outlandish alternative involving big rocky balls...

** In ''[[Discworld/The Last Hero|The Last Hero]]'' Discworld comic, Cohen and his Silver Horde have made it their mission to bring fire back to the gods --- via a large explosive. This would suddenly remove magic from the world and cause everything to die.

== [[Live -Action TV]] ==

* ''[[Eberron]]''{{'}}s [[Dungeon Punk]] world comes to mind as an especially obvious example of this trope. Without that magical-flavored [[Phlebotinum]], everything in that world would fall apart ''hard''. It's pretty much Made of Phlebotinum.

* [[Mass Effect]] uses this as its ''[[Character Title]] [[Title Drop|Drop]]'', despite being one of the [[Mohs Scale of Science Fiction Hardness|hardest]] [[Space Opera]]s to date. How does [[Casual Interstellar Travel|Casual]] [[Faster-Than-Light Travel]] work? [[Applied Phlebotinum|Mass Effect Fields]], generated by [[Unobtainium|Element]] [[Minovsky Physics|Zero]]. How do the [[Flying Car]]s fly? Mass Effect Fields, generated by Element Zero. How do [[Differently-Powered Individual|Biotics]] [[Mind Over Matter|move things with their minds]]? Mass Effect Fields, generated by Element Zero. How do the guns have [[Bottomless Magazines]]? Mass Effect Fields, generated by Element Zero. How do {{spoiler|the Reapers build a space station in the '''[[Black Holes|galactic core?]]}}'''}} <s>[[His Dark Materials|Subatomic Angels]]</s> '''''[[Overly Long Gag|Mass Effect Fields, generated by Element Zero.]]''''' And of course, without Mass Effect Fields, generated by Element Zero, [[Anthropic Principle|there would be no interstellar civilization]].

* [[8-Bit Theater]] has recently{{when}} ''proven'' it's made of Phlebotinum, since, in that world, you can drill for mana.