One-Man Industrial Revolution: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

{{examples}}

 

== Comic Books ==

 

* [[Lex Luthor]] in ''[[Superman Red Son]]'' is responsible for technology decades ahead of its time.

** In main DC continuity, the city of Metropolis was "upgraded" by Brainiac around New Year's Day 2000 to be centuries ahead of its time.

== Literature ==

 

* The ''[[Prince Roger]]'' series has [[Space Marine|Space Marines]] crash on a planet chock full of alien barbarians. In order to make it across the planet to the spaceport, they ally with certain tribes and give them Roman Empire-era technology and tactics.

** Among the locals, Baron Seamount is so this that at least one character argues ''against'' telling him about the technology stolen from them in part because he's already single-handedly progressing Safehold technology without access to the knowledge, thus furthering exactly the sort of inquisitive scientific mindset the protagonists want to encourage in Safeholdians generally. If everybody bringing technology back to Safehold is just duplicating stuff that was developed on Old Earth that's not going to encourage the desired mindset.

* In "The Deadly Mission of Phineas Snodgrass", a [[Deconstruction]] of ''Lest Darkness Fall'', a man goes back in time to the Roman Empire and brings them modern knowledge until a thousand years later the Earth is so overpopulated that the future sends someone ''else'' back in time [[Time Police|to kill him]] just as he arrives in Roman times. The last line in the story is "And darkness blessedly fell".

* Also subverted in [[Poul Anderson]]'s story ''The Man Who Came Early'': A 20th-century American GI teleported back to Viking-era Iceland tries to fast-forward technological progress, but fails utterly.

* J.F. Bone's novel ''The Meddlers'': A man's starship runs out of fuel (wire made out of precious metals) and he lands on a primitive planet. He must teach the natives how to use technology so he can get enough fuel to get home.

* In Michael Swanwick's ''Jack Faust'', German scholar Johannes Faust kickstarts a technological revolution that skyhooks Renaissance Europe into the early 20th century in the space of a century. Justifiable in this case, as the story is written more as a fable than a realist novel (at least, if the parts where Mephistopheles tells Faust how to create new technologies is anything to go on).

* Subverted in the ''[[Discworld]]'' with Leonard of Quirm, who could create massive technological change had the Patrician not had him placed in a large, airy room for which he has the only key, where his failure to consider the consequences of his inventions can't do any harm. This is a man who created something for use in the mining industry "for when they want to move the mountains out of the way".

** [[Dark Messiah|Kane]]. A more generous interpretation of his actions is that he's preparing humans to be able to use [[Green Rocks|Tiberium]] and deal with the [[Alien Invasion|Scrin]].

* In ''[[Lufia]]: Curse of the Sinistrals'', Lexis is responsible for technology based on [[Magitek|Energy Cores]].

* The Kappa were already technologically advanced in ''[[Touhou]]'', but the Goddess Kanako feeds a dead sun god to a Hell Raven to give them access to nuclear power; and start their Industrial Revolution.

* Jade Curtiss of ''[[Tales of the Abyss]]'' developed {{spoiler|fomicry, a magical method. of instant, nearly exact cloning that can work on objects as well as people.}} This invention changed the very landscape of the world of Auldrant, and Jade was just a kid!

 

== Webcomics ==

 

 

== Western Animation ==

 

 

== Real Life ==

 

* [[Gadgeteer Genius|Archimedes]] almost did this for the Roman empire, but then a soldier [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|went and killed him]] because he was too busy [[Reluctant Mad Scientist|working on a math problem]] to respond to the [[Watching Troy Burn|Roman army sacking the city]]. It could have been something to do with all of the giant death machines Archimedes had built for the Carthaginians, such as a crane for crushing Roman ships. The Greeks at the time had invented a rudimentary mechanical calculator. [[What Could Have Been]]...

** In real life, something like an industrial revolution can't be started by a single man, however brilliant. The lack of widespread literacy, educated technicians (who will maintain those steam engines?), advanced banking system and a myriad of other factors would have prevented Archimedes or any other genius from starting a widespread, enduring technical revolution on his own.

*** Infrastructure like that grows organically with technology.