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Secret Government Warehouse: Difference between revisions
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A [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|secret government warehouse]] where various items are stored of whose existence the government wants to keep secret from the general populace.
In fiction, the '''Secret Government Warehouse''' is a plot device used for conveniently disposing of story elements that have fulfilled their purpose in a story, but that would cause consistency or continuity problems for subsequent (or previous) stories in the same fictional setting were they to remain. In many cases, the story items disposed of are of such a nature that they would make it difficult to set up the necessary tensions and conflicts for others stories in the fictional setting, as they would make such tensions and conflicts simple to resolve. A secondary purpose of the Secret Government Warehouse plot device is to satirize the ineptitude of governments, the premise being that if a government found itself in possession of an extraordinary object or person, it would simply catalog it and lose it in a vast filing system.
Occasionally, a Secret Government Warehouse can serve as the main setting for a story. In this case, the warehouse has a rather different purpose in the story (even though its in-universe purpose is the same), that of providing a [[Extranormal Institute|unique setting]] with a steady influx of [[Phlebotinum]] and other [[Weirdness Magnet|weirdness]].
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The trope can also apply to the secret archives and storage facilities of villains or other organizations who are [[Collector of the Strange|Collectors of the Strange]]. If the collection were on sale, it would be a [[Bazaar of the Bizarre]].
The term secret distinguishes the trope concerning similar collections, who are generally more accessible. A smaller, personal mundane collection of simple mementos is a [[Trophy Room]]. Likewise a smaller, personal, more benign collection of mementos is a [[Superhero Trophy Shelf]], and only when the collection is maintained by superheroes. The
Not to be confused with [[Abandoned Warehouse]], even though the two can overlap. ''Very'' frequently overlaps with [[Area 51]] for obvious reasons. Most such warehouses are operated by an [[Artifact Collection Agency]].
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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* ''[http://www.warehouse23.com/basement/ Warehouse 23]'' is a role playing book based on a warehouse run by Secret Masters. [[Steve Jackson Games]] also calls its online store "Warehouse 23".
** ''[http://www.warehouse23.com/basement/dumpster/dump.html Warehouse 23's Dumpster]'' is for the stuff too weird even for the Secret Government Warehouse to keep.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120623110438/http://www.nemesis-system.com/greenbox/ The Green Box Generator] is based on this concept.
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* [http://www.bahneman.com/liem/x-files/warehouse.html The Wherehouse].
* Maintaining secret warehouses is pretty much the entire job of the ''[[SCP Foundation]]''.
** Some SCPs qualify too. For example, [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2427 SCP-2427] ("A Thing Full of Stuff") is an extradimensional storehouse and prison created by [[Religion of Evil|the Brazen Heart]], a cult that worshipped Moloch and was presumed to have been eradicated during the Spanish Inquisition. (Well, ''almost''. The SCP finds [[The Remnant|small groups of them now and then]].) The Foundation has found quite a few unusual and/or dangerous items and creatures while exploring this place, and it is rumored to not be the only one.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
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** This troper got a backstage tour of a ''zoo'' that operated certain exhibits like a Secret Government Warehouse, in that they kept a dozen or more animals of a given species, but only put one or two on public display at a time. This was so the more active animals, like weasels or small birds, wouldn't exhaust themselves darting around their exhibits first thing each morning, then do nothing but snooze for the rest of the day.
** This also applies to smaller private institutions. This troper was at a private aircraft museum, and got a backstage tour, where there was an entire hangar just filled with engines. For one type of plane. A type of plane that the owner didn't even ''have'' at that time. Just in case.
* Shane McMahon once let slip in an interview that the [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] never throws anything away; somewhere in Stamford, Connecticut is a warehouse filled with old stages, props, and other assorted gimmicks. One of the reasons behind this is the desire to construct a museum/hall of fame at some point.
{{reflist}}
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