Slave Race: Difference between revisions

 

{{examples}}

== Comic Books ==

* In ''[[Incredible Hulk|The Incredible Hulk]] [http://www.incredible-hulk-library.com/superhero-library/incredible-hulk/incredible-hulk-comic-details.aspx?id=TIHA&issue=12 Annual 12]'' Hulk (with Banner's brain) visits a world where the Red people have enslaved the Green people. Hulk helps the greens to liberation, and before he leaves advises them to show mercy to the reds, otherwise they (greens) will be as bad as them (reds). After returning to Earth Hulk looks in his telescope and discovers that the greens have indeed enslaved the reds.

* This is what [[Paperinik New Adventures|The Evrons]] trasform the inhabitants of every planet they conquer into.

 

* Humans have become this to apes in ''[[Planet of the Apes]]'' (after taking apes as this first in the movie sequels).

* Humans in ''[[The Matrix]]'', though most don't realize it.

* The ''[[Underworld (film)|Underworld]]'' prequel ''Rise of the Lycans'' reveals that Werewolves descended from Lucius were bred to be a slave race for the vampires, until Lucius leads them into rebellion. The original ones bitten by William (the original source for the virus) end up as plain, permanent beasts.

* The Newcomers of ''[[Alien Nation (film)|Alien Nation]]'' (both the film and later [[Alien Nation (TV series)|the series]]) were originally a slave race. One of the great unanswered questions that arises among the fans is "What happens to Earth if the Newcomers' former masters ever show up?"

* In ''[[The Dark Crystal]]'', the [[Evil Counterpart|Skeksis]] are able to drain a being's lifeforce by using the dark crystal's light. These beings are brainwashed in the process. The Podlings are a picture perfect example for this trope, working as slaves for the Skeksis.

* In ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon]]'', {{spoiler|the Decepticons plan on turning the human race into this, in order to have workers to rebuild Cybertron. Needless to say, the Autobots stop them.}}

 

== Literature ==

* [[Larry Niven]]'s ''[[Known Space]]'' setting has several slave species. Far back in galactic history the Thrintun used their psychic powers to enslave many species. They are simply known as Slavers. One of the slave races, the Tnuctipun, fought back with biological weapons: the war killed off any species with a notochord, galaxy wide. Later the warlike Kzin are thought to have been raised from a primitive state by the Jotoki only to enslave their employers once they had the means. The Kzin went on to enslave the demonform Kdatlyno.

* In Deborah Chester's ''[[Alien Chronicles]]'' trilogy, the reptilian Viis have done this to numerous races, going so far in some cases as to alter the captive races' known history so they didn't know they wasn't a time they weren't slaves.

* ''[[Animorphs]]'': Many species are slave races of the Yeerks, including the Hork-Bajir, the Garatrons,the Gedds, and others.

* In ''Farewell to the Master'', {{spoiler|''Gnut'' is the master}}.

*** Also note that 'attempt to pay them for their services and they will go away' was a general formula invoked sometimes to clear out a house-elf who'd gone lazy and troublesome and started spending all their time playing pranks instead of helping 'round the house. [[Sadly Mythtaken|Mythologically]], one could not actually ''command'' a house-elf any more than any other kind of elf.

*** They also left if you kept the place so tidy they felt marginalized.

* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s "The Hyborian Age", the [[Backstory]] to [[Conan]], Lemurians.

{{quote|''In the distant east, cut off from the rest of the world by the heaving up of gigantic mountains and the forming of a chain of vast lakes, the Lemurians are toiling as slaves of their ancient masters.''}}

 

== Live-Action TV ==

** In "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S18/E05 Warriors Gate|Warriors' Gate]]", the Tharils, exploited for their navigational ability. To be quite just, they had exploited those abilities to act as slavers. One Tharil pleads with the Doctor that they have suffered long enough for what they did.

** Series 6 brings us the Gangers/Flesh.

** ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S10/E04 Planet of the Daleks|Planet of the Daleks]]'' features the Spiridons.

* The Kalish in ''[[Farscape]]'' have been enslaved by the Scarrans for some time, acting as technicians, bureaucrats, and occasionally spies: they have it better than most Slave Races, but they're still oppressed and abused by both their Scarran masters and the Charrid mercenaries they work with.

* The humans (called cows) of Pylea were a slave race to the demons there in ''[[Angel]]''.

* The Goa'uld of ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' consider every race a slave race, but particularly humans and Jaffa.

 

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* In ''[[Exalted]]'', the oddly coloured Djala pygmies are mostly this, and most assuredly do not [[Happiness in Slavery|like the situation]]. One canon character is a Djala, and working to change things.

** One of the [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=131006 cards] in ''Planar Chaos'' discusses an alternate timeline, in which Mirri befalls Selenia's curse, eventually ascends to the position of evincar, and exterminates the moggs in favor of the [[Rubber Forehead Aliens|the Kor]].

** The Neurok were slaves (or at least a subordinate race) to the Vedalken, at least [[Turned Against Their Masters|until they took over Lumengrid]].

 

== Video Games ==

** [[Final Fantasy VIII|Guardian Forces]] are technically this. Well, the equippable ones, anyway. Delves into [[Happiness in Slavery]] as well. Unfortunately, there isn't much explanation into this point.

* Everything that isn't a Pfhor in ''[[Marathon Trilogy|Marathon]]''. The [[Mind Control|mind controlled]] cyborg S'pht are given the most attention out of these, due to their rebellion being a major turning point in the conflict. The Pfhor plan on turning humans into this too, but according to the second game's epilogue, humanity eventually wins.

* Many of the races of the Covenant in ''[[Halo (series)|Halo]]'' qualify. The Grunts are the more obvious examples, while the Jackals take out their frustrations on serving the Prophets and Elites on the Grunts. Engineers as well, though they're happy as long as they're fixing machines. Brutes were this under the Elites {{spoiler|until the Prophets promoted the Brutes over the Elites}}.

* In the lore of ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'', the Imperials were once a slave race to the Ayleids before rebelling and forming the Empire. The Khajiit and Argonians were primarily used as slaves by the Dunmer (Dark Elves) in Morrowind, with slavery allowed in Morrowind despite being banned in the rest of the Empire, due to an agreement the Empire made when they annexed Morrowind. After [[The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion|Oblivion Crisis]] the Summerset Isle, the land of the Altmer (High Elves) seceded from the Empire and annexed Elsweyr and Valenwood treating the Khajiit and Bosmer (Wood Elves) as slave races.

** The Falmer (Snow Elves) spent generations as slaves to the [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same|Dwemer]], until, for unrelated reasons, the Dwemer all disappeared.

 

* Gnomes and Rift Halmes in ''[[Drowtales]]''.

* Part of the [http://www.lastres0rt.com/2010/04/no-jigsaw-will-not-put-on-the-dress/ implied backstory] of the Talmi in ''[[Last Res0rt]]''.

* Part of the background of ''[[Terinu]]''. The Vulpine, Creo, Galen, Maud and Manzi were all conquered by the Varn Dominion and made to serve. Then the Dominion made the mistake of [[Humans Are Special|trying the same with Humanity]].

 

* The ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]''. Most of the aliens who now live on Earth were originally brought as conquered slave races by the Xorn invaders in 1985. When the Xorn were defeated, tens of thousands of alien slaves were left behind, and most chose to stay on Earth and build new homes and lives rather than be returned to slavery under their former Xorn masters.

 

== Western Animation ==

* Referenced in a montage in ''[[Futurama]]''. In the year one million and a half, humanity as a whole is a slave race to giraffes.

* In ''[[Star Wars: The Clone Wars]]'', the Zygerrians actually plan to make Togrutas these.

 

== Real Life ==

* Blacks were used as slaves by several European nations, and by white Americans all the way until the Civil War. Native Americans were also used as slaves (and not only the US, but even more frequently in South America). Problem was, the Native American slave populations kept dying because of European diseases. So their owners solved this by importing African slaves to America instead.

* The Helots, slaves/serfs of the Spartans, who outnumbered the Spartan citizenry by so much that the Spartans had a tradition of hunting them down and killing them. This wasn't considered murder; one of the duties of the ephors (Spartan magistrates) was to declare war on the helots every year so that Spartan citizens could legally kill them (the fact that they were surrounded and vastly outnumbered by slaves who had every reason to hate them is believed by some to account for the Spartans' extreme militaristic badassery). The people from Sparta certainly considered themselves to be a breed apart. To the point that, in order to be a Spartan soldier, you had to be able to trace your origins back several generations of pure-blooded Spartans. This... did not work out so well for them, as being so incredibly exclusive in who can be a "soldier" tends to result in running out of trained soldiers. Not all wars are fought in very narrow mountain passes where numbers don't matter.

* This is what [[Nazi Germany]] had in mind for practically all of Eastern Europe during [[World War II]], including the Poles, Ukrainians, and Russians. Their lands would be settled by Germans, and the remainder of the local "subhumans" would be their slaves. The ''remainder'', mind you. After about two thirds of the natives would already have been exterminated through organized starvation and ethnic cleansing.

** The Nazis even invoked the above example; Heinrich Himmler once said that the Russian people would be the Helots to Germany's Spartans.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Alien Tropes]]

[[Category:Race Tropes]]

[[Category:A Slave to the Index]]