Living Battery: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
Most [[Magitech]] and machines require some kind of [[Power Source]]. Common sources are coal, steam, electricity, or even [[Phlebotinum]]. But sometimes, that source is something which is biological and alive, sometimes even sentient. It's a
We generally don't feel too bad if such living batteries are plants or insects, but the more intelligent, humanoid and sentient the creature, the more likely this will be [[Played for Drama]]. The story may reveal the battery is being taken advantage of, if not outright enslaved, and the extraction of the
A [[Sub-Trope]] of [[Power Source]]. [[Powered by a Forsaken Child]] is itself a subtrope. Compare [[Life Energy]], [[Sentient Phlebotinum]], [[Human Resources]] and [[Cast From Hit Points]].
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* The best devices of ''[[The Tommyknockers]]'' were powered by lifeforce.
* "Lose Now, Pay Later" by Carol Farley has aliens who powered their tech with human fat from special slimming machines they
* One of the dark secrets of [[Tad Williams]]'s ''[[The War of the Flowers]]'' is that, with Oberon and Titania gone, the world of Faerie is drawing its power from {{spoiler|living, working class fairies, draining and discarding them}}. It's only a secret to Theo and the audience, though. The world of Faerie knows and hates it.
* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' [[Virgin New Adventures]] novel ''Time's Crucible'', a prototype Gallifreyan time capsule is powered by the psychic energies of its crew. "Battery" is an official title of one of the crew.
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== Web Comic ==
* The webcomic ''[[Machine Gun Angel]]'' has the [[Mega Corp]] who took over the world [[After the End]] running power plants on energy harvested from genetically manipulated humans (originally, they used sentient human clones, but they caved to public pressure and made clones that were [[Empty Shell
* The Psiioniic from ''[[Homestuck]]'' was forced to [[Cast From Hit Points]] to fuel the Condense's intergalactic ship.
* In ''[[Girl Genius]]'', Agatha drinks water from the Dyne and is super-charged as a temporary power source.
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* In ''[[Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time]]'', the Shroobs use Toads to power their flying saucers. A used-up Toad turns into a small purple (ordinary) mushroom.
* In ''Ecco: Defender of the Future'', there's a level in the evil version of the future where evil dolphins are using humpback whales as a living power source.
* In ''[[Quake 4|Quake IV]]'', we discover just what produces the energy that the Strogg use: human corpses in various stages of mutilation
* While they don't require one to ''operate'', {{spoiler|Lares and Lemures}} from ''[[Solatorobo]]'' will turn you into one in exchange for controlling them.
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