Brown Note: Difference between revisions

 

 

 

Usually, [[Take Our Word for It|we don't get to see or hear it ourselves.]] Possibly, it is a type of [[MacGuffin]].

* The Sick Sticks in ''[[Minority Report]]'' cause the victim to projectile vomit.

* The [[David Lynch]] film version of ''[[Dune]]'' shows Atrades advanced weaponry is sonic in nature, using ultra and/or infrasound to shatter structures, inflict pain in enemy soldiers, etc. {{spoiler|When Paul becomes [[The Chosen One]] he acquires the ability to imitate the effects of this sonic weaponry with just his voice}}

'''Soldier:''' And his word shall bring death eternal for all those who stand against the righteous! }}

* In the ''[[Rocky and Bullwinkle]]'' movie, the villains use a television program that causes the viewers to become zombies and attempt to broadcast it across the United States so Fearless Leader can become president.

* ''[[The Dragon Below]]'' trilogy has a [[Eldritch Abomination|Daelkyr]] whose telepathic voice gives sane people horrendous headaches and insane people orgasms.

* The plot of Neal Stephenson's ''[[Snow Crash]]'' revolves around the titular Snow Crash virus which ''resets'' a person to speaking and understanding only ancient Sumerian, which is described as a programming language for human beings. It allows people to be programmed directly, but leaves them gibbering crazy people spouting glossolalia until then, and shows up in the form of a bitmap image. All hackers are vulnerable, because they can understand the embedded binary code in this bitmap, which causes their unconscious to be able to pick up and mentally "run" the virus. Any [[Hackers]] who sees the bitmap, whether in cyberspace or in real life, becomes infected with the virus and instantly turns into a wandering bag-lady (or, erm... bag-lord?).

* [[Logic Bomb]]s were used in the [[Discworld]] novel ''[[Discworld/Thief of Time|Thief of Time]]'' to slow down (or destroy) the logical and obedient Auditors, in the form of signs saying things like "Ignore this sign (by order)", and an arrow pointing right that said "Keep Left".

** The ''[[Discworld]]'' also features the [[Warrior Poet|gonagles]] of the Nac Mac Feegle, who fight by reciting atrocious poetry and by playing music on their painfully high-pitched mousepipes. They can make it rain.

* The short story/long sentence "[http://www.ichorfalls.com/2008/10/27/the-fulcrum The Fulcrum]" features a ''punctuation mark'' that will destroy your understanding of language, which in turn leaves you incapable of comprehending reality. This was assumably an attempt on the part of the social sciences to dispel the popular notion that it's incapable of creating a world-ending monstrosity in defiance of God's will. Take that, the hard sciences.

* In P.C. Hodgell's ''[[Chronicles of the Kencyrath]]'', the cry of a rathorn (a vicious, carnivorous unicorn-like creature) induces terror in those who hear it. The Kencyr house of Knorth adopted the rathorn as its banner and its cry as their [[Battle Cry]]; members of the House appear to be immune to the sound.

* In [[Orson Scott Card]]'s ''Songmaster'', the protagonist, Ansset, can manipulate people psychologically with his singing. At one time, he causes a sadistic man to disembowel himself by showing the sadist the depth of his own evil through a song.

* In ''Wheel of Darkness'', an [[Agent Pendergast]] novel, the {{spoiler|Agoyzen is a type of this - the mere sight of it unhinges something in the viewer's brain, making them become a sociopath. Pendergast is one of those who suffers from Agoyzen sociopathy, but [[It Got Better|he gets better]].}}

** The premise is that a British humorist writes a joke so unimaginably funny that anyone who reads or hears it quickly dies from fatal hilarity. The British army then [[Blind Idiot Translation|translate the joke word-by-word]] to German using different translators (some of them fall into a coma after translating more than two words) and use it as a weapon against the Germans in WWII.

** [[Schmuck Bait|And that joke is]]: {{spoiler|"Wenn ist das Nunstruck git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!"}} This cannot really be coherently translated given that it involves many seemingly nonexistent words, but if searches through online German-English dictionaries are any indication then whatever they're talking about apparently involves both dogs and pinball, [[Noodle Implements|and one can only imagine the possibilities of what humor could be made of that]].

* The British ''Mythbusters'' knockoff ''Brainiac'' also "tested" the Brown Note, but they claimed it ''worked.'' On the other hand, Brainiac's unprofessionalism stems not from a preference for showing the two goofiest personalities injuring themselves to showing their scientific scrupulosity, but from their not testing anything more than once and faking results if reality proves less than accommodating. In this case, they stuffed their victim in the porta-john with a speaker; when the test was over, the host (but '''not the camera''') looked into the john and said, "We're going to need a bucket." Take that as you will.

* The comedy series ''Upright Citizens Brigade'' featured sketches involving the "Bucket of Truth", a plastic bucket which would supposedly force anyone who looked into it to face some undefined, horrifying truth, driving them mad (and thus lowering the price of a home that included it); the only one immune to its insanity-creating effect was a detective so jaded and cynical that his reaction was "Don't you think I know that!?!"

* ''[[The Outer Limits]]'': In "Music of the Spheres", the titular music is a signal from space which, in addition to being extremely addictive, ends up causing a series of dramatic physical transformations in listeners. Notably, unlike most examples of the Brown Note, {{spoiler|the changes the music causes ultimately turn out to be beneficial - it transforms humans into a form that is resistant to a high-UV environment, which is what the Earth is about to become due to the sun undergoing a "shift".}}

* In ''[[Torchwood]]: Children of Earth'', when the frequency emitted from Jack's grandson {{spoiler|makes the 456 explode in a shower of blood (and then somehow teleport away in their flaming pillar) and also kills Stephen}}.

** One episode features an alien who uses this to distract Deanna Troi from probing his mind, basically by [[Ear Worm|sticking a song permanently in her head]]. Apparently, Troi is allergic to ethereal, tinkly music-box music, because while it's mildly annoying to the viewer Troi reacts not like she's going mad, so much as she's in intense, head-exploding pain. Brown Note indeed.

*** Troi's example doesn't really count, as there is nothing compulsive about the music. It is simply that the alien ''forces'' Troi to hear it, constantly, day and night, 24/7. No matter how innocuous the music, after a while ''anyone'' would start to crack up, begging for it to stop, especially if it was in your ''head''. And he keeps turning up the volume. Since nobody other than Troi can hear the music, this is more of a case of [[Terrible Ticking]].

* The Green Clarinet sketch from ''[[That Mitchell and Webb Look]]'' ends with {{spoiler|a put-upon waiter countering the Clarinet's forced-truth effect with a literal Brown Note from a red tuba.}} The clarinet itself may not be a literal example, but it does have the effect of compelling the listener to reveal "an embarrassing truth... that they'll be unable to deny." Call it emotional harm if you must.

* In the ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' online comic, a man with [[Make Me Wanna Shout|sound control]] powers ("[[Meaningful Name|Echo DeMille]]") makes use of the Brown Note. As he puts it, instead of killing the men following him, he lays waste to them.

** An example of the [[Surreal Horror|surreal]], ''[[Twilight Zone]]''-y, [[Space Is Magic]] philosophy that ''[[Star Trek]]'' started out with. The old writers didn't feel any need to [[Hand Wave|"explain"]] everything, much less with the same [[Techno Babble]] every week. The Medusans don't emit dangerous radiation or anything, they're just supposed to ''look so weird that you'll lose your mind if you see one.'' (When traveling among [[Five Races|mundanes]] they hide in little coffins like [[Our Vampires Are Different|vampires]].)

* An episode of ''[[Seinfeld]]'' had to do with Elaine going out with a man who would go into near-catatonic states of bliss when he heard the Eagles song "Desperado". Irritated, she tried to get him to make a song "their song", suggesting "Witchy Woman", which he doesn't seem to particularly care for. At the end of the episode, he gets into a car accident, but unfortunately the surgeon goes into a similar state of lapse when he hears, irony of ironies, "Witchy Woman", which is playing on the speakers for some reason. It's implied the man dies as a result.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

** An article in ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' magazine described a sage who delved into the study of the Lords of the Nine, the nine arch-devils who rule the Nine Hells of Baator. He went missing; all that turned up of him were a few spots of blood on his floor. It's speculated that either he [[Speak of the Devil|attracted the attention of the devils]], who spirited him away; or that that the sheer evil of the tomes he was reading caused him to spontaneously implode.

*** Note that this is also similar to the legend of Faust, who gave rise to the term "[[Deal with the Devil|Faustian bargain]]" and was ultimately found splattered all over the floor...and the walls...and the ceiling.

**** Tenebrous's/Orcus's last word was so powerful that the utterance could instantly slay even deities. In fact, it was so powerful that unless you were a true god, usage of this word would eventually burn you out. After Tenebrous's shenanigans, a cabal of greater deities greatly lessened the power of the word.

** Cyric of the [[Forgotten Realms]] created a tome called the Cyrinishad that would brainwash anyone who read it into being a devoted worshipper of Cyric. Things got bad when he accidentally read it himself. As a result he became even ''crazier'' and came to believe his own hype. He eventually got better, but this misadventure did cost him a lot of power.

** This a rather favorite tactic of Chaos. There was an old story about the forces of Chaos capturing a Janitor or somesuch, and then returning him back home... after telling him a word. Cue the inquisition purging the planet continuously for ''a thousand years,'' before finally resorting to Exterminatus.

*** In addition the Imperium have their own Brown Note in the form of the Culexus Assassin. These rare mutants are like psychic black holes, whose bizarre ''non''-presence seriously puts the wind up anyone (including their own allies) within a few feet.

* It's quite possible for Malkavians with high Dementation and Auspex in [[Vampire: The Masquerade]] to booby-trap books, paintings or songs with their discipline's powers. It's even possible to modify your aura in that way, to punish curious Auspex users.

** And the Daughters of Cacophony have many ways to screw you over with their singing.

* In ''[[GURPS]]'' the Terror advantage (caused by whatever aspect of yourself you wish) can terrify victims beyond all reason. At its worst Terror can cause permanent insanity and actually make someone so horrified by the effect that he becomes stupider.

** ''[[GURPS]]: Ultra-Tech'' has a more literal brown note. Sonic nauseators make people void their bowels as side effect of knocking them out. Just don't mix one up with a Sonic Screamer, which produces a sound that ''melts'' the target.

* In ''[[Fatal Frame]] II: Crimson Butterfly'': The horror of looking into the Hellish Abyss causes the viewer to become blind.

* In ''[[King's Quest VII]]'', the player character dies if she looks at the undead Lady Tsepish's [[Nightmare Face]].

* In ''[[Mass Effect]]'', this is why only strong willed individuals such as Shepard are able to withstand experiencing [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As0F9Bq2kGk the Prothean Beacon] and keep their sanity, as the sheer intensity of the vision has the potential to "destroy a lesser mind".

 

* In the world of ''[[The Demented Cartoon Movie]]'', saying the word "Blah" sometimes causes your head to pop off of your neck, although the exact rules regarding this are inconsistent. Saying or producing a recording of the word "Zeekyboogydoog" causes a nuclear explosion at the location the sound originated from. Saying the word "Gleegsnagzip" causes [[Earthshattering Kaboom|the entire planet to explode]]. And saying "Kamikaze Watermelon" cues a visit from Fooby, the Kamikaze Watermelon.

** "(Fanfare plays) Wheeee! (splat)"

* According to the ''[[Homestar Runner]]'' cartoon "Fall Float Parade", Strong Sad goes into an unexplained trance whenever he hears the phrase "covered bridges". At least until Strong Bad starts hitting him with nunchucks.

** In this same series, there's the Creepy Painting Strong Mad keeps in his closet, which depicts a gargoyle-like creature named Rocoulm who says "Come on in here!" and causes anyone who hears those words to get "the jibblies."

** Vaarsuvius [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0092.html prepared Explosive Runes this morning].

* [http://i33.tinypic.com/15zibf7.gif This comic] from ''[[The Parking Lot Is Full]]'' describes such an occurrence.

** Not to forget Sam's real er... face, which he theorizes triggers some sort of nurturing instinct in humans, since any time someone sees it they immediately disgorge their stomach contents. This is a big part of why he wears a full-body environment suit with an animated mechanical face.

** And most recently, the [[Memetic Mutation|Sticky Notes of Doom]] that cause any robot who reads them while connected to the commnet to download an upgrade that lobotimizes them.

* An [[Easter Egg]] in the ''[[Sonic Shorts]]'' collection volume 2 features an extremely terrifying version of the Tails Doll that allegedly causes grown men to scream like a little girl.

* The ''[[SCP Foundation]]'' has enough of these to call them "memetic hazards"—a syndrome or behavior that can be transmitted by means of sensorial information, such as pictures and sounds.

** SCP-701 is [http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-701 a play] very reminiscent of ''[[The King in Yellow]]''.

** SCP-298 is [http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-298 this pipe organ].

** Also reading about yawning. Having stopped yet?

** Slowpoke used Yawn! *player yawns*

** Wouldn't that be more of a Pink Note?

* Due to the nature of work with Thermodynamics being pessimistic, statistical mechanics is infamous for the number of famous suicides among the scientific founders. One text book has this as the opening paragraph.

** Now in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw-zNRNcF90 BBC documentary form!]

** While we're on the subject of mathematics, there's a fairly mild brown note that tends to affect newer students. It's the simple fact that [[wikipedia:0.999|0.999... = 1.]]

* The [[wikipedia:Tanganyika laughter epidemic|Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic]]. Imagine something so unbelievably funny that you keel over, and half-crouch half-lie, sides heaving, tears forming in your eyes, and then suddenly it's not funny and you're fighting to breathe, but you can't inhale properly because you can't make yourself stop laughing. Now imagine that's contagious.

* There is actually a weapon currently being tested by police which they refer to a "sonic cannon" that is designed to emit a long and powerful directional sonic burst at the exact resonance frequency of cranial fluid. Supposedly, it can knock an entire floor of an average office building unconscious after 10 seconds of exposure by mimicking the effects of a severe concussion without the accompanying impact trauma.

«''Butyl isocyanide proved to be so disagreeable to manipulate that none of its physical constants except boiling point were determined. Even when a hood with an extra forced draft was used, the odor pervaded the laboratory and adjoining rooms, deadening the sense of smell and producing in the operator, and in others, severe headaches and nausea which usually persisted for several days.''»}}

*** Or [http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2012/05/15/things_i_wont_work_with_selenophenol this]:

«''The odor of diphenyl diselenide is extremely disagreeable but is not nearly so bad as that of selenophenol. [...] The odor of selenophenol is very penetrating, and is nauseating beyond description.''» }}