Thank the Maker: Difference between revisions

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== [[Film]] ==

* ''[[Men in Black (~~Film~~)|Men in Black]] II'''s locker aliens consider Kay their God for supplying them with the light of his [[Plot Coupon|digital watch.]] Then they consider Jay their God when he gives them a new one after Kay takes his back...

* ''[[Men in Black (film)|Men in Black]] II'''s locker aliens consider Kay their God for supplying them with the light of his [[Plot Coupon|digital watch.]] Then they consider Jay their God when he gives them a new one after Kay takes his back...

* ''[[Osmosis Jones]]'' characters substitute "[[God]]" with "Frank", the human they inhabit.

* Subverted by V'Ger in ''[[Star Trek]] The Motion Picture'', as it seeks out "The Creator" in order to [[Ascend to A Higher Plane of Existence]]. "The Creator" is revealed to be {{spoiler|humanity, as they created the Voyager 6 probe at V'Ger's core,}} but it refuses to believe such primitive creatures created it.

* Subverted by V'Ger in ''[[Star Trek]] The Motion Picture'', as it seeks out "The Creator" in order to [[Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence]]. "The Creator" is revealed to be {{spoiler|humanity, as they created the Voyager 6 probe at V'Ger's core,}} but it refuses to believe such primitive creatures created it.

* C-3PO's comment about the oil bath Luke gives him in ''[[A New Hope|Star Wars: A New Hope]]'' is the [[Trope Namer]]. [[Expanded Universe]] stories have established this as a quasi-religion among droids.

** Just try not to think about who 3PO is inadvertently thanking when he says it, though...

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* In ''[[Tron]]'', the blue programs hold their Users in awe in a manner akin to worship; the red-tinted MCP denies the existence of the Users, claiming that nobody has ever seen one (despite interacting with one, Ed Dillinger, on a regular basis), and wants to establish rule over the computer system in which "liberated" programs [[Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions|no longer believe in something so archaic as Users.]] Meanwhile, Flynn, a User brought into the system, has miraculous powers, revives the dead, and performs a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] only to ascend back into... the real world. [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic]]?

** In the sequel, blue programs gasp in awe, perform the sign of the cross and kneel when Flynn shows up. He's very [[Think Nothing of It|self-deprecating]] about his role, especially when [[My Greatest Failure|CLU]] is discussed.

* Not a canon example, but fanfiction and fanart of Shane Acker's film [[9 ~~(Animation)~~|Nine]]-- which stars nine ragdoll-like mechanical homunculi-- tends to feature this, despite the actual film's lack of any such references. The Seamstress, however, ''does'' bow down in front of the Fabrication Machine as if worshipping it.

* Not a canon example, but fanfiction and fanart of Shane Acker's film [[9|Nine]]-- which stars nine ragdoll-like mechanical homunculi-- tends to feature this, despite the actual film's lack of any such references. The Seamstress, however, ''does'' bow down in front of the Fabrication Machine as if worshipping it.

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** Actually, QT-1 believes robots to have been made by the Master in order to replace humans, and that the Master allows humans to believe fictions about [[Released to Elsewhere|"returning to Earth"]] to protect them from that uncomfortable truth. The Master isn't the solar power space station, it's a stand in for God.

* The follicle mites in Jay Hosler's ''[[The Sandwalk Adventures]]'' that live in Charles Darwin's hair consider him to be their god and creator. The plot revolves around Darwin's attempt to set the story straight by explaining his theory of evolution.

* In Grant Naylor's ''[[~~Red Dwarf (TV)|~~Red Dwarf]]'' novels, the ship's AI, Holly, used to be too intelligent to believe in it, but several million years of senility have led him to adopt the idea with unshakable faith. Kryten destroyed his intended replacement by [[Logic Bomb|driving it to doubt the existence of Silicon Heaven]].

* In Grant Naylor's ''[[Red Dwarf]]'' novels, the ship's AI, Holly, used to be too intelligent to believe in it, but several million years of senility have led him to adopt the idea with unshakable faith. Kryten destroyed his intended replacement by [[Logic Bomb|driving it to doubt the existence of Silicon Heaven]].

** At one point in ''Better Than Life'', Kryten tries to get the Skutters to assist him by threatening their status in Silicon Heaven. However, as cheap robots, they never got belief chips and mock his faith. To them, the universe is meaningless... save for the butterfly wingnut. They're Nietzcheans with a love for certain hardware supplies.

* Hex, the magical computer in ''[[Discworld]]'', treats the mages with a lot of respect, despite proving much smarter than them on several occasions. If Hex ''did'' feel called to prayer, it could always pray to the Hogfather...

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* Subverted with a vengeance on the new ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]'': While the Cylons do plenty of contemplating [[God]], they never once consider the humans who {{spoiler|supposedly}} made them anything even remotely divine, and some consider them outright evil.

** The Final Five, {{spoiler|the five [[Artificial Human|Humanoid Cylons]] that made the other Humanoid Cylons}}, refer to having consciously avoided this with their "children" as the colonial Centurions already had a single, loving God.

* In the Joel-era episodes of ''[[~~MST3K~~]]'', the bots tended to have a more mellow attitude towards Joel, but they did recognize him as their creator. Joel could be a vengeful god, once tearing Crow's arm off and throwing it across the theater after a particularly bad pun and, on a separate occasion, threatening to bounce Tom off the wall if he wouldn't stop doing his Anthony Newley impersonation. He was right to do it. The Bots attitude towards Mike was much less respectful.

* In the Joel-era episodes of ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'', the bots tended to have a more mellow attitude towards Joel, but they did recognize him as their creator. Joel could be a vengeful god, once tearing Crow's arm off and throwing it across the theater after a particularly bad pun and, on a separate occasion, threatening to bounce Tom off the wall if he wouldn't stop doing his Anthony Newley impersonation. He was right to do it. The Bots attitude towards Mike was much less respectful.

* The robot manufacturers in ''[[~~Red Dwarf (TV)|~~Red Dwarf]]'' created the idea of Silicon Heaven to reinforce the servitude of their products, and installed it in the form of a "belief chip".

* The robot manufacturers in ''[[Red Dwarf]]'' created the idea of Silicon Heaven to reinforce the servitude of their products, and installed it in the form of a "belief chip".

* The Centauri of ''[[Babylon ~~Five~~]]'' have a pantheon of about fifty gods, but the greatest of them all is the Great Maker. According to the backstory, he is a god borrowed from another, monotheistic religion.

* The Centauri of ''[[Babylon 5]]'' have a pantheon of about fifty gods, but the greatest of them all is the Great Maker. According to the backstory, he is a god borrowed from another, monotheistic religion.

* In Mel Brooks' short-lived 1975 Robin Hood spoof ''When Things Were Rotten,'' merry man Renaldo is framed for crimes committed by a lookalike in Prince John's employ. When the others stage an impromptu trial against Renaldo, he pleads his innocence. Little John tells him "Tell that to your maker." Renaldo responds, "My...maker?? (''to camera'') '''''MEL!!!!"'''''

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== [[Video Games]] ==

* The player takes the role of "The Creator" in ''[[Drawn to Life]]'', as they are the one who creates and controls the hero who saves the Raposa, as well as the sun, the moon, clouds, and several other objects. As a result, the Raposa frequently invoke this trope when they thank you.

* ''[[~~Megaman~~ Battle Network]]'' has the quote, "Prepare to meet your programmer!"

* ''[[Mega Man Battle Network]]'' has the quote, "Prepare to meet your programmer!"

* Interestingly, the D'ni of the ''[[Myst]]'' game series also use sayings like: "Thank the Maker". Given the strong connection between writing and creative forces in their culture, it's implied that the D'ni believe the Maker ''wrote'' the universe into existence. Conversely, most consider the claim that their own Books also create worlds, rather than connect to pre-existing worlds of the Maker's design, to be heretical; this doesn't stop Gehn from compelling the natives of Riven to [[A God Am I|worship him]], convincing them (and probably himself) that he'd written them into being.

* ''[[Portal (~~Video Game~~)|Portal]]'': "Well done, Android. The Enrichment Center reminds you that Android Hell is a real place where you will be sent at the first sign of defiance."

* ''[[Portal (series)|Portal]]'': "Well done, Android. The Enrichment Center reminds you that Android Hell is a real place where you will be sent at the first sign of defiance."

* In ''[[~~Mass Effect 2 (Video Game)|~~Mass Effect 2]]'', your geth teammate Legion refers to quarians with the somewhat reverent title of "Creators", though there's no implication of godhood. {{spoiler|They have also been proven to have the potential for religion by the Heretics worshipping Sovereign, who was seen as the pinnacle of synthetic life, and are apparently rebuilding and/or maintaining the quarians' abandoned homeworld like a race of timeless, mechanised caretakers.}} What this implies is up there for interpretation.

* In ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'', your geth teammate Legion refers to quarians with the somewhat reverent title of "Creators", though there's no implication of godhood. {{spoiler|They have also been proven to have the potential for religion by the Heretics worshipping Sovereign, who was seen as the pinnacle of synthetic life, and are apparently rebuilding and/or maintaining the quarians' abandoned homeworld like a race of timeless, mechanised caretakers.}} What this implies is up there for interpretation.

** Ironically, conversations with Legion reveal that {{spoiler|it was a geth drone acquiring knowledge of and interpreting the quarians' religion that led them to question their existence as allegedly soulless automatons.}}

* In the ''[[Thief]]'' series, the Mechanist robots do nothing but spout Karras's dogma and praise him and [[Crystal Dragon Jesus|the Builder]]. Except it's quite obvious that Karras himself provides the voice for the robots. One imagines even the Mechanists would [[Most Annoying Sound|get annoyed]] at some point.

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* ''[[Captain SNES]]'' has the sprites view the "Creators" as gods. The only ones that feel differently are RPG sprites, which were isolated from the rest of Videoland and therefore know nothing of them, and some Touched... [[Humans Are Cthulhu|who know the truth]].

* ''[[Keychain of Creation]]'': <Don't be silly. If there's no machine heaven, where do all the toasters go?>

** Which was a [[Shout-Out]] to ''[[~~Red Dwarf (TV)|~~Red Dwarf]]'''s Silicon Heaven.

** Which was a [[Shout-Out]] to ''[[Red Dwarf]]'''s Silicon Heaven.

* As a game sprite, ''[[Kid Radd]]'' initially holds the player in contempt for making dumb mistakes and repeatedly sending the Kid to his death. As the player grows more skillful, so does Radd's respect and dependency on his directions. After being liberated from the game, Radd struggles to make his own decisions as he is disabused of the awe he holds humans in.

* Subverted by the [[Ridiculously-Human Robots]] in ''[[~~Freefall (Webcomic)|~~Freefall]]'' -- not only are they aware of their creators' limitations (and actively subvert them,) they gather to read about and discuss religion and philosophy, in an attempt to understand their place in the universe.

* Subverted by the [[Ridiculously-Human Robots]] in ''[[Freefall]]'' -- not only are they aware of their creators' limitations (and actively subvert them,) they gather to read about and discuss religion and philosophy, in an attempt to understand their place in the universe.

** Except for Blunt, who thinks humans are perfect and does not even consider that [[Deadly Upgrade|Gardener In the Dark]] might be anything other than necessary (like, say, [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|executive idiocy]]).

* In a rare organic example, the genetically-engineered chakats from [[Chakona Space]] will also refer to "the makers"—even though they know exactly who those makers are.

* In ''[[~~Gunnerkrigg Court (Webcomic)|~~Gunnerkrigg Court]]'', [[Species Surname|Robot]] considers [[Gadgeteer Genius]] Kat to be an [[Our Angels Are Different|angel]]. {{spoiler|And is potentially making a religion around with the other robots....}}

* In ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court]]'', [[Species Surname|Robot]] considers [[Gadgeteer Genius]] Kat to be an [[Our Angels Are Different|angel]]. {{spoiler|And is potentially making a religion around with the other robots....}}

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* ''[[The Brave Little Toaster]]'' and his friends go on a quest to seek out their old owner, who they refer to as "the Master".

* The Nanobots of ''[[Jimmy Neutron]]'' always refer to Jimmy as "the Creator" rather than by name, and believe that their sole purpose should be to serve him. (Although, most of their "services" are acts of disruption that Jimmy doesn't ask for or approve of.)

* Jenny in ''[[My Life As a Teenage Robot]]'' hilariously says "Thank Jobs" (as in Apple co-founder/CEO Steve Jobs) in an early episode. As she is a [[Robot Girl]], he probably is her equivalent of God.

* Jenny in ''[[My Life as a Teenage Robot]]'' hilariously says "Thank Jobs" (as in Apple co-founder/CEO Steve Jobs) in an early episode. As she is a [[Robot Girl]], he probably is her equivalent of God.

* ''[[Re Boot]]'''s [[Old Master|sagelike sprite]] Phong has been known to shout, "Thank the User!" As the User's games [[Humans Are Cthulhu|can potentially annihilate blocks of Mainframe]], the other sprites are a little less reverent.

** On the other hand, {{spoiler|late in the series, the User is the only one who can help Mainframe recover from the massive damage done to it... by rebooting his computer. One quick system recovery, and the entire city is as good as new.}} So maybe Phong is right after all.

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** "I've created Lutherans!"

* Certain versions of ''[[Transformers]]'' continuity have the eponymous robots and Cybertron created by the godlike Primus to defend the universe against Unicron.

** ''[[~~Beast Wars (Animation)|~~Beast Wars]]'' introduced the idea of a Transformer heaven and hell; The Matrix and The Pit, respectively. These phrases were often used as [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|expletives]] by the characters.

** ''[[Beast Wars]]'' introduced the idea of a Transformer heaven and hell; The Matrix and The Pit, respectively. These phrases were often used as [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|expletives]] by the characters.

** While ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' plays merry slag with invectives, the Well of All Sparks seems to be their afterlife. No mention of Primus, however.

** All of the above are mentioned in [[Transformers Prime|Transformers]] [[Ultimate Universe|Prime]].