The Omniscient: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"I am so omniscient, if there were to be two omnisciences, I would be ''both''!"''|'''[[Devin Townsend|Ziltoid the Omniscient]]'''}}

 

 

Omniscience can be said to have three basic forms:

For The Omniscient to face a [[Moral Dilemma]] without becoming a [[Omniscient Hero]], the dilemma has to remain very abstract. In philosophy, many though-experiments are based on the outright or implied premise "What would The Omniscient do?" However, when such a thought-experiment is included in a story, having The Omniscient make such a choice tend to either morph him into an [[Omniscient Hero]] kind of [[Mary Sue]] or turn him into the [[Not So Omniscient After All]] little [[Butt Monkey]] of a [[Deconstruction]].

 

 

{{examples}}

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* The First President of the [[Genshiken]] seems to know everything that goes on around the school. He implies that he may have set up cameras around the school, but he never explicitly confirms it.

 

 

* Dr. Manhattan in most of ''[[Watchmen (comics)|Watchmen]]''. He's not exactly omniscient, but [[Non-Linear Character|knows everything that ever happened or will happen to him]].

* The Watcher in [[Marvel Universe]].

* In the first ''[[Elf Quest]]'' series, Two-Edge apparently knew what all of the elves and trolls were doing, and spent years subtly manipulating them toward a final confrontation. [[Not So Omniscient After All|Didn't work out too well for him in the end, though]].

* Dajjal in [[Supergod]].

 

 

** A select few ancient, powerful beings possess an ability called ''intellectus'', which lets them know the answer to any question just by asking it. The catch being they have to ask the right question. They do not actually know everything and every moment so they can be caught off guard. A few possess a limited form of it. For instance, {{spoiler|the Skinwalker knows what will hurt someone the most, without knowing why. The island of Demonreach knows everything that happens on it.}}

* Galadriel in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' functions as an omniscient oracle to the Fellowship of the Ring, particularly Frodo.

* Rock from ''[[Warrior Cats]]''. He knows everything about the clans and the tribe, and is able to explain it all to some kits in the [[Expanded Universe]] book ''Cats of the Clans''.

* The Ellimist, from ''[[Animorphs]]''

== Live-Action TV ==

* In ''[[Lost]]'', Ben or Jacob seem to know everything. Not at the same time, however. Ben's omniscience shrinks away as Jacob is gradually introduced as [[The Man Behind the Man]].

* [[The Lancer|Commander]] [[Deadpan Snarker|Ivanova]], the [[Number Two|Executive Officer]] of ''[[Babylon 5]]'', prides herself on this, in regards to the operating and goings-on of the station. When [[The Captain|Captain Sheridan]] decides to bring her in on his big secret, {{spoiler|that there is a secret Human-Minbari covert operations organization operating on the station, who will help the heroes fight the [[Big Bad|Shadows]]}}, Ivanova reveals that she already knows all about it, casually remarking that if you were to ever discover that something was happening on the station that Ivanova did ''not'' know about, ''then'' you should worry.

** And of course, if we failed to mention '''[[Large Ham|DRAAL]]''', [[Incoming Ham|He would be certain to let us know.]]

 

== Mythology, Religion, and Folklore ==

** The stories in ''[[The Bible]]'', which no matter what some moderns may think were usually not meant by the ancients to be literal history, sometimes date back to times before monotheism, and often contradict each other in detail, can sometimes be read as describing Yahweh not knowing things without looking or waiting and seeing what will happen.

** Prescience is thought to conflict with human free will on the basis that a choice foreseen might as well be preordained. This depends on the view of just what free will means, though, which is more complicated than one might think. Among those who think there is a contradiction, some theologians/philosophers have let God maintain omniscience and compromised on human free will. Others have stated that since God is wholly outside time, he doesn't know things ''before'' they happen, so that's not a problem. Some have come to the conclusion that God's omniscience is limited so that he can't see the future past indeterministic events such as choices, though this can be accompanied by stating that just this is what omniscience ''really'' means, because you shouldn't ask for the impossible.

** According to one interpretation, while God has complete knowledge of the past and present, he selectively uses his ability to see the future, and thus can be surprised or caught unprepared (by [[Satan]]'s [[Face Heel Turn]], for instance). So, while he does know much more than humans, he doesn't technically know ''everything''.

** People in general are not very good at applying such complicated concepts in their thinking even while theoretically accepting them, so a believer in God who states God to be omniscient might not actually think accordingly.

 

== Videogames ==

* ''[[Homestuck]]'': {{color|green| Doc Scratch}}. At least in theory. He has [[Not So Omniscient After All|lapses]].

** Though he usually pieces together what's happening [[Xanatos Speed Chess|pretty quickly]].

* ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]'': the kobold Oracle. Complete with snarkiness and [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]].

* ''[[Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures]]'': [[Eccentric Mentor|Fa'Lina]], though it's limited to the academy and she mistakenly refers to it as "semi-omni''potence''".

* The god entity in ''[[Futurama]]'', unless you do something different.

** Also Bender in 'Overclockwise'. He managed to calculate the reason we exist, which ceiling-fans will fall and Fry's and Leela's ultimate fate as a couple and possibly a lot more.

* [[Parodied Trope|Parodied]] on ''[[Adventure Time]]'' with the demon cat with ''approximate'' knowledge of everything.

 

[[Category:Intelligence Tropes]]

[[Category:Philosophy Tropes]]