Will Not Tell a Lie: Difference between revisions

* The title character of ''[[Dan Dare]]'' absolutely refuses to lie, making him unusually moral even by 50s standards.

* [[Batwoman|Katherine "Kate" Kane]] was a Cadet Captain at West Point, highly regarded by both her fellow students and also her instructors and serving officers, when rumors begin to circulate that she is gay. The commanding officer of the facility calls her into his office, explains the situation, and gives her a choice: She can undergo a formal investigation, be revealed a homosexual and be kicked out of the academy, or she can say right now that the entire thing was a misunderstanding, a rumor, or even just an isolated incident and have the entire affair swept under the rug with no further questions. If she says the right thing she will still lose her status as Cadet Captain and will not graduate at the head of her class, but she ''will'' graduate, and will then go on to be the officer that she wants to be.

'''Cadet Kate Kane:''' "[[Crowning Moment of Awesome|A cadet shall not lie, cheat or steal, nor suffer others to do so. I'm sorry, sir, I can't...I'm gay.]]" }}

* The [[Our Elves Are Better|Sithi]] from ''[[Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn]]'' not only don't lie but seem to have trouble grasping the concept of lying. They do tend to talk a lot without saying much when they don't want to give away the truth.

* [[Discworld]]'s Carrot Ironfoundersson.

The captain [Carrot] looked awkward.|''[[Discworld/The Fifth Elephant|The Fifth Elephant]]''}}

** Carrot's good at this. Paraphrased: "If you do not let us in...well, I have my orders. And I won't like carrying them out. If it's any consolation, I'll be very ashamed later. But I will follow them." "I have armed guards!" "Believe me, that will only make it easier for me to obey." His orders? Walk away if they don't let them in willingly.

* The Kencyr peoples in P.C. Hodgell's ''[[Chronicles of the Kencyrath]]'' series have a rigid honor code in which lying is one of the most serious offenses, for which a honorable death (suicide, or death in battle) is the only way to redeem oneself. This nature is known to others, as when Jame is called as a witness in a scene in ''God Stalk'':

The guards looked at Jame and Marc, then at each other. "No, sir," said the bigger of the two flatly. "We weren't paid enough for that." }}

* The Palantiri of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' might not lie, but they can still deceive. {{spoiler|Denethor used a Palantir to see the ships of the Corsairs coming to besieged Minas Tirith during the War of the Ring. The sight broke his mind, since he didn't see that they were bearing Aragorn and a relief army. It's an open question how much Sauron could control what Denethor saw.}}

* The guest in ''[[The Black Widowers]]'' story "Truth to Tell" by [[Isaac Asimov]] is a man who never lies, which ultimately supplies the solution to the mystery.

* In [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]]'s ''[[John Carter of Mars|The Gods of Mars]]'', Thuvan Dihn support John Carter's claims because

* Because how honest (or not) he has been will come back at him when he inevitably has to reveal major secrets, Merlin Athrawes in [[David Weber]]'s ''[[Safehold]]'' series is ''extremely'' careful about this. He is not above using half-truths or explaining his abilities [[Lies to Children|in terms his Safeholdian counterparts will more easily grasp]], but he will do his utmost to avoid outright lying. A perfect example would be, when explaining the abilities granted by being a machine, he claims "to possess skills attributed to ''seijin,''" sages/warriors in legends. He allows people to call him ''seijin'', but never actually claims the title for himself.

* ''[[Les Misérables]]'' : Sister Simplice is this trope to the extreme. Also, [[Inspector Javert]].

** On the other hand, on the rare occasion when he ''does'' lie (such as to protect someone else), his usual honesty makes the lie much more convincing.

* In Albert Camus' existential novel ''[[The Stranger]]'', the main character Meursault never ever tells a lie. He is not a textbook example, though, because this does not seem do be a conscious decision of his - it just never occurs to him that lying might help his situation.

'''Meursault''': ... Because of the sun! }}

* The titular Caine of ''[[The Acts of Caine]]'' has a bit of a warped sense of honor, which has given him the well-deserved reputation that he would rather kill a man than lie to him. The last act of the first book hinges entirely on lies and deceit, which makes him very uncomfortable.

== Live Action TV ==

* Clark in ''[[Smallville]]''. He usually changes the subject or says something true but irrelevant rather than give an outright lie. As in:

'''Clark:''' You've been drinking too much, Mr. White. }}

* From ''[[Star Trek]]'':

*** It's a running gag in the [[Expanded Universe]] that anyone who believes that Vulcans don't lie, doesn't know Vulcans. They ''prefer'' not to lie, but they will if they have to.

*** Aptly displayed in the most recent movie with the two Spocks. After discussing why Old Spock sent Kirk to do the work instead of going to explain everything personally:

Old Spock: Ah... I - I implied. }}

*** Or the classic example that spawned all the others:

Spock: I exaggerated. }}

** Most Vulcans are logical beings so if lying would be the best possible act at the time, they'd probably lie.

** In one episode, [[The Captain|Sheridan]] is tortured by [[Torture Technician|a professional]]. The interrogator says that he will not ever lie to Sheridan, and doesn't. Making any assumptions about things that he leaves unsaid or implied, however, would be very stupid.

* ''[[Oz]]''. Unit Manager Tim McManus is faced with telling what he knows about the death of prisoner Scott Ross or lying. Kareem Said asks him (under oath) if prison officer Diane Wittlesey shot Ross "with the intention of ending his life." So McManus says "No" (though he may have been answering very literally, as in: "Diane shot Ross with the intent to save my life"). Nevertheless the situation bothers McManus enough to have Diane transferred to another part of the prison, away from him.

* ''[[Pushing Daisies]]'' has a team of lawyers who refuse to lie for religious reasons. It doesn't work very well.

* Loker on ''[[Lie to Me (TV series)|Lie to Me]]'' abides by "radical honesty," which means he not only always tells the truth, but he also blurts out whatever he's thinking, no matter how inappropriate that may be.

== Webcomics ==

* Durkon, the cleric in ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]'' appears to refuse to lie in [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0264.html this] strip. And technically, he doesn't.

'''Durkon''':(whispering) I dunno, I count "able to be picked by a rogue" as a pretty major defect, aye? }}

** Durkon is a [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same|dwarf]] cleric (and Lawful Good, which is almost redundant in that universe). The stereotypical dwarf is bluntly honest, brave, and lacking a sense of humor ... and clerics are probably even more so.