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Machine of Death
- 369 statements
- 71 feature instances
- 6 referencing feature instances
| Machine of Death | type |
TVTItem | |
| Machine of Death | label |
Machine of Death | |
| Machine of Death | page |
MachineOfDeath | |
| Machine of Death | comment |
Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })Machine of Death is an anthology of short stories released in 2010, edited by Ryan North (Dinosaur Comics), Matthew Bennardo, and David Malki ! (Wondermark, Tweet Me Harder).The anthology is centered on a premise from one episode of North's Dinosaur Comics: A machine exists, capable of predicting a person's future cause of death through a simple blood test and revealing it via a few words printed on a simple white notecard. The machine's predictions are completely infallible and always correct, though they are not always as straightforward as they seem: for example, "old age" could mean anything from an uneventful death of natural causes to murder by an octogenarian, and such ironic and unusual deaths abound.The stories in the collection were selected from nearly 700 submissions. Each story is accompanied by an illustration, many of them by well-known webcomic artists. It is available online as a free ebook, while an audiobook version is being distributed as a series of podcasts (also free).Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })A second anthology (or a second volume of the same anthology, depending on your perspective), titled This Is How You Die, was released on July 16th, 2013. This volume included a number of short standalone comic strips between some of the stories. | |
| Machine of Death | fetched |
2022-02-22T22:25:32Z | |
| Machine of Death | parsed |
2022-02-22T22:25:32Z | |
| Machine of Death | processingComment |
Dropped link to Gamebook: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN | |
| Machine of Death | processingComment |
Dropped link to MissionFromGod: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
| Machine of Death | processingComment |
Dropped link to SherlockHolmes: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
| Machine of Death | processingComment |
Dropped link to StateTheSimpleSolution: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN | |
| Machine of Death | processingUnknown |
Gamebook | |
| Machine of Death | processingUnknown |
StateTheSimpleSolution | |
| Machine of Death | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
| Machine of Death / int_19102429 | type |
Twist Ending | |
| Machine of Death / int_19102429 | comment |
Twist Ending: Usually a Prophecy Twist or Prophetic Fallacy. Usually. | |
| Machine of Death / int_19102429 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_19102429 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_19102429 | |
| Machine of Death / int_1a303edf | type |
Our Orcs Are Different | |
| Machine of Death / int_1a303edf | comment |
Our Orcs Are Different: "In Battle, Alone and Soon Forgotten" focuses on Grun, an orc in the service of an evil sorcerer who is told repeatedly - in poetry, no less - that all orcs are fated to be Cannon Fodder and nothing more. We never learn what his death prediction really is, but it isn't the one from the title - instead, he ends up fulfilling the sorcerer's death prediction, and writes his own poem declaring that the orcs have a right to Screw Destiny. | |
| Machine of Death / int_1a303edf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_1a303edf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_1a303edf | |
| Machine of Death / int_1ce1cfd8 | type |
all lowercase letters | |
| Machine of Death / int_1ce1cfd8 | comment |
all lowercase letters: Used in "Natural Causes" for the Machine's predictions, in contrast to the usual Caps Lock. And italicized for good measure. This may be Foreshadowing, since the Machine in question is a fake. | |
| Machine of Death / int_1ce1cfd8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_1ce1cfd8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_1ce1cfd8 | |
| Machine of Death / int_2d840c9b | type |
ThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow | |
| Machine of Death / int_2d840c9b | comment |
Things Man Was Not Meant to Know: In most of the stories that go far enough into the future, the knowledge from the Machine of Death essentially consumes society and turns life into a state of constant paranoid madness while awaiting death at any moment. There are even groups that protest it. | |
| Machine of Death / int_2d840c9b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_2d840c9b | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_2d840c9b | |
| Machine of Death / int_30763ed8 | type |
Eternal English | |
| Machine of Death / int_30763ed8 | comment |
Eternal English: Averted with tragic results in "Furnace". Archaeologists in the distant future uncover a Machine of Death, but their only Rosetta Stone for the English language is a disc full of porn. A critical mistranslation results in them assuming that the Machine predicts what will bring its users the ultimate sexual satisfaction, and things turn ugly when people start dying thanks to its "suggestions." | |
| Machine of Death / int_30763ed8 | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_30763ed8 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_30763ed8 | |
| Machine of Death / int_30d2ae29 | type |
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy | |
| Machine of Death / int_30d2ae29 | comment |
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: The Machine says you'll commit suicide. You commit suicide. But as several stories note, maybe you only went to the machine because you already had suicidal tendencies, and it only confirmed your prior urges. | |
| Machine of Death / int_30d2ae29 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_30d2ae29 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_30d2ae29 | |
| Machine of Death / int_312c2b80 | type |
One-Paragraph Chapter | |
| Machine of Death / int_312c2b80 | comment |
One-Paragraph Chapter: "HIV Infection From Machine of Death Needle" is shorter than its own title. | |
| Machine of Death / int_312c2b80 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_312c2b80 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_312c2b80 | |
| Machine of Death / int_319a6fd7 | type |
Passed in Their Sleep | |
| Machine of Death / int_319a6fd7 | comment |
Passed in Their Sleep: The titular deaths from "After Many Years, Stops Breathing, While Asleep, With Smile On Face" and "In Sleep". | |
| Machine of Death / int_319a6fd7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_319a6fd7 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_319a6fd7 | |
| Machine of Death / int_35022c20 | type |
No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup | |
| Machine of Death / int_35022c20 | comment |
No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup: Played with in "Apitoxin". The Machine is one-of-a-kind and its inventor is dead, but after it is destroyed, the protagonists do find the plans...written in a cypher that will probably take years to crack, if not decades. | |
| Machine of Death / int_35022c20 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_35022c20 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_35022c20 | |
| Machine of Death / int_3517000d | type |
Mad Scientist | |
| Machine of Death / int_3517000d | comment |
Mad Scientist: Dr. Jethmalani of "Lazarus Reactor Fission Sequence" is a Deconstruction. He is a brilliant, obsessed scientist with all the standard trappings of a classic Bond villain: an Island Base, an army of loyal henchmen in charge of murdering the secret agents who show up, and even a touch of "Evil" Gloating once his "Evil" Plan nears completion. And what is his plan? He wants to invent a new kind of nuclear power plant that produces enormous amounts of power with zero waste for hundreds of years. And then share his research with the entire world. For free. But since most governments would prefer to hoard that kind of knowledge for themselves, and he doesn't trust most governments, he had to keep going to greater and greater lengths to continue his work in the way he wanted. You could argue that he was forced into villainy. | |
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| Machine of Death / int_3517000d | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_3517000d | |
| Machine of Death / int_35b429f3 | type |
Weird Trade Union | |
| Machine of Death / int_35b429f3 | comment |
Weird Trade Union: The psychic-dreaming protagonist of "Drowning" belongs to Local 111 of the S.S.C.W.I. (Sub and Supra Consciousness Workers International). | |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_35b429f3 | |
| Machine of Death / int_39a2d446 | type |
Preppy Name | |
| Machine of Death / int_39a2d446 | comment |
Preppy Name: Cotton Remington Weathington-Beech, and his school friends, in "Prison Knife Fight". | |
| Machine of Death / int_39a2d446 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_39a2d446 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_39a2d446 | |
| Machine of Death / int_3b39c254 | type |
Dystopia | |
| Machine of Death / int_3b39c254 | comment |
Dystopia: "Loss of Blood" is set in a world where all the predicted deaths are organized by the government as soon as possible to prevent collateral damage from people who try in vain to avoid their fate. "Not Applicable" uses the Police State variant, with a leader referred to only as "the Speaker". The reasons for the formation of the state are left ambiguous. In "Meat Eater", the United States is either a dystopia or fast becoming one. See Big Brother Is Watching, above. | |
| Machine of Death / int_3b39c254 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_3b39c254 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_3b39c254 | |
| Machine of Death / int_3b9a9d4 | type |
Death's Hourglass | |
| Machine of Death / int_3b9a9d4 | comment |
Death's Hourglass: While it's averted in most of the stories, there are a handful of exceptions: In "Exhaustion From Having Sex With a Minor", a leading politician has a prediction stating that he will be killed by a car when he is 57, and has built his entire campaign around it. Turns out to be a Prophecy Twist. The Exact Words of the prediction were "knocked down by a car aged fifty-seven"; when the man's death arrives, fifty-seven is the age of the car. In "While Trying to Save Another", a very small minority of death predictions come with dates attached. The story focuses on a support group for people with these predictions. "Zephyr" has computers (separate from the Machine) that extrapolate from the cause of death to compute the approximate time of death as well. Your chance of death remains zero until a few years before your predicted time of death; after that, you are "on the curve", meaning your odds of dying at any given moment get higher and higher, until they finally hit 100%. In other words, you can die a bit early, but you will never die late. Subverted in "Apitoxin". Sherlock Holmes's latest client has been given the prediction "GARROTED THURSDAY NEXT". Holmes notices that this is the only example of a prediction with a date attached; based on this, the circumstances of how the prediction was made, and a close analysis of the slip of paper in question, he deduces that it must be a fake. The infobubble predictions from "In Sleep" include the date of death. In at least some cases, the precision is down to the minute. | |
| Machine of Death / int_3b9a9d4 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Machine of Death / int_3b9a9d4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_3b9a9d4 | |
| Machine of Death / int_3c0a4666 | type |
Noodle Incident | |
| Machine of Death / int_3c0a4666 | comment |
A mathematician mentioned in "Cassandra" received an "unlikely and unpleasant" death prediction involving "sex and horses". And yes, it happened as predicted. (Doubles as a Noodle Incident.) | |
| Machine of Death / int_3c0a4666 | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death / int_3c0a4666 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_3c0a4666 | |
| Machine of Death / int_442a6995 | type |
Stupid Sacrifice | |
| Machine of Death / int_442a6995 | comment |
Stupid Sacrifice: in the story "While Trying to Save Another", Timothy reaches the exact moment and circumstances of his death and knows he can't possibly save Isma either, but charges into a burning building anyway. He could have just made the final decision to die with her; giving himself a noble death. | |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_442a6995 | |
| Machine of Death / int_450b6024 | type |
Operator from India | |
| Machine of Death / int_450b6024 | comment |
Operator from India: The protagonist of "Shiv Sena Riot" is an Indian woman working at a call center for Machine of Death Analysis, which tells people the most likely outcomes for their given death prediction. | |
| Machine of Death / int_450b6024 | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death / int_450b6024 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_450b6024 | |
| Machine of Death / int_5a6182b6 | type |
The Time Traveller's Dilemma | |
| Machine of Death / int_5a6182b6 | comment |
The Time Traveller's Dilemma: The protagonist of "Not Applicable" has an option to go back in time sixty years to stop the rise of an evil dictator. (No, not Hitler.) The catch is that nearly everyone he's ever known would be Ret-Gone. And his friends know they would be part of that group. They're the ones who help convince him to go through with it anyway. | |
| Machine of Death / int_5a6182b6 | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_5a6182b6 | |
| Machine of Death / int_5da3f522 | type |
Big Brother Is Watching | |
| Machine of Death / int_5da3f522 | comment |
In "Meat Eater", the United States is either a dystopia or fast becoming one. See Big Brother Is Watching, above. | |
| Machine of Death / int_5da3f522 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_5da3f522 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_5da3f522 | |
| Machine of Death / int_60414102 | type |
Zombie Apocalypse | |
| Machine of Death / int_60414102 | comment |
Zombie Apocalypse: A pretty standard one in "Peacefully". The zombies apparently get their own death predictions, separate from who they were in life. | |
| Machine of Death / int_60414102 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_60414102 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_60414102 | |
| Machine of Death / int_7241785e | type |
You Can't Fight Fate | |
| Machine of Death / int_7241785e | comment |
You Can't Fight Fate: Despite the above, there has been one noteworthy subversion. In "In Sleep," it's possible to trade deaths with someone, as the protagonist discovers to her horror: her death, in peaceful slumber 80 years in the future, has been stolen from her by an influential political figure and exchanged with his own violent (and imminent) death by defrag weapon. While she's unable to avert this fate, she ultimately survives it nonetheless: she has a rare gift that makes her an ideal candidate for being transformed into a Machine of Death herself. | |
| Machine of Death / int_7241785e | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death / int_7241785e | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_7241785e | |
| Machine of Death / int_7301ae04 | type |
Serial Killer | |
| Machine of Death / int_7301ae04 | comment |
Serial Killer: One pops up unexpectedly in "Vegetables". It's the protagonist. The protagonist of "Screaming, Crying, Alone, and Afraid" is on the trail of a serial killer in Zimbabwe. She hopes that the death predictions of the victims (ironically, taken post-mortem) will give her some kind of clue. | |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_7301ae04 | |
| Machine of Death / int_8077793f | type |
Open Secret | |
| Machine of Death / int_8077793f | comment |
Open Secret: In "La Mort d'un Roturier", everybody knows which of the guests at the masquerade is King Louis XVI, but good manners require them to pretend they don't recognize him. | |
| Machine of Death / int_8077793f | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death / int_8077793f | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_8077793f | |
| Machine of Death / int_830f2f0e | type |
Police State | |
| Machine of Death / int_830f2f0e | comment |
"Not Applicable" uses the Police State variant, with a leader referred to only as "the Speaker". The reasons for the formation of the state are left ambiguous. | |
| Machine of Death / int_830f2f0e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_830f2f0e | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_830f2f0e | |
| Machine of Death / int_859bbabc | type |
The Cassandra | |
| Machine of Death / int_859bbabc | comment |
The Cassandra: Lampshaded with the Meaningful Name of the main character of the story "Cassandra". Instead of trying to warn others, she finds a way to circumvent her prophecy altogether. | |
| Machine of Death / int_859bbabc | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_859bbabc | |
| Machine of Death / int_87646020 | type |
Memory Gambit | |
| Machine of Death / int_87646020 | comment |
Memory Gambit: In the first book's final story, "Cassandra", the main character erases her own memory as well as all evidence of her fate (GLOBAL THERMONUCLEAR WAR) in an attempt to reset the quantum uncertainty of it and prevent it from occurring to the world. | |
| Machine of Death / int_87646020 | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death / int_87646020 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_87646020 | |
| Machine of Death / int_876a0cf0 | type |
Joke and Receive | |
| Machine of Death / int_876a0cf0 | comment |
Joke and Receive: "Cocaine and Painkillers": At a semi-shady small company that sells random products through Infomercials, the employees are trying to figure out how to sell the Machine...which they think is an instant drug-test machine. (Long story.) After a few weeks of trying to figure out how to sell a drug-test machine that keeps spitting out seemingly-random words instead of the names of drugs, they jokingly guess at what the machine is actually printing out; one of their guesses is "circumstances of one's demise". And then, one employee lets off some steam by cutting together a spoof infomercial about how the product is actually "The Machine of Death"... | |
| Machine of Death / int_876a0cf0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_876a0cf0 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_876a0cf0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_93ed8515 | type |
Set Right What Once Went Wrong | |
| Machine of Death / int_93ed8515 | comment |
Set Right What Once Went Wrong: This turns out to be the premise of "Not Applicable". Everyone who gets the titular prediction is fated to never be born in the first place after the timeline is re-written. | |
| Machine of Death / int_93ed8515 | featureApplicability |
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Machine of Death / int_93ed8515 | |
| Machine of Death / int_95bac90d | type |
Subspace Ansible | |
| Machine of Death / int_95bac90d | comment |
Subspace Ansible: "Murder and Suicide, Respectively" points out that the Machine could be used as one. | |
| Machine of Death / int_95bac90d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_95bac90d | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_95bac90d | |
| Machine of Death / int_9785b592 | type |
The Fatalist | |
| Machine of Death / int_9785b592 | comment |
The Fatalist: Too many to count. If you know how you're going to die, some people just accept it. | |
| Machine of Death / int_9785b592 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_9785b592 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_9785b592 | |
| Machine of Death / int_9bca83eb | type |
Death by Irony | |
| Machine of Death / int_9bca83eb | comment |
Death by Irony: The Machine's vagueness can lead to these, for example predicting death by OLD AGE, so a person believes he's safe, until he's killed by an old man, or the already vague NATURAL CAUSES. | |
| Machine of Death / int_9bca83eb | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_9bca83eb | |
| Machine of Death / int_9c1d1e31 | type |
Black Box | |
| Machine of Death / int_9c1d1e31 | comment |
Black Box: No one knows exactly how the Machine works. It was invented by accident, and while it is easily and cheaply reproduced, its workings are impossible to understand. | |
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Machine of Death / int_9c1d1e31 | |
| Machine of Death / int_9c4a7090 | type |
Springtime for Hitler | |
| Machine of Death / int_9c4a7090 | comment |
The protagonist of "Exhaustion From Having Sex With a Minor" is blackmailed with the threat of having his titular death revealed, which he believes would destroy his political career. He reveals his secret to the public himself, both to break his blackmailer's hold on him, and because he doesn't want to be Prime Minister. We find out at the end that he's only seventeen years old himself (there's an offhand mention of other teenagers running for office earlier in the story; presumably the laws have changed), which means the public didn't particularly care about him having sex with other minors. So he won in a landslide. | |
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Machine of Death / int_9c4a7090 | |
| Machine of Death / int_9dfb8296 | type |
This Is Gonna Suck | |
| Machine of Death / int_9dfb8296 | comment |
This Is Gonna Suck: How the protagonist of "HIV Infection From Machine of Death Needle" reacts upon receiving that prediction. | |
| Machine of Death / int_9dfb8296 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_9dfb8296 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_9dfb8296 | |
| Machine of Death / int_9f2898f7 | type |
Long Title | |
| Machine of Death / int_9f2898f7 | comment |
Long Title: From the first anthology, "After Many Years, Stops Breathing, While Asleep, With Smile On Face". The second anthology gives us an even longer example: "Toxoplasmosis of the Brain; Candidiasis of the Esophagus; Candidiasis of the Trachea; Candidiasis of the Bronchi; Candidiasis of the Lungs; Kaposi's Sarcoma; Pneumonia; Tuberculosis; Stab Wound in the Belly; and Bus Accident". Technically, the full title of the second anthology is This Is How You Die: Stories of the Inscrutable, Infallible, Inescapable Machine of Death. | |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_9f2898f7 | |
| Machine of Death / int_a448674 | type |
Gratuitous Latin | |
| Machine of Death / int_a448674 | comment |
Gratuitous Latin: The illustration for "Cecile" has a banner with the words Is est vestri nex ("This is your death"). See also the subtrope Pretentious Latin Motto, below. | |
| Machine of Death / int_a448674 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_a448674 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_a448674 | |
| Machine of Death / int_a4cd4fc6 | type |
Cruel Twist Ending | |
| Machine of Death / int_a4cd4fc6 | comment |
Cruel Twist Ending: Surprisingly avoided for the most part; the majority of the stories don't end in the main character dying a terrible, ironic death, despite the premise, since the editors thought this kind of story was too obvious or tacky. | |
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Machine of Death / int_a4cd4fc6 | |
| Machine of Death / int_ac4ac8e5 | type |
Idiosyncratic Episode Naming | |
| Machine of Death / int_ac4ac8e5 | comment |
Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Every story is named in the style of one of the Machine's predictions. In almost all cases, the title is also the predicted death of someone in the story (frequently the protagonist). | |
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1.0 | |
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Machine of Death / int_ac4ac8e5 | |
| Machine of Death / int_ad22fa80 | type |
Apocalyptic Log | |
| Machine of Death / int_ad22fa80 | comment |
Apocalyptic Log: In "Almond", kept by the Machine's operator. | |
| Machine of Death / int_ad22fa80 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_ad22fa80 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_ad22fa80 | |
| Machine of Death / int_b1346878 | type |
Fate Worse than Death | |
| Machine of Death / int_b1346878 | comment |
Fate Worse than Death: "Starvation". The main character, who got the titular prediction takes a very long time to die, legs broken in a hole and on top of that he is rescued, so now he knows what it feels like and he will have to endure it again. | |
| Machine of Death / int_b1346878 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_b1346878 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_b1346878 | |
| Machine of Death / int_b2c3202b | type |
Twins Are Special | |
| Machine of Death / int_b2c3202b | comment |
Twins Are Special: "Old Age, Surrounded by Loved Ones": An identical twin receives two death predictions, their own and their twin's, with no way to tell which is which. | |
| Machine of Death / int_b2c3202b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_b2c3202b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_b2c3202b | |
| Machine of Death / int_b41c411e | type |
Toilet Humour | |
| Machine of Death / int_b41c411e | comment |
Toilet Humour: In "Natural Causes", the main character gets the prediction "on the john". And so does everyone else in town; the machine is a fake. | |
| Machine of Death / int_b41c411e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_b41c411e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_b41c411e | |
| Machine of Death / int_b58b4e3c | type |
Too Dumb to Live | |
| Machine of Death / int_b58b4e3c | comment |
Too Dumb to Live: The comic "Unwise Decision" shows a woman contemplating a lever with two settings: "No Spikes" and "Spikes". | |
| Machine of Death / int_b58b4e3c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_b58b4e3c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_b58b4e3c | |
| Machine of Death / int_b82ca416 | type |
Rage Against the Heavens | |
| Machine of Death / int_b82ca416 | comment |
Rage Against the Heavens: Randall Munroe's story, "?", consists almost entirely of a rant against some higher power, the universe itself, or the author. | |
| Machine of Death / int_b82ca416 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_b82ca416 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_b82ca416 | |
| Machine of Death / int_b9e8ad28 | type |
The Multiverse | |
| Machine of Death / int_b9e8ad28 | comment |
The Multiverse: The alien interstellar-travel-drive in "Drowning Burning Falling Flying" works by linking its passengers together with all of their alternate possibilities, and then "outbranching" to a version of themselves where they (and the ship) exist at their destination. The protagonist uses the word "multiverse" to describe this, but the aliens are hesitant to adopt the term. | |
| Machine of Death / int_b9e8ad28 | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death / int_b9e8ad28 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_b9e8ad28 | |
| Machine of Death / int_ba2c525b | type |
Original Flavour | |
| Machine of Death / int_ba2c525b | comment |
Original Flavour: "Apitoxin" is a Sherlock Holmes mystery in the style of the original short stories. The first Machine has just been invented, and Holmes is hired by a man who is being extorted over his predicted death. | |
| Machine of Death / int_ba2c525b | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death / int_ba2c525b | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_ba2c525b | |
| Machine of Death / int_bb5126ec | type |
Prophecy Twist | |
| Machine of Death / int_bb5126ec | comment |
Prophecy Twist: In one story, a man is told he'll die by suicide. He resolves to take the life of another in a way that contradicts their machine-predicted death, then kill himself—when instead, a suicide bomber was in line behind him and sets off the bomb. The machine never said he'd die by his suicide... | |
| Machine of Death / int_bb5126ec | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death / int_bb5126ec | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_bb5126ec | |
| Machine of Death / int_bdddc73e | type |
Yakuza | |
| Machine of Death / int_bdddc73e | comment |
Yakuza: The characters in "Improperly Prepared Blowfish". | |
| Machine of Death / int_bdddc73e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_bdddc73e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_bdddc73e | |
| Machine of Death / int_be30e493 | type |
Undignified Death | |
| Machine of Death / int_be30e493 | comment |
Undignified Death: Several examples. Though in some cases the "undignified" part is suggested rather than confirmed, since the predicted death has not yet come to pass and the Machine doesn't give that much detail. Patrice in "Flaming Marshmallow" thinks that the titular death is going to be one of these. The protagonist of "Vegetables" fantasizes about his boorish co-worker electrocuting himself by drooling into a power outlet. A mathematician mentioned in "Cassandra" received an "unlikely and unpleasant" death prediction involving "sex and horses". And yes, it happened as predicted. (Doubles as a Noodle Incident.) From "Natural Causes", the death prediction "on the john". "Machine of Death" shows us a few, including "a boy accidentally shorting out an electric fence while trying to spray-paint his name on a cow", and a woman who crashes her car because she's eating a burger while driving. "Monsters from the Deep" mentions that very few people would publicly admit to getting a death prediction like "IMPALED BY BRATWURST". | |
| Machine of Death / int_be30e493 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_be30e493 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_be30e493 | |
| Machine of Death / int_c0d598fe | type |
Evil Gloating | |
| Machine of Death / int_c0d598fe | comment |
Evil Gloating: Dr. Jeth towards the American agent near the end of "Lazarus Reactor Fission Sequence." Though the "evil" part is questionable from the reader's perspective. | |
| Machine of Death / int_c0d598fe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_c0d598fe | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_c0d598fe | |
| Machine of Death / int_c13c9e38 | type |
Tomato Surprise | |
| Machine of Death / int_c13c9e38 | comment |
Tomato Surprise: The protagonist of "Exhaustion From Having Sex With a Minor" is blackmailed with the threat of having his titular death revealed, which he believes would destroy his political career. He reveals his secret to the public himself, both to break his blackmailer's hold on him, and because he doesn't want to be Prime Minister. We find out at the end that he's only seventeen years old himself (there's an offhand mention of other teenagers running for office earlier in the story; presumably the laws have changed), which means the public didn't particularly care about him having sex with other minors. So he won in a landslide. The protagonist of "Zephyr" turns out to not be one of the Ephemerals (soldiers predicted to die in battle) at all, but rather one of the Invincibles (soldiers predicted to die of other causes). He's assigned to Ephemeral units incognito to improve their combat effectiveness without impacting their morale. | |
| Machine of Death / int_c13c9e38 | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death / int_c13c9e38 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_c13c9e38 | |
| Machine of Death / int_c70fc0a2 | type |
Pretentious Latin Motto | |
| Machine of Death / int_c70fc0a2 | comment |
Pretentious Latin Motto: In "Not Waving But Drowning", the Machine, or the company that makes it, has the motto Dum vivimus vivamus ("while we live, let us live"). | |
| Machine of Death / int_c70fc0a2 | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death / int_c70fc0a2 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_c70fc0a2 | |
| Machine of Death / int_c75df49a | type |
Shout-Out | |
| Machine of Death / int_c75df49a | comment |
Shout-Out: Several oddly internal examples, where stories from the second anthology make shout-outs to stories (by other authors) from the first anthology. "Screaming, Crying, Alone, and Afraid" mentions a person who received the prediction "WHILE TRYING TO SAVE ANOTHER" and wound up dying in a fire, just like the main character in "While Trying To Save Another". In "Machine of Death", one of the causes of death is "ALMONDS", which is apparently a reference to "Almond". There's also some discussion of how a line of poetry would make a good death prediction, which is the kind of prediction used in "Not Waving But Drowning". In another possible reference to "Almond", the small town in "Natural Causes" is named Almond Hill. One of the main characters in Ryan North's "Cancer" is loosely based on Henrietta Lacks, as he explains in an author's note at the end of the story. | |
| Machine of Death / int_c75df49a | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death / int_c75df49a | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_c75df49a | |
| Machine of Death / int_c938697e | type |
Short Story | |
| Machine of Death / int_c938697e | comment |
Short Story: All the ones in the book, but taken to the extreme with "HIV Infection from Machine of Death Needle". | |
| Machine of Death / int_c938697e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_c938697e | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_c938697e | |
| Machine of Death / int_c9790040 | type |
Decadent Court | |
| Machine of Death / int_c9790040 | comment |
Decadent Court: "Blue Fever" is set in one, and the lord at the head of it is the worst and most dangerous of the lot. | |
| Machine of Death / int_c9790040 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_c9790040 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_c9790040 | |
| Machine of Death / int_ce75a983 | type |
Screw Destiny | |
| Machine of Death / int_ce75a983 | comment |
Screw Destiny: Plenty of people adopt this mindset and go on living with their lives. It doesn't help. | |
| Machine of Death / int_ce75a983 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_ce75a983 | featureConfidence |
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Machine of Death / int_ce75a983 | |
| Machine of Death / int_d2c0e2ed | type |
Schmuck Bait | |
| Machine of Death / int_d2c0e2ed | comment |
Schmuck Bait: The "NO SPIKES"/"SPIKES" lever in the comic "Unwise Decision". | |
| Machine of Death / int_d2c0e2ed | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_d2c0e2ed | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_d2c0e2ed | |
| Machine of Death / int_d71d51fd | type |
The End of the World as We Know It | |
| Machine of Death / int_d71d51fd | comment |
The End of the World as We Know It: There are a few stories where death predictions foretell civilization-ending or species-ending levels of destruction, including "Cassandra", "Conflagration", and "Monsters from the Deep". | |
| Machine of Death / int_d71d51fd | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death / int_d71d51fd | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_d71d51fd | |
| Machine of Death / int_d8867891 | type |
CapsLock | |
| Machine of Death / int_d8867891 | comment |
Caps Lock: Nearly every story writes the Machine's predictions in all-caps, presumably to make them feel emphatic and mechanical. | |
| Machine of Death / int_d8867891 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_d8867891 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_d8867891 | |
| Machine of Death / int_d8f8da2b | type |
Island Base | |
| Machine of Death / int_d8f8da2b | comment |
Island Base: Dr. Jeth's island in "Lazarus Reactor Fission Sequence", where he is building the titular device. | |
| Machine of Death / int_d8f8da2b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_d8f8da2b | featureConfidence |
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Machine of Death / int_d8f8da2b | |
| Machine of Death / int_dcd29760 | type |
They Would Cut You Up | |
| Machine of Death / int_dcd29760 | comment |
They Would Cut You Up: The immortal grandfather in "Nothing" came to this conclusion, figuring that if the religious nutcases didn't burn him at the stake or force him to play at being messiah, then the scientists would try to kill him to figure out why. | |
| Machine of Death / int_dcd29760 | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death / int_dcd29760 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_dcd29760 | |
| Machine of Death / int_dda99fa8 | type |
Despair Event Horizon | |
| Machine of Death / int_dda99fa8 | comment |
Despair Event Horizon: "Despair", naturally. Although the protagonist is fated to die by crossing the Horizon, she does not actually cross it in the course of the story. But she notes that she does get a little bit closer to it. | |
| Machine of Death / int_dda99fa8 | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death / int_dda99fa8 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_dda99fa8 | |
| Machine of Death / int_dfe57573 | type |
Historical In-Joke | |
| Machine of Death / int_dfe57573 | comment |
Historical In-Joke: "La Mort d'un Roturier" is set during a party in 18th-century France where the protagonist runs a clockwork-operated version of the Machine of Death for the amusement of the guests. She herself claims the device is merely a cleverly-built fraud, but all the guests receive the same inscrutable prediction nonetheless: "Guillotin." | |
| Machine of Death / int_dfe57573 | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death / int_dfe57573 | featureConfidence |
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Machine of Death / int_dfe57573 | |
| Machine of Death / int_e26f04b4 | type |
Last of His Kind | |
| Machine of Death / int_e26f04b4 | comment |
Last of His Kind: The old man in "Nothing" is keenly aware that he is the last of his generation, and describes how it feels. | |
| Machine of Death / int_e26f04b4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_e26f04b4 | featureConfidence |
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Machine of Death / int_e26f04b4 | |
| Machine of Death / int_e851b5 | type |
The Plan | |
| Machine of Death / int_e851b5 | comment |
The Plan: The protagonist of "Aneurysm", Sid, really hates party games. When his ex-wife tells him that she will be hosting a dinner party where guests will take the test then guess each other's deaths as a party game, he uses sleight-of-hand to toss in a forged death, "party game mishap", which simultaneously ends the game and makes it so he will never have to play a party game again. | |
| Machine of Death / int_e851b5 | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death / int_e851b5 | featureConfidence |
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Machine of Death / int_e851b5 | |
| Machine of Death / int_e9e35e8f | type |
Exact Words | |
| Machine of Death / int_e9e35e8f | comment |
Exact Words: The Machine loves this. | |
| Machine of Death / int_e9e35e8f | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death / int_e9e35e8f | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_e9e35e8f | |
| Machine of Death / int_ea39d156 | type |
Who Wants to Live Forever? | |
| Machine of Death / int_ea39d156 | comment |
Who Wants to Live Forever?: The protagonist of "Flaming Marshmallow" (cause of death: "millennium space entropy"), if only because she has no idea what death-based high school clique she's supposed to join. The protagonist of "Heat Death of the Universe" has nightmares about being the last living thing in existence. | |
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| Machine of Death / int_ea39d156 | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_ea39d156 | |
| Machine of Death / int_f32d85ab | type |
20 Minutes into the Future | |
| Machine of Death / int_f32d85ab | comment |
20 Minutes into the Future: Some of the stories set further past the Machine's introduction have a whole extrapolated future culture developed from the Machine of Death's existence. | |
| Machine of Death / int_f32d85ab | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death / int_f32d85ab | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_f32d85ab | |
| Machine of Death / int_f909b16b | type |
Dark Secret | |
| Machine of Death / int_f909b16b | comment |
Dark Secret: In "Natural Causes", the reason the fake machine doesn't get caught is that everyone in town hides the prediction they actually got from it, out of embarrassment at having such an Undignified Death. | |
| Machine of Death / int_f909b16b | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death / int_f909b16b | featureConfidence |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_f909b16b | |
| Machine of Death / int_fff371b4 | type |
Death Seeker | |
| Machine of Death / int_fff371b4 | comment |
Death Seeker: In an oddly upbeat example, the protagonist of "Torn Apart and Devoured by Lions" thinks his predicted death is very exciting, and is saving up for a trip to Africa. | |
| Machine of Death / int_fff371b4 | featureApplicability |
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| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Machine of Death / int_fff371b4 | |
| Machine of Death / int_name | type |
ItemName | |
| Machine of Death / int_name | comment |
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| Machine of Death / int_name | itemName |
Machine of Death |
The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.
| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Black Box / int_41fa3e3 | |
| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
One-Paragraph Chapter / int_41fa3e3 | |
| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Preppy Name / int_41fa3e3 | |
| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Prophecy Armor / int_41fa3e3 | |
| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Undignified Death / int_41fa3e3 | |
| Machine of Death | hasFeature |
Yakuza / int_41fa3e3 |
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Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.