Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Theotech

 Theotech
type
FeatureClass
 Theotech
label
Theotech
 Theotech
page
Theotech
 Theotech
comment
A Science Fiction subgenre that borrows the aesthetics, symbolism and terminology of religion, the occult, and New Age conspiracy theories. It's used for the sake of the plot and/or for Rule of Cool, with little or no relation to actual religion or magic.
The subgenre is particularly popular with anime, manga, Eastern RPG, and the like, probably for much the same reasons as the Creepy Crosses trope exists.
Not to be confused with Cargo Cult or Machine Worship (where the characters are so ignorant that they believe technology is magic and treat it accordingly), Magic from Technology (where technology is disguised as magic), or Magitek (where the "technology" is actually magic that appears outwardly similar to technology).
 Theotech
fetched
2024-04-14T09:01:02Z
 Theotech
parsed
2024-04-14T09:01:02Z
 Theotech
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Theotech / int_32c541e6
type
Theotech
 Theotech / int_32c541e6
comment
Fullmetal Alchemist involves an extradimensional portal known as the Gate of Truth, which is emblazoned with the Arber Sephirotheca and implied to house God itself, though Christianity itself is implied to be a dead religion due to the proliferation of Alchemy allowing anyone to perform seeming miracles.
 Theotech / int_32c541e6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Theotech / int_32c541e6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Fullmetal Alchemist (Manga)
hasFeature
Theotech / int_32c541e6
 Theotech / int_44fe781e
type
Theotech
 Theotech / int_44fe781e
comment
In Neon Genesis Evangelion, the title mecha are named after Eve from the Bible, and the antagonists are Eldritch Abominations named after angels from Hebrew folklore (but they are not actual angels). Other oddities include a supercomputer named MAGI, an alien artifact named the Lance of Longinus, and the implication that the Bible was actually an alien technical manual (making Christianity in-universe an example of Cargo Cult). In End of Evangelion, a group of aerial Evas form a diagram of the Sephirot in the sky using Instant Runes.
 Theotech / int_44fe781e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Theotech / int_44fe781e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Neon Genesis Evangelion
hasFeature
Theotech / int_44fe781e
 Theotech / int_49a0a477
type
Theotech
 Theotech / int_49a0a477
comment
Rim by Alexander Besher has some of your standard cyberpunk trappings, such as a big popular virtual world and independent contractors, but the whole thing is inundated with New Age Retro Hippie stuff, borrowed metaphysical concepts and symbolism, and at least one case of a businessman reincarnating into a pink monkey so that the protagonist can slay an indestructible super-zombie in cyberspace who represents corruption. Think Snow Crash on too much pot and too many liberal arts degrees.
 Theotech / int_49a0a477
featureApplicability
1.0
 Theotech / int_49a0a477
featureConfidence
1.0
 Snow Crash
hasFeature
Theotech / int_49a0a477
 Theotech / int_62de3b45
type
Theotech
 Theotech / int_62de3b45
comment
Genesis of Aquarion has antagonists called Shadow Angels who live in Atlantis (which is located in Antarctica) and feed captured humans to their "Tree of Life."
 Theotech / int_62de3b45
featureApplicability
1.0
 Theotech / int_62de3b45
featureConfidence
1.0
 Genesis of Aquarion
hasFeature
Theotech / int_62de3b45
 Theotech / int_656e8d31
type
Theotech
 Theotech / int_656e8d31
comment
RahXephon has the lost continent of Mu as the main antagonist, and Rah Xephon was an attempt to create an artificial god.
 Theotech / int_656e8d31
featureApplicability
1.0
 Theotech / int_656e8d31
featureConfidence
1.0
 RahXephon
hasFeature
Theotech / int_656e8d31
 Theotech / int_6aaa1fab
type
Theotech
 Theotech / int_6aaa1fab
comment
City of No End by Nathan Karnes, set in a Feudal Future, recreates medieval Catholicism as the religion of Ascensionism. However, Ascensionism is actually atheist, rationalist, and materialist for the most part — it's a form of enshrined transhumanism whose whole appeal is trying to maximize salvation by Brain Uploading as many human minds as possible into an Artificial Afterlife. The only major resistance to Ascensionism is the traditional paganism of the Depths, which is a Machine Worship Cargo Cult devoted to maintaining the life-support systems of the City, fueled by the belief that the pipes and machinery are possessed by spirits.
 Theotech / int_6aaa1fab
featureApplicability
1.0
 Theotech / int_6aaa1fab
featureConfidence
1.0
 City of No End
hasFeature
Theotech / int_6aaa1fab
 Theotech / int_861d0fdb
type
Theotech
 Theotech / int_861d0fdb
comment
One of the main characters of NEEDLESS is a lecherous clone of an expy of Jesus named Adam Blade, who opposes the 666 Organization alongside his companion Eve.
 Theotech / int_861d0fdb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Theotech / int_861d0fdb
featureConfidence
1.0
 NEEDLESS (Manga)
hasFeature
Theotech / int_861d0fdb
 Theotech / int_88383ee7
type
Theotech
 Theotech / int_88383ee7
comment
In Fullmetal Alchemist (2003), the Gate of Truth is visually changed to resemble the classic sculpture "The Gates of Hell" (which means it is now made of writhing human figures and inhabited by demonic creatures).
 Theotech / int_88383ee7
featureApplicability
1.0
 Theotech / int_88383ee7
featureConfidence
1.0
 Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)
hasFeature
Theotech / int_88383ee7
 Theotech / int_91209b29
type
Theotech
 Theotech / int_91209b29
comment
Xenosaga follows the same formula, with antagonists called Gnosis (incorporeal creatures that turn their victims into salt) and characters with names like Nephilim (a mysterious girl who characters see in visions) and Albedo (an Artificial Human).
 Theotech / int_91209b29
featureApplicability
1.0
 Theotech / int_91209b29
featureConfidence
1.0
 Xenosaga (Video Game)
hasFeature
Theotech / int_91209b29
 Theotech / int_924b6d63
type
Theotech
 Theotech / int_924b6d63
comment
Xenogears has technology and characters with names like Deus (an artificial god) and Abel (a past life of the main character).
 Theotech / int_924b6d63
featureApplicability
1.0
 Theotech / int_924b6d63
featureConfidence
1.0
 Xenogears (Video Game)
hasFeature
Theotech / int_924b6d63
 Theotech / int_bcadd7cb
type
Theotech
 Theotech / int_bcadd7cb
comment
Warhammer 40,000 has demons from hell and medieval inquisitors as some of its factions, borrowing heavily from Christian theology (especially Catholicism).
 Theotech / int_bcadd7cb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Theotech / int_bcadd7cb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Warhammer 40,000 (Tabletop Game)
hasFeature
Theotech / int_bcadd7cb
 Theotech / int_d461a59f
type
Theotech
 Theotech / int_d461a59f
comment
Although the characters had a lot of Greek names, the original Battlestar Galactica borrowed heavily from Mormonism, and some of it thinly veiled, at that (The Mormon God hails from a planet called Kolob, the Colonials originated from a planet called Kobol; the LDS church is presided over by a President and a quorum of 12 Apostles, the Galacticans by a Commander and a quorum of 12 Colonial tribal elders, etc.). Hardly surprising, as series creator Glen Larson was a member of the LDS church and drew on what he knew.
The imagery of the reimagined series, however, was far more akin to ancient Greek theology, even showing them having household idols named after the Greek gods and goddesses. In contrast, the Cylons had adopted a mystical, almost Judeo-Christian view of a "one true God." (Well, most of them. Some of them were atheists; the model Ones - the "Cavil" model - especially seemed to lean that way). Baltar was changed from the Darth Vader expy of the original series to an atheist who became a sort of prophet/messiah, spreading the word of the Cylon God (who seems to (1) be real but (2) hate being called "God" and (3) not really have much of a problem with people worshiping other gods) to the humans.
 Theotech / int_d461a59f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Theotech / int_d461a59f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Battlestar Galactica (1978)
hasFeature
Theotech / int_d461a59f
 Theotech / int_d461f757
type
Theotech
 Theotech / int_d461f757
comment
The imagery of the reimagined series, however, was far more akin to ancient Greek theology, even showing them having household idols named after the Greek gods and goddesses. In contrast, the Cylons had adopted a mystical, almost Judeo-Christian view of a "one true God." (Well, most of them. Some of them were atheists; the model Ones - the "Cavil" model - especially seemed to lean that way). Baltar was changed from the Darth Vader expy of the original series to an atheist who became a sort of prophet/messiah, spreading the word of the Cylon God (who seems to (1) be real but (2) hate being called "God" and (3) not really have much of a problem with people worshiping other gods) to the humans.
 Theotech / int_d461f757
featureApplicability
1.0
 Theotech / int_d461f757
featureConfidence
1.0
 Battlestar Galactica (2003)
hasFeature
Theotech / int_d461f757

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Theotech
processingCategory2
Futuristic Tech Index
 Theotech
processingCategory2
Religion Tropes
 Theotech
processingCategory2
Speculative Fiction Tropes
 Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) / int_1dda6e99
type
Theotech
 Genesis of Aquarion / int_1dda6e99
type
Theotech
 Neon Genesis Evangelion / int_1dda6e99
type
Theotech
 RahXephon / int_1dda6e99
type
Theotech
 BlazBlue (Franchise) / int_1dda6e99
type
Theotech
 The Hohenzollern Empire (Lets Play) / int_1dda6e99
type
Theotech
 City of No End / int_1dda6e99
type
Theotech
 Battlestar Galactica (1978) / int_1dda6e99
type
Theotech
 Battlestar Galactica (2003) / int_1dda6e99
type
Theotech
 Time Stalkers (Video Game) / int_1dda6e99
type
Theotech