History Literature / TheDemolishedMan

* VillainProtagonist: Ben Reichs
* WhatAnIdiot: Ben Reich thinks he's come up with the perfect murder. Powell knows it's him almost immediately. Even without peeping- Ben's the only guest to call a lawyer while everyone else is in shock and knows that Barbara ran off naked. Although, if you take the psychology at the end seriously, this all ties in to his subconscious desire to be punished for the crime. When it looks like the police have failed [[spoiler: he tries to kill himself, although not by conscious suicide.]]

** It's also possible that [[AbrahamLincoln Lincoln Powell]] might be meaningful. Also, Jerry Church if you look at the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Nazis.

* DeathOfPersonality: [[spoiler: Demolition, performed on Reich in the end.]]

* WhatAnIdiot: Ben Reich thinks he's come up with the perfect murder. Powell knows it's him almost immediately. Even
en without peeping- Ben's the only guest to call a lawyer while everyone else is in shock and knows that Barbara ran off naked,

* VillainProtagonist: Ben Reich.

* SocietyMarchesOn: Despite the characters stated disconnect from the 20th century, the book is pretty emblematic of the time it was written in respect to gender roles. On the other hand, there is a scene where a black applicant is accepted into the Esper's Guild on account of his latent talent, which suggests that at least their group is meritocratic. Also, the president of the Guild is Asian.

* FriendlyEnemy: Reich and Powell both have great respect for each other, and Powell tells Reich directly that he wants him to be caught [[spoiler: and undergo the HeelFaceMindScrew]] because there is so much that is admirable about him

* HeelFaceMindScrew: [[spoiler: What it means to be "demolished", a process of LossOfIdentity which at the end of the book happens to Ben Reich. Granted, it's used here an alternative to capital punishment so it arguably avoids the FamilyUnfriendlyAesop that usually comes from this trope.]]

* TheBlank

* DeathOfPersonality: [[spoiler: Demolition, performed on Reich in the end]]

Creator/AlfredBester's other famous novel besides ''Literature/TheStarsMyDestination'', ''The Demolished Man'' is a ReverseWhodunnit centering on Ben Reich's attempt to get away with the murder of a hated business rival and the efforts of Esper policeman Lincoln Powell to prove his guilt. The novel heavily inspired the psychic police of ''Series/BabylonFive'', although the ones in the novel are by far more benevolent. The name of the author was used for the [=PsiCop=] character played by Walter Koenig, along with possibly the [[DeathOfPersonality]] inspired from "Demolition", the "what do you want?" question by Morden, and an EarWorm being used to block telepathic scanning.

Creator/AlfredBester's other famous novel besides ''Literature/TheStarsMyDestination'', ''The Demolished Man'' is a ReverseWhodunnit centering on Ben Reich's attempt to get away with the murder of a hated business rival and the efforts of Esper policeman Lincoln Powell to prove his guilt. The novel heavily inspired the psychic police of ''Series/BabylonFive'', although the ones in the novel are by far more benevolent. The name of the author was used for the [=PsiCop=] character played by Walter Koenig, along with possibly the Death of Personality, inspired from "Demolition", the "what do you want?" question by Morden, and an EarWorm being used to block telepathic scanning.

Creator/AlfredBester's other famous novel besides ''Literature/TheStarsMyDestination'', ''The Demolished Man'' is a ReverseWhodunnit centering on Ben Reich's attempt to get away with the murder of a hated business rival and the efforts of Esper policeman Lincoln Powell to prove his guilt. The novel heavily inspired the psychic police of ''Series/BabylonFive'', although the ones in the novel are by far more benevolent. The name of the author was used for the [=PsiCop=] character played by Walter Koenig, along with possibly the Death of Personality, inspired from the titular "Demolition", the "what do you want?" question by Morden, and an EarWorm being used to block telepathic scanning.

Creator/AlfredBester's other famous novel besides ''Literature/TheStarsMyDestination'', ''The Demolished Man'' is a ReverseWhodunnit centering on Ben Reich's attempt to get away with the murder of a hated business rival and the efforts of Esper policeman Lincoln Powell to prove his guilt. The novel heavily inspired the psychic police of ''Series/BabylonFive'', although the ones in the novel are by far more benevolent. The name of the author was used for the [=PsiCop=] character played by Walter Koenig, along with possibly the Death of Personality, inspired from the titular "Demolition" the "what do you want?" question by Morden and an EarWorm being used to block telepathic scanning.

Creator/AlfredBester's other famous novel besides ''Literature/TheStarsMyDestination'', ''The Demolished Man'' is a ReverseWhodunnit centering on Ben Reich's attempt to get away with the murder of a hated business rival and the efforts of Esper policeman Lincoln Powell to prove his guilt. The novel heavily inspired the psychic police of ''Series/BabylonFive'', although the ones in the novel are by far more benevolent. The name of the author was used for the [=PsiCop=] character played by Walter Koenig, along with the Death of Personality, inspired from the titular "Demolition" the "what do you want?" question by Morden and an EarWorm being used to block telepathic scanning.

Creator/AlfredBester's other famous novel besides ''Literature/TheStarsMyDestination'', ''The Demolished Man'' is a ReverseWhodunnit centering on Ben Reich's attempt to get away with the murder of a hated business rival and the efforts of Esper policeman Lincoln Powell to prove his guilt. The novel heavily inspired the psychic police of ''Series/BabylonFive'', although the ones in the novel are by far more benevolent. The name of the author was used for the [=PsiCop=] character played by Walter Koenig, along with the Death of Personality, inspired from the titular "Demolition" the "what do you want?" question by Morden and EarWorms being used to block telepathic scanning.

* FutureImperfect: EarWorm jingles are called "pepsis" but no one can remember why and things from the 20th century are considered ancient if remembered at all
* TheFutureIsNoir: One of the original examples
* HeelFaceMindScrew: [[spoiler: what it means to be "demolished", a process of LossOfIdentity which at the end of the book happens to Ben Reich. Granted, it's used here an alternative to capital punishment so it arguably avoids the FamilyUnfriendlyAesop that usually comes from this trope.]]
* HeroAntagonist: Lincoln Powell

* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler: D'Courtney is actually Ben's father and far from being his enemy, actually wanted to make amends for abandoning him, something for which he felt great guilt]]

* MeaningfulName: Ben '''[[NaziGermany Reich]]'''. Who, it so happens, is about to, [[spoiler: almost without realizing, it start a Fourth Reich]]...

* MutantDraftBoard: The Esper's Guild which is based in part on something like a bar or medical association, especially in the sense of mandating using their powers for beneficial ends, but also dominates the lives of its members, including [[StalkerWithATestTube stipulating that they marry one of their own]].

* PaintingTheMedium: The conversation at the telepath cocktail party, which is represented as lines of dialogue intersecting (and reusing each others' words) in two dimensions.
* Proto {{Cyberpunk}}

* RousseauWasRight: Powell makes a statement about this at the end, and it drives him throughout the novel. People are good but the barriers between them cause misunderstandings. That's why he wants to catch Reich and is appalled at the idea of a death penalty. He sees Reich can be good and that humanity needs people like him. It's also behind the eugenics program of the Guild, once everyone can read minds they can break down the barriers.
-->"Powell peeper....Powell friend"

* VillainProtagonist: Ben Reich

Creator/AlfredBester's other famous novel besides ''Literature/TheStarsMyDestination'', ''The Demolished Man'' is a ReverseWhodunnit centering on Ben Reich's attempt to get away with the murder of a hated business rival and the efforts of Esper policeman Lincoln Powell to prove his guilt. The novel heavily inspired the psychic police of ''Series/BabylonFive'', although the ones in the novel are by far more benevolent. The name of the author was used for the [=PsiCop=] character played by Walter Koenig, along with the Death of Personality, inspired from the titular "Demolition."

* EarWorm: An {{in-universe}} example, which Reich uses to protect him from telepathy.

* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler: a highly literal example, as Reich murders his (unknown) father on account of psychological hang-ups]]

Creator/AlfredBester's other famous novel besides ''Literature/TheStarsMyDestination'', ''The Demolished Man'' is a ReverseWhodunnit centering on Ben Reich's attempt to get away with the murder of a hated business rival and the efforts of Esper policeman Lincoln Powell to prove his guilt. The novel heavily inspired the psychic police of ''BabylonFive'', although the ones in the novel are by far more benevolent. The name of the author was used for the [=PsiCop=] character played by Walter Koenig, along with the Death of Personality, inspired from the titular "Demolition."

** And, of course, in a Meta way as stated above, the ''BabylonFive'' use of Bester and "Demolition".

* PaintingTheFourthWall: The conversation at the telepath cocktail party, which is represented as lines of dialogue intersecting (and reusing each others' words) in two dimensions.

Creator/AlfredBester's other famous novel besides ''Literature/TheStarsMyDestination'', ''The Demolished Man'' is a ReverseWhodunnit centering on Ben Reich's attempt to get away with the murder of a hated business rival and the efforts of Esper policeman Lincoln Powell to prove his guilt. The novel heavily inspired the psychic police of ''BabylonFive'', although the ones in the novel are by far more benevolent. The name of the author was used for the PsyCop character played by Walter Koenig, along with the Death of Personality, inspired from the titular "Demolition."

AlfredBester's other famous novel besides ''Literature/TheStarsMyDestination'', ''The Demolished Man'' is a ReverseWhodunnit centering on Ben Reich's attempt to get away with the murder of a hated business rival and the efforts of Esper policeman Lincoln Powell to prove his guilt. The novel heavily inspired the psychic police of ''BabylonFive'', although the ones in the novel are by far more benevolent. The name of the author was used for the PsyCop character played by Walter Koenig, along with the Death of Personality, inspired from the titular "Demolition."

** It's also possible that [[AbrahamLincoln Lincoln Powell]] might be meaningful.

AlfredBester's other famous novel besides ''Literature/TheStarsMyDestination'', ''TheDemolishedMan'' is a ReverseWhodunnit centering on Ben Reich's attempt to get away with the murder of a hated business rival and the efforts of Esper policeman Lincoln Powell to prove his guilt. The novel heavily inspired the psychic police of ''BabylonFive'', although the ones in the novel are by far more benevolent. The name of the author was used for the PsyCop character played by Walter Koenig, along with the Death of Personality, inspired from the titular "Demolition."