History Main / AssimilationPlot

** While the Cybermen's precise motives differ DependingOnTheWriter, their usual endgame is to "upgrade" every other life-form they find.
--->'''Cyberman:''' Come to Mondas and you will have no need of emotions. You will become like us.

->''"I will bring peace to the world. Everlasting peace. And unity. And uniformity."''

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'':

* In the ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'' storyline ''Rise of the Third Army'', the Guardians, a group of celestial beings who watch over the Green Lanterns, go full KnightTemplar and come up with the idea to have all of the Lanterns infected and turned into mindless, emotionless killing machines, as the Guardians feel that free will and emotions are hurting the universe. The process is a very painful example of BodyHorror, and the ones who are infected clearly suffer before they are turned into gray {{Humanoid Abomination}}s.

* ''[[Manga/{{Appleseed}} Appleseed EX Machina]]'': [[spoiler:The Halcon system, spread through the global satellite network, just creates a nanomachine infested zombie apocalypse.]]

* In the AnimatedAdaptation version of ''Manga/BlackCat'', this is the ultimate plan of the BigBad. [[spoiler: Mason, former Chrono Number 2, has devised a mechanical lifeforce named Eden that will use a combination of Tao magic and nanotechnology to infect all of humanity, forcibly assimilating their minds into a giant artificial reality program and forcing an end to all forms of hostility as a result, since humans will no longer be capable of independent thought.]]
* This is the goal of [[spoiler:TheEmperor and Marianne]] in ''Anime/CodeGeass''. It's essentially the same basic idea behind the [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Eva]] version, but with a different set of symbols, and no Tang involved.
* This is [[AIIsACrapshoot Leviathan's]] ultimate plan in ''Anime/DigimonUniverseAppMonsters''. Turning all humans into data then absorbing them within itself so they can be easily controled in the form of applications.

* Appears in ''Anime/EurekaSeven'', though mostly in the backstory. Absorbing other beings into itself is described as the Scub Coral's only method of communication, and towards the end of the series, the idea of [[spoiler: all of humanity joining the Scub's HiveMind as a possibility to prevent [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the collapse of the material universe]] from an over-abundance of thinking life forms]] is brought up; Thankfully, Renton & Eureka's efforts managed to avert this from happening.

-->[[spoiler: ''"This world is decaying, it needs to be reborn anew! The masses will not suffer death, they will live forever in us! All is one and one is all!"'']]
* Major theme of ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'', series 1 and 2, as a natural result of an interconnected cybernetic information network. Natural assimilation underlies the concept of the "Stand Alone Complex" itself, and it is explicitly examined in the case of [[spoiler: Hideo Kuze and the refugees]].\\
[[spoiler: Kuze]] believes that humanity is now capable of AscendingToAHigherPlaneOfExistence since the majority of the population is already cyberized (connected to the net), but they don't know that they are capable of doing this, or even how to do so. While he doesn't desire to see people lose their physical forms if it can be helped, he believes that everyone can retain their individualities and live entirely inside the net. [[WellIntentionedExtremist His intentions are entirely honorable]], and he would never force anyone to go through with it if they didn't want to, but due to the dire circumstances of the final episodes of 2nd Gig, he prepares for such a forced ascension just to save the lives of all his followers as an absolute last resort.
* This is the ELS's main tactic in ''Anime/Gundam00AwakeningOfTheTrailblazer''. If enough ELS gather together, they can assimilate space cruisers (or even, it's implied, entire planets). [[spoiler:It is not until the end of the movie that humanity realizes that the ELS didn't mean anything malicious by this. They just didn't know how to communicate except by absorbing other things into their HiveMind (generally killing the unlucky human being assimilated), which humanity understandably took as a hostile action. Once the ELS realize that they're being perceived as hostile due to this, they immediately stop. They also managed to bring back some of the people they absorbed afterwards.]]

* In the ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' movie, Paint It White, this is the goal of the [[DittoAliens Pict.]]
--> '''Computer:''' Having achieved what they believe to be the ultimate form, they've decided to pursue galaxy-wide perfection, through a process that involves using light to transform other beings into their uniform image, referred to as "assimilation". [[Franchise/StarTrek Sound familiar?]] [[LampshadeHanging *cough*Borg*cough*]]
* The anime series ''Anime/{{Kaiba}}'' has a giant plant monster that consumes memories and [[PlanetEater planets]] that contain them. When the threat comes towards a planet the main characters are on, Popo, [[spoiler: who just usurped the king]], wants the world to be eaten to unify all people and their memories. [[spoiler: One of the Warp copies]] seems to agree with this idea.
* Zonder Metal in ''[[Anime/GaoGaiGar King of Braves GaoGaiGar]]'' was initially developed as a method of stress relief and a means to remove negative emotions, but the master control program in charge of the Zonder Metal quickly determined that the best way of eliminating all stress was to absorb all other lifeforms in the universe and turn them into emotionless robots.

* In ''Anime/MacrossFrontier'', BigBad [[spoiler: Grace O'Connor]]'s EvilutionaryBiologist plan is to use her cybernetic implant based brain network and the FTL-communications of the Vajra's fold quartz to link everyone in the entire galaxy into a single group mind. Unlike the trope, however, the heroes discover that the network will have an "admin" position which will effectively put one person's desires over everyone else hooked into it, [[spoiler:and that this is how Grace has already co-opted the Macross Galaxy fleet into her private army.]] The final episode even has what may be a ShoutOut to Evangelion in this memorable exchange:

* This is the basic concept "The Moon's Eye Plan" in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', whose aim is to dive all people in eternal Genjutsu and collect all the chakra in all people for the user in order to [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans reach peace in the world]]. The plan also intersects with LotusEaterMachine, since for each one who gets caught in the Genjutsu, will be created a perfect world in which all his desires will be fulfilled. Although the entire concept and execution seems to depend on its executor, [[DarkMessiah Obito]] who's more concerned about the execution of the "LotusEaterMachine" part, than "collect all the chakra for himself", uses the [[WorldTree Shinju]] to achieve the goal, while [[AGodAmI Madara]] who's more concerned about the execution of the "collect all the chakra for himself" part, awakens the [[ThirdEye Rinne Sharingan]] and uses it to trigger the Infinite Tsukiyomi.
** [[spoiler: As it turned out, the original plan was invented by Kaguya Otsutsuki, and her plan goes a step further when it is revealed that while her victims are ensnared in an eternal dream, their bodies will be converted into an army of Zetsu clones.]]

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Defeating the Angels does not mean humanity would be left in peace: [[spoiler:SEELE and Gendo alike have convergent plots to do more or less exactly the same thing that the Angels were trying to accomplish, except on their own terms. That is, reduce the bodies of all human beings into glowy Tang and unite their souls with Lilith, an EldritchAbomination not unlike the Angels themselves. SEELE thinks this would be an evolutionary leap forward for mankind, while Gendo merely wants to reunite with Yui, whose soul is trapped inside Unit 01.]] The plan's name, "Instrumentality", was the former {{Trope Namer|s}}, but the name was considered spoiling too much.

* This is a side effect of the MacGuffin in ''Literature/{{Paprika}}'', where more and more people share the same dream. While the {{Talkative Loon}}s with no self-preservation instincts parading around Tokyo are bad enough, but to make matters worse, [[spoiler:the BigBad dies while connected to the dream and becomes a psychic black hole.]]
* A relatively mild version of such a system is the central focus of Komi Naoshi's oneshot manga, ''[[http://www.onemanga.com/Personant/ Personant]]''.
* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': If left to her own devices, [[spoiler:Kriemhild Gretchen, Madoka's Witch form, will destroy all life on Earth in ten days, absorbing every living creature into her barrier and creating a LotusEaterMachine, in an attempt to rid the world of suffering.]]
* The British Library's ultimate plan in ''Anime/RODTheTV'' is to broadcast the mind of Gentleman across the Earth, rewriting the minds of every single person.
** Before the final battle, Anita returns to Japan to discover that the British Library erased all memory of her from her former classmates' minds, going so far as to turn her admirer Hasami straight. Wendy confronts her, telling her to "live the dream or die." When Hisami manages to remember, Anita's happy - until full realization of the Library's horrific power strikes her.
%%* ''Anime/SerialExperimentsLain''. This time, it featured both the Collective Unconscious and The Internet a.k.a The Wired.
* It's revealed in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' that this is what the Anti-Spirals did to themselves, [[spoiler: sealing off their own evolution to avoid the destruction of the universe via Spiral Nemesis, an overload of Spiral energy which ends with the universe being consumed by a black hole.]] Their "leader" is implied to be an [[MindHive avatar]] of their [[HiveMind collective mind]].
* ''Anime/XamdLostMemories'': [[spoiler:The ultimate goal of the religious cult that creates Xamd is to use one of them as a catalyst for a mass sacrifice of worshippers that will create an assimilation, killing the northern emperor and ending the North-South war... Somehow.]]
* Season 4 of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'': [[spoiler: An enemy mentally breaks its victims down until they're too afraid of the future to live and sets them free from the resulting nightmares into a shapeless dark void where all "souls are united" and "all intellects become one."]]
** Can't forget Season 3 where [[spoiler: Yubel tries to fuse twelve different dimensions and everyone inside them just so that [[{{Hermaphrodite}} they]] can be together with Judai.]]

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* In an unusual heroic -- or rather, NominalHero -- example, Black Bolt has on multiple occasions tried to do this, forcibly transforming countless non-Inhumans into Inhumans in order to protect his people. The first time he tried it, during ''ComicBook/WarOfKings'', it was presented as a severe case of JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope, with even the AxeCrazy Emperor Vulcan a.k.a. Gabriel Summers, being appalled by it, and Crystal calling him out ''hard''. The second time, during ''{{ComicBook/Infinity}}'', when Black Bolt unleashed the Terrigen Mists on the world, it was portrayed as supposedly being a good thing, despite the fact that the Mists were known to be dangerous and/or downright ''lethal'' to Mutants, from the events of ''Silent War''.
* In the ComicBook/GreenLantern storyline ''Rise of the Third Army'', the Guardians, a group of celestial beings who watch over the Green Lanterns, go full KnightTemplar and come up with the idea to have all of the Lanterns infected and turned into mindless, emotionless killing machines, as the Guardians feel that free will and emotions are hurting the universe. The process is a very painful example of BodyHorror, and the ones who are infected clearly suffer before they are turned into gray {{Humanoid Abomination}}s.
* In the Creator/GrantMorrison comic series ''ComicBook/TheInvisibles'', '''both''' the heroes and the villains want to bring about an assimilation. Their methods and perceived condition in the assimilation, however, differ. [[spoiler: The Archons of the Outer Church view reality as one whole entity they wish to bring in line with their philosophy of absolute order, whereas the Invisibles view reality as ''two'' intersecting universes that will split apart -- effectively giving them ''and'' the Archons their desired realities -- and wish to make sure the break happens. The comic ends with mankind ascending on [[MayanDoomsday Dec. 21st, 2012]].]]
** Another Creator/GrantMorrison series, ''ComicBook/TheFilth'', has a villain/collective with a more grossly physical assimilation in mind.
* ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'' (the character's first regular series) had an alien referred to as [[spoiler:the Messiah]] that wanted to create peace by eliminating free will and leaving entire planetary populations mindless.
* ''ComicBook/CableAndDeadpool'' featured a much less severe and more comedic version of this trope with a cult that wanted to eliminate racism by turning everyone the same skin color: blue. After briefly succeeding, Deadpool has a conversation with the leader in an airport where he points out the futility of it all; he can still tell what race everyone was by their features.
* In kid-superhero comic ''ComicBook/PS238'', BadassNormal-in-training Tyler Marlocke got to take a peek at a variety of alternate universes where he was born with powers. In one of them, he was a psychic so powerful that he accidentally caused one of these by touching every human mind at once -- and then was ejected from the collective, leaving him the only individual mind on Earth.
** In something of a departure from norm, said HiveMind (The Commonality) is presented as a benign entity that's turned Earth into a {{Utopia}} and holds that universe's Tyler in very high regard for having created it. It's not much consolation for Tyler, though, as he is terribly lonely without any non-assimilated humans to talk to.
* A ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' comic explored the consequences of the [[EvilutionaryBiologist High Evolutionary]] kicking all of the humans, superhumans, and mutants in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse into their [[GoalOrientedEvolution most highly evolved]] state and uniting into a single being; instead of achieving TheSingularity or AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence as the H.E. had hoped, it/they essentially destroyed the universe and left the High Evolutionary [[AndIMustScream stranded forever on a timelocked Earth stuck outside of reality]]. Oops.

* A Dream Vortex can do this without even being aware of it in ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989''. At some point, they will start breaking down the walls that divide peoples' dreams, the problem being that this eventually kills everyone on the planet unless Morpheus steps in to ShootTheDog. This is the ''only'' circumstance in which the rules governing his actions allow him to kill someone in cold blood.
* In ''ComicBook/ScoobyApocalypse'', the monster known as the Amalgamind intends to absorb all creatures (monsters and otherwise) into a Hive Mind it controls.
* The stated goal of the Chitauri in ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''. Of course, since they apparently get their ass kicked not only on Earth, but all up and down the Galaxy, before getting anywhere close to wiping out the "cancer" of individuality, it's not clear if this goal can even be or could have been achieved.

* ''ComicBook/SinsOfSinister'' is an entire event based on this, with long-time X-Men villain (yet necessary ally in the Krakoa Era) Mister Sinister finding a way to corrupt the Krakoan resurrection process so that every mutant starts thinking like him. It does ''not'' go well for him.

* After Neo destroys Smith in the first ''Franchise/TheMatrix'' movie, he refuses to be deleted and returns with self-duplication powers. He proceeds to turn every inhabitant of the Matrix into a copy of himself, out of a mix of egotism and sheer destructiveness.

'''New Smith:'''...Me, too.
* In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'', [[spoiler:Ego had spread seeds through all inhabited planets so someday they could burst and assimilate all the universe, making him the only lifeform. However, this plan required the extra energy of an equally powerful son - and the only one that inherited Ego's PhysicalGod powers was Star-Lord.]]

%%* This is the ultimate goal of the [[PuppeteerParasite alien parasites]] in the movie ''The Invasion''.
%%* An ultimate outcome of the earlier ''Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers'' movies.
%%* This is the ultimate goal of the alien queen in ''Film/TheFaculty''.
* B-movie reviewer Scott Foy's [[https://web.archive.org/web/20101226103553/http://foywonder.com/current_columns/foy_0609.html review]] of the pro-Christian drama ''Film/CMeDance'' -- in which a teenaged girl is graced with the ability to convert people to Christianity via her touch -- points out that the film's ''heroes'' apparently believe in TheEvilsOfFreeWill, leading to most UnfortunateImplications.
-->Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is a horror movie, just one with a great big smile on its face that [[FridgeHorror doesn't realise what it truly is]]. C ME DANCE is exactly like all those bodysnatching horror movies we've seen where someone gets taken over by an evil presence that can infect and impose its evil into anyone it comes into contact with. Sure, it's the power of Christ this time around but that doesn't make it any less sinister in its affront to the very notion of free will.

* In ''Literature/ThoseThatWake'' and its sequel, this plot is what the villains want in the end, though they do so in different ways. Man in Suit, the villain of the first book, plans to make everyone hopeless and vacant so he can fill them with him. The Old Man, the villain of the second book, uses the neuropleth--a hive mind of mental energy--to assimilate most of New York with plans to do so worldwide.

* A good number of Space Empire games or ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}''-style games with technology that goes well into the future (including ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'') will feature some blend of this and AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence as their ultimate technology, and the means of achieving the Technological Victory. It's worth pointing out that since this is portrayed as AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence, and almost always shown as heroic and that nobody at all minds the thought of leaving their bodies behind, the way that the ragtag band of heroes ''always'' will if it wasn't their idea first. ''Alpha Centauri'' is notable because it expressly involves melding with Planet, which has been sending out creatures to inflict a FateWorseThanDeath for the entire game until then. The faction that pulls this off "wins" by having its values become predominant in the new consciousness.
** Amusingly, the transcendence victory is pretty much exactly what [[VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri Chairman Yang]] (the most ObviouslyEvil of the faction leaders) wanted all along, regardless of who actually achieves it.
** In ''Alpha Centauri'' it's played as a side effect of the attempt to survive Planet awakening and effectively becoming a god. All the story pop-ups make it very clear that the path leading up to that ending is a desperate attempt to survive.
** In ''VideoGame/CivilizationBeyondEarth'', this is only one of the four non-domination victories. It's limited to factions following the Harmony path. Two of the other tech-based victories involve re-establishing contact with Earth (one to bring in refugees, another to force Earth humans to undergo UnwillingRoboticisation), while the non-affinity-specific victory involves establishing a FirstContact.
** In the ''Utopia'' DLC of ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' Biological Ascension allows a Hive Mind to assimilate non-hive populations (without it they [[ToServeMan eat]] non-hive [=POPs=] in their territory), or a conventional empire to "free" hive-minded [=POPs=]. While "Synthetic Dawn" has "Driven Assimilator" type machine empires that start as networked robots who cyborgized their creators, and desire to do the same to the other organic species in the galaxy.
* ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'': This is the ultimate goal of Conductor Kitaniji and his Red Skull pins. ''"To right the countless wrongs of our day, we shine this light of true redemption, that this place may become as paradise. What a wonderful world such would be..."'' The [[MindScrewdriver Secret Reports]] explain that assimilation is the natural state of [[spoiler:Angels and other higher beings]], but ordinary humans can't handle it.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': [[spoiler:When the villain's dead older sister wants a world without discrimination, he decides this is the best way to fulfill her dying wish]].
** {{Subverted|Trope}} when [[spoiler:he finally succeeds in resurrecting said sister, and she just leaves (that is, goes back to death) because of what he's done, so he decides to destroy the Earth instead]].
* ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfTheWorld]] Radiant Mythology 1'': The BigBad plans to do this with Gilgulim. He wants to absorb every world and the seeds of the various World Trees to all become one with Gilgulim, creating an eternally living, but ultimately solitary, world.
* In the ''VideoGame/MassEffect'' series, the asari mate with other races, which results in their children being more asari, with unique traits from the father species, though no DNA. The asari goverment uses propaganda to influence their own people into doing this more often, resulting in more asari, and less of other races. Additionally, they hoard power and knowledge to subtly influence the other races into being more like the asari. It's an AssimilationPlot in a very slow and very subtle form.
** It's the whole deal with the kett from ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda''. The kett species are themselves an amalgamation of thousands of useful genes from other species. They continue to harvest any useful genes from any new species they find and incorporate it into themselves. They also select biologically-adequate members of other species and forcibly morph them into more kett.
* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI:'' The Knights Templar want to launch satellites into the Earth's skies containing alien technology plundered from [[spoiler: the Mayans and Japanese humanoid alien precursors]] to use their religious brainwashing power to cause everyone to think exactly alike. By the time of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'', [[spoiler:this plan was quietly terminated after Desmond killed Dr. Warren Vidic, the supposed brains in the operation]].
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX:'' [[spoiler:The inhabitants of Zanarkand turned themselves into an assimilation by collectively becoming an enormous fayth which spent the next thousand years dreaming an illusory Zanarkand into existence]].
* ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII:'' [[spoiler:[[GodIsEvil Bhunivelze]] wants to bring this about in his New World. He used Lightning to carry out his plan.]]
* ''Franchise/MegaMan''
** In ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'', before their legendary falling out, Drs. Hikari and Wily were working on a project called [=SoulNet=], which would link humanity's thoughts and emotions, allowing better understandings and building better trust among each other. They never got to complete the project, entrusting it to future generations. While the motivations behind the concept were benign, this becomes problematic when the endgame of the BigBad of ''[[VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork5TeamColonelAndTeamProtoMan Battle Network 5]]'' is to unleash [=SoulNet=], then taint the world with a HatePlague.
** Some time between ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' and ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'', somebody got the big idea that the only way to end the fighting between humans and reploids was to make them the same. Aside from the occasional Mavericks or the games' {{Big Bad}}s, it ''works''. The only real difference between a Human and a reploid now is the means of their birth/creation (As well as those nice little red triangles on the heads of reploids to differentiate between the two).
* ''VideoGame/SystemShock2'': The Many want every living thing to join them, and they meet refusal with [[WeComeInPeaceShootToKill a less than pleasant response]].
* In ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', [[BigBad Krelian]] wants to bring about an assimilation to salve his heart of the pain of losing Sophia. He does this by literally getting most of the world's population to mutate and [[GreyGoo become part of the flesh of a giant, organic weapon called Deus]].
** [[spoiler:This was actually part of the master plan by Deus. Deus was a heavily damaged superweapon and needed spare parts. He created humanity and waited 10,000 years until it was time to absorb them and continue his intergalactic rampage.]]

* The [[ChurchOfHappyology Unitologist Church]] in ''Franchise/DeadSpace'' seems to have this as its central dogma: Humanity was created by SufficientlyAdvancedAliens (or maybe {{God}}, it's unclear), and life as we know it is a stepping stone towards "Convergence", when "all will be made as one"... or something. Point is, quite a few of them seem to think the [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Necromorph]] [[TheVirus transformation]] is what leads to Convergence (since Necromorphs seem to be united under a HiveMind), and quite eagerly embrace it for themselves and their fellow man.
** Even though [[TheGovernment EarthGov]] and the Church are publicly opposed to eachother, they seem to believe the same things.
** In ''VideoGame/DeadSpace3'', it's revealed what "Convergence" truly is: when enough Necromorphs are created, the Markers will pull them into the sky and merge them all together to form a giant Necromorph Moon that will consume the planet's biosphere to complete itself.
* The Khala in ''Franchise/StarCraft'' is a ''heroic'' example. Since by the time just before its discovery, the Protoss are fighting a massive civil war, and the discovery of Khala by Khas/[[spoiler:Savassan]] ended the civil war and helped restore the psionic link that was lost in the war. Though to be noted that even when they are linked the protoss still retain individuality.
** A smaller example of this would be the creation of the Archon, which requires two Templars to sacrifice their individuality to create one incredibly powerful being of energy.
*** ''[=StarCraft=]'' is indeed interesting as exampled in volume 3 of Frontline manga. It seems like some protoss do consider the Khala as hive-mind (even though they retain individuality and it's like a free-over-the-galaxy-telephone-for-zero-cost) and even for that little the exiled dark templars reject it (and are happy with just normal telepathy). As for archons it seems like a case-by-case, the in-game unit has no personality and only urge to destory its enemies, the Twilight Archon is a something unique altogether (and we don't know what its personality like) and Ulrezaj is made of 7 dark templars but only Ulrezaj original personality controls the body.
*** Also, the Zerg are a hive-mind... sort of. In the buttom line the Overmind and the cerebrates have distinct personalities but "hard-wired" in a way that they cannot rebel thus lacking some of the free-will. Also basically anything beneath them (every other zerg unit) is just a creature with no personality or free-will whatsoever. Kerrigan and some doubtfully-canon zerg are different.
*** In ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' after taking control of the Swarm Kerrigan replaced the Cerebrates with Brood Mothers, but after she's temporarily de-infested in ''VideoGame/StarcraftIIHeartOfTheSwarm'' and attempts to re-establish control some of the Brood Mothers are reluctant to obey her.
** In ''Videogame/StarcraftIILegacyOfTheVoid'', the Khala is revealed to be [[spoiler:a villainous example after all. The Khala was never anything more than Amon's tool for controlling the Protoss, not unlike the Zerg Overmind. The surviving Protoss sever their nerve cords similarly to the Dark Templar.]]
* One of the endings in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' is the creation of the Reason of Shijima, essentially an assimilation. It is initiated by having the Demi-Fiend join forces with the man who caused the Conception and created the Vortex World.
** The game also contains the opposite. One of the Reasons involves creating a world of ultimate individuality, where each person has only themselves to rely on, and nobody can interfere with the life of anyone else.
* In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', a variant of this is the goal of the Law faction. Specifically, they want to brainwash the entire world into doing nothing but praising God and the angels, with only a few people they deem worthy retaining any vestige of individuality.
* The fourth game in the ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'' series has a BigBad (in the Order campaign, naturally) with something similar as his goal -- he wants to eliminate free will, and so end war.

* This is the ultimate goal of [[spoiler:Infel and Nenesha]], of ''VideoGame/ArTonelicoIIMelodyOfMetafalica'', to create a world where all people can exist in peace and happiness for eternity by launching them into their own [[LotusEaterMachine separate virtual realities]] under the global network, where they [[GodhoodSeeker may live as gods]] through Sublimation. Considering that the towers that support the little remaining human life in an otherwise completely dead world that they believe is sentient, and deliberately trying to kill all humanity, are crumbling and failing, and they already tried, and failed, to use the only other option, Metafalica, unlike most other practitioners, it lands them squarely in AntiVillain territory for trying this one. The heroes still stop them and try (and nearly fail) Metafalica, anyway.
** Earlier in the game, this was attempted with Hibernation. a FlawedPrototype version of the aforementioned Sublimation, with its area of effect being limited to Metafalss, and since it uses Infel Phira as the storage for their minds, it has the side effect of killing all the [=IPDs=] in Metafalss (which comprises 50% of the Reyvateils there). [[spoiler:Infel's apparently on it so she could access Nenesha's Soulspace through Infel Phira's backdoor opened by the song to Ar tonelico]]
** ''VideoGame/CielNosurge'' and ''[[VideoGame/ArNosurgeOdeToAnUnbornStar Ar nosurge]]'' have the Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE, a song that fuses people's souls to creates a transdimensional being. Unlike the Hibernation and Sublimation in Ar tonelico series which puts everyone into a LotusEaterMachine, Exsphere Nosurge erases the Qualia (spiritual boundaries) of the people within the Song's range of effect, effectively erasing their individuality and clumped into the Overseer, killing them in the process. [[WellIntentionedExtremist Zill]] tried it in ''Ciel nosurge'' when she thought that it was necessary for a peaceful world, and that is was the only way of survival at that point. In ''Ar nosurge'', it was sung by a person from beyond their universe. Fortunately, the singer's host happened to disagree with the genocidal intent of the Song, with the [[FightingFromTheInside internal discord]] preventing the song from being executed at its full power.
* In ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl''/''Platinum'', this is the ultimate goal of Team Galactic's leader. He traces spirit; emotion, willpower, knowledge, etc. as the source of all the world's imperfections. So he plans to use Dialga and Palkia, masters of time and space, to unmake the current world and build a new world, one without spirit. And even after you beat him, he hasn't given up...

* Conversations with Legion in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' indicate that this is the ultimate goal for both the Geth and [[spoiler:the Reapers]].
** The Geth are a machine race where sapience is achieved by the cooperation and consensus of a multitude of lesser non-sapient programs and sub-routines. Their ultimate goal is [[spoiler:to create a single repository for all of their programs in order to form a single, unified entity]]. Unique in that no member of their race opposes this goal - an 'individual' geth is a piece of software, so they need to be networked to achieve sapience.
** On a grimmer note are [[spoiler:the Reapers, ancient machines that possess thousands of programs in their cores and, as shown by the sequel's climax, are created by transforming millions, if not billions, of sapient organics into a liquid metal for use in their construction, apparently fusing some measure of their being into the resulting Reaper]].
--->'''Harbinger:''' That which you know as [[spoiler:Reapers]] are your salvation through destruction.
** The "Heretic" Geth differ from the rest since they want to take a shortcut to their goal [[spoiler:by uploading themselves into a Reaper]].
* ''VideoGame/BioShock2'' [[spoiler:has BigBad Sofia Lamb attempt a version of this using GeneticMemory carried through the gene-splicing PsychoSerum used by everyone in Rapture]].
* In ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'', this is the Flood's ultimate goal, with their Gravemind having a few quotes reflecting this in ''VideoGame/Halo3''.
-->'''Gravemind:''' Do not be afraid... I am peace, I am salvation.
* In ''VideoGame/Fallout1'', the Master seeks to create the "Unity": a single race of super mutants, via (mostly) forced assimilation. Too bad he didn't know about the one critical flaw in his plan: the Forced Evolution Virus renders all it infects sterile.
-->'''The Master:''' The Unity will bring above the master race. Master. Master! One able to survive, or even thrive, in the wasteland. As long as there will be differences, we will tear ourselves apart fighting each other. We need one race! Race! Race! One goal! Goal! Goal! One people... to move forward to our destiny. Destiny.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': The ultimate plan of [[LegionsofHell The Burning Legion]] is to [[OmnicidalManiac destroy all traces of order in existence]] while recruiting races they come across to their ranks by corrupting them and turning them into demons as well.
* The Grigori in ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheLastHope'' seek to achieve instrumentality of the entire universe by eradicating all life, and replacing them with souless copies that act under their will.
* ''VideoGame/Prototype2'' eventually reveals that [[spoiler:after years of contemplation and planning, Alex Mercer has decided to solve the woes of the world by turning the human population into a virus-based superorganism]]. This would effectively end conflict, but Heller understandably disagrees with the means.
* Near the end of ''VideoGame/Mother3'', Lucas and company find a room in the [[spoiler:Empire Porky Building]] that contains [[spoiler:lots of green capsules with people and animals inside. Each individual capsule is a "Nice Person Hot Spring", where the unsuspecting victim enters and becomes a nice person who loves Porky, the BigBad of the game]]. At that point they discover that [[spoiler:Porky's basically brainwashing people into all being Porky lovers]].

* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series, this is one of the theories about [[RiddleForTheAges what happened to]] the [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwemer]]. According to the theory, they discovered [[CosmicKeystone the Heart]] of the [[GodIsDead "dead" god]], Lorkhan, deep beneath Red Mountain. As extreme {{Naytheist}}s who, as a culture, attempted to ''[[BlueAndOrangeMorality refute everything as real]]'', the constructed the [[HumongousMecha Numidium]] to channel the Heart's power and use it as their vessel to become a singularity, [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence refuting reality and going beyond it]]. They may have succeeded...[[GoneHorriblyWrong or not]]. Either way, their entire race blinked out of existence all across Tamriel in a single instant and haven't been heard from since.
* This is the plan of the insane Warden Unit (or [[FunWithAcronyms WAU]]) in ''VideoGame/{{SOMA}}'': after humanity is wiped out due to a meteor strike and the survivors reduced to a single research team at the bottom of the ocean, it starts using [[GreyGoo an assimilative nanite system called "structure gel"]] to physically absorb sea life, machinery, infrastructure and humans into itself, downloading human minds and trapping them in robots, mutated sea life and horrific cyborgs, when it doesn't just meld them into the surrounding terrain. And, all the while, it plays with the trapped minds so they aren't aware of their plight.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}''
** Driven Assimilator type machine empires seek to remove the conflicts between organic and synthetic life by assimilating them all into their gestalt consciousness with cybernetic implants.
** The late-game Ascension perk Evolutionary Mastery allows biological {{Hive Mind}}s to assimilate other life forms into their collective, or inversely allows non-hive empires to cut drones "free" from their hive mind and become independent beings.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': Downplayed. Sephiroth plans to absorb the entire Lifestream and make everyone and everything that has ever lived on the Planet become a part of him, but this is incidental to his thirst for power. Sephiroth [[LackOfEmpathy doesn't care enough about other people]] to want to assimilate them for ''their'' sake.
* This is implied to be the ultimate goal of the Dark Matter race in the ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' series, to possess every being in the universe and bring them under the control of their HiveMind.

[[folder:Film — Animation]]
* In ''Animation/TimeMasters'', Gamma 10 is inhabited by [[TheFaceless faceless]] male angels who worship one amorphous, all-controlling being. [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic Hmm.]] They capture the heroes and plan to change him into one of them to power their {{God}}, which would make lose all sense of their individuality as the faceless angels did -- they were once scruffy spacemen.

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

-->-- '''The Cyber-Controller''', ''Series/DoctorWho'', [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E6TheAgeOfSteel "The Age of Steel"]]

* The military leaders in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' seem to think along these lines. It even ''sounds'' like [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion EVA]] (SEELE, anyone?):

* White Diamond from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' has the power to assimilate Gems. Any Gem hit with her EyeBeams are bleached of all of their colors and their movements, words, even their voices resemble hers. She believes that because she is the perfect being, she is doing them a favor by removing their "flaws" (the things that make them different) and making them perfect just like her. [[ZigZaggingTrope However]], she can't (or simply won't) do this to ''every'' Gem, and so for the vast majority of gems does the next best thing: create and constantly expand [[TheEmpire empire]] of [[IndividualityIsIllegal complete social conformity]] beholden to a HiveCasteSystem.

* ''Series/KamenRiderGhost'': It's eventually revealed that Adel's plan to create a "perfect world" is to use the Demia Project to link his soul to everyone and override their personalities with his own will, turning everyone into copies of himself. Or, as Adel puts it himself, becoming "[[IAmTheNoun the world]]".

* [[AGodAmI Selfish megalomaniac]] who seeks to create a HiveMind just to make themselves the HiveQueen. In this case, the villain has a TakeOverTheWorld goal but with a twist. They may use the WellIntentionedExtremist cause as a ruse.

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': [[spoiler:When the villain's dead little sister wants a world without discrimination, he decides this is the best way to fulfill her dying wish]].

* In Anime/TheEpicOfZektbach, the Rufina performed one to form Σ, a "memeplex" who is all of them combined into one being. It is later revealed that [[spoiler:humanity performed one a long time ago, uploading themselves into a database on a spaceship called the Ouroboros Ark to attain immortality. However, a man named Joah didn't like existing this way and so awakened L'erisia, the embodiment of self-awareness, causing the whole thing the break down]].

* This seems to be the goal of the weakness-hating, [[Manga/DeathNote Kira-esque genius]] VillainProtagonist of ''[[Manga/LostBrain Lost+ Brain]]'', who has [[spoiler: caught practically all of Japan using hypnotic TV shows in addition to the students he has under his control. What he actually does is erase their memories, although they could also be under his control too]].

* ''Anime/{{Noein}}:'' [[spoiler: Noein's ultimate plan is to end all the suffering everywhere by collapsing every ''reality'' into Shangri'la. It's implied that his allies only ''think'' they'll survive this. Actually, that was only phase one! He planned on destroying Shangri'la after that. Nirvana aka the death that has no rebirth after it! It is more of an Annihilation Plot!]]

* ''Anime/XamdLostMemories''. [[spoiler:The ultimate goal of the religious cult that creates Xamd is to use one of them as a catalyst for a mass sacrifice of worshippers that will create an assimilation, killing the northern emperor and ending the North-South war... Somehow.]]

** In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', [[spoiler:Eddington]] claims the Federation ethos is "worse than the Borg" by being more insidious and less overtly villainous [[DiscussedTrope than this trope]]. The Klingons of ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' make a similar accusation.

* ''LightNovel/BoogiepopSeries'': The second and third novels (''VS Imaginator'' parts 1 and 2) feature a villain calling herself the Imaginator who's half-possessing/half-controlling someone with a psychic ability that may progress towards assimilation as an ultimate goal. However, Boogiepop points out [[spoiler:that basic human nature would make this a temporary condition at best anyhow, and that the effort was doomed to failure. Or at least, that specific attempt. Who knows if Imaginator could pull it off with someone else]].

* There are several concepts of death being a form of assimilation, since existence generates matter and therefore, identity. One might be the UsefulNotes/{{Christian|ity}} concept of {{Heaven}}, "all will be united with {{God}}". Other interpretations of the afterlife, like "Universal Reconciliation" (all souls will be reconciled with God) and "Eternal Separation" (good people unite with God, bad people are left to fend for themselves in an existential vacuum) presents Heaven/God more in this manner, to replace the Orwellian WordOfDante ({{Hell}}) that dominated Christian thinking for so long.

* In ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu'', the BigBad's master plan was to [[spoiler:[[GrandTheftMe steal]] [[OlympusMons Mewtwo]]'s body and use its PsychicPowers to plant the consciousnesses of humans into the bodies of Pokémon in order to strengthen the bond between them. [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist Or so he says.]]]]

* In ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu'', the BigBad's master plan was to [[spoiler:[[GrandTheftMe steal]] [[OlympusMons Mewtwo]]'s body and use its PsychicPowers to plant the consciousnesses of humans into the bodies of Pokémon [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist allegedly]] in order to strengthen the bond between them.]]

* In ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu'', the BigBad's master plan was to [[spoiler:[[GrandTheftMe steal]] [[OlympusMons Mewtwo]]'s body and use its PsychicPowers to fuse the consciousnesses of humans and Pokémon together in order to strengthen the bond between them.]]

* In ''ComicBook/TheInfinite'', the titular empire took over by disguising themselves as soldiers, infiltrating military bases, taking over the military bases, and then repeating the process until there were enough of them in the military to take over the rest of the military.

* This is [[AIIsACrapshoot Leviathan's]] ultimate plan ion ''Anime/DigimonUniverseAppMonsters''. Turning all humans into data then absorbing them within itself so they can be easily controled in the form of applications.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Defeating the Angels does not mean humanity would be left in peace: [[spoiler:SEELE and Gendo alike have convergent plots to do more or less exactly the same thing that the Angels were trying to accomplish, except on their own terms. That is, reduce the bodies of all human beings into glowy Tang and unite their souls with Lilith, an EldritchAbomination not unlike the Angels themselves. SEELE thinks this would be an evolutionary leap forward for mankind, while Gendo merely wants to reunite with Yui, whose soul is trapped inside Unit 01.]] The plan's name, "Instrumentality", was the former TropeNamer, but the name was considered spoiling too much.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Defeating the Angels does not mean humanity would be left in peace: [[spoiler:SEELE and Gendo alike have convergent plots to do more or less exactly the same thing that the Angels were trying to accomplish, except on their own terms. That is, reduce the bodies of all human beings into glowy Tang and unite their souls with Lilith, an EldritchAbomination not unlike the Angels themselves. SEELE thinks this would be an evolutionary leap forward for mankind, while Gendo merely wants to reunite with Yui, whose soul is trapped inside Unit 01.]] The plan's name, "Instrumentality", was the former TropeNamer, but the name was considered spoiling too much.
* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': If left to her own devices, [[spoiler:Kriemhild Gretchen, Madoka's Witch form, will destroy all life on Earth in ten days, absorbing every living creature into her barrier and creating a LotusEaterMachine, in an attempt to rid the world of suffering.]]
* Season 4 of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'': [[spoiler: An enemy mentally breaks its victims down until they're too afraid of the future to live and sets them free from the resulting nightmares into a shapeless dark void where all "souls are united" and "all intellects become one."]]
** Can't forget Season 3 where [[spoiler: Yubel tries to fuse twelve different dimensions and everyone inside them just so that [[{{Hermaphrodite}} they]] can be together with Judai.]]

** Interestingly, the assimilation plot is not even the final threat in the series.

* ''[[Manga/{{Appleseed}} Appleseed EX Machina]]'': [[spoiler:The Halcon system, spread through the global satellite network, just creates a nanomachine infested zombie apocalypse.]]
* This is a side effect of the MacGuffin in ''Literature/{{Paprika}}'', where more and more people share the same dream. While the {{Talkative Loon}}s with no self-preservation instincts parading around Tokyo are bad enough, but to make matters worse, [[spoiler:the BigBad dies while connected to the dream and becomes a psychic black hole.]]
* This is the basic concept "The Moon's Eye Plan" in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', whose aim is to dive all people in eternal Genjutsu and collect all the chakra in all people for the user in order to [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans reach peace in the world]]. The plan also intersects with LotusEaterMachine, since for each one who gets caught in the Genjutsu, will be created a perfect world in which all his desires will be fulfilled. Although the entire concept and execution seems to depend on its executor, [[DarkMessiah Obito]] who's more concerned about the execution of the "LotusEaterMachine" part, than "collect all the chakra for himself", uses the [[WorldTree Shinju]] to achieve the goal, while [[AGodAmI Madara]] who's more concerned about the execution of the "collect all the chakra for himself" part, awakens the [[ThirdEye Rinne Sharingan]] and uses it to trigger the Infinite Tsukiyomi.
** [[spoiler: As it turned out, the original plan was invented by Kaguya Otsutsuki, and her plan goes a step further when it is revealed that while her victims are ensnared in an eternal dream, their bodies will be converted into an army of Zetsu clones.]]
** The Sage of the Six Paths intended a much more benevolent version of this, spreading chakra in the hope that it would create a bond between people and foster understanding. Unfortunately, they learned how to mix their spiritual and physical powers with the chakra to create ninjutsu and continued fighting.
* A relatively mild version of such a system is the central focus of Komi Naoshi's oneshot manga, ''[[http://www.onemanga.com/Personant/ Personant]]''.
* The military leaders in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' seem to think along these lines. It even ''sounds'' like [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion EVA]] (SEELE, anyone?):
-->[[spoiler: ''"This world is decaying, it needs to be reborn anew! The masses will not suffer death, they will live forever in us! All is one and one is all!"'']]
* This seems to be the goal of the weakness-hating, [[Manga/DeathNote Kira-esque genius]] VillainProtagonist of ''[[Manga/LostBrain Lost+ Brain]]'', who has [[spoiler: caught practically all of Japan using hypnotic TV shows in addition to the students he has under his control. What he actually does is erase their memories, although they could also be under his control too]].
* Zonder metal in ''King of Braves Anime/GaoGaiGar'' was initially developed as a method of stress relief and a means to remove negative emotions, but it quickly went haywire and turned people into seemingly emotionless beings bent on assimilating the whole universe in a quest to remove negative emotions, which is explained to have been extended to such emotions such as joy, courage and compassion. Not surprisingly, the Zonders, Zonderians and the closely related Primevals are the main villains of the show.
* Appears in ''Anime/EurekaSeven'', though mostly in the backstory. Absorbing other beings into itself is described as the Scub Coral's only method of communication, and towards the end of the series, the idea of [[spoiler: all of humanity joining the Scub's HiveMind as a possibility to prevent [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the collapse of the material universe]] from an over-abundance of thinking life forms]] is brought up; Thankfully, Renton & Eureka's efforts managed to avert this from happening.
* This is the ELS's main tactic in ''Anime/Gundam00AwakeningOfTheTrailblazer''. If enough ELS gather together, they can assimilate space cruisers (or even, it's implied, entire planets). [[spoiler:It is not until the end of the movie that humanity realizes that the ELS didn't mean anything malicious by this. They just didn't know how to communicate except by absorbing other things into their HiveMind (generally killing the unlucky human being assimilated), which humanity understandably took as a hostile action. Once the ELS realize that they're being perceived as hostile due to this, they immediately stop. They also managed to bring back some of the people they absorbed afterwards.]]
* In the ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' movie, Paint It White, this is the goal of the [[DittoAliens Pict.]]
--> '''Computer:''' Having achieved what they believe to be the ultimate form, they've decided to pursue galaxy-wide perfection, through a process that involves using light to transform other beings into their uniform image, referred to as "assimilation". [[Franchise/StarTrek Sound familiar?]] [[LampshadeHanging *cough*Borg*cough*]]
* This appears to be the eventual goal of [[spoiler: the Claw Man]] in ''Anime/GunXSword''.
* In the AnimatedAdaptation version of ''Manga/BlackCat'', this is the ultimate plan of the BigBad. [[spoiler: Mason, former Chrono Number 2, has devised a mechanical lifeforce named Eden that will use a combination of Tao magic and nanotechnology to infect all of humanity, forcibly assimilating their minds into a giant artificial reality program and forcing an end to all forms of hostility as a result, since humans will no longer be capable of independent thought.]]
* In Anime/TheEpicOfZektbach, the Rufina performed one to form Σ, a "memeplex" who is all of them combined into one being. It is later revealed that [[spoiler:humanity performed one a long time ago, uploading themselves into a database on a spaceship called the Ouroboros Ark to attain immortality. However, a man named Joah didn't like existing this way and so awakened L'erisia, the embodiment of self-awareness, causing the whole thing the break down]].
* ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' has Baby, who is able to accomplish the mental equivalent of this by invading people's bodies via open wounds and laying eggs to keep them under his control. Aside from restoring the glorious Tsufruian/Tuffle race, [[FantasticRacism he's only doing it to antagonize and eradicate the Saiyans]]. Those under Baby's influence behave like evil versions of themselves who all agree with Baby's perspective, with the only exception being Baby's host, [[DemonicPossession whom he possesses directly]].
%%* ''Anime/SerialExperimentsLain''. This time, it featured both the Collective Unconscious and The Internet a.k.a The Wired.
* Major theme of ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'', series 1 and 2, as a natural result of an interconnected cybernetic information network. Natural assimilation underlies the concept of the "Stand Alone Complex" itself, and it is explicitly examined in the case of [[spoiler: Hideo Kuze and the refugees]].\\
[[spoiler: Kuze]] believes that humanity is now capable of AscendingToAHigherPlaneOfExistence since the majority of the population is already cyberized (connected to the net), but they don't know that they are capable of doing this, or even how to do so. While he doesn't desire to see people lose their physical forms if it can be helped, he believes that everyone can retain their individualities and live entirely inside the net. [[WellIntentionedExtremist His intentions are entirely honorable]], and he would never force anyone to go through with it if they didn't want to, but due to the dire circumstances of the final episodes of 2nd Gig, he prepares for such a forced ascension just to save the lives of all his followers as an absolute last resort.
* In ''Manga/MagicalGirlSite'', this is the real nature of "The Tempest". [[GaiasVengeance The King]] will absorb all humans on Earth within herself (except those who used Sticks due to commiting the sin of giving up their lifespan), then recreate humanity in another planet as a new species with no negative emotions.
* This is [[AIIsACrapshoot Leviathan's]] ultimate plan ion ''Anime/DigimonUniverseAppMonsters''. Turning all humans into data then absorbing them within itself so they can be easily controled in the form of applications.

* ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' Sixth Doctor regeneration special, ''[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWhoSpecialTheLastAdventure The Last Adventure]]'', sees the Valeyard attempt this as his ultimate master plan. By using a race of telepathic microbes and the Sixth Doctor's mind as a conduit, he attempts to hack into the Matrix, the digital collection of all Time Lord knowledge and Time Lord minds, and replace every Time Lord who has ever existed throughout history with a copy of himself, up to and including Rassilon himself.