History Main / DoomAsTestPrize

-->-- GlaDOS, {{VideoGame/Portal}}

* On the plane of Amonkhet in ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', those who complete the Trials of the Five Gods are killed and made into zombies to serve in Nicol Bolas's undead army.

* The children in ''Manga/ThePromisedNeverland'' take daily exams at the orphanage. Ray, Emma, and Norman score perfectly on most of their quizzes and are thus prioritized by [[spoiler:the demons living outside of the orphanage to eat. Said demons feed on human lives, and the more adept the person is at academic knowledge, the more enjoyable they'll be to consume.]]
** There's also how they scout out new "Mamas". To qualify, you need adequate grades and a letter of recommendation from their own Mama. Pass, [[spoiler: and you get to be fitted with a death switch and thrown into a world of intense competition to become an active Mama, and until you succeed, you're pretty much breeding stock unless somebody needs an assistant.]]

* There's one episode of ''Series/{{The Outer Limits|1995}}'' series where a number of candidates are selected for rigorous and nightmarish training for an important government mission. At the end of the story, every single candidate except one has been killed, and the people in charge of the test arrive to congratulate him. When the survivor asks what the mission is, they cheerfully tell him that there ''was'' no mission. They simply wanted to find a physically and mentally tough candidate that they could subject to painful and hellish experiments to test the limits of the human body. They then proceed to do just that.

** It's stated that this happened offscreen in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E3ATownCalledMercy A Town Called Mercy]]", where a group of Kahler warriors competing to be the best for a secret mission actually get experimented on against their will and turned into cyborg weapons.

* In the ''Series/BabylonFive'' episode "A Day in the Strife", an alien probe arrives at the station and offers unimaginable technical gifts to anybody who can answer a series of scientific questions. It's actually sent by an unknown culture to identify and destroy any other culture advanced enough to hypothetically be a threat to them.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "Arena". According to WordOfGod, the ForcedPrizeFight was indeed a SecretTest, but not quite as it comes across. The script includes a bit of dialogue (not aired) which reveals the Metrons had planned to destroy the winner of the fight rather than the loser, considering the winner to be a bigger threat to them. Subverted as they are impressed when [[HumansAreSpecial Kirk]] [[SwordOverHead refuses to kill his downed opponent.]]

* There are ancient descriptions of Spartans ordering helots to select the best of their number - allegedly to give them freedom, but in reality, to kill off potential rebels.

If this is discovered before completion, may lead to SpringtimeForHitler. Sister trope to LotteryOfDoom, where the "winners" are chosen by chance rather than ability, and MortonsFork, where passing ''or'' failing the test both result in death (or some other nasty punishment). If the test is intellectual, this can be the dark subversion of OnlySmartPeopleMayPass. Compare CondemnedContestant, where the competition is something you end up in ''after'' learning that you're doomed. Frequently qualifies as SchmuckBait (to the GenreSavvy, at least). See EarnYourBadEnding for many video game cases.

* The State Alchemist program in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' has a rigorous screening process that seemingly rewards the most skilled alchemists with a constant salary in exchange for advancing their research and occasionally putting their expertise to military use. Its actual purpose is to find five people who have [[CreatingLifeIsBad attempted human transmutation and seen the Gate of Truth]], then [[spoiler:use them for a ritual that will harvest the souls of their entire country (which they'll technically be spared from, but only [[YouHaveOutlivedTheirUseless momentarily]])]].

* The film adaptation of ''Film/TheLastAirbender'' had Iroh and Zuko giving this to Aang when they captured him.

* ''VideoGame/{{Nidhogg}}'': The goal of the game is to make it to the other side of the screen, where you are then eaten by the titular creature.

* The State Alchemist program in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' has a rigorous screening process that seemingly rewards the most skilled alchemists with a constant salary in exchange for advancing their research and occasionally putting their expertise to military use]]. Its actual purpose is to find five people who have [[CreatingLifeIsBad attempted human transmutation and seen the Gate of Truth]], then [[spoiler:use them for a ritual that will harvest the souls of their entire country (which they'll technically be spared from, but only [[YouHaveOutlivedTheirUseless momentarily]])]].

If this is discovered before completion, may lead to SpringtimeForHitler. Sister trope to LotteryOfDoom, where the "winners" are chosen by chance rather than ability, and MortonsFork, where passing ''or'' failing the test both result in death (or some other nasty punishment). If the test is intellectual, this can be the dark subversion of OnlySmartPeopleMayPass. Compare CondemnedContestant, where the competition is something you end up in ''after'' learning that you're doomed. Frequently qualifies as SchmuckBait (to the GenreSavvy, at least).

* The heroes in ''Literature/DeltoraQuest'' and its [[Anime/DeltoraQuest anime adaption]] enter the Rithmere Games, a combat tournament, for money to continue their travels. [[spoiler: The winners are secretly drugged, taken to the [[{{Mordor}} Shadowlands]] and forced to compete in GladiatorGames for the [[BigBad Shadow Lord's]] entertainment.]]

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/SherlockHolmesInTheTwentySecondCentury'' featured puzzles, which when solved would [[spoiler: inject the solver with mind controlling nanomachines.]]

* In ''Film/FlashGordon'', Ming claims that he subjects planets to induced natural disasters to see if they are capable of recognising them as an attack and retaliating. If so they are a threat to him and get destroyed or conquered. (It's possible, though, that he's just saying this to torment Professor Zarkov: the opening scene suggests that he attacked Earth because he was bored.)

If this is discovered before completion, may lead to SpringtimeForHitler. Sister trope to LotteryOfDoom, where the "winners" are chosen by chance rather than ability, and MortonsFork, where passing ''or'' failing the test both result in death (or some other nasty punishment). If the test is intellectual, this can be the dark subversion of OnlySmartPeopleMayPass. Compare CondemnedContestant, where the competition is something you end up in ''after'' learning that you're doomed.

* The ''Franchise/{{Hellraiser}}'' horror franchise centres around the Lament Configuration, a geometric puzzle which when solved summons a bunch of BDSM demons to rape and torture the solver for eternity.

** In "[[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors The Five Doctors]]", only those who survive crossing the Death Zone and navigate the traps in Rassilon's tomb can ask his disembodied presence for the gift of immortality ... which he grants by transforming them into a living sculpture in his crypt, thus eliminating such dangerously-ambitious people from Gallifrey's power structure.

* In one ComicBook/JudgeDredd story, a couple apply to emigrate from Mega City One to an off-world colony. There are vastly more applicants than openings, so the couple pull every dirty trick possible to get on the short list, and eventually get to go the colony world- which is a barren frozen hell hole. It turned out ''all'' the colonists were people ruthless enough to lie, cheat, steal or even murder, to get to the supposed off-world paradise.
* ComicBook/DungeonTheEarlyYears: Marvin decides to take Herbert to his former martial arts master to cure Herbert of his NonActionGuy tendencies. The master takes Herbert along with another student, who very quickly proves himself superior to Herbert in every way. On the final day, the teacher congratulates him... and stabs him, explaining that the student could have one day surpassed him. [[BrokenPedestal Marvin doesn't take it well.]]

* The TropeCodifier is Jorge Luis Borges' story "Death and the Compass", in which a series of mysterious clues lead a detective to the site of another predicted murder, which turns out to be his own.

* ''The Horror at Camp Jelly Jam'' (one of the {{Goosebumps}} books had the kids at a summer camp where people who won enough games [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext were used to wash a giant monster]].
* The heroes in ''Literature/DeltoraQuest'' and its [[Anime/DeltoraQuest anime adaption]] enter the Rithmere Games, a combat tournament, for money to continue their travels. [[spoiler: The winners are secretly drugged, taken to the [[MorDor Shadowlands]] and forced to compete in GladiatorGames for the [[BigBad Shadow Lord's]] entertainment.]]

* Featured in a Henry Slesar short story called "Examination Day" (later made into an episode of the same name for the revival ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985''). A 12-year-old boy undergoes a mandatory IQ test administered by the government. In the last scene the parents are notified that the boy exceeded the IQ limit, and are asked how they'd like his remains to be handled.
* A subtle, insidious version occurs in Main/IsaacAsimov's novel ''The Currents of Space.'' The inhabitants of the planet Florina are tested by the off-planet Sarkian overlords, and the best and brightest are given training, status, and positions of local authority - and are forbidden from having children. This is an anti-eugenics plan intended to make future generations of Florina stupider and more docile.
* ''Literature/DyingEarth'': In the short story "Guyal of Sfere", Guyal is ordered to act as the judge in a contest to determine the most beautiful maiden in a village.He notices that the girls, rather than dressing their best as he would expect, seem to be actively trying to hide their beauty, and that the ones he eliminates from contention seem relieved rather than disappointed. After he picks the winner, he learns that the "prize" for winning the contest is to be sacrificed to a demon.
* The Give Yourself Goosebumps book ''Escape From Camp Run-For-Your-Life'' uses the "enslaved" variation. The prize for completing "The Selection" (a series of very dangerous activities) is to become a slave on an alien planet named Xentron.

** In the story "The Dalek Invasion of Earth", the Doctor realises that his cell contains items that will allow him to escape, and does so. Oops, it was an intelligence test to select people to be turned into cyborg zombies.
** In the classic episode "The Krotons" with Patrick Troughton as The Doctor, the Krotons select the most intelligent people among the native population to extract some form of mental energy from them. They then kill the person by spraying them with something, implied to be an acid.
** In the episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E7TheLongGame The Long Game]]" journalists look to get promoted to floor 500, where it turns out they're fed to the Jagrafress.
** In "The Five Doctors", only those who survive crossing the Death Zone and navigate the traps in Rassilon's tomb can ask his disembodied presence for the gift of immortality ... which he grants by transforming them into a living sculpture in his crypt, thus eliminating such dangerously-ambitious people from Gallifrey's power structure.
** It's stated that this happened offscreen in "A Town Called Mercy", where a group of Kahler warriors competing to be the best for a secret mission actually get experimented on against their will and turned into cyborg weapons.

* ''StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "Arena". According to WordOfGod, the ForcedPrizeFight was indeed a SecretTest, but not quite as it comes across. The script includes a bit of dialogue (not aired) which reveals the Metrons had planned to destroy the winner of the fight rather than the loser, considering the winner to be a bigger threat to them. Subverted as they are impressed when [[HumansAreSpecial Kirk]] [[SwordOverHead refuses to kill his downed opponent.]]
* There's one episode of ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'' series where a number of candidates are selected for rigorous and nightmarish training for an important government mission. At the end of the story, every single candidate except one has been killed, and the people in charge of the test arrive to congratulate him. When the survivor asks what the mission is, they cheerfully tell him that there ''was'' no mission. They simply wanted to find a physically and mentally tough candidate that they could subject to painful and hellish experiments to test the limits of the human body. They then proceed to do just that.

* In WilliamShakespeare's ''PericlesPrinceOfTyre'' Pericles has to answer a riddle: answer it right and win the hand of a King's daughter, answer it wrong and die. But it's a MortonsFork since anyone who correctly answers the riddle discovers that the King is having an incestuous relationship with his daughter, and therefore the King has them killed.