History Main / IndustrializedEvil

* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode, "A Taste of Armageddon", the Enterprise discovers two planets are involved in a bizarre war in which computers simulate the conflict, and civilians deemed "killed" in the simulation are required to report to disintegration chambers. The people willingly go to their deaths, believing that in doing so, they are preventing an actual war from breaking out. Kirk and crew's revulsion at this is that there ''is'' an actual war where people still die from it, and this "simulation" setup removes the WarIsHell aspect that makes war something to be avoided (that and they decided that the ''Enterprise'' and crew became a casualty in their "simulated" war and had to report to the disintegration chambers).

* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode, "A Taste of Armageddon", the Enterprise discovers two planets are involved in a bizarre war in which computers simulate the conflict, and civilians deemed "killed" in the simulation are required to report to disintegration chambers. The people willingly go to their deaths, believing that in doing so, they are preventing an actual war from breaking out. Kirk and crew's revulsion at this is that there ''is'' an actul war where people still die from it, and this "simulation" setup removes the WarIsHell aspect that makes war something to be avoided (that and they decided that the ''Enterprise'' and crew became a casualty in their "simulated" war and had to report to the disintegration chambers).

* Subverted in ''Anime/{{Simoun}}'', where at first the [[{{Arcadia}} pastoral Simulacrum]] is presented as morally superior to the early industrial Argentum but eventually proven to be NotSoDifferent behind the facade.

* ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' In the final boss' chamber, [[spoiler:the Hyron supercomputer, used by the Illuminati to predict how to control humanity, is revealed to be built out of a hive mind of enslaved brain-augmented women, all of whom beg to be put out of their misery]]. It's implied that the realization that this horrifying process and its results were going to be applied to ''the rest of the human population'' is what caused [[spoiler:Darrow]] to snap and commit genocide in a desperate attempt to wipe all traces of this and other human-resources technology.
* In ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'' Hell essence, which fuels demons and is refined into [[spoiler:Argent energy]], is derived from tormented souls of the damned. As the natural process for creating it is slow, the [[spoiler:Maykr]] erected massive slaughterhouses throughout Hell. The damned are delivered in massive crates and assessed, with the unworthy discarded into slurry pits and the worthy processed on. The souls are tormented until ready and then are extracted as Hell essence while the soulless bodies are discarded [[spoiler:to become demons]]. In order to ensure the flow of essence never ends, the [[spoiler:Maykr]] have guided demonic invasions to populated worlds while ensuring enough of a population survives to allow for future harvests. Of course, [[spoiler: she]] *claims* she has some way to turn Argent back into individual, sapient souls, but Doomslayer ain't buying it (and we never see the machinery for doing so).

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', the vampire and SinisterMinister [[spoiler:Malack]] drops his AffablyEvil act when he reveals to Durkon that once he inherits the rule of the Empire, he intends to sacrifice a thousand sentients every day to his God of Death. He's thinking of developing some sort of special chamber for maximum efficiency so that he can harvest the blood for his vampire ruling class. WordOfGod is that this is a reference to the RealLife meat industry; The Giant is a vegetarian.

-->''"[[AC:Abrasax Industries]]: Humanely Sourced -- Ethically Harvested"''

* In ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'' Hell essence, which fuels demons and is refined into [[spoiler:Argent energy]], is derived from tormented souls of the damned. As the natural process for creating it is slow, the [[spoiler:Maykr]] erected massive slaughterhouses throughout Hell. The damned are delivered in massive crates and assessed, with the unworthy discarded into slurry pits and the worthy processed on. The souls are tormented until ready and then are extracted as Hell essence while the soulless bodies are discarded [[spoiler:to become demons]]. In order to ensure the flow of essence never ends, the [[spoiler:Maykr]] have guided demonic invasions to populated worlds while ensuring enough of a population survives to allow for future harvests.

* ''Film/{{Metropolis}}'' is probably the UrExample of this trope. The lower-class workers are enslaved maintaining the [[NoOSHACompliance highly dangerous machines]] that [[UrbanSegregation allow the upper classes to live in luxury]]. At one point, the hero imagines one of the machines as a shrine to the Biblical Moloch, consuming the workers killed in its upkeep like human sacrifices.

* The Machines in ''Film/TheMatrix'' famously turned humans into batteries (physics notwithstanding, due to {{executive|Meddling}}s thinking viewers wouldn't understand WetwareCPU). And keep in mind that [[spoiler:this was the machines ''being '''merciful''''' to the humans who had treated them like crap]].

* In ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'' Hell essence, which fuels demons and is refined into [[spoiler:Argent energy]], is derived from tormented souls of the damned. As the natural process for creating it is slow, the [[spoiler:Maykr]] erected massive slaughterhouses throughout Hell. The damned are delivered and assessed, with the unworthy discarded into slurry pits and the worthy processed on. The souls are tormented until ready and then are extracted as Hell essence while the soulless bodies are discarded [[spoiler:to become demons]]. In order to ensure the flow of essence never ends, the [[spoiler:Maykr]] have guided demonic invasions to populated worlds while ensuring enough of a population survives to allow for future harvests.

* In ''Disney/MeetTheRobinsons'' [[spoiler:Doris the hat]] has turned the future into one giant [[Film/TheMatrix Matrixesque]] factory creating bowler hats, with everyone enslaved by bowler hats like it.

* The Line, from ''Literature/TheHalfMadeWorld''. Imagine a {{megacorp}} if it existed during the late 1800s: all smokestacks, oil drills, churning gears and pistons, concrete and barbed wire, and harsh electric lights. Its name comes from the railway line that links its ever-expanding list of Stations together, noxious factory-cities where people are as standard-issue and disposable as the machines they work with. And its leaders are the very trains that travel the Line, having become {{Mechanical Abomination}}s that literally embody the concept of industrialized evil.

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book ''Discworld/{{Eric}}'', the new lord of hell tried this approach -- since souls don't actually feel pain, he established a lot of rules that changed hell into a tedious, bureaucratic horror. [[EvenEvilHasStandards Even the demons were horrified]] (but somewhat proud of humans for having devised such tortures) and quickly arranged to have him KickedUpstairs. Hell gets considerably better after that, because both souls and demons now know things could be a ''lot'' worse.
** Similarly, the Magpyr family in ''Discworld/CarpeJugulum''. They turned their predation upon the local townsfolk into a mechanical process in which everyone, including children, were drained slightly, transforming the fear of them from an occasional thrill to a daily banality of horror. When given the chance, the people turned against them ''very'' quickly.

* [[TheEmpire The Dawn Empire]] in ''Literature/ShadowOfTheConqueror.'' Led by [[EmperorScientist Emperor Dayless]], they harnessed the {{Phlebotinum}} of their world to create {{Magitek}} guns, factories, [[TheSkyIsAnOcean skyships]], and other technological wonders, including those that could [[FantasticNuke wipe out entire cities]]. Easily conquering several nations, they turned half the world into a hellish [[CommieLand USSR-styled industrial state]] where tens of millions were slaughtered in [[FinalSolution purges]] or warfare, with Dayless himself ruling over them all as an iron-fisted EvilOverlord with absolute power.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[CrushKillDestroy Crush, kill, destroy]]? No: [[UnusualUserInterface perforate]], [[PeopleJars plug in]], [[HumanResources drain]].]]

** The [[LegionsOfHell Burning Legion]] itself is no slouch at this. Its brand of evil industry, unlike the more conventional technology of the Iron Horde that only devastates the environment, is {{Magitech}}, and it runs on ''souls''. Throughout the ''Legion'' expansion, you will encounter engines where mortals are gathered and killed so that their souls could be recycled for fuel.

The Line, from ''Literature/TheHalfMadeWorld''. Imagine a {{megacorp}} if it existed during the late 1800s: all smokestacks, oil drills, churning gears and pistons, concrete and barbed wire, and harsh electric lights. Its name comes from the railway line that links its ever-expanding list of Stations together, noxious factory-cities where people are as standard-issue and disposable as the machines they work with. And its leaders are the very trains that travel the Line, having become {{Mechanical Abomination}}s that literally embody the concept of industrialized evil.

-->'''Lowry:''' The smallest youngest Station of the Line produces more goods in its factories in an hour - produces more goods ''by mistake'' every day - than Kloan and Greenbank and Gooseneck would ever have produced in ten years, in ''twenty''. As you are to the Folk, we are to you.

The Line, from ''Literature/TheHalfMadeWorld''. Imagine a {{megacorp}} if it existed during the late 1800s: all smokestacks, oil drills, churning gears and pistons, concrete and barbed wire, harsh electric lights. Its name comes from the railway line that links its ever-expanding list of Stations, noxious factory-cities where people are as standard-issue and disposable as the machines they work with. And its leaders are the very trains that travel the Line, having become [[MechanicalAbomination]]s that literally embody the concept of industrialized evil.

The Line, from ''Literature/TheHalfMadeWorld''. Imagine a {{megacorp}} if it existed during the late 1800s: all smokestacks, oil drills, churning gears and pistons, concrete and barbed wire, harsh electric lights. Its name comes from the railway line that links its ever-expanding list of Stations, noxious factory-cities where people are as standard-issue and disposable as the machines they work with. And its leaders are the very trains that travel the Line, having become MechanicalAbominations that literally embody the concept of industrialized evil.