History Main / OutsourcingFate

* In ''[[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'', [[spoiler: Nagato Yuki obtains a power that can completely rewrite the world, and she asks [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Kyon]] if she should use it or not]].

* In ''LightNovel/ScrappedPrincess'', [[spoiler: the [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens sufficiently advanced]] god-program-thing, Mauser, asked Pacifica if it was really such a good idea to trap mankind in MedievalStasis, because she started to doubt in it herself.]]

[[folder:Film]]

EndOfTheWorldSpecial is an extreme version of this trope.

* This is the premise of the framing narrative of ''ComicBook/KingdomCome''. The events of the book are seen through the eyes of everyman pastor Norman [=McCay=], who's shown them all by TheSpectre. Humanity and super-humanity are cascading towards an unavoidable clash which only one of them can walk away from, and even the Spectre doesn't feel like he can judge between the two- so he tells Norman that ''he'' will have to choose which will live and which will die. Norman is understandably freaked out by having to make such a choice [[spoiler:and in the end manages to TakeAThirdOption by talking down Superman from lashing out after the UN nukes the world's superhumans.]]

%%* One of a few major stories in ''ComicBook/KingdomCome''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'': At its climax, [[spoiler:Alvis gives Shulk the chance to become the god of the new world, but Shulk turns the offer down, reasoning that it's better to live without gods deciding peoples' fate, and to let everyone decide their own future.]]

* The ''Literature/{{Ravirn}}'' series has the title protagonist in a position to influence the future of his Multiverse (as normally run by Necessity): due to a spell/"computer virus", the connections that kept the Multiverse together frayed, and he's considered the best option to put it back together. So who gets the be n charge now: Zeus, Hades, Discord, or the three Fates?

* In ''Literature/LifeTheUniverseAndEverything'', it turns out that the real President of the Galaxy is a little old man in a shed in the middle of nowhere. All he's interested in is feeding his cat, but occasionally people stop round and ask him what he thinks about certain things. He doesn't entirely believe the universe beyond the shack exists, and isn't even sure the people who ask him questions exist. From a certain point of view, this makes him the least biased person in the galaxy, and therefore the perfect leader.

* In ''Literature/SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish'', it turns out that the real President of the Galaxy is a little old man in a shed in the middle of nowhere. All he's interested in is feeding his cat, but occasionally people stop round and ask him what he thinks about certain things.

* There are several examples in Myth/GreekMythology. Typically, there's a SoreLoser and a {{Curse}}, with the standard moral "smart mortals don't get involved with godly disputes."

** Tiresias was asked by Zeus and Hera to judge whether the man or the woman receives more pleasure from sex, as he'd [[GenderBender been both]]. He chose women, and Hera [[DisproportionateRetribution struck him blind]], for which Zeus compensated him by giving him prophetic powers.

** Paris was chosen to select the most beautiful goddess among Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. We all know [[UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar how well that ended]].

* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': Magic is a SentientCosmicForce that wants to be used, but not by ''everyone''. If too many people figure out how to use magic, a council of seers [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2018-01-22 will be called]]. Seers are extremely rare, and only seers who have used magic but don't know about the council can be a part of the council; the average is less than one seer per council. The seers then must present their case to magic with firm logic and convince it of what major changes should be made to prevent magic from being mainstream, or to allow it to just change slightly to accommodate the reveal. Either way, every seer in the world (one in seven million, so about a thousand total) will become aware of the changes and the reason behind them. The problem is that magic [[BlueAndOrangeMorality doesn't really understand humanity]], so it's difficult to convince it of anything. [[spoiler:After a few initial missteps, Tedd manages to [[LargeHam dramatically and bombastically]] explain that keeping a masquerade is simply ''not an option''; with modern technology, anyone can share the secrets of magic in a second. There's no way they can keep a thousand seers quiet. Magic agrees, and the reveal becomes permanent]].

* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': Magic is a SentientCosmicForce that wants to be used, but not by ''everyone''. If too many people figure out how to use magic, a council of seers will be called. Seers are extremely rare, and only seers who have used magic but don't know about the council can be a part of the council; the average is less than one seer per council. The seers then must present their case to magic with firm logic and convince it of what major changes should be made to prevent magic from being mainstream, or to allow it to just change slightly to accommodate the reveal. Either way, every seer in the world (one in seven million, so about a thousand total) will become aware of the changes and the reason behind them. The problem is that magic [[BlueAndOrangeMorality doesn't really understand humanity]], so it's difficult to convince it of anything. [[spoiler:After a few initial missteps, Tedd manages to [[LargeHam dramatically and bombastically]] explain that keeping a masquerade is simply ''not an option''; with modern technology, anyone can share the secrets of magic in a second. There's no way they can keep a thousand seers quiet. Magic agrees, and the reveal becomes permanent]].

TheHero is obviously not qualified for choosing the fate of mankind, at least by traditional standards, but the PowersThatBe have a good reason to trust him. Maybe he is TheChosenOne who is predestinated to have the correct choice, the RidiculouslyAverageGuy who somehow represents all of humanity's opinions, or maybe, a more personal PowersThatBe simply finds him sympathetic.

* In ''[[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'', [[spoiler: Nagato Yuki obtains a power that can completely rewrite the world, and she asks [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Kyon]] if she should use it or not]]. Subverted in the rest of the series, where the main characters, especially Koizumi and Kyon always try to guide Haruhi's reality warping instead of herself, but only because she is completely unaware of it.
%%* [[spoiler:Mokona's]] modus operandi in ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth''.

* The point of ''Manga/FutureDiary''. Subverted in that God instead asks the opinion of some of the most mentally fucked-up individuals in the world.

-->'''Spell Syrin:''' I was put in stasis, to sleep until the power would finally return for good.
-->'''Tyler:''' Yeah, sorry that took so long.
-->'''Spell Syrin:''' What?

* In ''[[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'', [[spoiler: Nagato Yuki obtains a power that can completely rewrite the world, and she asks [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Kyon]] if she should use it or not]].
** Subverted in the rest of the series, where the main characters, especially Koizumi and Kyon always try to guide Haruhi's reality warping instead of herself, but only because she is completely unaware of it.
* [[spoiler:Mokona's]] modus operandi in ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth''.

* [[ApocalypseMaiden Rei]] to [[ShrinkingViolet Shinji]] in ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion End of Evangelion]]'', and this being [[GenreDeconstruction Evangelion]], [[spoiler: Shinji takes the OmnicidalManiac route, jump-starting [[AssimilationPlot Instrumentality]]]].

* In ''ComicBook/PS238'', the PowersThatBe, with the time-traveler Tom acting as its agent, needs to decide whether humans should continue to gain Metahuman Powers, or if superpowers should gradually fade and disappear into myth - until next time the choice has to be made. But Tom isn't the one who'll make the choice - he merely chooses WHO gets to choose, and he picks Tyler Marlocke, the only normal boy in the 'School for Metaprodigies'. In the end, while he gets to summon various acquaintances to get their opinion of the issue, it's up to Tyler to decide whether superpowers should continue to exist...

* One of a few major stories in ''ComicBook/KingdomCome''.

* In ''Literature/FoundationsEdge'', the protagonist had to choose between a [[TheEmpire Galactic Empire]], a [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas different Galactic Empire]] ruled by TelepathicSpacemen, or {{Assimilation|Plot}}. He was chosen because he was statistically proven to be the luckiest person in the Galaxy. [[spoiler:While the Assimilation option could have been forced on humanity by the HiveMind planet regardless of this choice, that planet is bound by [[ThreeLawsCompliant an altered version of the Three Laws of Robotics]], which they interpret as forbidding them from forcing Assimilation on the rest of humanity without an unbiased human's permission.]]
** However, the prequel ''Literature/FoundationsTriumph'' throws this into question when [[spoiler:Hari Seldon deduces that R. Daneel Olivaw will hand-pick the most lucky man to avert a robot civil war]].
* ''Literature/TheNightsDawnTrilogy'' [[spoiler: ends in this way, with the hero being granted the power of a "Machine God" to solve the problems.]]
* In ''Literature/SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish'', it turns out that the real President of the Galaxy is a little old man in a shed in the middle of nowhere. All he's interested in is feeding his cat, but occasionally people stop round and ask him what he thinks about certain things.

* In the fourth ''Literature/{{Foundation}}'' book, the protagonist had to choose between a [[TheEmpire Galactic Empire]], a [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas different Galactic Empire ]] ruled by TelepathicSpacemen, or {{Assimilation|Plot}}. He was chosen because he was statistically proven to be the luckiest person in the Galaxy. [[spoiler:While the Assimilation option could have been forced on humanity by the {{Hive Mind}} planet regardless of this choice, that planet is bound by [[ThreeLawsCompliant an altered version of the Three Laws of Robotics]], which they interpret as forbidding them from forcing Assimilation on the rest of humanity without an unbiased human's permission.]]

* In the fourth ''Literature/{{Foundation}}'' book, the protagonist had to choose between a [[TheEmpire Galactic Empire]], a [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas different Galactic Empire ]] ruled by TelepathicSpacemen, or {{Instrumentality}}. He was chosen because he was statistically proven to be the luckiest person in the Galaxy. [[spoiler:While the {{Instrumentality}} option could have been forced on humanity by the {{Hive Mind}} planet regardless of this choice, that planet is bound by [[ThreeLawsCompliant an altered version of the Three Laws of Robotics]], which they interpret as forbidding them from forcing {{Instrumentality}} on the rest of humanity without an unbiased human's permission.]]

* In ''PlanetLadder'', the Ditz main character is responsible for deciding the survival of planets. Towards the beginning, her mentor tries futilely to pound that into her bubbly head.
* In ''ScrappedPrincess'', [[spoiler: the [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens sufficiently advanced]] god-program-thing, Mauser, asked Pacifica if it was really such a good idea to trap mankind in MedievalStasis, because she started to doubt in it herself.]]

* The point of ''Manga/MiraiNikki''. Subverted in that God instead asks the opinion of some of the most mentally fucked-up individuals in the world.