History Main / RandomTeleportation

* This happens once in a while in the various Franchise/StargateVerse'' series. Sometimes (as in ''Series/{{Stargate SG-1}}'s'' "Solitudes"), the sending gate is hit with enough energy to overload it while open; this causes the wormhole to jump from the receiving gate to the next nearest gate. Other times ("1969") the wormhole passes near a star, which if it happens during a solar flare causes the traveler to travel through time.

* ''{{Stargate}}'', at least once a season.

* In RobertHeinlein's novel ''StarmanJones'', a [[RandomTeleportation MisJump]] (the result of a navigational error) causes a ship to become lost in space. The crew finally uses NowDoItAgainBackwards to get home.

* The {{Hyperspace}} version of this happens at the start of Creator/CJCherryh's ''{{Literature/Foreigner}}'' series: some malfunction with the {{Hyperspace}} engine sends the human starship to a completely uncharted region of space.

* The ''{{Heretic}}/{{Hexen}}'' series has the chaos device, which transports a player to an apparently random location (usually the start of the level or section)

* In order to reach the endgame BonusBoss Kirin in ''FinalFantasyXI'', a player has to use one of the many portals in the collection of areas known as [[FanNickname sky]]. Small problem: The portal in question ''also'' transports players to a room full of Magic Pots, and despite [[UrbanLegendOfZelda rumors]], it really does seem to be random.
* ''{{Angband}}'' has Rings of Teleportation, which teleports you randomly every once in a while. Some of its variants have other sources of random teleportation, including mutations and weapon properties. Additionally, the Teleport and Phase Door spells teleport you to a random empty space within a given radius.

If it's terrestrial teleportation, it'll have the courtesy never to put the victim inside a wall or 30 feet in the air. It's more believable with space travel, because [[SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale space is so frigging big]] that something the size of your average [[StarTrek ship named Enterprise]] need not emerge inside a planet no matter how many times something sends it where it doesn't want to be.

* Almost as often in ''StarTrek''.
** In the Original series, the Enterprise winds up in the 60's. Not to mention the [[MirrorUniverse "Mirror, Mirror" universe]].
** In ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', the Enterprise is pushed off course by light years by both the Q and the [[LivingShip TinMan]] object. In one episode, the Enterprise ends up in the ''wrong galaxy'' due to the presence of "the traveller" onboard.

** Arguably, the entire plot of ''StarTrekVoyager''.

* ''{{Paranoia}}''. In older editions, the Teleport mutant power could strand you just about anywhere if you failed a Power check when using it.

* The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Unstable Teleport Plasmid]] in ''{{BioShock}} 2'' will [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej2AHBNaq40 teleport all over the place in as you try to acquire it, then will start teleporting YOU all over the place if you're successful in doing so.]]

* The {{Hyperspace}} version of this happens at the start of CJCherryh's ''{{Literature/Foreigner}}'' series: some malfunction with the {{Hyperspace}} engine sends the human starship to a completely uncharted region of space.

* The Bad Place by Dean Koontz. Frank Pollard does this a lot, and since its run by his subconscious mind, he can't control where he goes or when, but when he thinks danger is coming, poof.

* In 'VideoGame/'WildArms2'' Lilka is infamously unlucky with [[WarpWhistle Teleport Gems]] and begins the game in a random town because of this, as well as being the key to reaching an otherwise unreachable island.

* Viki in the ''{{Suikoden}}'' series who randomly teleports between games by sneezing or other accidents.

* In ''WildArms2'' Lilka is infamously unlucky with [[WarpWhistle Teleport Gems]] and begins the game in a random town because of this, as well as being the key to reaching an otherwise unreachable island.

** In ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', the Enterprise is pushed off course by light years by both the Q and the TinMan object. In one episode, the Enterprise ends up in the ''wrong galaxy'' due to the presence of "the traveller" onboard.

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* In ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'', Ringo suffers from this. When he is badly startled, he automatically teleports to someplace he perceives as safe. This can be as close as 50 feet or hundreds of miles away, with corresponding inconvenience.

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** Hexen series also has the displacement/ banishment device which does the same to enemies.

* ''{{Angband}}'' has Rings of Teleportation, which teleports you randomly every once in a while. Some of its variants have other sources of random teleportation, including mutations and weapon properties. Additionally, the Teleport and Phase Door spells teleport you to a random empty space within a given radius.

** There's also a cursed pair of boots that teleports you to a random ''enemy'' every few seconds.

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* Gordon Freeman in the beginning of ''HalfLife2''.

* In ''TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'', Arthur Dent suggests activating the infinite improbability drive without defining any parameters.
** Subverted when rather than transporting anything, the drive transforms the missiles they were trying to escape into a Very confused looking sperm whale and a bowl of petunias, to everyone's surprise. This is because the abilities of the drive are literally infinite, and everyone just [[MundaneUtility justs use it for space travel]].

* In the re-imagined ''BattlestarGalactica'', inputting no co-ordinates into the FTL drive and activating it will result in a random jump, that carries no small risk with it - you could end up anywhere, even inside a sun. It's only ever done as a last resort, most notably by the battlestar Pegasus' last-ditch escape from the Scorpia Fleet Shipyards.

* In RobertHeinlein's novel ''Starman Jones'', a [[RandomTeleportation MisJump]] (the result of a navigational error) causes a ship to become lost in space. The crew finally uses NowDoItAgainBackwards to get home.

* In ''{{Diablo}}'', there's a spell called Warp that teleports you randomly to an area within view. There's also a shrine that does the same thing, with the appropriate flavor text: "Wherever you go, there you are."

* Nadia Popov, in SoBadItsGood British kids' TV show ''Rentaghost'', would randomly teleport whenever she sneezed, and suffered from allergies.

* In ''TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'', {{Arthur Dent}} suggests activating the infinite improbability drive without defining any parameters.

** In ''ADOM'' there's a corruption that does the same thing. Can be extremely useful if you have teleport control (which is rare: either drink randomly from pools - which can cause dooming - or eat a blink dog that leaves his corpse).

** Subverted when rather than transporting anything, the drive transforms the missiles they were trying to escape into a whale and a flower, to everyone's surprise. This is because the abilities of the drive are literally infinite, and everyone just [[MundaneUtility justs use it for space travel]].

* Done intentionally to a soldier obstructing Aziraphale and Crowley in ''GoodOmens''. Aziraphale is the one who actually does it, but it's implied Crowley does it all the time.

* [[GunnerkriggCourt Gunnerkrigg Court's]] [[spoiler: Parley]] does something like this. It happens at random times and takes her to random places, though later she manages to learn to control it.

* Moya in ''{{Farscape}}'' is equipped with a "Starburst" drive which teleports the ship randomly, which the crew use to flee.

* [[DoctorWho The TARDIS]] has a randomiser that allows it to work like this, except with added time travel. This effect is also produced by the fact that the Doctor is just pretty bad at piloting it.

* In ''QuakeIIIArena'', players can pick up a personal teleporter [[ViewersAreMorons (shaped like a T)]], and when they activate it, it just throws them some random place on the map.

* The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Unstable Teleport Plasmid]] in {{BioShock}} 2 will [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej2AHBNaq40 teleport all over the place in as you try to acquire it, then will start teleporting YOU all over the place if you're successful in doing so.]]

* One of many outcomes in XLR105's ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3zJcMlqWZA A Heavy's 2fort Adventure]] [[spoiler:when a friendly Engineer neglects to build an exit for his teleporter]]