History Main / TheyWouldCutYouUp

* ''TabletopGame/TheNewWorldOfDarkness'':

* Technomancers in ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' are advised to keep their powers secret, as they are rare and not well understood. Thus they are both valuable and threatening; most mega-corps have large standing rewards for anyone who brings in a technomancer. Shifters ([[OurWerebeastsAreDifferent Awakened animals that can turn into metahumans]]) and [[{{Weredragon}} Drakes]] face an even greater threat of this occurring to them, should they be discovered.
* This is the fear of para-psychics in ''TabletopGame/CthulhuTech'' -- completely justified since the government of their BadFuture doesn't even keep the fact that they sometimes do this a secret.
** Considering how dangerous uncontrolled para-psychics are, the general public doesn't have a problem with this either.
* In ''TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil'', the Cheiron Group is a MegaCorp which does just this -- it captures supernatural creatures, figures out how their powers work, and then [[LegoGenetics cuts out bits and implants them into field agents so they can use those powers]]. This is one of the few times where the ''player'' is doing the cutting-and-utilizing.
** There's also Utopia Now, a group of tech workers and venture capitalists who have decided to advance mankind and create perfected cities using reclaimed parts of [[TabletopGame/DemonTheDescent the God-Machine]]... including, if need be, parts of demons.
* And then there's ''TabletopGame/PrometheanTheCreated'', where several of the antagonist monsters demonstrate why you don't want an alchemically-reanimated corpse with incredible power and an inborn UncannyValley effect getting anywhere near a MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate. The reasons range from a Galateid whose tissue was broken down and utilized to create living sex dolls to a cloning program that practically turns Prometheans into genetic soup.
** 2nd Ed introduces Insatiate Alchemists, humans who have learned of the Prometheans' status as walking alchemical reactors and decided to hunt them down in the name of working wonders. Mind you, the miracle ingredient for the Alchemists' works is the substance that naturally accrues as Prometheans [[BecomeARealBoy take steps towards completing their Pilgrimage]]... but they don't really seem to care. One anecdote describes an Alchemist who's made a killing on the "cash for gold" market -- namely because he always seems to have a store of strangely organ-shaped ore...
* ''TabletopGame/MummyTheCurse'' gives us Last Dynasty Inc., a MegaCorp that got itself set up after the very fortuitous discovery of an Arisen's tomb. They've found ways to measure [[LifeEnergy Sekhem]] with scientific equipment, and are using it to [[AntiVillain generate cures for cancer, more healthy steroids, and probative attempts at an AIDS vaccine]]. However, the only real sources of Sekhem are the Relics guarded and treasured by the Arisen, and the Arisen themselves, which means they're always on the lookout for new resources...

* In ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'', Alpha mentions that individuals whose brains have the ability to interact with the Old World domain are highly valuable to the government. As a result, Akira might get dissected and be reduced to a BrainInAJar if anyone finds out about it.

* Largely {{averted|Trope}} or {{subverted|Trope}} by the ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'', who largely take the place those traditionally experimenting on the MonsterOfTheWeek's corpse would. The Foundation tends to be interested in observing and containing subjects, destroying those too dangerous. It helps that they really don't want more of most [=SCPs=], but the rare helpful ones avoid vivisection simply because there's no way to be sure it'd provide useful information, and there's usually only one. Of course, [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/interview-507-g when that's not the case]]...

** 2nd Ed introduces Insatiate Alchemists, humans who have learned of the Prometheans' status as walking alchemical reactors and decided to hunt them down in the name of working wonders. Mind you, the miracle ingredient for the Alchemists' works is the substance that naturally accrues as Prometheans [[PinocchioSyndrome take steps towards completing their Pilgrimage]]... but they don't really seem to care. One anecdote describes an Alchemist who's made a killing on the "cash for gold" market -- namely because he always seems to have a store of strangely organ-shaped ore...

* In ''Fanfic/TheBridge'', the prospect of this and increasingly inhumane experimentation on Godzilla Junior, whom at the time was couch sized and under her care, is why Dr. Azusa Gojo was so protect of him. After finding out he was completely sapient and saw her as his mother, she knew she couldn't shield him forever and had to let her adoptive son go to live with the adult Godzilla away from human hands.

* ''Series/TheDailyShow'' spoofs this with a John Oliver story about two politicians who decided to campaign together while running against each other to send a message of civility. John concludes that in the world were to learn of their existence, "they would be poked and prodded until there was nothing left." The story ends on an homage to ''[[Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial E.T.]],'' with Jon Stewart playing the part of the evil scientist.

%% * Used in the ''Literature/MaximumRide'' series, where the main characters are running away from one of these types of labs.

* In the backstory to ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', this was the fate of [[spoiler:the Alpha AI]]. The entire series plot thus far is (sometimes loosely) based around dealing with the repercussions of cutting it into pieces.

* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'': [[spoiler:Despite their initially sinister appearance, the scientists pursuing E.T. show no sign of wanting to cut him up, and even try to save his life when he's dying. They do want to cart him off and lock him up in a secret location while they study him, though.]]

* This is one of the main reasons why Henry keeps his ResurrectiveImmortality a secret in ''Series/{{Forever}}''. As revealed in on episode, Adam, another immortal who's 2000 years old, experienced this firsthand during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII at the hands of [[MadDoctor Josef Mengele]], who kept trying to figure out the secret to Adam's immortality.

* ''Film/BattleLosAngeles'': A pragmatic variant. Staff Sergeant Nantz, Navy Hospital Corpsman Adukwu. and Michele (a veterinarian) cut open a wounded alien, not to save its life, but to [[AttackItsWeakPoint figure out how to kill it efficiently]] so the Marines don't waste their ammo. [[spoiler: They discover that the aliens' heads are purely sensory organs, and their brains are ''behind'' their "hearts".]]

* In ''Film/District9'', [[spoiler:Wikus]] is nearly vivisected (without anesthesia and fully aware) when it turns out that [[spoiler:his mutation into a Prawn]] makes him capable of operating the aliens' weapons. It turns out his employers secretly have been dissecting and experimenting on the aliens for years for this same purpose.

* In ''Film/Gremlins2TheNewBatch'', one of the cloned scientists tells Gizmo they'll "just have to cut you open" for their tests.
* Literal example: in ''Film/{{Creepshow}}'', Jordy Verrill decides not to call a doctor about the alien green growth on his hand because he imagines the "cure" will be to chop off his afflicted fingers. Without anesthetic.
* ''Film/EdgeOfTomorrow'': Major Cage asks Rita Vrataski, the only other soldier who's been stuck in a GroundhogDayLoop like he is, why they don't just tell General Bingham what's happening. Rita says that she's [[YouHaveToBelieveMe already tried it countless times]] and was [[CassandraTruth usually thrown in the psych ward]], except for the one time they believed her and she was vivisected.
* ''Film/TheAgeOfAdaline'': After being discovered by a police officer, Adaline narrowly escaped being sent somewhere presumably for "study". She clearly fears a repeat of this and what that might include, staying under the radar over the subsequent decades.
* The plot of ''Film/{{Paul}}'' kicks off when the government decides that he's [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness Outlived His Usefulness]] and are going to dissect him, so Paul escapes from Area51 to reunite with his mothership.
* ''Film/BladeRunner2049'': Deckard and Rachel had a baby after they escaped at the end of ''Film/BladeRunner''. This was supposed to be impossible, since Rachel was a [[ArtificialHuman replicant]], which can't have children. Deckard tells Officer K (a.k.a. Joe) that he hid the child because he knew that it would be dissected in order to find out how it was conceived.
* This is what Ian plans to do to Shandra in ''Film/ShandraTheJungleGirl''. He wants to vivisect her so that he can learn the secret of her sexually based LifeEnergy draining and can give it to other women under his control. He is about to start the process when [[spoiler:he falls victim to Shandra's power]].
* ''Film/FastColor'': Ruth, Bo and their female ancestors have kept their powers hidden due to fearing that they'd be held captive by the government to experiment on. Other women with abilities are also revealed to live hidden from the world, in Rome and probably elsewhere.
* ''Film/GameraTheBrave'': {{Subverted|Trope}}. While the governmental Monster Task Force does take the injured juvenile Gamera, Toto, into custody they have only benign intent. They know full well that Gamera are benevolent kaiju and work to patch him up from his fight with Zedus and try to speed up his growth, because they know Zedus will be back and an adult Gamera would be their best defense.
* This trope is the basic plot conflict of ''Film/TheOldGuard'', as a team of superhumans are captured by, and escape from, a scientist who wants to cut them up.
* ''Film/PainkillerJane'': Jane clearly fears, if not dissection, that she'll be held by the military indefinitely with endless tests when they transfer her to Alaska. Instead, she escapes and goes on the run.

* In ''Film/TheManWhoFellToEarth'', this issue comes up when [[spoiler:Thomas (an alien) is captured by the U.S. government and experimented upon for ''years'', no matter how much he begs. Oh, the prison is a nice hotel suite, he never wants for food, etc. and he even has a final tryst with his Earth mistress... but his imprisonment seals the fate of his dying race back home, and he is finally released a broken, stranded soul]].

* ''Film/JackFrost1998'': Jack Frost's son is afraid that Jack will be experimented on by the government if he'd ever been discovered. Jack says he doesn't care, as long as he gets to spend some time with his son.

* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'': [[spoiler:Despite their initially sinister appearance, the scientists pursuing E.T. show no sign of wanting to cut him up, and even try to save his life when he's dying. They do want to cart him off and lock him up in a secret location while they study him, though.]]

* ''Film/{{Starman}}'': Jenny and Shermin are concerned about this awaiting Starman if Fox catches him. Seeing as the military have an autopsy table with ''restraining straps'' waiting, their fear is justified.
-->'''Shirmin:''' ''[disgusted]'' Welcome to planet Earth.

* ''Film/{{Transformers}}'': They're actually ''shown'' experimenting on Bumblebee. And by "experimenting", we mean basically torturing him.
** In the ''Film/{{Bumblebee}}'' prequel, Charlie tells him this will happen if he's caught outside of his car form. Luckily, this is a BroadStrokes prequel where [[spoiler:the Sector 7 agent lets Bumblebee go for saving his life]].
* In ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008'', knowledge of what General Ross wants to do with the gamma power is why Bruce keeps running, because he knows that they'll dissect him and try to weaponize the gamma power.
* In ''Film/BeneathThePlanetOfTheApes'', Cornelius warns the fugitive astronaut Brent against speaking if captured by the apes -- "If they catch you speaking, they will dissect you. And they will kill you. [[InThatOrder In that order]]."
* Notably {{averted|Trope}} in ''Film/EscapeToWitchMountain'' and ''Film/ReturnFromWitchMountain'', which revolve around the {{Human Alien|s}} kids being more in danger of exploitation by greedy individuals than of dissection by TheMenInBlack. However, it's played straight in the 2008 ''Film/RaceToWitchMountain''.

* In ''Film/District9'', [[spoiler:Wikus]] is nearly vivisected (without anesthesia and fully aware) when it turns out that [[spoiler:his mutation into a Prawn]] makes him capable of operating the aliens' weapons. It turns out his employers secretly have been dissecting and experimenting on the aliens for years for this same purpose.
* "Disassemble" is practically an {{arc word|s}} in ''Film/ShortCircuit''. Except that NOVA has little interest in Number-5's sentience; they see it as a bug that needed fixing at best and a potential threat to innocent civilians at worst. At no point in either movie does any organization have any deliberate intention of conducting any unpleasant experimentation on him -- the movie was inspired by the idea that if a high-tech military robot really did come to life, nobody would believe it was alive in the first place.
* A kid-friendly version appears in the Swedish children's movie "Pirret" (approximately "That Bubbly Feeling"). The movie is about a little girl who can fly when she's particularly happy and has "that bubbly feeling". Her mother asks the family physician if there's anything wrong with the girl, and the girl is whisked off to the hospital where a ''very'' unsympathetic doctor tries to find out what makes her fly. No actual cutting up, just MRI scans and stuff. Of course, since the doctor is constantly scaring her, she doesn't get "that bubbly feeling" in the doctor's presence, and in the end she's released.

* This trope is the basic plot conflict of ''Film/TheOldGuard'', as a team of superhumans are captured by, and escape from, a scientist who want to cut them up.

* At the beginning of ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'', Kira suggests they go to the authorities about their new superpowers and the {{Mooks}} that attacked them. HollywoodNerd Ethan argues that in movies, people with powers tend to end up in a lab with wires in their head, and JerkJock Conner agrees that even ''he'''s GenreSavvy about that part.

* ''Presumed Dead'' by Rick Kennett, has a {{child soldier|s}} watching an instructor dissect the corpse of their {{Starfish Alien|s}} opponents. Her classmate cynically notes that right now on another planet, an alien instructor is likely doing the same to a human.

* An interesting variation in ''Fanfic/AradsStardust''. Funnily enough, [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Twilight Sparkle]] is ''already'' in the captivity of [[VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown XCOM]], an organization where this trope is their typical MO. However, the Council has also recommended sending Twilight to another base where only painful experimentation awaits her, which many XCOM personnel recognize as a horrible possibility and seek to prevent it.

A standard justification for any unusual character to maintain a {{Masquerade}}, because TheGovernment is Evil and ScienceIsBad and if [[GovernmentConspiracy the authorities]] got their hands on them, they'd stick them in a concrete box and perform all sorts of cruel experiments to find out what makes them and/or their special powers tick, either [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman destroying their quality of life, or killing them outright]] in hopes of getting [[CapturedSuperEntity all sorts of goodies.]]

[[folder:Film — Animated]]

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

* In ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008'', knowledge of what Gewneral Ross wants to do with the gamma power is why Bruce keeps running, because he knows that they'll dissect him and try to weaponize the gamma power.

* "Disassemble" is practically an {{arc word|s}} in ''Film/ShortCircuit''. Except that NOVA has little interest in Number-5's sentience; they see it as a bug that needed fixing at best and a potential threat to innocent civilians at worst. At no point in either movie does any organization have any deliberate intention of conducting any unpleasant experimentation on him – the movie was inspired by the idea that if a high-tech military robot really did come to life, nobody would believe it was alive in the first place.

* This is what Ian plans to do to Shandra in ''Film/ShandraTheJungleGirl''. He wants to vivisect her so he can learn the secret of her sexually-based LifeEnergy draining, and can give it to other women under his control. He is about to start the process when [[spoiler:he falls victim to Shandra's power]].

* ''Film/GameraTheBrave'': {{Subverted|Trope}}. While the governmental Monster Task Force does take the injured juvenile Gamera, Toto, in to custody they have only benign intent. They know full well that Gamera are benevolent kaiju and work to patch him up from his fight with Zedus and try to speed up his growth, because they know Zedus will be back and an adult Gamera would be their best defense.

* Creator/MichaelCrichton's ''Literature/{{Next}}'' revolves around the ''RealLife'' legal precedents that could be [[LoopholeAbuse interpreted]] as this. Yeah, that's right; current biotech laws are vague enough that if a doctor harvests cells from you, not only can they sell them to researchers without compensating you, whoever buys those cells might own your "cell line", a.k.a. ''you and your children.'' ...At least if they have a skilled AmoralAttorney.

*** Series/StarTrekPicard indicates that Maddox was ultimately somewhat successful.

*** StarTrekPicard indicates that Maddox was at least somewhat successful.