History Main / TheyWouldCutYouUp

** [[BuffyTheVampireSlayer Well, we already]] [[MusicalEpisode knew ''that...'']]

* In the panned sequel, {{Starship Troopers}}:Hero of The Federation, former {{Jerkass}} Lieutenant Pavlov Dill uses these exact words when he finds the finds that the rest of the soldiers (all infected by mind-control Control Bugs) have infected Gen. Shepherd with the Arachnids' plan being to send him back to the Federation so he can infect other Federation Leaders and take over the world. His threats are cut short when another infected soldier slowly walks behind him and slits his throat, making it RedemptionEqualsDeath:

* In ''Gremlins 2'', one of the cloned scientists tells Gizmo they'll "just have to cut you open" for their tests.

** That'll be Unit 713 that you're talking about. Just try watching a documentary on that without breaking down halfway through. (For example, tearing babies out of pregnant women, testing how much damage bombs and various diseases did on the prisoners - [[KickTheDog all without pain killers, and fully conscious]].)

This trope also happily ignores the fact that when you only have ''one'' specimen, it is a good idea to take good care of it because once it stops working it is hard to figure out how it used to. Of course, this is cold comfort to said specimen - it just means the torture will be of a greater duration.

* H20:JustAddWater mermaids fears this will happened to them if their secret is known.

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* In ''TheManWhoFellToEarth'', there is a [[spoiler: double subversion. When Thomas is captured his prison is a comfortable hotel suite, where he's given plenty to eat and drink and allowed to watch [=TV=]; he is even allowed a visitor in Mary-Lou. But he's experimented on for ''years'', no matter how much he begs; on at least one occasion they take advantage of his alcoholism to distract him long enough to perform an experiment he was protesting -- one that accidentally binds his contact lenses to his eyes]].

A standard justification for any unusual character to maintain a {{Masquerade}}, because TheGovernment is Evil or ScienceIsBad.

If [[GovernmentConspiracy the authorities]] got their hands on them, they'd [[PoundsAreDoggyPrison stick them in a concrete box]] and [[PlayingWithSyringes 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.]] Scientists will usually be portrayed as [[ForScience too obsessed to care]] for anyone or anything who might be used to further our knowledge of the universe or make a cool new weapon, caring only about the fame or payment they'll receive from their higher-ups. Only one bad scientist is quite enough to spoil your day, but in [[DarkerAndEdgier settings that use this trope]] the ''majority'' of encountered research workers are likely to be like this.

Possibly fated to become a DiscreditedTrope, at least in the literal pass-me-the-scalpel sense, as sonography, [=MRIs=], and other imaging techniques have made hands-on vivisection unnecessary for the internal examination of research subjects, given sufficient funding and resources. Depending on who exactly might be after you and why, however, you may still want to be very careful not to get discovered and/or captured just the same.

At the same time, though, there are RealLife instances where people have willing donated their bodies (or blood samples or whatever) to science in order to help research into whatever special condition they have.

** Subverted in ''SingularitySky'' when an ignorant citizen if a backwater world asks a SufficientlyAdvancedAlien for a goose that lays golden eggs. No-one thinks about how it works until they start suffering radiation sickness... transmutation in real life is a nuclear process, after all.

** Riley also seemed to think this is what would happen to him if the Initiative gets hold of him again, even though they're presumably known where he is the whole time. Of course, the rel reason they're trying to bring him in is to remove his modifications, which are causing severe mental and physical breakdown, so he's not exactly being rational.

** That'll be Unit 713 that you're talking about. Just try watching a documentary on that without breaking down halfway through. (For example, tearing out babies out of pregnant women, testing how much damage bombs and various diseases did on the prisoners - [[KickTheDog all without pain killers, and fully conscious]].)

** That'll be Unit 713 that you're talking about. Just try watching a documentary on that without breaking down halfway through. (For example, tearing out babies out of pregnant women, testing how much damage bombs and various diseases did on the prisoners - all without pain killers, and fully conscious.)

* In ''TheManWhoFellToEarth'', there is a [[spoiler: double subversion. When Thomas is captured his prison is a comfortable hotel suite, where he's given plenty to eat, and allowed to indulge his vices of television and alcohol; he is even allowed a visitor in Mary-Lou. But he's experimented on with scalpels and syringes for ''years'', no matter how much he begs; on at least one occasion they offer him a drink to distract him long enough to move in on him for an experiment that he was protesting -- one that accidentally binds his contact lenses to his eyes]].

* In ''TheManWhoFellToEarth'', there is a [[spoiler: double subversion. When Thomas is captured his prison is a comfortable hotel suite, where he's given plenty to eat, and allowed to indulge his vices of television and alcohol; he is even allowed a visitor in Mary-Lou near the end of the time. But that doesn't change the fact that he's being painfully experimented on with scalpels and syringes for ''years'', no matter how much he begs, and on at least one occasion they offer him a drink to distract him long enough to move in on him for an experiment that he was protesting -- one that accidentally binds his contact lenses to his eyes]].

* A couple of decades ago [[{{SKJAM}} This Troper]] was in a Tabletop "superhero" RPG where the premise was that superhuman beings were just now popping up in an otherwise ordinary world. (Yes, like ''Series/{{Heroes}}''.) Most of the players had their characters believe in this trope, and sneak around trying to conceal their existence. "But my character had non-concealable powers. He decided that the best thing to do was go to Hollywood and become a celebrity on the grounds that it's a lot easier to "disappear" someone whose existence is unknown to the general public. As it turned out, the other players knew the GM's habits better than I did, and the secret government labs came for my character -- in the middle of the day, in public, with no saving throw or tactics allowed, and no repercussions for the kidnappers. [[TroperTales And that was the end of my character.]]"

* IndependenceDay. [[spoiler: Humans captured a three-man alien assault craft and kept the crew in formaldehyde for sixty years.]]
** [[spoiler: Although it was from a ''crashed'' craft, and it was mentioned that two of the aliens died on impact. The third died from its injuries a week later.]]

* Frequently in ''TheXFiles''.

* Played with in ''{{Futurama}}'', naturally. Zoidberg travels back in time and lands in [[RoswellThatEndsWell Roswell]], gets captured by the government, and becomes the subject of a good old-fashioned alien autopsy while he's wide awake... and he gives a running commentary.
** "Stomach contents: One devilled egg" \\
"Devilled egg?!" *snatches and eats, scientists retrieving it again* \\
"... the same devilled egg"
** "[[MemeticMutation The President is gagging on my gas bladder!]] [[BunnyEarsLawyer What an honor!]]"

* This is one of the things [[GirlGenius sparks]] needs to worry about. Especially from the Baron himself, in Othar's case.

Sadly, there is some TruthInTelevision here (there is a long and dark history of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_experimentation#Human_vivisection human subject research]] and the early days of biological science can best be summed up with "let's see how many needles we can stick in this dog before it stops making noises out of its mouth!") But this trope doesn't exactly show a fair or accurate portrayal of ''modern'' science. Currently, in RealLife, scientists have to follow ''very'' strict ethical testing standards to be able to publish their results. Getting caught violating them can easily end their careers. It should also be noted that the NotEvenHuman excuse some scientists love to use in fiction would not apply in real life, as no law will explicitly refer to it's subjects as being Homo Sapiens. Of course, these considerations only apply to scientists who ''intend'' their results to be publicly documented (e.g. secret military projects aren't). [[NotCheatingUnlessYouGetCaught Crime is only punishable if one is caught]]. Further theories should be directed to NoDelaysForTheWicked. (Naturally, none of this applies to the [[GovernmentConspiracy various black ops]] organizations that either suspect -- or already know about -- TheMasquerade.)

* Subverted and justified in DigimonTamers: the local Men In Black's leader Yamaki has an all-consuming hatred for Digimon, and really ''would'' cut them up. At one point, he sadistically destroying a Digimon on-screen over the mon's pleas for mercy. Takato worries about this for Guilmon and at one point imagines the army brutally gunning down his dinosaur buddy. [[spoiler: Yamaki eventually sees the error of his ways, at which point the Tamers stop caring about keeping their Digimon hidden.]]

* The {{Planetary}}/[[JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]] crossover oneshot is set in an alternate reality where the Planetary organization controls the advancement of science and technology the world over. By the time of the story, they've ''already'' cut up [[TheFlash Barry Allen]] and Ray Palmer (the Atom) in order to create super-fast couriers and shrinking technology for Fantastic Voyage-style medical procedures.

* IndependenceDay. [[spoiler: Humans captured a 3 - man alien assault craft and kept the crew in formaldehyde for 60 years.]]
** [[spoiler: Although it was from a ''crashed'' craft, and it was mentioned that 2 of the aliens died on impact. The 3rd died from its injuries a week later.]]

* In ''Phenomenon'' the government is almost totally upfront about wanting to do this to George. Because George's mind is [[NinetyPercentOfYourBrain working at near 100% efficiency]], it takes him no time at all to realize what they're not saying is [[spoiler: that the exploratory surgery they want to do would kill him, and that they think they'd get less data doing the same surgery after his death.]]

* Notably averted in ''{{Escape To Witch Mountain}}'' and ''Return From Witch Mountain'', which revolved around the HumanAlien kids being more in danger of exploitation by greedy individuals than dissection by MenInBlack. However, it's played straight in the 2008 ''{{Race To Witch Mountain}}''.

* ''RepoTheGeneticOpera''. Plot involves a future society in which 90% of the population has required organ transplants to survive a horrible illness. Unfortunately, the company that gives the operations demands steady repayment for the organs they provide. If not...a 'repo man' comes to 'repossess' your organs. Also, its a musical. Yes, a musical. Also...Giles can sing.

* Seems to be subverted in ''{{District 9}}'' so far- dissection is one of the ''least'' [[HumansAreBastards of the cruelties inflicted on the aliens]].

* In the panned sequel, {{Starship Troopers}}:Hero of The Federation, former {{Jerkass}} Lieutenant Pavlov Dill uses these exact words when he finds the finds that the rest of the soldiers (all infected by mind-control Control Bugs) have infected Gen. Shepherd with the Arachnid's plan being to send him back to the Federation so he can infect other Federation Leaders and take over the world. His threats are cut short when another infected soldier slowly walks behind him and slits his throat, making it {{Redemption Equals Death}}:
** Pavlov: "You bastards...you are all under arrest for murder, sedition, for treason against the Federation. Oh! Your going to pay...because we're not going to kill you...oh no...you see, we got special places for things like you...where they cut you up, but they keep you alive when they cut you up...so they can see what makes you tick, and they what makes you sick! And I will be there, oh yeah! I'm going to be there when they see ACK!" (threat cut short by infected soldier cutting his throat).

** In the case of the movie, however, the threat wasn't scientific experimentation but rather the possibility that the FBI would imprision Cris for life and force him to use his predictions to their advantage. [[spoiler:He willingly goes with them in the end to prevent a nuclear attack that would kill his love interest.]]

* The backstory in ''TheStarsMyDestination'' has shades of this with the first man, a scientist, to learn to Jaunte, or teleport. The first time it happens is under the stress of a fatal situation, and the scientist knows that, to replicate the phenomenon, his colleagues are going to do their best to kill him. He actually ''goes along with this'', and after saying his goodbyes, ''does'' replicate it. The result is, by the time the novel takes place, all of mankind can teleport at will.

* The talking racoon, Woo, of ''SandraAndWoo'' mentions this when he first reveals this gift to Sandra, saying that he's kinda' attached to his vocal cords, and asking her to keep it quiet. The danger is never mentioned again.

Sadly, there is some TruthInTelevision here (there is a long and dark history of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_experimentation#Human_vivisection human subject research]] and the early days of biological science can best be summed up with "let's see how many needles we can stick in this dog before it stops making noises out of its mouth!") But this trope doesn't exactly show a fair or accurate portrayal of ''modern'' science. Currently, in RealLife, scientists have to follow ''very'' strict ethical testing standards to be able to publish their results. Getting caught violating them can easily end their careers. Of course, these considerations only apply to scientists who ''intend'' their results to be publicly documented (e.g. secret military projects aren't). [[NotCheatingUnlessYouGetCaught Crime is only punishable if one is caught]]. Further theories should be directed to NoDelaysForTheWicked. (Naturally, none of this applies to the [[GovernmentConspiracy various black ops]] organizations that either suspect -- or already know about -- TheMasquerade.)

* ''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. The story ends on an homage to ''[[ETTheExtraTerrestrial E.T.]],'' with Jon Stewart playing the part of the evil scientist.