History Main / TranshumanTreachery

A possible cause of BewareTheSuperman, this is the third sin in the ScaleOfScientificSins. Compare SheepInWolfsClothing. Contrast MonstersAnonymous. May lead to forming an {{Anti-Human Alliance}}.

* ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': One of Rileys friends gets hybridized with demon body parts by Adam against his will. Despite being a trained and loyal soldier involved in a demon hunting/capturing program, he completely switches sides after the operation because [[EvilFeelsGood he liked the power]].

* When [[spoiler:Tory]] discovered she was a Cylon on ''BattlestarGalactica'', in contrast to [[spoiler:Sam, Saul, and Galen]], who went all WhatHaveIBecome, it didn't take her long to start seeing the benefits of it and how it meant she was 'better' than humanity, something the ordinary Cylons no longer really boast about anymore though they did [[CulturalPosturing use to]]. She even advised actions that would likely have caused thousands of humans to die in the mid season finale. All of which makes little sense given the Cylons she was with were actually in a weaker position than the humans at that point. In light of what happened later, maybe she should have waited a while before throwing her eggs into another basket.

A possible cause of BewareTheSuperman, this is the third sin in the ScaleOfScientificSins. Compare SheepInWolfsClothing. May lead to forming an {{Anti-Human Alliance}}.

* Subverted in ''{{Bioforge}}''. The MadScientist ''hoped'' this trope would come into play after he upgraded (and deformed) you, but instead made you into a vengeful PhlebotinumRebel.

** It is possible that kind people like Tania are actually more liable to immediately become the norm for Contractors when suddenly becoming detached from their emotions. Basically the human identity's emotions dictated their actions that their Contractor identity is unrecognizable.

* Halfway subverted: On ''{{Supernatural}}'', Gordon Walker was already an antagonist in the form of a WellIntentionedExtremist. When he gets turned into a vampire, he does kill someone in order to feed, kill the hunter he was working with, nearly kill Dean (although he could trying for a case of Suicide-By-Sam here) and turn a young woman into a vampire, but he also kills two newly made female vampires and plans to kill himself after killing Sam Winchester, whom he still believes is the Antichrist. But Gordon [[KilledOffForReal lost their final fight]].
* The Synthetics in ''OdysseyFive'' are either completely synthetically grow {{Artificial Human}}s or nanomachine enhanced humans. The latter have to obey the AIs which created the nanites, being even part of a low-grade HiveMind; however Chuck Taggart reveals after reversing his assimilation that the process can't completely subsume a human unless ''[[HeroicWillpower they want it to.]]'' The terrifying implication being that those humans infected ''want'' to serve the [[AIIsACrapshoot genocidal AIs.]]

* Because every demon in ''{{Berserk}}'' [[WasOnceAMan was once human]], there's a good amount of this going around in the general universe. The Godhand picks their own by demanding that the demon-to-be sacrifice whoever or whatever he or she most cares about. Once someone becomes a demon, they usually cast off their humanity and become {{Complete Monster}}s of the worst order, with many of them engaging in eating their former species and/or raping people on the side. There are exceptions to the general norm (Zodd, Locus, and some others), but many demons in ''{{Berserk}}'' are dedicated to spreading misery and suffering among humanity, which is exactly how the Godhand likes it. It does help that the humans chosen to become demons by the Godhand were picked specifically because they were the type most liekly to accept the Godhand's offer.

* Because every demon in ''{{Berserk}}'' [[WasOnceAMan was once human]], there's a good amount of this going around in the general universe. The Godhand picks their own by demanding that the demon-to-be sacrifice whoever or whatever he or she most cares about. Once someone becomes a demon, they usually cast off their humanity and become {{Complete Monster}}s of the worst order, with many of them engaging in eating their former species and/or raping people on the side. There are exceptions to the general norm (Zodd, Locus, and some others), but many demons in ''{{Berserk}}'' are dedicated to spreading misery and suffering among humanity, which is exactly how the Godhand likes it.

** Regarding Reed: wouldn't ''you'' go insane in that kind of situation?

* In OlegDivov's ''Brothers in Reason'', the BigBad turns out to be [[spoiler:a result of a [[SovietSuperscience Soviet experiment]] to turn 1000 children into psychics; only half-a-dozen children survived the process. He is one of the three to actually get enormous PsychicPowers]]. Subverted in that [[spolier:the two other super-psychics as well as numerous other lesser ones stayed true to their ideals]].

* In OlegDivov's ''Brothers in Reason'', the BigBad turns out to be [[spoiler:a result of a [[SovietSuperscience Soviet experiment]] to turn 1000 children into psychics; only half-a-dozen children survived the process. He is one of the three to actually get enormous PsychicPowers]]. Subverted in that [[spolier:the two other super-psychics as well as numerous other lesser ones stayed true to their ideals]].

* Lauren on ''BeingHuman'' is less than humane. Mitchell transformed her into a vampire to "save her" from dying when he fed from her and has regretted it ever since, not least because the once sweet and kind Lauren has taken to her vampiric biological mandate with gusto and sociopathy. It remains to be see whether she changes her mind or doesn't get killed first.

* Clan Tzimisce of ''VampireTheMasquerade'' deserves special mention; all vampires in the setting suffer from humanity degeneration, but the Tzimisce have explicitly become transhumanists after developing [[VoluntaryShapeshifting Vicissitude]]. They tend to lose their humanity quite a bit faster than average.

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* In the [[http://www.metamorcity.com Metamor City]] podcast novel ''Making The Cut'', this happens to [[spoiler: Miriam]] after she's turned into a vampire. The vampires order her (which cannot be disobeyed) [[ICannotSelfTerminate to not kill herself]], do anything against them, lie to them, and she has to operate as a spy for them. They eliminate every possible option for rebellion/escape, or letting her Psi Collective people know what happened to her in any way. [[spoiler: They miss one or two tiny loopholes, which she exploits for all they are worth in an attempt to save her allies.]]

* A heroic, or at least protagonist-ic, example occurs in ''{{Film/Avatar}}''. As Jake gets used to his new body, he also shifts loyalties towards the alien race, and he eventually leads them to war against the humans. And by the end, [[spoiler: he gives up his human body to stay with the Na'Vi]]. So do all the other Avatars, for that matter.
** The presumed reason Jake began to 'go native' with the Na'Vi was because it allowed him to use his lost legs again. And while Colonel Quaritch wholeheartedly promised (and would have followed through) on his offer to restore Jake's legs, pretty much all the Na'Vi either treated Jake with disdain (best case scenario) or open and violent hostility (worst case) and tried to get him killed more than a few times, and finally only accept him back ''because he rode into their camp with a giant dragon after they left him to die.''
*** Not really. Just because Jake ''started'' out siding with the marines doesn't change how his perception shifted. He ends up extremely conflicted during the middle parts of his experience learning how the Na'vi live. Quaritch actually tells him that he got corporate approval for having Jake's human body's spine repaired, and Jake still wanted to go back with the Na'vi and did so, ''before'' becoming mated with Neytiri. Earth is a CrapsackWorld in the extreme and, in the words of a line that was sadly cut from the version shown in cinemas, "All I ever wanted was a single thing worth fighting for".
*** Well, there was [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Neytiri]]. Love can make a protagonist [[strike:[[LoveMakesYouStupid stupid]]]] [[strike:[[LoveMakesYouEvil evil]]]] [[strike:[[LoveMakesYouCrazy crazy]]]] do anything.
*** The unused version of the script made slightly more sense in this regard; Jake's defection was sigificantly influenced by how unpleasant life on earth really was, and how wonderful the forests of Pandora seemed in comparison.
*** Plus he couldn't live with that level of betrayal when the Na'vi clearly hadn't initiated hostilities or otherwise merited being assaulted, especially in the second phase, so when his loyalties balanced out because he loved Neytiri self-interest lost out to sense of fair play, and he found himself morally obligated to betray the company, and after he'd done that he'd kind of burned what bridges his human life had left. Because that was one hideously powerful corporation.

* Some variation of this seems to be part of Magneto's plan to [[spoiler: turn all the world leaders into mutants]] in the first X-Men movie.

* Done several times on ''DoctorWho''.

* ''{{Warcraft}}'': Arthas enjoys his undeath as well. At the start of the undead campaign he comments that he [[spoiler:[[NotQuiteDead almost]]]] caused the death of his mentor, murdered his father and let the Kingdom of Lordaeron be conquered and "recruited" by the enemy he used to [[WellIntentionedExtremist hate]]. He just shrugs and keeps on killing. He even cracks a few jokes about it:
--> ''Uther'': I dearly hope that there's a special place in hell waiting for you, Arthas.
--> ''Arthas'': [[PreMortemOneLiner We may never know, Uther. I intend to live forever.]]
::Another:
--> ''A Nerubian'': Look, brothers! The traitor king!
--> ''Arthas'': Who? Me?
--> ''Anub'arak'': He is referring to me, death knight.

** Zombie Spider-Man was hit with the business end of the HorrorHunger stick ''just'' as he got home to Mary Jane and Aunt May. Hilarity ensued. [[DontExplainTheJoke By which I mean cannibalism.]]

* Averted in X-Men #2. It's made abundently clear in the text that, despite this trope appearing to be in play, there is definitely brainwashing in play, at the least MoreThanMindControl.

* Subverted in ''Bioforge''. The MadScientist ''hoped'' this trope would come into play after he upgraded (and deformed) you, but instead made you into a vengeful PhlebotinumRebel.