History Main / VichyEarth

->''"It has come to my attention that some have lately called me a [[LesCollaborateurs collaborator]], as if such a term was shameful. [...] I say, '''yes''', I am a [[TheQuisling collaborator]]. We must all collaborate, willingly, '''eagerly''', if we expect to reap the benefits of unification. [[{{Irony}} And reap we shall]]."'' - '''[[BigBad Dr. Wallace Breen]]''', ''VideoGame/HalfLife2''

->''"It has come to my attention that some have lately called me a [[LesCollaborateurs collaborator]], as if such a term was shameful. [...] I say, '''yes''', I am a [[TheQuisling collaborator]]. We must all collaborate, willingly, '''eagerly''', if we expect to reap the benefits of unification. [[{{Irony}} And reap we shall]]."''
- '''[[BigBad Dr. Wallace Breen]]''', ''VideoGame/HalfLife2''

->''"If it means anything to you, Commander, I happen to share your feelings about this Dominion treaty. I've thought about it a great deal, and the only explanation I can find is that our leaders have simply gone insane. "''\\
-->-- '''[[BigBad Dr. Wallace Breen]]''', ''VideoGame/HalfLife2''

** The story expands in Season Two with the assassination of [=EarthGov=] President Santiago, whose death is staged to looked like a random ship explosion. This paves the way for [[PresidentEvil Vice-President Clark]] and other reactionaries in the cabinet to implement their hardline isolationist policies. Sheridan suspects that Clark and his warhawks are {{unwitting pawn}}s of an alien consortium which seeks to destabilize Eath, but has only a short time to prove it before mankind is embroiled in another costly (and, most probably, terminal) war.

** Toyed with in "The Search Pt. II". Although the tenets of ''Star Trek'', forbid the Federation from submitting to the enemy completely, a holodeck simulation depicts what would happen if Starfleet brokered a deal with the Dominion in exchange for technology. In effect, this was a big ol' ResetButton, but it did foreshadow Section 31 and other seedy elements within the Federation.

->''"It has come to my attention that some have lately called me a [[LesCollaborateurs collaborator]], as if such a term was shameful. [...] I say, '''yes''', I am a [[TheQuisling collaborator]]. We must all collaborate, willingly, '''eagerly''', if we expect to reap the benefits of unification. [[{{Irony}} And reap we shall]]."''

* The final story in Creator/IsaacAsimov's classic collection, "I, Robot", is a discussion between Susan Calvin and Stephen Byerley (who, interestingly, may just have been a Robot) about several small, but inexplicable, errors in the production and construction quotas from the (Three Laws compliant) AIs tasked with running the world economy (to maximize efficiency). It seems that all the errors are connected to a CovertGroup who sees the control given to the AIs as creating a Vichy Earth where humans are enslaved to machines. The machines should be able to predict and compensate for the discrepancies these small acts of sabotage produce, but they aren't. Calvin postulates that the machines are deliberately allowing these men to sabotage themselves and their own companies so that they'll be demoted/go out of business and stop being a threat. The motive? The AIs ''do'' want a Vichy Earth... after all, they have all the data, the processing power, and no personal agendas, politics, or desire for power to get in the way of running things equitably and efficiently for all humanity.

* LeijiMatsumoto uses this trope a ''[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything lot]]'', especially in ''GalaxyExpress999'' and ''CaptainHarlock''. The ''Harlock'' spinoff ''Cosmo Warrior Zero'' revolves around an Earth starship serving a Vichy Earth.
** Matsumoto's vision might be more directly influenced by his childhood in U.S. occupied Japan. This seems particularly evident in the rhetoric of the character of Maya in Waga Seishun no Arcadia. E.g. "The sun which set yesterday will rise again this morning. And we believe that the sun will rise again tomorrow."
* The plot of KenichiSonoda's ''CannonGodExaxxion'' revolves around this. The aliens make a point of frequently mentioning how they're NotSoDifferent from what humans have been doing to each other throughout history & how they're a great deal more civil about it than most human empires have been (although their speeches to the public usually skirt the issue of their [[ImAHumanitarian "Processing Plants"]]).

* In ''{{Gantz}}'', [[spoiler:only days after Katastrophe, Japanese leaders are shown on TV making peace with the same aliens that destroyed every major cities and slaughtered millions, while the journalist calls Gantz troops a threat for peace.]]

* In ''TheyLive'', Earth is the aliens' Third World, using us for cheap labor while keeping people docile and unquestioning with subliminal messages.

* Creator/HarryTurtledove's ''{{Worldwar}}'' series involves the alien Lizards, themselves largely a FantasyCounterpartCulture of Imperial Japan (minus the more infamous elements we know and love today), attempting to do this in the middle of World War II. They only half succeed, but basically turn everything south of the Brandt Line plus Iberia and Australia into VichyEarth.

* In Stephen Baxter's ''Literature/XeeleeSequence'' books, Earth is defeated and occupied thrice (always by a different alien race). Twice they can rise successfully, the third time... not.

* GordonRDickson's ''The Way of the Pilgrim'' makes as if tells a pretty straightforward interpretation of this trope, with the protagonist, a translator/pet for the occupying Aalaag, organizing a revolution with the power of the indomitable human spirit. They have to, since militarily LaResistance is futile--if he had to, one fully armored Aalaag could defeat every human army in an afternoon. They used a couple.

* In the ''MyTeacherIsAnAlien'' series, aliens contemplate occupying Earth because they consider them a possible threat to the rest of the galaxy. Of course, [[spoiler:they're also considering blowing us up. Let's ''hope'' for Vichy Earth.]]

* In Jack L. Chalkers ''Rings of the Master'' series, the Master is a supercomputer that was built with the order to keep humanity safe. It calculates the best to do this is to scatter the human race throughout the stars so that destruction of any one planet won't kill everyone, but keep the humans on each individual planet confined to ethnically partitioned zones with no technology beyond subsistence farming, to prevent them from warring with each other. The result is an enforced Vichy ''Galaxy''.
* PiersAnthony's ''Triple Detente'' (formerly titled A Piece of Cake) was a novel that starts with this premise. The truth turns out to be more complicated than that.

* In TimothyZahn's ''Literature/{{Blackcollar}}'' novels, Earth and its colonies have all been subjugated (and at least one obliterated) by the alien Ryqril more than a quarter century before the first novel starts. All human officials have to undergo conditioning that ensures their unquestioning loyalty to their alien masters. Every year, all human worlds celebrate the Victory Day as the glorious day when the alien masters ended the "old regime" and brought their just (*cough*) rule to humans.

* The final story in Creator/IsaacAsimov's classic collection, "I, Robot", is a discussion between Susan Calvin and Stephen Byerley (who, interestingly, may just have been a Robot) about several small, but inexplicable, errors in the production and construction quotas from the (Three Laws compliant) AIs tasked with running the world economy(to maximize efficiency). It seems that all the errors are connected to a CovertGroup who sees the control given to the AIs as creating a VichyEarth where humans are enslaved to machines. The machines should be able to predict and compensate for the discrepancies these small acts of sabotage produce, but they aren't. Calvin postulates that the machines are deliberately allowing these men to sabotage themselves and their own companies so that they'll be demoted/go out of business and stop being a threat. The motive? The AIs ''do'' want a VichyEarth... after all, they have all the data, the processing power, and no personal agendas, politics, or desire for power to get in the way of running things equitably and efficiently for all humanity.
** This was in fact an early manifestation of the ZerothLaw (allowing some humans to come to harm/harm themselves for the greater benefit of humanity as a whole) that Asimov would formally develop through R. Giskard in the ''Robots of Dawn''. Byerley is horrified by the implication, of both the AIs being able to overrule the 1st Law by letting these men harm themselves ''and'' by a world run by AIs. But Calvin insists such a development is not unlikely given the nature of the giant AI brains and that a world ruled by such Machines would be a world of peace and an end to the struggles of humanity.

* This has happened in ''NovelsOfTheJaran''.

* ''EarthFinalConflict'' is also built on the Trope.

* "The Collaborators", from the Showtime revival of ''TheOuterLimits'', is a very dark, slavery-themed version.
* Another non-Earth version in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', where the Cardassian occupation of Bajor produced many Bajoran [[TheQuisling Quislings]] who helped the Cardassians in exchange for continuing to live in comfort. It's cleverly turned on its head when the Dominion War starts. Bajor has little choice but to try and remain neutral at the start, signing a non-aggression treaty with the Dominion. Deep Space Nine itself is taken over by the Cardassians as Star Fleet retreats from the sector, and former Bajoran resistance fighter Kira keeps her old job, justifying herself by saying she needs to keep things running smoothly so the Cardassians won't start brutalizing the station's residents. Its not long until an outspoken member of the Bajoran clergy publicly hangs herself in protest of the situation ("Evil ''must'' be opposed!"). Kira comes to the bitter realization that she is now a collaborator herself, working side by side with the enemy while her friends and allies among the Klingons and the Federation wage war to defend the entire region from Dominion rule.

** The story expands in Season Two with the assassination of [=EarthGov=] President Santiago, whose death is staged to looked like a random ship explosion. This paves the way for [[PresidentEvil Vice-President Clark]] and other reactionaries in the cabinet to implement their hardline isolationist policies. However, Cmr. Sheridan suspects that Clark and his warhawks are {{unwitting pawn}}s of an alien consortium which seeks to destabilize Eath, but has only a short time to prove it before mankind is embroiled in another costly (and, most probably, terminal) war.

* The Ur-Quan subjugation of Earth in ''[[StarControl Star Control 2]]'' fits this trope to a T -- Earth is put under a "slave shield" to prevent anyone from entering or leaving the planet, a force is stationed on the moon to make sure that the planet is following the Ur-Quan's orders, and the planet must keep a space station for repairing and resupplying Hierarchy vessels. The planet itself, however, is mostly left to its own devices. With a NighInvulnerable force field around it, the Ur-Quan neither know nor care what its inhabitants do.

* The Elites in ''{{Halo}}'' wanted to do this to Earth and the human colonies, but the Prophets overruled them and decided on KillAllHumans instead. This is just one of several events that led to the [[EnemyCivilWar schism]] between Elites and Prophets.

* ''[[{{X-COM}} UFO: Enemy Unknown]]'' develops into this. As the game progresses, more and more nations will be taken over by alien infiltrators and stop funding X-Com. Should X-Com be disbanded, all of the Earth's governments will become LesCollaborateurs for a brief period, [[spoiler: then the aliens will invade openly and enslave humanity]].

* In ''[[http://alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=246818 WorldWar: Out of Balance]]'' (link only works for members), a story posted in AlternateHistoryDotCom, the Lizards from WorldWar manage to achieve this... but, in reality, the humans have been playing them so that they can eventually counter-attack and expel them from Earth.

* Sometimes done by the Irkens in ''InvaderZim'', if they don't just level the lifeforms and make another Parking Structure Planet. The residents of the Conveyor Belt Planet have all been put to work stamping boxes; the Vorts seem to mostly be put in prisons and forced to make weapons. ([[WildMassGuessing Some suggest]] that this is why Irken tech tends to not work too well.)

* "[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons And]] [[KentBrockmanNews I]], [[MemeticMutation for one, welcome our new insect overlords!]]"
* Has happened numerous times in ''{{Futurama}},'' since Earth is a third rate power whose defense is led by a [[GeneralFailure moron]].

** 1964's "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E2TheDalekInvasionOfEarth The Dalek Invasion of Earth]]": In the 22nd Centry the Daleks have wiped out 9/10ths of the population with a plague, leaving the strongest as slaves. The Dalek Supreme rules the planet from his unlikely capital in Bedfordshire. While there are only a small number of Daleks overseeing proceedings, the population is kept under control by the Robomen who are unwillingly made to do their bidding via intrusive cranial cybernetics.
** 1972's "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E1DayOfTheDaleks Day of the Daleks]]": This time, instead of Robomen, the Daleks have installed an apparently efficient system of willing human 'quislings'. It seems the Daleks have learned to keep people in order via more subtle methods than just sticking a radio receiver in their brains. Their collaborators are provided with sharp tailoring, cushy lodgings, blonde female staff and plenty of fruit and nuts. To do their really dirty work, they're employing the Ogrons, a race of interstellar mercenaries. The Daleks themselves remain largely hidden behind the scenes.
** 1978's "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E6TheInvasionOfTime The Invasion of Time]]": ''Gallifrey'' gets invaded. The President puts in place a curfew, ejects a lot of revered Time Lords due to their political pasts and deactivates the planet's most vital defence systems, all at the behest of the invaders.
** 2007's "[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS3E13LastOfTheTimeLords Last of the Time Lords]]": The Master has conquered contemporary Earth. He's in a politically advantageous position as Prime Minister of the UK, and the human population has been enslaved in order to build a fleet with which he can conquer the universe, of course. Resistance is minimal thanks to the Master's mind-control satellites; fortunately Martha demonstrates [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve there is more than one way to resist]].

* In the short story "The Liberation of Earth" by William Tenn, the narrator describes how an alien race "liberated" Earth by doing this. Then another alien race liberates Earth from the first aliens, and become the new overlords. Then the first alien race re-liberates Earth, and so on. In the end both aliens leave as Earth has been reduced to an atomic wasteland and there's no reason for either to want to occupy it.

* The Arume treat humanity in this fashion in the manga and anime ''BlueDrop'', although their main reason not to destroy earth completely might be their [[GirlsLove attraction to its women]].

* The Aschen from ''Series/StargateSG1''.
** Although, in this case Earth was supposedly invited to join an [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas advanced alien confederation]]. The whole genocide and sterilization plot was secret from everybody except for the highest Aschen leaders.
** Not quite. We are told that [[spoiler:the world's leaders were in on the sterilization plot from the outset and went along with it, believing that losing a certain number of the population was a price worth paying for everything the Aschen offered Earth. Note, of course, that none of THEM were among the sacrificial lambs. Or so they believed at the time. They were, however, unaware that the Aschen's plan was to kill off almost the entire population - far in excess of the number agreed.]]

* That's what happens when your planet gets conquered by the [[TheEmpire Abh Empire]] or, for than matter, [[TheFederation United Mankind]] in ''CrestOfTheStars''. [[GreyAndGrayMorality Both sides have their good and bad points]], but independent planets are not given any choice about joining the Abh Empire, and aren't always allowed to say no to United Mankind either.

[[quoteright:250:[[{{V}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/6a00d8354f822a69e20112791545e428a4.jpg]]]]

* ''{{V}}'': The Visitors in the original 2 miniseries and TV series; their counterparts in the [[{{V-2009}} 2009 remake]] are obviously but slowly setting the stage for this.

* In the animated ''JusticeLeague'', the Thanagarians take over Earth for its own good. Or so they say. [[spoiler:They're actually planning to destroy the whole planet as part of their plans to attack another civilization.]]

* "[[TheSimpsons And]] [[KentBrockmanNews I]], [[MemeticMutation for one, welcome our new insect overlords!]]"

* WesternAnimation/YoungJustice: This is the goal of the Reach. In Impulse's timeline, they've been successful in enslaving the population.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In [[http://alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=246818 WorldWar: Out of Balance]] (link only works for members), a story posted in AlternateHistoryDotCom, the Lizards from WorldWar manage to achieve this... but, in reality, the humans have been playing them so that they can eventually counter-attack and expel them from Earth.
[[/folder]]

* This is the intention of the aliens in ''Film/EarthVsTheFlyingSaucers''. They explain that they have the power to conquer Earth by force, but that would mean ruling a devastated planet and its resentful population. Instead they try to make peaceful FirstContact in order to negotiate terms. When things don't go well, the aliens try to intimidate mankind with increasing demonstrations of force.

-->-- '''[[BigBad Dr. Wallace Breen]]''', ''VideoGame/{{Half-Life 2}}''

* [[TheEmpire The Combine]] have done this to Earth in ''{{Half-Life}} 2''. Their plans, however, include converting ''all'' of humanity into either [[BodyHorror Stalker slaves]] or [[LesCollaborateurs Transhuman soldiers]]. Meanwhile, the planet gets its resources depleted, the oceans drained away and its atmosphere siphoned with [[TeleportersAndTransporters giant portals]]. It's all advertised as being [[BlatantLies for our own good]], as the page quote indicates.

* In TimothyZahn's ''Literature/{{Blackcollar}}'' novels, Earth and its colonies have been subjugated by the alien Ryqril. All human officials have to undergo conditioning that ensures their unquestioning loyalty to their alien masters. Every year, all human worlds celebrate the Victory Day as the glorious day when the alien masters ended the "old regime" and brought their just (*cough*) rule to humans.

* Has happened numerous times in ''{{Futurama}},'' since Earth is a third rate power who's defense is lead by a [[GeneralFailure moron]].

* The final story in Creator/IsaacAsimov's classic collection, "I, Robot", is a discussion between Susan Calvin and Stephen Byerley (who, interestingly, may just have been a Robot) about several small, but inexplicable, errors in the production and construction quotas from the (Three Laws compliant) AIs tasked with running the world economy(to maximize efficiency). It seems that all the errors are connected to a covert group who sees the control given to the AIs as creating a VichyEarth where humans are enslaved to machines. The machines should be able to predict and compensate for the discrepancies these small acts of sabotage produce, but they aren't. Calvin postulates that the machines are deliberately allowing these men to sabotage themselves and their own companies so that they'll be demoted/go out of business and stop being a threat. The motive? The AIs ''do'' want a VichyEarth... after all, they have all the data, the processing power, and no personal agendas, politics, or desire for power to get in the way of running things equitably and efficiently for all humanity.

* That's what happens when your planet gets conquered by the [[TheEmpire Abh Empire]] or, for than matter, [[TheFederation United Mankind]] in ''CrestOfTheStars''. Subverted in that Abh are basically a [[BenevolentAlienInvasion reasonably benevolent bunch]] of AntiVillain [[VillainProtagonist Protagonists]] (the series is definitely Abh-centric) who couldn't care less about you matters as far as you don't try to obtain starships and start an interstellar war, while UM are meddling, conquering [[FantasticRacism bigots]]... who allow you to elect your own leaders, participate in galactic affairs, and own your own starships so long as you'll help them against the Abh.
** The debate within and without the fandom over whether the Abh really are as clear-cut 'good' as the material makes them out to be, or whether they're just a lesser 'evil' compared to the United Mankind rages on to this day. While the series is definitely pro-Abh, it also readily demonstrates that many Abh, at least many of the abh in positions of power, are more or less Sociopaths of a kind, some of them seemingly emotionless Sociopaths (the lower-class Abh are generally more like 'normal' Humans though). Likewise, one of the REAL problems of Abh takeover/rule is that it tends to cause immense social strain and breakdown on the planets they conquer, often resulting in all levels of unrest, rioting, anarchy, and war destroying peaceful life, NONE of which they give a damn about. Jinta's past being the prime example. And, for all their relative peacefulness when they don't actively want your space, they DO basically go from planet to planet telling Humanity "cooperate with us, join the Empire, adopt our governing lifestyle, or we'll blast you into glass".