alt title(s): Handwavium; Phlebotinum; Advanced Phlebotinum
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a completely ad-hoc plot device"
Cause if we find we're in a bind, we just make some shit up!"
—Voltaire, The USS Make Shit Up
Phlebotinum is the magical substance that may be rubbed on almost anything to cause an effect needed by a plot. Some examples: nanotechnology, magic crystal emanations, pixie dust, a sonic screwdriver. Oh, and
Green Rocks. In essence, it is the stuff that makes the plot go. Without it, the story would grind to an abrupt halt. It's science, it's magic, it's strange things unknown to science - the reader does not know how Phlebotinum would work and the creators hope he doesn't care.
CSI and its spinoffs come with phlebotinum by the liter. Their favorite kind appears to be Luminol, the substance that reveals traces of blood by glowing when traces of iron from the blood catalyzes its breakdown. Luminol is real, though.
According to
Joss Whedon, during the DVD commentary for the pilot episode of
Buffy The Vampire Slayer, the term "phlebotinum" originates from David Greenwalt's (a writer and director on
Buffy and later co-creator of
Angel) sudden outburst, "Don't touch the phlebotinum!" apropos of nothing. (Whether or not he had the etymological connection in mind, "phlebotomy" is the drawing of blood
[1]
.)
A.K.A.
Handwavium. Compare
A Wizard Did It,
Hand Wave, and
Deus Ex Machina.
Remember, though, that Phlebotinum
isn't bad. Even the best sci-fi or fantasy runs on it.
Tropes
