The Hero encounters some
weird shit.
Really weird shit. However, just as he is about to say bye-bye to his sanity, some
impeccably dressed gentlemen take him into a
sciencey lab where
The Professor explains that what the hero saw was a perfectly scientific phenomenon they've studied for years, and really, just another kind of
Applied Phlebotinum that
The World Is Not Ready for yet...
This trope is a form of
Exposition that would have become an
Info Dump, if it wasn't so long overdue, since it comes after the protagonist (and the audience) is
thrust right into the middle of a situation he cannot even begin to understand. It doesn't have to be
Phlebotinum per se: any kind of
Masquerade will do, as long as the hero stumbles into a life-threatening situation before people who know what's going on show up. The inverse of this is
Theory Before Phenomenon.
Examples:
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Anime and Manga
Film
- Independence Day, when they visit Area 51, it turns out The Government knew about the aliens all along.
- In the first Underworld movie, when Selene tells Michael about the werewolves and the vampires.
- Rocky Horror Picture Show:
Dr. Scott: This sonic transducer...it is, I suppose, some kind of audio-vibratory-physio-molecular transport device?
Brad: You mean...?!
Dr. Scott: Yes, Brad, it's something we ourselves have been working on for quite some time. But it seems our friend here has found a means of perfecting it. A device which is capable of breaking down solid matter and projecting it through space...and who knows, perhaps even time itself!
Live Action TV
Video Games
- Max Payne: "We were all involved in the early stages of the Project during the Gulf War..." This refers to Project Valhalla, the origin of the mysterious drug Valkyr that has caused Max so much trouble, to put it mildly.
- In Half-Life, it's revealed in Opposing Force that the scientists have been experimenting with Xen life for long enough to have a terrarium and have modified as Barnacle to use as a weapon.
Webcomics
- Weregeek begins with Mark drooling at a look on dice and being chased by The Hunters. He is saved by Joel and the others, who explain to him that he is a weregeek, just like themselves, which is why he was being hunted. It is much later explained that Joel, in fact, is the leader of La Résistance hunting the Hunters and he knows much more about them than he tells anyone.
