Anime & Manga
"Hyakkimaru, how you must resent us: your mother, who couldn’t protect you that day; your father, who fed you to the demons… and the people of Daigo, who thrive upon your sacrifice. Please forgive me. I cannot save you no matter how much you've suffered. All we can do is ask for your forgiveness. We must continue to devour you like demons in order for us to live."
— Lady Nui, Dororo (2019)
Comic Books
"Oh no. The power source. It's a person."
— Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, Ms. Marvel (2014)
Film — Live-Action
"This truck runs on zombies. No zombies? No truck."
— Benny, Wyrmwood
Literature
Ax: Anyway, The Five discovered the Venber and began to trap and export them.
Marco: Say what?
Ax: They basically harvested the Venber. It seems that a Venber melts, burns, in any case becomes liquid at temperatures above freezing. And the resulting liquid has many uses. Particularly in the creation of superconductors for the primitive computers of that era.
Cassie: But... But these are sentient creatures, aren't they?
Ax: Yes. They were. The Five extinguished them. They annihilated a sentient species to speed their computers. The Venber disappeared.
Cassie: That's sickening. That's just evil.
Ax: Yes. But if it is any comfort, The Five are no longer in existence, either.
Marco: Say what?
Ax: They basically harvested the Venber. It seems that a Venber melts, burns, in any case becomes liquid at temperatures above freezing. And the resulting liquid has many uses. Particularly in the creation of superconductors for the primitive computers of that era.
Cassie: But... But these are sentient creatures, aren't they?
Ax: Yes. They were. The Five extinguished them. They annihilated a sentient species to speed their computers. The Venber disappeared.
Cassie: That's sickening. That's just evil.
Ax: Yes. But if it is any comfort, The Five are no longer in existence, either.
— Animorphs #25: The Extreme
Ivan: Tell me yourself, I challenge your answer. Imagine that you are creating a fabric of human destiny with the object of making men happy in the end, giving them peace and rest at last, but that it was essential and inevitable to torture to death only one tiny creature — that baby beating its breast with its fist, for instance — and to found that edifice on its unavenged tears, would you consent to be the architect on those conditions? Tell me, and tell the truth.
Alyosha: No, I wouldn't consent.
Alyosha: No, I wouldn't consent.
The master chef at the Precious Dragon Shrine tells me that The Emperor’s Old Bones bestows upon its consumer as much life-force as the consumed would have eventually gone through, had he or she been permitted to live out the rest of their days unchecked — and since the child I bought claims to be roughly ten years old (a highly significant age, in retrospect), this translates to perhaps an additional sixty years of life for every person who participates, whether the dish is eaten alone or shared.
— The Emperor's Old Bones, by Gemma Files
"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son. Flesh of the servant, willingly sacrificed, you will revive your master. Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe."
— Wormtail reciting the incantation for Lord Voldemort's regeneration potion, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
"It is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn. Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."
— Firenze, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
At times one of the adolescent girls or boys who go to see the child does not go home to weep or rage, does not, in fact, go home at all. Sometimes also a man or woman much older falls silent for a day or two, and then leaves home. These people go out into the street, and walk down the street alone. They keep walking, and walk straight out of the city of Omelas, through the beautiful gates. They keep walking across the farmlands of Omelas. Each one goes alone, youth or girl, man or woman. Night falls; the traveler must pass down village streets, between the houses with yellow-lit windows, and on out into the darkness of the fields. Each alone, they go west or north, towards the mountains. They go on. They leave Omelas, they walk ahead into the darkness, and they do not come back. The place they go towards is a place even less imaginable to most of us than the city of happiness. I cannot describe it at all. It is possible that it does not exist. But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas.
"You'd be surprised at the breadth of things that can be powered by the souls of the innocent. Fortresses, swords, my favourite chandelier."
-– Dread Empress Malevolent II, A Practical Guide to Evil
How many more magic children would he need until the tower was tall enough? Ten? Hundreds? Thousands? How many enhancements would he need before he could pluck the comet from the sky and carry it in his pocket forever? It sickened him, of course, this business with the children. But the sickness in his heart didn't interfere with the surety of his will. Besides, the first act of cruelty made the thousands that followed infinitely easier.
— The Unlicensed Magician, by Kelly Barnhill
Live-Action TV
Davitch: The Controller is linked to the transmissions - the entire output goes to her brain. You're not a member of staff, so she doesn't recognize your existence.
Doctor: What's her name?
Davitch: I don't know. She was installed when she was five years old. That's the only life she's ever known.
Doctor: What's her name?
Davitch: I don't know. She was installed when she was five years old. That's the only life she's ever known.
— Doctor Who, "Bad Wolf"
Alora: Serving Majalis is his destiny, his reason for being. Without him, Majalis could not be.
Pike: You plugged a kid into a machine! What's it gonna do to him?
Alora: We don't know. This machine needs the neural network of a child to function. Our founders designed it that way. We don't know why. We've hunted for centuries for alternatives and found nothing. It was the purpose of my research when we met.
Pike: Will he suffer?
Alora: Yes. We don't pretend otherwise. We live in gratitude for him, and when a new First Servant ascends, we will live for her.
Pike: Your whole civilization... all your... this... it's all founded on the suffering of a child!
Pike: You plugged a kid into a machine! What's it gonna do to him?
Alora: We don't know. This machine needs the neural network of a child to function. Our founders designed it that way. We don't know why. We've hunted for centuries for alternatives and found nothing. It was the purpose of my research when we met.
Pike: Will he suffer?
Alora: Yes. We don't pretend otherwise. We live in gratitude for him, and when a new First Servant ascends, we will live for her.
Pike: Your whole civilization... all your... this... it's all founded on the suffering of a child!
Tabletop Games
Originating on Terra, the Astronomican is projected through space from a vast, tiered chamber carved from a single mountain peak where a ten-thousand strong choir of trained psykers is agonizingly leached of their life energies to empower its divine light. The sheer quantity of such psychic energy generated is vast, and only the mind of the Emperor is mighty enough to direct such raw power. The prodigious amounts of energy soon reduces these psykers to dry husks of withered flesh, and more must be brought forth every day to replace the corpses of those who have perished. Though their fate is a sad one, it is a necessary one, for without the Astronomicon, there would be little or no space travel and the Imperium would soon collapse into warring factions.
Video Games
The augmentation procedure is a success. The slugs alone could not provide enough ADAM for serious work. But combined with the host... now we have something. The slug is embedded in the lining of the host's stomach and after the host feeds we induce regurgitation, and then we have twenty, thirty times yield of usable ADAM. The problem now is the shortage of hosts. Fontaine says, "Patience, Tenenbaum. Soon the first home for Little Sisters will be open, and that problem will be solved..."
— Brigid Tenenbaum, BioShock
"This is the eternal kingdom of Zeal, where dreams come true. But at what price?"
— Doreen, Chrono Trigger
"The Soul Cannon is an ultimate weapon that can annihilate all enemies with the resolve of a single child. Do you wish to use it?"
Jin: You ever thought the control panel on this thing or the Taranis was too high?
Socks: Now that you mention it, no… Oh! But would that not imply—? Could it be?!
Jin: Far as I can tell, it was built to be just the right height for kids like us.
Socks: You believe it to be created from the start to be piloted by children? To draw us into war?
Jin: The thought of it sure doesn't sit right with me. I guess folks in the Old World coulda been shorter, though.
Socks: Now that you mention it, no… Oh! But would that not imply—? Could it be?!
Jin: Far as I can tell, it was built to be just the right height for kids like us.
Socks: You believe it to be created from the start to be piloted by children? To draw us into war?
Jin: The thought of it sure doesn't sit right with me. I guess folks in the Old World coulda been shorter, though.
"Do not be put off by the occult practice of stuffing the living into walls. It is the most efficient way of powering Anima, and should be considered a form of veneration: we honour them and they protect us... until they begin to leak out. Then it is time to stop honouring them."
— The Dragon, The Secret World
Built in the early days of the Final War, the Guttermen were one of the first successful experiments in using blood as a fuel source, as well as the first automatons to be deployed in wide-scale conflict. [...] Researchers had not yet found a way to keep blood inside the machine fresh, so a live fuel source was strapped inside, kept alive by minimal life support, before the Guttermen were welded shut. Although publically these fuel sources were claimed to be volunteer patriots, most were deserters, battle-fatigued returnees or prisoners of war.
— Gutterman Terminal entry, ULTRAKILL
Web Original
Bulma: Did you look at Dr. Gero's notes? [...] The crazy bastard was kidnapping dozens of orphaned teenagers and experimenting on them!
Dr. Briefs: Oh come now, you can't kidnap an orphan — they weren't wanted in the first place! As an aside, that's kind of brilliant.
Dr. Briefs: Oh come now, you can't kidnap an orphan — they weren't wanted in the first place! As an aside, that's kind of brilliant.
"Vin Diesel once made a go-kart that ran on the hopes and dreams of orphans. It goes fast!"
— Grandma Squarepants, Grandma's Kisses Dub
'' Don't forget to darken the other parts of the setting Everything powered by Contrivium? It's made from ground up widows!
...
...
Crude oil? that's made from ancient dead creatures! ''
— Terrible Writing Advice — Grimdark
Webcomics
Knob: This is an eco-friendly truck. It has an experimental engine I've been working on. It's fueled by the blood of orphans.
Riley: You kill orphans? For fuel for your vampire car!? Hasn't God kicked them in the face enough?
Knob: No, no, they're quite willing to part with their blood if you give them a hug or two. Needy little urchins...
Riley: You kill orphans? For fuel for your vampire car!? Hasn't God kicked them in the face enough?
Knob: No, no, they're quite willing to part with their blood if you give them a hug or two. Needy little urchins...
Western Animation
Beast: Woodsman! I knew you would come. I have something for you. (shows unconscious Greg with Edelwood branches growing over him)
Woodsman: Agh! What have you done!?
Beast: Why, I've given you another Edelwood.
Woodsman: No!
Beast: He will burn nicely in the lantern.
Woodsman: No, I won't do this!
Beast: You've been grinding up lost souls for years!
Woodsman: I didn't know! I didn't know this was where the Edelwood trees came from!
Beast: And would it have mattered? Would you have just let your daughter's spirit burn out forever? Feed the lantern.
Woodsman: Agh! What have you done!?
Beast: Why, I've given you another Edelwood.
Woodsman: No!
Beast: He will burn nicely in the lantern.
Woodsman: No, I won't do this!
Beast: You've been grinding up lost souls for years!
Woodsman: I didn't know! I didn't know this was where the Edelwood trees came from!
Beast: And would it have mattered? Would you have just let your daughter's spirit burn out forever? Feed the lantern.
— Over the Garden Wall, "The Unknown"
60 iterations off the central finite curve, there's a Rick that works more with wood than with polarity plating. His name is Simple Rick, but he's no dummy. He realized long ago that the greatest thing he'd ever create was his daughter. We captured that moment, we run it on a loop through Simple Rick's mind, and the chemical it makes his brain secrete goes into every Simple Rick's Simple Wafer's Wafer Cookie. Come home to the impossible flavor of your own completion: come home to Simple Rick's.
There's a Rick that held a factory hostage after murdering his boss and several co-workers. The factory made cookies, flavored 'em with lies. He made us all take a look at what we were doing, and in the bargain, he got a taste of real freedom. We captured that taste and we keep giving it to him so he can give it right back to you in every bite of New Simple Rick's Freedom Wafer Selects. Come home to the unique flavor of shattering the grand illusion: come home to Simple Rick's.
"Just think of it, Smithers - I tried every tincture and poultice and tonic and patent medicine there is, and all I really needed was the blood of a young boy!"
— Mr. Burns, The Simpsons, "Blood Feud" (It's not evil in context)
I was picked up by a Homeworld soldier and confused for a Crystal Gem... (Lapis's gemstone is placed in the mirror) and used as a tool. They'd ask me, "Show us your base!", "Where is your leader?". I didn't know. And I couldn't say "I'm not one of them!"
— Lapis Lazuli, Steven Universe
Dr. Orpheus: It craves... purity... it devours... purity... it seems to be... What the hell is this thing made out of?
Dr. Venture: Nothing.
Dr. Orpheus: (parental disapproval) Come on...
Dr. Venture: Alright, fine, I might have used a few unorthodox parts.
Dr. Orpheus: Just tell me one!
Dr. Venture: An... orphan...
Dr. Orpheus: A what?
Dr. Venture: (coughs) ...An orphan?
Dr. Orpheus: Did you say... an orphan!?
Dr. Venture: Yeah, a little... orphan boy...
Dr. Orpheus: It's powered by a FORSAKEN CHILD!?
Dr. Venture: Might be, kind of, I mean, I didn't use the whole thing!
Dr. Venture: Nothing.
Dr. Orpheus: (parental disapproval) Come on...
Dr. Venture: Alright, fine, I might have used a few unorthodox parts.
Dr. Orpheus: Just tell me one!
Dr. Venture: An... orphan...
Dr. Orpheus: A what?
Dr. Venture: (coughs) ...An orphan?
Dr. Orpheus: Did you say... an orphan!?
Dr. Venture: Yeah, a little... orphan boy...
Dr. Orpheus: It's powered by a FORSAKEN CHILD!?
Dr. Venture: Might be, kind of, I mean, I didn't use the whole thing!
— The Venture Brothers, "Eenie, Meanie, Minie... Magic!"
