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Author: Melkior

Aug 19th 2013 at 6:44:48 AM

^^ I'm not sure that counts as an example since I was specifically thinking of people (they should know better) rather than machines which, unless sentient (like Red Tornado for example), couldn't be expected to know what they're doing.  Question:  Is it worth allowing non-sentient examples or should I change the trope description to make it clearer?

^ I don't think that's this trope.  I'm not sure what trope would cover it, if any.  The reason is, healing is something temporary, usually required only in special circumstances.  This trope is about something which is either constantly (like air) or very regularly (like food and water) required to keep someone alive, but the person rejects or even destroys the source of the required item.

I need to find a book of short Sci-Fi stories which has an example I remember, so I can get the story and author name to add it as an example.  It's a story where a new administrator is appointed to an asteroid mining operation and immediately starts making a pest of himself by suggesting "improvements" which the engineers have already rejected for very good and practical reasons.  The story is told from the point of view of one of the engineers.  After a few weeks (or some similar time) the engineer notices the air has started to become stale and the [=CO2=] level is rising so he goes to check on the "air plant" and finds the room empty.  He rushes to tell the administrator who tells the engineer that he found the room overgrown with a weed of some kind, so he had it ejected out the air lock.  Think about that term, "air plant"...