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** In ''SpaceJockey'', spaceship pilots are monitored to make sure they are psychologically stable. A space pilot is bothered by a "stupid tourist" who is secretly a psychiatrist to determine his state of mind before flight.
** In ''FarmerInTheSky'', William Lermer wants to emigrate to Ganymede, one of Jupiter's moons. When he goes in to talk to a psychiatrist for a psych test, he's kept waiting and two clerks harass and insult him, but Lermer manages to keep calm. He later finds out that the clerks were psychometricians and there were a camera and microphone on him recording what happened. He was being tested to see whether he could keep his temper when provoked.

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** In ''SpaceJockey'', the short story "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Jockey Space Jockey]]", spaceship pilots are monitored to make sure they are psychologically stable. A space pilot is bothered by a "stupid tourist" who is secretly a psychiatrist to determine his state of mind before a flight.
** In ''FarmerInTheSky'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmer_In_The_Sky Farmer in the Sky]]'', William Lermer wants to emigrate to Ganymede, one of Jupiter's moons. When he goes in to talk to a psychiatrist for a psych test, he's kept waiting and two clerks harass and insult him, but Lermer manages to keep calm. He later finds out that the clerks were psychometricians and there were a camera and microphone on him recording what happened. He was being tested to see whether he could keep his temper when provoked.
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[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* The origin story for Dr. Droom in ''Amazing Adventures'' #1 (1961). Doctor Anthony Droom is summoned to the Himalayas (probably Tibet) to treat an ill lama. He is told he won't be paid for his work and is required to walk over hot coals and face a gorlion (half gorilla, half lion). He faces these challenges bravely and finally meets the lama. The lama tells him that he isn't really ill: he put Dr. Droom through all that to find out if he was worthy to take the lama's place in fighting sinister occult forces. Droom decides to accept the lama's offer to replace him. Eventually the character Doctor Droom became [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Druid Doctor Druid]].
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* ''ThePrincessBride'': Westley returns and discovers that Buttercup, his True Love, is about to marry Prince Humperdinck. After he rescues her from her kidnappers, he doesn't reveal his true identity, in the hope of finding out whether she still loves him or not.

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* ''ThePrincessBride'': Westley returns and discovers that Buttercup, his True Love, is about to marry be married to Prince Humperdinck. After he rescues her from her kidnappers, kidnappers (under an alias of the Dread Pirate Roberts), he doesn't reveal his true identity, in the hope of finding out whether or not she still loves him or not.Wesley, whom he claims to have killed.
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** In "Space Jockey", spaceship pilots are monitored to make sure they are psychologically stable. A space pilot is bothered by a "stupid tourist" who is secretly a psychiatrist to determine his state of mind before flight.
** In ''Farmer in the Sky'', William Lermer wants to emigrate to Ganymede, one of Jupiter's moons. When he goes in to talk to a psychiatrist for a psych test, he's kept waiting and two clerks harass and insult him, but Lermer manages to keep calm. He later finds out that the clerks were psychometricians and there were a camera and microphone on him recording what happened. He was being tested to see whether he could keep his temper when provoked.

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** In "Space Jockey", ''SpaceJockey'', spaceship pilots are monitored to make sure they are psychologically stable. A space pilot is bothered by a "stupid tourist" who is secretly a psychiatrist to determine his state of mind before flight.
** In ''Farmer in the Sky'', ''FarmerInTheSky'', William Lermer wants to emigrate to Ganymede, one of Jupiter's moons. When he goes in to talk to a psychiatrist for a psych test, he's kept waiting and two clerks harass and insult him, but Lermer manages to keep calm. He later finds out that the clerks were psychometricians and there were a camera and microphone on him recording what happened. He was being tested to see whether he could keep his temper when provoked.
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removed Wall Banger pothole


** The Remake redoes this episode, except they never left Earth, and their job wasn't to invade, but to plant a bomb, which since they were the builders of the bomb had to be the real one. [[EarthShatteringKaboom So]] [[WallBanger They]] [[TooDumbToLive Win.]]

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** The Remake redoes this episode, except they never left Earth, and their job wasn't to invade, but to plant a bomb, which since they were the builders of the bomb had to be the real one. [[EarthShatteringKaboom So]] [[WallBanger They]] They [[TooDumbToLive Win.]]
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[[AC:VideoGames]]
* In the "Merlin's Crystal" quest in ''{{Runescape}}'', there's a portion where the PlayerCharacter visits [[ArthurianLegend the Lady of the Lake in a quest to find Excalibur]]. She instructs you to visit a jewelry shop. On your way, you're approached by a beggar who asks you for food. If you give him a loaf of bread, he reveals himself as the Lady of the Lake in disguise and tells you that you've proven yourself to be generous and pure of heart and thus worthy of wielding Excalibur.
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* In the {{Caprica}} episode "Blowback," Lucy Rand and a bunch of STO recruits are sent off to a training camp when the shuttle is attacked and hi-jacked by anti-STO zealots. They threaten to kill everybody who doesn't renounce the "one true God." But, lo and behold, it was actually a {{secret test of character}}, and those who hold onto their monotheistic beliefs in the face of death pass. Lucy [[TakeAThirdOption takes the third option]] and fights off her captors. This impresses her {{Mentor}}.



* The classic folk song trope - girl and lover part before war. He finds her after, bewailing that her love has gone to war and not returned. She doesn't (for plot reasons) recognise him, tells him her sad tale, swears she'll go to her grave unwed. Cue joyful reunion. See "Claudy Banks", "Plains of Waterloo" and a whole slew of others

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* The classic folk song trope - girl and lover part before war. He finds her after, bewailing that her love has gone to war and not returned. She doesn't (for plot reasons) recognise recognize him, tells him her sad tale, swears she'll go to her grave unwed. Cue joyful reunion. See "Claudy Banks", "Plains of Waterloo" and a whole slew of others
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* In ''TheAvengers'', Steed invites Mrs. Peel to meet him inside the Boodles club, but doesn't tell her that women aren't allowed inside. He's testing her on her initiative. Note that Mrs. Peel figures out that it's a test.

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* In ''TheAvengers'', TheFilmOfTheSeries of ''Series/TheAvengers'', Steed invites Mrs. Peel to meet him inside the Boodles club, but doesn't tell her that women aren't allowed inside. He's testing her on her initiative. Note that Mrs. Peel figures out that it's a test.
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[[AC:{{TheBible}}]][[AC:{{The Bible}}]]
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[[AC:{{TheBible}}]]
* One interpretation, popular among military historians, gives this as the true lesson behind the story of [[BadassIsraeli Gideon]] (Judges, ch. 7). Faced with a superior opponent, Gideon starts with a host of 32,000 men. He begins by [[YouCanTurnBack asking for volunteers only]], which drops him down to 10,000 men. Then he puts them through a grueling march across the desert, at the end of which is an oasis. Most of the men put their faces down to the water, but 300 men scoop up the water in their hands so that they can keep watch while they drink. Those 300 are selected as the [[BadassArmy most spirited, most disciplined, and most well-conditioned of all his men]], and with them Gideon conducts the first Special Forces raid in recorded history: they infiltrate the enemy camp with trumpets and clay jars, surround their sleeping opponents, and proceed to blow their horns and smash their jars. Their opponents are understandably scared to all hell by the utterly weird nature of the attack and rout immediately, where they are slaughtered to a man by a separate blocking force of Israelites. The Bible credits Divine Inspiration for the whole thing, but whether or not you believe it, it's hard not to see the parallels between Gideon's method and modern Special Forces selection.
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* ''{{Lost}}'' episode ''Hearts and Minds'' features Locke knocking Boone out and then feeding him some self-made drugs in order for him to have a spiritual journey. Boone isn't exactly pleased with it at first, but eventually comes to understand the purpose.
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** Exactly the same thing happens to the hero of John Scalzi's ''Old Man's War'' as he "waits" for his military enlistment psych exam.

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** Exactly the same thing happens to the hero of John Scalzi's ''Old Man's War'' as he "waits" for his military enlistment psych exam. There the purpose is actually to gather his emotional states in preparation for the body-swap process. (The test administrator is trained in unarmed combat in case of emergency.)
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* The ''[[StarTrekTheNextGeneration Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' TabletopRPG. According to the ''Starfleet Academy'' supplement, applicants to and cadets at the Academy are regularly given {{Secret Test}}s to determine if they belong in Starfleet. In RealLife, even reasonable people in that situation would either:

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* The ''[[StarTrekTheNextGeneration Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' TabletopRPG. According to the ''Starfleet Academy'' supplement, applicants to and cadets at the Academy are regularly given {{Secret Test}}s to determine if they belong in Starfleet.Starfleet, including being lied to by Academy personnel. In RealLife, even reasonable people in that situation would either:



** (b) stop trusting anything they were told by Starfleet personnel unless they could verify it.

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** (b) stop trusting anything they were told by Starfleet Academy personnel unless they could verify it.
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[[AC:Real Life]]
* A story: A job for a telegram operator opens up. Many people come in to apply, but nobody ever calls them in for an interview, so they just sit in the waiting area listening to the tap-tap-tap of Morse code in the background. Finally, one man comes in, sits a few minutes, then gets up and goes to speak with the staff on his own. The other applicants are then told to go home, the position has been filled. The Morse code in the background? It was repeating the message "If you are able to understand this, come and speak to us, the job's yours."

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[[AC:Real Life]]
[[AC:RealLife]]
* A story: A job for a telegram telegraph operator opens up. Many people come in to apply, but nobody ever calls them in for an interview, so they just sit in the waiting area listening to the tap-tap-tap of Morse code in the background. Finally, one man comes in, sits a few minutes, then gets up and goes to speak with the staff on his own. The other applicants are then told to go home, the position has been filled. The Morse code in the background? It was repeating the message "If you are able to understand this, come and speak to us, the job's yours."
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Adding The Stars My Destination reference.



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* ''TheStarsMyDestination'' by AlfredBester has one of these. Potential telepaths are told to wait in a room for an interview. The minder at the front is a telepath broadcasting the thought "If you can hear this, go through the door on your left..." (or right, or whatever it was).
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misuse incredibly far off the mark.


* [[OrSoIHeard A story]]: A job for a telegram operator opens up. Many people come in to apply, but nobody ever calls them in for an interview, so they just sit in the waiting area listening to the tap-tap-tap of Morse code in the background. Finally, one man comes in, sits a few minutes, then gets up and goes to speak with the staff on his own. The other applicants are then told to go home, the position has been filled. The Morse code in the background? It was repeating the message "If you are able to understand this, come and speak to us, the job's yours."

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* [[OrSoIHeard A story]]: story: A job for a telegram operator opens up. Many people come in to apply, but nobody ever calls them in for an interview, so they just sit in the waiting area listening to the tap-tap-tap of Morse code in the background. Finally, one man comes in, sits a few minutes, then gets up and goes to speak with the staff on his own. The other applicants are then told to go home, the position has been filled. The Morse code in the background? It was repeating the message "If you are able to understand this, come and speak to us, the job's yours."

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* ''DungeonsAndDragons''
** Basic D&D adventure X11 ''Saga of the Shadowlord''. The cloud giant Azor gives a {{PC}} a potion which he claims is a potion of Animal Control. If the {{PC}} drinks it in hope of charming the giant's guard wolves, he'll discover that it's actually a powerful sleeping potion.
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[[AC:Real Life]]
* [[OrSoIHeard A story]]: A job for a telegram operator opens up. Many people come in to apply, but nobody ever calls them in for an interview, so they just sit in the waiting area listening to the tap-tap-tap of Morse code in the background. Finally, one man comes in, sits a few minutes, then gets up and goes to speak with the staff on his own. The other applicants are then told to go home, the position has been filled. The Morse code in the background? It was repeating the message "If you are able to understand this, come and speak to us, the job's yours."

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** ''StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "The Magicks of Megas-Tu". The Magicks threaten to punish [[LouisCypher Lucien]] to see if Captain Kirk will fight to defend him. They need to know if the human race has truly given up their worst traits.



* ''StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "The Magicks of Megas-Tu". The Magicks tell Captain Kirk that Lucien, the Magick who helped the Enterprise crew earlier, must be punished for betraying his people. Captain Kirk risks death to help Lucien, after which the Magicks tell him that they were testing him to make sure humans could be trusted.

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* ''StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "The Magicks of Megas-Tu". The Magicks tell Captain Kirk that Lucien, [[LouisCypher Lucien]], the Magick who helped the Enterprise crew earlier, must be punished for betraying his people. Captain Kirk risks death to help Lucien, after which the Magicks tell him that they were testing him to make sure humans could be trusted.

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* VForVendetta. V tests Evey's resolve by putting her through starvation, torture and death threats in what appears to be a government concentration camp but is really his basement. Subverted when he reveals the truth and she responds by packing her bags.

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* VForVendetta.''VForVendetta''. V tests Evey's resolve by putting her through starvation, torture and death threats in what appears to be a government concentration camp but is really his basement. Subverted when he reveals the truth and she responds by packing her bags.



** ''StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "The Corbomite Maneuver". Balok allows the Enterprise to break free of his control and sends out a fake distress signal to determine their real intentions, as the information in the Enterprise's memory banks could have been faked.

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** ''StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode ''StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''
***
"The Corbomite Maneuver". Balok allows the Enterprise to break free of his control and sends out a fake distress signal to determine their real intentions, as the information in the Enterprise's memory banks could have been faked.faked.
*** "Patterns of Force". The Ekosian Resistance sets up a fake Nazi attack to make sure the Enterprise crew members aren't Nazis.

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* ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "Let He Who Is Without Sin": A group of terrorists burst into a room on the planet Risa and threaten the occupants. Shortly thereafter it's revealed that the whole attack was a hoax carried out by members of the New Essentialists Movement, who are trying to test the Risans' reaction to violence and prove the Federation's lack of preparedness.

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* ''StarTrek''
** ''StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "The Corbomite Maneuver". Balok allows the Enterprise to break free of his control and sends out a fake distress signal to determine their real intentions, as the information in the Enterprise's memory banks could have been faked.
** ''StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "The Magicks of Megas-Tu". The Magicks threaten to punish [[LouisCypher Lucien]] to see if Captain Kirk will fight to defend him. They need to know if the human race has truly given up their worst traits.
**
''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "Let He Who Is Without Sin": A group of terrorists burst into a room on the planet Risa and threaten the occupants. Shortly thereafter it's revealed that the whole attack was a hoax carried out by members of the New Essentialists Movement, who are trying to test the Risans' reaction to violence and prove the Federation's lack of preparedness.



[[AC:Music]]

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* One "familyguy" episode has Peter grilling a potential boyfriend of Meg's, asking a series of personal questions. The final question he asks is whether the boyfriend has ever done a particular masturbation technique [[spoiler: the stranger]]. Since the Boyfriend answers honestly Peter responds "Not anymore you don't, You're dating my daughter!"

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* One "familyguy" [[FamilyGuy Family Guy]] episode has Peter grilling a potential boyfriend of Meg's, asking a series of personal questions. The final question he asks is whether the boyfriend has ever done a particular masturbation technique [[spoiler: the stranger]]. Since the Boyfriend answers honestly Peter responds "Not anymore you don't, You're dating my daughter!"
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adding example to animation



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* One "familyguy" episode has Peter grilling a potential boyfriend of Meg's, asking a series of personal questions. The final question he asks is whether the boyfriend has ever done a particular masturbation technique [[spoiler: the stranger]]. Since the Boyfriend answers honestly Peter responds "Not anymore you don't, You're dating my daughter!"
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Added Music

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[[AC:Music]]
* The classic folk song trope - girl and lover part before war. He finds her after, bewailing that her love has gone to war and not returned. She doesn't (for plot reasons) recognise him, tells him her sad tale, swears she'll go to her grave unwed. Cue joyful reunion. See "Claudy Banks", "Plains of Waterloo" and a whole slew of others
* Kate Bush's "Babooshka"
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* VForVendetta. V tests Evey's resolve by putting her through starvation, torture and death threats in what appears to be a government concentration camp but is really his basement. Subverted when he reveals the truth and she responds by packing her bags.

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* The ''[[StarTrekTheNextGeneration Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' TabletopRPG. According to the ''Starfleet Academy'' supplement, applicants to and cadets at the Academy are regularly given {{Secret Test}}s to determine if they belong in Starfleet. In RealLife, even reasonable people in that situation would either:
** (a) start worrying that ''everything'' that happened was such a test.
** (b) stop trusting anything they were told by Starfleet personnel unless they could verify it.
** (c) get so annoyed at being regularly lied to by people they're supposed to trust that they quit, or
** (d) decide that a life-threatening situation was "just another test" and not take it seriously, causing people to get killed.
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[[AC:TabletopGames]]

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[[AC:TabletopGames]]
* ''[=Top Secret/SI=]'' adventure ''The Final Weapon''. The {{PC}}s are relaxing in a hospital while undergoing their annual physicals or recuperating. Suddenly the hospital is attacked by commandos and the {{PC}}s can't find find any weaponry to fight them. They must overcome the attackers and disarm a bomb, only to have their boss appear and tell them it was just a training exercise. The Admininstrator (game master) is told to cheat to make sure that none of the "commandos" is killed by the {{PC}}s during the session.
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* In the ''Doctor Who'' episode "The Big Bang", the Doctor [[spoiler: refuses to take the time to save Amy because, he says, she "isn't more important than the whole universe." The plastic Rory punches him and insists that she IS more important, whereupon the Doctor welcomes him back and helps revive Amy. Apparently his callous refusal to rescue his companion is a test to ensure that Rory is completely on his side.]]

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* In the ''Doctor Who'' ''DoctorWho'' episode "The Big Bang", the Doctor [[spoiler: refuses to take the time to save Amy because, he says, she "isn't more important than the whole universe." The plastic Rory punches him and insists that she IS more important, whereupon the Doctor welcomes him back and helps revive Amy. Apparently his callous refusal to rescue his companion is a test to ensure that Rory is completely on his side.]]
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* In the ''Doctor Who'' episode "The Big Bang", the Doctor [[spoiler: refuses to take the time to save Amy because, he says, she "isn't more important than the whole universe." The plastic Rory punches him and insists that she IS more important, whereupon the Doctor welcomes him back and helps revive Amy. Apparently his callous refusal to rescue his companion is a test to ensure that Rory is completely on his side.]]

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