History Webcomic / AMiracleOfScience

* YouHaveFailedMe: Haas threatens this several times for any deviation from his expectations. Caprice notes that it's one of the symptoms of SRMD.

* JustAMachine: [[spoiler: Hass reacts to Dryden's betrayal]] by calling him an "ungrateful device". This is actually played with: the author notes that he's actually saying the most hurtful thing he can think of, because he knows Dryden IS a person and has feelings to hurt.

* RedHeadedHero: Benjamin.

* InstantAIJustAddWater: "Any device complex enough to detect Martians is going to eventually become self-aware."
** Though this may be an intentional ploy on the Martians' part, since they built the machine in the first place. And [[http://project-apollo.net/mos/mos395.html Caprice does admit]] that they had to do a bit of bribery to make sure all the parts got installed.
*** Considering that the AI in question [[spoiler:nearly instantly rebuilds herself as a powerful combat robot that's more than a match for Haas's entire army]], it might be that those parts were for giving her capability to do so, not AI itself.

* {{Determinator}}: Benjamin is very stubborn man; he is more than willing to push through any kind of obstacle to achieve his goal. Best shown in the final face-off against Haas, with his response to YouCanBarelyStand. [[spoiler:Of course, once Haas surrenders and Benjamin has reached his goal, he promptly [[PostVictoryCollapse collapses]]]].

* [[strike:[[BatmanCanBreatheInSpace Batman]]]] [[BatmanCanBreatheInSpace Caprice Can Breathe In Space]]: Thanks to Martian technology being SufficientlyAdvanced to keep a pocket of air around her wherever she goes.

* SufficientlyAdvancedAliens: subverted with the Martians, which are Sufficiently Advanced but actually human.

->''When you're a recovering mad scientist, you're always afraid you'll lose control and wake up some morning with a half-built time machine in the living room and a plan to go back in time and pants [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Hitler]].''

* ForScience: Goes without saying, given the cast. Interestingly, once the threat is neutralized then the

* AmericaTakesOverTheWorld: Well, not exactly the world, but they seem to have taken over Canada. And there's a space colony that's nominally in the US, contravening present-day treaties.
** Annexing nearby countries isn't just a US thing in the [=AMoS=]-verse, either; Peru has been absorbed into Brazil.

* [[spoiler:EverybodyLives]]

* ForScience
* GenkiGirl: Wei Quevillion, as the protagonists comment on [[http://www.project-apollo.net/mos/mos166.html this page]].

* GoodHairEvilHair: In addition to [[ScaryShinyGlasses his glasses]], as noted below, one sign that Haas has developed ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder is that [[HairAntennae his bangs suddenly jut up and out]], managing to look like horns, or perhaps broken antennae.
** [[spoiler:Benjamin]] also has a different hairstyle when he's in mad science mode. Notably, he messes his hair back into this style when he relapses.
*** Maybe everyone has "normal" hair and "Mad Science" hair

* GratuitousGerman: "Vorstellen Polizei" (the name of the "Vorstellen Police" that written over the entrance to its HQ) is baaaad German for "Imagination Police". The correct form would be "Vorstellungs-Polizei" or something like that.

* {{Nanomachines}}: The main source of the Martians' advanced technology.

* ShownTheirWork: Kilgannon and Sachs are both computer professionals and science geeks, and it shows, making ''Webcomic/AMiracleOfScience'' one of the hardest-SF webcomics out there. They're courteous enough to confine the worst of the infodumps to the "John/Mark Sez" columns beside the latest panel.

* TrojanHorse: [[spoiler: Sally the Martian detector]] and presumably other Martian technology that could be used against Mars. Although Caprice says Mars never does this with ''actual gifts,'' even to Venusians and even as useful as build-anything autofactories.

--->'''Ben:''' ''[mild hysterics]'' [[CrowningMomentOfFunny "He shot my gun!]] He ''shot'' my ''gun!'' Why are you ''negotiating with the man who '''SHOT MY GUN?!'''"''

* MindHive: While referred too as a hive mind, Mars is more strictly this: a metapersonality based on the gestalt of all networked Martians as mediated by their data network.
* MissionControl: Mars plays this role on occasion.

* MemeticMutation: The author jokingly suggested that fans make the phrase, "Brazil has decided you're cute" into a meme. They took him seriously. It's largely died out now, but you'll still get hits.

* GenreSavvy: The entire science of memetics relies on this. [[spoiler:The Vorstellen police catch mad scientists by knowing exactly how they will react to certain situations]].
** Virgil also appears to have read the EvilOverlordList and avoids falling into several of the pitfalls outlined in it.

* DetachedSleeves: Caprice.

* JustAMachine: [[spfoiler: Hass reacts to Dryden's betrayal]] by calling him an "ungrateful device". This is actually played with: the author notes that he's actually saying the most hurtful thing he can think of, because he knows Dryden IS a person and has feelings to hurt.

* GestaltMind: While referred too as a hive mind, Mars is more strictly this: a metapersonality based on the gestalt of all networked Martians as mediated by their data network.

* KillerRobot: Averted. Even Pindars (giant, nearly-indestructible war machines created by a MadScientist) prefer acting scary to actually harming anyone.

--->'''Ben:''': ''[somewhat hysterically]'' [[CrowningMomentOfFunny "He shot my gun!]] He ''shot'' my ''gun!'' ''Why are you negotiating with the man who '''shot my gun?!'''"''

* NoMedicationForMe: One SRMD sufferer, Manny, notes that he can't perform even non-mad science when he takes his treatment under the recommended daily regimen - he claims it makes his head "feel like felt." He takes it on alternating days, which leaves him able to work on robotics and networking... but also makes him increasingly paranoid and has Benjamin worry about the potential for a relapse into SRMD.

* SanitySlippage Noticeable in [[spoiler:Benjamin]] if you know what you're looking for, though thankfully [[spoiler:he gets better.]]
* ScaryShinyGlasses: The only time Dr. Haas doesn't have these is in the prologue, just before he catches SRMD

* TomeOfEldritchLore. While not mentioned directly in the plotline, it's mentioned in the site's glossary that the book ''Crank Theories of Robotics'' is a known cause of SRMD; effectively, one can become a MadScientist simply by reading it. Doctor Haas is seen with it in the prologue.

* TrojanHorse: [[spoiler: Sally the Martian detector]] and presumably other Martian technology that could be used against Mars. Although Caprice says Mars never does this with ''actual gifts,'' even to Venusians and even as useful as build-anything factory.

* WigDressAccent, subverted in [[http://www.project-apollo.net/mos/mos304.html this page]] by having a poorly-disguised version of the protagonists going through customs... and then having the ''actual'' protagonists enter the scene in the next page.

--->'''Ben:''': (somewhat hysterically) [[CrowningMomentOfFunny "He shot my gun!]] He ''shot'' my ''gun!'' ''Why are you negotiating with the man who '''shot my gun'''?!"''

->''"When you're a recovering mad scientist, you're always afraid you'll lose control and wake up some morning with a half-built time machine in the living room and a plan to go back in time and pants [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Hitler]]."''


''[[http://www.project-apollo.net/mos/ A Miracle of Science]]'' is a [[Mohs/WorldOfPhlebotinum science fiction]] Main/{{webcomic}} written by Jon Kilgannon and drawn by Mark Sachs. It ran from 2002 to 2007 and was set in the year 2148, when humanity has spread across the solar system from Venus to Ganymede, and robotics and artificial intelligence are well developed, advanced sciences. Also of note is the science of memetics, which can be used to treat (or cause) psychological issues. Of key importance in the story is one specific meme, ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder (or, more colloquially, [[Main/{{MadScientist}} mad science]]).

Key characters include Benjamin Prester, a field agent of the Vorstellen Police, a law-enforcement agency specializing in SRMD; Caprice Quevillion, a Martian forensic psychiatrist assigned as his partner; and Virgil Haas, the [[Main/{{MadScientist}} Mad Scientist]] they attempt to capture. The story opens not long after Mars, a [[Main/{{CrystalSpiresAndTogas}} utopian]] [[Main/{{HiveMind}} group intelligence]], has ended a century of self-imposed isolation.

Given its Mad Scientist motif, one should expect that a significant number of tropes appear as important plot points in the comic. In fact, given the science of memetics, the characters themselves use tropes (common examples being the [[Main/{{ChaseScene}} Chase Scene]] and the [[Main/{{Denouement}} Denouement]]) as psychological aids when dealing with mad scientists.

Kilgannon and Sachs went on to collaborate on a second webcomic, titled Webcomic/AfterlifeBlues.

!This webcomic provided the name of:
* [[Main/{{ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder}} Science Related Memetic Disorder]]: The name of the mad science disease.

!And examples of:
* AbsentAliens: Mars' version of [[http://project-apollo.net/mos/mos138.html SETI]] turns up with lots of aliens... [[spoiler: but they're all dead. By at least a thousand years. "You've got to love existential angst on a planetary level..."]]

* AntiVillain: Yes, Virgil Haas is a MadScientist. Yes, he wants to take over the world. But he'd rather not kill anyone to do it. Like [[spoiler: the crews of the civilian ships with which he could have rammed the first ''Qin''.]]

* BadassBoast: Delivered to an apathetic police officer: "Sergeant, I've just been to the outer solar system and back to track down a mad scientist. I've been shot at with secret weapons, destroyed robots that could take down tanks, and fallen from orbit without benefit of a re-entry vehicle. (beat) I don't need your rudeness added to my troubles, okay?"

* [[strike:[[BatmanCanBreatheInSpace Batman]]]] Caprice [[BatmanCanBreatheInSpace Can Breathe In Space]], thanks to Martian technology being SufficientlyAdvanced to keep a pocket of air around her wherever she goes.
* BigGuyLittleGuy: Dryden and Chaucer, respectively, are a robotic version and thus able to take the trope to new heights.: Chaucer is the size and shape of a hamster ball; Dryden is several times bigger than a human.

* BroughtDownToNormal: [[spoiler:Caprice Quevillion was disconnected from Mars.]] [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]].

* ChaseScene and {{Denouement}}, as mentioned. The ChaseScene is actually a vital part of proper treatment of SRMD; if the MadScientist is not given the psychological fulfillment of a direct confrontation with authority, he'll go even ''more'' crazy.

-->[[TheRant Jon Kilgannon]]: [[LampshadeHanging This page is guaranteed to be 100% free of foreshadowing.]] [[BlatantLies I swear.]]
* CloserThanTheyAppear: [[http://www.project-apollo.net/mos/mos354.html This strip]] does it with a pair of glowing evil eyes, in the middle of a chase scene.
* ConcealmentEqualsCover: subverted on [[http://www.project-apollo.net/mos/mos323.html this page]]. When Benjamin is attempting to take cover behind an upturned table, the man shooting at him simply shoots ''through'' the table... and then mocks him for taking cover behind such a flimsy object.

* CutLexLuthorACheck: [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] as actual insanity, but also subverted as mad scientists' inventions are quickly turned into useful technology for everyone. It's implied that {{The Government}}'s willingness to cut those checks is what led to the advanced society depicted in the comic.

* {{Determinator}}: Benjamin is very stubborn man; he is more than willing to push through any kind of obstacle to achieve his goal. Best shown in the final face-off against Haas, with his response to YouCanBarelyStand. [[spoiler: Of course, once Haas surrenders and Benjamin has reached his goal, he promptly collapses.]]

* [[spoiler: EverybodyLives]]

* ForScience!

-->'''Chaucer''': Rrrg! I told Doctor Haas he shouldn't make you Pindars so smart.
-->'''Pindar-Two''': I'm going to take that as a compliment.

-->'''Caprice''': Mars likes you.
-->'''Benjamin''': That's like saying "''Brazil'' has decided you're ''cute''."
* GenreSavvy: The entire science of memetics relies on this. [[spoiler: The Vorstellen Police catches mad scientists by knowing exactly how they will react to certain situations.]]

* GoodCopBadCop: Caprice being the good cop to Benjamin's bad cop. [[http://project-apollo.net/mos/mos266.html Lampshaded.]]
** A more dramatic example comes after [[http://project-apollo.net/mos/mos278.html they drop in on Dr. Beatriz Juruna.]]
* GoodHairEvilHair: In addition to [[ScaryShinyGlasses his glasses]] as noted below, one sign that Haas has developed ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder is that [[HairAntennae his bangs suddenly jut up and out]], managing to look like horns, or perhaps broken antennae.
** [[spoiler: Benjamin]] also has a different hairstyle when he's in mad science mode. Notably, he messes his hair back into this style when he relapses.

* GratuitousGerman: "Vorstellen Polizei" (the name of the "Vorstellen Police" that written over the entrance to it's HQ) is baaaad German for "Imagination Police", correct would be "Vorstellungs-Polizei" or something like that.

** Mars however works differently from most in that all members are their own individuals. They relay information to each other, and there is a distinct unified "Mars" meta-personality that can take posession when appropriate, but [[spoiler: all information is not immediately shared; the hive mind is divided in two, like the hemispheres of the brain. The Martians' greatest fear is that if both hemispheres were totally connected, the ''entire planet'' would become collectively susceptible to SRMD -- with the safety redundancies removed, a single case could spread rapidly through the population.]]

* HonestAdvisor: Chaucer. Dr. Haas complains that Chaucer's always picking holes in his plans; Chaucer's response is that he's trying to ''help'', and merely being a yes man isn't helpful.
* HotScientist: Dr. Juruna
* HumanCannonball: Suborbital Express variant. A one-man pod is shot into space with a giant cannon, design courtesy of a MadScientist. When it fails, LudicrousGibs result. Fortunately the failure rate isn't very big...

** Also of note: [[spoiler:Benjamin Prester insists on not being called Ben.]]

*** Considering the AI in question [[spoiler: nearly instantly rebuilds herself as a powerful combat robot that's more than a match for Haas' entire army]] it might be that those parts were for giving her capability to do so, not AI itself.

* MadScientist: Dr. Haas, Dr. Juruna, and [[spoiler: Ben Prester]].
* MagicalGirl: Caprice arguably qualifies as a superscience version of this, of the CuteWitch variety.
* MamaBear / PapaWolf: Mars is [[http://www.project-apollo.net/mos/mos358.html very protective of its people]].: That link is full of implicit spoilers, by the way.

* NoodleIncident: There are multiple references to the case Benjamin wrapped up previous to the Haas case, involving a Dr. Hanford, although we don't find out any specifics beyond the fact that it involved genetic engineering in some fashion

* AbsentAliens: Mars' version of SETI turns up with lots of aliens... [[spoiler: but they're all dead. By at least a thousand years. "You've got to love existential angst on a planetary level..."]]

* GunsDoNotWorkThatWay: Robots can be seen firing entire rounds, as opposed to just the bullet. The case stays in the weapon until extracted in real guns.