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Changed line(s) 16 (click to see context) from:
* BigBad: The dragon.
to:
* BigBad: The dragon.dragon, which is a metaphor for [[TheGrimReaper death]].
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Changed line(s) 49 (click to see context) from:
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Subverted. While the wealthy can bribe the press-gangs for a time to avoid being eaten by the dragon, they can not do so inevitably.
to:
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: Society, after listening to the wails of the child, becomes hellbent on slaying the dragon. People selflessly donate everything not strictly necessary, and the king cuts down on his property to provide resources for the trials.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney/ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: Subverted. While the wealthy can bribe the press-gangs for a time to avoid being eaten by thedragon, dragon and legislators/civil officers can delay by twisting the rules, they can not do so inevitably.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney/ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: Subverted. While the wealthy can bribe the press-gangs for a time to avoid being eaten by the
Changed line(s) 52 (click to see context) from:
* SocietyOfImmortals: The entire world becomes this after the dragon is killed. The video narration by WebVideo/CGPGrey even goes so far as to state that the dragon is the ''only'' cause of death in this world.
to:
* SocietyOfImmortals: The entire world becomes this after the dragon is killed. The video narration by WebVideo/CGPGrey even goes so far as to state that the dragon is the ''only'' cause of death in this world.
Changed line(s) 58 (click to see context) from:
* YouAreWhatYouHate: The child at the public hearing who shouted "The Dragon is Bad" went on to be an official who ran the train that fed people to the Dragon, one of whom was his father.
to:
* YouAreWhatYouHate: The child at the public hearing who shouted "The Dragon is Bad" went on to be an official who ran the train that fed people to the Dragon, one of whom was his father. Downplayed as he clearly had no personal investment in the job.
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Changed line(s) 19,23 (click to see context) from:
* BlueIsHeroic: Appears a few times:
** The mineral capable of piercing dragon scales, upon which the kingdom's plan to kill the dragon became based, is bright blue.
** The leading Dragonologist is first introduced wearing a blue sweater.
** The child who first says the dragon is bad and who gets the ball rolling towards the plan to kill it, is also wearing blue.
* ChildrenAreInnocent: The socio-economic implications of killing the dragon, sited as a reason why it should continue to live, fly right over a young boy's head at the open hearing. All he knows is that it killed his grandmother, and this opens the floodgates that allow everyone to realize that any benefits the dragon grants aren't worth the massive cost.
** The mineral capable of piercing dragon scales, upon which the kingdom's plan to kill the dragon became based, is bright blue.
** The leading Dragonologist is first introduced wearing a blue sweater.
** The child who first says the dragon is bad and who gets the ball rolling towards the plan to kill it, is also wearing blue.
* ChildrenAreInnocent: The socio-economic implications of killing the dragon, sited as a reason why it should continue to live, fly right over a young boy's head at the open hearing. All he knows is that it killed his grandmother, and this opens the floodgates that allow everyone to realize that any benefits the dragon grants aren't worth the massive cost.
to:
* BlueIsHeroic: Appears a few times:
**CassandraTruth: The mineral capable of piercing dragon scales, upon which the kingdom's plan to kill fact that the dragon became based, can even be slain at all is bright blue.
** The leading Dragonologist is first introduced wearing a blue sweater.
** The child who first saysso ridiculous to society at first, the dragon is bad and who movement gets the ball rolling towards the plan to kill it, is also wearing blue.
delayed decades.
* ChildrenAreInnocent: The socio-economic implications of killing thedragon, sited dragon cited as a reason why it should continue to live, live fly right over a young boy's head at the open hearing. All he knows is that it killed his grandmother, and this opens the floodgates that allow everyone to realize that any benefits the dragon grants aren't worth the massive cost.
**
** The leading Dragonologist is first introduced wearing a blue sweater.
** The child who first says
* ChildrenAreInnocent: The socio-economic implications of killing the
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* HardTruthAesop: Deconstructed. The story takes apart the OlderThanDirt, often overdramatized, Aesop of WhoWantsToLiveForever and shows that the "hard truth" it presents is incredibly dangerous, in that it halts progress against a plague no one eve recognizes as one.
** At the same time, the story itself could also read as one of these, as it challenges a classic lesson about immortality. Many people will find something like this hard to accept, given that the original "hard truth" on this subject is one of the oldest in the book.
** At the same time, the story itself could also read as one of these, as it challenges a classic lesson about immortality. Many people will find something like this hard to accept, given that the original "hard truth" on this subject is one of the oldest in the book.
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* ScienceVersusMagic: The dragon, of a clearly magical nature, goes up against the engineering of a myriad of scientists that eventually creates a missile that kills it.
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* SocietyOfImmortals: The entire world becomes this after the dragon is killed. The video narration by WebVideo/CGPGrey even goes so far as to state that the dragon is the ''only'' cause of death in this world.
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Changed line(s) 45 (click to see context) from:
* RulersWhoActuallyDoSomething: The king, after deciding in favor of the project to kill the dragon, makes it his #1 24/7 priority.
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* RulersWhoActuallyDoSomething: RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: The king, after deciding in favor of the project to kill the dragon, makes it his #1 24/7 priority.
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Changed line(s) 1,2 (click to see context) from:
The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant is a short story written by Nick Bostrom. It follows a Kingdom whose people are regularly eaten by a tyrannical dragon, and how the people of that Kingdom rose up to slay it. [[spoiler: The Dragon is a metaphor for Death.]]
to:
The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant is a short story written by Nick Bostrom. It follows a Kingdom whose people are regularly eaten by a tyrannical dragon, and how the people of that Kingdom rose up to slay it. [[spoiler: The Dragon is a metaphor for Death.]]
* ClockKing: Despite there being billions of people, the government keeps track of who is due to die to the dragon at all times during feudal eras. Justified after the TimeSkip to the modern era, given the use of the internet.
Changed line(s) 32 (click to see context) from:
* ForcedToWatch: Every day, elderly people get shipped off to the dragon to be eaten in view of everyone else.
to:
* ForcedToWatch: Every day, elderly people get shipped off to the dragon to be eaten in view of given everyone else.
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* NamelessNarrative: No character gets a name.
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* RulersWhoActuallyDoSomething: The king, after deciding in favor of the project to kill the dragon, makes it his #1 24/7 priority.
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* ScrewDestiny: Society has always taught that everyone will die to the dragon and that there is no avoiding this for anyone. Many scientists are discontent with this and decide to develop a way to kill the dragon no matter what.
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* StockholmSyndrome: After centuries of submitting to the horror of the dragon, people have come to accept it as a necessary and beautiful part of life.
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* AnyoneCanDie: No one, not even the king, is truly above dying to the dragon.
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** While preparing the dragon-killing missile, the King promises to complete it before the decade is out-an obvious allusion to President Kennedy's moon landing promise.
to:
** While preparing the dragon-killing missile, the King promises to complete it before the decade is out-an an obvious allusion to President Kennedy's moon landing promise.
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* KillEmAll: Younger children are less at risk, but once someone reaches their elder years, they will inevitably get fed to the dragon. Defied when the entire kingdom funds a project to kill the dragon.
* ForcedToWatch: Every day, elderly people get shipped off to the dragon to be eaten in view of everyone else.
* ForcedToWatch: Every day, elderly people get shipped off to the dragon to be eaten in view of everyone else.
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* OurDragonsAreDifferent: The dragon portrayed here is a classic western one and serves the role of a metaphorical [[ThePlague plague]].
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* AuthorFilibuster: Inverted: an antagonist gives a speech against the author's position and a child calls him out on it.
Changed line(s) 17 (click to see context) from:
* BlueIsHeroic: Appears a few times.
to:
* BlueIsHeroic: Appears a few times.times:
Changed line(s) 19 (click to see context) from:
** The leading Dragonologist is first introduced wearing a blue sweater
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** The leading Dragonologist is first introduced wearing a blue sweatersweater.
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** While preparing the dragon-killing missile, the King promises to complete it before the decade is out. An obvious allusion to President Kennedy's moon landing promise.
to:
** While preparing the dragon-killing missile, the King promises to complete it before the decade is out. An out-an obvious allusion to President Kennedy's moon landing promise.
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* InformationWantsToBeFree: The scientists try to explain the proposal to everyone, despite the king's advisors worrying that it will cause unrest.
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* PrayerPose: Some members of the crowd, including the king, when the missile launched.
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Changed line(s) 45 (click to see context) from:
* YouAreWhatYouHate: The child at the public hearing who shouted "The Dragon is Bad" went on to be an official who ran the train that [[Main/Hypocrite fed people to the Dragon]], one of whom was his father.
to:
* YouAreWhatYouHate: The child at the public hearing who shouted "The Dragon is Bad" went on to be an official who ran the train that [[Main/Hypocrite fed people to the Dragon]], Dragon, one of whom was his father.
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Changed line(s) 45 (click to see context) from:
* YouAreWhatYouHate: The child at the public hearing who shouted "The Dragon is Bad" went on to be an official who ran the train that [[Hypocrite fed people to the Dragon]], one of whom was his father.
to:
* YouAreWhatYouHate: The child at the public hearing who shouted "The Dragon is Bad" went on to be an official who ran the train that [[Hypocrite [[Main/Hypocrite fed people to the Dragon]], one of whom was his father.
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Changed line(s) 45 (click to see context) from:
* YouAreWhatYouHate: The child at the public hearing who shouted "The Dragon is Bad" went on to be an official who ran the train that fed people to the Dragon, one of whom was his father.
to:
* YouAreWhatYouHate: The child at the public hearing who shouted "The Dragon is Bad" went on to be an official who ran the train that [[Hypocrite fed people to the Dragon, Dragon]], one of whom was his father.
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Changed line(s) 8 (click to see context) from:
* AdaptationDistillation: When CGP Grey adapted the fable as a follow-up to his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C25qzDhGLx8 video]] [[Reconstruction reconstructing]] LivingForeverIsAwesome, he cut many of the details to fit it into a short video.
to:
* AdaptationDistillation: When CGP Grey adapted the fable as a follow-up to his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C25qzDhGLx8 video]] [[Reconstruction reconstructing]] reconstructing LivingForeverIsAwesome, he cut many of the details to fit it into a short video.
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Changed line(s) 3,4 (click to see context) from:
It can be read [[https://nickbostrom.com/fable/dragon.html here]]. An animated(albeit truncated) version, narrated by WebVideo/CGPGrey, can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZYNADOHhVY here]].
to:
* AdaptationDistillation: When CGP Grey adapted the fable as a follow-up to his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C25qzDhGLx8 video]] [[Reconstruction reconstructing]] LivingForeverIsAwesome, he cut many of the details to fit it into a short video.
* BigBad: The dragon.
Changed line(s) 14 (click to see context) from:
* BrutalHonesty: At the open hearing, held to decide whether or not to kill the dragon, the leading Dragonologist did not downplay the risks of the plan or hype it up. Instead she described how her plan would work, how long it would need to be completed, and admitted that there was no guarantee. Her plan might have been rejected had it not been for the child in the hall who declared the dragon bad.
to:
* BrutalHonesty: At the open hearing, held to decide whether or not to kill the dragon, the leading Dragonologist did not downplay the risks of the plan or hype it up. Instead Instead, she described how her plan would work, how long it would need to be completed, and admitted that there was no guarantee. Her plan might have been rejected had it not been for the child in the hall who declared the dragon bad.
Changed line(s) 16 (click to see context) from:
** The mineral capable of piercing dragon scales, upon which the plan to kill the dragon hinged, is bright blue.
to:
** The mineral capable of piercing dragon scales, upon which the kingdom's plan to kill the dragon hinged, became based, is bright blue.
Changed line(s) 18 (click to see context) from:
** The child who says "The Dragon is Bad!", and who gets the ball rolling towards the plan to kill it, is also wearing blue.
to:
** The child who first says "The Dragon the dragon is Bad!", bad and who gets the ball rolling towards the plan to kill it, is also wearing blue.
Changed line(s) 20,24 (click to see context) from:
* ConditionedToAcceptHorror: All of humanity has adapted to cope with the horror of the Dragon. That said, it wasn't very deep seated, since a few lines from a young child are all it takes to get the ball rolling for everyone to realize the true weight of the pain the Dragon has inflicted.
* DawnOfAnEra: How the story ends. With the Dragon dead, the Kingdom will need to reshape its society. However they now have time to do things right and the great specter that hung over them all is gone.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: The plot of the story.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything:
** The Dragon is a metaphor for death. It destroys an increasing number of people every year, those whose loved ones are taken away from it suffer immense anguish, and most accept it as natural and good until it comes for them.
* DawnOfAnEra: How the story ends. With the Dragon dead, the Kingdom will need to reshape its society. However they now have time to do things right and the great specter that hung over them all is gone.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: The plot of the story.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything:
** The Dragon is a metaphor for death. It destroys an increasing number of people every year, those whose loved ones are taken away from it suffer immense anguish, and most accept it as natural and good until it comes for them.
to:
* ConditionedToAcceptHorror: All of humanity has adapted to cope with the horror of the Dragon. That said, it wasn't very deep seated, deep-seated, since a few lines from a young child are all it takes to get the ball rolling for everyone to realize the true weight of the pain the Dragon has inflicted.
inflicted. The child's retorts may be metaphorical for a young generation's changes, but still.
* CrapsackWorld: The entire kingdom's population is bred to be the food for the dragon. Whether the example is [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] is debatable. On one hand, each person's everyday life is the same as in the real world; on the other, the fact that ''the entire population is bred as human sacrifices to an EldritchAbomination'' makes for a pretty convincing retort.
* DawnOfAnEra: How the story ends. With theDragon dragon dead, the Kingdom will need to reshape its society. However However, they now have time to do things right and the great specter that hung over them all is gone.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: The plot of the story. \n The dragon, long thought invincible, is slain by a breakthrough in fairly recent technology.
*DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything:
**DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The Dragon is a metaphor for death. It destroys an increasing number of people every year, those whose loved ones are taken away from it suffer immense anguish, and most accept it as natural and good until it comes for them.
* CrapsackWorld: The entire kingdom's population is bred to be the food for the dragon. Whether the example is [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] is debatable. On one hand, each person's everyday life is the same as in the real world; on the other, the fact that ''the entire population is bred as human sacrifices to an EldritchAbomination'' makes for a pretty convincing retort.
* DawnOfAnEra: How the story ends. With the
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: The plot of the story.
*
**
Changed line(s) 26 (click to see context) from:
* EldritchAbomination: The Dragon. It demanded human sacrifices since the early days of humanity, and for a long time everyone was too afraid to act against it.
to:
* EldritchAbomination: The Dragon. It demanded human sacrifices since the early days of humanity, and for a long time time, everyone was too afraid to act against it.
Changed line(s) 29 (click to see context) from:
* HopeSpringsEternal: Early attempts to slay the Dragon initially failed, so all but a few outliers gave up. However as technology improved a breakthrough was discovered allowed the Kingdom to kill the dragon.
to:
* HopeSpringsEternal: Early attempts to slay the Dragon initially failed, so all but a few outliers gave up. However However, as technology improved a breakthrough was discovered allowed the Kingdom to kill the dragon.
Changed line(s) 31,34 (click to see context) from:
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: The King orders the trains carrying the human sacrifices to continue to the bitter end, even after research to kill it has begun. When faced with choices that could save additional humans(first an early launch, then stopping the final train before the launch), he decides doing so isn't worth the risk that the missile would fail to hit it's target.
* MundaneMadeAwesome: For a final battle against the worst evil humanity has ever known, one would think [[OneHitKill one-hit killing]] it with one missile would be anti-climatic. However, the long build-up to that moment, combined with the description, make it far more awesome than some drawn-out battle.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When the Dragon is finally about to be slain, a man begs him to stop the last train because his father is on board. The King can not do this, as he does not want to risk the dragon stirring before it can be struck by the missile, but he deeply regrets that he didn't start the decades long research process sooner. He states that if he had started sooner then the man's father, along with many others, would have been spared.
* SadisticChoice: The King faced two of these. The first one was to either launch the dragon-killing missile at the earliest time (which, if failed, would force the kingdom to start the decades long process from scratch and cause a reprisal) or to delay so the missile can be tested first and any potential flaws can be found (during which time thousands more would die). He decides on option B. The second is when he's begged by someone to stop the final train before launch before the man's father could be eaten. The King opts against it because doing so would risk alerting the dragon and causing it to dodge the missile.
* MundaneMadeAwesome: For a final battle against the worst evil humanity has ever known, one would think [[OneHitKill one-hit killing]] it with one missile would be anti-climatic. However, the long build-up to that moment, combined with the description, make it far more awesome than some drawn-out battle.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When the Dragon is finally about to be slain, a man begs him to stop the last train because his father is on board. The King can not do this, as he does not want to risk the dragon stirring before it can be struck by the missile, but he deeply regrets that he didn't start the decades long research process sooner. He states that if he had started sooner then the man's father, along with many others, would have been spared.
* SadisticChoice: The King faced two of these. The first one was to either launch the dragon-killing missile at the earliest time (which, if failed, would force the kingdom to start the decades long process from scratch and cause a reprisal) or to delay so the missile can be tested first and any potential flaws can be found (during which time thousands more would die). He decides on option B. The second is when he's begged by someone to stop the final train before launch before the man's father could be eaten. The King opts against it because doing so would risk alerting the dragon and causing it to dodge the missile.
to:
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: The King orders the trains carrying the human sacrifices to continue to the bitter end, even after research to kill it has begun. When faced with choices that could save additional humans(first an early launch, then stopping the final train before the launch), he decides doing so isn't worth the risk that the missile would fail to hit it's its target.
* MundaneMadeAwesome: For a final battle against the worst evil humanity has ever known, one would think [[OneHitKill one-hit killing]] it with one missile would be anti-climatic. However, the long build-up to that moment, combined with the description,make makes it far more awesome than some drawn-out battle.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When the Dragon is finally about to be slain, a man begs him to stop the last train because his father is on board. The King can not do this, as he does not want to risk the dragon stirring before it can be struck by the missile, but he deeply regrets that he didn't start thedecades long decades-long research process sooner. He states that if he had started sooner then the man's father, along with many others, would have been spared.
* SadisticChoice: The King faced two of these. The first one was to either launch the dragon-killing missile at the earliest time (which, if failed, would force the kingdom to start thedecades long decades-long process from scratch and cause a reprisal) or to delay so the missile can be tested first and any potential flaws can be found (during which time thousands more would die). He decides on option B. The second is when he's begged by someone to stop the final train before launch before the man's father could be eaten. The King opts against it because doing so would risk alerting the dragon and causing it to dodge the missile.
* MundaneMadeAwesome: For a final battle against the worst evil humanity has ever known, one would think [[OneHitKill one-hit killing]] it with one missile would be anti-climatic. However, the long build-up to that moment, combined with the description,
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When the Dragon is finally about to be slain, a man begs him to stop the last train because his father is on board. The King can not do this, as he does not want to risk the dragon stirring before it can be struck by the missile, but he deeply regrets that he didn't start the
* SadisticChoice: The King faced two of these. The first one was to either launch the dragon-killing missile at the earliest time (which, if failed, would force the kingdom to start the
Changed line(s) 37 (click to see context) from:
* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: Double-subverted. Early on it is stated that the rich and powerful can avoid being fed to the dragon temporarily, but sooner or later all of them - the King included - will get fed. However eventually the King gets fed up with this and throws all his efforts behind a project to kill the Dragon.
to:
* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: Double-subverted. Early on it is stated that the rich and powerful can avoid being fed to the dragon temporarily, but sooner or later all of them - the King included - will get fed. However eventually However, eventually, the King gets fed up with this and throws all his efforts behind a project to kill the Dragon.
Changed line(s) 42 (click to see context) from:
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Deconstructed. This trope is described by the story as a coping mechanism because there was never a choice, and as a dangerous obstacle responsible for death and suffering now that living forever might be possible.
to:
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Deconstructed. This trope is described by the story as a coping mechanism because there was never a choice, choice and as a dangerous obstacle responsible for death and suffering now that living forever might be possible.
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Changed line(s) 43 (click to see context) from:
* YouAreWhatYouHate: The child at the public hearing who shouted "The Dragon is Bad" went on to be an official who ran the train that fed people to the Dragon, one of whom was his father.
to:
* YouAreWhatYouHate: The child at the public hearing who shouted "The Dragon is Bad" went on to be an official who ran the train that fed people to the Dragon, one of whom was his father.father.
----
----
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Changed line(s) 21 (click to see context) from:
* DawnOfAnEra: How the story ends. With the Dragon dead, the Kingdom will need to reshape it's society. However they now have time to do things right and the great specter that hung over them all is gone.
to:
* DawnOfAnEra: How the story ends. With the Dragon dead, the Kingdom will need to reshape it's its society. However they now have time to do things right and the great specter that hung over them all is gone.
Changed line(s) 25 (click to see context) from:
** While preparing the dragon-killing missile, the King promises to complete it before the decade is out. An obvious illusion to President Kennedy's moon landing promise.
to:
** While preparing the dragon-killing missile, the King promises to complete it before the decade is out. An obvious illusion allusion to President Kennedy's moon landing promise.
Changed line(s) 41 (click to see context) from:
--> Narrator: [[spoiler: "The ball of fire enveloped the launch pad and the missile shot out. The masses, the King, the low and the high, the young and the old - that white flame, shooting into the dark, embodied the human spirit, it's fear and it's hope. It struck the heart of evil."]]
to:
--> Narrator: [[spoiler: "The ball of fire enveloped the launch pad and the missile shot out. The masses, the King, the low and the high, the young and the old - that white flame, shooting into the dark, embodied the human spirit, it's fear and it's hope. It struck the heart of evil."]]"
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Changed line(s) 34 (click to see context) from:
* SadisticChoice: The King faced two of these. The first one was to either launch the dragon-killing missile at the earliest time (which, if failed, would force the kingdom to start the decades long process from scratch and cause a reprisal) or to delay so the missile can be tested first and any potential flaws can be found (during which time thousands more would die). He decides on option B
to:
* SadisticChoice: The King faced two of these. The first one was to either launch the dragon-killing missile at the earliest time (which, if failed, would force the kingdom to start the decades long process from scratch and cause a reprisal) or to delay so the missile can be tested first and any potential flaws can be found (during which time thousands more would die). He decides on option BB. The second is when he's begged by someone to stop the final train before launch before the man's father could be eaten. The King opts against it because doing so would risk alerting the dragon and causing it to dodge the missile.
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this works better as a Wham Line
Changed line(s) 10,11 (click to see context) from:
* BadassBoast: There are two of them.
** The King gives one at the end of the general meeting.
** The King gives one at the end of the general meeting.
to:
* BadassBoast: There are two of them.
**The King gives one at the end of the general meeting.
**
Deleted line(s) 13,14 (click to see context) :
** The narrator gives one during the Final Battle.
--> Narrator: [[spoiler: "The ball of fire enveloped the launch pad and the missile shot out. The masses, the King, the low and the high, the young and the old - that white flame, shooting into the dark, embodied the human spirit, it's fear and it's hope. It struck the heart of evil."]]
--> Narrator: [[spoiler: "The ball of fire enveloped the launch pad and the missile shot out. The masses, the King, the low and the high, the young and the old - that white flame, shooting into the dark, embodied the human spirit, it's fear and it's hope. It struck the heart of evil."]]
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* WhamLine: One comes near the end of the story.
--> Narrator: [[spoiler: "The ball of fire enveloped the launch pad and the missile shot out. The masses, the King, the low and the high, the young and the old - that white flame, shooting into the dark, embodied the human spirit, it's fear and it's hope. It struck the heart of evil."]]
--> Narrator: [[spoiler: "The ball of fire enveloped the launch pad and the missile shot out. The masses, the King, the low and the high, the young and the old - that white flame, shooting into the dark, embodied the human spirit, it's fear and it's hope. It struck the heart of evil."]]
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* BlueIsHeroic: Appears a few times.
** The mineral capable of piercing dragon scales, upon which the plan to kill the dragon hinged, is bright blue.
** The leading Dragonologist is first introduced wearing a blue sweater
** The child who says "The Dragon is Bad!", and who gets the ball rolling towards the plan to kill it, is also wearing blue.
** The mineral capable of piercing dragon scales, upon which the plan to kill the dragon hinged, is bright blue.
** The leading Dragonologist is first introduced wearing a blue sweater
** The child who says "The Dragon is Bad!", and who gets the ball rolling towards the plan to kill it, is also wearing blue.
Changed line(s) 34 (click to see context) from:
* ScienceHero: The scientists who developed a material that can pierce dragon scales and who later built the dragon-killing missile. They succeeded in slaying the beast where armored knights failed. Of special note is the leading Dragonologist, who pursued the killing of the dragon since it first became possible.
to:
* ScienceHero: The scientists who developed a material that can pierce dragon scales and who later built the dragon-killing missile. They succeeded in slaying the beast where armored knights failed. Of special note is the leading Dragonologist, who pursued the killing of the dragon since it first became possible.the earliest discovery of a mineral that can pierce dragon scales.
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Changed line(s) 34 (click to see context) from:
* ScienceHero: The scientists who developed a material that can pierce dragon scales and who later built the dragon-killing missle. They succeeded in slaying the beast where armored knights failed.
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* ScienceHero: The scientists who developed a material that can pierce dragon scales and who later built the dragon-killing missle.missile. They succeeded in slaying the beast where armored knights failed. Of special note is the leading Dragonologist, who pursued the killing of the dragon since it first became possible.
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* BrutalHonesty: At the open hearing, held to decide whether or not to kill the dragon, the leading Dragonologist did not downplay the risks of the plan or hype it up. Instead she described how her plan would work, how long it would need to be completed, and admitted that there was no guarantee. Her plan might have been rejected had it not been for the child in the hall who declared the dragon bad.
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* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The Dragon is a metaphor for death. It destroys an increasing number of people every year, those whose loved ones are taken away from it suffer immense anguish, and most accept it as natural and good until it comes for them.
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* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything:
** The Dragon is a metaphor for death. It destroys an increasing number of people every year, those whose loved ones are taken away from it suffer immense anguish, and most accept it as natural and good until it comes forthem.them.
** While preparing the dragon-killing missile, the King promises to complete it before the decade is out. An obvious illusion to President Kennedy's moon landing promise.
** The Dragon is a metaphor for death. It destroys an increasing number of people every year, those whose loved ones are taken away from it suffer immense anguish, and most accept it as natural and good until it comes for
** While preparing the dragon-killing missile, the King promises to complete it before the decade is out. An obvious illusion to President Kennedy's moon landing promise.
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* BadassBoast: There are two of them.
** The King gives one at the end of the general meeting.
--> King: "Let us kill the dragon!"
** The narrator gives one during the Final Battle.
--> Narrator: [[spoiler: "The ball of fire enveloped the launch pad and the missile shot out. The masses, the King, the low and the high, the young and the old - that white flame, shooting into the dark, embodied the human spirit, it's fear and it's hope. It struck the heart of evil."]]
** The King gives one at the end of the general meeting.
--> King: "Let us kill the dragon!"
** The narrator gives one during the Final Battle.
--> Narrator: [[spoiler: "The ball of fire enveloped the launch pad and the missile shot out. The masses, the King, the low and the high, the young and the old - that white flame, shooting into the dark, embodied the human spirit, it's fear and it's hope. It struck the heart of evil."]]
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* BittersweetEnding: The Dragon is slain and will never kill anyone ever again. But it is too late for those he already slew.
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* BittersweetEnding: The Dragon is slain and will never kill anyone ever again. But it is too late for those he already slew.devoured, and many died needlessly due to initial hesitation.
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* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The Dragon is a metaphor for death. It destroys an increasing number of people every year.
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* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: The plot of the story.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The Dragon is a metaphor for death. It destroys an increasing number of people everyyear.year, those whose loved ones are taken away from it suffer immense anguish, and most accept it as natural and good until it comes for them.
* EldritchAbomination: The Dragon. It demanded human sacrifices since the early days of humanity, and for a long time everyone was too afraid to act against it.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The Dragon is a metaphor for death. It destroys an increasing number of people every
* EldritchAbomination: The Dragon. It demanded human sacrifices since the early days of humanity, and for a long time everyone was too afraid to act against it.
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* MundaneMadeAwesome: For a final battle against the worst evil humanity has ever known, one would think [[OneHitKill one-hit killing]] it with one missile would be anti-climatic. However, the long build-up to that moment, combined with the description, make it far more awesome than some drawn-out battle.
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Changed line(s) 10 (click to see context) from:
* BeliefMakesYouStupid: Subverted. While the King's Chief Adviser for Morality calls it "presumptuous" to try and kill the dragon, and all but claims that it's "playing God", a Spiritual Sage (who is noted as being widely respected for his kindness and gentleness as well as for his devotion) encourages a child who calls the dragon bad. Further still, when the dragon-killing missile is finally launched several people - the King included - are praying.
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* BeliefMakesYouStupid: Subverted. While ZigZagged. Religion is, at first, depicted as just one more coping mechanism regarding the seemingly-invincible dragon, and the King's Chief Adviser for Morality calls it "presumptuous" to try and kill the dragon, and all but claims that it's "playing God", God". That said, a Spiritual Sage (who is noted as being widely respected for his kindness and gentleness as well as for his devotion) encourages a child who calls the dragon bad. Further still, when the dragon-killing missile is finally launched several people - the King included - are praying.
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* ConditionedToAcceptHorror: All of humanity has adapted to cope with the horror of the Dragon. That said, it wasn't very deep seated, since a few lines from a young child are all it takes to get the ball rolling for everyone to realize the true weight of the pain the Dragon has inflicted.
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Changed line(s) 3,4 (click to see context) from:
It can be read [[https://nickbostrom.com/fable/dragon.html here]]. An animated version, narrated by WebVideo/CGPGrey, can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZYNADOHhVY here]].
to:
It can be read [[https://nickbostrom.com/fable/dragon.html here]]. An animated animated(albeit truncated) version, narrated by WebVideo/CGPGrey, can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZYNADOHhVY here]].
* ChildrenAreInnocent: The socio-economic implications of killing the dragon, sited as a reason why it should continue to live, fly right over a young boy's head at the open hearing. All he knows is that it killed his grandmother, and this opens the floodgates that allow everyone to realize that any benefits the dragon grants aren't worth the massive cost.
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* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When the Dragon is finally about to be slain, a man begs him to stop the last train because his father is on board. The King can not do this, as he does not want to risk the dragon stirring before it can be struck by the missile, but he deeply regrets that he didn't start the decades long research process sooner. He states that if he had started sooner then the man's father, along with many others, would be dead.
* SadisticChoice: The King faced two of these. The first one was to either launch the dragon-killing missile at the earliest time (which, if failed, would force the kingdom to start the decades long process from scratch and cause a reprisal) or to delay so the missile can be tested first and any potential flaws can be found (during which time thousands more would die).
* SadisticChoice: The King faced two of these. The first one was to either launch the dragon-killing missile at the earliest time (which, if failed, would force the kingdom to start the decades long process from scratch and cause a reprisal) or to delay so the missile can be tested first and any potential flaws can be found (during which time thousands more would die).
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* IDidWhatIHadToDo: The King orders the trains carrying the human sacrifices to continue to the bitter end, even after research to kill it has begun. When faced with choices that could save additional humans(first an early launch, then stopping the final train before the launch), he decides doing so isn't worth the risk that the missile would fail to hit it's target.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When the Dragon is finally about to be slain, a man begs him to stop the last train because his father is on board. The King can not do this, as he does not want to risk the dragon stirring before it can be struck by the missile, but he deeply regrets that he didn't start the decades long research process sooner. He states that if he had started sooner then the man's father, along with many others, wouldbe dead.
have been spared.
* SadisticChoice: The King faced two of these. The first one was to either launch the dragon-killing missile at the earliest time (which, if failed, would force the kingdom to start the decades long process from scratch and cause a reprisal) or to delay so the missile can be tested first and any potential flaws can be found (during which time thousands more would die). He decides on option B
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When the Dragon is finally about to be slain, a man begs him to stop the last train because his father is on board. The King can not do this, as he does not want to risk the dragon stirring before it can be struck by the missile, but he deeply regrets that he didn't start the decades long research process sooner. He states that if he had started sooner then the man's father, along with many others, would
* SadisticChoice: The King faced two of these. The first one was to either launch the dragon-killing missile at the earliest time (which, if failed, would force the kingdom to start the decades long process from scratch and cause a reprisal) or to delay so the missile can be tested first and any potential flaws can be found (during which time thousands more would die). He decides on option B
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Added line(s) 9 (click to see context) :
* ArmorPiercingResponse: After two royal officials openly praise the dragon as an important part of society and the natural order, one boy in the crowd mentions that his grandma was killed by it. This gets other people to realize that, no, the dragon is not something they should put with for much longer.
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* ArmorPiercingStatement: When some villagers start praising the dragon as part of society, one boy in the crowd mentions that his daddy was killed by it. This gets other people to realize that, no, the dragon is not something they should put with for much longer.
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* BittersweetEnding: The Dragon is slain, but only after it has killed millions and left the survivors with trauma.
* DawnOfAnEra: How the story ends. With the Dragon dead, the Kingdom will need to reshape it's society. However they now have time to do things right.
* DawnOfAnEra: How the story ends. With the Dragon dead, the Kingdom will need to reshape it's society. However they now have time to do things right.
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* BittersweetEnding: The Dragon is slain, but only after it has killed millions slain and left the survivors with trauma.
will never kill anyone ever again. But it is too late for those he already slew.
* DawnOfAnEra: How the story ends. With the Dragon dead, the Kingdom will need to reshape it's society. However they now have time to do thingsright.right and the great specter that hung over them all is gone.
* DawnOfAnEra: How the story ends. With the Dragon dead, the Kingdom will need to reshape it's society. However they now have time to do things
* TheGoodKing: The King legitimately cares about the well-being of his people, and once it becomes clear how much they hate the dragon he throws all his power behind killing it.
* TheHeart: Once the King is convinced to support the dragon-killing efforts he helps by praising and encouraging the scientists as well as by donating money and liquidating some of his assets. He can not help directly as he lacks the expertise in that field.
* TheHeart: Once the King is convinced to support the dragon-killing efforts he helps by praising and encouraging the scientists as well as by donating money and liquidating some of his assets. He can not help directly as he lacks the expertise in that field.
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* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When the Dragon is finally about to be slain, a man begs him to stop the last train because his father is on board. The King can not do this, as he does not want to risk the dragon stirring before it can be struck by the missile, but he deeply regrets that he didn't start the decades long research process sooner.
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* HumanSacrifice: The people of the kingdom have to feed ten thousand humans to the dragon every day, or else he will take them by force. This number grows to hundreds of thousands per minute as the kingdom's population grew.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When the Dragon is finally about to be slain, a man begs him to stop the last train because his father is on board. The King can not do this, as he does not want to risk the dragon stirring before it can be struck by the missile, but he deeply regrets that he didn't start the decades long research process sooner. He states that if he had started sooner then the man's father, along with many others, would be dead.
* SadisticChoice: The King faced two of these. The first one was to either launch the dragon-killing missile at the earliest time (which, if failed, would force the kingdom to start the decades long process from scratch and cause a reprisal) or to delay so the missile can be tested first and any potential flaws can be found (during which time thousands more would die).
* ScienceHero: The scientists who developed a material that can pierce dragon scales and who later built the dragon-killing missle. They succeeded in slaying the beast where armored knights failed.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When the Dragon is finally about to be slain, a man begs him to stop the last train because his father is on board. The King can not do this, as he does not want to risk the dragon stirring before it can be struck by the missile, but he deeply regrets that he didn't start the decades long research process sooner. He states that if he had started sooner then the man's father, along with many others, would be dead.
* SadisticChoice: The King faced two of these. The first one was to either launch the dragon-killing missile at the earliest time (which, if failed, would force the kingdom to start the decades long process from scratch and cause a reprisal) or to delay so the missile can be tested first and any potential flaws can be found (during which time thousands more would die).
* ScienceHero: The scientists who developed a material that can pierce dragon scales and who later built the dragon-killing missle. They succeeded in slaying the beast where armored knights failed.
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* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Deconstructed. This trope is described by the story as a coping mechanism for when there was never a choice, and as a dangerous obstacle responsible for death now that living forever might be possible.
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* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Deconstructed. This trope is described by the story as a coping mechanism for when because there was never a choice, and as a dangerous obstacle responsible for death and suffering now that living forever might be possible.
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Added DiffLines:
* ArmorPiercingStatement: When some villagers start praising the dragon as part of society, one boy in the crowd mentions that his daddy was killed by it. This gets other people to realize that, no, the dragon is not something they should put with for much longer.
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Changed line(s) 9 (click to see context) from:
* BeliefMakesYouStupid: Subverted. While the King's Chief Adviser for Morality calls it "presumptuous" to try and kill the dragon, and all but claims that it's "playing God", a Spiritual Sage (who is noted as being widely respected for his kindness and gentleness as well as for his devotion) encourages a child who calls the dragon bad. This makes it clear that the acceptance of death isn't caused by religion.
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* BeliefMakesYouStupid: Subverted. While the King's Chief Adviser for Morality calls it "presumptuous" to try and kill the dragon, and all but claims that it's "playing God", a Spiritual Sage (who is noted as being widely respected for his kindness and gentleness as well as for his devotion) encourages a child who calls the dragon bad. This makes it clear that Further still, when the acceptance of death isn't caused by religion. dragon-killing missile is finally launched several people - the King included - are praying.
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Changed line(s) 1,2 (click to see context) from:
The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant is a short story written by Nick Bostrom. It follows a Kingdom whose people are regularly eaten by a tyrannical dragon, and how the people of that Kingdom rose up to slay it. [spoiler: The Dragon is a metaphor for Death.]
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The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant is a short story written by Nick Bostrom. It follows a Kingdom whose people are regularly eaten by a tyrannical dragon, and how the people of that Kingdom rose up to slay it. [spoiler: [[spoiler: The Dragon is a metaphor for Death.]
]]
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Changed line(s) 1,2 (click to see context) from:
The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant is a short story written by Nick Bostrom. It follows a Kingdom whose people are regularly eaten by a tyrannical dragon, and how the people of that Kingdom rose up to slay it. [SPOILER: The Dragon is a metaphor for Death.]
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The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant is a short story written by Nick Bostrom. It follows a Kingdom whose people are regularly eaten by a tyrannical dragon, and how the people of that Kingdom rose up to slay it. [SPOILER: [spoiler: The Dragon is a metaphor for Death.]
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Changed line(s) 1,2 (click to see context) from:
The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant is a short story written by Nick Bostrom. It follows a Kingdom whose people are regularly eaten by a tyrannical dragon, and how the people of that Kingdom rose up to slay it. [[SPOILER: The Dragon is a metaphor for Death.]]
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The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant is a short story written by Nick Bostrom. It follows a Kingdom whose people are regularly eaten by a tyrannical dragon, and how the people of that Kingdom rose up to slay it. [[SPOILER: [SPOILER: The Dragon is a metaphor for Death.]]
]
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creating page
Added DiffLines:
The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant is a short story written by Nick Bostrom. It follows a Kingdom whose people are regularly eaten by a tyrannical dragon, and how the people of that Kingdom rose up to slay it. [[SPOILER: The Dragon is a metaphor for Death.]]
It can be read [[https://nickbostrom.com/fable/dragon.html here]]. An animated version, narrated by WebVideo/CGPGrey, can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZYNADOHhVY here]].
----
!!Tropes:
* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: Everybody is happy that the Dragon is dead.
* BeliefMakesYouStupid: Subverted. While the King's Chief Adviser for Morality calls it "presumptuous" to try and kill the dragon, and all but claims that it's "playing God", a Spiritual Sage (who is noted as being widely respected for his kindness and gentleness as well as for his devotion) encourages a child who calls the dragon bad. This makes it clear that the acceptance of death isn't caused by religion.
* BittersweetEnding: The Dragon is slain, but only after it has killed millions and left the survivors with trauma.
* DawnOfAnEra: How the story ends. With the Dragon dead, the Kingdom will need to reshape it's society. However they now have time to do things right.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The Dragon is a metaphor for death. It destroys an increasing number of people every year.
* HopeSpringsEternal: Early attempts to slay the Dragon initially failed, so all but a few outliers gave up. However as technology improved a breakthrough was discovered allowed the Kingdom to kill the dragon.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When the Dragon is finally about to be slain, a man begs him to stop the last train because his father is on board. The King can not do this, as he does not want to risk the dragon stirring before it can be struck by the missile, but he deeply regrets that he didn't start the decades long research process sooner.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Subverted. While the wealthy can bribe the press-gangs for a time to avoid being eaten by the dragon, they can not do so inevitably.
* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: Double-subverted. Early on it is stated that the rich and powerful can avoid being fed to the dragon temporarily, but sooner or later all of them - the King included - will get fed. However eventually the King gets fed up with this and throws all his efforts behind a project to kill the Dragon.
* SkewedPriorities: Some of the King's advisers think the Dragon should be allowed to live because killing it would cause social unrest and destroy dragon-supporting industries. The King himself ignores anti-dragon petitions on two occasions to hunt much less menacing threats like Tigers and Snakes.
* TragicKeepsake: In the animated version, when reflecting on all those the Dragon killed, the King looks at a locket with a picture of a woman with a crown. The implication is that the woman, his wife or daughter, was among those eaten by the dragon.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Deconstructed. This trope is described by the story as a coping mechanism for when there was never a choice, and as a dangerous obstacle responsible for death now that living forever might be possible.
* YouAreWhatYouHate: The child at the public hearing who shouted "The Dragon is Bad" went on to be an official who ran the train that fed people to the Dragon, one of whom was his father.
It can be read [[https://nickbostrom.com/fable/dragon.html here]]. An animated version, narrated by WebVideo/CGPGrey, can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZYNADOHhVY here]].
----
!!Tropes:
* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: Everybody is happy that the Dragon is dead.
* BeliefMakesYouStupid: Subverted. While the King's Chief Adviser for Morality calls it "presumptuous" to try and kill the dragon, and all but claims that it's "playing God", a Spiritual Sage (who is noted as being widely respected for his kindness and gentleness as well as for his devotion) encourages a child who calls the dragon bad. This makes it clear that the acceptance of death isn't caused by religion.
* BittersweetEnding: The Dragon is slain, but only after it has killed millions and left the survivors with trauma.
* DawnOfAnEra: How the story ends. With the Dragon dead, the Kingdom will need to reshape it's society. However they now have time to do things right.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The Dragon is a metaphor for death. It destroys an increasing number of people every year.
* HopeSpringsEternal: Early attempts to slay the Dragon initially failed, so all but a few outliers gave up. However as technology improved a breakthrough was discovered allowed the Kingdom to kill the dragon.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When the Dragon is finally about to be slain, a man begs him to stop the last train because his father is on board. The King can not do this, as he does not want to risk the dragon stirring before it can be struck by the missile, but he deeply regrets that he didn't start the decades long research process sooner.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Subverted. While the wealthy can bribe the press-gangs for a time to avoid being eaten by the dragon, they can not do so inevitably.
* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: Double-subverted. Early on it is stated that the rich and powerful can avoid being fed to the dragon temporarily, but sooner or later all of them - the King included - will get fed. However eventually the King gets fed up with this and throws all his efforts behind a project to kill the Dragon.
* SkewedPriorities: Some of the King's advisers think the Dragon should be allowed to live because killing it would cause social unrest and destroy dragon-supporting industries. The King himself ignores anti-dragon petitions on two occasions to hunt much less menacing threats like Tigers and Snakes.
* TragicKeepsake: In the animated version, when reflecting on all those the Dragon killed, the King looks at a locket with a picture of a woman with a crown. The implication is that the woman, his wife or daughter, was among those eaten by the dragon.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Deconstructed. This trope is described by the story as a coping mechanism for when there was never a choice, and as a dangerous obstacle responsible for death now that living forever might be possible.
* YouAreWhatYouHate: The child at the public hearing who shouted "The Dragon is Bad" went on to be an official who ran the train that fed people to the Dragon, one of whom was his father.
