History Main / TheWorldIsNotReady

** Well, [[HumansAreBastards Batman]] is not the guy to turn to if you expect an optimistic view of humanity's self-control.
** And let's be fair; with the precedent set with the comics, a wi-fi hacking device would be severely and dangerously abuse-able.

* Subverted in the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' series. The Yeerks needed to keep their invasion secret because if humanity knew about it, they would overwhelm the invasion by sheer numbers. As Visser One once put it, "6 billion humans, all firing one bullet, missing almost 100 percent of the time, would wipe out the entire invasion." The Animorphs needed to keep their identities secret because if the Yeerks knew they were human, they could find them. Averted at the end of the series when the Big Bad of the series becomes Visser One and does take the invasion public-and almost wins.

* ''[[Series/BabylonFive Babylon 5]]'': "Deathwalker" A notorious Dilgar war criminal has a medication that will give a person immortality. She later sadistically reveals that the essential components [[PoweredByAForsakenChild come from other beings of sapient species]]. Thus she intends to throw the various civilizations into murderous chaos in revenge. However, just as she is transported to Earth to give her medication and carry out her revenge, a Vorlon ship suddenly appears and destroys her ship, her and her medication. When the Vorlon ambassador, Kosh, is asked why that was done, he simply responds "[[YouSuck You are not ready for immortality]]" and given the threat of the villain's scheme, it was apparently a good call.
** Except it also denied everyone the opportunity to study the process and do research that could have ''eliminated'' that flaw. And considering how the Vorlons ended up treating the younger races, it's more a case of "we don't want you to have what makes ''us'' special."
*** Debatable. Most people wouldn't be that willing to wait and have the years slip them by when there's a potential source of immortality right there. It should also be noted that the Vorlon's have seen things like that happen before. And end badly... To be rather polite about according to the back story.
**** Years slip by to develop what? Cloning and recycling the dead...20th century technology.
** Also the common excuse for the Minbari not to reveal why they surrendered at the battle of the line. Or that Valen was in fact [[spoiler:Jeffrey Sinclair.]]
*** Actually, that excuse was more for the benefit of ''their own people''. Humans would have dismissed the revelation as meaningless Minbari mysticism. It was the devastating consequences for the insular (and frankly quite racist) Minbari society that the Gray Council was worried about.

* ''[[Series/BabylonFive Babylon 5]]'': "Deathwalker" A notorious Dilgar war criminal has an medication that will give a person immortality. She later sadistically reveals that the essential components [[PoweredByAForsakenChild come from other beings of sapient species]]. Thus she intends to throw the various civilizations into murderous chaos in revenge. However, just as she is transported to Earth to give her medication and carry out her revenge, a Vorlon ship suddenly appears and destroys her ship, her and her medication. When the Vorlon ambassador, Kosh, is asked why that was done, he simply responds "[[YouSuck You are not ready for immortality]]" and given the threat of the villain's scheme, it was apparently a good call.

* In OrsonScottCard's ''[[EndersGame Speaker for the Dead]]'' the laws of Starways Congress about contact between the new alien life reflect this trope. Originally the laws were passed to "Preserve the natural culture of the Pequeniños" but it's later realized that the laws are actually there so humans can stay on top of the technological race between species. So that when the Piggies actually can build a starship, and colonize other planets, they'll find that humans have already been there, done that.

* In the first book of the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series, Hagrid answers Harry's question about this with: "Everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems." (Hmm, [[DoubleStandard is it still okay]] for ''wizards'' to acquire those magic solutions from other wizards? Right then.) The question is never raised again for the rest of the books.
** By 'magic solutions' Hagrid means that humanity would want things like love, or wealth, or immortality. Wizards have outlawed the creation of all of those things, for good reasons (breaking the global economy, immortality ending up in the wrong hands...) and in most cases, using magic to synthesize 'what truly matters' is ''impossible.'' (No spell can transmute objects into food, for example.) Wizards would not be able to give these things, and humanity would grow angry at them and suspect they were hiding the secrets of how to do so. We see the effects of one so-called 'love potion' in the series, and it is basically DateRape by another name. The last guy who tried to become immortal did so by murdering innocent people. (Killing spells in this series are cheaper than any gun.) The wizard population has enough of these problems already without factoring the desires of eight billion people into the equation- people who would be entirely uneducated about magic, and ignorant of the very real dangers associated with it.
** It is true, though, that magic is the only real defence against supernatural predators, some of which prey on humans. (An entire branch of the Ministry is devoting to keeping said predators from breaking TheMasquerade.) [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And it makes the housework a lot easier.]]

** If the Muggles find out that the Wizarding World has been living among them in secret for centuries, they are going to be scared and really PISSED OFF.
** And even if the Ministry manages to censor dangerous information about magic from ''their'' interactions with humankind, at least some of the latter would be able to buy information and weaponry from the former's black markets. Exactly how long would it take for [[NoDelaysForTheWicked unscrupulous wizards]] to start up illegal trade with Muggles?

*** The seventh book clearly states that the English Prime Minister, for one, has had TheMasquerade revealed to him. This implies that other world leaders are also kept informed of the wizarding world.

* In WesternAnimation/MenInBlack the series the above explanation is the reason MiB stores so much alien hardware, the public is just not ready for it.

-->'''Agent K:''' A ''person'' is smart, ''people'' are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it. 1500 years ago, everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. 500 years ago, everyone knew the Earth was flat, and 15 minutes ago, you knew that people were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow...

* Subverted in ''{{Transformers}}: Cybertron''. Optimus Prime refuses to throw off the masquerade and join with the Autobots, even in the midst of a full-out Decepticon attack on Earth, thinking that humanity would feel betrayed when they found out alien robots had been hiding among them. Not so, it turns out. The [[TheMenInBlack Men in Black]] types that had earlier seemed threatening turn out to be a force for good, and play a role in turning the tide. It's a warm fuzzy moment for everyone but the Decepticons.

-->'''James:''' Why the big secret? People are smart, they can handle it.

* Justification for [[{{Thunderbirds}} International Rescue]] keeping their technology to themselves.

* The ''{{Paradise}}'' setting involves a {{Masquerade}} brought about by some unknown cause randomly, permanently transforming humans into (possibly [[GenderBender gender-changed]]) {{Funny Animal}}s in a way that is InvisibleToNormals. Early on, characters opt to continue the Masquerade rather than trying to break it because there are too few of them yet for the world to take seriously.

* In ''[[VideoGame/{{STALKER}} STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl]], this is the reason that [[spoiler: you are given for the true origin of the Zone being kept a secret by the C-Consciousness.]]

* Brutally deconstructed in the comic series ''{{Planetary}}'', in which an evil version of the Franchise/FantasticFour shows what happens when less than noble people use this excuse. They only claim the world isn't ready for technology so they can keep it all to themselves. They also actively kill and suppress anyone who tries to oust their secrets and take any super discoveries for "safe keeping".

* Appears to possibly a major theme in the upcoming ''Film/ManOfSteel'' take on the {{Superman}} mythos. Current trailers and teasers indicate this being part of what his adoptive father was trying to impart.

* In ''[[AlanDeanFoster Quozl]]'', stranded alien rabbit-people conclude that TheWorldIsNotReady for them to reveal their presence, so set about ''getting'' the world ready by working with human Secret Keepers to produce a children's television series about stranded (and harmless!) alien rabbit-people.

Increasingly subverted when it turns out that TheWorldIsNotReady is just the official line -- really, the people making the call just [[JerkAss don't want to share]]... and will [[KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade kill to keep their toys]].

See also {{Masquerade}}. Compare to YouAreNotReady, where its the protagonist trying to acquire something that can help them and only to be denied access for this reason. See also ScienceIsBad where new technology is held back out of fear of misuse. Contrast with JustThinkOfThePotential when someone ''wants'' to expose what they've seen for the benefit of the world (and perhaps, naively failing to think of malicious potentials). Supertrope to AlienNonInterferenceClause

The technologically-advanced global defense organization of the series [[ReedRichardsIsUseless won't have a massive impact]] on the day-to-day lives of all the [[{{Muggles}} mundanes]], because they refuse to release any of their technology to the general public. They think [[HumansAreBastards people are bastards]] who will abuse the technology for war and profit once given access, or {{Luddite}}s who will riot as soon as their incredible technology is unveiled, or just selfish pigs who all want to get their grubby hands on the shiny new tech (often to the exclusion of others). And of course, the very idea of letting the ''[[CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority government]]'' get its hands on it is ''unthinkable''.

Perennial excuse for why the big world-altering [[{{Masquerade}} secret subculture]] of the series [[ReedRichardsIsUseless hasn't had a massive impact]] on the day-to-day lives of all the [[{{Muggles}} mundanes]]. This is usually done to engage WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief and to ensure PlausibleDeniability.

When it comes to advanced technology, the excuse is that HumansAreBastards and will misuse the technology once given access. (Other excuses is that people often fear [[NewTechnologyIsEvil anything new]] or everyone will demand access to the technology, usually to the exclusion of others.) And naturally letting the ''[[CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority government]]'' get its hands on it is unthinkable.