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Comic Strips
Garbage Man: Pardon me, sir, but I couldn't help noticing these equations in your garbage. I took the liberty of correcting a few quantum calculations.
Dilbert: Gosh. Why are you a garbage man?
Garbage Man: I think the question is "Why are you an engineer?"
Dilbert: Gosh. Why are you a garbage man?
Garbage Man: I think the question is "Why are you an engineer?"
—- Dilbert
Fan Works
"To make the cut, one must undergo strict training in Cooking, cleaning, groundskeeping, chauffeuring, serving, unarmed combat, armed combat, firearms, poisons, improvised weapons, Sailing, Driving, Piloting, Stealth, Infiltration, Assassination, Body Disposal, and First Aid."
— Harry describing to Draco how one becomes a Butler for the Hellsing Organization, Harry Potter and the Endless Night
Films - Live Action
Col. Trautman: You're the last of an elite group. Don't end it like this.
John Rambo: Back there I could fly a gunship. I could drive a tank. I was in charge of a million dollars of equipment. Back here I couldn't get a job PARKING CARS.
John Rambo: Back there I could fly a gunship. I could drive a tank. I was in charge of a million dollars of equipment. Back here I couldn't get a job PARKING CARS.
Dr. Ray Stanz: This is a major disgrace. Forget MIT or Stanford now. They wouldn't touch us with a 10-meter cattle prod.
Dr. Peter Venkman: You're always so concerned about your reputation. Einstein did his best stuff when he was working as a patent clerk.
Stanz: Do you know how much a patent clerk earns?!
Venkman: No!
Dr. Peter Venkman: You're always so concerned about your reputation. Einstein did his best stuff when he was working as a patent clerk.
Stanz: Do you know how much a patent clerk earns?!
Venkman: No!
Jordan Tate: You're not a cook.
Casey Ryback: Yeah, well... I also cook.
Casey Ryback: Yeah, well... I also cook.
—- Under Siege
Literature
Yerin: You say you're from the Blackflame Empire. Who are you?
Eithan: Young lady, I am the greatest janitor in all existence. I am the son of a janitor, last in a long line of janitors that stretch all the way back to the Sage of Brooms...and beyond!
Yerin: Janitors?
Eithan: Lest you think I'm speaking figuratively, let me clarify. My clan organizes the street sweepers in Blackflame City, we supervise sewer maintenance, we dig ditches and light lamps and sweep chimneys. "Dirty hands are a mark of pride," those are the words by which we live.
Lindon: [looking at Eithan's very rich robes] Please excuse me if I still seem... untrusting... but surely such a role does not fit your esteemed station. Do you perhaps mean that you keep the streets clean of crime, or you're a clan of assassins ridding an empire of the unworthy...
Eithan: I grew up in the sewers of Blackflame City, ankle-deep in what you might call "sludge."
Eithan: Young lady, I am the greatest janitor in all existence. I am the son of a janitor, last in a long line of janitors that stretch all the way back to the Sage of Brooms...and beyond!
Yerin: Janitors?
Eithan: Lest you think I'm speaking figuratively, let me clarify. My clan organizes the street sweepers in Blackflame City, we supervise sewer maintenance, we dig ditches and light lamps and sweep chimneys. "Dirty hands are a mark of pride," those are the words by which we live.
Lindon: [looking at Eithan's very rich robes] Please excuse me if I still seem... untrusting... but surely such a role does not fit your esteemed station. Do you perhaps mean that you keep the streets clean of crime, or you're a clan of assassins ridding an empire of the unworthy...
Eithan: I grew up in the sewers of Blackflame City, ankle-deep in what you might call "sludge."
— Cradle Series book 2: Soulsmith
A magician's house is expect to have certain peculiarities, but the most peculiar feature of Mr Norrell's house was, without a doubt, Childermass. In no other household in London was there any servant like him. One day he might be observed removing a dirty cup and wiping crumbs from a table like a common footman. The next day he would interrupt a room full of admirals, generals and noblemen to tell them in what particulars he considered them mistaken. Mr Norrell had once publicly reprimanded the Duke of Devonshire for speaking at the same time as Childermass.
The dojo master stood up. "Hold!" he commanded. "Do you not want to know the name of the man you are about to destroy?"
The fighter held his stance, glaring at Lu-Tze. "I don't need to know name of a sweeper," he said.
Lu-Tze rolled the cigarette into a skinny cylinder and winked at the angry man, which only stoked the anger.
"It is always wise to know the name of a sweeper, boy," said the dojo master. "And my question was not addressed to you."
The fighter held his stance, glaring at Lu-Tze. "I don't need to know name of a sweeper," he said.
Lu-Tze rolled the cigarette into a skinny cylinder and winked at the angry man, which only stoked the anger.
"It is always wise to know the name of a sweeper, boy," said the dojo master. "And my question was not addressed to you."
Live Action TV
Dean Pelton: Real Dean coming throu— (notices how spacious Laybourne's office is) Oh my goodness... Spacious? Vice Dean... Is this where Greendale's money is going?
Vice Dean Laybourne: More accurately, Dean, it's where Greendale's money comes from. (closes the office door with the push of a button under his desk) Our air conditioning program has a job placement rate five times higher than the rest of your school combined. Our alumni donations comprise 80% of your entire school's budget. And you want to know why we think we deserve AN ESPRESSO MACHINE?!
Dean Pelton: (panics) Well, I guess I didn't know! I—
Vice Dean Laybourne: And you never had to, Dean! You could have lived the rest of your life in blissful ignorance and died a happy pansexual imp! But you wanted to feel power this year... Well, now you are going to feel my power, as it surges downward from me straight through you, from nostril to rectum, now until the end of time. And that's... whassup.
Vice Dean Laybourne: More accurately, Dean, it's where Greendale's money comes from. (closes the office door with the push of a button under his desk) Our air conditioning program has a job placement rate five times higher than the rest of your school combined. Our alumni donations comprise 80% of your entire school's budget. And you want to know why we think we deserve AN ESPRESSO MACHINE?!
Dean Pelton: (panics) Well, I guess I didn't know! I—
Vice Dean Laybourne: And you never had to, Dean! You could have lived the rest of your life in blissful ignorance and died a happy pansexual imp! But you wanted to feel power this year... Well, now you are going to feel my power, as it surges downward from me straight through you, from nostril to rectum, now until the end of time. And that's... whassup.
— Community, "Biology 101"
Donna: Sick days. There aren't any. Hundreds of people working here and no one's sick. Not one hangover, man flu, sneaky little shopping trip, nothing. Not ever! They don't get ill.
Colonel Mace: ...That can't be right.
Donna: You've been checking out the building - should've been checking out the workforce.
Martha: I can see why he likes you. You are good.
Donna: Super temp!
Colonel Mace: ...That can't be right.
Donna: You've been checking out the building - should've been checking out the workforce.
Martha: I can see why he likes you. You are good.
Donna: Super temp!
— Doctor Who, "The Sontaran Stratagem"
Krax: But father, I am ready! I am ready! You saw for yourself. I was about to grab power!
Zek: You don't grab power. You accumulate it, quietly, without anyone noticing.
Krax: But, but, I don't understand...
Zek: The bar, you fool; that was the key! All those visitors stopping by on their way to and from the wormhole. You could have sat there quietly at your leisure and gathered up all the information you needed about the Gamma Quadrant.
Krax: But what about him?
Zek: You could have let him hold the sceptre, while you controlled everything from the shadows. And then, when everything was running smoothly, only then would you take over.
— Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, "The Nagus"
Picard: At the Academy, there is someone who meant a great deal to me. He has been there forever. You must get to know him; his name is Boothby. Tell him we were friends. When I was there, he helped me. Listen to him.
Wesley: What does he teach?
Picard: He's the groundskeeper.
— Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Final Mission"
McNulty: [Seeing a beat cop writing up a ticket on a parked car] What's the violation?
Officer Baker: Parking in a bus stop, expired registration.
McNulty: First class police work there, Baker.
Officer Baker: Yeah, well, this is the word we got from up on high. Straight from the 8th floor downtown. I know you think it's bullshit, but I spend my shift where they tell me.
McNulty: Baker, let me tell you a little secret. A patrolling officer on his beat is the one true dictatorship in America. We can do anything, we can lock a guy up on a petty charge, lock him up for real, or say "Fuck it, let's pull under the expressway and drink ourselves to death", and our side partners will cover it. So no one... and I mean no one tells us how to waste our shift.
Officer Baker: Parking in a bus stop, expired registration.
McNulty: First class police work there, Baker.
Officer Baker: Yeah, well, this is the word we got from up on high. Straight from the 8th floor downtown. I know you think it's bullshit, but I spend my shift where they tell me.
McNulty: Baker, let me tell you a little secret. A patrolling officer on his beat is the one true dictatorship in America. We can do anything, we can lock a guy up on a petty charge, lock him up for real, or say "Fuck it, let's pull under the expressway and drink ourselves to death", and our side partners will cover it. So no one... and I mean no one tells us how to waste our shift.
Coal Minister: I need all one hundred men to gather their equipments and get on the buses.
Glukhov: Do you? To where?
Coal Minister: That's classified.
Glukhov: [looks at the 2 armed soldiers accompanying the minister] ...Go ahead. Start shooting. You don't have enough bullets for all of us. Kill as many as you can, whoever's left over will beat the piss out of each of you.
Soldier: You can't talk to us like...
Glukhov: Shut the fuck up! This is Tula. This is our mine. We don't leave unless you tell me why.
Coal Minister: You're going to Chernobyl.
Glukhov: Do you? To where?
Coal Minister: That's classified.
Glukhov: [looks at the 2 armed soldiers accompanying the minister] ...Go ahead. Start shooting. You don't have enough bullets for all of us. Kill as many as you can, whoever's left over will beat the piss out of each of you.
Soldier: You can't talk to us like...
Glukhov: Shut the fuck up! This is Tula. This is our mine. We don't leave unless you tell me why.
Coal Minister: You're going to Chernobyl.
Tabletop Games
The men and women who actually run Endron are well-hidden. They have titles like "Senior Advisor on Energy Exploration," and "Assistant Financial Officer." They have offices in Endron HQ, but not corner offices. They make a fair bit of money, but not an ostentatious amount - at least, not in any way that can be traced or taxed. They are scattered throughout the corporate structure with seemingly no rhyme and no reason, though there is not a department or operation to which they don't have some connection. Most have plaques on their office walls thanking them for 10 or 15 or 25 years of service to Endron, and their workspaces are generally so banal as to arouse no comment, no suspicion and no interest.
That's exactly how They want it: Hidden in Plain Sight, they are effectively invisible. After all, they seem to have no power, no ambition and no say. It is only the very keenest of observers who will note that the head of R&D seems to stop by that one accountant's one office more than would seem necessary, or that certain upper-mid-level executives always seem to have lunch just before a major policy shift is made. If an observer of this sort keeps his head down and his eyes open, he may be approached to become one of Them. If he talks, or tries to raise suspicions, or even lets on that he knows, he vanishes.
That's the way They work.
— Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Subsidiaries: A Guide To Pentex
Video Games
You are ushered into a closed meeting with the Fraught General Manager and his Prudent Secretary. In it, you offer several pieces of strategic advice that would increase Her Majesty's prospects in the region. When you have done so, the Manager casts a glance at his Secretary, who nods. "Of course, of course," the Manager says, hurriedly. "We'll ensure this reaches the proper ears back home."
Fourth squad leader of the Vespers, the Arquebus Group's augmented human squad.
Discovered through the recruitment program operated by Schneider, an Arquebus affiliate, Rusty so quickly distinguished himself that he was selected to join the upper echelons of Vespers in less than half a year.
Rusty received augmentation surgery prior to joining the Vespers, and though the precise details are unclear, he has declared himself to be of the eighth generation.
Discovered through the recruitment program operated by Schneider, an Arquebus affiliate, Rusty so quickly distinguished himself that he was selected to join the upper echelons of Vespers in less than half a year.
Rusty received augmentation surgery prior to joining the Vespers, and though the precise details are unclear, he has declared himself to be of the eighth generation.
— V.IV Rusty's Arena Profile, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
Web Original
The essential premise of the film Ghostbusters, when you get down to it, is that three upper middle class academics have to slum it in a working class job like exterminators. Yes, it layers all sorts of wacky paranormal goofiness onto that, but at the end of the day, that's what it's about — the absurdity of working class paranormal experts.
I bet a higher percentage of janitors survive this mess more than any other type of employee. If they were holding a mop, they already had a weapon in their hands; they know the entire building; and they have the keys to everything.
—- Gordon Freeman, Freeman's Mind
"The real eldritch horror is the butler we found along the way."
Real Life
"In my army. You'd work for me."
—- British NCO to visiting Soviet Colonel, Berlin 1985
"I've a friend who's a janitor. He knows a lot of dirt."
— Overheard in an IRC channel
