Self-destruct
Encyclopedia : S : SE : SEL : Self-destruct
A self-destruct is a mechanism which causes a device to destroy itself under a predefined set of circumstances. Self-destruct mechanisms are sometimes found in high security data storage devices, where it is important for the data to be annihilated in emergencies.
Self-destruct mechanisms are also found on devices and systems, the malfunction of which could endanger large numbers of people. The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster rockets, for example, are wired with explosives so that the boosters can be destroyed in the event that it loses control on launch and heads towards a populated area. This feature can be seen in videos of the Challenger explosion. After the initial disintegration of the shuttle, the two solid rocket pods continue flying out of control until they explode simultaneously several seconds later. This occurred when the Range Safety Officer decided that the separated engines had the potential to endanger those on the ground and detonated the self-destruct system.
The Naval procedure of scuttling is used to 'destroy' a ship, or ships to prevent them being seized and/or reverse engineered.
Use in fiction
Self-destruct mechanisms are an extremely common plot device in science fiction stories. So common, in fact, that it has become a true cliché, or a weak plot device. Especially prominent is the self-destruction of a military installation, a spaceship or the theme of an artificial intelligence destroying itself due to cognitive dissonance (see Does not compute).Rather unsurprisingly, they were frequently used as a mode of plot development in the Star Trek series. On Federation starships, an auto-destruct mechanism is available. This option is open to the senior officers on the starship in case the starship falls into enemy hands or becomes unworkable for some reason. It was also used as a form of kamikaze weapon, turning the starship into a powerful bomb. It usually had a time delay, so that crew could escape via the escape pods.
Examples of self-destruct in fiction:
- The final mission in the game involves the player purposely sabotaging the Pillar of Autumn's engines so it will self-destruct and destroy Halo
- (episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield")
- Alien
- Resident Evil video games (where practically every game ends with one)
- Spaceballs (Almost averted except for an out of order override switch. Upon discovering this, the character of Colonel Sandruz yelled, "Out of order!?", followed by Dark Helmet who exclaimed "Fuck! Even in the future nothing works!")
- ("I didn't hit it that hard- it must have had a self-destruct" - Han Solo, after having shot an Imperial Probe Droid on Hoth)
- Predator
- ("This tape will self-destruct in ten seconds.". In M:I2, the tape is replaced with sophisticated sunglasses, which will self-destruct in the same manner)
- Metroid series games usually envolve a scene escaping from a place going to self-destruct. In Super Metroid, there are two scenes, involving a space station and an entire planet
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Alpha 5 activating his self-destruct program to save himself from Primator)
- Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, where Heero Yuy detonates his gundam each time he fails a mission.
- Stargate SG-1 Television Series (where Cheyenne Mountain is equipped with a bomb)
- In the Bond film For Your Eyes Only a form of Self Destruct is used to destroy ATAC, a coding machine used by the British Government.
- James Bond's Aston Martin is fitted with a self destruct mechanism.
- The crew of the Minbari war cruiser Trigati in the Babylon 5 episode Points of Departure destroyed their vessel rather than surrender to another Minbari war cruiser demanding their surrender.
See also
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.