The Reluctant Weapon

"The Reluctant Weapon" by Howard L. Myers is a science fiction story from the 1950s, telling of Sentient Killer No. VT672, a thinking weapon abandoned by the Zoz Horde on a faraway planet. This weapon, capable of causing huge damage, struggles with what it was made for and its own sense of right and wrong, showing how complicated power and morality can be together. When Tresqu of Hova finds out that humans on Earth have captured a decontaminator ship that threats his empire, he looks for help from the reluctant weapon, even though it doesn't want to destroy things again. Tresqu brings a human named Jacob to communicate with the weapon, hoping Jacob's bad nature will make the weapon want to wipe out mankind. But as time passes, the weapon changes, knowing that destroying things without a reason is pointless, and becomes friends with Jacob. In the end, the weapon decides to recommit to its purpose, destroying the Hovan planets and starting a journey to be with its old masters, leaving readers to think about whether its actions were right and what power really means.