The Reluctant Weapon
The Reluctant Weapon
Free DownloadA live weapon is a downright liability ... it's all too apt to get qualms of conscience!
Book Excerpt
stood up and walked to the packing cases the Hovans had left. All but one contained the synthetic food product to which he had grown accustomed in his five years of captivity. The other box, rather small, contained a shredded vegetable which served him as a poor substitute for chewing tobacco. Purple when growing, the leaves of this vegetable were blue-black when cured, making his frequent expectorations look like ink.
"Filthy damn stuff!" he grunted, stuffing several handfuls in an empty overall pocket.
He shuffled down to the brook and tested its temperature with a hand. Finding it rather cold, he decided against taking a bath. Instead, he spat into it and watched meditatively as the spot of black was carried downstream. "I wonder what they turned me loose for," he monologued.
Careful to avoid the spot where the Weapon appeared to have gone, he returned to the food supply and ate. By then it was getting dark, and he bedded down for the night on some thick grass under a tree.
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A sentient killing machine malfunctions and is left behind during an interplanetary war. The machine survives the war, and outlives the empires fighting it. It is inherited by the next empire to come along, but it still malfunctions: it insists on good reasons for killing, rather than just following orders. So the empire gives the weapon a sample of its latest enemy to learn to hate: a farmer from Tennessee.
An amusing story, with the most sympathetic character being the killing machine.
An amusing story, with the most sympathetic character being the killing machine.
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FEATURED AUTHOR - Art Blegen is the author of “The Adventures of Kris”, a series of early middle-grade chapter books for young readers from six to ten years old. Each child is important, and each family matters to Art. He is an advocate for educating children and their parents to ensure they have a healthy balance of positive examples in their lives. Wholesome stories and a healthy imagination can lay the foundation they will use for the rest of their lives. Whether playing with his grandchildren or coaching… Read more