Star Trek's Doomsday Machine tears planets apart and consumes them for fuel. A ship's crew seeks safety by beaming down to a planet, only for the machine to consume it. The weapon continues operating without its original controllers, leaving the means of stopping it unclear. Lost crews, vanished builders, and attacks on its creators' own worlds are possible explanations considered here. Giving an uncrewed system this much destructive power protects operators from being aboard but creates a serious control problem if they lose contact with it.
Chapter · 35:47-42:13
Can the Doomsday Machine be stopped?
A planet-eating machine raises the problem of control after its makers or crew are gone.