Hero From Yesterday

"Hero From Yesterday" by Randall Garrett and Robert Silverberg is a science fiction novella written in the mid-20th century. The story revolves around themes of morality and violence, exploring how a seemingly peaceful society copes with the emergence of a ruthless criminal from their past. The narrative illustrates the stark contrast between the violent inclinations of a bygone era and the pacifism that characterizes the future society. The plot follows Domnas Karson and Murgon Darell, two speakers of a peaceful government, who, faced with the oppressive criminal Lugert, decide to retrieve a "hero" from the past using a time-net technology. They enlist the help of Jack, a man from the 20th century, who embodies the violent ethos of his time. Jack is hired to eliminate Lugert, and after a tense and swift encounter, he successfully carries out the task. As he returns to his own time with his reward, Jack reflects on the peculiar honor attributed to him by the future society, all while acknowledging the motivations that align him more closely with Lugert than the peaceful populace he has saved. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Gordon Randall Phillip David Garrett was an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was a contributor to Astounding and other science fiction magazines of the 1950s and 1960s. He instructed Robert Silverberg in the techniques of selling large quantities of action-adventure science fiction, and collaborated with him on two novels about men from Earth disrupting a peaceful agrarian civilization on an alien planet.