Origins: In addition to their technology and artwork, the people of Shawken (called Shawkenese) had always been revered for their study of philosophy. According to legend, one of their greatest scientists was also an advocate of nihilism. This ancestor believed that once something had gone wrong, there could be no correcting it. The only solution to a problem was to destroy everything and start again. To this end, an incredibly powerful device was created deep inside the planet that could destroy Shawken, and send its fiery core traveling toward other worlds like a really impressive billiards break.
Plausible Non-Draconian Reason to Keep It Around: None whatsoever. They were nihilists. I mean, say what you will about the tenets of the Galactic Empire, at least it's an ethos.
Considerably Less Effective Name: It doesn't even have a name.
Achilles Heel: In the original story, the Shawkenese describe the nihilist's weapon as causing planetary cores to travel at sublight speeds. Now assuming he didn't misspeak (intending to say supralight speeds), then it would take millions of billions of trillions of years to destroy all the planets. Don't lose any sleep over this.
Further Reading: This story can be found in issue #87 of the Marvel Comics run, reprinted in Volume 6 of Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars: A Long Time Ago...
