In the Penal Colony Lesson Plan

It would presumably have been easy for the officer to have finished executing the condemned man and then kill himself. So, why did he liberate the man instead?

One might suppose that this shows compassion in the officer's heart, but it's more plausible that it teaches us something about how he views the explorer. He genuinely believes that the explorer—whether because of his homeland, his education, or something else—is able to determine what's just and unjust. Thus, when the explorer refuses to help the officer and endorse the machine, the officer immediately believes that his punishment of the condemned man is no longer just; so, he feels compelled to free the man.

When...