Probably the last man who knew how it worked had been tortured to death years before. Or as soon as it was installed. Killing the creator was a traditional method of patent protection. A specialized version of the Reset Button : Any dangerous device or technology owned by a villain, particularly a supervillain of the James Bond mode, that is not off-the-shelf exists in a metaphorical vacuum.
There is only one of it, there are no plans or schematics for it, and no earlier generations of development exist. In the case of expensive and rushed projects, the final project might have been made by cannibalizing parts of the prototype, or might actually be the prototype after a whole lot of upgrades and patches. Either way, no backup copies exist at all of either the device's hardware or software.
Thus the hero may safely blow it up, blast it with EMP or otherwise render it useless, confident that no one can recreate the technology β or worse, just take version 0. This trope also applies to creations that, through some fluke of their creation, cannot be replicated for a variety of reasons. Maybe the first attempt was tainted during creation , or maybe a talented composer dies before they can record their techniques.
Once the original is lost, it's gone forever. Note that in the real world, scientists and engineers make and keep very detailed notes β this is often what differentiates Science from Mad Science. Mad Science is magic-like in how it can inexplicably summon up something that its own creator doesn't quite understand. Or, this trope is unnecessary if the creation could be replicated but only the original can be used in time to affect the story One variant is when the creator intentionally invokes this.
(mh=jT8dJILKXfgllRNC)0.jpg "SEX AGENCY in Locarno")
Perhaps a sympathetic researcher becomes remorseful after seeing the danger of the device they've wrought, and burns or sabotages their notes , or asks Our Heroes to blow up the factory that made it.
