Initial commit of ebook 77317 filesHEADmain

7 files changed, 1146 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6833f05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+* text=auto
+*.txt text
+*.md text
diff --git a/77317-0.txt b/77317-0.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..38a9738
--- /dev/null
+++ b/77317-0.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,396 @@
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 77317 ***
+
+
+
+
+                                Justice
+
+                            by J. F. Hutton
+
+
+  Urs’ sword was not designed for a Briton’s pleasure. But to a kingly
+  man Time has no boundary.
+
+  _There are historical figures so resplendent in their legendary
+  permanence that no one age can truly claim them. Their deeds ring out
+  across history, for youth must eternally respond to a clarion call
+  which Time’s tyranny will never silence. Give ear, then, as J. F.
+  Hutton evokes from the past a marvel as mysterious as the time travel
+  paradox at the core of this amazing story_.
+
+
+
+
+As Urs stood facing the System Policy Board, his young face mirrored an
+incredible confidence which gave no hint of the tormenting uncertainty
+within him. Few of the billions watching on life-view screens suspected
+the effort it cost him to remain outwardly poised and self-reliant.
+
+For this was no departmental board, judging small matters of
+discipline. This was the big one. Much more than the welfare of one
+individual was involved in any matter that came before it. It was the
+ultimate court. And it was motivated by one principle--absolute justice.
+
+Before he had been summoned, Urs had spent a half hour with the
+director of the Time Traveler’s Bureau. They hadn’t talked much, after
+the director’s opening words of reassurance.
+
+“Urs, all of us know we’re doing the best we can under difficult
+conditions. We’ve managed to keep our problems to ourselves, so far.
+Now that’s over. We’re not blaming you. It could have happened to any
+of us. We’ll just have to consider it a bad break, and hope for the
+best.”
+
+Now the director and dozens of Urs’ colleagues were watching, in silent
+anxiety. They were sweating it out with him, reminding themselves that
+any one of them could just as well be on trial instead.
+
+The white-haired chairman of the Policy Board stirred in his recliner.
+“Third Level Time Explorer Urs, you are charged with breaking System
+Policy Rule number 86, Subhead C, of the General Code of Time Travel:
+‘No visitor to a previous time shall in any way allow the knowledge or
+techniques of the future to become a part of that preceding culture.’
+
+“You learned this rule in the first week of your preliminary training.
+It has been periodically reviewed in your refresher courses since. And
+you received special indoctrination before each of your trips.”
+
+Standing tall and straight in his sky-blue uniform, Urs could only nod.
+
+The five other members of the Board steadily regarded the young man
+before them. Their gazes held neither censure nor sympathy. They were
+of the same stamp as the chairman--pale, professional weighers of
+evidence.
+
+The chairman continued, “Specifically, you entered a primitive
+society on the planet Earth in a region known as Great Britain. Your
+project was to gather data for a culture-graph, in conformity with
+the continuing study of a pattern which originated in that area and
+subsequently profoundly affected Earth and her satellites.
+
+“An experienced Time Traveler, you had the customary
+indoctrination--costume, mores, language, comprehension levels, and so
+on. Your equipment was made in accordance with careful specifications
+in the duplicating shops.”
+
+Urs spoke for the first time. To his surprise, his voice came out
+strong and clear. “May I request, sir, that the record show that one
+item of equipment was wrongly made? The wand. Instead of the crude
+metal of the time I visited, it was made of our alloy, impregnium.”
+
+“That fact has been noted,” the chairman said gravely. He glanced
+around at his colleagues. “There was an acknowledged error in the
+shops. The situation has been corrected.”
+
+“Thank you.”
+
+You never argued with the System Policy Board. You thought very
+carefully before you even asked a question. Mostly, you just listened
+respectfully, even when they were methodically destroying you. For
+the Board was incorruptible. It was as nearly infallible as a human
+institution could be. It represented something man had sought for
+ages--completely impartial justice.
+
+There was a kind of inevitability in such trials which--tedious though
+some of them were--never failed to attract enthralled watchers all over
+the galaxy. And none had ever watched more tensely than the silent
+men in blue uniforms before the big life screen at the Time Traveler’s
+Bureau.
+
+The chairman’s old eyes lingered on Urs. “You are held responsible here
+only for your actions in the region called Great Britain. The error you
+mentioned, however, is pertinent to this inquiry. We have carefully
+examined your personal experience tapes. They reveal you were aware of
+the mistake in the metal in time to take corrective action before the
+rule was broken. This you failed to do.”
+
+In spite of his effort at self-control, Urs trembled. He suddenly
+wanted to drown out those slow, logical phrases, to shout, “When did
+any of you ever travel in time? You sit here in the splendor of your
+logic--mental and physical light-years away from the event. You can’t
+conceive how crude and disorganized those days were. Do you think
+it’s easy to enter a world like that? It takes all the skill and care
+and self-discipline you can command. And no man who ever lived could
+exercise the control the manuals call for.
+
+“If you only knew what really goes on in time exploration! You
+_think_ you do. You read the manuals, you examine the rules of
+policy, you see the personal experience tapes we turn in. But did you
+know that most of the time we manage to doctor those tapes, to protect
+ourselves?
+
+“Ah, if you only knew....”
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Wearing light armor, Urs had been riding on a lonely trail. In that
+time, in that place, it was a risky business--even for an Explorer. And
+his luck ran out. Brigands caught up with him, charging on their wiry,
+tangle-haired horses.
+
+Urs whacked his own mount and tried to outrun them. Screeching, they
+chased him over gullies and ravines, through dense scrub and under oaks
+that threatened to sweep him out of the saddle. But gradually, they
+gained on him.
+
+For you can study the riding of horses. You can practice faithfully on
+tire test models. But you’ll never learn how difficult it really is
+till you have a living, snorting beast lunging unpredictably between
+your legs.
+
+Inevitably, Urs fell off his horse. With the shouts of the brigands
+loud in his ears, with arrows plunking into the sod around him, he
+dived down a steep, grassy slope. Then he jumped up and ran, twisting
+and dodging among trees and rocks. In one hand he carried the shining
+wand that in England in those days was called a “sword.”
+
+Three of the robbers had left their horses to chase him on foot. The
+other three circled around to head him off. Halfway down the hill, Urs
+lost his footing and slid again. Flailing his arms, he fell against a
+great boulder. His wand, carried forward by his weight, plunged into
+the rock.
+
+At the moment, Urs was too busy dodging the arrows and regaining his
+balance to realize what that meant. The men pounced on him. One held
+his arms, while another caught him around the neck from behind.
+
+The third man gave a great startled cry. Eyes wide, bristly face
+twitching, he pointed one skinny arm at the rock. His companions
+looked, gasped, and let go of Urs. They stood transfixed, showing all
+the signs of men half-scared to death.
+
+The other three, hearing the first exultant shouts, had dismounted and
+were hurrying up. They saw the rock, with the sword buried in it nearly
+to the hilt. They stopped dead, turned pale, and began to tremble.
+
+Urs was understandably mystified by this abrupt change of pace. Staring
+at the rock, he became aware of what had happened. Had it been made of
+the proper crude Earth metal, his wand could never have penetrated it.
+For the first time he realized that the shops had sent him off with an
+impregnium sword.
+
+The only way out of the situation was to jerk the weapon loose, then
+press the time-stud embedded under the skin of his waist. But one of
+his attackers, half-hysterical, was drawing his bow. Those brawny arms
+looked strong enough to send an arrow to the moon. The wand dropped out
+of Urs’ mind. His fingers flew to the stud that would snatch him out of
+this world and safely back to his own.
+
+He vanished, leaving six badly frightened Englishmen blinking at the
+rock and the sword so impossibly fixed in it.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The chairman paused, looked courteously at Urs. The charge had been
+specified. Now was the time for Urs to speak, if he had anything to say.
+
+Urs swallowed the dryness in his throat. “Sir, the facts you describe
+are correct.”
+
+There was a stir among the watching men at the Time Traveler’s Bureau.
+At millions of other locations, people in front of life screens nodded
+to one another. What else could he have said?
+
+Urs looked at the calm, intelligent faces before him. Now, if ever, was
+the time for his outburst. But he couldn’t bring himself to speak. He
+moistened his lips and kept silent.
+
+The chairman nodded. “The Board will call a witness.”
+
+A security man opened a side door of the chamber. A tall red-headed
+man in a sky-blue uniform stepped hesitantly forward. He walked slowly
+across the floor and stood beside Urs.
+
+“This is Third Level Time Explorer Renar.”
+
+Urs nodded dumbly. He and Renar were fellow-workers. They had parted at
+the Time Traveler’s Bureau not an hour before. And from the look on his
+face, Renar was as surprised to be here as Urs was to see him.
+
+“Time Explorer Renar,” the chairman said, “please tell us the kind of
+work you are doing now.”
+
+Nervously, but with more assurance as he warmed up, Renar explained
+that he had been working on the culture pattern of Great Britain. The
+studies that he, Urs and others were making would dove-tail into a
+master graph.
+
+“And what time were you studying, with relation to Urs’ last trip?”
+
+Renar scratched his head. “Roughly twenty years later.”
+
+“Thank you. Now will you tell us exactly what happened on your last
+trip.”
+
+Renar hesitated, his homely face screwed up concernedly. “Well,” he
+began--and stopped.
+
+There was the faintest lessening of the sternness in the chairman’s
+face. It could not have been called a smile, nor even the beginning
+of one. But it matched the shade of sympathetic understanding in his
+voice. “Renar, may I remind you I already know what happened. I want
+Urs and the others to hear it.”
+
+“Yes, sir.” Renar still looked troubled. “You must understand that time
+travel does not always work out according to the rules. Things happen--”
+
+“That,” the chairman said, “is the reason for this trial. Now please
+describe your arrival in primitive Great Britain.”
+
+“Well, sir, when I made my last trip, there was some slight error in
+calculating the physical plane of my appearance. When I came out in
+that previous time I was not on dry land, but under water.”
+
+Not one of the Board members smiled. But there were chuckles in front
+of millions of life screens.
+
+“I wasn’t far under the surface. But you can understand I was startled
+and confused. I thrashed around, trying to get to air. One arm broke
+through the surface of the lake I was in. To my great surprise,
+something was immediately dropped into it. Instinctively, I grabbed
+hold and pulled. But the object wasn’t attached to anything.
+
+“On the contrary, its extra weight added to mine caused me to start
+sinking. I struggled a few seconds longer. Then I gave up, pressed my
+waist stud, and returned to the present.”
+
+“And the object?”
+
+“I held on to it. It’s in my room at the Time Traveler’s Bureau.
+I--uh--”
+
+
+“Yes,” the chairman said calmly, “you were troubled about reporting it.
+Because it meant something had gone wrong. Somewhere along the line,
+the rules had been violated.”
+
+“Yes, sir,” Renar said, a little despairingly.
+
+Urs spoke. “Honorable Chairman, may I say that every man connected with
+Time Travel is loyal and conscientious. We all try to adhere strictly
+to the code. It was not Renar’s fault that this unforeseen emergency
+arose.”
+
+“Thank you, Urs.” The chairman raised a hand. A Security man approached
+and held something out. “Renar, is this what you caught hold of in the
+water?”
+
+Renar nodded. Urs gasped. It was the shining impregnium wand he had
+left in the rock!
+
+Back in the Time Traveler’s Bureau, the men looked at each other and
+started to talk excitedly.
+
+The Board members leaned forward in their recliners for a closer
+inspection of the sword. Urs and Renar exchanged a quick, hopeful
+glance.
+
+“You, Urs, allowed this wand to become a part of that ancient culture.
+It remained there for twenty years or so. The people of that time did
+not know how it was made, nor did they discover any of our techniques
+from it. It has now been removed from that time.
+
+“We are now faced with a matter of interpretation of Policy Rule number
+86, Subhead C, which does not consider the subsequent removal of a
+knowledge or technique inadvertently left in the past. I shall call
+another witness.”
+
+Urs and Renar turned. A short, precise man in a rust-colored uniform
+came out of the side door and marched up beside them.
+
+“Morrey,” the chairman said, “will you please describe your work?”
+
+“Sir,” Morrey said in a businesslike voice, “I am an historical
+synthesist. I take the reports of the Time Explorers and fit them
+together into culture graphs. I analyze and interpret the data that
+comes in, and I make recommendations for further time explorations, as
+needed.”
+
+“Thank you. Now will you please tell Explorers Urs and Renar about the
+dominant personality in Great Britain during the period between their
+respective visits?”
+
+“Gladly, sir.” Morrey turned slightly toward the two. “We are not
+entirely certain, yet, how much is fact and how much legend, for the
+story of this man reached far forward in history. But we do know
+that he became famous because he was the only man who could pull the
+wand--which they called a ‘sword’--from the rock in which it was
+embedded. He kept it. Because of properties which we take for granted,
+the sword had a strange and wonderful appeal to the imaginations of
+his time. In their superstitious way, those people attributed magical
+qualities to it, and to the one who carried it.
+
+“That man became a king. He was one of the strongest forces for good,
+for order, and for justice that civilization there had seen. The
+man was a giant, in mind and stature. He had a tremendous impact on
+his time. As I said before, he became a legendary figure. His story
+retained the power to thrill people for centuries afterward.
+
+“We are not sure how much this man knew or suspected about the wand.
+We are still studying that. But it is clear from the way he disposed
+of it when he lay dying, that he may have had some insight into its
+source. He sent one of his men, who bore the quaint name of ‘Bedivere’
+to return it to a mythical ‘Lady of the Lake.’ Bedivere, of course, saw
+Renar’s hand rising from the water at precisely the correct moment, and
+placed the sword in it.”
+
+The chairman was silent a few moments after Morrey finished. “And what
+did they call this man?”
+
+“King Arthur.”
+
+The old man nodded. “Third Level Time Explorer Urs, have you anything
+further to say?”
+
+Urs gulped. “No, sir.”
+
+“Then the Board finds that you have violated the letter of the General
+Code of Time Travel.”
+
+In the lounge of the Bureau, the waiting men blanched and looked at one
+another in shock.
+
+“However,” the chairman of the System Policy Board went on, “the Board
+also finds that you have not violated the spirit in which the Code was
+drafted. Neither, in spite of his irregular experience, did Explorer
+Renar.
+
+“A just decision must take both of these factors into proper account.
+Thanks to the accident that befell Renar, and to the character of this
+ancient man, King Arthur, we pronounce you free to return to your work
+with your record unblemished.”
+
+In the Time Traveler’s Bureau, men shouted and pounded one another on
+the back. People smiled, in front of their life screens all over the
+galaxy. “Justice,” they said to one another.
+
+Urs bowed respectfully to the Board, then turned and clasped Renar’s
+hand.
+
+They walked back to the Bureau together.
+
+“I owe you a drink,” Urs said.
+
+“I’ll take it gladly,” Renar replied. “You knew you were going to
+appear before the Board. They called me without warning. And that, my
+friend, is a strain I hope you never go through.”
+
+“Well, the decision helps us all.” Urs extended the impregnium wand.
+“We’ll keep this in the hall, as a reminder. What was it Morrey said
+they called it?”
+
+Renar scratched his red head. “It was a strange name. Oh, yes.
+Excalibur.”
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber’s Note:
+
+
+  This etext was produced from Fantastic Universe, March 1956 (Vol. 5,
+No. 2.). Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
+copyright on this publication was renewed.
+  Obvious errors have been silently corrected in this
+version.
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 77317 ***
diff --git a/77317-h/77317-h.htm b/77317-h/77317-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8c67754
--- /dev/null
+++ b/77317-h/77317-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,734 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html lang="en">
+<head>
+    <meta charset="UTF-8">
+    <title>
+      Justice | Project Gutenberg
+    </title>
+    <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover">
+    <style>
+
+body {
+    margin-left: 10%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+}
+
+    h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {
+    text-align: center; /* all headings centered */
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+p {
+    margin-top: .51em;
+    text-align: justify;
+    margin-bottom: .49em;
+}
+
+hr {
+    width: 33%;
+    margin-top: 2em;
+    margin-bottom: 2em;
+    margin-left: 33.5%;
+    margin-right: 33.5%;
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+hr.tb   {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;}
+hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;}
+@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} }
+
+div.chapter {page-break-before: always;}
+h2.nobreak  {page-break-before: avoid;}
+
+table {
+    margin-left: auto;
+    margin-right: auto;
+}
+
+
+.blockquot {
+    margin-left: 5%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+}
+
+.center   {text-align: center;}
+
+
+figcaption  {font-weight: bold;}
+
+/* Images */
+
+img {
+    max-width: 100%;
+    height: auto;
+}
+img.w100 {width: 100%;}
+
+
+.figcenter {
+    margin: auto;
+    text-align: center;
+    page-break-inside: avoid;
+    max-width: 100%;
+}
+
+
+/* Transcriber's notes */
+.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA;
+    color: black;
+    font-size:small;
+    padding:0.5em;
+    margin-bottom:5em;
+    font-family:sans-serif, serif;
+}
+
+.p5       {font-size: 1.5em;}
+
+
+/* Illustration classes */
+.illowe26_9375 {width: 26.9375em;}
+    </style>
+</head>
+<body>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 77317 ***</div>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowe26_9375" id="cover600">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/cover600.jpg" alt="">
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"></div>
+
+<h1>Justice</h1>
+
+<p class="center p5">by J. F. Hutton</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p><strong>Urs’ sword was not designed for a Briton’s pleasure. But to a kingly
+man Time has no boundary.</strong></p>
+
+<p><i>There are historical figures so resplendent in their legendary
+permanence that no one age can truly claim them. Their deeds ring out
+across history, for youth must eternally respond to a clarion call
+which Time’s tyranny will never silence. Give ear, then, as J. F.
+Hutton evokes from the past a marvel as mysterious as the time travel
+paradox at the core of this amazing story</i>.</p>
+</div>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"></div>
+
+<p>As Urs stood facing the System
+Policy Board, his young face mirrored
+an incredible confidence
+which gave no hint of the tormenting
+uncertainty within him.
+Few of the billions watching on
+life-view screens suspected the effort
+it cost him to remain outwardly
+poised and self-reliant.</p>
+
+<p>For this was no departmental
+board, judging small matters of
+discipline. This was the big one.
+Much more than the welfare of
+one individual was involved in any
+matter that came before it. It was
+the ultimate court. And it was motivated
+by one principle—absolute
+justice.</p>
+
+<p>Before he had been summoned,
+Urs had spent a half hour with the
+director of the Time Traveler’s
+Bureau. They hadn’t talked much,
+after the director’s opening words
+of reassurance.</p>
+
+<p>“Urs, all of us know we’re doing
+the best we can under difficult
+conditions. We’ve managed to keep
+our problems to ourselves, so far.
+Now that’s over. We’re not blaming
+you. It could have happened
+to any of us. We’ll just have to
+consider it a bad break, and hope
+for the best.”</p>
+
+<p>Now the director and dozens of
+Urs’ colleagues were watching, in
+silent anxiety. They were sweating
+it out with him, reminding themselves
+that any one of them could
+just as well be on trial instead.</p>
+
+<p>The white-haired chairman of
+the Policy Board stirred in his recliner.
+“Third Level Time Explorer
+Urs, you are charged with breaking
+System Policy Rule number 86,
+Subhead C, of the General Code
+of Time Travel: ‘No visitor to a
+previous time shall in any way allow
+the knowledge or techniques
+of the future to become a part of
+that preceding culture.’</p>
+
+<p>“You learned this rule in the
+first week of your preliminary training.
+It has been periodically reviewed
+in your refresher courses
+since. And you received special indoctrination
+before each of your
+trips.”</p>
+
+<p>Standing tall and straight in his
+sky-blue uniform, Urs could only
+nod.</p>
+
+<p>The five other members of the
+Board steadily regarded the young
+man before them. Their gazes held
+neither censure nor sympathy. They
+were of the same stamp as
+the chairman—pale, professional
+weighers of evidence.</p>
+
+<p>The chairman continued, “Specifically,
+you entered a primitive
+society on the planet Earth in a
+region known as Great Britain.
+Your project was to gather data
+for a culture-graph, in conformity
+with the continuing study of a pattern
+which originated in that area
+and subsequently profoundly affected
+Earth and her satellites.</p>
+
+<p>“An experienced Time Traveler,
+you had the customary indoctrination—costume,
+mores, language,
+comprehension levels, and so on.
+Your equipment was made in accordance
+with careful specifications
+in the duplicating shops.”</p>
+
+<p>Urs spoke for the first time. To
+his surprise, his voice came out
+strong and clear. “May I request,
+sir, that the record show that one
+item of equipment was wrongly
+made? The wand. Instead of the
+crude metal of the time I visited,
+it was made of our alloy, impregnium.”</p>
+
+<p>“That fact has been noted,” the
+chairman said gravely. He glanced
+around at his colleagues. “There
+was an acknowledged error in the
+shops. The situation has been corrected.”</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you.”</p>
+
+<p>You never argued with the System
+Policy Board. You thought
+very carefully before you even
+asked a question. Mostly, you just
+listened respectfully, even when
+they were methodically destroying
+you. For the Board was incorruptible.
+It was as nearly infallible as
+a human institution could be. It
+represented something man had
+sought for ages—completely impartial
+justice.</p>
+
+<p>There was a kind of inevitability
+in such trials which—tedious
+though some of them were—never
+failed to attract enthralled watchers
+all over the galaxy. And none had
+ever watched more tensely than the
+silent men in blue uniforms before
+the big life screen at the Time
+Traveler’s Bureau.</p>
+
+<p>The chairman’s old eyes lingered
+on Urs. “You are held responsible
+here only for your actions in the
+region called Great Britain. The
+error you mentioned, however, is
+pertinent to this inquiry. We have
+carefully examined your personal
+experience tapes. They reveal you
+were aware of the mistake in the
+metal in time to take corrective
+action before the rule was broken.
+This you failed to do.”</p>
+
+<p>In spite of his effort at self-control,
+Urs trembled. He suddenly
+wanted to drown out those slow,
+logical phrases, to shout, “When
+did any of you ever travel in time?
+You sit here in the splendor of
+your logic—mental and physical
+light-years away from the event.
+You can’t conceive how crude and
+disorganized those days were. Do
+you think it’s easy to enter a world
+like that? It takes all the skill and
+care and self-discipline you can
+command. And no man who ever
+lived could exercise the control the
+manuals call for.</p>
+
+<p>“If you only knew what really
+goes on in time exploration! You
+<i>think</i> you do. You read the manuals,
+you examine the rules of
+policy, you see the personal experience
+tapes we turn in. But did
+you know that most of the time
+we manage to doctor those tapes,
+to protect ourselves?</p>
+
+<p>“Ah, if you only knew....”</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p>Wearing light armor, Urs had
+been riding on a lonely trail. In
+that time, in that place, it was a
+risky business—even for an Explorer.
+And his luck ran out. Brigands
+caught up with him, charging on
+their wiry, tangle-haired horses.</p>
+
+<p>Urs whacked his own mount and
+tried to outrun them. Screeching,
+they chased him over gullies and
+ravines, through dense scrub and
+under oaks that threatened to sweep
+him out of the saddle. But gradually,
+they gained on him.</p>
+
+<p>For you can study the riding of
+horses. You can practice faithfully
+on tire test models. But you’ll never
+learn how difficult it really is till
+you have a living, snorting beast
+lunging unpredictably between your
+legs.</p>
+
+<p>Inevitably, Urs fell off his
+horse. With the shouts of the
+brigands loud in his ears, with arrows
+plunking into the sod around
+him, he dived down a steep, grassy
+slope. Then he jumped up and ran,
+twisting and dodging among trees
+and rocks. In one hand he carried
+the shining wand that in England
+in those days was called a
+“sword.”</p>
+
+<p>Three of the robbers had left
+their horses to chase him on foot.
+The other three circled around to
+head him off. Halfway down the
+hill, Urs lost his footing and slid
+again. Flailing his arms, he fell
+against a great boulder. His wand,
+carried forward by his weight,
+plunged into the rock.</p>
+
+<p>At the moment, Urs was too
+busy dodging the arrows and regaining
+his balance to realize what
+that meant. The men pounced on
+him. One held his arms, while another
+caught him around the neck
+from behind.</p>
+
+<p>The third man gave a great startled
+cry. Eyes wide, bristly face
+twitching, he pointed one skinny
+arm at the rock. His companions
+looked, gasped, and let go of Urs.
+They stood transfixed, showing all
+the signs of men half-scared to
+death.</p>
+
+<p>The other three, hearing the
+first exultant shouts, had dismounted
+and were hurrying up. They
+saw the rock, with the sword
+buried in it nearly to the hilt. They
+stopped dead, turned pale, and began
+to tremble.</p>
+
+<p>Urs was understandably mystified
+by this abrupt change of pace.
+Staring at the rock, he became
+aware of what had happened. Had
+it been made of the proper crude
+Earth metal, his wand could never
+have penetrated it. For the first
+time he realized that the shops had
+sent him off with an impregnium
+sword.</p>
+
+<p>The only way out of the situation
+was to jerk the weapon loose,
+then press the time-stud embedded
+under the skin of his waist. But
+one of his attackers, half-hysterical,
+was drawing his bow. Those
+brawny arms looked strong enough
+to send an arrow to the moon. The
+wand dropped out of Urs’ mind.
+His fingers flew to the stud that
+would snatch him out of this world
+and safely back to his own.</p>
+
+<p>He vanished, leaving six badly
+frightened Englishmen blinking at
+the rock and the sword so impossibly
+fixed in it.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p>The chairman paused, looked
+courteously at Urs. The charge had
+been specified. Now was the time
+for Urs to speak, if he had anything
+to say.</p>
+
+<p>Urs swallowed the dryness in
+his throat. “Sir, the facts you describe
+are correct.”</p>
+
+<p>There was a stir among the
+watching men at the Time Traveler’s
+Bureau. At millions of other
+locations, people in front of life
+screens nodded to one another.
+What else could he have said?</p>
+
+<p>Urs looked at the calm, intelligent
+faces before him. Now, if
+ever, was the time for his outburst.
+But he couldn’t bring himself to
+speak. He moistened his lips and
+kept silent.</p>
+
+<p>The chairman nodded. “The
+Board will call a witness.”</p>
+
+<p>A security man opened a side
+door of the chamber. A tall red-headed
+man in a sky-blue uniform
+stepped hesitantly forward. He
+walked slowly across the floor and
+stood beside Urs.</p>
+
+<p>“This is Third Level Time Explorer
+Renar.”</p>
+
+<p>Urs nodded dumbly. He and
+Renar were fellow-workers. They
+had parted at the Time Traveler’s
+Bureau not an hour before. And
+from the look on his face, Renar
+was as surprised to be here as Urs
+was to see him.</p>
+
+<p>“Time Explorer Renar,” the
+chairman said, “please tell us the
+kind of work you are doing now.”</p>
+
+<p>Nervously, but with more assurance
+as he warmed up, Renar
+explained that he had been working
+on the culture pattern of Great
+Britain. The studies that he, Urs
+and others were making would
+dove-tail into a master graph.</p>
+
+<p>“And what time were you studying,
+with relation to Urs’ last
+trip?”</p>
+
+<p>Renar scratched his head.
+“Roughly twenty years later.”</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you. Now will you tell
+us exactly what happened on your
+last trip.”</p>
+
+<p>Renar hesitated, his homely face
+screwed up concernedly. “Well,”
+he began—and stopped.</p>
+
+<p>There was the faintest lessening
+of the sternness in the chairman’s
+face. It could not have been called
+a smile, nor even the beginning of
+one. But it matched the shade of
+sympathetic understanding in his
+voice. “Renar, may I remind you
+I already know what happened. I
+want Urs and the others to hear it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, sir.” Renar still looked
+troubled. “You must understand
+that time travel does not always
+work out according to the rules.
+Things happen—”</p>
+
+<p>“That,” the chairman said, “is
+the reason for this trial. Now please
+describe your arrival in primitive
+Great Britain.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, sir, when I made my last
+trip, there was some slight error
+in calculating the physical plane of
+my appearance. When I came out
+in that previous time I was not on
+dry land, but under water.”</p>
+
+<p>Not one of the Board members
+smiled. But there were chuckles in
+front of millions of life screens.</p>
+
+<p>“I wasn’t far under the surface.
+But you can understand I was startled
+and confused. I thrashed
+around, trying to get to air. One
+arm broke through the surface of
+the lake I was in. To my great surprise,
+something was immediately
+dropped into it. Instinctively, I
+grabbed hold and pulled. But the
+object wasn’t attached to anything.</p>
+
+<p>“On the contrary, its extra weight
+added to mine caused me
+to start sinking. I struggled a few
+seconds longer. Then I gave up,
+pressed my waist stud, and returned
+to the present.”</p>
+
+<p>“And the object?”</p>
+
+<p>“I held on to it. It’s in my room
+at the Time Traveler’s Bureau. I—uh—”</p>
+
+
+<p>“Yes,” the chairman said calmly,
+“you were troubled about reporting
+it. Because it meant something
+had gone wrong. Somewhere
+along the line, the rules had been
+violated.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, sir,” Renar said, a little
+despairingly.</p>
+
+<p>Urs spoke. “Honorable Chairman,
+may I say that every man
+connected with Time Travel is
+loyal and conscientious. We all try
+to adhere strictly to the code. It
+was not Renar’s fault that this unforeseen
+emergency arose.”</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you, Urs.” The chairman
+raised a hand. A Security man
+approached and held something
+out. “Renar, is this what you
+caught hold of in the water?”</p>
+
+<p>Renar nodded. Urs gasped. It
+was the shining impregnium wand
+he had left in the rock!</p>
+
+<p>Back in the Time Traveler’s Bureau,
+the men looked at each other
+and started to talk excitedly.</p>
+
+<p>The Board members leaned forward
+in their recliners for a closer
+inspection of the sword. Urs and
+Renar exchanged a quick, hopeful
+glance.</p>
+
+<p>“You, Urs, allowed this wand
+to become a part of that ancient
+culture. It remained there for
+twenty years or so. The people of
+that time did not know how it was
+made, nor did they discover any
+of our techniques from it. It has
+now been removed from that time.</p>
+
+<p>“We are now faced with a matter
+of interpretation of Policy Rule
+number 86, Subhead C, which does
+not consider the subsequent removal
+of a knowledge or technique inadvertently
+left in the past. I shall
+call another witness.”</p>
+
+<p>Urs and Renar turned. A short,
+precise man in a rust-colored uniform
+came out of the side door and
+marched up beside them.</p>
+
+<p>“Morrey,” the chairman said,
+“will you please describe your
+work?”</p>
+
+<p>“Sir,” Morrey said in a businesslike
+voice, “I am an historical synthesist.
+I take the reports of the
+Time Explorers and fit them together
+into culture graphs. I analyze
+and interpret the data that
+comes in, and I make recommendations
+for further time explorations,
+as needed.”</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you. Now will you
+please tell Explorers Urs and Renar
+about the dominant personality in
+Great Britain during the period
+between their respective visits?”</p>
+
+<p>“Gladly, sir.” Morrey turned
+slightly toward the two. “We are
+not entirely certain, yet, how much
+is fact and how much legend, for
+the story of this man reached far
+forward in history. But we do know
+that he became famous because he
+was the only man who could pull
+the wand—which they called a
+‘sword’—from the rock in which
+it was embedded. He kept it. Because
+of properties which we take
+for granted, the sword had a
+strange and wonderful appeal to
+the imaginations of his time. In
+their superstitious way, those people
+attributed magical qualities to
+it, and to the one who carried it.</p>
+
+<p>“That man became a king. He
+was one of the strongest forces for
+good, for order, and for justice
+that civilization there had seen. The
+man was a giant, in mind and stature.
+He had a tremendous impact
+on his time. As I said before, he
+became a legendary figure. His
+story retained the power to thrill
+people for centuries afterward.</p>
+
+<p>“We are not sure how much
+this man knew or suspected about
+the wand. We are still studying
+that. But it is clear from the way
+he disposed of it when he lay dying,
+that he may have had some
+insight into its source. He sent one
+of his men, who bore the quaint
+name of ‘Bedivere’ to return it to
+a mythical ‘Lady of the Lake.’
+Bedivere, of course, saw Renar’s
+hand rising from the water at precisely
+the correct moment, and
+placed the sword in it.”</p>
+
+<p>The chairman was silent a few
+moments after Morrey finished.
+“And what did they call this
+man?”</p>
+
+<p>“King Arthur.”</p>
+
+<p>The old man nodded. “Third
+Level Time Explorer Urs, have you
+anything further to say?”</p>
+
+<p>Urs gulped. “No, sir.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then the Board finds that you
+have violated the letter of the General
+Code of Time Travel.”</p>
+
+<p>In the lounge of the Bureau,
+the waiting men blanched and looked
+at one another in shock.</p>
+
+<p>“However,” the chairman of the
+System Policy Board went on, “the
+Board also finds that you have not
+violated the spirit in which the
+Code was drafted. Neither, in spite
+of his irregular experience, did Explorer
+Renar.</p>
+
+<p>“A just decision must take both
+of these factors into proper account.
+Thanks to the accident that
+befell Renar, and to the character
+of this ancient man, King Arthur,
+we pronounce you free to return
+to your work with your record unblemished.”</p>
+
+<p>In the Time Traveler’s Bureau,
+men shouted and pounded one another
+on the back. People smiled,
+in front of their life screens all
+over the galaxy. “Justice,” they said
+to one another.</p>
+
+<p>Urs bowed respectfully to the
+Board, then turned and clasped
+Renar’s hand.</p>
+
+<p>They walked back to the Bureau
+together.</p>
+
+<p>“I owe you a drink,” Urs said.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll take it gladly,” Renar replied.
+“You knew you were going
+to appear before the Board. They
+called me without warning. And
+that, my friend, is a strain I hope
+you never go through.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, the decision helps us
+all.” Urs extended the impregnium
+wand. “We’ll keep this in the hall,
+as a reminder. What was it Morrey
+said they called it?”</p>
+
+<p>Renar scratched his red head. “It
+was a strange name. Oh, yes. Excalibur.”</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="transnote"><h2 class="nobreak" id="Transcribers_Note">Transcriber’s Note:</h2>
+
+<p>This etext was produced from Fantastic Universe, March 1956 (Vol. 5,
+No. 2.). Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
+copyright on this publication was renewed.</p>
+<p>Obvious errors have been silently corrected in this
+version.</p></div>
+
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 77317 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/77317-h/images/cover.jpg b/77317-h/images/cover.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a8c8dd8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/77317-h/images/cover.jpg
diff --git a/77317-h/images/cover600.jpg b/77317-h/images/cover600.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3a02f44
--- /dev/null
+++ b/77317-h/images/cover600.jpg
diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6c72794
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This book, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0a913c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for eBook #77317
+(https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/77317)