Initial commit of ebook 77317 filesHEAD main

author: www-data <www-data@mail.pglaf.org> 2025-11-24 07:35:22 -0800
committer: www-data <www-data@mail.pglaf.org> 2025-11-24 07:35:22 -0800
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+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html lang="en">
+<head>
+    <meta charset="UTF-8">
+    <title>
+      Justice | Project Gutenberg
+    </title>
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+/* Transcriber's notes */
+.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA;
+    color: black;
+    font-size:small;
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+/* Illustration classes */
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+    </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>
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author	www-data <www-data@mail.pglaf.org>	2025-11-24 07:35:22 -0800
committer	www-data <www-data@mail.pglaf.org>	2025-11-24 07:35:22 -0800
commit	16ffcc654d05d18f21310fb4b3bff3747e168a35 (patch)
tree	a24ca70ba11b0a6c1a12c629987fdaae2d531df5 /77317-h