Justice: Classic Book Guide and Free Edition
Justice: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.
Justice is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Hutton, J. F. (Joy Ferris) (1912–1981).
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
Justice by J. F. Hutton is a science fiction short story written in the mid-20th century. It explores the ethics of time travel through a tribunal that must decide whether an explorer’s mistake—accidentally embedding future technology into a legendary past—violates the spirit of noninterference, linking advanced science to the birth of the Excalibur myth. The story opens with Urs, a time explorer, on trial before the System Policy Board for leaving a futuristic alloy sword in early Britain. A flashback shows him fleeing brigands, inadvertently driving his impregnium “sword” into a rock, then escaping via time jump—leaving behind the marvel that only a chosen one could draw. Later, fellow explorer Renar emerges underwater in the past and, by chance, receives the same sword when Arthur’s knight Bedivere returns it to the “Lady of the Lake.” An historical synthesist explains that the sword in the stone made Arthur a king and a beacon of justice, with the legend enduring for centuries. The Board rules Urs broke the letter of the law but not its spirit, clears both explorers, and the recovered blade—now known as Excalibur—becomes a sober reminder of responsibility in time travel.
Book and edition facts
- Title: Justice
- Author credits: Hutton, J. F. (Joy Ferris) (1912–1981)
- Catalogue language: English
Catalogue subjects
- Science fiction
- Short stories
- Time travel -- Fiction
- Trials -- Fiction
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View the complete Gutenberg catalogue record. Project Gutenberg identifies this edition as public domain in the United States; that designation does not establish its copyright status in every country.
Source notes
Catalogue metadata is public domain and is supplied through Gutendex, which imports Gutenberg's machine-readable catalogue. The automated synopsis is source-supplied, not an independently verified review. Author dates above describe the credited people; no ebook release date is presented as the book's original publication date.
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