Justice

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.