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ACTIVIST JUDGES In Fiction The other day, we had some SciFi AI slop on in the background, and it turned out to have a very cogent meme buried in the finale'. The particular work was part of a genre commonly referred to as "HFY", and is defined by humans being admirable, in various ways, in various settings, to the astonishment of aliens. Sort of like a scifi literary version of modern rap: "I'm awesome - you's a Punk!"In this particular story, a human officer goes to great lengths to repay a debt to the aliens who saved his life many years ago, now on trial for doing so, facing capital punishment. The Line At the climax of the story, the chief alien judge presiding over the trial, growing frustrated when his carefully laid plans start to go awry, demands the old clerk of the court (who is something of the designated guardian of procedure) pronounce the sentence early, against protocol. When the clerk points out that this is contrary to the law, the judge states, "The Law is what this court says it is." At which point the clerk thinks a moment, and then answers. "No. This court is what the Law says it is." Something All judges would do well to remember.