"As one that, through the haze of earthbound toil

Deafened by the cares which valour foil,

Confined by fate to bleak and wasted soil

Upon which every man forgets his name

And no man strives for honor, nor for fame

But lives his desperate days in idle shame

And such a one would yearn for Thassa's main,

Through salty lips, to breathe clean air again

So joyful, from the din of Earthly speech

Men turn, and see the stars, and feel the free

Shrill wind beyond the close of city-scape

And from their languid prisons seek escape

To hear like Thassa on a rocky shore

The surge and thunder of the words of Gor."

     Tal, Goreans. On this page I shall attempt to plumb the depths of the twenty-five Gorean source books to answer the various questions we all have regarding Gor according to its creator, John Norman.

     By writing this column I hope to explore the usage of various Gorean and non-Gorean practices which give life and authenticity to our channels and online interaction. In addition, I hope to learn more about the source books and how the information therein might best be applied to our virtual Gorean society.

GOR according to Norman

     I'll start the ball rolling by exploring several terms and concepts of dubious origin which have appeared in our Gorean channels, and which have little or no relation to the source books themselves. Here are a few of my own personal pet peeves, and the actual quotes which I believe debunk them:

ROCK-SLURPERS OF GOR

"sweet rocks": Okay, now where did this one come from? I see it in channel all the time, in reference to black wine and bazi tea. A slave will bring sweetener and milk to add to the beverage, and will ask the Master or Mistress "how many sweet rocks would you like?" I have to assume by "sweet rocks" one is referring to "sugar cubes." Cute. But how accurate is this? The books tell us:

"She carried a tray, on which were various spoons and sugars. She knelt, placing her tray upon the table. With a tiny spoon, its tip no more than a tenth of a hort in diameter, she placed four measures of white sugar, and six of yellow, in the cup; with two stirring spoons, one for the white sugar, another for the yellow, she stirred the beverage after each measure."

--p 89, Tribesmen of Gor

     Like the excerpt above, there are numerous references in the books to the various forms and uses of sugar on Gor. In addition, Tarl himself uses the word "lump" in references to many things he sees or handles. Therefore is it too great a leap of logic to assume that Tarl, and Goreans in general, if they actually utilized sugar in lump form, would call such an object "a lump of sugar" or a "sugar lump"? In such a case a serving slave would ask the Master or Mistress "how many sugar lumps would you like in your beverage?" Where precisely does the term "sweet rock" enter the picture?

     This is one of the most annoying assumptions people make: the belief that Goreans are a bunch of primitive idiots. "Gadzooks, Warriors! Yon magic rocks are sweet upon thy tongue! 'Tis a miracle!" I put the "sweet rock" mistake into the same category as the "drinking reed" lunacy outlined below.

REED-SUCKERS OF GOR

"drinking reed": Unlike the sweet rocks thing, I know precisely where this one comes from, and was present when it was first invented by a well-meaning but slightly misinformed acquaintance of mine. Picture this: a Freewoman enters a Gorean drinking establishment and wishes to sip her drink without having to remove her veils, or risk exposing her features. What she needs is a straw. What she gets, however, is a hollow reed straight from the nearest riverbank. Why is this, you ask? Why... because everyone knows that Gor is far too primitive a world for there to exist upon it such a modern item as a straw.

     While there are no references in the books to the use of "straws" as a drinking implement, there are several references to persons using hollow reeds to breathe through when hiding in a body of water, as below:

"The man left tracks by the side of the pond, and then waded into the chill water. He broke off a reed and then waded deeper into the chill water..."

--p 123, Beasts of Gor

And later:

"I saw the man take the tube of reed he had broken off and thrust it in her mouth; then the knife he carried, hers, lay across her throat; I saw her eyes, wild, in the moonlight, and then he, another bit of reed in his mouth, pulled her quietly under the surface."

--p 125, Beasts of Go

     The question is, did the persons above use a reed because Goreans don't have straws, or simply because they only had a nearby reed to work with? The latter seems the obvious explanation.

     Again I feel that people are overestimating just how primitive Gor is. The first book, Tarnsman of Gor, describes portable laptop computer-style translation devices:

"The schedule that was forced upon me was meticulous and grueling, and except for rest and feeding, alternating between times of study and times of training, largely in arms, but partly in the use of various devices as common to the Goreans as adding machines and scales are to us.... One of the most interesting was the Translator, which could be set for various languages...If I set the machine to say, Language A and spoke Gorean into it, it would, after a fraction of a second, emit a succession of noises, which was the translation of my Gorean sentences into A...These translation machines are a marvel of miniaturization, each of them, about the size of a portable typewriter, being programmed for four non-Gorean languages."

--p 39, Tarnsman of Gor

[Tarl goes on to explain just how many different characters, in each language, a Translator can hold in its internal memory. In computer terms, therefore, the device is roughly the equivalent of a 286 laptop with rudimentary voice recognition and a 40 meg harddrive. Certainly primitive by modern Earth standards, though suitably impressive to Tarl considering the book in which it is described, Tarnsman of Gor, was first published in 1967.]

Also are described chemical illumination globes:

"Inside the tunnel, though dim, was not altogether dark, being lit by domelike, wire-protected energy bulbs. These bulbs, invented more than a century ago by the Caste of Builders, produce a clear, soft light for years without replacement."

--p 197, Tarnsman of Gor

Electro-chemical tarn goads:

"He entered my apartment, carrying a metal rod about two feet long, with a leather loop attached. It had a switch on the handle, which could be set for two positions, on and off, like a simple torch.

`What is it?' I asked.

`A Tarn Goad,' he replied. He snapped the switch in the barrel to the `on' position and struck the table. It showered sparks in a sudden cascade of yellow light, but left the table unmarked...it had been like a sudden, severe electric charge..."

--p.50, Tarnsman of Gor

...and other thoroughly modern inventions in use on Gor.

     Later books describe the use of extensive aqueduct systems in the major cities, which feed massive bathhouses and the internal cisterns of buildings and cylinders. Obviously Goreans know quite a bit about how to move liquids from one place to another. Now just TRY to tell me that the creation of such a technological marvel as a drinking straw is beyond their science.

     In the later books, strangely enough, the technological level of Gor seems to actually go backwards, and there are fewer mentions of such high-tech items as are described in the earlier books. I feel that, under closer examination, such can be explained by the fact that these items seem only available to the richest Goreans in the most civilized of cities, and that the later books often deal with the characters interacting with lower-tech social classes and cultures.

     It is my opinion, however, that if a freeperson wishes to use a straw to drink through, one would certainly be made available. It might not be made of plastic, but it would not be a piece of weed fished from the nearest pond, either.

KARTA: MYSTERY POSITION OR EARTH INVENTION?

     I was recently asked by an online slave about the slave-position known as "Karta" which has recently appeared on several Gorean websites. Since I could not remember reading anything in the books regarding such a position, I did some research. First of all, I located a description of the position on a website, which listed it as:

Karta: - position of obeisance - Assume nadu position, thighs may be spread or not, lean forward placing chest/breasts and forehead against floor, reaching out with arms fully extended, palms against floor. Ankles may be crossed or uncrossed. (Shows utmost respect. Requests may be made from this position.)

     Then I set about trying to find it in the books themselves. I read through every description of slave positions I could find, and have as yet found no reference to it. If anyone out there has the book title and page number where it can be found, I'd appreciate it if you'd e-mail it over for my records.

     And while we are on the subject of slave positions, where precisely in the books does it say that when a slave kneels in nadu, she does so with her legs crossed? As long as I can remember, slaves on Gorean IRC have been doing it that way. I have personally never tried the position myself (naturally) but I have been told by slaves who have that it is excruciatingly painful to sit back on one's heels for any extended length of time while one's ankles are crossed. Not only that, but the crossing of one's ankles would prevent the legs from being widely spread, and it seems that rising from such a position would be anything but graceful. I have been unable to find anything in the books which supports the crossing of the ankles in nadu. I have, however, found the following description:

"`Nadu!' he snapped.

She swiftly turned, facing him, and dropped to her knees. She knelt back on her heels, her back straight, her hands on her thighs, her head up, her knees wide. It was the position of the pleasure slave."

--p.77, Explorers of Gor

     Hmmm. Nothing about crossed legs or ankles there. If I'm wrong, someone please send me the book title and page number where the reference can be found and I'll post it here.

USAGE OF "THIRD PERSON" SPEECH BY SLAVES

     Lately the debate has raged throughout various Gorean channels whether or not there was a precedent to be found in the source books regarding the practice of slaves referring to themselves in the third-person, as in "this girl wishes such-and-such, Master," or "this slave would serve you, Master." Actually there are dozens of references to this practice in the Gor books. It is typically only strictly enforced when it seems necessary to reinforce the slave's actual status AS slave in her own eyes, and in the eyes of others, I have listed a few such notable passages from the books below, to demonstrate my point:

"Does Phyllis remember the lash?" asked Flaminius.

The girl's eyes widened with fear. "Yes," she said.

"Then say so," said Flaminius.

I whispered in Gorean to Ho-Tu, as though I could not understand what was transpiring. "What is he doing with them?"

Ho-Tu shrugged. "He is teaching them they are slaves," he said.

"I remember the lash," said Phyllis.

"Phyllis remembers the lash," corrected Flaminius.

"I am not a child!" she cried.

"You are a slave," said Flaminius.

"No," she said "No!"

"I see," said Flaminius sadly, "it will be necessary to beat you."

"Phyllis remembers the lash," said the girl numbly.

"Excellent," said Flaminius. "Phyllis will be good. Phyllis will eat her gruel. Phyllis will drink her water."

She looked at him with hatred.

His eyes met hers and they conquered. She dropped her head, turning it to one side.

"Phyllis will be good," she said. "Phyllis will eat her gruel. Phyllis will drink her water."

"Excellent," commended Flaminius.

--p.131, Assassin of Gor

"Buy me," she whispered. "Buy me. You are rich! You can buy me!"

"Is that how a slave begs?" I asked.

"Buy Tana!" she wept. "Buy Tana!"

--p.61, Hunters of Gor

"What is your name?" I asked.

"Tafa, if it pleases Master," she said. That is a common slave name on Gor.

"Do you repent the error of your ways?" I asked.

"Yes, Master," she said.

"Who repents the error of her ways?" I asked.

"Tafa repents the error of her ways," she said.

"Who is sorry, who begs forgiveness?" I asked.

"Tafa is sorry! Tafa begs forgiveness!" she said.

--p.123, Magicians of Gor

"Forgive me, Masters!" she wept. "You are men! You are men! A slave begs forgiveness!"

--p.226, Magicians of Gor

     In addition, there are several other such passages which immediately come to mind but which I don't wish to be bothered with looking up and quoting here. The gist of the matter is, that upon Gor the usage of third-person speech among slaves is known and often enforced, usually through a command such as "speak as a slave" or "beg as a slave begs."

USAGE OF "TAL" BY SLAVES

     Hmmm. Although I have previously stated that the books do not specifically state whether or not slaves may use the word "Tal" as a greeting, I have recently done some research which has turned up something of interest in regards to that statement, and it seems I have been previously mistaken about it. While I now suspect that there is a specific reference in which Tarl explains that the word "Tal" is exclusively reserved for the usage of free persons only, I have yet to locate it. I will continue to look for it, and when I find it I'll post it here. In the meantime, I stumbled across this slightly less specific reference which illustrates the same point:

"Tal," said Ute, greeting me as a free person.

p 237, Captive of Gor

     In addition, all throughout the books free persons say "Tal" and slaves say "greetings." I have yet to find a reference of a slave saying "Tal" to a free person without her being immediately punished for it. While slaves can certainly use the word amongst themselves, as in the example above, if they get caught doing it by free persons they can expect to catch hell for it.

RANDOM QUOTES

Below I have included a few quotes which I thought helpful and enlightening for we Goreans:

"A Gorean slave girl in the presence of a free man or woman always kneels, unless excused from doing so...A Gorean slave, incidentally, always addresses free men as `Master,' and all free women as `Mistress.'"

--p 73 Captive of Gor

"In every woman," said Ute, "there is a Free Companion and a slave girl. The Free Companion seeks for her companion, and the slave girl seeks for her master."

--p.83, Captive of Gor

"Sheera knelt there. She did not sit cross-legged. She knelt as a Gorean woman."

--p 75, Hunters of Gor

"I have never been in one of these places before," she said..."I now understand why it is that free women never enter Paga taverns."

--Elizabeth Cardwell, p.22, Assassin of Gor

"When one who is a slave strikes a free person the penalty is not infrequently death by impalement, preceeded by lengthy torture."

--p 74, Assassin of Gor

"You cannot punish me!" she cried. "You are not my masters!"

"Any free person can punish an errant slave girl," I said. "Surely you do not think that her behavior fails to be subject to supervision and correction as soon as she is out of her Master's sight?"

--p.225, Magician of Gor

And the following, in which a slave asks Tarl how she should react when her Master turns out not to be to her liking:

"But what if he is weak?" she begged.

"Continue to serve him, in the fullness of your slavery, begging him for the least of his kisses, the most casual of his caresses...Even such small attentions, you will discover, now that you have become sensitized to your slavery, will be precious to you."

"But what if he is stupid?" she asked.

"Beg him to sell you, or give you away," I said, "that you may, if only in being sold off on the block, come into the collar of another, one capable of satisfying what you are, a slave."

"But what if he will not sell me, or give me away?" she said.

"Then," said I angrily,"that is how it will be, for it is you who wear the collar. He is the master. You are the slave."

---p.233-234, Magicians of Gor

My Quote for the Week:

"Culture decides what is truth, but truth, unfortunately, is unaware of this. Cultures, mad and blind, can die upon the rocks of truth. Why can truth not be the foundation of culture, rather than its nemesis? Can one not build upon the stone cliffs of reality rather than dash one's head against them?"

--Tarl Cabot, p.11, Explorers of Gor

     There are doubtless many people out there who think this column is just another nit-picky attempt to spoil their fun. That is not what it is intended to be at all. Rather, it is simply another suitable excuse for me to discuss the Gor books, which is a subject near and dear to my heart, and maybe answer a few pertinent questions about them. I personally don't care what anyone does in their own channels; in fact, you can wear a purple bunny suit if it tickles your fancy. But too often of late I hear complaints that Gorean IRC is becoming "less and less Gorean." Therefore, by looking to the books perhaps we can ascertain whether our behavior and surroundings is typical to what would be found on Gor.

I wish you well!

_Marcus_

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? If you have any of the above, have questions regarding the source books, or have a quote or brief passage from the books which you would share here, feel free to e-mail me through the link below.

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