"I shout for madder music, and I call for stronger wine;

But when the moons are swollen and my questing heart seeks more

The veil parts and draws me forth beyond my Earthly door

To trace your footfalls, Cabot! For the world I seek is thine.

And Enemies surround me, but my spirit will not bow

Nor falter like the weak who came before;

And I will follow, Cabot! In the best way I know how,

And keep alive the wonder that is Gor."

     Tal, Goreans!

     I have been rather busy during the past week, what with all the researching and answering of e-mail. Nevertheless, I have received some excellent quotes and commentary over the last seven days, much of which I will share with you here. I add that I am quite pleased at any ruckus my column has stirred up. A little bit of revolution every now and then is a healthy thing, after all.

     In addition I am displaying all of my quotes about slaves and slavery in my next few columns, after which I will stay out of the slavery discussion and stick to other topics. In such a way I hope to keep from stepping on any toes, considering there is a new feature in the Times which displays only quotes specific to slavery. Although I know that it is quite allowable for any free person to step on slave toes, I hate the sound it makes when they smush. Anyway, here come the quotes. Enjoy!

GOR according to Norman

     This week I was sent a quote which has always been one of my favorites, though I had not yet displayed it here. I will do so now, and my thanks go to the person who sent it in. His name is Kalun Hail, which sounds suspiciously like "Kill and Hail," which is, oddly enough, similar to a song title by one of my favorite bands. Actually the song is named "Hail and Kill," and it's by ManoWar, a heavy metal group which delights in blowing out people's eardrums. But if you've ever heard their song "Pleasure Slave," in which they practically quote from Norman, you understand why I like their music. In addition, I suspect that their lyricist possesses a modicum of familiarity with the Gor books...but I could be wrong. Still, with lyrics like "with my chains and collar I have brought you to your knees, now you are free, free to please," you be the judge.

GOREAN MORALITY

   "The Morality of Earth, from the Gorean point of view, is a morality which would be viewed as more appropriate to slaves that free men. It would be seen in terms of the envy and resentment of inferiors for their superiors. It lays great stress on equalities and being humble and being pleasant and avoiding friction and being ingratiating and small. It is a morality in the best interest of slaves, who would be only too eager to be regarded as the equals of others. We are all the same. That is the hope of slaves; that is what it is in their interest to convince others of. The Gorean morality on the other hand is more one if inequalities, based on the assumption that individuals are not the same, but quite different in many ways. It might be said to be, though this is oversimple, a morality of masters. Guilt is almost unknown in Gorean morality, though shame and anger are not. Many Earth moralities encourage resignation and accommodation; Gorean morality is bent more toward conquest and defiance; many Earth moralities encourage tenderness, pity and gentleness, sweetness; Gorean morality encourages honor, courage, hardness and strength. To Gorean morality many Earth moralities might ask, `Why so hard?' To these earth moralities, The Gorean ethos might ask, `Why so soft?'"

--p.8, Marauders of Gor (submitted by Kalun Hail)

PAGA TAVERNS

   "This was not much different, incidentally, than what was the case in even the most prestigious paga taverns. In such places, free women were generally not permitted. In them, usually, the only women to be found would be collared slaves, generally belonging either to the tavern keeper or the guests, who may have brought them in, to avail themselves of the facilities of the alcoves. In such places, the mastery was practiced. Such places, regardless of their cost, their location, their appointments, the excellence of their food and drink, the beauty of their slaves, the quality of their music, existed, as did the tavern of Hendow, for the pleasure of men. That was the purpose of such places, whether they were within lofty towers, reached by graceful bridges, or near the wharves, close enough to hear the tide lapping at the pilings, whether they had a dozen musicians or only a single, dissolute czehar player, alone with his music, whether the girls were richly silked or stark naked, save for brands and collars, whether there were chains of gold and luxurious furs in the alcoves or only wire and straw mats. They were paga taverns."

--p.245, Dancer of Gor

FREE WOMEN IN PAGA TAVERNS

   "`If you may pleasure yourself in taverns,' she said, `surely so, too, may I.'

   `Free women,' I said, `do not come here. It is too close to the wharves. It is dangerous. This is Gor.'"

--p.158, Rogue of Gor

FREE WOMEN TRYING TO CLOSE PAGA TAVERNS

   "Once in Ar, several years ago, several free women, in their anger at slaves, and perhaps jealous of the pleasures of masters and slaves, entered a paga tavern with clubs and axes, seeking to destroy it. This is, I believe, an example, though a rather extreme one, of a not unprecedented sort of psychological reaction, the attempt, by disparagement or action, motivated by envy, jealousy, resentment, or such, to keep from others pleasures which one oneself is unable, or unwilling, to enjoy. In any event, as a historical note, the men in the tavern, being Gorean, and thus not being inhibited or confused by negativistic, antibiological traditions, quickly disarmed the women. They then stripped them, bound their hands behind their back, put them on a neck rope, and, by means of switches, conducted them swiftly outside the tavern. The women were then, outside the tavern, on the bridge of twenty lanterns, forced to witness the burning of their garments. They were then permitted to leave, though still bound and in coffle. Gorean men do not surrender their birthright as males, their rightful dominance, their appropriate mastery. They do not choose to be dictated to by females."

--p.51, Magicians of Gor

     [NOTE: If you don't think the quote above is at least a little humorous, then you don't understand Gor at all. Personally, I laugh every time I read it. Gorean males take their paga taverns quite seriously, it would seem.]

SOME SLAVE TRIVIA

   "`What is your duty?' asked my master.

   `Absolute obedience,' I replied, in Gorean."

--p.106, Slave Girl of Gor

   "'What is the duty of a slave girl' I inquired.

   'Absolute obedience' she said, frightened.

   'What are you?' I inquired.

   'A slave girl,' she said.

   'What is your duty?' I asked.

   'Absolute obedience,' she cried out."

--Hunters of Gor, page 258

   "`How many ways are there,' I asked, sitting cross-legged in the center of the compartment, on the stone couch, `to enter a room?'

   `It depends on the city,' said Elizabeth. 'In Ar we are the best; we have most ways to enter a room. One hundred and four.'"

--p.204 Assassin of Gor

   "`There are one hundred and eleven basic shades of slave lipstick,' said Sucha. `Much depends upon the mood of the master.'"

--p.261, Slave Girl of Gor

   "He suddenly snapped his fingers and, in the swift double gesture of the Gorean Master, pointed to a place on the dirt floor before him, almost simultaneously turning his hand, spreading the first and index fingers, pointing downwards.

   I fled to him and knelt before him, my knees in the dirt, in the position of the pleasure slave, my head down, trembling."

--p.143, Captive of Gor

   "In most cities, even the touching of money, unless in an authorized situation, is prohibited to slaves."

--p.238. Dancer of Gor

   "It can be a capital offense on Gor, incidentally, for a slave to so much as touch a weapon."

--p.57, Mercenaries of Gor

   "One of the men lifted his cup and I hurried to him. I took the cup and filled it...then I pressed my lips to his cup as I must, as a slave girl, and handed it to him."

--p.89, Slave Girl of Gor

     [Slave girls, therefore, are expected to kiss the beverage vessel when they serve.]

   "He extended the goblet to me. `Drink,' he said, offering me the cup.

   I looked at the rim of the cup. I shook with terror. `A slave girl dares not touch with her lips the rim of that cup which has been touched with the lips of her master,' I whispered.

   `Excellent,' said Verna."

--p.302, Captive of Gor

     [On the other hand, slave girls are not supposed to drink from a beverage vessel that a free person has already drunk from.]

SLAVE-HEAT

     This is an interesting topic. Thinking back over the nearly two years I have been on Gorean IRC, I cannot recall precisely when the phrase "slave heat" came into general usage. Though I am almost certain it appears in the books (probably in Marauders of Gor, which is the one book I am currently missing... I loaned it to a friend. Not very prudent of me) I cannot find any specific references to the term. The term "slave heat" now seems to be widely used to indicate the genitalia of a female slave. While I certainly understand the need for non-vulgar terms for such things, particularly when they are being discussed in open channel, I am unsure as to how accurate this is. Like the term "slave belly" (which Norman tells us has two meanings; either a slave's irresistable desire to serve or her navel, take your pick) I suspect it has just been adopted by us as an IRC colloquialism. I have found the reference below, which mentions degrees of "slave heat" but which makes no mention of any particular bodily part. In the quote below, Norman seems to indicate that slave heat is a slave's uncontrollable sexual response to her slavery.

   "A certification of a girl's heat, in certain cities... is sometimes furnished, with the slaver's guarantee, among the documents of sale. Her degree of heat, in such a situation, would also be listed of course, among her other properties, on her sales sheet, posted in the vicinity of the exhibition cages, available twenty Ahn before her sale... Similarly a girl who is only average, generally, so to speak, may, at the very glance of a given master, one who is special to her for no reason that is clear, become so weak and paga hot she can scarcely stand."

--p.242-243, Beasts of Gor

     If anyone out there can find any other pertinent information regarding "slave heat" as described in the books, I'd love to display it in a future column. In the meantime I'll keep looking myself (grumble grumble).

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q:   Master says that it should be understood that freewomen in Ar are not required by law to wear robes of concealment or veils. It is expected that they should maintain a "standard of decorum" regarding their dress. Do you know the laws in regard to this in other cities?

(submitted by sharon)

A:   Yes, sharon, your Master is quite correct. For the benefit of our readers, and any free women who might be interested, I display the quote you sent me, as well as a few others which discuss the matter.

   "`In Ar's Station,' he said, `as in Ar, robes of concealment, precisely, are not legally obligatory for free women, no more than the veil. Such things are a matter of custom. On the other hand, as you know, there are statutes prescribing certain standards of decorum for free women. For example, they may not appear naked in the streets, as may slaves. Indeed, a free woman who appears in public in violation of these standards of decorum, for example, with her arms or legs too much bared, may be made a slave.'"

--p.367-368, Renegades of Gor (submitted by sharon)

   "Veils are worn in various numbers and combinations by Gorean free women, this tending to vary by preference and caste. Many low-class Gorean women own only a single veil which must do for all purposes...The veil, it might be noted, is not legally imperative for a free woman; it is rather a matter of modesty and custom. Some low-class, uncompanioned, free girls do not wear veils. Similarly certain bold free women neglect the veil. Neglect of the veil is not a crime in Gorean cities, though in some it is deemed a brazen and scandalous omission."

--p.107, Slave Girl of Gor

   "Free women, drinking, commonly lift their veil, or veils, with the left hand. Low-caste free women, if veiled, usually do the same. Sometimes, however, particularly if they are in public, they will drink through their veil, or veils. Sometimes, of course, free women will drink unveiled, even with guests. Much depends upon how well the individuals are known, and who is present. In their homes, of course, with only the members of their families present, or servants and slaves, most free women do not veil themselves, even those of high caste."

--p.276, Fighting Slave of Gor

     There are many other quotes in the books which allude to the fact that free women are not typically required by law to conceal themselves. Also, much is dependent upon culture. The free women of the Wagon Peoples, the Alar tribe, and the Red Savages and Red Hunters do not veil themselves; that is rather a social custom of the high cities of Gor. To do otherwise in the more civilized realms of Gor is considered by polite society to be scandalous at best, or to the extreme to be an invitation for a collaring. Perhaps the reason that so many free women of the high cities do go veiled is that so many of their sisters who chose not to are no longer free women. Norman seems to imply this, at least.

QUOTES OF INTEREST

   "`You found your humanity,' said Samos.

   `I betrayed my codes!' I cried.

   `It is only at such moments,' said Samos, `that a man sometimes learns that all truth and all reality is not written in one's own codes.'"

--p.310, Raiders of Gor

   "`Do you know who fears to tell the truth?' he asked.

   `No,' she said.

   `A slave,' said Kamchak."

--p.168, Nomads of Gor

   "I bit out the cork in the Paga and passed it past Elizabeth to Kamchak, as courtesy demanded. About a third of the bottle was missing when Elizabeth, looking faint at having smelled the beverage, returned it to me."

--p.152, Nomads of Gor

     [The above quote reiterates my past comments about paga in one regard: its pungent odor. Rancid? I dunno. Smelly? Definitely.]

   "Why does the nibbling urt chatter and laugh at the larl? Is it because he himself is not a larl, or is it because he fears its paw?"

--p.229, Explorers of Gor

   "`A true man is gentle, kind, tender, respectful, at all times, sweet and solicitous! That is a true man!'...

   `You are female,' I said casually. `I do not accept your definition of a man.'"

--p.300, Nomads of Gor

   "Enmeshed in the legalities, negativities and socialized expectations it is difficult to relate as biological human beings...The order of nature, and the obdurate and thematic equations of dominance and submission, denied though they might be, and even if hysterically repudiated, will continue to lurk in the microstructures of every cell in the human body."

--p.240, Rogue of Gor (submitted by JaKil)

   "There is perhaps little to be said for the Gorean world, but in it men and women are alive. It is a world which I would not willingly surrender. It is a very different world from mine; in its way, I suppose it is worse; in its way, I know it is better.

It is its own place, and not another's. It is honest and real. In it there is good air."

--p.212, Slave Girl of Gor

My Quote for the Week:

"Logic is as neutral as a knife."

--Tarl Cabot, p.223, Explorers of Gor

     This week, while during one of my numerous visits online, I spoke to a young woman regarding her concerns that not many people realize that Gor means various things to various people, and each must "seek his own level" of understanding. I advised her that Gorean IRC is often fraught with peril and misconception, and that to some, "their own level" of being Gorean is actually NOT being Gorean at all. I suspect our online society harbors a certain number of individuals to whom the word "Gorean" is little more than a convenient category for their own personal weirdness. Which is fine, provided the particular weirdness in question is Gorean weirdness. Much of what Norman describes in his novels is considered "weird" by those who have never read or sought to understand the books. Still, when one practices "weirdness" in a manner which the typical rank and file Gorean described in the Gor books would not, then one is simply projecting one's own belief system atop the Gorean one which Norman details in the novels. Which is, in my own opinion, kind of pointless.

     Also I recently read somewhere that "the Gor books are a great introduction to Gorean IRC, just until someone is ready to accept the real, greater truths of the Gorean IRC community." I am paraphrasing here, but still... does that seem a bit backward to you? Gorean IRC should try to emulate Gor, rather than using Gor as a crash course to train people in how to behave in Gorean IRC channels, at least in my opinion. Otherwise our channels cease being paga taverns and bathhouses and war camps, and become...well, just IRC channels. While a channel need not pretend to be something it's not in order to be Gorean, the fact remains that in order to actively practice Gorean interaction on line, we need the environmental freedom provided by the world of Gor, as it exists in the books. Take that away and you wind up being a bunch of would-be Goreans stuck on Earth, in a rather hostile environment.

     Not me. I like my virtual paga. Not because I can actually taste it; rather for the reason that it reminds me that I am, in some sense, on Gor, among friends who expect me to comport myself in a Gorean manner. If the only way I can exist upon Gor, in a society which accepts and respects my beliefs and philosophies, is to visit it online, then I have no problem with that. But we can still do our best to make Earth a little more Gorean, rather than allowing Gor to become watered down by the dictates of Earth.

     Well, that's this week's rant. I now relinquish control of your computer, until this time next week when we'll take another trip into the Gorean Zone. : )

     For those of you have sent in specific questions which need answering, I intend to get to them all. Also, in some cases a certain amount of research is required to answer them to my own (and I hope, your own) satisfaction. In the meantime, I ask your favor and hope you will keep reading. The answers are there; they just need a little discovering and uncovering.

I wish you well!

_Marcus_

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? If you have any of the above, have queries 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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