This Singer's thoughts on IRC Gor

     This Gor that we find ourselves on, this alter Earth is an odd place in which to reside. It is a planet on the far side of the sun, separated from Earth by hundreds of millions of miles. Yet, it takes very little to get here; imagination, a computer and modem, a little software. Nearly anybody can, with a few strokes of a key board, summon a silver spaceship. It will usually arrive sooner than would a taxi. Hop on board and within moments, you are here. On Gor, you can be almost anything you want. Most wind up pretty much as they are on Earth, though maybe a little improved.

     On Earth you might be a woman, a bit insecure, a little plain and over weight. Here, you can present your character as slim, confident and strikingly beautiful. Personally, I make my living as a Small Business Management instructor, in truth a rather average amateur musician. On Gor, I escape the tedium of my day job and become wonderfully talented, an artist in the caste of Poets and Singers. We don't really mind these minor deceptions. It is perhaps even expected. They are part of the reason a lot of us are here. Very few of us are actually assassins or ride great powerful war tarns. It's not that we are really unhappy on Earth, simply incomplete. We are looking for a piece of ourselves that we alone know is missing. That is neither good nor bad, it simply is.

     For many of us, that piece involves the need to own, or to be owned. Tragically, many find the piece before learning how to properly use it. Men often find women they can posses fully before they are prepared for the awesome responsibility of actually holding another person's life in the palms of their hands. Many women, new to Gor, leap into the first collar extended to them. Often, they shed rivers of tears trying to serve a very small man. No True Master, he turns out rather just a computer savvy, school yard bully. Less whole than when they arrived, wounded and disillusioned, Gor soon looses another precious jewel.

      I see the disdain some have for training halls, Gor light, for Disney Gor. True, these places can be pits of sloth for the lazy, and hiding places for the weak. But staffed and frequented by Goreans with Honor and experience, they can also serve an important role. They can give newcomers time, a chance to read a book or two, perhaps their first, time to learn proper serves and what is expected of a True Master or kajira. Understand me clearly, friends. I too, seek true Gor. I too, attempt to incorporate Gorean philosophy into my daily life. Yet, did we not all start our schooling in the first grade? Must a girl be willing to be bound, whipped, branded and raped on her first visit, to be Gorean? Must a new Man, honorable but unlearned, risk death the very day he arrives on Gor? As time goes on, some will join us and travel deeper into this world we all love so much. We must be there also.

I wish you well,

Strummer

Expositions: The Unknown Critic

     Having decided to write a bit for this fine circulation, the next choice became what possible material could be covered which had not already been done so by persons more knowledgeable. After a while a thought finally struck me... Why not review taverns and places of Gor on the IRC channels? Of course! I have seen the works of many critics, and none of them EVER knew what they were talking about, and always made out like they were the most learned person alive on their subject! I can easily feign intelligence as well as the next, so by the grace of the Priest-Kings there go I, and beware the tarn turds and toes that will be stepped in and upon. Each week a tavern will be chosen on any one of the many IRC networks, and be visited at least a couple times. And in this time, I will do my best to ferret out the best and worst of its existance. The food and spirits, the service, ambiance and the patronage will be examined and discussed with the overall style of the establishment noted to the readers of these pages. The identity of this columnist must remain cloaked in secrecy, mainly because some reviews might upset particular owners, but I will always try to rationalize that fact away by not wanting "special treatment" in any places visited. In any case, why don't we just all have some fun!

Excursus

     My first visit is to a relativly new place called the Pleasure Lodge. It is a homey place situated on a quiet beach which overlooks the Thassa. It has been founded by Brin^Lar, and to my surprise, sora, who was an uncollared slave during my morning visit. To his credit, it seems that the wench was collared that afternoon, since the title was set by sora{B^L}. Unfortunatly, there was no one to ask in the evening, as the place was deserted.

Food & Spirits - The morning blackwine was hot and strong, but that is *** a fairly common occurance, and I was told by the server, sora, that the house specialty was roast vulo with suls and verr butter. Since I found myself alone that evening, I sampled this dish myself, and even though it is standard fare, it was excellent. I also helped myself to plenty of sul-paga and left quite a mess. ( 3 stars )

Service - During the morning there were two slaves present, but I only had * occassion to see the one "founder" slave actually serve. She served well, but I had no time for even a quick lapping, and there were none to serve that night. While most new taverns have some difficulty having enough to serve, at least one or two should be on hand. ( 1 star )

Ambiance - The owners have indeed chosen a new style of locale and construct. *** 1/2 One has to search the area to actually find the lodge. If not for a tarn turd thumping off the roof as I flew over, I never would have known it existed. The atmosphere is new, and for that worth a look. ( 3 1/2 stars)

Patronage - I was welcomed politely by the two men in the lodge, although the owner did not seem to notice ** me for some time. ( of course, this really doesn't matter) The other Op was helpful in answering any questions, and even attempted to explain Gorean custom to some fool who wndered in. He did get angry with him, but never did give a kick... One star for each of them. ( 2 stars )

Style - Difficult to judge on such a short trip, but hard to give too good a mark on an empty place in the late *1/2 evening. I do find it a bit odd to have a slave as a co-founder with a Master, collared or otherwise, so marks here won't be tremendous. ( 1 1/2 stars )

     In all, the #Pleasure^Lodge on Dalnet is not a bad spot to visit if you happen to be out by the coast. Stop in and visit Brin^Lar and his new (I think) slave. If no one is around, leave a tarsk on the table and raid the kitchen like I did. But if you do see someone... tell them Excursus sent you!

What makes a Gorean?

     With the proliferation of Gorean channels on IRC, it is common for one to hear of people labeled as "not Gorean." This begs the question of what exactly a Gorean is. Certainly there are many opinions. Here is mine:

     One word you will hear time and time again in reference to that quality we call Gorean is honor. And yet, is that a prerequisite? Consider such individuals as Pa-Kur from Book I; Dorna from Book II; Sarm from Book III; Tolnus, Ubar of the Paravici, and Saphrar the Merchant from Book IV, Cernus the Slaver, later Warrior, the Taurentian Guard, the Hinrabian Family, he who impersonated Flaminius all from Book V, Surbus of Port Kar, Lurius of Jad, Chenbar the Sleen, all from Book VI... I think you see the pattern. Each of these individuals acted without honor, many of them dying without honor. Yet each of them, indisputably, was Gorean.

     Honor then is no exigency for being Gorean. Or more precisely, not all Goreans have honor. What then are the common qualities that Goreans possess? How can we measure a man and say he is Gorean?

     It is perhaps easier, in some ways, to say what is not Gorean. Many -- far too many -- have taken value sets to which they subscribe in real life, and which are otherwise as valid as any other value set, and tried to convey them to a Gorean setting. In the words of a great man, calling a horse's tail a leg doesn't give it five legs. Calling something Gorean doesn't make it so. Gorean men don't worship their slave girls, nor idolize them, nor respect them. Slave girls may indeed be loved and prized. Nevertheless, such girls are often held to the cruelest, harshest, and most exacting demands of slavery.

     Gorean men do not call each other "Brother." Gorean Assassins don't have to say your name before they kill you. Goreans do not tie little bits of white silk to their girls' collars as a sign that her use is "reserved." Goreans don't say "Tal" when they mean "Good Bye." Still, these are tiny things and merely avoiding them isn't what makes one Gorean.

     Saying what being Gorean is not, then, still doesn't help us. We must decide what the characteristics of a Gorean are. Perhaps the most basic of these characteristics is that of clear cut, wide open, honesty. A Gorean isn't honest in the sense that he never lies, cheats, or steals. Instead he is honest in the sense that he knows himself, understands his thoughts and desires, and embraces his feelings. He does not rationalize away his yearnings, but basks in them. He is not afraid to express himself, not required to restrain his emotions, and not expected to compromise his masculinity. He cannot and will not deny who he is. Nor does the Gorean man allow his slaves to deny themselves. Instead he requires, by force if it pleases him, that his girls embrace their own true selves fully.

     The attribute of being Gorean is not defined in terms of actions. Actions merely serve as indicators. The attribute of being Gorean is not defined in terms of the number of slaves one owns or whether one has ever owned any in real life. These are external gauges. Being Gorean is a quality that comes from within oneself. This may involve the outward manifestations of honor and integrity, but these are just symptoms of being Gorean. The cause is a total and complete acceptance of "self." Certainly one must wear the garb -- one must act in a manner consistent with what we might expect to see in the books -- but without the comprehensive and holistic personal purity of soul, the actions are merely vacant posturing.

Be Gorean and be well,

Zeb, Warrior