January 22 1998

January 22 1998

"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 decided this week to answer a number of questions which have been sent to me over the course of the past few weeks, just so the readers who write in won't think I have forgotten about them. In addition I present the usual mishmash of quotes from the Gor books, most of which have been sent to me by friends of mine. There are some rather good ones this week which deal with the difference between Earth culture and Gorean attitudes, and which point up the different philosophical base of each, and the effects of those philosophies upon each world's inhabitants.

In addition, for those of you who are interested, my working map of the Gorean supercontinent is now in place on the Silk&Steel Tavern website. This is a project I have been working at, off and on, over the last year or so. I add that I have already progressed beyond Version 1 and have finished Version 2. The Gorean Quick Reference Map on my map site is the first version, upon which I unfortunately completely forgot to place the islands of Ianda and Anango. By viewing the entire map, or main map, on that site, however, you can view the second, corrected version. It also has a new road which I discovered in later readings as well as clearing up a few misplaced city locations such as Harfax, Esalinius and Besnit. All of the distances depicted on the map are to scale according to the books, as explained in the cartographic notes on the site.

The map site can be viewed at http://www2.1starnet.com/mharris/maps/refmap.htm, or just click the Map Floor link off the Silk&Steel home page at http://www2.1starnet.com/mharris/tavern/tavern.html. I ask that any who view it refrain from copying it and putting it up on their own site, or dividing it into hexes for use as a gameboard. Needless to say, that would annoy me to no end, especially since all the maps on that site are copyrighted by me. It would also seem to display an utter lack of creativity and common decency by those who just try to steal it. If you want to use it for something other than a reference, e-mail me and we'll work something out.

To those Goreans who always wondered where all those cities were... Enjoy.

GOR according to Norman

THE CALL OF NATURE VS. EARTH CUSTOM

"`If the men of Earth choose to surrender the birthright of their dominance, to exchange it for the garbage of a political perversion; if they should choose to deny their genes; if they should choose to subvert and violate the order of nature; if they should choose self- castration to manhood, that is, I suppose, their business.'
`I do not know, Master,' she said.
`Provided, of course, that they are willing to accept such penalties as anxiety, guilt, misery, frustration, sickness and shortened life spans.'
`I do not know, Master,' she said. `A subverted nature cannot be expected not to retaliate,' I said."
--p.152, Guardsman of Gor
"But, why? I asked myself. Should not, rather, one be more ashamed by deceit than the truth? Can there truly be a greater honor in hypocrisy then in honor? It does not seem so."
--p.257, Guardsman of Gor
"We grow fond of our myths. Yet our myths are like walls of straw. Ultimately they must perish in the flames of truth."
--p.257, Guardsman of Gor
"I then considered many things, Earth and its miseries, the nature of life, genetic endowments, biology, civilizations, chains and collars, and the small, excruciatingly desirable, curvacious beasts that are the human females."
--p.276, Guardsman of Gor
"Is it not safer to cower in the caves of lies than to stand upon the cliffs of truth, surveying the world? Yet when one stands in the sunlight, and feels the winds of reality, how dank and shameful seem the dark shelters of falsehood, and how foolish it seems then to have once feared daylight and fresh air."
--p.103, Fighting Slave of Gor
"But who will tell the lion to be a flower? Surely, only the flowers. And who will tell a man not to be a man? Surely, too, the flowers, who might otherwise fear the tread of the heavy paws, the passing of the foot of the striding warrior."
--p.94, Fighting Slave of Gor
"Enmeshed in legalities, negativities, and socialized expectations it was difficult to relate as biological human beings."
--p.240, Rogue of Gor
"On another world, lit by the same star, in another place, dawn, too, drew near. The distant light in the great cities, unknowing, soon to be occupied with the concerns of their days, piercing the haze of daily, customary poisons, first struck the heights of the lofty buildings, reflecting from the rectangular windows, like sheets of burnished copper reflecting the fires of the sun. Men would soon be up and about their duties, hurrying from one nothing to another, to compromises, to banal degradations, anxious lest they fail to be on time. They would not care for the blackened grass growing between the bricks; they would take no note of the spider's architecture, nor marvel at the flight of a wren darting to its nest among the smoke-blackened, carved stones. There would be no time. There would be no time for them, no time for seeing, or feeling, or touching, or loving, or finding out what it might be to be alive. Clouds would be strangers to them; rain an inconvenience, snow a nuisance; a tree an anachronism; a flower an oddity, cut and frozen in a florist's refrigerator. These were men without meaning, so full and so empty, so crowded, so desolate, so busy, so needlessly occupied. These were the grey men, the hurrying men, the efficient, smug, tragic insects, noiseless on soft feet on the billion iron hills of technology. How few of them gazed ever on the stars."
--p.238-239, Marauders of Gor

WARRIORS AND EMOTION

"`Tears are not unbecoming to the soldier,' said Callimachus. `The soldier is a man of deep passions, and emotion. Many men cannot even understand his depths. Do not fear your currents and your powers. In the soldier are flowers and storms. Each is a part of him, and each is real. Accept both. Deny neither.'"
--p.238, Guardsman of Gor
"Even warriors long sometimes for the sight of their own flags, atop friendly walls, for the courtyards of their keeps, for the hearths of their halls. Thus admit the Codes."
--pg.306, Blood Brothers of Gor

THE RITES OF FRIENDSHIP

"'Friend', he had said. 'Friend,' I had said. We had then tasted salt, each from the back of the wrist of the other."
--pg.70, Marauders of Gor
"The warrior grinned and put his hands over mine so that our hands together held the dirt and the grass, and were together clasped on it."
--pg.26, Nomads of Gor
"'He is a stranger,' she said. 'He should be slain!'
Kamchak grinned up at her. 'He has held with me dirt and earth,' he said."
--p.32, Nomads of Gor
"To share the kettle of a friend is to dine with a Ubar."
--pg.349, Blood Brothers of Gor

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q: Master, do you know of any reference to why a girl holds a cup etc. to her slave heart for three beats or three ehn that might be in the books?
(submitted by fire`)

A: I am unaware of any quote in the books which supports this custom, except for the fact that in certain areas of Gor, on the Plains of the Wagon Peoples, for instance, the beating of slave-girl's (or other animal's) heart is sometimes used as a convenient manner by which to count time. I assume that the ritualized count of three heartbeats is an IRC convention, and not directly related to anything displayed in the Gor books themselves.

Q: Is there a reference to red sugar in any of the later books? It is something a girl has seen a lot on IRC, but in the books she has been able to read nothing. In book 10 she saw a reference to white and yellow sugar, and several references in several books before that (she has only finished the first 9 books and started on the 10th) of red and yellow salt. but she has seen nothing of red and yellow sugar.
(submitted by tashara{Rhy})

A: I have no knowledge of "red sugar" in use upon Gor. While that does not automatically mean that there is no such thing, I suspect that the existence of Gorean "red sugar" on IRC is related to simple confusion regarding the repeated mention of red SALT on Gor, which is well documented. I seem to recall references to "colored sugars" in relation to flavoring the wines of Turia, however, though I do not believe that the color red was specified.

Q: Master, this girl respectfully submits references regarding the service of blackwine and the term "second slave" which would seem to have different meanings dependent on the region of Gor...
(submitted by tyki{LTs})

A: The term "to the second slave" may be completely unknown among the tribesmen of the Tahari, as you seem to suggest. What we do know about the term "to the second slave" is this:

"'Second slave,' I told her, which, among the river towns, and in certain cities, particularly in the north, is a way of indicating that I would take the black wine without creams or sugars, and as it came from the pouring vessel, which, of course, in these areas, is handled by the `second slave,' the first slave being the girl who puts down the cups, takes the orders and sees that the beverage is prepared according to the preferences of the one who is being served."
And:
"The expression "second slave," incidentally, serves to indicate that one does not wish creams or sugars with one's black wine, even if only one girl is serving."
(pages 244-245, Guardsman of Gor)

Norman tells us, therefore, that the term as used "... among the river towns, and in certain cities, particularly in the north, is a way of indicating that I would take the black wine without creams or sugars." This would not necessarily include the southern regions below the equator, or the Tahari wastes.

The reason why the term is not in use in the Tahari is obvious... since in the Tahari, black wine is often not served the same way it is served in the north. I have yet to find a reference to the term "to the second slave" anywhere other than in regards to the service of blackwine in the North; therefore, it is safe to assume that when someone asks for their black wine to the second slave, they are using the northern Gorean colloquialism for "I'll take mine black." In the Tahari they would simply indicate to the condiment slave how much of each condiment they desired in their black wine, and it would be mixed in.

tyki{LTs}: "In the homestone of this girl's Master, the term "second slave" is not used because of the confusion that may be raised with visitors from different regions of Gor. The owner of the place this girl is usually found asks Masters and Mistresses to be specific about how they would like their blackwine prepared, rather than using terms which vary from region to region."

That seems to make some sense, and of course whatever the founder or ops of a channel want to do in that channel, or whichever Gorean customs they choose to accept or to disallow, are entirely their own business. Channels differ just as actual Gorean establishments would differ... for instance the S&S uses botas to store their paga. While other channels might use bottles or jars, the S&S uses botas. Just a peculiarity of that place, though such is just as fundimentally Gorean as not using botas. To each his own, provided the overall societal customs which prevail in the Gor books remain in place.

tyki{LTs}: "The owner of this place also took offense to the term "second slave" because some misconstrued the term as meaning that the girl serving the blackwine was considered to be second girl in the tavern, and we do not have such a ranking within the tavern."

Again, that seems to make sense, although the term is specifically explained in the Gor books and does not mean that in any way, shape or fashion. And the inability to use such terms as "first slave" and "second slave" etc., might make it rather difficult to count your slaves. : )

tyki{LTs}:"When this girl is asked to serve blackwine "second slave", she has learned to ask the Master/Mistress what region of Gor they are from, or asks them to clarify how they want their blackwine, and if given the opportunity explains why she was confused by the term."

A wise way of proceeding. If a Master or Mistress asks for their black wine "to the second slave" and that term has a clearly defined meaning which is understood by the slave, then does it not make sense to simply serve the free person as they wish to be served? That would seem to me the earmark of a clever slave who is well-versed in the customs of many lands, unless the channel in question is Turian or of the Tahari and no one there ever uses the term. Of course, for those who do not use the term, it might be well to ask them how they prefer it, since all do not know and use the term, unless they are from the North. To be on the safe side you might want to ask them how they prefer their blackwine anyway, as do many cautious slaves on IRC.

Q: Do you have any discussion or pics of the "iron belts" referred to in several GOR books?
(submitted by EH6118)

A: The Gorean "iron-belt," as described by John Norman, is virtually identical in form, function and almost every other regard to the chastity belt of Earth. The construction of the device is explained below:

"She also wore an iron belt. This belt consisted of two major pieces; one was a rounded, fitted, curved barlike waistband, flattened at the ends; one end of this band, that on the right, standing behind the woman and looking forward, had a heavy semicircular ring, or staple, welded onto it; the other flattened end of the waistband, looking forward, had a slot in it which fitted over the staple; the other major portion of this belt consisted of a curved band of flat, shaped iron; one end of this flat band was curved about, and closed about, the barlike waistband in the front; this produces a hinge; on the other end of this flat band of iron is a slot; it fits over the same staple as the slot in the flattened end of the left side of the barlike waistband. The belt is then put on the woman in this fashion. The waistband is closed about her, the left side, its slot penetrated by the staple, over the right side; the flat U-shaped band of iron, contoured to female intimacies, is then swung up on its hinge, between her thighs, where the slot on its end is penetrated by the staple, this keeping the parts of the belt in place. The whole apparatus is then locked on her, the tongue of the padlock thrust through the staple, the lock then snapped shut."
--pg.103, Kajira of Gor

The iron belt is ,obviously, designed to prevent the penetration of the female wearer's body by a male. In addition, some such belts are equipped with narrow openings at the suitable junctures through which the wearer might relieve herself of bodily wastes should this prove necessary. These openings, by the way, are rather small and are commonly edged with serrated metal saw-teeth, designed so that they inflict no injury on the wearer but are capable of ripping or tearing any object which is forced through the openings from the outside. These teeth project outward at an angle... objects may be inserted past them, but not withdrawn without injury. Also (and I wince to consider it) should the offending object grow or swell while within the opening, it would be effectively trapped within the opening, unless its owner decided to forcibly remove it from the toothy hole.

[Click HERE to view a picture of one.]

Ouch. Some things have the power even to make a Gorean warrior shudder.

QUOTES OF INTEREST

"I had for an Ahn at that place recollected my honor. Let that be commemorated by the flames."
--pg.320, Hunters of Gor
"In the codes of the warriors, there is a saying; 'Be strong, and do as you will. The swords of others will set you your limits.'"
--p.10, Marauders of Gor
"Gorean enemies, if skilled, often hold one another in high regard."
--pg.70, Marauders of Gor
"`To be sure,' I said, `' white' in the context of 'white-silk girl' tends less to suggest purity and innocence to the Gorean than ignorance, naivety, and a lack of experience. One expects a red-silk girl, for example, to not only be able to find her way about the furs, but, subject to the whip, owned and dominated, perhaps chained, to prove herself a sensuous treasure within them."
--p.205, Savages of Gor
"I do not think that it is a bad idea for a man to be alone sometimes, and to have some time to think. This is a good way, for example, to get to know oneself. Many men, it seems, have never made their own acquaintance. It would not hurt most of us, I suspect, once in a while, to go to a sweat lodge."
--pg.308, Blood Brothers of Gor

My Quote for the Week:
"Truth not won is not possessed. We are not entitled to truths for which we have not fought."
--p.7, Marauders of Gor

That's it for this week. Sorry I wimped out on everyone last week... I have had a few personal projects on the side which have made it difficult to do as much Gorean research as I would have liked to have done. Special thanks to JaKil and feiqua{MAR} who have kept me in quotes during this rather busy period. My offline job will be taking me out of town at the end of March through the summer, limiting my online time, but I'll do my best to keep this column going until then. In the meantime I appreciate everyone's comments and questions... it warms my stern Gorean heart to see so many people who are as devoted (addicted?) to Gor books as I am.

Also another reminder... the folks at Vision Entertainment are really getting crunched for time in their publishing schedule and are trying to get a handle on the number of possible subscribers to their new (very cool) magazine. If you haven't already checked out the sample site, visit http://www2.1starnet.com/vision and log your vote regarding your willingness to subscribe. There is some sample artwork there, provided by their art team, and more to come in the next week or so. Keep your eyes on it, but only vote once; they need accurate figures.

Until next week... 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.

Send e-mail to: By The Book
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