Gorean questions & answers – 3
This is the third in a series of questions and answers about the world of Gor. I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all those who contact me so that I can answer their questions and help them. I remind you that my job is to offer you, on a voluntary basis, cultural information about the world of Gor, about role-playing in Second Life’s Gorean sims, and about role-playing on SL in general.
And as I’ve been asked: why don’t I treat my articles solely with excerpts from the novels, as they do with the excellent website The Gorean Cave? Well, because it’s already doing it! It’s the very principle of The Gorean Cave, and I see no point in copying it; it does it very well! My work is more oriented towards an initiation to the world of Gor, with a sustained accessibility for the novice player.
I give pride of place to game guides and advice for players, as well as articles describing the main aspects of the universe in an accessible way. If Gorean Cave were the Encyclopedia Brittanica, I’d be the All the Universe encyclopedia, which is much more concerned with popularizing and introducing people to science and knowledge.
PS: if you want to support me, I’ve got a little store on Second Life, and you can even make a donation to encourage me, with a tip jar on the spot. Many thanks and all my gratitude, in advance!
SLURL: http: //maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Serendipity%20One/236/47/25
Marketplace: https: //marketplace.secondlife.com/en-US/stores/130327
Now for the reader’s questions, and happy reading!
1- Do goreans use sex toys?
Absolutely! In fact, archaeologists have unearthed a few dildos made of non-perishable materials in the history of the Earth, and we can confirm that in Egypt, Greece and ancient Rome, although these toys were undoubtedly luxurious, they were nothing out of the ordinary. Here’s a scientific article on the subject!
On Gor, there are plenty of sex toys, and I’ve compiled a non-exhaustive list in this article, which brings together all the equipment and objects that goreans used with their slaves. The link is here.
2- Can you explain the real meaning of “slave fire”?
I talk about it in this article, which describes in detail the concept of the slave heart, i.e. the instinct for submission that is awakened, conditioned and exalted in Gor’s slave girls. An instinct that exists, incidentally, for often familial (and dramatic) socio-cultural causes, in human beings on Earth.
But then, slave fire is just that:
Also called the slave’s womb, slave fire is the over-expressed sexual and carnal appetite that all kajirae develop during their training and upbringing, by dint of being conditioned and sensitized to experience all their feminine emotions and desires in an animal way. Sex is the slave’s ultimate reward, the gift offered in exchange for everything she is. Conditioned to need it as much as she needs to drink, deprivation of sex is a common punishment or ordeal, just as deprivation of food for a few days creates the same all-consuming need in her. A slave wants to please with all her might, out of devotion. But if she wants to please men so much, it’s also to calm her slave fire, which can, in some cases, be permanent and all-consuming.
3- Can a woman of the Warrior caste be a fighter?
In fact, any woman can become a fighter… in theory. Few female fighters are mentioned in the novels, but Tarl comes across at least two or three. I insist that, if it exists, it’s exceptional. But it does exist and, while it’s generally very poorly accepted, it’s not necessarily the case that women fighters are totally rejected and lynched.
Remember that Goreans recognize individual worth before gender, caste and rank (except for slaves, where… your status comes before your worth). A female warrior who demonstrates great value will be frowned upon, yes, and not accepted everywhere, but she will be respected. That is… until a more disgruntled, angry and courageous man manages to defeat her, bring her to her knees and enslave her, as a reminder that it’s men who remain the strongest.
So, the answer’s yes! But with one caveat: it’s exceptional, it’s frowned upon, it’s a dangerous and socially high-risk life, and for any man from Gor, it’s no place for a woman. So you need finesse and really good arguments (and being provocative and rolling muscles is not a good argument), to justify this kind of thing in Gor roleplay.
4- How many slaves are there in Gor?
That’s easy! About half a billion humans on the whole continent, about 5% slaves on average, which gives us: 25 million slaves. I’d add that, by a rather cavalier estimate, 85% of slaves are women, so 21.2 million women slaves.
5- How many earthlings are there on Gor?
Even easier, and I’m going straight to the quote from the novels that answers this question:
– Are the female slaves on Gor often of Terran origin? she asked.
– I suppose all humans in Gor are of Terran origin,” I replied.
– I mean,” she asked, ‘like me, a girl born and raised on Earth, then brought to Gor as a slave?’.
– Statistically, I said, probably not many. How many I couldn’t say.
– Ten, she asked, twenty?
– Maybe four or five thousand, I replied. I couldn’t say precisely. Such a number, I conjectured, would not even be lacking in a teeming population such as Earth’s.
– Are we being brought here as slaves?” she asked.
– Of course,” I said.
– And the slavery continues,” she replied.
– I suppose so,” I said. On Gor, there’s a market for the beautiful girls of Earth. They make excellent slaves.
Beasts of Gor”
Yes, no matter what anyone says, an Earth slave is a rare commodity: I talk about it in detail in this article.
6- What’s a Priest-King agent?
I assumed it was possible that this man was an agent of the Priest-Kings. No doubt they chose their human agents on the basis of probity and usefulness, not nobility or honor. Likewise, the morality of the Priest-Kings may not have been that of men, nor of the Kurii. I also knew that there was a new dynasty in the Nest. The remnants of the previous order, dispossessed and supplanted, neglected and despised, may long since have sought the pleasures of the Golden Beetle.
The swordsmen of Gor
This is a human, who can be of any origin or caste, male or female, (and even some kajirae, although this is very rare) used as an intelligence or action agent by the Priest-Kings’ organization known as the Sardar (yes, it’s not just a place). The agents of the Priest-Kings act invisibly, as spies, interveners, commandos, kidnappers and informers, in a vast system of hidden organization, where each agent knows only the agents he or she is working with, and his or her contact or superior, in general. Many agents therefore have no idea what the Priest-Kings are, and most don’t even know that they work for them.
That said, an agent of the Priest-Kings is someone who knows things. It’s what’s known as Third Knowledge and, in a nutshell, it’s detailed knowledge of the Earth, and the modern and science-fiction technologies of Gor’s world, plus a few secrets they never talk about. Some agents are implanted by Priest-Kings technology, via other high-ranking agents, with a brain implant, a mesh that amplifies information assimilation, with an external connection, not to mention other forms of biotechnology close to those imagined by cyberpunk.
Last but not least, the Goreans who travel to Earth on spaceships to supply the Gorean market with abducted and enslaved Terran women are all agents of the Priest-Kings, but for the most part, as I said above, they’re not even really aware of it and don’t know who they’re working for, even if they have an idea! And, yes, there are goreans living on Earth, organized in secret networks, with local accomplices. I tell myself it must be weird for them all the same. And they travel between Gor and Earth.
7- Can you tell me about the artists’ caste?
The artist caste is a group of castes: poets, singers, musicians, actors, painters and sculptors. Each forms a sub-caste in its own right, and I haven’t been able to remember their caste colors. It’s a reputable caste, fairly open to applications, but not very wealthy in general.
The entire artist caste is considered sacred, by the goreans. Mainly, an artist must always be free; thus, artists cannot be enslaved, to do so is a real sacrilege, and artists have the right to move freely from one city-state to another, even if, like everyone else, they have a homestone in one city. Artists live by patronage; a man who wants to increase his prestige will organize shows with renowned artists, whom he has paid dearly, for public performances. Artists, especially painters and sculptors, may be employed by a powerful man, for example, to decorate an entire palace, but no artist is obliged to respect the hierarchy between employee and employer. Once again, artists must always remain free.
But, to dismantle an onlinism, this sacred protection of artists does not extend to their own physical integrity. An artist who commits a crime can endure corporal punishment, or even lose his life, just like everyone else! They can also be banished and ostracized!
8- Why are kajirae afraid of male slaves?
Because, although it’s actually quite rare, there is a punishment designed for a kajira who hasn’t been able to please a master who wants to use her sexually well enough. It’s to throw her in a cage with male slaves, who have permission to enjoy her, for a set period of time.
Yeah… it’s organized rape, and it’s very violent. Now, let’s put that into perspective: it’s rare, simply because such punishment leaves deep psychological scars. So either the kajira must have behaved really badly, or the master must be particularly harsh and cruel, to decide on such a punishment. But the mere fact that the punishment exists, that it’s known, and that the kajirae sees kajirus around her, to explain this constant mistrust, often embellished with a certain contempt; kajirus are even more degrading, in the Gorean mind, than kajirae.
But I insist: it’s an uncommon punishment, even if, as a warning, it’s very effective in maintaining discipline and a kajirae’s efforts to please. I like this quote (there are many others like it) as a reminder that the use of violence in punishment is, in fact, not a game, for goreans, and they prefer to avoid it.
But, as mentioned, Ellen was almost never beaten, with the exception of the occasional lash. The reason for this, of course, was not that her master was weak, but that she had become an excellent slave, so there was little, if any, reason to beat her. This practice is common on Gor. Gratuitous cruelty is far more common on Earth, I’m afraid, than on Gor. The value of the whip, you see, is not so much in its use as in the slave knowing that it can be used and, in certain circumstances, that it will be used.
Occasionally, of course, the slave may be tied up and whipped to get to know herself better, to be reminded of what she is, that she is a slave.
Gor prize
9- Do aphrodisiacs exist on Gor?
Let’s start with a little lesson in hormonal neurobiology! Science, of course, has wanted to test the reality of aphrodisiacs, and to do so, understand what is the key to desire and pleasure in humans. We used to think it was dopamine, but it’s a bit more complicated than that (and it’ll remind you of some of the things you need to know about drugs): dopamine, which is involved in numerous functions such as cognition, sleep, memory and pleasure, is merely a precursor to the hormones responsible for creating pleasure. The latter is directly associated with opioid and endocannabinoid receptors (talk about drugs!!). A true aphrodisiac should therefore combine these two very different neurotransmitters. And in nature, there’s no such thing.
But… in chemistry, it does! In a rather haphazard way, there are a few therapeutic molecules, such as dopaminergic agonists, used for Parkison’s patients, which create a hypersexual effect.
So, end of science lesson, to sum up: if there are functional aphrodisiacs, capable of creating hypersexuality on Gor, they are natural or artificial mixtures of opioid and cannabinoid molecules which have addictive effects. They can be very powerful, but their use by goreans is necessarily very reasonable, as addiction is, one suspects, a risk that goreans avoid taking!
If you’d like to find out more, read this article from Popular Science.
10- Can I make an explosive on Gor?
Oh yes, of course, if you have some knowledge of elementary chemistry, you could. That said, it’s a very bad idea, and you’ll only be able to use it once, and then only once. It’s a major taboo, absolutely forbidden on pain of death. I spoke earlier of the agents of the Priest-Kings, who are basically their spies, but the Initiate caste also keeps a watchful eye, and any Gorean will tend to denounce such a project. And if you make one, here’s what you risk:
“On the other hand, you will learn that in matters of lighting, shelter, agricultural techniques and medicine, for example, mortals, or men from below the mountains, are relatively advanced. He looks at me, amused, I think. “You wonder,” he says, “why the many obvious gaps in our technology have not been filled despite the Priest-Kings. It occurs to you that there must exist on this world minds capable of designing things like, say, cannons and armored vehicles.”.
“These things must certainly be produced,” I insisted.
“And you’re right,” he said darkly. “Once in a while they are, but then their owners are destroyed, bursting into flames.”
“Like the blue metal shell?”
“Yes,” he said. “Mere possession of a weapon of this type is punishable by the Flame of Death. Sometimes daring individuals create or acquire such war materials and sometimes escape the Flame of Death for a year, but sooner or later they are struck down.” His gaze was hard. “I’ve seen it happen once,” he said.
Tarnsman of Gor, Page 31.
