Gorean questions & answers – 5
This is the 5th part of a series of questions and answers about the world of Gor. I’d like to extend my warmest thanks to all those who contacted me so that I could answer their questions and help them.
If you want to ask me a question, you can contact me via Primefeed, my email or write to me on SL (psychee soulstar).
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Now for the reader’s questions, and happy reading!
1- Can a Gorean be a good man?
The question was a little strange, so I asked the person who asked it for clarification: “Are there really good men on Gor, everyday heroes who come to the aid of their neighbors, alleviate their misfortunes, fight injustice, even if it involves slaves?”
The answer is, of course, yes, in every social stratum and caste on Gor. Even if moral standards are different and, by our standards, don’t encourage so much kindness, altruism and a sense of justice exist among Gor people. Some of them may find their reason for living in doing their best to make people happy, help them in the face of injustice and alleviate their misery. Does this go so far as to call into question the very foundations of Gorean society? No doubt it does, but most of the time, the best of good men won’t transgress these foundations too much, and will show wisdom and discernment if they hope to live long.
2- Does Gorean science know transistors and computers?
Not at all, and it wouldn’t be able to make them on its own! That’s not to say there aren’t any. But either they’re secretly imported from Earth, or they’re machines supplied by the Priest-Kings, which the Goreans are incapable of reverse-engineering. In the first case, any Initiate who sees this will scream heresy; in the second case, these rare machines can be found, for example, in the richest Gorean hospitals. On the other hand, nothing capable of communicating by radio or other forms of long-range waves exists. The Priest-Kings would detect them immediately, and flash, blue flame, end.
3- Can we wear the colors we want?
Yes! The crime is to impersonate another caste, not to wear its colors. Most goreans only wear their caste’s colors during ceremonies. There’s a quote that answers this question quite well:
“True,” I said. Did he think that the color of a fellow’s garments was what made him a warrior? Surely he must realize that one not of the warriors might affect the scarlet, and that one who wore the grimed gray of a peasant, one barefoot, and armed only with the great staff, might be of the scarlet caste. It is not the uniform which makes the warrior, the soldier.
Magicians of Gor
4- Are Goreans prudish?
Free women, yes, and they’re the only ones, because Gor culture and the sex-obsessed side of Gor men don’t leave them much choice. That said, Gorean culture and religion don’t encourage people to be ashamed of their bodies – quite the contrary! So, for free women, this modesty concerns the fact of being seen undressed by men, and this modesty is above all prudence, not a personal obsession. The 21st-century Western earthling is far more modest than the average Gorean.
5- Does homophobia exist?
The word and concept don’t exist among goreans, as the words homosexuality, gay, lesbian don’t really exist either. They say “he prefers men” or “she prefers women” and that’s as far as it goes, as long as it’s not exposed in the public sphere. An article on this subject here.
The feeling of rejection of this kind of love and relationship must exist, but it’s not widespread, because culturally, Gorean society has no religious or social foundation that has condemned these relationships as sins or crimes. The overly vehement homophobe is therefore considered far more marginal and problematic than the homosexual individual.
6- What is adulthood according to goreans?
Well, that’s a very complicated question. On Earth, the notion of adulthood is correlated with the notion of maturity and age of reason, often imposed by local religious culture. For example, Catholicism defined adulthood as 10, 12 or even 14 until the papal decision of 1910, which set it at 17, while Judaism set it at 13 and Islam at 12 to 14. As for Buddhism, it sets it at 20, and Confucianism at 15.
One could say that, according to the rule of the priest-kings cult, which requires a religious pilgrimage to the Sardar mountains before the age of 25, adulthood would therefore be this number. But the purpose of this pilgrimage is to earn citizenship. It is not at all necessary for sign a contract of companionship and thus start a family. That said, the influence of a relatively enlightened culture, including from a medical point of view, and with less fear of early death, must have meant that the age of reason, when an individual can start a family, probably doesn’t begin before 15, 16 or 17.
7- Can a child be a slave?
Yes! In breeding pens, children born to slaves are separated from their parents from birth. They grow up to the age of six or seven like all children, in a certain carefree freedom, but with a full awareness of who they are. From the age of seven, the enslavement begins. Children are often employed in domestic chores, and training begins. Training intensifies from the age of 13, when the best candidates can be selected for high-priced pleasure slaves, to be sold at the age of 14 or 15 or later. Yes, sorry to shock your morality, but it’s a reality in Gor. That said, Gorans prefer girls who are a little more mature and therefore more adult, in general. And an advanced education for a luxury pleasure slave takes time, so most of them are between 16 and 20.
Children captured or sold by their parents suffer the same fate. However, slavers probably don’t buy slaves under the age of 13 or 14, to avoid the extra expense of training and breeding.
