Showing posts with label Men. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Men. Show all posts

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Free Men of Gor - Scribes, Builders, Physicians.

Scribes

"It took not much time to purchase a small bundle of supplies to take into the Sardar, nor was it difficult to find a scribe to whom I might entrust the history of the events in Tharna. I did not ask his name nor he mine. I knew his caste, and he knew mine, and it was enough. He could not read the manuscripts it was written in English, a language as foreign to him as Gorean would be to most of you , but yet he would treasure the manuscript and guard it as though it were a most prized possession, for he was a scribe ad it is the way of scribes to love the written word and keep it harm, and if he could not read the manuscript, what did it matter, perhaps someone could someday, and then the words which had kept their secret for so long would at last enkindle the mystery of communication and what had been written would be heard and understood."
Priest-Kings of Gor, page 15

"He scarcely glanced up from the game board at which he sat across from Caprus, of the Caste of Scribes, Chief Accountant of the House."
Assassin of Gor, page 86

"Many castes, incidentally, have branches and divisions. Lawyers and Scholars, for example, and Record Keepers, Teachers, Clerks, Historians and Accountants are all Scribes."
Assassin of Gor, page 208

"I was further cheered by the thought that Caprus had informed me his work was coming along very well and he hoped to have the documents and maps copied by the beginning of Se'Kara; ...And Caprus seemed in good humor; that perhaps was significant, betokening an end in sight for my mission. In thinking about this I realized what a brave man Caprus was, and how little I had respected his courage and his work. He had risked much, probably much more than I. I felt ashamed. He was only a Scribe, and yet what he had done had taken great courage, probably more courage than that possessed by many Warriors."
Assassin of Gor, page 237

"Your man was courageous to come and fetch us," I said. "He is Ngumi," said Shaba, "He is courageous, indeed. We did not know if he would get through. "I did not know a scribe could be so courageous," I said. "There are brave men in all castes," Said Shaba. "
Explorers of Gor, page 433

"The scribes, of course, are the scholars and clerks of Gor, and there divisions and rankings within the group, from simple copiers to the savants of the city."
Tarnsman of Gor, page 44


Builders

"The road, like most Gorean roads, was built like a wall in the earth and was intended to last a hundred generations. The Gorean, having little idea of progress in our sense, takes great care in his building and workmanship. What he builds he expects men to use until the storms of time have worn it to dust. Yet this road, for all of the loving craft of the Caste of Builders which had been lavished upon it, was only an unpretentious, subsidiary road, hardly wide enough for two carts to pass. Indeed, even the main roads to Ko-ro-ba were a far cry from the great highways that led to an from a metropolis like Ar."
Outlaw of Gor, page 25

"Inside, the tunnel, though dim, was not altogether dark, being lit by domelike, wire-protected energy bulbs, spaced in pairs every hundred yards or so. These bulbs, invented more than a century ago by the Caste of Builders, produce a clear, soft light for years without replacement."
Tarnsman of Gor, page 200

"The tharlarion saddle, unlike the tarn saddle, is constructed to absorb shock. Primarily, this is done by constructing the tree of the saddle in such a way that the leather seat is mounted on a hydraulic fitting which actually floats in a thick lubricant. Not only does this lubricant absorb much of the shock involved, but it tends, except under abnormal stress, to keep the seat of the saddle parallel to the ground."
Tarnsman of Gor, page 125

"On the heights of distant Turia itself I could see the flutter of flags and pennons. The walls were crowded, and I supposed many upon them used the long glasses of the Caste of Builders to observe the field of the stakes."
Nomads of Gor, page 113

 
Physicians

"You spoke of knowing the Cabot's for four hundred years" I said "Yes" said Misk "and your father who is a brave and noble man, has served us upon occasion, though he dealt only, unknowingly, with Implanted Ones. He first came to Gor more than six hundred years ago." "Impossible!" I cried "Not with the stabilization serums" remarked Misk."             Priest Kings of Gor, page 126
"The Stabilization Serums, which are regarded as the right of all human beings, be they civilized or barbarian, friend or enemy, are administered in a series of injections, and the effect is, incredibly, an eventual, gradual transformation of certain genetic structures, resulting in indefinite cell replacement without pattern deterioration. These genetic alterations, moreover, are commonly capable of being transmitted. For example, though I received the series of injections when first I came to Gor many years ago I had been told by Physicians that they might, in my case, have been unnecessary, for I was the child of parents who, though of Earth, had been of Gor, and had received the serum. But different human beings respond differently to the Stabilization Serums, and the Serums are more effective with some than with others. With some the effect last indefinitely, with others it wears off after but a few hundred years, with some the effect does not occur at all, with others tragically, the effect is not to stabilize the pattern but to hasten its degeneration. The odds, however, are in favour of the recipient, and there are few Gorean's who, if it seems they need the Serum's do not avail themselves of them."
Assassin of Gor, page 30

"They are administered in four shots ...said the Physician. ...The guard took me and threw me, belly down on the platform, fastening my wrists over my head and widely apart, in leather wrist straps. He similarly secured my ankles. The Physician busying himself with fluids and a syringe before a shelf in another part of the room laden with vials. I screamed. The shot was painful. It was entered in the small of my back, over the left hip. They left me secured on the table for several minutes and then the Physician returned to check the shot. There had been apparently no unusual reaction. ...On the first day I had been examined, given some minor medicines of little consequence, and the first shot in the Stabilization Series. On the second, third and fourth day I received the concluding shots of the series. On the fifth day the Physician took more samples. The serums are effective ...he told the guard."
Captive of Gor, page 93

"Dar-Kosis" I said "is regarded as an instrument of Priest Kings, used to smite those who displease them." "Another myth of Initiates" said Flaminius unpleasantly. "But how do you know that?" I queried. "I do not care," said Flaminius, "if it is true or not. I am a Physician."
Assassin of Gor, page 266

"I and others worked secretly in the Cylinder of Physicians. We devoted our time, those ahn in the day in which we could work to study, research and experiment. Unfortunately for spite and for gold word of our work was brought the High Initiate, by a minor Physician discharged from our staff for incompetence. The Cylinder of Initiates demanded that the High Council of the Caste of Physicians put an end to our work, not only that it be discontinued but that our results to that date be destroyed. The Physicians, I am pleased to say stood with us. There is little love lost between Physicians and Initiates. Before the next passage hand, he said. Armed men broke into the Cylinder of Physicians; the floors we worked on were burned; the Cylinder itself was seriously damaged; our work our records, the animals we used were all destroyed; several of my staff were slain, others driven away."
Assassin of Gor, page 267

"Less impressive perhaps but even more essential to the operation of the House were its kitchens, its laundries, commissaries and storerooms; its medical facilities, in which dental care is also provided."
Assassin of Gor, page 111

"On a rounded wooden block a naked slave girl knelt, her wrists braceletted behind her. Her head was back. One of the physicians was cleaning her teeth."
Beasts of Gor, page 54

http://furmesnest.tripod.com/id28.html


Scribes, the second of the High Castes - Information gotten from this site http://goreanshores.50megs.com/caste.html#Scribes

Friday, January 24, 2014

Social Structure and Gorean Governance

Read all not just what apply to you. Reading part will only mean you have missed something important. Goreans would have learned all of this from birth.

Social Structure

Scribe's Note: This document is intended to describe the kind of behavior that is acceptable and polite within a city.As such, failure to comply with these customs and social norms is not punishable under the law, but rather by the censure of one's fellow citizens.Customs and social norms are essentially part of the social contract, the things everyone subscribes to in order to achieve community and stave off anarchy.The Rule of Law, as necessary as it is, cannot cover every situation, so much of what binds the community together must come from the individuals within it. Customs are simply the "unwritten laws" of the city, carrying penalties that are often far subtler but no less harsh than the civil laws enforced by the caste of magistrates.In life, they are instilled from birth. Presumably, none of us can claim to have been born and raised on Gor; thus, they are submitted here, cities unwritten laws in written form.

Wherever possible, I have chosen to apply the social norms ascribed to Ko-ro-ba, as that city's customs and traditions are described most often and used to contrast with those of other cities in many of the narratives in the books of John Norman.Every item contained herein is supported by a quote from the books which identifies it as the way of things in Ko-ro-ba, or as a common Gorean practice.

ALL FREE

  1. The Home Stone is so central to Gorean life that the planet's name, Gor, means "Home Stone".In a Gorean's view, a city's buildings may be destroyed, its people scattered, but while the city's Home Stone exists, the city itself still exists.
  2. Free persons rise to their feet when speaking of their city's Home Stone.
  3. Free persons are attentive to the thoughts and feelings of one another, especially if they share a Home Stone.
  4. Goreans are typically suspicious of those who claim a Home Stone other than their own.
  5. Caste forms the structure upon which a cities society is built. There are three categories of person who have no caste: Priest-King, slave, and outlaw.
  6. A free person's ethics are based on the Codes of their Caste. The Codes of each Caste form the basis of honor.
  7. Free persons of low caste commonly have a true name known only to their closest relatives, and a use name, by which most people address them.
  8. Companionship with a person who has no caste, family, or position is considered a gross and incomparable mistake.
  9. Those of lower castes are typically illiterate. Warriors, whether it is true or not, will often claim to be illiterate.

FREE MEN

  1. A Gorean free man values freedom, his own and that of others, above all things, save for honor.
  2. Free men pay attention to free women when they speak. It is their due.They are, after all, free.
  3. Free men of Gor commonly stand when a free woman enters the room.
  4. Free men will find it easy to ignore insolence in a free woman, simply because she is free.
  5. One treats a free woman with deference, honor, and respect. By contrast, one treats a slave with condescension and authority.
  6. A free man, walking with a woman, permits her to walk beside him or before him.It is the slave who follows him at his heel.
  7. In the temperate climate of the city, a free man wears either a tunic or robes, depending on his station and the level of physical activity he expects.He will wear either sandals or boots, again depending on the activities he expects to be involved in.His clothing will bear the insignia of his Home Stone and of his caste.In a city, the colors of a man's attire will also be primarily those of his caste.He will take pride in all these things, even if his clothes are torn and dirty.

FREE WOMEN

  1. Free women may address a free man by his name.Doing so marks her as free.
  2. The free women of a city do not willingly travel outside the walls of their city with fewer than two warriors in attendance.
  3. Within city walls, free women may move about the city unaccompanied without first obtaining permission from a male family member.
  4. When seated, free women kneel with their knees together, and their wrists before them, uncrossed.Crossed wrists can be interpreted as an indication of submission.
  5. Free women of high caste do not perform menial tasks.
  6. A free woman may sell herself into slavery, and even negotiate the terms of it.Once she is in a collar, her new Master may change the terms as he sees fit.
  7. A free woman is considered to be free, and will always be treated as one, until she has been branded a slave.
  8. Free women command attention when they speak.It is their due.Yes, this is noted twice.It is that important.
  9. A free woman does not change her name as a result of Free Companionship.
  10. Free Women do not use cosmetics, nor do they wear earrings.They will also not wear any jewelry or adornment that encircles their throat.
  11. A free woman may often make a man angry with impunity, but not always.A wise free woman will not make a habit of it.
  12. Free women keep their hair long and, at least in public, wear it up.Wearing the hair down is a sensual thing, which, as with all things sensual, will be avoided by modest free women.
  13. Free women commonly wear veils in a city.To go without is considered immodest.
  14. Free women of a city dress modestly, wearing robes or gowns which conceal their entire form from shoulder to foot.They will typically choose to wear multi-colored robes or gowns, though the central colors will usually be those of their caste.On her feet, she will wear sandals, slippers, low-heeled boots, or platform shoes designed to help keep the hem of her clothing out of the mud.
  15. In a city, free women will typically turn away from an immodest woman and refuse to speak to her. Free men may, if they choose, strip the immodest woman and force a veil upon her, then march her to her home or to the docks and aboard the next departing vessel if she does not live inside the city walls. This is never done to one of your own city for she is your sister, mother, daughter, or that of your best friend. If this treatment must be repeated, the men may also turn her over to the magistrates, and she will likely be enslaved, in accordance with a cities civil law.
  16. No free woman would dare to bare her legs, shoulders, or wrists.Likewise, a free woman will commonly conceal her throat, since it is natural for a Gorean male to look at her bared throat and think, "collar".
  17. A free woman walks proudly beside a free man, or before him. She will be protective of this right, and should she ever find herself in a collar, she will acutely feel the loss of it.
  18. A free woman is considered justified if she chooses to be aloof, unapproachable, vain, petty, selfish, supercilious, or arrogant.She may also choose to be proud, haughty, insolent, and outspoken.She may treat males with contempt and ridicule.She may certainly be deceitful.She is, after all, free.
  19. High caste women typically regard vulgar language and gestures as being incompatible with the dignity of their caste.Low caste women generally do not constrain themselves in this way.

SLAVES

  1. Slaves are not permitted to touch legal documents.This includes slave papers.
  2. The purpose of a the collar is to identify a slave's owner. The slave, when commanded to identify her owner, will present her collar.
  3. Slaves in a city will be branded.City slaves will be branded with the kef.
  4. Kajirae will kneel in nadu, unless in the presence of free women or when her doing so might distract men from important tasks or discussions.She will then kneel in the position of the tower slave.
  5. Slaves do not teach classes which might be attended by the free, or instruct free persons.
  6. Slaves are not permitted either dignity or frigidity. Those things are reserved for free women.
  7. A slave does not lie.
  8. (more to add here)