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So
why do people of Urth not know about the planet Gor? That can be
explained through the "Sun Shield Theory." Since Gor is on the same
orbital path as Urth and circles the same sun, the sun is successful at
blocking Urth's view of Gor. How true is this? Only the Priest
Kings know for sure.
The Priest Kings brought life to Gor on "the Silver Ships" during their "Voyages of Acquisition." These "Voyages" were made to Urth, and possibly other planets in order to acquire life forms which were brought back to Gor. It is told around Gor that human beings were brought from "Barbarian Lands." Such humans are generally sold as slaves on auction blocks, and sometimes for very large sums of money. Some on Gor refer to Urth as the "slave planet" for that very reason.
The Priest Kings maintain control over all those on Gor. They recruit human agents through the use of mind controlling devises surgically placed in their minds. These agents are in charge of reporting back to the Priest Kings any inappropriate activity of those who live on Gor.
It is rather difficult to
violate the rules the Priest Kings set down for the inhabitants of Gor
to follow. The reason for this is that any form of displeasure to
them is cause for immediate punishment. The most often used form
of punishment is "the Flame Death," which is death through the use of a
blue fire which immediately reduces the victim to ashes. For this
reason humans obey the laws of their gods, and are allowed to live in relative
peace and harmony regardless of their race or culture.
Like Urth, there are many different groups of people found on Gor. Some of them are: the Wagon Peoples (the Mongol Horsemen of Urth), the Torvaldslanders (the Norse Vikings), the Red Savages (the North American Indians) who live in vast and untamed wildernesses of Gor, the Tribesmen of the Tahari (the Arabic culture of the Middle East), the Red Hunters of the North (the Eskimos of North America), the Alars (the Huns), and the Tribesmen of the Southern Forests (black Africans). Some of the languages, as well as the manners of dress, the weapons, and customs of these people can be traced back to Urth, and have been assimilated into the Gorean culture over the centuries, since the time the Priest Kings first founded the planet of Gor and brought it to it's current position.
Gor is a caste-oriented society. You are born into your caste, or trade, and you remain there for life. You have to abide by the accepted laws and rules of Gorean society. Each caste has it's own codes of conduct, which will be discussed later. Any violations of these codes can and will result in relinquishing all rights as a law abiding citizen of the Gorean society. These violations will also result in being branded as an outlaw and shunned by both your family and your caste.
Some of the "traditional" Gorean virtues are: strength of character, honor, loyalty, skill and ability in an appropriate trade as dictated by your caste, love of your personal freedom within the boundaries dictated by your social position, and showing your emotions outwardly. The only emotion that the citizens of Gor do not allow themselves to show is pity for others. To do so is a sign of weakness, and is a personal insult to the person being pitied, as well as the person showing pity.
The political division of Gor society is based on the free city-state of Ancient Greece. Each city-state is considered to be an island amongst enemies, with competition for territory and agriculture being extremely high; and each city considers their citizens to be a separate people. The terminology of Gor varies from city to city, with even the months of the year being different, as well as the measurement of each year.
During times of peace the cities are governed by a democratic ruling with nobles being chosen from among the five high castes, and a city administrator, which is elected by the people of the city. During times of war, however, the cities are ruled by an Ubar (a military leader). In some cases the administrator and the Ubar are the same person. After the crisis has been averted, the Ubar is expected to relinquish all of his power back to the administrator, who then resumes all of his duties as the ruler of the city. In some cases the Ubar refuses to relinquish this control. When this happens the city-state remains under martial law until the Ubar is dethroned by force. Sometimes a coup d' état is staged to dethrone the Ubar and his supporters, and then the control is returned to the civilian government. Some of the cities are ruled by a woman, known as a Tatrix or Ubara, who serves in the same capacity as their male counterparts. But it is seldom that a woman is allowed to gain this kind of control over men.
Outside the walled-cities
there are many different political systems. Just how many is not
known, as there may be several different political systems for each group
of people. Some such systems are: alliances, leagues, or hegemonies.
These simple tribal groupings can eventually expand into an Empire, and
have been known to do so at times. However, the major city-states
generally take action to halt this amassing of power before it can become
a threat to their own sovereignty.
Few are born into slavery. Those that are tend to be bred just for that purpose, and are usually known as passion slaves. They are bred for their exquisite beauty and intelligence. They are taught how to bring the most pleasure to those who own them. Those not born into slavery are actively enslaved. It is widely known that to be enslaved is to be humbled, to admit that someone stronger than you exists. Their freedom is literally stripped from them.
Most slaves are women, although
male slaves do exist. Female slaves are viewed as being a beautiful,
intelligent, highly valuable commodity, who is someone else's property.
If one becomes a slave it is because one deserves it. Either they
are too weak to remain free, or they did something foolish. Either
way, it is their own fault they have fallen into slavery. Slavery
is a highly regarded institution that is a fact of nature. And it
has the total weight of Gor custom and practice to support it. To
be a slave is to be totally enslaved, totally owned by another being.
In the true Gorean society slavery is perfectly acceptable and proper.
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