High Council were asserted to be indisposed. Some rumors had it that they were
under house arrest. A medallion of Ar was also placed about Talena’s neck but
the traditional medallion, which had been worn by Marlenus, and which he had
seldom permitted out of his keeping, and which he may have had with him upon his
departure from the city long ago, had not been found. Too, the ring of the Ubar,
which in any event would have been too large for the finger of Talena, was not
found. But that ring, it was said, had not been in Ar for years. Indeed, it had
been rumored (pg. 105) in Ar, even before the disappearance of Marlenus, that it
had once been lost in the northern forests, upon a hunting expedition. After the
medallion, Talena had been given the Home Stone of Ar, that she might hold it in
her left hand, and a scepter, a rod of office, signifying power, that she might
hold in her right. Her coronation was followed by a declaration of five
holidays. The triumph of Lurius of Jad, as I recall, had been followed by ten
such days. The chief advisors of the new ubara were Myron of Cos, and Seremides,
once of Tyros.
“Here is something,†said Marcus, “though I do not gather its import.â€
“What?†I asked.
“There is a charge to the citizens and councils of Ar to consider how they might
make amends for their complicity in the crimes of their city.â€
“Reparations?†I asked.
“I do not know,†said Marcus.
“I would have thought that Ar had already made considerable amend,†I said.
I recalled the convoys of wagons which had passed by the insula of Torbon on the
street of Demetrios.
“Be careful what you say,†said a man near me.
“We are guilty,†said a man.
“Yes,†said another.
“It is only right,†said another, “that we should attempt to make amends to our
good friends of Cos and others whom we may have injured.â€
“True,†said another man.
Marcus and I then, followed by Phoebe, continued on our way.
“The Home Stone of Ar’s Station is no longer exhibited publicly,†said Marcus,
gloomily.
“I think it will be again,†I said.
“Why do you say that?†he asked, interested.
“I have my reasons,†I said. “Do not concern yourself with it now.â€
“The wall seems very bare there,†said Marcus, as we passed a public edifice, a
court building.
There were also numerous small holes in the wall, chipped at the edges.
“Surely you have noted similar walls,†I said.
“Yes,†he said.
“Decorative reliefs, in marble, have been removed from them,†I said. “As I
recall the ones here, they celebrated the feats of Hesius, a perhaps legendary
hero of Ar.â€
(pg. 107) “He for whom the month of Hesius is named,†said Marcus.
“I presume so,†I said. The month of Hesius is the second month of the year in
Ar. It follows the first passage hand. In Ar, as in most cities in the northern
hemisphere, the new year begins with the vernal equinox.
“Were the marbles here well done?†asked Marcus.
“Though I am scarcely a qualified judge of such things,†I said, “I would have
thought so. They were very old, and reputed to be the work of the master,
Aurobion, though some have suggested they were merely of his school.â€
“I have heard of him,†said Marcus.
“Some think the major figures profited from his hand and that portions of the
minor detail, and some of the supportive figures, were the work of students.â€
“Why would the marbles be removed?†asked Marcus.
“They have antiquarian value, as well as aesthetic value,†I said. “I would
suppose that they are now on their way to a museum in Cos.â€
“The decorative marbles on the Avenue of the Central Cylinder, and those about
the Central Cylinder itself, and on the Cylinder of Justice are still there,†he
said.
“At least for the time,†I said. The building we had just passed was an
extremely old building. Many in Ar were not sure of its age. It may have dated
to the first ubarate of Titus Honorious. Many of the functions originally
discharged within its precincts had long ago been assumed by the newer Cylinder
of Justice, located in the vicinity of the Central Cylinder. Incidentally, many
buildings, particularly public buildings, in this part of the city, which was an
older part of the city, were quite old. Many smaller buildings, dwellings,
shops, insulae, and such, on the other hand, were relatively new. I might also
mention, in passing, if only to make the controversy concerning the “Auborbion
marbles†more understandable, that many Gorean artists do not sign or otherwise
identify their works. The rationale for this seems to be a conviction that what
is important is the art, its power, its beauty, and so on, and now who formed
it. Indeed many Gorean artists seem to regard themselves as little more than
vessels or instruments, the channels or means, the tools, say, the chisels or
brushes, so to speak, by means of diversities, in its beauties and powers, its
flowers and storms, its laughters and rages, its delicacy and awesomeness, its
subtlety and grandeur, expresses itself, and rejoices. Accordingly the Gorean
artist tends not so much to be proud of his work as, oddly enough perhaps, to be
grateful to it, that it consented to (pg. 108) speak through him. As the hunters
of the north, the singers of the ice pack and of the long night have it, “No one
knows from whence songs come.†It is enough, and more than enough, that they
come. They dispel the cold, they illuminate the darkness. They are welcomed, in
the darkness and cold, like fire, and friendship and love. The focus of the
Gorean artist then, at least on the whole, tends to be on the work of art
itself, not on himself as artist. Accordingly this attitude toward his art is
less likely to be one of pride than one of gratitude. This makes sense as, in
his view, it is not so much he who speaks as the world, in its many wonders,
great and small, which speaks through him. He is thusly commonly more concerned
to express the world, and truth, than himself.
“Let us turn right here,†I said.
We then left the Avenue of Turia and were once again on a side street. Many
Gorean streets, incidentally, do not have specific names, particularly from one
end to the other, some being known by one designation here and another there.
Indeed, sometimes a long, winding street will have several names, depending on
its turns and so on. Others may have no names really, in themselves, but are
referred to, for example, as the street on which Sabor has his smithy, and so
on. This becomes more intelligible if one thinks of “alleys.†For example,
alleys seldom have names. So, too, many Gorean streets, particularly those that
are smaller and much like alleys, may not have names. One may usually hire a
lad
from the district to direct inquiries of fellows in the area. In such inquiries,
the male will normally speak to a male, and the female to a female. This has to
do not only with matters of propriety, enshrined in Gorean custom, but also with
common-sense security measures. For example, a woman would not wish to seem
forward, nor, in effect, to be calling herself to the attention of a strange
male, which can be dangerous on Gor, and a woman, a free woman, might be well
advised not to respond to the accostings of a strange male. He might even be a
slaver, or a slaver’s man, interested in seeing if she had a pleasing voice, one
suitable for a slave. Similarly if she responds to a strange male this may be
taken as evidence that she is eager to please a man and obey, two attributes
which suggest her readiness, even immediately, for his collar. One may, of
course, make such inquiries of slave girls. In such a case they are expected to
kneel immediately, being in the presence of a free man, or person, and be as
helpful as possible. It is desirable, incidentally, for the girls of a district
to know the district well, in case they are asked (pg. 109) for directions and
such. If they do not know the information desired, it is sensible on their part
to keep their head very low, even to the stones, or even to belly to the
interlocutor. This may save them a cuffing or kick. This street, however, had a
name. It was Harness Street, apparently so called from long ago when it was once
a locale of several harness makers. The “harness makers†on Gor, provide not
just harnesses but an entire line of associated products, such as saddles,
bridles, reins, hobblings and tethers. Presumably the harness makers on this
street would not have dealt in slave harnesses. That product would have been
more likely to have been, as it still was, available on the “Street of Brands,â€
a district in which are found many of the houses of slavers, sales barns, sales
arenas, holding areas, boarding accommodations, training facilities, and shops
dealing with product lines pertinent to slaves, such as collars, cosmetics,
jewelry, perfumes, slave garb, chains, binding fiber and disciplinary devices.
In such a district one may have a girl’s septum or ears pierced. There are many
varieties of slave harness, incidentally, with various purposes, such as
discipline, display and security. Many of them are extremely lovely on a woman,
and many, by such adjustments as cinching, tightening, and buckling, may be
fitted closely and exquisitely to the individual slave.
“Look,†I said, “there is a woman in garments of Cosian cut.â€
“I wonder how she would look on her knees, in a slave rag,†said Marcus.
“I do not know,†I said.
“Undoubtedly quite well,†he said.
“I would suppose so,†I said. After all, most women do.
“Talena of Ar, as you know,†said Marcus, “now affects the garments of Cos.â€
“I have heard that,†I said.
We now crossed the Alley of the Slave Brothels of Ludmilla, actually a
reasonably large street.
“You need not look at the establishments on this street,†Marcus informed
Phoebe.
“Yes, Master,†she said, putting her head down, smiling.
I recalled my first visit to one of the slave brothels on the street, the
Tunnels. I recalled one of its slaves, a former Earth girl. She had been slight
but well curved for her size and weight. She had had red hair. Her name, perhaps
originally her (pg. 110) Earth name, but now on her as a slave name, had been
“Louise.†In my arms, as I recalled, she had learned to be pleasing. I also
recalled a blond free woman acquired later in the same place, the Lady Lydia, of
the High Merchants, whose wealth had been in gems and land, a tenant even of the
Tabidian Towers. I had sold her to a slaver. A few nights ago I had returned to
the Tunnels but had learned that Louise had been purchased long ago by some
sturdy young fellow who had been quite taken with her, finding her
extraordinarily pliant, eager and exciting. The brothel mistress could not
recall his name. On the other hand, she had speculated that he would prove to be
an exacting, stern and strong master to the former Earth girl, such as she
required. She did inform me that the girl had accompanied her new master
joyfully. I hoped that my instruction to the girl had been of some use in
bringing about this development, instruction primarily profitable to her with
respect to her nature and its correct relationship to that of the male. The
blonde, who had been highly placed in the society of Ar, would presumably have
been sold out of the city long ago. In another city, of course, she would be
only another slave.
We then continued east on Harness Street.
“Did you enjoy the performance at the great theater last night?†I asked.
“Of course,†said Marcus. “It was just the way to spend a long evening, prior to
having one’s sleep interrupted before dawn by a wagon convoy.â€
“I thought you might like it,†I said.
The performance, a pageant, had been called “The Glory of Cos,†and the famed
Milo, the city’s most famous actor, though a slave, had played the part of
Lurius of Jad. The roofed stage of the great theater, usually called that,
though technically, it was the theater of Pentilicus Tallux, a poet of Ar, of
over a century ago, best known for his poems in the delicate trilesiac form and
two sensitive, intimate dramas, was over a hundred yards in width, and some
twenty yards in depth. This incredible stage, although only the center portions
of it were used on many occasions, lent itself to large-scale productions, such
as circuses and spectacles. It could easily accommodate a thousand actors. Too,
given its strength, ponderous tharlarion, together with numerous other beasts,
wagons and such, could appear on it, as they had last night, for example, in
staged battles, in which Lurius of Jad, by personal intervention and at great
personal risk, again and again turned the tide, and triumphal processions, as at
the climax of the pageant.
“Did you enjoy the pageant?†I asked Phoebe.
(pg. 111) “Yes, Master!†she said.
“I thought I heard you gasp when Milo first appeared on the stage,†said Marcus.
“He is very handsome in his costume, Master,†she said.
“Undoubtedly,†said Marcus.
“Surely master is not jealous?†inquired Phoebe, delightedly.
“No,†he snarled.
“You may beat me tonight, if you wish,†she said.
“I may beat you any night, if I wish,†he said.
“Yes, Master,†she said.
“By count,†I said, “I think that some eleven free women were carried fainted,
or helpless, from the theater.â€
“Surely no more than one or two,†said Marcus.
“No, eleven,†I said.
“Master is a thousand times more handsome than Milo,†said Phoebe.
“No, Master!†she said.
“Am I really so handsome?†asked Marcus.
“To me, Master,†she said.
“Hmmmm,†said Marcus, considering this, I speculate. He was, I think, a
good-looking young chap. To be sure, he may not have been quite as handsome as
I.
“Of course I am only one woman,†she said.
“And only a female slave,†he said.
“Yes, Master,†she said.
“Still,†he said, “you are a woman.â€
“But only a female slave,†she said.
“True,†he said.
Phoebe, I think, in her way, was having her vengeance. For example, when we had
passed by various open-air markets, shelf markets, and such, many of the girls,
nude in their chains, usually fastened by the neck or ankle to heavy iron rings,
had clearly, to the fury of Phoebe, in posings, and by means of subtle glances,
and such, attempted to call themselves to the attention of the young warrior.
Only too obviously would they have welcomed being his slaves.
“Probably some women would regard me as being less handsome than Milo,†he
mused.
“Perhaps, Master,†she said.
“Probably at least eleven,†I said.
“I did not note women swooning over the sight of you,†said Marcus.
“It was dark,†I reminded him.
To be sure, as is well known, and doubtless fortunately for (pg. 112) we who are
not Milos, the attractiveness of a man to woman is seldom based on
physiognominal regularities. For example, men who are not in any normal sense
handsome, sometimes even grotesquely irregular men, often exercise an enormous
fascination over beautiful women. Women tend to respond to a great variety of
properties in a male, few of which are directly correlated with facial
symmetries. Among such properties are initiative, will, command, intelligence,
strength, and power, in short, with characteristics appropriate to a master.
Too, of course, with women, who are enormously sensitive, complex, marvelous
creatures, can hope for, welcome, and respond to, such things as tenderness,
gentleness, and softness. Here one must be careful, however, to distinguish
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