Norman, John - Gor 19 - Kajira of Gor.txt

Norman, John - Gor 19 - Kajira of Gor.txt Page 45

by Kajira of Gor [lit]

  Ligurious, shackled, looked down at the tiles.

  Manicius came about the tables. He stopped before Sheila and myself. We, slaves,

  put our heads to the tiles. “Lift your heads, Slaves,” he said. We complied.

  “We meet again,” said Menicius to me.

  “Yes, Master,” I said. “Who are you?” he asked.

  “My master is Miles of Argentum,” I said. “He has named me ‘Sheila.’”

  “You look well in slave chains, Sheila,” he said.

  “Thank you, Master,” I said.

  He turned to Sheila. “Who are you?” he asked. “My master is Hassan, of Kasra,”

  she said. “He has named me ‘Sheila.’”

  “You look well in slave chains, Sheila,” he said.

  “Thank you, Master,” she said.

  He then, from his robe’s, removed a package and, opening it, exhibited soft and

  silken contents.

  She drew back, shuddering in her chains.

  “These are further garments from Corcyrus,” he said “They were taken from among

  the belongings of the Tatrix of Corcyrus, found in her suite of rooms in the

  palace.” He turned to regard Sheila. “Perhaps, you recognize them?” he asked.

  “Admit nothing!”

  “Consider the nature of these garments,” he said. “They are clearly, in a

  fashion, slave garments. This may be determined from their lightness, their

  softness and thinness. On the other hand, there are some anomalies here. For

  example, note that here there is a nether closure. That would certainly be

  unusual in a garment permitted by a Gorean master to a female slave.”

  “They are barbarian garments,” he said. The garments hE There was laughter here.

  was exhibiting to those at the tables were undergarments of sorts common to free

  women of Earth. I had not really thought before, of how feminine they were and

  how appropriate to slaves. Who but a slave would permit such delicious delicate

  and silken things to touch their bodies?

  “But few barbarian girls, as nearly as we can tell, come to Gor clothed and, if

  they do, they are seldom permitted to retain their clothing, or the bits of

  clothing left to them at that point, past the sales block, on which, one

  supposes, it might be removed from them.”

  There was some acknowledgement of this from the tables There is a Gorean saying

  that only a fool buys a woman clothed.

  “The Tatrix of Corcyrus, on the other hand, though a barbarian, was apparently

  permitted to keep this clothing. Similarly she was permitted to keep her

  freedom. That was removed from her only recently by Hassan and Kasra.”

  Men at the tables looked at one another.

  “Some of us,” said Menicius, “are familiar with the rumors, the frightening

  rumors, that there are forces on Gor and elsewhere, who would challenge the

  power of the. Priest Kings themselves, rulers of Gor from time.

  Men looked at one another, fearfully. Sometimes it seem likely to me that the

  Priest-Kings were mythical entities. Surely they mixed, as far as I could tell,

  little in the affairs of Gorf. On the other hand, it was also clear to me that

  someone, or something, must be in opposition to the forces which bad brought me

  to Gor. Those forces, for example, had mastered space flight. Surely Goreans,

  with their swords and spears, by themselves, could not have resisted them. Their

  clandestine efforts, for all their power, suggested the existence of a

  formidable counter-power. That counter-power, I suppose, for want of a better

  name, might be referred to as that of Priest-Kings.

  “it seems likely to me, thus,” said Menicius, “that such forces might bring

  wealth and barbarian agents, perhaps, with no Gorean allegiances, to our world,

  laboring in their behalf Too, of course, they might recruit native Goreans for

  their purposes. How, except for such power, could a barbarian woman, ‘such as

  Sheila, the former Tatrix of Corcyrus, come to power in a city such as Corcyrus?

  I suspect, also, that the true motivation of the attack on the mines of Argentum

  was not to fill the coffers of Corcyrus, already a prosperous city, but to

  supplement the economic resources of these other foes. They intend, perhaps,

  failing success in outward aggression, to subvert our world, city by city, or to

  form a league of cities, that may become dominant among our states. This might

  be accomplished, presumably, within the weapon laws and technological

  limitations imposed upon Gorean humans by Priest-Kings, for whatever might be

  their purposes.”

  Men looked at Sheila. She put her head down, trembling.

  “Preposterous though those ideas may sound,” said Menicius, “there is some

  plausibility to them. Too, further evidence comes from two sources. Outside of

  Corcyrus, in a great field, have been found burned grass and three large, deep,

  geometrically spaced depressions, as though something of great heat and weight,

  perhaps some giant, heated steel insect or fiery mechanical bird, had alighted

  there. Too, within the palace itself, in a subterranean chamber, we found the

  smells, the spoor and traces of some large, unknown beast which, apparently,

  perhaps from time to time, resided there. It had apparently removed itself from

  those premises, however, well before the downfall of the city.”

  Ligurious was looking at the tiles. He did not look up. “Ligurious?” asked

  Claudius.

  “I know nothing of these things,” said Ligurious, shrugging.

  “Shall we see whose garments’ these are?” inquired Menicius, lifting the

  delicate undergarments of Earth clutched in his fist.

  “Yes, yes,” said various men in the room.

  “Please, no, Master!” wept Sheila. Then she lowered her head, cringing, for she

  had spoken without permission. The soldier behind her looked to Hassan, who

  nodded. He then cuffed her to her side from behind with the back of his hand and

  then ordered her again to her knees, to which position she struggled in her

  chains. Menicus, meanwhile, had thrown the garments, in a silken, fluttering

  wad, to one of the sleen masters who thrust them beneath the snout of the beast.

  In a moment it was moving swiftly about the room its nose to the floor, and

  then, suddenly, taking the scent, lunged murderously, claws slipping on the

  tiles, toward Sheila. Inches from her body, the chain on its collar jerked taut,

  it was held back

  She screamed but could not withdraw, held mercilessly, immobilely, on her knees,

  in place, by the soldier behind her.

  “The identification is made,” said Claudius, and, with a wave of his hand,

  signaled the sleen keeper to divert and pacify his beast. A word was whispered.

  The sleen, suddenly in the superbness of its training, drew back. It seemed,

  suddenly calm. Its tail no longer lashed back and forth. Its tongue, from the

  heat of its activity, lolled forth from its mouth, dripping saliva to the tiles.

  I could see, too, the imprint of its paws, in dampness, on the tiles. The sleen

  tends to sweat largely through its m
outh and the leathery paws of its feet. It

  fell upon the meat which it was thrown.

  Sheila, released by the soldier, struggled to remain upright

  She sobbed, then, gasping, shuddering, her head back, half in shock. I was

  pleased that it had been she and not I who had been the object of this second

  identification. I felt sorry for her. I saw that she now, like I, was only a

  slave. Not only are there masters on Gor, but there are sleen. We strive to be

  pleasing. We do what we are told.

  “May I speak, Master?” asked Sheila of Hassan.

  “Be silent!” said Ligurious.

  “You may speak,” said Hassan to his slave.

  “I confess all,” she said. “I was the true Tatrix of Corcyrus! The woman next to

  me is innocent. She was brought to Gor as an unwitting dupe, one selected to

  serve as proxy for me in case our plans should go awry. She had no true power,

  save a pittance which we, for our purposes, were sometimes pleased to accord to

  her. What crimes there are here are mine, or those of the free woman I once was.

  It will not be necessary, therefore, to impale us both. I alone am she whom you

  seek. I was captured in Ar by Hassan, of Kasra, who is now my master. The reward

  of fifteen hundred gold pieces is thus rightfully his. I am prepared now to be

  turned over, as a slave, to Claudius, the Ubar of Argentum, and the high council

  of Argentum, to face their justice.”

  “Fool!” cried Ligurious. “Fool!” He struggled in his manacles. They held him

  well.

  I regarded Sheila wildly, almost disbelievingly. She had acknowledged her

  identity. I was now an exonerated slave, at least of her crimes, if not of mine,

  those of pettiness, of pride, of selfishness and cruelty, crimes for which a

  woman on Gor can be regarded as fittingly enslaved.

  “You have me naked and in chains now before you, I who was once Sheila, the

  Tatrix of Corcyrus, your enemy,” she said. “I am now yours to do with as you

  please.”

  “Fool!” cried Ligurious.

  “What of the speculations of Menicius,” Inquired Claudius, “those having to do

  with affairs of worlds, of the business of Priest-Kings and others.”

  “They are sound, Master,” she said.

  “Be silent!” said Ligurious.

  “Speak,” said Claudius.

  “Hold, Caludius,” cautioned a man. “Consider whether or not it is proper for

  mere mortals to inquire into such matters.”

  “Such thoughts are surely to be reserved for the second or third knowledge,”

  said another man.

  “I am a man,” said another. “I repudiate the distinctions between knowledges.

  Knowledge is one. It is only knowers who are many.

  “We are not Initiates,” said another man. “Our status, prestige and livelihood

  do not depend on the perpetuation of ignorance and the, propagation of

  superstition”

  “Heresy!” cried a fellow.

  “I shall inquire into truth as I please,” said another. “I am a free man.”

  “It is our world, too,” said a fellow.

  “Surely it is permissible to inquire into such matters,” said another, “if we do

  so with circumspection and respect.”

  “I think,” said Claudius, “in these matters both our fears and our noble,

  belligerent vanities are out of place. Gods, for example; I trust, do not have

  need of the silver of Argentum, nor do they have need of fiery ships for plying

  the long, dark roads between worlds. Gods, I trust, do not leave spoor in

  subterranean chambers nor deep wounds in remote turfs. These things of which we

  speak, I think, are things which can eat and bleed.”

  “We do not speak, then, of Priest-Kings,” said a man, relieved.

  “Who knows the nature of Priest-Kings?” asked a man. “Some say they have no

  form,” said a man, “only that they exist.”

  “Some say that they have no matter,” said a man, “except that they are real.”

  “Surely they are like us,” said a man, “only grander and more powerful.”

  “Let us not waste time in idle speculations,” said a man.

  “Speak,” said Claudius to Sheila.

  “There are two worlds involved, Master,” she said, “Gor, and the world called

  Earth.”

  “Lying slave!” said a man. “Earth is mythical! It is only in stories. It does

  not exist.”

  “Forgive me, Master,” she said, “but Earth is real, I assure you. I am from

  Earth, and so, too, is the slave to my right.”

  The man looked at me, closely.

  “Yes, Master,” I whispered, frightened.

  “That Earth is real is in the second knowledge,” said one of the men, a fellow

  wearing the yellow of the Builders, a high caste.

  “I was taught that, too,” said the fellow with him, also in the yellow of the

  Builders. “Do you think it is really true?”

  “I suppose so,” said the first man. The classical knowledge distinctions on Gor

  tend to follow caste lines, the first knowledge being regarded as appropriate

  for the lower castes and the second knowledge for the higher castes. That there

  is a third knowledge, that of Priest-Kings, is also a common belief. The

  distinctions, however, between knowledge tend to be somewhat imperfect and

  artificial. For example, the second knowledge, while required of the higher

  castes and not of the lower castes, is not prohibited to the lower castes. It is

  not a body of secret or jealously guarded truths, for example. Gorean libraries,

  like the tables of Kaissa tournaments, tend to be open to men of all castes.

  “Gor, and the world called Earth,” she said, “are prizes in a struggle of

  titantic forces, the forces of those whom you call Priest-Kings and of those

  whom you think of as others, or whom we might think of as beasts.”

  “And what is the nature of these Beasts?” asked Claudius.

  “I have never Seen one,” she said.

  “Ligurious?” asked Claudius. *

  “I choose not to speak,” he said, sullenly.

  “Continue,” said Claudius to Sheila.

  “Both Priest-Kings and Beasts possess powerful weaponry and are masters of space

  travel,” she said. “Intermittently, it is my understanding, for generations,

  they have been involved in combat. Probes and skirmishes are frequent. As yet

  outright force has been unable to prevail. In many respects Priest-Kings seem to

  be tolerant and defensive creatures. For example, they permit native beasts on

  Gor, marooned beasts, and such, provided such obey, their laws, particularly

  with respect to weaponry and technology. And never have they pursued the beasts

  to their steel lairs in space, pursuing temporary advantages in these perennial

  conflicts. The beasts, it is my surmise, having hitherto failed to win Gor by

  overt conquest, attempt now to obtain power on this world by specific and

  detailed subversions, mixing in, and i
nfluencing, the politics and affairs of

  cities. Indeed, in this way, perhaps they, too, hope to prepare the way for an

  eventual full-scale invasion, one which could then be supplied and supported by

  a number of strategically located cities, or leagues of cities. I know little

  more, specifically, in these, matters than my own role. By means of the wealth

  of beasts and the influence of Ligurious, the first minister of Corcyrus, I was

  brought to power in Corcyrus. There, supported by the influence and Wealth of

  beasts, and abetted by Ligurious, I ruled. I grew soon fond of the throne.

  Testing i~y power I found it real. I Was exhilarated. I became ambitious to

  expand the sphere of Corcyrus’s influence and, in particular, to obtain, if

  possible, for my own wealth, the mines of Argentum. In these things I exceeded

  my authority. Ligurious, against his better judgment, at least initially,

  pleaded my case with beasts and protected me from them, convincing them to

  accept my proposals. Ligurious was smitten with me. I seduced him to my

  projects. I played with his feelings. I toyed with his emotions. I exploited his

  sentiments. I made him dance like a puppet to my will. I deprived him of his

  leadership and manhood.”

  I looked at Ligurious. His face was dark with anger as he looked down at Sheila,

  now another man’s slave.

  “These projects, to be sure, were dangerous,” she said. “Too, I was a valued

  agent. Thus, through Ligtirious, an order was placed with the beasts, that a

  double might be obtained for me. The girl selected was the collared slave to my

  right, how the slave, as I understand it, of Miles of Argentum. He was brought

  to Gor and taught that she was Sheila, the Tatrix of Corcyrus. She came to

  accept this identity. Some knew me as the Tatrix. Some knew her as the Tatrix.

  That there were actually two women involved was a carefully guarded secret,

  known only to a handful of trusted followers. We miscalculated seriously in at

  least one matter. We did not think that Ar would honor its treaty commitments

  with Argentum, that it would risk all-out war with the Cosian Alliance, in which

  Corcyrus was implicated. As it turned out, of course, Ar did support Argentum

  and, as it also turned out, we were not supported by Cos. Defeated in war and in

  the face of an uprising, too, within our own city, Ligurious and I, with some

 

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