In a slaves eyes
In a slaves eyes
Gor is a continent in science fiction. Many may wish it did not exist, but it is there.
It is not hard to find, really. Just look for a world that lies a thousand degrees north of monothink, a thousand degrees east of orthodoxy, a thousand degrees west of ideological conformity, a continent far from the placid waters of predictable mediocrity, a different world, one real, one like no other, one beyond the familiar world’s horizon, one emergent from far, tumultuous, untamed seas, a world alert to deep currents, which listens to secret whispers, which wears stars in her hair.
The maps of ideologically servile
cartographers may choose not to show the Gorean world, but it is there, a
wonderful, forbidden continent. Some of you know her, and have been there.
---J. Norman, Dec. 2000
"Gor," he said, "is the name of this world. In all the languages of this planet, the word means Home Stone." He paused, noting my lack of comprehension. "Home Stone," he repeated. "Simply that."
---Tarnsman of Gor, 2:26
As he spoke, my father often referred
to the planet Gor as the Counter-Earth, taking the name from the writings of the
Pythagoreans who had first speculated on the existence of such a body. Oddly
enough, one of the expressions in the tongue of Gor for our sun was Lar-Torvis,
which means The Central Fire, another Pythagorean expression, except that it had
not been, as I understand it, originally used by the Pythagoreans to refer to
the sun but to another body.
---Tarnsman of Gor, 2:28
The Initiates claim to be the intermediaries between the Priest-Kings and men. They have temples, rituals, ceremonies, etc. They are celibate, eschew beans and study mathematics.
They are much concerned with asceticism
and purity, at least officially. Their robes are long, severe, and white. Their
heads are shaved. They are suggested by blending elements from the priesthood of
Ancient Egypt with the Pythagorean brotherhood. They are a powerful, but
parasitical class, rapacious and sanctimonious.
---John Norman, Letter to The Gorean Group, Sept 20th, 2000
There was another possibility I mentioned to my father--perhaps the planet had been in our system all the time, but had been undiscovered, unlikely though that might be, given the thousands of years of study of the skies by men, from the shambling creatures of the Neander Valley to the brilliant intellects of Mount Wilson and Palomar. To my surprise, this absurd hypothesis was welcomed by my father.
"That," he said with
animation, "is the Theory of the Sun Shield." He added, "That is
why I like to think of the planet as the Counter-Earth, not only because of its
resemblance to our native world, but because, as a matter of fact, it is placed
as a counterpoise to the Earth. It has the same plane of orbit and maintains its
orbit in such a way as always to keep The Central Fire between it and its
planetary sister, our Earth, even though this necessitates occasional
adjustments in its speed of revolution."
---Tarnsman of Gor, 2:33
