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FraudThese are relevant references from the Books where Fraud is mentioned. I make no pronouncements on these matters, but report them as I find them. Arrive at your own conclusions. I wish you well, Fogaban And many men, who suspect that the initiates, in their claims and pretensions, are frauds, will nonetheless avoid coming into conflict with the caste. This is particularly true of civil leaders who do not wish the power of the initiates to turn the lower castes against them. I had little doubt, however, that the stones were genuine. Chenbar, the Sea Sleen, would have insisted on the fee for his rescue being paid in genuine stones, as a matter of pride. Too, the Forkbeard, in dealing with his Jarl, Svein Blue Tooth, would not use false stones. He would be above that. It is one thing to cheat one not of Torvaldsland, quite another to attempt to defraud one of one's own country, particularly one's Jarl. I had no doubt that the spilled glory heaped gleaming in the dirt of the hall of Svein Blue Tooth was what it seemed, true stones, and an incredible treasure. "Those," said the coppery-skinned fellow, pointing to the blond and the dark-haired girl, freshly whipped, crying in their chains. "Yes?" asked the slaver's man. "Cheap?" asked the man, a red hunter from the bleak countries north even of Ax Glacier. "These two?" asked the slaver's man. The hunter nodded. The slaver's man knelt the two stripped girls before the hunter. They looked at him with fear. He was a man. They had felt the whip. "Yes cheap. Very cheap," said the slaver's man. "Do you have money?" The hunter pulled a pelt from the bundle of furs he carried. It was snowy white, and thick, the winter fur of a two-stomached snow lart. It almost seemed to glisten. The slaver's man appreciated its value. Such a pelt could sell in Ar for half a silver tarsk. He took the pelt and examined it. The snow lart hunts in the sun. The food in the second stomach can be held almost indefinitely. It is filled in the fall and must last the lart through the winter night, which lasts months, the number of months depending on the latitude of his individual territory. It is not a large animal. It is about ten inches high and weighs between eight and twelve pounds. It is mammalian, and has four legs. It eats bird's eggs and preys on the leem, a small arctic rodent, some five to ten ounces in weight, which hibernates during the winter. "Not enough," said the slaver's man. The hunter grunted. He had guessed this. I did not think the slaver's man was out to defraud the hunter. For one thing, the fellow, this far south, probably had some conception of the values of the furs. For another thing the hunters of the north, though a generally kind, peaceable folk, except with animals, think little of killing. They are inured to it. As hunters they live with blood and death. But among the angriest of the crowd, interestingly, were hot-headed men of Ar itself. They felt they would be cheated of the victory, were it so fraudulently surrendered to them. "How does one know, on the block," she asked, suddenly, "if a girl is any good?" "A certification of a girl's heat, in certain cities," I said, "is sometimes furnished, with the slaver's guarantee, among the documents of sale. Her degree of heat, in such a situation would also be listed of course, among her other properties, on her sales sheet, posted in the vicinity of the exhibition cages, available twenty Ahn before her sale. It would also be proclaimed, of course, in such a situation, along with her weight and collar size, and such things, from the block, during her sale." "In very few," I said, "and for a very good reason." "Out of respect for the girls?" she asked. "Of course not," I said. "It is rather done in few cities because of the possibility of fraud on the part of the buyer. He might use the girl for a month and then claim a refund in virtue of the guarantee. Slavers prefer for their sales to be final. Too, other problems exist. For example, a free woman who, before her sale, is cold may become, after her sale, knowing herself then as a vended slave, helpless and torrid in the arms of a master. Similarly a girl who is only average, generally, so to speak, may, at the very glance of a given master, one who is special to her for no reason that is clear, become so weak and paga hot that she can scarcely stand." "Considering all these things, and the obvious fraud of the severed head, which you purported was that of the infiltrating ice beast, it seemed clear that you were in league with Kurii, and that, indeed, you and the first beast had presumably been traveling together. You arrived almost at the same time in the vicinity of the camp." His first case dealt with a widow who had been defrauded by a creditor. The fellow was dragged screaming from the court. His hands would be cut off, as those of a common thief. His properties were to be confiscated and divided, half to the widow and half, predictably, to the state. "Let the churl be stripped," I had said, imperiously, "and a sign be put about his neck, proclaiming him a fraud. Then let him be marched naked, before the spears of guards, through the great gate of Corcyrus, not to be permitted to return before the second passage hand!" "Your scrolls have been examined," said Ligurious. "I, the Tatrix, and those of the high councils, have scrutinized them with more care than they deserved. Their evidences are false, their arguments specious, their claims fraudulent." "Let the churl be stripped," I had said, imperiously, "and a sign be put about his neck, proclaiming him a fraud. Then let him be marched naked, before the spears of guards, through the great gate of Corcyrus, not to be permitted to return before the second passage hand!" "As the reports have it," said Miles, "you were marched naked from the city, before the spears of guards, a sign about your neck, proclaiming you a fraud." "Yes," said Speusippus, angrily. "I am not touchy on such matters," said Hassan. "I am not a warrior. I am a businessman. I recognize the right of Claudius and the high council to assurances in these matters. Indeed, it is their duty, in so far as they can, to protect Argentum against deception and fraud. Much of what Ligurious, the former first minister of Corcyrus, has told you is true, for example, about sleen, and their limitations and utilities. These are, even, well-known facts. The crucial matter, then, would seem to be the authenticity of the articles used to provide the original scent. When I was in Corcyrus and I received from Menicius, her Administrator, clothing which had been worn by the Tatrix, I divided it into two bundles and had each sealed with the seal of Corcyrus. A letter to this effect, signed by Menicius, and bearing, too, the seal of Corcyrus, I also obtained. One of these bundles I broke open in Ar, and used it to locate and capture the former Tatrix of Corcyrus." The fellow looked at me, and smiled. "It is, however," he said, "what the sign was, some years ago, before its style was slightly changed." "But that is right!" exclaimed Boabissia. "It was on me from years ago!" "Precisely," he smiled. "I would not have known that," she said. "Had I made a counterfeit, I would have done it, not knowing any better, in your modern fashion, and then you would have been able to detect, from the time involved, that the disk was a forgery, that it was fraudulent. "There seems a point then in having you chained here," I said, "aside, of course, from such things as having you brought to the attention of fellows who might redeem you and making clear the inn's disapproval of attempted fraud, namely, that you might serve as a warning to other free women, women who might otherwise have been tempted to try similar tricks." These were women, I had gathered, who had made a practice of relying upon the generosity and nobility of men, or of some men, to obtain their way in life, in a sense resorting frequently to types of female fraud, regularly exploiting and, in a sense, making dupes of men. "At the seventeenth Ahn," she said, "the keeper, it seems, grew weary of our pleas and protestations. Also, I think he was not too pleased with women such as we, who had attempted to do fraud and dupery within his inn." "That is understandable," I said. "No," she said. "We are not slaves! We are free women. We may do anything." "I do not think then I should be held accountable under the charge of attempting to deceive with respect to caste," she said. "For example, I engaged in no business under false pretenses, and I never claimed explicitly to be of a caste other than my own." It seemed to me that she did have a point here. The legal problems connected with intent to deceive with respect to caste, of course, problems of the sort which presumably constitute the rationale of the law, usually come up in cases of fraud or impersonation, for example, with someone pretending to be of the Physicians. "And, too," she continued, "if conquering Cosians should have seen fit to take me for a simple, low-caste maid, I see no reason why the laws of Ar's station should now be exercised against me. What would be the point of that, to protect Cosians from a mistake which they never had the opportunity to make?" The principle he had alluded to pertains to conduct in a free woman which is taken as sufficient to warrant her reduction to slavery. The most common application of this principle occurs in areas such as fraud and theft. One would not wish to buy a girl thinking she was auburn, a rare and muchly prized hair color on Gor, for example, and then discover later that she was, say, blond. Against such fraud, needless to say, the law provides redress. "It is indeed a yellow ostrakon," I said, "and oval in shape, as are the current ostraka." "Pay me," he gasped. "Only this morning I was at the sun gate," I told him, "where the current lists are posted, the intent of which is to preclude such fraud as you would perpetrate." "No," he said. "The series of this ostrakon," I said, "was discontinued, probably months ago." For example, he is likely, at least upon occasion, to be an easier mark for the fraud and charlatan than a more suspicious, cynical fellow. On the other hand, I do not encourage lying to Goreans. They do not like it. The hair of kajirae who are up for sale, incidentally, is never dyed, or, if dyed, that is made clear to the buyers. A buyer who regards himself as defrauded can be, as I understand it, extremely disagreeable. With respect to heat it is my supposition that blondes, at least if properly managed and disciplined, are also responsive and passionate. Indeed, they had better be. Frigidity is not permitted to kajirae. We are not free women. If it is pertinent I might mention that in the pens I saw blondes on their bellies, tears in their eyes, begging the touch of guards, just as brunettes and redheads. These things really depend not on the color of hair, but on the individual woman. I might note, in passing, that in many slave markets, the single, most prized color of hair seems to be auburn. That hair color is highly prized in a kajira. An itinerant vendor, then, if desiring to defraud buyers and raise the price of a kajira, is more likely to have her hair dyed auburn than blond. "Perhaps the slave recalls," he said, "one who was once the Lady Constanzia of Besnit, one who once, when the mistress of a rich house, defrauded the house of William, in Harfax. Of course we were guilty! Did we not know of the manipulation of the tables' spins, of the dishonest stones, the fraudulent dice, the ostraka which, to the informed eye could be read? If there was someone there, in the darkness, I thought, he might be well aware that signs and countersigns had been compromised. How else might the raid on the encampment been as deftly managed? An awareness of the signs would have been initially important as much so, I supposed, as forged commands, bearing fraudulent seals. "I am counting on that, later, but not now," I said. The caste of Peasants, usually ensconced in remote, isolated settlements, tends to be wary and suspicious of other castes, commonly suspecting them of an impressive variety of ill doings, ranging from subtle deceit to outright chicanery, particularly in the spheres of fraudulent bookkeeping and dishonest weights. I always found this ironic as the average peasant, like the average Tuchuk, is commonly a bargainer whose sense of business shrewdness is not far removed from that of a practiced, marauding pirate. On the other hand, interestingly, a peasant is likely to trust another peasant, even from a remote village. That has something to do with the codes. "Now," said Aktis, "I call your attention to this bow. It is of the sort called the great bow or the peasant bow. Behold. I now draw it. Not every man could do so. Those unfamiliar with the bow have little understanding of the force it imparts to the string, and the released string to the freed arrow. It can be fired accurately and rapidly over considerable distances. At this range it could sink several inches into the trunk of a full-grown Tur tree. If I were to release the string, I doubt that even you, my fraudulent, unwelcome, intrusive friend, could follow the flight of the arrow to your heart." "They claim to be exiled Ubaras, from three cities," he said. "Perhaps some will believe that," I said. "It is merely an advertising image, a merchandising persona," he said. "I care little for such frauds," I said, "even when obvious and droll." The Gambling House of the Golden Urt, managed by the 'Three Ubaras', was on Garland Street in Sybaris. Its reputation, as I noted earlier, was unsavory. There was much suspicion of fraudulent play. "He has allied himself with Archelaos," said Thurnock. "How could he search so long for the corsair fleet and somehow never find it? He does not want to find it. His searches are for show. Can he really not suspect that it anchors before him in the harbor of Sybaris? Is he not a patron of the tavern of Glaukos, The Living Island? Does he not game, and suspiciously successfully, as does Archelaos, at The House of the Golden Urt? Does he not profit, as does his colleague, Archelaos, from multiple taxes, from arbitrary levies, from demanded licenses, from various schemes, and frauds, in Sybaris?" "You see, Captain," said Sakim, "so much now for Sakim the delusional, Sakim the mad, Sakim the liar, Sakim the fraud." "I understand," she said. "And if I am not Talena?" she asked. "That would be most unfortunate," he said. "You would then be guilty of attempting to defraud the state of Cos and would be cast naked to the eels in the palace pool." I did not think it would take the Kurii too long to discover the fraud perpetrated upon them. They need only look closely upon, or examine, the rock reposing on the white, circular table. "You understand, I trust," said Decius Albus, "that Lurius of Jad is victor here, that the gold is destined, unfortunately, for Cos, that this arrangement, you as a designated recipient, is a monumental fraud to which you are knowingly party." "I fear only," I said, "that the tricksters of Brundisium might put a lesser beverage in flagons falsely identified as containing the Ta wine of Telnus." "You have never tasted it yourself then?" said one of the mercenaries. "And that is what makes me apprehensive of possible fraud." "Buy from a reputable dealer," said another mercenary. "My head was shaved," she said. "Why?" I asked. "What had you done?" "Nothing," she said. "My hair had been dyed. I was not truly a blonde. This angered men. If I was sold so, the merchant feared that he would be exiled and his business burned to the ground. And the colored nail polish was scraped from my nails." "Goreans like honesty, authenticity, truth," I said. "They are dolts, prudes," she said. "They like to know what they are buying," I said. "they do not like being fooled or defrauded." "The Initiates are of no help," said Holt. "They are pretentious, pompous, lying, hypocritical, useless frauds." |
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