|
 Caste of SlaversHere are relevant references from the Books where the Caste of Slavers 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 I saw that the cover of the tharlarion wagon, which had rolled back, was of blue and yellow silk. It was the camp of a slaver. Outlaw of Gor Book 2 Page 185 When an individual captures a girl for his own uses, does not always mark her, though it is commonly done. On the other hand, the professional slaver, as a business practice, almost always brands his chattels, and it is seldom that an unbranded girl ascends the block. Outlaw of Gor Book 2 Pages 186 - 187 "She's a loud one," he said, shamefacedly. Then, with a shrug in my direction, as if to ask my pardon, he went to the girl and took a handful of her long hair. He wadded it into a small, tight ball and suddenly shoved it in her mouth. It immediately expanded, and before she could spit the hair out, he had looped more of her hair about her head and tied it, in such a way as to keep the expanded ball of hair in her mouth. The girl choked silently, trying to spit the ball of hair from her mouth, but of course she could not. It was an old slaver's trick. Outlaw of Gor Book 2 Page 188 Many of them were beauties, and I thought that the chain, though small, was a rich one, and that almost any man might find thereon a woman to his taste. They were vital, splendid creatures, many of them undoubtedly exquisitely trained to delight the senses of a master. And many of the cities of Gor were represented on that chain, sometimes spoken of as the Slaver's Necklace Outlaw of Gor Book 2 Pages 194 - 195 Normally a girl who does what you did is maimed or thrown to sleen or kaiila, and that he touched you with the whip, the Slaver's Caress, that was only to show me, and perhaps you, that you were female." Nomads of Gor Book 4 Page 281 He had known, of course, from the gown of blue and yellow silk that the man was a slaver. Assassin of Gor Book 5 Page 18 Ho-Tu glanced into the room, saw Elizabeth and smiled, a slaver's smile. Assassin of Gor Book 5 Page 85 It was, of course, the largest and most opulent of the slave houses in Ar. The House of Cernus was more than thirty generations old. It had bred slaves as well as handled them for more than twenty-five generations. The breeding lines of the House of Cernus were recognized, with those of the House of Portus, and certain other of the large slave houses, throughout known Gor. To a slaver, certain girls can be recognized at a glance, as being of certain varieties developed by certain houses. Assassin of Gor Book 5 Page 110 Less impressive perhaps but even more essential to the operation of the House were its kitchens, its laundries, commissaries and storerooms; its medical facilities, in which dental care is also provided; its corridors of rooms for staff members, all of whom live in the House; its library, its records and files; its cubicles for Smiths, Bakers, Cosmeticians, Bleachers, Dyers, Weavers and Leather Workers; its wardrobe and jewelry chambers; its tarncots, two of them, opening by means of vast portals to tarn perches fixed in the side of the cylinder; its training rooms, both for slaves and for guards, and for those learning the trade of the slaver; recreation rooms for the staff; eating places; and, of course, various pens, kennels and retention facilities; as well as a chamber in which slaves are processed, collared and branded; deliveries to the House of Cernus, both of foodstuffs and materials, and slaves, are frequent; it is not unusual that a hundred slaves be received in a given day; the total number of slaves in the house at any one time, a shifting population, of course, tends to be between four and six thousand. Assassin of Gor Book 5 Pages 111 - 112 The Gorean slaver knows his business. Assassin of Gor Book 5 Page 137 The Slavers, incidentally, are of the Merchant Caste, though, in virtue of their merchandise and practices, their robes are different. Yet, if one of them were to seek Caste Sanctuary, he would surely seek it from Slavers, and not from common Merchants. Many Slavers think of themselves as an independent caste. Gorean law, however, does not so regard them. The average Gorean thinks of them simply as Slavers, but, if questioned, would unhesitantly rank them with the Merchants. Assassin of Gor Book 5 Page 208 We began to walk down a long, slowly bending passageway. I had seen the Curulean from the outside before, but I had never been inside. From the outside it resembles several tiers of disks, surrounded by a circling portico with lofty, fluted columns; the predominant colors are blue and yellow, the traditional colors of the Gorean slaver; around the outside there are large numbers of well-wrought mosaics set in the walls, and on the floor of the circling portico; various scenes, stories and events are depicted, primarily having to do with, as would be expected, the trade of the Slaver and his merchandise; there are hunting scenes, for example, and those of capture, enslavement, training, the sale, the dance, submission, and so on. One striking set of mosaics details a slave raid from its initial planning phases through the successful return of the Slavers, on tarnback, to Ar with their stunning victims; another picks up this story from the registration and training of prizes to the block of the Curulean itself; another records the theoretical history of certain of these prizes, fortunate enough to be sold to men of Ar, who find eventual rapture in the arms of their masters, of Ar naturally. There is another set of interesting mosaics, each portraying a chained beauty, identified as being of a given city, kneeling before a Warrior, identified as being of Ar. Assassin of Gor Book 5 Pages 285 - 286 Then taking the whip from the whip slave the auctioneer stepped to the disconsolate girl; suddenly, without warning, he administered to her the Slaver's caress, the whip caress, and her response was utterly, and uncontrollably, wild, helpless. Assassin of Gor Book 5 Pages 294 - 295 I saw that even Targo laughed, holding his belly in his blue-and-yellow slaver's robes. Captive of Gor Book 7 Page 104 And then suddenly I turned and, behind me, some eight or ten feet away, standing, not speaking, tall in the blue and yellow robes of the slaver, still partially hooded, the band of leather across his left eye, was Soron of Ar. Captive of Gor Book 7 Page 204 Samos wore the blue and yellow robes of the Slaver. Hunters of Gor Book 8 Page 7 The ideal candidate for the Gorean slaver's snare is a highly intelligent, beautiful, imaginative woman, one who is strong willed, proud and free. It is such women that Goreans enjoy making slaves. Hunters of Gor Book 8 Page 154 Similarly, slave girls, attempting to escape, can be separated out from free women, even when all are veiled and wear the robes of concealment. Again, the tests may be simple. Once, in Ko-ro-ba, I saw a slaver, before a magistrate, distinguish such a girl, not even one of his own, from eleven free women. Each, in turn, was asked to pour him a cup of wine, and then withdraw, nothing more. At the end, the slaver rose to his feet and pointed to one of the women. "No!" she had cried. "I am free!" Officers of the court, by order of the magistrate, removed her garments. If she were free, the slaver would be impaled. When her last garment had been torn away, there was applause in the court. The girl stood there. On her thigh was the brand. She was braceleted and leashed, and given to the slaver. He led her, weeping, away to his slave chain. Hunters of Gor Book 8 Page 156 From one of the abandoned crates, discarded now because of its weight and its putative lack of utility, I spilled a quantity of chains to the grass. They were Harl rings, named for the slaver Harl of Turia, who is reported to have first used them. They consist, in effect, of four portions. First, there is a metal ankle ring, which snaps about the girl's ankle. Second, to the back of the ring, there is welded a closed loop. Third, to the front of the ring, fastened through another closed loop, is about a yard of chain. Fourth, this chain terminates in a locking device, which may then be snapped shut, if one wishes, through the welded, closed loop on the back of a second ankle ring. The Harl ring is a versatile piece of custodial hardware. It may be used to chain a girl to anything, the ankle ring closed on her ankle, and the locking device at the termination of the device being easily fastened, looped, say, about a tree, or stanchion, or the ankle of another girl, and then locked about its own chain, or through one of the links of its own chain. The chain, of course, may also be looped about, say, a tree, or a pillar in a public building, and the locking device snapped into the welded ring on the, back of the girl's own ankle ring. This is called a closed Harl Loop. One of the most frequent uses of the Harl ring, of course, is to form a segment in a slave chain, which may then be of any length, adding or removing girls, as short or as long as the slaver wishes Hunters of Gor Book 8 Page 208 Even a slaver who has captured a free woman often treats her with great solicitude until she is branded. Then his behavior toward her is immediately and utterly transformed. She is then merely an animal, and treated as such. Hunters of Gor Book 8 Page 311 Samos laughed unpleasantly, the laugh of a slaver. Tribesmen of Gor Book 10 Page 13 She was new to the collar, but she had incredible potentialities. Any slaver could determine that. Beasts of Gor Book 12 Page 140 A slaver normally expresses his dissatisfaction to his girls with a whip. Beasts of Gor Book 12 Page 241 "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." "Is that sort of thing done in many cities?" she asked. "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. Beasts of Gor Book 12 Pages 242 - 243 Usually girls, if not marked by a slaver, are marked in the shop of a metal worker. Explorers of Gor Book 13 Page 38 "Are blue and yellow not the colors of the slavers?" she asked. "Yes," I said. Blue and yellow are often used for the tenting of slave pavilions, and in the decor of auction houses. The wagons of slavers often have blue and yellow canvas. Sometimes they bind their girls with blue and yellow ropes. Sometimes their girls wear yellow-enameled collars; and yellow-enameled wrist rings and ankle rings, with chains with blue links. In his best, a slaver will usually wear blue and yellow robes, or robes in which these colors are prominent. He will, normally, in his day-to-day business, wear at least chevrons, or slashes, of blue and yellow on his lower left sleeve. Explorers of Gor Book 13 Page 335 In every woman there is a slave, in every man a slaver. Fighting Slave of Gor Book 14 Page 36 "I will obtain the full value of my wages from her," said the Lady Tima, "even untrained as she is now. You will see. And, in time, she will conduct a sale as skillfully as any female slaver." Fighting Slave of Gor Book 14 Page 163 I saw many of the women looking upon the Lady Tendite almost breathlessly, thrilled with her loveliness. I then understood how brilliant indeed was the slaver who was my mistress. The women in the tiers, almost overcome with excitement, were identifying with the Lady Tendite. Fighting Slave of Gor Book 14 Page 167 "I, too, was in the House of Andronicus," I said. "I was later purchased by Tima, a slaver, mistress of the House of Tima. I was sold from the market of Tima. That is also in Vonda." Fighting Slave of Gor Book 14 Page 187 Similarly, caste lines tend sometimes to be vague, and the relation between castes and subcastes. Slavers, for example, sometimes think of themselves as being of the Merchants, and sometimes as being a separate caste. They do have their own colors, blue and yellow, those of the Merchants being white and gold. Fighting Slave of Gor Book 14 Page 211 "She is a piece of property," he said, "an item of merchandise. I am not a raiding slaver. I am a business slaver. I cannot simply remove her from your premises." Fighting Slave of Gor Book 14 Page 299 Ronald, in one hand, carried the slaver's case, with its chains, and rings, and bracelets and collars, with him. Fighting Slave of Gor Book 14 Page 302 "Do you think that will make a difference to him," I asked, "when, with the dispassionate objectivity of the slaver, he stands you upon his assessment platform and assesses your quality as slave meat?" Fighting Slave of Gor Book 14 Page 361 There can be many dangers involved for the slaver in the capture of women for slave markets. Accordingly, generally, at any rate, he wishes to take no risks which are not justified. Too, of course, he has his reputation to consider. When he leads his chain to market he wants it to be a chain of beauties Too, of course, obviously, he is out to make money on these women. It is thus in his best interest to put up for sale the highest quality merchandise he can obtain. Guardsmen of Gor Book 16 Pages 210 - 211 His hair was bound back with strands of twisted, blue-and-yellow cloth. His caste, even in the town of Kailiauk, was that of the slavers. Savages of Gor Book 17 Page 100 I turned my attention from the apparently lovely young woman, though she was fully clothed, who was strung up by the wrists near the central block. Her ankles had also been crossed and bound, a slaver's trick to accentuate the sweet curvatures of her hips and legs. Savages of Gor Book 17 Page 106 I sat back from the fire, watching them closely. It was now late at night. Grunt had shortened the coffle by two collars and chain lengths. I had put the new girl in Margaret's place, after Priscilla and before the Hobarts. This was the position of "Last Girl," which, fittingly, not counting the Hobarts, she would occupy, being the newest girl on the coffle. Coffle arrangements, incidentally, are seldom arbitrary. One common principle of arrangements is in order of height, with the tallest girls coming first; this makes a lovely coffle. Sometimes, too, coffles are arranged in order of beauty or preference, the most beautiful or the most preferred girls coming first. Coloring and body type can also be important. It is for such reasons, perhaps, that the coffle is sometimes spoken of as the slaver's necklace. Sales strategies, too, can enter into the formation of a coffle, as, for example, when a girl is put between two plainer girls to accentuate her beauty, or a superb girl is saved for last, and many other considerations, as well, can enter into the formation of a coffle. Savages of Gor Book 17 Page 240 An experienced slaver, incidentally, can usually tell a woman's wrist, ankle and collar sizes almost at a glance. I took a number-two ankle ring and a number-two wrist ring. I took a ten-hort collar. These are common and standard sizes. The most commonly worn wrist and ankle rings are the twos and threes. The most common collar sizes are the ten-, eleven- and twelve-hort sizes. Kajira of Gor Book 19 Pages 308 - 309 "It is not wise to wager against a slaver in such matters," said Publius. "We can tell such matters at a glance." "I had thought, then, at least, that she was different," said Drusus Rencius. "She is too vital and healthy, and has too strong drives to be different," said Publius. I knelt on the broad stair, embarrassed, holding the slave silk about me. On this same stair, and on the floor below, and on the surface of the dais itself, before the long, low, small table, I had been ordered to writhe, to the music. Then I had been ordered to stand, my knees flexed, with my hands clasped behind my neck. Then a soldier had been ordered to feel me. I had jerked and almost screamed from his touch. The man had smelled his hand, and laughed. "You are right," had said Drusus Rencius to Publius, "She is a slave, and a natural one." Such things may be told from movements, dispositions and reflexes. Kajira of Gor Book 19 age 404 Most Gorean women tend to be attractive, and most Gorean men tend to be strong, for example. Accordingly, in a business such as slaving it is not unusual that the female slaver sooner or later, in one way or another finds the collar on her own throat. Players of Gor Book 20 Page 86 I then checked her collar, and the attachment points of the chain, both at the collar and at the double loop where it was fastened about the axle. "I am perfectly secured," she said, angrily. "I am sorry if chain check distresses you," I said. "You comprehend its rationale, of course." "Yes," she said, angrily. "It is procedurally recommended by the caste of slavers," I said. Players of Gor Book 20 Page 214 There are penalties, incidentally, for a slaver passing off a girl for an auburn slave when she is not truly so. Auburn hair, as I have indicated, is prized in slave markets. Vagabonds of Gor Book 24 Page 44 A slaver's joke, one which free women are likely to hear with apprehension, has it that there is always room for another female on the chain. Magicians of Gor Book 25 Page 161 "You are members of the caste of slavers!" she said. "No," I said. "But you are slavers!" she said. "Do not concern yourself with the matter," I said. "Yes Master," she said. The distinction, of course, is between belonging to the caste of slavers and being a slaver. Whereas members of the caste of slavers are slavers, not all slavers are members of the caste of slavers. For example, I am not of the slavers, but in Port Kar I am known as Bosk, and he known as many things, among them pirate and slaver. Too, both Marcus and myself were of the warriors, the scarlet caste, and as such were not above taking slaves. Such is not only permitted in the codes, but encouraged by them. "The slave is a joy and a convenience to the warrior." Neither of us, of course, was a member of the caste of slavers. It, incidentally, is sometimes regarded as a subcaste of the merchants, and sometimes as an independent caste. It does have its own colors, blue and yellow, whereas those of the merchants are yellow and white, or gold and white. Magicians of Gor Book 25 Page 315 There are some ambiguities in the caste structure. For example, some rank the Merchants as a high caste, and some do not; and some rank the Slavers with the Merchants, and some see them as a separate caste, and so on. Witness of Gor Book 26 Page 225 Slaves are not permitted to move with the rigidity, the awkwardness, of free woman. Indeed, it is said that a skilled slaver can tell the difference between a free woman in the robes of concealment and a slave in them merely by having them walk about. Witness of Gor Book 26 Page 394 A slaver's practice is often to put binding fiber, or binding leather, about a girl's waist, snugly, and tire her hands behind her back. This, of course, narrows her waist, rounds her belly, and contributes to the accentuation of the bosom. This is not really a slaver's "trick" because it is obvious what is being done. Witness of Gor Book 26 Page 437 Blue and yellow are the colors of the caste, or subcaste, as the case may be, of the Slavers. Some, as noted earlier, regard the Slavers as a caste independent of the Merchants, some regard it as a subcaste of the Merchants. The colors of the merchant caste itself are white and yellow, or white and gold. Needless to say, caste members do not always wear the caste colors. For example, a scribe would normally wear his blue when working but not always when at leisure. Goreans are fond of color and style in their raiment. They tend to be careful of their appearance and often delight in looking well. Not all slave papers are bound in blue and yellow, of course. I had seen copies in the pens which were in plain folders, in envelopes, and such. Indeed, some had been merely clipped together. Witness of Gor Book 26 Page 519 To be sure, she knew that already her bondage had irremediably infused her entire being. Even now she was sure that a slaver, without regard to her brand or collar, could pick her out from free women. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 169 Some bracelets are fitted with lock rings, which can be snapped into one another, if and when desired. This resembles the leather slave cuffs worn by some girls in paga taverns. Similarly, some collars, leather or otherwise, have rings to which such snap rings may be conveniently fastened. To be sure, something as simple as leather binding fiber, such as commonly belts the common camisk, well serves for the general purposes of ready tethering. Common, too, are leashes. The style, grace, attractiveness, and lightness of slave bracelets does not detract from their utility. They are more than adequate to hold a female, and with perfection. Not all slave bracelets are pretty, and such, of course. Some are quite plain, and these might be preferred by some men for their slaves, perhaps for reasons of instruction, or economy, or to avoid an appearance of ostentation, or such. Too, warriors, tarnsmen, slavers, and such, might prefer plainer custodial devices for early captures, transportation, simple holding, and so on. Sometimes no more than a string, nose-ring and thumb cuffs are used. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 172 That Earth women are seldom veiled is taken by most Goreans, at least those familiar with the second knowledge, as evidence that we are slaves. Too, there is little doubt that the fact that women on Earth, particularly in Western cultures, do not veil themselves is welcomed by Gorean slavers, and certainly facilitates their selections amongst us. Prize of Gor Book 27 Pages 221 - 222 "Targo is a minor slaver, of little account," said the girl. "Once, perhaps, he was well off, but not now. He claims to have once, albeit unwittingly, sold the very tatrix of Tharna. The Cosians have robbed him of girls, some say his best, claimedly for taxes, time and time again. He must guard every tarsk-bit, as an urt its last sa-tarna seed. Targo is poor. He is nearly destitute. He is nothing." Prize of Gor Book 27 Pages 228 - 229 One of the girls in the coffle, she who was last on the chain, or slaver's necklace, turned about to cast a last contemptuous glance at the shelf, but the guardsman behind her struck her a sharp, stinging blow with the flat of his hand below the small of her back, which resounded throughout the market, and she, sobbing with humiliation, with a jangle of chain, hurried forward. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 235 Too, on the second day, no new jewels were added to the slaver's necklace, as had been Jill that morning. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 262 Throughout most of human history, the "slaver's necklace," a coffle of chained beauties, was a familiar sight. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 291 She did not know if this was because those of Earth, both men and women, tended to live unwittingly in eccentric, unnatural cultural prisons, products of monstrous, lingering historicalities, denying themselves and their natures, submitting mindlessly, uncritically, to pathological, stunting, life-shortening conventions, fearing to live, or if it merely referred to Earth as a welcome, vulnerable resource for the predations of slavers, a world where lovely animals, perhaps rather such as she herself now was, might be netted with impunity, and chained, or crated, and brought to distant markets for their sale. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 300 "I think she is rather pretty," said the officer. "I think she would look well, chained by the neck, being marched in a slave coffle. I do not think she would be the worst bead on a slaver's necklace." Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 328 "I will send a man here tonight, a slaver, or slaver's man, to pick her up," said the officer to Portus Canio. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 330 Cosians would presumably be less suspicious if some tarns remained in the loft. Business, presumably, might have taken the others on their various ways. There might be problems, of course, when a slaver, or slaver's man, came to collect a slave. Selius Arconious, of course, a lowly employee, could not be expected to be of much help in such matters. Too, what would the slaver, or slaver's man, when he arrived with his whip and leash, know? Orders might have been countermanded. Or perhaps Portus might have been ordered to deliver the slave himself to some designated location. It was hard to know about such things. The important thing was to be courteous, and as helpful as possible. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 338 That would be in most cities something like one hundred tarsk-bits altogether. It would be something like fifty tarsk-bits for each lad. Presumably they would not have so many coins at one time until they were responsible for their own fields, and the sale of their own crops. This was, we may remember, the price for which Mirus had allegedly sold her to Targo. It was not much, but it was surely something, and Targo, a professional slaver, had paid it, and so, doubtless, had hoped to make a profit on her, perhaps of as much as five tarsks. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 374 Among these visitors, and citizens of Brundisium, too, she knew, would be slavers, professional slavers. These were men who dealt shrewdly in wares such as she. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 381 Ellen then began to grasp how easily a woman of Earth, and with so little awareness, thinking herself superior and safe, might court the collar of a slave. A movement, a glance, a word, a gesture which might cause no more than a moment's irritation or disgruntlement to a typical male of Earth, used to such abuse, might have different consequences altogether with another sort of man, a man less tolerant and less accommodating than those on whom she was accustomed to inflict her pettiness and disdain with impunity. "We will come back for her," might say a Gorean slaver. "That one does not know it but she has just made herself an appointment with the slaving iron." How differently would a woman of Earth behave before a man, thought Ellen, if she realized that one day she might find herself at his feet, on her belly, stripped and chained, his slave. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 420 And Ellen, whom I think we may accept as intelligent, perhaps even quite intelligent, forgive me, Masters, given the selection criteria of Gorean slavers, of which we may take Mirus to be one, had this understanding of herself. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 427 One of the interesting things from the Gorean point of view about most of the women of Earth is that they do not veil themselves; most go about, even in public, with bared features. This tends to be incomprehensible to the average Gorean. On Gor, on the other hand, as you have doubtless by now gathered, this omission, or this practice, that of not wearing the veil, is common with, and, indeed, is usually imposed upon, and in many cities by law, slaves. Such are commonly denied the veil, as they are other garments of free women. Indeed, the donning of the garments of a free woman by a slave can be a capital offense. The failure of most women of Earth to veil themselves is regarded as shameless. It is one of several reasons, such as the failure to speak Gorean, which tends to make Goreans regard Earth females as barbarians, as natural slaves, as slave stock. Going about so brazenly, is it not their intention to offer themselves for the scrutiny of slavers; is it not a way to court the collar, to beg for it? Certainly Gorean slavers on Earth are grateful for the custom, as it considerably facilitates their assessment of the slave wares of Earth. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 441 - 442 More coercively, perhaps, we might note that intelligence ranks high among the selection criteria of Gorean slavers, of which, as noted earlier, we may assume that Mirus was one. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 451 There were many professional slavers in attendance, of course. They, clearly, on the whole, were interested in picking up cheap girls for training and subsequent resale, the first buys in the festival camp being understood largely as speculations or investments. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 461 "Stand as you were before," she was told. She did so. "Hot and needful," she heard. She tossed her head, a bit angrily, a bit insolently. Did they have to know that? Could that not be left as her secret, to be revealed only, whether she willed it or not, in the arms of a dominant male? She wondered at the knowledge of the slavers. How could they know such things? It seemed they could see in a woman what she could scarcely admit to herself, even in her most secret dreams. Doubtless there were subtle cues in a woman's body, in her movements, in her discourse, her carriage, her expressions and such. She had been told that slavers on Earth occasionally passed by beautiful women, to take as prey women perhaps less beautiful, but more intelligent, more latently passionate, those who, in their view, would make better slaves. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 486 Although the caste of Mirus might be unclear from the particular nature of his garmenture, Ellen supposed him of the slavers, which would be a subcaste of the Merchants, which caste was doubtless the wealthiest on Gor, and one which was often wont to view itself, perhaps in virtue of its wealth, if not as well in virtue of its influence and power, as a high caste, a tendency which, however, was not widely shared, save perhaps, at least publicly, by its clients and sycophants. Goreans respect wealth but tend to value other attributes more highly, and, indeed, to the credit of the Merchants, it should be noted that they usually do so, as well. One such attribute is fidelity; another is honor. Gor is not Earth. In any event, aside from any cultural ambiguity which might attend the station or status of the Merchants, Mirus would presumably concede nothing in caste merit to the fellow who had just, it seemed, dared to gainsay him. Prize of Gor Book 27 Pages 491 - 492 It was a simple arousal tie, the sort of tie which well reminds a woman she is a slave. To be sure, it was perhaps a bit more severe, or cruel, than was necessary, and scarcely one in which one would be likely to place a beloved slave. But we must remember that the feelings of Selius Arconious toward his recent purchase were rather ambivalent. It is a tie, incidentally, not unfamiliar to slavers, particularly with captured free women, whom they are endeavoring to begin to acquaint with what is to be the nature of their new life, that of a sexual creature, that of a man's plaything and chattel. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 506 Many Goreans buy women on speculation. That is not uncommon. And, indeed, do not many slavers do just this, those who buy them, rather than hunting them down, say, like horses. To be sure, it is not unusual, as I understand it, that a slaver will note and then pick out a particular woman for himself, keeping her at least for a time. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 516 Perhaps a word might be here inserted, briefly, as a "beauty bestowed by bondage" might seem to some an unfamiliar concept. First, as I think has been clearly indicated from time to time men, slavers, for example, have criteria. Not every woman is regarded as "collar worthy." Not every woman is "slave desirable." Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 553 "The best thing about free women is that they may be made slaves," said Mirus. "Yes," said the spokesman. "I had known her long ago, and had seen the slave of her." "I think that would have required no great feat of perception," smiled the spokesman. Ellen jerked at the bonds on her wrists, and then subsided. She had been bound by a Gorean male. "True," said Mirus. "Sometimes such things are obvious." "It would have required no great feat of perception, I should have said," said the spokesman, "- for a slaver." Mirus nodded, acknowledging the compliment. Ellen had heard that a good slaver could discern the needful, waiting slave even in cases in which, prima facie, it might seem unlikely. Behind the brandished facades of freedom, concealed within painstakingly erected ideological fortresses of denial, the victims of self-imposed starvations, a slaver might detect the ready, yearning slave. Ellen had heard of the case of a particularly lovely, young, if somewhat arrogant and condescending, psychiatrist, who believed herself to be treating an alarmingly virile male patient. Unbeknownst to herself the patient was a Gorean slaver, who was scouting her. While she was uneasily, because of her fascination with him, and the unsettling, disturbing stirring in her belly which he produced, attempting to cure him of his masculinity, he was considering if she might do, say, on a slave block or stripped at a man's feet in slave chains. While she thought herself to be treating him, then, he was, so to speak, measuring her for the collar. He easily pierced, it seems, the facades of falsification and fabrication within which she had attempted to hide the slave of her. A slaver, he easily saw her slave. The question then was was it good enough to be brought to Gor. Yes, he considered her acceptable. Rather than simply schedule her for acquisition, however, he decided that he would force her to face her own deepest feelings. On what would be their last session, while she was earnestly, somewhat pathetically, somewhat desperately, propounding her theories, that he should repudiate his masculinity, theories dictated by policy preferences and much at odds with the insights of seminal depth psychologists, he removed an object from his jacket and threw it on the desk before her. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 587 - 588 "He is well thonged," said a soldier. "Bound by a warrior," said one. "Or a slaver," said another. Prize of Gor Book 27 Page 632 Too, we may suppose, being healthy, each had the needs and desires of a healthy female, and, considering their selection, may have had these drives, and such, in an acute fashion, even uncomfortably so, which would render them particularly sexually vulnerable. Gorean slavers, for example, often pay close attention to such things. After all, most men buy women for pleasure. Kur of Gor Book 28 Page 23 To make this matter more clear, and to be fairer to the customs of Gor, it should be noted that any woman, any woman whatsoever with whom one does not share a Home Stone, is understood to be fair game for the capture loop. This does not entail, of course, that one is under any obligation to bring them within one's chain, but only that one is entitled to do so. The cities need not be at war. They need only be different. To be sure, some deference is usually accorded to allied cities, which, however, are few, as Gorean polities tend to be mutually suspicious of, and often hostile to, one another. Accordingly, slave raids are a common pastime amongst young men, raids in which not only slaves, but free women, as well, may be taken as booty. A common Gorean saying has it that all women are slaves. It is only that some are in collars and others are not. Free women hear such sayings with trepidation. And there are, of course, slavers, who specialize in these matters, and brigands, and bands of brigands, who frequently engage in these activities. Kur of Gor Book 28 Pages 55 - 56 The English girl, despite the strange, unfamiliar feelings in his presence, feelings which frightened, warmed and delighted her, did not understand, of course, that she had been selected out for him, that she had been chosen for him with great care, that she had been matched to him most exquisitely, as slave to master. And, indeed, so naive was she that she was not even fully aware that she was such as, in general, aside from the specifics of a given situation, are rightfully put to the feet of men, as properties. To the practiced, discriminating eye of the professional slaver, who is skilled in reading women, their beauty and their needs, it was clear she belonged in a slave collar. Kur of Gor Book 28 Page 61 "You are a professional slaver, are you not?" said Cabot. "Yes," said Peisistratus. "What do you think of her?" asked Cabot. "Less than a half tarsk," he said. "So little?" said Cabot. "She is a barbarian," he said. "She knows little Gorean. She is new to her condition. She is ignorant, untutored, untrained. She does not yet know how to drive a man out of his mind with pleasure." "But we are thinking in terms of silver, I trust." "Yes, silver." "Then you think she has promise?" "They all have promise," he said. "The collar brings out their beauty. Her slave curves could be worse." Kur of Gor Book 28 Pages 120 - 121 With a swirl from the czehar and kalikas, and a pounding of the tabors, the dancers prostrated themselves in the sand, as slaves, and then, as Peisistratus struck his hands sharply together, they leapt up, and fled from the room, exiting through a portal, it curtained with dangling strands of blue and yellow beads, the caste colors of the slavers. Kur of Gor Book 28 Pages 164 - 165 It is interesting to see a slaver take a free female, complacent in her sexual inertness, even one arrogantly proud of her frigidity, and transform her into a needful, helpless, vulnerable, begging slave, zealous to serve, that she may be rewarded with even the least touch of a male. Kur of Gor Book 28 Page 167 "Free women may be raped, of course," he said, "by raiders, by warriors of foreign cities, by slavers, and such, for women are generally recognized on Gor as loot. But the rape of such women is usually no more than a prelude to their collaring." Kur of Gor Book 28 Page 323 "Slavers," said Cabot, "often take a woman in her sleep, and bind her. She retired the night before, as usual, considering, if anything, only the prosaic routines of her next day's quotidian existence. She retires, anticipating nothing, suspecting nothing. Then, later, she awakens, doubtless to her consternation and horror, to find herself bound helplessly." Kur of Gor Book 28 Page 363 "And they are, as you may recall," she said, "slavers, professionals in the assessment of slaves." Kur of Gor Book 28 Page 384 He did not have the blue and yellow chevrons which sometimes characterizes the lower-left-hand sleeve of the slavers, different, of course, from their more formal regalia, or robes, commonly blue and yellow, their colors. Some view the Slavers as a caste, others as a subcaste of the Merchants. Swordsmen of Gor Book 29 Page 25 An obvious inducement, or partial inducement, to certain Goreans, for example to certain members of the caste of slavers, for their assistance, in a variety of tasks, would be something all males understand, women. On Gor, women, that is, slaves, are negotiable items of value, a currency of sorts. Indeed, on Gor a salary may be paid in women. Swordsmen of Gor Book 29 Page 247 "I would put you in the middle range of slaves," I said. "You would not likely be either the first nor the last put on the block." It is not unusual for slavers to save the best merchandise for late in the sale, when late comers are present, the audience is settled in, interest has been whetted, emotions are running high, purses are most open, and so on. This is not a universal practice, however, as one is likely to make less on early sales. Mariners of Gor Book 30 Page 82 "That it was done easily and efficiently," said the tarnsman, "her neutralization, her removal from the game, from the board, so to speak, the straightforward gagging and hooding, suggests that they are proficient in such things, are perhaps slavers or raiders, or others, accustomed to the acquisition and management of women. This gives us some information. Also, that there were clearly two men involved is worth noting." Mariners of Gor Book 30 Page 209 Indeed, most seemed at, or near, ideal block measurements, those measurements sought by professional slavers before bringing their merchandise to the large, sawdust-covered pedestal from which they would be vended. Mariners of Gor Book 30 Pages 273 - 274 Pierced ears, too, tend to improve a girl's price. For that reason, even in the absence of discipline, slavers sometimes pierce a girl's ears, to her misery and horror, before putting her on the block, a pierced-ear girl. Mariners of Gor Book 30 Page 300 Her body, its deliciousness, its vitality, its movements, its pressings and brushings, its piteous closures with, and its desperate touchings against, the master, its pleadings, did not suggest white silk. To be sure, there is a simple test for such things, often conducted by slavers. Mariners of Gor Book 30 Page 524 Now, as I was being marched through streets I could not see, naked, back-braceleted, a bead fastened in this small slaver's necklace, the wind and sunlight on my bared body, I knew I was being taken, for the first time, to market, a market where I would not buy but be bought as much as a verr, or a basket of suls. Conspirators of Gor Book 31 Page 95 I saw a small, wiry fellow with a straggly beard, in soiled blue and yellow robes, approaching. He wiped his mouth with a dirty sleeve. In his right hand he held an implement I recognized well. It was a switch. "It is he who will auction us," said the girl from Tabor. That seemed likely to me. Certainly he wore the colors of the Slavers. The small fellow, at the foot of the platform, conferred briefly with the slaver's man. I did not know if the small fellow owned the market, or owned us, or both. For all I knew I was still owned by the house, and I was merely being vended through this outlet, and the small fellow might be merely a professional auctioneer, hired for each sale. I supposed, beside his fee, he might receive some sort of commission on the sales. That meant he would be likely to do his best to get a good price. It also suggested to me that he might then, be quick with his switch. Conspirators of Gor Book 31 Pages 124 - 125 "The finest beads drawn from the finest of the slavers' necklaces, each worthy of the central block of the Curulean, each fit for the Pleasure Garden of a Ubar," said the auctioneer. Conspirators of Gor Book 31 Page 127 How dare she so display herself, I thought. But, if she were not sold, I thought, she would be whipped. Slavers are seldom lenient with their goods. They are not out to coddle them, but to make coin on them. Conspirators of Gor Book 31 Page 130 The auctioneer stood on the surface of the platform. A small breeze moved the blue-and-yellow robes. Conspirators of Gor Book 31 Page 134 Interestingly, to me at least, a slaver who misrepresents merchandise, for example, claiming former high caste for a girl who was actually formerly of low caste, or who tries to pass off a dyed blonde for a natural blonde may be banished and ruined, his goods confiscated, his house burned to the ground. Conspirators of Gor Book 31 Page 136 When I better learned your language, I was surprised to learn that you tend to regard the women of my world as natural slaves, and thus legitimate and appropriate prey for slavers. Conspirators of Gor Book 31 Page 137 I did learn, for the first time, that I had been brought from the House of Tenalion, apparently a slaver of Ar. Conspirators of Gor Book 31 Page 142 I had not had such a sweet since Earth, since my "harvesting" as one of the ill-protected, exposed, dangling fruits so easily available to slavers in the "slave orchard of Earth," no, not since my acquisition, my capture, my routine snaring, merely another sleek, defenseless animal, ignorant and unsuspecting, easily taken as the prize of methodical hunters. Conspirators of Gor Book 31 Page 171 When the transaction had been completed, I dared to look up at Menon. "It is a shame," said Menon, looking down upon me, "that the slavers consider little more than intelligence, beauty, and helpless, latent passion. Perhaps they should concern themselves more with the character of their prey." Conspirators of Gor Book 31 Page 176 I did not know how long he had been with us. Perhaps he had noted, for all I knew, several times, the tiny lifting of the canvas. If the wagons were in the care of slavers, I supposed girls might be punished for such things. Slavers like to keep the girls in their wagons ignorant of their surroundings, their destinations, and such. Indeed, even in coffles the destination of the coffle is seldom made explicit to, so to speak, the "beads on the slaver's necklace." Conspirators of Gor Book 31 Page 299 Far below, on the broad, level area, inside the rail, I saw two girls, in tunics of yellow and blue the Slaver's colors, Conspirators of Gor Book 31 Page 315 I think all there were surprised, the Lady Bina Master Desmond, Astrinax, and Lykos, and the keeper of the pair on the chain, with his switch, who was in his holiday regalia that of the Slavers. Often enough, they wear dark robing or tunics, with only a small pair of chevrons visible, one blue, one yellow on the left sleeve of their robe, near the wrist, to indicate their caste. Sometimes they do not identify their caste, as when, say, approaching free women. Conspirators of Gor Book 31 Page 331 "I assure you that they are competent in Gorean," said the slaver. "I trust so," said the Lady Bina. "It is certified," said the slaver. Conspirators of Gor Book 31 Page 336 "Will Lady Bina accompany us?" I asked. "Certainly not," he said. "Free women are not permitted in paga taverns." "Oh?" I said. "Rejoice," he said, "it is one place kajirae need not fear free women." "I do not fear free women," I said. "That is because you have never been owned by one," he said, "that is, a typical free woman." "I see," I said. "It is dangerous for a free woman to enter such a place," he said. "They may be marked by slavers. Conspirators of Gor Book 31 Page 341 For example, it is my supposition that, in the markets, and on the boulevards, and elsewhere, handsome slavers, perhaps disguised in the robes of rich Merchants, do not encounter with you in fact the difficulties which one might expect them to encounter in theory. Forgive me, Mistresses. Conspirators of Gor Book 31 Page 367 Slavers, and conquerors, will often tie a free woman's hands behind her before removing her veil. How helpless she is then, unable to prevent her face-stripping. Conspirators of Gor Book 31 Page 409 Of the Kur girls housed in the quarters only Chloe could read. She had been a free woman of Cos, captured at sea by a corsair from Port Kar, as had been the girl from Tabor with whom I had been sold in the Metellan district, though much farther from shore, had been sold to rencers in the delta of the Vosk, who had sold her at a profit to a camp of slavers at the delta's edge with its wooden cages, a camp transient seasonal, in nature, by means of which slaves from Thassa might be brought eastward into the Vosk basin, and slaves from the Vosk basin might be brought westward, through the delta to Thassa. Conspirators of Gor Book 31 Page 487 I was in robes suitable for my caste, dark, with the small blue and yellow chevrons low on the left sleeve. Within them was concealed the gladius. Smugglers of Gor Book 32 Page 18 Then casually, unexpectedly, the auctioneer, behind the slave, his left hand in her hair, holding her head back a bit, gently, but firmly, with the blades of the coiled whip subjected her to the "slaver's caress." Smugglers of Gor Book 32 Page 20 "I am of the Merchants," I said. "The Slavers," he said. I shrugged. "The Slavers," he said. "Very well, the Slavers," I said. We regard ourselves as a subcaste of the Merchants. Do we not acquire, and buy, and sell? What difference is there, other than the nature of the goods handled? "Slavers," said he, "are cunning, and skilled with weapons." "Much like the scarlet caste," I said. "Or the black caste," he said. "I am not an assassin " I said. I wondered if he were. "Slavers must plan, and raid, and seize," he said. "Often they must fight their way into a house, or pleasure garden, and fight their way free." Smugglers of Gor Book 32 Page 44 "You, and your kind," he said, "may be more valuable than you suspect." "Men who ask few questions?" I said. "Assassins, slavers, and such," he said, "men who are open to unusual opportunities, who will do much for gold, and ask no questions." Smugglers of Gor Book 32 Page 87 Coffles are sometimes spoken of as "the slaver's necklace." Smugglers of Gor Book 32 Page 93 "My caste has something to do with these matters," I said. "Yours, and perhaps some others," he said. "I am a mere Merchant," I said. "A Slaver," he said. "A Merchant," I said. "I suppose," said he, "it is merely a matter of the goods, of one sort or another, with which one deals." "One supposes," he said, "one might expect courage from one of such a caste, perhaps a willingness, under certain conditions, to accept risks, perhaps serious risks, if the end in view might justify such an acceptance. One supposes one of such a caste must be able to plan, to follow through with plans, or, if it seemed wise, to depart from a plan, even suddenly, to change or alter plans, even to withdraw, and plan anew, that one such must be not only bold, but subtle and shrewd, that one such must understand the value of deception, of surprise, of patience, of discretion, of secrecy." Smugglers of Gor Book 32 Page 133 "I am of the Merchants," I said. "I have heard, the Slavers," he said. "Very well," I said. "A dangerous occupation," he said, "but one with its pleasures." Smugglers of Gor Book 32 Page 259 It is well known," he said, "that barbarians are selected for stupidity, passion, and beauty." "Not at all," I said. "And I am of the Slavers." "Of the Slavers, yes," he said, "but surely you did not deal with barbarians, but with superior stock, Gorean girls, civilized, intelligent, lovely creatures to be captured, marked, and collared." "I have had some dealings with barbarians," I said. Smugglers of Gor Book 32 Page 355 "For millennia, without sleen," I said, "men have trailed women, the most delectable of quarries." "You have had some experience in this?" he said. "It is in my caste training," I said. Smugglers of Gor Book 32 Page 435 I had anticipated difficulty in picking up the foolish slave's trail, which might have begun anywhere, but, eventually, from stirred leaves, a dislodged stone, a broken twig, a bent branch, such things, I had expected to be able to do so. As trackers went I was not inept, and I had had training in such matters, common for those of my caste. Smugglers of Gor Book 32 Page 444 "Tassa powder," said Axel. I had heard of Tassa powder in my slave training. The instructresses had delightedly informed us of its properties. It is a powder which may be undetectably added to any beverage, most commonly Ka-la-na, with the result that the individual who partakes of the beverage is soon rendered unconscious. The length of the unconscious state is partly determined by the individual involved and partly by the amount of the drug administered. The approximated weight of the individual involved and the desired length of the unconscious state are used to determine the dosage. It is a favorite of slavers. The delight of my instructresses, in regaling us with accounts of its effects, had to do largely with its administration to free women, who might sip it discreetly behind their veil in some assignation or tête-à-tête, in their rich robes of concealment, and later awaken naked and in chains, perhaps in sight of some flaming brazier from whose burning coals protrude marking irons. Smugglers of Gor Book 32 Page 521 "Do you know my caste?" he asked. "The Slavers," I said. "Surely Master is of the caste of Slavers." "I am of the Merchants," he said. "The Slavers is a subcaste of the Merchants. It is merely a question of the goods with which one deals. The Slavers deal with soft, living goods." Smugglers of Gor Book 32 Page 546 "You may have labored in the tasks of the Slavers for the pleasantries of the merchandise, but I think there was more involved, for you seem now to be thinking of dealing with other goods. Indeed, I suspect I know why you followed the Slavers' trade, a dangerous trade surely, with its alarming hazards, and even to another world." Smugglers of Gor Book 32 Pages 546 - 547 Sometimes the indications of caste were subtle, marked by a pair, or trio, of short ribbons on the left sleeve, near the wrist. For example, the colors of the Slavers were blue and yellow, but these colors were often displayed, when the slaver was not hunting, merely on the left sleeve, rather than in a full regalia. Plunder of Gor Book 34 Page 103 "You carry a whip," said the dealer. "May I inquire your caste?" "The blue-and-yellow caste," he said. Plunder of Gor Book 34 Page 130 "I have never, to my knowledge, seen him," he said. "Surely he may be traced through the caste of Slavers," I said. "There are elements in the caste of Slavers," he said, "bands that are secret, that proceed covertly, even having recourse to vehicles forbidden by the laws of Priest-Kings." Plunder of Gor Book 34 Pages 216 - 217 The Slavers' colors are blue and yellow. Usually, however, these are worn, if worn, as a pair of chevrons, low on the left sleeve, usually of a darker garmenture. Slavers are often not forward in displaying their caste colors. Such an arrogance might prove indiscreet, and might well put free women ill at ease. Plunder of Gor Book 34 Page 591 In the tavern merchants may conduct business over a drink; mariners may regale rapt auditors with accounts of fabulous voyages; slavers may confer on sales and projected raids; at another table, a scribe may sit, ready to write or read letters. Quarry of Gor Book 35 Page 123 The Slavers is commonly accounted a subcaste of the Merchants, but some deem it an independent caste. The caste colors of the Slavers are blue and yellow. Quarry of Gor Book 35 Page 163 "The changing of a brand," said Ruffio, "is a secret difficult to keep. And you may fare less successfully a second time, if you were successful the first time." "What do you mean?" asked Decius Albus, narrowly. "There are rumors in the taverns," said Ruffio. "Men talk, perhaps even those of the green caste and of the Slavers." |       
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