The Planet Gor
A History & Description
"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, page 26.
Several Millenia in Age
The planet of Gor is several millenia old; how old we are not told, but the Priest-Kings would have us believe eternally so. The Nest which inhabits Gor is not the original Nest. Each Nest has its own lifetime, a new Nest to replace the old and infirm to preserve that alien race.
"It is well for us to die," said Misk, "for otherwise the Nest would be eternal and the Nest must not be eternal for how could we love it if it were so?" I could not follow all of what Misk was saying, and I found it hard to take my eyes from the inert figure of the young male Priest-King which lay on the stone table. "There must be a new Nest," said Misk. "And there must be a new Mother, and there must be the new First Born. I myself am willing to die but the race of Priest-Kings must not die." — Priest-Kings of Gor, page 118.
The Priest-Kings, that alien race native to the planet of Gor, have not explained why their world was moved from another solar system to that which Earth occupies. We do not even learn if that was the first and only time they have relocated their home. We do learn of their biological interest in other species, and their vast vivaria, or zoo of such species. Perhaps it was the drive for new species to discover which culminated in the move. Too, the Priest-Kings are not without enemies. While we know of the Kur as their greatest mortal enemy next to man of Earth, they are a rather young enemy, only menacing the Priest-Kings for thousands of years.
"This story, in its way, has no clear beginning. It began, I suppose, some thousands of years ago when Kurii, in internecine wars, destroyed the viability of a native world. Their state at that time was sufficiently advanced technologically to construct small steel worlds in orbit, each some pasangs in diameter, The remnants of a shattered species then, as a world burned below them, turned hunting to the plains of the stars. We do not know how long their hunt took. But we do know the worlds, long ago, entered the system of a slow-revolving, medium-sized yellow star occupying a peripheral position in one of nature's bounteous, gleaming, strewn spiral universes.
They had found their quarry, a world. They had found two worlds, one spoken of as Earth, the other as Gor. One of these worlds was a world poisoning itself, a pathological world insane and short-sighted, greed-driven and self-destructive. The other was a pristine world, virginal in its beauty and fertility, one not permitted by its masters, called the Sardar, or Priest-Kings, to follow the example of its tragic sister." — Beasts of Gor, page 7.
Whatever the reason for the move, it's certainly reasonable to assume this task in itself spanned millenia in planning. Tarl's father, Matthew, in the indoctrination of Tarl upon his new home, explains that the Priest-Kings had moved the planet many times. Matthew refers to Gor as the counter-earth, following the same orbital path of Earth, yet remaining "behind" the sun in such a way so that would never be visible to the destructive force known as humans on her sister planet — Earth.
My father then spoke to me of the world on which I found myself. He said from what he could learn from the Initiates, who claimed to serve as the intermediaries of Priest-Kings to men, that the planet Gor had originally been a satellite of a distant sun, in one of the fantastically remote Blue Galaxies. It was moved by the science of the Priest-Kings several times in its history, seeking again and again a new star. I regarded this story as improbable, at least in part, for several reasons, primarily having to do with the sheer spatial improbabilities of such a migration, which, even at a speed approximating light, would have taken billions of years." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 32.
Such a Move Possible?
Casting much doubt on the whole probability of moving an entire planet without it disrupting life, both on the planet moved, but others as well, Tarl considers another thought — that Gor was always present in its current location. Tarl discovers, that among humankind on Gor, this is considered the Theory of the Sun Shield.
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."
"But surely," I protested, 'its existence could be discovered. One can't hide a planet the size of the Earth in our own solar system! It's impossible!"
"You underestimate the Priest-Kings and their science," said my father, smiling. "Any power that is capable of moving a planet--and I believe the Priest-Kings possess this power--is capable of effecting adjustments in the motion of the planet, such adjustments as might allow it to use the sun indefinitely as a concealing shield."
"The orbits of the other planets would be affected," I pointed out.
"Gravitational perturbations," said my father, "can be neutralized." His eyes shone. "It is my belief," he said, "that the Priest-Kings can control the forces of gravity, at least in localized areas, and, indeed, that they do so. In all probability their control over the motion of the planet is somehow connected with this capacity. Consider certain consequences of this power. Physical evidence, such as light or radio waves, which might reveal the presence of the planet, can be prevented from doing so. The Priest-Kings might gravitationally warp the space in their vicinity, causing light or radio waves to be diffused, curved, or deflected in such a way as not to expose their world."
I must have appeared unconvinced. "Exploratory satellites can be similarly dealt with," added my father. He paused. "Of course, I only propose hypotheses, for what the Priest-Kings do and how it is done is known only to them." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 33.
Furthermore, Matthew explains to Tarl that indeed Earth does know of Gor's existence, but because science and the general populaton of Earth rarely see eye to eye, humankind chosing to intrepret what they know into something that they can believe, it is thus that Gor remains untouched by explorers from Earth.
"Actually," said my father, "there is evidence of the existence of the Counter-Earth." I looked at him.
"Certain natural signals in the radio band of the spectrum," said my father. My astonishment must have been obvious. "Yes," he said, "but since the hypothesis of another world is regarded as so incredible, this evidence has been interpreted to accord with other theories; sometimes even imperfections in instrumentation have been supposed rather than admit the presence of another world in our solar system."
"But why would this evidence not be understood?" I asked.
"Surely you know," he laughed, "one must distinguish between the data to be interpreted and the interpretation of the data, and one chooses, normally, the interpretation that preserves as much as possible of the old world view, and, in the thinking of the Earth, there is no place for Gor, its true sister planet, the Counter-Earth." — Tarnsman of Gor, pages 33-35.
Of course, Matthew's opinions are just that — opinions and not particularly factual. It must be remembered that Matthew is from a much simpler era of Earth; confirmed by Misk that Matthew in fact was brought to Gor about 1300 AD. Though he apparently made ventures to Earth subsequently, he would still not have a full scientific grasp. In fact, no man surely could, for the Priest-Kings are technically advanced to the degree we as humans could never image. Too, mankind does not comfortable to admit the possibility of life forms more intelligent, and thusly, why there are many theories that plague even Earth. Matthew was introduced to us in the first book and only makes a brief appearance one other time, in Outlaw of Gor. His opinions and assertions of the specifics of the planet, as well as the Priest-Kings, are meant to give the first-time reader something to think on and speculate as well. We learn that later, in Priest-Kings of Gor, that Matthew's views and doubts are nothing as he perceived it all to be. The Sun-Shield Theory, then, is not factual, but merely a theory perceived by mankind. The name of the planet, Gor, itself was not named such by the Priest-Kings; it was mankind that gave the planet a name.
While the periodic movement of Gor prior to its arrival at its orbital location following Earth's is never confirmed by the Priest-Kings themselves, we learn at the very least that Gor found is new home more than two (2) million years ago, long before man was around to attest to the existence of any other planets, let alone a small sister.
"I myself was hatched," said Misk, "before we brought our world into your solar system." He looked down at me. "That was more than two million years ago," he said. — Priest-Kings of Gor, page 118.
The Planet
The planet of Gor is smaller than that of Earth and like Earth, is also a spheroid, most likely an oblate spheroid (pictured here). 
A spheroid is a quadric surface in three dimensions obtained by rotating an ellipse about one of its principal axes. If the generating ellipse is a circle, the surface is a sphere, making it completely symetric. If the ellipse is rotated about its major axis, the surface is a prolate spheroid, which would make it similar to the shape of a rugby ball. If the ellipse is rotated about its minor axis, the surface is an oblate spheroid, which similar to the shape of the planet Earth. The Earth is not a perfect sphere. Due to it's rotation, the Earth (like all rotating planets) has a slightly distorted shape. The rotational momentum tends to force the matter to bunch up in the middle. In the case of the Earth, this "middle" is the equator. Since the Earth is actually flattened at the poles, spheroids make much more accurate models of the true shape of the Earth than do true spheres. Consequently, spheroids are the shape of choice used by modern geodetic scientists for representing the overall shape of the Earth. Over the last 170 years, many different standard spheroids have been widely used in mapmaking. The true shape of the Earth called an Oblate Spheroid. The term "Oblate" refers to it's slightly oblong appearance. The term spheroid means that it is almost a sphere, but not quite. One of the most important things to remember about the Earth's shape is that it is only very slightly oblate. The diameter from the North Pole to the South Pole (the shortest diameter) is approximately 12,714 km. The equatorial diameter (the longest diameter) is approximately 12,756 km. This is not a big difference, but it does make the Earth not quite a sphere. Gor, on the other hand, is shaped just slightly different, being heavier in its southern end.
"In large outline Gor, as would be expected, was not a sphere, but a spheroid. It was somewhat heavier in its southern hemisphere and was shaped somewhat like the Earth — like a rounded, inverted top. The angle of its axis was somewhat sharper than the Earth's, but not enough to prevent its having a glorious periodicity of seasons." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 43.
Gravity and Superhuman Strength
Gravity on Gor is much lighter than that on Earth. Tarl eludes that it's due to the smaller size of the planet and its orbital position, but we learn that this, in fact, is because the Priest-Kings have manipulated the gravity to allow life. In the book, Priest-Kings of Gor, the world is nearly destroyed when Sarm disrupts the gravity, the planet in effect would literally disintegrate. The Gorean expression for the gravitational primitive is Ur, which particularly has no clear translation for the human mind. It is at this point in time that Tarl, upon learning what the true power of the Priest-Kings was, decided that yes, moving the planet was definitely possible.
"There were no propellers or jets or rockets and I find it difficult to understand of explain the drive save that it used the forces of gravity against themselves in such a way that the amount, if one may use so inept an expression, of gravitational Ur, which is the Gorean expression for the gravitational primitive, remains constant though redistributed. I do not think force, or charge, or any of the other expressions which occur to one's mind is a good translation for Ur, and I prefer to regard it as an expression best left untranslated, though perhaps one could say that Ur is whatever it was that satisfied the gravitational equations of Misk. Most briefly the combined drive and guidance system of the disk functioned by means of the focusing of gravitational sensors on material objects and using the gravitational attraction of these objects while in effect screening out the attraction of others. I would not have believed the ship was possible but I found it difficult to offer the arguments of my old world's physics against the fact of Misk's success. Indeed, it is through the control of gravity that the Priest-Kings had, long ago, brought their world into our system, an engineering feat which might have been otherwise impossible without perhaps the draining of the gleaming Thassa itself for its hydrogen nuclei. — Priest-Kings of Gor, page 241.
We were considering this matter when suddenly without warning one wall of Misk's compartment seemed suddenly to blur and lift and then silently to vanish into powder, so light and fine that some of it drifted upward to be withdrawn through the ventilator shaft through which used air was drawn from the compartment. Misk seized me and with the harrowing speed of the Priest-King leaped across the room, buffering the case I had occupied ten yards across the chamber, bent down and flung up the trap and, carrying me, darted into the passage below. My senses were reeling but now in the distance I could hear cries and shouts, the screaming of the dying, the unutterable horrifying noises of the broken, the torn and maimed. Misk clung to the wall below the trap door, holding me to his thorax.
"What is it?" I demanded.
"Gravitational disruption," said Misk. "It is forbidden even to Priest-Kings." His entire body shook with horror. "Sarm could destroy the Nest," said Misk, "even the planet."
We listened to the screams and cries. We could hear no fall of buildings, no clatter of rubble. We heard only human sounds and the extent and fearfulness of these were our only index to the destruction being wrought above.
"Sarm is destroying the Ur bonding." said Misk. — Priest-Kings of Gor, pages 243-244."Sarm is not dead," said Misk. Dusty, covered with whitish powder, he looked about himself disbelievingly at the ruins. In the distance we could hear the domed side of a complex begin to crumble, raining down huge blocks of stone on the building beneath. "He is going to destroy the Nest," said Misk. "He is going to break apart the planet."
"Where is he?" I demanded.
"The Power Plant," said Misk. — Priest-Kings of Gor, page 269."It is the end, said Misk, "the end." He frantically adjusted the controls on a major panel, his antennae taut with concentration reading the scent-needle on a boxlike gauge. Other Priest-Kings worked beside him. …
"It took time to cut through to you," said Misk. "Now it is too late."
"The planet?" I asked.
"The Nest — the World," said Misk.
Now the bubbling mass inside the purple globe began to burn through the globe itself and there were cracking sounds and rivulets of thick, hissing substance, like blue lava, began to press through the breaks in the globe. Elsewhere droplets of the same material seemed to form on the outside of the globe.
"We must leave the chamber," said Misk, "for the globe will shatter." He pointed an excited foreleg at the scent-needle which I, of course, could not read. "Go," came from Misk's translator. — Priest-Kings of Gor, page 277.
John Norman speculates then that the people would be stronger and be able to accomplish superhuman feats in this altered gravitational state. However, there are many holes in his gravitational theories. While lesser gravity would make a person lighter, and would allow for one leaping a short distance to leap much farther than intended, it would also considerably slow such person. While lifting heavy weights would be eased by the lessened gravity, movements would be (yep) slower. And that's just the basics that I could understand when talking with a physicis professor I know.
"I leaped to the top of the table almost as I would have climbed a stair in the alumni house. It was different, a different movement. Less gravity. It had to be. The planet, then, was smaller than our earth, and, given the apparent size of the sun, perhaps somewhat closer to it." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 23.
"I was aware again of the somewhat lesser gravity of the planet, but this awareness would pass as my system accommodated itself naturally to the new environment. Given the lesser gravity, feats of prowess that might seem superhuman on earth were commonplace on Gor. The sun, as I remembered it, seemed a bit larger than it did when viewed from the earth, but as before it was difficult to be altogether sure of this." — Outlaw of Gor, page 19.
The Moons of Gor
Another large difference between Gor and Earth, are their satellite moons. While Earth has but one, that sometimes malevolent sphere which looks it is made of Swiss cheese, Gor has three moons; two large and one small, known as the Prison Moon. We are never explained the significance of this. Perhaps it is thought that erroneous mankind are exiled to that small moon as those who erred against Mother Russia were to the harshness of Siberia. However, unless John Norman deigns to futher write and find a publisher, we'll likely never know.
"I looked up and saw the three moons of Gor, the large moon and the two small ones, one of the latter called the Prison Moon, for no reason I understood." — Assassin of Gor, page 170.
Geography and Ecology
Gor bears many similarities to Earth, with much of the same general geological and ecological makeup, differing only enough to have its own character and wealth of indigenous organisms. With the move of the planet, likely some of the vegetation, if any, that were native before the move may not have survived the journey; or perhaps the Priest-Kings' biologists manipulated the plantlife in order to ensure their survival. While some of the plant and animal life is similar to what is found on Earth, this was surely due to the arrival of man on the planet; said creatures necessitating the survival of humankind.
Much of the planet is virginal to exploration and colonization, especially those areas east of the Voltai and Thentis ranges and west of those islands of Cos and Tyros. More on the geography of the planet can be found in the Geography page.
"The angle of its axis was somewhat sharper than the Earth's, but not enough to prevent its having a glorious periodicity of seasons. Moreover, like the Earth, it had two polar regions and an equatorial belt, interspersed with northern and southern temperate zones." — Assassin of Gor, page 43.
"Much of Gor was terra incognita. Few knew well the lands on the east of the Voltai and Thentis ranges, for example, or what lay west of the farther islands, near Cos and Tyros. It was more irritating, of course, to realize that even considerable areas of territory above Schendi, south of the Vosk, and west of Ar, were unknown." — Explorers of Gor, page 16.
A Pre-Historic Earth?
Many of the plants found on Gor are unknown to Earth; perhaps some originating on Earth, but adapting to the strange, new gravity of Gor, and the harshness of the world itself. It was suggested on a once "official" site that the leech plant is derived from prehistoric times on Earth. Not only is prehistoric times one of my passions, I used to have a greenhouse and cultivated a few varieties of carnivorous plants. While prehistoric times hosted varieties of carnivorous plants, there has been no evidence found of any prehistoric plantlife known for bloodsucking, uprooting or crawling to capture its victim. In fact, the carnivorous plants have not much changed since those pre-mankind eras in Earth history. Carnivorous plants, still in existence on Earth, are nothing quite like the leech plant of Gor. There are rare few carnivorous plants that feed off of small animals, like mice or birds. However, these animals, just as the insects that mostly feed these plants, must fall into their various forms of traps. The carnivorous plant, Nepenthes is the only such plant found sometimes in a vine form — and makes a wonderful addition to a greenhouse. It's a beautiful plant and a wonder to watch. None of my carnivorous plants I once had ever attempted to make their escape crawling from their pots, writhe in my hand, eat me or suck my blood.
The leech plant is likely inspired from the book, Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham. Or even the cartoon, Bullwinkle; a few episodes of this truly odd series includes a carnivorous vine called a Pennsylvania creeper. Too, there have been countless movies, TV shows and books utilizing evil vines that move on their own.
Perhaps some of the animal life was brought from prehistoric periods, though that would mean they inhabited Gor long before it was moved into the Earth's orbital path, and even so, it's apparent that such creatures had been modified by the Priest-Kings. The world of Earth bore not man and prehistoric beast together for a reason; mankind would have been wiped from the face of Earth rather quickly.
The plant life of Gor is explored on the Flora and Fauna page; the animal life on the various Beasts sections.
One Large Vivaria
Long before man, however, arrived the beasts on Gor. Some perhaps native to the planet from its native galaxy, others surely those of the zoos, or vivaria perpetuated by the biologists of the Priest-Kings, and no doubt of which suffered countless experimentation, up to and including genetic manipulation. How long had the zoos existed? By the physical constructions of some of the animal life, the tharlarion for example, it is certain it was several millenia before the existence of man, as well as several millenia prior to the move of the planet. We can reasonably assume that at least some of the beasts found on Gor are those of our own prehistoric beasts of earth yet not in their pure form.
"I regarded this story as improbable, at least in part, for several reasons, primarily having to do with the sheer spatial improbabilities of such a migration, which, even at a speed approximating light, would have taken billions of years. Moreover, in moving through space, without a sun for photosynthesis and warmth, all life would surely have been destroyed. If the planet had been moved at all, and I knew enough to understand that this was empirically possible, it must have been brought into our system from a closer star. Perhaps it had once been a satellite of Alpha Centauri, but, even so, the distances still seemed almost unimaginable. Theoretically, I did admit that the planet might have been moved without destroying its life, but the engineering magnitude of such a feat staggered the imagination. Perhaps life might have been suspended temporarily or hidden beneath the planet's surface with sufficient sustenance and oxygen for the incredible journey. In effect, the planet would have functioned as a gigantic sealed spacecraft." — Tarnsman of Gor, pages 32-33.
The arrival of man brought them a new animal to experiment on, which they did; the Muls Al-Ka and Ba-Ta are prime examples of the experiment of genetic mutation and manipulations. Another is the ancient mankind of some world perhaps not even of earth, that were raised to be the carriers of the precious Gur. The Priest-Kings filled their vivaria with humankind, releasing them to the planet which serves as a large-scale vivaria. To the Priest-Kings, humankind are but low animals, however it is explained by Misk, that the Priest-Kings brought men of Earth to Gor because they found them to be an interesting species. It was determined then, that humans would kill off their own species, and therefore, to rationalize their voyages of abductions, the Priest-Kings stepped in and placed various specimens of humans, as well as other species of many world, upon this new world to protect these species from total extinction. Leaving mankind and other beasts alike to inhabit the world with almost no outside interference, the Priest-Kings remain hidden away in their nest in an almost unapproachable mountain range. From the safety of their nests, they study mankind much in the same way as we did when we were children with our ant farms. Species from many planets were obtained and transported to this planet called Gor by the Priest-Kings in what they rationalize as "studying for the betterment of each species."
"We keep in touch with the earth," said Misk, "for it might, in time, become a threat to us and then we would have to limit it, or destroy it or leave the solar system."
"Which will you do?" I asked.
"None, I suspect," said Misk. "According to our calculations, which may of course be mistaken, life as you know it on the earth will destroy itself within the next thousand years." I shook my head sadly. "As I said," went on Misk, "man is sub rational. Consider what would happen if we allowed him free technological development on our world."
I nodded. I could see that from the Priest-Kings' point of view it would be more dangerous than handing out automatic weapons to chimpanzees and gorillas. Man had not proved himself worthy of a superior technology to the Priest-Kings. I mused that man had not proved himself worthy of such a technology even to himself.
"Indeed," said Misk, "it was partly because of this tendency that we brought man to the Counter-Earth, for he is an interesting species and it would be sad to us if he disappeared from the universe."
"I suppose we are to be grateful," I said.
"No," said Misk, "we have similarly brought various species to the Counter-Earth, from other locations." — Priest-Kings of Gor, pages 124-125.
Certain that mankind harbors self-destructive tendencies, the Priest-Kings became gods in the sense that they held the controls to the technological growth of man, that their mistakes on Earth are not repeated. Therefore, advanced technologies in areas such as weaponry is kept to a simpler level. Chain mail, too, is too technologically advanced to be permitted, for such no doubt inhibits the natural order of the survival of the strong over the weak. Both the primitive weapons and lack of armor, too allowed the population to remain a tolerable level rather than to grow to explosive and devastating numbers such as on Earth. Implanting humans to act as unwitting spies assist in their surveillance of political alliances and the growth of cities.
"I would have supposed that armor, or chain mail perhaps, would have been a desirable addition to the accoutrements of the Gorean warrior, but it had been forbidden by the Priest-Kings. A possible hypothesis to explain this is that the Priest-Kings may have wished war to be a biologically selective process in which the weaker and slower perish and fail to reproduce themselves. This might account for the relatively primitive weapons allowed to the Men Below the Mountains. On Gor it was not the case that a cavern-chested toothpick could close a switch and devastate an army. Also, the primitive weapons guaranteed that what selection went on would proceed with sufficient slowness to establish its direction, and alter it, if necessary." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 48.
"From Sarm's point of view of course your utilization there was simply to curtail the spread of the Empire of Ar, for we prefer humans to dwell in isolated communities. It is better for observing their variations, from the scientific point of view, and it is safer for us if they remain disunited, for being rational they might develop a science, and being sub rational it might be dangerous for us and for themselves if they did so."
"That is the reason then for your limitations of their weaponry and technology?"
"Of course," said Misk. — Priest-Kings of Gor, pages 123-124.
Failed experiments? Certainly, and with little thought the Priest-Kings would terminate the existence of such. Some were evaporated to dust; others ended up in dissection chambers for their corpse to be studied. Intervention within the more political level, included using agents, such as the clueless Tarl Cabot, to help bring a city to its ruination, but at other times, upon their occasional whim, the Priest-Kings would destroy a city to manipulate their own needs (such as what happened to Ko-ro-ba), or simply as a statement to mankind that they were growing too fast and too bold, or simply to remind them that they should remain humble before their gods.
At my request Sarm took me to the Scanning Room, whence the surface of Gor is kept under selective surveillance by the Priest-Kings. Patterns of small ships, not satellites, invisible from the ground and remotely controlled, carry the lenses and receptors which beam information to the Sardar. I suggested to Sarm that satellites would be less expensive to maintain in flight but he denied this. I would not have made this suggestion at a later time but then I did not understand the Priest-Kings" utilization of gravity.
"The reason for observation within the atmosphere," said Sarm, "is that it is simpler to get more definition in the signal because of greater proximity to its source. To get comparable definition in an extra-atmospheric surveillance device would require more refined equipment."
The receptors on the surveillance craft were equipped to handle patterns of light, sound and scent, which, selectively collected and reconcentrated, were beamed to the Sardar for processing and analysis. Reconstituted in large observation cubes these patterns might then be monitored by Priest-Kings. Provisions were available also, as you might suppose, for taping the transmissions of the surveillance craft.
"We use random scanning patterns," said Sarm, "for we find in the long run, over centuries, they are more effective than following fixed scanning schedules. Of course, if we know that something of interest or importance to us is occurring we lock onto its coordinates and follow its developments." — Priest-Kings of Gor, page 135."And the siege of Ar," I asked, "and the Empire of Marlenus?"
"They provided a suitable test," said Misk. "From Sarm's point of view of course your utilization there was simply to curtail the spread of the Empire of Ar, for we prefer humans to dwell in isolated communities. It is better for observing their variations, from the scientific point of view, and it is safer for us if they remain disunited, for being rational they might develop a science, and being subrational it might be dangerous for us and for themselves if they did so." — Priest-Kings of Gor, pages 123-124.On a green field somewhere, I had no idea where, a man in the garments of the Caste of Builders, emerged from what was apparently an underground cave. He looked furtively about himself as though he feared he might be observed. Then, satisfied that he was alone, he returned to the cave and emerged once more carrying what resembled a hollow pipe. From a hole in the top of this pipe there protruded what resembled the wick of a lamp.
The man from the Caste of Builders then sat cross-legged on the ground and took from the pouch slung at his waist a tiny, cylindrical Gorean fire-maker, a small silverish tube commonly used for igniting cooking fires. He unscrewed the cap and I could see the tip of the implement, as it was exposed to the air, begin to glow a fiery red. He touched the fire-maker to the wicklike projection in the hollow tube and, screwing the fire-maker shut, replaced it in his pouch. The wick burned slowly downward toward the hole in the pipe. When it was almost there the man stood up and holding the pipe in both hands trained it at a nearby rock. There was a sudden flash of fire and a crack of sound from the hollow tube as some projectile hurtled through it and shattered against the rock. The face of the rock was blackened and some stone chipped from its surface. The quarrel of a crossbow would have done more damage.
"Forbidden weapon," said Sarm. The Priest-King monitoring the observation cube touched a knob on his control panel.
"Stop!" I cried.
Before my horrified eyes in the observation cube the man seemed suddenly to vaporize in a sudden blasting flash of blue fire. The man had disappeared. Another brief incandescent flash destroyed the primitive tube he had carried. Then once again, aside from the blackened grass and stone, the scene was peaceful. A small, curious bird darted to the top of the stone, and then hopped from it to the blackened grass to hunt for grubs.
"You killed that man," I said.
"He may have been carrying on forbidden experiments for years," said Sarm. "We were fortunate to catch him. Sometimes we must wait until others are using the device for purposes of war and then destroy many men. It is better this way, more economical of material."
"But you killed him," I said.
"Of course," said Sarm, "he broke the law of Priest-Kings."
"What right have you to make the law for him?" I asked.
"The right of a higher-order organism to control a lower-order organism," said Sarm. "The same right you have to slaughter the bosk and the tabuk, to feed on the flesh of the tarsk."
"But those are not rational animals," I said.
"They are sentient," said Sarm.
"We kill them swiftly," I said.
Sarm's antennae curled. "And so too do we Priest-Kings commonly kill swiftly and yet you complain of our doing so."
"We need food," I said.
"You could eat fungus and other vegetables," said Sarm. I was silent. "The truth is," said Sarm, "that the human is a dangerous and predatory species."
"But those animals," I said, "are not rational."
"Is that so important?" asked Sarm.
"I don't know," I said. "What if I claimed it was?"
"Then I should reply," said Sarm, "that nothing below a Priest-King is truly rational." He looked down at me. "Remember that as you are to the bosk and the sleen so are we to you." — Priest-Kings of Gor, pages 138-139.
The Climate
Gor is a planet with much the same climate found on Earth. Again, this "official" site claimed the weather as being especially harsh. Rather, it is less harsh than that of Earth, although there are the various regions of harsh climates, as even on Earth itself, i.e., the polar caps, the desert lands and so forth. As on Earth, Gor promises its rainy seasons, its thunderstorms and sand storms, the winter snows. This is researched further on the Climate page.
In Closing
Gor is a planet that is booming with natural beauty that could well surpass the natural beauties of earth. Left for the most part unexploited and unpolluted by mankind inhabiting the planet, kept in check the by Priest-Kings who brought them there to experiment with and study. The air clean, the skies and waters are clear of toxins such as smog. Mankind revels in the beauty of nature and considers the land and sky sacred.
"Much of the area of Gor, surprisingly enough, was blank on the map, but I was overwhelmed trying to commit as many of the rivers, seas, plains, and peninsulas to memory as I could." — Assassin of Gor, page 43.
Special Note
Because of the differences in publishing the books, depending upon whether published in the U.S. or Europe, depending upon whether a first publishing or a Masquerade Books release, page numbers will often vary. All of my quotes are from original, first-printing U.S. publications (see The Books page for a listing of publishers and dates) with the exception of the following books:
- Tarnsman of Gor (2nd Printing, Balantine)
- Outlaw of Gor (11th Printing, Balantine)
- Priest-Kings of Gor (2nd Printing, Balantine)
- Assassin of Gor (10th Printing, Balantine)
- Raiders of Gor (15th Printing, Balantine)
- Captive of Gor (3rd Printing, Balantine)
Disclaimer
These pages are not written for any specific home, but rather as informational pages for those not able to get ahold of the books and read them yourself. Opinions and commentaries are stricly my own personal views, therefore, if you don't like what you are reading — then don't. The information in these pages is realistic to what is found within the books. Many sites have added information, assuming the existences of certain products and practices, such as willowbark and agrimony for healing, and travel to earth and back for the collection of goods. I've explored the books, the flora, the fauna, and the beasts, and have compiled from those mentioned, the probabilities of certain practices, and what vegetation mentioned in the books is suitable for healing purposes, as well as given practicalities to other sorts of roleplaying assumptions.