The Planet
The planet Gor, based upon the novels by John Norman, rotates around the exact same sun. This planet, although often savage, is a beautiful place. The sky is a brilliant blue, the air is clean and grass is green, basically a paradise. Due to its smaller size, the planet has a lighter gravity pull, which allows feats completely impossible on earth an every day occurrence on Gor. Man is able to jump higher; lift more weight and throw objects a farther distance.
"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." Tarnsman of Gor As he spoke, my father often referred to the planet Gor as the Counter-Earth, taking the name from the writings of the Pythagoreans who had first speculated on the existence of such a body. Oddly enough, one of the expressions in the tongue of Gor for our sun was Lar-Torvis, which means The Central Fire, another Pythagorean expression, except that it had not been, as I understand it, originally used by the Pythagoreans to refer to the sun but to another body. Tarnsman of Gor |
This image was made by Lady Aneesha of the Isle of Hellisto permission was granted for its use.
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Gor is the planet ruled by the Priest-Kings, a species of higher intelligence which hides in the depths of the Sardar Moutains. It is believed the planet shares the Earth's solar system but remains concealed from Earth scientists by careful shielding. Gor is said to be on the exact opposite side of the sun from Earth and is therefore undetectable from Earth. (the sun shielding theory)
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."
I drained the last sip of the heady wine in the metal goblet.
"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
Some million years before the journey of Tarl Cabot to the counter-earth, the Priest-Kings brought the planet into the solar system it now resided in by the manipulation of gravity.
"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
Indeed, it is through the control of gravity that the Priest-Kings had, long ago, brought their world into our system, an engineering feat that might have been otherwise impossible without perhaps the draining of the gleaming Thassa itself for its hydrogen nuclei. Priest Kings of Gor
Gor is a planet not unlike Earth, though said to be smaller in size and different in mass, making its gravity field lighter enough to have visible effects on those of Earth. Like Earth, Gor has satellites it calls moons; unlike earth, these moons are three.
...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
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
The planet is populated by various species brought to it via the voyages of acquisition, from planets known to Priest-Kings. Earth is one of those planets, and certainly appears to be the source of most of Gor's population although these voyages took place during ancient Earth times. There are some Gorean's that refer to Earth as the "Slave Planet". The Priest-Kings control the technology available to Goreans so the Gorean population remains much more instinctive and uncivilized by today’s Earth standards.
Ellen knew that some Goreans referred to Earth as a “slave planet.” 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
It is explained that the Priest-Kings brought men of Earth to Gor because they found them to be an interesting species and believed they would, on earth at least, end up destroying themselves. In essence, the intent explained here is one of protection of the 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
The self-destructive tendencies of the men of Earth are believed by Priest-Kings to be a direct result of access to advanced technologies, and to prevent such tendencies from manifesting themselves, such access on Gor is limited. Indeed, if the Priests-Kings remain hidden from the human eye, they keep tight and constant control of man's access to technology, believing it to be something man is not yet ready to handle safely. In areas as simple as weaponry and sometimes as advanced as political alliances, careful surveillance and intervention are maintained and handled swiftly.
...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
..."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
The result: A savage world where survival is ensured by strength and the ability of man to take his place in the natural order of things, be it in relation to other animal species, amongst the human species or surviving the elements of nature, either alone or via cultural and social standards-based primitive instincts. On Gor, the strong survive, the weak die. A world where incredible advances in medicine have essentially eliminated disease and even aging, yet where men must walk or ride journeys of thousands of passangs without the help of a motor and where predators of prehistoric size roam free to hold their place in the food chain.
The society ranges from savage to relatively civilized. Men live by an unwritten code of conduct, where loyalty, passion and honor always prevail, and rule this world. On this planet, men are men and women, whether slave or Free, are here to please the men. Their complete existence relies on a man and they should remember that at all times. If for some reason a woman forgets her place, the sting of a whip, or any other means the man finds necessary, will quickly remind her.
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."
I drained the last sip of the heady wine in the metal goblet.
"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
Some million years before the journey of Tarl Cabot to the counter-earth, the Priest-Kings brought the planet into the solar system it now resided in by the manipulation of gravity.
"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
Indeed, it is through the control of gravity that the Priest-Kings had, long ago, brought their world into our system, an engineering feat that might have been otherwise impossible without perhaps the draining of the gleaming Thassa itself for its hydrogen nuclei. Priest Kings of Gor
Gor is a planet not unlike Earth, though said to be smaller in size and different in mass, making its gravity field lighter enough to have visible effects on those of Earth. Like Earth, Gor has satellites it calls moons; unlike earth, these moons are three.
...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
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
The planet is populated by various species brought to it via the voyages of acquisition, from planets known to Priest-Kings. Earth is one of those planets, and certainly appears to be the source of most of Gor's population although these voyages took place during ancient Earth times. There are some Gorean's that refer to Earth as the "Slave Planet". The Priest-Kings control the technology available to Goreans so the Gorean population remains much more instinctive and uncivilized by today’s Earth standards.
Ellen knew that some Goreans referred to Earth as a “slave planet.” 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
It is explained that the Priest-Kings brought men of Earth to Gor because they found them to be an interesting species and believed they would, on earth at least, end up destroying themselves. In essence, the intent explained here is one of protection of the 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
The self-destructive tendencies of the men of Earth are believed by Priest-Kings to be a direct result of access to advanced technologies, and to prevent such tendencies from manifesting themselves, such access on Gor is limited. Indeed, if the Priests-Kings remain hidden from the human eye, they keep tight and constant control of man's access to technology, believing it to be something man is not yet ready to handle safely. In areas as simple as weaponry and sometimes as advanced as political alliances, careful surveillance and intervention are maintained and handled swiftly.
...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
..."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
The result: A savage world where survival is ensured by strength and the ability of man to take his place in the natural order of things, be it in relation to other animal species, amongst the human species or surviving the elements of nature, either alone or via cultural and social standards-based primitive instincts. On Gor, the strong survive, the weak die. A world where incredible advances in medicine have essentially eliminated disease and even aging, yet where men must walk or ride journeys of thousands of passangs without the help of a motor and where predators of prehistoric size roam free to hold their place in the food chain.
The society ranges from savage to relatively civilized. Men live by an unwritten code of conduct, where loyalty, passion and honor always prevail, and rule this world. On this planet, men are men and women, whether slave or Free, are here to please the men. Their complete existence relies on a man and they should remember that at all times. If for some reason a woman forgets her place, the sting of a whip, or any other means the man finds necessary, will quickly remind her.