Savages of Gor

15 The Fleer

"Here," said Grunt, pointing down from the saddle of the lofty kaiila, "you seethe wagon tracks, the ruts?"

"Yes," I said. We found them where they had emerged from a small stream. Thetracks were several days old.

"It will not be far now," he said.

"You have seen the smoke?" I asked. I referred to the slow liftings of smoke,rising from low buttes, behind us and to our left, and before us, and to theright. The distance between the two fires was probably some ten to fifteenpasangs.

"Yes," said Grunt, "but its intent is not hostile, as I read it. It is, rather,informational. It is doing little more than marking our passage."

Such signals are common on the plains, but perhaps not so common as mirrorsignals. The code in mirror signals, conveyed by the pacing and number offlashes, is very similar to that of the smoke signals. The signals,incidentally, are not a substitution cipher, for the languages of the redsavages, not being written languages, in any conventional sense, do not have astandardized alphabet or syllabary. The signals, of which there are some fiftyor sixty, have conventionalized meanings, such as "We are Kaiila', "Who areyou? ,' Go back', "we have counted coup' and "we are returning to camp'. Thecommon smoke signal is produced by placing greenery, such as branches, leaves orgrass, on a fire. The smoke produced is then regulated in its ascent by theaction of a robe or blanket, the manner of its releasing being a function of theconventions involved. At night such signals can be conveyed by the number andplacement of fires, or by a single fire, alternately revealed and concealed bythe action, again, of a robe or blanket. Other common signaling methods,incidentally, involve such things as the use of dust cast into the air, themovement of robes and the motions imparted to a kaiila.

"I do not care to be under surveillance in this fashion," I said.

"In a way it is heartening," said Grunt. "You see, they are letting you see thatyou are under surveillance. If their intentions were hostile, or immediatelyhostile, they would not be likely to be so open about the matter."

"That is true," I admitted.

"As I read the smoke," he said, "it is saying that a small party of white men ismoving eastward. The smoke on the right is merely acknowledging the receipt ofthis message."

"I hope you are right," I said.

"That would be the customary reading," said Grunt "To be sure, the customarymeanings are sometimes rearranged to conceal the true meaning. For example, amessage which commonly means that kailiauk have been sighted may, byprearrangement, be understood to communicate an intention of attack to acollaborative force."

"Marvelous," I said, bitterly.

Grunt shrugged. "These people," he said, "must survive with one another."

"Hold!" said Grunt, suddenly, tensing.

The rider had appeared very suddenly, over a small rise in front of us, sometwenty yards away. He reined in his kaiila. Dust swept about the paws and legsof the beast.

"Do not reach for your weapons," said Grunt. "He is Fleer," he added.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"The hair," said Grunt, "is won in the high pompadour, combed back."

"Like Corn Stalks," I said. The fellow's hair came down his back, flowing evenover the spine of the kaiila. He was riding bareback. He carried a long,feathered lance, and a small, round shield, a war shield, on which wereinscribed medicine signs.

The fellow moved his kaiila down the slope towards us.

"Be careful," said Grunt. "He has made two killings and has counted severalcoup. The scarlet circles on the feather indicate killings, the red marks on hislegs, and on the nose of the kaiila, show coups."

The Fleer reined in his kaiila a few feet from us. Grunt relaxed in his saddleand smiled, broadly. He raised his right hand to the side of his face, the indexand middle fingers extended upwards and held together, the other fingers closed.

"He has no saddle," said Grunt. "His body, and that of his kaiila, is stillpainted with coup marks. Undoubtedly he took part in the action of a few daysago."

Grunt then, still smiling, clasped his left hand with his right, and shook it.

This, too, is used by some tribes as a sign for friend.

"Kodakiciyapi," said Grunt. "Hou, Koda. Hou, Mitakoda." "Peace, friendship, hadsaid Grunt, "Greetings, friend. Greetings, my friend, in Dust Leg. He thenadded, in Kaiila, for good measure, substantially the same message. "Hou, Kola.

Hou, Mitakoda. Olakota. Wolakota." "Greetings, Friend. Greetings, my friend.

Peace, Peace, Friendship.

The fellow regarded us, not speaking, either verbally or in sign.

I was not certain that Grunt was wise in addressing him in the dialect of theKaiila, for the Fleer and Kaiila are hereditary enemies. On the other hand,interestingly, the many affinities between their languages suggest a commonancestor. The distinction between dialects and languages, as the dialecticaldivergencies increase, can become, at times, almost arbitrary. Most people, forwhat it is worth, regard Fleer and Kaiila as different languages. Certainly theFleer and Kaiila do, and few see much profit in arguing the point with them.

"Wopeton," said Grunt, pointing to me. "Wopeton," he said, pointing to himself.

This is the word in both Dust Leg and Kaiila for a trader, or merchant.

The fellow did not drop his lance into the attack position, grasping it firmly,anchoring it under his right arm.

"Do not move," said Grunt.

The fellow then, kicking back with his heels into the flanks of his kaiila,moved his beast about us, and our party.

"Stand straight," called Grunt to the coffle, which now, in our pause, had putdown its burdens. "Keep your heads up, but do not meet his eyes. It is you whoare the merchandise, the beauties, the slaves, not he. It is not yours toexamine, but to be examined, not yours to consider, but to be considered."

I thought Grunt was wise not to have the girls look into the eyes of the Fleerwarrior. Such an exchange of glances, or looks, can be like an electric shock,an encounter almost fearfully significant. Who knows what each might recognizein the eyes of the other? Does she see in his eyes that he is one such as mightbe her master? Does he see in her eyes that she is one who could not help butacknowledge herself, and soon, despite what she might now take to be herdesires, his helpless and natural slave? Sometimes, at as little as a meeting ofeyes, masters and slaves know one another. "I must have her. She is mine," hetells himself. "I belong to him. I am his slave," her heart whispers to her.

This matter of eye contact is interesting and has many facets. One of the mostinitially frightening and disturbing things to Earth women brought to Gor asslaves is the way Gorean men look at them. They are not used to being looked atas women, truly, with appraisal, desire and ownership. This tends, in thebeginning, when they are still new to their collar, to confuse and frightenthem, but also, of course, as it will continue to do, and even more powerfully,to stimulate them. It is the first time that they have found themselves in theorder of nature, and as what they are, and it is the first time that they havefound themselves being looked at, frankly, and honestly, within the order ofnature, and as what they are, females, appropriate objects of male predation anddesire. This recognition of her femaleness, and this joy in release andself-discovery, often comes as a stunning revelation to the Earth female. Neveragain, once having discovered this, does she retreat to the conditioned idealsof neuterism and pseudomasculinity, nor, indeed, even if she desired to do so,would her masters permit it. Sometimes in training, incidentally, or as adiscipline or punishment, the slave is not permitted to look into the eyes ofthe master. Indeed, sometimes, in training, she is not permitted to raise hereyes above the belt of the trainer. Also, it must be recognized that many slavesoften, and perhaps all slaves sometimes, find it difficult to look into the eyesof the master. He, after all, holds total power over them and they fear todisplease him. What if he should interpret her gaze as suggesting the leastinsubordination or insolence? Are they truly prepared to have the soles of theirfeet lashed or to live on bread crusts for the next five days? But, on the otherhand, there is, on Gor, in circles of the mastery, no discouragement, commonly,of eye contact between masters and slaves.

Indeed, in the deep and profound relationships of love and bondage, such eyecontact is usually welcomed and encouraged. What can be understood of theglances of masters and slaves by those who have been united only in lesserrelationships? Too, to be sure, from the practical point of view, it is usefulfor a girl to be able to look into the eyes of the master. In this way she maybe able to better read his moods, and desires, and, accordingly, be able thebetter to serve him, in the process perhaps saving herself a few cuffings andbeatings, such as might be garnered by a less alert, more slothful, laxer girl.

To be sure, all girls, upon occasion, are cuffed or beaten. This is good forthem, and helps to remind them that they are slaves. Beauty in a slave girl,incidentally, and most slaves are beautiful, for this is the sort of woman thattends to be enslaved, does not excuse poor service. The most beautiful girl mustserve with the same perfection as the lesser girl. Gorean masters areuncompromising on this point.

From the point of view of the master, too, not only is it pleasant to look intothe eyes of a slave, but there are certain practical advantages attached todoing so. For example, one might, in her eyes, read desire, and thus order herto perform an act which she, even though a slave, might not have dared to beg toperform, or, say, by looking into her eyes, one might determine if she has beenup to something or has neglected something to which she should have attended.

Has she been into the sweets? Has she, perhaps gossiping and dawdling with theother girls, been amiss in the discharge of her duties? Perhaps the shopping hasnot yet been done? Perhaps the laundry has not yet been finished? Suchinfractions call for discipline. But perhaps, in lieu of discipline, the masterwill accept the performance of desperate placatory services on the part of theoffending slave. The decision is his. I would, incidentally, advise the slave tobe superb.

The Fleer warrior stopped his kaiila by Priscilla, the second to the last girlon the coffle, and lifted up her chin with the iron point of his lance. It was atrade point, some nine inches long, socketed, with two rivets.

He then backed his kaiila away from her.

Priscilla had not met his eyes, as Grunt had advised them.

Grunt did not want to do business with the Fleer. He wished only to traverse thearea in peace.

The kaiila snorted and threw up its head, and squealed, its mouth wrenched bythe jerking back of the jaw rope.

On its nose were red lines, coup marks, matching those on the warrior's legs.

Its eyes were outlined with wide circles of black paint. On its left forequarterwas drawn a zigzag line, indicating lightning. On its right forequarter therewere five inverted "U's." Its right ear bore a V-shaped notch. On its left flankthere was an opaque red circle with a waving red line descending from it also onthe left flank, and on the right flank, too, there was a black, horizontal line,with a semicircular, curved blue line above it. The coup marks and the inverted" U's" were exploit markings. The inverted "U's" indicated kaiila stolen from theenemy, the mark itself being a stylized convention whose heritage, I did notdoubt, might be traced back to another animal, and another world and time. Thecircles painted about the eyes and the line of lightning on the left forequarterwere signs in the medicine of war. The medicine use of the circles was to enablethe beast to see clearly and far and that of the line to impart to its motionsomething of the same suddenness, the same swiftness and power, as attends themovement of lightning, that dread natural phenomenon, itself. The opaque circlewith the wavy line descending from it was a wound mark, the location of the markindicating a former wound site, the redness standing for blood, of course, andthe descending line for bleeding. I did not know the meaning of the notched ear,if it had a meaning, or of the other marks on the animal's flanks.

The Fleer moved his kaiila about, on the other side of the coffle, so that hemight look at the girls, one by one. None of them, as Grunt had advised, met hiseyes. They kept their beads high, and looked ahead, knowing themselvesscrutinized as the pretty, meaningless beasts they were.

"Our friend," said Grunt to me, "is a member of the Blue-Sky Riders, a warriorsociety of the Fleer."

"One should be careful of such fellows?" I asked.

"I would think so," smiled Grunt "You are gathering this membership from the marks on the kaiila's flanks?" Iasked.

"Yes," said Grunt, "the dark line of the earth, the overarching dome of the bluesky."

"I see," I said. Most tribes had several warrior societies. These societies hadmuch influence within the tribes and, on an alternating basis, to preclude anyone society from becoming predominant, a good deal of power. Their members wereexpected to set an example in the war and the hunt.

"I do not think he means us harm," said Grunt. "He is merely curious."

Warrior Societies in the tribes have many functions. They are a significantcomponent of tribal existence. Such societies, on an alternating basis, do suchthings as keep order in the camps and on the treks. They function, too, asguards and police. It is part of their function, too, to keep the tribesapprised as to the movements of kailiauk and to organize and police tribalhunts. Such societies, too, it might, be noted, are useful in various socialways. They provide institutions through which merit can be recognized andrewarded, and tribal traditions freshened, maintained and renewed. They preservemedicine bundles, keep ceremonies and teach histories. It is common for them togive feasts and hold dances. Their rivalries provide an outlet for intratribalaggression, and the attendant competitions supply an encouragement for effortand a stimulus to excellence. Within the society itself, of course, the membersprofit from the values of alliance, camaraderie and friendship. Needless to say,each society will have, too, its own medicines and mysteries.

I watched the Fleer, carefully. How intricate, actually, is the structure andgovernance of a tribe.

"The ear of his kaiila is notched," I said to Grunt. "Is that an eccentricmutilation or is it deliberate, perhaps meaningful?"

"It is meaningful," said Grunt. "It marks the kaiila as a prize animal, oneespecially trained for the hunt and war."

The girls continued to look ahead. They wisely avoided direct eye contact withthe appraising warrior, thus perhaps precipitating an encounter crisis, inwhich, perhaps because, of misconstrual or misinterpretation, he might feelprompted action. There are various ways in which a woman may look into the eyesof a man. One way, of course, is with a direct and self-assured gaze, as thoughshe might be the equal of the brute who regards her, the way of the free woman.

This is not to be recommended, of course, for a woman who is scantily clad andhas a chain on her neck. Such an insolence, at the least, would be likely to winher beauty a bout the five-stranded Gorean slave lash. Why do some women lookinto the eyes of a man in this fashion? It is an interesting question. Somethink that it is their way, perhaps even half consciously, of challenging him totheir subduing, of challenging him to make them a woman, a slave. It is notunusual for a woman, at any rate, who has looked into the eyes of a man in thatfashion to discover, later, that she is looking into his eyes in quite adifferent fashion, that whereas she once may have regarded him directly, andinsolently, she now, perhaps kneeling stripped at his feet, in a locked collar,bearing his identificatory device, lifts her eyes to his rather differently,doing so now as a mere slave girl to her master.

The Fleer backed his kaiila from Ginger, the animal almost crouching back on itshaunches.

There was blood about the jaws, and lips, of the kaiila, from where, earlier, hehad jerked back on the jaw rope. I saw the muscles within the kaiila's flanksmove beneath the paint.

"Oh!" said the red-haired girl, first in the coffle, startled as the point ofhis lance had scraped the back of the black-iron collar on her neck. Then shewas quiet. He was lifting her sheen of red hair on the point of his lance,moving it in the sun, to see it glisten and reflect the light. He was curious asto such hair. It is extremely rare in the Barrens. Grunt had not permitted herto cut it, or even to trim and shape it. That could be done later. Now he wantedit to grow, and to be, apparently, as long as possible. The Fleer let the hairfall from the lance, and then he laid the side of the metal point of the lanceon the edge of the girl's collar, the metal touching the right side of her neck.

She shuddered, but she did not otherwise move. She, a slave, was under gooddiscipline. I thought that was fortunate for her. Her movement, of course, theshuddering, this responsiveness, was revealing, and would have been to any manfamiliar with female slaves. It did not escape the detection of the Fleer.

Curious he now returned his kaiila to the position of the last girl on thecoffle, whom we were calling Pimples, the Gorean translation of her former name,originally given to her by a Kaiila master, "Wasnapohdi'. In Dust Leg,incidentally, the expression has the same meaning. I could detect, subtly, now,that Grunt was tense. He wanted the Fleer to be gone by now. I found myself,too, probably because of Grunt, growing more tense. I hoped that our reactionswould not be evident to the Fleer, who was several yards away. One by one, withthe side of the lance, the Fleer, moving along the line, touched the girls.

Pimples cried out, softly, touched on the right thigh. Then, at various places,on the calf, or the thigh, or ankle or neck, unexpectedly, not knowing wherethey would be touched, the other girls, too, were touched, Priscilla, Inez,Lois, Corinne, Evelyn, Ginger and the red-haired girl. Each of the girls couldnot help but respond in her own way to the Fleer's test, that of the unexpectedtouch of a man's weapon to her body.

"I trust he will not want any of them," said Grunt.

"I hope not," I said. We did not object to the assessment of the girls, ofcourse, for they were slaves. Their assessment was no different from theassessment of kaiila, except, of course, that somewhat different properties, onthe whole, would be under assessment What we did not want was trouble.

The Fleer backed his kaiila from the red-haired girl. With the side of his lancehe had touched her left thigh, and then, with the point of the lance, he badraised the hem of her skimpy tunic to her waist. Then, riding before her, hehad, with the point of the lance, thrust aside the sides of her tunic. She hadthen been well revealed to him. The exposed slave, the former Miss MillicentAubrey-Welles, the debutante from Pennsylvania, I saw, was quite beautiful. Inthe Barrens she might well be worth five hides of the yellow kailiauk.

We regarded the Fleer, who had now ridden his kaiila again before us.

He did not come so close to us that he could not, easily, drop his lance intothe attack position.

"Do not move," said Grunt to me, smiling at the Fleer.

The Fleer suddenly smiled broadly. He shifted his lance to his left hand, whichpleased me. He held his right hand near his body, with the palm down and thethumb close to his left breast. Then, with his right arm horizontal, he swepthis hand outward and a bit to the right This meant "good," that which is levelwith the heart. Re then pointed to the girls. He moved his fiat right hand in ahorizontal circle, clockwise, as Earth clocks move, not Gorean clocks, in frontof his chest. This meant "all," the circle being complete. He then grinnedagain.

Grunt then lifted his right band, the back of it near his right shoulder. Hisindex finger pointed forward and the other fingers were closed, with his thumbresting on his middle finger. He then moved his hand a bit to the left and, atthe same time, touching the thumb with the index finger, made a closed circle.

"Yes," had said Grunt. He then made the sign for «all» and the sign for "good," in that order. "AU is good," or "all right," he had said. He then extended hisbands in a forward direction, the palms down, and lowered them. "Thank you," wasthe meaning of this sign. He then held his hands at the level of his chest, withhis index fingers pointing forward and the other fingers closed. He drew backhis right hand, to the right, some inches, and then he brought it forward again,the index finger still extended, and moved it over his left hand. The firstportion of this sign means "time," and the second portion indicates, presumably,the forward movement of time. Literally this sign, in both its portions,indicates "future," but it is used also for "good-bye," the rationale beingperhaps similar to that in locutions such as "I'll be seeing you' or "Until wemeet again'. The sign for past, incidentally, is also the sign for "before." Thesign for "time," predictably, enters into the sign for "before," but, in thiscase, it is followed by the thrusting forth and drawing back of the right hand.

This is perhaps to suggest moving backward in time.

The Fleer grinned, and shifted his lance again to his right hand. Then,suddenly, with a wild whoop, and kicking his heels back into the flanks of hiskaiila, he raced away.

"I have always had good relations with the Fleer," said Grunt I watched the rider racing away. He was a member of the Blue-Sky Riders. Onedoes not come easily into membership in such a society. I was sweating.

"I thought he might want one or more of the girls," I said.

"He probably has, on the whole, as good or better in his own camp," said Grunt.

"Perhaps," I said.

We looked at the girls. Several were still trembling, from the Fleer'sassessment. The red-haired girl smoothed down the skirt of the tunic and, withher small hands, drew together, as she could, the sides of the tunic. She, ofall, it seemed, was the most shaken. To be sure, it was she, of all of them, whohad been the most objectively assessed.

"The Fleer was impressed," said Grunt. "Did you see?

"Yes," I said.

"I am proud of all of them," said Grunt. "Did you see bow they responded to thetouch of his lance?"

"Yes," I said.

"They are good stuff," said Grunt.

"I think so," I said.

"And I am grateful to you, for your help, in beating them, and helping to teachthem their bondage," he said.

I shrugged. I had, it must be admitted, derived much pleasure from the coffle,picking out one or another of them, when the whim or urge might strike me, formy slave use. I regarded them. Their necks were lovely in their iron collars andchains. Last night I had had Priscilla, the English girl, weeping in my arms.

Before that I had had Lois, the short, blond American girl. She lookedparticularly well in chains.

"Your tutelage of them in submission and servitude, the instructional abuse towhich you have subjected them," said Grunt, "may prove to be instrumental insaving their lives."

"They are eager pupils," I said, "having now come to understand that they aretruly slaves."

"Good," said Grunt.

I wondered why Grunt had administered so little, if any, of this form ofinstruction to his coffled properties. Surely he could see, as well as anyother, their desirability and beauty.

"Up with your burdens, my pretty beasts!" called Grunt. "Do you think you arefed for nothing? Do you think we can dawdle here all day! No! We must march!"

"What do you think the Fleer was doing here?" I asked.

"He was probably left behind to kill survivors," said Grunt.

"We are, of course, in Fleer country," I said. "He was in the paint of war," said Grunt "He did not show hostility towards us," I said.

"We were not involved in the action," said Grunt.

"The site of the action, I gather," I said, "is quite close."

"I fear so," said Grunt.

"Perhaps we should ride well ahead of the coffle," I said.

"I think that is probably true," said Grunt.