Laws of Free Women Count..........

Self enslavement


"They had declared themselves slaves. The slave herself, of course,
once the declaration has been made, cannot revoke it. That would be
impossible, for she is then only a slave. The slave can only be freed
by one who is at the time her master, or, if it should be the case, her
mistress."
"Explorers of Gor" page 409




'You understand, do you not,' I asked the girl, 'the meaning of this?'

'Yes,' she said.

'You may freely enter into the state of bondage,' I told her, 'but you
may not freely leave it. This thing, once it is done to you, is, one
your part, irreversible. It is not then within your power to break,
alter or amend it in any way. You will then, you see, no longer be a
free person, but only a slave.'
'I understand,' she said. She then turned to the young man, 'I am
ready,' she said, 'Make me a slave."
"Blood Brothers of Gor" page 298




"Pronounce yourself slave," said Samos. The fellow relaxed his grip on the hilt.

"I am a slave," she said, pronouncing herself slave. Several of the slave girls cried out. There was now a new slave on Gor.

At a gesture from Samos the fellow with the blade resheathed the
weapon, and the two guards who had held the girl in position released
her, standing up. She was now on her hands and knees, naked on the
tiles, before the table. She looked wildly at Samos. "See the slave!"
laughed more than one of the slave girls pointing at her. They were not
reprimended. The girl, frightened, looked from face to face. The words
had been spoken. They could not now be unspoken. She was now rightless,
only a nameless animal, incapable of doing anything whatsoever to
qualify or alter her status."
"Players of Gor" page 17


"In most cities, on the other hand, a free woman may, with legal
tolerance, submit herself as a slave to a specific man. If he refuses
her, she is then still free. If he accepts her, she is then,
categorically, a slave, and he may do with her what he pleases, even
selling her or giving her away, or slaying her, if he wishes. Here we
may note a distinction between laws and codes. In the codes of the
warriors, if a warrior accepts a woman as a slave, it is prescribed
that, at least for a time, an amount of time up to his discretion, she
be spared. If she should be the least displeasing, of course, or should
prove recalcitrant in even a tiny way, she may be immediately disposed
of. It should be noted that this does place a legal obligation on the
warrior. It has to do, rather, with the proprieties of the codes."
"Players of Gor" page 21


"He might have you sign a slave document, in the presence of witnesses.
As soon as your signature is on the document, of course, you are a
slave. On the other hand, he might proceed even more simply. He might
merely have you utter a formula of enslavement, though, again,
doubtless in the presence of witnesses, who might sign a paper
certifying their witnessing of your declaration. Let us suppose you
utter such a formula. The simplest is perhaps, ‘I am a slave.’ You are
then a slave. He will perhaps then say, ‘You are my slave.’ This claims
you. You are then his slave."
"Mercenaries of Gor" page 417


"Sometimes a free woman, seeking to save her life, even at the expense
of a slave, will remove the slave's collar and put it on her own
throat, thinking thereby to pass for a slave.

What the woman in her collar seldom understands is that she, herself,
is now also, genuinely, a female slave. She, by her own action, in
locking the collar on her own neck, as much as if she had spoken a
formula of enslavement, is now also a slave."
"Vagabonds of Gor" page 70/1



Self-contracting


"If a free woman would assure herself of a man's love she could not do
better than, in effect, become his slave. She can beg of him, if she
senses in herself the true bondage of love, an enslavement ceremony, in
which she proclaims herself, and becomes, his slave. In their most
secret and intimate relations thereafter she lives and loves as his
slave. If a woman fears to do this she may, on an experimental basis,
resort to limited self-contracting, in which her documents will contain
stated termination dates. Thus, by her own free will, she becomes a
slave for a specific period, ranging usually from an evening to a year.
The woman enters into this arrangement freely; she cannot, of course,
withdraw from it in the same way. The reason for this is clear. As soon
as the words are spoken, or her signature is placed on the pertinant
document, or documents, she is no longer a free person. She is then
only a slave, an animal, no longer with any legal powers whatsoever.
She is then, until the completion of the contractual period, until the
expiration date of the arrangement, totally subject to the will of her
Master."
"Blood Brothers of Gor" page 101/2



Saving life


"And yet it was not a strange thing, particularly not on Gor, where
bravery is highly esteemed and to save a female's life is in effect to
win title to it, for it is the option of a Gorean male to enslave any
woman whose life he has saved, a right which is seldom denied even by
the citizens of the girl's city or her family. The Gorean man, as a
man, cheerfully and dutifully attends to the rescuing of his female in
distress, but as a Gorean, as a true Gorean, he feels, perhaps
justifiably and being somewhat less or more romantic than ourselves,
that he should have something more for his pains than her kiss of
gratitude and so, in typical Gorean fashion, puts his chain on the
wench, claiming both her and her body as his payment."
"Priest Kings of Gor" page 138

Selling Women


"In most Gorean cities it is illegal to offer an unbranded woman in a
public sale. This is presumably in deference to the delicacy and
sensibilities of free women. The brand draws a cataclysmic gulf between
the Gorean free woman, secure in her arrogance, beauty and caste
rights, and the stripped, nameless, rightless slaves, suitably vended
as the mere lovely beasts they are in the flesh markets of this
primitive, gorgeous world. Unbranded women, of course, may be sold
privately, for example, as fresh captures to slavers, or, say to men
who have speculated that they might find them of interest."
"Savages of Gor" page 101



Property


"It then occurred to me, suddenly, that, following Gorean civic law,
the properties and titles, assets and goods of a given individual who
is reduced to slavery are automatically regarded as having been
transferred to the nearest male relative--or nearest relative if no
adult male relative is available--or to the city--or to, if pertinent,
a guardian. Thus if Aphris of Turia, by some mischance, were to fall to
Kamchak, and surely slavery, her considerable riches would be
immediately assigned to Saphrar, merchant of Turia. Moreover, to avoid
legal complications and free the assets for investment and
manipulation, the transfer is assymetrical, in the sense that the
individual, even should he somehow later recover his freedom, retains
no legal claim whatsoever on the transferred assets."
"Nomads of Gor" page 103


Caste and citizenship


"When a girl is enslaved, she loses caste, of course, as well as
citizenship, rights and personhood, When she is enslaved, she becomes
an animal, subject to the whips and wills of Master's."
"Slave Girl of Gor" page 430



Punishment


“"I suppose," I said, "I should be pleased that you did not order me to
strip completely and kneel before you." "You are, of course," he said,
"a free woman." “Yet it seems,” I said, “ if only implicitly, you have
threatened me.” "Suitable disciplines and punishments may be arranged
for a free woman," he said, "suitable to her status and dignity." "I am
sure of it," I said, ironically.”
"Kajira of Gor" page 17

Judicial Enslavement




"It is a judicial enslavement," he said.

With Rim and Thurnock, moving in the crowd, I craned for a look.

I saw first the girl, stumbling. She was already stripped. Her hands were tied behind her back.
Something,
pushing her from behind, had been fastened on her neck. Behind her came
a flat-topped wagon, of some four feet in height. It was moved by eight
tunicked, collared slave girls, two to each wheel, pushing at the
wheels. It was guided by a man walking behind it, by means of a lever
extending
back, under the wagon, from the front axle. Flanking the wagon, on both
sides, were the musicians, with their drums and flutes. Behind the
wagon, in the white robes trimmed with gold and purple of merchant
magistrates, came five men. I recognized them as judges.

A pole extended from the front of the wagon, some eight or nine feet.
There was, at its termination, a semicircular leather cushion, with a
short chain. The girl's neck had been forced back against the cushion,
and then the chain had been fastened, securing her, standing, in place.
As the wagon moved forward, she was, thus, forced to walk before it.
The pole, projecting out from the wagon, isolated her, keeping her from
other human beings. The music became louder.

I suddenly recognized the girl. It was she who had cut my purse earlier
in the day, the sensuous little wench, whose ear had been notched. I
gather that she had not had such good fortune later in the day. I well
knew what the punishment was for a Gorean female, following her second
conviction for theft.

On the flat-topped wagon, fastened to one side on a metal plate,
already white with heat, was a brazier, from which protruded the
handles of two irons. Also mounted on the wagon was a branding rack, of
the sort popular in Tyros. It was, I conjectured another instance of
the cultural minglings which characterized the port of Lydius.

The wagon stopped on the broad street, before the wharves, where the crowd could gather about.
A judge climbed, on wooden stairs at the back of the wagon, to its surface. The other judges stood below him, on the street.

The girl pulled at the leather binding fiber fastening her wrists
behind her back. She moved her neck and head in the confinement of the
chain and leather, at the end of the pole.

"Will the Lady Tina of Lydius deign to face me?" asked the judge, using
the courteous tones and terminology with which Gorean free women, often
inordinately honored, are addressed. I looked quickly at Rim and
Thurnock. "Tina!" I said.

They grinned. "It must be she," said Rim, "who drugged Arn, and took his gold." Thurnock grinned.
I, too, smiled. It must indeed be she. Arn, I supposed, would have much relished being here.
I suspected that little Tina would cut few purses in the future.

"Will the Lady Tina of Lydius please deign to face me?" asked the judge, with the same courtesy as before.

The girl turned in the chain and leather to face her judge, standing
removed from her and above her, in his white robes, trimmed with two
borders, one of gold, the other of purple. "You have been tried, and
convicted, of the crime of theft," intoned the judge.

"She stole two gold pieces from me!" cried a man standing in the crowd. "And I had witnesses!"
"It took an Ahn to catch her," said another man, laughing.

The judge paid no attention to these speakings.

"You have been tried and convicted of the crime of theft," said the judge, "for the second time."

The girl's eyes were terrified. "It is now my duty, Lady Tina," said the judge, "to pass sentence upon you."

She looked up at him.

"Do you understand?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, "my judge."

"Are you prepared now, Lady Tina of Lydius," asked the judge, to hear your sentence?"

"Yes," she said, regarding him, "my judge."

"I herewith sentence you, Lady Tina of Lydius," said the judge, "to
slavery." There was a shout of pleasure from the crowd. The girl's head
was down. She had been sentenced.

"Bring her to the rack," said the judge.

The man who had guided the wagon from the rear, and had now locked the
brake on the front wheels, went to the bound girl. He unfastened the
chain that bound her against the curved leather at the end of the pole;
and, holding her by the arm, her wrists still tied behind her, led her
to the rear of the wagon, and up the steps. She then stood beside her
judge, barefoot on the flat-topped, wooden wagon. Her head was down.

"Lady Tina," requested the judge, "go to the rack."

Wordlessly, the girl went and stood by the rack, her back to the curved
iron. The man who had brought her to the wagon now knelt before her,
locking metal clasps on her ankles.

He then went behind her, and unbound her wrists. "Place your hands over
your head," he said. She did so. "Bend your elbows," he said. She did
so. "Lie back," he then said, supporting her. She did so, and was
stretched over the curved iron. He then took her wrists and pulled her
arms almost straight. He then locked her wrists in metal clasps,
similar to those, though smaller, which confined her ankles. Her head
was down. He then bent to metal pieces, heavy, curved and hinged, which
were attached to the sides of the rack, and a bit forward. Each piece
consisted of two curved, flattish bands, joining at the top. He lifted
them, and dropped them into place. Then, with two keys, hanging on tiny
chains at the sides, he tightened the bands. They were vises. She might
now be branded on either the left or right thigh. There was ample room,
I noted, between the bands, on either side, to press the iron. She was
held perfectly. Her tanned thigh could not protest so much as by the
slightest tremor. She would be marked cleanly.

The man, placing heavy gloves on his hands, withdrew from the brazier a
slave iron. Its tip was a figure some inch and a half high, the first
letter in cursive script, in the Gorean alphabet, of the expression
Kajira. It is a beautiful letter.

The judge looked down upon the Lady Tina of Lydius. She, fastened over
the rack, stripped, looked up at him, in his robes, those with two
borders, one of gold, the other of purple. Her eyes were wild.
"Brand the Lady Tina of Lydius," he said. "Brand her slave." Then he
turned, and departed from the platform.

The girl gave a terrible scream.

There was a shout from the crowd.

The man now, swiftly, brutally, released the girl, spinning open the
vises, and dropping them against the rack, unfastening her wrists and
ankles, and dragged her to her feet. Her hair was over her face. She
was weeping.

The man's hand was strong on her arm. "Here is a nameless slave!" he cried. "What am I bid for her?"

"Hunters of Gor" page 48/51