"You have me naked and in chains now before you, I who was once Sheila, the Tatrix of Corcyrus, your enemy," she said. "I am now yours to do with as you please."
"Fool!" cried Ligurious.
"What of the speculations of Menicius," Inquired Claudius, "those having to do with affairs of worlds, of the business of Priest-Kings and others."
"They are sound, Master," she said.
"Be silent!" said Ligurious.
"Speak," said Claudius.
"Hold, Caludius," cautioned a man. "Consider whether or not it is proper for mere mortals to inquire into such matters."
"Such thoughts are surely to be reserved for the second or third knowledge," said another man.
"I am a man," said another. "I repudiate the distinctions between knowledges. Knowledge is one. It is only knowers who are many.
"We are not Initiates," said another man. "Our status, prestige and livelihood do not depend on the perpetuation of ignorance and the, propagation of superstition"
"Heresy!" cried a fellow.
"I shall inquire into truth as I please," said another. "I am a free man." "It is our world, too," said a fellow.
"Surely it is permissible to inquire into such matters," said another, "if we do so with circumspection and respect."
"I think," said Claudius, "in these matters both our fears and our noble, belligerent vanities are out of place. Gods, for example; I trust, do not have need of the silver of Argentum, nor do they have need of fiery ships for plying the long, dark roads between worlds. Gods, I trust, do not leave spoor in subterranean chambers nor deep wounds in remote turfs. These things of which we speak, I think, are things which can eat and bleed."
"We do not speak, then, of Priest-Kings," said a man, relieved.
"Who knows the nature of Priest-Kings?" asked a man. "Some say they have no form," said a man, "only that they exist."
"Some say that they have no matter," said a man, "except that they are real." "Surely they are like us," said a man, "only grander and more powerful." "Let us not waste time in idle speculations," said a man.
"Speak," said Claudius to Sheila.
"There are two worlds involved, Master," she said, "Gor, and the world called Earth."
"Lying slave!" said a man. "Earth is mythical! It is only in stories. It does not exist."
"Forgive me, Master," she said, "but Earth is real, I assure you. I am from Earth, and so, too, is the slave to my right."
The man looked at me, closely.
"Yes, Master," I whispered, frightened.
"That Earth is real is in the second knowledge," said one of the men, a fellow wearing the yellow of the Builders, a high caste.
"I was taught that, too," said the fellow with him, also in the yellow of the Builders. "Do you think it is really true?"
"I suppose so," said the first man. The classical knowledge distinctions on Gor tend to follow caste lines, the first knowledge being regarded as appropriate for the lower castes and the second knowledge for the higher castes. That there is a third knowledge, that of Priest-Kings, is also a common belief. The distinctions, however, between knowledge tend to be somewhat imperfect and artificial. For example, the second knowledge, while required of the higher castes and not of the lower castes, is not prohibited to the lower castes. It is not a body of secret or jealously guarded truths, for example. Gorean libraries, like the tables of Kaissa tournaments, tend to be open to men of all castes. "Gor, and the world called Earth," she said, "are prizes in a struggle of titantic forces, the forces of those whom you call Priest-Kings and of those whom you think of as others, or whom we might think of as beasts."
"And what is the nature of these Beasts?" asked Claudius.
"I have never Seen one," she said.
"Ligurious?" asked Claudius.* "I choose not to speak," he said, sullenly.
"Continue," said Claudius to Sheila.
"Both Priest-Kings and Beasts possess powerful weaponry and are masters of space travel," she said. "Intermittently, it is my understanding, for generations, they have been involved in combat. Probes and skirmishes are frequent. As yet outright force has been unable to prevail. In many respects Priest-Kings seem to be tolerant and defensive creatures. For example, they permit native beasts on Gor, marooned beasts, and such, provided such obey, their laws, particularly with respect to weaponry and technology. And never have they pursued the beasts to their steel lairs in space, pursuing temporary advantages in these perennial conflicts. The beasts, it is my surmise, having hitherto failed to win Gor by overt conquest, attempt now to obtain power on this world by specific and detailed subversions, mixing in, and influencing, the politics and affairs of cities. Indeed, in this way, perhaps they, too, hope to prepare the way for an eventual full-scale invasion, one which could then be supplied and supported by a number of strategically located cities, or leagues of cities. I know little more, specifically, in these, matters than my own role. By means of the wealth of beasts and the influence of Ligurious, the first minister of Corcyrus, I was brought to power in Corcyrus. There, supported by the influence and Wealth of beasts, and abetted by Ligurious, I ruled. I grew soon fond of the throne. Testing i~y power I found it real. I Was exhilarated. I became ambitious to expand the sphere of Corcyrus's influence and, in particular, to obtain, if possible, for my own wealth, the mines of Argentum. In these things I exceeded my authority. Ligurious, against his better judgment, at least initially, pleaded my case with beasts and protected me from them, convincing them to accept my proposals. Ligurious was smitten with me. I seduced him to my projects. I played with his feelings. I toyed with his emotions. I exploited his sentiments. I made him dance like a puppet to my will. I deprived him of his leadership and manhood."
I looked at Ligurious. His face was dark with anger as he looked down at Sheila, now another man's slave.
"These projects, to be sure, were dangerous," she said. "Too, I was a valued agent. Thus, through Ligtirious, an order was placed with the beasts, that a double might be obtained for me. The girl selected was the collared slave to my right, how the slave, as I understand it, of Miles of Argentum. He was brought to Gor and taught that she was Sheila, the Tatrix of Corcyrus. She came to accept this identity. Some knew me as the Tatrix. Some knew her as the Tatrix. That there were actually two women involved was a carefully guarded secret, known only to a handful of trusted followers. We miscalculated seriously in at least one matter. We did not think that Ar would honor its treaty commitments with Argentum, that it would risk all-out war with the Cosian Alliance, in which Corcyrus was implicated. As it turned out, of course, Ar did support Argentum and, as it also turned out, we were not supported by Cos. Defeated in war and in the face of an uprising, too, within our own city, Ligurious and I, with some others, fled. The slave on my right, she who was brought to Gor as my double, was left behind on the throne, to be captured and, in my place, bear the wrath of the enemy. As you know, she escaped. A vast, intense and lengthy search was undertaken to recover her. In this search, as you know, as well, both of us were eventually apprehended. Now both of us, she who was the Tatrix and she who was her double, now both no more than slaves, kneel stripped before you, helpless In your chains." She put down her head.
"Speak further," said Claudius.
The slave lifted her head. "You may put me under tortures, Master," she said, "but, woe, I know little more than I have spoken. The beasts keep us much in ignorance so that, if captured, we can reveal little of their strategies and plans. What details there are beyond those I have given you would, I fear, be meaningless or trivial to you, such things as descriptions of the appearances of agents on Earth, where I was first contacted, and such."
"As beasts may be allied with men," said Claudius, "so, too, I suppose, might men be allied with Priest-Kings."