This is another question from a reader, which actually concerns a very broad and extensive subject, and one that is largely ignored by most Gor SL players. I will rephrase the question here so that I can answer my reader: “What is the fate of a slave who loses her fire and can no longer please?”

But what is the question really about? To understand the concept of slave fire, I will start with two quotes:

Quote:

“A girl with a collar has no right to have inhibitions,” she said. It was true. Slaves must reveal their sexual nature, completely. If they don’t, they are beaten.

Marauders of Gor

Didn’t he know what the men had done to me? For their amusement, without mercy and without my consent, they had lit the fires of slavery that smolder in every woman’s womb. It had been done to us. We were no longer free. We were now defenseless. We were now prisoners and victims of our own needs. It is certainly this, more than a mark or a collar, more than a degrading rag or indestructible chains, that has made us their slaves, the slaves of men. What free woman can understand our needs, our torments, and our passions, those of a defenseless and vulnerable slave?

Treasure of Gor

The slave’s fire is part of a whole, the slave’s heart, which I discuss in detail in this article: https://www.psychee.org/gorpedia/the-slaves-heart/ . It is nothing more and nothing less than the unrestricted display of one’s sexual desires and appetites. But the slave’s fire also has another, broader meaning: it indicates the slave’s ability to please and be devoted. This ability is even a duty; it is supposed to be a kajira’s greatest desire: to please men.

If a slave is not pleasing enough, if she does not make every effort to be so, she is punished. This can range from reasonable punishments, such as sleeping outside, going two days without food, being chained in a corner, etc., to much more cruel punishments, such as whipping, torture, being caged for days without any comfort or hygiene, being locked up all night in a cage with male slaves in heat, being tied to a pillory in the street and offered to passers-by, etc.

There’s no mention here of gentleness, tenderness or patience, nor of compassion. I insist: no romanticism here, no patience, no gentleness on the part of Gorean masters, it’s not in their nature, and it’s Norman who explains and describes it. The novels are very clear on this subject, in their descriptions of the training of slaves and how gorean are dealt with in the event of misconduct or dereliction of duty of their slaves. Goreans show no mercy or leniency when it comes to a slave’s unsatisfactory behavior. It’s enough for a kajira to have lacked eroticism or enthusiasm, or to have sulked or cried while sexually serving a guest, for example, and she won’t escape the lashes, and no doubt a few days in an uncomfortable cage, or worse. It doesn’t matter what the kajira’s state of mind is, or whether the guest is a brutal boor: it’s in the kajira’s nature, but also in her duty, to have the fire of a slave, and to desire to please perfectly, whoever it may be.

But when a slave can no longer please, what happens?

A premature end

Quote:

Gorean men, on the whole, do not free slaves. The freeing of a girl is almost unheard of. It makes sense; they are not free women, they are property, valuable objects, treasures. Who would get rid of precious property, who would give up treasures? If the slave girl was not worth much, she could be freed. But she is too wonderful to be freed; and if she is not wonderful, she can be killed. Likewise, what man who has known the glory and joy of a girl at his feet is likely to want to exchange her for the inconveniences and troubles of a free woman?

Explorers of Gor

“You surely know, Bran Loort,” said Thurnus, ”that it is the duty of a slave to please men fully and completely. If she did not, she would be subject to severe punishment, including torture and death, if that were the master’s wish.”

Slave Girl of Gor

If the message wasn’t clear enough in these two quotes, there are many others in the novels with the same threat or conclusion: a slave who ceases to please is killed. I counted more than fifty just by doing a quick search in five or six novels from the series.

A slave who ceases to please risks death, and this is not an empty threat! All slaves know this, some are prepared for it, or have been confronted with it, and, as I often say, it is above all through fear, and we can clearly see here that the fear of death is very real, that slaves make such efforts to please!

But what happens when she can no longer please?

Well… she is killed. Or rather destroyed; some Goreans use this word instead of kill to emphasize that slaves are property, no different from furniture, so the term destroy is more appropriate than kill.

The lives of Gor’s inhabitants are not exactly idyllic, and the lives of kajirae are certainly not rosy! Gor is a cruel, violent, ruthless, and harsh world. Living to a ripe old age and dying peacefully in your bed is not that common. But I would like to point out that most slaves live in conditions of absolute minimal comfort, are subjected to grueling forced labor that wears them out quickly, and, having no legal protection whatsoever, are victims of abuse and gratuitous violence that are completely normal for Gor’s inhabitants. This is a subject I explain in detail, and I really encourage you to read about it here: https://www.psychee.org/gorpedia/the-non-romanticism-or-not-of-gor/

Reasons for killing a slave

But why would she no longer be pleasing? Well, there are a few examples in the novels, but I’ll just make a comparison and put it into perspective: slaves are domesticated animals. Most of them are not pampered and loved pets, but rather utilitarian animals. What matters, then, is the work they do. That’s what has value: the wealth they bring to their owner, whether they are slaves on a farm, in a workshop or kitchen, or sex slaves in a tavern, bathhouse, or even on the street. And as with any domestic animal, if it can no longer do its job, it becomes useless.

There are countless reasons why someone might become incapable of being pleasant, and therefore useful: exhaustion, severe psychological trauma, serious injury, disability, mutilation, disfigurement, debilitating illness, etc. While the majority of slaves are used as labor or for sexual purposes, all of these risks also threaten even the most pampered and precious slaves! What is a highly educated palace slave worth if she has been blinded and her face is covered with scars?

We are not talking here about considerations towards humans, with rights and dignity! Even the most beloved slave is, with few exceptions, a pet, nothing more, whose role is to please in every way possible and as best as possible. If she is too badly damaged to fulfill her duty, which is the very reason for keeping her alive, then killing her is the best way to solve the problem. She is only a slave; she can be replaced. And understand that this is how the Goreans really think!

That said, it is not systematic, for two reasons:

1) A slave, even a work slave, can be expensive, so if an owner can afford it, they will do their best to get her back on her feet. Destroying property is a last resort, even if it can happen quickly. It is the decision made by the owner when they realize that the damage to their property is irreparable or too expensive to repair.

2) A slave can become a precious treasure, more valuable than gold. And just as on Earth a dog owner will not abandon his beloved pet because it has a paralyzed leg, on Gor, a slave owner will not kill his beloved kajira because she has gone blind or lost a hand. She may lose her ability to please and do her duty, but out of affection, her master will keep her close to him.

That said, I am forced to qualify this statement—again—and not in a positive way. Goreans are much less sensitive and affectionate than Earthlings, and their relationship with their slaves is rarely, truly rarely, as compassionate, deep, and lasting as that of humans with their favorite pets. Humans see their pets as having certain implicit rights, while Goreans see slaves as items, commodities, i.e., objects that are alive, certainly, but replaceable if broken. Showing compassion, i.e., sentimentality, toward a commodity is inappropriate and dishonorable.

Quote:

In the eyes of the Goreans and according to Gorean law, a slave is an animal. …/… She is simply an object that can be traded, bought, or sold. She is simply property, nothing more.

Hunters of Gor

So, yes, a Gorean master may sometimes do everything in his power to save and protect his beloved slave, and he may even keep her close to him even though she is too damaged to serve properly. There are even some characters like this in the novels. But they are the exception. Counting on this chance is like hoping to win the national lottery. Yes, it can happen, but how many winners do you know in your circle of friends or colleagues, or even in your town?

Why not sell her or free her?

As for selling, it’s easy: if a slave can no longer please, she is incapable of fulfilling her primary purpose and is therefore a defective product. And a Gorean, unless he is unscrupulous, is not going to sell a defective product. At a pinch, if the slave is simply damaged but still usable, she can be sold for simpler tasks: a disfigured slave can always be sold cheaply as a kitchen maid.

As for manumission, it is simply not part of the Gorean mentality! Slaves are not manumitted! It is very rare to do so, and only in exceptional circumstances and for very good reasons. This is a subject I discuss in detail in the following article: https://www.psychee.org/gorpedia/manumitting-a-slave-is-very-very-rare/

Conclusion

The need to please at all costs is not solely, as Norman claims in his convoluted explanations, the result of a deep-seated feminine nature that obeys an imaginary and completely fictional law of nature. For a kajira, the duty to please is an obsession driven by the fear of what will happen when she ceases to be pleasing: her death.

In conclusion, and in a completely factual manner, the life of a kajira is quite short, because sooner or later an accident will occur that will render her incapable of pleasing, and therefore useless. Few kajirae live more than ten years in servitude, and those who do are the strongest, the smartest, and above all the luckiest. They are the ones who won the lottery.