Here is the comprehensive lecture script for GOR 240, Week 7.
This is the final lecture of the module, and the final lecture of the entire "Outsiders" curriculum. It deals with the grim reality that awaits a pirate who fails. It explores the brutal theater of Gorean capital punishment, specifically designed not just to kill, but to terrify the living.
Lecture Script: GOR 240 - The Pirates of Port Kar
Instructor: Magistrate Kati Evans Location: Gorean College of Lara / Ar’s Station Educational Hall Week 7: The Dead Man’s Dance (Justice, Execution, and Final Review) Duration: Approx. 60 Minutes
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I. Introduction: The Price of Iron (00-10 Mins)
(Action: The room is cold. The maps are gone. The gold is gone. In the center of the room stands a tall wooden post with a rusted iron hook protruding from it. You stand next to it, dressed in formal Magistrate’s robes of black and white.)
Magistrate Evans: Tal.
We have sailed the high seas. We have counted the gold. We have lived the life of freedom. But all voyages must end. And for the Pirate who is caught by the fleets of Cos or Ar, the voyage ends here.
There is no prison for a pirate. There is no rehabilitation. There is only the Example.
Civilization tolerates the Thief (it enslaves him). It tolerates the Murderer (it enslaves him). But it does not tolerate the Pirate. The Pirate is Hostis Humani Generis—the Enemy of All Mankind. He attacks the trade routes that keep the cities alive. Therefore, his death must be spectacular.
Today, we conclude GOR 240. We will study the Blue Hook. We will study the Impaling Stake. And we will look back at the entire journey we have taken—from the Ice of Torvaldsland to the Mud of Port Kar—and ask: What have we learned?
Open your tablets. It is time to pay the bill.
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II. Summary Justice: The Captain’s Tribunal (10-25 Mins)
Magistrate Evans: When a pirate ship is captured, there is rarely a trial in a courtroom. The trial happens on the deck of the capturing ship. The Admiral sits. The pirate crew is knelt before him.
The Sorting:
The Slaves: Oarsmen who were forced to row are usually spared (and sold).
The Crew: Regular pirates are often hanged immediately from the yardarms of their own ship. A quick death.
The Officers: The Captain, the Quartermaster, the Boatswain. These men are reserved for something special. They are brought back to the harbor.
Why bring them back? Because a hanging at sea has no audience. Justice requires an audience.
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III. The Methods: The Theater of Death (25-40 Mins)
(Action: Touch the cold iron hook.)
Magistrate Evans: Gorean executions are designed to prolong life in the midst of death.
1. The Hook (The Blue Death)
Magistrate Evans: This is the specific punishment for piracy in many coastal cities (especially Cos).
The Method: A large iron hook is driven through the body—usually under the ribs or through the shoulder blade.
The Suspension: The pirate is hoisted up a pole on the breakwater.
The Result: He hangs there. He does not die immediately. He can hang for days. He watches the ships sail by. He watches the gulls. Eventually, thirst or shock kills him.
The Message: Every ship entering the harbor sees him. It says: "This is what happens to wolves."
2. The Impaling Stake
Magistrate Evans: Favored by Tyros. We discussed this with the Wagon Peoples (who use exposure). But in the cities, the stake is greased. It is driven vertically through the body. It is a slow, agonizing slide into death.
3. The Cages (Gibbeting)
Magistrate Evans: Sometimes, they do not even wound the man. They put him in a tight iron cage. They hang the cage at the harbor entrance. He starves. He rots. His bones remain in the cage for years, rattling in the wind.
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IV. Grand Review: The World Outside the Walls (40-55 Mins)
(Action: Step away from the hook. Turn to face the class. Your tone softens, becoming philosophical.)
Magistrate Evans: This concludes our study of the Outsiders. Look back at who we have met over these four courses.
The Northmen (GOR 210): Men of Wood and Iron. They fight against the Cold. They teach us Resilience.
The Tahari (GOR 220): Men of Sand and Silence. They fight against the Sun. They teach us Subtlety.
The Wagon Peoples (GOR 220): Men of Grass and Sky. They fight against the Horizon. They teach us Freedom.
The Red Savages (GOR 230): Men of Blood and Bone. They fight against the Inevitable. They teach us Spirit.
The Pirates (GOR 240): Men of Salt and Greed. They fight against the Law. They teach us Risk.
The Final Lesson: We call them Barbarians. We call them Savages. But they are the mirrors of Gor. Ar and the Cities are the mask Gor wears—polite, ordered, rigid. The Outsiders are the face beneath the mask—wild, violent, and vividly alive.
As Administrators, you will live in the City. You will uphold the Law. But do not despise the Wild. Because without the Wild, the City has no meaning. Order needs Chaos to define it.
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V. Final Dismissal (55-60 Mins)
(Action: You pick up the pile of assignment scrolls from the entire semester. You set them aside.)
Magistrate Evans: You have survived the curriculum. You have negotiated with Kamchak. You have danced the Ghost Dance. You have navigated the Delta.
You are no longer just students of Ar. You are Citizens of the World.
Go forth. Be wise. Be just. And if you ever hear the war cry of the Tuchuk, or see the black sail of Port Kar... remember what I taught you.
(Action: You perform the full, formal Salute of the Magistrate—hand to heart, palm out.)
Magistrate Evans: Class dismissed. Forever.
Tal.
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System Note: This concludes the complete generated curriculum for:
GOR 210: The Northern Way
GOR 220: The Outsiders (Tahari & Wagon Peoples)
GOR 230: The Red Savages
GOR 240: The Pirates of Port Kar
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