Speaking of the Stablization Serum
"Strangely, though it has now been six years since I left the Counter-Earth, I can discover no signs of aging or phyical alteration in my appearance. I have puzzled over this, trying to connect it with the mysterious letter, dated in the seventeenth century, obtensibly by my father, which I received in the blue envelope. Perhaps the serums of the Caste of Physicians, so skilled on Gor, have something to do with this, but I cannot tell."
Tarnsman of Gor, pgs. 218-219
Speaking of Fairs and the dissemination of
information
"Similarly men of such castes as the Physicians and Builders make use of the fairs to disseminate and exchange information pertaining to their respective crafts."
Outlaw of Gor, pg. 47
Speaking of the Caste of Physicians and arranging sexual unions between men and women in Tharna
"I had never been in the arms of a man before,' she said, "for the men of Tharna may not touch women." I must have looked puzzled. "The Caste of Physicians," she siad, "under the direction of the High Council of Tharna, arranges these matters."
Outlaw of Gor, pg. 106
Speaking of the High Castes not leading rebellions
"Let it be done," said the men, first one and then another, until there was a sober chores of assent, quiet but powerful, and I knew that never before in this harsh world had men spoken this. And it seemed strange to me that this rebellion, this willingness to pursue the right as they saw it, indepenedtly of the will of the Priest-KIings, had come not first from the proud Warriors of Gor, nor the Scribes, nor the Builders, nor Physicians, nor any of the high castes of the many cities of Gor, but had come from the most degraded and despised of men, wrteched slaves from the mines of Tharna."
Outlaw of Gor, pg. 170
High Castes having noticeable accents
"May Chamber Slave's accent had been pure High Caste Gorean though I could not place the city. Probably hher caste had been that of the Builders or Physicians, for had her people been Scribes I would have expected a greater subtlety of inflections, the use of less common grammatical cases;and had her people been of the Warriors, I would have expected a blunter speech, rather beligerently simple, expressed in great reliance on the indicative mood and, habitually, a rather arrogant refusal to venture beyond the most straightforward of sentence structures."
Priest Kings of Gor, pg. 52
"My father," she said, "was of the Caste of Physicians" So I thought to myself, I had placed her accent rather well, either Builders or Physicians, and had I thought carefully enough about it, I might have recognized her accent as being a bit too refined for the Builders. I chuckled to myself. In effect, I had probably merely scored a lucky hit. "I didn't know they had physicians in Treve," I said. "We have all the High Castes in Treve," she said, angrily. The only two cities, other than Ar, which I knew that Treve did not periodically attach were mountainous Thentis, famed for its tarn flocks, and Ko-ro-ba, my own city."
Priest Kings of Gor, pg. 62
Medicines and skill of Treve's Phsician Caste
"The ointment will soon be absorbed," she said. "In a few minutes there will be no trace of it, nor of the cuts." I whistled.
"The physicians of Treve," I said, "have marvelous medicines."
Prienst Kings of Gor, pg. 64
Compassion and the Caste of Physicians
"He did not," said Vika. "He tried to prevent me but I sought out the Initiates of Treve, proposing myself as an offering to the Priest-Kings. I did not, of course, tell them my true reason for desiring to come to the Sardar." She paused. "I wonder if they knew," she mused. "It is not improbable," I said, "My father would not hear of it, of course," she said. She laughed. "He locked me in my chambers, but the High Initiate of the City came with warriors and they broke into our compartments and beat my father until he could not move and I went gladly with them." She laughed again. "Oh how pleased I was when they beat him and he cried out," she said, "for I hated him so much I hated him for he was not a true man and even though of the Caste of Physicians could not stand pain. He could not even bear to hear the cry of a larl." I knew that Gorean caste lines, though largely following birth, were not inflexible, and that a man who did not care for his caste might be allowed to change caste, if approved by the High Council of his city, an approval usually contingent on his qualifications for the work of another caste and the willingness of the members of the new caste to accept him as a Caste Brother. "Perhaps," I sugessted, "it was because he could not stand pain that he remained a member of the Caste of Physicians."
"Perhaps," said Vika. "He always wanted to stop suffering, even that of an animal or slave."
Priest Kings of Gor, pg 71
Physician's Skill
"Who has done this?" I asked. "I," said Parp. "The operation is not as difficult as you might expect and I have performed it many times." "He is a member of the Caste of Physicians," said Kusk, "and his manual dexterity is superior even to that of Priest-Kings." "Of what city?" I asked. Parp looked at me closely. "Treve," he said.
Priest Kings of Gor, pg. 254
Kanda consumption
"Kamchak and I waited until the string had been chewed. When Kamchak had finished he held out his right hand and a man, not a Tuchuk, who wore the green robes of the Caste of Physicians, thrust in his hand a goblet of bosk horn; it contained some yellow fluid. Angrily, not conceling his distaste, Kutaituchik drained the goblet and then hurled it from him."
Nomads of Gor, pg. 44
Kanda Addiction
"Kutaituchik absently reached into a small golden box near his right knee and drew out a string of rolled kanda leaf. The roots of the kanda plant, which grows largely in desert regions on Gor, are extremely toxic, but, surprisingly, the rolled leaves of this plant, which are relatively innocuous, are formed into strings and, chewed or sucked, are much favoured by many Goreans, particularly in the southern hemisphere, where the leaf is more abundant. Kutaituchik, not taking his eyes off us, thrust one end of the green kanda string in the left side of his mouth and, very slowly, began to chew it."
Nomads of Gor, pg
Physicians working for slaving houses
"The selection of the girls, incidentally, is determined by judges in their city, or of their own people, in Turia by members of the Caste of Physicians who have served in the great slave houses of Ar; among the wagons by the masters of the public slave wagons, who buy, sell and rent girls, providing warriors and slavers with a sort of clearing house and market for their feminine merchandise."
Nomads of Gor, pg. 118
Old age on Gor and the Stabilization Serums
"The Player was a rather old man, extremely unusual on Gor, where the stabilization serums were developed centuries ago by the Caste of Physicians in Ko-ro-ba and Ar, and transmitted to the Physicians of other cities at several of the Sardar Faris. Age, on Gor interestingly, was regarded, and still is, by the Castes of Physicians as a disease, not an inevitable natural phenomenon. The fact that it seemed to be a universal disease did not dissuade the caste from considering how it might be combated. Accordingly the research of centuries was turned to this end. Many other diseases, which presumably flourised centuries ago on Gor, tended to be neglected, as less dangerous and less universal that that of aging. A result tended to be that those susceptible to many diseases died and those less susceptible lived on, propagating their kind. One supposes something similar may have happened with the plagues of the Middle Ages on Earth. At any rate, disease is now almost unknown among the Gorean cities, with the exception of the dreaded Dar-Kosis disease, or the HolyDisease, research on which is generally frowned upon by the Caste of Initiates, who insist the disease is a visitation of the displeasure of Priest-Kings on its recipients. The fact that the disease tends to strike those who have mantained the observances recommended by the Caste of Initiates, and who regularly attend their numerous ceremonies, as well as those who do not, is seldom explained, though, when pressed, the Initiates speak of possible secret falures to maintain the observances or the inscrutable will of Priest-Kings. I also think the Gorean success in combating aging may be partly due to the severe limitations, in many matters, on the technologyof the human beings on the planet. Priest-Kings have no wish that men become powerful enough on Gor to challenge them for the supremacy of the planet. They believe, perhaps correctly, that man is a shrewish animal, which, if it had the power, would be likely to fear Priest-Kings and attempt to exterminate them. Be that as it may, the Priest-Kings have limited man severely on this planet in many respects, notably in weaponry, communication and transportation. On theother hand, the brilliance which men might have turned into destructive channels was then diverted, almost of necessity, to other fields, most notably medicine, though considerable achievements have been accomplished in the production of translation devices, illumination and architecture. The Stabilization Serums, which are regarded as the right of all human beings, be they civilized or barbarian, friend or enemy, are administered in a series of injections, and the effect is, incredibly, an eventual, gradula transformation of certain genetic structures, resulting in indefinite cell replacement without pattern deterioration. These genetic alterations, moreover, are commonly capable of being transmitted. For example, though I received the series of injections when first I came to Gor many years ago I ahd been told by Physicians that they might, in my case, have been unnecessary, for I was the child of parents who, though of Earth, had been of Gor, and had received the serums. But different human beings respond differently to the STabilization Serums, and the Serums are more effective with some than with others. With some of the effect lasts indefinitely, with others it wears off after but a few hundred years, with some the effect lasts indefinitely, with others it wears off after but a few hundred years, with some the effect does not occur at all, with others, tragically, the effect is to stabilize the pattern but to hasten its degeneration. The odds, however, are in the favor of recipient, and there are few Goreans who, if it seems they need the Serums, do not avail themselves of them. The Player, as I have mentioned, was rather old, not extremely old but rather old."
Assassin of Gor, pgs 29-31
Physician within a house's employ
"She had then been examined thorourghly by the Physicians of the House of Cernus. (pg. 40) "Cernus smiled. "Our Physicians ascertained," said he, "that she is only a Red Silk Girl."
Assassin of Gor, pg. 45
Physicians and their role in the purchase of slaves
"At certain times of the year several such booths are set up withing the courtyard of a slaver's house; in each, unclothed, chained by the left ankle to a ring, on furs, is a choice Red Silk Girl: prospective buyers, usually accompanied by a member of the Caste of Physicians, in the presence of the slaver's agent, examine various girls; when particular interest is indicated in one, the Physician and the slaver's agent withdraw; when, after this, the girl is not purchased, or at least seriously bid upon, she is beaten severely or, perhaps worse, is touched for a full Ehn by the slave goad; if, after two or three such opportunities, the girl is not sold, she is given further training; if after this she is still not sold, she is usually returned to the iron pens whence, with other girls, considered to be of inferior value, she will be sold at a price in one of the smaller markets, perhaps even in a minor city."
Assassin of Gor, pg. 57
"Perhaps he always wanted to stop suffering even that of animal or slave."
Priest Kings of Gor, pg. 71
Birth right into a caste does not preclude that person from having to actually serve an apprenticeship within the caste before being permitted to practice the caste craft fully.
"Though one is commonly born into a Caste one is often not permitted to practice the caste craft until a suitable apprecnticeship has been served."
Fighting Slave of Gor, pg. 209
Women of the Physicians' Caste are not permitted to full practice until they have borne two children.
Women of the Physicians' Caste are not permitted to full practice until they have borne two children, for it is the general consensus that professional women will not busy themselves with the toils of family life and therefore not reproducce. Ensuring that these women first secure the caste before seeking personal goals is of highest precedence. The future of the castes are important, and stringent guidelines have been set up to ensure the castes' survival.
"Physicians, however, normally do not admit their women to full Practice until they have borne two children. The purpose of this is to retain a high level of intelligence in the caste."
Fighting Slave of Gor, pg. 209
"The woman of the Physicians, at the age of fifteen in many cities, wears two bracelets on her left wrist. When she has one child one bracelet is removed; when she has a second child the second bracelet is removed. She may then, if she desires, enter into the full practice of her craft."
Fighting Slave of Gor, pg. 210