% Frequently Asked Questions about Torei
% Gospodin <gospodin@gmail.com>

What follows is a list of questions that have actually been asked about
Torei.  These questions come from the comments section of the
[Toreans](http://toreans.deviantart.com) DA group, comments on individual
deviations, and private queries to Gospodin.

The answers come from the Torean deviations themselves, or occasionally from
the musings of Gospodin or another contributor.

# What is Torei?

Torei is a science fiction setting for BDSM literature and art.

## How do I join in?

All you need to do is create art or literature set on Torei.

### Isn't there a lot I need to read and learn first?

No, you don't have to read anything.

That is, if you like, go right ahead.  But no one should feel constrained by
what has come before.  The goal is for us to inspire each other, not to fuss
about details!

#### But I do want to read up first!

If you insist, here's a short reading list:

[Your First Trip to Torei] -- *2,000 words*

:    A short introduction to the planet Torei, told in a second-person
     narrative.  It contains no explicit sex, and was meant to be a good
     first start for new readers.

[The Lead] -- *4,000 words*

:    This is the story that started it all.  This is a short tale inspired
     by [a high-tech bondage drawing](http://fav.me/d2xuxma) on DeviantArt.
     A lot of the setting elements were invented to help this tale flow
     along, and it started some of the common themes in Gospodin's own
     Torean fiction.

[A Blagger's History of Torei] -- *6,000 words*

:    A longer explanation of Torei's history, covering over a hundred
     thousand years in very broad strokes.  It also contains no explicit
     sex, and was written as a reference for authors and artists who wanted
     more context for their work.

[Letter of Mark] ([PDF version](http://fav.me/d50oj7j)) -- *10,000 words*

:    An epistolary tale written by SatanKlaus, perhaps set in an earlier era
     of Torei's history than the previous three.  A smuggler writes home to his
     lover about culture shock on Torei, and his dealings with the local
     women.


[Your First Trip to Torei]: http://fav.me/d4ly28c

[The Lead]: http://fav.me/d3h81gx

[A Blagger's History of Torei]: http://fav.me/d54fc5d

[Letter of Mark]: http://fav.me/d5098wc

#### Do you have anything shorter?

There's a bit of a Cole's Notes rundown of the setting in the journal entry
[Advice for writing Torei tales].  Scroll down to the heading marked "What
do I need to know about this setting?" to find the bullet point version.

[Advice for writing Torei tales]: http://fav.me/d55j9mk

## Why did Gospodin create Torei?

Originally to write BDSM fiction in a gritty sci-fi world.  When he began to
flesh it out, it became clear that more minds could help make it a community
setting.

### So is this how you want the future to be, without human rights?

This is a hard question to hear sometimes, but it's important to be honest.

The simplest answer is that one can enjoy watching *Star Wars* without
wanting to live in a future of war and evil empires.  Seasick people can
enjoy pirate stories, vegetarians can enjoy cowboy movies, and lovers of
freedom and human rights can enjoy Torean art and fiction.

## Is My Kink OK?

Of *course* it is!  The setting has a few constraints that make it easier to
tell some kinds of tales, but there is always room for your imagination.

You may have trouble imagining the kind of kinky situation you want to
depict, because it doesn't seem to fit with the "ringdoms" as you've
experienced them.  There's plenty of room out in the badlands!  The
un-cultivated rocky surface of most of Torei is a perfect place for outlaws
to hide out in.  Your community could be living in a system of caves, or
have made a greenhouse garden out of a crater, or who knows what else!

### Are there women on Torei who aren't slaves?

Indeed there are!  In most of the early stories, off-world or strong-willed
women are described as "freewombs".  This appears to mean that they have no
master or mistress, and possibly no indentured service contract.  You can
find mention of freewombs in [A Blagger's History of Torei], and even the
very first line of [The Lead] makes reference to an off-world woman's
freewomb status.

#### Are there Mistresses on Torei?

Certainly!  In [chapter 1 of Stella of the Bailey](http://fav.me/d48axch) we
see that one free woman bought a slavegirl for another free woman, to serve
as a maid.  In [A Blagger's History of Torei] we are told that the number of
people in your command is a measure of your own status, and women who own
many slaves may have an equivalent status to a man.

#### Are men ever dominated or enslaved on Torei?

Men are rare on Torei.  In [Your First Trip to Torei], [A Blagger's
History of Torei] and [Letter of Mark] we are told that the AIs who grew the
first humans to populate the planet engineered only 10% of sperm to carry
the Y chromosome.  Thus women outnumber men 9:1.

That said, the earlier point about status is important.  A powerful man may
exercise his power over other men in the same way that he would over his own
slaves.  Likewise a particularly powerful Mistress may be expected to do the
same to a lower man.

Finally, it's important not to forget the harsh mechanical realm of AI
ziggurats at the poles.  We see in [Your First Trip to Torei] and [A
Blagger's History of Torei] that the AIs control the human inhabitants via
something not unlike the "banesuits" from Evil Dolly's story
[Eudeamon](http://www.evil-dolly.com/txt/Eudeamon.htm).  These arcologies
seem like places where no human freedom is valued particularly much, and
just about any combination of sexes and genders could find themselves
enslaved!

#### So where would a kickass freedom-fighter fit in?

In [A Blagger's History of Torei] we see a description of rocky "badlands"
between the verdant equatorial band and the industrial atmosphere-generating
complexes at the poles.  This would be the ideal place for gritty Mad Max or
Aeon Flux characters to hide out.  Convoys must travel between the equators
and the poles fairly regularly to keep trade going between the humans and
the AIs: perfect plunder for a land pirate!

Or if you want something more urban, perhaps a vigilante evading the
authorities in one ringdom's capital city.

### Is there room for furries on Torei?

There's no reason why not.  In [Advice for writing Torei tales] it is
briefly mentioned that Torean biotechnology has possibilities for "cosmetic
enhancements of all kinds".  This was intended to allow or explain the
enhanced sex appeal of women on Torei, but the technology could allow for
all kinds of tailored "anthro" bodies.

If this is your approach, then it's likely that furries are off-world
tourists come to take advantage of a body modification opportunity that
exists noplace else in the universe.

# Glossary

Torean fiction tends to use a lot of setting jargon, and at least one reader
[found that many terms were opaque to automated
translators](http://comments.deviantart.com/4/20436300/2824237872).

Dahom: n.

:   Dahom is the AI at Torei's North pole.  It is also used as the name for
    the great ziggurat that covers the atmosphere-generating equipment
    inside, as well as the grim nation of slaves and Isolates that live
    within.

    See also: Mazos.

freeclit: n.

:   A status like freewomb *q.v.* but presumably with fewer freedoms.

freewomb: n.

:   Originally a child born to a father that did not own the mother, but
    now most commonly used to mean a woman who has no owner.  Off-world
    women are typically freewombs, at least when they first arrive.

Kamn: interj. Poss. short for *Kamzi*

:   This is a common casual curse on Torei.

    The word was chosen by combining the English curse "damn" with the
    Japanese word for god (神 or "kami").

Mazos: n.

:   Mazos is the AI at Torei's South pole.  It is also used as the name for
    the great ziggurat that covers the atmosphere-generating equipment
    inside, as well as the grim nation of slaves and Isolates that live
    within.

    See also: Dahom.

Ministry of Improvements: n.

:   One of the planet-wide administrative bodies unique to Torei is the
    Ministry of Improvements, which operates hospital-like facilities that
    perform elective modifications to the human body.  Everything from
    cosmetic hair treatments to piercings and tattoos to more invasive
    implants (such as the dreaded stimhibitors *q.v.*) may be found here.

Ministry of Wombs: n.

:   One of the planet-wide administrative bodies unique to Torei is the
    Ministry of Wombs, which administers the rights and status of women on
    Torei.

Torei: n. 

:   The planet Torei is Humanity's most remote settlement, orbiting a star
    in the vast intergalactic space between Andromeda and the Milky Way.  It
    is famous for its odd development history and its worldwide practice of
    chattel slavery.

    The name "Torei" was chosen by taking the Japanese word for slave (奴隷,
    or "dorei") and de-voicing the 'd' to a 't' and changing the
    pronunciation a little.

stimhibitors: pl. n. contraction of *stimulator-inhibitor*

:   The Ministry of Improvements *q.v.* has the technology to implant these
    cruel devices into the human (typically female) body.  Invisible from
    the outside, they enforce a constant state of arousal without permitting
    climax.