The Wagon People & Fedor SIlas of the Physicians

Fedor Silas, a Physician of Turia, is well known for his research in the biomedical sciences. He was there in Turia, in the ivory towers of knowledge and learning, during the Year in Which Tarl Cabot Commanded a Thousand, and, too, in the Year in Which The Wagon People Do Not Speak Of. The latter was the last year I lived amongst the wagons. I have made a commitment elsewhere in this journal not to write of that time, and I do not mention it with the intention of reversing that commitment. Rather, I will speak of Wagon Peoples and, perhaps, Fedor Silas in general terms.

There is often some misconception about the Wagon Peoples; Tuchuk, Paravaci, Kassar, and Kataii to name them directly. They are not, in fact, automatically hostile to everyone that encroaches on their territory, the Southern Plains of Gor. And it is, make no mistake, their territory. Everything south of the jungles of Schendi and west of the Tahari sands is said to be theirs. There are some, particularly Tuchuk, that believe their territory is without limits. It is only that they have not been the most attentive stewards of their vassals lands. Why is this relevant? Wagon People, contrary to popular belief, will, in fact, allow some persons access to their lands, if only for the purposes of trade. They have much use for the goods of cities, such things as cloth for clothing, spices for cooking, and tools for the repair and maintenance of their wagons. Metal Workers and Wood Workers, too, play a necessary part. Their labors are often traded and bartered for. All of this comes at a price, however. In order to enter unimpeded amongst the Wagons, people must submit to having an identificatory mark pressed into their flesh; generally a brand about the forearm. There are rumors that not everyone is branded who is permitted to walk freely amongst the wagons, and also that there are other means by which the idenificatory mark might be made. I lived fifteen years in the wagons of Tuchuk and was never marked, by a brand or otherwise.

Fedor Silas, through means of medical journals and other publications for lay persons, is still very much active in biomedical sciences. Like Flaminius of Ar was once regarded before being associated with the House of Cernus, Fedor Silas is much respected as both a researcher and a mentor to hundreds of young men apprenticing in the Green Caste.

I will seek him out soon.