48 Hours on Blue Bayou Pt. 40

Julie saw that her explanation hadn't solved the Empress' problem. A moment's reflection convinced her that argument or debate would not be helpful, so she resorted to the strategy a law partner had often used: retreat and attack in another direction.

"Ma'am, this plan is still adding bits and pieces, as you know. I can promise you that we will be fine-tuning it until we're confident that it answers your points."

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Chapter 102: A "Commencement?"

The Empress' introduction of an Act Three into the party for donors to her favourite institution caused not a little consternation among the staffers and slaves in The Enterprises. The Enterprises had never captured a new slave. Their "new" slaves were bought at auctions or from reputable Houses of Slavery around the world, and these slaves were generally somewhat trained. The Enterprises Training Department, of course, worked extensively with the newbies to bring them up to Enterprises' standards.

Martin, as owner of The Enterprises, was the legal Owner of each slave and he took this responsibility quite seriously. For example, the standard slave question after each command: Do you understand? Martin was very particular that every slave knew that this was his or her opportunity to ask for clarification, and that it was acceptable to answer No to this question. Of course, once explanations were provided, Martin expected performance of the command up to The Enterprises' standard.

Together with his lieutenants, Edward and Charles, Martin had selected four slaves for the Men's Donor Party. Julie was leading the Opera Project, so she was expected. Niamh had suggested the Party, so she was also expected. Dagmar, the newest slave, had expressed a preference for female sexual partners, so the team had "taken a flyer" and selected her, looking particularly at Act Two. Fortunately, the Training Department was expecting to pass Dagmar for Male/Female Sexual Skills, at least for the Basics, in time for the Party. The fourth slave was Sally, who had worked with Julie previously and had a seven-year history with The Enterprises.

Pat told Julie that Martin had called a "Commencement" meeting involving these four slaves, along with Edward, Charles, Igor, Pat, and Anne. She seemed to have no idea why the meeting had such a grand title, but then, she said, it really was the beginning of planning to pull off Julie's Big Idea for the Opera. She added that, with such a grand title, Julie should probably wear the Calvin Klein dress that had served her so well. She also arranged for equally becoming dresses for the other slaves.

The First Lady's List called for the "Commencement" at 4 PM in the Main Salon. Fifteen delivered Dagmar and Niamh a bit early, with Sally following, presented by a Security crew. Julie, Anne, and Pat, of course, were just down the corridor in Martin's office. A few minutes early, Anne and Pat disappeared, soon turning up in matching suits.

Martin, as usual, was smiling and greeting everyone as they arrived. Julie and Niamh stuck together: it was their Party, wasn't it? Then, seeing Dagmar holding Position One off to one side, and looking a bit "green around the gills," as Niamh expressed it, they joined the newbie, one on each side. Not sure whether speech was permitted in such formal meetings, Dagmar let her widest smile express her thanks.

At 25 seconds before 4:00 PM, the Grandfather clock in the Main Salon began ringing the Westminster Quarters, the most common clock chime melody used by a set of four bells to chime on each quarter-hour. Martin waved everyone quiet and explained why this meeting had such an unusual title. "My friends, the Good Book has a lot to say about slaves, mostly about taking care of them. There is one point that brings us together today. It says that, when you buy a slave, you should offer the slave freedom at the sabbatical — that would be the seventh — year. The folks in Accounting have let me know that one of our slaves is coming up to her seventh anniversary at The Enterprises. Sally, please come up and stand beside me."

Both Julie and Niamh were shocked. This was not the meeting they thought it was! Was Martin going to send Sally away from The Enterprises? Neither of them would have claimed a deep familiarity with all the laws in the Good Book, but this had to be something exceptional.

Sally, moving a bit uncertainly, stood beside her Owner, her face alternating between a smile and a fear. For sure, nobody had briefed this slave on these proceedings.

Dagmar had a slightly better idea of what was about to happen, though she was still confused. She remembered, from her Religious Education classes, this story from the Book of Exodus, about releasing slaves after seven years. However, she was also a little confused. From her troubling discussion with Julie, she understood that slavery was forever in this strange world she had fallen into. Now, was it possible that a slave was to be set free?

Martin continued. "Sally, you have been a Good Slave practically from the day you arrived here. In a few weeks, you will have your seventh anniversary, so I thought this Project, and the Party we're planning, was a good opportunity to help you mark the occasion. My responsibility here is simple. I am going to offer you your release from slavery, together with help in getting established wherever you'd like in the world. If you wish to leave The Enterprises, you will go with our best wishes.

"On the other hand — and, somehow, there always seems to be that other hand — if you like your work here and would like to stay with our group, then we will accept you as a permanent member of our slave family. The Book also provides a ceremony for this decision. When a slave accepts permanent status with her Owner, the Owner is to bore a hole in one earlobe. I will fill that hole with a blue sapphire, something that Pat and Anne wear on occasions like this one."

Each slave turned to Pat and Anne, who were grinning and showing off the blue sapphires in their right ears. Julie, who was closest, was able to see the "star" floating in the jewels, something she knew resulted from asterism, the inclusion of rutile crystals in the structure of the sapphire.

As Martin finished, saying that Sally could decide at her convenience, which both Julie and Niamh thought was exceptional, Sally burst into tears. Immediately, Martin embraced his slave, stroking her back for a few moments. Then, he backed away, signalling Pat and Anne to support Sally. It took just a few moments for calm to return.

And then Sally came out with her own surprise, an answer for her Owner. "Please, Master, I have been a slave for most of my life. For most of that time, I've been fortunate to have good and caring owners, but none can compare with how you have cared about me and for me. I've felt a sense of pride and achievement here, so I won't need weeks to decide about staying. Please, Master, if you will have me, I would like to remain with you."

And that was the signal for a general hubbub, with the women crying and laughing and the men grinning and shaking hands all around. Dagmar was astonished. Why would a slave give up such an offer of freedom? She could feel the sincerity of Sally's declaration and the emotion of all the others, Masters and slaves. What could it mean for herself? She had already had two corrections for her defiance, and had seemed to settle into obedience, but inwardly she had not surrendered, waiting only for a chance to escape. Did she have to rethink that position? Could she see herself accepting slavery? Could she see all of these people as her family?

Martin gave Sally a kiss, so everyone had to line up for a kiss. Chef picked this moment to arrive with a cart of little cakes and cookies. He quickly learned what had happened and exclaimed, "This even beats chocolate!"

Eventually, everyone more or less calmed down and Martin led Sally to the column gracing the entry to the Salon. Positioning Sally's ear against the wood, he pushed a small awl through the earlobe. The puncture completed, the proud Owner passed a gold stud through the opening; it would hold the passage open until it healed. A small box held the blue sapphire that Sally would wear on occasions as special as this.

Martin returned to planning for the party. "Folks, the unusual request from the Empress is what we need to work on first. That's because, when we've got a plan that satisfies us, it still needs to get approval from the Empress."

"Unless, of course, she sends us word that the plan is OK as it is and for us to stop fussing with it," interrupted Charles with his usual smoothness. After the round of laughter, Martin agreed.

"Charles is right, as usual," he admitted. "Now, here's a couple of things. First, the best people who understand what it is to be a slave are slaves. We have four right here who bring recent but different experiences in how they entered slavery and how they learned to be Good Slaves. So, I want you to work on the big issues: what feelings do you want to make the Young Man have? What stresses do you want to put him through? What feelings or tests do you want to avoid, seeing this is only going to be for an hour or so? You should check with Igor, Pat, and Anne when you've got a scheme and work with them on carrying it out."

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Chapter 103: Plan for the Young Man

Martin and his lieutenants left the salon, leaving the slaves looking at each other. Pat broke the ice with the observation that their Owner's charge was somewhat akin to the old cliché: "putting the fox in charge of the henhouse."

"Except that this henhouse is going to be in charge of a twist: someone who wants to experience slavery," added Anne. "Who wants to go first?"

Several moments of silence greeted Anne's question, leading to a round of giggles and laughs. Pat drew the women's attention to the seriousness of their job. "Look, someone's been thinking of this for a good long while. He's in a position of some power in this society, so we have to treat this as a 'for real,' with a matching seriousness. If we don't get this right, our failure is evident not only to our Owner, but also to the Empress and who knows who else in Hong Kong.

"Now, let's try to attack this problem in a systematic way. What's the first thing this guy is going to expect us to do? And, is that what we want to do?"

Sally offered a suggestion. "No, whatever this Young Man is expecting, that's not what we should do, at least, not to start with. We just heard Master and Edward point out that slavery is often, to a great degree, a matter of emotions. Just a few minutes ago, at that Commencement ceremony, I went through a whole range of emotions. So, I think we'd be on the right path if we started by attacking this guy's emotions."

There was a moment's pause before nods and murmurs of assent were heard. Pat picked up the thread. "OK, what emotion do we want to attack first?"

Julie's hand shot up. "Please, Ma'am, that's easy. One of the Guards was talking about slavery and she mentioned that loss of the sense of control, of comfort in your environment, is the first thing that slaves experience. Our Owner also mentioned it just now. I remember how I felt when the slavers took over our boat, and I have to agree."

Niamh piped up with a slightly different point of view. "That loss of control was the first thing that hit me. I don't think that is the worst emotion, though. You might feel loss of control in an accident or getting caught up in a crowd. I suppose that being a new recruit in the military feels like that, too. The worst thing for me was a feeling of hopelessness. I didn't realise, to begin with, that I had been enslaved. I mean, it's not the first thing you think of, even if you've been abducted. I thought about rape and ransom, and I thought I might be killed, but I hoped they'd just dump me somewhere remote after they'd finished with me. Waking up at the auction house and seeing all those other women locked up in cages made me feel completely hopeless. It was so organised and matter of fact, like it was a normal business, and the girl next to me saying that it was pointless for her to tell me her name because her new Master would probably change it."

Julie was nodding her head in agreement. "Maybe if we sort of hint that this slavery might turn permanent. He might not believe it, but he also probably knows how easy it is to make someone disappear. He would feel some of that hopeless "No Exit" feeling that all slaves get."

Sally grinned and added her memories. "For me, getting sold to the brothel took me out of the place with that small-time crook. I was just a kid and they only had me doing laundry and helping out, so it was a step up for me. Later, of course, when they taught me to be a poule, there was some rough stuff, but by then I was one of the girls, so I had some friends for support. Still, I remember, even at the start, wondering if I'd ever get to be in charge of myself. So, yes, control is the big thing."

All eyes turned to Dagmar, the newest slave. She stuttered a bit, blushed quite a bit, but finally was able to tell her story. "It was all so fast that I'm not sure I really remember how I felt. One moment, I was walking along, thinking about nothing in particular, and then this gun pokes me and this guy tells me to get into the van. I remember wondering how he knew to speak to me in English, but then they got me into chains and taped my mouth closed. I couldn't move much in the van, so when it started moving, I got bumped around quite a bit. I remember just being scared, mostly about being raped.

"When Julie got picked up, and she asked what was going on, and they told her about a slave auction, I couldn't believe it. Then, when they started questioning us, I finally grasped that this was for real. I remember the chains and handcuffs, but I didn't really understand about control until after we were rescued and brought to the Intake Corridor here. That's when Julie's words and the lecture from the Guard began to make sense. I've had a few classes — Positions and Sexual Arts — so, I agree that loss of control is the first understanding of slavery."

The covey of slaves was silent for a moment. Then, as if gathering their resources for a great effort, they began to offer ideas for taking control away from the Young Man. When Niamh later looked back on this meeting, she had to laugh at some of the maneuvers suggested, but she was impressed by the seriousness of each of the women. They understood what Pat had meant by how this Party, and particularly Act Three, would be seen by their society in Hong Kong.

Authors' Note: Thank all of you, Dear Readers, for your patience with, and attention to, our story. We've gotten The Enterprises to adopt Julie's Opera Project and the Empress to approve it. The logistics are being worked out, and the covey of slaves dedicated to the Men's Party and Fundraiser are practicing their roles. Your Authors expect that the next Part will be ready for posting more quickly than this Part. In the meanwhile, we're still quite interested in your Comments, cards and letters.

— J Spe and Taliesin1