Gotta Pay the Piper Ch. 00

Prologue

This series continues the scenario I began with my Slave Camp story. Some of the characters are the same. Chronologically this story happens about a year or so after Slave Camp.

I began this story with a slight departure from actual slavery. It starts with a man facing a conservatorship. That is not so far fetched as it sounds. We have that in our own society. Recently a young entertainer, a pop star, was released by the courts after having been in such a conservatorship for some13 years. Her father dictated rules for her to live by. He controlled who she dated. Even contraception was not her choice. She lost the right to make decisions with her own career. Others decided how she spent her money.

I wrote the story for the reader's enjoyment. At the same time I wanted to make the story logical. My story is a character study of how people might live within the public dynamics of this new society.

One where slavery exists. What I proposed is a rebuild. Incorporating reason into an unreasonable scenario, (Or is it unreasonable?) In some ways it might even be practical.

Many stories of slavery have been written. Some like this one are about non-hereditary slavery. (A person is not born into slavery.) Some almost approach the idea of a dystopian society, where a person (usually female) might be accosted in the street and enslaved for life with no control or recourse. The women of course then automatically become mindless sex slaves. The rest of society accepts this as normal. While erotic, I find these stories lack depth. I find that whole premise total bullshit.

Some focus only on the erotic aspects, ignoring the practicalities of how these slaves are housed and maintained between sex sessions nor what becomes of them once the luster rubs off.

I wondered how our society might actually evolve if slavery, particularly judicial slavery was re-introduced. What might society REALLY accept? I doubt anybody would really accept complete and total dominance that would dehumanize the slave no matter the crime. Use and it's cohort 'abuse' depending on your status would be a matter of normal life. Intelligence of some sort would prevail. How would the slave react?

I envisioned an alternate society that decided that instead of housing criminals at the expense of the taxpayer, criminals would be sold as slaves. Yes a convicted criminal would be subject to his or her owner's whims. But there would be limits. Put yourself first into the mindset this world actually existed and then ask yourself what would YOU accept as a person living within that society. How about your friends and neighbors? Public nudity? Perhaps, while legal might not be completely accepted. Open sex on the street in front of kids? I doubt those things would be considered normal.

At the core of my stories are how a person can own a slave. In one of my chapters I had a woman convicted and enslaved after she gets drunk and wrecks her car. She killed one person and seriously injured the other. Because she did not have enough money to pay restitution, she was given to the injured woman to compensate for her financial loss. Had she had money, that money might have been awarded to the victim instead. For her crime she would still be sold at public auction to the highest bidder. In that case, the money paid would go to the state.

The large majority of slaves would be sold publicly. A smaller percentage would be awarded as restitution for losses sustained.

Regulation of slavery is big business. Not only for the sale of the flesh itself. The government would want its share so a transfer fee would be assessed. If the slave is put to work, the wages would be taxed with appropriate social security and medicare deductions made. A benevolent owner might allow a slave to contribute to a retirement fund. Why? Simply to encourage the slave to be a decent employee. If your only incentive to work was to avoid punishment, you would be a terrible worker and could never be trusted.

How are slaves controlled and regulated? A pretty slave might be stolen if left unsupervised. "Rustled" if you will. In my story, each slave is collared with an elaborate device. It is a combination shock collar and GPS device. It cannot be removed without killing the slave. Rustling a slave would not only be futile but result in slavery for the crime when caught.

While sexual use would be naturally be major part of any slave's life it is not a business.. An owner could share of course but prostitution as such would be outlawed. Why? Because the state would not get its share of the taxes. If you think many things are outlawed because of public 'decency', you are wrong. It is because the state wants it share of taxes. Think about Prohibition and the aftermath. Caching somebody running a whorehouse would be easy. The collars give off a GPS signal.

While a slave's day to day life would be terrible, excessive cruelty would be illegal. Many corrupt individuals would attempt to get around this of course. I countered this by mandating yearly vaccinations against all known STD's. Females would be mandated to get a contraceptive implant. Only state certified doctors would be allowed to do this. Part of the procedure calls for a medical examination. Because the owner is registered, he is responsible. Sure he could beat a slave half to death but damage would be found and the former owner might very well wind up enslaved.

I introduce several ideas along this line. This is an effort to make my society logical and acceptable to mainstream America.

Now the dark side:

In many stories of slavery, one thing is missing. Hope. Hope of a future. Without that a human would become VERY dangerous. Think about the slave being like tiger. It would be great to take your tiger out for a walk in public on a leash until it turns and rips your abdomen open with a single swipe. Would you take a wolf home and say "Hey kids, look at the fluffy doggie I brought home." There is a reason criminals in prison are frequently strip searched. Even then they find ways to make weapons out of common items. How would these judicial slaves be any different if they were truly abused knowing that was the only future they would ever see? What would keep a ponyboy or girl from suddenly deciding to dart out in front of an oncoming eighteen-wheeler with you in the cart? Without hope of a future, a human is a very dangerous animal.

Your little sexy collared bed partner takes your fountain pen and gouges out your eyeballs. Or the slave you whipped almost to death, pushes a piece of metal into a light socket to start a fire and burns the house down with your family inside in the middle of the night.

Like any person, a slave would have to have some reason to live. In my stories, even "lifers" will be free when they hit retirement age. If they survive of course.

I hope you enjoy. I also hope it makes you THINK. Imagine if the world I present might come true. Is it logical? Would it work?

Of course it would NOT. But it would be SO nice if it did......