Gotta Pay the Piper Ch. 16

I hope Lenore is able to keep her spot on top. It sounds like she has a plan or thinks she does. If not I think how bad is written he won't take it well.

Servant111 - The world the author writes about is a FICTIONAL world. You have an option either you buy into the premise of the author's work, or you can move on. Me, I don't buy into Sci-Fi, so guess what? I have a headache which I've gotten when I've read something on those lines. Please save us your diatribes and stay with genres where you are comfortable.

In closing, I have a question for you. What is it they say about opinions?

It's clear the last two chapters are setting Lenore up. Can't wait to read how she reacts to Sherrie's attempts at controlling her. I also wonder how the other slaves will use Lenore's submissiveness and where she'll end up. Or will she stay in control? If she does, then how will she do it? Keep writing about Bas and his menagerie.

Finally I have to add, that enjoying your stories doesn't mean I endorse slavery. We the readers have to remember this is fiction.

@servant 111 Neither this story NOR its predecessor was designed to make slavery in any form palatable or even partially acceptable in a free society. Maybe you do not reach much but there is a whole realm of stories of judicial slavery stories where people walking down the street suddenly find themselves enslaved for life, used as a sexual object with absolutely NO recourse.

This was simply my version of how such a society might work and be palatable, with some suspension of belief. How a group might interact within some kind of lawful constraint. That being a person is enslaved for committing a crime OR , not used in this story as a method to self indenture for a financial reward. It was offered as a way to avoid the very high price of incarcerating criminals and putting them to use. Plausible? Nope, not in our society where we confine criminals NOT to rehabilitate them but merely remove them from society for a period of time. The thought is that loss of freedom will teach them a lesson although as anybody looking at it will realize, recidivism runs rampant.

My story is more of a character study of how a small group might interact within that constraint. Your comment brought about Biblical studies of indenture and the Nazi regime who sought to imprison a group based on religion or ethnic or political reasons. (Most people do not realize the large number of concentration camp victims were based on political views rather than religious.)

But indenture lasted long after slaves were freed. And it was NOT benign. And indentured servant could be treated badly and if they protested could find their indenture extended for years. I am not writing a treatise on slavery, just a simple story of a group of people in a world where it exists. Read it or don't. This is my second series on the subject and probably my last.

Ah, back to the good stuff. People doing dumb things and getting punished for it is great, as were the parts describing the lives of the less fortunate slaves.

The whole Sherrie vs Lenore thing seems like a no brainer to me though. As long as Lenore ignores Sherrie's demands and liberally exercises her right to shove baseball bats up Sherrie's ass whenever Sherrie gets uppity, the issue will soon be resolved.

I love to see you are measuring better the sentences.

Sherry and Jennifer must be grateful of Bas seeking lenience for them. And I agree that Jennifer must share that sentence. And even the extra for ling is well deserved.

But this is what I thought before, protagonists characters (Joanne and Robin) earned extremely long sentences in comparison with other secondary characters. For me that fight with and injured free person is worse that that stealing they got 15 years... I remember the judge taking notes in Joanne's trial. Maybe that speech of sentence revision may be good news for Joanne and Robin?

The fact that a sentence for injuring a free person suposes that they can not get an early release or manumision at all seems to fit well in this world of slavery. Maybe Lenore will be lucky that Sherry will be depressed for that new sentence. Or maybe she will need to cheer her up and end up the rabbit hole again?

Yes it is an alternative history/universe; BUT I as a reader find myself ambivalent about the long and tortuous rendition of a "legal" justification for slavery. Personally, I find the concept of using another human being as an object repugnant. The roman word translated as "slave" better translates as "walking tool." The slave was an object a thing that had no rights. Slavery in Roman society came from conquest. The conquered people had the choice of being put to death or becoming walking tools. This condition was permanent and was inherited.

The slavery concept embraced in this story seems more in alignment with the Hebrew concept in the Old Testament. In that concept, a person accepted slavery as primarily an economic decision. It lasted for a maximum of 7 years when all Hebrew society went through a reset called a year of Jubilee. Thus, the Hebrew slave was more of an indentured servant who had full rights as a person.

Both of these are frankly repugnant. What we have in this series is a rather distasteful police state society that has apparently emerged from the ashes of the failed American Republic. We here have the classic use of definitions to create two classes of people and non people. You see this throughout history when a few try to create their utopian society nightmares such as the French Revolution. The obvious result is a imprisonment, elimination, and enslavement of those who disagree who then become non people. The people (citizens) can do anything to the walking tools...as they are non people..objects. When you see this...or entertain this as even a viable fantasy; tread lightly because you walk the halls of the Third Reich... Once you let this Jin out of the bottle, you allow "them" to create a hell on earth as they extoll the empty platitudes of 'Justice, Peace, and Righteousness.." All the while they practice the worst of abominations...as described in this story series.

Frankly, this tale reads more like Schindler's List with the protagonist trying to be "decent" by the old standards...as the newest version of Jews are carted off to their new concentration camps.

Excuse me while I thus find this whole series rather revolting at its core. No matter how well written, and it is well written, the logic is so bizarre that the author's foundational effort at convincing the reader to suspend their disbelief crashes into an epic fail status.

Thus, unfortunately..this one gets 2 stars..

It was a nice attempt to justify what the author did to Lenore’s ex and other guys. But it doesn’t work. The judge said the system is designed to not leave a slave completely hopeless and without recourse. The chemical emasculation and accompanying physical changes do exactly that. Permanently. It would make a man weaker sure, but not less likely to stick a knife into his owner for doing it too him. And the long explanation of the case review didn’t help either. It made it seem it was a heavily regulated process where the judges decisions were frequently second guessed. But as for Lenore’s ex, his emasculation was decided by Wanda not the judge. Sorry, this story fails hard as an attempt to justify what Wanda did to Lenore’s ex. The judge even mentioned the humanitarian reasons for leaving slaves some dignity and hope. Guess that’s just so much bullshit when someone like Wanda comes along.

What a fun and entertaining chapter. A lot covered in this one and it has a lot of potential of what may come in the future. Looking forward to what is coming. Great storytelling and thanks for writing it. Bring on the next round of fun. 5 Stars Cheers

Would like to see next chapter soon. Enjoy the series, and look forward to your next chapter.