"You understand clearly, do you not," he asked, "what in now propose to do?" "Yes," she said, frightened.
"It is my intention," he said, "to sentence you to slavery. Do you understand this, and what it means?"
"I think so," she said, "a€”as far as any free woman can."
"Do you have anything to say before I pass such sentence upon you?" "No," she said.
"I sentence you to slavery," he said, uttering the sentence.
She trembled, sentenced.
"It only remains now," said Aemilianus, "for the sentence to be carried out. If you wish I, in the office of magistrate, shall carry it out. On the other hand, if you wish, you may yourself carry out the sentence."
"I?" she said.
"Yes," he said.
"You would have me proclaim myself slave?" she asked.
"Or I shall do it," he said. "In the end, it does not matter."
"In my heart," she said, "I am, and have been for years, a slave. It is fitting then, I suppose, that it should be I who say the words."
Aemilianus regarded her.
"I am a slave," she said.
Men cried out with pleasure and smote their left shoulders in Gorean applause, gazing on the new slave, looking about herself, frightened, kneeling chained before Aemilianus.
"Bring the other salve here, too," said Aemilianus, gesturing to the former Lady Publia.
In a moment the two slaves, naked, and in their siriks, were before him. Men adjusted the positions of the slaves, rudely, so that they knelt well, back on their heels, their backs straight, their knees spread."
"Calliodorus, my friend," said Aemilianus, "behold two slaves." "I behold them," said Calliodorus.
"Do you find them pleasing?" asked Aemilianus.
"Yes," said Calliodorus. "Both were obviously born for the collar." "This one," said Aemilianus, indicating the former Lady Publia, "at least for the time, we will call Publia." "Who are you?" asked Calliodorus of the former Lady Publia. "Publia!" she said.
"And this one," continued Aemilianus, indicating the former Lady Claudia, "at least for the time, we will call Claudia."
"Your name?" asked Calliodorus of the former Lady Claudia.
"'Claudia'!" she said, quickly.
"It is my request, if it is not too much trouble," said Aemilianus to Calliodorus, "that both of these slaves be taken to Port Cos, and there properly branded and collared."
I smiled. It did not seem likely that in the future there would be any doubts about Publia's status, nor, indeed, that of Claudia either. I though they would both look quite lovely in the garments of slaves, if they were permitted clothing.
"And then," said Aemilianus, "if you would, as one of these females was prepared to surrender herself to Cosians, and the other served Cosians, in betraying her city, see that they come into the keeping of Cosians."
"That will be easy to arrange," said Calliodorus. "There are many Cosians, envoys and such, in Port Cos.
The girls exchanged glances. Their fates were being decided by men, but I did not think unjustly.
"Do you have on board facilities for slaves?" inquired Aemilianus.
"Below deck," said Calliodorus, "we have some slave cages."
"Excellent," said Aemilianus. Then he addressed the slaves. "You may perform obeisance before masters," he said.
Both the girls then bent forward and, putting the palms of their hands on the deck, lowered their heads to the boards.
Aemilianus then nodded to Calliodorus. It was a small gesture. It indicated that he, at least at that time, had no further interest in the two women.
"Take then below decks," said Calliodorus to one of his men. "Cage them." The fellow, standing behind and rather between the two girls took them each by an arm, Claudia by her right arm, and Publia by her left, and pulled them to their feet. Then, turning them and thrusting them forward, without relinquishing his hold on their arms, he conducted them ahead of him, toward a hatch. "The cages," apologized Calliodorus, "are individual cages, and rather tiny. They are, in effect, punishment cages."
"No matter," said Aemilianus.
"But, of course," said Calliodorus, "it is probably best for them to begin to learn quickly that they are slaves."
"Certainly," said Aemilianus.
"Doubtless in the morning they will be willing and eager to leave the cages, under any conditions," said Calliodorus.
"Excellent," smiled Aemilianus.
"I would recommend, however," said Calliodorus, "that the one called Publia be taken from the cage for a time this evening, to be given a good hiding at the mast."
"Of course," said Aemilianus.
It was only fitting, after all, that she be punished, and well. She had attempted to take advantage of the fact that she had not yet been branded and collared. She had attempted to pass herself off as a free woman. In many cities, such a thing is a capital offense. Here, however, in accord with a fortune much greater than she would be likely to realize for a few days, she, a naA?ve young slave, and guilty of what, in effect, was a first offense, was only to be whipped. Still, even so, I did not think she would be likely to forget her little bout this evening with the leather. For one thing, few slave girls forget their first whipping. Too, if nothing else it would impress upon her that she was a slave and that masters would think nothing of punishing her if she was not pleasing. That is a good thing for a girl to learn. I supposed, too, that it might have an effect in discouraging her, should the opportunity arise, as I did not think it would, from seeking to implement another deceit with respect to her status in the immediate future. Later, of course, as she began to understand what it was to be a slave girl, as she began to grasp something of the nature of her condition, and its categoricality, she would hastily, and fearfully, on her own, reject such thoughts. She would not dare to countenance them. She might find herself trembling in terror if even the smallest and most casual of such thoughts chanced to enter her mind.
I saw the fellow who had conducted the slaves to the hold emerge through the hatch and close it, after him. I supposed the slaves in their cages. Calliodorus, too, seemed to note the reappearance of the fellow.
"The former Lady Claudia and I were cellmates," I said to Calliodorus. "I determined at that time that she, though then free, would make an excellent slave."
"Good," he said. Slaves, of course, are not only trained in a broad spectrum of sexual arts, such as how to kiss and caress, and such, but much attention is given, too, to their own responsiveness and pleasure. There is nothing surprising about this. Their responsiveness and pleasure puts them far more under the master's power. Too, as might be imagined, it is very pleasant for a man to see the marvelous changes and effects which he can induce in a woman, for example, to have her thrashing helplessly at his touch, crying out her submission, begging for more. The slave, because of her training, her emotional freedom, thousands of times greater than that of a free woman, the discipline she is under, and such, can attain orgasm much more quickly than a free woman, sometimes, particularly if she has been deprived for a time, almost immediately. A response which might take a free woman a third to a half of an Ahn to attain a slave, and not an unusual slave, might attain in three or four Ehn. Beyond this the slave is often forced to endure lengthy, multiple orgasms, sometimes being carried by the will of the master for Ahn, whether she wills it or not, from one peak to another.
"She served Cosians, and declared for them," I said to Calliodorus. "Do you think that might put her in good stead with Cosians, should she come into their keeping, as that is what seems to be in store for her, at least in the near future?"
"In what way?" asked Calliodorus.
"That they might then see fit to reward her with her freedom," I said. "No," said Calliodorus. "She is now a slave. That changes everything. Even if she had once been a Cosian girl, even of Telnus, of good family and high caste, she would still, now, be a slave, and only a slave. Too, Cosians, I assure you, are not overly fond of traitresses. One who is willing to betray her own Home Stone would presumably not hesitate to betray someone else's. indeed, I would not have been surprised, had she surrendered herself at Ar's Station, claiming immunity, or such, that she would have quickly found herself, if, indeed, she were not slain, in the lowest of slaveries, as would seem fitting for her."