Short Fiction · Chapter
A Slave Is a Slave explained
The Imperial forces, led by Commodore Vann Shatrak and Colonel Pyairr Ravney, have conquered the planet Aditya and are attempting to abolish slavery.
What happens
The Imperial forces, led by Commodore Vann Shatrak and Colonel Pyairr Ravney, have conquered the planet Aditya and are attempting to abolish slavery. They face the challenge of converting a slave society into a wage-based economy, encountering resistance and confusion from both the former Lords-Master and the slaves themselves. Count Erskyll struggles to reconcile his ideals of freedom and progress with the practical realities of emancipation, while the former chief-slaves begin to see opportunities for personal gain in the new system.
Themes in this chapter
Power and Corruption
The Imperial forces wield power arbitrarily, using violence to enforce compliance, while the former Masters' corruption is evident in their idle, decadent lifestyle.
Survival and Resilience
The slaves and former slaves adapt to the new system, with chief-slaves quickly grasping opportunities for personal advancement.
Alienation and Otherness
The cultural divide between the Imperials and the Adityans is stark, with the latter's acceptance of slavery seen as alien and incomprehensible.
Characters to notice
- Commodore Vann Shatrak
Leads the Imperial occupation force; discusses the impracticality of immediate freedom and considers keeping the population as imperial property.
- Count Erskyll
Idealistic about freedom and progress; shocked by the realities of emancipation and the slaves' reluctance to accept freedom.
- Lanze Degbrend
Describes the slave society of Aditya, including how slaves run all professions and the Masters do little.
- Obray of Erskyll
Observes the crowded industrial city and reflects on the deliberate stagnation caused by slavery.
- Pyairr Ravney
Colonel in charge of military operations; uses force to extract information from slaves and plans to convert the slave army into imperial troops.
Key passages
“I asked a slave a question. If he refused to answer, somebody knocked him down with a rifle-butt. I never had to do that more than once in any group, and I only had to do it three times in all. After that, when I asked questions, I was answered promptly and fully.”
Lanze Degbrend explains that a single act of violence was enough to ensure cooperation from the slaves.
Illustrates the brutal efficiency of Imperial interrogation methods.
“Too bad we have to set any of them free. Too bad we can’t just issue everybody new servile gorgets marked, Personal Property of his Imperial Majesty and let it go at that.”
Commodore Shatrak wishes they could simply rename the slaves as imperial property rather than granting freedom.
Highlights the practical difficulties and cynicism surrounding emancipation.
“A slave only gets what his master gives him. But a free worker for pay gets money which he can spend for whatever he wants, and he can save money, and if he finds that he can make more money working for somebody else, he can quit his employer and get a better job.”
Prince Trevannion explains the concept of wage labor and economic mobility to the former slaves.
Shows the attempt to introduce capitalist principles to a slave society.