This page is done as a stand-alone note for should slavery exist as an institution in a modern world. It is intended as a reference for others to build off of. |
Generally speaking slaves are thought of by the general population to be freely granted by the person being enslaved, that is often not the case in reality. With potential slaves being maneuvered into doing so and being left with little or no choice. Once the documents are signed they are then left without the ability to appeal. However, due to the public image this has little chance of changing. Slavery is mostly an institution of the rich and those aspiring to be so.
Corporate Slavery
Slaves are granted more freedom for certain purchases even to the extent that slaves are often used for anything including corporate positions of authority and no laws require disclosure of how many owned slaves operate in such positions. Companies often have a number of slaves in the higher ranks that all, by law, must report to and carry out the orders of their masters.
Sexual Slavery
There is a definite sexual slave trade as well, usually these run in back alleys and in the underside of the law where slaves are traded for drugs, money, guns, and even are used as a legal means to carry wealth into and out of the country. Among the rich slaves of this type are treated particularly poorly with little regard for anything other than their immediate or future use as devices of pleasure.
Slave Bloodlines / Breeding
Slave houses also exist where slaves are bread and produces for the nobility with specific traits being bred often like prize dogs or horses might be. Blood lines valued and prized, specific attributes being bred for or bred out, etc.. There is some amount of regulation as a slave being purchased should not be suffering from PTSD or other sort of behavioral illness wether it is created by those holding the slave or by genetics. Slaves who might embarrass or otherwise upset a potential owner are deemed undesirable. Though there is almost always someone willing to buy nearly any slave when looking to appear as more wealthy than they are. Like cars, prize animals, and other such commodities slaves can be a great way to appear higher class than you perhaps may be or to maintain your position political position of power through appearance.
Slave / Owner Rights
Though slaves have almost no rights under any constitution they do have some rights of some kind which often work against them, but do occasionally work for them. All slaves must be documented all the way back to the original document where the slave gives up their freedom as a citizen and (supposedly) gives themselves into slavery. A parent can also sign their child over to slavery, however, these slaves are granted the ability to petition for removal from slavery and granting citizen status once they turn 18. This is more difficult to do than it sounds and requires the help of a lawyer, sometimes several lawyers to navigate the legal paperwork meaning few slaves ever have the opportunity to do so. Another document is also usually obtained from young slaves during training which states that they give up that right and while the document is not supposed to be coerced it usually is and that coercion is almost impossible to prove in court. A slave cannot be stolen under the law. While this usually protects an owner, there are slaves who prize their locations in an owners keep and those slaves generally see this law as a protection rather than anything else. Also a slave is not required to speak in court against their owner and may not be interrogated without permission of the owner. Generally speaking ownership is proven through paperwork, at least this is the only sure fire way to prove ownership but there are other generally accepted methods. Additionally, a slave collar and fob pairing cannot be broken legally by the police, this goes back to where slaves used to be chained to their masters outside of the household, and the chain could not legally be cut. This has expanded in the modern day so the slave collar and fob act as an unseen chain and allow the owner to be in the same holding cell, interview room, etc.. Even if the owner or the slave are charged separately or one is charged and the other is not; so long as the slave and owner are physically together at the time of arrest.
Establishing Legal Ownership
- Paperwork
- Paperwork and the slave paper-trail is the only sure fire way to establish full ownership of a slave legally. Though slaves exist outside of this paperwork this is not legally accepted.
- Slave Collar / Fob
- A specialized bit of jewelry for the slave and her owner known as the collar and fob are often used to establish ownership when paperwork is not available either through circumstance or due to time constraints. Collars are locked to a key that only the fob carries a fitting key for. There is usually some form of identification of both owner and slave engraved in the collar and fob, this is most often a serial number which is attached to legal paperwork but can be a variety of things.
- Modern technology also provides some electronic methods of identification within the fob and its corresponding collar. One fob can go to many collars but the reverse is not true, one collar most correspond to one and only one fob.
- Testimony in Court
- In situations where paperwork and collar/fob are either in legal question or are unavailable testimony under oath in court can be used to rule in favor of a specific ownership. In these cases, the ruling can then be used to grant a formal slave agreement, even if the slave does not wish to agree. Testimony that sways a judge to sign an order of slave ownership then can compel the signing of other required documents, but is not in and of itself considered to be hard proof of ownership and the document is required in leu of the actual slave agreement otherwise accepted.
Lost Slaves
A lost slave is a slave that goes unclaimed by the owner when the owner knows of the slaves location and is able to claim the slave. This is seldom used, but in instances where a slave wishes a new owner by ownership is not legally in question, a slave (or owner) can petition the courts to declare the slave legally abandoned or lost due to neglect. The slave could then be legally transferred to a new owner (though not set free) against the will of the original owner. Slaves may not be neglected and left to remain free without ownership asserted in some way.
Runaways and Freeing Slaves
Runaways must be proven to be owned before they can be returned to their owner, but even proof of abuse must be so extreme, so grotesque, so unacceptable that legally speaking it is nearly impossible to invalidate ownership based on abuse of any kind. The will of the slave is not, in any way, considered beyond this. Slaves can only be freed via the following methods...
- Given freedom from the owner
- This legal document must be signed, witnessed, and sealed by the court.
- Last remaining relative dies with no other ownership legally specified
- When an owner dies, the slave passes along with other belongings. However, in cases where belongings have no place to otherwise go and would normally be auctioned off the slave is given the opportunity to prove they could survive in the world as a citizen and only then does the slave gain citizenship status. Should they fail to prove the ability to survive, they are auctioned off.
- Proof of grotesque abuses
While difficult, almost impossible, to prove there is a provision in the law where a slave is not required to be "grotesquely abused" though the definition of such abuse is vague under the law and this method is almost never brought up nor when it is brought up does it actually pan out. Extreme neglect is the most used method for establishing grotesque abuse under the law,