'No,' I said. 'Indeed, statistically, in those parts of Gor with which I am familiar, very few. Commonly only one woman in, say, forty or fifty is a slave. This varies somewhat of course, from city to city. The major exception to these ratios is the city of Tharna, in which almost every woman is a slave.' I looked at her. 'There are special historical reasons for that,' I said.
'But over a large population,' the said, 'there would be literally thousands.'
'Of course,' I said.
'Are the most beautiful and desirable women those who, generally, are the slaves?' she asked.
'Yes,' I said, 'the most beautiful and desirable women on the planet seem generally to be the slaves.'
'Such women would be the prime target for the strike of slavers,' she said.
'Yes,' I said. 'A girl of low caste, of a poor family, who is truly beautiful, a girl who cannot afford shelter in a protected area, is almost certain, sooner or later, to find her neck ringed with a collar. As far as that goes, a girl of wealth and high caste, who is beautiful, is not out of danger. It is regarded as great sport to take them.'
'A sport of men,' she said.
'Yes, to make beautiful women slaves,' I said.
'A delicious sport,' she said.
'I think so,' I said.
'Beast,' she said.
'Perhaps,' I said. 'I think it is true,' I said, 'that it is generally the most beautiful and desirable women who are the slaves, but I will tell you something you may find of interest.'
'What is that?' she asked.
'Slavery itself,' I said, 'often makes a woman more beautiful and desirable. It removes tensions. It removes inhibitions. It makes women happy. It is hard, I think, sometimes, for a woman who is happy not to be beautiful. Sometimes Goreans ask, is she a slave because she is beautiful, or beautiful because she is a slave?'
She kissed me, gently.
'Are many Gorean slave girls of Earth origin?' she asked.
'I assume all human Goreans are of Earth origin,' I said.
'I mean,' she said, 'like me, a girl born and raised on Earth, and then brought to Gor as a slave.'
'Statistically,' I said, 'surely few. How many I would not know.'
'Ten,' she asked, 'twenty?'
'Perhaps some four or five thousand,' I said. 'I would not know.' Such a number, I conjectured, would not even be missed in a population which teemed like that of Earth.
'We are brought here as slaves,' she said.
'Of course,' I said.
'And the slaving continues,' she said.
'I suppose so,' I said. 'On Gor there is a market for beautiful Earth girls. They make excellent slaves.'
'I am glad to hear that,' she said.
'Please me,' I said.
'Yes, Master,' she said, obediently, this time without surprise or demur. And then she well pleased me. She was becoming skillful.
'Please tell me more of the south,' she said.
'Please me,' I said.
'Yes, Master,' she said. Yes, she was becoming quite skillful.
'Please tell me more of the south,' she said.
'Curiosity is not becoming in a Kajira,' I said.
'Oh, Master,' she said.
'That is a Gorean saying,' I said.
'I know,' she said. 'Imnak taught it to me.'
'You now know two Gorean sayings,' I said.
'Yes,' she said. ''Only a fool buys a woman clothed' and 'Curisoity is not becoming in a Kajira.'
'Yes,' I said.
'Please, Master,' she said.
'You have them down well,' I said.
'Oh, please, please, Master,' she begged.
It was natural that she should be desperately eager to learn the nature of a slave girl's lot.
'Perhaps,' I said.
'Oh, thank you, thank you, Master,' she said.
'What would you like to know?' I asked.
She was at my side, on her stomach and elbows. Her eyes were excited. 'In the south,' she asked, 'would a master put me in a collar?'
'It is quite likely,' I said.
'I might like a pretty collar,' she said.
'Do not think of the collar as a simple piece of jewelry,' I said, 'though it can serve that purpose. Its primary objective is to identify he to whom you belong.'
'What if I take it off?' she asked.
'It locks on your throat. You cannot take it off,' I said.
'Oh,' she said. She looked at me. 'Will I be given pretty things to wear,' she asked, 'and cosmetics, perfumes?'
'It is quite likely,' I said. 'Masters like their girls to make themselves beautiful.'
'I hope that I will please my master in the furs,' she said.
'You will do so or be lengthily and severely punished,' I said. 'If you fail, you could even be slain,'
She shuddered. 'I will try to be pleasing to him,' she said.
'Most masters,' I said, 'own only one girl. Do not think you are likely to spend all your time squirming at the slave ring.'
'I do not understand,' she said.
'There is much for a girl to do,' I pointed out. 'She keeps his compartments. She dusts and cleans. When they do not use the public kitchens she must cook for him. If he does not wish to take advantage of the public laundries, she must do his washing and ironing. She shops for him, and bargains in the markets, and so on. There is much for her to do.'
'Does it take long to clean compartments?' she asked.
'Only a few moments,' I admitted. 'Goreans live simply, and do not much approve of cumbersome furniture.'
'It does not sound to me like the slave girl is overburdened with domestic labors,' she said.
'I suppose, objectively, she is not,' I said. 'Still, there are things for her to do.'
'Is she as occupied as the wife of Earth?' asked the girl.
'Of course not,' I said. 'That would be foolish. The wife of Earth is, from the Gorean point of view, much overworked. When the husband returns home she is often, actually, engaged in labors. How can she greet him properly? At night, so numerous and excessive have been her labors, she is often exhausted. That would be preposterous from the Gorean point of view. The Gorean master does not buy a girl with the primary objective of obtaining a domestic servant but with the intention of acquiring a marvelous slave. He wants the girl to be a wonder to him. He is quite cheerful about the sacrifice of domestic servitude in order to obtain what is far more important to him. When he returns to his compartments he does not want to find a worn chore woman there but a lovely slave, fresh, vital, eager and fully alive, kneeling before him, waiting to be commanded.'
'What does the girl do in her free time?' asked Audrey.
'Much what she pleases,' I said. 'She will have friends among other slaves. She walks, she visits. She exercises, she reads. Within limits she does what she wants to do.'
'Can she work outside the compartments?' asked Audrey.
'If it is permitted by the master,' I said, 'and it does not in any way compromise her slavery.' I smiled. 'Some women,' I said, 'wear to their work the garments of a free woman but, when they return to their compartments, don as they must the silk of a slave, which is their true condition.'
