I took the remaining women with me to the Hacienda. With three at slave camp, and three visiting their families, there were not many still home. Charlene was more than happy to go along and butcher hogs. Marianne was not as enthusiastic, asking if pigs were like deer or if they were 'gross'. Richard and Brenda decided the opportunity for a day away from home would be fun.
The day actually was fun. We butchered a half dozen hogs. John and his boys had each killed one. Derek got two and I had killed one. There was a ton of meat available. We decided to try our hand at curing hams. I provided labor for the butchering and left the rest to John and Derek.
I took Clarice to one side. "Do you know a Bill Melancon?" I asked. Clarice nodded and said he was one of her two production managers. She hired him after he had been let go when his previous company went under. He was nice guy and busted his ass. She was curious why I asked. "He's the father of one of my girls. I took her to visit her family and he said he worked for a company making wind turbines. I did not pursue it and he was understandably more interested in talking about his daughter than about his career. I had the impression he has a pretty hard core attitude about slaves."
"Oh, yeah. I knew that. He is like ninety nine percent of society." Clarice offered. "Slaves are things to serve free people with no rights because they are convicts being punished. Bill and a couple others on the senior staff share the same idea. I told them all I was a slave at home, but despite my collar, I was the boss at work. I was completely upfront about what I did to get enslaved. They all accept that. Of course I shocked them when I said I killed the bastard by accident. If it had been intentional, I'd have used my hands or feet instead of a baseball bat. That got them wondering. I have a good staff. I'm guessing he did not recognize you from your picture hanging on the wall or the advertising material?" I shook my head. "I'm gonna tease him next week. How he had one of the company owners at his house, one of his bosses, and did not even know it." I laughed and said I was not one of Bill's bosses. "You are a part owner in the company. Close enough."
I sat down next to Rachael Dubois and thanked her for allowing us to observe the first day of slave camp. She was surprised Lucy Cormier was the mother of one of my slaves. She had met Carol and had no idea of the relationship. "Lucy has a pretty hardcore attitude about how to treat slaves. She obviously loves her daughter and seems only slightly conflicted her daughter can be used sexually by me, her owner. She accepts it as my full right." I told Rachael about my discussion this morning and what Lucy related Beth had said.
"My staff is so used to interacting with slaves they get a little calloused. But some of their toughness is an act. The guards know they are indoctrinating slaves to their new existence. On one hand the guards may feel bad about the slave's fate but on the other think the slave deserves it after conviction. A slave needs to realize his or her loss of freedom and control but know they can still have a life. But that depends on the owner so we give them methods to cope and accept. Slaves awarded as restitution generally have much more trouble adapting. You know what part breaks a slave down the fastest?" Rachael asked. "The wash down station. That is why slave camp attendees go through it first thing. They are compliant and submissive afterwards."
"Their first and second morning they get the full cleanse inside and out. Their last day they get another session. Only the third morning do they get a reprieve. And that is only to let their bodies recuperate not their emotions. Every afternoon they are lined up and washed down after working or exercising. They stand spread eagle while a tech wearing big thick mittens wash them head to toe with soapy water and then hose them down with a total disregard for their feelings. There is nothing that says you have no choice in your life anymore like getting your insides flushed and your whole body scrubbed without a bit of concern for your modesty. The slaves due for the block get a minimum of two sessions and that is if they arrive late Thursday. One arriving Thursday afternoon gets flushed Friday and Saturday mornings. The ones that stay most of the week only skip a couple days of that treatment." Rachael explained.
"I guess that is planned for maximum effect mentally." I said.
"Oh yes. It has more of an effect that locking the collar on their necks. And I'd bet you heard some of your girls saying how traumatic that was." she said. I had. "Corporal punishment or sexual use can be tolerated and might even harden a slave depending on their personality. It can give them resolve. But the demeaning enema and scrub down session strips away their dignity. It makes them compliant. We teach them to think about how to survive their slavery by being useful to their owners. It works. And the effect lasts."
"Your daughter Joanne was just as affected. Talk to her about it and see what she admits. But in the classroom she had other concerns. She wanted to know all about manumission. How she could get freed early." Rachel said. "I told them they had barely started their enslavement. Best to concentrate on how to endure that. But I always include a little about how laws have changed so early release is possible. It gives hope. Hope is as important as force when trying to keep the peace."
I separated Lou from the group and told her I had a personal problem I'd like to discuss. She asked if I bounced it off Derek as he would probably understand me best. I told her I doubted he was the best person for the job. She offered to see me in her office between clients but back tracked when I said that might be too late. Wait and we can talk when the others begin to leave. The Dubois family will leave shortly after lunch."
We ate barbecued pork ribs and all the fixings until we were ready to burst. Ribs are bulky to store but very tasty when prepared properly. Derek knew how to cook them. Everybody took home leftovers. We hoped we all had room in our freezers for the rest of the meat. The hams and sausage we had set aside would be ready later after they were cured and smoked.
