Rhonda's group returned to the classroom to find Ms Dubois waiting. They took their seats. "Now that you have all had the opportunity to get freshened up, we will continue with our class." Ms Dubois stated with a grin. Rhonda and a couple others groaned but caught themselves and froze in fear. Ms. Dubois smiled. "Responses are allowed as long as they are polite."
"Now if you remember, I had just compared 222's sentence of ten years as a judicial slave and reaping virtually nothing at the end to an indenture who, after only a five year commitment, would have a nice little nest egg."
"About five years ago we looked like we were headed for a debtor's prison type enslavement system. Loaning agencies wanted the borrower to put their own body up for collateral no matter the size of the loan and no matter what other assets they might have. That was quickly regulated out of existence. The laws governing civil indenture took care of that type of agreement fearing possible coercion of the borrower. It was certainly considered unethical. A drunk person or someone acting on a dare could not suddenly find herself collared. At the same time a submissive person seeking an alternative lifestyle by just saying he or she wanted to be a legal slave was no longer allowed. The person can still do it of course. They simply have to go through the indenture process, selling themselves for fair compensation."
"I regularly access slave statistics as part of my research. In the past five years not one person has been legally indentured without fair compensation. The attempt would not only raise eyebrows but result in some serious investigation. At least an examination of mental fitness would be included. A legally reviewed contract is filed in all cases of indenture to ensure the rights of both parties are protected. Like I said before, slavery has become a major industry in our economy. It will be preserved. And that means regulation."
"There are many other differences between judicial enslavement and civil indenture as well. One is the collar around your neck. An indenture's collar shares many of the same features as yours. What is notably missing is the ability to shock the wearer. Both collars will buzz like a pager. And both are locked in place although the green collar an indenture wears can be removed at almost any slave induction center. Both collars have the same GPS function. It can be located anywhere in the country to within ten yards using a simple cell phone app. Your collar is in constant contact via any nearby wifi system, modem, cell tower or even a cell phone. Similarly, the wearer can send out a distress message. I see from your expressions this is new to you."
"Feel around the underside of your collar. At some point you will feel two small raised areas. They resemble Braille dots. If you hold your finger over that spot for three or four seconds you will feel a buzz. That indicates your message has been sent. All phones, tablets, computers etc your owner linked to your collar has been alerted you have a problem. It is a 'come find me' message. Your owner can then check where you are and either go himself or notify the authorities. It was designed to prevent abductions."
"I am sure you have been most concerned with the shock capability of a slave collar. There are two levels of warning, the first a mild buzz. Some owners use it like a pager, as a signal for you to come or call. Level two stings a bit and is usually used as a warning you are risking a punishment. The half shock pretty much knocks you on your butt. I am sure you remember that from when you were first collared. You experienced each."
"Now the full shock is a serious matter. It will incapacitate you for up to ten minutes or so. Even after that you will unable to get up or walk for a while without assistance. You will be disoriented and ache for hours. We don't shock you like that when placing the collar for the practical reason we would need a wheelchair to get you back to your cell. There is no point, unless you are getting violent and that rarely happens. The half shock is enough. Has anybody here experienced the full shock?" One woman raised her hand. "Was I accurate in my description? And what did you do to get shocked"
"I didn't do anything, My owner was reading the manual and claimed he touched the icon by accident. I think he said that to appease his wife who was really upset at him because I peed all over her new carpet. After I woke up, I threw up on it, too. I thought she was gonna beat HIS ass. She chewed him out and told him to be careful several times that day. She and I both suspect he just wanted to see what the full shock would do to me. It was no accident." The class laughed. Ms Dubois nodded and said that vomiting happens sometimes.
"I am going to warn you to keep your collar charged. Never let it get low. You cannot just let the battery run down and have the collar lose its effectiveness. When the charge drops to twenty percent you will receive warning buzzes every hour or so. As the charge drops further instead of buzzing you get the mildly painful warnings starting. Then a series of half shocks and you all know how those will get your attention. One or two full shocks later and you are in serious trouble. The danger zone. Before the collar runs out of charge it is programmed to discharge all at once. If your heart does not stop when that happens the nerves in your spinal column are fried." The slaves looked at her in horror.
"The same thing happens if you seriously try to remove the collar. It is made with a tungsten alloy and can't be cut. But could be shattered if squeezed. What moron is going to put her neck in a vice or something capable of that power to take the risk? If the vice did not break your neck or traumatize the soft tissues, the collar discharging all at once would finish you. These extreme features were not intended for the run of the mill slave. Historically syndicate bosses often elude conviction for major offenses but have been convicted of relatively minor crimes. Their families would buy them and it was business as usual until they could figure a way to remove the collar. The collars were metal back then and shocked but did not have the extra features I just described."
"Also you can't leave the country wearing a standard collar, not even to go on vacation or a cruise. Other countries do not share our view of slavery. They refuse to extradite escaped slaves. There is another collar available that allows you to leave the country. It actually works like a satellite phone. I have heard it contains a small explosive device. Again the purpose is to prevent slaves from trying to avoid the law."
"There were arguments these serious bad guys should be treated more harshly. But our legal system cannot do that. One of our primary legal principles is equal protection. That also means equal punishment. So all slaves got the new collar. And it actually protects slaves as well as the owners."