Questions for meta, thoughts and inspiration

[epeeblade]

I've been keeping a running tally on questions for the Kept verse, because this universe gets me all thinky. I'm honestly interested in discussion, and heck, if any of these concepts inspires someone to write more fic -- awesome! ;)

At least one of them has been answered in fic, but the majority haven't. And for the first one, I'm debating writing a fic to explore that possibility, but haven't had the time yet...(story of my life...)

- There is no manumission, but is there allowance for someone who is enslaved wrongly? - incorrect debt, identity theft, legal case in appeal?



- If a slave bears the child of a master, is that baby still a slave?

- If a master bears the child of a slave, is that baby free or a slave?

Abortion - does it exist legally? Is it only for masters/the free? Would it be illegal to increase the work force? Can a master force a slave to have an abortion to keep down the number of mouths to feed? Can a slave request one? Is there a back alley business for slaves who don't want to have children who grow up to be slaves?

Marriage
- Is gay marriage allowed? (answered in fic)
- Can slaves marry? Is there an underground marriage -- ie the leaping over a broomstick
- Can a master marry his/her slave?

- Can you take a mortgage out on yourself? or use your own freedom as collateral? - if you don't pay back the loan in say 20 years, then your freedom is forfeit?

Comments

[canadiangoddess.livejournal.com]

well in the line of marriage...there is an underground movement of "commitment ceremonies" for slaves but they are not officially recognized.

GOOD QUESTIONS on the kids/slaves/abortions thing...I never would have thought about that!! (especially since PT just knocked up MLP) Maybe that will get covered in the next part of A Kept Boy...*ponders*

[darkrosetiger.livejournal.com]

If a slave bears the child of a master, is that baby still a slave?

Yes.

If a master bears the child of a slave, is that baby free or a slave?

Yes, unless it's been deliberately arranged so that a family can have a legitimate heir. I suspect this is considered illegal, and you could be in a lot of trouble for doing it.

Abortion - does it exist legally? Is it only for masters/the free?

Yes, and no, I don't think so.

Would it be illegal to increase the work force?

One or two kids here and there is okay. However, mass breeding operations are illegal, and if an owner is caught running one, he'll end up a slave himself--that's what happened to Kyle's former master (http://telesilla.livejournal.com/681404.html). Basically, Commerce doesn't want anyone else infringing on their monopoly.

Can a master force a slave to have an abortion to keep down the number of mouths to feed? Can a slave request one? Is there a back alley business for slaves who don't want to have children who grow up to be slaves?

My thought is that a master can force a slave to have an abortion, but not to have the child. An owner can also have a slave sterilized, provided he or she pays for it, and everything's properly documented. One of Joe's mistresses would definitely have had this done.

Is gay marriage allowed? (answered in fic)

Yes. It's not all that common outside the coasts and in the former Canadian provinces, though.

Can slaves marry? Is there an underground marriage -- ie the leaping over a broomstick

Not legally, and yes. Jensen thinks about how weird it is that Jeff acknowledges Wendy and Zach's marriage (http://poisontaster.livejournal.com/350636.html) at one point.

Can a master marry his/her slave?

Nope. That would be like me trying to marry my cat or my laptop.

[aecamadi.livejournal.com]

The story I'm working on right now will have the issue of progeny via slave coming up as a key plot point. Hmm.

[daughterofelros.livejournal.com]

for reasons entirely secretive and of my own, I'm going to say that I see there being no legal form of slave marriage, amongst themselves, or to a master-- afterall, one must be a citizen to marry and sign marriage papers, and slaves are not citizens. And the master bearing the child question? IN the rare case this might happen, it would probably be a case of whether the child's father was registered on the birth certificate as a free man, or as the slave. If the free man, then free. If the slave, a family of sanding would probably find a way to...avoid the situation, meaning the child would probably end up in slavery.
And is the slave bears the child, then I'd say, as was the case historically, that the child would auomatically be a slave.

I've given these much thought, and these are my conclusions. :) \
Feel free to argue any point, however.

[lomer.livejournal.com]

What would happen if a slave abandoned a child? Would an abandoned baby automatically be assumed to be a drain on society and be made a slave, or would there be an orphanage or adoption for abandoned children?