Scars-of-an-Undead
Interesting idea. To be honest with you, I thought the
last thing someone would choose would to become a slave. You do have quite a few good points though (for survival and whatnot).
3nodding Well, I'm thinking about this logically. Given how freaking difficult it is to just SURVIVE in the Wasteland, given the many, many dangers, having someone else who is responsible for you staying alive would be pretty damn useful.
Owning a slave is a sign of financial success; only the wealthiest can afford to keep another human being living. A slave is, in most regards, a total dependent; while they may work for you in some capacity, they cannot procure the bulk of the Essentials for Survival for themselves
because of their servitude. A slave is also an investment. Why buy an expensive slave only to have it die? In most cases, it is much more expensive to keep buying replacement slaves than it is to keep one slave living.
I know everyone has these mental images of slaves being peaceful village folk being rounded up and clapped in irons and dragged onto ships to work on plantations. And that's
not false. But it's only a tiny portion of the sources of slaves AND the work done by slave labor.
There were
plenty of slaves who
sold themselves or were sold by family members into slavery. A notable scene in the movie
Ever After featured a peasant attached to a penniless noble house who was sold into slavery by the noble responsible for him, for funds to help cover the house's debt. People would indenture themselves as well--a form of contractual slavery defined by a promised term of service--or indenture others in their care.
I'm sure that in the Fallout universe, a goodly portion of slaves are those of an "adult naughty time" nature, but even those are not generally abused (much). Only the most sickeningly rich of people can afford to physically abuse bedroom slaves to the point of long-term disability or death, and those sorts of people are distressingly rare in the Wastes; did you see any abused folks in Tenpenny tower? I'm betting some of those "residents" were, in fact, "property," but only a lunatic would run away from a secure location where they were provided with food and clothing in exchange for some, yes, possibly unpleasant duties... but most folk, when it comes down to it, would NOT "rather die" than sell their bodies for the necessities of life.
And the bare-fisted guy sounds interesting, do let me know if you find the link.
3nodding