18

[Dept of PMM Castle Life]

Physical Preparations, body positions and control, voice training and commands with specific forms of address are other areas that I continually train to ensure I am proud to have each slave in my stable and for them to be the best of who they are. Every slave has a particular specialist skill and I look for that in each slave's training.

Depending on the length of service I will expect certain ownership symbols to be worn as a display of ownership to me. Lifetime slaves will receive permanent markings, such as a brand. Of course it would take many years to reach that level of slavery so I have no intention of burning your ass so don't even think I will consider that privilege for a slave lightly.

As devotees of mine you will periodically be required to serve me at public events and specific play parties. You will be trained to a high standard before I will allow you out as my slave escort. I am very much a believer of my slaves displaying the reflection of my dominance and expect impeccable servitude whilst in public.

a.. The slave's mission statement is to SERVE, PLEASE and OBEY.
b.. The slave does not speak unless asked to do so or unless it has a justified question.
c.. The slave's view is always lowered unless given free sight.
d.. With each question, punishment or instruction the slave replies with, 'Yes or Thank you Mistress'.
e.. The slave moves in the following positions:
a.. Present Position. As basic with head on floor hands in front, thumbs touching
b.. Basic Kneel Position. On the knees, feet together, legs spread, head lowered, arms behind the back, the torso straight.
c.. Rise Position. Standing on the knees, legs spread, feet together, head lowered, torso straight, and the hands behind the back.
d.. Stand Position. Standing, legs together, arms behind the back, head lowered, torso straight, the hands thereby remain always behind the back and the head lowered.
f.. The slave functions as a piece of furniture for me. If I express a wish to sit, the slave offers its body immediately.
g.. If I instruct the slave not to speak, this speech prohibition applies and the slave should only reply with, 'I apologise, however my Mistress has forbidden me to speak'.
h.. Mistress does not accept, ' Sorry Mistress' as a valid response for incompetence, inadequacy or other failure on the part of the slave!
i.. If I require a cigarette, then the slave ensures I have a light and offers an ashtray. If trained the slave kneels and offers its mouth for this function.
j.. If I am busy the slave is required to be attentive and not interupt me.
k.. The slave always walks behind me but attentive to open doors, take my coat, etc.
l.. The slave treats other dominas with comparable respect.
m.. The slave always greets me by resuming the present position and waits until I order to kiss my feet.
n.. The slave keeps all toys hygienically clean.
o.. The slave carries my bags.
p.. The slave is to be efficient in its service.
q.. The slave offers small tokens of appreciation with each attendance in my company.
r.. The slave is always punctual.
s.. The slave completes all instructions.
A journal entry from slave ~m, a slave in it's infancy in the consensual slavery contract:

I kneel humbly and respectfully before You. I am so grateful that You are considering me for the position of subservience under Your control. All that is really required of me is to grovel and submit to You, I'm sure. i am a bit nervous, as You are aware, but i am sure Your confidence and authority will soon clear that up.

Fear must be replaced by trust before I can release my will and submission needs to be inspired and drawn out of me so that is habitually on the surface, so that I live to please You. I can't stop thinking about You and about this opportunity to serve at Your feet and experience the depth of complete control that You desire. I look forward to being in a mutually fulfilling Mistress-slave relationship and be attuned to Your needs and satisfy Your whims. I feel you are the right Lady to submit to completely.
I woke up at five this morning and couldn't go back to sleep because I was consumed with thoughts of You. I suppose it is natural to feel tormented by a Mistress' silence or scarcity of words. It certainly compels my undivided attention. I feel nothing but respect and awe for You. I promise to adore and look after You. I just want You to know that my search for a Mistress is serious and with you I find a Lady of beauty, power and intelligence, I have the most reverent feelings to offer Her. In joyous and loving servility, slave ~m

In memory of the Golden Age of man, a mythical age when Saturn was said to have ruled, a great feast called Saturnalia was held during the winter months around the time of the winter solstice. It was originally only one day long, taking place on December 17, but later lasted one week. During Saturnalia, roles of master and slave were reversed, moral restrictions lessened, and the rules of etiquette ignored. It is thought that the festivals of Saturnalia and Lupercalia were the roots of the carnival season.
Saturn (Latin: Saturnus) was a major Roman deity of agriculture and harvest. He was identified in classical antiquity with the Greek deity Cronus, and the mythologies of the two gods are commonly mixed.

Saturn's wife was Rhea's equivalent -- not Magna Mater. Saturn was the father of Ceres, Jupiter, and Veritas, among others. Saturn had a temple on the Forum Romanum which contained the Royal Treasury. Saturn is the namesake of Saturday (dies Saturni), the only day of the week to retain its Roman name in English. The planet Saturn is also named after the Roman god, being the furthest observable planet of the seven classical planets of antiquity.

[edit] Early concept
Before the influence of Greek culture on the Roman psyche, Rome had their own gods. These gods were referred to as the numina, which means "powers", "presences", or "wills". The early Romans looked at their gods in a much less poetic and more practical way. Their gods were not usually associated with a form much less with a gender, and no stories were told about the numina. They were closely connected with everyday life. The most notable numina were the Lares and Penates.

Originally, Saturn was an ancient Italian corn god, and in this light had a more wholesome relationship with Demeter or Gaia.

Saturn was one of the numina and was said to be protector of sowers and seeds. His wife, Ops, also helped the harvest. Later, as Greek culture increasingly influenced Roman religion, Saturn became associated with Cronus, the Titan and father of Jupiter. In this way, Saturn was personified, and a great number of stories came into being about him.

Saturnalia (from the god Saturn) was the name the Romans gave to their holiday marking the Winter Solstice. Over the years, it expanded to a whole week, the 17th through 23rd of December. It also degenerated from mostly tomfoolery, marked chiefly by having masters and servants switch places, to sometimes debauchery, so that the (lower case) word "saturnalia" came to mean "orgy."


The Perfect Slave
Building on our personal definition of the perfect slave, this document describes things that we can do to make me more like that theoretical ideal. Unlike many documents that leave slave training to the master, this document assumes that it is desireable to shift as much as possible of that burden to the slave.

We may never do all of the things on this list. It is intended to serve as a source of options. As our thinking on this topics evolves, this document will be updated.

Without further ado, things that Master and I can do to improve me as her slave:

To develop attentiveness:
An attentive slave is readily at hand when the master needs something, and can anticipate such needs in order to be ready to satisfy them.

a.. Master could choose specific needs that I am to be aware of and serve without prompting. Periodically she could review my progress with me. The current rule that I must keep her water glass always filled and nearby is a good example.
To reduce demands on Master...
I don't think I am that demanding, but here are a couple thoughts:

a.. When presenting Master with a problem that she must get involved with, I can attempt to always offer possible solutions at the same time.
b.. Master can make me aware of ways in which I am a burden, or ways in which I could be less of one.
To develop humility...
A perfect slave would find nothing degrading, humiliating, or beneath him. A perfect slave also does not seek praise or engage in other prideful behaviour.

a.. I could record prideful behaviour. By seeking to record it, I would make myself more aware of it. I think that this would be a good first step to changing it.
b.. Master could put me through humiliation exercises, with the goal of desensitization through exposure. She does some of this already, as when she makes me lick my cum up off the floor. Piss play is very effective on me in this regard.
c.. Similar to the above, Master could make rules which cause me humiliation. Not being permitted to close the bathroom door is an example that is already in place.
d.. Master could correct prideful behaviour when she observes it.
e.. I could report, after the fact, feelings of humiliation to help Master understand what areas need work.
To develop dedication...
A perfect slave does everything to the best of his abilities. I usually do that, but not always.

a.. I could record cases where I could have done better, so that I become more aware of them.
b.. I could report to Master any particular tasks which I tend not to do with full effort and care so that she can watch for it.
c.. Master can set high standards and take corrective action when they are not met.
To improve health...
The better my health is, both physical and mental, the better I will be able to serve.

a.. Chanting is good for me. I could do more of it.
b.. I could make healthier choices with regard to my diet.
c.. I could get more exercise.
d.. I tend to overwork and burn out. I could be more diligent about setting aside some time for recreation.
e.. Master could set specific quotas or goals with respect to time spent doing each of the above, or with respect to my weight.
f.. Master could ensure that my schedule allows me time for self care activities
g.. Master could mandate specific self-care activities for me when she feels that I am not doing a good job.
h.. My personal growth is retarded when I do not have time to reflect on the issues in my life. Because there are so many demands on my time, it is rare that I just sit and think. Master could put me in the downstairs cell or the cage without reading material or other distractions, forcing idle me to have idle time for reflection.
i.. Master's style of puppy training is often quite strenuous for me. She could put me through more puppy training exercises.
To improve obedience...
I am quite obedient, but not perfectly so. I believe that obedience can be habituated/trained.

a.. Obviously, I must be as obedient as possible. Simply doing it will make it come more and more naturally over time. For most things this is already so.
b.. I can report all instances of disobedience. I already do this for any clear disobedience (which is rare) but there are a few grey areas that we should discuss.
c.. Master can provide rules and one time orders for me to obey. Some of these can simply be obedience practice, having no purpose beyond that. Likely the more difficult they are for me, the better practice they will provide. It may also be that the more pointless they are the more they will teach obedience.
d.. Puppy training is all about immediate obedience. Master could do more of these or similar exercises.
e.. Master can be diligent about punishing disobedience. We have noted in the past that when Master ignores the breaking of a rule it becomes much harder for me to see it as important.
f.. Disobedience interviews. Whenever I am disobedient, Master could interview me as to the reasons.
To improve knowledge and skills...
The more knowledgable and capable I am, the better I will be able to serve.

a.. I can study / practice / learn. I tend to do a lot of this anyhow.
b.. I can propose to Master specific things that I might study for her benefit, to see what she prefers.
c.. Master could choose what I study.
d.. Master could include designated study times in my schedule.
e.. Master could enroll me in courses that please her.
f.. Where Master has skills that I do not, she could teach me herself so that I could do for her things that currently only she can do.
To develop gracefulness and graciousness...
a.. Practicing tai chi improved my balance and coordination. When I am no longer working out of town I can start this again.
b.. I can watch programs that show Victorian manners, to see what I can learn from them. Upstairs/Downstairs has been suggested.
PBS's "Regency House Party" was helpful.

a.. I can read books and other writings about etiquette, modern and Victorian.
b.. I can evaluate the service I receive from waitpersons, sales persons, etc., to become more aware of the specifics of good and poor service
c.. Master can teach me her preferred etiquette
d.. Master can give me feedback
e.. Master can correct and make me redo anything I have done or said ungracefully or ingraciously.
f.. Graciousness is can be learned by practicing it in circumstances where it does not come easily. Master can give me tasks which challenge my ability to be gracious, and correct any deficit.
g.. I can do exercises to develop strength, flexibility, balance, etc.
To develop patience...
I am not very patient. At all.

a.. I can practice delayed gratification by delaying a purchase or activity that I want to do now.
b.. I can research methods of developing patience. I don't really know how that might be done.
c.. Master can create opportunities for me to practice patience by making me wait for things.
To develop deference and reverence...
I think these two are related.

a.. I can chant more. I always find that this places me in a more reverent frame of mind, which also makes it easier to show deference.
b.. Master could schedule time for me to chant.
c.. Worship exercises. When Master has me care for her boots or kiss her feet for long periods of time this does alter my attitude for the better. Perhaps other ways of worshipping her could also be devised.
d.. Master could correct me when I am not properly deferential.
e.. Master could prescribe specific etiquette for the showing of deference
f.. Chastity and orgasm denial: Both having my genitals locked away, and teasing/orgasm denial improve my desire to please. Being permitted to beg for release once the pressure has built, and knowing that I may or may not receive it, also puts me in a more deferent headspace.
g.. Cruelty. I don't understand why, but often when Master is cruel to me I feel more worshipful towards her. Master could intentionally use cruelty for this purpose.
To develop the capacity to surrender...
I think that there is no skill more important to a slave than the ability to surrender. To surrender control over one's body, one's comfort, one's sexuality, one's future, and on and on, is the essence of slavery I think. Sometimes I am good at this, and sometimes I am not.

a.. When Master is particularly sadistic, it sometimes takes me to a place of surrender that I had not otherwise been able to reach. Master could do this intentionally on occasion.
Punishment in a Master/Slave Relationship
People incorporate punishment into their BDSM in many different ways.

For some people, punishment is an excuse for SM play. It was this way for me many years ago in another relationship. I was not ready at that time for the idea that a whipping could happen simply because both parties desired it, or because one desired it and the other desired to pleased. In order to feel I understood what was happening I needed to have some excuse, some rational explanation for the session. "I have been bad and I must be punished" was easy for both myself and my partner at the time to understand, and gave us context in which to play.

I think this approach can work reasonably well for people whose BDSM is part time, and particularly if they tend towards role playing in their BDSM. In 24/7 relationships I have often seen it cause trouble. The fundamental problem is that the slaves learn (consciously or not) that they can get the play time they want by being "Bad". When they do this and they are rewarded with a good "Punishment" the behaviour is reinforced and tends to grow. Each time they feel the desire to play they do something which irritates their partner, and often will continue to be brattier and brattier until they get what they were looking for. What starts out as fun eventually becomes quite irritating and causes problems in the relationship. Personally I think this situation, which I have seen many times now, is usually the fault of the Master. One cannot expect a person to perform a certain way while consistently rewarding him or her for the opposite behaviour.

The opposite problem also occurs, where the Master, feeling a desire to play, finds trivial or non-existent faults to punish the slave for. This can be very dangerous. Slaves often care tremendously about their Masters' opinion of them. When their partners are telling them over and over again, no matter how hard they have tried to please, that they are bad and must be punished, that can be really, really damaging to their self esteem.

How to Punish?

The comments above illustrate what I feel to be two important keys to successful use of punishment:

1. The punishment must truly be a disincentive, not something that the slave will seek to re-experience

2. The faults which are punished should be real. If a slave has done nothing wrong and the master wishes to torment him anyhow, then it should be presented as a session for the enjoyment of the master, not as a punishment for imagined wrong doings.

In my own relationship we have done a number of things to distinguish play from punishment:

a.. Physical punishment is done with a tool reserved for that purpose alone. It is never used for play.
b.. Play is often very sensuous and involves a gradual build-up of sensation. Punishment is always cold, brief, and unpleasant.
c.. With experimentation we found an intensity level which caused me to fear punishment without living in constant fear of punishment.
That last point is also related to point number 2 above. If punishments occur unpredictably and without significant cause then a slave may live in constant fear of another punishment. I think this can be emotionally damaging, and could properly be called abuse.

When I have a punishment coming I am frightened of it. They are always unpleasant and I most certainly would not seek to provoke one even if I were hungry for play time. That period of dread is generally very short however. My master deals with such things as promptly as is practical. I do not live in fear of punishment because I know that I will only be punished if I have truly erred in some way that I could have avoided.

Consistency and Proportionality

These are two more key aspects of successful use of punishment : Consistency and Proportionality.

Consistency is easy to understand, if perhaps not always easy to maintain. All offenses by the slave must be recognized and dealt with. If response is inconsistent then the message to the slave becomes blurred. Speaking personally, if I forget to do something and am not punished for it then it tells me that my master does not care very much. If it happens again then I start wondering why I should care if she doesn’t. Pretty soon I am letting it slide without having forgotten.

If every time a certain rule is broken there is appropriate punishment, then after a short while you will find that rule gets broken only infrequently. Consistent response not only makes the behaviour unrewarding for the slave, but also makes it clear that the master cares, and often that knowledge is at least as powerful a force as the fear of punishment.

So punishment works in two ways:

1. It makes the net result of an undesired behavior unrewarding for the slave.

2. It tells the slave that the master cares about the behaviour.

These are the two things which should determine the severity of the punishment.

The severity of the punishment should be proportional to the benefit the slave received from the misbehavior. If the benefit was the enjoyment of an unauthorized snack, then the punishment should be just harsh enough that the pleasure of the snack was not as great as the discomfort of the punishment. If the benefit was the avoidance of embarrassment by neglecting to do something that the slave finds embarrassing, then the punishment should be such that the original embarrassment would have been easier to take.

The severity of the punishment should also be determined by how much the master cares about the misbehavior. Tell the slave in words, but also let the punishment be a reflection of those words.

Who Controls the Occurrence of Punishment?

Interestingly, if rules are very clear and reasonable and punishment happens consistently when rules are broken then it is the slave who chooses whether to be punished. When the slave behaves well there are no punishments, and when the slave behaves poorly there will be punishments. If punishment is to be effective then this is very important. If the standards of behaviour are unachievable or punishments are inconsistent or for trivial faults, then the punishments are simply random unpleasantness which the slave cannot avoid and they will be ineffective in shaping the slave’s behaviour.

On the other hand, if rules are realistic and punishment is fair and consistent then the slave's natural seeking of a better life will shape his or her behaviour in the direction of the rules.

Kinds of Punishment

Punishment need not be painful. In some cases it may be very effective to deliver a punishment that directly counters the misbehavior. Two weeks without any snacks might be an appropriate response to a snack eaten without permission for example. Remember to ensure that the punishment is a disincentive however. If the misbehavior was to avoid embarrassment then it might seem that a double dose of embarrassment would be appropriate. For some slaves that might be so, but for a slave who finds embarrassment erotically exciting such a punishment might serve to reinforce the behaviour rather than discouraging it.

Summary in Five Points

My thoughts about effective punishment in a master/slave relationship can be summarized in five points:

1. The punishment must truly be a disincentive.

2. The faults which are punished should be real.

3. The punishment should make the undesired behaviour unrewarding.

4. The punishment should be consistent and proportioned.

5. It must be possible for the slave to avoid punishment by making a genuine effort to "Be good."

The Perfect Slave
This document does not describe any universal standard or imperative. It was written for my master and me, to help us visualize a goal for me to aspire to and for her to guide me towards. It is not my expectation that I (or perhaps anybody) will ever attain perfection. This document describes a direction, not a measuring stick. Although I have generalized as much as I can in an attempt to discover underlying principles, I am certain that many people will find something in here to disagree with. I am neither troubled nor surprised by that. This is a personal document not intended to describe universal truths.

This document is not a sharing of great wisdom and knowledge, it is an effort to gain some. It will evolve as my thinking evolves.

The Purpose of a Slave
One cannot measure the merit of slave without knowing its purpose. Is a hammer better than a can opener? Well, it depends on the purpose you have in mind for it. But although each slave owner will have different purposes and preferences, there is a simple guiding principle to the kind of slavery that I am writing about. It is this:

The purpose of a slave is to make its owner's life easier and more pleasant.

Every slave is a burden to its master. Hopefully, every slave also serves some useful purpose for that master. It is the relative amounts of burden, utility, and pleasure that the master receives from a slave that determines that slave's value for that master.

Qualities of The Perfect Slave
The qualities described below have been selected because they enable the slave to serve the purpose described above. We've tried to limit the list to qualities that are objectively observable and have obvious behavioural manifestations. Furthermore, since the purpose of this document is to provide guidance to both owner and owned with regard to the development of the slave, I have tried to focus on qualities which can be practiced, trained, or otherwise developed. It might be desirable that a slave love its master or have a deep need to serve, but this will be or not, and is beyond the power of will, so it is not listed here.

Ever at Hand, Never Under Foot
The perfect slave is always ready to serve at a moment's notice, but never intrusive or demanding. In order to achieve this, the perfect slave learns to anticipate the needs of those that it serves, and keeps to a minimum the demands that it places on them.

Humility
The perfect slave is willing to to whatever it is that would please it's owner. There is no act or service which is beneath the dignity of the perfect slave. Specific and obvious examples include acts of humiliation enjoyed by some owners, and sexual service with partners or of a type that the slave would not choose on the basis of personal preference, but this equally applies to mundane, menial labour.

Dedication
The benefit to cost ratio of owning a slave improves when the slave's service is exemplary. Therefore, the perfect slave performs all services to the very best of its ability.

Health
Poor health can impede a slave's ability to give good service. The perfect slave does what is necessary (and possible) to stay physically and emotionally healthy.

Obedience
Disobedience places a disciplinary burden on the owner as well as depriving the owner of the benefit of the desired service. The perfect slave therefore obeys all orders fully except when unable to bring new, relevant information attention to its owner and quite certain that the owner would give different orders with the new information.

Capability and Knowledge
The perfect slave for a particular owner is able to do all that the owner wishes it to do. This may include variously earning an income for the household, performing tasks within the household, entertainment, specific sexual service, ability to tolerate sadistic treatment, or any number of other things. As well, the more that a slave knows, the better it is able to serve. The perfect slave is knowledgeable and capable, and always working to learn more, improve existing skills, and acquire new skills.

Attractiveness
The perfect slave, when noticed, is pleasing to observe. It is graceful, gracious, and attentive to its personal appearance and hygiene. The perfect slave serves cheerfully and with enthusiasm.

Tools
In order to act as described above, the perfect slave will need to have or would be assisted by the following internal tools. This section is incomplete. I have included it so as to record what thinking I have thus far done on the topic.

Patience
Performing as described in this document will require a great deal of patience.

Surrender
Perhaps this subsumes patience? The perfect slave surrenders completely to its owner's will. This is a more profound thing than I know how to describe at the moment. Much could be written on this topic.

Reverence
It will assist a slave in giving service if it has an attitude of reverence towards its owner. Therefore, the perfect slave cultivates this attitude.

Creating the Perfect Slave
After defining the perfect slave in this document, I wrote another describing things that Master and I could do to make me more like that theoretical standard, called Creating The Perfect Slave.

Control in a Master/Slave Relationship
To control something is to reliably guide it to a desired result. The means by which one might do this are the same whether one is controlling one's voice, an automobile, or a slave:

1. Learn the controls

2. Use the controls

3. Measure results and adjust the controls

4. Calibration

Learning the Controls
Before you can control something, you must understand what the controls are. A control is some part of the subject or its environment that you can adjust, that affects the result. In the case of your voice, you can control the electrical signals sent to muscles that alter the tension in your vocal cords, the shape of your mouth, the flow of air through your mouth, etc. Learning to speak is partly about language, and partly about learning the effect of these controls, and what the voice is capable of.

In the case of an automobile, you can control its operation by turning the steering wheel, pressing the break, gas, and clutch petals, changing gears, etc. Learning to drive is largely about gaining knowledge of what your automobile can do, and how its controls affect its operation.

In the case of a slave, you have many different controls, including punishments, rewards, rules, requests, etc. Learning how to manage a slave is largely about learning what the slave is capable of and what the available controls are. Slaves of course are far more varied than voices or automobiles, and the effect of a given stimulus on one slave might be radically different than on another.

Using the controls
Having learned something about the subject's capabilities and available controls, one must then choose an achievable, desired result and manipulate the controls in a way calculated to achieve that result. But this is only the beginning, for it is very unlikely that this initial application of the controls will be exactly right.

If you try to stand up when you are dizzy you may fall over, and it is not because your msucles have stopped working. If you try to sing without being able to hear yourself you may be unable to find your pitch, and if you try to speak with your lips frozen after a visit to the dentist you may not speak as you usually do. If you drive an automobile without being able to see where it is going, you will very likely not drive it along the path you have chosen.

In each of these cases there has been no impairment of any the available controls. What is lacking in each case is measurement and adjustment.

Measurement and Adjustment
To control something, you must be able to monitor its status or progress. Manipulating the controls without being able to measure the results will influence the subject, but will not control it. In order to control anything, you must continuously or periodically monitor the your results, compare them to the desired result, and adjust the controls to compensate for any measured discrepency. We do this subconciously when controlling things that we are very used to controlling, such as our voices and muscles, but when our ability to measure our results is impaired, we lose our control. You may be able to reach out and pick something up without seeing it, or without feeling it, but if you can do neither, then you will not likely succeed.

Practice and Learning
By using the controls and observing the results, you not only gain some measure of control over the subject, but you gain more information about how the subject responds to different uses of the controls. The more practiced you become at using the controls, the better your control becomes. Whether in sports, or art, or music, your control will probably be quite imprecise in the beginning, but it can be improved through practice.

Controlling a Slave
All of the above is true of controlling a slave. First of all, control is meaningless without having in mind some goal, whether it be short term or long term.

If you are to be successful, then trhe goal must be within the capabilities of your slave. To safely learn what those capabilities are, you might start with modest goals and increase them over time, as seems wise.

Next, you must understand what controls are available to you, and how they affect your slave. What serves as a punishment for one slave might well be a reward for another, and what is a mild correction for one might be excessive and damaging for another. You can learn a lot by talking with your slave, and with other people, but in the end there is no substitute for carefully trying things and observing the results. This is best done with a very open mind. Preconceptions about what the results might be will only cloud your observation.

You cannot possibly control a slave without carefully monitoring the slaves status and performance and adjusting your use of the controls in response to what you measure.

Because human beings are so very complex, you will spend years learning what controls are effective on your slave, and how to best use them. And because your slave is also learning and growing (i.e. changing) over time, that learning must never stop, or your control will decline.

BASIC ETIQUETTE FOR THE SLAVE

These ground rules must be insisted upon by the Superior and obeyed from the start or else the slave is to be rejected as unfit material for manipulation.

One: He will at all times address the Superior as 'Mistress' or 'Master'. You may require him to use a variation on this title such as 'Divine Queen Goddess', 'Father Confessor', 'Supreme Being', as you like. He may not use the possessive pronoun, i.e. he may not say 'My Mistress' as he is the one owned.

Two: He may never present himself at full height but remains below the waist or knees of the Superior on his knees or belly. Enjoin him to keep his little paws to himself, at his sides or behind him. No other pose is acceptable.

Three: He may open his mouth only to answer direct questions, fetch, or receive dispensations. If he absolutely will irritate the Superior's ears he must ask permission to speak, which is in itself an act of disobedience.

Four: The slave ought to be compelled to appear in some form of humiliation-wear you have chosen. Standard humiliation-wear is the underwear of the opposite sex and will do until you designate a special role for him such as hooker, or baby, when he will be dressed accordingly.

Five:If he is employed as maid, try to relieve yourself of the bother of constantly ordering his inept person about by training him to anticipate your wishes. He will of course be punished for assuming too much, for trying to make his uselessness indispensable.

Six: Impress the slave that he ought to submit gratefully to your orders, whims and cruelties, that an incredibly fortunate intervention of fate has bestowed upon his pathetic person a purpose he never would have realized by himself. That the Superior considers him material amenable to manipulation ought to be a source of joy, for most slaves are so essentially worthless it is a waste of time trying to make anything of them.

Seven: Hammer it into his pea-brain that he has no Will but to do as the Superior commands him to do. The Superior may delegate this Authority to another whom he must obey as unconditionally as he would the beloved Superior in person. For the Superior knows best what the slavish soul needs, and unless he puts his full trust in Her influence he will remain a craven dog without a home.



WHO IS ALWAYS CORRECT?



You would like to believe that you possess some control over your life. You prefer to think that you are quite reasonable, and responsible for the order, or disorder that surrounds you. Such illusions do pacify. But in truth, what do you know - anything? What of the influences at work ever upon you? What of the earthquake in China a hundred years ago, that even now resonates within your body? How do you know it is not so? Do you even exist at all?
You are subject, without wanting to willing it so, to every sound, vision, view, vibration, thought and rainstorm that ever was - or ever shall be. And it is (I know) an even more noxious thought to you, that every fact and facet of your life has been decided upon in advance - perhaps in advance of your birth. Your perversities certainly were so determined, and determined too is your rebellion against this idea. Too your hard-wrought genius - all. While even the most sheepish amongst you will firmly state he will graze for grass wherever he likes, I have no such hungers.
My peculiar combination of temperament and tastes easily accepts the idea of a predetermined destiny. Odd, is it not, in such an one you might think would be overweeningly convinced of freewill and a private, powerful control? And neither can I know where my reach extends or ends in the world, nor, most saliently, how my influence over another human being may work, for good or ill, or if at all. That good gestures can generate evil, and that cruelty and indifference may render up good, are but more arguments pleasing to my Whim to grasp that ineffable Deterministic.
In a predetermined universe, I know myself as already as perfect as I shall ever be. My conviction of my own innate perfection, the direction this consciousness turns me in, sets me far apart from you striving free-willers, always in the agony of attainment. I have attained - and it had nothing to do with me.
You who insist most wildly upon your individual, free-willed grasp - you are anxious! Go on building your private metaphysic, insist that order is your subjective doctrine. You are nothing!
For within I see there still must be that other - that Someone — who is Always Correct! The ideal of the Supreme Being rises to accede to your needful gaze. Must you be reminded that this “greater” is ever a fantasy? May you go insane under the imperative of a Perfection never to be realized.
Needless to say any attempt on my part to be a Perfection, for all of you, is a thing I will not hazard. But you seekers shall find me out, to rest in the shade of my pure conviction of Beauty and Strength. These virtues at times have little to do with pleasingness, and even less with selfsatisfaction. I am bound by a Divine Right to be utterly what I am and no more. I am grateful to be thus only slightly a cripple. My dread predetermination may not be pretty, but it is my only story.
Would you attain to True Submission? Would you know and love an One Who is Always Correct?
Feeling, and knowing Void in yourself, that place where you know you have no control, I tell you to fill it with your passion, no matter what that might be, whatever the horror of it. Feed it to the flame of wild unrestraint - feed those flames, and your face to the flames. Our blessing thus upon you, to feel how faceless you can be ...
Burn, and reflect; burn and reflect. Then, turn your eyes again upon the Superior: you find you are gazing upon some massy, overwrought ego. But such as They are Certain, while you do remain eternally at odds. And though your Superior may yet prove unworshippable, still They are Gods and you are not