Chapter 23: Path of the Look

Bernard had been left in his cage for some time. The others had been taken out, no doubt for work in the loading bay or elsewhere, but he was still locked behind the bars that held him captive. At first he had thought that this was an improvement over his usual lot but he soon began to feel uncomfortable at his confinement, hungry and thirsty and desperate to use the toilet.

Voices from the corridor told him that he was about to be disturbed and moments later Wan Yu and the four western girls came into the room.

They all lined up beside Bernard’s cage, taking no particular notice of the fact that he was there.

“Today we talk about Path of the Look, OK?” Wan Yu announced.

Her four students nodded.

“For Kòngzhì Rén how you look; how slave sees you is important. See, look at these.” Wan Yu passed around a number of magazines for the girls to look at.

The four looked at the magazines with distaste. “Isn’t this the sort of disgusting thing that New Order banned when they first came into power?” Collette asked holding out a double page spread of pictures of a corset clad dominatrix, wielding a whip over helplessly cowering slaves.

“Yes,” Fara laughed. “Men don’t need this sort of fantasy now. They can have the real thing...”

Wan Yu went on. “Let us consider the question of look. We must think of two things. How slave see you and how you look at him. I do not talk only of clothes; they are tools of trade. Like whip or rope. We use them as we wish. I do not say you must look this way to train man, only think. How will way I look affect him. For example – this...” Wan Yu pointed to Collette’s picture of a corseted dominatrix. “Is she indulging his fetishistic urges or using them to enslave him?”

“I don’t know,” Collette responded uncertainly. “I guess it could be either. Or even both...”

“Good! Correct answer!” Wan Yu applauded Collette’s words. “We cannot know. Only she knows why she is doing it. So first thing with the Path of the Look is intent. Never let your look be an accident. Always consider its effect. You may choose to ignore that, dress as you please because it pleases you, but be aware even that has an effect. How much humiliation will a slave feel if his Mistress wear old jeans and sweater – not even bothered to intimidate him with heels and leather? Hmm?”

“A shame,” Fara chipped in, “I was quite looking forward to putting on something like that.”

“That can be too, Miss Fara. I am not saying you should not choose such clothing, only you should choose it wisely. Consider the pressure of Fear. How might your look contribute to that? If you consider using items of clothing that will also provide Pressure of Pleasure to the slave?”

Fara thought for a moment. “Well, high heeled shoes, I suppose they will intimidate – the slave would be afraid of being trodden on or the heel being scraped across his flesh. Oh, and masks, they will add to a slave’s fear if he cannot see his mistress’s expression or judge her mood.”

“Is there another point there,” Anna asked. “If the slave cannot tell our thoughts from our expression, then he will also be more uncertain, more likely to be obedient...”

“Very good. This is one point where Chinese girls have advantage, I think. All round-eyes think our Eastern faces blank and without feeling. They cannot read us. Sometimes even not sure which one of us is which. Eh, round-eye?” Wan Yu slapped her riding crop on the side of Bernard’s cage.

“Yes, Miss – No, Miss,” Bernard responded uncertainly from behind his bars. Fara and the others laughed.

“But you can make use of this. Masks, make up, even maintaining a dispassionate or disdainful expression. All these are good ideas.” Wan Yu sat down on Bernard’s cage, the backs of her legs filling his view, the heels of her shoes barely inches from his face. “So, let us return to question of porno pictures. Problem is not how woman looks in these pictures. Problem is where the decision lies. With pictures, too often man is deciding what to look at and when. This is not acceptable for male slaves. Decisions are a bad idea for slaves. Too often they make wrong choices and waste time thinking about such things. Of course men are driven by their pornography-devouring psyches but that is for us to use and decide what they will see and when. Give me examples of how this might be put into practice? Anna you have been quiet. Perhaps you have an idea.”