Prologue

The year was 2136. The United States would be unrecognizable to those who had lived there in the early twenty first century. For one thing there had been a civil war over the issues of taxation, the voting franchise and slavery. Ultimately the side that prevailed in the far greater number of states was the side that wanted a major reduction of taxes, a limitation of the voting franchise to tax paying citizens and the return of slavery.

A new nation named Capitallia was formed consisting, at first, of 15 western states that declared their intention to secede from the U.S. This led at first to armed conflict, but soon other states switched their allegiance until a total of 38 of the original 50 states comprised the new nation, named for capitalism, the social and economic system that the new nation meant to promote in every way possible. The capital of the new nation was New York City, while Washington D.C. remained the capital of what was left of the old United States.

In Capitallia, the voting privilege and citizenship status were limited to those who could demonstrate certain educational achievements and pay a uniform per capita tax. Taxes had been vastly reduced by avoiding unnecessary wars and by largely eliminating the "social safety net". The society had also become quite class conscious. There were sharp distinctions between those who were citizens and those who were not, with each class having distinctly different rights and privileges.

Because of this class consciousness, and the absence of a 'safety net', the criminal laws, as well as laws pertaining to contract and debt, had evolved in ways that earlier generations might have thought harsh.

Radical change had been made inevitable by decades of rising crime rates, persistently high unemployment, sharply rising levels of credit default by unemployed debtors, and the resulting high prices caused by those debtor defaults.

The public had grown weary of the high costs of building and running prisons, and of the high costs of coddling insolvent debtors. When special interests pushed for a radical new solution, the public was ripe for it. Slavery, of a particularly high tech nature, had been reintroduced.

Bill Steelforth had arrived at his office early for a meeting with a key client. Bill was a 'slaver's agent'. He represented a number of diverse clients, but most particularly the interests of an elite slave owning and trading firm known as Richmond SlendaBond.

Bill was in his mid forties and at the peak of his career. Often he would visit a new city and scout out attractive young women there who might be insolvent. When he found an interesting target he tried to interest one of his clients in acquiring her. If he received a green light, he would then hire a local attorney, arrange for the client to buy up all her debts, and assemble all the required evidence the attorney would needed to take her down in court.

When such an enslavement had been successful, his client would employ only the most advanced methods for tracking and controlling the new slave. Not only would he or she be 'micro chipped' but would also have a digital bio implant which allowed his or her owner to remotely monitor vital bodily functions, remotely administer punishment for disobedience or remotely administer sexual pleasure to reward highly skilled service.

This morning, after the client meeting, he had discovered a pretty twenty something girl waiting for him in his outer office. She was scantily clad, handcuffed and apparently in the custody of a uniformed guard. The guard indicated that the girl's sexual services were to be a gift to him for the day from one of his clients.

He instructed the guard as to his desires. The girl was to be stripped of all clothing except for her high heels and collar, then sent to his inner office leashed and with hands cuffed behind her back. The guard was to bring in her clothing bundle also, then wait outside to collect her later.

First he would keep the girl standing at the side of his desk. She was easy on his eyes, particularly as the high heeled shoes brought out the muscle tone of her slender legs, the handcuffs prevented any attempt at modesty and the steel collar around her pretty neck proclaimed her status as a sexual slave. Her wiry black pubic hair had been trimmed in such a way as not to obscure her feminine parts.

He surveyed the spectacular New York City skyline from his 27^th floor corner office. While she stood there awaiting his pleasure he decided to make a few calls. Then she found herself pulled her by her leash around to his side of the desk. He commanded her to assume a kneeling position, facing him, under his desk. He settled into a comfortable position in his executive chair and unzipped himself. If the girl's training had been complete, she would need no further instruction.

He eyed the file on his desk. This case was one in which his services had been retained for the acquisition of a particular person. The case concerned a debtor designated for what could only be called a 'routine' enslavement. She should have been just like a hundred other insolvent female debtors whose freedom he had taken in the interests of his clients. He just wasn't sure she was the type of person his company ought to be acquiring. He told himself that he wasn't getting soft, just being careful.

As he contemplated his reservations about the case at hand, he was receiving much pleasure from the girl crouched between his legs. She would have chosen to be almost anywhere else if the choice had been hers to make. But his client had come to own her as a result of his own efforts a year earlier. He experienced a thrill as he realized that her present sexual services were a kind of reward to him from the client for a job well done.