other tributes, too?” asked Brenner.
“Items of various sorts,” said Rodriguez. “Raw materials mostly.”
“What is the nature of the women?” asked Brenner.
“On the whole they would seem to be what you might expect,” said Rodriguez, “young, beautiful, and sexually responsive.”
“How do they know they are sexually responsive?” asked Brenner.
“There are tests,” said Rodriguez.
Brenner blushed.
“And interestingly,” said Rodriguez, “many of these women do not even realize they are, or would be, under certain conditions, helplessly sexually responsive, and as slaves. It has never occurred to them that the time might come when they would beg a man, piteously, and as a slave, for his least touch.”
What secrets, Brenner wondered, lie concealed within women, secrets of which they might themselves be unaware.
“A certain percentage of these women are mothers,” said Rodriguez. “It is speculated that these may be of interest as proven breeders.”
“I see,” said Brenner.
“Do these things come as a surprise to you?” asked Rodriguez.
“Yes,” said Brenner.
“They should not come as such a surprise,” said Rodriguez. “Surely you know that some slaving has taken place for centuries on the home world, both for export and for internal use.”
“I have heard such,” admitted Brenner.
“And that certain women of the home world, unwary enough to visit certain worlds, or foolish enough to visit certain districts or quarters of certain worlds, have vanished, presumably having been taken as slaves.”
“Yes,” admitted Brenner.
“Do you think they were careless?” asked Rodriguez.
“Surely,” said Brenner.
“Perhaps,” said Rodriguez, “But perhaps, too, rather, they wanted a chain on their neck, and a master.”
“Surely not!” said Brenner.
“The levies are much the same thing,” said Rodriguez, “only periodic and regularized.”
“I understand,” said Brenner. He glanced back at the bed, where the maid had lain.
“No,” said Rodriguez. “That one was not levied. She is not a slave. She is a contract slut.”
“But she is, in effect, a slave,” said Brenner.
“No,” said Rodriguez. “She is merely under contract. That is quite different.”
“How can she be freed?” asked Brenner.
“By paying off her contract with her earnings, which she will not be able to do,” said Rodriguez. “Or by her contract holder.”
“As a slave might be freed?” asked Brenner.
“A slave—freed?” asked Rodriguez.
“Yes,” said Brenner.
Rodriguez laughed, and wiped his face with his arm.
“Is that thought so absurd?” asked Brenner, angrily.
“Yes,” said Rodriguez.
“But the contract person’s contract might be purchased by someone, who would then pay it off for her?”
“Yes,” said Rodriguez.
Brenner continued to stare at the bed.
“Perhaps you are thinking of buying her contract, and then freeing her?” said Rodriguez.
“No,” said Brenner.
“Good,” said Rodriguez. “That is much better.”
“What?” asked Brenner.
“Buying her contract, and not freeing her.”
“No!” said Brenner.
“But you would want to try her out first,” said Rodriguez.
“No, no!” said Brenner, shuddering.
“She looks like she would make a pleasant armful,” said Rodriguez.
“No!” said Brenner.
“I would have thought so,” said Rodriguez.
“No, no,” said Brenner.
“It is just as well,” said Rodriguez. “You could probably not afford to buy it, any more than she could afford to pay it off, given the expenses charged to her for board and room, and such things.”
Brenner regarded him.
“Not on an adjunct’s salary,” said Rodriguez. “These contracts are usually held by businesses, institutions, and such. They tend to be expensive.”
“Undoubtedly,” said Brenner.
“Because the contract slut is not a slave, but a free woman, and can be held openly on worlds on which slavery might remain a sensitive issue, as it is not on many other worlds, more progressive worlds.”
“‘Progressive’?” asked Brenner.
“To be sure, an illusive word,” smiled Rodriguez. “You may define progress as constant change, even racing from one stultifying madness to another, but it need not be defined that way. For example, it may be thought of rather as the attempt to approximate an ideal. If that is so, then refinement, restoration, and such, if they result in a situation which more closely approximates the ideal, would constitute progress. It is not clear, for example, that continuing to go down a wrong road constitutes progress. Also, you must be aware that on many worlds certain institutions, such as explicit social stratifications, aristocracies, slaveries, and such, have been introduced, to counter the decline, disintegration, bankruptcy, and chaos of failed systems, to succeed them with more honest, more realistic forms. Not every world has to be founded on lies.”
“Let us not speak further of these things!” said Brenner.
“It is interesting,” said Rodriguez, looking at the bed to whose surface he had ordered the maid.
“What is interesting?” said Brenner.
“On your salary,” said Rodriguez, “you presumably could not afford to buy her contract, that of the maid, the free