For some of us, enslavement is the ultimate homo-erotic fantasy and the mass abductions carried out by 'MOSLA' and their associates (reviewed in Part 1 of this series) make entertaining reading, although the industrial scale of their (illegal) operations would be (thankfully) almost impossible in the modern world of surveillance and social connection. However in the Rodeo and Stud Hunting stories, reviewed in Part 5, Amalaric seems to take for granted the existence a legal framework for enslavement, allowing for public exhibition, sale and even the freeing of some deserving captives without any consequences. In the '1001 Nights' series and other stories he develops this idea into an entire, alternative social and labour system where no man is safe.
701 Joe Connolly's First Day
We visited this fictional realm previously in the discussion of Image 418 in Part 4b, which showed Rod Lancaster undressing at a processing centre for new slaves, having been selected as one of the 'winners' of the official, Government Enslavement Lottery.Joe Connelly (above) suffers a similar fate in his story except that in his part of the Union new slaves are dis-robed before they even leave home to be taken to the processing centre. Joey is reduced to total nudity on his parent's front lawn, in front of all the neighbours.
The lottery system of selection described by Amalaric is totally random and indiscriminate, not unlike compulsory Military Service in many respects, except that the enslavement is permanent and founded on an altogether different concept of discipline and obedience. The economic and social rationale for it (oh yes, there is one!) is fleshed out in both Rod Lancaster's story (see 123rd of '1001 Nights') and Joe Connelly's (link below). Rod's story covers the reception process and the legalities that flow from his change of status, Joey's focusses on the 'pick-up' and the grading system for slaves.
Joey's removal from home provokes both sympathy and pride amongst the on-lookers. Sympathy for the upending of his life and the humiliation of being publicly deprived of clothes, but pride in his manly bearing through the ordeal, not least because being reduced to total nudity means he has been assigned to the most select slave classification of all, the top 10% who can be sold with a 'No Limitations On Use' clause in their papers. Joey only learns that is to be his fate himself when he's ordered to remove his underpants. He and his acquaintances know that life with that elevated status will be far from easy but, perversely, it's seen by his fellow citizens as a recognition of very special qualities and that commands their respect. In due course it will also guarantee a substantial premium on his price at auction.
Alone in his bare cell (above) Joe has a brief moment to weep for the life he has lost and the trials that lie ahead for him.
The 24thof 1001 Nights at Aquadude Bunker
702. Intensive Training
It's not easy for parents to relinquish their off-spring to this system, but even if it's not demanded of them by the law, financial circumstances sometimes dictate that prized family assets must be surrendered to pay the bills. Here a father bids farewell to a son who recently celebrated the age of majority only to discover his adulthood had long been mortgaged to a loan company.
One of the first surprises for Rod Lancaster at his induction ceremony (see 'The 123rd of '1001 Nights') was the introductory whipping, a process which is automatically inflicted on all newbies regardless of whether they've done anything to deserve it. This lad will soon encounter this quaint custom too. In fact he faces weeks of intensive training and firm discipline intended to prepare him for the rest of his life as a slave and to reconcile him to that fate.
This image shows the catacomb-like depths of a slave training facility where the young man is already being taught to pay attention and be obedient. He wears only the traditional white underwear he arrived in, signifying a status where there are legal limitations on how he can be used and treated. However he has also discovered that this 'safe' style of dress (featuring a delightful ball-bulge in this classic, Amalaric, underwear image) is capable of attracting attentions of a sort he'd never even thought about before. Especially when his hands aren't free. His father here seems to be belatedly giving advice on such matters. The oriental lantern and monolithic wall in the background ominously link the scene to the most ancient and exotic of secret rites.
From The 195th of 1001 Nights at Aquadude Bunker
703 Drug Dealer Auctioned Off
As well as the individuals chosen through the Lottery, serious criminals and wrong-doers soon become a natural shoo-in for the 'slave experience' as well. Few upright citizens would quarrel with the sentence of 'a lifetime of servitude' imposed on this convicted Drug Dealer from LA. Chained naked to a post on the auction block he can look forward to a simpler life, dedicated to repaying his debt to society in a more useful, albeit less than comfortable, role.
704 Ricky Castor, Reckless Driver, up for Auction
On the other hand, eyebrows were raised (and other parts too) when Ricky Castor came up for sale at the same auction. He'd been given the same punishment after running over the Mayor's puppy in his car. But at least he was allocated to the lowest grade of slavery, restricted to forced labour with limited punishment options. He's even allowed to keep his jeans on (most of the time). His disbelief and dismay at the harsh sentence was understandable, but it did no harm to the price he realised.
It's usual for for men being sold to mount the rostrum bare chested (like Toby in Part 4, image 409). But it's also common for them to be stripped naked in the course of the bidding (as in image 703 above) in order to achieve the best price. Some men will strip themselves on demand, but Ricky had to be cajoled into providing a Stage 7 display (704, above) for the bidders and he baulked at the full Monty. The handlers quickly stepped in, restrained him to a post and removed his clothes for him, much to the crowds delight.
(The auction dress code for 'The Slave Emporium' is discussed in The 38thof 1001 Nights )
Ricky and the Drug Dealer were just two of the 30 or so men who went under the hammer in The 245thof 1001 nights at Aquadude Bunker. Their notes illustrate the wide variety of offences and misfortunes that can bring men to the auction block. They ranging from illegal immigration to child support defaults and more are being added all the time, so beware!
Notice that the artist here uses an identical image for the auctioneer of both sales, it's just a role and the men will scarcely notice him anyway in their anxiety to find out where the process is taking them.
705 Wayward Slave Learns Discipline
For some men this auction is not to be their last, but is just a stepping stone to their ultimate destination. Promising individuals may be purchased by an intermediary who will seek to add value by developing their 'kerb appeal' with exercise and hard work and by taming wayward spirits for owners who want productive workers not entertaining challenges. As you might expect resentment, rebelliousness and bad attitude amongst compulsorily indentured men is not unusual, but it's likely to rebound on the perpetrator by attracting the sort of buyer who will happily teach them the meaning of discipline.
This X-spread punishment has an air of improvisation and haste about it that seems to be reflected in the slave's confused wriggling. The restraint arrangement lacks the formality and gravitas of Amalaric's favoured, weighty X-frame but there are practical advantages in terms of accessibility. The extreme spread is a testing stretch for the captive and imposes an awkwardness on him which piles humiliation on top of the inflicted pain. It has the ring of a punishment for an immature action.
FromThe 194thof 1001 Nightsat Aquadud Bunker
706 Retribution In 5 Movements
When it comes to sheer simplicity, this hands-above-the-head restraint outdoes even the X-spread. It also suggests a serious intent to punish, rather than simply rebuke. That's borne out in the extract below. We do not know the nature of this man's infraction but he will certainly be learning not to do it again in future. Judging by the streams of perspiration trickling down his body, he already is.
Amalaric tells us: “Strung up stark naked under the bright lights, the prisoner was whipped steadily for twenty- minutes...(then) after a forty-five minute period of reflection and recuperation, the second of the five flogging sessions would then proceed”.
The concept of a break for rest is a sensible practice since, as the author points out in the 262ndNight, flogging is quite strenuous activity for both parties and the opportunity for them both to think about where the punishment and their relationship are going is not without merit. This man can rarely have looked more desirable to his master than he does here and there's a hardening hint that the experience is not without compensations for him too.
From The 208thof 1001 Nights at Aquadude Bunker
707. The Beast Tamed
Of course there are men who cannot be induced to obey simply by violence and the paradox of erotic enslavement is that few 'owners' want a man reduced to a totally emasculated subservience. They would rather he retains his essential maleness but accepts that, like it or not, it is now his lot in life to obey his master - in whichever form of service is required of him.
'The Beast' in this image is a man who was 'acquired' in a hunting expedition rather than by formal legal process and his rage at that is understandable and uncontrollable. Bringing such a fearsome man to accept repeated punishment, let alone intimate handling is a tall order but it could bode ill for his future if he stays angry.
Fortunately for him, Amalaric conjures up a sort of 'Man Whisperer' with mysterious powers to calm and tame recalcitrant stallions where conventional training has failed. With patience and skilled handling even the most spirited of beasts can be tamed and this image records the magical breakthrough moment where 'The Beast' freely submits to another man's touch in a decidedly ticklish area.
However there's still some way to go, he's not got his jeans off yet!
From The 226th of 1001 Nights at Aquadude Bunker
708. Lot 101 Reality Dawns
In time the reality of permanent enslavement will dawn on a captive - that there's no escape from the manacles and discipline. This man's emergence from darkness into light in this rather beautiful picture seems to represent that realisation.
This man's adjustment was doubly difficult, since surprising as it might seem, he didn't measure up to MOSLA's lofty product standards. Rejection is a blow to anybody's pride but it's potentially a blessing in disguise if it means he lands a less 'exacting' position.
For whatever reason he was off-loaded to a less discriminating establishment, 'Cost Cutters' where men are simply priced for sale by the kilo, surely the ultimate insult. It's hard to imagine this man being dismissed so casually but someone may have got a bargain out of it and as you know bargains make us feel good and that surely can't do his future prospects any harm if he's clever about it.
The 101st of 1001 Nights at Aquadude Bunker
709. Personal Examination
At MOSLA, as sale day approaches, Platinum Clients are given access to the conditioned bucks to examine them. Men who have painfully reconciled themselves to serving a lifetime of hard, physical labour and have trained hard in preparation for that manly destiny, may discover at this point that their dedication has unwittingly forged qualities of a different sort, ones that are desirable in their own right. Those fanciful rumours of more intimate services being exacted from them may turn out to be true after all.
The simple act of transferring this image from a 'Gigolo' porn movie to the darkness of the MOSLA dungeons illustrates that the boundary between rent boys and slaves is a fragile one.
The 155thof 1001 Nights at Aquadude Bunker
On sale day, lesser mortals get a chance to view and assess the offerings close up and it's not hard to examine the excitement that would be generated by being allowed to be in the close proximity of large quantities of succulent male flesh, deliberately presented in the most appealing way and trained to serve. Even the Auctioneer (see image 703) has descended from his rostrum to get a better look and assist the potential buyers in their appraisal of the product (see link below).
Nor is it hard to understand the discomfort of the offerings themselves as the weird and wonderful, the wealthy and wishful encircle them and visually devour them. It would be only natural to close your eyes and wish you were somewhere else, but soon enough one of these men will become your owner and master and then you will have to look him in the eye.
More at 'On The Block' at Aquadude Bunker which has several more images.
711 Tighty Whitey Night
In this arena, there's more to marketing than simply butching up the goods, gimmicks also have their place although resorting to such practices is hardly flattering to the natural attributes of the men who go up for sale. However, 'Tighty Whitey' auction nights have been a great success at 'The Slave Emporium', a phenomenon which probably needs no explanation. The rule is that underpants are removed only after the fall of the hammer and there's a strict 'no returns' policy too. So buyers have to decide whether that bulge is authentic and does the restraint of that man imply there's still some spirit in him, some aggression demanding to be tamed - or is it simply a sales ploy to excite them? That is the gamble they must take.
In this image Amalaric uses a different, suaver-looking auctioneer whom you might imagine could draw higher values from the punters. Like his colleague in previous pictures, he too is re-cycled in other images pretty much without change (as is the room). If the slave's unique identities have ceased to matter in this nightmare, their 'purveyors' are even more anonymous.
The 133rd of 1001 Nights at Aquadude Bunker
The gimmick of a 'two for the price of one' sale is a nice idea particularly with men like this involved. It wouldn't really work in the context of an auction where it's the bidders who set the price. However, it's not unusual in auctions to offer one of a group of similar items on it's own, with the winning bidder for that one having the option of buying the others at the same price. It's a clever way of levelling up prices but would potentially generate a cruel situation if, for example, these men are inseparable buddies or brothers. If the winning bidder rejects the option to buy number 2, he'll be sold to a different buyer at a different, probably lower price.
Amalaric says that every effort is made to send slaves to the auction block in prime condition, well groomed and oiled. These men make that point very well and buyers can expect them to be fitter and healthier than most men their age. The industrial setting here subtly spices their unique appeal, it's very clever marketing! Fortified by the presence of a buddy, you sense they must feel a sense of pride in the admiration that comes their way on the block, even revelling in mutual nudity. It's a brief moment of genuine glory before they move on to a lifetime of humbling labour under the threat of the lash.
The different auctioneer and surroundings here help to add to the impression of streams of men going under the hammer one after another on an industrial scale. At the same time the auctioneer's barely changing poses indicate that it's a routine, repetitive job to him and the individuals who go through his hands (as if!) mean no more to him than the commission earned on their sale price.
Amalaric's frivolous fantasy is full of uncomfortable truths.
There's a delicious companion piece for this image in '2 for 1 sale' at Aquadude Bunker
713 Customisation
At the conclusion of the auction, the newly sold slaves will meet their new owners for the first time. It's common in this world for the sellers to offer customisation services such as tattoos, piercing, circumcision or branding, whether as permanent evidence of ownership or simply for decorative or practical purposes. Even gelding may be sought for particular usages (if the slave's category permits it). These practices represent a measure of the commitment of the buyer to his purchases, but it's a painful gesture and one they probably won't appreciate very much.
You may recognise the man on the right, previously seen skulking about in the Rodeo scenes in Part 5. I suspect he's not the actual purchaser here but simply the man who does the honours with the irons, which at least reassures the anxious slave that he's dealing with a professional.
It's fun trying to spot where Amalaric sources his images, this one's easier than some (answer at the end)
From 'Customisation' at Aquadude Bunker
Related posts: 'The Fifth of 1001 Nights' , 'Seventieth of 1001 Nights' and 'Peasant Rebel' all at Aquadude Bunker. Also 'Backyard Branding' at Telemachus, plus Garage Sale (link below)
714 Waiting His Turn
This buyer has also made a double purchase, but not in the pressured, hurly burly of the auction room but directly from the Slave Emporium showroom, where there is no competition and less risk of getting carried away. Of course it's usually pricier and one is more susceptible to the sales assistant's cajoling, which in this case was fired up when he found he had a first time buyer on his hands.
It was relatively easy to sell him some customisation choices from the catalogue, not least because he was keen to observe the process himself. It's recommended that buyers introduce themselves to their purchases and establish their authority from the outset by administering a initial token punishment in situ. As a first timer he was also offered a demonstration of the latest training aids and practical instruction in using them for creative discipline.
Since this man has purchased two men, each must witness the other being put through this intense acquisition ritual and it's hard to know which situation might be worse:- not knowing what is coming or watching it and then getting the same yourself. In the image, No 2 turns away, unable to look and doing his best to maintain a manly demeanour as the procedure drags painfully on.
From 'Waiting His Turn' at Telemachus
715. The Stud Depot
Where there's a buck to be made you can be sure that some cut-price, glossy superstore will muscle in on the action and it has to be admitted that there are synergies with the DIY business of supplying tools for doing work, although having a slave is the exact opposite of DIY if you think about it.
Introducing Amalaric's Stud Depot where trained workmen are sold alongside the tools of their trade and as you probably know there's always a good selection of useful hardware accessories available too, chains, ropes and fixings to make your new acquisition feel at home.
I have no doubt that if this was available as a legal route to acquiring a pliable (Todd-like!) workman it would be raging success.
From 'Home Depot' at Aquadude Bunker
This beautifully simple picture is based on a fantastic, unintended consequence which flows as inevitably as night follows day from the premise of a world in which men can be sold like chattels. Where such a market exists, there will always be shady characters who will move to exploit the demand it creates, but without following the legal channels and regulations supposed to control the business. We've seen how MOSLA operates on a fantastic scale on the edges of the legal market but this takes us into the very extreme, yet most domestic of black market operations, public and yet clandestine - selling slaves, no questions asked, in a Garage Sale.
Jeb, the subject of this story, was previously served up to us as the dishy Ryan in the story of 'Bobby' (Part 3). Indeed it's not too hard to imagine this tragic episode following on from that memorable comeuppance as Ryan seeks to drown his sorrows. However, it's actually Jeb in the official storyline who finds himself at a loose end one evening and wanders into a sleazy bar he's not visited before. There he falls in with group of rogues who spike his drink and cart him off in their van. After a difficult night of softening up, he ends up hungover and hanging from the rafters of their garage with a price tag in his ear, like a pig. The clue is in the title if you know Amalaric's work
“Jeb’s blue eyes widened in sudden comprehension as the garage door opened to full sunlight and the first of the day’s early bargain hunters.”
This image is populated by a number of Amalaric's stock characters we've seen before - the burly, slave-master type at the back and a selection of typical buyers, ranging from the urbane to the slightly weird. I particularly like the way that the seated man is looking up at Jeb with a mixture of lust and genuine admiration. Such is the paradoxical status of a slave, unenviable but worthy of respect (a bit like a refuse operative). Regardless of that, other men's plans for Jeb seem to have been foiled by an unseen, more generous purchaser who's in the process of removing him to his new home. Of course, Jeb is really a fake as slaves go, he doesn't have the right papers, although the official-looking brand he's been given (did I mention that?) will fool some of the people. But as long as he's kept secure and away from prying eyes it doesn't make much difference what papers he's got.
See Garage Sale at Telemachus
Same story, different, less-boyish stud in The 196th of 1001 Nights at Aquadude Bunker
Of course, it wasn't like this in the old days.....
For some the 'old days' never went away. Here the artist visualises a bustling, traditional, slave 'market place' with an assortment of characters on offer. I wonder if any of these have been illicitly shipped out to take advantage of the less regulated environment of the Middle East, or were they sourced locally?
The secret of collage is selecting good quality ingredients and most Amalaric images have at least one stunning representative of manhood, this one has several. Some stand around waiting to be sold, others are restrained, perhaps out of necessity or simply to allow unhindered inspections. The bandaged knee of the chap in the background is an unexpectedly frank presentation technique, no doubt the trader has a tale to tell about it, perhaps he's an Olympic athlete ('ex-' I should say).
Rebellious spirit is not necessarily a deterrent to buyers and the man in the frame, may have been chosen to be a demonstration 'piece' for exactly that reason. Somewhat surprisingly 'try before you buy' is integral element of the slave trading fantasy, the whip lays ready just in front of him.
At the right a soldier keeps order and I dare say offers protection from those who would steal the trader's wares. He gives the proceedings a stamp of respectability, or at least official recognition and his presence will have extinguished a few lingering hopes of rescue. The captive in underwear may be one of those, he thoughtfully eyes the weighty manacles that symbolise his future – or is he wondering why everybody else is naked?
From 'The Souk At Marrakech” at Telemachus
Amalaric's cumulative detailing of the customs and regulations of his Sci-Fi, modern slave system builds across many separate pieces into an impressively complete edifice (somewhat like the erotic, naked body building world created in the IFNB blog does). Punishment episodes form a major part of these writings and of the experiences of the unfortunates caught up in them but there's a lot of pleasure to be had in simply getting to grips with how the complex jigsaw all fits together. It's intended as erotic entertainment but it also gives us surprising insights into how slavery works (from both side's points of view) and why we are drawn to it.
Next Time – A Slave's Life
Quiz answer: 'Customisation' is derived from a 'Russian Captured Guys' image