Little Big Man

LITTLE BIG MAN – a serial novel by Travis Creel

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE: TWO ASSEMBLIES

Previously: On the second day (Wednesday) of the IAMSO (slaveowners) Convention, Alex(ei) is shocked to receive a summons to appear in Slave Court. He discovers, to his relief, that he has not been called as a defendant, but is the key witness in the conviction of a slave who spoke derisively of his master and, as a result, was punished severely. The slave's master later went to Dmitri offering to buy Alexei; Dmitri rejected the offer, saying he was not ready to sell Alexei yet', phrasing that worries Alexei. Alexei is dreading the two upcoming orgies, at which it is open season' on slaves and will last for hours. Thursday's orgy is mandatory for masters and slaves alike, but Alexei is hoping Dmitri will opt out of Wednesday's, which he has told his friend Horst he might do.

ALEXEI: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, EVENING – SUITE 2702 / MAIN AUDITORIUM

Had it not been for the trial, the salient feature of the first day of the IAMSO Convention would have been the orientation meeting for new and prospective members like Horst, Master's German friend.

Not that I attended. Master and the others did, leaving me alone with orders to watch it on closed-circuit TV. When the camera panned around the audience, I saw a number of Men in Arab dress. Was the Prince Regent among them? Was Matti's Master present? Was Matti watching on CCTV like I was?

A tall, fit Man who looked Northern European took the stage.

• Good evening. I am Jaakko Koivisto.

Apparently he was a celebrity, for the entire room gave him a standing ovation.

• It is my privilege to be President of the International Association of Male Slave Owners, and I am pleased to welcome our new and potential members to our eighteenth annual convention.

More applause. I wondered what kind of joke Matti would make upon learning that the head of IAMSO was a fellow Finn.

• We owe our presence in this magnificent establishment to the generosity of `His Majesty' the Prince Regent. As you can imagine, the logistics of securing an appropriate location for our organization were challenging. We needed a place large enough to accommodate hundreds of guests, and private enough for openly naked slaves. Thanks to the largesse of His Majesty's father, this magnificent hotel and convention center was built. His Majesty is not able to join us for this presentation, but we owe him enormous gratitude.

A standing ovation that lasted for nearly three minutes. I had little doubt that the Prince Regent was watching on CCTV, and that Koivisto was basically kissing ass.

• While this assembly is for the entire conference, its primary purpose is as an orientation session for new or prospective members. The rest of us are just here to welcome you and get in the mood for tonight's orgy.

Ecstatic cheers. Please, Master, don't take me to it!

• I will begin by confirming the basic principles of IAMSO – although I know you know these things or you would not have been allowed to come here.

• IAMSO is strictly all-male. Both master and slave must be male. All slaves bought and sold under the auspices of IAMSO are at least eighteen years old, although we allow members to own slaves as young as sixteen, subject to approval. If you are discovered with a boy younger than that, you will be dismissed from the organization and – if he is prepubescent – reported to the authorities.

• Slave ownership is illegal in most jurisdictions of the world. Therefore, it is essential that knowledge of the existence of IAMSO be held tightly. Fortunately, we have established a network of reliable, bribable officials who, while they might disapprove, will look the other way. Many, of course, will look the other way in exchange for a sample of your wares.

Laughter at this. Knowing laughter, it seemed.

• This is one benefit of IAMSO membership. We will make you known to those officials and vice-versa, so that you may maintain your lifestyle without fear of discovery. We grease their palms so you can grease your slave's hole without fear of legal trouble. In the last sixteen years, no member of IAMSO has ever been arrested because of his status as a slaveowner.

Vigorous applause.

• Making trusted friends aware of IAMSO is permitted, IF you are 100% assured of their discretion. Making the right sort of person aware of IAMSO is, of course, how we grow our membership. If the wrong sort of person becomes aware of IAMSO, such as a member of the press or someone who would contact an unauthorized official, that is where another benefit of IAMSO kicks in. We will take steps to silence that person – usually, financial pressure or other psychological means is sufficient.

Usually? What if it wasn't sufficient? It almost sounded like IAMSO had assassination squads ready to take out "the wrong sort of person".

• A few years ago, an enterprising young journalist, having heard a rumor, managed to infiltrate the Convention. He was promptly seized, stripped, gelded, and permanently enslaved.

• In order to be a member of IAMSO, you must have a secure household, which means you must have means of preventing entry by anyone unauthorized by IAMSO. Allowing a female into your home is grounds for dismissal. This includes family members, so if you want to see your mother, visit her on Zoom or go in person without your slave, but you may not entertain her in your home or disclose that you own a naked slave.

• It is strongly recommended that IAMSO members sever ties with their families completely, and most of us have done so. We have a choice of lifestyles – either we succumb to the conventional, heterosexual, family-based world which has oppressed us for centuries, or we live in the all-male world we crave, free to act as we want without interference from those too benighted to see the benefits of such a world.

HUGE applause.

• IAMSO will help you build security systems and supporting household staff to protect and enhance your lifestyle. Each owner is different – our consultants will assist you in determining what additional members your household needs and help you hire appropriate personnel.

I wonder if that's how Master found Ruslan.

• Now, for the benefit of those of you who are not yet official members of IAMSO – I hope you enjoyed the orgy last night.

A rowdy cheer from a subset of audience members.

• We made the orgy mandatory for new and prospective members for two reasons – first, a Master must be willing to have sex with any submissive at any time; if you were not interested in fucking our delightful staff – including that former journalist, by the way – then what are you doing here?

Laughter.

• Second, the proceedings were filmed.

Murmurs.

• We are in the process of transforming that film into deep fakes in which our staff will appear to be much younger than they actually were. In fact, it will appear that you are fucking little boys. Should you decline our invitation and reveal our existence to a dangerous source, those films will be provided to authorities in your area and you will be in prison for a long time. And in prison, child molesters are not treated well – by authorities or by other prisoners.

• You can call it blackmail – and you'd be right.

Chuckles. Nervous chuckles.

• We have a full slate of training sessions to help you earn your certification, as well as other educational sessions and panel discussions. Today we even had an entertaining and educational slave trial, and as you passed through the lobby tonight you witnessed the sentence being carried out. But tonight we concentrate on the basics – the IAMSO Guidelines that all members have pledged to follow: Even for us veteran members it is important to constantly renew the pledge to uphold these beloved principles.

• In my discussion, I will be using neutral pronouns with reference to slaves, adhering to the view that slaves are property and not worthy of the gender-distinct pronouns ascribed to persons. I acknowledge that many of you will use the words he' and his' to refer to your slaves, and that is your right, but I would encourage a more dispassionate approach.

As Koivisto spoke, the principles mentioned appeared on a giant slide behind him.

• There are three Absolute Rules mandatory for all IAMSO members. I repeat – Absolute Rules. Mandatory.

• One. The slave must be kept naked and shaved at all times.

• If you are transporting your slave outside of your home and cannot allow its uncovered body to be seen, you may drape it with a blanket or cover it in some way, but underneath it must be completely nude, and the covering may not be an item of clothing. A poncho is technically a violation though it is borderline – members have, as a last resort, used an opaque poncho without losing membership benefits, but a fine was assessed.

• The slave must also appear completely shaved to the naked eye. An occasional body hair is tolerated, but a hairy chest will result in sanctions against an owner – and a hairy bush in expulsion. It is essential for the slave to remain shaved – particularly in the pubic area – to remind it of its loss of status, that it is no longer a Man.

• Two. The Master must fuck his slave every day.

• This is a guiding principle of IAMSO. Slaves are for fucking, and they need to know that. If they are given a day off, it will give them ideas above their station. If the Master is unable to fulfill his duty, he must designate an alternate to carry out the fuck. The only exception to this rule is if the slave is incapacitated due to illness or injury. Incapacitated does not include damage to the rectum from previous sex – fucking can be abbreviated in such a case but penetration is required.

• Three. Slavery is permanent.

• Once a boy is enslaved, it may never return to its former life. This is critical knowledge for the slave; it is more likely to adapt to its new lifestyle if it knows there is no hope of release.

• This, of course, raises issues about how to deal with the aging slave. Fortunately, there are humane means of dealing with this situation. New and prospective members: tomorrow's seminar, "My Slave is Over Thirty – Now What?" – is required for certification, but is also highly recommended for anyone with a slave approaching that age range. But let me emphasize – for the benefit of the slaves watching from their rooms – that none of the alternatives involve allowing the slave to return to its former life. For the slaves watching us remotely – you have worn your last stitch of clothing. You will remain in the nude for the rest of your life.

That still didn't answer the I'm-seventy-and-my-Master-is-dead question, did it.

• The remaining principles are what we call semi-mandatory. Flagrant disregard of any of them will result in sanctions, but some degree of discretion is allowed.

• Four. Slave speech must be controlled. Slaves should be prohibited from speaking unless they are ordered to speak, asked a direct question, or explicitly given permission to speak. Slaves are to refer to their owners as Master' and all other Men as Sir'. Well, except for royalty of course. (More chuckles.)

• Five. Any infraction must incur corporal punishment, the severity of which will be determined by the extent to which the infraction is an act of will, or merely a failure to understand an order or an inability to complete it correctly. Withholding food and sleep are inappropriate forms of punishment, as they will weaken the slave and make it less able to fulfill its duties.

• Six. Discipline should be regular and administered regardless of performance. It is a necessary part of reminding the slave of its status. A slave who is disciplined daily will eventually grow to welcome this discipline as it embraces its role as slave.

• Seven. Only one slave per Master. Generally, this means only one slave per household, unless Masters are sharing quarters – or unless you are royalty with a palace full of slaves. (Smile.)

• Eight. IAMSO members must have at least one additional employee or other household member, in order to ensure fulfillment of sex requirements if the owner is absent or incapacitated. Each household member should have access to the slave's ass at least weekly; we recommend unlimited access to its mouth. Access to the slave can be increased or decreased to reward good service or penalize poor performance. Incidentally, the average IAMSO member has five paid employees; a few have double digits.

Master has eight. Like the TV show, eight is enough.

• Nine. The slave must obey all members of the household as it does its Master. If given conflicting orders, the Master's word takes precedence, naturally. If given conflicting orders by household members, the slave must bear the consequences of failing one of them.

• Those are the official guidelines – except for those dealing with legal matters and regulations regarding slaves no longer suitable for use within your household.

Such as the Australian slave. I do wonder what will happen to him. And where are Jackson and B.J.?

• There are three main areas in which there is flexibility – and a lot of discussion.

• The first of these is voluntary slavery. IAMSO generally discourages this – many have found that voluntary slaves become disenchanted with the lifestyle and wish to return to their pre-slave life. Which is the very antithesis of the idea of slavery and cannot be permitted. Statistics have found that young men who volunteer to become slaves are six times more likely to attempt escape than their involuntary counterparts. For that reason, all slaves available through IAMSO markets have been obtained through either abduction or coercion. It may seem counterintuitive, but frankly – they make better slaves. However, there is no prohibition against members accepting volunteers as slaves, at their own risk.

• The second issue, a controversial one, regards communication. There are two schools of thought here. The first – IAMSO's recommendation – is that communication be limited to the delivery of orders and such minimal explanation as the slave might need to perform its duties. This will maintain the proper distance and keep the slave from developing any undue notions of self-esteem. A second viewpoint posits that the Master may occasionally engage in personal conversation "off the record", in order to better understand the slave and modify its behavior. This risks making the relationship too personal, but may help the slave accept its situation and develop the proper attitude toward its Master.

• The third area of flexibility is gelding. As the slave is the total property of the owner, and has no need for the active role in any sex act, gelding your slave is perfectly acceptable. The threat of gelding can also be a useful motivator, but it is not meaningful if it is not perceived to be a realistic threat.

That sentence brought me right back to the boat. Del, South Dakota, Oregon, Utah, the others. Almost me, almost Matti, almost Rhody. Plus Jackson. It's a realistic threat.

• However, the great majority of our owners prefer to keep their slaves intact. Inflicting pain on the scrotum is also a useful motivator, and some of us just like the feel of slaves' testicles in our hands.

He went on from there to introduce other members of the IAMSO governing council, which is where it got too boring for me to pay much attention.

FLASHFORWARD: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19 – MASTER'S BEDROOM

• I am glad you write about this. This day significant to you.

• Yes, but this wasn't the main reason I wrote about the trip.

• Thursday more significant.

• Way more.

• I read about Thursday after you write. But now let's talk about Wednesday. How was orientation meeting important?

• Well, I understood some of the reasons that you – why you do what you do. Like why I can't wear clothes and why I'm fucked so much by so many people.

• Slave main purpose is to be fucked. It – what is American expression – come with job.

• Yes, I get that.

• What else? What else significant?

• You told the Australian that you might sell me in a few months.

• Slave cannot choose his owner. What mean ownership? Right to buy and sell.

• Of course. That's basic economics. It's also upsetting to the object being bought and sold.

• Australian was before initiation meeting. Something at initiation meeting bother you.

• Well, calling a slave `it'.

• I do not use.

• Yes, I thank you for that, Master. But hearing him call us `it' sent chills down my spine.

• Is good, what else?

• The `slavery is permanent' thing.

• Slavery IS permanent, Alexei. We tell you on ship you never going back to America. Should not be surprise. You never going back to America, Alexei. You Russian now. You say so at trial – you Russian and you slave. It permanent.

• But – I mean, I'm used to being naked but the idea that I will never wear clothes again – NEVER? For the rest of my life? That's scary.

• Why scary? You just say you used to it.

• What happens when I get old, Master? What happens to slaves when they aren't sexy anymore?

• Jaakko address that. He say there are humane –

• Where is Jackson?

• (slap) Alexei! You interrupt Master?! Twenty strokes of cane for that.

• . . .

• No apology? Twenty-five.

• I'm sorry, Master.

• You not sorry, you angry. You apologize out of fear. Thirty.

• Okay, Master, you win. You're right, I shouldn't have said that. I . . . I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry, I know better. I'm just . . . Master, I'm scared.

• Why you ask about Jackson? Jackson bad slave.

• You told me I was failing, Master. I don't want to be a bad slave. I don't want to be like Jackson. Where is Jackson, Master? Ilya . . .

• Ilya what?

• Ilya told me you castrated him.

• Jackson did try to run away – first night here. But I not modify him. Yes, he was geld – but not by me. By new owner.

• So he's a eunuch now.

• I not sure.

• What – you think maybe he grew his balls back?

• (slap) Disrespect, Alexei. Thirty strokes not enough? You want Ruslan to use heavy cane that will destroy ass? If you wish to be a good slave, you will not display this . . . sarcophagus.

• Sarcasm, Master. A sarcophagus is –

• Never mind what is. You not display.

• I'm sorry, Master. You can see this is disturbing me and it's making me act rashly. But I don't understand – Jackson was castrated?

• Da.

• But he might not be a eunuch now.

• Da.

• That doesn't make sense.

• Alexei, you not stupid boy. Work it out. I send Jackson to Prince. I not know what happen after that.

I immediately connected it to what I overheard on the second day of the convention. The tumbler fell. Everything clicked.

Which was not in the least reassuring.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, MORNING – SUITE 2702

After they came back from the assembly last night, Master was true to his word and did not send me to the orgy, which I knew would last for five hours and I would get fucked multiple times by complete strangers.

Instead, I was fucked multiple times by people I knew.

It was odd. It was somehow comforting. It was like being with family.

Master the father. Horst the visiting uncle. Sasha and Oleg the older brothers. Ilya the bratty cousin. Master only fucked me once (saving himself for Thursday night's orgy?), but Sasha and Ilya went three times and Oleg and Horst twice. There was something like a party atmosphere as I was passed from person to person – they were all drinking and early on forced so much vodka down my throat that I didn't care who was ramming their cock up my ass. While none of the fucks could be called affectionate, they were still somehow intimate.

It was odd how it was different here from at home. At home I had the regular afternoon appointments with different servants, plus Master at night. And then at Saturdays there were parties where it seemed like they were all having fun at my expense. Last night it was like we were all having fun together. It was probably the vodka, but Sasha seemed passionate and looked handsomer than usual. Oleg seemed sweet and I didn't even mind submitting to Ilya.

A good time was had by all – even me. I wonder if Master noticed. Or if he just attributed it to the fact that I was drunk.

And maybe I attributed it to the fact that I was drunk.

This morning, Master had a meeting. All the LBM gang were there, including Yuri's assistants Anil and Nurbek. The meeting was entirely in Russian, so I have no idea what they said. Afterwards, Oleg, looking rather pleased, went off with Anil and Nurbek. I had no idea that what they were planning was a presentation before the convention. Or that one item presented would be me.

I also had no idea what kind of day it would turn out to be. The first surprise was the panel discussion in the afternoon. And then it got stranger. And more exciting. And more disturbing.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, AFTERNOON – AUDITORIUM B

After lunch, I was delivered to Sasha's room and Master walked away. Within minutes, I was joined by Rhody, Nodak, and Wyoming – and Ilya. Oleg was nowhere to be seen, nor were the four Masters or Yuri's assistants. I remembered that Oleg had left the meeting with Yuri's assistants this morning, and considered that not a coincidence.

I was glad to be with Nodak, Rhody and even Wyoming. With Sasha and Ilya there, we knew we could not chat, but we grinned at each other and – when we were sure we were unobserved – gave each other `thumbs up'.

At about 1:20 Sasha and Ilya took us downstairs (via separate elevators) to Auditorium B, which I saw had a placard – "Little Big Man – A Resource for Obtaining Slaves".

I thought: this is the reason we came here. They want us to see Master's presentation.

But Sasha did not order us inside; instead, he took us around to the back and we entered behind the stage. He stationed us in the wings, where we could see the stage but not the audience.

The stage held a podium and a long, curved desk which seated Oleg, Nurbek and Anil, looking like the Channel Six News Team, except that Nurbek and Anil had laptops open. Behind them was a huge screen displaying the Little Big Man logo. It was not quite the same as the LBM logo I had seen before. [cf. Ch. 1]. The animation ran backwards. It began as the lower-case letters lbm; then the m took on the appearance of two bent-over Men facing each other, their butts in the air and their arms dangling to the floor. Meanwhile, the b had grown a penis which it used to fuck the left half of the m. "Seeing" this, the l also sprouted a penis, jumped over to the other side of the logo and fucked the right half of the m. After about ten seconds of humping, the penises disappeared and the logo dissolved into the same LBM logo I had seen back in March.

Cute.

Jaakko Koivisto emerged from the opposite side of the stage and again took the podium.

• Good afternoon, gentlemen.

It struck me that in almost any other context I would have heard the term `ladies and gentlemen'. But I had not laid eyes upon anyone of the female sex since a blue-haired old lady I passed on the dock in Fort Lauderdale on the 4th of June.

• This afternoon's presentation is the work of the Little Big Man Foundation, whose leaders are here in the audience today. Let me introduce them – first and foremost, Dmitri Malenkov.

Interesting – Master was `first and foremost'. Was he more important than the others? Was he the head honcho?

• And his three co-founders – Yuri Kasimov, Boris Andruchenko, and Sergei Kolonin. Gentlemen, would you please stand.

More than polite applause.

• On stage are three of the men-behind-the-scenes of the Little Big Man project – Anil Jayawardana, Nurbek Akhmetov and Oleg Valenskiy.

• The Little Big Man project, for those of you unfamiliar with it, specializes in the recruitment of slaves for the IAMSO marketplace. If you have not attended one of its auctions, you should – provided you are not looking for a tall or large slave. Mr. Valenskiy will tell you more about it. I give you – Oleg Valenskiy.

I was expecting Master but this made sense. Oleg, I had learned (through Henri), had grown up in the United States and had flawless, unaccented English.

• The Little Big Man Project just completed its fifth year in operation and delivered its two hundred and fiftieth slave.

On the monitor was film of several Bottoms, including Alabama and New Mexico, heading down the ramp in Mogadishu, stark naked in broad daylight, blindfolded, to catcalls and cheers.

• Our specialty is the smaller slave – more easily controlled and physically dominated – and pretty darn sexy to boot. They are all citizens of the U.S.A. – so rewarding to own a citizen of the supposed most powerful country in the world. Take them down a peg, eh?

A map of the United States which began to slip down the page as if it was melting. Hilarious.

• We specialize in high-quality, educated slaves, every one a college student.

A close-up image of a man's head – no one I recognized – wearing a mortar board and tassel. Then the camera pulled away and revealed that he wore nothing else. His mortar board was knocked off and a collar attached to his neck.

• And these are not just average college students. We screen them for intelligence. They are smart enough that you could hire them to help run your business. Or . . . you could force them to.

Laughter. The shot was of a nude slave, seated, studying a computer printout.

• After which you get to fuck them all you want.

The slave was pulled out of his chair and bent over the desk. They didn't need to go further.

• Gentlemen, the success of Little Big Man is unparalleled. We have satisfied clients the world over. This year we sold our stock for record prices. And a generous portion of the proceeds will go directly into IAMSO bank accounts.

Wild applause. A video of a dollar figure increasing from $0 to thousands of dollars.

• Of course, our co-founders also keep a share of the profits.

• (Nurbek, piping up) And some of those profits are human.

Laughter and applause.

• Would you like to meet some of profits?

Oleg stood then and, catching my eye, motioned me forward. I looked at him, in astonishment: are you saying I should go on stage? I felt a shove from behind – Sasha. Still out of sight of the audience, I waved my hand in a circular motion: all of us? (Oh, dear, that was a question. I hoped Oleg wouldn't report it.)

Oleg nodded and, nervously I walked out on stage to catcalls and whistles. Nodak followed me, and so did Wyoming and Rhody.

I was nervous as hell but determined not to blow this. An inspiration hit me, and – being presented to a room full of Men and not just one, I turned my back to the audience, fell to my knees, pressed my head to the floor and spread my legs. I kept my head at such an angle, however, that I could still see the images on the screen that the audience was watching.

Nodak saw what I was doing almost instantly and took the same posture. Wyoming and Rhody were displaying seconds thereafter.

Our asses were greeted with rapturous applause.

• (Koivisto) Well, these boys seem well-trained. I assumed you instructed them beforehand on what to do when they appeared on stage.

Oleg laughed and motioned to Sasha, urging him onstage.

• Sasha, did you or Ilya tell them what to do when they appeared onstage?

• They don't know they go on stage. They good boys, they know to display.

Hear that, Master?

• (Oleg) Our boys are smart, they're obedient – and, as you can see – very pleasing on the eye. They're also very pleasing on the dick. But don't be misled by appearances. We provide slaves of all races. It is unusual that this year all four of our leaders wound up with white boys. One of our leaders, Boris, prefers Black slaves, but that didn't work out this year.

• (Sasha, calling out) Boris! You not upset about that, are you? You happy with slave you got?

I got the impression that Boris was standing up. And then, from the approving and surprised quality of the murmuring – and other noises – I got the impression that Boris had left his seat and come up onto the stage.

• (Boris) Boris not upset.

He approached us, leaned over and rubbed Nodak's spectacular rump.

• How could you be upset with this? This most fuckable ass in all of North America.

Laughter. I peeked over to my left. Nodak was blushing.

• Only he not in North America now. And he never going back!

Laughter and cheers.

• Oleg, tell them why our boys so good slaves.

I got the impression Boris was returning to his seat.

• (Oleg) These slaves are so high-quality due to the careful screening we do. They are selected from literally thousands of applicants – yes, applicants. No, gentlemen, these are not volunteer slaves. Data analysis has shown conclusively that abducted males make the best slaves. These boys thought they were applying for a scholarship – and then we held competitions to find the best ones.

Anil and Nurbek were ready for this and projected images from state contests – look, there was Maine, walking down the runway in his tux. Looking so happy and so confident. Where was Maine now, I wondered. And what was Rhody thinking, seeing him up on the screen?

• Every slave had to satisfy four criteria – first and foremost, he had to be sexy. What point is a slave if you don't look at him and say, `I want to fuck that'? (An image of Idaho in his speedo. Idaho, I had to admit, had a magnificent ass, in the class of Nodak. Members of the audience would indeed want to fuck that.)

• Second, he had to be smart. (California, a pre-law major at Stanford, answering that question about the Supreme Court case using such sophisticated legal language that he probably could have clerked for a SCOTUS justice right then and there.)

• Third, he had to have a family that wouldn't miss him – this was, in some ways, the most difficult aspect to screen for. Our representatives in the United States are not aware of a single instance in which the family of one of our slaves has reported him missing to the authorities. (An image of Iowa composing an e-mail that began, "Dad, I've met someone and have decided to stay in Europe and marry her. I'm not coming home." And then an older African-American Man – doubtless an actor, not Iowa's real father – reading the email, deleting it and calling out to an unseen wife, "He's not coming home," and the offstage reply: "Good.")

• The fourth thing that they are screened for is the most critical – and the reason why Little Big Man produces the finest slaves on the market today. Six months ago, every one of our slaves considered himself heterosexual. But their reaction to subliminal images exposed their suppressed homosexual desire. Research has shown that the best slaves are those who are forced to adjust from heterosexuality to homosexuality – and are able to adapt because they have the potential for homosexuality lying dormant within them. We awaken that potential.

Image of a doctor in a white lab coat who – omigod, that's Dr. Haddad! Then a close-up of him attaching wires to the genitals of a naked man and then zoomed out to – omyfuckingod, that's me! Me, with pubic hair, watching that ten-minute video they used to assess my Latent Homosexuality Index. They froze the video to show the image of an erect cock interspersed between non-erotic images, and then cut to what looked like my pupils widening.

• The boys here on stage – some have made the leap already, some may still be in the process. But the great majority of our slaves adapt and come to realize that their true identity is to serve Men.

• And if they don't, well, we get rid of them.

Laughter. Applause. A sunken feeling in my chest. We get rid of them. Like the Australian slave. ("I'll have to dump him somewhere.")

• (Koivisto, taking over) And now, gentlemen, we're going to have an auction. No, we're not selling any of these beauties. But we are selling the right to fuck one of them right here on stage. It's a silent auction so enter in your bids and the highest bid will be given his choice of these four delectable asses.

Explaining why we had been told to clean out.

During the auction, a slave passed behind us and greased each of us up for potential fucking.

• Okay, the top bid is forty-two point seven three in slavecoin. Gentlemen, you have one minute to raise your bids if you want to fuck one of these beauties.

Slavecoin? What the hell was that? They had their own crypto-currency? I wondered how much forty-two slavecoin was. I hope it was more than forty-two dollars, or I'd feel cheap.

DMITRI: Let me interject for a moment to explain about slavecoin. It wasn't a crypto-currency. It was a means of disguising the value of slave transactions. The value of one slavecoin changed every day, set arbitrarily by IAMSO's financial secretary. One day it might be equivalent to 132.5 euros, the next day only 0.047. IAMSO members had an app on their phones that would convert from euros, or any other currency, to the current equivalent in slavecoin. If you wanted to bid on a slave, you'd enter in the amount you wanted to pay and it would convert it to today's value in slavecoin. And you'd use it in reverse to interpret others' bids. Thus, auctions could be conducted in the presence of slaves without the slaves having any idea of how much their Masters were paying for them.

ALEX: A minute later, Koivisto announced:

• The winning bid is fifty-six point two three in slavecoin!

A yell went up from the crowd. "Yes!" I guess someone knew how much he bid.

• Gentlemen, our winner has identified himself! And here he comes!

There was chuckling in the audience as the auction winner apparently was wasting no time in running up to the stage to claim his prize.

• Congratulations, Jamison Reynolds.

A Western name, interesting.

• Mr. Reynolds, you have your choice. Which slave would you like to fuck?

The answer was delivered in a Caribbean accent:

• (Reynolds) Oh, for sure, I want the most fuckable ass in all of North America!

Laughter and applause.

Lucky Nodak.

It didn't take long for Reynolds to strip off his clothes and obtain an erection. Before I knew it, he had climbed over Nodak and was driving his cock into Nodak's perfect rump.

I looked over at Nodak – he groaned with the initial thrust, but as Reynolds started fucking him in honest, he started to push back and I could read the pleasure on his face.

Nodak had made the adjustment, all right. He was happy having a cock up his ass.

The audience was getting into it. When Reynolds crouched over Nodak, they began chanting, "Fuck him! Fuck him! Fuck him!" (Though some were chanting `'Fuck it!") And as the Jamaican (?) did just that, his thrusts became too fast for that chant, which shortened to "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" – each word coming with a push of Reynolds's hips and a penetration of his cock deeper inside Nodak.

• Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

Nodak was loving every minute of it. And I realized, to my astonishment, that I was jealous.

I was jealous. Nodak was getting fucked and I was jealous of him. I wanted Reynolds to choose me. I wanted him to want to fuck me. And I wanted him to actually fuck me.

I thought, perhaps subsequent auctions would award my ass and the others' to attendees, but no. When Reynolds shot his load up Nodak's chute, Nodak was escorted offstage to clean up but Rhody, Wyoming and I remained in our display position, the view of our asses apparently being enough to keep the audience enthralled. And Oleg, ever the salesman, continued on.

• Quality slaves such as these can be yours next year. The main Little Big Man slave sale is in Mogadishu next June. From twenty to forty slaves will be available for purchase, depending on arrangements with other buyers.

That would be the Prince Regent.

• And a smaller contingent of eight, including four ready-made eunuchs, will be available in Bata, earlier that month. The exact dates will be announced later.

• And, gentlemen, we are most excited to announce some dramatic news.

Oh?

• We are expanding Little Big Man. We are proud to announce the launch of Little Big Man Europe. Next year will be a pilot program – only twenty-four countries. But the following year, we expect to expand into all of Europe – including countries as small as Kosovo and Malta.

Applause.

• I doubt we'll be able to include the Vatican, however. (Laughter.)

• And after that – can Little Big Man Africa be far behind? For those of you not so interested in white boys. It's in our five-year plan.

My mind was reeling. Was Master going to be on ships all year? Was he going to bring home slaves from all these contests? Where would they all live? And – more to the point – where would all the former slaves live?

One former slave in particular.

[COMING UP NEXT: CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR - AT THE ROYAL PALACE]