Life on other planets -- Fiction; Science fiction; Slavery -- Fiction
The alien--the barbarian--will not of himself continue contact in any
meaningful manner. The gap is too great between his life and that
of the civilized person, and a disparity so great becomes, simply,
invisible. Under conditions of equality, the civilized person must
degenerate to barbarian status: his mind can comprehend the barbarian,
and he can move in that direction. The barbarian, incapable of
comprehension of the civilized world, cannot move toward that which he
cannot see.
In order to bring him into motion, slavery and subjection appear
necessities. There has been no civilization of which we have record
which has not passed through a period of subjection to another, more
forceful civilization: the Greeks, the Romans, the Jews, all the great
civilizations of which there is available record have passed through a
period of slavery. Nor is this accidental.
Some force must be applied to begin the motion toward civilization.
That force--disguise it how you will--is slavery. It is clearly the
attempt to make another person do what he would not do, does not
wish to do, and sees no personal profit in doing, under threat of
punishment. It is subjection. That subjection is all we mean by slavery.
And slavery is a necessity.
Perhaps we were wrong: perhaps the slavery which was dictated to us by
the conditions which prevailed upon Fruyling's World was not the best
sort available. But freedom is not, in any case, the answer. A man may
die as the result of too much oxygen: a culture, likewise, may die of
too much freedom.
I have no fear of the sentence of this court. My death is unimportant,
and I do not fear it. I might fear that my work be left undone, were I
not certain that, under whatever name, the Confederation will find it
necessary to maintain slavery on Fruyling's World.
Of this, I am quite sure.
* * * * *
From the Report of Genmo. Darad Farnung, Commanding Confederation
Expeditionary Force, 3rd Sector From Base of Occupation, Fruyling's
World (NC34157:495:4)
... In the three planetary months (approx. ninety-two Solar days) since
occupation of this world, no serious incidents have been reported.
The previous "rulers" of this world have been transshipped to Earth
for disposal there by Confederation governmental process. With the
introduction of fully automated machinery, the world's primary
resources are being utilized for the good of the Confederation without
the introduction of any form of slavery or forced labor whatever....
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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