Dependency: Masters and Slaves

The Masters and the Slaves: What is “Mine” includes “You”

As the consciousness of the Sleeper crystallizes in this dynamic, more and more power is shifted. The ownership becomes institutionalized. Takers, seeking to overcome their obstacles, manifest the power of weaponry, first bronze, then iron. Because this weaponry is hard to produce, it can be concentrated in the hands of the few.

Now, rather than rely on group consensus, the Taker can divide and conquer. All things within group lands are claimed by the Taker, which includes the people in it. The primary vehicles of the change are the use of brute force, and social stratification. By forcing compliance with the threat of pain and more often, death, and by elevating some over others, the Taker becomes the Master. While some may have more comfort and privilege, all are still property of the Master, and therefore Slaves. The Slaves we know today still represent the bulk of society. Thus, the Master has alleviated the need for group consensus, but gained a great cost. It takes a large section of the population, as soldiers, to oversee the majority of the populace. This limits the expansion of holdings the Master can carry out.

This is when we see the Law arise. It is simply a stated collection of the Master’s will, and a specific Slave, called a Barrister, Lawyer, or Attorney, is created to administer it. Like the Shaman, this individual will become much more important in time.

In most cases, it was in a Master’s best interest to ensure, at least, the Slave did not die. Replacement was not impossible, but expensive, slaves were costly. Whether by purchase, conquest, or punishment, the cost to the Master was usually more inconvenient than it was worth. Insofar as the value exceeded the cost of replacement, the slave could survive. And, the slave could at least buy their own freedom, or escape with some risk. On the other hand, the Slave could ease their condition by becoming an Overseer of other slaves.

This is precisely what made slavery in the United States so difficult. A Slave could escape, having Awakened and made the great leap – but still be singled out later due to the color of their skin. This is why a war was necessitated. Had U.S. slavery been more like Roman slavery (not based on race, and legally given a time limit), we would probably see lingering vestiges of it, even today. On a metaphysical level, it was precisely because Black slaves who Awakened could not express that Awakening that the system had to collapse.

The Master, however, having shed the consensus of the group, had taken on significant monitoring costs, as well as the fear of constant uprising. The Master would seek to find a way to get the Slaves to willingly participate in the social stratification arrangement, through all social strata. Under force, the Sleepers had surrendered their bodies, and now, they would surrender their hearts.