Rehearsals; Reactions; Realities

originally posted July 12, 2006

He seemed defeated to me. Passive. Dejected, maybe. It is hard to describe it precisely, really. Darwin of Tabor, once a Cloth Worker on the exchange island of Tabor, chose this fate, that of slavery, over death twice over. His small, island shoppe ransacked by pirates, he begged to pull an oar in the galley rather than die at the blade of the raider's steel. Found unfit or unable to pull the oar in the galley, there was only one choice other than that of being tossed overboard, supper for sharks and tharlarion, that of kajirus at the skirt and slippers of a free woman. It is said he begged readily for it. For the moment, that has been postponed. His appearance and general mien was similar enough to that of a fellow from Earth called 'Michael', that he has been cast into the role in my upcoming play. I lined the women I own that were in attendance at his feet and introduced them to him.
"The black girl is called Portia," I told him. "The pale, curvy one is called Elise. You may call the blonde one Samantha."
He nodded meekly to them. They were knelt in a line to my right.
"This one is called Joy," I told him, glancing to the girl just beckoned to my left. "They belong to me," I told him further. "Do you understand?"
"Yes, Master," he said without hesitation.
"Also, if you refer to me as 'Master' again, I will call for a Physician and have you gelded," I mentioned.
I thought it was only fair to make at least a cursory mention of it. His collar was enough. I wanted nothing more from him than to memorize the script I provided and to take stage direction. Respect for what was mine, of course, as was pointed out to him, was also important. It seems unnatural to me that one fellow should be the master of another. Authority is one notion, in my mind. Mastery is quite another. We rehearsed two key scenes last evening. These were not 'dress rehearsals', but simple walk-throughs to point out where the players should stand at certain points of the scene and where their characterizations were lacking. I felt it went well. The slaves took direction and criticism well, Darwin included. Much of the difficulty, and it was minimal, was with respect of the comfort level of the girls with the fellow. Slave girls, in general, do not understand such men. Why does he not wish to have them at his feet, for example? How is it that he fails to stir in them the emotions and physical responses that a man, the natural master of women, should? I noted Portia's near instant dismissal of the fellow. To her, he was a non-person, something else than a man.
"Tal, Slave," she said to him when commanded to greet him.
I do not think she took note of him the rest of the evening. Samantha, a woman of Earth watching this defeated Gorean male play a man of her former world, seemed genuinely angered by his presence. I thought, given the opportunity, she might smack him. It is my opinion that she found him unworthy to criticize her world or make commentary upon it, such that his characterization does in the play. Elise found difficulty in the role I charged her with, at least initially. It took her several lines to fall into the mien of a typical barbarian female. I should have anticipated that. She is native to this world, once of high caste. I cannot imagine that the teachings of the Second Knowledge she may have received were so detailed as to prepare her for the role I cast her into. It was amusing, as an aside, to witness her delineating the relationship of her character to that of Darwin's and of herself to the fellow. Between scenes, she was quick to define her 'space' with both look and gesture. As if to say, "Back off, fellow." I saw no reason to beat her for the slight. He chose to be what he is. Joy, I noted, was able to separate herself from the reality that the scenes were based upon. She has admitted to me the fellow looks much like the 'Michael' she remembers. She feared, at one point, that she would be angry and unable to act the scenes as written. Darwin of Tabor, however, is no Michael of The United States. Past the physical similiarities, he is a different fellow.