Little Big Man

LITTLE BIG MAN – a serial novel by Travis Creel

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Previously: In November, Dmitri, having read Alex's account of his first two weeks as a slave, has a serious conversation with him. He tells him that so far he has failed as a slave: While Alex is obedient, there are barriers in his mind that are getting in the way. Only when he purges his mind of the things that he doesn't need any more will he be able to dedicate himself purely to his Master's interests.

Dmitri decides that he must first find out more about those roadblocks, and orders him to write only three stories about his life after those first two weeks – the three events that were the most significant to him. Alex thinks hard about what those three stories should be. He reveals that the three most obvious choices all involve trips in some way – but he was unsure about how much he should reveal.

Alex's account of his first two weeks had culminated with his account of the first party with outside guests, at which he was awarded as a future overnight guest to the winner of one of Dmitri's games. One of the guests was a German, Horst, to whom Dmitri intends to show Alex's story when it is complete. Dmitri picks up the story the next morning.

DMITRI: SUNDAY, 3 JULY, MORNING – LIBRARY

It was a Sunday, when the boy had a light day and the servants had a day off. I invited Horst to stay overnight after the party. I wanted to talk to him about becoming a slaveowner.

• You should, Horst. You were my only guest last night without his own slave.

• I know I want to.

• Then what's holding you back?

• I just have a lot of questions.

• Fire away. I want you to be comfortable with this decision.

• Okay. First, is Little Big Man how you became a slaveowner?

• Heavens, no. I've been an IAMSO member for nearly fifteen years.

• IAMSO – that's the organization you want me to join.

• Yes, the International Association of Male SlaveOwners.

• Do I have to join it in order to own a slave?

• Technically no, but it's strongly advised. They provide a lot of support and training. And protection from authorities. To go it alone, that could be very dangerous in this country. By all means apply, Horst – you'll have to be vetted, of course, but with my support you'll easily be granted preliminary guest membership. Then you can start taking the courses you need for certification and go to the convention in September – which is always fun and LBM is making a presentation this year. When you've completed your training, you'll get your provisional membership.

I didn't tell him about the other requirement for full certification, not wishing to discourage him. Plenty of time for that later.

• I'll think about it. So how DID you become a slave-owner, those dozen years ago?

• Let me tell you my story. In my early twenties, I was rising through the ranks financially; my late father had powerful friends who assisted me in my career. I was rapidly accumulating wealth – big wealth – and acquiring useful contacts. I was someone to keep an eye on, a rising young star. By the time I was twenty-five, I had a suitable dacha and my bankbook was getting fat. I was thinking about acquiring more stately quarters. My mentor, a man named Nikolai Ovechkin, was an IAMSO member and, knowing my sexual practices, had invited me to a few of his parties. He took me aside and advised me that, if I wanted more power and influence (which I did), it was time for me to get a slave. Nikolai shepherded me through the process, sponsored my IAMSO membership –

• Which you will do for me?

• Absolutely. Nikolai facilitated the acquisition of my first slave, a brunet named Vyacheslav, a.k.a. Slava. Slava was actually eight years older than I was. His master had wanted a younger boy and made him available at a bargain price. Slava was the perfect First Slave for me. He was already trained, obedient, and an excellent cocksucker. But he had limits – he had not been trained as a cook, for example – and my cook at the time was a woman. I had to let her go, as there can be no women in an IAMSO household. Nikolai helped me find a replacement who would keep his mouth shut – in exchange for occasional use of Slava's ass. And that was my first lesson in balancing servants and slaves.

• Yes, I would have to make some changes in my household. My valet is married.

• You won't need a valet when you have a slave. But you do need additional staff – IAMSO will help you with that, too.

• Go on.

• As my power and influence grew – and my bank account – I purchased this estate, which required a more substantial staff. Emulating Nikolai, I began to throw parties, which were well-received, but a few guests complained that Slava was getting on in years – couldn't I obtain someone younger? I knew they were right – by this time Slava was thirty-nine. He would have to go.

• Thirty-nine? Certainly.

• I could sell him – but who would buy a thirty-nine-year-old sex slave? I could terminate him – and that means just what you think it means. Or – if I waited a few months – I could set him free. Slava had been with me for six years, and I had grown quite fond of him. So I set him free on his fortieth birthday.

• You can do that?

• Yes, though it's a different sort of freedom than you might expect. I'll get to that. Anyway, that was eight years ago. Over the next year and a half, I had three different slaves. They were all young. Wanting to save money, initially I bypassed the IAMSO markets and advertised on a local gay website for volunteers. If you know the right tricks, you can get there without the authorities knowing.

• Sounds dangerous to me.

• It was. It risked exposure to blackmail if my identity were discovered. But more importantly – let's just say you get what you pay for.

• Quality was bad.

• At first, I was thrilled when Kirill responded to my ad. He seemed ideal. He was nineteen, he was blond, he had a voluptuous ass, he gave a first-class blowjob – and he longed to be my slave. And so he signed a contract. A contract "for life or for as long as it shall please the Master to have the slave in his dominion."

• Yes, you'd need that clause in a contract, I can see that.

• It turned out that Kirill liked the IDEA of being a slave; the reality was something else. He liked the sex but not the work. He started to complain, and discipline sessions only seemed to make matters worse. He asked to wear clothes. He tried to run away. I caught him once on my computer – fortunately I intervened before he could send an e-mail asking a friend to rescue him and report me to the police.

• Mein Gott, you must have been alarmed.

• Well – I have influence with the police. I keep their palms well-greased. And a contact at the FSB who protects me. But it became increasingly clear that Kirill was not only a bad slave, he was ultimately a threat. Nikolai came to my rescue and arranged for Kirill to disappear.

• Disappear?

• One day Nikolai showed up with four bodyguards. They seized Kirill and dragged him out the door – I watched them shove him into the trunk of a car. I didn't ask what happened after that and was relieved when, months later, Nikolai confided that he had managed to find a new home for Kirill – one in which his slavery was permanent and involuntary. How long `permanent' was – well, that was up to Kirill.

• I hope he learned from that experience.

• As do I. After Kirill came Dung. Yes, that was his name, Dung – we had a great deal of fun with that. He was Vietnamese and I bought him via IAMSO from a Philippine provincial governor. Paid more for him than I should have, as it turned out he had been used so frequently his hole had lost any semblance of tightness, even at the age of twenty. I found out later that he had been selling himself on the streets since he was eleven. Valentin followed, a Bulgarian, who, like Kirill, had begun as a volunteer slave. His Master gave me a good price. I should have known. Neither made an acceptable slave, and I got rid of them after a few months.

• Bad string of luck.

• No, bad decision-making. I was beginning to regret having freed Slava. Even at thirty-nine he was a great piece of ass, and he truly understood the nature of slavehood. I had been spoiled by the experience, thinking all slaves would be of this quality – only to have three bad ones in a row.

• I sense a turnaround coming.

• Indeed. Next came Klaus. Klaus was my first totally involuntary slave other than Slava. He had been kidnapped by a procurement service while hiking in the Austrian Tyrol. He was put up for auction, and, being a virgin, would fetch a high price. But by this time, I was rolling in money – and I had never popped a cherry. And Klaus was sexy. And blond. I had to have him, so I bought him. As a totally uninitiated slave, Klaus presented challenges. Nikolai – and the IAMSO guidelines – were indispensable in helping me break him. It was with Klaus that I learned how to structure a slave's day, the forerunner of the schedule I use with my boy today.

• I can't help but notice he's no longer here.

• Shortly after I acquired Klaus, discussions began about forming the Little Big Man Foundation. One of the men I consulted – ironically also named Kirill – was excited about research into the Latent Homosexuality Index and was determined to demonstrate that men who thought they were straight could be turned into good sex slaves. And he liked small men – something that appealed to the rest of us also. The concept excited me, and the team was formed.

• The team being you and - ?

• Yuri, Boris and Kirill. However, Kirill, though an excellent mathematician, was found to have a Latent Heterosexuality Index that was disturbingly high – over twenty percent – and so he was replaced by Sergei, whose Latent Heterosexuality Index was only two percent.

• What's yours?

• Zero point six. As I've said, I could fuck a woman if my life depended on it, but I'd have to persuade my cock first that it was better than death. Little Big Man took two years to develop but we felt good about it when we started the pilot project. At the time, I had had Klaus for nearly two years, and he had developed into a dependable and faithful slave, much to his surprise.

• I've heard it said that the best slaves are the abducted ones – seems contraindicated –

• But it's true. Klaus was my second best slave.

• So do you bring back a slave from Little Big Man every year? What if you like the slave you have? You seemed to have liked Klaus.

• It was our original intention just to sell all the stock from LBM. The first year, most of us did and I held on to Klaus. But Boris decided to replace his boy then, an Armenian, with one of the LBM stock, a nice Black boy from Detroit; Boris likes his boys Black. So the idea was planted and we decided that we would keep things fresh by replacing our current boy with the new one from LBM unless we didn't want to give up the resident slave. The next year, I became infatuated with B.J., a striking blond from Oklahoma, and brought him home with me.

• What happened to Klaus?

• As a gesture of good faith, as well as a negotiating tactic, I gave him to the Prince Regent, free of charge. He's still there, and the last I heard he was in good stead. He doubtless can serve them well for several more years before – well, I don't think the Royal Family sets anyone free.

• And B.J.?

• His middle name was Joseph, and, as I was initially pleased with him, I rewarded him with the Russian name Iosif. At the next LBM auction, I acquired a Dartmouth senior named Philip, another blond, but since I wanted to keep Iosif, I had to find Philip a new home. I auctioned him online to a Colombian colonel – I kept him virgin until the sale, which increased the price.

• Smart move.

• Feeling more secure now that I had kept him, Iosif started to get complacent. He was getting sloppy in his duties and taking my approval for granted. I stripped his Russian name as a warning and made him B.J. again. It didn't seem to matter. B.J.'s second year was Ruslan's first, but even Ruslan's discipline didn't seem to improve B.J.'s performance outside of the bedroom. So I sold him and replaced him with another blond, this one from South Carolina.

• Jackson.

• Yes, Jackson. Jackson was a total disaster. A flop in the bedroom, worse than a flop everywhere else. He even came to me and openly protested about Ruslan using too much force with the strap. And when I was away on a trip, Ruslan caught him lying on my bed, fully dressed in my clothes.

• Unbelievable.

• When I got home, I directed Ruslan to use even more force, and not just with the strap. Let's just say that anyone taking inventory of Jackson's teeth would have noticed a decline in the asset column.

• Ouch.

• I placed an ad on the IAMSO network, but had to be honest about his shortcomings – if I misrepresented him as a good slave, my credibility would be shot. I was not surprised that I got no takers – even after I offered him for free other than the cost of transportation. So I shipped him off to the Prince, who would either shape him up or get rid of him in his fashion. I hope Jackson shaped up, for his sake.

• So you've owned slaves for years. But this is Russia – a very homophobic country. It's truly safe?

• My proclivities are well-known to those higher up the pyramid than I am – all of whom tolerate and many of whom share my sexual preference, though that information is tightly held. It's a reflection of history.

• What do you mean?

• It is an under-acknowledged fact that men of power – particularly in hierarchical societies – tend toward man-on-man sex. Perhaps it is our warrior mentality, going back to the ancient Greeks, when soldiers were expected to fuck boys. Roman senators had their catamites. For centuries and across civilizations, soldiers captured in battle were enslaved – and used for more than just labor. And do not tell me that in the age of the caliph, that eunuchs were used only to guard the harem.

• Good point.

• Let's admit a fact that it is not fashionable to say today: Women are the weaker sex. The true test of manhood is to fuck a man. No less a heterosexual than the American writer Norman Mailer made that point in his novel "Why Are We in Vietnam?" And perhaps the converse is true as well – those of us born with the desire to dominate men are naturally more aggressive, more assertive in pursuing our careers. And so we rise to the top.

• YOU certainly have. But something I've always wondered. You have servants that you pay a salary to – why not just fill those jobs with slaves?

• This is probably the question I am asked most often by friends who don't own slaves. Cooking, housekeeping, gardening – these are all duties a slave can fulfill. And you can hire a handyman when you need one. Other than a chauffeur, what do you need servants for? Why not have a household of slaves to do the work?

• So why don't you?

• First of all, a household full of slaves would create a problem. Even two slaves in a household raises the possibility of conspiracy – psychologically, it is critical for the slave to realize he is alone and powerless. If he has an ally, it encourages resistance. Half a dozen slaves in a household would encourage insurrection. Plus I'm not about to put a kitchen knife or a pair of garden shears in the hand of a slave with an ally.

• I see.

• Finally, there is the sexual aspect. IAMSO guidelines require a slave to be fucked daily; in fact, they recommend twice daily except after occasions of multiple use, like last night's party. Without additional staff, who's going to do all that fucking for six or seven slaves? I am quite virile, but that's going a little beyond even my capacity. That is why IAMSO guidelines specify only one slave per Master.

• But why does Grigory live with you? You don't need a gardener in winter.

• Grigory is a gardener, but he also has good computer skills. I sublet him to Boris as part of his data mining efforts for the upcoming year's LBM. That effort begins in October. He does the work from here because we may need him when it snows. There's a lot that needs to be cleared and Pyotr cannot handle all that by himself. Of course, I send my slave out to assist him, but regretfully in such conditions I must limit that to a half hour at a time. With no clothing to protect him, even that much puts him at risk of pneumonia.

• You mentioned earlier that you set Slava free. How is this possible? Aren't you afraid he'll expose you?

• Excellent question, one Alex may be interested in – if he knew about this, he might be asking if Slava was set free, what about me?' The answer is It's possible, but not for a long time.'

• Explain.

• This is a question IAMSO wrestled with in its early years. Its first charter included no freedom clause whatsoever, but Masters wanted an alternative for favored slaves who were aging. A committee was formed, and a few years before I joined, put forth a proposal. Here – I'll print out a copy of it, from the amended IAMSO charter.

SECTION XIII: OPTIONS FOR ENDING A SLAVE'S OBLIGATION TO HIS MASTER

A. SALE TO ANOTHER MASTER

SLAVES UNDER THE AGE OF FORTY MAY BE SOLD TO A WILLING BUYER PROVIDED THE BUYER:

1. IS A MEMBER OF IAMSO IN GOOD STANDING, OR

2. HAS APPLIED FOR MEMBERSHIP AND AGREES TO ABIDE FOR ALL GUIDELINES SET OUT BY IAMSO, IN WHICH CASE THE SALE WILL NOT BE VALID UNTIL IAMSO MEMBERSHIP IS APPROVED, OR

3. IS AN ORGANIZATION APPROVED BY IAMSO THAT FACILITATES THE SALE OF MALE SLAVES TO OTHER MEN.

THE SELLER MAY IMPOSE NO CONDITIONS UPON THE BUYER, WHO HAS FULL AUTHORITY TO DO WITH THE SLAVE AS HE WISHES, WITHIN IAMSO GUIDELINES.

B. GIFT

SLAVES MAY BE GIVEN TO ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL OR ORGANIZATION SUBJECT TO THE CONDITIONS IN SECTION A.

C. DISPATCH

THE OWNER MAY CHOOSE TO TERMINATE AN UNWANTED SLAVE PERMANENTLY, BY ANY MEANS WHICH HE FINDS CONVENIENT OR PLEASURABLE. HE MAY DISPATCH THE SLAVE HIMSELF, DELEGATE IT TO OTHER EMPLOYEES, OR HIRE AN OUTSIDE PARTY SPECIALIZING IN THE REMOVAL OF UNWANTED SLAVES, PROVIDED IT HAS BEEN ACCREDITED BY IAMSO. DISPOSAL OF THE SLAVE'S REMAINS ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TERMINATING AGENT, WHO MUST ENSURE THAT THE REMAINS ARE NEVER DISCOVERED BY ANY AUTHORITY OR CITIZEN.

APPENDIX A CONTAINS RECOMMENDED PROTOCOLS TERMINATING EXEMPLARY SLAVES, AVERAGE SLAVES, UNSATISFACTORY SLAVES, AND REBELLIOUS SLAVES. NO SLAVE MAY BE DISPATCHED WITHOUT A TERMINATION FUCK; THE MASTER CAN CHOOSE TO BE THE SOLE FUCKER, OR INVITE AN UNLIMITED NUMBER OF OTHERS TO PARTICIPATE. TERMINATION SHOULD USUALLY BE PRECEDED BY REMOVAL OF ANY REMAINING GENITALS, ALTHOUGH EXEMPLARY SLAVES MAY BE TERMINATED INTACT.

D. RELEASE

A SLAVE MAY BE GRANTED HIS FREEDOM UNDER ONE OF THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS ONLY:

1. HE HAS ATTAINED HIS FORTIETH BIRTHDAY, OR

2. HIS MASTER HAS DIED AND HAS PROVIDED FOR HIS RELEASE IN THE PROVISIONS OF HIS WILL, OR

3. HIS MASTER HAS BECOME INCAPACITATED AND HAS A LIVING WILL STIPULATING THAT THE SLAVE SHOULD BE RELEASED.

4. ANY RELEASED SLAVE MUST BE SENT IMMEDIATELY TO SLAVE ISLAND, TO LIVE OUT HIS REMAINING YEARS.

5. EXCEPTION TO THE ABOVE RULES: A SLAVE MAY BE RELEASED IN ADVANCE OF HIS FORTIETH BIRTHDAY IF HIS MASTER AGREES TO RELOCATE TO SLAVE ISLAND WITH HIM.

ANY SLAVE OWNED BY A MASTER WHO HAS DIED OR BECOME INCAPACITATED WITHOUT STIPULATING THE SLAVE'S SURVIVAL IN HIS WILL MUST THEN BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC AUCTION; IF NO BUYER IS WILLING TO MEET THE MINIMUM BID SET BY IAMSO, THE SLAVE WILL BE TERMINATED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION C.

Horst read this and asked, "So what the hell is Slave Island?"

• Slave Island was a brilliant solution to the Freedom Question. Masters realized that, as their slaves aged, their usefulness as sex objects would diminish. Unable to sell or even give them away, they'd have no option but to end the slaves' lives, which many did not want to do for a faithful slave. However, it was also obvious that a slave could never be allowed the freedom to contact a reporter or anyone who might have access to the press.

• So?

• So members pooled their resources – well, it was mostly the Royal Family – and purchased Slave Island. It's located in the South Pacific, well away from sea lanes or airline flight paths. It's basically a retirement home for slaves. It's still not complete freedom – there are lots of rules, including a total ban on clothing, prescribed minimums for sexual activity, and mandatory euthanasia under certain conditions – but I've visited there and everyone seems quite happy.

• And that's where Slava is?

• And that's where Slava is.

[COMING UP NEXT - CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: WHILE THE CAT'S AWAY]