THE BAZAAR
by Bill Smith
Chapter 19/Final
THE BAZAAR GROWS AND PROSPERS
Ten years later:
The world was suffering the worst economic crisis in history, now known as "The Bush Depression" to distinguish itself from a similar, but milder situation in the 1930s known simply as "The Depression."
But economic hard times meant prosperity on several counts: (1) volunteer armies found it much easier to recruit and obtained better trained, more physical astute soldiers due to the better selection now possible; (2) universities and college enrollments swelled as people thought it better to educate themselves than just do nothing when no jobs were available; and (3) the slave industry grew rapidly as more and more people, turning in economic desperation turned to crime, got caught, and were consequently sentenced to slavery by the courts since the states had no money to feed or house them; a few, facing starvation, begged the courts to enslave them rather than die slowly of hunger; and the slave breeding farms went into high production to provide cheaper and cheaper labor.
Thus, armies were well staffed; universities were full; and the slave pens offered the greatest variety at the cheapest prices ever known. Along with this, the gap between the rich and the poor was the widest ever: the rich were even richer due to the tax structure; the poor were destitute due to that same tax structure and the collapse of any state welfare system; and the middle class - well, they just sort of disappeared. As a result, ironically, there were more rich people than ever and this group had more surplus than they had ever had. Many of the poor drifted into slavery, while the shrinking middle class just observed this social upheaval with stoicism. Slaves prices fell each and every year. The end result was almost all manufactured goods were now slave-produced; the service industry was practically 100% slave-powered, including the overseers; most agricultural products were cultivated and processed by slaves; and the rich found it easier and easier to staff their huge estates with slaves to do everything imaginable. Goods, like slaves, were cheaper than ever before thanks to the no-cost labor producing them. Even entertainment, such as film and TV production, athletes, etc., were almost entirely manned by slaves due to their low cost and cheap maintenance.
The Bazaar had benefitted from these social trends more than any other institution in the world. Its management had wisely foreseen what was coming and had first doubled, then tripled the processing, holding, and training facilities over the past decade. Compared to its beginnings, its buildings now occupied thousands and thousands of square miles of arid desert land, its training and handling staff had practically quadrupled (it was now Egypt's largest employer many times over - bigger than the Egyptian government), and its pens on any given day held close to one million rather than the hundred thousand or so when it first opened. It was, literally, the largest corporation in the world no matter how you measured it: net worth, percentage of the market, capital holdings, or yearly profits. Egypt was no longer a poor, third world country, but now one of the world's leading countries with its citizens enjoying one of the highest living standards in the world, Bush Depression or not. The original financiers, Dubai, was also propering from its unique association with The Bazaar from the very beginning. Only, now, the profits flowed into Dubai in terms of living flesh instead of raw cash - and all that premium flesh at a very nice discount! Dubai's citizens, long one of the richest body of people in the world, were now many times richer. They all enjoyed lives of leisure with enough money tucked away to make sure their great grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren would never have to dirty their hands with work.
For those in the pens of the now unbelievably huge Bazaar, life was predestined. They would be slaves all their lives and, since their lives were now valued cheaper and cheaper with each passing year, they tended to be worked harder, longer, and with fewer and fewer considerations of the fact they were still human beings, not just draft animals. In many situations, it was now cheaper to replace a slave than take proper care of him and extend his or her life. Hence, slaves were more and more underfed, whipped to the point of sheer exhaustion, worked longer hours, and had medical needs go unheeded. Who cared if they dropped dead at the plow under the overseer's never ceasing whip? It was cheap enough to replace them with a fresh one bought even cheaper.
Eventually, the situation corrected itself, as economics rules supreme in the long haul. As slaves died off earlier, the overall supply of slaves dropped. Prices went up on slave stock, and since they were more valuable, it became cheaper to take care of them properly than replace them sooner than you had to with negligent care.
Thus, the quality of life for slaves went up and down in relation to the economic curves. In times of prosperity, their sales price was high and they were better cared for; in times of depression, their sales price was so cheap it was more economical to replace rather than maintain. Either way, The Bazaar profited.
The Bazaar's future was as promising as its past. It just shows that if the original premise is sound, good fortune is practically assured.
THE END
[Feedback is always appreciated. There was only one reply to my inquiry as to whether readers would like an added chapter featuring the Bazaar's transportation slaves, so I didn't include it. I would like to know what you thought about the entire series "The Bazaar." Was it a good story concept? Did it offer enough variety? Was it too restricted? Was it presented well? Etc. Your responses will determine in large part whether I post in the future or not. Writers only write if readers read the material they write. The only way to know this is by reader's responses. Many thanks. Bill Smith (anonymous4371@juno.com)].