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. Can they actually speak with him? I asked. Surely, he said. When, next, do you think he might be holding public audiences? I asked. Two days from now, said the fellow. Is it a court day? I asked. Better than that, he said. It is one of the new holidays, the day ofGenerosity andPetitions. Excellent, I said. The audiences are held near the Central Cylinder, on the Avenue of theCentralCylinder, he said. Thank you, I said. Did you wish to speak to him about something? asked the man.Page 141ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html I thought it would be nice, I said,  at least to look upon him. He is a charming fellow, said the man. I am sure of it, I said. Many minor petitions are granted, he said,  and some of the major ones.Tobe sure, it depends wholly, at least in the major cases, upon the justice ofthe petition. I understand, I said. Those wishing to present petitions must take a place on the rope, he said. What is that? I asked. Obviously the regent cannot give an audience to everyone, he said. Thosewho are granted audiences wear the Gnieus Lelius Generosity Ribbon whichencircles them and is tied about the rope, actually a velvet cable, leading tothe dais.(pg.266) This helps to keep the line straight and, as the audiences are heldout of doors, controls the number of petitioners. I understand, I said. How does one obtain a position on the rope? I asked. Sometimes it is a nasty business, said the man. Good, said Hurtha, approvingly. I suppose it is a good idea to come early? I said. Some people are there from the fourteenth Ahn the day before, he said. I see, I said. Thank you, Citizen. You might try the Ally of the Slave Brothels of Ludmilla.That is behind theAvenue of Turia. What? I said. For lodging, he said. Oh, I said. Do you know where it is? he asked. I know where the Avenue of Turia is, I said.It is named for the city in thesouthern hemisphere, incidentally, doubtless as a gesture of amicability onthe part of Ar.Stately Tur trees, appropriately enough, line its walks.It isa broad avenue with fountains.It is well known for its exclusive shops. Itis in the vicinity of the Street of Brands. That is the one, he said.The Street of Brands, incidentally, can be aparticular street, but, generally, as in Ar, it is a district, one which hasreceived its name from its dealings in slaves, and articles having to do withslaves.In it, commonly, are located the major slave houses of a city.To it,slavers may take their catches.In it, on a wholesale or retail basis, one maypurchase slaves.Similarly one may bid upon them in a public auction.Themajor markets are there.For example, the Curulean is there.One may also rentand board slaves there.It is there, too, in the confines of the houses, thatgirls are often trained superbly and thoroughly in the intimate arts of givingexquisite pleasures to masters.Too, of course, in such a district, one maypurchase such articles as appropriate cosmetics for slaves, suitable simplebut attractive jewelry, fit for slaves, in particular, earrings which, inGorean eyes, so fasten a woman s degradation helplessly upon her, appropriateperfumes, slave silk, and (pg.267) such.Too, it is in such a district that one will find a wide variety ofother articles helpful in the identification, keeping, training anddisciplining of females, such things as collars, of the fixed and lockvariety, leashes, of metal and leather, neck, wrist and ankle, ranging fromsimple guide thongs to stern control devices, wrist belts and ankle belts,yokes and leg-stretchers, waist-and-wrist stocks, iron belts, to prevent her penetrationwithout the master s permission, linked bracelets, with long chains and shortchains, body chains, pleasure shackles, multicolored, silken binding cords,some cored with chain, and, of various types, for various purposes, whips. My thanks, I said. We will try it. I wish you well, he said.Page 142ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html I, too, wish you well, I said.He then went about his business.The woman near us, sitting on a blanket onthe stones, her basket of suls before her, looked up. Do you want suls? sheasked. No, I said. Be gone, then, she said. Come along, I said to my party.I led them east on Venaticus, to the Avenueof theCentral Cylinder.It was then my intention to go south on that avenue until Icame to WagonStreet, taking it east to Turia.There is more than one  wagon Street in Ar,incidentally, but the one I had in mind, that which led to the Street ofBrands, was the one usually calledWagon Street.The  wagon streets are generally east-west streets.They arecalled that, Isuppose, because they are open to wagon traffic during the day, and wideenough for two wagons to pass on them.On many streets in Ar wagon traffic isdiscouraged during daylight hours because of their narrowness.There is littledifficulty, of course, with the avenues and boulevards.They are generallywider.Many girls, incidentally, have been on Wagon Street, being brought downit on their first trip to Ar, though perhaps they did not see much of it,their ankles chained to the central bar in the blue-and-yellow slave wagons,those delivering them, according, say to the disk numbers on their collars, orthe addresses marked on their left breasts, to the various houses on theStreet of Brands.(pg.268)  Ah! said Boabissia. The Avenue of the Central Cylinder, I said. It is indeed beautiful.We willgo right here. I am thirsty, said Hurtha, going toward a fountain.We followed him.Thereare many among this avenue.Hurtha leaned his ax against the fountain and thrust his head half in thewater and then pulled it out sputtering.He then splashed water on his face.Then, cupping his hands, he drank.I drank, too.And Boabissia, too, drank,lifting water delicately to her lips.I saw that in our company she hadlearned something of her femininity.It seemed that she was beginning, timidlyand hopefully, to suspect and experience the true nature of her sexuality,that she might now be daring to think of fulfilling her softness and nature,daring to think of what it might to be, fully and truly, what she actuallywas, a female.She, at any rate, was no longer attempting, grotesquely, andlaughably, to emulate the behavior of an Alar warrior. May I drink, Master? asked Feiqa. Certainly, I said.Then, suddenly, angry, scandalized, I seized her by thehair.She cried out in pain, twisting. Are you not a beast? I asked. Yes, Master! she wept. And only that? I inquired. Yes, Master! she cried.I then flung her to her knees at my feet, and with my foot spurned her to thestones.She lay there, startled on her side, my pack awry on her back, near thefountain. Master?she asked, tears in her eyes. You are a best, I said. You drink from the lower bowl, like other animals,like sleen and tharlarion. Yes, Master, she said. What a stupid slave, said Boabissia. Forgive me, Master, wept Feiqa [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]