A Slave Is a Slave

"A Slave Is a Slave" is a story by sci-fi master H. Beam Piper, published in 1962. A slave based society is overtaken by a bigger power that outlaws slavery...

"Something everybody owns, nobody owns, Mykhyl Eschkhaffar objected. 'Oh, no, Mykhyl; it will belong to everybody,' KhreggorChmidd told him earnestly. 'But somebody will have to take care of it for everybody. That,' he added complacently, 'will be you and me and the rest of us here'."

Thought provoking and exciting all at once! Is slavery a political monstrosity that can be wiped out, or is it a far more complex kind of monster, rooted inside the minds of slaves and masters?