Why keep slaves?

[symon_r]

I have done my best to check through the forums to see if this has been discussed elsewhere but can't find any theories as to why the Mallers would be keeping slaves.

To my mind the slaves dont have much value to the Mallers themselves. We don't know of any fields or factories they have to put them to work into; particularly as they are on the move right now.

So, either the Mallers have a need for manual labour at their destination (perhaps to build something) or the slaves have another value to the Mallers. We know that one section of the Mallers is travelling south, could they have a knowledge of the colony (they apparently have a sophisticated radio set-up) and intend to try and trade their way into the colony?

[DogFromDuckhunt]

Sex. Free labor to do all the stuff you don't want to. More people to send out to collect what you might need. Bait. Entertainment. Could just like the role reversal after being locked up.

[symon_r]

Sex. Free labor to do all the stuff you don't want to. More people to send out to collect what you might need. Bait. Entertainment. Could just like the role reversal after being locked up.

Good points but in a world of limited resources I think you'd need more motivation than sex and entertainment. I doubt a slave would be trusted to forage but it would explain the runaways.

[Beaumont]

Yeah those are all great points and I still think the new regime at the colony has some connection to the mallers.

[DogFromDuckhunt]

Good points but in a world of limited resources I think you'd need more motivation than sex and entertainment.

Depends. Knew an accountant who worked in the corrections department and remember her saying something about prisons having stockpiles of food, materials, etc. Could be the Mallers weren't thinking that far ahead considering what they had on hand.

Was either Latch or Durai who said they wanted to send some people to the Tower. Might be they took in more than they could handle and now they're trying to adjust.


I doubt a slave would be trusted to forage but it would explain the runaways.

Don't see why not though. Might not be the best situation and you might take some beatings, but at least they're living.

[Leedo2502]

I'm sure that the Mallers were using them for labor and whatnot. If The Colony is their destination I'm betting we'd see a scene similar to the scene in BAT 21 where the NVA use downed pilots to clear mine... the "hard way"

[Grognaurd]

In Prisons, being part of Gang is important. The Mallers could all be part of the same gang. Maybe they do not trust anyone else and classify them as slaves. Alternatively, they could be Bait for Traps or Misdirections for Zombies.

[The One With the Markings]

You keep slaves so I can devour them.

[Dameon1213]

as much as i dont like to say it but INK is right, all they are is destractions

[Luna Guardian]

I don't agree. While the slaves certainly are the first pound of meat to be thrown to the howling wolves, there are some good uses for them. Foraging for supplies wouldn't be an impossibility. Remember that outside the protection of the Mallers, there's the decidedly undead world wanting to devour all life. Faced with the option of physical and mental abuse and certain gruesome death, a lot of people would prefer to stay under the protective, if abusive, wing of the well armed Mallers.

Also remember, that the Mallers are prisoners. While they may have a lot of useful skills, as proven by Tard, I doubt they know everything. Some of these slaves could be doctors or nurses or other specialists whos skills and knowledge would make them invaluable to any group trying to survive.

[mem]

You keep slaves so I can devour them.

snack pack pudding with legs

[mem]

Was either Latch or Durai who said they wanted to send some people to the Tower. Might be they took in more than they could handle and now they're trying to adjust.
I'm pretty certain that it was Durai. I always assumed that this was a ploy to get mallers into the tower and thus taking over it as well as the people.

[KLong91]

Since the Mallers have probably run low on people since the attack on the tower I can see them being used mostly as bait for traps and doing scavenger runs or maybe the Mallers are trading some of the people they find for supplies at the colony, not a likely theory since no one mentioned it at the colony but it's still a possibility.

[Rock Daddy]

I think it's definitely for the slaves to do the more dangerous manual labor jobs that the mallers want nothing to do with. It's kind of ironic & sadistic. They probably enjoy holding captives and...

[HorrorHiro]

Well my theory was that they kept slaves simply because it was the most productive and efficient course of action, to quote myself


the "Mallers" Are apparently building their ranks again via found survivors. I don't think every survivor they find instantly becomes a slave but I also think that the process of choosing which of the new survivors become slaves and who becomes a "Maller" is all that complicated. I wouldn't be surprised if they were going by the 'Eeny, meeny, miny, moe' system to be honest. My backup for this theory is that there is a female "Maller" other than Scratch, in part 2 of chapter 21 When the Scratch's convoy makes the last stop before the Arena Shes introduced talking about "Sam" being ripped out of his seat during the ambush. She remains nameless but his is still important.

Also I think the sex slave theory would work in favor of the Mallers and the Colony at this point, to quote myself yet again


To clarify I haven't planted my flag in the sex slave theory yet, but it is entirely possible that the male survivors they find are the laborers and the females they find are used for pleasure...or both. My reason for bringing this up but not investing in it is simple, I think Durai has far to much respect for women to designate them sex slaves. I don't really have any support for this spin-off theory other than Scratch freeing him and being 2nd in command, the other female Maller, and possibly another female influence we/I don't know of as of yet. We don't know much about this guy but I doubt he would do something like that, for what ever reason. On the other hand that entirely sounds like something Marcus or Gatekeeper would do at the Colony. From the small time frame we have had to get to know this "Gatekeeper" he sounds like a very strategic person. It wouldn't surprise me at all if ever since his hostile takeover and the loss of the Colony's armed personells ammo supply, if the moral of Gatekeepers men was significantly low and he authorised the raping of the civilians.

[symon_r]

It seems to me that the overwhelming opinion is that the slaves will be used for forgaging and/or pleasure. To be honest these explanations dont quite fit for me but that was the whole idea of opening the thread because I couldnt think of anything myself. Thanks for the input.

It does lead me to another question that has probably been asked elsewhere. Why isn't blondie being treated as a slave? Scratch seems to want to protect her, although she could just be under orders to, so does this mean that the Mallers plan to use her (and their fair treatment of her) to negotiate with the Tower?

[Creem_Filling]

I think the slaves are going to be used for testing. What attracts zombies? What makes them keep away? What could work as a good armour against bites? The Mallers could just be throwing them out there as bate for zombies to test their silly zombie fighting tools. But also for sex and labour.

[cupcakezombie]

I don't think the sex slave thing is official at all, if it happens. Remember that Tardust did sneak away with Lizzy to the furniture shop and out of Bricks hearing. If it was all good for this to happen, then why did he do this?

[clparson]

I think what is more important than why they would have slaves is the fact that they have them at all. I think KC is trying to show the ugly side of humanity. It demonstrates what would happen if society and its rules completely broke down. There would be absolute chaos. Without laws and punishments, the morals and ethics most people live by would take a second seat to survival and pure enjoyment. I don't doubt the Mallers are using the slaves for labor and sex.

[Leedo2502]

I don't think the sex slave thing is official at all, if it happens. Remember that Tardust did sneak away with Lizzy to the furniture shop and out of Bricks hearing. If it was all good for this to happen, then why did he do this?

Very good point! I'm pretty sure it's all labor that the slaves are doing. I'm not sure about the idea that they were an offering to Not Paul either

[Creem_Filling]

I think what is more important than why they would have slaves is the fact that they have them at all. I think KC is trying to show the ugly side of humanity. It demonstrates what would happen if society and its rules completely broke down. There would be absolute chaos. Without laws and punishments, the morals and ethics most people live by would take a second seat to survival and pure enjoyment. I don't doubt the Mallers are using the slaves for labor and sex.

To be honest, I completely agree with you. My theory was just a crazy "what if" thing. If I were a bad guy in a world that couldn't stop me, I would have slaves too. I think that it is almost as simple as that.

[COsurvivor]

This image says it all...

http://best-tshirts-ever.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/slavery-gets-shit-done-tshirt1.png

[Drew227598]

I don't agree. While the slaves certainly are the first pound of meat to be thrown to the howling wolves, there are some good uses for them. Foraging for supplies wouldn't be an impossibility. Remember that outside the protection of the Mallers, there's the decidedly undead world wanting to devour all life. Faced with the option of physical and mental abuse and certain gruesome death, a lot of people would prefer to stay under the protective, if abusive, wing of the well armed Mallers.

Also remember, that the Mallers are prisoners. While they may have a lot of useful skills, as proven by Tard, I doubt they know everything. Some of these slaves could be doctors or nurses or other specialists whos skills and knowledge would make them invaluable to any group trying to survive.

I completely agree with you when you said a lot of people would prefer to stay under the Mallers protection. I am not sure if everyone on here has heard of something call Stockholm syndrome but it’s a term used to describe a paradoxical psychological phenomenon wherein hostages express empathy and have positive feelings towards their captors. These feelings are generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims, who essentially mistake a lack of abuse from their captors as an act of kindness. So yes you could use slave labor for everything to include foraging. Beat the living crap out of them a few times (Think Pippin) and then slowly tapper off the beating and the slaves will start to mistake that as an act of kindness and next thing you know the slaves are willing to go out and look for supplies and return to the safety that the Mallers provide.

[Ctatyk Frost]

This image says it all...

http://best-tshirts-ever.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/slavery-gets-shit-done-tshirt1.png

Honestly, I was thinking that myself.
We have the guns, you do the labor.....no matter what needs to be built, the "slaves" are going to do it because otherwise, we'll feed them to the zombies....
Sorry, but I don't think that it's a sex situation at all...though there might be a few sex slaves, I'm betting that most are there to do the labor that the Mallers don't want to do themselves.

[cupcakezombie]

If the mallers have gone to the colony, do you think that the artist formally known as Gatekeeper will let the slaves in? They were already worried about the number of people the had there.

[Grognaurd]

If the mallers are headed to the colony, I do not think it will be on friendly terms

[Rune]

I think you'd need more motivation than sex and entertainment.
Tardis, he was all 4 knocking boots with Lizzy as soon as possible,
other than that Y not, they would provide a good meat shield 4 u and could b used to intimidate ppl, look there is fifty of us (not ten actual mallers).

[lectio]

I think what is more important than why they would have slaves is the fact that they have them at all. I think KC is trying to show the ugly side of humanity. It demonstrates what would happen if society and its rules completely broke down. There would be absolute chaos. Without laws and punishments, the morals and ethics most people live by would take a second seat to survival and pure enjoyment. I don't doubt the Mallers are using the slaves for labor and sex.

I agree. I think the Mallers are keeping slaves for the same reasons vulnerable people are kept as indentured servants or as slaves in captivity in war zones. And because the Mallers were, arguably, already corrupted by the time they were released from prison - they are the opposite of the tower setup, really.

[Eitri]

Slaves could be used for many things, Bait, Labor, Sacrifices to the Mighty Zombie Overlords, expendable soldiers, and other things. But another thing, Back in mideval times there were soldiers known as Sappers. Their job was to operate Seige Equipment and clear obsticles/

[Pteranodon]

Thay keep slaves cause that's what brute degenerate humans do- they rape, murder, bully, enslave, band together into gangs, and hold petty grudges against anyone who fights back. And once again I'm glad "We're Alive" doesn't sugar-coat the monstrous barbarity that'll become routine once law and police are gone and no one's left to restrain the sociopaths....

Unless I'm mistaken, Durai is black; so a black man owns slaves...in America.... either way, I no longer see him or Scratch as a character; they're subhuman things that ought to be killed slowly (just like the slave-owners in the Colony) This isn't what desperate people resort to for survival- this evil mentality is out there right now in the real world, all over the place, barely held in check....Not everyone of course, but more than you'd think.

If I had to choose between a zombie and Durai (or Scratch) I'd use my last bullet on the Maller.

[nikvoodoo]

Thay keep slaves cause that's what brute degenerate humans do- they rape, murder, bully, enslave, band together into gangs, and hold petty grudges against anyone who fights back. And once again I'm glad "We're Alive" doesn't sugar-coat the monstrous barbarity that'll become routine once law and police are gone and no one's left to restrain the sociopaths....

Unless I'm mistaken, Durai is black; so a black man owns slaves...in America.... either way, I no longer see him or Scratch as a character; they're subhuman things that ought to be killed slowly (just like the slave-owners in the Colony) This isn't what desperate people resort to for survival- this evil mentality is out there right now in the real world, all over the place, barely held in check....Not everyone of course, but more than you'd think.

If I had to choose between a zombie and Durai (or Scratch) I'd use my last bullet on the Maller.

Many Great Civilizations in history had slaves or built their Great Society on the backs of slave labor. Greek, Roman, Egyptian, British, French, Hungarian, Prussian, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Norse, Americans and more held slaves. You can argue the enlightenment of some or all of these societies as you want, but it's the human animal that asserts dominance over the weak and forces them to do their bidding through force, manipulation, coercion, intimidation, and other tactics.

It's a pretty universal thing in the animal kingdom every social species defers to the Alpha of the pack, but since we are more advanced than animals, we assert dominance in more brutal and creative ways (other than simply running off competing males). I think it's very shortsighted to think of the Mallers simply as "subhuman" and does a disservice to the story by thinking of them simply in one dimension.

[usmcludwig]

Well my personal opinion is based on my close examination of the Enlgish used:

KC wouldn't use the word "slave" if it didn't somehow connect to manual labor or some sort. There are plenty of other words that could have been used to suggest their true purpose, but the point slave is used truly suggest that they indeed have a strong physical purpose (especially since the Mallers numbers were cut what seemed significantly due to the 1st failed siege on the Tower).

Tho I do not fully agree with the perception of prisoners being these harsh, cold-blooded people as a whole- I think a part of what KC has tried to explain threw the story is that the Mallers are a bit more prepared than what we could even consider. After all- being in jail is a lot of waiting around, thinking deeply, plotting even.

This Durai character is a grand example of how people we consider "dumb hardened criminal" are underestimated and thought of as LESS when in actuality may in fact be superior to us, especially in terms of organizational skills and survival (sounding like Durai was serving a very long sentence, as well as Scratch, giving them the power of being known and often with that, respect threw fear).

But ya- I guess I almost missed my point and theory:

I do believe that a few Mallers (not Durai's group) were already in the Colony, maybe even having a part in the attempted (and presumably successful) coupe- which means yes, I think possibly the Gatekeeper may indeed be a Maller (based on his seemingly avoidance of using his real name, his brutality (since in the W.A. world, the criminals are indeed that) and his cunning) and has been setting up things to play into the coming of the Mallers- most notably the manual labor of the slaves (which already openly exist). With that- I think that maybe the Mallers are offering the slaves a place where there is safety, shelter, food and most importantly- some relative freedom (as when The Tower peeps were at the colony, tho not allowed to leave, had their own place to stay and all). This could explain why the slaves have not had any noticeable escape attempts and have been tolerant to the suspected harsh conditions that they currently endure.

[cleeprevo]

The Slavers from fallout 3 came to mind once I heard that the Mallers have slaves. So now when ever I think of the Mallers I kinda imagine them being like the Slavers. They probably use the slaves for tests. Kinda like what they do ate the tower, trying to discover new things, but the Mallers get live action on how the zombies interact with humans by sending the slaves out to do something. Then they just send them out on their free time to do suicide missions like going to the tower. Those are probably what i'd do if I was a Maller.

[zorakid]

I don't know if the story itself will ever touch upon there being sex slaves, because it may just be implied and not describe due to its discomforting nature. But in any realistic situation, of course there will be sex slaves. It would only be logical for Durai to provide sexual entertainment to his men to keep them happy.

[zedhead]

Good points but in a world of limited resources I think you'd need more motivation than sex and entertainment. I doubt a slave would be trusted to forage but it would explain the runaways.

think of it this way, they've been in prison so long that sex or entertainment might be the only motivation they will ever need again @_@

[Hesser]

In the tower they used sweat, the colony used cologne, and the mallers use slaves. All ways to attract or deter zombies. But all 3 could be used so the person using them could get away.

[Cabbage Patch]

In 29-3 we learned that Durai, Scratch and Angel were part of some shadowy group called "the Families". All day the discussion on the Forums has been that this was a reference to the Mafia. But what if it wasn't? What if "the Families" refers to them belonging to some sort of society of unconventional vampires? Not conventional Nosfaratu, but more like Twilight, walk around in daylight vampires.

Then the Mallers would be keeping slaves as a food source. And Angel could either be fighting his blood-sucking proclivities, or else maybe he was covertly feeding on the other Tower residents. I imagine a process through which he took just enough to survive in a process that clouded the victim's memory and caused them to go into a super deep sleep. There have certainly been plenty of cases of that at the Tower, beginning with Jack, Tanya and most recently Riley.

[Osiris]

Better question is: why not?





amirite?





























































:hsugh:

[sailorangel59]

Meat Shields, literally

[nikvoodoo]

Who here likes back breaking, painful, dangerous work that will result in your potential death in a gruesome manner at the hands of a zombie...raise your hand!

..........

That's why you keep slaves ;)

[Osiris]

who here likes back breaking, painful, dangerous work that will result in your potential death in a gruesome manner at the hands of a zombie...raise your hand!

..........

That's why you keep slaves ;)


IFL!!!!!!!111one11oneone11tylc

[trubkir]

Who here likes back breaking, painful, dangerous work that will result in your potential death in a gruesome manner at the hands of a zombie...raise your hand!

..........

That's why you keep slaves ;)

I couldn't agree more. When the transcanada railroad was built Chinese people were paying with their lives while the owners were squabbling over cigars. Humans would like to think that they are above all the "lower" instincts but this isn't the case. There will always be an alpha and there will always be another looking to be an alpha.

[reaper239]

Many Great Civilizations in history had slaves or built their Great Society on the backs of slave labor. Greek, Roman, Egyptian, British, French, Hungarian, Prussian, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Norse, Americans and more held slaves. You can argue the enlightenment of some or all of these societies as you want, but it's the human animal that asserts dominance over the weak and forces them to do their bidding through force, manipulation, coercion, intimidation, and other tactics.

It's a pretty universal thing in the animal kingdom every social species defers to the Alpha of the pack, but since we are more advanced than animals, we assert dominance in more brutal and creative ways (other than simply running off competing males). I think it's very shortsighted to think of the Mallers simply as "subhuman" and does a disservice to the story by thinking of them simply in one dimension.

how did i miss this? the abolishment of slavery is a rather new thing, and in fact slavery still exists in certain parts of the world. i agree with nik, the mallers are deeper than just scum. i don't like them and would like to see them attack ft irwin, but they are definitely more than just the subhuman scum of the earth that they seem to be.