Just sign here... (Concordant setting)

[gridlore]

Getting away from the blimps for a second, I was thinking about making indentured servitude part of the setting.

Historically, this was a common way for those too poor to pay the cost of passage to the New World to make the trip. A formal agreement for a period of time where the indentured person worked for the family that paid his/her way over. I could see this becoming big as we move into space.

It would of course be tightly regulated (and an entire arm of the legal profession would spring up around it) but it could make for some fun plot points.

Any opinions?

Comments

Two comparison models for you

[capplor.livejournal.com]

There are, in current society, such things as "au pairs" and "human traffiking" which might be be similar.

Note that au pairs have a bit of a sweeter deal than an indentured servant, and victims of traffiking tend to be told they're becoming servants, and end up being less (without the ability to complain, usually because they don't speak the local language or understand the local society).