Laws are among the most fascinating elements of future societies. How will acts like drug use or public drunkenness be viewed in a few hundred years? Oddly enough, few science fiction stories address questions like these. Some make the answers the premise of the narrative. Firefly offers a carefully considered version of sex work that includes a host of other skills and an entire government organization called the Companion's Guild.
Firefly is one of the most prominent examples of the space western subgenre. The appeal of the endless expanse evokes many elements of the distant past. Earth once felt as mysterious and alien as any extraterrestrial world. Sex work is critically important to the development of the Old West, and Firefly is a rare sci-fi story that addresses it.
What does a Companion do?
Companions are professionally trained high-class courtesans. They have many skills that make them highly sought-after by most. Companions provide sex work, but that's only the most salacious fraction of their job. They're revered almost universally, whereas other non-licensed sex workers are not. The Companion's Guild trains them to become ideal partners. Companions offer many helpful services. They're trusted confidants who promise discretion. They're gifted dancers and musicians who can provide entertainment. They soothe the anxieties, guilt, and grief of their clients. They can even give excellent advice on a variety of subjects. Companions are, arguably, trained psychotherapists who also fulfill the carnal desires of their patients. These services are extremely valuable to almost everyone in the Verse. Not just anyone can hire a Companion.
The oldest and most important rule of the Companion's Guild is that Companions choose their clients. They can refuse service to anyone for any reason. Consent is critical, and every Companion has a different rule of thumb for their partners. Inara Serra once described "compatibility of spirit" as the most moving factor in taking on a client. To become a client, a person has to enter the client's registry. The Guild evaluates every applicant and approves only a percentage. They pay a yearly subscription fee to stay on the list. If a client ever mistreats a companion, they'll be rejected and denied service. Clients regularly procure Companions as dates for social events. There's no stigma to bringing a Companion to a function. It's considered a show of wealth and decency. Wealthy clients frequently propose to Companions, but very few agree to marriage. The client-companion relationship is supposed to be a business arrangement.
How can someone become a Companion?
Companions are trained from a young age for their eventual profession. They enter the Guild House around age twelve and start learning their many skills. These houses are similar to monasteries, protecting students until they are ready to go out into the Verse. Potential Companions are given an education on par with the finest schools in the Verse. They learn to dance, fight, sing, and talk. They'll be there for many years before the sexual aspect of their job is addressed. Applicants must endure a rigorous testing process to become a Companion. If they fail, they're sent home to their families. Becoming a Companion is a high honor and the most impressive social status available to many. For many years, only women were Companions. Recently, the profession was opened to men. Both male and female Companions service clients of any gender.
The encounter between a Companion and a client is steeped in specific traditions. The Companion and client meet with a tea ceremony long before any contract is signed. There's a similar event at the end of the arrangement. There are many religious aspects to the Companion's Guild. Some interactions go poorly, but Companions have solutions for those problems. They have excellent martial arts training. Companions are also armed with a contact sedative, which can knock out a belligerent client with a single touch. Companions have to hold licenses to perform their work. The Guild hands out the license and manages its upkeep. They are required to see a physician every year to continue working. Companions can be found almost anywhere. Most work on the Core Worlds, where they'll come to entertain clients in hotel rooms or private homes. Some work on cruises or travel the galaxy. There are even some cases of Companions abandoning the Guild to become regular sex workers, though it's a rare occasion.
The Companion's Guild is, in many ways, the ideal of legalized sex work. The fact that non-Guild sex workers are still mistreated belies a failure of this concept, but it seems like the best imaginable life for the worker. Companions learn more skills than most citizens of the Verse and are valued above almost any other profession. Inara Serra demonstrated that the life of a high-class courtesan has its downsides, but it's a somewhat elegant solution to the problem. Companions are so much more than sex workers, even if they shouldn't have to be.