determine why the great extraderm--the Master Skin through which all
individual Skins were controlled--was not broadcasting properly. They
had no way as yet of knowing that it was operating perfectly but that
the little Skins upon the Amphibs and their hostage Humans were not
shocking them into submission because they were lying in a wine-stupor
on the ground. No one had told them that the Skins, which fed off the
bloodstream of their hosts, had become anesthetized from the alcohol
and failed any longer to react to their Master Skin.

That, of course, applied only to those Skins in the square that were
drunk from the wine. Elsewhere all over the kingdom, Amphibs writhed
in agony and Ssassarors and Terrans were taking advantage of their
helplessness to cut their throats. But not here, where the crux of the
matter was.

XII

The Landsmen rushed the techs and pushed them into the great chemical
vat in which the twenty-five hundred foot square Master Skin floated.
Then they uncrated the lead-leaf-lined bags filled with stolen geese
and emptied them into the nutrient fluid. According to Mapfarity's
calculations, the radio-activity from the silicon-carbon geese should
kill the big Skin within a few days. When a new one was grown, that,
too, would die. Unless the Amphib guessed what was wrong and located
the geese on the bottom of the ten-foot deep tank, they would not be
able to stop the process. That did not seem likely.

In either case, it was necessary that the Master Skin be put out of
temporary commission, at least, so the Amphibs over the Kingdom could
have a fighting chance. Mapfarity plunged a hollow harpoon into the
isle of floating protoplasm and through a tube connected to that
poured into the Skin three gallons of the dream-snake venom. That was
enough to knock it out for an hour or two. Meanwhile, if the Amphibs
had any sense at all, they'd have rid themselves of their extraderms.

They left the lab and entered the west wing. As they trotted up the
long winding corridors Lusine said, "Jean-Jacques, what do you plan on
doing now? Will you try to make yourself King of the Terrans and fight
us Amphibs?" When he said nothing she went on. "Why don't you kill the
Amphib-changeling King and take over here? I could help you do that.
You could then have all of L'Bawpfey in your power."

He shot her a look of contempt and cried, "Lusine, can't you get it
through that thick little head of yours that everything I've