"I think it is best that you leave this world. Or else turn
Changeling-Amphib."
"Why should I join you Amphibians?"
"A man like you could become a Sea-King."
"And drink blood?"
"I would rather drink blood than mate with a Man. Almost, that is. But
I would make an exception with you, Jean-Jacques."
If it had been a Land-woman who made such a blunt proposal he would
have listened with equanimity. There was no modesty, false or
otherwise in the country of the Skin-wearers. But to hear such a thing
from a woman whose mouth had drunk the blood of a living man filled
him with disgust.
Yet, he had to admit Lusine was beautiful. If she had not been a
blood-drinker....
Though he lacked his receptive Skin, Mapfarity seemed to sense
Rastignac's emotions. He said, "You must not blame her too much,
Jean-Jacques. Sea-changelings are conditioned from babyhood to love
blood. And for a very definite purpose, too, unnatural though it is.
When the time comes for hordes of Changelings to sweep out of the sea
and overwhelm the Landfolk, they will have no compunctions about
cutting the throats of their fellow-creatures."
Lusine laughed. The rest of them shifted uneasily but did not comment.
Rastignac changed the subject.
"How did you find out about the Earthman, Mapfarity?" he said.
The Ssassaror smiled. Two long yellow canines shone wetly; the nose,
which had nostrils set in the sides, gaped open; blue sparks shot out
from it; at the same time the feathered tufts on the ends of the
elephantine ears stiffened and crackled with red-and-blue sparks.
"I have been doing something besides breeding geese to lay golden
eggs," he said. "I have set traps for Waterfolk, and I have caught
two. These I caged in a dungeon in my castle, and I experimented with
them. I removed their Skins and put them on me, and I found out many
interesting facts."
He leered at Lusine, who was no longer laughing, and he said, "For
instance, I discovered that the Sea-King can locate, talk to, and
punish any of his subjects anywhere in the sea or along the coast. He
has booster Skins planted all over his realm so that any message he
sends will reach the receiver, no matter how far away he is. Moreover,
he has conditioned each and every Skin so that, by uttering a certain
code-word to which only one particular Skin will respond, he may
stimulate it to shock or even to kill its carrier."
Mapfarity continued, "I analyzed those two Skins in my lab and then,
using them as models, made a number of duplicates in my fleshforge.
They lacked only the nerves that would enable the Sea-King to shock
us."
Rastignac smiled his appreciation of this coup. Mapfarity's ears
crackled blue sparks of joy, his equivalent of blushing.
"Ah, then you have doubtless listened in to many broadcasts. And you
know where the Earthman is located?"
"Yes," said the Giant. "He is in the palace of the Amphib King, upon
the island of Kataproimnoin. That is only thirty miles out to the
sea."
Rastignac did not know what he would do, but he had two advantages in
the Amphibs' Skins and in Lusine. And he burned to get off this doomed
planet, this land of men too sunk in false happiness, sloth, and
stupidity to see that soon death would come from the water.
He had two possible avenues of escape. One was to use the newly
arrived Earthman's knowledge so that the fuels necessary to propel the
ferry-rockets could be manufactured. The rockets themselves still
stood in a museum. Rastignac had not planned to use them because
neither he nor any one else on this planet knew how to make fuel for
them. Such secrets had long ago been forgotten.
But now that science was available through the newcomer from Earth,
the rockets could be equipped and taken up to one of the Six Flying
Stars. The Earthman could study the rocket, determine what was needed
in the way of supplies, then it could be outfitted for the long
voyage.
An alternative was the Terran's vessel. Perhaps he might invite him to
come along in it....
The huge gateway to Mapfarity's castle interrupted his thoughts.