The Master's Control

The Master's control is the catalyst behind all the action in the book, ranging from crashing spaceships in order to expand the workforce to forcing people to starve themselves while providing food for the Master. The Birds of Madness are part of the Master's control, but fear and a mob mentality also contribute to this control.

The Master never leaves his domain, but the Birds of Madness enforce his rule over the people. The Birds are frightening from the moment of their appearance. The workers are afraid that the Birds will attack, and that fear is one element of the Master's control. Once the Birds bite, the victims spend a period of time in a madness of sorts, but then become docile and accept that they have no purpose other than to work for the Master. That venom is another aspect of the Master's...