Crown of Creation and the Chrysalids
As a fan of SF as well as SF’s 60’s era music, it was a shock to me to read John Wynham’s novel The Chrysalids. A post-atomic war apocalyptic novel concerning the rise of more highly evolved humans and their battles with the older, reactionary generation. Not unusual, especially back then, but the shock came towards the end of the book where two characters essentially quote Kantner’s Crown of Creation back and forth to each other. Hard to read without singing it to oneself. Since the book was published in 1955, I waited for an epic plagerism trial on the level of George Harrison’s “theft” of He’s So Fine. Nothing.
Thanks to generationterrorists, here are some quotes from the book:
“Your work is to survive. Neither his kind, nor his kind of thinking will survive long. They are the crown of creation, they are ambition fulfilled - they have nowhere more to go. But life is change, that is how it differs from rocks, change is its very nature.”
“They have become history without being aware of it. They are determined still that there is a final form to defend: soon they will attain the stability they strive for, in the form it is granted - a place among the fossils…”
“In loyalty to their kind they cannot tolerate our rise; in loyalty to our kind, we cannot tolerate their obstruction.”
Compare this to the lyrics of Crown of Creation, thanks to sing365:
You are the Crown of Creation
You are the Crown of Creation
and you’ve got no place to go.Soon you’ll attain the stability you strive for
in the only way that it’s granted
in a place among the fossils of our time.In loyalty to their kind
they cannot tolerate our minds.
In loyalty to our kind
we cannot tolerate their obstruction.Life is Change
How it differs from the rocks
I’ve seen their ways too often for my liking
New worlds to gain
My life is to survive
and be alive
for you.
Sorry Paul, it’s a great song, but you need to send some royalties to Wyndham’s heirs. Too bad Motown didn’t publish the book.