The Incredible Life-Form

In Short

This science fiction story follows a detached, cosmic investigator tasked with monitoring a sentient diamond named Prime on Earth. Centuries after being granted self-awareness, Prime grows bored and uses his powers to evolve a new species: humanity. He intends for these humans to live solely to admire his beauty, but his creation develops an insatiable, self-destructive instinct for survival. The narrative serves as a sharp, cynical meditation on ego, creation, and the uncontrollable nature of life, concluding with a grimly humorous cycle of human manipulation.

The Story

The story unfolds as an official report from an investigator of the 9th Sector to his Director. He describes a long-standing experiment in a minor solar system where self-awareness was granted to Element 6: the diamond. Among these crystalline beings, one individual named Prime stands out for his extreme egotism and creative drive. During the investigator’s initial visits to Earth, he finds Prime attempting to synthesize life. What begins as a hobby—creating moss and lichen—eventually expands into the development of complex animal life. Prime constructs these animals to consume organic matter and generate heat, a departure from his own radiant energy-based existence.

By the time the investigator returns for his final visit, Earth is a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Prime is found charred and trapped in a gold ring worn by a corpse, his surface dulled by the very nuclear fire his creations unleashed. Prime reveals that he evolved humans specifically to adore diamonds, hoping to be worshipped as a god. However, these humans, driven by a powerful, spontaneous instinct for survival, discovered atomic weaponry and accidentally destroyed their creator's kind in their wars.

Enraged by this lack of proper reverence, Prime decides to wipe out the last remaining human: a female scientist living in a lead-lined mountain bunker. Accompanied by the investigator, Prime confronts her, fully intending to execute her. However, the human’s survival instinct immediately takes over. Rather than begging for her life, she appeals to Prime’s enormous vanity. She gazes at him in adoration, treating him as the most exquisite jewel in existence.

Prime, whose ego remains his defining weakness, is instantly seduced by her flattery. He abandons his plans for vengeance and agrees to provide her with a mate, ensuring the human race will continue to proliferate and worship him. The investigator, realizing that Prime has been manipulated into restarting the exact cycle that led to disaster, abandons the scene in disgust. He concludes his report by recommending that the diamonds’ charter be revoked, labeling Prime a fickle-minded "chucklehead" who is entirely unfit to govern life.

How It Unfolds

The cosmic oversight The investigator introduces the experiment on Earth, where sentient diamonds were granted self-awareness by the galaxy’s director. He notes that while the diamonds possess great durability, they also harbor a dangerous level of egotism.

The evolution of man Prime, the most ambitious diamond, spends eons using psychokinesis to engineer human life. He installs complex biological machinery like blood pumps and brains, purely so these beings will have the capacity to admire his beauty.

The nuclear catastrophe The investigator returns to find Earth devastated by atomic war. Prime explains that his human creations, driven by an unpredicted, obsessive instinct for survival, destroyed his kin in their search for power.

The final confrontation Prime and the investigator track down the last human, a scientist in a mountain bunker. Prime intends to kill her, but she counters by showering him with the worshipful flattery he craves.

The cycle resets The human successfully charms Prime into providing her with a mate. The investigator realizes the experiment has failed, as Prime chooses the comfort of adoration over the destruction of his disobedient creators.

The People

Prime A diamond of immense intelligence and even greater vanity. He desires to be the absolute center of the universe. His god-complex drives him to create humanity, but he lacks the emotional maturity to handle his creation’s independence, making him a perpetual victim of his own need for validation.

The Investigator A detached, cynical official from the 9th Sector. He serves as the reader’s lens, viewing Earth’s history with amusement and eventual professional annoyance. He is purely observant, interested only in the efficiency of the experiment, and he finds the humans' biological "plumbing" to be as absurd as Prime’s ego.

The Human Female The last survivor of her race. She is a resourceful scientist driven entirely by the instinct to stay alive. She possesses a keen psychological intuition, quickly recognizing that Prime’s desire for worship is his ultimate vulnerability. She is the most successful of Prime's creations, as she manages to turn her own creator into a servant for her species' survival.

In Its Own Voice

"Perhaps these factors account for the astonishing egotism which developed shortly after we activated self-awareness among them."

The investigator reflects on the character flaws inherent in the diamonds after they were granted the gift of sentience.

"I call them lichens and mosses."

Prime takes pride in showing off his early, simplistic experiments in vegetation to the visiting investigator.

"You are not mad, I am a diamond, all right, but feast your eyes well, for I have come to destroy you as I have the rest of your ungrateful race."

Prime announces his final judgment to the human scientist, believing himself to be the master of her fate.

What It's Really About

The story explores the inherent dangers of creation when the creator is motivated by ego rather than benevolence. Prime builds humans not for their own sake, but as mirrors for his own vanity. The book argues that life, once granted self-awareness, becomes fundamentally unpredictable; the "survival instinct" Prime instills in humans acts as a wild card, overriding the specific instructions of their designer. It is a cautionary tale about the conflict between a creator’s expectations and the raw, selfish will of the created, suggesting that when arrogance directs the evolutionary process, destruction is the inevitable, cyclical outcome.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy the brisk, cynical tone of 1950s science fiction will appreciate this story. It feels like a high-concept thought experiment, moving rapidly from the cosmic to the personal. The writing is precise and clinical, which makes the absurdity of a diamond playing god both humorous and unsettling.

There are certain dated elements to consider: the investigator’s detached, cold assessment of humans as "plumbing" or "grotesque cadavers" reflects a specific mid-century fascination with mechanical descriptions of biology. The prose relies heavily on technical-sounding jargon that anchors it firmly in the era of early atomic anxiety. However, the core of the story—the way a narcissist can be easily manipulated by the person who plays to their vanity—remains startlingly relevant. It is a quick read that leaves you with a cold, clear image of humanity: a species that would survive a nuclear holocaust just to get back to the business of worshipping shiny objects. If you appreciate short, punchy stories that don't overstay their welcome and prefer a sharp, ironic edge over sentimental sci-fi, this is a rewarding discovery.