A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

Chambers opens the book with a short prayer in the form of a poem from the fictional West Buckland Edition of The Insights of the Six. Although brief, this epigraph serves to remind readers of not only the previous book in the series, but also the religious structure of Pangan society. By listing the Parent Gods and the Child Gods, along with what they are patrons of, Chambers provides a clue as to what will be the most important message of the book: Mysteries, constructions, the natural world, the human world, parents, children, objects, gods, humans, and robots are all interconnected and must work together for mutual benefit.

After the Epigraph, Chambers reintroduces her characters and places them out of the woods and on a highway toward a village. There are literary critics who argue that all interesting stories are really journey tales, whether the journey is physical, emotional, psychological, or historical. The first two books of the Robot & Monk series provide some evidence of this, as Chambers has structured her story as a classic out-and-back journey story. While A Psalm for the Wild-Built chronicles Sibling Dex’s outward journey into the wilds, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy brings Dex home to civilization.

Conventions of the journey story include character growth and thematic development, and the first chapter of A Prayer for the Crown-Shy uses these conventions to illustrates ways in which Dex is growing. For example, Dex demonstrates new gratitude for human constructs and technology and recognizes the importance of The Balance Between Nature and Technology. Although Dex has needed to be away from civilization to gain perspective, now as Dex and Mosscap return to the highway, they have a greater appreciation for the convenience and comfort such technology provides. At the same time, however, Dex understands that such technology cannot be at the center of human life, but should be used only to ease human existence, not control it, and only to the extent that the technology can be sustainable without damaging the environment.

While Dex is on the homeward leg of the out-and-back journey, Splendid Speckled Mosscap is on the outward phase of its journey. Because Mosscap has never met a human before befriending Dex, its learning must be rapid and constant. At the same time, Mosscap is a naïf, a character who begins its story knowing little, and who gains wisdom along the way. Thus, evidence of both Mosscap’s native intelligence and quick learning appear on nearly every page. Mosscap has taken over the tasks of starting the campfire, cooking food, and physically helping Dex; at the same time, Mosscap is learning how to be a friend to a human. Dex, on the other hand, worries about The Ethical Implications of Artificial Intelligence. Dex and Mosscap know that in the Factory Age, robots were exploited as humans began to increasingly depend on their work to support their lifestyle. Dex does not want to be guilty of a similar attitude.

At the same time, Mosscap’s delighted reactions to human constructs such as the highway allow Dex to see such things with new wonder. Dex ponders that “perhaps it was a good thing for someone to appreciate the craftsmanship of a backroads highway or a quick-printed sign” (5). They realize that people who are used to seeing and using such things everyday quickly learn to take their value for granted. Such interaction demonstrates the growth of Dex’s insight and gratitude. In addition, just as Mosscap is learning to be a friend to a human, Dex is learning to be a friend to robot. Mosscap’s naïve questions—such as asking “Would you say this carries everything you need?” (6) in reference to Dex’s wagon—force Dex to examine their own biases and assumptions. Learning, it turns out, is a two-way street. Likewise, Dex learns from Mosscap that just as Dex cares for and protects Mosscap, Mosscap will also protect and care for Dex.