The Silk and the Song is a science fiction short story by American author Charles Louis Fontenay first published in 1956. Excellent short story of space exploration gone horribly wrong. Set on a planet where the natives have enslaved the humans and use them as mounts or beasts of burden, one slave escapes his master and finds an enclave of free humans… The Silk and the Song was first published in Fantasy and Science fiction July 1956. Charles Louis Fontenay (1917-2007) was an American journalist and science fiction writer. He wrote science fiction novels and short stories.