Tribulation
The Chrysalids is set on a post-apocalyptic future Earth, so the old people are us... the people who used to live on the Earth, and who eventually caused the probably-nuclear apocalypse that led to the future presented in the book.
David and Rosalind were in their late teens at the end of "The Chrysalids."
In "The Chrysalids," the old people are referred to as the "Sealanders" by the people of Waknuk, suggesting that they are associated with the Sealand region. They are also described as being telepathic, having advanced technology, and being less affected by the genetic mutations present in the rest of the population. These clues help identify the old people as a highly evolved and advanced civilization.
The old people are the people before the apocalypse... before the "tribulation" as they call it. And since the novel takes place on Earth in a post-apocalyptic future, the old people are us... and we create a nuclear devastation of some sort.
In "The Chrysalids," people are violent towards those who are seen as deviant or different in terms of physical appearance or abilities. This violence is often justified by religious beliefs and fear of contamination from the Old People. Additionally, the strict emphasis on conformity and purity in society leads to harsh punishment for those who do not meet the established norms.
bang
The Chrysalids was created in 1955.
The Bank is a symbolic location in the novel "The Chrysalids" by John Wyndham. It is a place that holds relics of the Old People, representing a time of advanced technology and civilization before the nuclear apocalypse. The Bank serves as a reminder of the destructive power of humanity and the importance of preserving knowledge from the past.
mutations, people have to start from zero again
he is a family friend of the Strorms in the book chrysalids
The ISBN of The Chrysalids is 0-14-001308-3.
Basically that telepathic people were an improvement on normal people, and savages didn't matter.