 Coon proposed that Erickson should be a rival to Kirk , a genetic superman who had once ruled part of Earth . Roddenberry and Justman were still unhappy with the script , and Roddenberry revised it once more a week before filming was due to begin , after Montalbán had been cast . In this draft the blond Nordic character of Erickson became closer to the version seen on screen . In Roddenberry and Coon 's script , the character was renamed <unk> Khan Noonien . The name <unk> Bahadur Singh was suggested by the DeForest Research company , who checked scripts for potential errors on behalf of the production company ; the Singh name was suggested in part because it was closer to actual Sikh names . Coon and Roddenberry settled on Khan Noonien Singh ; Roddenberry had an old Chinese friend named Noonien Wang that he had lost touch with , and hoped that Wang would see the episode and contact him . In the final draft , Roddenberry listed himself as the primary writer , Coon as co @-@ writer and Wilber was absent , but the Writers Guild of America turned down Roddenberry 's request to be credited ; Coon received the main credit ; Wilber was given co @-@ writer and " story @-@ by " credits . Wilber did not often watch his own work , and nearly thirty years later had never seen " Space Seed " . Coon was later credited as Lee Cronin for his part in production of the script . 
