Clang: Concept and Synopsis for Screen-play-Jack Vance screen-play draft

Clang: Concept and Synopsis for Screen-play-Jack Vance screen-play draft

"Clang: Concept and synopsis for screen-play" was first published in 2005 as part of the Vance Integral Edition.  It is included in the Spatterlight Press high quality paperback titled Wild Thyme and Violets and Other Unpublished Works.” The work is 7 pages of sketchy text with some dialog about a sport called Pugilistics.  The sport consists of prize fights between robots eight feet tall that resemble humans.  Gambling and organized crime play a key role.

The setting is in the future were citizens lead sensible and placid lives.  Football has become a "well-padded version of touch-tackle" and boxing has been banned.  Only one violent spectator sport is allowed and that is because the participants are robots.  Adding to the attraction of the sport is gambling which is controlled by organized crime called the Syndicate.  Sweigart's Robotics turns out "superbly destructive fighters," some of them weighing two tons.  A competing robotic business is Bell Robotic Shops operated by Dill Archer an engineer.  Archer borrowed money for his business from Joe Perkins, our main character, but lost it to the Syndicate when gambling on one of his own robots.  He can't repay his loan to Joe and Joe's partner Henry Tamm so Perkins and Tamm ends up owning Bell Robotics while retaining Archer as their engineer. 

While reviewing the tapes of the last fight where Archer lost all of his money, Joe sees that the opponent fighter illegally clamped the feet of their robot.  Joe decides to build a new type of robot called the Black Angel that has memory circuits that must be programmed by a person who encloses himself in the shell of the robot and practices various simulations.  In a new major event fight Joe's robot will face a fierce robot, called Sweigart's Scorpion, that is backed by the Syndicate.  To insure a win the Syndicate kills Joe's partner Tamm and sabotages the neck joint of the Black Angel.  Can Joe get his robot running again in time for the big fight?  To what extremes will the two sides escalate their tactics with more deaths and sabotage?  Joe has a conscience but is strong and determined.  His partner has already been murdered so the Syndicate appears to have no boundaries, legally or illegally and also has more money to compete.

Vance might have developed this draft into an interesting and possibly humorous work.  As it stands, though, it is very sketchy.  You can follow the storyline but much of it is abbreviated or only hinted at.  I don’t think this piece will be of much interest to readers other than hard core Vance fans.  I’ve read this twice and gave it a 3 minus rating or “Liked it minus.”

Included in the Jack Vance collection titled Wild Thyme and violets, Other Unpublished Works (2012)