The Dead Lady of Clown Town

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The Dead Lady of Clown Town is a science fiction short story by Cordwainer Smith, set in his Instrumentality of Mankind future history. It appeared in the collection, The Best of Cordwainer Smith and most recently in The Rediscovery of Man short story collection. The story was originally published in Galaxy Science Fiction in 1964. A graphic novel adaptation by Elaine Lee and Michael Kaluta was to have appeared in DC Comics during the late 1980's, but never materialized.

1 Background
2 Plot
3 See also
4 References

[edit] Background

Cordwainer Smith wrote several stories set in a fictional milieu called The Instrumentality of Mankind. Although humanity had achieved a utopian state, they live sterile and shallow lives. The underpeople are animals who have been heavily modified to look human and have human intelligence. Despite this, the underpeople have no rights and are treated like animals, used as labor, then discarded when of no use. The story takes obvious inspiration from the story of Joan of Arc. There are also points of commonality with the Civil Rights movement and the early Christians.^[1]

The story takes place at least seven generations before another Instrumentality universe short story, "The Ballad of Lost C'Mell".

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The story is set on the planet Formualhault III. A therapist named Elaine becomes involved with a group of fugitive underpeople, who are being helped by Lady Panc Ashash (a personality recording) and the telepath called The Hunter. Panc Ashash had predicted Elaine's coming, and how she would help the dog-girl D'joan create history.

With help by Elaine and the Hunter, D'joan is ready and leads the fugitive underpeople from their hiding place and march into a city. The underpeople go around professing that they love and that they too are men to the various people they meet. Soldiers eventually arrive and end the revolution by killing the underpeople, except for D'joan. Instead of killing her right away, one of the Ladies of the Instrumentally wants a trial for D'joan, remarkable since underpeople did not even have such rights. After the trial, D'joan is sentenced to be burned to death.

Despite their deaths, the actions of D'joan and the underpeople have lasting consequences in the Instrumentality that eventually led to the rebirth of religion, rights for the underpeople, and the Rediscovery of Man. Among those affected is the ancestor of Lord Jestocost, who plays a critical role in "The Ballad of Lost C'mell" and Norstrilia.