A humble cambist's life is upended when a local noble decides to use him for party tricks.

A conversation in a shopping mall ends with a call to security.

Two men sit outdoors at a restaurant during the Great Depression and gossip about the experiences and occupations of individuals they've encountered.

In New York, a young woman goes to a dinner party with her boss’s friend. After a tense game of charades, too many drinks and a decision to spend the night, she wonders why people make the choices they do and if anyone else will remember them.

A twenty-two-year-old male tutor gives various women feedback on their writing in letter form. When he quits his job, he visits one of his former correspondents for lunch at her apartment.

In this excerpt from a longer piece of work, multiple characters' lives intersect near an interplanetary brothel.

At a party in its 40th straight hour, a group of eccentric bureaucrats in DC discuss human behavior, music-without-instruments, and the laws of thermodynamics, while trying to keep the party from deteriorating into chaos

Al Roosten, a local business owner always second-best to his competitor, Larry Donfrey, contemplates returning to an anti-drug charity event to ensure that Donfrey is able to help his disabled daughter.

In a futuristic society in which free speech is illegal without a license, a man works to get his license by having strange and touching conversations with a bizarre cast of characters.

A gang of mobsters runs a risky errand for their boss. After they botch an attempt to one-up their biggest rival, the men begin to turn against each other.