Is it better to have a human civilization devoid of art and culture than to have none at all? Three Earth ambassadors must whether to annihilate a space colony that has traded away human consciousness for a hive mind that feels nothing but the need for survival. In the distant future, three humans in possession of nuclear warheads must decide whether to allow a remarkable human variant species without consciousness to dominate the galaxy or destroy them forever.

A group of rivers in human form run from the human empire that would enslave them to power their cities, seeking the ocean in hopes that its endless waters will help them destroy their enemies.

An Ethiopian prince from AD 1148 travels the country developing groundbreaking technology with the help of a farmer's daughter, whom he soon falls in love with. When he eventually becomes king, he realizes it is not just his country that he must lead to prosperity but the entire planet.

Humanity has long been gone, and the logical machine known as Frost learns about humanity and begins to grow humans with robot consciousnesses in labs.

On a far-future Earth, a young man accidentally commits adultery and is exiled to a distant planet that has undergone catastrophe—only to realize that this planet is an experiment to create a second Earth, and he has an opportunity to lead the inhabitants in building an interstellar empire.

A strange intergalactic force infiltrates the consciousness of a modern Earthling, prompting meditations on the role of the human, the loneliness of life, and the greater unknown.

Three myths from human groups on other planets describe the origin of humanity, and the necessity of respecting nature.