In a future where technology has advanced to the point where humans can undergo "optimization" to rid themselves of emotions and increase their mental functions, one man decides to cling to his humanity in an effort to atone for his sins and appreciate the beauty of being human.

A wealthy woman's ploy to flaunt her wealth is foiled by her old friend's seeming indifference to opulence - until they part, and the friend asks for money. The afternoon is ruined when the woman realizes that her obsession with money has ruined her outlook on life.

A man in pursuit of gold comes to learn how an obsession with wealth can tear away all your meaningful connections.

A successful gentleman whose ventures have recently failed goes on a miserable quest to find a seam of ore, following a questionable character who claims to have found it.

An older man goes off on a quest through the desert to find a fortune despite there seeming to be no hope.

When a programmer creates a new type of empathy-based cryptocurrency that disrupts the workings of a charity run by her old roomate, the two are drawn into conflict over rationality, morality and justice.

A typical nice-guy colleague with a toxically positive attitude delivers an exhortation to his colleagues about eliminating self-doubt so as to increase work performance.

A man tricks a salesman into chasing buried treasure in order to purchase a new machine he wants.

A Scottish Foreign Scholar tries to help the beggars he encounters at his university in India, but finds his outlook on life greatly changed by the sincerity of those he once looked down upon.

A group of working class people run a dangerous path toward a promised Elysium, and those who survive are rewarded with nothing they can appreciate or comprehend.