Examines how human networks drive inequality, social immobility, and political polarization and are often overlooked factors in success and failure, examining the role of social structures in patterns ranging from disease outbreak to financial crises.

"A collection of fictional short stories by Nadeem Zaman which explore the issues of wealth, class, and alienation, set in contemporary Dhaka, Bangladesh"--

"Four hundred years in the future, the Earth has turned primitive following a nuclear fire that has laid waste to civilization and nature. Though the radiation fallout has ended, for some unknowable reason every person is born with a twin. Of each pair, one is an Alpha: physically perfect in every way; and the other an Omega: burdened with deformity, small or large. With the Council ruling an apartheid-like society, Omegas are branded and ostracized...

The old-fashioned struggle for fairness has finally been abandoned. It was a misguided endeavor. The world is divided into two groups, pats and quads. The pats may kill the quads as they like, and do. The quads have no recourse but to continue with their lives. The Divers' Game is a thinly veiled description of our society, an extreme case that demonstrates a truth: we must change or our world will collapse. What is the effect of constant fear on...

"In the great kingdom of Quandis, everyone is a slave. Some are slaves to the gods. Most are slaves to everyone else. Blessed by the gods with lives of comfort and splendor, the royal elite routinely perform their duties, yet some chafe at their role. A young woman of stunning ambition, Princess Phela refuses to allow a few obstacles--including her mother the queen and her brother, the heir apparent--stand in the way of claiming ultimate power and...

"In the wake of a highly contagious virus, California is under quarantine. Sequestered in high rise towers, the living can't go out, but the dead can come in -- and they come in all forms, from sad rolling cans to manufactured bodies that can pass for human. Wealthy participants in the 'companionship' program choose to upload their consciousness before dying, so they can stay in the custody of their families. The less fortunate are rented out to strangers...

A decade ago, Darrow was the hero of the revolution he believed would break the chains of the Society, and abolish the color-coded caste system. But the Rising has shattered everything, and brought endless war. New foes emerge to threaten what has been earned, and throughout the worlds other destinies entwine with Darrow's to change his fate forever. A young Red girl flees tragedy in her refugee camp, and achieves for herself a new life she could...

"The year is 1953. Edward VIII and Wallis are preparing for their coronation, and the country is tense with expectation. In honor of the event, Adolf Hitler will be making his first visit to the UK since its surrender to the Germans in 1940. One oppressive change conforming with Nazi ideology is the strict classification of women into hierarchical groups, ranging from the beautiful and privileged Gelis (named after Hitler's adored niece) down to the...

"Penn and Lipton Wise have set out to Falter City to make their fortune. It's the future, obviously, and things are pretty grim. The Australian landscape is traumatized. Plague is rampant. Machines only work as well as the poor sod pedaling them. Things are hotter and wetter than they used to be, giving the whole place the vibe of a sweaty armpit. Lippy and Penn are hoping to set up shop in this grimy boom-town, but they've got to stay frosty, because...

"In a country called Town, a doctor named Su is found dead in an abandoned car. There is only one place the police intend to look for her suspected killer: the Saha Estates. Controlled by a secretive organization of ministers, Town is the safest, richest nation in the world. But it is a society clearly divided into the haves and have-nots, and those who have the very least -- who aren't even considered citizens--live on the Saha Estates. Residents...