The short story “Whale Meat” by Ekaterina Sedia was published for the first time in 2012.

A Japanese-American blogger earns her living as a fashion blogger but also writes about what she calls serious topics. During a visit to her Japanese father, she discovers that he’s going on a Russian island to unofficially investigate the death of a Japanese fisherman. She accompanies him and discovers the local economy linked to fishing, where there are those who recover the bodies of the whales left by the Japanese after they took the parts they sought.

The short story “Fungal Gardens” by Ekaterina Sedia was published for the first time in 2009.

David is called by his partner Johnny to help him in the investigation of the death of a man as in the victim’s head they found fungi. The analysis is more complex than expected and potentially dangerous. The possible connection with the presence of ants on the scene of a similar death casts a sinister light on the case.

The short story “The Mind of a Pig” by Ekaterina Sedia was published for the first time in 2009.

Joel would like to be understood by Cassie and her family but he’s a pig and can’t speak. He’s unique thanks to genetic engineering so his brain is human. How can he make humans understand that he’s a sentient being before part of his brain is used for a transplant?