Two novellas and five short stories. In "Mind Swap" a professor imprisoned in a self-contained satellite for refusal to teach false history welcomes an alien who brings a gift. Tomashi Jones is able to transport his mind to earth to direct the overthrow of the evil emperor controlling his planet. The "Death by Stages" world has been nearly destroyed by a nuclear holocaust and genetic experiments gone awry. Actors choose their names from historical performers they admire and are compelled to ingest a formula that alter their DNA structures so that they actually "become" the characters they play. An antidote changes them back.