Right, Wrong, and Amorality
Throughout the stories there is a scenario whereby an amoral or illegal act is witnessed, and the witness is conflicted with regard to their response to it. There are many examples of this; "Puppy" tells the story of a man who commits an amoral act (killing puppies that don't sell to customers) and is witnessed committing this act by his wife, Callie. She doesn't want to upset him so she says nothing, making her complicit in the act. Callie then chains her son up to a tree in the yard (another amoral act) witnessed by her neighbor, Maria, who says nothing.
"My Chivalric Fiasco" tells the story of a man who witnesses his boss rape a co-worker and does nothing about it because he is paid off with a promotion. Similarly, "Victory Lap" sees a young boy witness the kidnap of a classmate, but stay quiet because they are not really friends anymore, and he is worried how reporting the incident will affect him.
Throughout the collection of stories, amoral and heinous acts are committed and witnessed by people who choose to do nothing about them. The stories remind us of the saying "all that it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing". The witnesses in these stories are all good men and women but they do nothing in the face of glaring amorality.
Suicide and Euthanasia
The author has said that the inspiration for "Tenth of December" was his own wondering about how he would react if he himself was told he had a terminal illness. From that thought grew a story about a man who plans to euthanize himself but whose perspective on his situation changes when he meets a young boy in the forest who enables him to look at himself in an entirely different way. The man is technically committing suicide, but in his view, he is giving himself humane euthanasia to avoid the pain of what he knows is to come as a result of his illness.
Similarly, in "Escape from Spiderhead", Jeff also euthanizes himself, committing suicide to avoid having to choose which women needs to be tortured on the command of the prison "doctor". This again is specifically chosen euthanasia to avoid pain. Heather also commits suicide, because the effects of the drug she has been given are too painful mentally and physically; she again is killing herself to avoid a situation rather than out of a generalized depression or mental condition.
Forced Use of Drugs
In some of the stories the theme of enforced drug use is a theme that the author returns to multiple times. This is primarily in "Escape from Spiderhead", when patients/inmates are given drugs to prove the theories that their doctor is trying to perpetuate. Jeff, Heather and Rachel are all given a drug that he believes can control the level of attraction one person feels for another. When they are given the drug, they are very attracted to each other. When they are not given the drug they have no particular feelings one way or another. When Jeff refuses to comply with the experiments any longer Abinesti goes to a judge to get permission to give him another drug that will make him compliant. This too is a drug that a character is forced to take that does not help or heal them in any way and allows the manipulation of their mind or their emotions.
In "My Chivalric Fiasco", Ted is given a mind-altering drug called KnightLyfe that makes him feel, think and act like a Medieval knight, again, having his mind altered by a pharmaceutical on the instructions of someone else.
Class
The issue of class is a theme in a couple of the stories, most notably, "The Semplica Girl Diaries" and "Al Roosten".
"The Semplica Girl Diaries" deals with a middle class father who is trying to enable his daughters to live as if they are money-no-object upper class girls, and purchases Semplica Girls for her, trafficked women who are used as human ornaments. The reason for his indulging in trafficking is purely to make his daughter's life appear as indulged as her friends.
"Al Roosten" tells the story of an antiques dealer who is not very successful; he sells the antiques that used to belong to the upper classes but is not one of them; he is on the outside looking in. He dreams of being friends with the popular and successful men in town He participates in a charity event, hoping that it will elevate him in the community; this is another example of the theme of class in the stories.
