Only a few stories feature much sci-fi hardware. The title figure in "Spider the Artist" is a spider-like robot whose job is to repair and protect the above-ground big-oil fuel pipelines common in Nigeria — but who also learns to play the guitar. In "Popular Mechanic," a father who lost his arm in an industrial accident is fitted with an experimental prosthesis so strong that he can punch a hole in the pipeline permitting locals to steal fuel for their own use. Both stories are grounded in real-world incidents in which such illegal tapping has led to deadly explosions. For all her fertile imagination, Okorafor sharply reminds us of the realities of African life. In "Biafra," one of Okorafor's "windseekers" (who have the ability to fly) finds herself witnessing the horrors of that civil war, while an African-American journalist in "Icon" is compelled to commit a horrifying act in order to gain an interview with a terrorist leader. There is playfulness and wonder in these tales, but also some sobering realities.