In the world of big business, everything is bought and sold - even human corpses, which are a luxury item, because only very rich people could afford to buy a zombie servant. The Loeb-Soffner company is preparing a real bomb for the market: a way to reduce the price of a dead product many times over and accordingly, increase its production volumes. On the eve of the launch of a new project, the company's management makes Donald, a talented top manager from a competing company, an offer to join their team. But the hero understands that there is more at stake than his career...

The story “Dead” was a finalist for the Nebula and Hugo awards.