Bob Shaw's "A Full Member of the Club" (novelette, free): Great gadgets whose side effect is to make you avoid most people!

Philip Connor is a wheeler-dealer in all sorts of things. Now, suddenly, his love Angela is no longer interested in him, having become extremely wealthy via an inheritance. During their break up session, he notices she has a curious cigarette lighter - a lighter she doesn't want him to see.

His attempts at patch up later will make him notice more such gadgets. His curiosity to know more about them will lead him to...

Fact sheet.

First published: Galaxy, July 1974.
Download full text from Lexal.
Rating: B.
Among the classics of SCI FICTION edited by Ellen Datlow.
Related: Stories of Bob Shaw.