The Lottery in Babylon Jorge Luis Borges

The affairs of Babylon are dictated by a lottery. Discreetly administered by a mysterious and seemingly omnipotent Company, the lottery can elevate citizens to positions of wealth and power or condemn them to the most shameful punishments. Taking this fantastical conceit as its starting point, Jorge Luis Borges's short story is a characteristically brilliant achievement - a haunting mediation on the nature of chance, paranoia and divinity.