Science Reality

In Appearance in Reality, John Heil addresses a question at the heart of metaphysics: How are the appearances related to reality, how does what we find in the sciences comport with what we encounter in everyday experience and in the laboratory? Objects, for instance, appear to be colorful, noisy, self-contained, and massively interactive.

Space was never empty. To most, it was a vast silence, a cold canvas dotted with stars. But for Darian Vex, seasoned astronaut and decorated mission commander, it was a place of purpose—a frontier where humanity's reach met the unknown. He was trained to face malfunctions, meteor storms, and the unforgiving silence between planets. But nothing could prepare him for what came next. A mission gone wrong. A catastrophic breach. A return to Earth that never truly happened. When Darian's spacecraft collapsed into a gravitational anomaly, something in him broke loose. He returned—at least, ...

Laura used to believe in fairy tales and true love. Not after her mom took her own life; the bitter end to a once promising romance. But the arrival of a mysterious guardian proves the fairy tale world does exists, and it needs her help to stop the unholy forces that seek to destroy it. As Laura journeys to find the way home across strange kingdoms of mechanical soldiers, a mad king, a fairy tale prince and more, she soon learns of the mysterious connections between her and the fantasy realm. To survive it, she must face her deepest fears and secrets she never wants to unveil.

The celebrated author of The Making of Second Life and Game Design Secrets Wagner, James Au, delivers an engrossing exploration of how nascent metaverse platforms have already captured the imagination of millions. Featuring powerful stories and dozens of incisive interviews with insiders including Metaverse creator Neal Stephenson himself, the author uses his unique, grassroots-level perspective as the first reporter embedded in a metaverse platform.

From Emmy and Peabody Award winner Evan Mandery, MOSAIC is a sci-fi murder/thriller that explores the implications of technology that’s just around the corner. MOSAIC is a virtual-reality platform that allows participants to jointly relive past experiences. When Lindsey Rudin, is killed inside MOSAIC—and also dies in real life—her murder sends shockwaves into the real world and the simulation, in which she has lived for nearly three years. MOSAIC is told from two characters’ perspectives: Lindsey Rudin and Mark Collins, a broken down, alcoholic police officer who, weeks before his ...

Why have Israelis and Palestinians failed to achieve a two-state solution to the conflict that has cost so much and lasted so long? In Paradigm Lost, Ian S. Lustick brings 50 years as an analyst of the Arab-Israeli dispute to bear on this question and offers a provocative explanation of why continued attempts to divide the land will have no more success than would negotiations to establish a one-state solution.

Walt and Oz need to level up to survive and every moment is going to hurt. Walter LePointe and Oswald Blackwell just woke up inside of the online role playing game Realms of Th'loria. With no memory of how they arrived, Walt and Oz soon learn the hard way that living in an epic fantasy world isn't all it's cracked up to be. As level one characters with no skills or experience, nothing can prepare them for their new lives as they prepare to enter the realm.

The only thing bigger than the world's first full virtual reality game is the mystery surrounding its origins. Who is behind Ryzonart Games? How was such a huge advance in technology achieved?Taia de Haas loves having her own virtual spaceship, and wants nothing more than to visit every planet in the solar system. But she cannot ignore the question of whether such a magnificent gift comes with strings attached. Is the game a trick, a trap, a subtle invasion? Or an opportunity to step up and fight for her own planet?Caught in a tangle of riddles and lies, Taia can't resist trying to win ...

The extraordinary and best-selling journeys of one woman throughout time... An enormous vortex spiralled above the Earth, out beyond the orbit of the moon. Its centre was expanding to form a huge glowing corridor through the fabric of space. This brilliant mass shot forth thousands of glowing balls of light that proceeded to descend toward our planet.

Congratulations! You’ve been chosen to lead one of your state government’s most critical agencies. But for most state agency leaders, the job is like getting thrown into the deep end. From political landmines to agency processes held together by spreadsheets, the challenges are daunting — but so is the opportunity to make a difference for millions of people. Drawing on insights from over 30 of the country’s top state agency leaders, this Playbook equips you with the strategies, principles, and real-world examples you’ll need to thrive in your new role.

Otherland, a universe where any fantasy can be made real, but which is ruled by Earth's wealthiest and most ruthless power brokers, the Grail Brotherhood. Shrouded in secrecy, it is home to the wildest dreams and darkest nightmares. Vast amounts of money have been lavished on it. The best minds of two generations have laboured to build it. And somehow, bit by bit, it is claiming Earth's most valuable resources - its children

On Being Unreasonable mounts a vital and spirited defence of why and how being unreasonable can help improve the world. It examines and parses the pros and cons of our rules around reason, but leaves us with the rousing question: What if behaving unreasonably at times might be the best way to bring about meaningful change that is long overdue?

The Last Hand of the Oversight still patrols the border between the natural and supranatural, holding a candle to the darkness. But this new Hand is unproven, its fresh members untrained, its veterans weary and battle-scarred. Their vulnerability brings new enemies into the city and surprising new allies from across the sea.

Those of you living through the next 30 years will become the most powerful creatures that have ever existed. You will have the opportunity and the duty to create a decidedly better world. Experience and maturity alone cannot provide the required wisdom fast enough. You will need to maximize your innate potential to accelerate wisdom. The Potentialist: Your Future in the New Reality of the Next Thirty Years explains the first steps to achieve your potential and accelerate wisdom. You will discover how forces of change create a New Reality by breaking down the one we know.

In Defying Reality, David M. Ewalt traces the story of virtual reality from ancient amphitheaters to Cold War military laboratories, through decades of hype and failure, to a 19-year-old video game aficionado who made the impossible possible. Ewalt looks at how businesses are already using this tech to revolutionize the world around us, and what we can expect in the future. Ewalt offers a unique perspective on VR. With firsthand accounts and on-the-ground reporting, Defying Reality shows how VR will change our work, our play, and the way we relate to one another.

For eighty million years, the Tourists have taken Snapshots of Earth, creating living replicas of continents. Life in the Snapshots quickly diverges from the real world, creating a universe where humans and animals from Earth's history fly between Snapshots, exploring, fighting, and sometimes meeting their alternate history selves. In 2014, the Tourists create a Snapshot of North America in a snow-globe shaped artificial universe, linked like pearls on a necklace to other copied times and places. In that timeline, Simon Royale—a.k.a. Simon-2014— is a legendary best-selling author. When ...

Edith lands on an alien planet after a hellish three-month voyage in a dark, frigid, and auto-piloted prison capsule. She is met with the overwhelming brightness of a planet revolving around two suns and receives a slap by way of introduction from the impatient guard escorting her. However, the guard is the least of her problems.

A high-altitude nuclear blast causing an EMP (electrical magnetic pulse) destroys the power grid, catapulting life as they knew it, back to the 1800's. Now a postapocalyptic world, they must rely on their primal instincts to escape destruction, disease and death. In this book, the story of Grid Down continues, following Clint and Junior with their small band of survivors. When we last left Clint and Junior, both were suffering gunshot wounds while trying to escape after an attack on a group of Rainbow Warriors.

This is the must-listen book for those who want to truly understand divided America. Learn the who, how, when, what, and why events and motivation that have and will continue to further divide and deepen the uncivil cultural war taking place in our country.

Sixteen-year-old Ariadne’s whole life is curated and shared with the world. Her royal family’s entertainment empire is beloved by the tabloids, all over social media, and the hottest thing on television. The biggest moneymaker? The Labyrinth Contest, a TV extravaganza in which Ariadne leads 14 teens into a maze to kill a monster. To win means endless glory; to lose means death. In 10 seasons, no one has ever won.