Systems Science

The Ascension arc begins—and not everyone will make it out alive. After surviving the siege of Bastion, Alec West—Arcane Warden and Architect Nodebearer—receives a new directive: locate the First Pillar of Ascension. His team’s next destination? The ruins of Atlantis City. But they’re not alone. Another Nodebearer walks the earth—chosen by the Harbingers. And as rival factions clash beneath the broken skyline, Alec’s mission turns into a brutal three-way conflict: deadly Tier 2 monstrosities, PvP-enabled Harbinger elites, and the Obelisk’s own Warforged constructs. Inside ...

Pantheon Leader Jay Luckrun has experienced the loss of friends and enemies alike. But he continues marching forward to conquer new challenges and bring vengeance against the System Admins. His magic has grown stronger. His gravity has greater reach. And the dungeons of an invasive pantheon of goblins are up next on the chopping block. Follow Jay as he develops his own unique path and finally gets some revenge upon the evil System Admins. He might have to lose his humanity along the way. But that's a plus. He'll gain greater power that's more paradoxical than expected.

Ten years ago, the world changed. The System brought dungeons and monsters to earth. Billions were lost. While most try to rebuild, Claire chooses to take revenge on the people who took advantage of orphans in the chaos—100 names, 100 targets. In this often brutal story about a world in chaos, Claire will kill every target on her list. No matter what it takes.

Bounty hunter Hal Mason is doing well for himself, a year after the System converted Earth into a lawless, apocalyptic Dungeon World. Now, though, old friends have come calling with a new opportunity and with it, the murky politics of Galactic interests and overlapping contracts. Hal must protect the first train to cross the new wildlands of the American Midwest.

Many believe the child welfare system protects children from abuse. But as Torn Apart uncovers, this system is designed to punish Black families. Drawing on decades of research, legal scholar and sociologist Dorothy Roberts reveals that the child welfare system is better understood as a “family policing system” that collaborates with law enforcement and prisons to oppress Black communities. Child protection investigations ensnare a majority of Black children, putting their families under intense state surveillance and regulation.

Meet Tanjihiro Chae Wong, a scarred man with no past. A nomad. A simple cabbage farmer with an ominous black gauntlet living happily with his family... Or is he? Unbeknownst to everyone he keeps a secret. Not only of his identity, but what he is, and what he can do. Keeping to the shadows as he stays out of the war he never wanted to be a part of and lives a life of... Peace.

Finding his way back to Earth through a portal, John returns to a very changed world. The shackles of galactic control have bound Earth and humanity ever tighter to the system. Now, John has to find a way to free Earth from galactic control while battling stronger, more powerful enemies. And worst of all, he will need to indulge in politics. Good thing he's got a new class and new allies.

Knowing where to start when learning a new skill can be a challenge, especially when the topic seems so vast. There can be so much information available that you can't even decide where to start. Or worse, you start down the path of learning and quickly discover too many concepts, commands, and nuances that aren't explained. What you learn in Linux for Beginners applies to any Linux environment including Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint, RedHat, Fedora, OpenSUSE, Slackware, and more.

The System said: "everything the sun touches is yours!" Lord Leo's a simple guy, so he took the System's word for it. It's not for nothing that Major is running drills with the new recruits, Third is sharpening his trusty sapper shovel, and boar-riding Peter is digging the earth with a honed hoof.

The Nazis did not really lose World War II. They made it appear that way in order to divert attention from the alliance between the Fourth Reich and the race of aliens known as the Reptilians - an ancient galactic civilization obsessed with conquest and domination. After the German surrender in 1945, the Nazi-Reptilian alliance infiltrated the US military-industrial complex.

A powerful tale that explores an untold turning point in the ongoing saga of Spock and the world of Vulcan, Vulcan's Heart goes from Spock's bonding rite in 2329 to a covert mission at the heart of the Romulan Empire in 2344. Read by Tim Russ!

Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy: Exploring the Evolution of Economic Systems and the Future of Democracy by Joseph A. Schumpeter is a seminal work that examines the dynamics of economic systems and their societal impact. Published in 1942, this influential book introduces the concept of "creative destruction," illustrating how innovation disrupts established industries to drive progress. Schumpeter explores the strengths and vulnerabilities of capitalism, arguing that its success ironically paves the way for its decline through institutional shifts and bureaucratic expansion.

When it comes to choosing, using, and maintaining a database, understanding its internals is essential. But with so many distributed databases and tools available today, it's often difficult to understand what each one offers. With this practical guide, Alex Petrov guides developers through the concepts behind modern database and storage engine internals.

Every year, millions of Americans are overcharged and underserved while the health-care industry makes record profits. We know something is wrong, but the layers of bureaucracy designed to discourage complaints make pushing back seem impossible. Never Pay the First Bill is the guerilla guide to health care the American people and employers need. Drawing on 15 years of investigating the health-care industry, reporter Marshall Allen shows how companies and individuals have managed to force medical providers to play fair and shows how you can, too.

Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems compares the Copernican or Heliocentric system with the Ptolemaic or Peripatetic, system of the cosmos. Published in Florence in 1632, it resulted in him being tried before the Inquisition. Using the dialogue form, Galileo masterfully shows the truth of the Copernican system that the Earth revolves around the Sun. The Dialogue is one of the most important treatises ever written. A work of supreme clarity and accessibility, it remains as accessible now as when it was published.

Flushed with victory after our first Elite Eight round, my team of beautiful women and I are the talk of the System. Now that my warlord powers are coming into their own, we seem to be unstoppable. There’s even talks about expanding our team, and the addition of a curvy goth girl makes things *very* interesting.

Before he was the super confident, snarky AI saving Siv Gendin and his friends’ bacon on a regular basis, Silky worked with his first human companion, Eyana Ora, an Empathic Services agent. This was the mission where it all began. Two centuries before the Fall of the Benevolence. A simple covert mission to spy on the Krixis, a telepathic alien race, turns into a desperate bid to save mankind when Silky and Eyana uncover a plot to use a secret super-weapon. But the weapon, a lost piece of ancient technology, holds secrets that neither side expected.

A clock hangs over the head of every mortal. Counting down to the inescapable day that the Goddess of Death claims them. That is the way of the world. The natural cycle of mortals. The Gods, however, were said to live for forever. To exist so far outside of the natural laws of the universe that even their crimes can't be punished. But Knell Coba, at great cost, realizes this is nothing but another lie.

New beginnings... Everyone craves them, but few have the resolution to go through. And yet John decided to live as a mortal. For his wife, for his daughter. He was willing to give up everything to achieve peace and avoid what he had already suffered in the past. But peace is temporary. How long can it be maintained? Enjoy this seventh issue of The Idle System, just a step away from the last book in the series. If you are ever to live life in another world, you might want to learn what John has to offer.

Long Fang is stranded in a foreign world where proper cultivation has been replaced by annoying blue screens. He is confused and alone...but not for long. Completely ignoring the System, he forms a wholesome sect of followers to spread cultivation across the wild world. Blue screens do not take kindly to rejection, however, and Long Fang’s stubbornness soon finds him pitted against increasingly dangerous foes. To overcome the System tribulations, he must quickly grow stronger and wiser.... But first, he needs to get past that one annoying town guard.