Systems Science

Launching the Colony is the first of two volumes revised and expanded from the original Colonization Chronical. This volume follows teenager Ricky Cruz and his family as they migrate from their successful farm to be first wave settlers on the newly terraformed planet Murna. Ricky becomes part of the crew as a repair technician and shuttle pilot. Plagued with problems from the start, Ricky begins investigating the source of the problems and discovers their ship has been deliberately sabotaged in an attempt to prevent them from being the first settlers on their new home, therefore preventing ...

Imzadi ll is a compelling untold chapter in the history of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The special bond between Troi and Commander Riker was explored in Peter David's earlier novel, Imzadi. Now, he examines the heart of Deanna Troi from an altogether different perspective, as he reveals for the first time the full story of Troi's troubled romance with Lieutenant Commander Worf.

In the aftermath of their last battle, several of Quinn's allies are still healing. In the meantime, while the Library and Lynx are still regaining all their memory pathways, Quinn must help resolve the mystery of the Ashiron pillar. But that's not their only problem. In order to expand the Library's power, more branches must be opened, but it's difficult to do that when not everyone is willing to return their books.

Marc's Safe Zone, and his network of interconnected Safe Zones, has been upgraded to an Industrial Technology level. With the new tech level comes a number of items that they've desperately wanted to build. Now railways, lighter than air travel, primitive firearms, and more are available, once the requirements for their tech chains are satisfied.

In an instant, life as it was known is gone, replaced by a System called The Connection. It doesn't come quietly as earthquakes rock the planet, the chosen survivors falling unconscious as the Connection takes their bodies and Adapts them. Lochlan Brady and his family were on their way home from a camping weekend when the Connection appears. He awakens with a new Adapted body, finding his wife missing. Now Loch must survive and thrive in this new world with his two teenage daughters, Harper and Piper. All Loch wants to do is protect his daughters and find his wife.

If the confusion following the last presidential election is any indication, the average citizen knows precious little about the democratic system and the laws that affect their daily lives. The Everything American Government Book unravels the complexities of our democracy and provides listeners with the knowledge necessary to make the right decisions and take an active role in the management of their country. This thoroughly researched work is ideal for anyone brushing up on civics, as well as students of all ages.

It's been 10 years since Handry was wrenched away from his family and friends, forced to wander a world he no longer understood. But with the help of the Ancients, he has cobbled together a life, of sorts, for himself and his fellow outcasts. Wandering from village to village, welcoming the folk that the townships abandon, fighting the monsters the villagers cannot - or dare not - his ever-growing band of misfits has become the stuff of legend, a story told by parents to keep unruly children in line.

For the past 25 years, scientists have challenged conventional views of evolution and have developed revolutionary theories with profound implications. Fritjof Capra has been at the forefront of this revolution and now, in The Web of Life, he offers a brilliant synthesis of these exciting breakthroughs.

On a planet code-named Gateway stands a mysterious portal to the past, the Guardian of Forever. Spock, Kirk, and McCoy have just returned from a voyage through the gateway with a young man named Zar - Spock's own son from ancient Sarpeidon! But while Spock and the brilliant, primitive youth try to bridge a gap of centuries and cultures, Gateway is seized by the Romulans...Featuring a dramatic reading by Leonard Nimoy and James Doohan, and enhanced with sound effects and an original score!

Love, war, and the enemies allied....To save a galaxy from war Kirk - and his amorous computer - must save the Romulans from disaster! Featuring a dramatic reading by Leonard Nimoy and George Takei and enhanced with sound effects and the original Star Trek television theme music!

Marc is all too aware that the end of the acclimatization year the System has provided to Earth is quickly drawing to a close and that others will be allowed onto the planet to start claiming areas shortly. Zeus has promised that his series of quests will get Marc, at least, to the maximum level reachable in that first year, but Marc is nervous that it isn't going to happen.

From the best-selling author of A Vast Conspiracy and The Run of His Life comes Too Close to Call - the definitive story of the Bush-Gore presidential recount. A political and legal analyst of unparalleled journalistic skill, Jeffrey Toobin is the ideal writer to distill the events of the 36 anxiety-filled days that culminated in one of the most stunning Supreme Court decisions in history.

Climb into your spaceship and blastoff for an adventure through our solar system! This exciting nonfiction series uses narrative text to inform early learners about the different planets, moons, and other celestial bodies in the solar system. On their journeys, they’ll discover volcanic moons, mysterious dwarf planets, and much more! This volume includes Moons, The Outer Planets, and The Sun.

Weaving together cutting-edge social science with riveting stories that take us from the front lines of the Volkswagen scandal to backstage at the Oscars, and from deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico to the top of Mount Everest, Chris Clearfield and András Tilcsik explain how the increasing complexity of our systems creates conditions ripe for failure and why our brains and teams can't keep up. They highlight the paradox of progress: Though modern systems have given us new capabilities, they've become vulnerable to surprising meltdowns - and even to corruption and misconduct.

The Devil's Heart is a legendary object of unsurpassed power and mystery. Worlds that believe in magic consider it Darkness's mightiest talisman; and worlds of science consider it a lost artifact of some ancient and forgotten race. Some say the Heart enables its possessor to control people's minds and to amass wealth enough for a dozen lifetimes, while others think it capable of raising the dead, perhaps even changing the flow of time itself. But to all, the location of this fabled object has remained a mystery, until now.

The U.S.S. Enterprise is the site for a wedding that will unite two powerful rival families of the Tizarin. But Captain Picard's happiness is soon cut short by the arrival of Lwaxana Troi, the nagging mother of ship's counsellor Deanna Troi, and the notorious, all-powerful Q, who has come to examine and challenge the human concept of love. Read by Majel Barrett and John de Lancie!

When tough-on-crime laws passed 30 years ago during an era of drug-fueled violence, they were supported across the political spectrum. The subsequent "war on drugs" sent non-violent offenders to prison for decades and, in some cases, life. As a result, the nation's prison and jail population today is 2.3 million, more than quadruple the number that were incarcerated in 1980. One in 100 adults is behind bars in America.

I was in my garage, when the space elves addressed the whole world. They didn't call themselves space elves, of course, but most humans struggled to pronounce Khjurhnalva. They had a message for us: Forces that had eradicated their species' males were heading for Earth. The space elves offered us access to the System, as cooperation was vital to the survival of both our species. I, Mathew, know all of the above is bullshit. I saw the truth with my own eyes, heard it from their beautiful, deceitful mouths. No one believes me, though. A planet-wide, survival reality show? Ridiculous.

At the mercy of an unknown entity, Clyde gets tossed into the anime world. Yes, it exists, we just don't know it. There, he's declared the Stone, the anime main character. One day, he must kill the Viper, or else it's good-bye, Earth. This is the comedic tale of a young man vs. cliche anime tropes.

Who are the children of foster care? What, as a country, do we owe them? Cris Beam, a foster mother herself, spent five years immersed in the world of foster care looking into these questions and tracing firsthand stories. The result is To the End of June, an unforgettable portrait that takes us deep inside the lives of foster children in their search for a stable, loving family. Beam shows us the intricacies of growing up in the system - the back-and-forth with agencies, the rootless shuffling between homes, the emotionally charged tug between foster and birth parents.