Systems Science

In the future: A united Earth, to deal with the problem of population control, divides its population into classes of citizen and non-gratis. To be born a non-gratis means a life of little freedoms and the constant possibility of being assigned to work on a colony. Lacking citizenship, every aspect of their life is controlled from where they live down to marriage and childbearing regulations. The only possible escape from life as a non-gratis is to qualify for one of the limited slots available for entrance into the military.

Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there's an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if Barish-Estranza can't have the planet, they're sure as hell not leaving without something. If that something just happens to be an entire colony of humans, well, a free workforce is a decent runner-up prize. But there's something wrong with Murderbot; it isn't running within normal operational parameters.

Melvin Murphy is your average everyday teen... until he finds the System. Melvin has normal problems. High School. Tests. Trying to find a girlfriend (and failing... miserably). But one day he awakens with access to a System that governs all magic. In his attempt to summon a teacher to show him the ropes, he botches the ritual and accidentally summons a magic-wielding girl named Kalliphae. Sure, she's powerful and deadly. A femme fatale who's more intimidating than even the most popular girls at school.

A decade ago, developers built information-sharing software by writing a lot of custom code in a single code base, then adding layers of caching. Now we build information systems: interdependent software and services, data platforms, and event streams. Many of our software-to-systems initiatives fail, though, and when they do, we double down on traditional linear approaches. But linear thinking cannot resolve systems challenges. We need to shift to systems thinking.

Since she arrived in the alternate dimension of Luliv, Alice Verianna's scientific exploration of its magical properties has yielded fascinating results. She has uncovered many secrets behind the mysterious construct—known as the System—that connects all of Luliv, and her own abilities to harness this magic have flourished in unexpected ways. But the System is failing. And as Alice desperately races to get to the bottom of why, she's finding more questions than answers while its people go mad and monster attacks become more frequent and deadlier than ever.

Indigenous Justice is Book 10 in the Durvile True Cases series. In the spirit of truth and reconciliation and respectful of Indigenous cultural integrity, judges, lawyers, and law enforcement officers write about working with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples through their trials and tribulations with the criminal justice system. The stories are a mix of previously published essays from the True Cases anthologies with an equal number of new chapters by legal and law enforcement professionals.

Learn a road map to healthy soil and revitalized food systems for powerfully addressing these times of challenge. This audiobook equips producers with knowledge, skills, and insights to regenerate ecosystem health and grow farm/ranch profits. Globally recognized soil advocate and agroecologist Nicole Masters delivers the solution to rewind the clock on this increasingly critical soil crisis in her first book For the Love of Soil. She argues we can no longer treat soil like dirt.

We all know that life in prison ain't grand, but the utter horror of it springs from the pages of this autobiography, written by a one-time death-row inmate. Billy Wayne Sinclair is now serving a reduced 90-year sentence for murdering a Baton Rouge convenience store owner in a robbery gone wrong more than three decades ago. His story of an adult life spent in one of Louisiana's harshest prisons is amazing, not only because he has survived with his soul intact, but because it provides such a raw look at the inner workings of a system bent on revenge, not rehabilitation.

The manhunt has officially begun. Now the target of a game-wide Holy War, Ned is forced to flee the Onyx Sands. The odds are stacked against him; Tyrann has tens of thousands of followers, a religion that’s spreading like wildfire, and a powerful god that will be stepping into the world of EBO in a matter of days. Meanwhile, Ned’s allies are a squirrel-exploding bard, a repurposed home security system who takes her instructions far too literally, and a wildly unreliable talking axe named Frank. But even as the inevitable conflict draws closer, change is coming to EBO.

Corporate flameout Ned Altimer dreams of leaving his world behind. So, when Earthblood Online splashes onto the VRMMO scene, he dives in and never looks back. His advantages are twofold: exclusive access to the game’s three-day Head Start period, and a ridiculously handsome talking axe named Frank who has knowledge of the game’s deepest secrets...if the magnificent Frank ever feels like sharing them.

The System Apocalypse has come to Australia, altering native organisms and importing even more menacing creatures to the most dangerous continent on Earth. For Kira Kent, plant biologist, the System arrives while she's pulling an all nighter at work with her pair of kids in tow. Now, instead of mundane parental concerns like childcare and paying the bills, she's got to figure out how to survive a world where already deadly flora and fauna have grown even more perilous.

Donors, leaders of nonprofits, and public policy makers usually have the best of intentions to serve society and improve social conditions. But often their solutions fall far short of what they want to accomplish and what is truly needed. Moreover, the answers they propose and fund often produce the opposite of what they want over time. We end up with temporary shelters that increase homelessness, drug busts that increase drug-related crime, or food aid that increases starvation.

The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles is a timeless classic that reveals the practical philosophy behind wealth creation, abundance, and purposeful living. First published in 1910, this influential work breaks down success into clear principles that anyone can apply—regardless of background, education, or starting point.

Will Johnnie Veal—convicted of the murder of two police officers in 1970—be granted parole after 50 years in prison? How can he convince the parole board he’s reformed when he insists he’s innocent? What is prison time even supposed to accomplish? These are the questions that propel The Parole Room forward as it builds toward Johnnie’s 20th parole hearing—after 19 rejections.

A shadow of chaos lurks in the Library's foundational pillars, and treachery sneaks in through unseen cracks. Quinn's grief threatens to capsize her, but as she places each action of her team's escape from the dragon siblings under the microscope, it reveals that every fateful step they took to reach the battle resulted from manipulation. Pieces slot together, offering a vaster web of machinations. With a stronger connection to the Library, Quinn's new perceptions uncover a wealth of new information that only serves to compound her urgency...and makes her question who she truly trusts.

Author Martin Kleppmann helps you navigate the diverse data landscape by examining the pros and cons of various technologies for processing and storing data. Software keeps changing, but the fundamental principles remain the same. With this book, software engineers and architects will learn how to apply those ideas in practice, and how to make full use of data in modern applications.

Step into the golden age of imagination with Classic Science Fiction Short Stories, a powerful collection of visionary tales from the masters who defined the genre. Featuring works by Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, Philip K. Dick, Ray Bradbury, Andre Norton, and E. E. Smith, this anthology explores humanity’s future, the limits of technology, distant worlds, and the nature of reality itself.

Indigenous naturopathic doctor Nicole Redvers pairs evidence-based research with traditional healing modalities, addressing modern health problems and medical processes Modern medical science has finally caught up to what traditional healing systems have known for centuries. Many traditional...

For Chris Mason, working construction at the pinnacle of New York's skyline feels like being on top of the world—until that world is shattered when an otherworldly portal transforms Manhattan into a deadly fantasy realm. Chosen as a "salvager" by a mysterious System that has plagued humanity throughout history, Chris must now scavenge the ruins of his city for materials to craft weapons, armor, and shelter while the city continues to transform around him.

It’s not easy being a System Traveler. Well, the traveling part is hard, at least. But once Derek got his feet under him, he hit the ground running, saving an entire area from a massive dungeon overflow in the process. He even found some companions to help ease the massive hole inside him formed from spending decades alone in the void.