Systems Science

Written by a cult survivor and renowned expert on cults and totalitarianism, Terror, Love and Brainwashing draws on the author's 25 years of study and research to explain how almost anyone, given the right set of circumstances, can be radically manipulated to engage in otherwise incomprehensible and often dangerous acts.

There has always been one last question, one driving motivation for John Lee. Having survived the System Apocalypse on Earth and travelled to the far reaches of the galaxy, the question has always been left unanswered.

Among the estimated 100 billion solar systems in the known universe, evolving life is surely abundant. That evolution is a process of "becoming" in each case. Since Newton, we have turned to physics to assess reality. But physics alone cannot tell us where we came from, how we arrived, and why our world has evolved past the point of unicellular organisms to an extremely complex biosphere.

Now the site of EBO’s first completed Red Cathedral, the Onyx Delta has become the center of the virtual world, and the entire player base is descending on Ned’s city to try their hand at the fearsome new raid and reap the game-changing rewards within. At the same time, a powerful, menacing guild is running roughshod over the western continents, razing every city in their wake and winning Frank’s obnoxiously loud approval from afar. But Ned knows that it’s only a matter of time before their forces sail east to the delta and attempt to burn down everything he’s built.

In a violent world, peace always comes at a cost. And to pay for this expansive commodity, to give those he cares about a chance, Jack has to step up... Even if it means doing things he would have never imagined.

Having survived the trials of the dungeon and embraced the unbridled magic of Premar, Knox has ascended from a humble woodcutter to the revered Titan of Light. But with great power comes even greater challenges. As the guardian of new lands under the Titan System, Knox must navigate a treacherous path filled with monsters that lurk in the shadows, cunning pirates seeking to plunder his domain, and an onslaught of the undead threatening to overrun his territories.

Gary doesn’t have all that much going for him. He’s a teenage boy who lives in a Tier-3 town that’s barely hanging on, and his family’s just a rung above dirt poor. Which is why he’s taken the very dangerous step of becoming an errand boy for the savage Underdogs gang. He doesn’t like what they do, but if he tries to get out, he’s pretty sure he’ll get very dead.

There is no shortage of democracy, at least in name, and yet it is in crisis everywhere we look. From a cabal of plutocrats in the White House to gerrymandering and dark-money campaign contributions, it is clear that the principle of government by and for the people is not living up to its promise. The problems lie deeper than any one election cycle. As Astra Taylor demonstrates, real democracy - fully inclusive and completely egalitarian - has in fact never existed. In a tone that is both philosophical and anecdotal, Taylor invites us to reexamine the term.

Millions of Americans have lost confidence in our political and economic system. After years of stagnant wages, volatile job markets, and an unwillingness by those in power to deal with profound threats such as climate change, there is a mounting sense that the system is fixed, serving only those select few with enough money to secure a controlling stake. With the characteristic clarity and passion that has made him a central civil voice, Robert B. Reich shows how wealth and power have interacted to install an elite oligarchy, eviscerate the middle class, and undermine democracy.

She wanted to be a Necromancer, but awakened as a Saint! Somehow her summoned heroes are all undead? How will the church react when their Saintess summons a skeleton in place of a mighty hero? Sofia isn’t too keen on finding out. In this world, Gods choose [Saints], and [Saints] summon [Heroes] from other worlds; everyone knows that. But Sofia had a thing for bones ever since she was a child; there’s only one [Class] she wants: [Necromancer]! When, by the whims of fate, she gets both classes at the same time, the system breaks.

Arriving in the capital, John finds a world just as unfair to its citizens as it was to humanity. Now, the retired Adventurer has to choose if he’ll return to battling for those who are unable to fight themselves or if he’ll pursue the System Quest quietly and peacefully. Either way, people are going to get hurt. Includes three books in the System Apocalypse, a post-apocalyptic series that combines modern day life, aliens, science fiction and fantasy elements along with game mechanics. Does not include harems.

It's been over a year since the System came to Earth, bringing blood and monsters in equal measure. Having left Whitehorse, John and his team travel down to British Columbia, running into new dangers from aliens and humans alike. Faced with new challenges and new enemies, John and his friends seek to free human settlements from Galactic control in North America.

The immune system holds the key to human health. In The Beautiful Cure, leading immunologist Daniel M. Davis describes how the scientific quest to understand how the immune system works - and how it is affected by stress, sleep, age, and our state of mind - is now unlocking a revolutionary new approach to medicine and well-being. The body's ability to fight disease and heal itself is one of the great mysteries and marvels of nature. But in recent years, painstaking research has resulted in major advances in our grasp of this breathtakingly beautiful inner world....

The last wing of the red cathedral is finally live, and the possibility king awaits. To reach his throne, players will have to face foes capable of bringing about the end of the world. However, nothing can compare to their creator. The prize for defeating him is unprecedented: the ability to create a custom Ripple. A single change that will alter the very fabric of EBO forever. A power that Ned’s enemies would do anything to obtain.

Wrench is a Fixer. Someone born to maintain, fix, and correct any and every issue that could arise in the Habitat he lives in. To make sure he and his fellow humans can remain on display and entertain their owners as any good human pet would. At least, that's what he was born to be. Now, after getting a second chance along with a superpower that lets him alter anything and everything in regards to his own body, he's trying to fix his life.

Savannah was unlike any city Derek had ever been to. For the first time since his arrival in Cydaria, Derek actually met a respectable city lord. Natalie Savannah and the city she ruled were much more than he’d imagined. With this combination, Derek made the decision to put down roots by building a shop from scratch and moving his people in. He was even able to get Silvi the beloved kitchen that she so desired, along with personally meeting Alanah Swan and learning new things about the new system he was thrown into—things that only someone who was truly strong would know.

Dans cet ouvrage de synthèse, fruit de toute une vie de recherche aux confins de la psychologie et de l'économie, le prix Nobel Daniel Kahneman nous emmène à la rencontre des deux "personnages" qui se partagent notre esprit, régissant notre façon de penser et de prendre des décisions.

Since 1980, the number of people in US prisons has increased more than 450 percent. Despite a crime rate that has been falling steadily for decades, California has led the way in this explosion, with what a state analyst called "the biggest prison building project in the history of the world". Golden Gulag provides the first detailed explanation for that buildup by looking at how political and economic forces conjoined to produce the prison boom.

In Disunited Nations, geopolitical strategist Peter Zeihan presents a series of counterintuitive arguments about the future of a world where trade agreements are coming apart and international institutions are losing their power. Germany will decline as the most powerful country in Europe, with France taking its place. Every country should prepare for the collapse of China, not North Korea. We are already seeing, as Zeihan predicts, a shift in outlook on the Middle East: it is no longer Iran that is the region’s most dangerous threat, but Saudi Arabia.

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.