But that’s what happens when medical technology goes awry. Doctors said they could train her brain to interpret digital signals from the camera in her artificial eye. The module even has wi-fi so they can monitor signal traffic across her optic nerve. What they didn’t anticipate was that her brain would figure out how to use the wi-fi connection both ways. Asha can now see the Internet. ASHA'S INTELLIGENCE IS NOT ARTIFICIAL As her digital brain develops, she creates an online AI by copying part of her mind to the cloud. The AI she calls Abbot becomes her right hand as she goes to work for the FBI tracking down international terrorists. Unfortunately, she is so effective, the government believes she may be a co-conspirator. When they refuse to pay her, she walks out. IT'S NOT JUST THE FBI WHO SUSPECT HER When Asha crosses paths with Chinese military hackers, she stops them by taking out Shanghai’s electrical grid. Now the communist government wants to know who did it and how. Things go downhill after Asha gives a copy of Abbot to her husband’s company. When the Chinese military steals a copy of it, they immediately recognize its military significance. Their top priority, however, is to take out the woman who came up with it in the first place. CHINA FLEXES ITS NEW CYBER WARFARE TOOL Using her own technology against her, the Chinese suddenly become a serious threat to the US. The FBI calls Asha back and ask one last favor: stop the Chinese attack. She agrees, but this time there are conditions. Either they pay upfront, or she will take care of the Asian threat in her own way, and knowing Asha, that could mean World War Three.

    Leuthardt.Renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Hagan Maerici is on the verge of a breakthrough in artificial intelligence that could change the way we think about human consciousness. Obsessed with his job and struggling to save his marriage, Dr. Maerici is forced to put his life's work on the line when a rash of brutal murders strikes St. Louis.Edwin Krantz, an aging, technophobic detective, and his partner, Tara Dezner, are tasked with investigating the horrifying killings. Shockingly, the murders have all been committed by prominent citizens who have no obvious motives or history of violence. Seeking an explanation for the suspects' strange behavior, Krantz and Denzer turn to Dr. Maerici, who believes that the answer lies within the killers' brains themselves. Someone is introducing a glitch into the in-brain computer systems of the suspects—a virus that turns ordinary citizens into murderers. With time running out, this trio of unlikely allies must face a gauntlet of obstacles, both human and A.I., as they attempt to avert disaster.

    

    Max's son, Dr. Kyle Thorning, is now a high particle physicist at CERN in Switzerland. Meanwhile, after First Contact, powerful aliens with four arms and four legs, named Darsians, are taking control of the planet, with the muted subservience of its human population due to the astounding technological advances that the aliens introduce. Kyle has a powerful weapon—a new Time Travel machine—and must decide to travel to his father's old parallel universe, where he doesn't even exist, or confront the aliens in his home universe.

    But before Earth can benefit from the advanced technologies offered by the other cultures, it must form a united world government. Old habits are hard to break and it doesn't take long before things begin to unravel.Jay Kauffman, mathematical genius and creator of the stardrive, believed his invention would free mankind. Instead, it has made war inevitable.Translight is the first book of the Galactic Alliance series. It is a hard military science fiction space opera that has been compared to E.E. 'Doc' Smith's famous Lensmen and Skylark series.

    Both thought-provoking and action-packed, Frend is a story of transformation, the unceasing drive to belong, and the struggle to liberate oneself from oppression, both internal and external.

    Zot! is Scott McCloud's critically acclaimed take on superhero comics, and was one of the greatest cult comics of the '80s.Volume 2 collects issues 11-15 and 17-18, the beginnings of the black-and-white relaunch of the series.

    Two brothers at war.With advanced weaponry and impenetrable armor, the Crusaders smash aside anything that stands in their way. Led by Kaneda Kusanagi, they have only one mission: to destroy Matriarch, the last thinking machine, and free the people of Jupiter from her tyranny.Whether they like it or not.Standing in their way are the Dragons, led by Kaneda’s estranged brother Ryu. With super-human reflexes and invisible battle suits, the Dragons are masters of infiltration and sabotage. Loyal only to Matriarch, they will stop at nothing to protect their way of life.The two brothers are set to collide in a battle that will shake the great powers of the solar system and force both men to question what they believe in.

    And once you found life, what if you could accelerate time and watch it evolve? What might you find? These are not the questions Jon Gruber ponders as he pedals to his next carpentry job. Over thirty and unmarried, he doesn't even own a car. But a new assignment challenges him to rethink his place in the world. Is he a loser? Or is he about to become a partner in an experiment of phenomenal discovery? Webster Adams, astronomer, inventor, and Jon's latest client, performs such an experiment. To Webster's amazement, he finds planets and cultures beyond his wildest dreams. His little universe turns into a discovery machine--an overnight goldmine. He and his crew observe societies so far past them on levels of technology and spirituality, that the world will be forever changed. Webster's lovely daughter, Whitney, also overwhelms Jon. She opens his eyes to the deeper meanings within the experiment by finding the most advanced beings within the project--the spirit guides from Theta 7. The Little Universe is a mind expanding concept. For Webster Adams, one question immediately comes to light. "If I can create a universe," he wonders, "then who created ours?" Can it be proven that some form of God exists? Or is life random and free-flowing without purpose? Along with Jon, you, the reader, will be presented a new perspective on life and your role in the great mystery of the universe.

    A new world rises--one of unshackled AIs, indestructible starships, ethereal quantum spaces & potent new weapons--& the race is on to determine who will control its future.When faced with its greatest challenge, will humanity rise to triumph or fall to ruin?*SIDESPACEHumanity is saved. But its troubles are just beginning.To achieve their extraordinary triumph over the Metigen armada, humanity put aside its myriad of conflicts & united against a common foe intent on annihilating civilization. In victory, unparalleled peace & prosperity are theirs for the taking--if they can keep hold of them.When the secrets behind the Metigens' defeat escape the shadows, the people who won the war find their lives in danger. Facing anti-synthetic terrorists who want them dead, power-hungry politicians who want them chained, & a rapidly dwindling number of people they can trust, the Prevos--individuals & AIs sharing a single body--must take their fate into their own hands.51 Portals. 51 Universes.Intent on learning the purpose behind the Metigens' elaborate multiverse network, Alex Solovy, Caleb Marano & Valkyrie embark on a gripping journey through the network's portals, each one leading to a universe not their own. In a mosaic of spaces inhabited by fantastical aliens & worlds both beautiful & deadly, they will be forced to question everything they thought they knew, including the nature of life itself.*DISSONANCEKnow this: you need not be afraid. They own the fear. They fear us because they believe we are powerful, and they are correct to do so.The technology behind Project Noetica is on the loose. Prevos are spreading across the galaxy. Now two opposing but inexorably related forces threaten to plunge the galaxy into chaos. The Order of the True Sentients believes Prevos are monsters who endanger humanity,& it intends to destroy them by any means necessary. Underworld despot Olivia Montegreu, now a radically enhanced Prevo, is its doomsday warnings made flesh.As society splinters from within & the Earth Alliance falls to reactionaries, a formidable new player emerges on the galactic stage, one not afraid to do whatever it takes to protect all sentient life--human, Artificial and Prevo.The Metigen surged forward to engulf her in light. I see you, Alexis Solovy.Killers & saviors. Deceivers & protectors. Destroyers & creators. Could the Metigens truly be all these things? The search for answers leads Alex and Caleb to the most shocking revelation of all--the true face of the enemy.*ABYSMIn the quest to be the masters of their own fate, will humanity rise to become liberators or follow the path of their ancestors into darkness?Alex Solovy & Caleb Marano risked everything to learn the hidden purpose behind the Metigens' multiverse portal network, but nothing prepared them for the answer. Humans are a genetic recreation of the Anaden, the dictators & overlords of the master universe. Aurora is a recreation of their origins created by the Metigens in a desperate gambit to understand their enemy & find a way to defeat them.Aurora's future hangs in the balance as the Earth Alliance goes to war with itself over the right of synthetics and Prevos--human/AI hybrids--to exist. Terrorists sow chaos in a wave of bombings and assassinations. The next evolution of the human species will not be so easily defeated, but they must move quickly to win the day, because the true enemy is closing in faster than anyone realizes.

    Only one man could prevent the accident. An ex-NASA scientist reluctantly joins the crew of re-commissioned space shuttle Discovery on a daring rescue mission to recover the satellite. Orbiting Earth, they are about to experience something out of this world.

    A space vessel called Schrodinger's Box discovers the creature, brings it back to life, and analyzes its intellectual and physical capabilities. It's not long before the scientists realize the creature is able to manipulate the make-up of objects, including organic matter, at a molecular level. The eyes of the scientific world are on Schrodinger's Box, but not everyone is pleased with the discovery. A group of terrorists attempts to intercept the ship and destroy it.

    But when humans have a brief fad of natural birth, disabled children start reappearing. They're quickly termed "Pandoras," the value of their very lives brought into question, and laws are put into place to prevent their births from happening ever again. Xandri Corelel is one of these Pandoras, a young autistic woman scorned by her family and fighting to eke out a living on the streets of Wraith. Then she meets Chui Shan Fung, captain of the first contact and refugee ship Carpathia. Captain Chui has been watching her, and knows about the talent for understanding alien species that Xandri has cultivated. She wants Xandri as part of her crew--but first, Xandri must pass a test to see if she'll even fit in. Wary but hopeful, Xandri joins the Carpathia at Psittaca, a newly-discovered planet peopled by parrot-like sapients. Learning to understand this new species is the easy part compared to trusting her new crew mates. As Xandri continues her diplomatic efforts with the Psittacans, it becomes apparent that the Carpathia's crew aren't the only ones to have discovered the planet, but these other visitors don't have good intentions. In order to protect this beautiful new world, Xandri must find it in herself to overcome years of abuse and neglect, and trust in her new crew.

    He’s talking about things Gabe doesn’t understand—venture capitalists, prototypes, million dollar IPOs; he’s stumbled on something big and he needs people he can trust. He needs Gabe.Nicknamed “the bubble”, Jeremy’s invention isolates users from reality and lets them directly experience quantum effects. Inside the bubble, humans can even manipulate individual atoms. For the computer industry, it’s a dream come true.Except the bubble may have side effects.After being inside the bubble for only a few minutes, Gabe feels a strange desire to go inside again. He has nightmares and wakes up vomiting in the middle of the night with no idea who he is. Even more troubling, the bubble seems to eat through every kind of radiation shielding known to man…whether it’s plugged in or not.Now, ever since that first time in the bubble, Gabe has been harboring a terrifying secret—a power, whose addictive pull he finds harder and harder to resist with each passing day: he’s developed the ability to move objects with his mind.

    The job: find God Almighty and destroy Him. The payment: eternal life. With the aid of a mysterious trio of women -- a beautiful lady gambler, an ancient Hollywood witch, and a telepathic hooker -- Dell Ammo breaches the gates of Heaven and Hell to pull the Cosmic Trigger.Before The DaVinci Code, before the Left Behind series, The Jehovah Contract set the standard for adventurous, over-the-edge religious fiction. Hard-boiled assassin Dell Ammo must become a harder-boiled detective in order to track down a God he doesn't even think exists. He enlists the reluctant assistance of blond bombshell Anne Perrine -- a woman with the uncanny ability to beat the gaming tables of the underworld metropolis Auberge. In that crime-ridden realm buried beneath the streets of Los Angeles, Dell discovers an even greater danger -- the religious conspiracy known only as the Ecclesia, dedicated to protecting God at any cost.In a climactic final battle worthy of Philip K. Dick at his most imaginatively paranoid, Dell Ammo clashes with the Almighty in all His varied forms, leading to a confrontation that rocks the universe."A fascinating concept, imaginatively delivered." -- Ray Bradbury"A most unusual and entertaining work of satirical SF." -- Publishers Weekly"A novel of cosmic -- and comic -- proportions." -- Library Journal"Explodes like a string of firecrackers ... The suspense never lets up ... I highly recommend it." -- Robert Anton Wilson"THE JEHOVAH CONTRACT will surely be excoriated in religious and literary circles, but this damnation of God should be pondered objectively by both believers and nonbelievers. It is a good, thought-provoking effort that is that rarity in fiction: philosophy that entertains." -- Piers Anthony"A parody of a Chandleresque detective novel that can hold its own with Chandler and the best of his followers." -- San Jose Mercury-News"Crammed with elements calculated to outrage nearly everyone...." -- The Denver Post"THE JEHOVAH CONTRACT... is conceptually audacious to the max." -- Norman Spinrad"Audacious ... a fine combination of logic and madness." -- Robert Shea"I wholeheartedly recommend this Mission Impossible/Phillip Marlowe/Mike Hammer/John Milton Faith Opera." -- Philip Jose FarmerVictor Koman's screenplay of The Jehovah Contract has been optioned for film. Ray Bradbury says of him, "Would that there were a dozen more writers like him in the field." Koman's short stories have appeared in publications such as The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Galaxy, and the anthologies Weird Menace, The King is Dead: Tales of Elvis Post-Mortem, the Dark Destiny collections, and Free Space.He lives in southern California with his wife, Veronica, and daughter, Vanessa, as well as their cat, Kali. Koman graduated summa cum laude from Redlands University in 2001 as a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems. In 2004, he received his MBA from Pepperdine University.His weblog and bookstore are accessible via http://www.komansense.com/